Usman picked up the dagger, clenched it tightly, the green tendons on the back of his hand burst out, clenched his teeth, and looked at his appearance, it seemed that he would really burst out and hurt people in the next moment.

But when Li Mu saw him like this, he laughed. People who really want to die won't be so inked, this person is still a greedy and afraid of death after all.

But it's okay to do this, people who have too high a heart are not easy to use.

Usman threw the dagger on the ground, knelt in front of Li Mu, and lowered his head: "Hou Ye, Usman is willing to take refuge in Hou Ye and ask Hou Ye to give him a way to live." ”

"I have already said to Ju Zhisheng that I have killed you. Let's go, change your name and surname, you can go to the ends of the earth, don't go back to the Western Regions, there will be no trouble. ”

Usman lowered his head and said, "Master Hou, I can't just walk away." In Gaochang, I still have 2,000 brothers, begging the Hou Ye to give us a way to live! ”

Li Mu was silent for a while, as if he was thinking, for a long time, before he spoke: "You said these words, are you planning to take refuge in me?" ”

"Please have mercy!"

Li Mu didn't answer, and said: "I know that you are a horse bandit in Longyou, and your power is not small, but Benhou has no business in Longyou, so I'm afraid I don't need you anything." Even if you have a business, you must know my relationship with Dugu Valve and Changsun Clan. To put it mildly, I, Li Mu, am still a little thin-faced, and I don't seem to need you, what do you have that I value to reward you and your brothers with a way to live? ”

Usman's heart was frustrated by the dagger that Li Mu threw on the ground, at this time his heart was in turmoil, his head was a mess, he really couldn't think of anything that could be used as a bargaining chip, he just pestled his head and said: "Usman has nothing else but a loyal heart, serving Hou Ye to die, what Hou Ye says is what it is, Usman and his brothers, they will sacrifice their lives and do not give up!" ”

Li Mu smiled, stretched out his hand to help him, and Li Chongyi picked up Wu Siman and pressed it on the chair opposite Li Mu.

Li Mu didn't rush to give Wu Siman an an answer, but diverted the conversation and asked, "Don't you be busy showing your loyalty first, let's get to know each other first." I will not hide it from you, I do have the intention of keeping your life for my use. But I can't trust you, because I know very little about you. If you really want to join me, then we might as well have a good talk. ”

Usman's eyes rolled, and he seemed to be quite moved, but he quickly denied this thought, now that he was already a fish on the board, he was allowed to be slaughtered by the other party, what conditions could he negotiate.

Wu Siman only regarded it as Li Mu's temptation, and hurriedly said: "If such an unspeakable thing happens, Ju Zhisheng will hate me to the bone, and I am already desperate, and it is really sincere to take refuge in Hou Ye, please don't tempt Hou Ye again." ”

"No, no, no," Li Mu waved his hand and said, "You misunderstood, I'm not testing you, I'm really asking you." ”

Seeing that Wu Siman was puzzled, Li Mu said again: "I don't know anything about you, but you must have inquired about me." I, although I am the marquis of the Tang Dynasty, I don't have the noble style. Instead, I'm more of a businessman. Although I was despised by the noble gatekeeper, I was very happy and even proud. ”

"I do things and strive to be fair. This is one of my principles of life, I want to use you, I will give you a satisfactory return, and will not overwhelm others. Because what I care about is that you do what I have given you. If you have a grudge and a bad mess, the loss is not something that can be recouped with any amount of money. ”

"On the other hand, I want to know how capable you are. If you are a fool, I will not waste a copper on you, this is a deal! I'll pay for it, you're working hard, are you sure you don't want to have a good talk with me? In your heart, is your life so worthless? ”

Usman was stunned when he heard this.

How can anyone feel that their lives are worthless, not to mention, there are two thousand brothers' lives tied to their own bodies. To say that I don't care is definitely a lie. Usman didn't dare to bargain, just because he felt in his heart that Li Mu would not give him a chance to bargain.

If you say a lot of things, and in the end you are vetoed by Li Mu, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing? Today's face has been completely disgraced, and he doesn't want to humiliate himself.

But after listening to Li Mu's words, Usman knew that he had indeed given him a chance to talk. At the same time, Usman also heard the meaning of Li Mu's words. If the 'price' is reasonable, it can be negotiated. If the 'price' is not reasonable, then the lion opens its mouth, and what will happen at that time is unknown.

The cold sweat on Wu Siman's forehead broke out, and he hesitated for a long time before he said, "Master Hou, I want to talk about it." ”

"Just want to?"

"Let's talk about it next!" Usman's voice was a little louder and a little firmer, he looked up at Li Mu's eyes, and said, "Usman and two thousand brothers, I want to negotiate a deal with Hou Ye!" ”

"Good!" Li Mu gave a thumbs up and said, "It is worthy of being one of the three major horse bandits, very good, I like it very much." ”

Wu Siman didn't understand what Li Mu meant by giving him a thumbs up, but he didn't dare to ask, so he nodded resignedly and said, "I don't know what Master Hou wants to know, I know everything." ”

"Let's talk about the conditions first, what is the purpose of your refuge in Gaochang, and what do you want to get. I'll take a look at the 'price' first, I can't afford it, I can afford it, let's continue to talk, I can't afford it, and there is no point in talking. ”

Li Mu's directness was beyond Usman's expectations, but this way made him feel very happy, and the feeling of resistance in his heart was much less, so he thought about it for a while and decided to tell the truth, just like what he just said. Such a thing happened to him and Ju Zhisheng, the road of Gaochang is blocked, if he wants to gain a foothold in the Western Regions, he must find another backer, otherwise it will be a dead word sooner or later!

Wu Siman said in a deep voice: "Don't dare to deceive Hou Ye, and take refuge in Gaochang in the next, it has nothing to do with Datang." ”

"Oh?" Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said, "I want to hear about it." ”

"The three major horse bandits in Longyou are Zhangjiazhai, Camel Valley, and our Tiansha Alliance. Although the three families all called a bandit, in fact, this is not the case. “

"Zhangjiazhai mainly depends on smuggling for a living, when the Tang Dynasty and the Turks were at war, the Tang Dynasty needed horse furs, and the Turks needed grain, copper and iron, Zhangjiazhai left and right, I don't know how much money I made, according to rumors, there is a big vault under Zhangjiazhai, there are 10,000 taels of gold, copper money is not counted, black eats black things, for them is just a sideline, more like a businessman who raised a group of thugs."

"The Camel Valley is in the center of the desert leading from Longyou to the Western Regions, and there is only this oasis water source within a radius of 100 miles. Merchants who traveled between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions had to supply here, and camels flocked together, so it was called Camel Valley. ”

"This camel valley is very mysterious, in the valley women are respected, men are lowly and mostly coolies, and the people in charge of things are all women. No one has ever seen the valley master, and it is said that he is a witch who can control quicksand. Anyone who intends to harm the Camel Valley will be cursed and buried in quicksand. ”

"Nearby forces have repeatedly tried to occupy the Camel Valley, but without exception have failed. The largest number of people was a small khan of the Western Turks, who contacted three tribes, and more than 5,000 people attacked the Camel Valley, and it is said that most of them were broken, and more than 1,000 people were buried in quicksand. Since then, no one has dared to provoke again. ”

"The people of Camel Valley never provoke outside forces, and they don't even go out of the valley. They entertained all the merchants who passed by, exchanged water and forage for what they needed, and did not talk to many people. Compared to horse bandits, they were more like opening an inn in the desert. ”

Li Mu nodded and motioned for Usman to continue.

"And we, the Tiansha Alliance, are pure horse bandits, we don't do business, we don't entertain merchants, we only do things like killing people and stealing goods! The Tiansha League is not like Camel Valley and Zhangjiazhai, there are men, women and children. There are only young people in the Tiansha Alliance, and they are all first-class ruthless people. Don't ask about your background, don't look at your qualifications, just rely on your ability. We have no fixed place, wandering around the trade routes, and when we see a caravan, we rob it, and say unceremoniously, Longyou is going to the trade route to the Western Regions, and there is no ...... who is not afraid of my Tiansha Alliance."

Li Mu frowned, what he hated most was that someone bragged in front of him, this Usman also had a big face, and he would open a dyeing workshop if he gave him some color. If you are really as awesome as you say, why are you still a prisoner of Lao Tzu?

Li Mu coughed unhappily, waking up Usman from his former glory, and he seemed to realize this, coughed awkwardly, and said, "Master Hou, see and laugh." I really miss the old days and smile. ”

"It doesn't matter, keep talking."

Usman sorted out his emotions and continued: "All this changed after Li Jing destroyed the Turks. ”

"After the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, Longyou and the Western Regions were directly connected. Except that the Camel Valley was not affected much, Zhangjiazhai and Tiansha Alliance had a hard time. Zhangjiazhai's smuggling business is unaffordable, not only that, but in order to protect their lives, the border city and county orders that turned out to be with Zhangjiazhai's flies and dogs have all put on an honest and self-defying appearance, not to mention smuggling, even the grain is unwilling to sell. ”

Li Mu nodded, he had already learned these things from Zhang Tianai's mouth, Zhangjiazhai couldn't buy grain in the border city, so he had to come to Chang'an and buy it at several times the price. Usman's words further corroborate this point.

Wu Siman sighed and said: "The days of our Tiansha Alliance are even worse, and the Tang Dynasty has set up the Dingxiang Zhichong Mansion, recruited displaced people, and drilled military horses. The lieutenant of the Zhichong Mansion is said to be the son of General Li Jida, named Li Siwen. This person is really hateful, he seems to be going to die poor, in order to make money, he will not give us a way to live, he posted a list outside the gate of Dingxiang City, and the Zhichong Mansion will send a team of people and horses to escort the merchants every three days. ”

"With just this move, we will be cut off from life!"