Linchuan.

An ordinary county town in Liangzhou belongs to one of the counties controlled by Dong Zhuo. If there is anything unusual about Linchuan now, it is that the city is becoming more and more lively, and the caravans coming and going from the south to the north, as long as it is close to night, will choose to stay in Linchuan for a day, and wait until early in the morning to continue to choose to go west.

Of course, due to the advent of caravans, the commerce in the city also became much more prosperous, and the importance of this increased correspondingly.

Dong Zhuo's 5,000 troops were stationed here, except for the 800 soldiers who patrolled the city every day, the other 4,200 soldiers were stationed in the barracks three miles away from Linchuan County, led by a general under Dong Zhuo. The reason why there are 5,000 troops stationed and more than 100 officials who maintain law and order in the county seat and county is not because Linchuan is an important place, nor because Linchuan has become more prosperous now.

Everything was the destination of the westbound caravan, a town far more prosperous than here, which was the military town of Captain Huqiang, and one of the reasons why so many soldiers were stationed here.

"Phew. What kind of bullshit Captain Qiang, if it weren't for the lord's order, I would have led the army under my command to raze him, and no matter how much wealth I have, it won't be for us? In the garrison camp, a military general was talking drunkly, and a soldier on the other side was pouring wine into the wine glass on the table.

"Yes, the general is right!" The soldier agreed.

He didn't flatter, he didn't stammer, he thought from the heart. Not only him, but the other soldiers in the camp also had the same idea as him.

A military town alone has only five or six thousand soldiers, which is about the same as the number of their army. Although I have heard recently that I am still training troops and have won a few battles with the Qiang people, it is not worth mentioning in their eyes.

It's just that the Qiang people have not fought or killed. Since joining the army, who of these ordinary soldiers has not killed a few Qiang people? Besides, among the Qiang tribes, there are also strong and weak tribes, and I don't know which of the tribes that the so-called Qiang Protector defeated him.

If he hadn't been the captain of the Qiang Guard, he would have died long ago.

"If you want me to say, just pretend to be the Qiang people, rob them, and finally blame the Qiang people for everything. If the imperial court came down to investigate, they wouldn't be able to investigate anything at all. After taking a glass of wine, the military general said with his tongue wide open.

"Shogun Takami!" The soldier nodded violently, the words of the Qiang people were really easy targets to use. No matter what you do, if you push the Qiang people, the court will not be able to pursue it in the end.

If you really want to continue to investigate, it's a big deal to find a few dead ghosts out of it, and after handing it over to the imperial court, hello, I'm good, everyone. Anyway, the Qiang people's disobedience to the king is also famous, because it is normal to resist and kill.

Can a dead man speak? No. The dead will only bear everything silently, no matter how much sewage is splashed.

"Ugh." The soldier sighed, and so did the general, who was drinking.

Both of them felt melancholy, seeing that the money at their fingertips was not able to reach out and ask for it in front of them, which was really melancholy. is as arrogant as this general, and he doesn't dare to do it secretly, if it is known by the above, there is only one dead word to tell.

Dong Zhuo's subordinates have always been in the habit of those who do not obey military orders. Especially now when Niu Fu is in charge, because Dong Zhuo has left Liangzhou, the law is becoming more and more severe.

This is actually related to Dong Zhuo's habit, he will only allow the existence of people under his control, and those who are strong and uncontrollable can only kill them quickly.

Don't look at the army under Dong Zhuo's command has always been strong in combat, those are all external performances, in front of Dong Zhuo, all the evil wolves can only turn into little sheep and let them drive. Otherwise, you don't live.

He was depressed in his heart, and there was nowhere to talk about it, anyway, he was here, and no one was staring at him, and the generals could only borrow wine to vent their dissatisfaction in their hearts. When he was stationed in Linchuan City, he thought it was a good errand, and his colleagues were envious, jealous and hateful, but until now, he no longer has the luxury of making a lot of money.

Another glass of wine went into my throat, and there was a little bitterness in the wine.

At the gate of Linchuan County, it was as calm as usual, without any waves at all. The caravans and pedestrians came and went into the gates, or walked outside the city through the gates, under the watchful eyes of the soldiers at the gates.

Most of the places under Dong Zhuo's rule are like this, Dong Zhuo is a bit tyrannical, but he is not stupid. He knew very well what he had to rely on in Liangzhou, and he couldn't get rid of the support of the people, so the constraints on his subordinates were very strict within his territory.

Otherwise, according to the habits of these soldiers, the card guard entry fee has been set up long ago, and the reason why it has not been collected until now is also because of the existence of military orders. The only thing that allowed them to make some money was when the caravans entered the city, and at those times they still did not have to pay for the entrance to the city, but it did not prevent the caravans from giving them a little money to buy wine.

I can't take the initiative to ask for it, but I haven't said what to do if others take the initiative to give it.

"Huh." One of the soldiers let out a long yawn, there was really nothing to say about guarding the city gates, bored and tired. If it weren't for the caravan's drinking money, they would have squinted with their spears for a while at this time.

No one dares to stir up trouble here, and no enemy will appear, who will dare to appear? Those who dared were basically beaten by them, or they were killed directly, and who was the opponent in the entire Liangzhou.

There is nothing to worry about.

When he saw another caravan coming, he quickly cheered up and looked at Shi Chang.

The caravan gave more or less money for wine, and if it was more, the brothers would naturally share a little more, and vice versa, the less. Every time it comes to the moment of penny, it is always so exciting, no matter how little money is money, it is better than nothing.

The leading merchant in the caravan came over and took out the heavy money bag from his bosom, and not only the soldier's eyes lit up, but also the eyes of the other soldiers.

In their opinion, this caravan is too familiar with each other, and it makes them more satisfied than other caravans. Look at the bulging money bag, if there are copper coins in it, there will be a lot, in other words, each soldier can at least share dozens of copper coins, and it is not excluded that there are broken silver.

Drink? Drink flower wine! Not just buy drunk, you can also buy a whole night of fun!

The soldiers looked at each other and laughed, all in their eyes as you understood.

When Shi Chang reached over and took the money bag, when he looked at the merchant at the leader of the caravan, he asked casually, "Why are you so tanned?" ”

At this time, the other soldiers noticed that the merchant did indeed look much darker than the merchants they usually saw, and he did not look like a pure merchant. I didn't think much about it, there are many such merchants, after all, it takes several months to go back and forth, plus there are some unpredictable dangers when going to the Qiang tribe to exchange goods, horse thieves and rogues along the way, etc., this black and capable merchant is not unusual except for a little more special.

"Hey, hey. Even my mother-in-law said this, which made everyone laugh, it is really difficult to do business these years, and I can't relax if I don't go out in person. The merchant replied, with a hand behind his back, pressing down in a corner invisible to the soldier.

The men in the caravan who were escorting the goods, the men who controlled the carriage, immediately seemed much calmer when they saw the movement of his hand. Just quietly waiting, waiting for the boss and the soldiers at the city gate to finish speaking.

"Then you're really desperate." Shi Chang smiled understandingly, stepped aside, and made a way.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go into town."

In his opinion, if he had so much wealth, he would have stayed in his hometown and lived happily. I knew that these businessmen would not want to die, but I didn't expect that they would die to such an extent, and they all went into battle in person for money. If the time comes, what is the use of money?

Of course, he won't say what he thinks in his heart, anyway, it's none of his business to buy wine, and the money he gets to buy wine is the most real.

"Thank you!" The merchant clenched his fists and walked directly towards the city.

While he led his caravan men towards the city, the chief also looked at the ruts left by the wagons carrying goods, intentionally or unintentionally, pressing on the ground. It's clear, although not deep, at least these goods have weight.

What he had just seen was wrong not only with the merchant's temperament and the unusual appearance and body shape of his face, but also with the guys in the caravan, each of whom looked very different. However, some of them cowered, and the skinny guy made him understand that he was overly worried.

If there are no strong guys in the caravan, how can you be safe in the layman? If he didn't have enough force, the merchant would not be able to come here, and not long after leaving home, he was afraid that he would die after walking a hundred and ten miles.

Looking at the ruts now, he really put his mind at ease. Weighing the weight of the money bag in his hand, he was not in a hurry, put the money bag in his arms, and then went to share the profit with his soldiers when it was time to rotate.

The caravan was almost all entering the city, and only the last carriage passed in front of Shichang.

It was at this time that Shi Chang suddenly realized that something was wrong, and the gaze of a fellow in the carriage made him feel extremely cold.

This kind of look... Much like...

"Elite Warrior!"

He was stunned by the thought that popped into his head. It wasn't time for him to deny it. The next moment, in a flash, a figure appeared in front of him, and the short knife plunged into his body, causing him unspeakable pain.

"Enemy... Before he could finish his words, a palm had already covered his mouth and pressed him to the ground, and the short knife stabbed him several times, making him completely lose all his strength.

As he fell, he saw that the soldiers guarding the city around him had the same fate as him, and he was killed by surprise, and he could not even make a shout that could arouse the alarm of the soldiers at the head of the city.

(End of chapter)