"Guys, don't do it!"

Zheng Tu jumped off the horse, walked out of the crowd of people and Zhuang guests who were carrying grain, and frequently clasped his fists and saluted the men in front of him who were blocking the way with knives and guns, with a smile on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the military rations that were shipped to Pingxia City, and I ask you to let them go. There are 200 taels of silver here, which is considered to be the next point of mind, and please smile at it. ”

Zheng Tu waved his hand, and the guy took a money bag and handed it over.

"Generous enough!"

A swarthy and sturdy man with a weathered face parted his subordinates and strode up, the steel knife in his hand dazzling.

He didn't take the money bag, but looked at the dozens of carts full of grain and mutton behind him, and asked suspiciously, "What you said is true." Is this really the military rations that were shipped to Pingxia City?"

Zheng Tu took out the customs clearance document from his arms, and the return document with the list of items to be shipped was attached to it, and handed it over.

"In front of a hero, how dare you talk nonsense. The loyal and righteous army is fighting with the party members in the front, and we people also want to do something, just do our part. ”

The swarthy man waved his hand, and a man dressed as a scribe came up, took the paperwork, looked at it carefully, nodded and said: "Big brother, that's right, I came from Weizhou, and there are documents from the Zhizhou Yamen, and I transported grain and mutton."

The eldest brother nodded, looking at the dozens of cars on the official road, and felt really uncomfortable. Such a big deal is enough for 100,000 stone of grain, and if you say you lose it, you will lose it, which makes people really hurt.

"Big brother, it doesn't matter what kind of loyal and righteous army and middle second army he has, just rob it, what can he do with my brother! If you are so indecisive all day long, how can your friends on the green forest road look down on our brothers!"

A tall, thin, gloomy man in his thirties walked up, brandishing the steel knife in his hand, his face full of impatience.

"Big brother, the brothers are running out of food, if they continue like this, they will have to starve to death! Let me slaughter this fat man and snatch back all the food and meat!"

That being said, he still didn't make a move, and it seemed that he was still waiting for his eldest brother's orders.

"Big brother, if you really rob these grains, I'm afraid you and my brother won't be able to mix in this gourd river valley."

The scribe said in a low voice: "The sixty or seventy thousand troops of the party members can't stop the thunderous blow of the loyal and righteous army, not to mention the hundreds of people like you and my brother!" Besides, there is a way to steal, if this kind of disloyal and unrighteous thing is done, I am afraid that if it is plugged here, there will be no place for you and my brother!"

"Even if you want to rob, I'm afraid it's not easy!"

The eldest brother looked at the grain guards with guns and knives, spat on the ground, took the money bag in the man's hand, turned around, and walked back.

"Big brother, what are you doing, don't want this fat sheep in your mouth?"

The tall and thin man is reluctant to give up, and he refuses to give up.

"If you're not afraid of death, you can go!"

The eldest brother glared at the younger brother fiercely, waved his hand, and all the bandits left backwards.

"The straight lady thief, it's really unlucky!"

The tall and thin man spat thick phlegm on the ground, glanced at the cart a few times, and followed away.

"Thank you for being in charge, thank you brothers!"

Zheng Tu bowed his hands again and again, watching these people walk away into the distance, and then he withdrew his gaze.

The people and the villagers often breathed a sigh of relief, Zheng Fu put his knife back into the sheath, waved his hand, the people drove the carriage, the villagers guarded the side, the wheels rolled, and rushed forward.

"Outside, although this business is profitable, it is too risky!"

Zheng Fu shook his head. On the side plug, the people are fierce, there are many bandits, and there are chaotic troops, and this trip is really shocking.

"Dad, Zheng Fu is right, although he earns a lot of silver, but he is frightened along the way, in case there is a good ......"

Zheng Tu's son Zheng Shigui also muttered on the side.

"Nothing ifs!"

Zheng Tu smiled, looked at the flat land on both sides of the official road, the poplar trees with yellowed leaves, and shook his head: "Isn't this okay." Besides, with the prince behind his back, no one can move us. ”

Along the way, if he hadn't been in a hurry, greedy for convenience, and marched with the army of Weizhou City transporting heavy grain and grass, I'm afraid he wouldn't have encountered these troubles.

Seeing that his son's eyes widened and he was about to speak again, Zheng Tu waved his hand and said, "Gui'er, as the saying goes, wealth is sought in danger." Dad does this, and he has his own reason for doing so. ”

"You always have a point, don't die if you make money!"

Zheng Shigui looked at a group of boatmen on the river, and saw that these people did not move, nor did they have bows, arrows, knives and guns, etc., not like strongmen who robbed houses, so he withdrew his gaze.

"Gui'er, you're eighteen, it's time to be sensible."

Zheng Tu shook his head and said, "I've been dancing with guns and sticks all day long, I don't know what you're going to do?" You must know that all the business of our family will be handed over to you in the future. ”

"Dad, I don't want to do business."

Zheng Shigui waved his hand in disgust, his eyes widened.

"You are so familiar with Wang Xianggong, you can help me talk about it, I want to go to the martial arts hall."

Zheng Tu was taken aback, he never expected that his son would want to join the army.

"How's that going to work? If you go, who will do the family's business? ”

"Dad, you're not in your forties, what's the hurry? Besides, I'm gone, and my younger brother will inherit the family business. You can rest assured. ”

Zheng Tu was helpless, shook his head, and sighed.

"Whatever you want. When I arrived in Pingxia City, I told Marshal Liu that he might be gracious and accept you in the army. ”

Zheng Tu thought about it, maybe his son joined the army, but he could shorten the distance between him and Wang Song and the Loyal Army, which was not a good thing.

"Then thank you Daddy!"

Zheng Shigui was overjoyed and pretended to clasp his fists and salute.

"Virtuous nephew, your father's face, the generals of the loyal and righteous army will give it to you!"

Lu Daofeng came up and said in a deep voice: "Your father and I have worked hard to run up and down for the loyal and righteous army, and it is not worth mentioning such a trivial matter as you want to join the army." Go back and your father will write another letter to Wang Xianggong, and it is not a sure thing to talk about martial arts!"

He is also a wealthy merchant in Chang'an City, and he and Zheng Tu transport grain and grass for the army together, and Zheng Tu's friendship with the middle and senior generals of the Loyal and Righteous Army, he naturally knows.

"Uncle Lu, as long as I join the army and talk about the affairs of the martial arts, I will enter with my own skills!"

Zheng Shigui's bold words, listening to Lu Daofeng and Zheng Tu's ears, the two shook their heads slightly, and each laughed.

The hardships of the father's generation to start a business can not be understood by these rich second generations who have been clothed and fed since childhood. It seems that his son's Taoism is still shallow, and he still needs to be carefully polished.

"After twenty or thirty years of hard work for my father, it seems that the business is doing a lot of business, but in fact he is making limited money."

Zheng Tu said meaningfully: "Salary contributions, extortion by officials, extortion of miscellaneous taxes, just a small errand may make you bankrupt and ruined."

Although the Song Dynasty had a developed commodity economy, merchants had a low status and never had much right to speak. The imperial court relied on merchants to invigorate the economy, but it was still heavy on agriculture and suppressed commerce, and merchants were always in a vulnerable group, and the government could naturally extort and seize them at will.

In addition, the imperial court implemented a monopoly system for tea, salt, wine, vinegar, etc., the tax rate was extremely high, and the range of choices of private merchants was narrow, and most of the hard-earned profits were handed over to the imperial court and the government.

He turned his head and asked, "Gui'er, do you know the reason for this?"

From his father's words, Zheng Shigui realized something, he nodded and said, "Father said the word "official"?"

"Yes and no!"

Zheng Tu said in a deep voice: "Everything pays attention to fortune, if there is no appearance of this loyal army, my father will not think like this." If it was still the former imperial court yamen, his father would not do this

, that's self-inflicted humiliation. ”

In the past, the government would take these businessmen in their eyes, use them to come, and go away. This is to offend the officials and officials of the government, and there is a disaster of breaking the family at any time.

No one thought that in just one or two major battles, the loyal and righteous army was already sharp and domineering. The Tanguts were defeated and fled, and the lower reaches of the Hulu River had been owned by the Song people, and this fertile land of water and grass finally returned to the Song people.

"The prestige of the loyal and righteous army, the strict military discipline, and the autumn no offense everywhere they go, this is a sign that they want to conquer the world."

Zheng Tu talked eloquently, and Zheng Shigui next to him was stunned.

"Wherever the loyal and righteous army goes, as long as they are militarily ahead, they will set up a government to open a government and preach and educate them. At the beginning of the foundation, the government needed a lot of money and the support of a large number of private businessmen, and this was the opportunity that the father wanted. ”

His gaze was determined, and the slickness of the past was gone.

"As long as you can get in touch with the prince and the government, the cattle, horses, and alpacas of Western Xia, including green and white salt, can be marketed in all directions. With the help of Wang Xianggong, we can naturally get the moon before the water and the tower, so that the world can be rich and noble, and no one can ride on our heads to be powerful. ”

"What Brother Zheng said is very true!"

Lu Daofeng answered: "Even if our brothers can't be officials, we can still get in touch with the Loyal and Righteous Army and get taken care of by them." Besides, the loyal army conquers the city, and the territory is getting bigger and bigger, and our brothers' business will get better and better. ”

Since ancient times, Shinong, businessmen, and businessmen have been at the lowest level, and if they can change this status and change their faces, they will naturally have their wishes fulfilled and their merits will be fulfilled.

If the "Eight Great Emperor Merchants" 500 years later are lucky enough to see what Zheng Tu and Lu Daofeng are doing today, they will definitely have a sense of like-mindedness and hatred for each other. Both sides are mutinous people, but the "Eight Great Emperor Merchants" help other races, enslave the same race, help the abuse, and act for the tiger, while Zheng Tu is the right time to meet and jointly resist the national insult.

"Li Xianggong, the villain is polite!"

When I arrived at Tongxia Village and entered the village, there were still traces of smoke and fire, and even the breath in the house was a little choking.

Pingxia City was destroyed in one fell swoop, and Li Ruoxu could only temporarily settle down in Tongxia Village, eighteen miles in front of him, as a transit station for the army's supplies.

"Outside Zheng Yuan, outside Lu Yuan, you two are distinguished guests."

Li Ruoxu nodded sincerely and said, "This official will definitely tell Xianggong Wang and reward the two virtuous men."

An army of 40,000 or 50,000 people, people eat horses and chew, and the grain and grass needed in a month are no less than 100,000 stones, although the transfer distance is only two or three hundred miles, but it also consumes manpower and horsepower, which makes him quite a headache.

The hundreds of thousands of stone grain transported by these two giant merchants were enough for the army to meet for a month, and the cheap grain transported by the people themselves saved a lot of trouble for the loyal and righteous army.

Zheng Tu smiled all over his face and arched his hand: "The Loyal and Righteous Army Xuanfu Administrative Xixia, this is also my Chinese homeland, at the beginning of the grass, the villain will do his part."

"That's what Brother Zheng said!"

Lu Daofeng also hurriedly continued: "Li Xianggong, I am waiting for a merchant in this northwest, and I am very familiar with the people, roads, and products in this northwest. The sergeants of the Loyal and Righteous Army are only in charge of marching and fighting, and the collection and escort of this grain and grass will be handed over to me and other villains to do, Li Xianggong can rest assured. ”

Zheng Tu also smiled and said, "Gong Li, a large amount of grain is still on the way from Jingzhao Mansion. The grain and grass transported on this trip were enough for the army for three months. If there is still a need, the villain will raise it again. ”

Li Ruoxu laughed. Everyone knows that this Zheng Tu is rich and rich, but it is Wang Song's arm help, and he has a lot of friendship, and when he saw it today, he really worked very efficiently and solved the urgent needs of the army.

Zheng Tu pointed to his blushing son and shook his head slightly.

"Li Gong, Xiao'er has been dancing with guns and sticks since he was a child, and he wants to join the Loyal and Righteous Army, I wonder if Li Gong can do it?"

Li Ruoxu looked at Zheng Shigui and laughed.

"Zheng Yuanwai, I promise you these little things. We still have to talk about it, let's go in and talk. ”