There was a carriage pulled by two horses parked outside the gate of Xu's house.

Silk curtains, satin curtains, the entire car body is made of pear wood, various bird and animal patterns are carved around the windows, and a layer of silver foil is pasted on several conspicuous places on the car body. When the sun shines, the silver light shines.

Xu Youcai's carriage is not the largest in Lingqiu, but it is definitely the most luxurious and the most famous. Everyone in Lingqiu City knows it.

While walking on the road, most of the street was occupied by Xu Youcai's carriage, and pedestrians on the road took shelter on both sides of the road.

The carriage walked through the street where the bell tower was located, and stopped in front of the garrison gate near the city gate.

The garrison mansion is located inside the city, and the garrison camp remains outside the city.

The servant of the Xu family who was driving the carriage picked up the wooden stool on the carriage and placed it on the ground, then helped Xu Youcai get out of the carriage.

There were two soldiers guarding the gate of the garrison. Butler Xu went over and handed over the assassin, and the soldiers at the door went in to pass the news.

Not long after, a soldier walked out of the garrison mansion and brought Xu Youcai and Butler Xu into the garrison mansion.

Several beggars were squatting under the wall diagonally across from the garrison. One of the beggars picked up his broken bowl and disappeared around the corner.

………………

In the side hall of the Yang family, Boss Yang and the other two owners of the Dongshan Iron Works exchanged cups and had a lively conversation.

After three minutes of wine and five dishes of food, Fatty Xu was overflowing with alcohol, his face was red and his eyes were blurry. He grabbed the wine glass with one hand and said unsteadily: "You two, to be honest, there is something I have been unsure about.

Idea, two brothers, help me come up with an idea."

Boss Yang put down his chopsticks, looked sideways, and said with the strength of his wine: "You fat man, you don't want to sell your iron stove, right? Don't worry, as long as you sell it, Boss Li and I will definitely buy it."

Li Lidong beside him nodded vigorously in agreement, drunkenly.

"You're not selling my Xu family's stove." Fatty Xu grabbed the wine cup and took a sip, "Just two days ago, the bandits from Hutou Village came to me and said they wanted to open an iron yard in Dongshan and wanted my help.

Do you think I will agree or not?"

Bang... The wine glass in Li Lidong's hand fell to the table.

Next to him, Dongzhu Yang was sober, his pupils widened, and he said, "You agreed?"

"Not yet. I don't want you two brothers to help me decide whether to agree or not to agree." Fatty Xu looked at Dongzhu Yang and then at Li Lidong with blurred eyes.

Li Lidong shook his head and said, "I can't agree."

"Yes, we must not agree to this matter." Boss Yang said solemnly, "There are already a lot of iron yards in Dongshan, and each family can't get enough. Many miners are idle. If there is another iron yard, the profits of each family will be diluted.

Layer, you can't do such offending things."

Fatty Xu put his hands on the table and said with half-squinted eyes: "I understand what you are saying, but according to what that person said, they are already ready to do it. They only want me to introduce them to them. Without me, they will be the same."

We will open an iron yard in Dongshan."

Li Lidong sneered: "Without our permission, even if they set up a stove in Dongshan, they won't be able to keep it."

"Those people in Hutou Village are bandits. The county government will not issue them documents to open an iron yard in Dongshan, unless you, the proprietor, are willing to sell your stove to them." Proprietor Yang looked at Fatty Xu with a half-smile.

Fatty Xu shook his head vigorously and said: "Don't look at me, I can't possibly sell my own stove. They have their own documents from Dongshan Iron Works. Have you forgotten Chen Dafu?"

Hiss... Dongzhu Yang took a breath of air.

Chen Dafu's death was a big deal at the beginning. Everyone knew that he was killed by strongmen because he defrauded others of a thousand taels of silver. As for which group of strongmen did it, no one knew.

After hearing what Fatty Xu said today, Li Lidong and Dongzhu Yang knew that Chen Dafu's death was related to Hutou Village.

Both of them are well-off Lingqiu gentry. In addition to the iron farm in Dongshan, there are other businesses in Lingqiu City, and there is also Zhuangzi outside the city, but it is not as big as the iron farm.

Seeing that both of them were silent, Fatty Xu said with a smile: "You two must understand my dilemma this time. He has a knife handle in his hand, which is different from the two people from Yanzhou Prefecture who we drove away last time.

"

Li Lidong hesitated for a long time and said: "Looking for Xu Youcai to form a rural army. We have some people with money and no shortage of soldiers and armor. I don't believe it. We can turn a group of bandits and bandits into chaos."

Fatty Xu sat upright and sneered: "Don't forget, Mr. Li, the three of us have made Xu Youcai lose face in public today. We have been fighting with the Xu family in the past few years. If he controls the rural soldiers and finishes Hutou Village, who will be dealt with next?"

It’s just the three of us.”

"What Dongzhu Xu said makes sense." Dongzhu Yang said, "A group of bandits cannot cause much trouble. The Xu family is the crisis for our family."

"So Mr. Yang agreed to these bandits opening an iron yard in Dongshan?" Li Lidong frowned.

It has always been the three of them who have advanced and retreated together in order to compete with the Xu family. Now both families agree that the bandits from Hutou Village will open an iron yard in Dongshan. This makes him feel uncomfortable. After all, he is also a family of gentry, so he is naturally compatible with the bandits.

opposition.

Dongzhu Yang said: "Don't worry, Dongzhu Li. We all know that Chen Dafu's iron yard is just a small furnace iron yard. There is no loss to all of us. We don't have to offend a group of murderous bandits because of this matter. The gain outweighs the loss."

Hearing this, Li Lidong said with dissatisfaction: "This is no small matter. If this hole is opened, other forces will reach in and take food from the pot of Dongshan."

For the ironworks owners of Dongshan, Dongshan belongs to them, and no other forces are allowed to come in and take a share of the pie.

"Isn't there still the Xu family?" Fatty Xu said abruptly.

"Xu family?" Li Lidong frowned and said, "If the Xu family dares to recruit rural soldiers without the permission of the government, it is tantamount to rebellion. Xu Youcai is not that stupid yet."

Fatty Xu smiled and said: "How could the Xu family let go of the bandits in Hutou Village so easily after suffering such a big loss? We just need to watch the show. If Hutou Village is gone in the future, the iron field in Dongshan will also be gone."

"Sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight." Dongzhu Yang said with a smile, "They say you are fat and stupid, but I think you are as smart as a fox. They also asked us two to make decisions for you. You have something in your mind. Come on,

I’ll give you a toast.”

He picked up the wine glass and toasted Fatty Xu.

Li Lidong frowned and shook his head secretly. Compared with the two people in front of him, he realized that he was the stupidest one.

Several people exchanged cups and cups again, smiling happily.

After the Xu family cleared out Hutou Village, they took the opportunity to swallow up Chen Dafu's iron farm.

………………

Autumn rain falls to the ground, and it feels as cold as the day before.

Nearly half of the grain in some adobe houses on Hutou Village Mountain was transported to the caves in the back mountain, leaving many empty rooms for storing weapons and armor, forming an arsenal.

Weapons and armor are constantly being transported up the mountain. The quantity is limited due to the number of craftsmen. So far, more than half of the people in the village are not equipped with iron armor.

"How are you preparing your cotton-padded clothes?" Liu Heng stood in front of the main hall of the Mountain Temple, looking at the fine raindrops outside the door falling to the ground and forming small puddles.

Li Shuheng said: "Cotton has been collected from all over Datong, and then given to craftsmen to make cotton armor. More than 200 pieces have been made, and they are all placed in the cave behind the mountain."

"It's too slow." Liu Heng said, "You pick some people to learn how to make cotton armor from the craftsmen. Before winter, you have to make 800 cotton armor and 500 cotton coats. This winter will be better than we imagined.

It’s early.”
Chapter completed!