The drought is getting worse. Wu Shigong is now in a group with Yao Yuanwai and other gentry. Yao Yuanwai had several water disputes with the adjacent territory, and whenever that time, Wu Shigong always sent soldiers to deter the other party.

However, the effectiveness of Wu Shigong's deterrence seems to be getting worse and worse. I saw that the soldiers only stopped the fight every time, and did not use their hands, as if they were a group of scarecrows. Some people in the neighboring realms became emboldened, and they kept encouraging the people of the neighborhoods to make trouble.

Seeing that the situation seems to be a little out of control. One day, Wu Shigong led a team of horses and soldiers, under the leadership of people sent by Yao Yuanwai and who were familiar with the local situation, to act in unison, arresting the most ferocious people who had instigated and making trouble, and beheaded them together for public display.

Now, it was immediately calm. Wu Shigong also sent horse teams to patrol the vicinity every day in the following days. In this way, under the high pressure of Wu Shigong, order was restored here. And this piece of land has also become the most prosperous place in the entire county to fight drought and self-help.

Of course, these lives were reported by Yao Yuanwai to the Qi County Order. He said this to Qi County: "These dozen scum were all killed by the righteous people in the countryside, and I don't know who the righteous people killed them were?" ”

However, it is one thing for Qi County to open his eyes and close his eyes, and of course he also has channels to know: it was Wu Shigong's soldiers who killed these dozen people. So, it made him very unhappy.

Qi County Ling didn't think that Wu Shigong's approach was wrong. Although Qi County Ling may not be able to kill decisively like Wu Shigong, he also understands that in this extraordinary period, thunder means are still needed.

The reason why the Qi County Commander is unhappy with Wu Shigong is that in this county, the only one who can control the power of life and death of the common people can only be the Qi County Order. And now Wu Shigong has killed someone, but before the killing, he didn't know that Qi County's order was called. This is clearly that Wu Shigong, a thousand households, did not take the county order of Qi County in his eyes at all!

Of course, Wu Shigong didn't know that Qi County Ling was unhappy with him. He's worried about one thing right now. That is: the cash around Wu Shigong is in the end.

In modern times, Wu Shigong deposited cash in the bank. If you need money, take it from the bank. This behavior has become a habit. But now, Wu Shigong has more than 30,000 taels of silver tickets by his side, and it is particularly inconvenient to withdraw the cash and get it from Jining.

And next, Wu Shigong needs to use a lot of silver. At least next month, the salaries of these soldiers will be paid. Therefore, Wu Shigong decided: to go to Jining in person. When I arrived in Jining this time, I simply took out all the silver.

Also, in Yang Goudan's blacksmith workshop, there are not many iron materials. Wu Shigong thought about buying it together this time.

Knowing that Wu Shigong was going to Jining, Yuan Xingshan also proposed to go with him. He told Wu Shigong: "My lord, now the river is about to be unfrozen. Ships are also navigable. The little ones went to Jining with the adults, purchased more commercial goods, and shipped them here to sell them. This is also the official opening of our store. ”

After listening to Yuan Xingshan's words, Wu Shigong was right when he thought about it. Wu Shigong couldn't leave the Thousand Households often, so he could only ride a horse to come and go quickly. However, if Yuan Xingshan used a ship to transport commercial goods, Wu Shigong could purchase some goods urgently needed by Qianhu and transport them to Qianhu by ship.

Now the most urgent thing is gunpowder. Because, after all, Jining is a transportation hub from south to north, where the amount of goods is sufficient and the price is cheap.

After deciding down, Wu Shigong set off immediately. Because of the huge amount of silver withdrawn this time, Wu Shigong brought with him a team of 150 horses led by Xue Yongli to escort him. And Zhang Biao and Li Sanhe were also brought together because of their experience in the rivers and lakes.

Wu Shigong and his entourage were dressed as merchants, and in addition to the short weapons and handcuffs they carried, they were loaded with firearms, spears and armor. Yuan Xingshan was here in the town, and purchased six or seven carts of local specialties to return to Germany and brought them to Jining together.

After a four-day journey, Wu Shigong and his entourage rushed to Jining. Wu Shigong went to the money village first to get the silver. And Yuan Xingshan first sold these specialties of Guide.

Things went very well on both ends. Although Wu Shigong obtained too much silver and was delayed for a day, Wu Shigong still successfully obtained the silver. And Yuan Xingshan found a big commercial house in Jining and sold all these special products to them. This changed hands, but also earned more than 200 taels of silver.

It's a good money. Wu Shigong curiously asked Yuan Xingshan why. Yuan Xingshan told Wu Shigong: "The person from the big business house told the small one: I wouldn't have made so much money. Recently, however, the number of caravans coming to Jining from Guide seems to have been much smaller. Therefore, the price of the special products there in Guide is also a little higher. ”

“weishenme？” Wu Shigong then asked Yuan Xingshan.

Yuan Xingshan also replied confusedly: "I don't know this little one." ”

If you don't understand something, you don't think about it. Wu Shigong then worked with Yuan Xingshan to hire ships and buy goods. The purchase of other goods was very smooth, that is, gunpowder is a military material, and there is basically no such thing on the market. Wu Shigong had no choice but to buy a lot of sulfur and saltpeter and go back to mix them into gunpowder.

However, in the Ming Dynasty, sulfur and saltpeter were basically used as medicinal herbs. Therefore, Wu Shigong had to go to one pharmacy after another to buy it.

Two days after purchasing like this, someone found the inn where Wu Shigong lived. After that person sneakily tested Wu Shigong for a few words, Wu Shigong immediately knew that this person was the person who contacted the gunpowder trade.

Wu Shigong was also very happy, and took out his official seal of a thousand households to show the Chinese man, and the Chinese man immediately put his mind at ease. After negotiating the price, the Chinese man quickly brought out a shipload of gunpowder from the barracks warehouse that protected Caoyun. Wu Shigong was overjoyed, and in addition to paying the silver for gunpowder, he also gave the Chinese man an introduction fee of ten taels of silver.

Wu Shigong also introduced the Chinese man to Yuan Xingshan, and asked Yuan Xingshan to find this Chinese man when he went to Jining to buy gunpowder in the future. In the days to come, Wu Shigong will no longer have to worry about the gunpowder problem.

When purchasing iron, Yuan Xingshan also told Wu Shigong: If Wu Shigong only purchased iron in small quantities, in fact, he only needed to buy it from several nearby prefectures. If Wu Shigong wants to buy iron in large quantities. Then you have to go to Nanyang Mansion or Xuzhou to buy. This is because this is the closest place to the iron ore of Senhosho.

The goods purchased by Wu Shigong, plus some commercial goods purchased by Yuan Xingshan, were loaded into a total of five ships. Yuan Xingshan and Wu Shigong said: "My lord, this boat must enter the Yellow River before it can go to the river where the town is located. Therefore, the whole journey of the ship takes more than a month. ”

Wu Shigong nodded, indicating that he understood. However, in the dark, Wu Shigong's sixth feeling made Wu Shigong always feel a little uncomfortable. Wu Shigong always felt that the decrease in the caravan from Guide to Jining was always a little abnormal.

Therefore, before the fleet set off, Wu Shigong made a temporary decision: Wu Shigong himself only left a hundred guards, and brought 5,000 taels of silver to place them on empty horses. Wu Shigong and the others took those empty horses back to the Thousand Households. The rest of the guards guarded the rest of the silver, which was brought back to the Thousand Houses by ship.