Volume 4: The Eventful Years Chapter 195: Greed [I]
It's just that people didn't expect that the general of the Beidao clan, who had an upright temperament and had always disdained anything to make a living, would actually engage in this kind of business when he went to a neighboring country for the first time! The mission obviously had caravans in its ranks, and more than half of the ox carts were caravans. But he is pretending to be the entourage of the envoy, and he is carrying too many things, right?
Everyone else has mixed into the caravan in the mission, but looking at the way this great general has done it, it is simply a mission mixed in the caravan! It seems that the general's sword skills are very powerful, and the method of making money is even more ruthless! The Beidao clan has just made great achievements recently because of the matter of recommending a miracle doctor, and it is when he is proud, and his courage is also extraordinarily great.
Even if everyone tacitly understands this kind of thing, it can't be done so publicly.
The ox cart and the horse-drawn cart walked together, and the speed of course depended on how fast the ox cart could go. The general is an impatient man. Although he could not gallop on horseback, he also urged the entire team of the mission to hurry at the same time. If you happen to spend the night in a place where there is no city or village, then set up a tent and camp, which is a bit of a marching and fighting style.
Of course, the guards brought by the Beidao clan themselves didn't feel any hardship, but for those caravans that mixed in, it was quite difficult to rush like this. But after all, everyone is a person who seeks wealth, and when he usually goes out to sell goods for long distances, he also experiences food and sleeping, and these difficulties can be overcome.
A caravan mission consisting mainly of ox carts. It took only two days to cross the mountains that surrounded the national capital. On the second night after departure, we happened to arrive at the pass between Pengshan and Meishan. There are no villages here, but there is a team of sergeants stationed there, and the small barracks are not enough for everyone. The general lived in the barracks. Most of the people pitched their tents in the fields beside the road.
The general of the Beidao clan led the mission like leading soldiers, and the orders were particularly strict, stopping when he said he was stopping, leaving when he said he was leaving, and even setting up tents to make fires and cook things. It also had to be completed within the specified time, and everyone was in a hurry for the past two days.
On this day, while camping, someone moved a batch of things from the barracks and joined the mission. The entourage had a few new faces. These are the general's personal belongings, and there are also businessmen muttering in secret, the general of the Northern Dao clan is known as a prestige in the country, but he didn't expect that it would be enough to make money by doing this kind of thing, and he ordered his subordinates to bring in a batch of things halfway through.
The men who escorted the goods were three young sergeants in civilian clothes, who had not known each other, including a handsome and plainly dressed young man with a dog by his side. The dog wagged its tail and jumped into the car when it was on the road, and in the pile of goods in the carport, it only came out and ran around when camping at night.
Of course, this dog is Xiaotian, it is very inconspicuous in the caravan, and there are several dogs in this team, all of which are yellow and white flower dogs. It is not uncommon for caravans to take dogs on the road, and the dogs can also guard the goods and bark loudly to warn them of anything during the night camp. As for the simple boy who looked like a sergeant, it was Baoyu.
Uncle Dao knew that Baoyu and Xiaotian had infiltrated the mission, and he arranged it, but even if it was the general's confidant and personal guard, he only knew that General Dao had secretly mixed in a batch of valuable private goods, and the young man and the other two escorts would never have imagined that he was the recently famous Master Peng Keng in the country. And like this kind of thing, the subordinates only need to do it, and they must not ask anything more.
Uncle Dao didn't have anything unusual along the way, not only did he not say a word to Baoyu, but he didn't even look at him and Xiaotian much. In his capacity as a general and envoy of the state, what is there to say to a servant who drives oxcarts?
However, the Beidao clan himself felt very depressed, and the monarch instructed him to send Baoyu out of the Ba Mu Kingdom to the Zheng Mu Kingdom in an unobtrusive manner, and not to let anyone discover the whereabouts of the little gentleman. The general thought about it, the best way is this, he has always acted upright and selfless, but now in order to fulfill the king's order, he has a reputation for greedy for money, and he is so greedy for money!
A month later, the mission team arrived at Shanchuan Castle, which was hit by the disaster last year, and countless people crossed the road to greet and see them off, many people stood by the roadside to bring water and food to the mission, and along the way, the village patriarchs sent various gifts and specialties. Because everyone knows why the monarch sent this mission to Zheng Muro.
In fact, only Master Cangzheng, who was in charge of counting and receiving the materials between the two countries, knew exactly how many truckloads of goods were sent to Zheng Muroguo, and the checkpoints of Zheng Muroguo would also be counted symbolically, and it was impossible for ordinary people to know. Even if the mission carried the supplies of the caravan, who would have thought that the general would carry so much?
When the people along the way saw so many cattle and goods, they thought that most of them were things that Zheng Muguo wanted, and they scolded Zheng Muguo and his ministers for their greed. The North Dao clan made money, but the king of the neighboring country carried the black pot for him, and this errand was quite beautiful. Zheng Muguo and his monarch, in fact, were not wronged when they were scolded, because they also extorted things from Bamuroguo.
When the envoy team passed through the border checkpoint of Zheng Muguo, the sergeants guarding the pass were also taken aback, they were also well-informed, and secretly said in their hearts that this envoy heard that he was a great general, but he was too greedy, why did he bring so many things to pass through the customs? After a simple check, the guard general also asked the Beidao clan: "Your Excellency, is there too much goods in your team?"
The Beidao clan scolded: "What is more, it's not all what your monarch wants! If it's too much, you can report it to the monarch of your country, let us send less, and it won't hurt if I wait at the border for two months." ”
Of course, the guard will finally let the embassy go, and while secretly muttering in his heart that this envoy is too greedy, he also somewhat slanders his own monarch for being too ruthless. He knew very well how much grain was transported last year, and although the mission brought a lot of goods this year, Zheng Muguo also asked for it, which made him, a guard, embarrassed to talk more.
When the mission entered the territory of the Zheng Mur Kingdom, at the request of the Beidao clan, the speed of the journey was faster, and the journey would not be as convenient as in the Bamur Kingdom, and it was really like a march to stay overnight. Since the beginning of the border pass, Zheng Muguo has sent two small teams of military formations to escort one after the other, after all, so many people have also gone deep into the border with two truckloads of ordnance, and there can be no accidents.
But no one noticed Baoyu, Baoyu behaved very ordinarily and plainly during this time, whether it was loading and unloading goods, or setting up tents and making fires for cooking, his hands and feet were very neat and diligent, and he was completely born in an ordinary village, and he was very hard-working. The people who walked with him were very impressed, but not very impressive.
It is impossible for all the goods and personnel in the mission to enter the national capital, and everyone knows this. Before reaching the capital, there were fewer and fewer ox carts and people in the procession, and there were always people who stayed behind to make a deal as they passed through the city along the way. They will also buy all kinds of local goods, but they will not go through the checkpoints again, they will only wait for the mission to come back again, and then follow the mission back to Bamurokoku.
No one noticed when Baoyu left, and the team walked for more than two months before reaching Gantian City, the capital of Zheng Muro. Half a month before arriving in the capital, Baoyu stayed in another city, along with the cart of goods and two other sergeants. At that time, the general's personal guard also specially told one of the sergeants to sell the goods for a good price.
The castle is actually a fork in the road, turning west to lead to the capital of the Zheng Dynasty, and continuing south to reach Wufu Hill. Baoyu spent a day in the bazaar, but Xiaotian didn't enter the city at all, and when he passed by the mountains outside the city, he jumped out of the car and ran away. When Baoyu also appeared in the mountains outside the city the next day, Xiaotian ran over with his tail wagging again.
No one knew or even guessed that the little gentleman in the Xiangmuro Country and the Master Peng Keng in the Bamuro Country had now appeared in the hinterland of the Zheng Family. With the help of Hou Li, Baoyu successfully concealed his past whereabouts and took Xiaotian to move forward alone again. They left the avenue, and in front of them were the rolling hills, which were close to the southern wilderness on the edge of Ba Yuan.
Lord Beidao led the delegation into the capital of Zheng Muro, and lived in a post house dedicated to entertaining state envoys, and was received by officials who were in charge of welcoming Zheng Muru. There were too many goods in the convoy, and the courtyard of the welcome post house could not stop, and it was lined up on the road outside the courtyard, which also attracted many onlookers.
These ox carts were only half of the time when the mission set off, and they were loaded with goods and utensils for Zheng Muroguo. As for the supplies of the caravans, they had already been sold in the cities along the way, and the last remaining batch was also transported to the largest bazaar in the national capital.
Zheng Muroguo's Cangzheng Da led his subordinates to come the next day and count and hand over with the envoy Beidao. Lord Kurama was very surprised, not only did Ba Muru not only send so many goods and utensils, but the monarch also gave an extra heavy gift, and the monarch of the Zheng family and the lords of the court and the central government all had a share, and even he, Lord Kurasho, got a lot of benefits.
The North Dao clan explained to him that this was because the monarch was in a good mood. Recently, the monarch had been unwell, but fortunately he was restored to health by the divine doctor, and the country of Ba Muro celebrated the whole country, and the monarch was happy and generous.
Hou Liao is very generous, but the envoy of the country, the Beidao clan, is stingy. When Kuramasa finished counting and was about to transport the things, the North Dao clan said: "You move the goods and utensils, but the cart and cattle have to be sent back to me, and I have to load the things and bring them back to China." Master Cangzheng couldn't cry or laugh, and turned around and reported the matter to the monarch.
That night, the greeting officer in charge of receiving the envoys set up a banquet in the post house to entertain the Beidao clan, and asked privately during the banquet: "I heard that there is a divine doctor Peng Keng in the country of Ba Mur recently, and this divine doctor has a very close personal relationship with the general, and you recommended it to the king of your country." If you have the chance, can you also refer me to it? I have a close friend who is suffering from a strange illness and would like to ask this miracle doctor to treat him. ”
The Beidao clan was shocked at that time, Baoyu mixed in the embassy and entered the Zheng Chamber, this is an absolute secret, could it be that this welcoming officer heard the rumors? He replied quietly: "After Lord Peng Keng's mediation for the monarch. So he said goodbye and went away, and now I have traveled thousands of miles to your country, and I do not know where he is...... How did you know that?"
The receptionist said with some disappointment: "I just heard the news recently, the king of your country met a divine doctor, and that divine doctor had the ability to resurrect the dead and saved the king's life, and the monarch gave him a fief and gave him the title Peng Keng. I thought the doctor was a close friend of the general, and you must know where his mansion is. Now that he has a fief, can't he find anyone?"
Beidao replied: "I also met a miracle doctor in the mountains when I was collecting medicine. Forgot to ask where he lives. But in the kingdom, it is indeed the best relationship I have with this miracle doctor, and it is I who recommend him to the king. As for his back cover, it was where the elixir was collected. It was a treacherous mountain, with only flying snakes and poisonous miasma, but no people. ”
The two chatted for a while, and then the Beidao clan figured out that the receptionist didn't know that Baoyu had been in the mission, he had just heard about what had happened in Ba Mu Guozhong recently. This person claimed that one of his close friends was suffering from a strange illness. However, the Beidao clan sensed his aura, and it didn't look like he was healthy and normal, and it was estimated that the sick person was the greeter himself.
This general with a heroic and upright temperament is actually thoughtful. He didn't break it in front of him, but asked the receptionist's close friend what strange illness he was suffering from? As soon as the receptionist started to grind and chirp, he didn't want to say anything, but later the general ordered the guards to serve wine, which he also brought privately. After the receptionist drank too much, he finally said three words very embarrassed.
The North Dao clan wanted to laugh when he heard this, but he held back. Snake spirit disease is indeed a strange disease. It appears from time to time in the three kingdoms of the phase room, the Ba room, and the Zheng room. It is said that one of the reasons for this disease is that he had an affair with a demon woman. But it is not clear whether snake spirit disease is contagious or not, because so far they have not heard of it. Whoever has snake essence disease will pass it on to others through daily life.
The cause of snake spirit disease cannot even be determined, and people can only guess based on various rumors.
Most people who suffer from this disease are silent, seeing it as an unspeakable secret, and do not want others to know about it. Even the name "snake spirit disease" is a curse word on Ba Yuan. The symptoms of snake sperm disease are very strange, it is not easy to detect at first, and when it is more obvious, snake scales will appear on the skin of a certain part of the body.
Every time it rains on a cloudy day, or when the night air is heavier in the early morning, the skin and even the flesh and bones near the markings will be itchy and unbearable. Not only that, but patients are also prone to thinking about what is wrong, and sometimes they can't control their impulses and do things that are out of line. When the condition is very serious, there will be all kinds of illusions in front of you, and you can't even distinguish between illusions and reality.
In most cases, snake sperm disease is not fatal, but it only causes a lot of trouble to people, and more trouble to those around the patient. Sometimes, although the snake scales do not appear on the body, the symptoms of snake sperm disease have already flinched, and they are often unaware that they are sick.
How serious is the condition of snake essence disease? Many people have not yet figured out. Someone may have a snake spirit disease all their life, but they will still be like that until they die. The condition seems to be latent and, if worsened, could plateau for decades. However, if the symptoms worsen dramatically, there may be two consequences: either the markings will spread throughout the body and eventually lead to death, or the person may become insane and have a noticeable loss of demeanor and sanity.
Many witch doctors believe that the worsening of snake spirit symptoms is due to the patient's other problems. Therefore, you only need to pay attention to the body, keep your mind calm and sober, and you don't need any special treatment. That being said, everyone knows that snake spirit disease is a "terminal disease". Although it is not necessarily fatal, it is a strange disease that is difficult to cure. Whoever has this disease is regarded as an unspeakable secret, and will never admit it easily.
The Beidao clan patted the welcome officer on the shoulder with some sympathy and said, "For the sake of your friend's illness, it may be a bit unrealistic to deliberately invite Lord Peng Keng's family from Bamuro Country to Gantian City. Let me teach you a method, joining the military camp to cultivate the strength of the mountain, although it may not be able to cure the snake essence disease, but it can also make the symptoms as low as possible. If you practice the strength of the mountain and cultivate the martial arts, then the snake essence disease will be cured by itself. ”
The welcoming officer smiled bitterly and said, "If I can cultivate martial arts, no, no, no, if my friend has this ability, why should he seek a divine doctor?
Ordinary healers can't cure snake essence disease at all, but it's not absolutely incurable. If you practice the martial arts in the opening strength, the snake spirit disease will naturally be cured, and it is the same to have the cultivation of the two realms. In fact, the mountain god also said to Baoyu that cultivating the strength of the mountain is also a way to explore the path to the sky, but this road is only equivalent to the end of the cultivation of the second realm.
Baoyu's whereabouts were not revealed, but such a small incident happened that still aroused the vigilance of the Beidao clan. He and the monarch left the Pengshan Forbidden Land at the same time, and there was no news before. As soon as he returned to the capital, he immediately set out with his mission. The mission went straight out of the country to the capital of Zheng Muro, and did not stop much along the way, and the speed was already quite fast.
Of course, the spread of news among the people is by no means so fast. Now that the greeters who connected the embassy all knew what was happening in the Pengshan forbidden land, it showed that someone had been secretly communicating with Zheng Muguo, and before he led the delegation to arrive, someone had already sent the news to Zheng Muruguo's capital at a faster speed.
Taking advantage of the fact that he drank too much wine, the Beidao clan said a lot of words to the welcome officer. The greeting officer unconsciously told him some of the things he knew, even including the details of some things in the Pengshan Forbidden Land. This kind of news can't be reported by Zheng Muguo's secret spying on rumors, it can only be sent by people in the forbidden land at that time, and I don't know what the purpose is?
This is not a good thing, but who did it? Everyone in the Pengshan Forbidden Land was suspicious at that time!
This greeter is the son of the Zheng family's national soldiers, so this person may have heard some secrets at home. If it weren't for the fact that he suffered from snake spirit disease and was poured too much wine by the Northern Dao Clan, I am afraid that he would not easily reveal such information.
Although the Beidao clan remained silent, they had decided that they must privately remind the monarch after they returned. There are indeed people in the country who are plotting to make a move, and the secret action is not small!
The next day, Zheng Gu, the monarch of the Zheng family, summoned the envoy of the Ba Mur country, the Beidao clan, in the palace. The Beidao clan expressed Hou Li's gratitude to Zheng Gu in public, and presented Hou Li's additional gifts to Zheng Gu and Zheng Muguo Zhuzheng. Zheng Quan was very happy, this time he made a lot of money, and he set up a banquet in the palace that night to entertain the delegation led by the Beidao clan, which was also the highest state banquet in Bayuan.