In Huozhou, the northern foot of Dabie Mountain, the wind, today there are guests into the mountain, bring a large number of gifts, so the voice of the people in the temple is very lively, in the meeting hall, Tian Yuanxian and the elders of the clan together to receive the guests.

The two sides of the guest of honor talked directly, although the accents were different, but there was no barrier to communication in general, and the guests were all young people, and they all had the same surname as Tian Yuanxian.

The Central Plains Imperial Court collectively referred to the large and small tribes living in the southern frontier as barbarians, which included the tribes living in the Dabie Mountains and the surrounding vast areas, and these so-called barbarians mostly took Tian, Mei, Ran, and Lu as their surnames, because of the different living areas, the Central Plains Imperial Court called them differently.

The barbarians living in the southwest area of the Dabie Mountains are called Xiyang Man, and because there are five large rivers such as Bashui and Jushui at the southwest foot of the Dabie Mountain that flow into the Yangtze River, the barbarians in this area are also called Wushui Man.

And the Tongbai Mountain in the northwest corner of the Dabie Mountains, the barbarians who live in it are called Tongbai Mountain Barbarian or Tongbai Man, the Dayang Mountain in the Xiangzhou area west of Tongbai Mountain, there is Dayang Man, and the western mountainous area of Yuzhou in the east of Tongbai Mountain has Yuzhou Man.

And in the Gwangju area at the northern foot of Dabie Mountain, there are Gwangju Barbarians or Guangcheng Man, so the Huozhou area located at the northeast foot of Dabie Mountain naturally has Huozhou Man, at this time, Tian Yuanxian, the barbarian chief who was classified as Huozhou Man, received the guests Tian Shouguang and others from Xiyangman.

The so-called "barbarian" is the contempt of the Central Plains court for them, and the people in the windward wall will not call themselves "barbarians", nor will they call visitors "barbarians".

Everyone is from Dabie Mountain, maybe the ancestors of many generations ago were brothers who ate in the same bowl, so Tian Yuanxian was still more enthusiastic about the visitors, but he was not so polite to the Central Plains court behind the guests.

Tian Yuanxian held a dagger in his hand, and said while cutting barbecue: "Housheng, what official title is your king going to grant me?" Is it the history of Huozhou, the county guard of Yue'an, or what kind of king? ”

Tian Shouguang put down the barbecue, didn't care about the oil in his mouth, and replied directly: "The old lord said that he was laughing, this kind of official wish is the same as farting, where will the king use it to deceive people." ”

"Then what did he ask you to do in my bar? Inquire about the news? ”

"Old master, a few juniors are here today, they are visiting, after all, Huozhou has changed to a new official mansion, so you have to say hello to the neighbor next door, right? Lest there be any unnecessary misunderstandings, it will not be good to cause trouble. ”

Tian Shouguang is in his twenties, and Tian Yuanxian is nearly sixty years old, and he can be his grandfather according to his grade, plus the old people in the hall, and the clan soldiers who have swords in their hands and smiling at their skins, they give people a lot of pressure, but Tian Shouguang is not afraid.

He was born in a cottage in Dabie Mountain, belongs to the so-called "Xiyang Man", and is now the leader of a slave hunting team, and Tian Liuhu and others are general, following the Xiyang King to fight in the south and the north, and went to Lingbiao Guangzhou.

This time, the king of Xiyang took Huozhou, and in order to appease Tian Yuanxian, the barbarian chief who was very influential in Huozhou, he sent Tian Shouguang and others as envoys to give gifts to the wind, and by the way as lobbyists.

To be a lobbyist, of course, you must have an understanding of the people you visit, and Tian Yuanxian, who is known as the barbarian chief of Huozhou, is not a lonely old man who has lived in the mountains for a long time and has no knowledge of the world, and it is not easy to talk about the other party.

More than ten years ago, when the Zhou State destroyed the Qi State, the land of Yuzhou was occupied by the Zhou State, the new governor of Yuzhou Yu Yi arrived in the Hanging Gourd to take office, and began to vigorously rectify this newly acquired area.

The state of Qi was destroyed, the Chen army invaded Huozhou, Tian Yuanxian led the troops to set up a fence, and the Chen army was repulsed, and later Yu Yi left office, Tian Yuanxian somehow rebelled and no longer submitted to the Zhou state.

The land of Huozhou has been governed by the Zhou, Sui and Chen courts, but Tian Yuanxian has been shrinking in the mountains over the years, not attached to any court, because of the turbulent situation, the successive Huozhou assassins are unable to deal with the outstanding strength of Tian Yuanxian, seeing that he does not make trouble, the well water does not violate the river water, and the two sides do not invade each other.

The king of Xiyang took Huozhou, because he still had to use troops on the front line of Huaishui, for fear that after the main force of the official army left, Tian Yuanxian, a powerful local snake, had the idea of governing Yue'an, so he decided to win over Tian Yuanxian, and only then did Tian Shouguang pay a visit this time.

In fact, a barbarian chieftain like Tian Yuanxian has not dealt with the rulers of successive dynasties for hundreds of years, and in general, the means used are to recognize the status quo, make the barbarian chieftain a state and county official, govern the people in his own department, nominally subordinate to the imperial court, but in fact he is still a local overlord who does his own thing.

The rulers made a wish to the barbarian chieftains, but deep down they would not regard them as their own people, and the idea was to co-opt the barbarians under the rule of the barbarian chieftains into good citizens, so over time, the barbarian chieftains also learned well.

The northern and southern courts took Huaishui as the front line of confrontation, and the Dabie Mountains located in the middle of it were on this line, and the barbarian chieftains were waiting for the price to sell, and they would take refuge in which side they gave benefits, which was particularly obvious in the confrontation between Yuan Wei and Xiao Liang.

However, most of the barbarian chiefs who thought they could make a profit did not end well, so more and more barbarian chiefs chose to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, not to participate in the disputes outside the mountain, and to live their own lives.

Lack of food and materials, so they sent troops out of the mountains to plunder the counties, and when the officials and soldiers came, they retreated back to the mountains.

Therefore, Tian Yuanxian was not interested in the solicitation of King Xiyang of Zhou State at all, he would not lose his own and his clansmen's lives for the ambition of others, Tian Shouguang and others chattered a lot, and they couldn't say anything about Tian Yuanxian.

If it was in the past, Tian Yuanxian would have issued an order to expel the guests, but he was very interested in Tian Shouguang and the others, so he wanted to know what kind of benefits the King of Xiyang had promised, so that these people worked so hard, and even followed the Nanzheng Lingbiao to the land of smoke and miasma thousands of miles away to die.

Regarding Tian Yuanxian's question, Tian Shouguang was a little puzzled: "Send to death?" I'm afraid that the old man is mistaken, we are going to do business, not to be thugs. ”

This answer was unexpected by Tian Yuanxian, he thought that the other party wanted to say something big about the truth, but for this reason, he couldn't help but continue to ask: "Do business?" What to buy and sell? ”

"This is a long way to say, there are always shortcomings in the mountains, so you have to buy them from outside the mountains, or exchange them for mountain goods, the old lord knows that the profiteers outside the mountains knock on the bones and suck the marrow, and want to exchange for a bucket of salt, and the asking price is not low."

"That bucket of salt, which is mixed with three liters of sand, and even five liters of sand with a black heart, is still mudgling in your mouth when you eat it, you reason with him, he says that he loves to buy it or not, this kind of gas, I'm fed up!"

As soon as these words came out, many of the clan elders and clan soldiers present nodded silently, there was a shortage of salt in the mountains, and people were weak without salt to eat, so they often followed the merchants who entered the mountains to buy salt, or sent people out of the mountains to buy salt.

But not to mention the high price of the salt they bought, the attitude of those profiteers often makes them suffocate their bellies.

The price of salt sold to the people in the mountains is several times more expensive, and it is deliberately mixed with sand, and these profiteers can't kill it, so they can only endure it.

Tian Shouguang said to himself, and the topic shifted to other aspects: "Don't talk about salt, even grain is mixed with sand, iron tools, all are defective, but the price is good, those profiteers say that it is hard to sell goods, so the price is high, I think it is hard to suck blood!" ”

"A plague-stricken profiteer, two hundred iron needles dare to exchange for a deerskin! In Xiyang, Huangzhou, the wholesale price of iron needles is five pennies, and an ordinary deer skin is sold consistently. ”

"How much effort does it take to get a deerskin in the village? If you are not careful, you have to take human life, this kind of business, if it was in the past, it would have been recognized, but now it is different, we go to buy it ourselves, it is rare for him! ”

Tian Yuanxian was a little stunned when he heard this, he felt that Tian Shouguang was a little wrong to ask, and the other party then added: "The old master just asked, what to do business, it's very simple, do any business." ”

"Fang Cai said later, Lingbiao Guangzhou is by the sea, there is sea salt, thousands of miles to Huangzhou, the price is half cheaper than those profiteers sell, and it is all refined salt without sand, I, mix sand into the salt, nine liters of salt mixed with one liter of sand, buy it in the mountains, the price doubles, you say, do you have a conscience? Earn or not? ”

"There is sucrose on the ridge table, snow white as frost, sweet in the mouth, transported back from the ridge table, the price tripled and someone grabbed it, sold the sugar to buy iron needles, bought 11,000 yuan, and then went to the mountains to change the deer skin, 400 needles for one, and then shipped back to Xiyang to sell, always one, do you make money? Is there a conscience? ”

Tian Shouguang pointed to the glass cup on Tian Yuanxian's case, which was a gift from him, and then asked: "There is also this glass cup, we can take the goods at a price thirty percent cheaper than the merchants outside, and transport them to the mountains to sell... The old man thinks, do you make money? ”

Tian Yuanxian felt that his brain was a little messy, what the other party said contained too much content, he couldn't figure out the twists and turns in a hurry, but he could hear it, it was very profitable to do business, but what does this have to do with following King Xiyang to Lingbiao?

"Old man, everyone wants to do this money-making business, but why did King Xiyang let you do it? Oh, if you don't make a contribution when you set a trap, you want to divide the meat when you hunt a wild boar, how can there be such a good thing! ”

"From Huangzhou to Guangzhou, thousands of miles away, there are mountains everywhere along the way.... Ahem, cough cough, bandits, if they are robbed of goods, they will lose all their money, so they want people to bet on darts, so that the trade of darts will not come? “

"Dart... What is Dart Walking? ”

"It's the mansion that sent people to escort the goods! Gather those young people who can shoot arrows and dare to kill, settle their families, and then organize them to transport goods, and after a trip, as long as the goods arrive, even if the dart master dies half and the pension is deducted, they can earn! ”

Speaking of this, Tian Shouguang began to ask rhetorically: "The situation here of the old master, the future life does not know, in the village of the later life, people who can't marry their mother-in-law either go to the dart, or go to catch the birth (slave), and save money to buy a woman by themselves, the risk is there, but it's better to rely on it at night!" ”

"Uh..." Tian Yuanxian felt that what the other party said couldn't be wrong, so he didn't know how to answer, and a clan elder couldn't help but ask: "Housheng, you said that you walked thousands of miles... Darts, there are so many thieves along the way, where can they go back and forth safely? ”

"So, the soldiers of the King of Xiyang will eradicate the disobedient Haoqiangwu Fort along the way, and then we will break through those disobedient cottages, the women will take them back to give birth, the men will be sold, and there will be some thieves left, what are the dart teams afraid of?"

The murderous words, everyone present sounded uncomfortable, because they unconsciously substituted the perspective of Tian Shouguang's side.

"The trading of darts can also make a lot of money, but it's still the same sentence, if you don't make any effort, why did King Xiyang give you a chance?"

Listening and listening, Tian Yuanxian probably figured out why Tian Shouguang and the others followed the king of Xiyang, in fact, he had already heard that the cottages at the southwest foot of Dabie Mountain had been united, attacking other cottages everywhere to catch the mouth, and many villages had been broken and then swept away.

The scope of this force's looting is getting bigger and bigger, and many of the villages in the deep mountains and old forests have not been spared, and many of the cottagers are panicking, but Tian Yuanxian's territory is at the northeast foot of Dabie Mountain, so he has not taken this danger to heart for the time being.

Until now, he knew that Tian Shouguang and the others had no way to make a fortune, but there were many more ways to make a fortune.

Seeing that the old fox's resistance was not so strong, Tian Shouguang struck while the iron was hot: "Old master, don't hide it, the official made a wish or something, and the king also said that it was not interesting, and it was better to give the old lord real benefits." ”

"What's the benefit?"

"It's very simple, the former profiteers, we ignore them, the merchants of Huangzhou, will be stationed in Huozhou in the future, and then send people into the mountains from time to time to do business with the old man, cheap and beautiful, never short of catties and two, just exchange the mountain goods for it."

"Salt, it is all good salt that is not mixed with sand, and there are other goods, all of which are of good quality and low price, sold in Huangzhou, and the old man can buy them in Huozhou."

"It's as simple as that?"

"Of course it's not simple, the king took Huozhou, I hope that Mrs. Huozhou will be peaceful, so that everyone can do business, right? It's boring to grab and grab and scrape all day long. ”

"The mountain goods in the mountains, how many Huangzhou caravans collect, the price is negotiable, the old man should not let people go outside the mountains to rob them."

It turned out to be a business in exchange for peace, Tian Yuanxian felt that this proposal was good, he looked at the clan elders present, everyone was obviously moved, and they all nodded silently.

There is a shortage of materials in the mountains, if there is a stable way, so that they can exchange mountain goods for salt, iron and other daily necessities at a reasonable price, who will go out to grab it when they are full.

It seems that the King of Xiyang can provide such a way, so of course they will not cause trouble.

"Old man, as the saying goes, far water can't quench the thirst of the near, and now the king is leading the troops to fight, if you wait until the world is peaceful to do business, it will be too long." Tian Shouguang began to follow the temptation, "Now Yue An, he has brought a lot of salt and other materials, just waiting for the old lord to nod." ”

"Nod?" Tian Yuanxian came back to his senses, sat upright and asked, "What is your king's request?" ”

"Send troops to help in the war."

Finally got to the point, but Tian Yuanxian did not have such a strong resistance at this time, he stared at Tian Shouguang and continued to ask: "Let my clan soldiers work for him?" How much benefit can he give? ”

Tian Shouguang raised the index finger of his right hand, looked at the people present, and then smiled slightly: "The king said, if you send out a soldier, you will get two liters of refined salt, these soldiers and soldiers are full, and there are rewards for meritorious service, provided that this soldier can fight, what does the old lord think?" ”

As soon as these words came out, the audience was in an uproar, Tian Yuanxian was shocked but speechless, and the other clan elders were dumbfounded one by one, because they knew what it meant.

Tian Yuanxian's forces are a complex of many cottages with the wind as the core, and tens of thousands of mountain people live in their territory.

Of course, considering that it is impossible to send so many soldiers to keep people to guard the cottage, but thousands of soldiers are always OK, taking 3,000 people as an example, there will be 6,000 liters (60 hundreds) of refined salt in hand, and then you can also do business with the merchants in Huangzhou, and exchange mountain goods for salt.

If you have so much salt in your hands, you can not say that your cottage is not short of salt, and you can also separate a lot of salt and transport it to the deep mountains, and sell it to those cottages that lack salt more than them, eight liters of salt mixed with two liters of sand, and then the price doubles, do you have any conscience? Earn or not?

Tian Yuanxian has been shocked by King Xiyang's generous move, for him, no official wish can compare to genuine salt, as long as the other party treats him sincerely, he will not backtrack.

Back then, the head of Zhou Guo treated him sincerely, so he was willing to serve Zhou Guo, and later changed officials, Tian Yuanxian found that the other party said one thing and did another, so he simply reversed and made his own master.

Now, there is a king of Xiyang who likes to do business with people, it is said that the price is fair, and there is no deception, if the other party is really a trustworthy person, then why not work for his own soldiers?

Like Tian Shouguang and them, it is also a way to improve the life of the cottage by doing business, and if the king of Xiyang can really give tangible benefits, it is much more real than the ethereal official wish.

Thinking of this, Tian Yuanxian asked eagerly, "You... Where did you get so much salt? ”