Regarding Wang Ziliang's suggestion, Xiao Ye thought about it for two days, but reluctantly agreed; If nothing else, the number of heralds is too short, just to be literate can hold most of the family guards, and those who know a little bit of braille, he is not enough now.

There was no way, so I could only go to Yang Tianshou again and again, under the banner of visiting my sister in the private school, and after seeing those dozen or so girls who were literate and literate, Xiao Ye had an idea; After pondering it, he decided to go and talk to Han Juan first.

The sun was shining warm at noon, and in the hundred households, Xiao Ye sat on the edge of the kang, holding a paper fan, and slowly fanned the wind for the two wives and concubines sitting at the kang table; At noon, the room was a little stuffy.

And Han Juan, who was called back very rarely, leaned on the quilt under the kang wall, and the melon seeds and dates in the small basket next to her were pinched and eaten quietly one by one; Han Juan watched with envy the two sisters-in-law crackling and calculating, her eyes rolling slightly, and she didn't know what her idea was.

called Han Juan back, on the one hand, Xiao Ye wanted her to feel Mei'er's hard work, and on the other hand, she wanted Han Juan to pick a leader, and responded to Wang Ziliang's recruitment to be a herald in the communication team, specifically responsible for sending and receiving letters in the staff room.

Although Xiao Liuzi went to the night owl guard, as long as he had the opportunity, he stayed with Han Juan from time to time to laugh, Xiao Ye saw it in his eyes, although he didn't have too many portal concepts, but he still didn't think it was a good thing for the two to be together.

The chances of meeting the Tartars under his own guards are too great, and now he is being targeted by Zhang Zhong again, who can guarantee that he will be able to get out again and again? Even Zuo Shi almost died on the grassland after breaking, thinking about Xiao Ye is a cold sweat.

However, in the end, whether Han Juan is willing to be with Xiao Liuzi, Xiao Ye doesn't want to force it, the children of military households, as long as they can meet their eyes, he will try to help them in the back.

Life and death are fate, can grasp today's day, plan for tomorrow, Xiao Ye can't be too demanding.

Fortunately, in the past month or so, he has made up for the fire/guns and other weapons that were snatched by Zhang Zhong, at least the two hundred-man teams in Madao Stone Fort, the guards have all been equipped with rear-loading guns/guns, and the projectiles are enough to fight a defensive battle.

Now in Bailonghu and the Galen tribe, there is also Huang Hanxiang's team of 50 people, and the rear loading fire/gun can only ensure half of the allocation, and half of the people can only rely on crossbows, revolver fire/guns, and scimitars to charge into battle.

When Qin Shi and the others returned from the Haixi people, with a large amount of copper supplements, perhaps the rear loading of fire/guns would be able to meet the needs of the guards.

Don't look at the calm in Gansu Town now, as long as Zhang Zhong has the idea of the Persian trade route, this horse road stone fort will never be peaceful, thinking of this, Xiao Ye slapped his thigh hatefully, and then saw three women, looking at himself with wide eyes, and smiled embarrassedly.

"Come, Han Juan, it's been a long time since I've heard you recite the Analects, give me a paragraph, see if you have forgotten," Xiao Ye continued to wave the fan, and with a grinning appearance, Han Juan retracted the legs that stretched out.

Which is this to endorse, it is just a little song, Han Juan rolled her eyes, pouted, and turned her head to ignore the eldest brother.

"Oh, that's right," seeing that the little sister ignored herself, Xiao Ye scratched her hair helplessly, "What do you think of your current reading ability, compared to Duan Damin?" Who's better,"

"Just him, he can't even memorize the three-character scripture, and he is beaten by Mr. all day long with a ring ruler and punished for standing, which is stupid," Thinking about Duan Damin's performance in the private school a year ago, Han Juan was very disdainful, and she is now learning history with her husband.

"Huh?" When Xiao Ye heard this, his ears were directly pricked up, "There are many people who are stronger than him?" No, he's pretty clever,"

"It's not much, half of the people in the private school are all let you be accepted into the flag team, what kind of herald, Mr. is very unhappy, most of the rest are girls, he wants us, oh, no, it's them who go to the township test,"

The township test is unattainable for Xiao Ye and these military households, but Yang Tianshou can be so sure, which shows that he is still very confident in his teaching; It's just that Xiao Ye can't take care of any township tests now, that thing is a very distant thing.

"Then you dozen girls, you have learned so much, it's not very useful," Xiao Ye nodded with satisfaction, now it's okay, Wang Ziliang's manpower is enough for a while.

"You, you're messing around with your sister, as for that," Mei'er shifted her gaze from the account and glanced at Xiao Ye, "It's all your own family, just say what you want, and talk about it,"

Together, some of the people in the room could see Xiao Ye's mind clearly, and even Lena was secretly smiling.

"Yes, yes, my own family, I won't spare the circle," Xiao Ye replied without blushing, and glanced at Hanjuan very indifferently, this girl, her mouth has never been idle.

"That's the case, there are more military households in our fort now, some people only have girls in their families, and some of the men in the family died outside, as their hundred households, I owe them," this sentence, Xiao Ye said with sincerity, thinking of those military men who were gone, his heart was wrenched uncomfortably.

Perhaps, in the future, there will be more and more military households who have lost their children at home, but this is the fate of military households, Xiao Ye can only try to find a way to make their lives better.

"Those who have studied in the private school, this officer, well, I want to summon a few into the staff room, as the herald in the fort, the kind that does not need to go out of the fort for military affairs, and the salary is comparable to that of the sergeant, that is, the current guard,"

His words were not loud, but the three women sitting on the kang, as well as the female guards guarding outside, were already red from the corners of their eyes, and Xiao Ye could think of those military households, which was really unexpected by them.

The family guards who died in the war, Xiao Ye has already taken out a large amount of pensions, and now he can think about their families, and in the Shi family's shop that is about to reopen, the work is all those disabled sergeants, what he can do, everyone sees it.

Otherwise, the banner officer under his command ordered to move overnight, two tunbao, how could those military households be obedient, the military households knew that the hundred households would not treat them badly, so they were willing to leave their new homes and run on the rugged mountain roads.

Luan Fengying's female guards, that is a special situation, but now Xiao Ye is willing to risk violating customs and recruiting female heralds, which is unprecedented in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Big brother, what you said is true?" Dropping the melon seeds in her hand, Han Juan asked softly, seeing that Xiao Ye nodded affirmatively, her delicate face bloomed with joy, and she clapped her hands and jumped up, "Okay, Han Nini's family is good, their family has to sigh all day long, but no one earns food, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat enough in the future,"

Hanjuan, who was happy, jumped off the kang and hurriedly put on embroidered shoes, "Thank you, big brother, I will also be a herald," Before the voice fell, the person had already run out of the room.

Speaking of Han Nini's family, Xiao Ye didn't feel good in his heart, the painter Han Fengshan's two sons, one was the first batch of sergeants, and the other also entered Xiao Ye's personal guard, but died within two years.

Han Fengshan and his wife are frail and sickly, leaving a daughter, Han Nini, who is the same age as Han Juan and is a very smart girl; Although the family received the pension paid by Xiao Ye, there was always a time when the food money was eaten and spent, especially in Madao Stone Fort, where they did not serve as a guard or joined the logistics team, and now they have no place to buy food.

Although Xiao Ye has been thinking about the Han family, after a long time, he can't guarantee that he will still have time to visit Han Fengshan.

Similar to the situation of Han Fengshan's family, there are still five or six households in the fort, and no one dares to say what will happen in the future.

If this situation is not properly resolved, Xiao Ye's future home guards can only be replenished from the outside, and there is little hope for the south, and the number of Tartar soldiers must be controlled within a limit.

The soldiers are young and noble, Xiao Ye, who began to have a headache, saw that the matter of the herald had an eyebrow, and did not disturb Mei'er and them, and got up and walked out of the house.

Solving the problem of Ziliang's shortage of manpower, Xiao Yeluan reluctantly let the woman join the staff room and become a herald, but she was not allowed to leave Madao Stone Fort.

According to the knowledge he received in his mind, he simply planned to set up a communication team, unify the management of the heralds, and put them under the rule of Wang Ziliang.

The future herald of the communication team, Xiao Ye is ready to give a team of 100 people, and Wang Ziliang, who receives the centurion's salary, can finally raise his eyebrows.

Taking advantage of the situation, Xiao Ye also decided to give Li Muchen the title of centurion, and set up a medical team, female medical guards are not allowed to leave a radius of ten miles outside the stone fort, and male medical guards have to follow the family guards who go out for military affairs.

Today, in the staff room of Madao Stone Fort, according to Wang Ziliang's order, a herald issued a warning to the guards on guard south of Madao, and a large number of men and horses had already passed the stone pass and went south along Madao.

Today's rotation is a team of Shiren under the Zuoshi Hundred People, and Liu Shuihe, the head of the Shi, led the brothers to guard the low stone wall of the horse road.

Xiao Ye's original intention was to let Liu Shuihe join the pro-guards, but Liu Shuihe was very wise, he was okay as a flag officer, and his other skills couldn't even reach half of those pro-guards, so forget it, when the ability to shoot and lurk in the future arrived, he would join the pro-guards of 100 households in Dabi in a bright way.

At the Madao checkpoint, holding the binoculars, Liu Shuihe leaned on the stone wall and looked at it for a while, and the black spots on the south side of the Madao were finally seen clearly, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said to the herald beside him, "Go back quickly, report to the hundred households, it is a caravan to come, and look at the people and horses of the Huang family and the Wang family,"

"All right," said the little herald, who swiftly pulled his horse by the warhorse, jumped on it, and ran northward, and he had to run within five miles of the stone fort before he could get the news back to the staff's room.

"Brother Liu, they can't be the Ming army in disguise," a guard leaned over, craned his neck and looked at Ma Dao, muttering in pieces.

They are all guards now, they are Ximen Xiaoye's guards, their identities are no longer sergeants, Baihu almost died in the gravel fort, coupled with the experience of escaping in ashes, these people are very wary of people coming from the south.

There are only 100 personal guards, and they still have the identity of sergeants, but so what, they will work hard in the future, and they can't say that they will be able to squeeze in one day.

"That's the best, Wang Meng and Zuo Shi, I'm tired of performing all day, so I'm looking forward to them coming," Liu Shuihe put down his binoculars, holding the gun belt on his shoulder, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth.

They are just a sentry post, which can only serve as an early warning for enemy attacks, but on both sides of the hundred-meter-long horse road behind them, dozens of jumping mines have been buried in advance; As long as you take off the latch on the jumping mine, even if you don't pull out the string and stumble on the road, it will be enough for the enemy to drink a pot.

From here to the stone fort behind, the distance is more than ten miles, and as soon as the gunshots rang out, the stone fort could react immediately.

After waiting for an hour, Liu Shuihe and the others had already eaten the canned food, and the caravan in the distance walked in leisurely; Wangshan ran a dead horse, this horse road is rugged and difficult to walk even if it has been trimmed, and if you go fast and fall into the vine grass next to it, it will be a bad thing.

The south side of the low stone wall cleared out a large area of ground, the east side is a deep ditch, the vine grass in it is vertical and horizontal, and the west side is gently sloppy with rocks.

The opposite road was cut off, and the muzzle of fire/guns slipped behind the stone wall, so that the caravan stopped in the open space very consciously, and the principal who led the team left his companion and stepped forward to talk to Liu Shuihe.

This time, the Huang family came to Huang Deshan, and the Wang family came to a deacon, although they were blocked in this wilderness, they did not show resentment.

This is already the sphere of influence of the Tartars, even if they know that the sergeant in front of them is Ximen Xiaoye's soldiers, but they are the hundred households of the Aishan Thorn Tribe, and they were driven to the Shangman grassland and sent to death.

In particular, the principals of these two caravans knew the current situation of Ximen Xiaoye, and only hoped to be able to deal with the Persians, while the others did not want to make trouble.

As soon as Xiao Ye left, Mei'er and Lina pushed away the account book and abacus on the small table, took out the embroidered cloth from under the table, and took the small basket with dried fruits. With the help of four deacons, Mei'er and the others don't have much to do, just check the accounts, how can they lie on the account books every day.

Walking out of the military house, Xiao Ye nodded to Luan Fengying at the door, and was about to leave with his personal guards, when he saw a herald running from afar, wearing a field uniform and carrying no weapons, it was Wang Ziliang's person in the fort.

"Lord Baihu," the herald ran to Xiao Ye panting, knelt down on one knee, and raised his head, "There is a letter post at the Madao checkpoint, a caravan is coming, and Captain Wang Baifu has confirmed, Mr. Xin has transferred the deacon of the account and is ready to ship the goods,"

"Got it," Xiao Ye waved his hand and told the herald to go back.

"Let's go, let's go to the side of the horse road first, see which caravan it is this time, and take the lead first," Xiao Ye laughed, took the guards out of the fort gate, and rode south on a war horse.

When passing by the crowded construction site, Xiao Ye kept saying hello to some old craftsmen with a smile, and then slowly left.

The Shijia shop in charge of Xin Weilin, although there is no façade yet, but the sale of goods to the outside world still has to be done again, which is the rule of supper; After the accounts and funds were lost by the deacon, Ma Gui and Wang Dali had to draw a deposit according to their fingerprints.

In the end, after Xin Weilin read the account book, he pressed his own private seal, and the account book would be transferred to Mei'er for accounting, these are all common routines used by the Ming family, and they can be used when they are used.

When Xiao Ye and his entourage left the fort gate, Wang Dali had gathered more than 20 pack horses, tied silk cotton coats, perfumes, pocket watches, glass vanity mirrors, glass, and lighters from the warehouse, and carefully packed them and tied them on horseback according to their types.

Taking the list handed by the deacon, Wang Dali folded it and put it in his arms, "Brother Wang, a total of 20,000 taels of goods," Deacon Zhang Liangnian said loudly.

However, this accentuated the exhortation, and Wang Dali waved his hand without trembling, led a few craftsmen, and pulled the pack horses towards the fort gate.

"This old brother, the spirit is getting stronger and stronger," Zhang Liangnian smiled, his dark face showed a little expectation, turned around, and shouted at a few craftsmen who were still outside the warehouse, "Close the door, lock it,"

When he turned around, the sleeve of Zhang Liangnian's right arm was lightly put to the side, and it turned out that he only had an intact left arm.

As a prisoner exiled from the mainland, Zhang Liangnian, like the other three deacons, had the same identity and different experiences, and was sold from the military horse farm in Gansu Town to Shiguantun in a daze, and he was left in the army; All this, he didn't even say a word of resistance.

Xiao Ye picked out more than a dozen literate people from those exiles in Shiguantun, some of them were sent to Bailonghu and Galen tribes, and some went to Eagle Claw Fort, where they were used as account offices, as long as they could count the materials in and out and know how to write accounts.

Zhang Liangnian and the four of them were lucky to be left in Shiguantun, and then went to the Lao Yangkou shop, and then ran here, thinking about it is like a dream. Fortunately, I can finally settle down now.

However, when they got the first month's salary, whether they had families or were alone, they suddenly began to cherish the position of deacon, and some of them even saved some silver tickets after half a year and sent them back to their families in the mainland.

When Xiao Ye and the others came to the checkpoint south of the horse road, this place was already in full swing, and compared with the noisy caravan on the opposite side, a low wall separated it was simply two scenes.

The ten guards behind the stone wall, under the leadership of the chief Liu Shuihe, loaded the fire/gun, and held it high on the shoulder, as long as the order was given, the muzzle of the gun could be fired; On the stone slope next to it, Hao Yongliang's team behind the big stone happened to stop not far away.

Hao Yongliang's team, loaded with grenades on their shotguns, pointed at the caravan below, as long as there was an abnormality, ten grenades would immediately smash their heads.

It was precisely because of their threat that the crowded caravans in the clearing south of the stone wall would honestly stay where they were, waiting for the dealer to appear.

Huang Deshan and the deacon of the Wang family were very depressed, they originally thought that relying on the face of their master, Liu Shuihe and they would not greet each other with a hot face, at least they would not cross their eyebrows and be cold; However, the flag officer, who had seen him several times in the Gravel Castle, didn't pay any attention to the two of them at all, and only shouted back vigorously.

The fire/gun in his hand, the muzzle of the gun forced the two guys who approached casually to retreat, Liu Shuihe saw the guards opposite, it seemed that he couldn't see the steward being wronged, and he was about to rush up, so he had to order the projectile to be loaded, and a fire/gunner of the team raised the cold gun at the same time.

With the swarthy muzzle of the gun, and the eleven indifferent sergeants behind him, Huang Deshan suddenly realized that if those guards rushed up and approached the stone wall, maybe they would really start to shoot.

Like him, the deacon of the Wang family also hurriedly stopped the guards from provoking trouble, and it was okay to play prestige, but to see the situation clearly, when they met those stunned youths, they wouldn't mind knocking out the guards of a row of big merchants.

What's more, on the slope behind the stone wall, the dozen or so half-hidden sergeants, the explosives loaded on the muzzles of the guns, the power, he could see clearly.

Although I don't know it's called a gun grenade, the Wang family's intelligence focuses on this kind of object that is smaller than a fist, which is not only thrown far, but also has a power comparable to earth-shaking thunder, which is a good explosive, commonly known as a flowering bomb.

As long as there is personnel circulation, there will be loopholes in Xiao Ye's secret military order in Shiguantun, and the news of guns and grenades, not only the Wang family, but also the Huang family and the Tian family have more detailed information; In addition, Xiao Ye's 100 households were copied this time, and among the weapons confiscated, there was a whole box of 50 guns and grenades, which confirmed the rumors in the market.

Sure enough, the hundreds of merchant guards were about to rely on the crowd to attack the low stone wall, and Hao Yongliang's guards fired a round of grenades at that time, and in the vine grass on the east side of the road, pieces of rubble flew around.

Under the obvious deterrence of force, the family guards, who only had a small number of fires/guns and three-eyed fire systems, shrank their heads and slowed down, coupled with the timely orders of Huang Deshan and the deacon of the Wang family, everyone retreated in a panic.

The initial plan was ruined, Huang Deshan and the deacon of the Wang family were not angry, there was still a long time, and they had the opportunity to approach the stone fort of the Tartars.

When Xiao Ye arrived at the checkpoint, he was not surprised to see the scene where the two sides did not contact each other, and he would never forget the scene of the night escape not long ago.

Maybe these merchants were also involved in the events of Qingming Day, but now Xiao Ye can't beat them to death with a stick, and many of his brothers and family members have to rely on the merchants to provide food and drink.

Unless one day the Shi family's shops have their own set of channels, Xiao Ye can settle the old accounts with these merchants, but now he can only hold back his grievances.

The open space on the south side of the stone wall occupies a large area, with a radius of more than 30 zhang, but as soon as the caravan of these two teams in one came, hundreds of domestic guards, more than 200 mules and horses carrying goods, and a small number of them still stopped on the back road.

Especially in the wilderness here, there is not even a big tree, that is, on the waist-length coptis tree next to him, the branches and leaves stand sporadically in the hot sun, to say that those guards have no fire in their hearts, Huang Deshan doesn't believe it, and his oily forehead is also beads of sweat falling.

Finally, when he saw the horse team coming, Huang Deshan, who was standing on tiptoe, saw Ximen Xiao Ye at a glance, and the khaki field uniform made him feel a lot more relaxed.

is really worthy of being the son-in-law of the Persians, the whole family of Nabaodes was destroyed, Xiao Ye was still trusted by the Persians, perhaps, when he went back, he also suggested that the third young master marry back a Persian concubine with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Huang Deshan, who was thinking crankily in his heart, didn't pay attention to the deacon of the Wang family beside him, and had the same surprised expression on his face; Like him, Wang Binglai, the deacon of the Wang family, had fat face, and his small eyes were also rolling slightly.

The hooves of Xiao Ye's war horse stepped heavily on the potholed mountain road behind the stone wall, and Liu Shuihe had already gathered his guards, carrying fire/guns on his back, and knelt down on one knee beside the horse road.

"Report to the Lord of the Hundred Households, the sentry officer Liu Shuihe led a team to garrison the checkpoint, and on the opposite side are the two caravans of Huang and Wang, waiting to trade supplies with us," Liu Shuihe shouted loudly, looking at the ground with a burning heat in his eyes.

"Get up, brothers have worked hard," Xiao Ye nodded and said in a deep voice; With Liu Shuihe's response, the guards got up one after another, and each returned to their positions behind the stone wall, staring at the person on the other side.

Hao Yongliang's team, which was holding a shotgun and kneeling on one knee on the slope, also silently retreated behind the boulder with Xiao Ye's hand, continuing his surveillance mission.

A guard led the horse forward, took off the pile of military kettles hanging on the horse's back, carried them on his back and went to Liu Shuihe, and replaced the kettles that they had already drunk; Even Hao Yongliang, there were also people who carried Ding Lingdang's empty kettle and ran down carefully.

On the way here, he met Lao Li in the room, and Xiao Ye brought him this drinking water.

Seeing that the acquaintance Ximen Xiao Ye was coming, Huang Deshan and Wang Bingshan were about to step forward to say hello with a smile, but Xiao Ye just stared at them coldly a few times, turned around and drove the horse back, but the two caravanseraisers suddenly felt bad in their hearts.

That's right, Xiao Ye just came to see if the Tian family caravan was coming, but when he saw the pennants of the Huang and Wang caravans, he suddenly lost interest, and he didn't even bother to say a word, so he pulled the reins and turned the horse's head.

However, Xiao Ye's arrival made Huang Deshan and them see clearly the complete armament of the personal guards, especially the iron helmet that appeared for the first time, and the general pattern would soon be transmitted back to the desks of the patriarchs of each merchant.

Xiao Ye left with his personal guards, and Liu Shuihe and Hao Yongliang also divided half of their men and went into the barracks tent to rest, the tent was insulated, and it was much better to sit inside than to bask in the sun outside.

Wang Dali led the team and arrived at the Madao checkpoint half an hour later, and the list in his hand was also obtained by Huang Deshan and Wang Bingshan.

There are not many types, but the price has not changed, and it is still the old price reported by Bauders, which makes the people of the two caravans sigh in their hearts.

Although on the way here, the tax was paid on the card of the imperial store, and the tax was also paid symbolically on the card of the official store, but the capital can be added to the capital in the sales of the return.

However, Xiao Ye did not retaliate against the price increase, which especially made Huang Deshan puzzled; It's just that Wang Bingshan, who has a round figure, has a fine light in his eyes.

Among the goods brought by the two caravans, cloth, tea and porcelain were the most, and there was a small amount of charcoal, plus an altar of soy sauce and vinegar, but there was no grain and green salt.

Wang Dali didn't say much, and the two people delivered the goods according to the price, and there were a few more silver tickets in his arms.

The stone wall was moved away to reveal a gap that a pack horse could pass, and under Liu Shuihe's watchful eye, the two sides exchanged pack horse goods; According to the old rules, the pack horses were changed together, and everyone tacitly agreed.

After the deal was completed, the stone wall was blocked again, and the packees of both sides departed.

After walking back a mile with the pack horse, Wang Dali stopped, "Come on, check the goods, and carefully check the blanket on the horse's back,"

With the king's vigorous shout, the craftsmen stepped forward to untie the inconspicuous blankets on the backs of the mules and horses; Sure enough, packets of green salt, tightly tied with oilcloth, appeared in front of everyone.

Even if you look at it again, otherwise you will serve with a silk cotton coat next time, and other Lao Tzu will not sell it, and some people will buy it; The tense face was a lot more relaxed, Wang Dali tilted his head proudly, and said in a loud voice, "Out,"

This is the rule of the seller's market, the merchants are very clear in their hearts, if they do not tighten the supplier, then the next chance is slim, at least the transaction will not be neat.

This is also the reason why Xiao Ye does not pretend to be in the caravan.