Everyone looked at Ouyang Xuan suspiciously. What Huang Dagen and Zhu Tiaozi were puzzled about was why Ouyang Xuan suppressed the price of salt, while Lu Dezhi and others wondered whether the reluctance to mention was a mystery or not. Ouyang Xuan cleared his throat and said his thoughts under the gaze of everyone. One is to allow his party to live here temporarily, and more than 100 acres of terrace between the first and second gates will be used as a temporary residence; the second is to do business in partnership with cottages, exchanging mountain goods for daily necessities such as salt; The third is to develop nearby minerals in partnership with Shanzhai, and the two sides will share according to the proportion of input. As for the 40 catties of salt, all of them are given to the mountain people, and they only need to provide the food they need for a month and a half. As a small trader who has been wandering in the environment for a long time, as soon as Ouyang Xuan finished talking about the conditions, he was deeply impressed by his cleverness. The iron, grain and mountain goods of this cottage are all in demand under the mountain, if you take root here, as long as the trade road is unimpeded, you will not worry about money. At that moment, he attached himself to Huang Dagen's ear to explain the situation, and Huang Dagen nodded frequently.

After a little discussion, Lu Dezhi and the others agreed, because this condition is also beneficial to the cottage. The first is the more than 100 acres of terrace between the two walled gates, which is not cultivated because of the low terrain and poor lighting, but is only used as an open space for mountain people to guard the village, so that dozens of officers and soldiers can temporarily live here, which does not disturb the people and can also be used as the first guard against bandits. The second is the lack of daily necessities in Liuliba, and the cottage has no channels and no experience if it wants to do business. The third is that it is even better to develop nearby mines, because the cottage is very poor in iron-making technology, and the production of agricultural tools is also very clumsy, and the weapons produced are even more useless, and other minerals are not of great use. As for Ouyang Xuan and others who proposed that they only need half a month's grain, Lu Dezhi and others were very reluctant to go, so they decided to partner in business and open mines, and the officials and soldiers only needed to contribute manpower, technology, and sales, and did not need to contribute any more money.

The outcome of the proceedings was a joy for both sides. At that moment, Rude left the three of them to eat to celebrate. In the leisure time of waiting for the meal to be served, the two sides got up and talked carefully. During the conversation, Ouyang Xuan learned that there are nearly 200 households and more than 800 people in this Liuliba, and because of the vast land, there is no shortage of food, and there are still large areas of wasteland that have not been cultivated. The mountain bandits cut off the road into the mountain and did not allow goods to enter and exit, forcing the people in the mountains to sell mountain goods cheaply, and the necessary salt, cloth and other necessities can only be purchased from the mountain bandits, and the price is extremely expensive, such as the price of salt is comparable to gold. What's even more odious is that the bandits in Wanjiazhai still come to rob mountain goods and women from time to time in the name of "taxation", and kill people and set fire if they don't pay. Another village, 20 miles away from Liuliba, was burned down by mountain bandits because it refused to pay the so-called "taxes", and the villagers who were not killed were plundered into slavery. Liuliba has never been captured, but because of the refusal to pay the so-called "tax" is regarded as a thorn in the side, including the former leader, more than a dozen villagers were robbed and killed by mountain bandits when they left the village.

"The mountain people have been suffering for a long time!" After Lu Dezhi finished speaking, he sighed.

"There are not a lot of people in each village in this mountain, why don't you send brave men to guard at dangerous places, how can the mountain bandits attack it?" Huang Dagen asked puzzledly, it is estimated that there are no less than 1,000 households in each village in the mountains, if the power of the mountain bandits can be suppressed?

"Your Excellency doesn't know, the leader of the bandits in Wanjiaping is called Xiong Ben, who turned out to be a junior colonel in the official army of Chongqing Mansion, who was beaten by his boss for abusing and killing his subordinates. Although the number of its bandits is only more than 300 people, they are all fierce outlaws, and they are managed by military law, and their combat power is far above the people of the cottages, especially their personal soldiers, although the number is only more than 50 people, but all of them are strong and powerful, and the officers and soldiers are not able to defeat them. Ruud said with a look of fear on his face.

"We and other mountain people are busy with farming all day long, negligent in military affairs and there is no person who is proficient in the art of war, there are still mines in Liuliba that can smelt iron, although the weapons made are shoddy and unusable, but they can still fight with bandits for one or two rounds, some cottages do not have mines, and the iron used in agricultural tools is still insufficient, and there are no weapons to fight against bandits." Rudezhi sighed again.

"The old gentleman can rest assured, with me waiting, he can deal with the mountain bandits and protect the safety of Liuliba." Huang Dagen was indignant when he heard Lu Dezhi's words, and patted his chest to say. He knew that his more than fifty people could only protect Liuliba, and as for the other cottages, he would have the strength to talk about it in the future.

Zhu Zhuozi asked in detail about the production of grain, mountain goods, and mines, and the elders answered them one by one. Ouyang Xuan told his own experience, of course, he also told his parents from Chongqing Mansion to flee to Huangzhou when they slaughtered Shu in Mongolia, and he became a monk since he was a child because of his family's poverty and lack of food, and returned to Shu for his parents' homesickness and wish to be a wandering monk. He also focused on telling the story of his brutality in the Mongolian army, in recent days in order to avenge the country's hatred and family hatred and join the official army, because Yu Zhu is seriously ill, he has the right to act as the team, and reiterates that everyone should not call him "adult", just call him "Brother Xuan". At the end, Ouyang Xuan asked about the herbs and fire nitrate, and Lu Dezhi and others told them that there were fire nitrate and sulfur produced in the northern mountains of the cottage, but they were not sure whether the herbs sent this morning could cure the disease. Ouyang Xuan immediately asked the elders to find more Artemisia annua herbs to cure Yu Zhu's disease, and everyone was moved by his loyal and benevolent feelings for his family and country.

At that moment, the two sides discussed the cooperation in detail. While the conversation was lively, the meal was ready, and I sat down to eat. Ouyang Xuan saw that the three-foot-square table was full of thick porcelain bowls containing vegetables, melons and fruits and wild meat, so he looked at it, and Lu Dezhi said when he saw this: "Brother Xuan smiled, the food utensils used in the whole village are so coarse, and they are fired by the potters of this village, which are not as exquisite as those outside the mountain." After Ouyang Xuan's careful questioning, except for a few necessities in the cottage, most of the daily necessities can be produced by themselves, although they are crude but extremely practical. If it weren't for the lack of clothes and salt and the rampant mountain bandits, it would be a paradise.

Ouyang Xuan and the others have eaten all coarse grain wheat cakes and pickled horse meat in the past few days, and they have been hungry for days and days, so this meal is particularly sweet. Seeing this, Lu Dezhi sighed lightly: "I'm still lazy, if there is still thin wine, it would be great." Ouyang Xuan, who was immersed in eating, didn't care when he heard this, but then he came to his senses: "Wine"? In this troubled era of starvation, food is extremely precious, and wine and sugar are only things that can be enjoyed by dignitaries and nobles. Seeing that the three of them were surprised, Lu Dezhi explained that only Wanjiazhai in this mountain had a wine-making workshop, and Xiong Ben and his personal army would drink and feast all day long, and occasionally give a little wine to the cottage that completed the "tax", and even forcibly exchanged the unfinished wine for the leather goods hunted by each cottage. Hearing this, Ouyang Xuan scolded angrily, he now finally knew the reason why there was no shortage of food in this mountain, but the mountain bandits frequently came to Hengyuan Town to grab grain. "Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road", like those corrupt officials in the court, these mountain bandits in Wanjiazhai also don't care about the lives of the people, and one day they will be destroyed, he thought angrily.