It's just that the local mountain bandits are weak, so they are naturally not the opponents of those Qi army bandits, so they can only swallow their anger.

The task of sending the hostages down the mountain was handed over to the local mountain bandits by the Qi army bandits.

Zhou Bo didn't embarrass the mountain bandits who sent them hostage, but he didn't rush them back. He asked Wang Kui to lead people to take a good look at these mountain bandits first, and then immediately discussed with Yue Yun, Li Shuping, and Li Xuzhong.

Originally, Zhou Bo planned to return to the Guanghua Army after rescuing the hostages, and wait a few days before taking the next step. After all, dividing the local mountain bandits and the Qi army bandits is not something that can be completed in a day or two. But Yue Yun felt that now that he had finally mobilized a large army, it would be too wasteful to save only a few people to return, not to mention that it might make the mountain bandits underestimate the Yue family's army.

Li Xuzhong and Li Shuping did not express any opinions for the time being, the two of them felt that Zhou Bo and Yue Yun were reasonable, and they also made it clear who to listen to.

Zhou Bo thought for a while and said: "It's better to let out the words like this, just say that our Guanghua Army wants to mine the iron ore here, and at the same time, we have to avenge the sacrifices of the people in this survey team." Use this as an excuse to let these mountain bandits and Qi army bandits surrender within a time limit, otherwise the army will march. ”

Yue Yun asked strangely: "Is this useful? How do these bandits know how they will be executed after surrendering? What's more, they can still have a battle with us by virtue of their geographical advantage, how can they surrender so easily?"

Zhou Bowei smiled and said confidently: "My surrender is only aimed at the local mountain bandits. These mountain bandits were driven out by the Qi army anyway, and they no longer have the good life they used to have. I can promise them that they will accept the peaceful rearmament as long as they surrender. Make sure everyone has something to eat and a place to stay. They will never be killed under the pretext of tricking them into surrendering. ”

Yue Yun asked again, "What about the Qi army?"

Zhou Bo said: "The reason why I asked them to surrender within a time limit. It's about giving them time to think about it. The mountain bandits will not dare to confront us at the nineteenth**, and it doesn't matter whether the Qi army surrenders or resists stubbornly. Once the bandits decide to surrender, they will take the initiative to contact us, and at that time we will let the bandits do internal response in the big stockade, and then we will not wait for the Qi army to react, we will surprise the army and kill one by surprise. ”

≯♀dǐng≯♀diǎn≯♀小≯誯語♀,.⊙.o△s_(); Yue Yun's eyes lit up. "It's a really good idea. ”

However, it didn't take long for him to feel a little worried, and said, "However, if the mountain bandits still refuse to surrender. Or, they are forced by the pressure of the Qi army and do not dare to surrender, so what should we do?"

Zhou Bo said: "Don't worry, even if these mountain bandits don't surrender, the ten ** will also run away." Even if the Qi army doesn't let them escape, when we launch a frontal attack, we only need a few random cannons from trebuchets. The bandits will disperse in a hurry. If there is a rout on the battlefield, it will have an impact on the overall morale. On the contrary, it will be even more disadvantageous to the Qi army. ”

Yue Yun thought so, and said with admiration: "It's really a good idea, then let's do it according to your wishes, Brother Zhou." ”

So, Zhou Bo asked Wang Kui to tell those mountain bandits that he would surrender within a time limit, and emphasized that today was for the sake of their cooperation in releasing the hostages, so he did not attack immediately. Within ten days, if the surrender and reorganization of the Gwanghwa Army City are not accepted, the army will be killed again.

These mountain bandits said yes again and again, and then fled back in a hurry.

Then, Zhou Bo ordered the class to return to the city. Although it was getting late, the army was large and did not worry about any accidents on the night road, so they still hurried all night and finally rushed back to the city before midnight.

After taking care of some of the aftermath and pacifying the hostages once more, the group dispersed.

Yue Yun and his headquarters did not stop in the city, but returned to their station overnight. He believed that the mountain bandits and the Qi army bandits would only contradict each other in the past few days, and it would never be possible to harass the Guanghua army again.

Three days later, there was still no news from the bandits.

However, Zhou Bo was not in a hurry, the deadline he gave was ten days, and it was naturally too early for three days to pass.

At noon that day, Li Xiaoyu hurriedly found the yamen, his face was flushed, and he was obviously excited. She would come to the yamen every morning for the past few days, but after noon, she was nowhere to be seen. Because Zhou Bo was busy arranging the strategy of attacking the mountain bandits, he didn't pay much attention to it.

Li Xiaoyu came to the main hall of the yamen and saw Zhou Bozheng, Li Xuzhong, and Li Shuping studying something. She didn't care about the occasion, she immediately ran in and shouted: "Zhou Zhijun, Zhou Zhijun, there is a way." ”

Zhou Bo, Li Shuping, and Li Xuzhong were all a little surprised, they were originally discussing military deployment, but they were suddenly interrupted by Li Xiaoyu, and they were all a little angry.

"Little Fish Lady, can you report at the door first when you come in?" You are shouting like this, it's too unruly, right?" Zhou Bo frowned, and said with a little coldness in his tone.

"Uh......!" Li Xiaoyu saw that everyone's faces were not good, and his heart was a little hairy, so he had to apologize again and again, "I will pay attention next time." ”

"What did you just say you could do?" Zhou Bo sighed and asked.

Li Xiaoyu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Zhou Yuanjun, I have been investigating and visiting hard in the past few days, and I finally found a black caravan. I just went to Xiangyang City yesterday, and the contact of this black caravan is in Xiangyang City, and they specialize in north-south trade, and it is said that there are few times when they fail. ”

Zhou Bo's eyebrows raised slightly, and asked, "Black caravan, since it is a black caravan, how did you find them? Could it be that people have deceived them?"

Li Xiaoyu immediately said: "No, because, because ...... My uncle used to work with this black caravan. It was only after I begged for a while, and promised my uncle that it was not to arrest the black caravans, but to ask for their help, that my uncle told me the news. ”

Zhou Bo was a little relieved and said, "Sure enough, it was introduced by your uncle?"

Li Xiaoyu diǎn diǎn head, and said with a straight face: "It's true, it was my uncle who led me to Xiangyang City yesterday. I saw the caravan's connector. ”

Zhou Bo knew what Li Xiaoyu wanted to say. Now he is worried about the expansion of the interests of the Guanghua Army. Seeing that the recruitment plan is about to be carried out, the way to increase income has not yet been settled.

Li Xiaoyu mentioned last time that he would send a caravan to trade, turn the difference between the north and the south, and then improve the income of the Guanghua officer depot. This solution is good, but there are too many risks in it, and I haven't thought of any detailed solutions for the time being.

Today, Li Xiaoyu deliberately came to sue Sù about finding the black caravan, which is nothing more than to say that he wants to use the black caravan's communication lines and manpower to do business.

Zhou Bo thought about it carefully. I haven't made up my mind for a while.

Li Shuping, who was on the side, said worriedly: "Even if it is a related black caravan, it can't be believed lightly." These caravans all eat the bowl of rice licking blood from the knife edge, and they will take great risks if they do not take a single trade route. Like them, they don't even want their lives, but they blindly seek profits, which shows that they are mercenary. ”

Li Xuzhong also diǎn diǎn head and said: "That's right, if they take the silver and don't do anything, and then casually find an excuse to say that they were robbed by the Qi army and the Jin people on the way, then wouldn't we go in for nothing." ”

Li Xiaoyu was a little anxious. She finally found a solution, but she didn't want to be vetoed in vain.

"But. My uncle used to work with these people, and he really made a lot of money. Although the black caravans are only responsible for transportation and trading on their behalf, and the kickbacks they receive are very heavy, they are also good men who roam the rivers and lakes, at least they all know the word 'Xinyi'. Li Xiaoyu said hurriedly.

"Xinyi? It's a time of war, and I've heard that there are people in Huainan who cannibalism, but who else can talk about Xinyi?" said Li Shuping with a sigh.

"But, my uncle wouldn't lie to me. Li Xiaoyu pouted and said, stomping his little feet as he spoke, and his eyes turned red.

Zhou Bo saw Li Xiaoyu like this, and immediately said comfortingly: "Xiaoyu, I know that you have been working hard these days, the black caravan you mentioned, after all, we all don't know about them, so there are some doubts and worries that are being cleaned up." Still, I think I can talk to these black caravans. ”

Li Xiaoyu wiped his eyes, looked at Zhou Bo and said, "Zhou Envoy, when are you going to talk to them?"

Zhou Bo thought for a while and said, "Can you let them come to the Guanghua Army tomorrow?"

Li Xiaoyu groaned for a moment, then diǎn diǎn head very seriously, and said, "Okay, I will definitely invite them to come over." Zhou Yuanjun, I really worked hard this time, don't break my heart. ”

Seeing Li Xiaoyu talking like this, Zhou Bo couldn't help but smile, and said kindly: "Don't worry, although it is a black caravan, at least there is hope to help the Guanghua Army, and I will naturally not give up the slightest possibility." ”

Li Xiaoyu finally showed a smile and said, "Zhou Yuanjun, I am relieved to have your words. I'll go to Xiangyang City again in the afternoon. With that, she hurriedly turned and ran away.

Li Xuzhong and Li Shuping looked at Zhou Bo, both looking a little puzzled.

"Zhou Yuanjun, didn't you say that on purpose, did you?" Li Shuping asked Zhou Bo.

"What did you say on purpose?" Zhou Bo was a little confused by Li's question.

"So, Zhou Yuanjun, are you really going to talk to that black caravan? But the silver in the official treasury of our Gwanghua Army is already pitiful, and if the family is cheated out, then there will be no old capital. Li Shuping said bitterly.

"But how do you know that you will be deceived?" Zhou Bo asked with a smile.

Li Shuping was a little stunned, of course he couldn't be 100% sure of the good or bad of this matter, but he was always wary of the black caravan in his heart. The merchant was originally mercenary, and now it is still a caravan with the word "black", which is obviously unreliable.

Zhou Bo didn't wait for Li Shuping to speak, and then said: "Anyway, it's just a talk, if it's a good talk, we can think about it again, and if it's not a good talk, we won't lose anything." Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to give money to someone else to cheat. ”

Li Shuping sighed and said, "I hope so." ”

In fact, Zhou Bo had a bold plan in his heart, if he could establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the black caravan, and even take the black caravan under his command and become an integral part of his own embassy, how good would it be? Although his idea was very bold, it was also very nonsense in the eyes of outsiders.

Because this black caravan can be active in this area of Xiangyang Mansion for so long, whether it is the rule of the Qi State or the rule of the Song Dynasty, it can continue intact, and naturally there is a system of its own here.

The trade activities engaged in by this black caravan were to open the trade ban between the north and the south, but the trade ban between the north and the south did not interrupt the market demand, so once the black caravan successfully ran down, the goods brought over and brought back would be rushed to buy.

These goods are expensive, and the people who can afford them are all dignitaries. Naturally, it was these dignitaries who supported them behind the scenes, providing them with shelter and convenience.

The officials and tycoons of the South liked the things of the North, and the nobles of the North also liked the things of the South.

Presumably, this black caravan must have a deep network of relationships in both the north and the south, otherwise it would not be possible to run down so easily.

It is precisely because the black caravan has its own network that it is even more difficult for Zhou Bo to win them over, unless he uses some other means to have a glimmer of hope.

However, if you can establish a relationship with the black caravan, even if it is only a long-term cooperative relationship, then you can use the black caravan to quickly collect money.

Therefore, for Zhou Bo, who is in deep financial difficulties, the link of the black caravan is bound to be tried-

At noon the next day, Li Xiaoyu came to the yamen with two men.

Zhou Bo had made an appointment with Li Xiaoyu earlier, so he was not busy with other things at this time, but waited intently for Li Xiaoyu to arrive.

After Li Xiaoyu entered the lobby, he introduced the two men. A fat man dressed more decently was Li Xiaoyu's uncle Wang Zexi, and the other was the contact person of the black caravan in Xiangyang City, who had no name but was nicknamed "One-Eyed Wolf".

Although the name "One-Eyed Wolf" has a word for "one-eyed", he himself has both eyes very well.

Zhou Bo invited all three of them to sit down, and then smiled and greeted Li Xiaoyu's uncle Wang Zexi first.

Li Xiaoyu's mother used to be a merchant family of the Guanghua Army and Junzhou generation, and Wang Zexi was Li Xiaoyu's brother. Later, because of the death of Li Xiaoyu's mother, the relationship between the Wang family and the Li family gradually became indifferent, and only occasionally moved around during the New Year's holidays. But after all, Li Xiaoyu is Wang Zexi's niece, and the relationship between blood and water cannot be forgotten.

Moreover, since the Qi army occupied Xiangyang Mansion and the Qi army retreated from Xiangyang Mansion, the Wang family and the Li family have suffered great losses. However, Wang Zexi heard that the relationship between the newly appointed Guanghua Army envoy and the Li family is not simple, although the Guanghua Army is now destitute, but there is hope here.

Therefore, Wang Zexi still wants to stammer more with the Li family, at least it is always beneficial for the government to take care of it.

Zhou Bo greeted the one-eyed wolf for a while, and then without beating around the bush, he directly shifted the topic to the matter of the black caravan merchants.

"I heard that your firm has been trading from north to south all year round, don't you know what difficult experiences you have had during this period?" he asked in as tactful a way as possible.

"I heard that Zhou Yuanjun turned out to be a native of Xiangyang Mansion, so I should have heard about the smuggling and trading of this generation at the border, so why do you have to ask more?" When the one-eyed wolf faced Zhou Bo, an official of the Qin Dynasty, he did not appear respectful at all, on the contrary, he still looked like a fool and even arrogant and rude. (To be continued.) )