In the quiet study room, Yuan Xiaozheng was pacing back and forth with a long sigh, his brows furrowed, and his face full of sorrow.
Regarding the situation of himself and his father Yuan Junzhang, Yuan Xiaozheng tossed and turned almost every night and could not sleep. He used to hold Shuo and Yunzhou, which was quite important, but now he has lost the most important city of Mayi, and his large-scale counterattack failed miserably.
The status of the family is already in jeopardy.
There is darkness ahead on this road. Are we really going to die?
Yuan Xiaozheng was silently calculating in his mind. Suddenly he stopped and looked up to see his bodyguard approaching quickly.
"Have you heard about it?"
"Erlangjun." The guard took a few steps forward and whispered a few words.
Yuan Xiaozheng's spirit was shaken. He hesitated for a while, changed his clothes, strode out of the house, got on his horse, went straight out of Yunzhong City, and stopped in a small town.
"Uncle, you are from Wutai!" A young man spat and pointed, "My wife is from Wutai!"
Yuan Xiaozheng stood outside the crowd and listened silently. His grandfather Yuan Kan had served as acting governor in the former Sui Dynasty. Naturally, he understood it immediately. Daizhou had jurisdiction over five counties: Daixian, Fanzhi, Yuanping, Wutai, and Guoxian.
, Wutai is named after the famous Mount Wutai.
"Really granting land?" The old man from Wutai, Daizhou looked suspicious, "Who can guarantee it?"
"There is no general manager in Daizhou now, but the county magistrate promised that if he settles in Daixian County, he will be granted twenty acres of land per ding, regardless of the past." The young man vowed: "And he will be exempted from taxes for three years!
"
There was an uproar all around. Some people were excited and excited, while others retorted loudly. The young man said loudly: "Everyone knows that in these years, there have been frequent military disasters in the state, and many families have abandoned their farmland and fled. It is all fertile farmland..."
Yuan Xiaozheng listened for a while longer, then left quietly, and slowly walked back to the city. When he saw that he had arrived outside the house, he turned the horse's head and changed its direction. After hesitating for a long time, he turned over and dismounted outside the shop with the plaque of Yu Hu Chun.
"That's it, we'll set off in two days..." Zhou Zuilang, who was taking stock of the accounts with Fan Shiyi, turned his head and saw Yuan Xiaozheng, and walked a few steps closer, "I've met Mr. Yuan Langjun."
"Yeah." Yuan Xiaozheng responded casually and walked in. Seeing that he was about to reach the backyard, he suddenly stopped, hesitated for a moment, and turned around to find a bench to sit down on.
Both Zhou Erlang and Fan Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief... There wasn't much in the backyard, but there were a lot of high-quality weapons placed against the wall.
This kind of weapon is considered top-grade in Guan Nei and Hedong. In Yunzhou... it is only available to generals or personal guards under Yuan Junzhang. Once it is exposed to the light, it is not easy to fool them in the name of a caravan.
"Yuhuchun has been sold out the day before yesterday. What did you buy for the return journey?"
Yuan Xiaozheng's first sentence didn't seem sharp, because although Yunzhou also used copper coins to trade, they used copper coins left over from the former Sui Dynasty. They mostly used cloth, silk, and sheep to trade, so the caravan must have
I want to buy goods for the return trip, just in time to make another fortune.
"It's just some spices...the prices in Hedong are not high, but in Chang'an they are as valuable as gold." Zhou Erlang responded cautiously.
Yuan Xiaozheng glanced over, "Isn't it enough?"
Fan Shiyi's hand hidden behind his back tightened. Zhou Erlang gave him a calm look, laughed a few times but did not answer... The young man in front of him was Yuan Junzhang's son, and he was not someone he could offend.
.
After a moment of silence, Yuan Xiaozheng said softly: "If I am not mistaken, I should have exchanged a lot of good horses, but not many cattle."
Zhou Zhoulang and Fan Shiyi exchanged surprised looks, partly because of Yuan Xiaozheng's attitude, and partly because what the other party said was very right.
No matter what the words say, a lot of good horses were exchanged this time, but not many cattle were caught. This was one of the reasons why Zhou Erlang decided to stay for a few more days.
"It's not difficult to exchange fine wine for good horses." Yuan Xiaozheng said softly: "But oxen is not possible."
"Since more than ten years ago, Yunzhou has been controlled by Turks, but most of the people are Han people and they also make a living by farming."
"So most of the cattle in Yunzhou are in the hands of the Han people. Even if they have a wedding, they will not exchange cattle for them."
Zhou Zhoulang remained silent. He also understood this reason, so the day before yesterday he resorted to a desperate strategy and simply asked people to persuade the people who were originally from Daizhou to take away the people and their cattle. Anyway, Lang Jun would do it sooner or later.
"I have been in Shuo and Yunzhou for many years, and I haven't tasted tea for a long time. Next time I will bring more tea." Yuan Xiaozheng suddenly changed the topic, "Of course, you should also bring more salt."
Fan Shiyi, who has been wandering around these days, suddenly had an idea, "You can't buy cows with wine, but you can buy salt!"
This is a key point that is easily overlooked. People can avoid drinking alcohol, but they cannot avoid eating salt.
Yunzhou and Shuozhou do not produce salt, but there are several brine salt ponds in Hedong. Fan Shiyi thought of eating in the countryside a few days ago. The food was rarely salty and bitter, and most of them used rock salt.
No matter how important the cattle are, they are not as important as pure table salt... If you are smart, you can exchange one cattle for salt and turn around and get two more.
After all, in Yunzhou, although cattle are important, they are not rare.
Zhou Erlang suddenly came to his senses, and immediately looked at Yuan Xiaozheng carefully... The young man sat there, looking a little flinching, but there was hope in his eyes, and his hands shrunk in his sleeves were trembling slightly.
"Ashina Sheer left for Wuyuan County early yesterday morning."
Fan Shiyi knew about this because he saw Yuan Junzhang sending Ashina Sheer out of the city yesterday, but Wuyuan County...
"Wuyuan County?"
Yuan Xiaozheng explained softly: "During the Kaihuang reign of the former Sui Dynasty, Fengzhou was established, and during the Daye reign it was renamed Wuyuan County... The royal tent of Jieli Khan was moved to the north of Wuyuan County last year."
Fan Shiyi was stunned. This may be the most important information he has learned since coming to Yunzhou... Since the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks in the fourth year of Wude, the two sides have never traded with each other, envoys.
The Tang Dynasty did send envoys to visit Jieli Khan... However, the Turks reached Hedong Road in those two times, and the envoys did not go to the grassland.
After saying this, which was neither a big thing nor a small thing, Yuan Xiaozheng was silent for a long time. In fact, he was not a courageous person. His expression changed again and again, and then he hesitated and whispered: "You guys
Too impatient..."
Fan Shiyi and Zhou Erlang quickly realized that the other party was referring to recruiting people from Daizhou to return to their hometown.
Yuan Xiaozheng stood up slowly and walked out. When he saw Zhou Zhoulang accompanying him from the side, he moved his lips and said, "Let's go, we'll leave today."
Even after talking about this, Zhou Erlang still didn't understand... He was good at making his own opinions and letting people recruit people in advance, which might have caused trouble.
Within an hour, Zhou Erlang and Fan Shiyi urgently recalled all their personnel.
Two hours later, Yuan Xiaozheng stood on the city wall and watched the motorcade leave Yunzhong County and roll towards the south. Hundreds of good horses were mixed in front and behind the motorcade, and a huge cloud of smoke and dust was rolled up.