Nankang County, market.
There were forty or fifty people wearing colorful linen, very different from the Central Plains people, with all kinds of beautiful feathers on their bodies, and various tattoos on their faces, occupying the market.
Most of the stalls in the stalls have various local specialties placed in front of them, accompanied by their half-cooked and even somewhat loud Chinese voices: "Pheasant, wild boar, good specialties, patchouli beans, etc."
Barley is a good medicinal material. It can cure heatstroke and prevent epidemics. It is immune to all poisons. Come and take a look."
Wang Hong, dressed in casual clothes, was escorted by several warriors in civilian clothes. He walked back and forth in the market with his hands folded. From time to time, he passed by some stalls, picking up the goods on these stalls, and occasionally chatting with the sly people.
The stall owners chatted for a few words, and finally smiled, shook their heads, and turned to leave.
A guard muttered in a low voice: "My lord, you have been here for three days and it is like this every day. Is there anything wrong with this market?"
Another guard said in a low voice: "Third brother, you don't understand. This is abnormal. There must be something strange. In the past, it was rare to have one or two slangs in this market, but this time there are so many, even us
Isn’t it strange that all the Han people’s stalls are also occupied?”
The guard named Lao San said unconvinced: "Didn't my lord ask, they all said they were monsters from Lingnan? Oh, no, it was the officers and soldiers from Lingnan who imposed taxes on these mountain slangs. They had no choice but to do it."
They come to us to resell these local products, because the officers and soldiers in Lingnan kept the prices very low, and they also forcibly expropriated the timber and didn't pay them at all."
As he spoke, he pointed to the distance, where there were dozens of people who looked like Han merchants, haggling with a few people with feathers on their heads."
Wang Hong remained calm and walked to a secluded place on one side, away from the crowd. He looked at the market in the distance and said softly: "I'm afraid, most of the traders are the tribesmen who transport the wood.
Tribesmen, just do some small business here to make some extra money for yourself. The real big business is the businessmen who transport wood."
Zhu Chaoshi's voice sounded softly behind Wang Hong: "Mr. Wang, you and I have been patrolling these people separately these days. What do you think?"
Wang Hong turned around and looked at a man dressed as a hawker, wearing a headband and bare feet. Isn't it Zhu Chaoshi? With only a pair of shining eyes, he still couldn't hide his elegance. Wang Hong smiled slightly:
"General Zhu is really pretending to be the same. If you were squatting in a stall now, I really wouldn't be able to recognize you."
Zhu Chaoshi said calmly: "I have penetrated into the enemy's army many times to spy on the military situation. I have also been to Lingnan several times. Those chiefs who sell timber are indeed the chiefs or leading figures of several large tribes in Shixing area. No.
There will be lies, and these people are indeed local slangs, not demon thieves pretending to be evil. This can be seen from their skin color and the calluses on their bare feet."
Wang Hong frowned: "So, these people are really here to sell things, not demon thieves taking the opportunity to spy and have some plot?"
Zhu Chaoshi curled up his lips and said: "That's not how I see it. The demon thieves have also been making some big moves recently. They are expropriating these slang and Dong barbarian tribes, asking them to hand over food to produce men. If they cannot hand over, they will be forcibly taken away from the tribe.
The number of men and women was enough, so these patriarchs were anxious and had no other choice, so they took the men from all over the cave to hunt, cut down trees, dig medicine, and then transported them to us to sell, and after getting the money, they transferred the grain to us.
Go back and deliver the goods. I heard some of their vendors talking privately. It seems that the army of monster thieves is now stationed in their tribe. If they can't deliver the goods within the time limit, their families will be destroyed."
Wang Hong laughed: "It seems that the blockade order issued by your master has worked. This Lingnan land is filled with smoke and arable land is scarce. It is difficult to collect food and grass for the army. It has always been dependent on our rivers."
We provide rice grains from Lingnan and Xiangzhou in exchange for rare treasures from Lingnan. Therefore, it is a good place for corrupt officials to make a fortune, but once there is no external food supply, it will be difficult to maintain. These monsters and thieves
There are tens of thousands of old thieves, and it's okay to suppress these slang and Dong barbarians, but it's just a dream to form a large army for the Northern Expedition, and only this food and grass barrier will make it impossible for them to solve it!"
Zhu Chaoshi nodded: "But they are squeezing the Dong people to get food now, and they obviously have a plan. They are demon thieves who don't farm the land themselves. The food cultivated by the Han people in Lingnan cannot supply the army, and the Yi people live in the mountains and forests.
They know how to farm, but if they use their local products in exchange for food, it won't arouse any suspicion. This is probably a way to hide it from others."
Wang Hong's eyes flashed coldly: "I have already explained that it is okay to give money, but not rice and grain. We want to collect their medicinal materials. Nothing else matters. I am afraid that over time, the demon thieves will also
I noticed that now is the autumn harvest time, and there is a lot of rice in Jiangzhou and Xiangzhou, so if more people come at this time, it will not attract others' attention. But if after half a month, so many people still come, it will definitely attract attention.
Life is doubtful. Tell the rice shops in the city that they can only sell old rice, and the price will be doubled. How much more can these scumbags charge?!"
Zhu Chaoshi grabbed the hair on his head and asked curiously: "Mr. Wang, what do you mean? You said you won't give me rice, and you said you will sell old rice at a high price?"
Wang Hong smiled slightly: "General Zhu, if we don't sell a bushel of rice, the demon thieves will also become suspicious. This year's autumn harvest is very smooth. The entire Jiangxiang prefecture is ripe, and every household's rice warehouse is full, so
These slanderous people came here after hearing the news. In fact, they were driven here by demon thieves. They wanted to use their hands to collect food and grass to realize their ulterior motives. But if we don't sell it, then they will know that it is us too.
We are gathering grain to prepare for a crusade against them, and maybe we will take action first. Now the soldiers and horses in the south of the town have scattered to various townships and villages to collect grain, and they have not returned yet. If the demon thieves take the opportunity to make a surprise attack at this time..."
At this point, the expression on his face became solemn and the smile disappeared.
Zhu Chaoshi looked at these slang Dong people in the market, smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, county minister, I have been keeping an eye on these people. They are really just slang people carrying wood, and their number is only four to five hundred."
That's all. After gatherings, we would set up a tent on the beach of the Ercha River outside the city, catch fish in the river, and buy some old rice for cooking. We didn't bring any weapons, and we didn't form an army.
organize."
This chapter has been completed!