Immortality: Start Cultivating Immortality From Pingshan Mountain

Chapter 172 Shiping merchant gang suppresses the real dragon?

 A merchant going to Lucheng? !

 Hearing the news, Chen Yulou immediately cheered up.

ˆ To discuss the understanding of the mountains, rivers and swamps in southern Yunnan.

Even the Tusi Mansion, which has been in various places for hundreds of years, is not as good as those caravans.

 Thousands of years of time.

 Forcibly stepped on an ancient tea-horse road with both feet.

Two months ago, when they passed Zhelong Mountain in front of Nanjian City for the first time, they lost their direction several times in the vast dense forest. Even with a map, it was of no help. In the end, they followed a merchant gang and finally arrived successfully.

Now, I heard the news again that a caravan was passing by.

How could Chen Yulou not be surprised?

 “Have you seen their commercial flag?”

 Chen Yulou nodded and would not delay any longer.

"good."

Chen Yulou frowned, then murmured to himself.

It finally had a chance.

In southern Yunnan, various ethnic groups live together, and it is not uncommon for them to have the surname Shi. Just in case, Chen Yulou added another sentence.

“Let’s go back to the camp, let the brothers bury the pots and cook as soon as possible, catch up with the caravan as much as possible, and leave behind them.”

Along the way, Yuan Hong hesitated to speak several times, but when he saw his master's figure like smoke, he almost never stopped, so he had no choice but to swallow back the words that came to his lips.

 Map collected by the Zuo family in Nanjian City.

 The four major business gangs didn’t even know how they died if they dared to take another look at it.

This time Yuan Hong responded very quickly.

However, I only dare to stare at those small households or the poor and poor.

"One hundred and ten people, you can't be wrong, they should be people from the Shiping Merchant Gang."

 “Is it the Shiping Merchant Gang?”

 It seems that I did say something before in order to get rid of it.

 Often if you travel a few days less, you may be able to earn more money, so you are right to follow them.

"Master, here are the fruits you just picked."

 Before going down the mountain, I saw the horse team setting off from the village at the foot of the mountain from a distance. It was probably the place where they borrowed accommodation in the village last night.

Looking at the bag of bright red wild fruits, Chen Yulou was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly came back to his senses.

 Two people are in tandem.

 Since Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants withdrew from the historical stage of caravans in southern Yunnan.

 After taking a quick look, he hurried back.

 Until we entered the ancient town.

Not only are they on good terms with the chieftains from all over the country, but each family also maintains private soldiers. Unless they are crazy, no one wants to provoke them.

Yuan Hong scratched his head and recalled it carefully.

 “There is a stone character…”

 “There must be a hundred and ten people.”

 Pick a few and throw them into your mouth, bite them gently, and a sweet and sour juice suddenly blooms on the tip of your tongue. It tastes a bit like cherry tomatoes, but the sweetness is even better.

Yuan Hong did not dare to stay any longer.

 Go back quickly along the way you came.

　　… “Okay, Master.”

Taking off a cloth bag, Yuan Hong carefully handed it over.

These people are incredibly powerful and intricately connected.

"stone?"

 It's okay in the general direction, but it's a lot worse in details.

 “Okay, let me try it.”

 Horse caravans are different. They make a fortune from this. Traveling across mountains and rivers is their ability to make a living.

 It is still a legacy from decades ago.

Yuan Hong didn't expect that he would be so decisive, so he hesitated and agreed.

 In the past 100 years, a total of four major merchant gangs have emerged, namely Shiping, Xizhou, Heqing and Tengyue, also known as the four major caravans.

 “Is the team large?”

Of course, there are ruthless people who rob caravans.

 “It tastes good.”

Originally, I woke up early to practice and explore the path, so I didn’t eat much.

Now that a few wild fruits were in his stomach, he felt like he had a big appetite.

"There are them all on both sides of the valley. If the owner likes them, I will pick some more later."

Seeing this, Yuan Hong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He said with a grin.

 “We’ll talk about it when we get down the mountain.”

 Chen Yulou nodded.

While talking, he grabbed a handful of wild fruits from the bag and walked through the ancient town. When he arrived at the camp, people were waking up one after another.

  Talked briefly about the situation.

The group of people didn't dare to hesitate and immediately got busy.

 Pack your luggage, feed your horses, and light a fire to cook.

 There was a smell of fireworks in the whole camp.

 In less than half an hour, everyone who had eaten and drank enough was on their way again.

 Cross Longtan and go down the mountain along the stream.

Longtan Village is built on the mountain and lives by the water. ,

 In the village, both Yi and Han people live together. At a glance, there are about thirty or forty households, most of which are two-story stilted buildings.

Because there are caravans passing by all year round, the mountain people are very familiar with the practice of bartering, and they don't have much hostility towards them, so they warmly invite them to come into the village to exchange goods.

but.

Chen Yulou was anxious to catch up with the caravan in front.

 In addition to the obvious weapons and food in the team, there is no material in exchange.

Potentially declined their intention to give away the goods.

I asked about the team from the side again.

 Sure enough.

As he guessed, it was the Shiping Merchant Gang.

However, the Shiping Merchant Gang was not run by a single household, but was created by countless Shiping people traveling westward, carrying it on their shoulders and on their backs, over hundreds of years to create a behemoth.

 In addition, Shiping goes west because the products sold are different.

 Thus, four major branches were formed: Tea Gang, Salt Gang, Tobacco Gang and Department Store Gang. These people were collectively called the Shiping Merchant Gang.

 According to the opinions of the villagers in Zhaizi, that team was engaged in the tea business.

They collected and sold wild camellia tea in various parts of southern Yunnan and returned to Zhenyue, the ancestral homeland of the Shiping merchant gang. They processed it and made tea cakes, and then peddled it to chieftains from various places along the Tea Horse Road.

It is worth mentioning that.

 The world-famous Pu'er tea was cultivated by people from the Shiping merchant gang.

It has also made Zhenyue the core producing area of ​​the six major Pu'er tea mountains.

 Thank you to the people of Longtan Village.

Chen Yulou and his party hurriedly followed the road they pointed to and headed east.

 Follow the map route.

 From Longtanzhai to Lucheng, you need to go around a long route, which takes about three to five days.

but.

 Follow what these people say.

 The itinerary is estimated to be shortened by half at least.

Hurrying all the way, we finally caught up with the caravan more than two hours later.

 Horse hooves are like thunder on the mountain road.

 The team at the front had already noticed it.

Especially seeing that they had strong soldiers and horses and a bandit spirit, they stopped setting up their defenses early. Each one of them looked like they were facing a powerful enemy, carrying knives and guns, thinking of using the natural dangers in the mountains to stop them.

 Seeing this situation, how could Chen Yulou not understand?

 This is clearly a bandit who regards them as robbed goods.

 Immediately wave the team to stop.

 Then he rode forward himself.

He is dressed in a green shirt, and because he holds a high position, his Qi nourishes his body, and he has an outstanding temperament.

He also has the ability to spit out lotus flowers from his mouth.

In less than a moment of negotiation, he had already gained the trust of the tea gang.

This tea gang does belong to Shiping.

 I heard them say that the shopkeeper’s surname is Che.

Chen Yulou immediately understood that the Cheshun Tea House was a large merchant that had been famous in southern Yunnan since the Qing Dynasty.

It is said that the man who founded Cheshunhao was both civil and military.

The following year, I went to Beijing to take the exam and obtained the Gongsheng degree. In order to repay the favor of the imperial court, I specially served Cheshunhao's homemade tea. It is said that Emperor Daoguang was so happy after drinking it that he gave him a large gold plaque and named him a Gongsheng Scholar. Give officials clothes and hats.

 Inquiry.

Sure enough, the person who interacted with him nodded repeatedly.

 The little bit of caution that was left was completely gone.

“Brother Chen is planning to go to Lucheng?”

 Che Hancheng is the leader of this tea gang.

He is also an old man from the Che family today.

He led people to open up this mountain road. It used to take five or six days to walk to Lucheng. When he was young, he was very skilled and courageous, so he dared to brave the mountains with a few porters.

To know.

Tuzhai Yi people have always been hostile to outsiders. How many people dare to cross the vast mountains? How many people can match this courage?

 The key is, he actually did it in the end.

 Not only find a shortcut.

He also opened up various mountain villages along the way.

 Because of this, the mountain people in this area almost only recognize the Cheshunhao sign.

 “To be precise, it’s Fairy Lake.”

Hearing his question, Chen Yulou smiled.

“Our brothers were in Nanjian City before and heard people say that the scenery in the lake is the best in the world and that there are immortal ruins, so we wanted to go and have a look.”

“The scenery of Fairy Lake is really good.”

 Che Hancheng is about fifty years old, and he is holding a snuff bottle in his hand and playing with it.

“However, the lake has not been peaceful these past few years. Brother Chen, if you go, it’s best to take a look at the situation before deciding whether to go into the water.”

 “Not peaceful?”

 Capture this word keenly.

Chen Yulou's eyes were sharp, but a strange look flashed past him, and he was just curious.

"Some people from the Shiping Gang also went that way. I heard that in the past few years, there were often lightning and thunder on the lake, and the waves were like mountains. Some people sailed across the lake and saw an ancient city, and there were even people living in it."

"Of course…"

 Two puffs of smoke drifted out of Che Hancheng's nose.

 He made a pretense and waved his hands.

"Although this matter has caused quite a stir, no one knows whether it is true or not. Anyway, Brother Chen, please listen to me."

 “Thank you for the reminder.”

Chen Yulou also smiled and shook his head.

 There was a bit of surprise in my heart.

Xianren Lake Ancient City, this rumor did not just happen overnight, it has existed since ancient times.

 If I remember correctly.

 Scientific expedition teams in later generations went to the lake and indeed discovered many ruins, which are said to date back to the ancient Dian Kingdom.

only…

They went to Fuxian Lake this time not for the ancient city under the lake.

 Instead, he ran towards the dragon.

 Don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing?

Because the tea gang members were also in a hurry to go to Lucheng to collect tea, the group rested for a while and continued on the road without further delay.

 With them leading the way.

 The time was indeed shortened by more than half.

On the third day, two converging teams, consisting of nearly 200 people, crossed the mountain. The front suddenly became clear, where Yuanjiang, Yuxi River and Naxi River converged.

 An ancient city also appeared in everyone's sight.

Compared to the Amizhou, Nanjian City and Duyun Cave that we saw along the way, Lucheng is definitely a rare big city.

The city wall, which is several feet high, is like a green mountain wall. When you are on horseback, you can see it in the distance. There are countless houses lined up in rows. There are both Chinese-style halls and Tantric pagodas in the city.

 It is indeed one of the important cities on the Tea Horse Road.

 Lucheng has absorbed the styles of various ethnic groups.

But it blends very well.

 There is no sense of abruptness or disharmony at all.

 Most of the people coming and going at the city gate are caravans of merchants, but it is completely different from Nanjian. Everyone enters and exits in an orderly manner, and there is no sign of blocking the robbery route.

 “It’s okay here in Lucheng.”

“The tax revenue collected from us business gangs every year is enough to support us, so we don’t have much to impose on the small people.”

　　Seemed to see the surprise of Chen Yulou and his party.

 Che Hancheng explained.

 These days, salt, tea, and iron are the focus of taxation.

 The Shiping Caravan is engaged in this type of business.

 The taxes paid to the cities along the route every year are astronomical.

 He said it easily, but his heart was bleeding.

 But there is no other way.

 When doing business on other people’s territory, you must abide by their rules.

 This is a matter of course.

 No matter how distressed I am, I have no choice.

"I see."

 Chen Yulou nodded.

 Immediately I seemed to think of something.

“Oh, by the way, handlebars, thank you for taking care of me all the way. How about I treat you to a drink of light wine today?”

 “Brother Chen, you’re welcome.”

 Che Hancheng shook his head.

"I'm afraid this trip won't work. We still have to go to the lower states and counties to collect tea. Time is tight and we probably have to leave soon."

 “So urgent?”

Still looking at Chen Yulou in the ancient city on the other side of the river, with a look of disbelief on his face.

 Along the way, the Cheshunhao caravan almost never rested.

I thought I would have to stay overnight when I arrived in Lucheng.

“Summer tea only lasts for one or two months. When the rainy season comes, we can’t go to the mountains to pick it, so it can only rot on the trees.”

 Che Hancheng shook his head.

Although there is Four Seasons Tea in southern Yunnan.

 But in fact, only spring tea and summer tea can be sold at a reasonable price. Autumn and winter tea are too old, and there is almost no market except for making loose tea cakes and selling them to the mountain people.

 He also wanted to take a rest.

  But my family is pressing hard.

From May, more than a dozen caravans will have to travel throughout southern Yunnan, and there is no room for carelessness.

 “Then have a sip of tea…”

“It’s really not necessary. I know Brother Chen’s intentions. We are all Han people. It’s not easy to go out. If there is a chance, Che will sit in the bank and he will never come back drunk!”

 “Then… listen to the driver.”

Having said all that, Chen Yulou couldn’t say anything more.

We can only watch the group of people go around Lucheng.

 Go south along the Yuxi River.

Although he has only been working for a few days, Chen Yulou has seen how hard the Shiping Merchant Gang works in doing business. He is worthy of being able to replace Shanxi merchants and Hui merchants in just a hundred years.

There is a ruthlessness in his bones.

 I left in May and came back in August.

 He often spends several months wandering outside.

The key point is that this is just the tea gang, there are also salt gangs, cigarette gangs and cargo gangs.

 In hundreds of years, he traveled throughout southern Yunnan step by step.

“Shopkeeper, are you still going into the city?”

Seeing him standing by the river with his horse on his back, just silently watching the water rolling down, looking very worried, the red girl couldn't help but chase after him, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes.

"No."

“Send a few brothers to supply supplies, while the rest rest on the spot.

“Also, go to the pier to see if there are any boats going to Fairy Lake.”

 Chen Yulou shook his head.

 It is less than a hundred miles from the ancient city to Xianren Lake.

 Compared with the rugged mountain road, this trip by boat is much simpler.

"good."

Hong girl took the order and left.

 We found a few people to go into the city, and the rest rested where they were. In less than half an hour, the guys came back.

At the dock, Miss Hong has also found a boat.

 It is also a three-story, nine-masted ship.

 Hurry the horse to the lowest level.

 They went to the second floor to rest.

 When the sails were raised, the big ship carried the team through the vast blue river.

 Running around for several days.

 Everyone has gone to the cabin to rest.

 Only Chen Yulou was alone, standing on the bow of the deck with his hands behind his hands.

Holding a phalanx in his hand.

 It is surprisingly the dragon slough found from Jiaolong Cave Mansion.

These days, he has been thinking about it. Since it is a dragon shed, it must contain dragon energy. Dragons in the world will go crazy if they hear it.

 And they went to Fuxian Lake on this trip.

According to Bamo's description, combined with the black dragon suppressed under the ancient building's curtain wall, it is most likely that the time has come for him to turn into a dragon.

In the past few years, there have been waves on the lake and water has flooded in all directions. Maybe it is trying to escape the water.

so.

 Is there a possibility?

Use the beast control technique in Qingmu Kung Fu to subdue it, and then use this dragon slough as a guide to help it transform into a dragon.

Then…

 Isn’t there a dragon and a phoenix around you? !

 (End of this chapter)