Looking up, Li Xunwu saw that the Hou Ye nodded slightly, so he snapped the account book, got up and stood in front of the map, coughed at these merchants, and then, the already low voice in the living room fell silent.

"Everyone, Lord Hou has now given everyone a chance to make a fortune together," pointing to the five black dots on the map, Li Xunwu said indifferently, he is a talent, and he doesn't look down on these merchants, so how can he say stage fright.

"Now the small stone castle is under construction, after you buy it, you can name it yourself, there is a stone mill in the mill, a Kunzi stone mill, you can produce yellow plaster, but it is best to use the specified mineral materials, otherwise you will bear the consequences,"

"There are proven ore veins outside the small stone fort, and the rich and poor are different, and the reserve price of the stone fort is naturally different,"

"If there is a similar auction in the future, the Hou Yefu will not build the stone fort on behalf of you, you can negotiate the price and labor cost with the logistics team,"

Li Xunwu's words were simple and clear, especially the last sentence, which caused everyone's faces to change several times, and their eyes glared out; Even Jin Baoliang, who seemed to have an in-law with Hou Ye, was stunned, and the little sister didn't breathe him when he said this.

Everyone came here, not so much to buy the stone castle, but to buy the mill, the stone mill thing turned into an old hen that lays golden eggs, although it is not easy to move the place, but the income is not ambiguous at all.

"Okay, now you can bid for the first stone fort, one hundred and ninety miles away from Gujiabao, there is iron ore nearly three miles to the left, the starting price is 10,000 taels, and the price is increased by 1,000 taels each time," Li Xunwu spread out the pen and paper and said in a clear voice.

To say that this auction does not allow those merchants with light money to come in, the reserve price of this 10,000 taels is not something that ordinary merchants can afford, and there are follow-up manpower, food supplies, and the food and salary of the 100 sergeants, Xiao Ye is only willing to bear half of it.

"Twenty thousand taels," Li Xunwu's voice landed, and the impatient shopkeeper of the Fan family shouted loudly with his neck tilted, raising the price by a large margin.

"Twenty-five thousand taels,"

"Thirty-one thousand taels," ......

"Eighty thousand taels," when the shopkeeper of the Wang family gritted his teeth and shouted out the price fiercely, the other five shopkeepers closed their mouths, and there were four stone castles below, so they were not in a hurry.

"The second stone fort, there is iron ore in the left nearly five miles, the ore material is barren, the reserve price starts at 9,000 taels, and the price is increased by 1,000 taels each time," Li Xunwu's unhurried voice once again caused a round of lively bargaining in the living room.

The five stone castles were finally auctioned at a price of 530,000 taels, but Xiao Yeyu was so shocked that his mouth opened wide, and after a while, he lowered his head and sipped hot tea, scolding again and again in his heart.

Jin Baoliang bought the nearest stone fort to Yewolfgou at a price of 110,000 yuan, although it was thirty miles away from the salt mine, he could still listen to Sanniang's explanation.

Jin Baoliang's triumphant expression, Jin Sanniang saw it in his eyes, his slender eyelashes moved slightly, and the corner of his eyes drifted to Xiao Ye beside him. 110,000 taels of silver, she ran down a year ago, and what she earned was nothing more than that, but she was also considered to be at the top of the family.

"Okay, the auction of the stone castle is over," Li Xunwu put down the brush and looked at these anxious merchants, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, "Finally, I warn you, there is already a rattan grass there, be careful not to be hurt by the poisonous stinger, oh, the vine grass fruit Shi family shop is open for purchase,"

The five stone forts that are still under construction have been exchanged for a large amount of food and materials, so that Wang Guile can't keep his mouth shut, and the monthly food and salary in the account room and warehouse are not ordinarily large.

In the summer season of May 5th, the Shijia shop once again opened the business of auctioning the stone castle, this time Xiao Ye was more simply, starting from Gujiabao and extending along the northeast line to the upper reaches of the Selenge River, which was still excitedly snatched up by the merchants.

If all these ten small stone forts were built, Dudin's barracks would basically be sent out.

The young men of the ten hundred-person teams in the logistics team will also take their families to live in the stone forts, but they just leave their children in the school.

1514 is a very ordinary year for the Ming Dynasty, the biggest chronicle, nothing more than the young emperor playing the tiger and hurting himself, under the pretext of being lazy, Datong with border soldiers spent the year safely, the eunuch was sent to welcome the living Buddha and so on.

In this year, Ximen Wangfu swallowed the Tile Thorn tribe, and completely recovered the vast grassland with 80,000 iron cavalry, and swept down the boundless forests and mountains, bringing 60,000 captives to Xiao Ye.

Among these captives, there were a lot of big-nosed barbarians, as well as bald-headed wild female reals, and Xiao Ye sent them all to the "little black house" and turned them into precious pill raw materials.

A large number of homeless people from Qingfeng Valley, this time Wang Dali's logistics team, did not catch much, most of the homeless people were cleverly recruited by the merchants to Xiaoshibao, where the hundreds of young people could not satisfy the merchants' desire for yellow plaster.

Even if the distance is too far, the yellow stucco will be purchased on the spot by the Hou Yefu, exchanged for Persian goods, and pulled away by transport vehicles; It's just that in terms of price, the merchants hate Li Xunwu so much.

The two fort walls outside the Ximen Stone Fort have been built, the military households and artisan households have lived in their own courtyards, the number of shops, wine shops, and restaurants has increased day by day, and the flow of people on the street has been continuous all day long; The attached stone forts on both sides of the stone fort were also built, and the sword slashing battalion was stationed in the west, and the Shenche battalion was stationed in the east.

There is Wang Meng's battle camp in the stone fort, Wang Hu's battle camp in Gujiabao, Qin Shi's night owl flag team, and the Eagle Claw Fort echoes from afar, and the defense of Ximen Stone Fort has reached the extreme.

Aman led the Galen war camp and escorted the tribe to the meadows in the middle reaches of the Zabkhan River, where there were small stone forts nearby, and they could take care of each other.

The Spring Festival is here, there are a series of rugby games in Ximen Stone Castle, the troupe rotates in various stone castles, and Xiao Ye's three children are also one year older.

In the summer of 1515, when the sun was in full bloom in the sky, "hum," the Shenche battalion on the east side of Ximen Stone Fort drove a black transport car, and a proud Tartar soldier in the car drove this car with a huge cargo capacity with a smile, and drove to the depths of the grassland due north; Behind the transport, followed by an elephant personnel carrier, it drove away at a rapid pace.

"I said Brother Yu, let two more people drive away, your god car camp is about to be emptied," Yu Shan, who was standing at the gate of the camp, looked at the car in the distance, and was sighing with emotion, exhale, a rat-like chariot flashed by, and Miao Biwu inside shouted loudly.

Without waiting for Yu Shan to reply, the rat chariot had already crossed the front and sped towards Eagle Talon Fort.

"This kid, I'm not afraid of being hit when I drive so fast," Yu Shan muttered, leading the two centurions with unconcerned faces, and turned back to the barracks.

Walking into the barracks, looking at the spacious open space, the faces of the three of them quickly improved, if nothing else, there were ten brand-new elephant troop carriers parked in the open space, which had just been transferred from the Hou Ye's mansion last night, and the bodies were sprayed with eye-catching sword and shield insignia.

With enough resources, Xiao Ye equipped the guards with elephant troop carriers at the rate of one car per month, but for some reason, except for Hou Ye's car and two rat chariots, all the others were suddenly thrown to Yu Shan, but he was so happy that he didn't sleep well all night.

Ten elephant troop carriers and three transport vehicles are all his belongings, and they are also the strongest vehicles in the Divine Car Battalion.

The stone fort of the Hou Ye's Mansion, in the open space under the big slope of the fort, there is a huge black thing parked, which looks longer than the elephant troop carrier, and on both sides of the outer wall of the body, each has a short arc-shaped wings.

Xiao Ye, surrounded by a kind of guard officer, was looking around this strange-looking guy, everyone let out a burst of exclamation from time to time, and Xiao Ye's eyes were full of light.

The duck chariot had only been driven back the night before, and the head of this chariot was broken like a duck's head, that is, a dent had been knocked out of the iron nose at the front.

"My lord, my subordinate drove faster that night and accidentally hit the tree," seeing Hou Ye's gaze, staring at the front of the car, Li Shuo on the side, his face flushed and explained.

"Well, are you familiar with it?" Xiao Ye nodded and asked in a condensed voice, although he had watched the demonstration in the picture several times, he had just rushed back this morning and had not yet walked in to feel it.

"It's familiar," Li Shuo stood up straight, "Master Qiqi, this car, well, what's it called,"

"Duck chariot," Xue Zilong next to him reminded in a low voice.

"Yes, the canard chariot," Li Shuo hurriedly said, "It can reach a maximum of more than one zhang above the ground, and its speed is far higher than that of other chariots, and there are two machine guns on the car, which can carry fifteen soldiers, and sixteen in the car/firing port,"

"However, Master Hou, the battery rod used by this big guy is paying too fast," Li Shuo said with a smile for this little complaint, he quite liked this rugged and sturdy iron car at first glance.

"Alright, let's drive out and try," Xiao Ye stared at the badge on the body, and turned to the elephant chariot not far away; "Okay, the battery rod that has just been replaced," Li Shuo and Xue Zilong led a team of guards into the new chariot.

Before more mills were put into use, now he could only bring out one cart per month in the processing center, as well as a small number of firearms, and even civilian supplies had to be reduced, which made Xiao Ye attach great importance to the effect of the canard chariot. Like that kind of assault vehicle that does not live up to its name, he will not pay attention to it for the time being.

"Hum," the canard chariot shook slightly, slowly drove off the ground, and in the exclamation of the guards watching around, it rose directly to a height of one foot above the ground, and rushed out along the big slope.

In the elephant chariot following behind, Xiao Ye sat next to the guard who was driving, laughed and cursed, and ignored it anymore; The guards who drove the car started without hurrying, skillfully turning the steering wheel, and the chariot lightly raised a U-turn and drove up the slope.

Outside the stone fort of Ximen, two caravans that had converged together, forming a team of twenty carts, hurried along the avenue, and before they could enter the fort gate, a sergeant rode a cart over, blocked the avenue, and gestured from a distance, signaling the caravan to stop advancing.

In the convoy, a newcomer asked curiously, "Uncle Zhang, why don't you let us go, do you want to collect the fort tax?"

The bearded man who drove the car dropped his long whip, leaned on the grain stack, smiled and took out the long cigarette stick, and said while filling the pipe with tobacco leaves, "It's okay, there is no tax here yet, it is estimated that the Hou Ye's guards are coming out, but they are driving a big iron ox, the big guy has no wheels at all, and the car is not touching the ground, which is your good luck,"

"Yes," the man said, and hurriedly climbed into the wagon, and stood at the top with round eyes, staring at the empty gate, and constantly looking at the black-clad sergeant out of the corner of his eye.

In the convoy, there were several strong men with unusual expressions, who also raised their heads in the crowd, looking at the black-clothed sergeant in the distance with complicated expressions.

"Well, we are small merchants, and we are not as relevant as big merchants, otherwise we will be able to see them closely," in the chatter of the coachman, the man saw the castle gate, and a big black guy burst out of the castle gate, the front of the car was a little flattened, but the back was a long square body, and there was really no half a wheel underneath, like a clumsy legless duck, with a pair of short wings.

After the big creature opened the gate, which was less than a foot above the ground, it slowly began to rise and rise in front of him, until the man raised his neck and grew his mouth, and then he increased his speed in the air, and rushed into the wilderness covered with vines and grass.

"Hey, this is the first time I've seen this big iron car, it should be that the Hou Ye has Persian goods again," just as the coachman was amazed, another black iron car drove out of the fort gate in a low levitation, and stopped in an open space.

More than a dozen black-clothed soldiers walked out of the car, surrounded by a tall young man, looking at the speeding car speeding in circles above the vine grass, and some people took out long binoculars and looked at the posture of the car seriously.

"Good guy, Xiao Liu, you are really lucky, Nuo," the coachman Lao Zhang pointed to the group of people in black, "It should be that Master Hou has come out, and they are all looking at the new car,"

"So far away, can you see clearly?" muttering a sentence in his mouth, the guy named Xiao Liu, his big thick hand pressed on his waist, and a trace of regret flashed in his eyes, this is really too far away, almost six hundred paces apart, no matter how good the fire/gun can not hit that far.

If only there were cannons.

"Okay, okay, it's time to go," at this time, the steward of the convoy, after seeing the sergeant make a gesture that he could go, hurriedly shouted loudly, "When you get to the fort gate, whoever has firearms and crossbows in their hands, just report to the military master, and remember not to make trouble in the fort, otherwise you will bear the consequences,"

Seeing the canard chariot shuttling through the air with his own eyes, Xiao Ye only then understood the reason why Li Shuo had an accident in the mountains at night, such a fast speed, if he was not careful, he was afraid that he would crash into it.

"My lord, the messenger in the car under Commander Li has sent a letter, the car has run fifty miles, and the battery rod is half used," the herald standing beside Xiao Ye received the letter in the car after a stick of incense.

It ran the same distance as the elephant troop carrier, but Xiao Ye was very happy about this posture, "Say hello to Li Shuo, let the others change the car, everyone should be familiar with it, don't just run around by yourself,"

Riding back to the Hou Ye's Mansion, in the living room in the front yard, there were already two groups of people waiting.

Ximen Wangfu's henchmen not only sent Xiao Ye a cart of good mink, but also a secret letter, which Xiao Ye knew without reading it that this ambitious guy wanted to attack Yili Bari.

After all, the addicted steppe Jinong was picked up by himself, and he couldn't stop it, so the time for the Kazakhs to be unlucky has come.

At the end of last year, the sergeant competition again, so that the number of soldiers in the 800 guards has increased to 900, and all of them have taken three rounds of middle-level powerful pills, plus the consumption in the medical hall, the detoxification pill used by the craftsmen of the logistics team to treat poisoning, and the main raw materials of the pill are not enough.

"Tell your family Jinong, send troops to Yili Bari this winter, and Benhou will send troops to help," After muttering for a while, Xiao Ye made up his mind that only by opening up the main road to the west can he have a greater harvest.

"Xie Hou Ye," got the pocket watch rewarded by Hou Ye, Ximen Wangfu's henchman went out happily, he brought a transport car this time, and he had to buy it in the stone castle.

Turning his face and looking at the two brothers Chihegu and Chehemu sitting on the side, Xiao Ye smiled, "Shout, what day is this, why did you two come here?"

"Master Hou," the brothers Qihegu and Qihemu hurriedly got up, bowed and stood in front of Xiao Ye, their waists bent and bent, with a kind smile on their faces, "My brother came this time to ask for some benefits from Hou Ye, and hope that Hou Ye will be successful,"

"Oh, let's say it," Xiao Ye frowned, and said indifferently, he wanted to pick up a bargain from the account room, and now no one can survive the month after the reconciliation, even if he runs to Gansu Town, he has to die at home, he doesn't mind being taken advantage of, but the people below are sharp-eyed.

"Master Hou, I, the West Chihe tribe, are still living in yurts and tents, and my subordinates want the logistics team to build a stone fort under the mountain south of Bailong Lake, a larger one," Chehe said in a deep voice.

"Naturally, the cost of building the stone fort can be exchanged for the fire oil of my tribe, and the mill," said this, and Chehegu paused, looking at Xiao Ye with a blank eye. After swallowing the fierce fire oil stone mill, there will be no yellow plaster, but Bailonghu is on his side.

What he meant, Xiao Ye heard it clearly, the wealth is moving, the news of the two auctions, Qi Hegu was not surprised when he heard it, and he was not moved to surprise Xiao Ye.

"Your department is an ally of Benhou, so naturally you have to take care of it," Xiao Ye rubbed the short beard on his chin, nodded in response, took a pen and wrote a note, and stamped it with a private seal.

"Take it to Li Xunwu, he will arrange this," Seeing that the Hou Ye was so happy, the brothers Che Hegu and Che Hegu happily knelt down and thanked him, and went down happily.

It's all for himself to work secretly, and if Xiao Ye is not happy, he is looking for trouble.

But what Xiao Ye didn't expect was that Qi Hemu, a big mouth, shouted in the Shi family's shop, which immediately provoked Jin Sanniang's oppression of him, and the madness of the night and Xiaomei's help, Xiao Ye couldn't bear it.

"I'm your concubine, he can go through the back door in Xiqihe, and I want it too," tossed Xiao Ye until dawn, Jin Sanniang confided her dissatisfaction, "You want to run back to the Hou Ye's Mansion, okay, Xiuxiu is still waiting for you,"

"Yes, yes, it's not easy for them to give me a small stone castle," Xiao Ye smiled bitterly and lay on the kang, casually touching Sanniang's flat and smooth lower abdomen, "Aren't you?" ”

"Don't say it, don't say it," Sanniang, who had a delicate red face, was about to climb on Xiao Ye's body again, and immediately let Xiao Ye collapse.

"Cheng, I'll give you a private money first, and then I'll go to auction and buy it,"

Under the flower shed in the yard, enjoying the sunshine of early summer, and resting all morning, Xiao Ye recruited Wang Dali.

On the map, there is a black line stretching through the Gobi Mountains to the southern foot of the Yin Mountain, marked with four small black dots, and there is no water source in sight along the way.

However, the small black dot closest to the east, less than fifty miles from the Yellow River, was formerly the winter pasture of Jinong, and now belonged to Xiao Ye's rule.

Even if Xiao Ye did not send a single soldier there, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty would not easily go out of the border wall, cross the desert for two hundred miles, and reach the Hetao area with abundant water and grass; There, in the past, was the jurisdiction of the Daming Dynasty, but now there are patches of vines and grasses everywhere.

No wonder Ximen Wangfu wants to move his family westward, and he can't go if he doesn't leave.

"The veins have been explored here, and they are of little value, but four mill stone forts must be built this year, for the four ladies,"

Xiao Ye's words made Wang Dali very strange, "My lord, why don't you look for the location of the four rich mines, but here?" "The old man who followed Xiao Ye still calls Lord Xiao Ye in private, and then he has to call Master Hou for further deployment.

"There are a large area of vine grass there, even if you pick the fruit once, it is enough for these stone castles to live, isn't it still possible to produce some yellow plaster," smiled faintly, Xiao Ye continued.

"These four stone forts are not large, but the fort walls must be strong, there are two hundred garrisons in them, and the logistics team will send people to do a month's work at the end of summer," It turned out that these four stone forts were small fortresses in Xiao Ye's hands, and Wang Dali understood.

"Of course, the Jin family and the Tian family, hire helpers to work in the mill, we don't have to worry about it, just strictly prevent random entry and exit,"

Thinking about the people in his hand, Wang Dali and Xiao Ye discussed for a long time, and then took the simple map and left.

Picking up the teapot and pouring tea into his cup, Xiao Ye leaned on the bamboo chair and said without looking back, "Come out, don't be tired standing there, come over and hammer your husband's shoulders,"

At the corner of the stone house outside the flower shed, Tian Xiuxiu, who was wearing a yellow long dress, walked out with the maid, and Shi Shiran came to Xiao Ye; The two female guards who followed were hiding in the shade under the noses of several of the guards.

Looking at Xiuxiu with a gloomy face, Xiao Ye waved her hand and didn't let her speak, "A hundred miles west of Yinshan Mountain, on the Gobi desert, Shang Shetian found a copper mine, the grade is good, and it is only three zhang buried underground, if the news is leaked, the Ming Dynasty government will not give up,"

The low voice and Xiao Ye's solemn expression made Tian Xiuxiu realize the seriousness of the problem, and the little dissatisfaction in her heart suddenly dissipated, and she looked at Xiao Ye worriedly, "Husband, then let's not go to mining, I don't know,"

Fighting against the huge Da Ming, Tian Xiuxiu can think of the ending of the fish dying and the net being broken, which she does not want to see, compared with fighting for the interests of the family, she knows the severity.

Or maybe it's the girls who are outward.

"No, I have my own way," Xiao Ye squinted at the eastern sky, "Among the four stone forts, there will be a larger one, and the mining site is enclosed in the stone wall, and every year the four of you will rely on this fort, and the account office will give one thousand taels of gold, which is your private money,"

"This stone fort, the name falls in Mei'er's name, you just know it, after it is built, the guards will send people to help garrison there, and the mill will be managed by a special person,"

With the instructions issued by the official office, the huge logistics team set out according to the distribution of 100 people, drove to the designated place, set up a tent mill, excavated the foundation, made stucco and stones, and stepped up the construction of stone forts in various places.

The Wang Hu war battalion packed up and boarded the transport convoy in batches, and transferred the station in the direction of Yinshan, where they would be stationed north of the Hetao for a long time; Qin Shishi's Night Owl Banner Team officially took over the defense of Gujiabao.