"Knowing that Luo Pinzheng brought some for us, why did you bring so much food, sister-in-law?"
Qin Anmin stared wide-eyed in surprise as Su Qinghe pulled out all these things from the small bundle.
Su Qinghe smiled sheepishly, "My husband at home was worried about me, so he insisted on giving it to me. Now it's come in handy!"
"Bring me the kettle, I'll pour you some water." She held out her hand to Qin Anmin.
Qin Anmin rubbed his hands awkwardly and asked the attendant guarding outside the tent to hand her a water bottle.
"Just one or two bites will do."
Su Qinghe didn't follow her instructions and poured a third of it over directly.
"Don't stand on ceremony with our relationship. We've had plenty of spring water along the way, I'll fill it up again tomorrow."
Since Su Qinghe had said so, Qin Anmin didn't stand on ceremony and gulped down several large mouthfuls of the drink.
There were mountain springs along the way, so she didn't try to save water. Every time she finished drinking, she could fill up her water bottle after walking for a while.
But who knew we'd be so unlucky? After finishing the spring, we stopped and wouldn't go any further before we even encountered another one.
The noise outside continued, and every now and then a few complaints could be heard.
After the two finished eating and chatting in the tent, they lay down and rested for about half an hour before Luo Pinzheng's shouts to distribute food came from outside.
Su Qinghe followed the crowd and pulled Qin Anmin to collect the items before returning.
Although they had already eaten, and she had food in her space, she still had to stock up on some more in her bundle in front of Qin Anmin.
As night fell, the occasional howl of wolves could be heard in the mountains, but because there were many people, including the garrison soldiers who knew martial arts, no one was too afraid, and the night passed peacefully.
The journey that followed was exceptionally arduous and boring. Su Qinghe and Qin Anmin felt alright, but Luo Pinzheng himself was finding it difficult to keep up.
The group walked and stopped frequently, finally arriving at their destination on the afternoon of the third day.
"Dad, we're finally here! I've never suffered like this in my life!"
Upon seeing the large iron gate in front of them, some people immediately collapsed to the ground, disregarding their image.
As Su Qinghe sighed in admiration, she became even more vigilant.
She was extremely careful throughout the journey, but apart from the pot of poisoned broth, nothing else went wrong.
Now that they have arrived at their destination, they know from Luo Pinzheng's poisoning of everyone that there must be another purpose behind this trip.
Therefore, her next objective must be carried out in this place.
Su Qinghe subtly surveyed her surroundings.
The first thing that catches the eye is a large iron gate, which is embedded in the mountain wall like a modern tunnel, and inside it is the passage that Luo Pinzheng mentioned.
"Lord Luo."
Upon seeing Luo Pinzheng arrive with a large group of people, the guards at the entrance quickly bowed and saluted.
Two rows of soldiers stood in neat rows at the gate, holding long guns, their faces solemn.
Luo Pinzheng stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the leader. The leader glanced coldly at everyone, nodded, and waved to someone behind him.
"Open the door."
Two men immediately stepped forward to lift the iron bolt on the door.
After the bolts were released, the remaining people in the two rows immediately and tacitly stood on either side of the door. Su Qinghe counted, and there were exactly ten people on each side of the two doors.
"One, two, three, push!"
The person in charge started shouting slogans, and with her shout of "Get up!", the twenty people who were leaning against the door began to push the door open with all their might.
As the iron gate opened, a series of muffled booms echoed across the field, causing a considerable amount of sand and soil to fall from the mountaintop.
The group of people following Luo Pinzheng all looked shocked, staring at the iron gate without blinking.
"Is this iron gate really that heavy? It takes 20 people to push it open!"
"It seems Lord Luo didn't cut corners this time; this should be the most solid door in our Great Wu!"
"Being able to witness this gate with my own eyes makes all my hard work these past two days worthwhile!"
As the gate was opened wider, the crowd gradually realized how thick the iron gate was—it was as thick as a baby's arm! No wonder it took so many people to push it open.
Su Qinghe was also somewhat surprised to see this door.
She realized from the time she went to the craftsmen to make various parts that the casting technology in this world was far more advanced than she had imagined.
But they never expected that such a thick iron gate could be made and even successfully embedded in the mountain wall.
The muffled thuds continued, and the door was now mostly open, revealing the scene behind it to everyone.
Inside was a dark and deep passage, just wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side. Pine resin torches were stuck in the walls on both sides, and the flames swayed from side to side with the wind stirred up by the moving door.
Everyone stood outside in a daze. When the door was fully open, Luo Pin turned around, his smile carrying a deeper meaning.
"Shall I show you all around?"
Upon hearing that they could still go in, everyone nodded happily and followed closely behind Luo Pinzheng, afraid of being a step too late.
As Su Qinghe followed the crowd into the door, she subtly observed her surroundings.
After entering the gate, the flickering flames on both walls cast long shadows of everyone.
The group, who had been so exhausted they could barely stand, perked up as soon as they entered the tunnel, looking around and praising it.
"Lord Luo, now the two sides are open, but this mountain is really too difficult to climb, and even the carriage can't get up here," someone asked.
Luo Pin was leading the way, explaining slowly.
"There is no road now, but once the memorial is submitted and His Majesty confirms it, it will be built. At that time, not only our Tianhe County side, but also the other side of Ziyun Ridge will have a road built."
Upon hearing this, someone frowned. "With a road, wouldn't it be easier for the enemy to advance?"
Upon hearing her question, someone immediately joked, "Is the head of the Liu family so dim-witted after doing business?"
"How wide do you think the roads in these mountains can be? Even if they were to be built, they would only be wide enough for two horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side at most."
"If the enemy attacks, a small number of people is not a threat, but can a large number of people just swarm up at once?"
Her words immediately drew laughter from the crowd, while the Liu family head, who had spoken earlier, blushed and was furious, but unable to refute her.
Su Qinghe walked at the end of the group, listening quietly to their conversation, while her eyes looked with a puzzled expression at the neatly arranged small holes on the stone walls on both sides.
There are long mountain ranges on both sides, so these holes can't be very deep.
After thinking for a moment, Su Qinghe asked Qin Anmin beside her, "Sister Qin, are these small holes hidden weapons?"
Seeing Qin Anmin nod, Su Qinghe was once again amazed by the craftsmanship of this world.
Stopping her investigation of the small holes, Su Qinghe turned her attention to other things on the wall.
The tunnel was quite long; Su Qinghe felt it took her about five or six minutes to reach the end.
The other entrance to the tunnel had no door, but soldiers were guarding it as well.
Just then, Su Qinghe heard Qin Anmin mutter to himself.
"Strange, I haven't seen a single familiar soldier?"
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