After Shangguan Yi clarified Cao Dehe's situation and goals, he asked Hengzhi about Li Jinming, including his current position.

I have to say that few people who can mix in officialdom are simple, although this guy is not very capable, but he can unexpectedly listen to the advice of others, knowing that he is now hated by others, and he takes a bodyguard with him wherever he goes, for fear of being hacked to death in vain. Traveling or something is also low-key and cautious, and he didn't get carried away because he was about to become a big official, of course, there may be some reason behind this, but Yushangguan has nothing to do, he knows that these are just to confirm whether he needs to protect the safety of this guy and let him arrive safely in the capital. After all, I still need this tool man, if I leave the field too early, it will not be good to change someone else's position, and the resulting series of changes may also change my plan.

All in all, if Li Jinming dies at this stage, it will do Shangguan Yi more harm than good, so Shangguan Yi needs to temporarily protect his safety, but this guy is inexplicably very forced, so he saves Shangguan Yi some effort, so that Shangguan Yi can go to the capital with peace of mind.

Of course, Shangguan Yi also considered the possibility that Li Jinming was slaughtered on the way to Lidu, because Li Jinming set off at the end of February and early March, and now it is mid-February, and he thinks that it is not cost-effective to wait for him for half a month, and he feels that since Li Jinming is so forced or the people behind him are so careful, he will not neglect the safety issues on the road, and will ensure that Li Jinming arrives safely in Lidu.

Therefore, Shangguan Yi directly purchased a lot of things like a nouveau riche on the second day, including a good carriage for pulling goods, a bunch of Chang'an specialties such as tea, jade, porcelain, silk, etc., hid his luggage in it, put it in the carriage, and set off with the merchant team on the third day.

Yes, Shangguan Yi did not go on the road alone, but chose to join the kind of big caravan that traveled between Lidu and Chang'an, and set off with them.

The reason, first, is that their luggage is too heavy, and it is also very conspicuous to check, because people who know the goods can easily see their value, and then there are a lot of troubles derived, and secondly, it is indeed not good to take them all the way to leave the capital, no matter how good the horse is, it is impossible to carry such heavy luggage and one can still drive all the way to the capital, even if it is a slight break in the middle of the horse, it is better to simply use the carriage and take the caravan caravan. Like this kind of perennial business people who are in Lidu and Chang'an, the various joints in the middle must be opened, the certificates and documents are also complete, no one will be embarrassed, and they can find a reliable foothold, the horse walks slowly, will not be tired, even if it is tired, it can change horses at the post station, it is just a matter of money, but it doesn't hurt.

However, what is very interesting is that when Shangguan Yi came to the door and said that he wanted to go with them and pay the protection fee, the caravan boss seemed to see something, asked for double the protection fee and said that if it was because of your problem, which caused a big problem, we would choose to abandon you to protect us as a last resort.

Not to mention Shangguan Yi for such a statement, even the boss's subordinates were stunned, with a look of "boss, do you want to be embarrassed?" looked at the boss of the Chamber of Commerce, but the thing that surprised them even more was that Shangguan Yi was stunned for a moment and then took double the protection fee and handed it to them, without hesitation at all.

In this regard, his explanation is: "Anyway, I can earn it back in the end, and I can make up for these losses by moving my tongue without rotting? ”

Of course, this is an explanation of the questioning eyes of the guys in the caravan, the real reason is: he is not short of money and really needs to send the goods to Lidu in the most stable way, so an extra hundred taels of silver will be paid more, anyway, nothing should happen along the way, and many things can be avoided by following them, as for whether this batch of goods can earn two or three hundred silver, Shangguan Yi has no expectations at all, as long as the luggage inside is fine.

As soon as he said this, everyone smiled tacitly, the merchants in the two places naturally earned by blood, but if a truckload of goods wanted to earn three hundred taels, it was tantamount to a fool's dream. There are so many people running merchants, how much money can be sold for various goods, and how much profit there is is already a certainty. So they think Shangguan Yi is a hillbilly who has never seen the world, which is ridiculous.

Shangguan Yi saw all these things, smiled and smiled, didn't care, asked about the meeting place and departure time or something, and left.

In the early morning of the third day, Shangguan Yi set off with the caravan, this time he drove the horse by himself, and the heavy sword was placed behind the butt where he could be touched, and the others were thrown in the carriage, but he was also leisurely.

Merely...... Seeing his carriage, everyone understood that the feeling was not a hillbilly who had never seen the world, but a young master who had never seen the world, you are here to experience life?

The reason is that because of the problem of the horses in this carriage, the car is normal, but the horse is too big and too big to be used, right? The normal carriage used to pull goods should have good endurance, sufficient strength, and be strong and reliable, Shangguanyi's horse not only meets the above characteristics, but even has the speed and size that surpasses most horses.

The name of the horse is neighing, it is a famous horse produced in the Western Desert, not a well-known top-level good horse in the world, but it is also ranked in the second level, Shangguan Yi is in the prime of life, fat and strong, and the price is not low at a glance, so the horse is used to pull goods...... Isn't this a local tyrant showing off his wealth?

Regarding the superficial praise of the lemon essences, but they actually wanted to lick the dog, Shangguan Yi just dealt with it very plainly and said nothing. One of the reasons why he bought this horse is that he committed the collecting habit that most people will commit, and wants a good horse, and the second is that he does need a good horse that is almost omnipotent, and the horse that pulls the goods is different from the horse that rushes, some horses are born free, you let it pull things slowly, it is a kind of torture, and it will not take long for the horse to have problems, and suicide is possible, so Shangguan Yi has to pull the horse if he wants to pull the goods, but he is cautious, what if there is an accident on the way, and he can't beat it? A jogging horse can't run away, so I bought the neighing, the speed is not the fastest batch, but it is also very fast, and the durability is good, it can be said that it is very good in all aspects, although it is not top-notch, but it is also a hero among the horses, it is very suitable for the appetite of Shangguanyi, and he donated it on the spot and bought it. The generosity of the horse seller makes the seller happy, because there is so much money to buy a horse that is better than the neighing, who would buy this guy who is not great in any way?

The boss of the Chamber of Commerce saw that the guys were around Shangguan Yi's carriage and talked endlessly, so he was very impatient and whipped the ground with a horsewhip, scolded them for their duties, and said to Shangguan Yi that their wealth should not be exposed, be careful, and ask for more blessings.

Shangguan Yi smiled, this boss was cold and kind-hearted, although he was very unfriendly, but he was also trying his best to promote himself, but since he had his own little abacus, he naturally would not change horses temporarily because of the boss's words, and it was too late, the caravan set off, so Shangguan Yi just didn't understand what he meant, and silently mixed in the team according to the plan he said to go out of the city and rushed to Lidu.

is also just as Shangguan Yi thought, because the benefits and everything are in place, the Chamber of Commerce also has two brushes, both black and white can be eaten, the court is not embarrassed, and the thieves are released after receiving filial piety, and the journey is still very smooth.

It's just that a smooth journey is only an ideal state after all, and things that should happen will still come out, not everyone has been taken care of by the caravan, not that there is any negligence on the part of the caravan, but the forest is big and there are all kinds of birds, and what is needed to participate in this grand event is silver, a lot of silver, so what if there is not?

The answer is to kill people and buy more goods, empty wallets make it difficult for people to move an inch, and it is natural that evil will be born to the side of the guts, after all, the fastest and most effective way to get money is this method that is not allowed.

Recently, there have been many people who have done this kind of thing, robbing passers-by on the way to Lidu, but most of them are not so arrogant, just asking for some tolls, and they dare not ask for people who are not easy to mess with, after all, money is a good thing, but life is gone, and it is naturally not blessed.

However, the master naturally has his own channels for money, and even if he doesn't, he has brought a lot of silver tickets in advance, which is enough to spend, and only a few guys with insufficient strength and special circumstances will rob passers-by. The people who can rob such people are naturally weaker than them, unless they are lucky, otherwise that kind of person has nothing to fish, and they often rob for a long time and don't get much money.

In this case, it is natural to aim at the fat sheep, that is, the caravan.

The caravan will have bodyguards, but most of them are not strong, and the master will not serve as the bodyguard of the caravan, because the remuneration is not high, and it is not as cost-effective as going to the dart if you have the strength, after all, the high risk and high reward, the income of a dart trip is enough for them to live a chic and happy life for a while. So the caravan is a fat sheep, a fat sheep that is not easy to gnaw.

The reason why it is said that the bodyguard is not strong and not very easy to gnaw is because the fat sheep also knows that he is a fat sheep, and the relationship at all levels is dotted, and he is also taken care of on the territory of different people, after all, he takes other people's protection money and does not protect others, it is unreasonable, right? Moreover, the caravan also has its own masters, and it does not completely rely on outsiders, after all, if you have no strength and only wealth, you will not live long no matter when you are, and this world still depends on the fist after all.

In fact, there are still a lot of masters in the caravan this time, and there are three in the middle of the second heaven, and it is not at all useless to meet ordinary thieves (of course, the combat power here does not count Shangguan Yi, Shangguan Yi is more refined, and he can only eat tigers by pretending to be a pig, and he has already gathered his strength when he is disguised as Li Qingtian, and it seems that he is just a mascot who has just entered the second heaven and has no threat). However, the current situation is that outsiders collude with bandits and want to harm some caravans, and this situation of sudden backlash by partners in the past is the most difficult to prevent.

Shangguan Yi watched from afar as the boss of the Chamber of Commerce communicated with the gang of thieves for a long time, the boss of the Chamber of Commerce's face became more and more ugly, he let go of his perception, and as expected, he felt the ambush around him, no matter how the caravan tried to make it right, I am afraid the result will be the same, right?

The boss of the Chamber of Commerce came to ask for the opinions of additional tolls one by one, although everyone was reluctant, but they were also persuaded by the boss, after all, people have to bow their heads under the eaves, and it is okay to lose some money, and if their lives are gone, they are really gone.

When he arrived at Shangguan Yi, he also gave the boss money very happily, but Shangguan Yi whispered to him in his ear: "Today's matter, I'm afraid it's hard to be good, and the other party has a lot of appetite." ”

The boss looked at Shangguan Yi with a little suspicion, meaning: How did you kid know?

Shangguan Yi shrugged, anyway, he is a master and bold, it is his business to believe it or not, if he is not kind to himself, he does not need to be righteous to him.

The facts also proved that what Shangguan Yi said was right, the boss took the protection fee that had just been negotiated, but the other party changed his mind again, and the protection fee had to be doubled again before you could pass.

The boss's expression has completely changed, he is also an old man, he will not understand the purpose of going back on his word and teasing himself like this, the other party is going to do something big.

"Boss, this filial piety that should be given on weekdays, we are not less than yours, and so is the protection fee, what do you mean by acting like this? The boss began to test the bandit leader's purpose, wondering if it was because he had caused trouble for the man to join the team or because of his own reasons.

"What are you doing crookedly? Lao Tzu said, double the protection fee, can you understand people?" "The bandit leader wants to know what he wants, he just forced the people of this caravan to do it first, break the rules, occupy a legitimate name for himself, and continue to mix in this mountain in the future."

Yes, he just wants to be a bitch and want to set up a chaste archway, although he did indiscriminately and directly kill people and sell goods, and opened for three years, but he wants to say that the other party doesn't want to pay protection money to do it first, and he is forced to be helpless.

In this business road, whoever breaks the rules will have to die, because inside and out, the interests that come and go are not a small amount, and there are a lot of people involved. The bandits naturally didn't want to die, so they could only let the caravan people die.

"According to the rules, the protection fee has not increased casually like you, and it has risen so much, even in a special year, there has never been such a precedent!" the boss scolded, he was also angry, who is not allowed to give him some face on this road? You dare to be so arrogant as a little thief who licks blood from the knife edge?

"Yo, do you hear me, brothers? This is to teach us how to mix up this business, do you know what this behavior is called?" the bandit leader pointed at the boss and laughed.

His younger brothers naturally chimed in: "I don't know!"

The bandit leader laughed: "This is called a dog with a mouse, nosy, how much protection fee is charged, how to collect it, that's our business, you only need to pay protection money, it's not peaceful recently, we also work hard to protect you, brothers haven't rested for half a month, this can't increase the price?"

The boss took a deep look at him, stalemate with him for a while, and went back to think of countermeasures.