Of course, the Soong Clan did not want to open up a trade route here. After all, the Soong Clan was located in a barren area, and this had always been an important factor limiting their development. It was also because of this that the Soong Clan had always wanted to expand.
If the trade route was opened up, countless caravans would come to the Northwest, and Stronghold 178 would become stronger and stronger. As the saying went, two tigers could not live on the same mountain. Even if Stronghold 178 had no intention of expanding, how could the Soong Clan not be afraid of them when they were right next to Stronghold 178?
Of course, the Soong Clan could continue training new bandits to control the valley. But in the past, when Stronghold 178's Zhang Jinglin was not around, the acting commander of the stronghold did not want to interfere with matters outside of the stronghold.
But it was different now. Zhang Jinglin was back!
The Soong Clan's higher-ups knew just how powerful Stronghold 178 was more than a decade ago. They had endured and developed for more than a decade. If Stronghold 178 were to regain its glory from more than a decade ago, the Soong Clan would probably be done for.
Therefore, even though the Kyung Clan and the Yang Clan were fighting so fiercely, the Soong Clan did not seem to be taking advantage of the situation by going south. On one hand, it was because Qing Zhen had cut off the Soong Clan's shortcut to the south. On the other hand, the Soong Clan was afraid of Stronghold 178, so they did not dare to make any moves.
At night, Zhou Yinglong led them to a leeward spot to set up camp. Zhou Yinglong seemed to be a frequent wanderer in the wilderness, so he knew everything there was to know.
Now that Ren Xiaosu had the black medicine, his injuries did not hurt as much anymore. However, he still pretended to be having difficulty moving.
When he slowly got out of the car and wanted to move around, Wang Shengyin even came over to help him. Ren Xiaosu refused and said he could move slowly.
However, Wang Shengyin did not care about the blood on him at all.
Ren Xiaosu found a mound and sat down. Suddenly, someone said, "I heard that many of the strongholds in the Southwest have been destroyed. I wonder what happened, but the strongholds in the Central Plains are still intact."
Zhou Yinglong was amused. "Let me tell y 'all, I have a good friend named Xu Xianchu. As long as he's been to a stronghold, all of them have collapsed except for the one at 178! At first, everyone thought he was a jinx. But when they realized 178 was fine, they didn't think too much about it. But when he went to Stronghold 88 some time ago, Stronghold 88 collapsed as well. "
Wang Shengzhi smiled and said, "Is he alright?"
"What could possibly happen to him? He left before the stronghold collapsed, so it has nothing to do with him." Zhou Yinglong chuckled and said, "My Brother Xu Xianchu has a tough life. He's still fine even after the stronghold collapsed."
"Then he really is the chosen one." Wang Shengzhi said, "Can you introduce me to him when we get to the stronghold?"
"Haha, of course." Zhou Yinglong said, "But Old Xu doesn't admit to it. He says there are others who are tougher than him. He always leaves before the stronghold collapses, so he's fine. Meanwhile, that brother of his who's especially close to him doesn't manage to leave in advance every single time, so he's still fine."
When Ren Xiaosu heard this, he knew who Zhou Yinglong was talking about. When he thought about it carefully, it seemed to be the case. All the strongholds he had been to had collapsed. Even the Yang Clan's Stronghold 88 was no exception.
But the collapse of those strongholds shouldn't have anything to do with him, right?
The first few were either caused by earthquakes, Li Shentan's revenge, or the Experimentals' invasion. Even Stronghold 88's collapse was due to Qing Zhen's revenge on Luo Lan.
It really had nothing to do with him!
When Wang Shengzhi heard what Zhou Yinglong said, he became even more interested. "If I can meet the chosen one you speak of, it must be very interesting, right?"
Zhou Yinglong brought out a box of alcohol from the truck and asked, "Do y 'all drink? My qiang is brewed from the best highland barley, and the water used to brew it is snow water. It's very sweet! "
The others shook their heads. Only Wang Shengzhi said, "I can drink with you. But is alcohol allowed in Stronghold 178's military?"
Zhou Yinglong said casually, "Where I come from, alcohol is allowed during the winter break. It's impossible to warm up without alcohol."
"It's almost summer now," Wang Shengyin said.
Zhou Yinglong thought for a moment. "It's fine as long as y 'all don't tell the commander. I saved up this alcohol during the winter."
"But there shouldn't be many food-producing areas around Stronghold 178, right? Where did you guys get the highland barley from?" Wang Shengyin asked.
Zhou Yinglong suddenly stopped talking. It was as though this was a very important secret.
Ren Xiaosu also realized that Stronghold 178 really had a secret. The highland barley production area was not close to Stronghold 178. If it was really as the outside world said that Stronghold 178 would not leave the stronghold under normal circumstances, then how did Zhou Yinglong know so much about the refugee settlements in the valley? And how did the highland barley get transported to Stronghold 178?
Zhou Yinglong changed the topic and said, "What business do y 'all plan to do with Commander Zhang in the Central Plains this time? Is the alcohol in the Central Plains good? "
"The Central Plains is naturally rich in food, as well as tea leaves and cloth." Wang Shengzhi said with a smile as he sat in his wheelchair, "But what Commander Zhang wants the most shouldn't be those. It should be medicine."
Zhou Yinglong's eyes lit up when he heard about medicine. Those who fought in the army knew best what Stronghold 178 lacked the most.
What outsiders did not know was that while they were indeed lacking in food, they did not actually lack meat. They would definitely not starve to death.
Meanwhile, medicine was too precious. In any battle, medicine would determine the survival rate of the wounded.
Ren Xiaosu realized it was no wonder Zhang Jinglin wanted to open up the trade route so badly. The Soong Clan could also guess the importance of this.
When he listened to Zhang Jinglin's lectures, Mr. Zhang had mentioned the importance of the ancient Silk Road. However, the goods on the Silk Road would definitely be different in different times.
At that time, Ren Xiaosu did not understand why Zhang Jinglin would suddenly mention this. But from the looks of it now, it seemed Zhang Jinglin had been thinking about this for a very long time.
Wang Shengzhi stopped after drinking two mouthfuls of alcohol. Wang Shengyin covered his knees with a blanket.
"You can't hold your liquor well," Zhou Yinglong muttered. Suddenly, he looked at Ren Xiaosu. "Do you want to drink?"
Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "No, I'm still injured."
Zhou Yinglong thought for a moment. "Wounds need to be sterilized, and alcohol can do that. If you drink some alcohol, your wounds won't get infected. Don't you think that makes sense?"
Next to him, Wang Shengyin snapped, "What kind of lousy theory is that? After an injury, the immune system needs to deal with the damage and infection. If you drink alcohol and numb your immune system, you're just waiting to die!"
Zhou Yinglong opened his mouth, but he could not refute Wang Shengyin's words due to his limited knowledge. In the end, he could only mutter to Ren Xiaosu, "Don't listen to her. She might not be right. Have you ever heard of Guan Gong scraping his bones to treat his wounds? Even the Martial Sage, Guan Gong, drank alcohol after he got injured."
Ren Xiaosu shook his head helplessly. He was not afraid that it would affect his wounds, but he did not want to lose his clarity and rationality in an unfamiliar crowd and environment.
Zhou Yinglong muttered, "How boring."
But at this moment, Ren Xiaosu suddenly heard the roar of a vehicle's engine traveling through the wilderness in the distance. Zhou Yinglong put down the bottle of alcohol and sneered, "The Soong Clan has really gotten bolder."
"Do you think that the Soong Clan ordered them to attack our people?" Wang Shengzhi looked at Zhou Yinglong. "Would the Soong Clan dare to attack the people of Stronghold 178?"
"The Soong Clan has been developing very quickly in recent years. They probably have something to rely on," Zhou Yinglong said with a sneer.
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