At least there's no Blood Moon Eagle Soaring blocking the road.
"Old Ren, I wonder where this prairie eagle is now?" Lei Er missed this old rival a little.
Ren Ning remained silent.
The two of them have been together all the time, so Lei Er didn't know about Ren Ning and naturally couldn't tell.
But some people know, like Brontosaurus.
When passing by the trapped dragon's nest, Ren Ning quickly saw the thunder dragon again.
"Sir," he came down from the mountain with a few personal guards.
Thunder Dragon was surprised and happy, "You are finally back!"
Ren Ning looked around, "Long time no see, how is it here?"
Thunder Dragon cheered up, "Fortunately. Since we defeated the Blood Moon Yingxiang last time, we can say that Yi Road has always been in our hands..."
The two chatted in detail about the current situation. As they talked, Thunder Dragon couldn't help but look towards the high mountains to the north.
"Sir..." He hesitated.
Nowadays, there is almost no need to guard the east-west post roads at his feet. However, the Yangguan Ancient Road in the north is still besieged by Xiliang's heavy troops. He wants to lead a team to help Xia Bangwei.
It's just that a large group of people want to go to Yangguan Ancient Road from here, and there are usually only two roads.
One is to go around to Dingxi and go north; the other is to go around to Laigu and then go north.
No matter which one, a young Brontosaurus can decide in private.
Before Ren Ning could say anything, Lei Er came over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Brother, I haven't seen you for almost a year without realizing it. Why have you become so slovenly? You don't even want to shave your beard?"
Thunder Dragon is also a wonderful person. When Lei Er makes a cross, he will understand what the other person means.
Although he felt unwilling to do so, he did not dare to embarrass himself, so he had to replenish some horse food for Ren Ning and the others, and then waved goodbye.
The two of them continued eastward and stopped by Jingang Village.
They were stopped before they reached the entrance of the village, and two guards-looking men stared at them warily.
"Stop, who are you?"
Lei Er raised his hand to show that he meant no harm, "My name is Lei Er, let's come up to find Niu Shusheng. Is he still in the village now?"
"Do you know Brother Niu?" The two of them were dubious and quickly went back to call for help.
Not long after, Niu Shusheng hurried over, and when he saw it was Ren Ning, they were both pleasantly surprised.
"Two generals, it's you, come in quickly."
After entering the village, Ren Ning looked around.
The original bandit's den has been completely transformed into a vibrant village, with green grains and vegetables growing everywhere. There are old and young people in the village, and there are even poultry and livestock running around.
Bah!
Lei Er stepped on chicken shit, but he laughed.
"It's been a long time since I stepped on such soft chicken poop. I really miss it."
People who had fought together in Quelongpo heard that they were coming, and they all ran out to welcome them.
Some women even grabbed chickens and ducks without any politeness and wanted to kill them to entertain the two of them.
"You don't have to be busy." Ren Ning quickly stopped, "We are just passing by to see you. As long as everyone is doing well, we will be very happy."
"How can this be done?" Niu Shusheng held them back.
"We haven't read the book, so we can't make any big sense. But we all know in our hearts that the lives of everyone here were saved by the two generals."
"We don't have much ability and can't do much. Since the general is here, he will stay for a meal. Although the taste may not be good, it is everyone's wish."
Ren Ning looked at the sky and said, "Okay. Then let's try the craftsmanship of the aunts and sisters."
The villagers dispersed happily.
After a while, every household brought some things and came out to put them together.
Lei Er quickly stopped: "Fellow folks, we have to hurry after dinner, so don't spend too much money."
However, no one listened to him at all. Everyone was cooking enthusiastically, as if they were preparing to prepare a big meal.
Since they couldn't be persuaded, the two of them had no choice but to take matters into their own hands.
"Shu Sheng," Ren Ning asked, "has the land outside the mountain been distributed to the fellow villagers now?"
"This..." Niu Shusheng hesitated for a while.
It took a long while before he continued speaking hesitantly.
"I didn't hide it from the general. At the beginning, the imperial court did divide the land as the general said. But the land was divided only in the ditches and corners of the mountains and pits."
"All the really good farmland has been seized, and people have to rent it if they want to farm it. The rent is even higher than before the civil unrest."
He pointed to the village in front of him.
"Although this village is remote and sparsely populated, and there are frighteningly many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests. But no one wants to go down the mountain anymore and is prepared to live here forever."
"At least the things grown here are our own. If the harvest is good, we will eat more. If the harvest is not good, we will eat less."
"As for what will happen outside, we don't want to know."
After dinner, the two of them went down the mountain with everyone in the village saying goodbye and continued on their way.
well!
As he walked, Lei Er let out a long sigh.
"One group is defeated and another group comes again, and it goes on and on. The people just want to live a comfortable life, why is it so difficult?"
Ren Ning said nothing and walked on in silence.
The post road was relatively smooth, and within a few days the two of them entered Misty County.
The sky in Misty County is still gray, but the post road under my feet is much better than when I sent the spirit back home.
Not long after walking, you can see many people doing corvées.
They transported large stones from afar and worked hard to fill them into the roadbed of the post road.
Boom boom boom!
There was a continuous dull thumping sound ahead.
Ren Ning and Ren Ning drove their horses forward out of curiosity. After seeing clearly what was ahead, they both couldn't help but be astonished.
In front of them are several Renning version cranes, which are lifting heavy stone plates and slamming them onto the post road to compact the road surface.
It was already mid-May, and it was starting to get hotter and muggier in Mist County.
The two of them went all the way east and found that the people doing corvee treatment were not bad.
There are drinking water points, porridge points and rest areas every few miles, and there are even doctors standing guard.
Lei Er was confused, "I wonder if the Ministry of Industry is in charge of building this post road, or is it the newly appointed Misty County Sheriff?"
At least treat the people as human beings.
"It should be the Ministry of Industry," Ren Ning guessed.
Luo Ken not only thinks about himself, but also thinks about his grandson Chen Xiuzhu.
Furthermore, the four western counties have just been pacified, and Emperor Changxing has been keeping his eyes fixed on this place. Who dares to commit fraud at this time?
When they arrived at Wuliang City, they entered the Yunlai Tavern and went to the private seats on the second floor.
The waiter wiped the tables and chairs quickly.
"Two distinguished guests, you must have just passed by. This east-west post road was not built by the Ministry of Works."
He pointed to the east.
"The north-south post road leading to Qingshi County was built by the Ministry of Industry. The east-west post road outside was renovated under the instructions of the newly appointed county governor."
The waiter clicked his tongue and shook his head, "This county guard...it seems that every tael of money issued by the imperial court was spent on road construction. It's really a waste of money."
Lei Er nodded.
A lot of money was indeed spent. Except for the crane to pound it, the entire post road was almost paved with thick stones.
"The new Sheriff?"
He took out bits of silver and said, "It seems that this county guard is a practical person. I wonder if the second brother knows his name?"
The waiter's eyes lit up, "Sir, you are asking the right person. Who in the whole Wuliang City knows that our waiter is a famous know-it-all..."
He blew a bit, and then he stopped talking when he saw the dissatisfaction on the faces of Ren Ning and others.
"Two guests, the new county governor's surname is Ren, and his last name is Jie. I heard that Mr. Ren served in Jinghu County before."
Ren Jie?
Lei Er looked strange.
He glanced at Ren Ning opposite him.
Isn't this Ren Ning's nominal father?
"Got it!" He threw the broken silver to the waiter, "hurry up and serve us your signature dish. If it tastes good, the silver will definitely be indispensable."