Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 233 Camel Bell Town

Tuoling Town is located more than 500 miles west of Mocheng.

This place is located at the junction of grassland and desert. Desolation is the main theme here. There are large and small sandstorms all year round. The vegetation is sparse and not tall. It is mostly desert shrubs, and cacti and cactus trees can be seen everywhere.

Because of the abundant groundwater resources here, a small lake of several acres was formed, so such a small town was built, which can be regarded as a small oasis.

With this place as the center, the sand gradually recedes to the east, forming a grassland with a diameter of more than 200 miles. Then the mountains rise and fall, and after crossing this grassland, you will enter the heart of Huizhou.

To the west is the Gobi Desert, and the land is gradually becoming desertified. There is a pass more than fifty miles away, which is the westernmost military pass of Huizhou, Jingguo. There is a military team of one hundred people stationed there all year round, and it is called Shamen Pass.

Beyond Shamen Pass is the vast desert, which is considered the gateway to Jing State from the west.

To normal people, a military squad of 100 people would not be enough to guard Shamen Pass, but those were just the soldiers guarding the pass, who were mainly there to guard the gate and serve as a warning. In fact, there was an army of 5,000 people stationed in Liuquan County, less than 100 miles southeast of Shamen Pass, with many beacon towers in the middle. If Shamen Pass was attacked, the army could be quickly mobilized to resist.

In fact, such military deployment is somewhat redundant, because no one would lead a large army across the desert to attack Jing State from this direction unless they are stupid. Leading an army across the desert is simply seeking death.

Strictly speaking, whether it was the soldiers guarding Shamen Pass or the garrison troops in Liuquan County, the most important work was to suppress bandits. There were many robbers and bandits on the desert grasslands.

In fact, Shamen Pass is not the western border of Jing State, because strictly speaking, half of the desert belongs to the territory of Jing State, but there is no administrative unit in the desert. Jing State also has some outposts in the desert to prevent Yuhua State in the west from sending troops to attack in case of a sudden decision.

Yuhua State is a neighboring state to the west of Jing State, separated only by a desert. However, Yuhua State and Jing State also share borders in the southwest, and those areas are the most important areas to defend.

In fact, the cultural civilizations of the several countries bordering Jingguo are generally the same, except that the characters used are different, and the pronunciations are also different. Apart from the different characters, the official languages ​​of each country can be understood with a little familiarity. Chen Xuan speculated that the surrounding countries inherited from the same civilization system in history.

It is rumored that Yuhua Country is rich in beautiful women, but I don't know if it is true or not...

From Tuoling Town to the north, the mountains begin to rise and fall more than a hundred miles away, gradually forming snow-capped mountains, which continue to wind towards the northeast, forming an ice mountain range that stretches for thousands of miles.

The Bingduan Mountains extend beyond the scope of Huizhou. Further north of Huizhou is Jingguo Bingzhou. The mountains extend northeast along the border of Bingzhou, forming a natural barrier that separates Jingguo and the Frost Moon Kingdom in the north. Although there are Bingduan Mountains blocking the way, there are still several places that can be crossed, and those places are all important military defense points for the two countries.

At the border between Huizhou and Bingzhou, there is the Hanshan Sword Sect, one of the eight major forces in the Jing State Jianghu, on the Bingduan Mountains. Strictly speaking, the Hanshan Sword Sect is located in the territory of Huizhou.

In addition, there is grassland to the south of Tuoling Town, and further south after Huizhou is Yezhou, and then Fengzhou. The winding Qingping River passes through almost half of Jingguo. Its source in the Bingduan Mountains is strictly speaking, but it has many tributaries in the upper reaches.

This is probably the geographical location of Tuoling Town. It is not critical, but it is not inconspicuous either. It can barely be regarded as the gateway to the west of the desert, but it is somewhat out of reach. Strictly speaking, it is Liuquan County. At best, it is a larger supply point. A small part of the caravans traveling east and west will come here to stop for rest and supply. It is difficult to find a supply point once entering the desert.

In fact, there are many oases in the desert, and people live there. Those who go to Yuhua Kingdom for business know this best. Which ordinary person would go for a stroll in the desert after eating?

Anyway, businessmen are profit-driven, and they know best where to make money.

Crossing the desert to trade in Yuhua Country is also a helpless move. From here, it is only more than a thousand miles if everything goes smoothly. If it is to other places, either it will take a detour of thousands of miles or it will be difficult to pass due to the poor mountains and bad waters. It is not worth the effort.

There are more than 200 permanent households in the entire Tuoling Town, which are roughly distributed in a criss-cross shape. There are four main roads, and the center is a small lake.

The people living here have three main sources of income. The first is to work with caravans and those who have nothing to do after eating. The second is to go to the grassland or desert to collect medicinal herbs and minerals, etc. The last is to purchase livestock furs and the like from the surrounding areas.

Anyway, this area is not suitable for planting. Although it is not a waste of time, it is really difficult to survive by planting. Anyway, people will not die from holding their urine, so they will always find ways to stay alive.

Although Tuoling Town is a small town with more than 200 households, strictly speaking, its administrative unit is at the county level. It has a government office and the highest official is of the seventh rank. However, you can imagine how hard it is to serve in such a place. Almost every official who comes here is just sitting there to retire. It is impossible for such a small place to have much going on in normal times, and it is impossible to achieve any political achievements.

There are only two official constables here, one in charge of the yamen and the other in charge of public security, who take turns. Together with a dozen or so assigned constables, it is barely enough for normal times. There are more than two hundred households in total, and they can all find some free time.

However, Tuoling Town had recently become bustling with activity, thanks to a constant influx of jianghu (martial arts) figures, nearly overwhelming the area. The number of people was several times greater than usual, filling not only the few inns but also the houses. Most of them were ruthless jianghu (martial arts) figures, and with such a large concentration of people, conflicts were constant. It would be uncommon if there weren't ten clashes a day, and bloodshed was everywhere, leaving the local residents in a state of panic, fearing they would be affected at any moment.

In fact, quite a few people were affected. Those who practiced martial arts would inevitably destroy things and hurt people when they suddenly fought. Those who were reasonable would not hurt innocent people and would even pay some money. Those who were unreasonable had no way to seek justice, and it was very chaotic.

As a result, the local officials who were originally lying down were in a state of panic. They thought, "I'm already lying down, and you're messing with this place for me?" They were so angry that they petitioned their superiors many times to send more people to maintain order, otherwise they would be unable to suppress the situation. However, the people from above have not arrived yet, so they can only endure it for the time being. However, it will be over in two days.

It's all because of the fight between those two innate masters. Everyone comes here to join in the fun. It's annoying.

Logically speaking, this matter had been circulating for several months and the court had been prepared, but the result was still a mess.

"What is the Forbidden Martial Arts Bureau doing? Aren't they responsible for the affairs of the martial arts world? The people are almost living in misery, but no one is seen. Half a month ago, the higher-ups said that a master from the Forbidden Martial Arts Bureau would bring people here, but where are they?" The local mayor was so angry that he cursed loudly in the simple yamen. He couldn't help but want to smash something, but he couldn't bear to do it because this place was too poor.

I don’t know how many times he has lost his temper. The people below are pretending to be dead, and there is nothing they can do.

The Forbidden Martial Arts Department he mentioned is specifically responsible for all matters big and small in the martial arts world. There are many masters in it. It is a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Justice. Its chief officer is a third-rank official, considered a military officer. He does dirty and tiring work, so his status is lower than that of a third-rank civil official.

Seeing no one to help, the mayor blew his beard and glared, "What are you still standing there for? Go patrol the streets. If anyone commits a crime, arrest them and throw them in jail!"

"Yes, sir," the people below said perfunctorily and left.

I'm still patrolling the streets, and there's a bunch of desperate guys out there. They're only making a few taels of silver a month, so why risk their lives? What's the big prison? The broken cage in the town can't even hold a mouse.

Hey, let it end soon. I really miss the days when we had so much free time. Now it’s so bad that the people above are not having a good time, and we are not having a good time either. Well, let’s find a place to hide. There is no way to control it, no way to control it at all, unless we seek death.

Leaving the shabby yamen, a place even a mouse would grieve over, the constables responsible for maintaining public order listened to the clamor coming from all around them. No one knew how many ruthless individuals had committed murder, and they felt exhausted...

There are only a few days in the entire Tuoling Town without wind throughout the year. The only difference is the strength. The sky is always lifeless, and occasionally there is a strong wind accompanied by dust. It makes you feel upset when you go out, with a nose full of dust.

In the night, the sky was gray and there were hardly any stars visible. Windmills on some rooftops used to observe wind speed were turning rumblingly, and the gloomy signs on the streets were swaying in the wind. Occasionally, the sound of camel bells could be heard. The whole Camel Bell Town looked like a gloomy old man who was about to die.

Even if many people from the martial arts world came, they could not inject fresh blood into this place and make it more lively.

In the night, the clanging sounds of iron hammering could still be heard from a newly opened blacksmith shop in the corner of the town, but it was inconspicuous.

The constable spat and thought that he had come to the blacksmith shop at the right time. The business had been non-stop recently and they must have made a lot of money. All they had to do was pay the taxes. The wife in his family was more manly than any other man, so it would be very safe.

Forget it, let’s go find a place to have tea and don’t hang around in front of the master to bring bad luck.

"Tsk, another stranger coming here to join in the fun, holding a stick to scare someone? He's dressed neatly, and you can tell he's new here. He'll be covered in dust after two days here. Oh, I guess he won't stay for two days. The day after tomorrow is the day when two innate masters will duel. I guess most of the people in the town will have left by tomorrow."

After taking a look at a young man in black hanging around the corner, the constable shook his head and left leisurely with a few officers and followers.

Chen Xuan stood at the door of an inn with a small package on his back, speechless. This was the last inn in the town. All the other inns were full. There were no empty rooms at all, and the hall was full of people.

"Do we have to spend the night in the wilderness? If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed in the Tea Eagle Tribe for a night. At least I'd have a tent to stay in, even if there was a risk of being beaten up by the ladies."

Feeling melancholy, Chen Xuan couldn't do something like robbing someone's room. How about just going out in the wild for the night?
But looking around outside the town, there are people everywhere, tents, bonfires, there is no quiet place nearby, and the surrounding area is like it has been combed through, there is no firewood to start a fire...

(End of this chapter)