Tomb Robber: I, Chen Yulou, am dedicated to cultivating immortality!

Chapter 172 Shiping merchant gang suppresses the real dragon?

A merchant going to Lucheng? !
Hearing the news, Chen Yulou immediately cheered up.

Discuss the understanding of the mountains, rivers and rivers of southern Yunnan.

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

Thousands of years of time.

Forcibly stepping 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 business gang and finally arrived successfully.

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

How could Chen Yulou not be surprised?

"Did you see their business flag?"

Chen Yulou nodded and didn't waste any more time.

"good."

Chen Yulou frowned, then murmured to himself.

It finally had a chance.

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

"Let's go back to the camp. Let the brothers bury the pots and cook as soon as possible. We should 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.

The map kept 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.

This time Yuan Hong answered very quickly.

But I only dare to focus on those small households, or the poor and poor.

"One hundred and ten people, that's correct. They should be people from the Shiping Merchant Gang."

"Is it the Shiping Merchant Gang?"

It seems that I did say something in order to push it away before.

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

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

When I went down the mountain before, 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 stayed last night.

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

The two of them were 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 friendly with the chieftains from all over the country, but each family also has 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."

I picked a few and threw them into my mouth, took a bite, and a sweet and sour juice suddenly bloomed on the tip of my tongue. It tasted a bit like cherry tomatoes, but it was even sweeter.

Yuan Hong did not dare to stay longer.

Return quickly the way you came.

"…Okay, Master."

Yuan Hong took off a cloth bag and handed it over carefully.

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."

The caravan is different. They make a fortune from this. Traveling across mountains and rivers is their ability to make a living.

It's still a legacy from decades ago.

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

Over the past hundred years, a total of four major business gangs have emerged, namely Shiping, Xizhou, Heqing and Tengyue, also known as the four major caravans.

"Is the team big?"

Of course, there are ruthless people who rob the caravan.

"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, it actually made him feel like he had a big appetite.

"There are them all on both sides of the valley. If the owner likes it, 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.

Briefly explain 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.

The whole camp smelled like fireworks.

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

Pass Longtan and go down the mountain along the creek.

Longtan Village is built on the mountain and lives by the water. ,
Yi and Han people live together in the village. At a glance, there are about thirty or forty households, most of which are two-story stilted buildings.

Because there were caravans passing by all year round, the mountain people were very familiar with the practice of bartering for goods, and they did not have much hostility towards them, so they warmly invited them to come into the village to exchange goods.

but.

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

In addition, in the team, apart from open weapons and food, there is no material in exchange.

He politely declined their offer to sell their goods.

I asked about the team from the side again.

really.

Just as he guessed, it was the Shiping Merchant Gang.

However, the Shiping Merchant Gang was not managed by one household, but by countless people from Shiping who traveled westward, relying on their shoulders and backs to create a behemoth in hundreds of years.

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

As a result, 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 people in the village, that team was engaged in the tea business.

They collected and sold wild mountain tea in various parts of southern Yunnan and returned to Zhenyue, the ancestral home of the Shiping merchant gang. They processed it into tea cakes, and then peddled it to toasts 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 also makes 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.

Just follow what these guys say.

It is estimated that the trip can be shortened by half at least.

After galloping all the way, they finally caught up with the caravan more than two hours later.

Horse hooves are like thunder on the mountain road.

The team in front had already noticed it.

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

Seeing this situation, Chen Yulou couldn't understand why.

This clearly regarded them as bandits who robbed goods.

Immediately waved 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.

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 they said the shopkeeper’s last name was Che.

Chen Yulou immediately understood that 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.

Asked.

Sure enough, the person who handed over to him nodded repeatedly.

The little bit of caution that was left was 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 his 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, and he dared to go into the mountains with a few porters.

To know.

The Tuzhai Yi people have always been hostile to outsiders. A few 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."

Chen Yulou smiled when he asked.

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

“The scenery of Fairy Lake is really nice.”

Che Hancheng, who was in his fifties, was 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."

"It's not peaceful?"

Capture this word keenly.

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

"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 by boat and saw an ancient city, and there were even people living in it."

"Of course……"

Two clouds of smoke drifted from Che Hancheng's nose.

He made a pretense and waved his hand.

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

"Thanks for the heads up."

Chen Yulou also smiled and shook his head.

There was some surprise in my heart.

This rumor about the ancient city of Xianren Lake did not just happen overnight, it has existed since ancient times.

If I remember correctly.

Later, a scientific expedition team went to the lake and indeed found many ruins, which are said to be traced back to the ancient Dian Kingdom.

only……

Their trip to Fuxian Lake was not for the ancient city under the lake.

Instead, he ran towards the dragon.

I don’t know if this is good or bad?

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 their way without further delay.

And 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 the Yuanjiang River, Yuxi River and Naxi River converged.

An ancient city also appeared in everyone's sight.

Compared with 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. You can see it from a distance while riding on horseback. There are countless private 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 were caravans of merchants, but it was completely different from Nanjian. Everyone entered and exited in an orderly manner, and there was 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 Yu Xiaomin doesn't have too many demands."

It seemed that Chen Yulou and his party were surprised.

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 so easily, but his heart was bleeding.

But there is no way.

When doing business on other people's territory, you have to 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.

Then he seemed to think of something again.

"Oh, by the way, handlebar. Thank you for taking care of me all the way. How about I treat you to a drink of thin 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?"

Chen Yulou, who was still looking at the ancient city on the other side of the river, looked in disbelief.

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 a month or two. When the rainy season comes, we can't go into the mountains to pick it, so it can only rot on the trees."

Che Hancheng shook his head.

Although there is four seasons tea here 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.

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

"Then drink some 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...just listen to the driver."

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

I could only watch the group of people go around Lucheng.

Go south along the Yuxi River.

Although it had only been a few days, Chen Yulou had seen how hard the Shiping Merchant Gang worked in doing business. He was worthy of being able to replace Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants in just a hundred years.

There is a ruthlessness in his bones.

I left in May and came back in August.

They often spend months wandering outside.

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

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

"Shopkeeper, are you still going to the city?"

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

"no need."

"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.

And compared to the rugged mountain road, this trip by boat is much simpler.

"it is good."

The red 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 already found a boat.

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

Drive the horse to the bottom 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.

The guys have all gone to the cabin to rest.

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

He held a phalanx in his hand.

Astonishingly, it was the dragon slough found from Jiaolong Cave Mansion.

These days, he has been thinking about it. Since it is a dragon slough, it must contain dragon energy. Dragons in the world will go crazy when 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 sutra curtain, it is most likely that the time has come for him to turn into a dragon.

In recent years, the lake has been making waves and flooding in all directions. Maybe it is trying to escape the water.

and so.

Is there a possibility.

Use the beast control technique of 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 me? !

(End of this chapter)