Fan Jin looked at Wu Shishi, his expression was still calm. "You're finally willing to admit that you're one of the Seventeenth Merchant Gang? Although I am a scholar, I have not never seen the world, so I don't make a fuss when I hear any news. I am a magistrate according to the court, and when the court minister is my old Taishan, I will not cut off my head if there is any trouble in the place. Those businessmen are naturally good, and it doesn't matter if they are not there, just like your old man, they are willing to admit that their identity is good, and it doesn't matter if they don't want to admit it. The lamb you made is delicious, and I've had a great time for the past two days, and that's enough. ”

Wu Shishi smiled, "Master, your official is older than me and has read more books than me, but he is younger than my grandson, and he is still a little short of the old man's scheming." If you are really a fool, the old man will not be impatient to grind his teeth with you, and he will not invite you to watch the exercises. In your eyes, this is the digested food that the countrymen have eaten and supported, but for us, this is our own roots, and outsiders can't see it. ”

Wu Shishi's face became serious, and his eyes gradually became sharper. "Did you write it in that paperwork? My ancestors were Mongols, and that is what you call the Northern Captives. When Hong Wuye was in the time, we returned to the Ming Dynasty, and when Grandpa Yongle was in the country, we were given the surname Wu. Since then, no one remembers our old surname, we all remember our surname Wu, which was given by Banzai, as well as the status of a military household. For this identity, our Wu family has to work hard for the Ming Dynasty for generations, until only a male leopard is left until he dies. ”

"It doesn't matter what your ancestor's surname is, as long as you are loyal to Your Majesty, we are our own people."

Wu Shishi shook his head, "This is too big, we can't afford it." The eldest lord is a good person, and if we are regarded as human beings, we will treat the eldest lord as our own people. We countrymen are cheap, and no one is distressed, but we have to feel sorry for ourselves, and we can't just give it up. I want to be the 36th Road of the Merchant Gang in Shanxi, known as the 36th Tiangang. Up to now, only I, Wu Laohan, is left, not that my old Wu is luckier than others, nor that I have a relationship with Lord Yama, it's just that I am a little more careful than others. The eldest lord also saw it, in this area of dozens of villages, so many fathers and villagers have a net worth in my hands, for you are old, do you dare to have more eyes? We don't dare to believe the command of the Ministry of War, because all those who believe in this have already finished. The only thing I believe in is people. ”

"Are you willing to tell me this, and are you willing to let me watch you perform martial arts to prove that I have passed?"

Wu Shishi nodded, "I haven't been idle in the past two days, when the master was sleeping, I went to discuss it with the heads of the villages, and finally everyone believed in my old man's vision and was willing to confess to the eldest master." We who are soldiers can't be compared with those who study, the difference in life span is one day and one place, and we can live to this age to earn it. I just ask the lord to arrange our family, and our old bones will be sold to the lord! It was not easy to convince them, and after delaying the eldest man for two days, the old man was willing to be punished. ”

Fan Jin said: "I can't talk about this, you have your difficulties, I can understand it." I just want to ask, how did I get through? Just because of my handling of the Zhang family? ”

Wu Shishi smiled again, "Although we are from the mountains, we have also heard the name of the white bread man." Originally, I was worried about the teacher-student relationship between you and Zhang Puban, and I was afraid that you would honor our teacher with our people. Later, I chatted with the eldest master's companion for a few words, and knew some of the things that the eldest master did in Jiangnan, so I had a bottom in my heart. Seeing that the eldest master was able to squat in this poor ravine for two days, I naturally obeyed. We are not Zhuge Liang, we are not worthy of letting the old man look at the thatched house three times, you appreciate your face so much, if the old man still doesn't know how to do it, this age will not be in vain. ”

"Then what do you mean by inviting me to watch the battle today?"

"When we do business together, we always have to look at each other's capital to be sure. We have already seen the capital of the big man, and it is time for us to show our belongings. These dolls are still eye-catching, right? ”

"I haven't led a soldier, I don't know how to do it, but I look good. But you should know that that's not what I want. ”

"If a businessman doesn't know what the buyer wants, he still does a ball business? What does the old man want, the old man knows in his heart, this thing can't be seen or touched, it's all here. Wu Shishi pointed to his head and smiled confidently:

"Although there is only one lonely ghost left in the thirty-six Tiangang, the things in our heads are guaranteed to be enough, and I have everything that the master wants. If you plan to let us out of the customs, we will be able to set off in ten days with an order. ”

"What does the old man mean that if you want to buy your goods, you have to buy these partners together?"

"It's worthy of being a student, and you will understand it as soon as you say it. There are more than 100 descendants in this village, and these martial artists are similar to the situation of my family, all of them are lone seedlings. We have received the great grace of Long Live and have been guarding the home and nursing home for the court for more than 100 years, and no matter how much grace we have, it should be almost the same, and it is time for us to think for ourselves. We suffer for the sake of the well-being of our children and grandchildren. I don't want the leopard to enjoy much blessing, I just ask Master Fan to be gracious, let him and these descendants in the village follow you, and eat a peaceful meal in the future, and the old man will sell this life to you. ”

"Everyone knows the hard work of the side, but following me may not be a blessing, you have to think about this clearly. Maybe it's more dangerous to follow me, but not necessarily. If you stay in the village and follow your old learning to do business, you may not have to sell your life. ”

"He's not a businessman, he's too real. Besides, this place is not like Jiangnan, even if it is a business, you have to have an abacus in one hand and a knife in the other. We are hard-working people, we know from the day we were born, we have to fight for wealth and nobility, if we die, we only blame ourselves for our bad life, and we will not complain about the lord. The old man is not a master who takes advantage of people's dangers, he just asks the master to reward him with a chance, as for how far this kid can go, depending on his own creation, the old man has no words. ”

"In that case, I can promise you. I'll take these people with me as escorts, and I'll find a way to get them a good job for them in the future. But if they dare to disobey my orders......"

"They followed the big master, they are your soldiers, they will be beaten and scolded, and they will be punished if they are disobedient, there is nothing to say." Wu Shishi replied very simply, "There are also small flowers...... I know that the eldest man thinks she is ugly, but the girl has a good heart and better kung fu. Bringing it with you won't make you suffer, even if you don't want to take it, the female relatives of the family have to be protected, right? ”

Fan Jin nodded and said: "I'll give you this face, accept her as a female guard, and when she gets married in the future, I will give her a dowry that is enough to have face." ”

"Cool!" Wu Shishi nodded, "The old man's eyes are not wrong, the eldest man is a character." Since the old man gives face, the old man has to be worthy of your old grace, we will sell you more than 100 catties, and we will listen to what you command. ”

The place where the two talked changed from an empty field to a room, and Wu Shishi no longer behaved like an old man in the countryside, but reported to Fan Jin the information he had according to the attitude of a subordinate reporting to his superior. Under his bed, in an old camphor wood box, his hand-drawn plugged maps were stored, as well as the hobbies of some leaders, the number of tribesmen, and so on. The other part is a summary of Wu Shishi's personal experience, including the climate change of the grassland, the movement rules and habitual routes of his captives harassing the border passes, and so on.

Wu Shishi's handwriting is very sloppy, the pictures are also chaotic, and there are many places where white characters are written, and he may not be able to understand it without him explaining it to him. But it is in these simple pieces of information that we can see the intentions of this old man. Fan Jin dared to vouch that even Zheng Luo, the governor of Xuanda, did not have a lot of information recorded on it. According to the chat with Wu Shishi, Fan Jin gradually understood the situation of these merchants.

Most of them, like Wu Shishi, are from military families, and they form small groups with villages as a means of contact. These people do not care for the crops and take care of the fields like other military households, they are all women or old people in the family who farm, and adults run smuggling trade and doing business to supplement the family. The funds earned in this way can maintain food and clothing, and also give them the ability to leave agriculture and practice military exercises.

They operated on a smaller scale than the caravans of Wang Bangping's military leaders, and sometimes even went out in the form of running a single gang, pushing a wheelbarrow through the border blockade to the grassland to trade. Eating leftovers in the cracks of big businessmen such as big businessmen and border armies is a very difficult life.

They make up a small share of the entire border trade community, but they bear the greatest responsibility. In addition to normal trade, they also served as spies, relieving the pressure of the imperial court to spy on intelligence, and sometimes even sabotage. They did the assassination of some heroic leader, or the burning of a pasture by causing a fire, often at the cost of their own lives. They are not only the pressure relief valve of the imperial court, but also the cannon fodder of the imperial court, and the reward they get is only the free supply of some materials, and they turn a blind eye when they leave the country, or like Fan Jin, bring some colored satin and silver to come over and give rewards. His pay and return are completely disproportionate, Fan Jin asked himself, if he put himself in such an environment, he would definitely think of another way out, and he would definitely not work for the court again.

At the moment, even this little return is gone, and the seventeen caravans in Zhang Guodong's hands, except for Wu Shishi, have all disappeared.

After I paid tribute, these caravans had a hard time. The merchants who traded in the horse market were all representatives sent by the local famous families in Shanxi, and they were not Guo Jianglong from outside. Most of these people have the background of a certain bigwig, holding the eight elements in their hands, as well as the township party of the border governor and the minister of Jiang, and they can climb each other's relatives. These small caravans were insignificant compared to them, and without their place in the horse market, they would not receive any benefit.

In order to maintain the normal trading of the horse market and ensure that prohibited items are not allowed to leave the customs, the government began to strengthen the management of outbound trade. In other words, it is to kill those monsters who have no backing, and these small caravans are the priority targets.

The standard battalion began to strengthen patrols, and when it was found that the team had left the customs without permission, they would seize the goods and bring the merchants to justice on the spot. The local giants also made a great effort in it, many caravans disappeared, and some were forced to accept Zhao'an and become vassals of those big families, and the communication with the imperial court was cut off when they acted according to their orders. This blockade reached its peak after Alta became critically ill and the Tumut rangers began to harass the border and the conflict with the Ming army escalated.

Zheng Luo is not an idle person, he also realizes that the grassland is likely to undergo major changes, and the tranquility of the border is difficult to guarantee, and he is also actively preparing for war. But his thinking was different from Fan Jin's, and he didn't think that these caravans could be trusted, let alone leave the work of collecting intelligence to them. On the contrary, in Zheng Luo's view, these caravans were likely to be spies of the Mongols, and even if they were not at this critical juncture, they could betray the Ming Dynasty at any time and leak confidential military information to the other party for the sake of profit. What's more, many of these people are already Mongols, so they are even less trustworthy. Therefore, they sent their own standard camp to ban smuggling, and once they were discovered, they were punished on the spot, and even the horse market was temporarily closed.

"Zheng Junmen is already a powerful person, not to mention that there are locals to help him. The second master of Zhang Puban's family and several masters of the family sat in Datong to dispatch grain and grass for Zheng Junmen, they are big businessmen in Shanxi, and they have made a lot of money in the horse market, so naturally they look at us who grab food. Therefore, as soon as Zheng Junmen spoke, they made great efforts to help. It's easiest for one's own people to engage in their own people, not to mention that big fish eat small fish, those dozen brothers, it's just gone. If Master Fan had come a few days earlier, he would have seen a large string of human heads hanging on the Datong city wall. I secretly went to see it, bought wine and burned paper, and saw off these old brothers. Some of them have burned the pasture more than once, and some have broken their legs to deliver an emergency military situation, and they still grit their teeth and persist. The knife of the northern captives failed to keep them, but the king of his own people took their lives, confused...... Confused! ”

Wu Shi wiped his face with his sleeve, "Someone just believed in the password of the military department and thought it was his own person, so he showed his belongings, and then he was arrested and taken to the governor's yamen to behead him." If there are ministers and Sima in the family, can't they get the password of the military department? It's stupid! It's gone, it's gone, thirty-six days of gang, and only my lonely soul is left. It's finally a good fortune to meet someone like Master Fan, who can afford me and is willing to listen to me. I must say everything I know, even if I die, I will be considered to have completed my errand and be worthy of Your Majesty. ”

Fan Jin frowned when he listened, "You mean, all the others on the list?" ”

"Not necessarily, some of them don't wash their hands, or they work for local businessmen, but they save their lives. But they will no longer have anything to do with the imperial court, and it will be similar to death. The rest are almost gone. I'm the only one who is willing to cooperate with the big man, if you don't believe it, you can go and find it. ”

"No, I believe the old man's words. I just want to ask the old man now, what are your plans? I can take these people with me, or I can send them back to Jingshi, and then I will be here as if I have never been here. If you want to wash your hands and go ashore, I will burn the roster to ensure that no one will come to spoil the peace in the future. ”

"It's useless. As soon as the eldest master enters the village, there will be no peace for me. Wu Shishi smiled bitterly, "My father told me back then that we people are dead soldiers, and our only role is to work for the imperial court." Now that the future of the two children has been settled, and the information accumulated over the years has been handed over to the eldest master, the old man has no worries, and then it is time to work hard. As long as the imperial court needs to, I can now take a trip to the west exit and then a trip to the grassland. Whether it is burning their pastures or spying on the news of their march, the old man is willing to bear it. As long as there is one living person left in the Wu family caravan, they must be loyal to His Majesty and die for the imperial court! ”