At the foot of Gujiacun Mountain, the flow of people along the mountain road in the light of a fire until dawn the next day, it was able to pass the ruins and wasteland outside the gravel fort and rush to the south bank of the Xilong River.

On a dozen or so carriages and ox carts, there were old and young women and children from Gujia Village, and the men were basically walking on their feet, and the horses they had captured were strapped with large bundles on their backs, and they were sandwiched in the procession slowly.

The six of them changed into the official robes of the errand officer and the brocade guard, and walked at the front of the team first, the blood stains and tears on the clothes on their bodies, if they were not too close, generally looked not abnormal.

The time has reached the seventh day of the first month, and on the road from the gravel fort to the horse road checkpoint, there are basically no pedestrians, even the old Yangkou stone fort, but there are only a few figures swaying on the castle wall, and it is the sergeant who is holding the sentry watching from afar.

Because of Zhang Zhong's transfer, the tax collectors got the holiday, and no one blocked the road to collect taxes in the imperial store on the fork in the road outside Laoyangkou, as well as the official store under Shiguan Tunshan; The big guy has been busy for a year, and he goes home to rest in the New Year's Eve and is reasonable, even the government will not handle official business before the 15th.

The two mill districts on the west side of the avenue were also silent in the whirring cold wind, and in the mills that did not increase their wages during the New Year, the hired workers would not be in a hurry to return to work, and the three major merchants did not seem to be in a hurry to stock up on yellow plaster.

Scarcity is expensive, they are farther than Wang Dali and their craftsmen, even Xiao Ye didn't think of the routine of cutting out goods and raising prices, and the merchants played skillfully and smoothly.

Except for Zhang Zichang and Hu Shibiao on the stone mountain, they silently looked at the team going to Madao Stone Fort from the telescope, and no one cared about where these disheveled medicine farmers came from and where they went.

Zhang Zichang, who was already a second-order sergeant, received a letter from Wang Ziliang a few days ago, and went down the mountain early, and quietly beat the two stubborn Jinyi guards in the dense forest in the east to bury them.

For this reason, he received two stings of vine grass on his legs, and lay asleep beside the two corpses for half an hour; Although it has a powerful potion, when it encounters the stinger of the vine grass, it only reduces the time of sleep, and the number of times it is pierced is more, and the few shriveled corpses in the depths of the dense forest are Zhang Zichang's example.

The letter sent from Shiguantun to Madao Stone Fort was very fast, and before the time of tea, the people in Madao Shibao knew that a large group of people were coming, and it was the knife that changed the official robe to take the lead.

Wang Dali and Wang Ziliang took people to the horse road checkpoint, and Wang Meng commanded the sergeants to set up cowhide tents in the open space north of the stone fort, and even dozens of charcoal braziers were lit; More than a dozen men in the room began to boil porridge and chop sauerkraut and make meat pies again.

And Xiao Ye was sitting in the hundred households, looking at the kneeling sergeant on the ground, his face full of helplessness; The sudden increase in sergeants also brought a lot of hidden dangers to the originally stable team.

This sergeant kneeling on the ground, with a beard on his face and a strong physique, but it was the second time that the fire/gun in his hand had gone off, and this time not only wounded the commander, but the herald who passed by to summon the military order was also knocked down by the lead and rushed to the infirmary.

"Pull it out, thirty sticks as usual, and double it next time," Xiao Ye, who scratched his head, stared at the sergeant on the ground for a long time, waved his hand and said no more; The guards on the side came up, pulled up the silent sergeant on the ground, and took it out directly.

Wang Hu, who was flushed next to him, saw that the Lord of the Hundred Households was dealt with according to military discipline, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and after saluting with his crossed hands, he retreated in a panic in Xiao Ye's angry eyes; He knew that if there was a next time, he might not be able to escape the baton.

"Hehe, don't sulk in Shidao, you have transferred back a lot of Tartar sergeants from the grassland, you can naturally think of their unfamiliarity with firearms, act according to military regulations, and practice diligently," Xin Weilin, who was sitting in a wheelchair, held a large hand warmer in his hand, and Xiao Hehe persuaded him.

"Now is the cold weather, and it is also a good time to train the sergeants, and those young and strong craftsmen also have time to practice," Xin Lilin's words, Xiao Ye thought deeply, there are currently more than 2,000 sergeants in Madao Stone Fort, and this has not yet filled the establishment of Wang Meng and Wang Hu.

However, there is no place to live in the Madao Stone Fort, unless the spring continues to widen the mountainside to the north, and look around the stone fort, there can be another irregular stone fort there, and connect with the stone fort in the south, the scale is not ordinarily large, it depends on how much yellow plaster and manpower can be invested.

The stone mill in the stone fort needs a steady stream of stones, which also creates a quarry in the north outside the stone fort, which almost swallows up most of the mountainside under the reclamation of geotechnical bombs, and then expands to the north, which is a deep ditch.

Therefore, it will not be until next summer that the quarry will be moved to the east of the stone fort, which is half the way from the valley to the stone fort.

The increase in the number of Tartar sergeants in the ranks in various places quickly aroused Xin Weilin's worries, but he saw that more than a dozen chiefs and army chiefs under Wang Meng and Wang Hu, although their heads were full of pigtails, were quite quick in the execution of military orders, so he didn't say more.

Wang Meng and Wang Hu's soldiers above the rank of captain were all given priority to enjoy the potions rewarded by Xiao Ye, and without the strength of a first-order sergeant, they would not be promoted to the rank of captain.

The reason why Xiao Ye suddenly had so many potions in his hand was also the contribution of Eagle Claw Fort on the grassland, or even the credit of Lanelt in it.

Ranelte, who has a lively brain, can't stop since he had the first transaction with Huang Hanxiang, and the various goods he exchanged for made him very beautiful among the tribes of the grassland.

And with Xiao Ye's instruction, Huang Hanxiang negotiated and accepted all the cattle and sheep, minerals, well salt, medicinal materials and leather goods brought by the Tatars, and even weak slaves, and there was nothing he didn't want, but it made Lanelt feel a lot more comfortable.

Even, those rear-loading guns/guns in the transaction made Lanelt have some good feelings for the Galen tribe, at least after Aman came forward once, the price of the subsequent transaction has not changed.

So, before the cold winter came, when Ranelt went to the Hetao for the winter, he cleanly swept several small tribes, collected more than 2,000 captive slaves, and brought them to Eagle Talon Fort to trade goods.

The more than 300 Han slaves in the slaves were taken over by Wang Dali's logistics team, and the remaining Tartar slaves, Liu Shuihe, according to the letter of the hundred households, under the pretext of recuperation, let these slaves from afar, regardless of young and strong men and women, all be sent to the black house guarded by the guards.

The seemingly small black house effortlessly packed more than 1,700 people, and it was quietly digested, but it scared the thousands of households who knew the inside story well.

Even Qin Shi's team of night owls, when he left, for the first time, without the presence of a thousand households, hurriedly moved to the military house to the west of Eagle Claw Fort, even if it was not finished yet, they did not want to sleep in the military house near the black house.

Xiao Ye, who seems to be indifferent, came into contact with Wang Dali, Wang Ziliang, and Xin Weilin, no one is ruthless, he and Tartar have fought several times, and it stands to reason that it will not make his temperament become gloomy.

The reason is not clear to others, but the three women sleeping next to him may be able to guess a few points, Xiao Ye, who was occasionally awakened by a bloody nightmare, is gradually shaping his character at this moment.

"Report, the hundred households, the whole village of Gujia Village, has arrived at the Madao checkpoint, and is handing over to Qin Qianhu," the herald who was guarding the ear room hurriedly ran in and knelt down on one knee to report.

"Got it," Xiao Ye waved his hand, asked the herald to retreat, and turned his head to look at Xin Weilin, "Xiucai, drink a cup of hot tea, let's also go to the gate of the fort to see the excitement, this Qin stone, doing things is to love more and take more and occupy more, it is definitely not the idea of a knife,"

"Okay, I've seen the excitement, and the troupe is about to start the show again, just then watch the grass boat borrow arrows," Xin Weilin happily responded.

Gambling is forbidden in the stone castle, and the sergeants and craftsmen have no other place to go except to play chess and wrestle in their spare time. Therefore, the big drama every night in the past few days, everyone must watch it from the beginning to the end, this is the hottest talk of the year.

And like Go, playing the piano, writing, painting, etc., that is also a matter in the small circle of seven or eight people such as Yang Tianshou and Wang Ziliang, and they have fun together every few days, Xiao Ye generally doesn't want to join in the fun, he can't afford to lose that person.

When the people of Gujia Village came to the outside of Madao Stone Fort, the sky was almost dark, but the hand lamp in the hand of the sergeant on the fort wall and the dozen pillars of light laid down brightened the flat open space.

Gu Yanwu and Liu Yi, who were full of tiredness, sat in the carriage and bumped all the way to the outside of the stone castle, looking up at the tall castle wall in the dim light, as well as the dazzling pillar of light, and couldn't help but relax the apprehension in their hearts; No matter how enthusiastic Wang Dali's attitude is at the checkpoint, it can't compare to the steadfastness they see with their own eyes.

In the crowd of people watching the excitement at the gate of the fort, there was a tall figure standing in the middle, that figure was a head taller than others, even if Gu Yanwu's eyes were not good, he could tell that this was the leader of the crowd.

"Haha, but the patriarch of Gujia Village is in person, and the junior Ximen Xiao Ye is here to greet him," After the clear voice sounded in the crowd, the noisy sound immediately quieted down, and Xiao Ye, who strode out of the crowd, looked at the dusty convoy with a smile on his face.

In an uproar, six knives and war horses with reins stood on both sides of the mountain road, leaking Liu Yi's carriage in front of everyone.

Several people jumped off the knife of the war horse, and knelt on the ground with the reins in hand, "My lord, my subordinates have given orders,"

Xiao Ye waved his hand, ignored the two leading guys, and walked towards the carriage with a smile; When he is free, he has to clean up these two goods, and bring back these open mouths if he has nothing to do, because he thinks there is too much grain in the warehouse.

At this time, Gu Yanwu and Liu Yi had already gotten out of the carriage, calmly brushed off the dust on their bodies, and solemnly bowed to Xiao Ye, "There are more than 1,200 homeless people in Gujia Village, thank you for the grace of the hundred households of Ximen,"

Eh, the depression in this tone, I think Xiao Ye doesn't care, he is quite thick-skinned.

"Hehe, the subordinate soldiers are reckless and neglect everyone, Xiao Ye is here to make amends to you," Gu Jia Village, Xiao Ye knew about it, so he could only apologize for a few of his subordinates first, and greet them with a smile and then talk about it later.

The matter has come to this point, Gu Yanwu has something to ask for, and he can't complain about Xiao Ye anymore, so he introduced a few old men from Gujia Village to Xiao Ye along the steps, and the others were exempted.

Xiao Ye took the patriarch of Gujia Village, the old man, and Liu Yi's family to the hundred households, and the Gujia Village pharmacists who gathered in the open space one after another, looked at the dozen women in khaki short clothes and military boots in surprise, holding the roster in their hands, and began to register them by household.

Luan Fengying and Han Juan, the female sergeants, counted the number of people in an orderly manner, distributed tents, and allocated bedding according to the population of each family. This scene made the pharmacists forget the bright pillar of light above their heads for a while, and they were amazed.

Especially those girls and girls in Gujia Village, their tired eyes can shine from time to time.

The medicine farmers were taken to the designated tents, and a sergeant had already followed them with plates, and a large bowl of thick porridge, meat cakes, and pickles were enough, but these medicine farmers who had been running around for a day and a night couldn't take care of it anymore.

Hundred households, two large tables have been placed in the hall, on which the best Fenjiu is placed, Xiao Ye beckoned everyone to sit down, and there are guards who serve a large pot of meat and vegetables like flowing water, and the wheat rice is rising.

"Come on, let's eat first, and then discuss when you're full," After giving everyone in Gujia Village a glass of wine, he picked up his chopsticks, and Xiao Ye began to eat; Seeing that the master was like this, Gu Yanwu, who was already hungry, nodded with a chuckle, picked up the chopsticks, and ate with a large gulp.

For a while, everyone buried their heads in eating, and the sound of chopsticks and chewing remained in the hall.

After eating and drinking, the guards removed the dishes, and Xiao Ye picked up the teacup and drank the sour tea.

As the patriarch, Gu Yanwu knew that Xiao Ye had something to say, so he picked up the teacup, frowned and took a sip, and then put it down.

"This tea is fried by the craftsmen under this official, it is shoddy but refreshing, since my Madao Stone Fort welcomes the relocation of Gujia Village, I will not treat you as guests," Xiao Ye glanced at Gu Yanwu and said softly.

But most of these people in Gujia Village he looked at just now were thin and weak, and he really didn't find much of the strong ones, which made Xiao Ye worried, you know, there was no example of raising idlers in the stone castle, and he Xiao Ye didn't dare to start.

"Lord Xie takes care of it," Gu Yanwu bowed his hand slightly, "Madao Stone Castle has a reputation, and it treats merchants equally, I have already heard of it in Gujia Village, so I must not be worried about the snub of adults,"

"But my Gujia Village has been cultivating medicinal herbs for a living since my ancestors, here, if there is a place to settle us here, we won't drag down the adults,"

Gu Yanwu's words made Xiao Ye's heart move, but he just smiled and didn't say much, what was lacking in the mill was labor, but these people would spend half a year on the back, which really hurt him.

"There are seventeen or eighteen people in Gujia Village who know how to use medicine, Liu Yi will not say it, he is the shopkeeper of Renhetang in Gansu Town, his wife Gu is a good midwife, and the official eunuchs in Gansu Town are all invited with generous courtesy,"

Seeing Xiao Ye's disapproving appearance, Gu Yanwu added a little fire, if Xiao Ye sent the people from Gujia Village to the mill, he would be nagged by the clansmen all day long.

The mills in the hands of the three major merchants were all opened from Xiao Ye's hands, and Gu Yanwu had already heard the rumors, the leader of a clan, not only worried about eating and dressing, but also about the situation outside.

Otherwise, Qin Shishi's mouth would not be able to impress Gu Yanwu regardless of whether he was nuclear.

Naturally, Gu Yanwu's words made Xiao Ye's eyes light up, and he was about to speak, when Sun Xiaoming ran in from outside, walked quickly in front of Xiao Ye, bowed and said, "My lord, Li Langzhong sent someone over, the lead on the waist of the herald Xiao Zhao is too deep to be taken out,"

"Hmm," Xiao Ye frowned, and his eyes looked at Liu Yi at the side table.

Sun Xiaoming's voice was not small, Liu Yi naturally heard it, so he got up, "Ximen Baihu, how about the old man go and see?" ”

"Okay, okay, Doctor Liu is tired, don't hurry up and lead the way," Xiao Ye said with a smile in the first half of the sentence, and reprimanded Sun Xiaoming in a low voice.

Liu Yi took the medicine box he carried, ordered two clansmen as assistants, and followed Sun Xiaoming out, Xiao Ye turned his face to look at Gu Yanwu, got up and respectfully bowed his hand, "I don't know what Patriarch Gu wants, although he said it clearly,"

If nothing else, if Liu Yi can save the herald, it is against him alone, Xiao Ye will be willing to spend grain and grass to feed these people in Gujia Village, not to mention, there is always a place for people to be useful.

"The people of Gujia Village want to live together, as long as there is a flat place, a water source, and we have medicinal herb seeds, we can feed ourselves," Gu Yanwu's stubbornness, not the usual intensity, still made this request.

Xiao Ye smiled bitterly and was about to explain, when suddenly his face turned straight, he touched his wrist and groaned for a moment, and then smiled; This is the information he has gotten, and it is too timely.

A stone mill suddenly came with a message, and in the civilian catalog, another C stone mill was added, which can be taken out at any time.

It seems that the ore in Shuangta Lake has a great origin, and if you don't occupy it, you must continue to maintain a trade with the Tartars.

Xiao Ye, whose eyes flickered, after drinking the tea in one gulp, stared at Gu Yanwu with burning eyes, Madao Stone Fort can't accommodate so many people, so it will be a new castle.

"Patriarch Gu, because my subordinates are tired, and your whole clan is tired to flee from your hometown, Shi Dao is uneasy,"

"Gujia Village is gone, and the official will give you a Gujia Fort," Xiao Ye, who was in a good mood, couldn't help but laugh when he thought about the large grassland west of Eagle Claw Fort; With Gujiabao, the pack team that delivered ore from Bailong Lake would be able to walk fifty miles less.

"This official has decided to build a stone fort west of Eagle Claw Fort after the beginning of spring, and named it Gujiabao," Xiao Ye took out a map, spread it out and pointed to the grassland above, and said to Gu Yanwu, "There you want to reclaim the medicinal field, the official agrees, open as much as you want, and the official buys all the medicinal materials,"

However, Gu Yanwu looked at the map, and his face suddenly darkened, "My lord, that is the territory of the Tartars,"

"That is the pasture of the Galen tribe, and this official is the big leader of the Galen tribe," Xiao Ye touched his chin with a smile, feeling a little proud.

"There is no water source within a hundred miles," Gu Yanwu was very uneasy about Xiao Ye's generosity; The whole clan can escape here, he has already believed in his fate, but what he can fight, he still has to fight for the clansmen.

"Come, follow the official," Xiao Ye didn't argue, pulled Gu Yanwu to the backyard flower door, pointed to a water umbrella against the wall, and the thick wooden barrel under the umbrella, "Water source, the official will solve it for you,"

Even if he takes the box cannon half a month late, he has to send enough water umbrellas to Gujiacun, oh, no, it is Gujiabao who will send enough water umbrellas, and there will be a team of 100 people stationed there to defend it.

Under the illumination of the guard's hand lamp, Gu Yanwu walked to the umbrella in surprise, looked at it carefully for a while, reached out to take some cold clean water, and after a long time, he reluctantly withdrew his gaze; At this moment, this young Baihu is no longer a stunned boy in his eyes.

Gu Jiabao, a stone castle belonging to the Gu family, he couldn't think of it before, but now he has eyebrows, and the sudden joy makes Gu Yanwu feel like he is in a dream.

Gujiabao will have sergeants to participate in the defense, and the risk is a little greater on the grassland, but the endless grassland, although it is cold and infiltrating in winter, is not better than Gujia Village, which is surrounded by mountains and ravines; The most important thing is that the problem of water is gone, and the rest is to buy on credit.

As for the official mansion, this is already the land of the Mongolian Tatars, and it is beyond the reach of the official mansion.

Knock knock, outside the courtyard wall, there were bursts of drum music, the theater troupe in the Land Temple was about to start, and in the backyard of the hundred households, there was not a single female dependent, and there were only a few guards left.

"Okay, I'll discuss something tomorrow, there is a big drama tonight, the grass boat borrows arrows, it's not fun to watch it once," Xiao Ye, who was full of interest, beckoned everyone out of the hundred households, and went to the stage with a hug.

At this time, Xiao Ye already had the intention of leaving that troupe.