Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

Along the way, gravel fell from the mountains beside the road from time to time, and Lu Tingfeng drove the carriage forward quickly.

Mr. Cai, who was sitting in the carriage, was almost shaken to pieces, but he finally got out of the narrow mountain road.

Lu Tingfeng parked the carriage beside a relatively wide river valley. After the rainfall in the past few days, the water level of the river could be clearly felt to have risen a lot, and the water was also turbid and yellow.

The master and his disciples got off the carriage, rummaged through their bags to find some clean water and dry food, and began to eat while sitting on a large rock by the river valley.

"Sir, the carriage has been jolted by the current, and the wheels and frame have been damaged to varying degrees. It can no longer withstand a long journey."

Lu Tingfeng conducted a detailed inspection of the carriage and found that it was seriously damaged.

"The official road behind us has collapsed and is impassable. The nearest place from here is Qianzhang County. We must notify the government as soon as possible and see if the carriage should be repaired or replaced."

While eating the milk-flavored biscuits in his hand, Mr. Cai looked at the surrounding environment.

"Qianzhang County? Is Qianzhang County just ahead?"

Ye Changyan asked with some surprise, and saw Mr. Cai nodded at Ye Changyan.

"I remember that the Geography says that Qianzhang County is the border between our Great Sheng Dynasty and the Man Miao area. Qianzhang County is adjacent to Youshui City, a large city in the northwest of the Man Miao area."

"That's right. The reason why Qianzhang County is called Qianzhang County is because there is a thousand-zhang-high cliff at the southernmost end of Qianzhang County. The area above the cliff belongs to the Manmiao territory."

The land of Manmiao is vast, with a total area roughly equivalent to nearly 30% of the territory of Dasheng. However, there are many poisonous miasma in the territory, especially in the area of the Wild Man Mountain Range.

The Land of Man and Miao is actually a general term for the sixteen branches of the Man and Miao. The Land of Man and Miao did not form a unified political power, but was independently governed by sixteen tribes with similar cultures and customs. Although they were relatively independent, they were intertwined with each other and seemed to be a loose group. However, when encountering foreign enemies, they would unite as one and jointly resist the foreign enemies.

The sixteen tribes of Man Miao are scattered throughout the entire Man Miao territory, roughly centered on the Wild Man Mountain Range. There are sixteen cities of varying sizes scattered around them. Each city has its own lord, who is actually the local emperor of the city.

Youshui City is a large city in the northwest of the Naiman Miao. A magnificent city lord's mansion is built on the banks of the Youshui River in the north of the city.

Because Youshui City is close to Yuzhou Prefecture of the Dasheng Dynasty and is not in the heartland of the Man and Miao people, the poisonous miasma is sparse here, the river network is dense, and the land is fertile. It is a rare land of fish and rice among the sixteen branches of the Man and Miao people, and a rare prosperous place. Therefore, Youshui City has a population of nearly one million, and more than 100,000 people live in Youshui City alone.

"Since the founding of our dynasty, we have maintained a relatively stable relationship with the Man and Miao people. On the one hand, the Man and Miao territory is full of smoke and poisonous gas, and outsiders cannot stay there for long. On the other hand, the Man and Miao regimes are scattered and each governs itself, so it is difficult for them to pose a substantial threat to our dynasty."

Ye Changyan was somewhat curious about this barbarian Miao land, but for now he had to leave these mountains as soon as possible and rush to Qianzhang County.

As the carriage was damaged, Lu Tingfeng had to reduce the speed as much as possible, at least to ensure that the carriage would not break down on the road before reaching Qianzhang County.

The official road ahead was much wider and the road conditions were much better. Due to the slow speed and the fact that it was getting close to evening and still dozens of miles away from Qianzhang County Government Office, the master and his disciples chose to rest by an open river valley tonight.

This is a high ground beside a river valley. Beside the muddy river, there is a rare clear stream flowing down from the mountain. Because of the clear water source here, the master and his disciples chose to rest here.

The terrain around the high ground is open and flat, and it is a good place to defend and difficult to attack in case you encounter a group of wild beasts at night.

Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng went to the surrounding woods to pick up some dry firewood. When they came back, they saw that the high ground had been simply leveled and Mr. Cai was sitting on a big rock to rest.

After a while, Lu Tingfeng came back with a few fish, two pheasants and a hare. Lu Tingfeng took out a knife and cleaned up the fishes quickly.

Ye Changyan took out a tinder, lit the dry grass, and then gently placed the thin branches on the burning dry grass. Soon the fire was lit.

After Lu Tingfeng had cleaned up the fish, Ye Changyan used wet branches to set up several racks next to the fire. He took the fish from Lu Tingfeng's hand and strung the fish on the wet branches.

Lu Tingfeng had lived in the wild before. Looking at Ye Changyan's skillful movements, he was somewhat surprised that Ye Changyan, a scholar who had never traveled far, had these skills for survival in the wild.

Seeing this, Lu Tingfeng handed the task of grilling the fish over to Ye Changyan, and went to clean up the pheasants and rabbits himself.

Ye Changyan placed the fish skewered on the wet branches on the newly set up rack. While grilling the fish, he directed Liang Jingcheng to light the fire.

Camping outdoors was a new thing for Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng. They chatted and laughed while making a fire and grilling fish.

When Ye Changyan was traveling, he prepared some seasonings in his bag, which came in handy now.

Ye Changyan turned the fish over and sprinkled some seasonings on it. Soon the aroma of the grilled fish wafted around.

At this time, Lu Tingfeng had also prepared the pheasants and hares, and fixed them on the wet branches. Ye Changyan took them, placed them on other racks, and started roasting them together.

As time went by, the seasoned fish had been roasted until its skin was golden, and bursts of aroma wafted into the air. Ye Changyan took out a knife from the package and carefully cut off a small piece from a fish. He took a bite and found it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, leaving a fragrant taste in his mouth.

"Is it tasty?"

Seeing Ye Changyan smacking his lips twice, Liang Jingcheng, who was burning the fire nearby, asked with a greedy look on his face.

Ye Changyan cut off another piece with a knife and handed it to Liang Jingcheng who was looking expectant.

Liang Jingcheng took it. The fish meat was still very hot. He blew on it before putting it into his mouth.

"Mm, it's delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it tastes fresh and fragrant."

Ye Changyan took a fish from the shelf, handed it to Liang Jingcheng, and purred at him. Then Liang Jingcheng stood up with the grilled fish and walked towards Mr. Cai who was sitting not far away.

"Teacher, please try it. Sanlang's grilled fish is absolutely amazing."

Mr. Cai, who had smelled the fragrance a long time ago, had been swallowing his saliva, but today he was almost torn apart by the carriage and could not move anymore.

Mr. Cai took the grilled fish, not caring that it was still a little hot, and tore off a piece and put it into his mouth.

Suddenly, Mr. Cai's expressions became varied, some showing a distorted look as if he had been scalded, while others showed an expression of enjoyment as if he had eaten delicious food.

After Lu Tingfeng finished dealing with the hares and pheasants, he went and brought back some dry, thick branches. The river valley was cold at night, and the fire had to be kept burning all night, so he had to prepare some dry, thick branches.

Seeing that Lu Tingfeng was about to get up to find firewood again, Ye Changyan hurriedly took a roasted fish from the rack and handed it to Lu Tingfeng.

"Brother Lu, let's eat some fish first."

Lu Tingfeng politely took the fish handed to him by Ye Changyan, ate it, and went into the woods.

Liang Jingcheng came back to light the fire. Ye Changyan took two strips from the shelf and handed one to him.

While eating fish, the two continued to roast pheasants and hares as night slowly fell.