"Da Lang asked me to come, but you want to discuss with me about your attitude towards the Zhao family?" Duan Zhongzhong settled Zhao Yingzhe and the others, and then came to see Zhuang Yi.

"Exactly...... This Zhao family is only afraid that he has a big appetite, and it is difficult for us to make much money when we do business with him. ”

"Huh...... Da Lang used to be the head of the Youzhou Tooth Army, so he should know the details of the Zhao family very well, so you don't want to be honest with me? Duan Zhongzhong sat behind the case, leaning forward and leaning closer, with a puzzled look on his face.

"I told you a long time ago, you don't believe that there is any way, I just fell ill in the snow and felt cold, and my mind burned and I was confused, so I can't remember much of what happened before. Just tell me carefully, what does the Zhao family want? Zhuang Yi had to explain.

"Alright! And if I believe in you, you are...... This Zhao family attaches great importance to cultural and educational heirlooms, and the old family owner is named Zhao Wei, who has served as the official of Yongqing, Wen'an, and Youdu County, and is now at home. His eldest son, Zhao Ting, was once an official engaged in Youzhou soldiers and horses, and is now the Jizhou Thorn History, and his eldest grandson Zhao Jing is also the Jizhou soldiers and horses, so that the entire Jizhou is run by the Zhao family, and there are also many connections in the Youzhou army. And this is nothing more than for war horses and leather goods, to equip the Jizhou army. ”

"It seems that it is also a small feudal town under the rule of a large feudal town, and it is a family monopoly trade! I'm curious, he wants war horses, why don't he go to the Xi and Khitan people to trade it himself? Zhuang Yi asked suspiciously.

"One is that the road is far away and inconvenient, the other is that the price is too expensive, a good war horse is as high as six or seven yuan, those Xi people are not very far from the border of Youzhou, and you know how much the price of any goods in Youzhou is, and you can trade with them directly, and the profit is not big. And in exchange for it from us, it only takes four or five dollars, and sometimes it is even reduced to two or three dollars, and you can calculate this profit. ”

"I see...... They're raising their own money! It's just a pity that we still have too few people in the village. Otherwise, we will have all the trade routes north of Luronse, and we will not suffer then. Zhuang Yi sighed.

"You think simply, I know that in the White Wolf Mountain east of Xuanshui, there are still many fugitives and hidden households, most of them are from Yingzhou, and some have escaped from Youzhou. It's just that it's difficult for people in our village to survive, and you still think that there are not enough people, what do you do to feed if there are more? Duan Zhongzhong said angrily.

"Huh...... Fugitives? How many people are there? You can let them move over! White Wolf Mountain is not far from here? Do you have a map, show it to me......" Zhuang Yi was greatly surprised when he heard this, stood up and asked repeatedly.

Since coming to this world, Zhuang Yi has always wanted a map to understand the general distribution of the major forces in the world, but unfortunately, whether it is Zhao Quanyi or Duan Zhongzhong in the past, it seems that they have never paid attention to it.

"There are no maps, but I know where people are. But food! Do you have a way? To rob the ridicule? This kind of thing is detrimental to virtue, and there is a way to steal, so it is better to do it as a last resort. Duan Zhongzhong heard the meaning of the words, and hurriedly dissuaded.

"Haha...... You're so pedantic! But let's talk about the Zhao family, and later you can find Steward Zhao to find out what the price is, how many war horses we need to receive this batch of goods, and then report to me. In short, the price of horses cannot be lower than five yuan, the price of iron should be kept as low as possible, and the rest of the groceries are easy to say. I'll figure out how to deal with food in a while. And also...... Let's see if I can ask the Zhao family for a map, the bigger and more detailed the better......" Zhuang Yi stepped forward, put his arm around Duan Zhongzhong's shoulder, and laughed happily.

Duan Zhongzhong nodded and agreed, he was very unaccustomed to Zhuang Yi's familiar intimate behavior, and twisted his shoulders vigorously.

This dilapidated cottage, Zhao Yingzhe, who has been clothed and fed since childhood, has no interest in staying for a long time. Early the next morning, I went back with Steward Zhao with the pack horse convoy, anyway, the goods had been delivered, and the price had been negotiated. Five hundred good horses must be delivered by the end of July at the latest, and if Zhuang Yi didn't want to cause trouble, he would obediently give him the horses. And he thinks he has the lifeblood of Zhuang Yi, that is, grain, salt and iron.

After sending off the Zhao family's caravan, the food crisis was alleviated, and it could be used for more than two months. Zhuang Yi began to plot the fugitive hermitage in the White Wolf Mountain again, and he decided to personally take people there to reconnoitre, by the way, to learn about the situation of the Xi people and the Khitans, and then make further plans.

Zhuang Yi told Duan Zhongzhong about this idea, but he was fiercely opposed, he believed that if there were too many people, there would be chaos, and if he robbed and ridiculed people too often, he would invite revenge, which was self-defeating.

Zhuang Yi insisted on going and insisted on going his own way. Duan Zhongzhong had no choice but to agree to take people to guard the village and supervise the soldiers left behind to continue training. It took more than half a day to explain in detail the scope of activities and customs of the Xi people and the Khitan people.

After Duan Zhongzhong's explanation, Zhuang Yi had a strong thought in his heart, but he still needed to go to White Wolf Mountain to carefully investigate and confirm it.

Three days later, Zhuang Yi made a little preparation, leaving Bian Wu to keep an eye on the people in the village, in case they took advantage of his absence and became lazy. Let Duan Sizhen and An Huaixin lead seventy fine horsemen to accompany them, and by the way, they brought the goods of fifty pack horses, mainly silk, arrowroot cloth, fine linen, and six bags of 300 catties of salt and some daily utensils, and the group marched towards White Wolf Mountain.

Diexiu Village is about 250 miles away from the White Wolf Mountain, everyone traveled all the way through the desolate hills and valleys, two days later at dusk, arrived at the bank of the Xuanshui River, Zhuang Yi asked the sentinel to find a narrow river bay, crossed the river with a sheepskin raft, and went up the river, and set up camp on the gentle slope of the grass not far from the river.

It was the end of April in early summer, and the bays on both sides of the Xuanshui were full of verdant reeds, and long-necked waterfowl chirped happily, either looking for mates or competing for food. The remnant sun slanted on the surface of the river, and the golden light was very dazzling. On the meadow on the other side of the river, which is half a mile wide, patches of wildflowers dot the green grass, and flocks of yellow sheep and sika deer freely gnaw on the grass, not afraid of the people bathing and playing on the river on the other side.

The soldiers were also very excited, and some rode out to hunt in groups of three or five; Some went to collect dry firewood, built a bonfire and barbecued the washed venison, and the rich aroma wafted far away on the riverbank, condensing but not dissipating, making the hungry people have a great appetite.

The river surface is gentle, the water is bright and the mountains are clear, and it is clear and turquoise. Zhuang Yi was in a good mood, wearing only a pair of white pants, and jumped into the river with a spear on his bare body, intending to hunt a big fish, but he still found nothing for half an hour, and he couldn't help but be a little discouraged. So he went ashore, washed all his clothes, and asked his men to cut down a few small saplings, and hung them outside the camp with two wooden forks.

Zhuang Yi returned to the camp after being busy, An Huaixin was leading people to roast a fat sheep and a piece of deer breast, he used a knife to cut the mouth on the sheep, kept turning and sprinkling salt, large yellow oil beads oozed out, fell into the fire, burning green smoke straight up, sizzling. When he saw Zhuang Yi coming, he immediately asked someone to bring a plate of roasted deer breast.

"Tsk...... The appearance is not bad, your kid's skills are okay! ”

Zhuang Yi was greatly admired, stretched out his hand to take it, lowered his head and took a deep breath, and was about to start enjoying it, when a sentry strode in.

"Report to the big leader, a team of taunts came from the upstream, carrying goods, driving a lot of cattle...... Duan Dutou has already led people over! ”

"Oh...... Scalper! How many people were escorted? Zhuang Yi was surprised, and after a little thought, he understood that this must be wanted to be sold to Youzhou as a farming cattle, but why did these Xi people go south from here? It should be more convenient to go to Songting Pass!

"There were about 200 ......"

"Two hundred...... It's a pity! Zhuang Yi slapped his thigh hard, regretting it to death, he knew that he should have brought more people out, what a good opportunity this barren mountain and wilderness is.

"Or now, we have rested, they haven't ...... yet" An Huaixin was also very smart, and immediately understood, looking at Zhuang Yi with a glittering look on his face.

"Not bad...... Your kid is starting to get fat and growing! But two hundred people will make us suffer heavy casualties, and they have war horses, they will run away and leak the news, we have offended Youzhou and Xi people at the same time, and it will be difficult to mix in the future, so we must be careful and cautious. Zhuang Yi looked appreciative and pointed out with a smile.

"Hmm...... Shall we meet them? But we are ......" An Huaixin looked back at the fat sheep that was still barbecuing, and was a little reluctant.

"I just praised you, and I'm starting to learn stupid again! We are merchants! A businessman from Pingzhou! Do you understand? What to see...... Those were rewarded to them. I heard that Xi people are very hospitable, and when you go there, are you still worried that you won't be able to eat mutton? But this has to wait for Duan Sizhen to come back and see what he says. Zhuang Yi patted An Huaixin's head, and smiled bitterly.