Chapter 24 Xudu Market
On the north bank, Song Wu took a fresh blood peach and played with it carefully.

The fuzz on the surface of the blood peach has long been worn away, making the peach skin look even more rosy.

This was one of the seven peaches given by Black Bear for the second time. There were seven people in Heiyun's family, young and old. Heiyun had eaten the first peach and thought that the blood peach given for the second time was the same as the one he had eaten.

In order to convince Song Wu and Zhang Jun, Hei Yun kept his own pill. After it fell into Song Wu's hands, he did not eat it until today.

After eight days, the blood peach remained as fresh as before, which made Song Wu marvel.

Jiaozhou has two harvests a year, four seasons like spring and summer, and no autumn or winter. There is no shortage of fruits there all year round. If the White Goose Pirates robbed the Jiangdong fleet, it would be normal to see some fruits in the cabin as tribute to the court.

So this peach was not strange in Song Wu's eyes. What was strange was that it was fresh and not easy to rot.

As the footsteps approached, Song Wu turned around and saw that it was Zhang Jun. He threw the peach over and asked, "When do you think they will leave?"

"Tonight."

Zhang Jun carefully observed the blood peach in his hand and saw that there was no sign of softness or rot, so he threw it to Song Wu. It was not like he had never seen peaches before.

Like Song Wu, he was also curious about how long the peach could stay fresh.

At this moment, Zhang Jun's abdomen was even more swollen. He put his hands on his waist and said weakly, "This group of thieves will definitely frame us when they go to Xudu."

In his opinion, the so-called traveling in a group is more of a form of coercion, a way to pass off fake goods as real ones.

Song Wu lowered his eyebrows and saw Zhang Jun's bulging belly, but he could only pretend not to see it. Chen Deng was dying of fish sashimi, so another Zhang Jun would not be a big deal.

After putting the peaches away, Song Wu narrowed his eyes and looked towards the south bank: "Do you think we can find Doctor Hua this time?"

Hua Tuo was from Qiao County, Pei State, and traveled everywhere. Zhang Jun had previously received information that Hua Tuo was invited by Liu Fu to practice medicine for free in Huainan in order to reassure the people of Huainan.

Zhang Jun's face showed no emotion: "Even if the miracle doctor is not in Huainan, the people of Huainan know roughly where he is."

After hearing this, Song Wu nodded slowly. If Hua Tuo was not there, Zhang Jun would go after him, but few people would be willing to follow him, and he might end up traveling alone.

Glancing at Zhang Jun's stable mood, Song Wu suddenly asked with a smile, "Brother Zhang, do you think the miracle doctor has just left Huainan and is sailing on the Ying River?"

"How could it be such a coincidence?"

Zhang Jun frowned and shook his head: "The White Goose Thief is not a person who kills indiscriminately, why would he do such a cruel thing to Doctor Hua?"

"Brother Zhang, there are many nobles in Xudu. It is extremely difficult for Envoy Liu to invite a miracle doctor to come to Huainan to practice medicine for a year. Now it is March in the spring, the weather is warm, and it is suitable for traveling."

Song Wu said seriously, "I also spent some time in Xudu in my early years. If it weren't for the fact that Doctor Hua cared about the people and had the intention of traveling around the world to study medicine, it would have been difficult for me to leave Xudu. In terms of fear of death and illness, who can compare to the nobleman of Xudu?"

Maybe what he said made sense. Zhang Jun looked him up and down and joked, "You mean I should go and join the White Goose Bandits? After I leave, you will be the leader?"

"No, I think the lives of common people are of low value. Lord Xudu will not let Divine Doctor Hua travel for too long. Divine Doctor Hua also has relatives, friends and children, so he has to consider Lord Xudu's opinion."

Song Wu said seriously: "If I were you, I would surrender to the White Goose Bandits. If I hesitate, when Xudu changes, it will be difficult to go to Xudu at that time."

Normally, you might lose your head if you cross counties, let alone go to Xu Du.

Zhang Jun took these words to heart, but still shook his head. If Hua Tuo was still in Huainan, and he rushed to join the White Goose Bandits now, and died of illness or was killed by the government troops afterwards, wouldn't he regret it so much that he could crawl out of the grave?

The sky gradually darkened and the drizzle stopped.

The leaden clouds turned slightly white, and three transport ships on the south bank hoisted their sails and set sail, towing black-sailed boats filled with bundles of cut bamboo.

The first boat was a little cold after the rain.

The black bear wore a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, and held a big white goose in his arms to keep warm.

The big white goose summoned by the card is psychic. It stares at both sides with its eyes wide open, and will call out softly if it sees any movement.

During this period, there were more women on the ship who were good at sewing and mending, so some luxurious lanterns were made.

These lanterns are relatively large, burning fish oil, and are wrapped in bamboo baskets with fine silk. Lanterns are hung high on the bow, stern, wooden platforms in the birdhouse, and masts to avoid the night wind blowing out the torches.

In order to prevent the lantern from shaking due to wind and spilling the fish oil, a bamboo tube is used to hold the oil inside the lantern.

Sailing at night, the sailors were a little scared and uncomfortable at first.

Now even the soldiers and women and children recruited in Xia Pi have gotten used to it, and the bumpy ride of the boat will not disturb their sleep.

A fixed routine has been formed these days, and boys and girls will take care of their personal hygiene in the early morning or before nightfall.

Otherwise, there will be many inconveniences during sailing, and there is also the risk of falling off the ship or falling behind.

At this time of night, there were only two experienced sailors on the deck. Just like when they were operating the sails in the past, they tied ropes around their waists.

As long as it is not a complete headwind, you can borrow wind power by adjusting the angle of the sail.

When sailing with the current and the wind, it can sail nearly forty miles every hour; when sailing with the wind or against the current, the speed is halved, and paddling and stern oars can increase the speed slightly.

Now, sailing against the current can travel an average of more than 200 miles a day and night. Sailors, soldiers and strong women take turns rowing to speed up, and the speed can be increased to nearly 300 miles.

We will set sail on the evening of March 15th and arrive at the Langdangqu Basin around midnight on the 18th.

Even if Yangzhou reacts faster, and the Yangzhou messenger can get help from various counties along the way, it will be difficult for him to catch up with himself.

There is no way. It is normal to lay off postmen in troubled times. All forces do this and information transmission is very slow.

Not only is it slow and costly, it also poses a great risk to the courier's life.

After sailing all night, they had passed Shen County at dawn and Black Bear returned to the cabin to sleep.

Feeling a little sleepless, he took out a white mana and shot it at himself to enhance the potential for physical development. This potential was continuously consumed, just like refueling.

After the white magic power merged into his body, he was able to control himself very well and could fall asleep almost whenever he wanted by just closing his eyes.

The only bad thing is that it is difficult to dream after falling asleep. You either sleep until you wake up naturally or you are awakened by a startle.

As day dawned, the boat moved faster. All the people who were able to row joined in and took turns rowing. The southeast wind was also stronger during the day.

The wind at night is not as strong as during the day, so we dare not go too fast. But no matter how fast we go... it is not as fast as a nuclear-powered horse.

The black bear's initial curiosity about the boat turned into a somewhat perfunctory attitude towards it after getting it.

Xuan Liang and others were also vaguely aware of this problem, so everyone worked together during the daytime voyage, and the journey was thirty miles longer than Black Bear had estimated.

Human-powered paddling is something that can be very training, as long as the diet and nutrition are done well.

In this way, they worked day and night and arrived at Fule County, north of the State of Chen, before midnight on the 18th.

Fule County was also a water transport node in the State of Chen. It was where the Langdang Canal merged into the main stream of the Huai River. At the same time, it also branched out into a Woshui River. This Woshui River flows southeast and passes through Qiao County. It is an important tributary of the Central Plains water system and naturally one of the main water transport routes of the Xudu court.

The three boats slowly stopped, and Xuan Liang and his four companions said goodbye to Black Bear on the shore.

The Yin Gan horse was waiting quietly on the side. Black Bear also gave careful instructions, and under the gaze of everyone, he rode on the Yin Gan horse, headed west, and disappeared into the darkness.

The fleet will rest in Fule until dawn, and then slowly advance along the Langdang Canal. Another 200 miles north by water will lead to Junyi and Guandu where Cao Cao’s army is stationed.

He became a human again and sneaked around in the dark again.

The black bear did not have as much freedom as he had imagined. Instead, he began to worry about the fleet sailing on the Canal.

Unfortunately, there was neither the materials nor the technology to make a Takahashi saddle, and Black Bear did not have the technology to ride a horse by clamping its neck.

During this time, they only made a set of armor for the dried horse on the boat, covering the whole body and neck, leaving only the four hooves exposed; there were two holes on the horse's head, and no gaps were left for the horse's mouth and nostrils.

The horse's back was padded with fine linen, and secured with a rope wrapped around the horse's belly for more than a dozen times; there was also a pair of stirrups carved out of wood.

All the materials have not been refined with mana, which means that after the Yin Gan Ma is recalled and dissolved, these materials will fall to the ground.

White mana should be used in more powerful ways, such as refining rolling logs, falling rocks, etc.

As long as you can throw the card high and far enough, it is equivalent to a spell.

Gathering his thoughts and referring to the North Star in the night sky for guidance, he rode his horse quickly along the country road.

This Yingan horse was very fast. Considering his poor riding skills, it was like an electric car with the speed limit removed, with a speed of nearly 40 kilometers per hour.

The speed is forty per hour, twice as fast as a ship sailing with the wind and current!
After running for nearly an hour, a river of considerable size appeared in front of us. Judging from the direction of the river, it should be a tributary of Yingshui River.

At night, the water surface reflects the night light, and a rough estimate of the width is about 70 to 80 meters.

You can either cross the river on horseback, swim across, cut reeds and find tree trunks to float across, or go to Dujin to take a boat.

At the crossing point, there must be stationed soldiers to check people coming and going.

The so-called gangsters are those who sneak across the border at night like Black Bear.

Riding on a dried-up horse, holding the skinny horse's neck with both hands, the dried-up horse maintained balance on the water, swinging its four hooves to paddling, and easily carrying the black bear to the other side.

"Crossing mountains and rivers is like walking on flat ground!"

After getting ashore, the black bear looked back at the river, unable to figure out its exact depth.

Ignoring the coldness that soaked his legs and feet, he turned around and rode westward.

If you encounter swamps or thorny bushes, just go around them. After a dozen miles or so, you will find a passable path, which will lead to the main road.

The dry horse that never eats, drinks or rests, the more Black Bear rides it, the more outrageous he feels about the thing under him!
We don't need more than a hundred cavalrymen, just thirty or forty cavalrymen are enough to stir up chaos in the enemy's hinterland!
At dawn, they rode across three larger rivers and finally arrived at the flat suburbs of Xudu.

There are sentry posts at the intersections, and there are patrolling guards with torches on the roads to enforce the night curfew.

The dried horse was not afraid of breaking its hooves or getting sick in the muddy and rotten ground, and it carried the black bear across two patrol routes and arrived near the suburbs outside the city.

I have no idea about the layout of Xudu, and I don't know anyone there.

The only memories left about the dignitaries in Xudu in his mind were the characters in the Yidaizhao. With the memories of two lives overlapping, he knew these people very well, but they were all dead.

Recalling the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, we can confirm that more than ten years later there were still old ministers of the Han Dynasty who rebelled against Cao Cao in Xudu, but I can’t remember these people now. Among this group of people, only the imperial physician Ji Ping was famous.

I only have two days to act. Can I find Jiping and get his help?
As the sun gradually rose, everything within sight was covered with a layer of golden color.

Black Bear also dismissed the Yin-dried horse, wrapped all the things that fell on the ground with sackcloth, packed them into bundles and carried them on his back. Now he was wearing a coarse cloth short coat and a half-worn green scarf wrapped around his head. At first glance, he looked like a slave working for the powerful people in Xudu.

This is the suburb of Xudu, and there are no more night curfew patrol officers after daybreak.

As long as you don't enter the city, you don't need to be checked.

In this way, he walked openly along the broad road of the temporary capital of the Han Dynasty. On the road were low-ranking officials who were hurrying into the city, as well as some officials who lived in estates outside the city and rode in donkey carts and deer carts.

There were also a large number of servants, civilians, and scholars busy with their lives, but also many merchants without any obvious characteristics.

At this time, an ox cart actually came out of the city gate. The black bear put down the sundries on its back and stood on the side of the road to rest.

When the ox cart passed by, I vaguely heard a discussion inside the cart, and it seemed that the words "Liang State" were mentioned.

And the white goose thief and the like. As the ox cart went away, the black bear frowned and looked at the back of the ox cart carriage.

During the break, he looked around at the people walking on the street and could roughly distinguish between civilians and slaves... The slaves were dressed better. The slaves who went out meant face, so they basically did not have patched clothes; while the civilians often had patches on their clothes.

Those who wear swords are scholars, and those who wear knives are mostly warriors. You can also tell who is better based on their clothes.

He carried his belongings again and followed the majority of the poor people towards the southwest market.

Some civilians carrying agricultural products had gathered there, and the market was surrounded by a fence with antler roadblocks at the entrance and watchtowers on the side of the gate.

The mayor who was in charge of collecting taxes in the market climbed up the watchtower and finally rang the gong. With the shouts of "market open", the two deer horns were moved aside, and the common people filed in to find their familiar stalls.

It seemed that there was no need to pay any fees when entering the market, so the black bear followed the team into the market.

There were no shops inside. People who entered sat on the ground in rows, which looked a bit like the rural markets in my memory.

(End of this chapter)