At the south gate of Xianyang City, Li Shui met Li Xin.
Li Xin didn't bring more people, only about a dozen guards.
The two groups walked side by side.
Li Shui said to Li Xin: "I thought about it, but I still can't figure out why Zhao Tuo tortured the horns and dung gold. Is he crazy?"
Li Xin said: "On the way here, I also thought about it carefully. I'm afraid there is only one reason for Zhao Tuo's behavior."
Li Shui asked curiously: "What's the reason?"
Li Xin said: "It is a trivial matter for you to order Niujiao to bring back a pawn. However, Zhao Tuo detained these two people and tortured them severely. He is obviously dissatisfied with you."
Li Shui nodded and said, "Yes. But when did I offend him? Why didn't I know?"
Li Xin said: "You and he had no enmity in the past, but something happened recently that may have caused enmity."
"His Majesty ordered him to lead three thousand troops and go south to capture Wang Heng. As a result, several months later, not even a trace of the rebel was seen."
"It would be fine if he captured him in the end, but the news came that he was captured by Xu Fu from your Shangjun Courtyard. And he only brought 200 sailors with him."
"I guess Zhao Tuo hates you because of this incident."
Li Shui smiled bitterly: "It seems that is true. This Zhao Tuo is really not very generous."
Li Xinshen nodded with approval: "It's really not big. We just didn't catch the rebels, so it's not a big deal. In the past, I suffered a big defeat in Chudi, so why didn't I still live well? Isn't it the same now? Are you ashamed?"
In fact, Li Shui and Li Xin had wronged Zhao Tuo.
Zhao Tuo was indeed not very ambitious, but what really made him hate Li Shui was Li Si's letter.
That letter scolded Zhao Tuo so much that he not only lost his future, but also his dignity. It happened that Lishui's people came to ask for someone again, and it was completely understandable that Zhao Tuo vented his anger on Dung Jin.
Li Shui took a deep breath and said to Li Xin: "Let's go and find the horns and dung gold as soon as possible."
Then, Li Shui swung his whip and hit the horse.
These more than a hundred people were galloping towards the south on horseback, and in the blink of an eye they were no longer visible.
Outside Xianyang City, only the smoke and dust rolled up by the horses' hooves were left.
Two days later, the detective horse sent by Li Xin came back and said to Li Shui and Li Xin: "We have found traces of Zhao Tuo. He is in the Gaoshan County area. It is about a hundred miles away."
Li Xin nodded and said to Tan Ma, "Lead the way."
Then, like a gust of wind, this group of people swept towards Gaoshan County.
…………
Zhao Tuojun has arrived at Gaoshan County.
The confidant was riding on a horse and said to Zhao Tuo who was walking slowly: "General, our army rations are no longer enough."
Zhao Tuo nodded slightly.
He had expected this situation. All along, the marching speed of these three thousand people has been too slow, and it will be a matter of time before they run out of military rations.
Now he has no shame in asking for food and grass from the imperial court. Just... buy food on the spot.
There is still some gold in the army, so it is not impossible to buy food. After getting Zhao Tuo's approval, his confidants said to Zhao Tuo: "The front is Gaoshan County. We might as well go to the county to buy grain."
Zhao Tuo agreed and sent an order to Gaoshan County.
The confidant hesitated again and again and asked in a low voice: "General, what do you plan to do with these two people, Niujiao and Dungjin?"
Zhao Tuo said calmly: "Did the two of them recruit?"
The confidant said: "Recruited, they all claim to be rebels. And they were ordered by the banished immortal."
Zhao Tuo nodded with satisfaction.
The confidant said cautiously: "They were beaten into submission. Once you enter Xianyang City, if you ask again, the secret will be revealed."
Zhao Tuo smiled slightly: "Then don't let them enter Xianyang City."
The confidant was stunned: "General, you mean... kill them?"
Zhao Tuo hummed.
The confidant said with fear: "Isn't that murder and silence? If we investigate in the future, I'm afraid the secret will still be exposed."
Zhao Tuo glanced at him dissatisfied: "There are many ways to kill people. For example, it can be said that these two people wanted to escape in fear of crime and killed the soldiers guarding them."
"We chased after them, and they fled into a house and threatened the people. In order to save the people, we had to send archers to shoot them."
"In this case, it would be reasonable to kill the two of them, and it might even be rewarded."
"As for the bodies of the two of them, it can be said that before they died, they accidentally knocked over the oil lamp. So a fire broke out in the house and they were both burned to death. In this way, it is impossible to tell whether they were tortured or not. Distinguished."
The confidant suddenly understood and nodded with sincerity.
Later, a confidant asked: "If we falsely accuse Huaiguzi, is it possible to win?"
Zhao Tuo shook his head: "Huai Guzi, you are cunning. And he is quite favored by His Majesty, how can it be so easy to win? The most important thing is that we only have the confessions of two dead people, so the chance of winning is very small."
The confidant was confused: "If that's the case, why do we still sue Huaiguzi?"
Zhao Tuo chuckled: "I am suing Huaiguzi, and that is for Lord Tingwei to see. It is to vent his anger on Lord Tingwei. As long as he vents his anger, we can be reused."
"Therefore, this time we are not really trying to make His Majesty believe that Huaiguzi is treasonous. As long as we force Huaiguzi to be unable to defend himself and make him very embarrassed, we will be successful."
"Don't worry, as long as Lord Tingwei is here, even if we fail to sue Huaiguzi, we will be fine."
The confidant nodded repeatedly, and then asked a little uneasily: "Sir Tingwei, will you really protect us?"
Zhao Tuo hummed: "If we are guilty, His Majesty has already ordered the punishment. In that case, Mr. Tingwei may be wise enough to protect himself. Now that we are not guilty, why does Mr. Tingwei not protect us? I have some weight in the army. "
The confidant felt relieved and said to Zhao Tuo: "Then the general will take action tonight."
Zhao Tuo hummed: "We are in Gaoshan County ahead, let's arrange all this in the county. There is also a lot of circumstantial evidence in front of everyone. However, you have to be more careful and don't let others see that we have deliberately arranged it. "
The confidant said: "I understand, sir, don't worry."
When Zhao Tuo came to Gaoshan County with 3,000 people. He saw a large crowd waiting to greet him at the city gate.
It turned out that the magistrate of Gaoshan County, who had already received the news, came out with his people.
Zhao Tuo was preoccupied with blaming Li Shui, so he sat lazily on his horse and didn't jump off until he got close.
The magistrate of Gaoshan County is named Bai Shu. He is fat and smiles all day long. He is a very kind person. I heard that Zhao Tuo's army was going to the city to buy food, so he waited here with his people early.
Bai Shu saw Zhao Tuo dismounting and greeted him enthusiastically: "General, it's really hard for you to come all the way. I have prepared a banquet to welcome the general."
Zhao Tuo cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, sir."
Along the way, Bai Shu was attentive and prepared.
The reason why Bai Shu is so diligent is not because of his official position. Simply because Zhao Tuo came from Xianyang City. In the eyes of a small county magistrate in a remote place, he was regarded as someone close to the emperor.
As the two were walking, a gust of wind suddenly came and blew up Bai Shu's robe.
Zhao Tuo accidentally saw that Bai Shu's inner clothes were actually patched.
Zhao Tuo exclaimed and said with great curiosity: "Is your Excellency so poor?"
Bai Shu was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "The general must have noticed that this county is mountainous and the farmland is small, so the people's lives are relatively difficult. There was a small flood not long ago, which flooded a lot of fertile farmland."
"There are thousands of people who have no food and clothing. I have no choice but to unite with the rich in the county and donate money to help those people survive the famine."
"The money has been donated, so I can only be frugal with my clothes."
Zhao Tuo exclaimed: "That's it."
Zhao Tuo was uninterested, but Bai Shu was interested.
He even said with some pride: "However, in three to five years, when the general comes to visit again, this county will not be like this. By then, everyone will be rich, every family will be safe, and it will truly be a paradise on earth."
Zhao Tuo asked curiously: "Why are you so sure, sir?"
Bai Shu said: "It's just because the name of this county is going to be changed. This memorial has been written and is about to be sent to Xianyang."
Zhao Tuo suspected that he had heard wrongly: By changing his name, everyone would be rich?
He asked Bai Shu: "What should your county be renamed?"
Bai Shu said mysteriously: "It will be changed to Banxian County."
Zhao Tuo staggered and almost fell: "Relegated to Immortal County?"
Seeing his unbelievable look, Bai Shu said with a smile: "General, don't doubt it. You heard it right. It's the Exiled Immortal County. The Exiled Immortal from Shang Jun's Villa."
Zhao Tuo almost killed Bai Shu with a sword.
Isn't this intentional to cause trouble for others?
Bai Shu didn't notice Zhao Tuo's expression. He continued to introduce enthusiastically: "Before he became rich, he used to live in this county."
"The general must have seen the high mountain next to the county seat. There is a temple on top of it, where he lived when he was banishing immortals and refining elixirs."
"Many people in this county have seen and known the Banished Immortal. Therefore... it should be okay for this county to be renamed Banished Immortal County. After all, it has such a connection with the Banished Immortal. Haha..."
Bai Shu laughed twice and found that something was wrong with Zhao Tuo's expression.
He asked a little embarrassed: "General...what's wrong?"
Zhao Tuo took a deep breath, hid his unhappiness in his heart, smiled slightly, and said: "It's okay, I'm just curious. Even if this place has a connection with the banished immortal, how can everyone be rich? Could the banished immortal give anyone How many pieces of gold per person?"
Zhao Tuo still had something to say: Will that greedy and shameless person from Huaiguzi give you gold for no reason? Don't be shy and come closer.
When Bai Shu saw Zhao Tuo asking this question, the expression on his face became even more proud: "The general doesn't know something. I have been discussing this matter with the powerful officials and merchants in the county for three days and three nights."
"In those three days, everyone, regardless of their official position, could speak freely, and finally came up with a good idea."
Zhao Tuo looked like he was all ears.
Bai Shu said: "Everyone knows that banishing immortals has great achievements in the world. How many people have been saved by just replacing the land law? Not to mention destroying the Huns, distributing cattle and sheep, papermaking, stone mills, steamed buns, fairy wine... …”
"Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that thousands of people admire the banished immortal. I heard that it is not easy to enter the Shangjun Villa where the immortal was banished. It often costs one hundred thousand dollars. Even so, there are some rich people who are willing to go in and experience it. The immortal energy of banishing the immortal."
"Now this county has been renamed Banned Immortal County. We invite wealthy people from all over the world to come and have fun. See where Banned Immortal once lived. Visit the place where Banned Immortal once made elixirs. And talk to Banned Immortal's old friends. Isn’t it beautiful?”
"I believe that people from all over the world will definitely come to my Banxian County in an endless stream. And when these rich people come, which one is not full of chariots and horses, and clouds of servants?"
"With so many people, you have to eat, right? With so many horses, do you have to feed them? When you arrive in Banxian County, you can't leave empty-handed, right? Do you want to bring one or two specialties?"
"For example, the rocks near the Banished Immortal Temple, the clear water in the Banished Immortal Spring? Of course, they cannot take these things from the Banished Immortal privately. They can buy them from us."
"I heard that some small traders near Shangjun Courtyard have become rich by doing business."
"We, the people of Gaoshan County, should be able to rely on this to make more money, have enough to eat and wear warm clothes as soon as possible."
Zhao Tuo was stunned when he heard this. After a long time, he said quietly: "Your Excellency, the county magistrate, you are really smart."
Bai Shu said modestly: "The general has given you the reward. Most of these methods were proposed by the merchants. These merchants are not good at anything else. When it comes to making money, they always talk clearly."
"Of course, those merchants don't dare to take credit. Most of them have been to Xianyang before and have seen various methods of banishing immortals."
"According to them, the suggestions they put forward are just imitating cats and imitating the banishment of immortals."
"So, what this county is doing is following the banishment of immortals."
Zhao Tuo felt itchy with hatred.
Especially when he suddenly discovered that the plans Bai Shu mentioned might actually be realized. He felt even more uncomfortable.
So Zhao Tuo said angrily: "Your Majesty, the county magistrate, is very kind to this merchant. It's just that the merchants are not engaged in industry and are extravagant and wasteful. The county magistrate is careful to put the cart before the horse and harm the farming business."
Bai Shu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Absolutely not. Since the Xiongnu were destroyed, there have been enough cattle and horses in the world. Although this county is poor, thanks to the low price of cattle and horses, two or three households can buy a cow if they join forces. .”
"One cow is worth ten manpower. Therefore, not only will the farming work not be wasted, but more food will be harvested. The nine people saved can exchange their needs, do business, and subsidize the family."
"Furthermore, this county also heard that His Majesty hosted a banquet in the palace for some merchants who are interested in going to sea. It seems that His Majesty still supports those merchants who are loyal to the court and benefit the people."
"I also feel that merchants have advantages and disadvantages, and they cannot stop eating because of choking. The best way is to maximize their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and take advantage of the advantages and eliminate the disadvantages. If they can keep the people fed and clothed, why not do it? "
"Don't worry, general. These have been carefully discussed by me, the squires, and merchants. They are absolutely foolproof."
Zhao Tuo said oh. I felt even more depressed.
This Gaoshan County can really cause trouble for people.
At this time, Zhao Tuo looked up and suddenly saw a big stone standing in the middle of the street in front of him, and several masons were chipping away at the stone.
Zhao Tuo asked curiously: "This is..."
Bai Shu said: "They are building a life-size statue of the banished immortal. In the future, people from all over the world will visit our banished immortal county. Although they will not be able to see the banished immortal himself, it would be good to have a look under the life-size statue."
Zhao Tuo: "..."
His hands were itchy and he wanted to give the county magistrate a blow.
I was a magician in the Qin Dynasty
