Dingtong is a small mountain village in the mountains, with only about 20 households, of which only five families farm, and the rest all rely on the road through the village.

The road comes from Langzhou, passes through Luzhou, passes through Dingtong, goes to Siling Prefecture, and then to the original Siming Prefecture, now Ningming Town, from where the goods can be transported to all directions along the Ming River.

This road was the main land trade route between Jiaozhi and the Great Song Dynasty, and although the official trade port between the two countries was only Qinzhou Boyichang, the private smuggling trade was never cut off.

Luzhou is relatively strategically located, has stretched to the south of the border mountains between the two countries, and the Guanjian Pass is in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, and the road is calm, which is conducive to the passage of merchants. Over the centuries, this trade route has become very prosperous, and there are endless caravans of traders and horses.

However, this road has been running through the mountains, from Luzhou to Siming Prefecture for nearly 200 miles, and there is no basin of a slight scale in between, which can be used as a trade route for horse teams, but cannot support military operations. In addition, although Luzhou is on the south side of Jieshan, there is still a mountain pass between it and Langzhou, and it has no military value.

Since Xu Ping arrived in Pingxiangtong, the original army stationed in Luzhou has moved there, and only more than 200 soldiers and horses under the original Yongping Village are left in Luzhou to deter the surrounding Tuzhou and ensure the smooth flow of trade routes.

The weather in June is unbearably hot, with a lot of rain and steam, and the whole world is like a steamer, making people have nowhere to hide and nowhere to escape, and they want to rip off all their flesh and skin. The mountains are blocked, and even the wind can't blow in, and there is nowhere to find a moment of coolness.

Under the shed of the roadside tavern, two men are drinking at a table, and the shadow of the shed cannot hide the all-pervasive heat. Both were shirtless. A pair of calf pants underneath. Extremely unsightly.

The one on the left is not tall, with a slightly dark complexion, and his whole body is covered in flesh, and he looks quite strong. The one on the right is about the same height, with a whiter complexion, but it is a thin bamboo pole, not to mention the body, not even the face has two taels of flesh. Looks kind of funny.

The black man stepped on the stool with his bare feet, holding the wine bowl in one hand, and stuffing the beef on the table into his mouth with the other, and his mouth was full. Take a sip of wine from time to time, and somehow the wine seeps from the **** into the stomach.

The thin man looked at it with a blank eye, quietly swallowed the saliva back into his stomach, and said to the black man: "Brother, are you satisfied with this wine?" Do you want to call some more? ”

The black man's mouth was full, and his words were slurred: "What are you satisfied with?" It's as light as water! A few days ago, I went to Pingxiangdong, a newly opened restaurant. When the wine sold there is like fire in the throat, that's really powerful! Where like this fade out of the bird! ”

The thin man accompanied him and said carefully: "My brother is a person who has been to a big place. The vision is naturally different! How can we, a small place in the deep mountains, compare to the prosperity of Pingxiangtong? I've heard that even the officials live there now, like that status, how can they live if the wine and meat are a little worse? ”

"That's it! Not only the wine, but also the meat! Look at it, I can't bite it, I'm afraid the cow slaughtered by the store is not older than me, and the meat is as old as wood! The beef sold in Pingxiang is like snowflakes, fat and tender, and when you bite into it, it tastes-"

The thin man listened, his eyes lit up, his throat kept moving, and he swallowed without grunting.

"Brother, when will you take your little brother out for a walk and see the outside world."

The black man shook his head: "Little Maverick, although the outside world is good, you need money for every move, do you have any money on you?" Chengguan also took out two pieces of money and copper for me to see. ”

"My brother joked, except for the main family in this village, who can have a lot of money."

The black man shook his head when he heard this: "You don't have a lot of money, you can't even go out of the mountain, you still die." Last time, it was time for me to make a career, and I followed a merchant to carry the burden, so I had the opportunity to go out. This kind of opportunity can't be encountered once in a few years, so let's wait slowly. ”

When the thin man heard this, he only sighed.

At this moment, two people came along the road, a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, walking in front, followed by an old servant of about fifty years old, carrying a burden. Under the scorching sun and the scorching heat, the two of them walked covered in sweat, the clothes they wore were soaked with sweat, and they were exposed to the scorching sun, sticky, and indescribably uncomfortable when they looked at it.

Seeing the wine shed on the side of the road, the two walked in and found a table to sit down.

The young man shouted, "Master's house, bring some wine to quench your thirst, and cut a plate of meat." ”

The old servant put the burden away, lifted the teapot on the table and poured tea for the young man, and said, "We really can't walk under the scorching sun, so let's rest here and wait for the sun to stop being poisonous before we go on the road." ”

The boy nodded in agreement and took a sip of tea.

The thin man saw that the two of them were working hard, remembered the words of the black man, and hurriedly stood up, went to the table of the young man and the old servant, and saluted without hesitation: "Where does the guest officer come from?" ”

The old servant raised his head and glanced at the thin man, a little vigilant: "We are businessmen from Jiaozhi, who are you?" What's the matter here? ”

The thin man smiled and said: "In Xia Ding Xiaoniu, there is one of my sworn brothers, Wei Dalang, who is a local." We don't have anything long, but we have a lot of strength, see how hard you carry the burden, it's better to give up a few dollars to come out, and we will help you pick up the mountain, how about it? ”

The old servant smiled and said: "You don't know anything, I was hired by the master's family to carry the burden, and if you pick it up, what else does the master's family hire me for?" ”

Seeing that his thoughts were in vain, the thin man muttered in a low voice: "It turns out that it is really unfortunate to meet someone who wants money and does not want to die!" ”

When the young man saw that the thin man turned around to leave, he hurriedly stopped and asked, "Dare to ask the eldest brother, where is this place?" How to get to Pingxiangtong? How much more is there? ”

The thin man turned around, his eyes rolling: "If you want me to tell you, you have to invite me and my brother to drink and meat." ”

The young man smiled: "It's just a small thing. ”

Seeing that the shopkeeper brought wine and meat to him, he said, "Shopkeeper, according to the way I look on the table, go up to these two in the same way, and they will be counted in my account." ”

There were no customers on a hot day, so the owner happily agreed.

The thin man stood there but didn't say anything until he watched the restaurant put the wine and meat on his table, and then said to the young man: "I tell you that we are called Ding Dong here, and we used to be subordinates of Siling Prefecture." Now that the Kuoding Law has been practiced everywhere, Zhitong has obtained money from the Lifting Division, and the whole family has moved to Ningming Town. I haven't been to Pingxiangtong, how do I know how far to go? ”

Seeing that the young man's face was a little dissatisfied, the thin man Ding Xiaoniu rolled his eyes, pointed to a white wall on the side of the road and said: "There is a list of the lifting division there, for example, it is detailed, if you are literate, you should go there to read it." ”

The young man secretly scolded Ding Xiaoniu for being cunning, but the wine and meat had already been invited, and it was not easy to say anything, so he wiped the sweat from his forehead, got up and walked to the white wall outside the shed, and stood there to read the list text.

Bai Bi's head was written about the location here, and sure enough, it was Ding Dong, and the thin man didn't lie to himself. In the past, it belonged to the management of Tuzhou Siling Prefecture, but now Siling Prefecture has been withdrawn and is under the rule of Ningming Town. The young man also roughly knew the route, and knew that if he wanted to get to Pingxiangtong, he needed to go to Ningming Town first.

There are several new and old lists posted on the white wall, and the young man looked at them one by one, from the line of the Ding method to the recruitment of people in the cane sugar business, he also saw it with relish.

Wei Dalang raised his head and drank a big bowl of wine, he drank the wine without money, wiped his mouth, saw the young man looking carefully in front of the white wall, and said loudly: "Young man, what is the newly posted list said?" Read it out to us! In the countryside, there are few literate people, but poor one! ”

The young man looked at the list text, his heart was going up and down, and he forgot the little unpleasantness just now, forced himself to calm down, and read it out loud.

This is exactly what Xu Ping set a few days ago and posted everywhere to catch the Jiaozhi thieves. The young man's heart was empty, and he didn't dare to follow the truth, and later changed it to a reward for catching a living person, and the corpse was not counted, and it must be confirmed that it was a thief before it could be captured, and the business traveler should not be harassed.

After reading it slowly, the young man's heart was still pounding, and he was sweating profusely from the sun to his forehead.

Wei Dalang and Ding Xiaoniu didn't pay attention to the young man's appearance at all, and after listening to the reading, the two heads came together on the table and whispered and discussed: "I didn't expect it to be like this, how did I know it today!" ”

Ding Xiaoniu said: "Two days ago, someone from the lifting division came to us to read, I thought it was none of my business, I was too lazy to listen, I didn't expect to miss it!" ”

"Alas, one person is a five-pronged reward! With such a big injection of money, we have to earn it for years and months! I feel dizzy just thinking about it! ”

"We're on the road here, and we're close to Jiaozhi, which month hasn't Jiaozhi people rushed in to grab something! As long as we pay attention, if we encounter a lonely, isn't it a windfall? ”

"That's it, that's it! There is an easier way to make money in the world! ”

The more they talked, the more excited they became, they took a big sip of wine from the bowl, and squinted together in a dream, as if they saw strings of yellow copper coins flying around them.

After the young man finished reading the list text, he held his breath nervously, and after listening to it for a while, there was no movement behind him, and then he turned around cautiously, and saw Wei Dalang and Ding Xiaoniu whispering over there, and his heart suddenly rose to his throat.

Back at the table, the old servant poured wine into the bowl and said to the young man: "San Lang, you have worked hard all the way, drink saliva and wine to quench your thirst." ”

The boy took a big sip of the wine bowl, choked and coughed.

The old servant said: "Slow down, the wine is here, San Lang doesn't need to be in a hurry." ”

The young man finally calmed down, lowered his voice and said, "Pingbo, you hurry up and eat something, and we will be on the road in a while." ”

"I'm not in a hurry at this time, such a poisonous day, so I might as well hide and leave."

"Desperately endure this little hardship, Pingbo just listen to me!"

Seeing that the young man's face was pale, Ping Bo hurriedly said: "Alas, isn't it that you are in a hurry on the road, and you are suffering from heat stroke?" Don't rush on the road, you'll have to rest! ”

The young man peeked at Wei Dalang and Ding Xiaoniu on the table next to him, gritted his teeth and said, "I'm fine, just eat and go on the road!" ”

Ping Bo looked at the young man's appearance, and he didn't know what was going on, so he had to drink and eat meat with his head bored.

(There is no charge in parentheses.) When I uploaded it, I saw that a friend voted for the update.,It's a pity that it's too late to see it.,It's still a change today.。 The two shifts will be resumed from April 1st, readers forgive me. (To be continued.) )