In mid-June, Zhu Ming was still waiting for the official ship, and Zheng Fatzi left Beijing first.

The Daming Village security team that escorted Dean Zhu at the beginning was all taken away by Zheng Fatzi and sent back to the village to develop with peace of mind.

They didn't know that Daming Village and the Zheng family were playing smuggling.

Several merchant ships sailed from the Han River into the golden water, and Zhang Guangdao was personally responsible for securing the goods.

Merchant ships and shipwrights are all from the Zheng family.

As for the cargo on board, half of it came from the Zheng family and half from Daming Village.

Zhang Guangdao looked at the mountains on both sides of the strait and asked, "Zheng Liulang hasn't been here before?" ”

"I've never been here, I usually take the ramp, it's too dangerous here." Zheng Liulang's name is Zheng Sui, and he is Zheng Fatzi's cousin.

Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "The more dangerous it is, the greater the profit!" ”

The Zheng family and Daming Village joined forces to smuggle, but they were purely forced out by the imperial court.

First, the war in the northwest dragged on for a long time, and in order to raise money and food, the imperial court ordered the patrol soldiers to strengthen the anti-smuggling. Bao Shute Road and Chen Cang Road, because they are the main business routes in Sichuan, are now very strict in the investigation of smuggling, and the Zheng family's smuggling door was strangled to death in an instant.

Second, the Zheng family's tea makers have been bought, and the frying method of green tea has been leaked out, and more and more green tea is being produced. The local roasted tea market is saturated, and it is difficult to legally export it, so it can only be sold through smuggling. Otherwise, it is necessary to go to the tea and horse division, and suffer from the layers of tea tax and excessive taxes.

"Stop!"

The flotilla was stopped by a group of officers and men.

Zheng Sui was not afraid at all, and reprimanded angrily: "Yuan Zhanggong and Zhu Tanhua's boat, do you dare to stop it?" ”

The officers and men looked at each other and did not even dare to ask questions, and they were quickly allowed to leave.

In fact, these are mine supervisors.

Since the gold mines were exhausted, they set up private cards to illegally collect taxes from passing merchants, and they had no right to collect taxes at all.

One side is engaged in smuggling trade, and the other side is illegally collecting taxes, so it is better not to have a conflict.

Who in Yangzhou doesn't know that the Zhu family's father and son are the holy family of Zhenglong, and they are big celebrities in front of the emperor.

The fleet swaggered through the private card, and after a day, it could not move forward.

They also hired a smuggler to be their guide, who said: "There is a village ahead, with only twenty or thirty households, and they can barely replenish some food. ”

The villagers of Daming and Zheng planned to get off the boat one after another with tea and grain on their backs.

Zhang Guangdao carried a spear in his hand and a sub-standard bow and arrow on his back.

Zheng Sui also hangs a knife on his waist and can fight at any time.

Each of them brought more than a dozen fighters and was responsible for dealing with the bandits in the mountains.

Ordinary personnel, each carrying nearly 100 catties of goods. Combat personnel also have to carry forty or fifty pounds.

The further north you go, the harder the road becomes.

Moreover, the valley is deep and dense, and there are countless thieves in the mountains, and if you are not careful, you will be attacked.

Small traders and hawkers have to gather at least thirty or fifty people to walk on Fu Luo Road before they dare to hug each other and accompany each other on the road.

In the middle of these mountains, there were not even officials to collect agricultural taxes, presenting a primitive state of anarchy.

After two days of trekking through mountains and rivers, Zhang Guangdao looked ahead and suddenly said: "Stop and rest, and continue when you are full." ”

The guide flattered: "Third Brother Zhang has good eyesight, a few miles ahead, there is a big village called Anjiaping. The people in the village, half people and half bandits, often come to set up ambushes and robs. A mile or two ahead, the valley is narrow, but the mountains are not steep. Villagers often lay in ambush on the hill and rush down to block the caravan in front and back. ”

Zheng Sui asked, "Can you enter the village?" ”

The guide explained: "You can enter the village, as long as you pass this ambush site, the villagers will no longer start to rob, but barter with the merchants." The private salt I prepared in advance can come in handy here, and a pound of salt can be exchanged for a lot of food. Traders who often walk this road usually give more salt or cloth to buy the road, which can be regarded as a sum of money to buy the road, and the next time they come back to ensure safety. ”

"Do they kill indiscriminately when they overhaul the goods?" Zhang Guangdao asked.

The guide said, "As long as they don't resist, they don't kill." After all, relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, killing too hard, how can there be traders here? The leader of the bandits in the village is called Qu Fangping, and he is called Qu Bodhisattva. That is to say, he has the heart of a bodhisattva, never rushes to kill everything, and will leave some rations for the robbed traders. ”

Zhang Guangdao smiled: "But it's strange that the robber actually calls himself a Bodhisattva." ”

After eating and drinking, resting for a while, Zhang Guangdao gave the order to move forward.

He asked the fighters of the Zheng family to be responsible for protecting the front and rear of the caravan, and he took the Daming Village security team to climb the mountain next to him to search the mountains and open the way.

The security team has a rattan card, weapons or knives or guns, and there is no wolf milling or the like, because it is inconvenient to trek through mountains and rivers.

There were guards on the mountain, and while they were resting, they called the bandits in the village to ambush them.

The bandit leader Qu Fangping lay between the grass and trees, looked at the rattan soldiers below, and muttered: "The idea is a bit prickly, there are shields, there are knives and guns, and it is not cost-effective to fight hard." Go back to the village and be entertained! ”

The village bandits withdrew silently, and there was finally no danger.

Zhang Guangdao led people over the mountain col, and suddenly saw that the front suddenly opened up, a large flat valley, and the valley was full of fertile fields.

Coming to the entrance of the village with the caravan, Zhang Guangdao shouted loudly: "Xixiang Zhang Guangdao, passing by Guibao Land with goods, please Qu Bodhisattva say a few words in person!" ”

Qu Fangping has just turned 30 this year, but he has more than ten years of experience in robbery, and his ancestors have been doing this for two or three generations. This guy didn't have weapons in his hand, he was dressed as a peasant, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be a good man from Xixiang, and he only passed by once, so he still has to deal with it often?" ”

Zhang Guangdao said: "I have to pass by every year, and I came to worship the pier today." ”

"Okay," Qu Fangping immediately promised, "The grain in my village should be sold more expensively, so you can buy it." Every time you pass by, you have to leave 20 catties of salt and 20 pieces of cloth. ”

Zhang Guangdao shook his head: "I'm just running errands, I can't be the master with too much money to buy the road, how about ten catties of salt and ten pieces of cloth?" I will also buy some food to ensure that you will have something to earn. ”

Qu Fangping carefully looked at their rattan cards and swords, thought seriously for a moment, and asked, "Yes, but next time I come over, can I bring some immortal grain seeds?" ”

"Immortal food?" Zhang Guangdao's expression was strange.

Qu Fangping said: "I heard from Yangzhou businessmen passing by that there is a Yuanzhang Gong in Xixiang County, who gets immortal food from overseas immortals, and even the barren mountains can harvest it. They are from Saigo, so they should be able to get fairy food seeds. ”

Corn and sweet potatoes have been popularized in Yangzhou and Xingyuan Province, but they have not been completely popularized in every village.

Many yeoman farmers are looking forward to getting a little seed.

The guide suddenly laughed: "So that Qu Bodhisattva knows that what we are betting on this trip is Yuan Zhanggong's tea goods." ”

Qu Fangping was surprised: "Yuan Zhanggong is an immortal disciple, is he also in business?" ”

Zhang Guangdao said: "Next time I pass by, I promise to bring you immortal food." ”

Qu Fangping said: "If the immortal food is really so miraculous, in the future, although you come and go, I don't want to buy half a penny for road money." ”

The two sides reached a verbal agreement on this, and Zhang Guangdao even entered the village alone and went to Qu Fangping's house as a guest, allowing the caravan to stay outside the village and rest on the spot.

Such courage made Qu Fangping quite impressed.

Zhang Guangdao was bent on rebellion, and when Zhu Ming left Daming Village, he had a long talk with him for half a night.

Two guys with long backbones in the back of their heads exchange ideas with each other.

This Fu Luo Road is their scheduled route out of the north. The reason is simple, from Guanzhong to Yangzhou, not half a soldier was stationed.

As long as you send more than 1,000 elite soldiers, you can directly kill from Yangzhou to Xukuo (Zhouzhi) and capture the county seat by surprise. Then I looked back and dug out, and followed the large army on the side of the slope road, and attacked the city in the slope valley back and forth.

If you can successfully recruit troops in Xugu, you don't need to go back to Xiegu to meet the friendly army, you can go directly to Chang'an!

Wen Tong, the governor of Yangzhou, once went to the imperial court and asked to garrison hundreds of troops in Meridian Valley and Luogu. The first is to strictly investigate smuggling, and the second is to exterminate bandits.

But the imperial court turned a deaf ear and did not have the slightest intention of garrisoning.

Since he was going to go to Guanzhong to kill Fu Luo Road, and there was another hero on the way, Zhang Guangdao decided to make friends with him and pull Qu Fangping to rebel together in the future.

I heard that Zhang Guangdao was a person of Yuan Zhanggong, and he was quite bold, and Qu Fangping also had the heart to make friends.

The two drank in the village, first talking about Yuan Zhanggong and Xianliang, and then talking about guns and sticks.

chatting into the alley, Qu Fangping reminded: "I'm easy to talk here, but be careful when you go to Nanshan." There were many thieves there, some in groups of three or five, some in the dozens, and some of the sergeants who had fled into the mountains. They don't farm much, they all live by robbery, and each one is darker than the other. ”

"Thank you Brother Qu for reminding me." Zhang Guangdao clenched his fists and said.

Nanshan is on the side of Luogu and is part of Jungnan Mountain.

There are no tomb sects there, only an infinite number of thieves, and as the government becomes more and more exploited, the number of thieves in the mountains increases.

The businessmen who dare to walk the Fu Luo Road are all carrying their heads to transport goods.

If it weren't for the strict investigation of Chencang Road and Bao Shue Road, the Zheng family would not have changed the trade route.

Cai Jing's tea introduction method has been reformed for the third time, called the "Zhenghe Tea Law". It can bring 4 million yuan (foot hundred) income to the central government every year, but in fact, it will return all the profits of the state and county to the central government, and by the way, consumers will be hungry to death.

Local officials are also adding fuel to the fire, with the Tea and Horse Division leviing tea taxes, and prefectures and counties leviing tea taxes (because of the ban on Sichuan Gorge 4th Road, the tea tax is not outrageous).

In some places, the old tea leaves in late spring can only be sold for more than 20 wen per catty, but the tax levied by the government on tea households can reach 80 wen per catty. As a result, the price increased, which led to the fact that the people at the bottom of the tea-producing area could not afford to drink such an outrageously high-priced tea.

What's even more amazing is that most of the states and counties in Shaanxi do not produce tea, but they also need the people to pay tea classes.

Tea smuggling in Shaanxi is extremely serious, with big businessmen hiding behind the scenes for long-distance transportation, and local ruffians in charge of terminal distribution. Once he was caught, he indiscriminately bit the law-abiding big households, and learned that the state magistrate and county could not continue the investigation.

Hundreds of miles of Fu Luo Road, as long as the tea is smuggled over, there will be more than 100% profit in Shaanxi.

Leaving Anjiaping, Zhang Guangdao continued to escort the goods and hurried away.

I also encountered some small villages along the way, and I could exchange them for food along the way.

The most difficult part of the mountain is the one that makes it impossible to follow the valley. It was also the place where the thieves were the most numerous, and because there was no waterway, it was difficult for the government to send troops over.

Groups of thieves in groups of three or five, encountering a large caravan of hundreds of people, generally do not dare to move.

Until he was about to enter the valley again, Zhang Guangdao finally encountered hard stubble.

"Whoosh!"

Four arrows were shot in the forest, all of which were military standard bows and arrows.

Needless to say, there must have been deserters.

The security guards of Daming Village were holding rattan signs and moving forward cautiously, and only one person was hit by an arrow in the calf.

And the Zheng family's escort was shot in the abdomen by an arrow.

The other two arrows were shot crooked.

Without waiting for the thieves to release the arrows again, Zhang Guangdao shouted: "Formation!" ”

The combatants did not carry much on their backs, mainly food, and they were almost finished eating when they got here. When they heard the order, they reflexively approached and formed a mandarin duck formation and slowly moved forward.

The person carrying the tea was in a hurry to his side, quickly put down the goods, and pulled out the shuttle dart on the shelf.

"Dart!"

Zhang Guangdao gave an order, and the shuttle dart with the length of his arm was thrown into the forest indiscriminately.

This kind of throwing, the hit rate is extremely low, because the target is not visible at all.

A scream came, and it was estimated that some unlucky guy had been hit.

Although he did not cause any damage, Zhang Guangdao took the opportunity to rush into the forest.

He drew his bow and arrows and cooperated with the mandarin duck formation to advance.

"Kill!"

The thieves no longer hid, but actually took the initiative to appear, and also used the terrain on both sides to wrap up.

Whether it was the Daming villagers or the Zheng family's men, although they were all trembling with fear, no one fled.

Because before leaving, he was repeatedly admonished, and only the brave were selected.

The only way to escape in the mountains is to be killed by thieves, eaten by wild beasts, or starved to death due to lack of food.

Leaning on sacks of goods, they took up all kinds of weapons and prepared to resist, and some simply picked up stones and threw them out.

Zhang Guangdao looked at the guy who looked like the head of the thief, and quickly pulled his bow and shot out.

An arrow hit, but unfortunately it didn't kill, but only in the shoulder.

Zhang Guangdao let the mandarin duck array rush to one side, and he rushed to the other side alone.

The thief fell down with an arrow in the head, and just as he was protected by his subordinates and got up, the mandarin duck array had already rushed closer.

Although there was no wolf milling, the sword and shield hand was in front, and the spear in the back was repeatedly stabbed. The thieves, on the other hand, were in a mess and had no rules, not all of them were deserters, and most of them belonged to peasants who could not be exploited.

With just one charge, the thieves on this side were routed, and the head of the thieves was also stabbed to death with random guns.

Zhang Guangdao, who rushed to the other side, picked up the gun in his hand and fell, instantly overturning the three of them. He has better food this year, and he doesn't have to worry about trivial matters, he can concentrate on practicing martial arts every day, and his ability to kill people has improved a lot.

The more than 20 thieves here, seeing that Zhang Guangdao was brave, were so frightened by him that they turned around and fled.

"Kill the thief!"

Zheng Sui, who had been guarding the goods, was also full of courage in an instant, and led people to chase and kill Zhang Guangdao with a knife.

Seven thieves were killed on the spot, and thirteen thieves were captured.

Zhang Guangdao was too lazy to interrogate, and directly ordered: "Kill all the people alive, and cut off the heads and put them together." Brother Zheng, I don't know much about writing, if you engrave words on the tree, you will engrave 'Xixiang Zhang Guangdao kills thieves here'. Next time you dare to grab it, you have to weigh whether your neck is hard or not! ”

The Zhu family father and son enjoyed happiness in the capital, but Zhang Guangdao worked hard in Zhongnan Mountain.

Zhu Guoxiang laid the foundation for Daming Village, and Zhang Guangdao did not develop step by step, but chose to partner with the Zheng family for smuggling.

Along the Fu Luo Road, smuggling back and forth, there will be more than 1,000 net profits - when you return, you can transport back to Guanzhong private salt, and the two major profiteering commodities of tea and salt are alive.

But you need to be desperate, just now ambushed by thieves, there was one serious injury and four minor injuries.

(End of chapter)