It was July 18th when Yan Liqiang came to Yingwei County again, just seven days after the first ship trial voyage on the Xijiang River.
At the same time, during these seven days, the county magistrates of the other three counties in Qiyun County, except Jia'an County, were successively selected through voting by local celebrities on the 12th, 13th and 14th. The official document of the commission of the Supervisory Office had been issued, and the Recommendation and Supervision Office under Shi Changfeng's Lifang was officially established.
And just yesterday, July 17, the first passenger ferry under the Shipbuilding Bureau was put into operation between Huanglong County and Pingxi City. The Shipbuilding Bureau wanted to test the performance of the ship in actual use, find problems, and find ways to improve it...
Although this first passenger-carrying ship had passed its first sea trial, the time was still short, and the mechanical performance of the entire ship might not be stable enough. There was a possibility that problems might occur during the voyage and the ship might run aground on the river. But even so, after the news that this ship could be launched to carry passengers spread, the number of people who went to the Huanglong County Wharf to buy tickets and were willing to try the feeling of riding a ship almost collapsed the ticket hall at the Huanglong County Wharf. Even though the ticket price was three times that of ordinary ships, and even though the ship might stall on the way and fail to arrive at the destination on time, this still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of those who wanted to try what this ship was like. In just half an hour, all the tickets for the Han Empire's first passenger ship's trial voyage within the next three months were sold out.
Stimulated by this enthusiasm and money, the craftsmen of the shipyard of the Manufacturing Bureau have been working overtime to build the second passenger ship, striving to have the second trial passenger ship launched in five days and put into sailing operation so that more people can experience the thrill.
The entire Qiyun County was full of vitality, seemingly completely unaffected by the current situation of the Han Empire. It was like a train on the track, accelerating towards its goal...
When Yan Liqiang arrived at Yingwei County, according to the statistics of the Qiyun Guardian Office based on various aspects of the situation, the peak of the number of the first batch of rangers entering the Gulang grassland had arrived.
At this time, more than a month had passed since the order to kill the Hu people was issued. The knights-errant and various gangsters from all sides of the Han Empire, who had received the news, were swarming in from all directions, calling their friends. On July 16, according to the news from Baishi Pass, on that day, the number of knights-errant who passed through Baishi Pass and entered the Gulang Grassland officially exceeded 3,000. This was just the number of knights-errant. If the various other gold diggers who entered the Gulang Grassland were counted, the number of people who entered the Gulang Grassland through Baishi Pass yesterday alone had exceeded 10,000.
At this time, Yingwei County, because it was close to Baishi Pass and had developed commerce, immediately became the base camp for those who wanted to enter the Gulang Grassland to gain fame and fortune, such as the knights-errant, the gangsters, and the militia. All kinds of people were making the final preparations to enter the Gulang Grassland in Yingwei County, asking for information, purchasing various supplies, and assembling the team to enter the Gulang Grassland...
Those who returned from headhunting on the Gulang grassland would temporarily rest or recuperate in Yingwei County after entering Baishishan Pass. When they came back, in addition to the heads of the Shatu and Heijie people they hunted, they also brought back the latest news from the Gulang grassland and a large number of things looted from the Gulang grassland, especially rhinoceros horses.
The wool trade in Yingwei County had basically been suspended at this time, but Yingwei County was now ten times busier than before. In just two months, the entire Yingwei County became the largest horse trading center in the northwest and even in the Han Empire. Almost all the horse thieves and horse dealers in the northwest came here. The chaotic situation in the Han Empire at the moment made the rhinoceros dragon horse, which was originally a strategic material, even more scarce and sought-after. The rhinoceros dragon horse looted from the Gulang grassland suddenly became a hot commodity for the state army and wealthy families in various places.
Yan Liqiang came to Yingwei County alone this time, without any attendants or guards. He returned to Yan'an Fort last night and told the people around him that he would go into seclusion for the next three months. After entering the seclusion room, Yan Liqiang activated the Thousand Faces Magic Skill and changed his appearance again, becoming an honest and simple-looking young man. After changing into an ordinary ranger's outfit, carrying an ordinary long sword and an ordinary three-stone Tuomu hard bow, he left the seclusion room of Yan'an Fort through a secret passage without anyone noticing, and rode on the dark clouds covering the snow in the middle of the night, heading straight for Baishishan Pass.
Yan Liqiang was indeed in seclusion this time, but this retreat was different from ordinary ones. His goal this time was to try to break through the practice barrier after the seventh level of Kyudo within three months.
The method of breaking through the barriers to cultivation that Elder Feng Qinghe told him about was very, very special, one could even say it was bizarre. According to the Mingwang Sect's experience, when a person encounters a barrier to cultivation, the best way is to gain a breakthrough through the experience of life and death and the fight with the enemy. However, this experience and fight is not carried out in an ordinary state, but in a state of deliberately lowering one's own cultivation level and strength.
According to Ming Wang Zong, at this time, the lower a master can suppress his own cultivation realm, the more he can restrain his own abilities. The more dangerous and intense the life-and-death struggle he experiences under this situation of firmly restraining his own strength and realm, the easier it is to break through the cultivation barrier. Ming Wang Zong's experience of breaking through the cultivation barrier runs counter to everyone's ideas. It is not to rush up in one go, but to press down. When the strength is compressed to the extreme, it is liberated in the great terror of the life-and-death struggle and then break through the cultivation barrier...
Yan Liqiang felt that Ming Wangzong's method made some sense. This principle was even a bit like the physical principle of gas explosion. Many gases would not explode under normal conditions, but once the gas was compressed rapidly and then with a little heat and sparks, the gas would explode. So he did not hesitate to take out three months to bravely give it a try and conduct a special retreat.
When he arrived at Yingwei County, Yan Liqiang had already regarded himself as a knight who had just advanced to the rank of martial artist and whose archery skills had just reached the third level, just like the thousands of knights who came to Qiyun County...
(End of this chapter)