Huining Road, this important road connecting Huizhou's capital and Xuanzhou Ningguo County, was built along the deep valleys in the Tianmu Mountains that separate the two places. There are cliffs and lush forests along the way. Judging from the deep ruts left on the bluestone slabs that paved the road, the traffic on Huining Road was very busy in the past, with fertile land and abundant grain; while Huizhou's land was barren, it was rich in various mountain goods, wood, and tea. These Huizhou's specialties, as well as salt and seafood transported from coastal prefectures and counties in Liangzhe, were transported along this road to Xuanzhou and even the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; the excess grain in Xuanzhou was also transported from this road to Huizhou.

This business road was neglected in the short-term war of hegemony after the demise of Qian Miao, but with the establishment of a stable rule over the thirteen prefectures of the two Zhejiang provinces, the number of caravans on Huining Road quickly returned to their previous numbers, even even surpassing the footprints of the shrewd Huizhou merchants soon spread across the vast area south of the river. They took advantage of Huizhou's well-connected transportation hub status to gain an important position among the southern merchants. The strong and wide bluestone pavement of Huining Road shows the importance that those merchants attach to it.

However, the prosperity of Huining Road suddenly disappeared. With the demise of Tian Wei, a large number of riots fled into the vast Tianmu Mountains and became bandits. The caravans passing through the mountain roads became their best targets. Moreover, Yang Wo and Wang Maozhang, who replaced Tian Wei, were both hostile to the Zhenhai Army. The heavy tax burden and frequent confiscation of Huizhou merchants made those profitable businesses unprofitable. Soon, Huining Road changed from the old prosperous business road back to the secluded mountain road. The weeds grown from the cracks of the rocks grew taller and taller, and soon covered the road surface. From a distance, there was no difference from the valleys on both sides.

A hare lies in the grass, quickly gnawing on the tender leaves around the person, from time to time, looking up his head vigilantly to watch the movements around him. His gray back merged into the surrounding background, like an ordinary stone in the grass. Suddenly the hare raised his head vigilantly, his growing ears erected, and his pink nose wings swelled violently, which was usually a sign of its uneasiness. Then it suddenly jumped to the side, then it leaped three times and disappeared into the mountains and forests.

A moment later, a sound of horse hooves came from a distance, and more than ten riders appeared from the end of the mountain road. The rider came so fast, but in just seven or eight breaths, the rider arrived in front of him. The man in charge of the leader strangled his mount, looked at the left and right terrain, stroked his chin and beard, and asked in a deep voice: "This place should be not far from Jinsha Town, right?"

"Mr. Lang is very good at memorizing. This is Mingkengwu. If you walk for more than ten miles, you will be Jinsha Town. After passing Jinsha Town, you will be Congshan Pass. There is Huizhou border. If you have local soldiers to defend it, you will be eighteen miles away and you will be at Jixi County.

The man nodded slightly, jumped off his horse and continued to observe the road surface and the surrounding terrain. He had long eyebrows and eyes, slightly bearded under his chin, and a fat face with a slightly red face. He was about forty years old. He wore a brocade robe and could not tell any origin. Instead, he wore a white jade ring on his right thumb. It was valuable, but he could not tell any origin. However, his words and deeds were confident and powerful. He was either rich or noble. He was a person who gave orders on weekdays.

The leader observed the terrain, and the rest jumped down. Without waiting for the leader's instructions, several people were divided into high places to watch. The others took out horse bags to feed the horses. Some even wiped sweat on the mounts, loosened the mounts, and let the mounts rest for a while. In an orderly manner, even veterans who had accumulated aged are just like this.

The leader looked for a while and walked down from the pile of soil. The deputy beside him thought he was about to set off. He was about to worry about his subordinates, but he heard the leader pointing at him and saying, "Take off your clothes and put them on me. When you go to the town later, you will be the leader, and I will be the deputy."

The deputy was stunned when he heard this, and then understood the leader's meaning and bowed to take the order. The two of them quickly changed their clothes and rode all the way to Jinsha Town.

Jinsha Town, located next to Huining Road, is the last market town before Huining Road enters Huizhou territory, and it is also the largest market town in the Tianmu Mountains. When the caravans were prosperous, the forage eaten by the mule team every day was quite a small amount, not to mention the various consumptions of business trips and travelers. Seven or eight out of ten residents in the town were doing business with merchants, which was quite rich. However, with the decline of Huining Road, the lives of the residents in the town became increasingly difficult. Because they could not support so many people by relying on the nearby barren mountains, many young and strong men simply made a living. Only the huge bluestone archway at the entrance of the town also showed the prosperity of the ancient town.

Although this season should be the summer harvest season for farmers to be busy in the fields, Yu Xuan still lay beneath the bluestone archway at the entrance of the town and waited for the way to the entrance of the town. He had two or three shops in the town, doing grocery business and supplying merchants. Although he could not make a fortune, he could still live a well-off life. However, with the depression of the business road, his business was ruined. He was used to being comfortable and could not survive the hardship of farm work. His parents died early and there was no elder discipline. He played in the town's three-wall house all day. However, in the more than a year, he was completely ruined by his ancestors, and his wife had already run away, leaving him alone, and was just a runner-up runner in the home of Wu Yuanwai, the richest man in the town.

Yu Xuan was dozing off all the time, suddenly he heard a sound of horse hooves and woke up. He stood up, reached out to hit the awning on his forehead, blocking the dazzling sunshine, and looking at the sound of hooves, sure enough, a group of people came from the official road in the distance.

"I haven't come to the merchant for a long time on the way. Could it be that Mr. Wu's guest?" Yu Xuan thought to himself, and with the help of grass, he approached the official road, hoping to see clearly.

After a while, Yu Xuan was only seven or eight feet away from the business road. He saw that the team of knights were all tall, with a sabre and a straight waist on the horse's back. Yu Xuan had seen many merchants in Jinsha Town. He knew that these knights were not serious business, and he also knew that Mr. Wu had also done business without capital. He thought to himself, could this group of people be the guests ordered by Mr. Wu?

Yu Xuan thought in the grass, subconsciously straightened his waist, and was immediately discovered by a knight on his horse. With a whistle, the two of them had already jumped off the horse and rushed up like a tiger. Before Yu Xuan could react, he was twisted his arm, dragged it out, fell to the ground, and fell to the ground.

Before Yu Xuan could come back to his senses, he jumped off his horse and asked in a row: "Who are you? Who is the instructed by him? Peep at us by the way! Report it quickly, if not, hum!" At the end of his speech, the man snorted coldly, pulled out his sword from his waist and slashed it. The sharp steel blade passed by Yu Xuan, making him shivering.

The man's threat made Yu Xuan wake up immediately, and his quick words ejaculated from his mouth: "Don't kill me, don't kill me, I am from Wu Yuanwai, Jinsha Town, he asked me to wait for the guests from Ningguo County here, I have no malice!"

"Jinsha Town? Wu Yuanwai?" The man who looked like a leader in the team showed an interesting smile on his face. He circled over the horse and asked, "But Mr. Wu Ke?"

"Of course it's him! Who else in Jinsha Town dares to be an official except Mr. Wu?" Yu Xuan realized that he might have received someone, so he couldn't help but shouted excitedly. He hadn't read a few days ago, naturally he didn't hear the irony in the words of the person just now, and he didn't know that the official was referring to an official other than the official. What official position did the official Wu official have? He was just a foolish countryman shouting randomly.

"Oh! What about your master?"

"Just wait in the town, you see that is the archway at the entrance of the town. After passing the archway, you will arrive half a mile away!" Yu Xuan said excitedly, and as he stood up to lead the way, he did not find a hint of anger on the faces of the knights. Wu Ke was just a rich man, and he was not greeted by the way, and he was very negligent.

As soon as he asked, the man made a gesture, signaling everyone not to care, so he drove his horse to follow Yu Xuan to the town. When everyone was walking away, the grass next to the road suddenly sounded, and another person came out of it. The man looked at the riding shadows away and murmured to himself: "War Horse? Knight? What's going on? You must figure it out." At this point, the man paused and carefully decorated the riding shadows.

The group arrived at the entrance of the town in a short while. Everyone jumped off their horses and slowly led the war horses to the town. The sound of horseshoes knocking on the stone slabs echoed in the streets, making it particularly loud. The residents looked at the knights with curious eyes through the cracks in the door. It had been a long time since so many horses had come to Jinsha Town.

After Yu Xuan guided the knights into the town, he pointed to the house of Mr. Wu's house and rushed to report that the guests arrived. So when the group arrived, the gate of the Wu mansion had already opened, and Wu Ke himself stood in front of the door and bowed to greet him.

"The distinguished guest is here, and Wu is in a far away welcome. I wish you forgive me!" Wu Ke, who was politely bowed, was about fifty years old, with a short figure and a big belly, which made him look particularly conspicuous among the general thin people.

"We are here to visit, why is Mr. Wu guilty?" The leader smiled and helped Wu Ke up. Then the group entered the Wu Mansion together. The leader sat down with Wu Ke, and his deputy stood behind the leader's guards. The two exchanged greetings. The leader smiled and said, "I will come this time and be ordered by General Wang. I will ask Mr. Wu to pass on the message to everyone in Huizhou. I am very grateful to you for completing the entrustment. When the matter is done, you will definitely have no problem in establishing a commercial house in Xuanzhou!"

"This matter is serious!" Wu Ke was overjoyed when he heard this, with an expression of disbelief on his face. No wonder he was so disobedient. Almost half of the shops and inns in Jinsha Town are owned by him. If the trade between Xuanhui and the two states reopened, he would be innumerable as he was at the key points of the business road.

The leader Surong replied, "That's natural. What a person General Wang is? Will he deceive you?" After that, he took out another letter from his arms, presented it with both hands, and smiled and said, "This is the letter observed by the King of Xuanzhou. The letter was written by General Wang, but you always recognize the seal on it, so you can compare it."

Wu Ke took the letter with his trembling hands and said, "I dare not, I dare not!", but he still compared the seal on the letter as quickly as possible. After confirming it, he carefully put it into his sleeve. At this time, his heart just fell into his stomach and smiled and said, "This is the ugly attitude of seeking profits to make you laugh. I just asked boldly! Why did the King of Xuanzhou buy so much grain, salt, oil, and medicinal materials? It's fine to eat salt. As far as the villain knows, Xuanzhou is far more produced in more places than Huizhou?"

The leader was speechless when Wu Ke asked this. The deputy next to him smiled and saw this: "It was originally a secret in the army, but it was only a matter of ten months. It would be okay to let Mr. Wu know. Huainan is going to attack Zhongchuan, Jiangxi. These things are all used by the Western Expedition Army, so he entrusted everyone to purchase them from Huizhou."
Chapter completed!