readx; Wang Yiqing didn't stop, let alone look back, he didn't hear anything, and continued to move forward, but the other businessmen stopped, looked back at the Tubo officer suspiciously, the Tubo officer nodded, waved his hand, and said: "Nothing, you guys go!" ”

Zhou Mi was frightened into a cold sweat, and secretly screamed a fluke, Wang Yiqing really has grown, if he stops or turns back, then all ten of them will have to die, at this moment, the god of death is so close to them, and they pass by. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The city of Bushi is full of low houses made of mud and stones, the years are long, it looks quite dilapidated and old, and there are not many trees on the street, Zhou Mi was stationed here for two months last year, and he is quite familiar with Bushi City, in his impression, Bushi City is a very lively and prosperous city, shoulder to shoulder, pedestrians are weaving, but at this moment, the city is deserted, and it is rare to see the shadow of pedestrians on the street, which makes Zhou Mi feel a little emotional, the Tubo people do not have the heart of the Han people, they will only destroy a city in the most barbaric way, From this small point, it can be seen that the occupation of the Tibetans will not last long.

They came to the largest bazaar in Bushi City, the prosperous scene of congestion of 10,000 people was gone, the bazaar was deserted, there were only a dozen vendors selling bread and bread, and they were lucky, they happened to meet a few big merchants who came to purchase Tang goods, these big merchants have a good business vision, they knew that the Tubo people would soon block the trade route, and then the Tang goods would not be able to come in, and the price would definitely rise, so they were willing to stock up.

The two sides bargained, and finally sold for 2,500 silver dollars, barely making up for the loss of taxes and earning a little money for the journey.

After selling the goods, the ten men went to a nearby inn to stay overnight, according to their plan, they needed to stay in Bushi City for three days, and then go to various parts of the kingdom of Wang Tingguo under the pretext of buying fine furs to find out the garrison of the Tubo army in the kingdom of Wangting, and then they would go west along the Amu Darya River to the country of Gumo.

Soon, they settled down, and the ten people divided into five groups and went to investigate all over the city, mainly to investigate the defense of the city, of course, not to investigate like a field scout, but to use various identities as a cover.

"Wang Yiqing!"

Zhou Mi stopped Wang Yiqing who was about to be in the department, but he didn't have any reaction, and continued to walk out, Zhou Mi couldn't help but be angry, he really became deaf and mute, he hurriedly ran up, patted Wang Yiqing's shoulder, and pulled him back into the house.

"In the house, you don't have to pretend to be deaf."

Wang Yiqing still shook his head, pointed to his ears, and said that he couldn't hear, Zhou Yu was helpless, so he wrote on the table with clear water: "Don't go out, be in a group with me." ”

Wang Yiqing smiled and nodded, at this time, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, the two were startled, and quickly erased the handwriting on the table, and a person walked in outside, but it was the shopkeeper of this inn.

"Agano, there's something I want to tell you!"

Agano was Zhou Mi's Tocharian name, and he immediately smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, please speak." ”

"I saw many of your companions go out just now, and I want to warn you that it's dangerous out there."

"Why?"

"Because Ashu City is building a palace, it takes a lot of labor, I see that you are all quite young and strong, if you are seen by the Tubo people, you will definitely be arrested to repair the palace, but be careful!"

Zhou Yu was stunned and built the palace, what is going on? He hurriedly asked, "Can the shopkeeper tell me why the palace was built?" Could it be that the Tibetans wanted to summon the exiled royal family? ”

"Dream on!"

The shopkeeper said disdainfully: "The Tibetans will only kill them, but will not build a palace for them, this is for their own king, and their Tibetan Zampu will come to Tocharian to inspect, and the Tibetans are preparing to meet their own king!" ”

Zhou Mi is an experienced scout, and has undergone strict training, generally information about the whereabouts of the enemy leader will be ranked in the most important position, this news immediately attracted his attention, and he asked: "Shopkeeper, is your news true?" I mean, the Tibetan Zampu is coming to Tocharo? ”

"I guess so! A few days ago, the Tibetan people came to check the inn and heard their complaints that the Tibetan Zanpu was coming, which made them as busy as dogs. ”

"And when are they Zamp coming?"

Zhou Mi may also realize that his question is too detailed, which will arouse the suspicion of the other party, so he explained with a smile: "No way, Tubo Zampu is coming, it will have a great impact on us businessmen, and we will not be able to pass through it, so we had better know when Tubo Zampu will come, which is very important to us." ”

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "I'm a shopkeeper, how could I know this kind of news, but ......"

The shopkeeper glanced at them, and stopped talking, Zhou Mi heard that there was room for his words, so he smiled and said, "But what? ”

"I mean, if you're willing to pay a little money, maybe there's a way to ask."

As soon as he heard that he wanted to pay money, Zhou Mi's businessman-like sensitive forehead wrinkled, and said: "We also know that there is no free lunch in the world, and it is okay to pay for it, but I am afraid that it will be too cost-effective to pay for a fake news." ”

"So it depends on how much money you pay, you can buy gossip for ten silver dollars, whether it is accurate is not guaranteed, if you are willing to pay two hundred silver dollars, I guarantee that you will buy the most accurate news, but the condition is that you have to pay me another 10% of the matchmaking fee."

Zhou Mi pondered for a while, and then said: "It's okay to give out two hundred silver dollars, but you have to tell me, who is the other party?" What is used to guarantee that his news is true? ”

"No problem, you wait for me, I'll find someone, I'll come right away, I guarantee your satisfaction!"

The shopkeeper hurried out.

After the invasion of Tochar by the Tibetan army, due to the flight of a large number of royal families and officials, the administrative management of the Tocharian countries came to a standstill, and the Tubo people were unable to manage the Tocharian states due to language and other problems, so they had to use some officials or prestigious elders who were willing to cooperate with them to assist them in the management of Tochar.

And most of these Tocharians are also for personal interests, therefore, in order to maximize personal interests, they use all kinds of means, such as the Tubo people's agricultural tax is five taxes and one, in their place it becomes four taxes and one, one of which is used as their remuneration or funds, into their own pockets, but tax collection is only a part, as long as there is a little power in the hand, this power will definitely become a tool to make money, and then one of the means of collecting money' The news that the Tibetans had just occupied Tocharian made the locals panic, so many people, especially the big families, wanted to know about the various plans of the Tucharians, so that the Tocharian officials who had mastered a little bit of these plans would use the news to make a fortune, and the price was clearly marked, and the children were not deceived.

With information sources, there are brokers, inns, hotels, and the shopkeepers of these shops have their own doorways, which have almost become an open secret, and the Tubo people also know a little, but they have no choice but to keep it as secret as possible, but it is useless to keep it secret, unless it is not necessary to use the Tocharian people, otherwise the news will still be leaked.

Just like the construction of the palace, the discerning person knows at a glance that this must be to welcome the arrival of Tubo Zampu, and security, reception and send-off, etc., these things need the cooperation of local officials to complete, this kind of secret is simply difficult to control, the only thing that the Tubo people can do is to absolutely ensure the safety of Zampu.

About half an hour later, the shopkeeper hurried back, and as soon as he entered the door, he said, "Come with me, and I will take you to a place." ”

On the way, the shopkeeper told him that the highest official position held by the Tocharians was the vice minister of internal affairs, and this official was currently in Ashu City, but his wife was from Wang Tingguo, and his wife's younger brother lived in Bushi City, which was to buy and sell news, and he could get a lot of valuable news from him, and of course the price was not cheap.

Soon they came to the east of the city, and came to the house of a large family, the houses of the poor in the city were all made of mud, and were not strong and safe, but this large house was made of huge stones, and it was obviously a rich family.

The shopkeeper stepped forward and knocked on the door, the door opened a crack, he whispered a few words, and then waved his hand to Zhou Yuyi and said, "Agano, come in!" I'm waiting for you. ”

Zhou Mi turned over and dismounted, led the horse into the house, although the quality of the house was good, but the house was empty, there was not a trace of green, the horse was led away by the servants, they were led into the inner house, came to a small courtyard, only to see a person standing on the steps of the courtyard, this person was about thirty years old, very thin, with a traditional beard, he was wearing a white silk robe, the texture was exquisite, which in Tocharian only the upper class could afford to wear.

The shopkeeper stepped forward and saluted respectfully, "Dear ** La, I brought the guest." ”

This man is very arrogant to the shopkeeper, but he is very enthusiastic about Zhou Mi, it costs at least two hundred silver dollars to buy news from him, although Tocharian is rich in silver, but the added value of Anxi silver dollars is extremely high, one Anxi silver dollar can be exchanged for a pound of coarse silver, so two hundred silver dollars can buy a lot of things in Tocharo, you can buy six hundred quintals of grain, you can buy ten wives, you can buy half a big house.

The person who can come up with two hundred silver dollars to buy the news is by no means an idle person, just like the customers who enter the top luxury stores in the future will inevitably get the best service.

"I'm glad to meet you, my friend!"

The man stepped forward and hugged Zhou Yu warmly, pulled him to introduce himself, and said: "My name is ** La, my sister is Alain's wife, his eldest wife, whatever news you want, I can get it for you." ”

The Alan mentioned in the mouth of this ** La is the Tocharian with the highest position at present, serving as the deputy minister of political affairs, in fact, all the chores are in charge of him, he has become a big official, and he has power in his hands, of course, his third aunt and six aunts have to share it together, and they have the obligation to help him collect money, so his brother-in-law**La is the business manager of his wealth collection company in Wang Tingguo.

And there is no possibility of counterfeiting, Zhou Mi may not know, but the locals know that this **la is Alain's brother-in-law, and it can't be fake, in order to ensure the lasting surname of power and wealth, they also have to pay attention to credibility, and generally do not sell fake news.

Zhou Mi only learned today that there was such a channel to get information, if his intelligence was accurate, why did he take the risk of reconnoitring the garrison of the Tubo people? Can you get it for a little bit of money?

And Zhou Mi has a new idea in his heart, can he buy the administrative official named Alan and become an undercover agent of the Tang Army, it should be possible, these people do things for the Tubo people, just to collect money, and there is no loyalty at all, what they are most afraid of is that they will be liquidated by the Tang Army in the future, and they can buy a death-free charm, I am afraid they are willing to do anything.

But now is not the time, let's do a few business first, then I caught his handle, Zhou Mi put forward his request, he smiled: "Maybe the shopkeeper also told you, we businessmen are very concerned about the situation of Tubo Zampu, I want to know the detailed information of Tubo Zampu coming to Tocharo, including the route, time point, and when to return, I want to know the most detailed information." ”

This information was unusual, ** La groaned for a moment, and then asked, "Are you really a businessman?" ”

Zhou Mi took out the tax card board, handed it to him, ** La looked at it, although this did not prove anything, but he at least had a credential, then he raised five fingers and said, "I want five hundred silver dollars." ”

Zhou Mi was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Didn't you say two hundred silver dollars?" ”

"Nope! It's not the same. ”

** La explained to him: "If you want to reduce taxes or something, two hundred silver dollars will do, or when Tubo Zampu comes, two hundred silver dollars will also do, but the news you want is too top secret, even their route and specific time point, this is not simple, and Alan may not be willing to agree, five hundred silver dollars is the least." ”

"Can't it be less? How about four hundred silver dollars? ”

"No! If you want to do it, you can do it, and I can't do it if you don't do it. ”

Zhou Mi showed a look of embarrassment on his face, and he thought for a long time before he reluctantly said, "Okay!" I'll give you the silver dollar tonight, when will you give me news?" ”

"Five days, I'll give you news in five days, and you don't have to rush to give me the money, our rule is to pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other."

．．．．．．．．． In the early morning five days later, Zhou Mi came to **La's house again, this time **La personally opened the door for him, and said with a smile: "I only rushed back in the middle of the night last night, and I was about to go to the inn to look for you, but I didn't expect you to come." ”

He looked behind him and asked, "Did you bring the money?" ”

Zhou Mi pointed to a big bag on the horse and smiled: "Brought it." ”

"Come on! Entered the house and said. ”

La invited Zhou Mi into the back room, took out a roll of parchment from a small box, and said: "The news you want is on it, very detailed, I will give you the news, and you will give me the money." ”

Generally speaking, this kind of initial transaction must go through an intermediary, so that the interests of both parties are guaranteed, but the buying and selling news is extraordinary, not through the intermediary, basically with trust, you don't believe it, you can not buy, if you buy it, then you have to believe the other party, and the person who sells the news also has his reputation, no, no, will not deliberately sell fake news to block their own way to make money.

Zhou Mi put the heavy silver dollar bag on the table, **La gave him the box, "Take a look!" This is a handwritten copy by Alain, because of the distance, the time point may not be so accurate, but it is not much worse. ”

After a pause, La said, "In addition, Alain asked me to bring you a message, he wants to see you." ”

(To be continued)