"Yo, it looks like I've met an expert. The little brother didn't dare to hide it, everything was here, and these big carts were tea. Ahem, if this battle hadn't been fought so suddenly, these goods would have arrived in Binzhou by now and become cash. Now that I'm holding it in my hand, it's become a hot potato, you have to think it's appropriate, just use it, and leave me to take it to Binzhou to sell a return trip to the foot money! ”

The tax collector laughed, nodded again and again, counted the amount in a short time, and directly took away two carts of tea, ready to let them cross the border.

Ye Cizhun thanked him again and again, and was about to drive away, when suddenly a young man with a few entourages rushed out at a gallop and stopped Ye Cizhun's footsteps.

An ominous omen came to his heart, and Ye Cizhun tightened the reins and became vigilant.

As soon as the tax collector saw the visitor, he stepped forward to greet him, saluted and said, "The lower official will see the young master." ”

The young man was dressed in a short, narrow-sleeved shirt, a short bottom, buckskin boots, and a bright silver short knife tied around his waist, as if he was dressed as a foreigner, but his hair was combed and gathered into a bun, half tied and half draped, similar to that of a young man in the Central Plains. Ye Cizhun couldn't figure out the situation, so he could only wait for it.

The young man got off the horse, walked to Ye Cizhun's carriage, and asked him, "You are the merchant of the Nanzhao Kingdom that you just reported?" ”

Ye Cizhun clenched his fists and replied, "Exactly." ”

The young man looked at him for a while, his eyes suddenly turned to Ling, and shouted, "Come on, tie me up and escort me to the hall!" ”

Ye Cizhun didn't know why, but he was outnumbered, in order to avoid hurting Su Yuming and Wei Zhiyu, he could only endure it for the time being, let it go, and wait for the opportunity.

The three of them were quickly escorted to the hall, which was carved and painted, very similar to the main hall of the Han family in the Central Plains. On both sides of the hall stood two factions of sword-wielding soldiers, and the atmosphere was tense.

Before he saw anyone from the seat, the young man took out a carrier pigeon that had been shot down, carried it to the three of them, and asked awe-inspiringly, "Who wrote the letter?" ”

Unexpectedly, the carrier pigeon that was released was actually intercepted by them! A chill passed through Ye Cizhun's heart, and he was thinking about how to clear it up, but Wei Zhiyu couldn't hold it back, and replied directly, "I wrote it, how?" ”

Wei Zhiyu's unrestrained answer surprised the young man a little, and he couldn't help but walk up to her and look at her a few more times.

This close-up look made Wei Zhiyu embarrassed, and his little face was slightly red.

Ye Cizhun hurriedly said, "I'm really sorry, we have done business with the Daye garrison before, so we know one or two junior generals in the army, and when they saw us crossing this place to Binzhou, they asked us to inquire about the situation." You know that we are just small businessmen, how dare we refuse the request of the official? I had no choice but to agree...... Actually, it didn't say anything in the letter—"

"I wrote our background clearly, how to say 'nothing was written'!"

With a loud voice, everyone followed the voice, only to see a middle-aged man in his forties walking out of the back hall and sitting on the main seat.

They knelt down and saluted, "See Your Excellency." ”

"No courtesy. Bin'er, they are the group of merchants who claim to be from Nanzhao? ”

"Back to my father, exactly."

It turned out that this person was the leader of the tribe, Ye Cizhun hurriedly said, "My lord! It's tied up so hard that I can't salute you...... However, we are really not spies or meticulous work, but we were forced by the garrison of Daye to spy on the general situation of the tribe when we crossed the border. As you know, on the way back from Binzhou in the future, we will still have to pass through the place where the army of Daye is stationed, and if we don't agree to their request, I am afraid that our lives will be in danger at that time......"

Ye Cizhun said humble, but the awe-inspiring aura on his body could not be hidden, and the rhetoric on the surface deceived the tax official and the young Duan Bin, but it could not deceive Duan Zhenggang.

Duan Zheng just got up and walked in front of Ye Cizhun and looked at him for a while before saying, "Is it Mr. who reported to his family, or did this official force you to report to his family?" ”

Duan Zhenggang turned sideways and looked at Su Yuming and Wei Zhiyu behind Ye Cizhun and sneered again, "If you want this official to use the torture equipment, even if Mr. can bear it, I am afraid that the two delicate and expensive young ladies behind will not be ......able to stand it."

When Duan Bin heard this, he hurriedly glanced at Wei Zhiyu, as if he was a little anxious.

Ye Cizhun frowned, and replied after a while, "Lord Duan, in Xia Changxing Ye Cizhun, the next two are my wife Su Yuming, and the other is my concubine Wei, and I also ask Lord Duan not to embarrass the two female dependents." ”

Wei Zhiyu raised his head suddenly and stared blankly at Ye Cizhun.

The situation between the enemy and the enemy is unknown, and I don't know if Duan Bin will fight Wei Zhiyu's idea, Ye Cizhun can only take Wei Zhiyu first. Kidnapping other people's wives and concubines is an extremely vicious act, and if the Duan family still knows a little bit of etiquette, righteousness and shame, they don't bother to do it.

The look on Duan Bin's face suddenly fell into a haze.

But Duan Zhenggang was shocked and hurriedly said, "Are you Ye Cizhun of the former Taifu Temple?!" ”

But then he shouted, "Ridiculous! Ye Cizhun has already died on the Yujiang River, this matter is known to the world, you dare to impersonate your name?! ”

Ye Cizhun remained silent, "Lord Duan has been running the state for a long time, and Jingnan Province is adjacent to the state, dare to ask how many officials in Jingnan Province do you know?" ”

"That's natural, from the provincial government to the county officials, Duan knows one or two."

"That being the case, my lordship can take my portrait to Shen Yue, the transfer envoy of Jingnan Province, or Zhuang Kang, the commander of Binzhou City, and let him recognize the two of them to see if I am an old friend back then, Ye Cizhun."

Duan Zheng just saw that he said calmly and naturally, without the slightest timidity, so he stared and pondered, and said after a while, "Okay! I sent your portrait to Jingnan Province, and before the result was decided, I also wronged Mr. to be grounded in my guest room for a few days. Back then, my tribe was short of food, and I also received the favor of the Jingnan Provincial Pingzhun Division, if you are really Lord Ye, I will not be embarrassed. If not, it means that Mr. deceived first, but don't blame me for someone who is unrighteous later. ”

"It's okay for my lord to go, it's just ...... the next two wives and concubines."

"A friend's wife can't be bullied, Duan's brothers still understand this truth. The two ladies live next door to Mr. first, and no one will disturb them, but they can rest assured. ”

Su Yuming reluctantly glanced at Ye Cizhun, and Wei Zhiyu turned around and followed the two maids into the back hall.

After escorting Ye Cizhun and others into the back hall, Duan Zhenggang carefully read the intercepted letter, which did not mention anything about the deployment of this place, only mentioning that there were Han people from the Central Plains in the tribe, hoping that the imperial court would adopt a policy of gentleness and war, and that the chaos might be ended early.

In this way, they really don't look like fine work. It's just that the man actually said that he was Ye Cizhun, and things were complicated......

Duan Zhenggang didn't want to delay for a moment, and after summoning the painter to paint the portrait of Ye Cizhun, he sent a secret envoy to Binzhou to present Shen Yue and Zhuang Kang respectively, if the answers given by the two were the same, then there would be no suspense.

After the secret envoy set off, night fell, but Duan Zhenggang was still sitting in the hall, deep in thought......

Duan Zhenggang's ancestral home is Jingnan Road, and he is a serious 800 Central Plains person. When his father was young, he relied on the water network of Jingnan Road to extend in all directions, and started a shipping business, and later shipping was gradually monopolized by Ding Taihe, and slowly there was no big business to do, so he joined the gang on the river, and became a Jianghu man who was also a merchant and a thief, and gradually became the leader of the gang with his bold and righteous character.

Jingnan Road and Guanzhou are approaching, and his father has been running back and forth diligently, and he has slowly integrated into the local area. The people of the tribes in the state of Jianzhou are simple and simple, and they believe in the handouts, which is very much in line with their wishes, so he simply marries a wife and has children here and takes root. Later, he used the money he saved from running the rivers and lakes to buy land and property, and recruited his brothers to live here and develop into a tribe.

Duan Zhenggang just took this opportunity to strengthen his power and develop his department into a large tribe worthy of the name of the state.

As a descendant of the Central Plains, Duan Zhenggang did not want to be the enemy of the great cause, so he always adhered to his duty and lived a stable life with the hereditary name of assassination.

He didn't want to participate in this war, but the three major tribes in the state formed an alliance and unanimously demanded a declaration of war on the great cause in an attempt to become completely independent. Some of the small and medium-sized tribes wanted to take advantage of the chaos to get a piece of the pie, and some were forced to get on the thief ship...... And so on. Duan Zhenggang wanted to ensure the stability of the tribe, so he took the lead and seized the surrounding fortresses, which could be attacked and defended, and had a wait-and-see attitude towards the war.

If that person is really Ye Cizhun, with his relationship with Wei Shaoqing and Shen Yue, maybe he can help himself......

Just thinking about it, Duan Bin suddenly walked in, and called him "father" twice before he reacted and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"Father, but he's worried about those people today?"

"It's not upset. It's just that looking at the current war, the army in the state of Jian will not be able to carry it for long, and our future will be really worrying in the future. ”

"What's this, it's not the same who wins? No one wants to get involved in our chassis, whether it is the Qiang or the imperial court! ”

"This matter is not so simple, once we are defeated, we will either be prisoners or thieves, and we will always be enemies of the imperial court."

Duan Bin lowered his head and pondered, "Didn't my father consider surrendering to the imperial court a few days ago?" If Toucheng can really keep the tribe safe, it is not a good way. ”

"We have now been closely monitored by the Qiang and Barbarian departments, and the slightest action will lead to annihilation, and it is still unknown whether the surrender can be realized...... I'm afraid that before the court can take care of us, we will already be poisoned by other ministries. ”

Duan Bin pursed his lips and nodded, and after hesitating for a while, he continued to Duan Zhenggang, "Father, today's woman ...... The child looked at her extraordinary appearance, not like an ordinary boudoir woman, she was really that person's concubine? ”

"Hahaha, it seems that my child has grown up and knows that he likes girls......"

Duan Bin blushed, scratched his head and said, "The child felt cordial when she saw her for the first time, but unfortunately she was already married, alas, ......"

"Even if there is no marriage, what is it, which Central Plains woman is willing to stay in this wild land and marry you? We are not bandits, and we must not do such things as burning, killing, and looting. ”

Duan Bin smiled self-deprecatingly, bowed his hand and said, "That kid retired first, and his father rested earlier." ”