The mountain thorn county of the original mountain gun.

This inconspicuous county, roughly located in the middle of Yuanshan County, has only more than 20,000 people. There are no special products here, and the land is not fertile, and the situation in Yuanshan County is chaotic, and there are often horse bandits and thieves who are wreaking havoc, and the county has become more and more dilapidated over the years.

You know, just 20 years ago, there are still more than 35,000 people here!

Although Shanjiao County has fallen to this state, it is certainly affected by the geographical location of Yuanshan County, but it also has a lot to do with the incompetence of officials at all levels in Yuanshan. However, it is precisely because the officials don't ask, and the local situation is dilapidated and chaotic, that this place has become the midpoint of the secret trading channel between Songjiang and Yanyun.

After a week of preliminary preparations, the Ankang Chamber of Commerce, which was responsible for the specific transactions and transportation, arrived here secretly with grain and cotton cloth under the protection of the soldiers of the Songjiang Army disguised as members of the Chamber of Commerce. In order to maintain maximum confidentiality, all the goods are covered with felt cloth on the outside, and it is impossible to see what is on them.

Of course, in order to avoid people's eyes, the Song family also used a chamber of commerce in which people from the side tribe participated in the shares.

Judging from the books and customs records, this is just two very small chambers of commerce, conducting a very common sugar and porcelain transaction. No one knew that the convoy, which was ten times larger than the record, was loaded with 120,000 stone grain and 10,000 cotton cloths!

Under the guidance of the personnel of the Ganxing Military Intelligence Department, the leader of the Chamber of Commerce here quickly connected with the Song family in the wilderness near Shanjian County.

The Song family was responsible for presiding over the transaction, and it was a fat man with a somewhat bloated figure named Song Fugui. seems to be very easy-going with a smile, but there is often a cunning light in his eyes. After following the people from the MI Department, they randomly checked the food on dozens of carts, both deep and shallow. He was very pleased with the results.

It's all fine Matsue rice, and there is no rice bran or gravel mixed with it. Although some of the rice is not new this year, it is not the kind of old grain that has been accumulated for too long. With the rising price of food now. The total value of such a transaction is as high as one million gold coins.

In the initial negotiations between Chen Wu and the envoy of the Great Prince. The first written test transaction was tentative in nature, only 50,000 stone of grain, and the payment method was all gold coins. When the trading channels are perfected and the credit is established, a larger-scale transaction will be carried out, and the payment method will also be offset with iron ore and war horses. However, due to the climate change in Yanyun County and the fact that the Song family's grain purchases in other places were being monitored, the Song family had to temporarily modify the transaction.

"Please tell the Great Prince. Because we didn't prepare in advance, your last-minute request caused us a lot of trouble. Although for the sake of friendship with the eldest prince, the governor of my family agreed to the deal and temporarily allocated military rations to make up enough for this batch, but the Song family needs to pay more for it. ”

According to Chen Wu's request, the Ankang Chamber of Commerce raised the offer before the transaction.

Regarding Songjiang Jun's change of hexagram, a trace of annoyance flashed in Song Fugui's eyes, but it was not unexpected. He had already received an explanation from above before he came. His side suddenly changed his hexagram, making it clear that he had a need for Songjiang. In this case, it is normal for the Matsue Army to increase the price. As long as it's not too outrageous. Just say yes to each other.

In the end, the two sides bargained and reached the deal on the condition of adding 20,000 catties of iron ore afterwards.

With the change and expansion of the Songjiang Army, the urgent shortage of weapons and armor has become a huge problem that cannot be ignored. Although the Songjiang Army was on the side of Daqingguan, he offered generous conditions to solicit the past chambers of commerce to help buy it. Not only is it two percent higher than the market price, but it can even be exempted from tariffs after meeting certain conditions. But iron ore is such a thing, and the relationship is not strong at all. Occasionally, there are a few small fights, which are not enough to meet the needs of the army.

Trade with Yanyun County. It has become the most suitable path for Chen Wu at the moment - of course, it is not impossible to directly buy the finished sword of Yanyun County. And the quality is quite excellent, but the problem is its price. If you bring back the iron ore to build it yourself, the price of a weapon is only one-third of the price of buying the finished product directly!

In the face of such a disparity, it is self-evident how to choose.

As for whether the temporary price increase would anger the Great Prince's faction, Chen Wu was not worried at all. Because this transaction was a breach of the prior agreement by the other party, the other party suddenly asked for an increase in scale. In addition, food is also more important than iron ore in comparison.

The army lacked good iron ore, and at best the weapons were poor. Although there is no iron ore in Songjiang, there are still a few small iron mines in Tiannan County, which are nothing more than low iron content and the forged weapons are not good. But if the army of Yanyun County does not have enough food, it will starve to death!

However, before the old emperor died, the eldest prince did not dare to buy grain openly. Chen Wu, a rebel force who was born out of thin air and occupied Songjiang, became the best and almost only choice for the eldest prince. The more troops he recruited, the more dependent he became on Matsue.

In the face of Songjiang's request for a price increase, the Song family obediently paid it after a few words of controversy, which is the most direct proof of this relationship.

With this deal concluded, Chen Wu's Songjiang Army officially had a deep relationship with the Great Prince faction. Moreover, the millions of gold coins recovered also brought back the finances of the Songjiang Army, which had been spending frantically for a period of time. The 20,000 catties of iron ore delivered soon after were even more powerful for the Second Division of the Songjiang Army in preparation.

No matter how you look at it, it's a triple win!

Because they were well aware of the importance of Songjiang, the Song family not only did not break their promise, but soon began to ship after the news was transmitted. Just three days later, 20,000 catties of iron ore were loaded from Yanyun. At this time, the craftsmen of the former Ordnance Division under the name of the War Readiness Agency were already waiting for it. Once the iron ore arrived, they would be able to quickly build suitable weapons and armor for the 2nd Division of the Songjiang Army.

Seeing that the situation in Songjiang County was moving in a good direction, but just as time turned a new page and entered January of the year 673 of the continental calendar, a major case that had never appeared in history occurred and a little bad handling could affect the prestige of the Songjiang Army.

Matsue Army, Osan Province!

The traces of the Taiping army's attack on this place are no longer visible, and the city has basically regained its original vitality. As the end of the year is approaching, many wealthy and aristocratic families have become busy and have begun to prepare in advance for this bad and bad year.

No one knew that a catastrophe was about to befall them.

Near the border between Wushan Mansion and Ninghai County, taking advantage of the night, nearly 100 people sneaked across the border from the east and slipped in. These people have a more or less smell of the sea, and they are all dressed in black, with weapons on their backs, and they look very capable. Answered by two guides, they infiltrated Osan City within thirty miles of dawn and lodged in an abandoned earth temple.

If the old people of Osan Mansion saw them, they would definitely be able to see through the origin of these people at a glance - the pirates in the eastern ocean!

Ninghai County, which is only half a county, can't stop them at all, plus they have been harassed for many years, Ninghai County no longer has a convenient and valuable target, so these pirates have hit the rich Songjiang County. In order to deal with them, the former Governor's Office of Songjiang had to specially dispatch a mixed brigade, including 2,000 light cavalry, to deal with these pirates.

With such an official army suppressing, Haikou is indeed much more honest. Even if he still crosses the border from time to time, he is much smaller in terms of number and scale, and he doesn't dare to go too deep, for fear of being dumpled by the cavalry.

However, the entry of the Taiping army broke the original balance.

This gave the pirates an opportunity!

The nearly 100 pirates who infiltrated today are one of those pirate gangs that are ready to move. They belonged to an organization of the Sea Dragon Regiment, and the entire organization numbered about 300 people and 16 or 7 large and small ships. Not only did they occupy a small island in the open sea, but they even built a nest on the island and housed seven or eight hundred family members.

Among the many pirate gangs in the Eastern Ocean, the Sea Dragon Regiment is also famous.

One of the advantages of being willing to drag the family is that it can improve the cohesion of the pirates. But there is also a disadvantage, that is, it greatly increases the pressure on the pirates, and they have to go out frequently to loot. Ninghai County has been robbed by them. Either the rich people have run away, or the rest are powerful iron turtles, and the idle Haikou can't gnaw at all. So, they set their sights on the Shangguan family in Wushan Mansion.

The Shangguan family is definitely a big force in Osan City, not only several people are local officials in Osan City, but they also run a large number of fields and industries. The famous Yunzhong Chamber of Commerce was attacked by the Horse Bandit Alliance outside Daqing Pass and asked for help from the Taiping Army, and there were one-and-a-half shares of the Shangguan family.

If you can swallow the Shangguan family, then you can get hundreds of thousands of gold in cash!

"Third child, how is the investigation?"

The person who spoke was Zhang Shun, the head of the Sea Dragon Regiment. In order to ensure the success of this big operation, he did not hesitate to bring people out himself. The nearly 100 people who accompanied him, each of them was the elite of the Sea Dragon Regiment, and the most junior ones had been in the gang for five years.

"Commander, the routes in and out have been investigated, and there is no problem with safety. As long as you make a sound, you can do it tonight! ”

The third is the third-in-command of the Sea Dragon Regiment, and he sneaked into Wushan according to Zhang Shun's order two weeks ago to investigate the situation in the city. For this operation, it can be said that it took great pains.

"Tell me about it."

Seeing that the third child seemed to be very sure, Zhang Shun spit out the grass stalk in his mouth and asked with interest.

"This is the location of the Shangguan family in Wushan City!"

The third child picked up a branch and scratched it on the ground of the Land Temple. After a while, a simple map of Wushan City appeared in front of Zhong Haikou, and then pointed to the map and said, "Enter from the east gate, as long as you have three streets, you will be Shangguan's house." As for the official government of Oshan, hehe, there is no need to be afraid! ”

Recalling the scene of his own inquiry, he showed a disdainful sneer. (To be continued.) )