"Old Ren, everyone said that we haven't seen so many ordinary people in a long time. I want to go to the city with my brother who buys medicinal materials."
Ren Ning saw through his little trick at a glance.
After looking up at the sky, he nodded in agreement.
"There are only fifty brothers, and at most half can enter. The others will wait for the next city. Pay attention to the women and children. You must come out before the city gate is closed."
"Okay!" Lei Er touched his pocket excitedly, turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute." Ren Ning stopped him, "Let's see if there are any fresh vegetables and fruits that horses like to eat, and buy some for Zhui Feng."
Lei Er glanced at the dark horse next to Ren Ning and nodded, "I understand."
Not long after, he led a group of happy people into Pingxicheng.
Ren Ning shook his head.
Sending the soul back to his hometown sounds quite tragic.
But the soldiers of the fortress and their families nearby have seen too many life and death separations. Now that they can go home, they are full of joy all the way east.
At this time, Gu Shengnan from the Gu family caravan came over with several tall guards.
Ren Ning chatted with her while checking the team's situation.
It turns out that this female business leader came here to build relationships by giving gifts.
But it's not a big gift, just some horn combs produced in Xiliang.
This is also a Xiliang product that is very popular among the people of Yunchui.
It is said that horn combs are often used to comb hair, which can not only cure headaches, heat poisoning and insomnia, but also remove dandruff and protect hair. Even those ornately carved horn combs are the favorite accessories of Yunchui ladies.
Ren Ning did not refuse and accepted it with a smile.
In the blink of an eye, night fell, and Lei Er and his party left the city with smiles on their faces.
Ren Ning checked that the number of people was correct, then turned to look at Lei Er.
"Old Ren, you don't know. Pingxicheng is also poor. We can buy some medicines, but not much..." Lei Er gnawed at something while flipping through the basket he brought out.
"You want Zhui Feng's snacks, right?"
"We entered late and the market was almost closed. We didn't find anything that horses particularly like to eat."
He pulled out a few green vegetables and said, "That's it!"
"It's already very good." Ren Ning asked people to put away the various medicines first, but he didn't mind it, "Tear off the outer layers of leaves, it's still quite fresh."
After speaking, he whistled.
The black horse immediately came running over with a whistling sound.
"Zhui Feng, your snacks." Ren Ning cheered and raised the vegetables in his hand.
Zhui Feng tried chewing a few mouthfuls and found it tasted good. He swung his tail happily and ate it.
A night of silence.
Ren Ning asked people to circle around.
After a while, the soldiers and women returning home all knew that a medium-sized caravan would join the team tomorrow.
"The Gu family caravan will walk with us to the Xinglan Grand Canal."
"They will pay the escort fee, which will be distributed to everyone. The women and children will be calculated on a household basis, and each household will receive one tael of silver; the fortress officers and men will receive three taels each."
Everyone was overjoyed.
Especially the officers and soldiers of the fortress, which was equivalent to three and a half months of military service for nothing, so they all expressed no objection.
Early the next morning, the huge team began to set off.
After all, carrying more than 600 altars of ashes is taboo.
So the vehicles of the Gu family's caravan set off in front. After their vehicles had finished, the convoy from the fortress followed.
Travel, rest, and travel again.
Everything seemed to be the same as it was when we first left the fortress.
However, there are many people and long queues, so it is more troublesome to find a place to park and rest or stay overnight.
There must at least be enough water sources for the horses and livestock in the team to drink, and enough open space for parking. You cannot park a long motorcade on the post road and block the road.
Fortunately, the terrain in Dingxi County is similar to that of grassland, so it is not difficult to find an open area to camp.
Ma Dali rushed over.
"Commander, we can reach the Luoxia Mountains tomorrow afternoon. It will not be easy to find a larger place to camp after entering the mountains."
Ren Ning spread out the map in his hand.
Ancient maps were very confusing, even the military maps produced by the fortress were like this, with only a few lines.
It shouldn't be too small to be called a mountain range, but the Luoxia Mountains are just a few thick curved lines running north-south on the map.
Ma Dali laughed.
"This mountain range is quite high and runs north-south. It blocks all the dry wind blowing from the grassland in Dingxi County. Therefore, the climate on both sides of the mountain range is completely different. When you get near Luoxia Mountain, you no longer have to worry about water sources.
"
Ren Ning doesn't care about water sources or anything like that.
He tapped the curve of the mountain range on the map and turned to ask Ma Dali: "Old Ma, are there any dangers on this mountain?"
Ma Dali hesitated for a moment.
"With such a large mountain range, there must be bandits and robbers on it. It is said that there are several nests. However, the ancient merchant leader said that there are not many of them and they dare not touch the large caravan passing by."
Ren Ning chuckled.
The Gu family caravan is famous in Yunchui and Xiliang.
But it's not because it's powerful, but because its leader is a woman.
In fact, the Gu family's caravan was just a small to medium-sized caravan. Excluding the grain and grass trucks in the team, there were less than a hundred commercial vehicles actually transporting goods. There were only about forty people accompanying the team as escorts.
But it's a good thing to have a good reputation.
At least all the way east, looking at their caravan flags, the inns along the way are all polite.
Even when Ren Ning put away the flamboyant Xingluo military flag, the post officials didn't know that the caravan was followed by a team sending the spirit back home.
The next day, the axle of a car in the Gu family's caravan broke. The car was loaded with heavy Panlong stones. It took a long time to repair it before we could continue moving forward.
Originally we were supposed to go to the Luoxia Mountains in the afternoon, but ended up arriving in the evening.
When we get near the mountains, it seems that spring with hanging clouds has really arrived.
Finally, the front is no longer full of desolation, but a thick green. Whether it is the woods on the mountain or the grass on the roadside, they are all full of vitality.
"Commander, there is an open space on the mountainside ahead, suitable for parking for the night." The soldier who was surveying the terrain in front ran back and reported.
Ren Ning nodded, "Inform the Gu family caravan to park in the open space in front for the night."
The messenger returned the favor and hurriedly ran back and forth in the long queue to deliver the message.
More than two hundred cars gradually left the post road and drove into the flat land next to it. Once again, they formed a huge circle, surrounding the women of the fortress, children, and the livestock of the caravan.
Staying with the caravan has its disadvantages and advantages, at least you don't have to worry about running out of meat.
Setting up camp to cook, killing sheep and feeding horses, taking care of the young and old, people who had been traveling all day jumped out of their carriages and got busy happily.
Ren Ning doesn't need to do any of this.
He looked back at the blood-red sunset in the western sky, took out his binoculars and prepared to look into the mountains and forests ahead.
Ahem!
Ma Dali and Lei Er next to them looked at the telescope in Ren Ning's hand and drooled wildly.
Along the way, they had seen Ren Ning often taking out this thing and looking around.
At first, they thought it was some gadget. Later, after learning that it was an artifact that could see clearly in the distance, the two of them were half-convinced, and their hearts were itching all the time.
"Commander, let me see how to use this treasure."
"Old Ren, the day before yesterday you asked me to lend you my clairvoyance. Hehe, now is the time."
Ren Ning couldn't laugh or cry.
He stuffed the telescope into his hand in disgust.
"Take it! What's so fun about this? Remember to give it to me after you've seen it. I'll save you two from drooling over me every day."