After Cao Cao and everyone reached a consensus, they began to prepare. In order to pretend to be a businessman, Cao Cao also asked the soldiers to get some salt, silk and satin, and some grain, which Cao Cao must have as a businessman.
In addition, Cao Cao also brought some money with him.
When everything was ready, Cao Cao changed his clothes again and put on the attire of a businessman again.
Such a look made Cao Cao completely a businessman.
At least, Cao Cao's identity as a businessman is confirmed.
After Cao Cao made all preparations, he quietly came out of the mountains and forests, and then headed to Longguan in a big way. In fact, there are quite a lot of merchants going to and from Longguan now, but in recent times, because of Maodun's fierce attack on Chencang County, the trade routes have been damaged.
The impact has caused the business to be affected to a certain extent.
Some merchants stopped going to Longguan.
Cao Cao was alone and arrived at the Long Pass. He looked from a distance and saw that the pass at Long Pass was closed. If he wanted to pass the pass, he must obtain the consent of the Huns stationed at the pass, otherwise it would be impossible to enter Long Pass.
close.
After Cao Cao arrived, he looked up and shouted: "Cao Shang, a merchant in Guanzhong, wants to see the general of Longguan."
What he spoke was in Chinese. After he spoke in Chinese, there were Han people on the city tower who were familiar with Chinese language and relayed Cao Cao's words to the general stationed at Longguan.
The general stationed at Longguan was named Luan Tiquan, who was a nobleman of the Huns.
He is also a close confidant of Mao Dun.
Stationing at Longguan is the top priority.
Although there is no fighting at Longguan, it is related to Maodun's retreat.
Therefore, Mao Dun asked his confidant Luan Tiquan to be stationed here to ensure the safety of his retreat. Luan Tiquan also knew Mao Dun's intention and knew that Mao Dun allowed him to sit in Longguan because he valued him. So even if Luan Tiquan
If they wanted to go to the battlefield to fight, they all stayed and guarded the rear for Mao Dun. However, in Luan Tiquan's heart, he did not think that there could be a war at Longguan. After all, the Shu army was retreating steadily and was no match for Mao Dun.
, Luan Tiquan was just waiting, waiting for Mao Dun to capture Chencang County, so that he could be freed, and then go to the front line to fight.
When Luan Tiquan first set up camp, he was very careful.
There are patrols every day and troops must be ordered every day.
However, after such boring days continued for a while, Luan Tiquan gradually became a little irritable. Because things in Longguan were too boring and there was nothing to do at all.
Apart from ordering troops and patrolling, there is nothing else to do.
Therefore, as the time dragged on, Luan Tiquan rarely patrolled, and did not care about the garrison at Longguan at all. He just left the matter to the generals below to handle it.
After all, there is no war in Longguan.
As long as everything in Longguan is normal, Luan Tiquan will not be harshly criticized.
On this day, Luan Tiquan was playing around in the house, teasing the captured Han women, and enjoying the dancing of the Han women.
Compared with the women of the Huns, Han women were petite and exquisite, which Luan Tiquan liked very much.
This is something that Xiongnu women do not have.
In particular, the Han women captured by Luan Tiquan were all frightened, and even more gentle in temperament. They were all at the mercy of Luan Tiquan. Under such circumstances, Luan Tiquan indulged in wine and sex to pass the time.
In the rooms on the tower, there was singing and dancing.
The singer dances and the strings sound.
In particular, each woman did not have many clothes on her body, so the whole scene was quite decadent.
Luan Tiquan is nearly forty years old, and he is tall and strong. Under the changes in the spiritual energy of the world, although Luan Tiquan is nearly forty years old, he is still as strong as a thirty-year-old man.
When it comes to martial arts, Luan Tiquan is not inferior to Touman.
He is also a general under Mao Dun.
While Luan Tiquan was enjoying the singer's dance, a soldier quickly entered, knelt down on one knee, and reported: "General, a businessman named Cao Shang has come from outside the pass and asks to see you."
merchant?
Luan Tiquan frowned slightly.
His first reaction was to wonder if the visitor was from Shu.
However, Luan Tiquan thought for a while and rejected such a judgment. After all, there was Maodun ahead. With the Xiongnu army having the upper hand, it was not easy for the Shu army to bypass Maodun and reach Longguan.
If Maodun was defeated, Luan Tiquan might be on guard, but under the current circumstances, Luan Tiquan did not think that Maodun would be defeated at all. He was very sure that Maodun would defeat Zhao Yun, the defender of Chencang County, and achieve the final victory.
.
"Bring the people up!"
Luan Tiquan gave an order.
The soldier retreated and immediately walked out of the room.
After the Xiongnu soldiers conveyed Luan Tiquan's order, someone put down the spider plant and hoisted Cao Cao up the tower. When Cao Cao climbed up the tower in a hanging basket, Huang Zhong and Gan Ning saw this in the woods not far from Longguan.
My heart also lifted.
Success or failure lies in this one move.
Once it fails, the consequences will be disastrous.
Gan Ning saw the worried look on Huang Zhong's face and said with relief: "Old general, Mr. Cao is someone who can compete with His Majesty. His wisdom is beyond doubt. I think Mr. Cao will be able to complete the task successfully, and
Came back safely."
"hope so!"
Huang Zhong nodded solemnly.
Even Huang Zhong believed in Cao Cao's strength, but under the current circumstances, Huang Zhong was inevitably worried.
After all, Cao Cao's safety is involved.
Once there is a lapse in Cao Cao's safety, the consequences will be disastrous.
No matter how worried Huang Zhong and Gan Ning were and how anxiously they waited, Cao Cao had already boarded the tower in a gondola. Once on the tower, Cao Cao looked around and saw the Hun soldiers stationed on the tower, and he knew it.
There were not many Hun soldiers stationed there.
Even if there are more Xiongnu soldiers, they should all be in the Xiongnu military camp inside Longguan.
Moreover, the Hun soldiers at the checkpoint were lazy and listless, whispering to each other, and many of them no longer even stood guard. Such an army had lost its combat effectiveness and no longer had strict military discipline.
Cao Cao had a judgment in his heart, but he didn't look any further.
Under the leadership of the Huns soldiers, he quickly arrived at the room on the checkpoint.
As soon as Cao Cao entered the room, Luan Tiquan waved his hand and all the women in the room retreated. Luan Tiquan's eyes fell on Cao Cao and said in a deep voice: "You want to see me, what do you want?"
Luan Tiquan's eyes were as bright as a torch and he looked closely at Cao Cao.
When he saw Cao Cao's age and appearance, he took a closer look and realized that Cao Cao was not a soldier.
After Cao Cao could restrain himself, he put away the iron-blooded will of his soldiers.
A Han man on the side who was familiar with the Huns' language translated Luan Tiquan's words. After Cao Cao heard this, he immediately bowed and saluted and said: "I am Cao Shang, a businessman. Now the Longguan pass is blocked, and the upper road to Liangzhou is blocked."
We are blocked. I want to go to Liangzhou. Please ask the general to let me pass and let my caravan pass."
Caravan?
When Luan Tiquan heard this, he immediately became energetic.
He is here now and has nothing to do.
Not only that, he couldn't go to the battlefield, so he couldn't kill enemies and rob women and wealth, so he lost the opportunity to earn power and wealth. So Luan Tiquan was very unwilling in his heart.
When Luan Tiquan heard about money, the first thing that came to his mind was money.
Have money.
His chance has come.
Luan Tiquan said in a deep voice: "What is your caravan's main business?"
Cao Cao replied: "Reporting to the general, my caravan mainly sells some salt and silk and satin. The rest also includes some miscellaneous items and a batch of grain."
Salt is the food that the Huns need most.
Because the grassland is not like the Central Plains or the seaside, you can dry salt and use local materials.
There is quite a lack of salt on the grassland.
In addition, silk and satin were also in demand by many Xiongnu dignitaries.
This is all hard currency on the grassland.
Luan Tiquan said in a deep voice: "How much salt and silk satin did you escort this time? Well, how much food is left?"
Cao Cao smiled slightly and said calmly: "My caravan has escorted a thousand kilograms of salt and a thousand bolts of silk. In addition, there are also several hundred kilograms of grain. The several hundred kilograms of grain accompanying it are mainly
It was eaten by some of the guards. When we arrived in Liangzhou, if there was excess food, we would sell it directly. The business this time was mainly salt, silk and some small items."
"hiss!"
When Luan Tiquan heard this, he suddenly took a breath of cold air.
His eyes were full of joy.
A thousand catties of salt and a thousand bolts of silk are no small sums.
For a family of three, if they save on salt, a pound of salt can last for a while. When a thousand pounds of salt is sold, it is a lot of money. Especially a thousand bolts of silk, which is only available to the Huns.
Only nobles can afford it. As long as Luan Tiquan gets a thousand pieces of silk and sells them, he can get more benefits.
Luan Tiquan's mind was spinning, thinking about how to get the salt and silk.
He had no intention of buying it.
The business he made money from was all business without capital.
However, Luan Tiquan could not threaten him directly, otherwise he would scare away the businessmen and Luan Tiquan's plan would be in vain.
Luan Tiquan said solemnly: "It's not impossible for you to pass through Longguan. However, you need to pay 30% of your goods as customs clearance fees. Otherwise, we will not let you pass."
These words were meant to stabilize Cao Cao.
Luan Tiquan thought he was smart, so he deliberately lied and bargained with Cao Cao to stabilize Cao Cao first. Once Cao Cao passed the checkpoint, he could immediately change his attitude and seize Cao Cao's goods.
Cao Cao was very happy when he heard what Luan Tiquan said.
Luan Tiquan took the bait.
As long as Luan Tiquan gets greedy, the battle will go smoothly.
However, a look of embarrassment appeared on Luan Tiquan's face, and he frowned and said: "General, when I went to Liangzhou to do business, I risked my life. Moreover, I didn't earn much money during the trip.
If you take away 30% of the goods, the profit I will earn will be very small. I am afraid I cannot agree to such conditions."
"What did you say?"
Luan Tiquan pretended to be fierce and said: "You dare to disobey my order. You are impatient. You must know that once you anger this general, you will have to stay on the tower today and don't even think about leaving."
.”
Cao Cao said: "General, I naturally know what will happen if I offend you. But as a businessman, I can't take nothing or make nothing. At least, you have to let the people under my command have meat to eat, at least so that I can
Earn some. What do you think? In this way, you can earn profits for a long time, wouldn’t it be better?”
After Luan Tiquan heard this, he smiled and said, "Your Excellency, you have a sharp tongue."
Cao Cao said: "The general is ridiculous. This is not a sharp talk, but an explanation of a fact. What's more, under the current situation, it is best for both me and the general to benefit. This is the long-term solution."
Luan Tiquan said: "What you said makes sense."
Although he said this, Luan Tiquan disagreed in his heart.
He was stationed at Longguan, that is, he was stationed for a short period of time. He could not be stationed here for the rest of his life. So he said it on the surface, but he was secretly happy in his heart, thinking that he had finally stabilized the businessman 'Cao Shang'.
As long as Cao Shang is stabilized, there will be room for change.
This time, there is a chance to swallow all the goods.
Luan Tiquan felt proud of himself and continued: "Now that I have said so, I will not take advantage of you. 15%, I will require at least 15% of the goods, otherwise, you will not be able to pass Longguan.
Don’t even think about going back.”
"no problem!"
Cao Cao said loudly: "The general is a straightforward man, and my subordinates are also straightforward." (To be continued)
