The man who has traveled through time and space for a long time is so scary

"Second brother, we still have six days to return to Jincheng, so I decided to start sending people out to do things after entering Doucheng, and we can go through the four cities by ourselves!" During the break, Hua Heng took the registration form in his hand and pointed to the hand-drawn network diagram to discuss his plan with Nanchen. If eight groups of people were to be sent out to deliver books to more remote areas, the number of guards following them would be reduced, so it must be discussed and arranged before it can be implemented.

Why did we choose to split the routes in Doucheng? This is because of Doucheng's special geographical location. It is located in the center of the hinterland of the Bashu Basin, with six or seven cities adjacent to it. If it spreads outward, it can radiate to another six or seven cities. It can be said that by dividing eight routes out of Doucheng, each route has two cities, which basically covers 90% of the cities in Shu.

"Well, let the guards escort these remote areas, and we will go through these cities and go back to Jincheng from the south." Nanchen looked at the simple network map in his hand and agreed with his opinion.

"We will visit Mianzhou, Guozhou, Shi'an, Yuzhou, Tiancheng and Jiazhou cities, and leave the rest to the guards. How do you think?" Shen Wen suggested.

"I'm afraid there's not enough time!" Hua Heng hesitated.

"Then come back two days later, it won't make much difference." Shen Wen said.

"Okay, now that we're out, there's no need to rush. Just get home before New Year's Eve!" Nanchen finally agreed.

"Okay, second brother, it will take about an hour to enter Dou City. I will assign tasks then." After Hua Heng finished speaking, he began to call everyone to set off. This time they went straight to Dou City to rest!

Yanan didn't listen to what they were discussing. She was observing the topography and found that it was not much different from her geographical knowledge. Does this mean that the place they are going to next should have abundant arable land and farmland, unless it has not been reclaimed yet, then it is hard to say. It is a major grain producing area. It would be a pity if it is still barren. Let's just walk and see for now! This Shu land is the cradle of regional natural scenery and humanistic cultural development. It has a deep historical heritage. Even if it is still authentic in this era, it will always shine with these unique resources.

The rest of the journey was relatively smooth, and the speed of travel increased a lot. Apart from the curious eyes of some people on the way, there were no more obstacles. The convoy checked into the inn at the beginning of the afternoon of the same day. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After resting, they naturally went to work and assigned tasks. The guards who received the task in the front yard area took the newly hired carriage and left after resting. They had to finish the task quickly and catch up with the master to return together. Shen Wen and Hua Heng went out. Yanan and Nanchen stayed in the inn. They were shaking in the carriage for two consecutive days. Yanan felt that he was still shaking in the carriage even when he was lying on the bed to rest. He planned to rest better first, and by the way, after they finished their official business, they would go around together.

"It's only the second day, and you're already feeling uncomfortable? What will you do if the Shu Road becomes more difficult and dangerous later on?" Nanchen teased as he looked at her lying on the bed and doing nothing.

"No way? Didn't we choose a route that is easy to travel? We have sent people out to the remote areas. Don't try to fool me!" Yanan screamed in fear and sat up.

"My wife, you were eager to try before, but now you want to back out. Are you saying you are slapping yourself in the face?" Nanchen smiled even more.

"Well, it's mainly because the roads are too bad. The swaying makes people question life!" Yanan still felt a lingering fear after saying this. The roads and transportation were not good, and she didn't have to visit so many places.

"Hahaha...don't worry, your husband has chosen the easy path!" Nanchen saw that her tangled face was about to wrinkle, so he quickly stopped teasing her.

"Husband, I actually want to get closer to the people and see what their living conditions are like. You see, apart from talking to the uncle selling fruits, I haven't chatted with anyone else." Yanan said with a bit of anticipation. Getting closer to the people is the fastest way to understand their situation.

"Hmm? I'll consider it. Take a rest first. When everything is arranged, we can go out for a walk together." Nanchen agreed to her suggestion. He also wanted to get a good understanding of the situation in Doucheng. This city is particularly important because it is located in the hinterland and must be guarded against. He was waiting for the fourth and fifth brothers to come back after finishing their official business.

"I understand! My husband, you should also take a rest. I really need to take a nap and have enough energy to go shopping and eat." Yanan couldn't resist the sleepiness and needed to recover her energy through sleep. Nanchen also followed her and recovered his energy with her.

Hua Heng was handing over the books for the Chinese Character Recognition Competition with his guards at the Yamen. The Yamen Chief Clerk came out to greet them. After some official communication, Hua Heng found that the Chief Clerk's attitude towards the Chinese Character Recognition Competition was too calm. He did not mention it in detail and asked if he could take this opportunity to meet the county magistrate. The answer he got was that the county magistrate had gone to the countryside and was not in the Yamen.

"Oh, I didn't expect the county magistrate to be so diligent and caring for the people. He deserves praise. I will report the truth to the prince. He is a role model for all officials." Hua Heng said this politely when he found out that he could not get any information. Then he left because he had official business. He planned to go back and find out the news through other channels. He didn't know that as soon as he left, the chief clerk summoned people to whisper something, and then someone rode out of the back door of the county government office on horseback.

Shen Wen was checking the accounts at his own grain store. The information he got from talking to the manager was closer to the real situation. In the autumn, Doucheng had a good harvest of grain. At that time, farmers could sell some of the surplus grain to their grain store after paying the grain tax. However, at the beginning of this month, the county government once again required farmers to pay an additional 20% of the grain tax to offset the military service due to the war on the border. Now people are panicking...

"When will the military service start? How come we don't know about it?" Shen Wen immediately sensed that there was something wrong.

"The county magistrate is personally supervising the matter, how could it be fake?! Sir, who is behind this?" The steward was frightened at this moment.

"Don't make it public until we have investigated thoroughly." Shen Wen quickened the pace of checking the accounts. He had to go back and do his work.

"Yes, sir! I will ask the people below to pay more attention to the situation!" the manager assured quickly.

"Well, assign more people to guard the granary, or don't put all of it in the backyard of the store. Find another house to buy and move it there at night. It's too cold this winter and someone might take the opportunity to cause trouble. Everyone, pay attention to safety!" Shen Wen gave another instruction, paying special attention to safety issues.

"Okay! I'll remember it." The steward responded hurriedly. He was a little flustered. What the young master said was a bit serious.

"Don't panic, I will stay here for a day or two, and you just need to follow my orders. You can close the shop early before the New Year, and you can send a letter back if anything happens, do you understand?" Shen Wen saw that he was still wandering around, so he said some words to comfort him and was about to leave. He wanted to hurry to the next shop and get the job done while no one was paying attention to them.

In the next shop, Shen Wen was also checking the accounts while chatting with the manager. He asked about the calligraphy competition.

"This happened some time ago when a yamen runner banged gongs and shouted. Later, a scholar who is my neighbor said that he went to sign up for a calligraphy teacher the next day, but was told that the quota was full. Later, I heard from several people that the quota for calligraphy teachers was full, so I didn't see anyone around me teaching people to read. Naturally, no one learned it without anyone teaching..." The manager of the cloth shop explained it in detail.

"No one teaches? No one learns? Does anyone know about the reward?" Shen Wen's eyes were slightly cold. He was now very sure that there was something wrong with this county government, but it was hard to say what the purpose was.

"Yes, that was the day people talked about it, but no one mentioned it anymore. Everyone was trying to find ways to avoid military service, so who cared about learning to read? No matter how many rewards you get, you won't get any, so how can your life be more important!" The manager also mentioned military service, which shows that it has become a common knowledge.

"Manager Wu, listen carefully. There is no military service in Shu, only conscription! The number of new recruits voluntarily joining the camp is good this year. One more thing, please help me contact those scholars who went to the yamen to register with a literacy teacher. I want to meet them to understand the situation. Remember to keep it secret and don't let others know. Can you do it?" Shen Wen ordered the manager to help him contact the person, and remember to bring him into the backyard of the cloth shop through the back door. He decided to get first-hand evidence first.

At the same time, Hua Heng also learned similar news to Shen Wen's from the clinic and pharmacy. No one participated in the literacy competition with rich prizes, or no one participated publicly. Is there something fishy going on?

Hua Heng pretended to see the doctor and got some medicine, then swaggered back to the empty carriage carrying a few packets of medicine. He now regretted giving the books to the chief clerk, not knowing what their purpose was, so he had to hurry back to the inn to report the situation.