In the transaction of salt for grain and grass, the Zhu family didn't need to come, and Zhu Da's parents really didn't want to come, they really don't lack these now, and in the eyes of his father Zhu Shishi, it is too embarrassing to take advantage of Xiang Bo to come now in exchange for it.

For this, Zhu Da deliberately went home and said goodbye, and asked his father to come over with things to trade, even if he participated in the salt sales, he should not seem to be living too well and living too differently.

Also, Zhu Da went home and told his mother to take care of Qin Qin, the three knights in the village are not good at stubble, and Qin Qin's origin is very subtle, and it is easy to cause trouble if he is seen.

Xiang Bo has been tired for a few days, although he is old and strong, but he is here at this age, and now he is a little unbearable, he has to sleep and rest, and the work of delivering forage and food falls on Zhu Da and Zhou Qingyun, they are actually happy to do this, Zhu Da is very curious about the knights, Zhou Qingyun is curious and envious, and the opportunity to observe nearby cannot be missed.

The fodder and food were delivered to him, and if the guards and cavalry of the guard took it directly, they would complain a few words of unpalatable and so on, but the three knights were silent, nodding and being polite.

Whether it is the two horsemen in the courtyard of the Xiang family's house, or the horses of the knight who climbed on the roof, at this time, they have all removed their saddles, the saddles and various assemblies are neatly placed on the side, and the horses are eating grass slowly and methodically.

For the cavalry, most of the combat power is afraid to fall on the mount, do not cherish the horses, run or fight when the state is not good, that is a life-threatening matter, but the home Ding cavalry of the guard is the commander and the thugs of the thousands of households, is used to show off the power of the military households, the battle is secondary, the border town of Datong has been peaceful for more than ten years, and the guard in the hinterland does have swords and guns into the warehouse, and the horse puts the posture of Nanshan.

But the economic system of the imperial court is like this, but the force related to this private salt is very elite, who can fight who is strong, it can be seen at a glance that the three knights that Zhu Da observed always wanted to use the words in his more than 20 years of life to describe, that is, "professional".

It is ridiculous to think that civil gray organizations, even illegal organizations, are more elite than the legitimate official armed forces.

The weapons and mounts of the three knights are all half-old, but it can be seen that they are well organized, and they must be either used more or practiced more on weekdays.

When it got dark, the knight on the roof went down to the flat ground, carrying a bow and a knife around the outskirts of the village to guard, Zhu Da was also very busy here, he had to cook dinner for the two families, and he made three more portions than usual, he was very busy, and he was happy to see these knights up close, Zhu Da felt that he had gained a lot.

After the dinner was done, there was no need for Zhu Da to send it, a knight went over to replace it after dinner, and it didn't take long to change it back, and the one who entered the courtyard on the roof was quite emotional, and said in a muffled voice: "This village is decent, the thieves dare not start, and they will not suffer a loss if they quarrel with other villages in the future." ”

After being curious, Zhu Da and Zhou Qingyun didn't have any good feelings for these three knights, the reason is very simple, they are not very polite to Xiang Bo, although they did not shout five or six orders, but their attitude was obviously condescending, and Xiang Bo, who had always straightened his waist in the village, also bowed his head in front of them, which made Zhu Da and them very uncomfortable.

Zhu Da can figure out the hierarchical pressure people, the big cabinet, the second cabinet, and the salt dealers below, these knights are obviously the force directly under the big cabinet, and Xiang Bo is the bottom, just like the head office to the grassroots employees of the branch, it is understandable, but it will definitely not be comfortable.

That night, Juda still spent the night at Xiang's house, but the two knights did not occupy the bedroom, but piled hay on the side of the hall, lay down in clothes, and changed shifts every other hour.

Zhu Da didn't sleep well this night, the knights outside talked quietly, changing shifts in and out, there was always movement, the knights didn't make too much noise, Xiang Bo didn't sleep, chatting with the shift change, Zhu Da was so confused until the early hours of the morning, and was woken up by the outside.

"I'll keep an eye on you, just write down something."

"Go and rest when it's dawn, and nothing will change by then."

"You showed your face this time, if it is done, a few people on the big cabinet are not stingy people."

After a few whispers of small talk, the neighing of horses and the sound of hooves were heard, and then the yard fell silent, but the dogs of the village barked wildly, presumably leaving.

Zhu Da woke up Zhou Qingyun, the two of them also slept in clothes last night, and when they walked out of the hall, they met Xiang Bo, and they could see their faces full of exhaustion by the flickering lights.

"Master, you go to sleep, Qingyun and I will keep an eye on it."

Xiang Bo was stunned for a moment, rubbing his eyes there to see Zhu Da and the two who walked out, he smiled with relief and said, "It's okay, I'll squint for a while, don't be reckless if you have something, remember to come back and call me." ”

With Xiang Bo's strong temperament, he must be extremely tired to be able to say this, Zhu Da agreed, and before he left the hospital, he heard Xiang Bo shouting behind him: "Don't carry a knife with a bow on your back, go out with a wooden gun!" ”

Answering here, Zhu Da knew that Xiang Bo was not reluctant to use a knife, but with the arm strength of Zhu Da and Zhou Qingyun, he would feel heavy and uneasy to use with a steel knife of that standard, and it was still easy to use a wooden gun of about six feet.

The two of them didn't walk a few steps out of the yard, they met the villagers who were patrolling the night, the two sides met, Zhu Da and the two were fine, the villagers who patrolled the night were startled, some people screamed and scolded, some people leveled the wooden guns, Zhu Da hurriedly shouted a few times, and the villagers reacted, and some people scolded and scolded the most unclean.

Li Zongqi, who was walking on the side, shouted a few words before calming down, and Li Ji, the general banner, was polite to Zhu Da and them, and said, "Your master has done a good thing for our hundred households." ”

Even if they got up early on weekdays to practice martial arts, Zhu Da and the others didn't get up so early, and when they walked in the village in the early morning, both of them felt very fresh.

At this time, the villagers who patrolled the night gathered on the side of the drying field to roast the fire, and patrolled every other section, Zhu Da and Zhou Qingyun came to the outside of the village, Zhou Qingyun was more than 20 steps behind Zhu Da, ready to open his bow and arrows at any time, compared to their nervous vigilance, the outside of the village was very quiet, and the two of them walked less than once, Zhou Qingyun couldn't help yawning.

Coincidentally, yawning here, there was a faint dog barking over from Xiama Village, and the dog in Baibao Village also barked, and the silence of the early morning and night was suddenly broken, Zhu Da and Zhou Qingyun immediately stopped and looked around nervously, this time was the darkest scene, and they didn't know what was happening in the distance, and there was a cold sweat on Zhu Da's forehead, could it be that the thieves really took advantage of this loophole.

However, the barking of the dogs in the neighboring village lasted for a short time, and the White Castle Village was not barking wildly, and the village soon quieted down, only the villagers who patrolled the night were heard scolding, and the alarmed villagers' homes were ringing.

Zhu Da breathed a sigh of relief, and the dogs in the neighboring village barked a few more times, but they did not cause any disturbance, and there was no sudden movement afterwards.

Patrolling outside the village, there was a bit of excitement of military operations at first, but after two laps it became boring, and it was extremely dark and quiet before dawn, which deepened this feeling.

"These dogs should be killed and eaten for meat, I was startled just now, and I thought the thieves were coming." Zhou Qingyun couldn't help but complain.

Zhu Da was about to speak, but suddenly reacted, the dog barking in the neighboring village was not because of thieves or wild beasts, but I was afraid that there were also cavalry organized by private salt on the side of Xiama Village, and there were probably also cavalry in villages farther away, so the dog barked, and then alarmed each other, and the knights did not bark when they went away.

According to the confession of the thieves that day, the ruined mountain temple where they were hiding was in the direction of the cavalry, and Zhu Da stopped and looked into the dark night, although he could not see anything, it made him reverie.

This Shengping salt stack is really powerful, it can have such a strong force, such a strong ability to organize and deploy, and the cavalry enters the villages in a low-key manner during the day, on the one hand, it is to block the news, on the other hand, the small-scale operation will not attract attention, and when the people are most lax in the early morning, the villages will be dispatched at the same time, so as to take it by surprise.

Gathering and scattering with soldiers as usual, no matter how Zhu Da doesn't understand, he also knows how difficult it is, is it possible that the private salt organization in this gray area is much stronger than the official army, this is too ridiculous, isn't this a virtue that the martial arts gang in martial arts is greater than the court and the government, and it is too unconventional.

After walking a few laps so boringly, the sky was slightly bright, and the villagers who were patrolling the night yawned and prepared to go back to rest, and when they saw Zhu Da and they were still walking outside, someone joked: "You two are serious, and you are afraid of thieves when it is cold." ”

The audience laughed, Zhu Da and the others didn't bother to pay attention, and when the sky was bright, the two returned to Zhu's house to prepare breakfast.

entered the courtyard gate, but heard the cry of Qin Qin, the girl in the house, and the continuous comforting voice of Zhu Da's parents, "I will definitely send you home, just these few days" "Send you back now, I will meet bad people, what should I do if I arrest you again", this crying made Zhu Da feel normal, after all, she is a five-year-old girl, and she will still be homesick and afraid.

After having breakfast together, Zhu Da left a share for Xiang Bo's side, and then went over to comfort the girl for a few words, I don't know why, his comfort and assurance were very effective for Qin Qin, and he was busy with these trivial things, and the two of them went back to Xiang Bo's side.

Xiang Bo slept until lunch, and was obviously absent-minded when he supervised the practice of martial arts, Zhu Da understood why, Xiang Bo was waiting for the news of those cavalry, if the news was right, the benefits were indispensable, if the news was not right, I am afraid that he would not be able to escape the punishment.

After all, this operation was gambling, and there was no interval between reporting to Bo and the arrival of the cavalry, indicating that the salt stack did not confirm and verify the news, and directly sent men and horses.

When the sun was about to set, the sound of horses' hooves sounded in the village......