The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 69 Level
In order to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible, the officials once again allowed the exiled prisoners to travel light.

We set off before dawn.

Thank goodness they ran fast.

The displaced people, who had gone on a shopping spree, were no longer satisfied with just having enough to eat and wear.

They still want to live there, in a mansion that three generations of their lives couldn't afford even with their own hard work.

A fierce conflict broke out with residents of the county town that morning.

Those large brick courtyards with two or three courtyards were quickly seized by these refugees.

The family members were almost all forced to leave with nothing, and they couldn't find anyone to seek justice.
this point in time.

The exiles had already traveled more than thirty miles away.

The sun is shining brightly, it's incredibly hot!
"Huchi. Huchi"

"Sir, I can't go on! This old woman really can't walk anymore!"

"Ouch, my feet! My straw sandals are worn through!"

Most of the male prisoners either carried the burdens of their entire families or had children on their backs.

We rushed such a long way and we're all exhausted.

Many of the older women with bound feet have had their calluses worn out again.

Sweat poured down like a waterfall, soaking my clothes!

I just want to rest for a moment before continuing on my way.

The moment Zuo Wenkang put his chubby son off his back, he almost broke his back.

The chubby boy, who was feeling rather uncomfortable from being jostled around, chewed up the last bit of maltose in his mouth and then wiped his mouth haphazardly with his sleeve.

Seeing his father looking completely exhausted, the chubby boy felt a little guilty.

He muttered to himself, "Mother said I don't even weigh as much as a pumpkin!"

When his mother carried him on her back, she walked steadily and quickly without breaking a sweat.

Hmm, it's not that he's too fat, it's that his father isn't very capable.

Zuo Wenkang, feeling scorned by his chubby son, rubbed his aching back and said speechlessly, "Is the pumpkin your mother is carrying made of gold?"

Fatty pouts.

Judging from my father's tone, I knew it wasn't something nice to say.

But he knew that gold was more expensive than silver.

So, what exactly does his dad mean?

The man ignored the verbal dispute between the father and son and simply told them to quickly drink the concentrated version of the energy drink.

Then he had Fatty deliver water to Mrs. Luo and Mrs. She.

Running an errand earns him a piece of malt candy the size of a fingernail, and the little guy's enthusiasm for helping his mother with chores has skyrocketed.

Gan Minglan seized every opportunity to ask the cheap man:

"Why is no one taking care of the refugees in Lushan County? Even if the county magistrate runs away, there are still yamen runners, and if that doesn't work, there are local garrisons! If so many of them continue to rob the rich to help the poor, Lushan County won't be enough for them to mess with."

The original owner had plenty of common sense about life from the past twenty years, but had little understanding of the national situation, local governments, and military garrisons.

For the past two months since Gan Minglan arrived, she has been either in prison or on her way to exile.

They also knew little about the state apparatus of the State of Bei.

Zuo Wenkang looked around, then lowered his head and explained to her in a low voice:

"The garrison system was established and implemented in the first year of Emperor Gaozong of Bei."

In addition to the nine key towns, from the capital city to the thirteen provincial administrations, military districts (provincial military districts), guards (municipal military districts), and garrisons (county armed forces departments) were set up.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Military Command was in charge of military and political affairs in his region. Each commander led his subordinate guards and garrisons under the jurisdiction of the Five Military Commands and were subject to the orders of the Ministry of War.

Under normal circumstances, a provincial administration office (province) would have about two garrisons. Each garrison commanded about five thousand soldiers and was divided into a thousand-household unit, which in turn had a hundred-household unit.

The garrison in Lushan County consisted of only about a hundred households, ordinary garrison troops. In peacetime, they were responsible for three-tenths of the defense of the city and seven-tenths of the land reclamation.

Hearing this, Gan Minglan finally understood: "So, most of these hundred garrison households are farmers; there aren't many who can fight?" Zuo Wenkang nodded, lowering his voice even further:

"This doesn't even include those who are drawing salaries without working. If the actual soldiers make up 70% of the force, that's already pretty good! I just hope those refugees will quickly escalate the situation so that the Ruzhou Prefecture's garrison will have a chance to quell the rebellion."

Gan Minglan got a rough idea of ​​it.

They discovered that the administrative system of the Bei Kingdom, which exists in an alternate history, is very similar to that of the Ming Dynasty in its previous life.

Before the State of Bei, successive dynasties used the natural defenses to build the Great Wall and set up nine passes on the border of the Central Plains Han land.

It effectively kept foreign tribes outside the Great Wall.

The emperor of Bei, unlike the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, did not guard the country's borders.

The capital city of Beijing was located in the heart of the Central Plains.

Gan Minglan wanted to learn more about the military and political system of Bei, but unfortunately, Zuo Wenkang didn't know much even after recalling the original owner's memories.

People are so easily swayed.

On the afternoon of the third day, they encountered the garrison of the Nanhe Prefecture Guard in Tianshui County.

Tianshui County is more than 100 li away from the prefectural city of Nanhe Prefecture.

It was a county that one had to pass through on the way from Ruzhou to Nanhe Prefecture, and a thousand-household garrison was stationed there.

At this moment, a checkpoint on the official road blocked their way.

The location of this level is also brilliant.

To the left is the Sweetwater River, and to the right is Vulture Mountain.

Sweetwater River is a natural river and one of the main waterway routes for the Nanhe Prefecture.

It is about a hundred feet wide and unfathomably deep, with a rapid current.

The continuous heavy rainfall in the past few days has caused the water level of the Tianshui River to rise significantly again.

Vulture Mountain is a well-known barren mountain.

The mountain range is over 1,000 meters above sea level, and is covered with cliffs and precipices, where no vegetation grows.

To bypass this obstacle, one must either climb over the mountain or go against the current.

Normal people naturally don't need to take such dangerous risks.

When their group of over four hundred people arrived at the border crossing, there were already more than a dozen people queuing ahead of them.

The soldiers in this garrison don't seem to be very efficient at their work.

It takes about ten to fifteen minutes for a pedestrian to go from entering the shed to leaving.

Gan Minglan was greatly puzzled: In the State of Bei, the only way to prove that you are your own person is by taking a travel permit, which has your name, surname, height, and physical appearance. What other tricks can you find out about this?

The escorting officers were not afraid of dealing with the local garrison.

The two leaders got off the carriage.

He called out to everyone, "Be quiet, line up in the order you walked before, and be prepared to be inspected."

The men stood at the front, the elderly in the middle, and Gan Minglan and the others with their children at the back.

The men of Shitou Village, having abandoned their previous fearless and arrogant demeanor, all scurried to the back of the group.
Zuo Wenkang felt that his body had become more and more robust in the past month, and his hearing was incomparable to what it used to be.

He could clearly hear the complaints of pedestrians queuing fifty meters away.

"For some reason, the border checks have been particularly strict these past few days, which has been delaying our business trips to and from Nanhe Prefecture."

"Leaving aside the fact that we were late, I just heard that the merchants ahead of us who brought half a cart of salted fish were fined five taels of silver."

"What? Does that mean salted fish has become a contraband?"

"It's not exactly illegal, but you have to pay fishing and salt taxes. I guess that merchant didn't pay taxes on his salted fish, so he got fined."

"Tsk tsk, even half a truckload of salted fish has to be taxed, isn't that just a disguised form of... you know?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. The soldiers' farmland also suffered a complete crop failure due to the flood. Consider it a contribution from the merchants to the garrison."

(End of this chapter)