Han Xiufeng accompanied Ding Baozhen, Gao Yunfeng and Zhang Zhidong to finish eating, and asked Yongzhuang to help boil a few pots of water, and waited for the three of them to take a bath and change into clean clothes, and then invited the three of them to the meditation room to drink tea and talk.

Gao Yunfeng rushed to his hometown in a hurry and only found the second son's family, and someone saw his eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law flee with the baby before the city was broken, but after the county was recovered, he did not come back like the second son's family, and the daughter and son-in-law's family were also not heard from. I heard that it was likely to go to the provincial capital, so I found Guiyang all the way.

As a result, I didn't find my relatives, but I met Ding Baozhen, who went to the provincial capital from Pingyuan to meet the governor, and by the way, I wanted to buy some grain, salt and cloth but couldn't buy much. Ding Baozhen heard that he went back to Chongqing Mansion with Han Xiufeng to help organize group training, and heard that Han Xiufeng brought back more than 200 foreign guns, so he followed here. It was a complete coincidence with Zhang Zhidong, and Zhang Zhidong's father, Zhang Ying, was only acting before the Daotai, and now he is still the prefect of Xingyi.

As for the bandits in Guizhou, the three of them brought good news and bad news.

The good news is that Yang Xixi was killed by the local regiment in Gezhuang, Shiqian Mansion more than 20 days ago, and the fortune teller Wu Sanxing, who bewitched Yang Yixi to rebel and later became a "national protector of the army", was also captured by the official army and the local regiment in Yongning County, and has been pressed to the provincial capital of Ming Zhengcanon. Tailor Shu escaped with the remnants, but there were more officers and regiments who were chasing and intercepting, and it was a matter of time before the head was awarded.

The bad news is that although Yang Yixi and Wu Sanxing are dead, the Shu tailor who fled everywhere like a lost dog can't become a climate, but those remnants of the White Lotus Sect have risen up one after another with their Tongzi, Zhan Renhuai, Suiyang, Qijiang, Zunyi, and Guiyang, not only endangering southern Sichuan, but also sweeping most of Guizhou!

"So although Yang Yixi deserves to die, he shouldn't die so early." Han Xiufeng groaned.

"If Yang Yixi hadn't died, those thieves would definitely take Yang Yixi's head as a follower, if they had planned properly, they would really have a chance to gather those remnants of the White Lotus Sect and annihilate them, but who would dare to let them sit big?" Ding Baozhen sighed lightly and said helplessly: "Although a large number of bandits have been suppressed now, a small group of bandits has emerged overnight, and dozens of mountains have emerged at once, and they cannot be suppressed, and the officers and soldiers can only run for their lives. ”

"The ground is not three feet flat, there are mountains everywhere, and it is not easy for those bandits to drill into the ravine!" Zhang Zhidong couldn't help but say.

"What's going on everywhere now?" Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice.

Ding Baozhen said helplessly: "The state and county officials in various places are all busy convening the gentry to hold regimental exercises, and they are all working with the officials and soldiers to suppress bandits and quell chaos. Although several counties that fell before have been recovered, Guizhou is not as good as Sichuan, and the gentry in Guizhou are not rich, even if they run group exercises, they can't afford to raise too many young people, and they can take care of the present and the future. ”

"The county seat is in your hands, and the chaos outside the city has become a pot of porridge?"

"The farther away from the county capital, the more chaotic it becomes."

"Will there be a big mess?"

"If you don't find a way quickly, it will be a big mess!"

"What can you do?" Han Xiufeng asked.

Ding Baozhen returned to his heart like an arrow, and said bluntly: "Zhixing, I can't hide it, Baozhen is not only here to buy guns from you, but also to buy grain, salt, and cloth with you!" ”

"Buying grain, salt, and cloth?"

"I Guizhou has many mountains and few fields, barren soil and poor people, plus Chengping has been peaceful for a long time, and the teeth are multiplying day by day, except for the parallel farming and silkworms in Zunyi, the livelihood is relatively easy, and the rest of the state capitals cultivate and there is no other industry that is conducive to life. Most of the people do not have enough food to eat, and they do not have clothes to cover their bodies. In the peaceful years, there is a shortage of food, and the people can only rely on corn, red barnyard barnyard trees, oats, millet, buckwheat and other coarse grains to feed their stomachs, and the only little rice can only be used to entertain guests and pay taxes. ”

Looking at Han Xiufeng's thoughtful appearance, Ding Baozhen continued: "There are no three sunny days, no three feet flat on the ground, and no one has three cents of silver, it is not a joke. Lord Lang Baochenlang, who once served as a grain road in my Guizhou, once sighed with emotion: In the thousands of mountains and ravines, I came to test the people's customs when I was idle. Everything you go to is nothing more than barren soil, and there are no corrupt officials here! ”

"Brother Zhihuang, I have long heard that Guizhou lacks grain, salt, and cloth, but the roads in Guizhou are so difficult to walk, even if you have silver to buy, how much can be left from here to your hometown Pingyuan?"

"I'm not afraid of my brother's jokes, Baozhen is penniless, and it is all up to Brother Ji Yue to help me when I come to you, and I'm afraid I'll have to borrow some more from you when I go back tomorrow."

Han Xiufeng had never seen someone so poor and arrogant, so he couldn't help asking: "Brother Zhihuang, since you are penniless, what kind of gun do you want to buy, not only do you plan to buy guns, but you even plan to buy grain, salt, and cloth!" ”

"Fourth master, it's not that Master Ding has no money, but he has scattered all his wealth to run a group practice." Gao Yunfeng hurriedly said.

"Two, I don't mean anything else, I just want to say ......"

Without waiting for Han Xiufeng to finish speaking, Ding Baozhen said eagerly: "Zhixing, I don't mean to be strong, and I haven't thought about asking for your gun for nothing, but I want you to talk to those businessmen well, so that they don't stop trading with Guizhou because of the troubles in Guizhou." We are poor in Guizhou, but we produce copper, lead, tea, and all kinds of mountain goods. As long as they carry grain and salt as before, they will be able to exchange for copper, lead, tea, and all kinds of mountain goods, and they will not lose money, and they will definitely be profitable. ”

"How shrewd businessmen are, they won't do loss-making transactions, but your side is not very peaceful, and people can't have their lives to make money and not to spend their lives!"

"What are those brave men outside, you can send some brave soldiers to escort them all the way, just like transporting food and pay to the officers and soldiers who are quelling the chaos! This road is not peaceful, but now there are only a few small bandits left, if there are two or three hundred soldiers bravely escorted at a time, if the goods are robbed, you will find me! ”

Seeing that Han Xiufeng was unmoved, Ding Baozhen said anxiously: "If the merchants in southern Sichuan don't go over, the tea and mountain goods in Guizhou can't be transported, and the people can't exchange money to buy salt, cloth, or even pay taxes. If the people have no way to live, and they are bewitched by those remnants of the White Lotus Sect, there is a chance that they will become thieves, and then not only will they endanger southern Sichuan, but the imperial court will definitely let you Sichuan help you with more food. This account will not be counted by those rogues who are in the corpse position, and you can't count it as a Ba County person! ”

Thinking of the situation on his father's side, Zhang Zhidong couldn't help but say: "Master Han, my father's side is also short of food, salt, and cloth. ”

Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, thought about it and couldn't help but smile and asked, "Brother Zhihuang, if I don't help with this, if I stop it here at the boundary monument, will you scold me?" ”

Ding Baozhen didn't expect Han Xiu to ask like this, and couldn't help but say, "Yes!" ”

"I don't want to be scolded," Han Xiufeng patted his thigh and looked at the three of them with a smile: "I can't hide it, I have already thought of what the two of you said, even if the two of you didn't come with Brother Ji Yue, in half a month, I will send 3,000 brave men to garrison Songkan, and another 500 brave men to garrison in Hongguan and the area of the hotel." ”

"Why don't you send more brave men to garrison Loushan Pass?"

"I was ordered to assist in the regimental training of various prefectures and counties in Chongqing Prefecture, not to be ordered to assist in the regimental training in Guizhou. Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "What's more, my garrison in Songkan is not as simple as treating Songkan as the gateway to southern Sichuan, Songkan is the only land and water wharf in northern Qianbei, as long as the merchants of the eight provinces of Songkan can transport grain, salt and other commercial goods to Songkan by land and water, and then transport them from Songkan to all parts of Guizhou along the official road of Chongqing and Guizhou. ”

"Will you send troops to escort you?"

"As long as those merchants are willing to take the risk of doing this business, I will definitely send brave escorts, after all, most of these thousands of brave men and wages are donated by merchants."

"Great, Zhixing, please do me another favor, so that those merchants don't sell all the salt before it is shipped to Guiyang, and you have to keep some for me anyway. After I returned, I gathered the merchants in my hometown to raise money, and after raising the money, I sent people to Guiyang to trade. ”

"Okay, that's what I can do."

"And then the foreign gun, can you give me a hundred and ten strokes on credit first?"

As soon as Ding Baozhen's voice fell, Zhang Zhidong couldn't help but say: "Master Han, my father is in urgent need of firearms, how many foreign guns you have, Zhidong will buy as many as your father, as long as it arrives in Xingyi, I will give you silver, and I will never be in arrears!" ”

"Xiaoda, what are you doing, you are going to Beijing to take the exam, you should put your mind on your career, take a walk, and hurry up to review your homework."

"Master Ding, you have scattered all your family wealth to run group exercises, and you have killed bandits with your father, and your hometown is troubled, and your father's side is not peaceful. This is the master, the hole can still help my father do. Zhang Zhidong knew very well what Xingyi Mansion was lacking the most, and turned around and arched his hand: "Master Han, please!" ”

The buyer who sent it to the door, how could Han Xiufeng miss it.

Although Ding Baozhen couldn't take out the silver for a while, the identity of the Hanlin Academy's Jishi was worth 10,000 taels, Han Xiufeng believed that he didn't dare to repay the debt, so he pretended to weigh it and said helplessly: "Don't fight, the two of you only have 90 foreign guns left, and what about 45 guns in a family?" ”

"Forty-five is forty-five!"

"Brother Zhihuang, don't worry, Xiufeng hasn't finished yet." Han Xiufeng smiled, and then said: "Gun Xiufeng can sell it to you, but you can't just let you take it back, first, the road is not smooth, if it falls into the hands of bandits, it will be troublesome." Second, Xiufeng has some experience in how to use these foreign guns, so Xiufeng doesn't just sell guns, but plans to sell them together. ”

"How can you say that you sell it together?"

"Foreign guns are only sharp when they are concentrated together, Xiufeng plans to train two firearms regiments that use foreign guns, and when the drill is done, when those brave and strong can go into battle to kill thieves, then even bring guns to you to listen to them."

"And then?"

"The gun is yours, the people are mine, you have to pay my people, if you make war exploits in the future, remember to mention Lord Cao of East Sichuan Province and Du Xingyuan, the prefect of Chongqing, if you have the opportunity, you will bring up the supervisor and regiment who lead the troops."

Thinking of the bravery of the forty-five all-envoys with foreign guns, and the courage of hundreds of villagers with long-haired machetes, Ding Baozhen blurted out: "A gentleman's word! ”

"It's hard to chase a horse!" Han Xiufeng smiled slightly, then turned around and said: "Xiaoda, can you help your father be the master, if you can be the master, I can not only sell the gun to you, not only can I send the firearms regiment Xingyi to listen to it, but I can even send a few more regiments to help your father suppress the bandits and quell the chaos." ”

Thinking that although Xingyi Mansion City was defended, the current situation was more critical than before, and it could be called a crisis, Zhang Zhidong, who was not worried about his family, said without thinking: "Yes! ”

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