The soldiers became excited upon hearing the order to move south, for they knew the purpose of this mission: to secure a better future for their descendants. The southwestern regions were generally impoverished. Not to mention the perpetual rain in Guizhou, where even three days of clear sky were rare and the land was often barren. Nor the saying about Sichuan province, where only Chengdu was considered good. The poverty of Yunnan province was almost ingrained. The poor essentially had only two paths: education or labor.
Yunnan's core industry was tobacco, but tobacco alone was insufficient. Neither light nor heavy industry was particularly strong. The labor force had all gone to work elsewhere. Ultimately, this was due to inconvenient transportation. Who could blame them for being born in Yunnan, a plateau region that was inherently underdeveloped? Being born in a plateau mountainous region meant transportation was restricted, thus dooming them to a life of poverty from birth.
However, past poverty did not necessarily mean perpetual poverty. For Yunnan, the opportunity to change its impoverished state had arrived. By moving south and capturing ports, they would gain access to the sea, as well as oil and natural gas. Furthermore, they could engage in trade with surrounding regions. Additionally, they would acquire fertile river valleys, areas that yielded three harvests a year. In essence, by moving south and seizing territory, they could fundamentally alter Yunnan's impoverished condition.
With a legitimate reason, the soldiers became fervent at this moment. The reason was simple: they had been poor for too long. The opportunity to change the future for their descendants was here; how could they remain indifferent?
Trucks carrying soldiers headed south, first charging into northern Myanmar. They occupied the region with almost no resistance. Many warlords existed locally, but when faced with the advancing army, these warlords offered food and drink to welcome the royal troops.
Shen Feng was puzzled by this scene, as he had imagined these warlords would unite and resist when faced with an external threat. Instead, the warlords surrendered so readily, it was almost too smooth.
Qian Bufei, along with a group, stayed in northern Myanmar, while other soldiers continued south. Occupying the north was of little use; the fertile lands were mostly in the south, as were the traditional agricultural production areas and regions with abundant manpower.
Shen Feng also stopped here with a few people from Chongqing. After stopping, Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan naturally chose to experience the local customs and traditions. As for Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian, they were free to roam. Qu Zhaoqian was two or three years younger than Chang Haojie, so he respectfully called Chang Haojie "big brother." Chang Haojie also carried many gold coins and immediately declared, "Follow your big brother, and you'll eat nine meals a day. Let's go, I'll take you to find some good food."
Shen Feng began to wander around the city outskirts and indeed found many Chinese people, as well as many ethnic minorities, such as the Miao and Yi people. Here, he could also see temples dedicated to Kongming. It was just as Qian Bufei had said; in the understanding of these ethnic minorities, Zhuge Liang was their deity.
Meanwhile, Chang Haojie led Qu Zhaoqian on a tour of the city. Shen Feng did not have bodyguards accompany them, only admonishing the two, "Don't cause trouble, behave yourselves, and no hurting people casually."
Shen Feng was not worried about the safety of these two youths, as both were ability users. Chang Haojie could fly, and Qu Zhaoqian's ability could rapidly age people. It was truly difficult for ordinary people to harm Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian. It would be good enough if they didn't bully others.
At this moment, Shen Feng finally understood why the local warlords had surrendered so easily. The reason was that the other ability users in Yunnan had already moved south. After arriving south, they secretly contacted the warlord leaders, explained their objectives, and then issued stern threats. The warlords, while powerful locally, were ultimately just local snakes. Since the apocalypse, the armies under their command had been shrinking, while Yunnan's powerful soldiers were heading south. This was a powerful dragon crossing the river; how could the local snakes not be afraid?
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the ability users stated their conditions: after surrendering, their land would not be seized. The warlords' eyes lit up at this, and they readily agreed. After all, the warlords only desired power; who was the boss was not something they cared about.
Thus, when the army arrived in northern Myanmar, the warlords surrendered directly. Not only did they actively guide the army, but they also provided food and supplies, hoping for the Yunnan army to achieve victory as quickly as possible.
Upon learning of this situation, Shen Feng could only shake his head helplessly, thinking, "A bunch of local snakes, very adept at shifting with the wind. However, these warlords have been entrenched locally for a long time, and removing them is not a simple matter. Alas, I'll just pretend I didn't see it." 138 Reading Network
At this moment, Shen Feng was no longer the passionate youth from school. Back then, if Shen Feng encountered an unfair situation, he would definitely curse it. Although it was useless, using words to vent his anger and express his emotions was also a form of passion.
But now, upon arriving in northern Myanmar, Shen Feng chose silence. As long as he pretended not to see anything, he wouldn't be troubled.
Shen Feng let go of his sense of responsibility and acted as if he knew nothing, strolling around with Chu Chaoyan. A handsome couple wandering the streets, looking very much in love. However, as they walked, Shen Feng often saw hollow-eyed individuals holding a burning pinch of white powder and inhaling it.
Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan had matured considerably, choosing to ignore unreasonable matters. However, the two youths, Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian, could not do the same.
After eating their fill in the city, the two began to wander. Their wandering led them to the outskirts of the city, where they heard cries and wails coming from a private wooded area. So, they sneaked in, wanting to see what was happening.
Upon entering, they discovered many cages in a pond. Each cage held a person, and the water had risen to their necks. To avoid drowning, these imprisoned individuals could only lift their heads with all their might.
Upon seeing this scene, Qu Zhaoqian couldn't help but say, "Big brother, we should run away quickly. It looks like we've stumbled into a place we shouldn't have come."
However, when Qu Zhaoqian said this, Chang Haojie immediately rebuked him, "Why are you so timid, kid? Your ability is stronger than mine, yet you're more cowardly than me now. Are there any places in the world we cannot go? Since we're here, let's understand the situation."
The people imprisoned were already suffering immensely. During their confinement, they could not eat or drink normally. To survive, they could only drink water, and whether they could live was entirely uncertain. Those with good health might last longer, but for those with poor health, being imprisoned in a water dungeon was essentially a death sentence.
"Help us, please save us, we are dying," a group of people cried out for help. Although only two children appeared, this was their hope for survival. As long as there was hope, they should not give up.
Upon hearing these pleas, Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian felt confused, as the people were speaking Chinese. Shocked, Chang Haojie couldn't help but ask, "Why do you speak Chinese?"
The prisoners quickly explained, "We are all Chinese, of course we speak Chinese! Please save us. If you can free us, we will be grateful to you forever."
Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian had never encountered such a situation. They couldn't help but ask, "Since you are Chinese, why don't you live in China and are here instead? Also, have you committed crimes? Why are you imprisoned?"
The prisoners then defended themselves, "We were all deceived and brought here. Years ago, we were tricked into coming here to make a lot of money abroad. Instead, we were brought here to commit fraud. If our fraud performance was poor, we would be subjected to water torture, which is our current state. If our performance was still poor, we would be killed and our organs removed. We truly cannot bear it any longer."
Qu Zhaoqian suddenly understood and said, "So you are all fraudsters. Why should we save you? You deserve it, you brought it upon yourselves."
Chang Haojie felt the same. The minds of youths are always black and white. Are fraudsters good or bad people? It's obvious, they are definitely bad people. Since they are bad people and are now being punished, one should be happy rather than wanting to save them.
However, the prisoners continued to beg, "We had no choice. Even if we defrauded, it was under duress. We just wanted to make money, but we were tricked into coming here and lived worse than pigs and dogs every day. We just want to go home now; we can't worry about anything else."
Upon hearing their tearful pleas, Chang Haojie asked, "In this day and age, are you still imprisoned for poor fraud performance?"
The crowd immediately burst into tears upon hearing this, "Where can we commit fraud now? The currency system has long collapsed. Even transfers are just a string of numbers. We are imprisoned because our farming performance was poor. Originally, there were hundreds of us here, but now only a little over thirty are still alive."
Chang Haojie heard this and realized it was something he didn't know. He then said to Qu Zhaoqian, "Let one person out, and I'll listen to their story. If what they say makes sense, I'll save them. If not, I won't bother."
Chang Haojie's life could be described as being in a greenhouse, as the most dangerous situation he had encountered was being trapped in school, and even then, he had the protection of teachers, followed by the protection of Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi, so he never encountered any threats. Now, Chang Haojie suddenly learned about the life in another world and became curious.
Qu Zhaoqian did not hesitate. He aimed his ability at a wooden cage, and the wooden cage began to rot. A prisoner was freed.
"Come, come, sit down and tell me about your experiences. Also, why don't I see any women?" Chang Haojie pointed to a stone to the side, preparing to learn about the lives of others.
The prisoner looked around to confirm no one was watching him before slowly sitting down. He now realized that the two children before him were not ordinary people. It was impossible for ordinary people to easily open cages. Perhaps these were the legendary ability users.
The prisoners were still looking at Chang Haojie and Qu Zhaoqian with anticipation. The hope of survival had appeared, and they yearned to be rescued.