Yan Yun: "On the first day of October, the winter solstice arrives, and every household eats dumplings." This custom is left in commemoration of the "medical saint" Zhang Zhongjing's winter solstice medicine, and this day is also the time when Xiao Ye sent out the guards and set off for eight miles.

Although only two of those small stone forts have been built now, the merchants who can't wait have set up tents and started construction as soon as possible; Those with deep pockets bought barracks tents and let the hired workers work harder, so that they could produce some more yellow plaster every day.

Those who are reluctant to spend money on barracks tents will also take out large cowhide tents and buy a large number of hand warmers, so that the hired workers who can mine the material can hold on for a few more days.

But the merchants all knew that in a few days, in the extremely cold grassland, only the mill that had repaired the stone fort could continue to work intermittently, and the others would have to stop work and return to Simon Stone Fort.

Fortunately, Wangjiabao, Gujiabao, Eagle Claw Fort, and Madao Stone Fort need a large number of manpower to mine and transport minerals, and merchants do not have to raise hired workers for the winter.

Whoo, black iron cars drew arcs from the stone fort of the Hou Ye's mansion, rushed out of the fort wall along the slope, and appeared on the central street of the Ximen stone fort; On both sides of the street, which was temporarily cordoned off by the barracks, there were all kinds of people standing watching the excitement, most of them military families.

However, near the fort gate of the second and third forts, the people who heard the sound were complicated, especially the foreign caravans, as well as the shop men and helpers who opened shops nearby; However, the military households and craftsmen in the stone fort saw too much of this car and didn't think so.

On both sides of the street, on the two forts, there were already sergeants standing with guns on guard, and there were also sergeants patrolling the fort walls, and everyone watched as a large iron cart with a sword and shield badge on its body was suspended a foot above the ground, and rushed out of the stone fort.

"One, two, three ....., good my mother, seven big iron cars, it must be that the Hou Ye has something to go out," the good thing while counting the cars, while telling others about this kind of big guy that is not common to outsiders, it is spitting stars flying around.

In the second fort, a restaurant next to the street, several figures on the second floor stood at the window, looking at the flying car with dull eyes, until the convoy left the fort gate, and then retracted their gaze with embarrassment.

Zhai's restaurant, like other businesses, can only build a two-storey restaurant, no matter how high the official room does not agree, the logistics team will not nod, then there is only a big building, the second floor not only has more than a dozen compartments, but also can be placed outside a dozen large tables, enough to take nearly 100 people to eat.

But today, up and down the Zhai family restaurant, it was contracted by foreign merchants, and among the people standing at the window looking out, just a thin young man sighed bitterly.

"Sixth son, do you think we are going to meet the 'Marquis of Ximen', how can I say that I am also an acquaintance with you," a confidant suggested to the young man.

Turning his face, the young man sat on the chair with a smile, he was Fan Zhengshi who had been separated for two years, he had rushed over from Jingshi, in order to see the young Hou Ye again.

How did Xiao Ye get the title of Zihou, speaking of which the Ming government just acquiesced, but it would never admit it, not for anything else, the Gansu town government was still trying to arrest this former hundred household officers, but because of the threat of grassland Jinong, it could only swallow the bitter fruit.

But it's not that there is no chance, as long as Ximen Xiao Ye enters the side wall, the Ming government will not succumb to the Mongolian Tatars, and will definitely cut it first.

Fan Zhengshi's father and brother originally advised Fan Zhengshi not to make friends by mistake, so as not to cause harm to himself, but he didn't expect that his own sailors picked up a few vines and fruits from the seaside, and when they opened it, the entire Fan family was a sensation.

The vines and grass that can grow wildly in the sea water are the ones that Fan Zhengshi brought back from the grassland, and he discarded them by the river, and he never imagined that he could float to the sea and bear surprising fruits.

The stinger is nothing, the problem is that the fruit that bears it, with a little refinement, is comparable to the best refined salt, which is exactly the same as the refined salt secretly bought by the rich family in Yingtianfu City, do you say that the Fan family can not shake.

At the time of the New Year, in Tianfu City, there are two more kinds of amusement objects, one is a two-wheeled bicycle, which is the first choice for the rich family.

As long as the porcelain is not ruthlessly ruined, the bicycle will not break, but it has also given birth to the profession of car repairers in various cities.

There is also a kind of rugby, which can be played by the children of officials and eunuchs, and the poor people, which soon became popular in Yingtianfu.

The circulation pursued by the merchants for profit, and the goods sold by the Shijia shops were simply eager to be sold to the farthest, and it was natural that they should be sold in Tianfu City.

Whether it is a small iron nail, or a fire extinguishing bomb that can extinguish a fire, and all kinds of Persian goods, it dazzles the eyes of countless people.

Even in the courtyard of the Fan family's mansion, transparent glass is installed on the windows of the study, living room, and wing room, and the courtyard walls are also renovated with yellow plaster, which is strong and durable.

Although Fan Zhengshi's father Fan Dazhou began to have hot eyes, he still did not allow Fan Zhengshi to go north to the grassland, but when the big-nosed Yangyi Torres rushed to Fan's house again and brought more than a dozen boxes of gold and silver, Fan Dazhou couldn't sit still.

So, Fan Zhengshi was ordered to rush to Jingshi, and after uniting several close families, he carried a huge amount of silver tickets and traveled a long distance out of Qingfeng Valley, and saw this large stone castle that shocked him very much.

"Ben Gongzi answered the Ximen Xiao Ye earlier, but it has been almost two years, except for a shopkeeper of our Fan family, who raised commercial goods in Gansu Town, and promised him Jinnan mineral materials, but there is no at all, which makes this how Ben Gongzi can meet people," Fan Zhengshi sighed and said quietly.

If my father had a long-term vision and didn't always keep an eye on the business at sea, I am afraid that he would at least become friends with Ximen Xiao Ye now.

Now that I'm here, I'm just an ordinary person in business.

At this moment, the shopkeeper of the Zhai Family Restaurant ran upstairs and came to Fan Zhengshi, "Sixth son, there are guards from the Hou Ye Mansion outside, pass the Hou Ye password, let you go to the Hou Ye Mansion,"

"Huh? How did he know we were here? For Fan Zhengshi's frown, several henchmen also shook their heads blankly, they entered the fort yesterday and came in disguised as ordinary merchants, but they didn't expect that the door would be blocked early this morning.

Perhaps, he knew it yesterday, his heart suddenly jumped, a trace of solemnity flashed on Fan Zhengshi's face, so he laughed and stood up, "Okay, since the Hou Ye has an invitation, we can't be rude,"

Since he approached Ximen Stone Fort, Fan Zheng was really strange in his heart, and there seemed to be a faint summoning urging him to see Ximen Xiaoye, but he really cherished his face and thought hard about how to complete his never return.

"Let's go, bring a gift, and apologize to the Hou Ye," Fan Zhengshi, who was particularly unsteady in his heart, gritted his teeth, turned around lightly, and walked down the stairs step by step.

Outside the restaurant, there were two black-clothed military men, Fan Zhengshi raised his eyes to see, drink, these two strong men, taller than himself, with thick and strong waists like a calf, did not carry weapons on their bodies, but wore a wide cowhide belt around their waists and short-waisted military boots.

"I'm afraid this is the black-clothed guard," Fan Zhengshi thought to himself.

The guard standing next to the bicycle saw Fan Zhengshi come out, and stepped forward to hug his fist, "This is Fan Gongzi in person?" For Fan Zhengshi, the guards are very polite, but in addition to their official attitude, they have some closeness, and Fan Zhengshi can also feel this kind of confused kindness, but he can't say it.

People who have taken the Powerful Pill, even if they don't know each other, have a faint trust when they meet for the first time, which Xiao Ye doesn't know.

"Exactly, two brothers, I don't know what to do with me?" Fan Zhengshi returned the salute with a smile, his posture was very low, and a few henchmen behind him carried the gift box with low eyebrows and went down the steps.

"I've seen Fan Gongzi, my marquis has called him, let's go," the guard said kindly without nonsense.

"Okay," although Fan Zhengshi was worried, he was very cheerful, and he had nowhere to hide, so it was better to be generous.

"I wonder if Fan Gongzi will ride this bicycle?" The guard smiled and pointed to the car, "If you can, let's ride away, hurry up,"

"Yes, my son bought one in Yingtianfu, but the price is a little more expensive," he was able to say an expensive word from Fan Zhengshi's mouth, thinking that the merchants in Yingtianfu City had sold the car as a treasure.

So, on the main street leading to the stone fort of the Hou Yefu, two bicycles ran through the street, followed by a few strong men who ran fast, carrying heavy gift boxes on their shoulders, and ran towards the south slope.

In the backyard of the stone fort of the Hou Ye's mansion, in the study, Xiao Yezheng was standing in front of the desk with Xin Rulin, Wang Ziliang, and the restrained Li Xunwu, looking at the large map hanging on the wall in a daze, and on the desk, there was also a huge globe.

The appearance of these two things made the four of them look at it for almost an hour, Xue Zilong set off with six teams, and none of them went out to see each other, but just hurriedly said a few words, and then turned back to the study.

Looking at the little bit of territory in the Daming territory on the map, Xiao Ye, like the other three, couldn't believe it, but he knew that the processing center would not produce things casually, let alone fake goods.

"My lord, this is the map of the world?" Xin Rulin, who has always been indifferent to things, has a rather strange look in his eyes at the moment, looking at the Gansu town on the map, it is just a small black dot, but there is a red dot next to it, is it?

"Yes, this is the map of our world, it turns out that we are standing on a big ball," glancing at the globe on the desk, Xiao Ye sighed, comparing the two, he can see the problem, these three readers, can they see it?

"My lord, this red dot should be our Ximen Stone Fort," Wang Ziliang pointed to the red dot next to Gansu Town, and said hesitantly.

"That, it seems to be the position of Shiguantun from the perspective of his subordinates," Li Xunwu, who was as silent as gold, finally spoke, and his words made Xin Rulin agree very much.

"It doesn't matter if it's Shiguantun or Ximen Stone Fort, wouldn't it be a good sign that our territory can be on the map," Xiao Ye smiled, his eyes flashing with a gleam of Taoism; This time, Xue Zilong helped Ximen Wangfu, the distance was too far, and the insiders were not optimistic.

However, judging from the map, the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, where the Kazakhs are located, as long as they control the Alashan Pass, and then the vast grassland to the west, then the iron hooves of Ximen Wangfu will definitely gain a lot of money when they step on it.

"Send a letter to the defenders of Jinjia Stone Fort, tell Xue Zilong, find that Alashan Pass, there are too many mountains to the west in other places, it is difficult to march, and Ximen Wangfu's cavalry cannot climb the mountain,"

"Xue Zilong, they shouldn't have arrived at the Wild Wolf Ditch yet, they have passed the Xikuo Mountain, and there is the Zhai family's stone fort in front of them, so they can be informed," Turning his head, Xiao Ye ordered Wang Ziliang.

"Yes, Master Hou," Wang Ziliang looked straight, nodded and hurried out of the study.

The small stone fort auctioned out from Li Xunwu's hand is guarded by a team of 100 people, and the natural communication team will send a corresponding team to set up a communication point with a three-type letter post, which can quickly relay the military orders of the Hou Yefu to thousands of miles away.

Xue Zilong is in the chariot, and he can get in touch with the stone castle within five miles.

"My lord, Fan Gongzi has arrived, and he is waiting in the living room in the front yard," At this time, Xiao Liuzi came in and said in a low voice.

Xin Rulin dealt with it decisively, this guy didn't get the thin horse in Yangzhou, but the young woman sent by Ximen Wangfu, with his military exploits and a few silver tickets, gave priority to getting one as a concubine, but it was so beautiful that it bubbled, except for being on duty, he almost stayed in his own stone house courtyard, and he couldn't see it wandering around.

Xin Rulin and Li Xunwu were reluctant to leave, Xiao Ye had to come to the front yard by himself, and walked along the steps outside the living room, and saw a few strong men standing below, with a gift box next to his feet, and couldn't help frowning.

Before the little six sons who were walking in front had time to speak, these henchmen who followed Fan Zhengshi saw Hou Ye in front of them, they were all stunned, a trace of red light crossed the depths of their eyes, and they knelt on the ground one after another, kowtowed, "The little one has seen Hou Ye,"

"Hehe," Xiao Ye waved his hand and smiled, "Get up, I'm tired from running so far, you go to the ear room to drink tea and rest first,"

Originally, as Fan Zhengshi's close confidant, Fan Dazhou spoke, without Fan Zhengshi's nod, they would not leave Fan Zhengshi's sight, but now they all responded as a matter of course, got up and walked to the ear room at the gate of the courtyard.

Turned around and entered the living room, Fan Zhengshi, who was sitting on a chair inside, saw Xiao Ye come in, and when he looked at it, Fan Zhengshi's mind was booming, and red flashed in the depths of his eyes, and the person had already fallen to his knees, "Fan Zhengshi knocked on the Hou Ye,"

Standing at the door of the living room, Xiao Ye looked carefully at this long-lost son of the Fan family, for a long time, he seemed to smile and said, "Brother Fan, get up, but I haven't seen you for a few days,"

His faint words made Fan Zhengshi kneel on the ground, and he didn't dare to raise his head with guilt, and he didn't know what to say in his mouth.

With a cold snort, Xiao Ye walked over and sat on the top chair, and then said slowly, "Okay, it's also embarrassing for you, I want to come to your Fan family and the government to have a connection, knowing that this marquis is worried about the government, take precautions, it's no wonder to say it, get up and speak,"

The so-called muscle-building pill sold by the Shi family's shop is a serious powerful pill here in Xiao Ye, and it is just another name.

Although he promised his father-in-law that he would not lead troops into the side wall, Xiao Ye did not need to be taught by others and did it instinctively, and he planted his own eyeliner on the territory of the Ming Dynasty, which is the right way.

The pill in your hand, you merchants really think that Benhou is short of food and is in a hurry, so he will exchange it with you at a low price, hum.

As for the shortage of pills in the Shi family's shop, the asking price is very high, that is the need of all the departments under his command, and with rich raw materials in the future, the Muscle Pills will still be sold in large quantities, and whoever wants to buy it can buy it for money.

Of course, the powerful pill can not only improve the strength of the human body, but also heal the wounds is also quite effective, otherwise the merchants would not be waving silver tickets and begging Li Xunwu.

In Xiao Ye's opinion, this Fan Zhengshi and his henchmen fell into his urn because of taking the powerful pill.

After Fan Zhengshi thanked Hou Ye, he cautiously sat on the chair at the bottom, "Hou Ye, I will try my best to buy the mineral materials in Jinnan, this trip has 500,000 taels of silver, and it has been exchanged for a silver ticket from United Qianzhuang, I want to buy some Persian goods to go to Taiyuan Mansion, where a commercial house has contacted to transfer to Jingshi, it is best to buy another assault vehicle, and that battery rod, the more fire/guns in the rear, the better, oh, and the Shengji Dan,...."

"Let's not talk about this, where were you and your guards injured?" Xiao Ye shook his hand to stop Fan Zhengshi's words, and asked lightly.

"On the way to Jingshi, I met a group of roadblock bandits, they had a short fire/gun made by the Huang family, if it wasn't for the short fire/gun sold by the adults in my hand, I am afraid I would have been killed on the canal last year," If it weren't for Fan Zhengshi wearing a protective suit purchased at a high price, it would be difficult to say the result of that encounter.

When he went out, he brought twenty henchmen with him, and now there are only eight people left with him, Fan Zhengshi has nothing to do about the civil chaos, he is just a businessman's child, and he has no intention of pursuing a career.

"Well, this time I'll send you seven protective suits for your guards to wear, they can be used as arrows and projectiles for you," Xiao Ye's words made Xiao Liuzi, who came up with tea, paused slightly, and went down quietly.

"Thank you for the reward," Fan Zhengshi hurriedly got up and bowed again.

"Hehe, my own people, don't be so angry, have etiquette outside, don't be so cumbersome in private,"

"Come, let's talk about your Fan family first, how the business is doing, and which officials you have dealings with," Fan Zheng was very serious about Xiao Ye's inquiry, and he couldn't wait to tell everything he knew before he felt happy, and he talked for half an hour with a bald mouth, and drank several cups of tea.

The more Fan Zhengshi spoke, the brighter Xiao Ye's eyes became, he couldn't imagine that the Fan family was not only in the officialdom in the southeast, but also had a complicated relationship, even in the Jingshi, there were people who could speak in the court, but the most powerful was the eunuch in the palace.

What's more, Fan Datong's fleet at sea was a merchant when he was carrying goods, and he became a pirate when he was empty, which opened Xiao Ye's eyes; Murder and arson gold belt, it turns out that this principle has long been rampant among the people, and he has benefited a lot.

But he is at a different level from the Fan family, he grabbed tribes other than the Ming Dynasty, and he still benefited more indirectly, and his mood was much higher than Fan Dazhou.

Sitting there and thinking about it, Xiao Ye picked up the pen and wrote two lists, stopped writing, and finally put down the brush and carefully blew the ink in Fan Zhengshi's expectant eyes.

"This manifest, you take it to the Shi family's shop, it is enough for you to become a talker in the Fan family, and 500,000 taels can be handed over to the shopkeeper of the shop,"

"This manifest, you take it to the Jin family's shop, and their shopkeeper will give you the pill," After stamping the private seal on the goods, looking at Fan Zhengshi's deferential expression, Xiao Ye sighed secretly, handed over the manifest to this Fan family's son, and reluctantly got up and walked out of the living room.

Since you are a subordinate, you can't be a friend.

Of course, this invisible new ally will be of more use to him in the future, more than to make up for the loss of a friend.

Holding the manifest, Fan Zhengshi eagerly read it, suddenly his heart jumped rapidly, his mouth couldn't open, roughly calculated according to the market price, the two bills of goods were sold on the spot in Ximen Stone Fort, and he could make a profit of nearly 300,000 taels of silver; Oh, it should be a joint silver ticket, that thing is in Gansu Town, and it has also become a hard-handed silver ticket.

The joint silver ticket that can be exchanged for goods in the Shijia shop gives priority to it, so that all merchants, when they arrive at Ximen Shibao, they have to go to the United Money Village to exchange silver for silver tickets, otherwise you will wait in line to pick up the goods, and you will not be able to queue up for a month, which is the deep meaning of the union.

The strength of the United Bank, coupled with the fact that the soldiers and craftsmen now receive the money, is paid by the United Bank, which soon makes the Union Bank control the currency traded here, and the shops of other merchants also begin to accept the Union Bank.

100 rear-loading fire/guns, 10,000 projectiles, 500 short fires/guns and matching projectiles, 300 table lamps and hand lamps, 100 bicycles, 50 pocket watches, 600 lighters, 1,000 fire extinguishers, and several carts of glass and iron nails, this is the rhythm that makes Fan Zhengshi an upstart.

Especially the list of goods for the Jin family, a simple dozen words, directly made Fan Zhengshi almost kneel down again, a thousand primary muscle pills, that is a dead deal that any merchant will be blushing for.

took out a close-fitting money bag, Fan Zhengshi put the bill of goods and the joint silver ticket together, and walked out of the living room with trembling legs and stomachs.

The little six sons on the side, with a few guards, opened the two iron boxes, which not only contained complete sets of short fires/guns, military crossbows, but also earth-shattering thunder that were rarely sold in the Shi family's shops.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want to expose his relationship with the Fan family, Xiao Ye would even give these strong men two sets of khaki uniforms, iron helmets, and military boots to each of them, after all, they were all their own people, and they couldn't be stingy.

Next to the iron box, there were seven backpacks, which contained cans, medicine belts, kettles, and a felt blanket, all of which Xiao Liuzi temporarily brought out from the warehouse of the guards.

Standing on the steps, the cold wind blew, and the cold sweat on Fan Zhengshi's back came out, and in a moment when he was sober, he couldn't understand why he had to grovel to this unjustified Hou Ye just now, and he was not a bamboo tube, but he poured out all the words in his heart, and he couldn't stop it.

This, this, Fan Zhengshi, who regretted it again and again, just had a trace of anger between his eyebrows and eyes, and he felt that his whole body was swollen uncomfortably, and he couldn't even breathe in his throat; After suppressing that little bit of malice in fear, he let out a long breath of relief.

A guard who was watching coldly outside the living room, the corners of his mouth flashed a little hideous, and he said lightly, "Brother, if you don't want to die, you can be loyal to Lord Hou, but if you have the idea of betraying Lord Hou and blowing it up into a pile of minced meat, don't blame the brother for not reminding you,"

"Even if you can't even think about the slightest bad word about Hou Ye, you have to think more about Hou Ye, you know no," the guard's words made Fan Zhengshi burst into tears. He has a brilliant mind, and he woke up in a moment, and there really won't be a big cake in the sky, and the Muscle Pill is really not so easy to use.

Of course, Fan Zhengshi, who is self-conscious, attaches great importance to face, and when he goes back to the mainland, he can see the children of other powerful people at ease, faintly a head taller than himself, so he will naturally not let anyone go, and he will definitely vigorously promote the powerful pill, so that others can stand as tall as himself.

Especially the amazing medicinal effect of the Qiangli Pill, it is not surprising that the Fan family made a fortune by taking advantage of it.

After thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons, Fan Zheng was a little balanced in his heart, sometimes he only got it, and he should pay some for the sake of the family; In that case, I can only pin my hopes on Xiao Ye, hoping that he can grow his strength on the grassland safely and steadily, and have a lot of Persian goods to sell, so that the grievances he has suffered can also be exchanged for a golden trade route for the Fan family.

Fan Zhengshi, who calmed down, smiled at the guards, and rushed to Xiao Liuzi with fast steps, and under Xiao Liuzi's calm gaze, he blurted out with a staring eyeball, "What about my share, did you hide it?" ”

Immediately, Xiao Liuzi's face changed.