Zhang Yong and three other people led their horses into the city, and the soldiers guarding the gate stole respectful and envious glances at them.
"Brother Yong is back. How much money did you make this time?"
Zhang Yong waved his hand indifferently.
A soldier stepped forward, took the reins from his hand, led the horse into the stable, and was busy feeding the forage.
Zhang Yong patted Xiaobing's shoulder with satisfaction, took out dozens of coins from his arms, and rewarded him.
The other two guards were Zhang Yong's confidants. They led the horses to feed them themselves, with expressions of pride and exhaustion on their faces.
Xiaobing followed him and asked nonstop: "Brother Yong, can you take me with you next time you go out? I also want to go to the desert to make some spare money."
"Take you there?" Zhang Yong smiled sarcastically: "Whenever you can withstand five strikes from me, I will take you there."
He left the soldier behind and was about to go back to find his wife to relieve his fatigue, but he saw Yu Gou standing outside the building, looking at him with his hands in his sleeves.
"Shouzuolang, are you back?"
Zhang Yong glanced at him warily and said, "Yu Lord Bo, how about I give you half of this month's salary."
Yu Gou smiled bitterly: "That's not what I meant. The new guard arrived the day before yesterday. He asked you to go to the thatched cottage to see him when you come back."
"The new guard?" Zhang Yong nodded doubtfully: "When I put on my armor, I will go over to see the guard."
…
Zhang Yong walked forward slowly wearing thin scale armor, hesitating in his heart how to deal with the Shouhuo Envoy. He had no idea about the temperament of the new Shouhuo Envoy. If the other person was greedy for money, he could give him some money.
If the other party is aggressive, the worst he can do is leave the guard and go to the desert to be a free and happy sand pirate.
He walked into the hall and saw Li Siye sitting cross-legged at the end of the thatched hall, behind him was an adobe wall with a picture of a tiger hanging on it.
Zhang Yong looked up and saw that Li Siye was a strong man, wearing iron armor and looked very powerful. He secretly complained in his heart that this kind of man was afraid that he would not be able to get enough of him.
"Zhang Yong meets Li Shijun."
Li Siye didn't use official talk and asked directly: "How much money can I get for protecting the caravan as it crosses the desert?"
Zhang Yong was stunned for a moment and quickly shook his head: "I don't understand what the guard is saying."
Li Siye was not angry at all. He waved his hand and said, "You can go down first. Remember, you are not allowed to leave Congling in the next few days to guard the enemy."
"yes."
Zhang Yong bent down and retreated. When he walked outside the door, he looked back suspiciously. He thought that the new Shou Zhuo would take the opportunity to make things difficult, but he didn't expect to let him go so easily.
Could it be that this person wants to settle the score?
Zhang Yong was also a man with a clear mind, so he simply stopped thinking about it and went home to accompany his wife first.
In the past few days since Shouchuo took office in Congling, Li Siye's third fire has not yet been ignited. The chiefs of Shouchuo City were secretly relieved, thinking that Shouchuo had recognized the reality and gave up on cheering up.
Li Siye often rode horses on the slopes of Congling, perhaps patrolling the nearby terrain. Tian Zhen and Teng Mu followed him on horseback, doing nothing.
He was patrolling the post station at the bottom of the mountain and happened to encounter a Persian caravan coming from Congling. Li Siye rode in front of the caravan. There were only two Persian warriors with scimitars on their waists. The two jumped out and drew their swords.
alert.
The elder of the caravan recognized that Li Siye was wearing an officer's armor of the Tang Army. He waved back to tell the two men to put away their swords. He personally climbed down from the camel, bowed and hugged his chest in greeting:
"In front of us are the guards of Congling in Anxi of the Tang Dynasty. We are the Persian caravan from Dashi."
"Exactly."
"Your Majesty, there is nothing else in our cargo. Please let us go."
Li Siye smiled: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to stop you, I just have something important to ask the elders for. Now that it's dark, why don't you go to Shouchuo City to rest for the night, so that I can ask for advice and answer your questions."
The Persian merchants were suspicious, not knowing what kind of medicine these Anxi soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were selling in their gourds, so they secretly gave the elder a wink to ask him to refuse.
This Persian elder must have been traveling for business all year round. He could see the situation and bowed with his arms crossed and said: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful. Please lead the way."
Li Siye led the caravan forward, walked along the hillside to the city gate, and ordered the soldiers to open the gate toward the city head.
He introduced the large food caravan into the city and immediately ordered the chief secretary Yu to arrange a room and camp for the caravan members to stay overnight. Yu Ge was unclear about what was going on, but he still actively cooperated.
He didn't know why the envoy entertained this Persian caravan. Even the Persians in the caravan were flattered. They were originally people who had subjugated their country, but now they are under the jurisdiction of Dashi. Many Persians have been away for a long time in order to seek political refuge.
Some of the Persians who stayed in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places became business travelers traveling between the two countries, guarding checkpoints along the way. No Tang army would give them a good look.
Li Siye invited the core members of the caravan to sit on straw mats in the thatched hall, and ordered people to bring wine and mutton to entertain them. After a feast of wine and meat, these people also relaxed their vigilance, talked about everything they knew, and exchanged travel experiences.
Seeing that the fire was almost done, Li Siye took the initiative and asked the caravan leader: "Do you have any guards in your caravan?"
The elder replied: "There are two guards accompanying us for safety, but after entering Anxi, we will pass through the desert, where sand bandits are rampant. When we get to Kucha City, we will hire escorts and swordsmen with the help of the Chamber of Commerce."
Li Siye asked again: "How many people do you usually employ and how much are they paid?"
The elder pondered for a moment and continued to answer: "This is calculated based on the size of the caravan. If there are twenty or thirty people, it is necessary to hire a team of at least eight swordsmen. If it is sixty or seventy people, it is necessary to hire twenty or a hundred people.
The above caravan requires an escort team of forty people."
"The price is also based on the size of the caravan. Each caravan member must pay fifteen gold dinar coins, which is equivalent to three thousand five hundred gold coins in Tang Dynasty Tongbao, which is equivalent to three bolts of silk."
Li Siye thought about it for a while and found that the price was very reasonable. He planned to do this business and mobilize some people from the guarding city to escort the Persian caravan to earn some extra money.
This idea is undoubtedly dangerous. Although many Tang soldiers came out to guard the city alone, as the commander of the city, if he organized a team to do such a thing, once he was found out, his military career would inevitably end.
But he couldn't find any other way to get money. Although war can also make money, if you guard this place in Congling, you will never encounter such a good thing.
Li Siye decided to tell all his thoughts and see how these shrewd and sophisticated Persian businessmen would react.
"What do you think if Tang troops participate in the escort?"
The leader of the caravan was stunned for a moment. Apparently he did not expect that Li Siye would put forward such bold and constructive suggestions. He immediately bowed and said: "We are just a private caravan. How dare we have to personally escort the Tang army."
"I mean what if?"
"The Anxi Army of the Tang Dynasty is very prestigious. It would be a great honor for us to be escorted by the Anxi Army. We will have no worries during the journey."
Li Siye smiled happily, then shook his head and said: "No, you misunderstood. If I, the Congling Guard, want to send someone to escort me, I cannot use the name of the Tang Army. Not only cannot I, but I have to take off my armor and dress up as an ordinary person."