Ye County, Nanyang County, here is the place where the Han army and the Cao army have the closest contact, about forty miles northeast of Ye County, is Kunyang County of Yingchuan County, the strategic location of Kunyang County is not as important as Ye County, the city is not tall, the terrain is not steep enough, the population is not much, just an ordinary agricultural county.

But since the Han army captured Nanyang County and moved the garrison to the front line of Yecheng, Kunyang County became the forefront of Cao's defense against the Han army, and its importance was also highlighted, and Cao's army rebuilt the city wall and expanded the garrison, so that the garrison of Kunyang County reached 5,000 people, led by the general Cai Yang.

The Han army in Yexian also had a garrison of more than 6,000 people, commanded by Zhonglang General Cai Jin, and the two Cai armies were only forty miles apart, in a state of confrontation.

The chief general of Kunyang County was originally Li Dian, because Li Dian was Xiahou Dan's person, and after Cao Zhen took over the defense of Xuchang, he replaced his own people in important positions, and Cao Zhen replaced the chief general of Kunyang County with Le Qun on the grounds that Li Dian had been captured in Ye County.

When Li Dian served as the main general, although the two armies of Han and Cao were not friendly, and their suspicions were very heavy, and the slightest wind and grass caused tension on both sides, Cai Jin and Li Dian were both cautious people, and they each restrained their soldiers and there was no conflict.

Le Qun is the younger brother of Cao Jun's general Le Jin, cunning by nature, strong in martial arts, originally Cao Chun's general, Cao Chun died in Nanyang, Cao Zhen took over the tiger and leopard riding, Le Qun became Cao Zhen's general, he was good at Cao Zhen, and gradually became Cao Zhen's right-hand man, and the official was a partial general.

Although Le Qun was not as cautious and cautious as Li Dian, and was quite insidious and cunning, he received Cao Zhen's strict order not to clash with the Han army, so in the three months since he took office, Le Qun was able to restrain his subordinates and did not have a conflict with the Han army.

However, he has another thought, that is, to use his position to collect money, Kunyang is located in the core of Wanying Business Road, and there are many businessmen, which makes Cai Yang have an additional way to make money.

Since the end of the Hefei War, the war in the Central Plains has gradually subsided, and it has been a year and a half, the economy and commerce have gradually recovered, and the cold trade roads have become lively, and large and small caravans can be seen from time to time on the official roads.

Most of the medicinal herbs, silk and tea in the south, and the furs, livestock and handicraft utensils in the north were sold well on both sides, and both sides encouraged trade and reduced commercial taxes, and the commerce of Nanyang gradually became very prosperous.

On this morning, a caravan composed of more than 300 mules walked out of Yecheng and headed for Kunyang County, this caravan was the business name of the Cai family in Xiangyang, and it was one of the ten caravans of Cai's firm, and the mules were loaded with fine silk produced in Jiangxia.

The Cai family has gradually been squeezed out of the power center of the Han State due to its long-term refusal to cooperate with the Han State's plan to cut fields, and Cai Yan, the Taishou of Xiangyang, retired three years ago due to physical illness, and the Cai family has no young talents to enter the officialdom, and only Cai Jin is currently serving in the military.

After the death of the head of the family Cai Yan last year, Cai Jin did not inherit his father's position as the head of the family, but was served as the head of the family by his uncle Cai Lin, although the Cai family was disappointed in the officialdom, but the Cai family still has nearly 2,000 hectares of land, and it is still the richest family in Xiangyang, and the Cai family has a good foundation in Xiangyang, and the Xiangyang government has taken care of the Cai family to some extent, so although the Cai family is marginalized, it is also very nourishing, and there is not much sense of crisis.

The new head of the family, Cai Lin's business mind is more flexible, no longer limited to relying on land harvest, but actively engaged in trade and industry, there are many taverns and shops in Xiangyang and Fancheng, and Cai's firm was established in Fancheng, doing cross-border trade, exporting goods from Jingzhou to Xuchang, and buying goods from Xuchang to the south, which is very profitable.

General Cai Jin stood on the city wall, looking at the caravan walking away, there was a trace of worry in his eyes, he was worried about the future of the family, he felt that the business interests of the head of the family were too heavy, too much attention to money and interests, and too little consideration for the long-term future of the Cai family, the most typical example is the closure of the Cai family and the Cai family martial arts hall, Cai Lin thought that the family study and the martial arts hall cost too much, the Cai family children can go to the official school to study, and the land of the martial arts hall can be changed to commercial use, which can save 20 million dollars per year.

There is also the opening of Cai's firm, the establishment of ten caravans, and the preparation of the purchase of ships, the establishment of a merchant fleet, this qiē made Cai Jin speechless, with the prosperity of the Tao family's business, it is still necessary to withdraw from business, establish a family business, hire famous Confucians at any cost, and focus on cultivating children, in contrast, the Cai family has taken the opposite route, and if it goes on like this, the Cai family will completely decline in less than ten years.

Cai Jin couldn't help but sigh for a long time, the Cai family couldn't see the shape clearly, and they attached too much importance to the interests of the family, and they would eventually ruin the family.

The mule team went all the way, and at noon they crossed the Yekun Bridge, which was originally called the Sanyan Bridge, and now it has become the Hancao Boundary Bridge, so it was renamed the Yekun Bridge, and after crossing this wooden bridge, it entered the boundary of Kunyang County.

The caravan deacon's surname was Wang, about fifty years old, he was the old family of the Cai family, he was very kind, and there were more than a dozen men who went to Xuchang with him, taking care of more than 300 mules.

Deacon Wang was a little worried, he went back and forth to Xuchang and Xiangyang several times, and it was quite smooth, but the last time he was charged a high toll in Kunyang County, which is almost equivalent to taxes, which is equivalent to a batch of goods in Yingchuan County to pay taxes twice, I don't know how much toll I have to pay this time.

"Don't worry about Daddy Wang, anyway, the owner doesn't care about this toll, so you should buy a peace!" Yang Qing, who was in charge of protecting security, saw that Deacon Wang was worried, so he persuaded him with a smile.

"Hey! You're right, we have so many goods, only a dozen people, in case there is anything wrong along the way, I can't explain when I go back! Think of it as spending money to buy peace! ”

As he was talking, a group of cavalry appeared in front of him, rushing like lightning, Deacon Wang hurriedly asked the men to drive the mule team aside to make way, the cavalry team ran in front of the mule team, but stopped, led by a young general in his twenties, it was Le Yi, the son of Le Qun, who originally came to patrol the border, but encountered this caravan.

"Where are you caravan and where are you going?"

Deacon Wang hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "We are a caravan from Xiangyang, going to Xuchang to sell goods." ”

Le Yi heard him call Xu Du Xuchang, and he was a little unhappy in his heart, so he had the intention to make it difficult, he pointed with a horsewhip, "Open the bag, you have to check!" ”

Deacon Wang hurriedly took out a small money bag from his bosom, about more than 100 yuan, which was about to be used to bribe the soldiers guarding the city when he was about to enter the city.

"This little meaning, please have a glass of water and wine for the general!"

Where did Le Yi look at his little money, the horsewhip was raised, and the money bag flew out, and the copper coins fell all over the ground, Le Yi shouted: "Open the bag immediately!" ”

Deacon Wang had no choice but to let the guys open the bag, the coarse linen bag was full of good silk, Le Yi was a little stunned, he stepped forward and gently stroked these satins, the smooth satin made him love it, he was greedy in his heart, turned around and gave the soldiers a look, and the soldiers suddenly understood that the major general had taken a fancy to this batch of silk.

They were already familiar with the extortion merchants, and immediately went separately to inspect the bags, and the caravan consisted of only a dozen men, and they couldn't see it at all, when a soldier shouted, "General, there are forbidden weapons here!" ”

Le Yi's face sank, and he walked over quickly, only to see the soldiers turning out more than a dozen military crossbows from a cargo bag, Deacon Wang followed, he was also surprised, how could there be a military crossbow, he hurriedly said: "General, we didn't bring military crossbows, these bows and crossbows are not ours"

Before he finished speaking, Le Yi split his head with a whip, "Presumptuous!" Am I planting you for it? ”

He waved his hand, "Take them all!" ”

The soldiers rushed up like wolves and tigers, carrying them away, Deacon Wang had already understood in his heart that the other party wanted to swallow these silks, he endured the burning pain on his face, and struggled desperately and shouted, "We are the caravan of the Cai family in Xiangyang, you can't do this, let us go!" ”

If it was more than ten years ago, Cai Mao was still a military advisor in Jingzhou, whether it was the Jingzhou army or the Cao army, they would have to give the Cai family some face, but now that the Cai family has long since declined, where does Le Yi take the Cai family to heart, he laughed cruelly, "It turned out to be a spy sent by Cai Jin, who dared to resist and cut it immediately." ”

The guys didn't dare to struggle anymore, Deacon Wang was desperate in his heart, at this moment, his deputy Yang Qing suddenly broke free from the soldiers, galloped a few steps, turned over and grabbed a war horse, beat the horse and fled, Yang Qing was originally the head of the Cai family martial arts hall, after the martial arts hall was disbanded, he became the guard of the caravan, he was vigorous, and he escaped while the soldiers were unprepared.

"Someone is robbing a war horse!" The soldiers shouted.

Le Yi was furious, with more than a dozen cavalry to chase quickly, and ran out of more than ten miles in a moment, in front of Ye Kun Bridge, seeing that the other party was about to run to the bridge, Le Yi took off his bow and arrow, pulled out an arrow, aimed at Yang Qing's back, and shot an arrow, this arrow was fast and ruthless, hitting Yang Qing's right shoulder, Yang Qing shook violently, but did not get off the horse, rushed across Ye Kun Bridge in one breath, just crossed the wooden bridge, he could no longer support it, and fell from the horse.

Le Yi was overjoyed, urging the horse to rush to the wooden bridge, more than a dozen people crossed the wooden bridge, only to see that the other party had endured the pain and got up, and was staggering forward, Le Yi shouted, "Run in!" ”

He urged the horse to chase after him, and he was about to catch up with Yang Qing, but at this moment, a Ming Di shot over his head, making a sharp whistle, which frightened him to restrain his horse, but he saw a team of Han patrol cavalry rushing out of the woods next to him, about 30 people, raising crossbows together, and aiming at them coldly.

Le Yi saw that the person he was chasing ran more than 20 steps, and it was probably too late to catch up, he didn't dare to chase anymore, they had already crossed the line at this time, and if they delayed any longer, they would be afraid that they would have to release arrows.

He hurriedly raised his hand and said to the Han soldiers: "We are arresting fugitives!" ”

The other party ignored him, and said coldly for the leader: "Go back!" ”

Le Yi hated it in his heart, so he had to turn his horse's head, ran across Ye Kun Bridge, and ran towards Kunyang County without looking back.

At this time, Yang Qing was almost unable to support it, he ran to the Han army scouts, and said in a low voice: "I am General Cai's family, report to General Cai quickly."

Before he could finish speaking, he fell to the ground and fainted.

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