In May, the advancing caravan passed through Zizhou, over Wangyuan Bridge, past Shiling where the Jurchen army had finally retreated in disarray, and through the vast mountains that had witnessed countless battles… On the 22nd of May, they passed through Jianmen Pass.

More than a year had passed since they had last been here, and many places had changed dramatically. The mountain roads had been widened as much as possible, and the former garrisons had been transformed into rest stops for merchants and travelers, as well as office nodes for staff along the way. With the opening of the Southwest trade, the roads out of the pass were never enough. To ensure the smooth passage of a large number of travelers through this mountain road from Jiange, many staff members were stationed to maintain order.

These staff members were mostly stern and fierce, demanding that people coming and going strictly follow the prescribed routes and not linger in relatively narrow places. They had loud voices and a rather crude attitude towards law enforcement, especially when dealing with outsiders who didn't understand the rules, subtly revealing a sense of superiority as "Southwesterners."

The scholars in the Sichuan merchant caravan hadn't felt anything when they came, but after traveling in Chengdu for a while, they began to discuss how these people were also "borrowing the tiger's might," acting more arrogant than the high officials in Chengdu city just because they were petty officials. Some people secretly recorded these situations, planning to publish them as Southwestern observations after returning home.

The wounded soldier's camp where Ning Ji had stayed was now transformed into a quarantine station for immigrants. Many civilians arriving in the Southwest had to undergo a round of inspections here. The inspectors were mostly foreign workers, wearing uniform clothes, often led by some leaders, curiously and cautiously observing everything around them. According to those scholars, these "poor people" were mostly sold into this situation.

Along the way, there were many memorial areas for the Southwestern battles: this was where such and such a battle took place, that was where such and such a battle took place… Ning Yi paid close attention to such "showcase projects." After the battles ended, extensive statistics were compiled. In fact, every battle in the Southwest campaign was quite tragic. After verification, research, and compilation by the Chinese Army, memorial steles were erected in the corresponding places. Due to the limited number of stone carvers, this project was still ongoing. The travelers could occasionally hear the sound of chiseling along the way.

During the Southwest War, the Jiange mountain road was a chaotic battleground. Roads were damaged, and transport capacity was strained. Especially in the later stages, the Chinese Army and the retreating Jurchens fought for the road. The Chinese Army wanted to cut off the route to trap the enemy, and the Jurchens who were left behind often fought desperately. Both sides were hysterically fighting, and the bodies of many soldiers could not be collected and identified in time. Even if they were identified, it was impossible to transport them back for burial.

Later, they were roughly identified by their camps, cremated together, and their ashes buried in the ground or scattered in the mountains. Therefore, these soldiers had no graves in other places. The records on this mountain were both their memorial and their true tombstone.

The green hills are fortunate to bury loyal bones. People from all sides showed sufficient respect for the records in these mountains. At night, when resting in temporary dwellings, some would go to the nearby memorials to offer incense and kowtow, burning smoke and dust. From time to time, people burning paper money would be stopped by the patrol team, and even engage in debates or cursing matches. If they cursed too vigorously, they would be arrested and confined in the mountains for a day.

While the caravan stayed in the mountains, Ning Ji also went to offer incense twice. He didn't like offering incense. He preferred the form of sacrifice where he cut a plate of braised pork head and drank some wine. A middle-aged scholar traveling with him saw that he looked cute and enthusiastically told him the steps of respecting gods and offering sacrifices, emphasizing that sincerity and accurate steps were essential, and that each method had its meaning. Otherwise, the heroes here might be open-minded, but it would inevitably offend the gods in the future. Ning Ji looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"I don't believe in gods. There are no gods in this world."

His contemptuous gaze was also cute. The middle-aged scholar patiently taught him: "Young man, you are young and vigorous, but you shouldn't talk nonsense. Have you seen everything in the world? How can you say there are no gods? There are gods three feet above your head… Moreover, your words are too straightforward and easily offend others…"

Ning Ji thought, 'I've already said there are no gods, what if your constant talk of gods offends me?' But after the events in the small courtyard last year, he knew there were many incomprehensible fools in the world, so he was too lazy to argue.

The middle-aged scholar thought his reaction was well-behaved and cute. Although he was young and vigorous, he didn't retort or argue stubbornly like other children, so he continued to say a lot…

Along the way, people expressed their respects to the heroes in various ways. For Ning Ji, apart from some memories in his heart, there wasn't much touching. He was not yet at the age to mourn anything. When offering incense, he said to them, "I'm going out," and after leaving Jianmen Pass, he waved goodbye to the mountain range. The leaves on the mountain rippled in the wind.

After leaving Jiange, it was still the territory of the Chinese Army.

The final battle between the Seventh Army and the Jurchen Western Route Army in the Southwest War secured a large area from Jiange to Hanzhong for the Chinese Army, which in essence created a lot of convenience for the export of Southwestern goods. Since ancient times, there have been two routes out of Sichuan, by water and by land, but in reality, neither the waterway through Yibin and Chongqing nor the land route through Jianmen Pass was easy. In the past, the Chinese Army couldn't control the outside, and merchants and travelers were left to their own fate after leaving Jianmen Pass. Although the higher the risk, the higher the profit, in general, it was not conducive to the inflow and outflow of resources.

At this time, the Chinese Army had two distribution points outside Jiange. One was near Zhaohua after leaving Jiange, where goods could be concentrated whether they were coming in or going out. Although many merchants still preferred to personally go to Chengdu to obtain the most transparent prices, in order to improve the transportation efficiency of the Jiange mountain road, the Chinese government's official horse teams would still transport many ordinary goods to Zhaohua every day, and even began to encourage people to establish some small workshops with low technical content here to reduce the transportation pressure on Chengdu.

Since the large-scale development of Chengdu had only been going on for a year, the layout of Zhaohua could only be said to be in its early stages. A large number of people from the outside gathered in this area outside Jiange. Compared to the development zone in Chengdu, this place was more dirty, chaotic, and poor. Workers transported from the outside often had to stay here for about three days. They needed to pay a sum of money, have a doctor check for epidemics, take a hot bath, and usually change if their clothes were too tattered. The Chinese government would uniformly issue a set of clothes, so that many people looked like they were wearing the same clothes after entering the mountains.

Ning Yi once complained at home that the clothes were not beautiful, like those of prisoners, but Da Niang refuted him with the cost issue.

Ragged beggars were not allowed to enter the mountains, but it wasn't hopeless. Many factories in the Southwest would recruit people cheaply here. Once they signed a "contract of indenture," the quarantine and clothing change fees for entering the mountains would be borne by the factory and deducted from their wages later.

"...Speaking of which, Zhaohua is considered to have a conscience."

The talkative scholar Lu Wenke, who was "full of promise" and traveled with Ning Ji, sighed: "The Chinese Army helped to issue that contract of indenture. Every household buying people here has to have it. The contract is only for five years. Those who want the factory to pay will have to work and pay off their debts in the future. After paying off the wages, if they want to leave before five years, they can also pay a sum of money to redeem themselves. However, beyond five years, there are also contracts for ten or twenty years, with better conditions and more promises, for those with skills to sign… But there are also black-hearted ones, signing for twenty years, with nothing on the contract. Those who really sign are in trouble…"

"Since the Chinese Army gave a five-year contract, it should stipulate that only this one is allowed to be signed." Fan Heng, the middle-aged scholar who had taught Ning Ji to respect gods, frowned when talking about this matter, "Otherwise, what's the difference between taking off your pants to fart."

"Who knows what they're thinking? To be honest, those penniless people are lucky to be able to come here and sign a contract. What it's like outside this area, you've all heard of it, right?"

Several scholars liked to speak in riddles when they gathered together. After chatting for a while, they began to point out the various problems of the Chinese Army residing in Sichuan, such as the problem of material inflow and outflow that could not be solved, Sichuan was only suitable for partial peace and difficult to advance. Later, they talked about the story of the Three Kingdoms, quoting classics and expressing their opinions freely.

A caravan of more than a hundred people traveled together, and various kinds of people gradually formed small groups. There were five scholars like Lu Wenke and Fan Heng, who mostly gathered together to chat along the way. Ning Ji's identity was that of a young doctor with a family background. Although he had always been a mediocre student in Zhang Village's school, his foundation was not bad. He had no problem with literacy and writing. In addition, he looked cute, so these scholars also regarded him as one of them. They chatted and joked, always calling him to join them, and from time to time someone would share some snacks with him. Although most scholars and literati were poor, those who could travel with the caravan at this time still had some belongings.

After entering the caravan, Ning Ji could not eat as heartily as he did at home. More than a hundred people traveled together, organized by the caravan. Every day they ate mostly communal meals. Frankly speaking, the food was really bad in those years. Ning Ji could eat more under the pretext of "growing up," but with the metabolic rate of someone who had practiced martial arts for so many years, it would be a little scary to really eat his fill.

His identity as a doctor was a convenience. Most people could only walk on their own two legs on such long journeys. After walking for a few days, they inevitably got blisters, and with more than a hundred people, there were often small accidents such as sprained ankles. Ning Ji relied on his medical skills, his attitude of not being afraid of getting dirty and tired, and his harmless and cute appearance to quickly gain the goodwill of most people in the caravan. This allowed him to... mooch a lot of snacks during this trip.

This kind of mentality was really inconsistent with the identity of the future "world's number one master." Occasionally, when he thought about it, Ning Ji felt a little ashamed, but there was nothing he could do.

Even mosquito meat is still meat. What else can he do when he's out?

All the way to Zhaohua, apart from treating minor ailments for many people, he spent more time with these five scholars. Fan Heng, the middle-aged scholar who taught Ning Ji to respect gods, was relatively wealthy. Occasionally, when passing by cheap eateries or snack stalls, he would buy something to feed him, so Ning Ji had to tolerate him.

And walking behind the group during the journey, and often camping next to them, was a father and daughter duo who performed martial arts for a living. The father, Wang Jiang, had practiced some martial arts. He looked strong in middle age, but his face already had an abnormal flushed appearance. He often bared his chest to practice iron spear thrusting into the throat.

--Practicing external martial arts hard will lead to unspeakable suffering in old age. This middle-aged performer already has various ailments, but these kinds of physical problems accumulate over decades, and it is difficult to untangle them. Ning Ji can see it, but there is nothing he can do. It is like countless tangled threads, and it is necessary to be very careful about which thread to pull first and which to pull later. Many famous doctors in the Southwest can treat it, but he has been practicing battlefield medicine for a long time, and he is not yet fifteen years old. Prescribing a prescription can only kill the other party, so he doesn't say much.

The daughter of the performer, named Wang Xiuniang, was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with dark skin, a well-proportioned figure, and strong thighs. She wore two braids and didn't learn any profound martial arts from her father--originally, her father didn't know any. The most skillful performing technique was tumbling, and she could tumble a hundred times at once. Besides tumbling, she also played with monkeys. The father and daughter brought a well-trained monkey named Wangsheng. This time, it seemed that they had earned a lot in Chengdu, and they were happily preparing to perform all the way back to Jiangnan.

Performers also know something about trauma medicine, but Wang Xiuniang sprained her ankle once when tumbling shortly after starting their journey, so she came to Ning Ji for help. The sprain wasn't serious, but from then on, Wang Xiuniang often came to harass Ning Ji, for example, bringing some wild fruits to Ning Ji after camping, and also bringing some to others. Sometimes she would say "Brother Aotian is so cute" and try to pinch Ning Ji's face. After a while, the scholars became familiar with her, and they could talk to each other for a while.

At first, Ning Ji only thought it was because he was cute, but after a while, he realized that this woman must be coming for Lu Wenke. When she stood there talking to Lu Wenke, who was "full of promise," her hand always unconsciously twisted her braid, with some awkward little movements, emitting the fetid smell of courtship... Women are all like this, disgusting. But it's not surprising.

Of course, although he understood this, he didn't have any intention of exposing her intentions. On the contrary, he was relieved. When the woman came to pinch his cheek, he stretched out his hand to pinch the woman's cheek and pull her away. Anyway, this woman didn't want to harm him, and Lu Wenke didn't look like a good thing either. He didn't care about the destination of these two guys.

...

The caravan stayed near Zhaohua for a day. Ning Ji mooched a meal that was half full, and secretly ate a full meal in between before setting off with the caravan to the east.

After leaving Jiange and passing Zhaohua, there were two roads to choose from.

One was to go north along the Jinniu Road to Hanzhong along the territory of the Chinese Army, and then go east along the Han River, so you could go anywhere in the world. This road was safe and connected to the waterway, and it was the most lively road at present. But if you go east into Bazhong, you have to enter a relatively complex place.

In the past, since the Chinese Army jumped out of He Deng County, due to insufficient manpower, they did not have too strong intentions to expand outwards after occupying most of the Chengdu Plain. Later, the Seventh Army occupied Hanzhong, and the large area east of Hanzhong was assigned to Dai Mengwei under the instruction of the Jurchens. This was of course an attempt by the Jurchens to stir up trouble for the Chinese Army, but in essence, blocking the road out of Sichuan made things difficult for the Chinese Army of the present.

After all, with the momentum of the Chinese Army last year, taking advantage of the momentum of defeating the Jurchens, it would basically be no problem to break through the Han River all the way to Xiangyang. The reason for letting Dai Mengwei go, on the surface, stemmed from his promotion of "saving millions of people," so they raised their hands. At the same time, both sides also signed many contracts, including Dai Mengwei giving up control of the Han River and absolutely not allowing the obstruction of east-west trade routes, etc. This was the bottom line of the Chinese Army, and Dai Mengwei actually knew it very well.

The awkwardness of unequal strength lies in this. If Dai Mengwei was determined to "do whatever makes you unhappy," then the Chinese Army would directly break through him, take in millions or even hundreds of millions of people. It might be very tiring to say, but if Dai Mengwei really went crazy, it might not be so difficult to endure.

Dai Mengwei didn't go crazy. He was good at forbearance, so he wouldn't play this kind of "I'll run into your face to die" temper tantrum at a meaningless time. But at the same time, he occupied the trade route, but he couldn't even collect too high taxes, because he resolutely criticized the Southwest on the surface, and he couldn't directly do business with the Southwest. Every force that traded with the Southwest regarded him as a lunatic who might go crazy at any time, which made people very uncomfortable.

If the Chinese Army only transported some simple commercial goods to the whole world, that would be fine, but starting from the second half of last year, he opened up advanced military equipment and technology transfer to the whole world—this was a matter related to the lifeline of the whole world, and it was a crucial moment that had to be done slowly.

For example, if I, Liu Guangshi, am conducting an important transaction with the Chinese Army, and you are blocking in the middle, what if you suddenly go crazy? Such a big thing cannot just be said to let me trust you, right? My transaction with the Southwest is really a big thing to save the world, very important...

Dai Mengwei set up the Chinese Army, using the power of the Chinese Army to contain the Jurchens, and then scraping benefits from the Jurchens to fight against the Chinese Army. This series of methods was originally interesting for various forces in the world to watch, and many people supported him verbally. But as the various forces had actual interests with the Southwest, everyone mostly showed such worries when facing Dai Mengwei.

Don't go crazy, don't interfere, just shout verbally, don't really mess around... No, how do you guarantee these to us?

Once the Southwest had complex interests with various forces, Dai Mengwei became an eyesore. The whole world has been ravaged by the Jurchens for more than ten years. Only the Chinese Army defeated them. Now everyone is extremely hungry for the power of the Southwest. In the face of such real benefits, doctrine doesn't matter. The target of public criticism will eventually become the target of everyone's anger, and the target of everyone's anger will die without a disease. Dai Mengwei knows this best.

So in the second half of last year, a rebellion broke out in Dai Mengwei's territory. A general named Cao Silong rose up against Dai Mengwei, splitting off part of the area bordering the Chinese Army.

Although this General Cao was against Dai, he didn't like the Chinese Army next door either. He righteously stated here that he accepted the orthodox rule of the Wu Dynasty and accepted the command of General Liu Guangshi and others, calling for correcting the chaos and overthrowing all rebels. Under this grand and empty slogan, the only practical situation was that he was willing to accept Liu Guangshi's command.

Liu Guangshi spent money like water in the Southwest, smashing Mr. Ning's face with smiles. He issued a letter with great helplessness regarding this matter, hoping that the Chinese People's Government could understand General Cao Silong's position and raise their hands in mercy. Mr. Ning also replied with a letter, although reluctantly, since Party A had spoken, this face had to be given.

Thus, a free port-like enclave appeared between the Chinese Army, Dai Mengwei, and Liu Guangshi. This place not only had the entry of Liu Guangshi's forces, but also allowed Dai Mengwei, Wu Qimei, Zou Xu, and others who could not trade with the Southwest to do some small things in private. Goods from the Southwest turned around here and might gain greater value, and in order to ensure their own interests, Dai Mengwei maintained this area well, and the security of the entire trade route has always been guaranteed, which is really an ironic thing.

"...Cao Silong is nominally Liu Guangshi's man. After rebelling against Dai Mengwei, he recognized Liu as his master, but in fact, we think he has always been Dai's man. Dai Gong's matter can be described as cunning..."

Near Bazhong, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng, and others pointed out the country to Ning Ji again, talking about the topic of Dai Mengwei.

Ordinary scholars would actually take the Hanzhong road when leaving the Southwest. Lu Wenke and Fan Heng were quite careful when they came, because the war had just subsided and the situation was not stable. After staying in Chengdu for a period of time, they had some judgments about the whole world. These few were Confucian scholars who paid attention to traveling thousands of miles. After seeing the Chinese Army in the Southwest, they also wanted to see the territory of others. Some even wanted to seek fame outside the Southwest, so they followed this caravan out of Sichuan. As for Ning Ji, he just chose one at random.

"Dai Gong is now in charge of Ankang and Shiyan, both on the banks of the Han River. It is said that people there are living a good life. Dai Gong governs the world with Confucianism and Taoism, and has made great achievements. So we plan to go and see it with our own eyes. What are your plans next, Brother Long?"

The main purpose of this caravan out of Sichuan was to take a tour of Cao Silong's territory. They would stop in a county town north of Bazhong and then consider where to go next. Lu Wenke asked Ning Ji's thoughts, and Ning Ji didn't care: "I'm fine with anything."

"Then why not travel together, so that we can take care of each other." Fan Heng smiled, "We have discussed this along the way. We will detour north from Bazhong, pass Mingtongyuan, and then go to Ankang to board a ship and take the Jingxiang East Road. Aotian is not very old, so it's best to follow us."

"I'm fine with anything." Ning Ji was thinking about having a big meal after entering the city and didn't care about the route for the time being.

On the afternoon of June 1st, the team passed through a narrow and crowded mountain road and entered Bazhong.

Everything in the city was chaotic.

A large number of caravans gathered in the small city. Outside the newly built simple inns, shop assistants carrying towels and powdered prostitutes were shouting and soliciting customers. The smell of horse manure on the ground was unpleasant. For those who used to travel north and south, this might be a symbol of prosperity, but for those who had just come out of the Southwest, the order here seemed much worse.

"Look over there..."

On the way to a cheap inn nearby, Lu Wenke pulled Ning Ji's sleeve and pointed to the other side of the street.

On that side, along the long road, were rows of simple sheds. Some had fences outside, looking like prisons displayed on the street.

The sheds were full of people.

Men and women with gray faces and ragged clothes, as well as children of various sizes, some spontaneously slumped under the unscreened sheds, and some were surrounded by fences. The children were either crying loudly, sucking their fingers, or chasing and fighting in the pigsty-like environment, while the adults looked at this side with empty eyes.

It's not like being in jail, and it's not accurate to say they're completely free.

"They are..." Ning Ji frowned.

"This is what they said in Zhaohua. Those beggars who can get there are considered lucky. Those people can still choose to sign a five-year contract, and maybe pay off their debts in half a year. After working in the factory for five years, they can still save a lot of money... These people have nothing in the war. Some people are outside, saying they will take them to the Southwest. The Southwest is a good place. The contract is signed for twenty, thirty, forty years, and the wages are not even one-tenth of what they are in Zhaohua... What can they do? For the sake of the adults and children in the family, they can only sell themselves..."

"I think this is all the problem of the Chinese Army!" Uncle Fan Heng, who was in middle age, said as he walked by, "They say they talk about laws and contracts, but in reality they have no humanity! There is clearly a five-year contract in Zhaohua, so it would be right to stipulate that all contracts are the same. These people have such outrageous contracts in the Southwest, the Chinese Army should uphold justice and change them all, and in this way, they will definitely be supported by the people! What Mr. Ning, I said in the Southwest that he is also a confused bug. If I were to handle this matter, it would only take a year to return it to a bright and clear world, and the Southwest would still get the best reputation!"

"Maybe they want them to come by themselves..." Ning Ji looked at those empty eyes and said in a low voice. He had compassion in his heart. He could kill enemies, but he didn't feel good seeing such eyes.

The streets were noisy, and Fan Heng, who was criticizing the Chinese Army, couldn't hear Ning Ji's words clearly. A scholar named Chen Junsheng, who was walking in front, turned around and said, "Transporting people is not easy. You say... where do these people come from?"

This question seemed quite complicated and somewhat sharp. The five of them had mentioned it on the way, and maybe they had heard some public opinion. At this time, when asked, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng, and others fell silent. After a moment, Fan Heng opened his mouth.

"Go and see... and you will know."

He meant something, and everyone continued to walk forward. Ning Ji became a little curious and asked Lu Wenke when approaching the inn: "Where are you going to see what?"

Lu Wenke turned his head and said in a low voice: "In the past, there was a saying that most of the workers who have entered the Southwest in these days were sold from Dai's territory... There are so many workers, and there are certainly some who came from Dai Gong, but whether it is most of them, no one can say for sure. We discussed on the way that we should go and take a look. In fact, Dai Gong is very knowledgeable. Although he is at odds with the Chinese Army, he saved hundreds of thousands of people from the hands of the Jurchens during the war. It is an indelible merit. We don't believe it to tarnish him with this matter."

"Oh." Ning Ji nodded. If he met Dai, he would naturally kill him with a sword. As for judging Dai's merits and demerits with these people, he would not do it, so he did not express any more opinions.

Perhaps because of the sudden increase in passenger flow, the newly built inns in Bazhong City were as simple as the wilderness, the air was hot and humid and filled with a strange smell of feces. When Ning Ji climbed to the roof to look out into the distance at night, he saw the messy sheds and livestock-like people on the street, and at this moment he truly felt: he had already left the territory of the Chinese Army.

He missed home a little...