I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 194 Mu Tianbo's Escape to Sichuan
Faced with Pu Mingsheng's invitation to jointly attack Sichuan, most of the other forces agreed after some discussion.

Pu Mingsheng is ambitious and driven by desires, but which of the other leaders of various factions doesn't have their own hidden agendas?
Who doesn't know that Sichuan is known as the Land of Abundance?

If we can occupy Sichuan, we can advance or retreat as needed, and we will not lack food and supplies. Wouldn't that be the best place to establish ourselves?
As for who will ultimately win, that depends on their respective methods.

As a result, leaders of many factions began to travel to Kunming to form an alliance.

As the initiator and the most powerful force, Pu Mingsheng naturally became the undisputed leader of the alliance.

Afterwards, the group swore a blood oath and began leading their teams to the border area between Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

Meanwhile, while Pu Mingsheng was conquering east and west and reclaiming various allied forces, Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, and his accomplices who had escaped had already arrived at the border of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

At this point, everyone began to hesitate, unsure whether they should go to Guizhou and then to Huguang, or go to Sichuan and then to Huguang.

After all, no matter which place it is, it is no longer under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

However, compared to that, Sichuan was a true enemy state.

As for Guizhou, although some Ming Dynasty officials and soldiers still remained, most areas had been divided up by local chieftains.

Moreover, friction between the various factions is constant, and armed clashes and bloodshed break out from time to time.

Honestly, it feels even more dangerous than Sichuan.

In comparison, Sichuan seems to be in a relatively more relaxed situation.

After all, the border areas of Sichuan do not prohibit people from traveling between the surrounding areas.

After discussing the matter with his mother, Madam Chen, and the Ruan brothers, the stewards, they ultimately decided to detour through Sichuan.

After all, safety is the most important thing.

Compared to the chaotic Guizhou, Sichuan, which was occupied by the militia but had stable public order, was clearly the first choice.

Well, if all else fails...
The Ruan brothers exchanged a glance, and a smile appeared on their faces.

Selling the Duke of Qian for a good price is not out of the question.

Of course, they would not choose this path unless absolutely necessary.

After all, they had no special privileges in the territory of the People's Salvation Army.

How could they, who were used to such comforts, possibly tolerate this?
After carefully entering the Sichuan border, they found that it was indeed as the legends had said.

No one questioned their background or origin in detail; they were simply allowed to enter the city after paying the entrance fee.

Well, under normal circumstances, there is no entrance fee for entering or leaving a city within the territory of the People's Salvation Army.

However, that applies to the people and civilians who are part of the People's Salvation Army.

As for outsiders, unless you are a refugee fleeing from war, you must pay the corresponding entry fee based on the goods you are carrying.

People like Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, were required to pay an entrance fee of one tael of silver because they were carrying some valuable items.

As for whether this is somewhat unfair...
Well, if you're carrying supplies, then they're goods, so paying import duties is a perfectly normal thing to do, isn't it?
Compared to that, it's only a small amount, just one or two taels of silver.

Well, the main reason is that Duke Mu Tianbo of Qian and his men didn't carry many valuables with them in order to escape.

As for whether some people might impersonate disaster victims to evade import duties...
As long as you are not carrying money or goods, the local militia will not care.

The disaster victims were all to be taken to work.

How many of those wealthy people would be willing to do manual labor for ten coins a day?

Not to mention, ordinary disaster victims might even be relocated to the frontier.

If it is true, they would welcome it.

The People's Salvation Army is severely lacking in manpower for its territory development.

Upon entering the city, Mu Tianbo and his companions were immediately struck by the sight of wide, clean streets and rows of houses, arranged in neat, orderly fashion.

The local people and vendors coming and going, while not all of them were dressed in fancy clothes, were all clean and tidy, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Unlike Kunming, where most ordinary people are ragged, emaciated, and always have a deep sense of sorrow on their faces.

In the late Ming Dynasty, life was extremely difficult for ordinary people. Even in an important city like Kunming, the people still lived in poverty.

All of this seemed to disappear within the territory of the People's Salvation Army.

Even though this is a small city on the very edge of Sichuan that has only been occupied for a year, no one here has to worry about food and clothing.

Food is the last thing the People's Salvation Army has to lack these days.

Under the rule of the People's Salvation Army, people may not necessarily become rich and powerful, but famine will never occur.

They could even work and save some money, which made the commerce of the two provinces more prosperous. Many ordinary people would buy things that were usually considered luxuries, such as mirrors.

"Mother, look, isn't that a glass mirror?"
Surprisingly, even such a small stall sells glass mirrors.

Mu Tianbo pointed to a roadside vendor and whispered in surprise to Madam Chen.

"Uh-huh!"

Madam Chen looked at the mirror on the roadside stall, and even though she was usually quite composed, her eyes still couldn't help but light up.

What woman wouldn't love a mirror that allows her to clearly see her own face?

You should know that even in their Mu Wang Mansion, there aren't many mirrors like this.

Each mirror is quite expensive, sometimes costing tens or even hundreds of taels of silver.

And here, it seems that even ordinary people can buy it.

Unable to resist, Madam Chen took two steps closer.

However, she quickly realized that now was not the time to think about such things; they were trying to escape for their lives.

What they need to do most now is to leave Sichuan as soon as possible and head to Huguang (Hubei and Hunan).

Although it seems now that these militias occupying Sichuan don't really intend to do anything to them.

However, they remained uneasy, and only by leaving Sichuan and returning to the territory of the Ming Dynasty could they truly find peace of mind. "Phew!"

Taking a deep breath to suppress his surprise and longing, Mu Tianbo and the others quickly entered the depths of the city.

Along the way, I saw so many novel things, and I vaguely heard passersby mention that they seemed to be from the Western Regions.

They never imagined that there would be so many things from the Western Regions in this southernmost part of Sichuan.

Besides these, there are all sorts of people, including Han Chinese, Miao people, and many other ethnic minorities.

If that were all, Mu Tianbo and the others would not be surprised.

After all, this is the border area of ​​Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and it is home to a large number of ethnic minorities.

Kunming, for example, has many ethnic minorities.

To their surprise, there were quite a few Mongols and people from the Western Regions among them.

Clearly, those goods from the Western Regions were not necessarily purchased and transported by merchants from the Ming Dynasty or the Salvation Army; they could have been transported by merchants from the Western Regions themselves.

That's what surprised them.

It should be noted that the journey from the Western Regions to Sichuan is several thousand miles long, which would take nearly three or four months.

This round trip would take more than half a year.

What kind of businessmen would travel thousands of miles to do business in this city in Sichuan?

However, they vaguely overheard some of the conversation.

It seems they came by train, and it shouldn't take long.

Judging from what they said, it seems that recently, that train has been stopped from being used and has been rerouted to transport military supplies.

I don't know what this train is, or how fast it can go, even if it's fast.
Moreover, they said they would change the shipment to military supplies.
Could it be that the People's Salvation Army is going to war?
I just don't know where they're fighting?
However, after a moment's thought, they roughly understood that it was either the chieftain tribes of their Great Ming Dynasty, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, or the Duosi Tibetan region to the west.

But for now, there's no point in thinking about these things; all they can do is hurry on their way.

Observing as they went, the group soon left the border town and headed towards Chongqing Prefecture along the wide and sturdy official road.

That was the prefecture closest to Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces).

When they left Wusa Prefecture and entered the interior of Sichuan, they were shocked to discover that the cities where the militia was stationed had no curfew, and the city gates were not even closed.

Even more so, the newly planned cities, and even those already under construction, have no city walls.

This puzzled everyone. How could a city without walls defend against enemy attacks?
However, as they continued to move forward, the group gradually learned the reason from the conversations of those around them.

That was the confidence of the Salvation Army that no enemy could break through their border defenses.

Upon hearing this, Mu Tianbo and the others couldn't help but shake their heads.

This militia is really arrogant, or rather, conceited.

Throughout history, there has never been a dynasty where cities were without city walls. Even during the reigns of the powerful Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty, the cities all had city walls.

However, that has nothing to do with them.

In fact, the more arrogant they are, the better, as it will be easier for the Ming Dynasty to launch a counterattack.

It wasn't until one day, when they entered Longchang City in Xuzhou Prefecture and some things happened, that they suddenly realized that their confidence in saving the people's army might have been justified.

Upon arriving in Longchang City, they had essentially covered most of the journey; the next stop was Chongqing Prefecture.

In about another month, they will be able to pass through Chongqing Prefecture and enter the territory of Huguang.

Upon arriving here, the group, who had been traveling with great tension, finally couldn't help but relax a little.

Finally, we're almost there.

Therefore, having been traveling at a breakneck pace and already exhausted, they decided to find an inn to rest for a day.

"Ruixiang Pavilion!"

Looking at the impressive three-story inn in front of them, the group decided to rest there for the night.

Nothing happened that night, but when everyone woke up the next day, they suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Because their package was lost, and that contained all their belongings.

Instantly, everyone's faces turned extremely ugly.

They still had hundreds, even thousands of miles to go, which would take at least a month. If they lost all their money, how could they possibly cross such a vast distance?

Their first thought was to report it to the authorities.

But the next moment, they suppressed the thought.

They were walking in the territory of the People's Salvation Army, and the People's Salvation Army ignored them.

However, that doesn't mean that even when they offered themselves up, the militia remained unmoved.

But now, if they can't recover their lost money, they will find it difficult to move forward.

After some discussion, the group decided to go find the owner of Ruixianglou first.

The owner of Ruixianglou Restaurant is surnamed Zhou. He is in his forties, slightly overweight, and always has a smiling face.

After listening to everyone's account, Boss Zhou's expression immediately changed, and he muttered a curse under his breath.

"Those damned bastards, they actually stole from my place! They've ruined my reputation!"

Then, Boss Zhou looked towards the door where the waiter was greeting guests.

"Xiao He, go to the Public Security Bureau and tell them that my Ruixiang Restaurant has been robbed."

"Ah~? Okay, boss!"

Xiao He was taken aback at first, but then quickly reacted. After glancing at Mu Tianbo and the others, he ran towards the door.

(End of this chapter)