Mr. Zhuang and Nie Canjun nodded together. Nie Canjun said: "He is a very forthright person." In fact, he was direct. He said what he wanted directly.
Manbao then asked: "How much does he want?"
Nie Canjun said: "If you want a guide, it will cost you twenty taels, one person will cost you ten taels, ten people, ten horses and ten swords will cost you one hundred taels, and for twenty people, it will cost you one hundred and fifty taels."
Man Bao was stunned for a moment after hearing this, "So expensive? There are already quite a few of us."
Nie Canjun nodded, "I think it's expensive too. We have a lot of people, so just hire two guides from him."
They are not a caravan. Not to mention the accompanying soldiers, even the guards of the Bai family and the Yin family have seen blood. There are more than a hundred people, so there is really no need to invite more people.
Mr. Zhuang wanted to be more prudent. He was very concerned about what he said about the instability of people's hearts in various places.
He said: "This place is different from the Central Plains."
He paused and then said: "North of Xiazhou, information is lagging and distorted, and people's hearts are unstable. It took only ten years for the imperial court to conquer various places, and only five or six years for the shortest. In such a short time, the younger generation
It hasn't grown up yet, so in most people's minds, they probably don't care whether they are from the Jin Dynasty or not, and they don't recognize His Majesty."
Everyone calls the emperor the Khan of Heaven. This is not a sign of submission to the Jin Dynasty, but a fear of the emperor himself.
Nowadays, there are all kinds of rumors outside. The emperor is dead and the prince is competing with several brothers for the throne. These rumors are still light. In the words of some people, the Central Plains may have fallen into a melee.
Under such circumstances, it is difficult to guarantee that there are no people with ulterior motives who have other intentions.
"No matter what their intentions are, money is their top priority. We carry so much luggage, even if we are not a caravan, we will not let them go if we encounter them," Mr. Zhuang said: "The geese are plucked, since the mayor
If you are willing to show your kindness, why don’t we accept it?”
He said: "Although it is indeed very expensive?"
Nie Canjun turned to look at Zhou Man, "Mr. Zhou, the Ministry of Accounts will not give you this money. Will Taiyuan Hospital reimburse you?"
Man Bao: "...We are too poor."
Mr. Zhuang said expressionlessly: "What a coincidence, Honglu Temple is also poor, no, it is even poorer."
Nie Canjun said: "It's even more impossible for me. After I go back, if you know that I have to hire someone else at a high price to protect you, and I am also a horse thief, it will be considered a light crime if you don't ask me. Then we will have to take care of it ourselves."
"
After saying that, he looked at Man Bao with bright eyes.
Man Bao turned to look at Bai Shan.
Bai Shan turned around to look at the Bai Erlangs sitting beside them.
Bai Erlang, Liu Huan and Yin You:...
Even Yin You couldn't help turning his head to glare at Bai Erlang. I said no, right? You have to get involved.
How could Bai Erlang have expected that he would have to pay just to listen?
Man Bao said to Mr. Nie Canjunzhuang: "Don't worry about the money. We will discuss it ourselves."
So he got up and took Bai Erlang and they went upstairs to discuss.
Mr. Zhuang thought about it for a while, nodded with a smile, told Nie Canjun and went back to the house to rest.
Nie Canjun:...really please!
At present, Bai Erlang is the poorest, so he is very reluctant, "How many people are invited? Ten?"
Man Bao said: "Twenty is the most cost-effective."
Bai Shan was the wisest, "In addition to money, there is also their food and grass. This cost is quite large. I think ten is enough."
He said: "We have a large number of people, and our soldiers and guards have all seen blood. Marching and fighting are no problem. Face to face, I don't think other horse thieves can take advantage of them."
Yin You was confused: "Then why do we still invite them?"
Bai Shandao: "To avoid risks."
He said: "They are the local snakes here. Not only do they know the forces in this desert, they should also have some dignity. They should be able to lead us to avoid risks. The former two guides should be enough, but if we accidentally collide with them
Two people are obviously not important enough, but what if ten people come forward to negotiate with the other party?"
Man Bao nodded, "Although we are not afraid and are confident that we can escape from the horse thieves, there will be casualties when the time comes. Nothing is more important than human lives. It is more important that everyone arrives safely than losing some money."
Bai Shan lowered his voice and said: "Everyone followed us out. We can't just bring back their ashes when we go back, right? It's not easy to explain to their families when we go back."
Man Bao is the chief officer, so this matter ultimately depends on her decision. Now that she has decided, Nie Canjun and others will not speak out even if they have opinions, so the matter is settled.
One hundred taels of silver, divided equally among the five of them, was twenty taels per person. In this calculation, it seemed not too expensive.
Bai Erlang and Bai Shan borrowed money to temporarily pay the bill. At this moment, he was very eager to go to the Western Regions as soon as possible, and then he would have money by selling the silks and satins in his hands.
After they made a decision, they sent a message to the mayor. After hearing this, the mayor couldn't help but smile. He turned to the housekeeper and said, "Go and tell the brothers that I found a job for them and asked them to pick out ten jobs."
Here comes a good hand, ready to set off in half a month."
The butler agreed and said with a smile: "I have great calculations, but I didn't expect that they actually agreed. I saw that there were quite a few of them, and they still had bloody evil spirits on their bodies. They were not like ordinary guards, so I thought they would be reluctant to spend money."
The mayor said: "I didn't expect that they would invite ten people. I thought that hiring two people as guides would be a big deal."
After all, it is easy to get lost in the desert, and you will go all the way to Yumen Pass. The whole way there is basically the desert and the next door, so it is easy to get lost.
He squinted his eyes and said, "It seems that these officials are very soft-hearted and know how to care for the soldiers."
He thought for a while, waved his hand and said: "Go to the warehouse and take out all the medicinal materials and wound medicines that we don't need for a long time. We will put them at the door of the inn tomorrow. Since we know that we feel sorry for the soldiers, why?
Can you prepare some wound medicine and medicinal materials?"
The butler agreed and turned around to execute it.
Man Bao turned over with the quilt in her arms. It was very cold in the morning here. She pulled the quilt up to cover her head, but the noise outside continued to come from the window.
She could only turn over and look out the window.
Her eyesight was fine, so she saw Zhou Liru blushing and arguing with someone.
Man Bao yawned, closed the window, lay down on the bed again and decided to sleep again. She was not worried about Zhou Liru, the yard she passed by was owned by their people, and the guards would not let Zhou Liru be bullied in front of the house.
Zhou Liru was not a bully, so she didn't take it to heart. As a result, the argument didn't stop, but became louder and louder.
Man Bao couldn't help but sit up and had to put on his clothes. After sorting his clothes a little, he opened the door and went out.
Bai Shan, who was also sleeping in, opened the door from the side and came out. When he saw her coming out, he nodded, looked outside and said, "Go down and take a look?"