Wang Xun's heart suddenly shuddered. There was something in the old guy's words. He was obviously reminding that the group of people under his command also lived in the Loulan tribe where "things are rare and valuable". If they insisted on returning to the Tang Dynasty, they would definitely be a group of abandoned people.
Wang Xun had also thought about these principles. But he could not give up the glory of being a Tang man. Although the team had been abandoned by senior officials like garbage the moment they left Chang'an. But generation after generation, grandparents and fathers
The word "Datang" has been deeply engraved into his soul. Even if he wanders to death, his face will stubbornly turn to his hometown.
Lao Zheng, Xiao Zhao, and the flying dragon guards whose names he couldn't remember. On that night of blood and fire, their final actions were almost exactly the same. They turned their heads and used the last bit of strength in their bodies to turn their heads to Chang'an. People returned
If it doesn't go away, the soul will float back.
Whenever he thought of this scene, Wang Xun's body began to tremble. Trying to calm down his emotions, he smiled and responded in a low voice: "The words of the patriarch do make sense at first glance. But the reason why tea is so popular in the Western Regions
It is expensive because it can only grow in the Central Plains. If you want to drink new tea, you will force the tea tree to the Western Regions. Even if you plant it next to a hot spring, apply the best fertilizer, and water it with nectar every day, I am afraid it will not make it grow.
It comes alive!"
"Huh?" The gray-haired man raised his head from the parchment and looked at Wang Xun quickly, with an expression on his face that seemed to be a smile but not a smile.
"The reason is very simple. Everything is born, and a place for survival has been arranged for it." Wang Xun smiled and nodded, his eyes met the other person's eyes, his eyes were full of frankness, "It is beyond human power. The Western Regions
Good horses sleep on sand and snow, and can only eat grass roots in winter, but they will not get sick. If they are transported to the south of the Yangtze River to breed, they will be like spring all year round, and there will be plenty of fresh grass to eat, but they will die of illness in a few days.
! It’s better to just let them run around the desert without restraint!”
"Oh?" The surprise in the gray-haired eyes became more intense. "Where did you hear these words? Why haven't I heard anyone say them before?"
You are obviously pretending to be stupid on purpose! Wang Xun secretly cursed, but still had a peaceful smile on his face, "The patriarch has to deal with a lot of official affairs every day, so naturally he has no time to get involved in these trivial matters. And in the younger generation's home, there are just a few
Almost all the goods in the shop, southeast, northwest and northwest can be transported partially. The juniors watched from the side, and over time, they learned a little bit about it!"
"Oh!" The gray-haired man nodded and slid down the slope paved by Wang Xun unceremoniously, "No wonder you speak so eloquently. But aren't you a hereditary viscount? Why are you working as a lowly servant!"
This was obviously changing the subject. Wang Xun could hear it, but he couldn't force it back. He smiled generously and responded in a low voice, "The capital is the most prosperous place in the world, and everyone in the world aspires to it. Therefore, everything is expensive.
.If the younger generation didn’t do some business at home, they would have been unable to make ends meet just by relying on the land earned by our ancestors!”
"Then you are still reluctant to leave Chang'an!" Gray Hair quickly caught a flaw in Wang Xun's words and asked with a smile.
Because he had been prepared for it, Wang Xun responded very quickly, "It is human nature that it is difficult to leave the homeland. If I invite Xiao Shitou to leave the tribe and live in Chang'an, even if I give him a big house and let him have good food and clothing every day,
I’m afraid he can’t bear to leave here!”
"That's true!" The gray-haired man was once again squeezed by Wang Xun, and he grinned and murmured in response.
"So I don't dare to bother our friends in Loulan any more, and I'm going to take my brothers away as soon as possible. I will never forget the grace of saving each other. If there is a chance in the future..." Seizing this rare good opportunity, Wang Xun
Speak out the words that you have rehearsed a thousand times in your mind.
The answer to him was silence. The gray-haired man buried his head in the pile of sheepskins again, turning a deaf ear to Wang Xun's eloquent talk.
"Patriarch!" Seeing that the other party didn't listen to what he said, Wang Xun had no choice but to stop and raise his voice in protest.
"What's wrong? Look, look, I'm an old fool who always wants to multitask and never gets anything done!" The gray-haired man raised his head with an innocent face, "Where did we talk just now? By the way.
, business, your family runs many shops and does big business in tea and war horses! That is the most profitable business!"
"Yeah!" Wang Xun was so angry that he almost fainted. What kind of fool is he, he is obviously looking for excuses to mess around! Well, since you are messing around, I won't be polite. Smiling, he followed the other person's words and responded,
"The patriarch has a good memory. The younger generation's family has indeed opened many shops. Therefore, the younger generation has heard a lot of business experience since he was a child. I wonder if the patriarch is interested in this?!"
"Talk!" As long as he didn't mention leaving, the gray hair had the energy to continue the conversation.
"When doing business, no matter how big or small, the most important thing is the word 'integrity'!" Wang Xun cleared his throat, fearing that the other party would be deaf and emphasize the key points in his words. "Be honest and honest.
You can't deliberately raise the price because the customer is young. You can't ignore the customer because they are shabby. Otherwise, you may be able to make a small profit temporarily, but over time, it will damage your own reputation. If you do
If you destroy the signboard, no customers will come to the door in the future. The shop will be ruined, and in the end you will lose all your money!"
"Well, it makes sense. It does make sense!" The gray-haired man was definitely thick-skinned. He knew clearly that Wang Xun was criticizing Sang and Huai, but he still nodded frequently.
Wang Xun smiled indifferently and continued to talk about business, "There is an old saying in the Central Plains. The three stars at the end of the scale beam mean fortune, longevity and wealth. If one is missing, the fortune will be lost, and if two are missing, the longevity will be lost. If you bully a guest who is weak,
To give it three points short is to discount all the blessings, life span, and wealth. Sooner or later, you will be punished by God." (Note 1)
"Really?" The gray-haired man sat upright for a rare moment, and continued to ask with his old orange-peel face raised: "The businessman's creed is integrity! But in the ancient Chinese proverb, what is the robber's creed?"
He originally wanted to seduce Wang Xun and say, "I built this mountain and planted this tree." Unexpectedly, Wang Xun was not fooled at all. He hesitated for a moment and replied with a smile: "Thieves also have their ways. When fighting, rush to the front.
It is brave. When retreating, it is the rearguard of the companions. It is righteousness. It knows what things can be done and what things cannot be done. It is wisdom. It is benevolence to obtain property and share it equally with everyone. It is sage who steals from the rich and gives to the poor and is not afraid of evil.
If you just blindly rely on the strong to bully the weak and are motivated by wealth, you are not even a thief. At most, you are a group of beasts. And the largest group of beasts is no more than a thousand heads. Externally, you only know how to eat the weak and the strong, and internally, you use force.
Conquered, killings continue, whoever has sharp teeth is right, it will never be possible to establish order! As for establishing a country and sealing borders, don’t even think about it!” (Note 2)
The first half of the sentence was tampered with from "Zhuangzi", but the second half was completely borrowed from the topic. Although it was a bit nondescript, it hit the pain point in the gray hair's heart. Stunned, the old fox finally put away his smile and asked in a deep voice:
"Are you accusing me of being unruly? Do you know where you are standing now!"
"The reason why the rules are rules will not change depending on where I stand." Wang Xun smiled, without the slightest fear in his tone, "As for whether the patriarch's behavior is worthy of criticism, it must be in the eyes of the Vulcan God.
You can see it more clearly than you and I!"
"Are you a subject of Master Mazda? I remember there is a saying in the Central Plains, which is called cramming!" The gray-haired man raised his head, his beard was raised up and down, obviously he was very angry with Wang Xun.
"In the eyes of the God of Fire, there is only light and darkness, and the difference between good and evil. It does not differ from person to person!" Over the past few days, Wang Xun has put a lot of effort into the religion that the Loulan people believe in. So he easily picked it up.
effortless.
The gray beard was squeezed again, and he smiled bitterly. After a while, he finally remembered a powerful counterattack, "There are indeed rules. The people of Loulan will never go back on the oath they swore in front of Lord Mazda. But you
Are you leading a caravan?"
This was Wang Xun's biggest flaw when negotiating with the sand pirates. He had been caught arguing with Shi Huaiyi a few days ago, so he tried his best to make up for it afterwards. When Gray Hair mentioned it, he immediately smiled and said
The prepared words, "Not counting the caravan, the juniors are at most a group of escorts responsible for escorting the goods. However, the juniors were not captured by the patriarch. A group of beasts blocked the road and robbed them in the name of sand thieves, and were captured by the juniors and the patriarch.
We worked together to defeat them. Therefore, at this moment, we can only be considered guests invited by the clan leader."
"Guest?" The gray-haired man was furious and slapped the table with his hand, "I only invited you to be my guest after I was full and full. Believe it or not, I immediately dispatched troops and captured you and others. Remember that you are still in the Central Plains
There is a saying, what is it called, you don’t eat the toast, but you eat the penalty wine. Yes, that’s the saying!”
"Do Loulan people have any rules about robbing and killing guests at home? Or is there such a way to treat guests in the teachings of the God of Fire?" Anyway, he had already risked his life, and Wang Xun was quarrelsome and tit-for-tat.
Killing guests in front of one's own tent is one of the major evil deeds that cannot be forgiven in Zoroastrianism. As the leader of the clan, the gray-haired man cannot really take the lead in violating the rules. Seeing that Wang Xun could not be frightened by harsh words, he immediately began to change his mind.
Topic. "If my warriors hadn't arrived in time that day, you would have died in the desert! How could you have had the chance to mess with me?! No matter whether it's a guest or a prisoner, no one has ever heard that you can still eat the food in your stomach.
Spit it out!"
"The patriarch respects the rules, and the younger generation will naturally respect the rules too. Except for Mo Dao, the Loulan tribe can keep 20% of all other luggage!"
"Twenty percent?" The gray-haired man glanced at Wang Xun, with a sneer on his lips.
"The Mo Dao is a powerful weapon in foot combat. But the Loulan tribe comes and goes like the wind on horseback. It is useless to leave the Mo Dao behind. Besides, the entire Loulan tribe cannot find a thousand suitable Mo Dao hands." Wang Xun
He wasn't afraid of the other party being arrogant, but he was frightened by the smile that suddenly appeared on the gray-haired face. He sighed and forced himself to bargain with the other party.
The gray-haired man refused to talk and continued to look at him sideways.
Wang Xun was forced to have no choice but to continue to give in, "If any of the brothers I lead wants to stay, they can stay. But the patriarch cannot force those who don't want to stay. They all have special skills, and I believe they can be useful to your department."
It brings a lot of benefits. In addition, if the clan leader can use the Fubo crossbows smoothly, half of them can be kept. If the clan leader still thinks it is not enough, I remember a few quick methods for training troops, which can be written down silently and kept.
Give it to your department in case of emergency?"
"Then love is good. Is there anything else?" The gray-haired man was still not satisfied, and Nie squinted his eyes and continued to ask.
"No!" Wang Xun took a long breath and agreed in a deep voice, "Also, at most it is the personal gratitude of this junior. If the patriarch really likes me, I promise that I will be rewarded in the future!"
After that, he turned his eyes to the gray hair and waited quietly for the other party's reply. If the old guy still wanted to push further, he would have no choice but to take risks. He quickly pounced on him, took him hostage, and forced the Loulan people to leave in large groups. Then
It was a last resort. Wang Xun was unwilling to take action unless it was absolutely necessary.
Unexpectedly, the gray-haired man suddenly burst into laughter. His two eyes, which were not big in the first place, were narrowed and he smiled like a fox who had successfully stolen a chicken. "Boy, you agreed to this on your own initiative! I can keep two
It’s a heavy baggage, and half of it is a crossbow. And before you leave, you need to write down a quick secret recipe for military training for me. There is an old saying in your Central Plains, once you say something, what horse is hard to chase?"
"It's hard to chase a horse!" Wang Xun keenly felt that something was wrong, so he had to bite the bullet and agree, "Except for Mo Dao, 20% of all the baggage, half of the Fubo Crossbow, and a secret recipe for quick military training!
"
"Then I would like to thank Captain Wang very much!" The gray-haired man quickly stood up, walked forward, and gave Wang Xun a high-five. "You go back and write down the secret recipe. The person to pick you up has already arrived in Yanqi. I will send him tomorrow.
I’ll send you away!”
"The person who picked me up?" Wang Xun was shocked and confused.
"Yes. Two people asked me to protect you from passing here safely. I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't afford to offend them, so I had to accept this loss-making deal. Fortunately, you are a good friend and didn't let me lose all my money.
!” The old fox with colorful hair jumped back a few feet, smiling contentedly.
Fooled! Wang Xun woke up in an instant. No wonder the Loulan people were so polite to everyone. It turned out that they were entrusted by others. No need to ask, one of them was Feng Changqing, fourth uncle of Feng! Only he, the Jiedushi of the Four Towns of Anxi,
Only the Deputy Chief Protector of the Anxi Protectorate Mansion can control this old shaggy fox in front of me.
Who is the other person?
Gao Shi's harmless smile quickly flashed in front of Wang Xun's eyes. "Boy, put your hand down from the handle of the knife. Although Gao can't be said to be someone who cherishes his reputation and betrays his friends, he doesn't dare to do it.
!”
At this moment, he couldn't care less about fighting the old fox anymore, and his heart was filled with warmth.
Note 1: Ancient scales were in hexadecimal system. The stars on the scales were based on the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper plus the three stars of Fortune, Shou and Lu.
Note 2: Most of the original text comes from "Zhuangzi". Part of it was tampered with by Wang Xun.
