After crossing the ridges and going up the Xiaoqing River, it took a day for Zhao Wu to escort Zhao Ran to Qinghe Temple. This was the first Taoist temple that Zhao Ran saw with his own eyes. Although Qinghe Temple is only more than thirty miles away from Zhaozhuang,
, but Zhao Ran had never walked in this direction. His impression of Qinghe Temple was only a few Taoist priests in green who showed up at the old patriarch's ritual at the turn of the year, and the rich goods that were loaded onto trucks and shipped out of Zhaozhuang.
The Qinghe Temple is not big. It is built on a stone beach by the Xiaoqing River. The square bluestone wall surrounds a courtyard of more than ten feet in diameter. Several red-painted cornices are exposed in the courtyard. The temple door is tightly closed.
, only a small door in the corner was open, but no one came in or out. Along the east-west direction of the temple wall, along the south bank of Xiaoqing River, many houses and shops were erected, giving it a vague appearance of a market.
Zhao Wu found the only big car shop here and asked for a place to stay. When he fell asleep at night, Zhao Ran slept in the middle of Datongpu, with a servant lying on each side. Zhao Wu moved the wooden table to the door.
He pushed the door open and lay down directly on the wooden table. Zhao Ran could only smile bitterly as Zhao Wu stared at him closely enough.
He stayed one night outside Qinghe Temple and woke up the next day to continue walking. Zhao Ran looked at Qinghe Temple as he walked, but he never saw a trace of a Taoist priest.
After passing the Xiaoqing River Beach, we went onto the official road. Although this official road was very simple and could only accommodate four or five people passing side by side, there was indeed a big difference between having a road and not having a road, so the pace of the group accelerated a lot.
After only two days, we arrived at Shiquan County.
There was a bamboo shed outside the east gate of the county. When he came to the bamboo shed, Zhao Ran could clearly feel that Zhao Wu seemed to be relieved. Zhao Wu exchanged a few words with a subordinate official in the bamboo shed.
Zhao Ran's name and household registration were filled in on a piece of yellow paper, and Zhao Ran was asked to take his fingerprints. A painter on the table traced Zhao Ran's head on the yellow paper in two or three strokes. Zhao Ran peeked at it and saw that the tracing was quite good.
picture.
From this moment on, Zhao Ran knew that he could no longer run away. If he ran away again, even if he had truly violated the Ming Law, he would then become a fugitive wanted by the government. As long as he was caught, he would be punished by
Distribution, or even beheading, will definitely not yield good results.
After waiting for another day at the bamboo shed, the twelve servicemen recruited by Shiquan County this time have gathered. Two relief officers came from the county government, one fat and one thin, each holding water and fire sticks. They will lead the servicemen
Go to Chuanling. The Chuanling Copper Mine is located in Songfanwei, west of Long'an Prefecture. It takes more than 500 miles to walk from Shiquan County to the Chuanling Copper Mine.
The deadline given by the Eunuch's Mansion of the Xuanwei Division in Western Sichuan is to arrive at the end of April. Now it is the end of March, and the time left for everyone is only one month. If it is placed on the inland plains, it will take ten days to reach the five hundred miles.
However, there are many mountains in western Sichuan, so we can only go along the post road. The road is not easy to walk, so time is still tight.
The thin Jie Chai held the water and fire stick in his arms and stood aside with a cold face and said nothing, while the fat Jie Chai held the roster and checked the service members one by one. After the verification was completed, the fat Jie Chai shouted: "Get up!" Then everyone walked around the county seat and headed towards
Songfanwei sets off.
What servicemen fear most is military service and mining service, both of which have a very high chance of death. Therefore, all the servicemen bury their heads in the road with a grimace, and lamentations can be heard from time to time in the procession.
This kind of escorting service has no merit in itself. If something goes wrong, you will have to bear the blame. In addition, the journey is difficult, and Songfanwei, where the Chuanling Copper Mine is located, is a place where border wars take place. Therefore, the two solutions
A bad complexion is also bad.
Zhao Ran hid in the team and was careful along the way. What he was worried about was that the two escorts had taken advantage of his fourth uncle and looked for opportunities to kill themselves. According to convention, if there is a corvee that needs to travel a long distance, the counties will not go out.
Yes, there will be a certain amount of extra places in the drafted force. This is the so-called "force consumption". For example, this time we went to Chuanling Copper Mine, because the road was difficult and it was a border weapons land, in fact, the quota for Shiquan County was only ten.
people, but two more were recruited.
If Zhao Ran died midway, no one would care about him.
Walking northwest along the post road for two days, we left Shiquan County and entered Jiangyou County. After passing Jiangyou County, the mountains began to rise steeply, towering into the clouds. The rivers also became narrower and narrower.
But it was getting more and more dangerous. Post roads often ran along rivers, and many sections were between steep walls. Zhao Ran looked down and saw the river rushing backwards, rolling up hundreds of whirlpools and thousands of waves.
Zhao Ran saw that the crowds were getting scarcer, so he became more vigilant. "Cherish life and stay away from misunderstandings." This is really not a joke.
The danger did come, and it came quite suddenly.
That day, he was walking between a section of cliffs. The path was only three people wide. Above him was a bare rock wall, and at his feet was a rushing river. Zhao Ran was always on guard. At this time, he felt someone slowly approaching behind him, so he held his breath
The breath suddenly took two steps forward.
Suddenly he heard a cry of surprise, and when he turned around, he saw a figure behind him staggering and falling on the spot where he had just stood. This person was also one of the servants, and Zhao Ran didn't know or care where he came from.
Where, but his intention to knock himself into the river was already obvious. This man's plan failed, and he almost fell down. At this moment, he was sitting paralyzed on the edge of the cliff, holding on to the rock with his hands, his face turned pale.
The fat police officer came up from the end of the team, pulled the man up, cursed him as "trash", and looked like he was smiling. The thin man, who was at the front of the team, turned around and looked on coldly, snorted coldly, and urged everyone on their way again.
After this incident, Zhao Ran finally understood that the two interpreters were indeed malicious towards him. On the one hand, he kept awake, and at the same time, he quietly picked up the sharp stone from the ground and held it in his hand. As a last resort, he
, I had no choice but to fight hard!
After leaving this section of the canyon, the sun had already set. Everyone rushed to a village and stayed in a farmhouse.
Twelve servants crowded into one room, and two escorts found another room. Zhao Ran waited for half an hour, and then got up in the dark. All the servants were lined up in a row, lying on a bunk.
Zhao Ran had already figured out the direction, aimed at the third figure on the left, and took action.
Zhao Ran suddenly covered the man's mouth, strangled his neck and dragged him off the bunk bed, dragged him to the corner of the wall a few steps, turned over and sat on him. The man hesitated and struggled desperately, Zhao Ran whispered in his ear:
"I'll kill you if I move again!"
The man didn't dare to move anymore. Zhao Ran took out a sharp stone, put it against his temple, and whispered: "I'll let go of your mouth, and don't shout. Just answer my questions, and I guarantee you'll be fine. Otherwise, we'll die together!"
"
The man nodded, so Zhao Ran let go of his hand covering his mouth and asked again: "Why did you want to harm me today? Was it ordered by Jie Chai?"
As soon as the man was able to speak, he quickly begged for mercy in a low voice: "Little brother, please forgive me, I have no choice... It turns out that you already know... It's really not my fault. Mr. Jie Chai forced me, saying that if I don't agree, I can't
Guarantee my life..."
Zhao Ran shouted: "Are you confused? If you have someone's life on your hands, how can you still be good to you? If you hurt me, you will definitely not survive!"
The man nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "It's me who is confused, it's me who is confused, little brother is right... Oh, how did you offend Mr. Understanding Cha? Since you have grudges, why do you want to involve me? Really.
Life is hard..."
Zhao Ran asked: "What should we do next?"
The man lamented: "I will pass by Jiuyungang the next day. The terrain is dangerous...but what should I do..."
Zhao Ran put away the sharp stone, slowly let go of him, and said in a low voice: "Even if you are released, you don't dare to openly kill people. Don't do stupid things anymore. Just be careful on the road. You will be fine when you get to Chuanling. Otherwise you
But you have to remember that it is clearly written in the Ming Dynasty's laws that murder must be punished with life, how can a small mistake save you!"
Zhao Ran got up and returned to his place on the bunk, only to see five or six figures turning over on the bunk almost at the same time. He didn't bother to pay attention to these people and just lay down to sleep.
The terrain of Jiuyungang was indeed more dangerous. Fortunately, Zhao Ran was prepared, so he passed the hill without any danger. After passing here, the attitude of the fat and thin guards towards him became obviously bad.
The force that had harmed him was also beaten several times with sticks for no apparent reason. After being hit by the sticks, Yìli came to his senses and formed a tacit understanding with Zhao Ran. The two of them walked and slept in the same place, reminding each other and caring for each other.
It’s even harder to start with a poor solution.
In mid-April, the group crossed Qinglong Mountain, left Long'an Mansion, and entered Songfan Guards.