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"Thank you for the help of the general, otherwise the consequences today would be unimaginable...... Great kindness, Donglin is grateful! Li Donglin, the young proprietor of the caravan, had several wounds on his body, which were not very serious, and came to thank his benefactor after a simple bandage. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info can also be regarded as grateful to Dade, and his attitude is very humble and polite.

"Li Dongzhu doesn't have to be polite, it is the duty of the official army to scoop up the bandits, and it is also the duty of the officials and soldiers to draw their swords to help when they see injustice...... Today is also a coincidence of being met by us! Lin Zhao smiled and looked this special young proprietor up and down.

is not very old, looks like he is in his twenties, and he looks very gentle, but he makes a good swordsmanship, which is somewhat interesting. Xizhou businessmen?

Lin Zhao looked at Li Donglin, who was handsome and a little elegant in front of him, and couldn't help but shake his head slightly. No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like a businessman, he doesn't have that worldly copper smell at all, but more like a scholar who reads poetry and books, or a graceful and agile ranger.

Is he really just a businessman? Lin Zhao was a little curious, and inevitably had some doubts.

Li Donglin is also a keen observer, and seems to have noticed Lin Zhao's doubts, and immediately said: "Don't misunderstand, the general was originally a Xiucai background, and he intended to make some gains on the way to the imperial examination, but his family was unfortunate ......."

It turned out that the Li family was a well-known wealthy merchant in Xizhou, mainly going back and forth to Tibet to sell furs, medicinal herbs, jewelry, and products unique to the Western Regions. Because of the good management, the Li family is also very diligent, and has benefited a lot, and has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years, and is also regarded as the number one person in the local area.

There is a characteristic of ancient society, the four elements of the world, the farmers, the businessmen, and the merchants are at the bottom. Although the Li family is rich, its status is not very high, especially after becoming rich, it is still not looked down upon by the traditional "famous family", and this problem has become more and more acute.

Later, there was also a very real problem, that is, it was inevitable to deal with the government in business, especially in places far away from the emperor such as the northwest, which were exploited and hindered many times. This also makes the Li family very hopeful that there can be a person of their own in the government to escort the family business.

Therefore, out of various considerations, the old proprietor of the Li family hopes that there can be a scholar and an official among the younger generations to enhance the influence and prestige of the family, as well as escort the future development of the Li family.

At that time, Li Dongzhu's eldest son was already sixteen or seventeen years old, and he missed the good time to study, but he had a lot of potential in business, and he was also his right and left hand, and he couldn't do without it at all.

However, the second son, Li Donglin, was only five years old at the time, and it was a good time for Kaimeng to enter school. So Li Dongzhu specially invited Xixi for his son to teach him to read and hyphenate.

may have something to do with the cultivation since childhood, Li Donglin is also talented, diligent and studious, and he was admitted to Xiucai when he was a teenager. If it continues to develop in unison according to this rhythm, maybe one day, it will be possible for Li Donglin to be promoted in the middle of the examination, and even to be a high school jinshi.

But there are always many accidents in life, and in the years when Li Donglin was studying, the bandits in the northwest became more and more rampant, becoming the biggest threat to the caravan. The Li family's business has also been affected to some extent, but the old proprietor Li doesn't want to affect his son because of some things, so he has never told him. Until one day, an unfortunate thing befell the Li family, Li Donglin's eldest brother was killed by bandits on the way to deliver goods, but the government could not do anything.

After Li Donglin found out, his psychology was affected a little, and he thought that it was useless to study and become an official. If you want to protect your family, the most direct way to deal with bandits is to practice martial arts and fitness. So he abandoned literature and martial arts, and learned swordsmanship from a famous teacher. He is talented and intelligent, and he is more attentive, and he can be regarded as a successful student in a few years.

Although the old proprietor Li was not very satisfied, but the eldest son died, and he was also old, so he needed the second son to set up a household and take over the family business, so he had no choice but to agree.

It has been seven or eight years since Li Donglin took over the business as a teenager, and he has taken care of the business in an orderly manner. The already dilapidated Li family was also revitalized here, but it didn't want to arouse the concerns of ill-intentioned people.

This time, Li Donglin bought a treasure in Tubo, but he didn't want to be remembered because of it and was attacked by bandits. If it weren't for Lin Zhao leading the officers and soldiers to pass by, the consequences would be unimaginable......

So that's it! If you say this, everything is logical, and I even admire Li Donglin a little in my heart.

"This business is really important to my family, thank you for today's events, General!" Li Donglin once again expressed his gratitude and sincerity.

Lin Zhao smiled: "It's a little thing, it's nothing...... Just be careful in the future! ”

"Yes......" Li Donglin replied weakly, looking very unconfident. The old servant beside him also looked embarrassed, his brows furrowed, and he seemed to have something particularly difficult......

"What? Is there a problem? Lin Zhao asked after seeing it.

Li Donglin hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Today is by no means an ordinary robbery by bandits, there have been people staring at us on the way back from Tubo, and there have been several times when the situation is more dangerous, but we have avoided it, and today it is unavoidable." I think there is an enemy who has their eyes on us and wants to put us to death...... This time, I had to meet the general to rescue and escape, but I am afraid that they will make a comeback...... There were many casualties in the caravan escort, and I ...... myself" Before the words were finished, the meaning was already very obvious, and his eyes were full of worry that could not be concealed.

As he spoke, blood oozed from the strip of white cloth on his arm, and it was estimated that the injury was not light. Looking up, almost everyone in the caravan was hanging the lottery, and if this was really what he said, the caravan's future was really worrying. Li Donglin's face was worried, and the old man sighed and was worried.

"That's a real nuisance!" Lin Zhao was also quite sympathetic, and then asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

"Alas!" Li Donglin sighed lightly and said: "Let's take the official road, there should be fewer bandits, maybe I can escape the catastrophe, and I will talk about it when I get to Yanzhou Mansion!" ”

"Yanzhou? Are you going to Yanzhou? ”

"Oh, no...... Yes! The old man may have been in a hurry, and seemed to have said the wrong thing in a hurry, and hurriedly changed his words.

Lin Zhao's eyebrows suddenly had a trace of doubt, this caravan was really full of weirdness! It's not Yanzhou, so where are they going?

"Ah, we are going to Yanzhou from here, and then cross the river to the east of the river, or even the Daimyo's Mansion!" Li Donglin hurriedly made some additions.

The old man responded: "This is a thousand miles, the road is not quiet, mainly to Yanzhou, bandits are rampant, how is this good?" ”

Li Donglin closed his eyes and said nothing, obviously extremely worried!

"Well, I wonder where the generals are going? Shall we go with the army? With the protection of a large army, the bandits did not dare to make up their minds easily. The old man seemed to be a little whimsical, and suddenly thought of this question, and looked at Lin Zhao with a little joy on his face.

But he didn't want Li Donglin to immediately scold: "Uncle Gen, how can you casually inquire about the movements of the official army?" Don't think like that......"

Before the words fell, Li Donglin noticed that Lin Zhao's eyes were much colder, a little pressing, and a little confused.

That's right! Lin Zhao was indeed full of doubts at the moment, and raised his vigilance.

Today's events are a little strange, and I happened to be robbed by a bandit, is it really just a coincidence? Could it have been deliberately arranged by someone with ill intentions?

Especially this Li Donglin is so special, it is inevitable that people will be a little suspicious. It was precisely because of this that Lin Zhao deliberately kept an eye on it and asked a few more questions.

Judging from the current situation, there is nothing special, so I don't care, and it doesn't matter if I leave it alone.

But the conversation between the old man and Li Donglin just now immediately made Lin Zhao a little suspicious, inquiring about the movement of the army? Still going with the army?

Who are they? What exactly do you want to do? Lin Zhao was suddenly suspicious. After all, this matter is a little strange, and he has a heavy responsibility on this trip, especially with an important person like Liang Yiburi, so he can't make the slightest mistake, so he must be cautious about anything suspicious.

Be careful to sail the ship of 10,000 years, at any time!

"Who the hell are you? Let's be honest! Lin Zhao's expression suddenly became much more serious, his face lost the smile he had just now, and his tone became much more severe. The stakes are so high that sometimes it is better to kill by mistake than to let one go. If they really had bad intentions, Lin Zhao would definitely not be soft.

The old man was a little inexplicable, and looked at Lin Zhao with some horror, he really didn't know why the kind-hearted general suddenly had such an attitude? Did you say the wrong thing yourself? Didn't you just ask casually? Why? I don't know if it's because of his superb acting skills, or because he's old, I really don't know this kind of powerful relationship.

Li Donglin is a scholar, and his resourcefulness and sophistication seem to be very good, and he understood it in an instant. Knowing that the old servant had said the wrong thing, it aroused the suspicion of the officers and soldiers, so he hurriedly defended: "The general should not misunderstand, Uncle Gen is also in a hurry to talk nonsense." He is old, he doesn't understand the rules, and he said the wrong thing unintentionally, please forgive the general! ”

Is it really just the wrong thing? Lin Zhao shook his head lightly and said, "Young proprietor, I can see that this old man's status is not low, how can your father send him out with you to help, how can he assign someone casually?" The right old man answered like a fluent, and he didn't look like a confused person, why did he suddenly get confused? ”

Lin Zhao was indeed full of doubts, and felt more and more that the two masters and servants, as well as the entire caravan, were so strange. Liu Changzuo on the side also seemed to notice the abnormality, shook his head and said: "Now the war with the Western Xia has not stopped, could it be that the war spies sent by the Western Xia?" ”

"General Mingjian!" Li Donglin was obviously a little anxious, as if he didn't expect that a wrong sentence would cause such a big misunderstanding, and even be raised to the level of a spy in Western Xia, this is a heart-wrenching word! Therefore, he hurriedly explained: "General, don't misunderstand, Uncle Gen is only good at identifying jewelry and jade, not an old and sophisticated person, otherwise he wouldn't have asked the general so rashly just now!" ”

Such an explanation of reverse thinking seems to be reasonable, and if it is really a wise and skilled person, he will definitely not ask so rashly. Especially when it comes to military secrets, it's completely unpleasant to find yourself.

Is it really that simple? Lin Zhao still had some doubts in his heart, staring at the two of them with stern eyes and said, "What are you?" Where exactly are you going? I'm sure your target is not Yanzhou Mansion, let alone Hedong ......."

The main activities of the merchants in the Northwest were in the western regions of Guanzhong and Guanbei west of the Yellow River, and west to Hehuang and Hexi. Even if there are any treasures and you want to sell them for a good price, you should go to Chang'an, or Bianjing. Especially when it comes to going to the Daimyo's Mansion, it seems inconvenient to take this road, wouldn't it be nice to go along the river from Bianjing?

You must know that after the Yellow River was diverted, it flowed through the Daimyo's house. Why do they go far away at the expense of the near and the easy? Isn't that weird? It is completely reasonable for Lin Zhao to have doubts.

Now that you have encountered it, you have to break the casserole and ask to the end! The stakes are high, and we dare not be negligent in the slightest.

The old man was a little stunned, he had not expected such an attitude of the seemingly kind young officer, and he could not even figure out what was going on, so he could not respond.

Of course, you may be overwhelmed, or you may not know how to answer.

Li Donglin is a person who understands, he can see that if he can't tell the reason today, he will not be able to leave, and there will even be danger. So, my expression couldn't help but be a little entangled. In Lin Zhao's view, the more tangled it is, the more it means that there may be a lot of cats......

Under the persecution and waiting of Lin Zhao's compelling gaze, Li Donglin hesitated for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "That's right, we are not going to Hedong, but to Suizhou through Yanzhou!" ”

Suizhou? Western Xia?

Liu Changzuo on the side suddenly moved, obviously a little angry. It was when the two countries were at war, what to do in Western Xia? Could it be that Lin Zhao said that it was a Western Xia spy?

"Don't misunderstand the two generals, we have nothing to do with Western Xia, and we are only doing business when we go to Suizhou!" Li Donglin hurriedly explained: "We merchants in the northwest originally ran around to do business, and the Tibetans, Uighurs, Great Song Dynasty, and Western Xia were no exception......

Now is the time when the two countries are at war, and it stands to reason that it should not be ...... It's just that these jade and gems were ordered by the Tangut people, and they were designated to be sent to Suizhou, so ......"

That's right, since it is a priceless treasure, although it takes longer to take the official road, it can be safer. To put it bluntly, there is no difference between them taking small roads and smuggling, in order to avoid the government, but in the end there is no way to avoid it......

Li Donglin was silent after speaking, as if he was waiting for the final verdict. Liu Changzuo also wanted to speak and stopped, obviously waiting for Lin Shilang's judgment......

Suizhou? Lin Zhao was silent, his thoughts were spinning rapidly, as if he had thought of something!