A few days later, Li Licheng and his party continued northward from Xingyang along Suoshui, and arrived at the south bank of the Yellow River smoothly. Thinking of what happened a few days ago, it was a blessing in disguise.
Naqi General Dongfang was very thoughtful and realized from the goods they transported that they were not ordinary merchants. Although there were merchants in the north and south who used books as commodities, after all, this was only a relatively niche commodity trade.
Those who make a living are not just simple merchants. Especially the books they transport are very rich in both quantity and category. Naturally, they are not accessible to people with ordinary backgrounds.
This situation is not that they are inseparable, and they have made corresponding arrangements. It is just a coincidence that when they go out, they meet Mr. Dongfang who is making extra money by raiding smuggling.
Fortunately, Li Tang and Mr. Dongfang were old acquaintances, and Mr. Dongfang seemed to believe Li Tang's words. After entertaining him, he did not create any more difficulties and even arranged for his subordinates to protect them.
Traveling all the way north allowed them to successfully reach the south bank of the Yellow River.
As for the goods that were searched previously, Mr. Dongfang also returned most of them to them, but some of the particularly rare items, such as white sugar, were still withheld.
Of course, this is nothing, not to mention that the other party has provided them with a certain degree of protection. Even if it is just a reunion of old friends, they should still show it according to the etiquette of dealing with others.
"Although Mr. Dongfang also has a lot of faith, he is willing to let it go easily this time because he wants to save his own life. It is unexpected that he got me by chance. If he doesn't believe it and kills me, he will inevitably bear the name of injustice. If he does it,
I went to my superiors to investigate strictly, but I was also afraid that the old affair between Mr. Gao and Mr. Gao would turn up again. Lord Qi was becoming more and more violent, and none of the old relatives of the Gao family wanted to be implicated in the old affair anymore. Now that they knew that I had defected, Quan Yi let it go and settled the matter.
It is also wise.”
Speaking of Dongfang Lao letting his party go, Li Tang couldn't help but sigh.
As a traitor, no matter what the reason was for him to return to Northern Qi, he would inevitably become a sinner.
It is a relatively normal operation for the Dongfang veteran to arrest him and deliver him to Yedu for questioning. However, if he really wants to do this, no one can be sure whether Gao Zhongmi's old rebellion will again implicate any personnel clues that were ignored in the past. Especially this.
Now that except for Gao Zhongmi who fled west, all the Gao brothers are no longer alive, and the Northern Qi court will probably be even more unscrupulous in dealing with these personnel leftovers.
Therefore, Dongfang Lao let Li Tang go, which is more trouble than less trouble. For such an old matter, even if he arrests Li Tang and sends him away, the credit is not big but the risk is not small.
After hearing this, Li Licheng also smiled and said: "Even though he said this, he is still willing to treat each other like this when we meet again after a long separation, which shows Guangzong's work of public trust and justice, which makes people convinced. This person is convinced that even if we are captured again after entering Ye,
Mr. Guang Zong will never make any extra confessions to implicate him."
"It just means that Li Hou has to continue to accompany us here. This is contrary to the previous plan. Is Li Hou really going to Ye with us?"
Because Dongfang Lao's tribe escorted them all the way here, they had no chance to stop in Xingyang County to make other arrangements. The original plan was for Li Licheng to lurk in Xingyang Township and build a relatively stable stronghold.
Li Tang led his men to sneak into the vicinity of Yecheng in batches several times.
Hearing Li Tang's question, Li Licheng smiled and said: "I asked for help from the Taiwan government a few days ago, and I know that this trip is by no means without danger. Since we have entered enemy territory, misfortunes will inevitably happen, and accidents cannot be avoided, so why bother?"
Sticking to the old plan? Moreover, if you share this matter with others, you should share the good and bad fortunes, so there is no other plan, so hurry up and move on!"
After hearing Li Licheng's statement, Li Tang said nothing more, and the group began to prepare to cross the river to the north.
Going deep into the enemy's territory sounds like it must be full of dangers, but the actual situation may not be like this. Accidents are of course unavoidable, because after all, the initiative lies with the other party, and the only thing they can do is to respond intelligently. And direct collision like before
If it falls into the hands of the enemy, you can only hope for luck.
But in fact, in most cases, as long as they don't try to get close to those very important personnel and key areas, and flaunt their identity as spies too much, they will be no different from other ordinary people in the eyes of others.
After all, even in later generations, it would be very difficult to carry out comprehensive social security and search for spies, let alone in this ancient society. Of course, it would be very unexpected for any strange people to appear in a village that is generally closed-off, but Yecheng, as a city
The capital of the Northern Qi Dynasty, one of the few prosperous cities in the entire north and even the whole world, was destined to have a large number of personnel coming in and out every day, and no one would strictly check and scrutinize these personnel coming in and out.
But lack of careful inspection does not mean that there is no supervision at all. On the contrary, the management system is still very strict in theory. The taxes of the Northern Qi Dynasty include Guanshi Zhouche, Shanze Salt and Iron, shop rent, etc.
In other words, as long as the product enters the market, you need to pay taxes, and your product must contain records such as the customs, market, boat and vehicle, where the market is purchased and sold, where the customs are passed, and the land and water itinerary transported, etc., etc.
A clear and systematic record, otherwise you will not be allowed to trade in the market.
Of course, at any time, it's always one thing in theory, and another in actual implementation. After all, you can't control me if I break the law.
The smugglers active in Henan and other trade routes may not all have the energy to blatantly ignore the laws and regulations of the Northern Qi Dynasty, but they can't stand up to someone above them.
For example, near Jindu along the Yellow River, there are many powerful families in Yecheng who send their slaves here, mainly to recruit these smugglers and give them a legal identity for their goods that have no customs clearance or transaction records.
Of course, in exchange, these business travelers must give these powerful people a certain percentage of rebates based on the value of the goods they transport. At the same time, the goods they transport must also be selected by these powerful families first.
After the selection is completed, these smuggled goods can flow into the market with legal status.
While Li Licheng and his party were waiting to cross the river, many powerful slaves from various Northern Qi families came to inquire about the types of goods they were transporting and solicit business. When they learned that their party was arriving from Mianbei, these powerful slaves couldn't help but become even more worried.
of enthusiasm.
As one of the centers where people from all over the world gather, Yedu naturally needs people and materials from all over the world. The quality and popularity of goods from different origins also vary. At the moment, goods and caravans from Mianbei are the most popular.
welcome.
Naturally, the group of them had already contacted the next person who supplied the goods and paid the bribe. However, since Li Licheng also went north directly with the team, for the sake of safety, they were divided into two teams. Li Licheng led the team to go to the home of the powerful person they had contacted before.
, followed the arrangement to deliver goods across the river. Li Tang made a selection on the dock and chose a slave of Princess Dongping to lead him across the river.
After crossing the river, we arrived at Fangtou. Fangtou is an important ferry crossing in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It was also an important military town guarding Hebei. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Huan Wen's Northern Expedition and the former Yan Dynasty's Murong Chui fought the Battle of Fangtou here.
Since the entire Henan area is now controlled by the Northern Qi Dynasty, the military significance of Fangtou is not as great as before. The ferry crossing is mostly busy with travelers and merchants, so it is also very lively.
Thanks to the local snake's attentive guidance, Li Licheng and others had a relatively smooth time crossing the river. After crossing the river, they followed the wealthy slaves they selected and were led to a nearby manor and shop, where they had people check and calculate the value of the materials.
Choose among them.
This kind of thing has already formed a relatively stable industrial chain. Although there is no shortage of situations where power is used to suppress people, since it can form a certain scale and run smoothly for a long time, it means that most people are still doing it according to the rules. Really
If all meat buns were used to fight dogs, and there would be no return, such a deal would have ceased to exist long ago.
Li Licheng went to Bohai Feng's Manor, which is considered to have a relatively good reputation among smugglers. It only took more than an hour to handle the cargo procedures, and he was able to enter Yedu for sales normally. And Feng
The charges for the slaves of the clan are also fair. They only charge 20% of the cost of goods. Based on the profit of more than ten times that of Mianbei, this price can be called generous.
Li Tang went to Princess Dongping's house, probably because she was a relative of the emperor, so the price was higher and it took a longer time. But it is expensive for a reason. In addition to issuing the normal commercial procedures, it also required
They made arrangements in the name of a Xianbei cargo owner. Once the group enters Yedu, they will understand how much convenience this favor brings them.