The smuggler is looking for money, and at the price of sixty dollars per stone, this batch of grain is enough for him to earn six million dollars, and it can be sold all at once, which can also save him a lot of trouble. But Mi Fang categorically refused: "No! This batch of goods is going to Puyang! ”

Liu Dai was stunned for a moment, it is said that he is the Taishou of the county, and the smugglers have to scold him no matter what they say, but this stunned young man actually rejected his proposal. Looking at the group of big men behind Mi Fang again, Liu Dai understood that people were engaged in armed smuggling. Although he is a Taishou, but the war in the north is in full swing, he only has 5,000 soldiers and horses, divided into subordinate counties, and these soldiers and horses are not very obedient to his command, in case of a fight he really has little chance of winning.

But Mi Fang waved his hand again and said, "How much money do you want, say it!" ”

Liu Dai couldn't help but have a black line in his head, how could he look like a smuggler, and he was so angry when he spoke in the face of his own Taishou, it seemed that he was also an arrogant master over there. But Liu Dai now has a request for the other party, so he has to lower his voice and arch his hand and say: "Why should this brother be willing to seek the near and far? Quan dang will help in the next favor. ”

It turned out that Liu Dai was originally the assassin of Yanzhou, and after Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, he naturally couldn't do it, so he had to take any idle post under Cao Cao, and was recently sent to Qian County as a guard, and explained that he must collect 20,000 stone military rations every month.

The recent war destroyed the crops in the fields, and the people themselves relied on grass roots and tree bark to satisfy their hunger, and where could the military rations be handed over to the government?

Although there were many cases of smuggling grain taken away by Qian County, most of them were just petty fights, and the limited amount of food was simply not enough to make up the number, and Cao Cao's military orders were very strict, and it was a capital crime to fail to complete the task of collecting military rations. It was when he was in a dilemma that the life-saving Mi Fang came, how could Liu Dai let him go?

Mi Fang laughed and said: "What's so difficult about this, Mi will sell you 15,000 stones, and you can figure out the rest by yourself." You'll have to do me a favor, though. ”

As Mi Fang expected, Liu Dai was not at all helpless, he had been busy collecting military rations for so many days, and he had accumulated seven or eight thousand stone of grain in the official warehouse in the county town. But Liu Dai still said with a bitter face: "Fifteen thousand stones is too little, I paid it this month, what will I pay next month." ”

Mi Fang said disdainfully: "As long as you can do me that favor, I can ship 15,000 stone of grain to sell to you every month." ”

Liu Dai was taken aback, and then remembered that he hadn't inquired about the origin of this person, and hurriedly asked, "Who are you?" ”

Mi Fang knew that Liu Dai doubted his ability, so he couldn't help but raise his head and said: "In Xia Mi Fang, a native of Xuzhou, my brother is the right squire of the Han Household Department, in charge of the world's commerce, and my sister-in-law is the commander of the Fourth Legion of the Han Dynasty. It's not a trivial matter to get tens of thousands of stone of grain every month! ”

Liu Dai gasped, no wonder this person was arrogant, it turned out that there were two big backers behind him.

In fact, even if Mi Fang has more and harder backers, it is none of Liu Dai's business, the two sides originally belong to two different camps. But now Liu Dai can't be tough at all, because Mi Fang has the food he urgently needs in his hands. Of course, he can also mobilize troops and horses to detain Mi Fang and all the people and goods. However, before that, Mi Fang definitely didn't want to be caught, seeing that he didn't care, he was in a hurry, maybe he would burn the grain clean with a fire. If this happens, not only will he not get food, but he will also offend the people behind Mi Fang. As the Taishou of Qiaojun, Liu Dai knew very well that the fourth army stationed on the opposite side was Liu Xin's hand.

Liu Dai tried to calm himself down, and said with a smile on his face: "Outside the Mi Yuan, I don't know if Liu has anything to help you?" ”

Mi Fang's face also showed a smile, pointed to the convoy, and said: "Don't blame Lord Liu, if you sell all the grain to you, without cover, some other goods will not be able to be transported to Puyang smoothly, and those things can only be sold at a good price in Puyang." I don't want anything else, I just hope that adults can make it convenient and give this batch of goods an identity. ”

Liu Dai understood that Mi Fang was asking him for customs clearance procedures. Although Mi Fang also had official vouchers in his hands, those vouchers were only useful in the places that bordered the areas under Liu Xin's rule, and it would be useless to go further north. To provide a legal protection for Mi Fang's goods, Liu Dai can do it, but in case of the East Window incident, the consequences are also quite serious.

Seeing Liu Dai's hesitation, Mi Fang smiled and stuffed him with a small cloth bag, and said, "This is the goods to be transported in the next place, and Lord Liu will open it when he goes back." If Lord Liu is still unwilling to take this risk, then he has no choice but to go home, anyway, this is not the only way to go to Puyang. My sister-in-law also has a good relationship with several other generals, so it must not be difficult to pass a few levels. ”

Liu Dai had already vaguely guessed what was in the cloth bag, and was about to refuse, when he suddenly heard the second half of Mi Fang's words, and was immediately stunned. The East Window incident was a matter of later, that is, if there was no food, he would have to move his head this month.

Thinking of this, Liu Dai gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll issue you a voucher now, but you have to sell me three months' worth of grain at once!" ”

Liu Dai still has an extra heart, in case this Mi Fang really doesn't take this road in the future, then where will he go to buy so much food? If you can buy 45,000 stone of grain at one time, you can at least ensure that you can successfully complete the grain collection task handed over by Cao Cao within three months, and after three months, you can only take one step at a time.

It is still very eye-catching for such a large caravan to appear on the road, if there is a certificate issued by Liu Dai, you can avoid the inspection of the government along the way, and you can ensure that the road is smooth, this temptation is still quite large. Mi Fang hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Liu Dai couldn't help but be overjoyed, and even thanked him.

Cao Cao ordered the counties to collect military rations, which was also a last resort, and in order to prevent the county officials from taking the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity, he specially allocated special funds. Liu Dai bought grain from Mi Fang at a price of eighty yuan, and he could actually make a small profit. He has long been marginalized under Cao Cao, and there is no future in the official position, and it is not impossible to make a small fortune appropriately.

In order to thank Mi Fang, and in order to maintain this relationship, so that he can make long-term profits, Liu Dai took the risk and offered to indicate on the voucher that the goods transported by Mi Fang were the official grain escorted. In this way, the government along the way will not only not deliberately make things difficult, but will also provide necessary conveniences. With Liu Dai's help, Mi Fang's journey north became unimpeded. And in the Western Regions, Liu Xin did not go well.

After arriving at Yumen Pass, Liu Xin's escort task was naturally taken over by the Fifth Legion. The convoy was still composed of 5,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry, but the goods that had been loaded on carts were now transported by camels and horses. Liu Xin was followed by Dian Wei and Wei Yan, while Huang Zhong remained at Yumen Pass, ready to lead his army into the Western Regions at any time.

Outside the Yumen Pass, as far as the eye can see, there are swamps and Gobi everywhere. Led by a guide, the team traveled westward. The guide was called Baguli, and he was brought back from Shule during Jia Xu's last visit to the countries of the Western Regions.

After walking for a long time, a strong wind suddenly blew. The wind swept the yellow sand in the sky, and there was chaos around him, and there was no human figure to be seen ten paces away. The team was thrown into chaos.

Liu Xin was also in contact with the desert for the first time, and when he saw this situation, his heart couldn't help but tighten, and he commanded loudly: "Stop advancing." ”

But the wind carried the sand and made a terrible noise, drowning out his voice. However, the guide Baguli was very calm, rushed over and pulled Liu Xin's horse's head, and said: "Don't panic, my lord, this is just the edge of the desert, as long as you cross this section of the road, the front will be safe." ”

When marching and fighting, the transmission of news mainly relies on various flags, and the sandstorm is together, and even the nearby figures cannot be seen clearly, let alone see the various flags, and some flagpoles have been broken because they can't resist the strong wind. Fortunately, the Han army was well-trained, and the Fifth Army had been stationed in the Liangzhou area, the soldiers were somewhat accustomed to the strong wind and sand, and there was not too much panic.

The climate of the desert is unpredictable. In the evening, after the procession had struggled for two hours, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. A red sunset on the horizon shone on the rolling sand dunes, and Liu Xin saw another magnificent beauty.

Liu Xin turned to look at the soldiers around him, many of them were with crooked helmets, and even the carriage in which the mink was riding was covered with a thick layer of yellow sand, and he couldn't help but say with palpitations: "Wenhe, Liu has heard that when the flying general Li Guang pursued the Huns, he was once lost in the desert. At that time, I didn't think that today Fang Shi has seen the power of the desert. ”

Jia Xu straightened out the hat that was blown by the wind and sand, and said with a smile: "The lord doesn't know, this kind of wind and sand is not powerful, if you meet the black wind and sand in the depths of the desert, it is really called the sky should not be, and the earth is not spiritual." However, the lord doesn't need to worry, from here to the west, to the mud city is a familiar path, and there will be no more wind areas. So, it's safe to go all the way from here. ”

But I heard the guide Baguli exclaim: "Not good! ”

Liu Xin hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Bagul said with a bitter face: "The gale just now delayed the trip, and we won't be able to catch up with the oasis in front of us tonight." ”

Liu Xin laughed and said, "If you can't catch up, you can't catch up, what's there to be nervous about." This is also equivalent to marching and fighting, where we can't make up for a night. ”

Bagul sighed: "My lord doesn't know, the desert is no other place, and spending the night in the desert must prevent three major evils. ”