November 25, 30th year of Zhengde.

The land of eastern Liaodong has been ravaged by snow disasters for more than a month.

In the past, the firewood in 80 wen a load has now risen to 8 taels of silver.

In the past, the charcoal of 450 wen a load has now risen to 30 taels of silver.

Moreover, even though the price is already so high, it is still difficult to find heating things in Liaodong.

Time.

The "merchants" of the counties of the Great Zhou Dynasty flocked to the city like cats that smelled fishy, bringing charcoal, firewood and other things.

Originally, the official road of Liaodong could not be driven due to the thick snow.

At this time, it was forced to be flattened by the merchants from all over the country who flocked to it.

It can be seen how great his "perseverance" is.

......

......

The sky and the earth are vast, and I don't know the time and geometry.

On the official road more than 60 miles away from Liaodong County.

A long-eared "car dragon" that stretches for miles walks with difficulty on the potholed official road.

It is difficult for those who have not experienced the hardships here to empathize.

After a few miles.

Song Yuanfu, who was dressed in cashmere, opened the extremely heavy curtain beside him with a rosy face.

As the curtain of the car was slowly opened.

A chilling cold wind instantly swept into the warm carriage from the open curtain.

Song Yuanfu, whose face was full of red light, couldn't help but sneeze several times in a row.

After counting the interest.

Song Yuanfu hurriedly lowered the curtain quickly, leaving only a gap of less than two fingers.

"Brother Feng, Xu Quchang."

"There is a village called Zhengjia Village two miles away, and the brothers are told to rest in Zhengjia Village for the night."

"I'm tired of Xu Qu and take the brothers to inquire first."

"Give the villagers of Zhengjia Village some coal stoves and briquettes, and ask them to make some room."

Song Yuanfu shouted loudly through the gap of less than two fingers towards the outside of the carriage.

"Good!"

"Yes!"

After counting the interest.

The responses of Xu Qiancheng and Yang Yu came into the carriage one after another.

After hearing the response.

Song Yuanfu quickly put down the gap in the car curtain that was only opened by less than two fingers.

The gap was once again covered by a heavy curtain.

Song Yuanfu quickly leaned forward and approached the coal stove that exuded a strong warmth at that moment.

The iron kettle on the coal stove was quickly removed, and the warmth in the carriage rose rapidly.

After more than 100 breaths.

Song Yuanfu, who was completely cold, placed the iron kettle on the iron frame of the coal stove again.

Then he slowly reclined on top of the soft collapse of the carriage.

Fingers tapped thighs again and again.

Half an hour later.

The iron kettle above the coal stove suddenly made a whistling sound.

Song Yuanfu slowly sat up when he heard the sound, and took out several empty water bladders from the side of the carriage.

After opening them one by one, he immediately lifted the iron kettle and slowly poured the hot water into the water bladder.

Beside him, dozens of water bladders were impressively placed.

Another quarter of an hour.

The slow-moving carriage gradually ceased to move forward.

At the same time, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves outside the carriage.

"Song Dongjia, all the people in the village are frozen to death."

Dressed in a gray and white cashmere robe and wearing a cashmere felt hat, Xu Qiancheng, the leader of the trap camp, paused his war horse and said slowly.

"All frozen to death?"

In the carriage, Song Yuanfu's face pale slightly when he heard this, and then he slowly walked out of the warm spring-like carriage and slowly opened his mouth to confirm.

"One hundred and twenty-three households in the village, more than 460 people, all died of freezing, and none of them were spared."

Xu Qiancheng turned over and dismounted, borrowing the body of the war horse to cover it slightly

After blocking the cold wind, he slowly replied.

Song Yuanfu, who walked out of the carriage, trembled suddenly.

I don't know if it's because of the cold outside the carriage, or because of the news brought by Xu Qiancheng.

More than ten years later.

Song Yuanfu gradually came back to his senses, and his back was stiffened invisibly.

I don't know if it's because of the chill outside the carriage, or because of the burden on my shoulders that carries the lives of thousands of people.

"Xu Qu Chang..... This...... This is the ...... How many villages are there?"

Song Yuanfu tightened the cashmere on his body, and asked slowly in a slightly low voice.

This way.

Song Yuanfu saw too many victims of the Liaodong disaster who dragged their families with their families.

I saw too many frozen bones frozen to death on the side of the road.

Correct.

Whether it's the victims who dragged their families and their families, or the frozen bones that froze to death on the side of the road.

The fact that the village was far from freezing to death brought Song Yuanfu a deeper and greater feeling.

If they can survive, many people will choose to leave their hometowns.

But what if you can't run for your life?

Then you can only watch your loved ones "go away" from you one after another.

Song Yuanfu didn't dare to imagine what kind of despair it would be.

At that time, perhaps it is also a relief to "go away" early.

Xu Qiancheng's face couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.

After counting the interest.

Xu Qiancheng sighed in his heart, and then slowly replied, "The twelfth."

"Twelve." Song Yuanfu muttered in a low voice, and then stopped speaking.

A moment later.

The convoy of the Song family firm slowly drove into the empty Zhengjia Village.

"Song Dongjia, what about those dead villagers?"

"Is it still the same?"

After the Song family firm drove into Zhengjia Village in a lot of cars.

Yang Yu leaned on his body, put his hands in his sleeves, and slowly walked to Song Yuanfu and asked in a low voice.

"It's still the same."

"Let the brothers find the ancestral land of Zhengjia Village and bury all the more than 460 villagers in the ancestral land of their village."

Song Yuanfu's eyelids slowly drooped, and his voice fell with a slight sense of powerlessness and loss.

"Yes."

Yang Yu agreed, then turned around and slowly walked towards the group of guys.

......

......

Night.

The howling cold wind came to an abrupt end.

The sky was once again filled with goose feather snowflakes.

In a private house in Zhengjia Village.

Song Yuanfu, Xu Qiancheng, and Yang Yu sat on the ground around the coal stove.

"More than ten miles east of this place, there is a Lin family town."

"Nalinjia Town is the only big town within a radius of fifty miles."

"There will be a great number of people who will survive."

"When it dawns tomorrow, everyone will leave for Linjia Town immediately after breakfast."

"Be sure to arrive at Linjia Town before nightfall."

Song Yuanfu put away the map in his hand, and slowly said while reaching out to turn the cake next to the coal stove.

Xu Qiancheng touched and estimated the snowflakes that fell from the sky like goose feathers outside the house.

After counting the interest.

Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly and agreed, "Okay."

If it is next to the time and the place, don't say that you have traveled more than ten miles in a day.

Even if it is more than 40 miles traveled, it is not a problem.

But it doesn't work.

This place is close to the land of Liaodong.

And the snow was already falling like goose feathers in the sky again.

At this time and here, if you can travel more than ten miles a day, it is already a very difficult thing.

The words fell.

Song Yuanfu took two pieces of charred yellow from the coal stove

handed it to Xu Qiancheng and Yang Yu.

After the two of them took the cake.

Song Yuanfu took down a piece of burnt yellow bread again.

While chewing slowly, he slowly opened his mouth to explain some matters to the two beside him after arriving in Linjia Town tomorrow.

Just as the three of them were eating white while discussing.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the house.

The footsteps trampled on the snow, making a piercing creaking sound.

The three people in the house looked at each other silently.

Xu Qiancheng immediately got up quickly and strode towards the door.

Those who can approach this private house so quickly from the layers of secret sentinels obviously will never have anyone other than Xu Qiancheng's personal guards.

Now, with his guards in such a hurry, it is obvious that something big has happened.

After Song Yuanfu and Yang Yu glanced at each other, they silently got up and walked to the door.

At the door.

As soon as Xu Qian opened the door, a bone-chilling chill instantly swept over the three of them.

However, none of the three of them at this moment cared about the bone-chilling cold.

The door is more than 20 steps away.

A young man dressed in a heavy cotton coat and carrying a goose-winged knife unique to Wang Daying's waist rushed towards the house panting.

More than ten years later.

The young man panted and clasped his fists and saluted, "Captain Qiqi, according to the report from the scout, there is a caravan of more than 1,000 people coming towards this place two miles away."

"And on both sides of the caravan, there are a large number of men on war horses to escort them."

As soon as this statement came out.

The faces of the three people in front of the house instantly froze together.

In this era, any caravan with a scale of more than 200 people must have a powerful or powerful family behind it.

And the caravan with a scale of more than 1,000 people must have loyal ministers of the DPRK and China behind it, or the figures of the emperor's relatives.

And the caravan that can mobilize the guards must have the figure of a vassal king behind it.

None of them.

Except for the vassal kings of various places, all those who dared to mobilize troops and horses to step out to govern the land without permission were regarded as rebellions.

And if the vassal king mobilizes more than one number of soldiers and horses, then it is equivalent to rebellion.

So.

At this time, the one who came slowly two miles away must have belonged to a vassal king.

That's what I think about.

Xu Qiancheng asked in a deep voice, "What kind of banner is that caravan?"

"Long Echo." Xu Qiancheng's personal guard gasped for a few breaths, and then he clasped his fists again and saluted, "According to the scout's report, the caravan did not fly any flags, not even the caravan merchant flag."

As soon as this statement came out.

Xu Qiancheng and the three of them instantly frowned.

A caravan under the command of a vassal king did not fly any flags on the way, and even the merchant flags were not hoisted.

And there are a large number of soldiers in the caravan to escort them.

What is the purpose of such an act?

Xu Qiancheng and the three of them glanced at each other silently, and they all saw the look of vigilance in each other's eyes.

By this time night had fallen, and everyone was in the "wilderness".

If the person who comes really has bad intentions.

Then he has plenty of time to destroy the corpse after killing people.

It can even frame the people of Liaodong who are suffering from the snow disaster.

After all, in order to survive, people will always go to great lengths.

In front of a private house.

Xu Qiancheng calmed down, and ordered in a deep voice, "The whole song of the herald! Alert now! If anyone dares to act rashly! Cut the grass and eradicate it!"

"Obey!"

Xu Qiancheng's personal guard instantly turned pale when he heard this, and then clasped his fists and saluted.

After the figure of the guard completely disappeared into the snow.

Xu Qiancheng quickly turned around and walked towards the private house, and said as he walked, "The two of you quickly came to discuss."

"Okay." Song Yuanfu agreed, and then took Yang with him

Quickly walk into a private house.

The doors of the houses were closed again.

However, the three people in the private house did not feel the slightest warmth.

"It's very likely that the other party is not good."

"Xu will do that act of murder and robbery."

Xu Qiancheng stood beside the coal stove and said in a deep voice with an extremely solemn face.

Such incidents are truly innumerable in the land of the Western Regions.

Under the leadership of Lou Daoyong, the trapped camp did not know how many caravans they had defended, and they did not know how many "property" of the invading enemy had been captured.

Therefore, after hearing that the caravan had never hoisted any flags, Xu Qiancheng's first reaction was that the other party wanted to commit that murderous and robbing act.

Song Yuanfu frowned when he heard this, and sighed for a few breaths.

If it is a side, he may think that Xu Qiancheng is alarmist.

But this place is close to the land of Liaodong.

And it is the land of Liaodong that is suffering from snowstorms.

The caravans that could be used to control the land of Liaodong at this time carried goods were all for heating.

And the heating things in the eastern part of Liaodong, which has been damaged by the snow disaster, the value is naturally self-evident.

When the benefits far outweigh the risks, there will be countless people who choose to take risks.

For human nature, Song Yuanfu has never dared to overestimate.

After counting the interest.

Song Yuanfu frowned tightly and asked in a deep voice, "Is Xu Quchang sure?"

Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly when he heard this, and then replied, "Before leaving, the prince gave a certain two hundred crossbows."

As soon as this statement came out.

Song Yuanfu's tightly knit brows instantly relaxed.

"That being the case, then there will be no return for him!"

Song Yuanfu silently clenched his fists and said in a deep voice.

At this moment, Song Yuanfu didn't want to think about which vassal king that caravan belonged to.

I don't want to think about whether the caravan really has malicious intentions.

The words fell.

Song Yuanfu solemnly bowed his hand to Xu Qiancheng and said, "One thousand one hundred and sixty-two people of the Song Clan's trading house, from this moment on, they are all under the orders of Xu Quchang!"

"The people of the Song family are all from the five families of Yang, Chai, Yu, Liu, and Jiang, and their loyalty naturally does not need to be worried."

"Xu Qu is long and let go, if something goes wrong, then Song will personally go to the prince to take the blame."

Xu Qiancheng glanced at Song Yuanfu in surprise when he heard this.

He never expected that Song Yuanfu, a small businessman, would have such great courage.

Xu Qiancheng calmed down, and solemnly clenched his fists and saluted: "Song Dongjia and relax, Xu will definitely let that thief come and go!"

The words fell.

Xu Qiancheng was no longer polite, and immediately ordered in a deep voice: "Song Dongjia, quickly order someone to take down the merchant flag and the royal flag given by the prince."

"Obey!" Song Yuanfu agreed, and then quickly looked at Yang Yu beside him.

Yang greeted him and saluted unequivocally: "My subordinates have been going for a hundred years."

With that, Yang Yu trotted all the way out of the house.

Xu Qiancheng paused slightly, and then ordered again in a deep voice: "The Song Dong family immediately mobilized three hundred strong men, carrying bows and arrows and white bedding on the roofs on both sides of the village entrance to stand by at any time."

"With the sound of crossbow arrows, they quickly threw arrows at the thieves."

Song Yuanfu said with a serious face when he heard this: "Song will arrange it now."

"Wait."

As soon as Song Yuanfu turned around, Xu Qiancheng quickly spoke and stopped him.

After Song Yuanfu turned around in confusion.

Xu Qiancheng commanded again in a deep voice: "After the Song Dongjia dealt with this matter, he immediately led the remaining men to rush to the cargo office."

"Xu will arrange some manpower to lead everyone to form a car formation to prevent thieves and dogs from jumping off the wall in a hurry."

Song Yuanfu's face froze when he heard this, and then he bowed his hand again and said, "Obey!"

Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly, and then quickly explained, "Song Dongjia remember, this

Everything needs to be done in a quarter of an hour, not more than a quarter of an hour."

Song Yuanfu nodded heavily, and promised in a deep voice: "Xu Qu is long and rest assured, Song knows it in his heart."

It took the caravan two quarters of an hour to complete the last two miles at nightfall.

And it was not yet dark, and the sky had not yet fallen heavy snow.

In this case.

The caravan that did not know which vassal king belonged to wanted to complete the last two miles.

It will take at least three quarters of an hour.

This also means that if Song Yuanfu can complete all the things Xu Qiancheng explained within a quarter of an hour.

Then Xu Qiancheng will have two quarters of an hour to arrange his troops.

He also had two quarters of an hour, and with the help of the soldiers of the trapping camp, he set up a chariot formation in the village.

The words fell.

Song Yuanfu didn't dare to delay in the slightest, and walked quickly towards the outside of the house.

After Song Yuanfu's figure completely disappeared outside the house.

Xu Qiancheng pulled out the snowy goose wing knife on his waist with a "puff".

His eyes looked coldly at the road two miles away.

After counting the interest.

Xu Qiancheng strode out of the house with a goose wing knife in his hand.

......

......

Zhengjia Village is two miles away.

A group of hundreds of fully loaded wagons slowly walked through the snow.

The creaking sound of the wheels clattering over the snow was heard as the convoy moved slowly.

In the center of a huge carriage.

A middle-aged man dressed in fox fur sat in the main seat of the carriage.

Beside him, a fiery charcoal fire is constantly providing a strong warmth to the huge carriage.

A fine flask sits securely in an iron basin over a charcoal fire.

Wisps of wine and fragrance slowly overflow from the spout.

The middle-aged man wearing a fox fur coat slowly untied the fox fur coat behind him, revealing his inner brocade robe.

Then he slowly reached out and took out the warm and exquisite wine jug from the iron basin.

"In the past few days, General Liu has had a lot of hard work, and he drank a glass of thin wine to get rid of his fatigue."

The middle-aged man held a delicate wine jug and slowly poured the warm wine into the two wine cups placed on the small table beside him.

Wait until the drinks are eight points full.

He slowly picked up one of the wine cups and handed it to the middle-aged general who was sitting next to a small table with hidden iron armor under a cotton robe.

"The last general thanked Master Pan."

The middle-aged general, known as General Liu, took the wine cup with both hands, and immediately thanked him with a respectful face.

"You and I are both people who serve the king, so why do you need to be so angry."

Hearing this, Master Pan pretended to be dissatisfied and said slowly.

The words fell.

Mr. Pan picked up the wine cup on the small table, raised his head and drank the wine inside.

After smashing it softly, after smashing it.

Old Man Pan seemed to sigh with emotion, and said slowly as if he was being co-opted: "What's more, if it weren't for General Liu's follow-up."

"Maybe Pan has already been eaten up by those caravans full of wolf ambitions."

"How can there be more than two hundred cartloads of goods for nothing?"

"After returning to Pingcheng, Pan will definitely report what has happened during this period of time to the prince."

"When the time comes, Pan will look for his sister again and say a few more good words for General Liu."

"In this way, I can express Pan's gratitude in my heart."

General Liu's eyes showed ecstasy when he heard this, and then he hurriedly clasped his fists and saluted: "Master Pan's great kindness and great virtue Liu Mouming is very touching."

"In the future, if Master Pan has a place where he can use Liu, he can just send someone to find Liu immediately."

When Master Pan heard this, he laughed and said, "If General Liu has a place where he can use Pan, he can just speak."

The words fell.

The two looked at each other and smiled, and everything was silent.

For General Liu, it is naturally a great blessing to be able to attach to his younger brother who is a compatriot of the princess.

What's more, this old man Pan has his own status in the heart of the acting king.

As for Master Pan, whether it is to truthfully report the situation to the acting king Xu Qi, or to find his sister to blow the wind on the pillow.

It's all effortless.

If you can befriend a general in the army just like this, isn't this a great thing?

The two people in the carriage kept pushing the cups and changing the lamps.

Outside the carriage, hundreds of carriages full of goods slowly headed towards Zhengjia Village.

If you look closely, it is not difficult to find that the hundreds of carriages full of goods have more than ten kinds of specifications and sizes.

Even the inconspicuous signs carved on the carriage are more than a dozen kinds.

Three quarters of an hour later.

Hundreds of horse-drawn carriages loaded with goods slowly marched to the entrance of Zhengjia Village.

A soldier wearing a felt hat and a heavy cotton coat slowly rode his horse to the huge carriage.

"Master Pan, General Liu."

"Zhengjia Village has arrived."

The soldier in heavy cotton clothes turned over and dismounted, and saluted with a fist on his face towards the carriage with a respectful face.

Inside the carriage.

Master Pan, who was slightly red, and General Liu put down the wine cup in their hands one after another.

"General Liu, Zhengjia Village has arrived, let's spend the night in Zhengjia Village tonight."

Master Pan put down the wine cup in his hand and leaned back slightly.

He has been acting as a merchant for more than 20 years, and he has never lived in a carriage, and even a tent he rarely sets foot in.

It is precisely because of this that the caravan of more than 1,000 people will make it difficult to move forward in the night, just to rush to the nearest village to spend the night.

When General Liu heard this, he clasped his fists and saluted, "It's all up to Master Pan's orders."

The words fell.

General Liu's face pale slightly, and then he spoke again: "Master Pan, wait for a while, and Liu will send someone into the village to investigate."

Hearing this, Master Pan shook his head slightly and said, "Let's go directly to the village, there is no need to investigate again."

"The Jiang clan trading house that was destroyed today went to this Zhengjia Village when he returned from Liaodong half a month ago."

"According to his confession, the entire village of Zhengjia Village froze to death in the snowstorm."

General Liu's face changed slightly, and then he clasped his fists and saluted, "Dare to ask Master Pan, did the people from the Jiang Clan's firm clean up the corpse?"

When Master Pan heard this, he sneered and said, "That Jiangdong family is very timid, seeing that the whole village of Zhengjia Village was frozen to death in the snowstorm, they pulled up the caravan and ran away without saying a word, they would rather set up a tent in the wilderness than live in Zhengjia Village, which is full of dead people."

General Liu's face changed slightly again when he heard this, and then he clasped his fists again and saluted, "Liu will lead people to the village to clean up the body first."

Old Man Pan stretched heavily, and then said with a disdainful face: "There is no need to be so troublesome, just enter the village together, and it is not too late to clean up after entering the village."

"Pan is not as timid as the Jiangdong family."

"And, this day has been really tiring."

"Don't waste any more time."