Head, let's really go to Liuzhou? ”

A large four-masted nine-sailing ship is slowly coming towards the dock of Liuzhou, which is particularly conspicuous in the desolate Liuzhou waterway.

"No way......" On the deck, a dark-skinned and sturdy man stood at the bow of the ship, looking in the direction of Liuzhou with helplessness in his eyes: "Do you think we are those big commercial houses with all industries and prosperity?" There are so many channels? Learn from them to sell goods from other state capitals, there is no way, with today's goods squeezing market, we will be cut at least 30% of the price! ”

"Not to mention that the other two wharves are piled up now, the officers and soldiers deliberately stuck the boat, and Boss Su next door spent four thousand taels of silver to take care of it, and he was only able to enter the port two days in advance, and those like us who don't give money don't know how long they have to float on this river!"

The man who was called the leader had a gloomy face: "Don't forget, the interest from Master Rong will not be less than half a cent!" ”

As soon as these words came out, several merchants in different costumes behind them all showed bitterness.

They are a small business group of new partnerships, belonging to the kind of group where dozens of merchants get together, buy their own ships and do maritime business, the so-called everything is difficult at the beginning, which is so simple to start their own business and be the boss?

The newly bought ship cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, and there was no purchase channel for the big commercial banks, and the prices for the purchased goods were far more expensive than those of the big commercial banks.

Businessmen have gambling nature, eating is the risk of profiteering, the boss of the money bank has insight into people's hearts, and he knocks the marrow into the death, nine out of thirteen, and loves to borrow or not!

With this kind of interest, it is to run with time, but fortunately, the ship is full of veterans of running boats, this time the sea is quite smooth, the goods are expected to be able to return to the capital, and do not seek to make a big profit, make the money back this time, and the next time you go to sea, you don't have to borrow.

Who would have expected that the ship would arrive at the door, and there was that incident in Liuzhou, which really wanted his own life.

After two days of wandering, the interest is increasing day by day, and everyone's hearts are as anxious as ants in a hot pot.

"If it drags on like this, I'm afraid I'm going to really lose money!" The man gritted his teeth: "We have been in the sea for so many years, and the Dragon King has not asked for our lives, what bullshit monsters are you afraid of?" ”

The others hesitated for a while, and finally nodded one after another: "The boss is right!" ”

"The boss is right, we pirates dare to kill, the yang is very strong, how dare we pay attention to the dirty things that don't want to die?"

As everyone responded, it seemed that the impact of entering Liuzhou on the group was also minimized.

But in the huge merchant group, there are a few strange and cold eyes, hidden in the dark with a sneer.

A middle-aged man who seemed to be very close to the leader of the lead approached and said, "Chief, what about the water ghost?" ”

"Shhhhh The other party glared at him and scolded in a low voice: "Brain water? Why do you mention this at this time? ”

Although he scolded and scolded, there was a trace of worry in his eyes when he looked at the other crew members on the ship who had already begun to busily order goods.

Unlike the people in the Central Plains who honestly farm at home, those who run boats to do business will encounter some things more or less after a long time, and they are very unlucky this time, but they met it.

Water ghosts are a kind of dirty things that appear most often in sea legends, these things often appear on foggy days, take advantage of the fog to get on the ship, kill some less vigilant crew members, and then peel off the skin and bones, turn into the appearance of the crew, continue to stay on the ship, looking for an opportunity to attack other living people.

The man who led the merchant ship was called Huo Bei, who had practiced martial arts because of his darts before, and was once favored by the boss of a certain trading house, and spent a high price to hire a ship to escort the caravan.

In the big caravan, they are very familiar with each other, and the water ghosts are actually easy to recognize after staying for a long time, but in a small caravan like them, the cooperative members are all from all over the world, and if they are not very familiar, they are easy to be fished in troubled waters.

A few days ago, with his experience, he found one, and the brothers broke out and hacked to death, and the water ghost broke the human skin in a panic, and it turned out to be an extremely ugly merman.

After killing the monster, he announced that it had been cleared to reassure everyone, but in fact, he knew in his heart that this kind of thing was like a cockroach in the house, and when one was found, there were often many hidden in the house.

This is also the reason why when he heard the news of Liuzhou, he did not dare to go to Liuzhou to dock.

Not only because there are demons and ghosts in Liuzhou City, but also because of the water ghosts hidden in the boat!

These things are extremely fishy, and they can't be found when they are at sea, but they are easy to find when they enter the city, and this kind of monster has little special ability except for being able to camouflage the human race by relying on human skin, once discovered, the officers and soldiers can be hacked to death with a few knives!

So often close to the bustling port, these monsters will find an opportunity to escape in advance.

But if you disembark in a small port, enter some less lively cities, and loosely guarded places, these monsters dare to continue to mingle with the crowd.

He will also inquire where his home is, go back in the human skin of the crew, and eat his wife and children!

He has been running a boat for many years and has seen this kind of thing no less than ten times!

The wife and children who were looking forward to her husband's return were looking forward to a demon who would skin and tear apart the whole family, and even the infant child would not be spared!

Everyone doing business together at sea is a kind of fate in Gu Bei's opinion, even if they can't be protected at sea, at least they can't let these ghosts harm their friends' families.

But now..... there's really no way!

Gu Bei gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "When I enter the city, I will keep an eye on it, and I will see that those who like to inquire about their family history have been remembered for me!" ”

The little brother next to him nodded in agreement, but he knew in his heart that the boss just made himself feel at ease when he said this, and everyone was busy selling goods when he entered the city, so how could he care about others?

If there were really water ghosts mixed up in the team, there was a chance that something would happen.

But the boss can't help it, the interest rises day by day, and if he doesn't sell the goods, he will die.

"Boss, Liuzhou doesn't collect business taxes...... Really? ”

"Chances are!" Gu Bei was in a better mood when he mentioned this: "The news came from the Yamen of Nanming Mansion, I heard that many shopkeepers of big merchants were attracted to Liuzhou to receive goods, and the imperial court thought of a good idea in order to restore Liuzhou." ”

"If that's the case, that's good......"

Another man next to him smiled: "If we don't collect taxes, we should be able to return to our capital with the goods we buy this time, and there is a high probability that we can make some money." ”

The others nodded their heads.

The Great Jin Dynasty is not like the previous dynasty, believing in the nonsense of those scholars does not compete with the people, it collects business taxes, and collects extremely heavy, if it is tax-free, the profit is conservative and then three percent!

"Boss, look ahead!"

As he was talking, a shirtless man pointed ahead excitedly, Gu Bei hurriedly looked over, and suddenly saw the familiar Liuzhou wharf.

At this time, the fog has not yet dissipated, but you can faintly see several ship fires, all of which are ships of large trading houses!

"Chief, it's a glorious ship!"

"Good, good!!" Gu Bei stroked his palms and laughed.

It seems that the rumors are true, there is really a shopkeeper of a big commercial house who came to Liuzhou to receive the goods, and this time the sales have fallen!

The leather goods and horses in the north are all hard currency sold by large trading houses, and then some Western gems can be sold to the districts and counties, and they can be bought at a rare price.

"Boss, you see, there are really few officers and soldiers on the dock, just a few people."

Gu Bei nodded: "It seems that the rumors that the Liuzhou Navy was transferred away are true." ”

"Then do you want us to ...... with Wansheng's shopkeeper in private?"

"Fart!" Gu Bei's eyes suddenly widened and shouted angrily: "If you want to die by yourself, don't pull us up!" ”

When the little brother heard this, he immediately shrank his head and didn't dare to say anything more.

Some of the other old merchants on the ship shook their heads amusementively when they saw this, and sighed secretly: The young man is bold, and he doesn't know how high the sky is.

The imperial court will never tolerate smuggling, once it is discovered, it is a matter of losing your head, if the big business houses are stained with this matter, they have to peel off their skins, and when they meet officials who want to rectify you, they will directly seal your business bank!

This kind of risk is greater than the harvest of trading, so the big commercial houses will not be so stupid, they are all strict requirements for the shopkeepers everywhere, and they must not smuggle.

As he spoke, the ship came to shore, and the hired sailors stepped forward separately and anchored the ship, and the young merchant began to unload his cargo in a hurry without waiting for the help of the sailors.

"Yo, Gu Erlang?"

After getting off the boat, a familiar voice came, Gu Bei hurriedly looked at it, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "What shopkeeper!" ”

The person who came looked to be in his early forties, with a large belly and a round waist, and his skin was as delicate as a woman's.

"It looks like you've received a lot of money this time." Shopkeeper He looked at the steady stream of goods on Gu Bei's ship and said with a smile.

"Where, where, small business!" Gu Bei said with a smile: "Shopkeeper He is here, then it seems that the rumors are true, how is it in Liuzhou City now?" ”

"Desolate......" Shopkeeper He shook his head: "There are few people like a ghost town, and the guys almost didn't find a restaurant to eat, hey, I think Liuzhou was so prosperous in the past, it's only been half a month......"

"Yes...... Gu Beiying said in peace, and hurriedly asked the question he was most concerned about: "Is the rumor of tax exemption true or false?" ”

"If it's false, what am I doing in this hellish place?" Shopkeeper He said with a smile.

"Is it really tax-free?" The guy next to him was surprised: "What is this official plan?" Isn't the new prefect having a bad head? ”

"You know a?" Gu Beibai glanced at the guy next to him.

Shopkeeper He also shook his head amusedly.

"But one thing to say, this new prefect is a bold man." Shopkeeper He said in a low voice: "It is said that he is still a new science and technology scholar, and his methods of doing things are more sophisticated and extraordinary than some long-established officialdom." ”

Gu Bei also nodded, now the situation in Liuzhou, if you want to return business, you have to use some extraordinary means, but such a big move as tax exemption really requires courage.

"Then why is the shopkeeper busy now? If you're not busy, can you collect my goods first? ”

"Haha, good!" Shopkeeper He nodded: "Then let's go, let's go into the city!" ”

"Okay!" Gu Bei suddenly smiled, and shouted at the back: "Brothers, hurry up and unload the goods, enter the city!" ”

"Okay boss!"

A group of merchants also responded excitedly, and some of the hidden beings saw the sparse flow of people on the dock, plus so many officers and soldiers, their eyes flashed with green light, and they sneered faintly, but they also followed behind the large army.

"Erlang, ....." Shopkeeper He and Gu Bei walked in the front, and he whispered to Gu Bei: "Did you mix those things in the team this time?" ”

Gu Bei's face suddenly tightened when he heard this, and after hesitating for a few seconds, he nodded slightly: "There is ......"

Shopkeeper He is also an old man, so he naturally knows what the other party's words represent, a trace of sharpness flashed in his eyes, and then he nodded and said: "It's not easy for you, let's hurry into the city and strive to deliver the goods before dark." ”

"Good!"

-------------------------------------

The wharf in Liuzhou was not far from the South City Gate, and the team sped up, and on the truck arranged by the shopkeeper He, plus the horses that had already been transported, the team came to the city gate in less than a quarter of an hour.

But when Gu Bei and the others saw the current South City Gate, they were stunned.

"This is the south gate of Liuzhou...... When was it replaced? ”

The others also looked at it in a daze, the reason why they paid so much attention was that the new city gate of Liuzhou was too mighty!

The open city gate looks extremely heavy, at least twice as thick as the previous city gate, the metal texture is extremely strong, and the two huge metal wolf heads on both sides of the city gate look quite domineering.

Especially the one hanging on the city gate, it gives people a sense of momentum from afar, and it is really a card!

"Does this Liuzhou City still have the money to repair such gorgeous decorations?" Gu Bei was a little curious.

I don't know if it's an illusion, he seems to have seen the metal wolf's eyes move just now......