November 25, the 30th year of Zhengde.
Liaodong has been hit by snowstorms for more than a month.
In the past, firewood cost eighty taels of silver per load, but now it has risen to eighty taels of silver per load.
In the past, charcoal cost four hundred and fifty taels of silver per load, but now it has risen to thirty taels of silver per load.
Moreover, even though the price is already so high, heating items in Liaodong are still hard to come by.
For a while.
"Businessmen" from all counties in the Zhou Dynasty swarmed in with charcoal, firewood and other items like cats smelling fishy smell.
The official road in Liaodong was originally impassable due to heavy snow.
At this time, the merchants from all over the country were swarming and the road was forcibly blocked.
This shows how great his "perseverance" is.
...
...
In the vastness of heaven and earth, I don’t know how much time there is.
On the official road more than sixty miles away in Liaodong County.
A long-eared "car dragon" that stretches for several miles walks with difficulty on the bumpy official road.
It is difficult for those who have not personally experienced the hardships here to understand.
A few miles later.
Song Yuanfu, who was wearing a cashmere cloak with a rosy face, opened the extremely heavy car curtain beside him.
As the car curtain was slowly opened by him.
An icy cold wind instantly blew through the open curtains and entered the warm spring-like interior of the car.
Song Yuanfu, who was frozen and glowing red, couldn't help but sneeze several times.
After counting the interest.
Song Yuanfu hurriedly lowered the car curtain, leaving only a gap of less than two fingers.
"Brother Feng, Mr. Xu Qu."
"There is a village called Zhengjia Village two miles away. We have informed the brothers to rest there for the night."
"Excuse me, Chief Xu Qu. Please take the brothers to investigate first."
"Give the villagers in Zhengjia Village some coal stoves and briquettes, and ask them to free up some rooms."
Song Yuanfu shouted loudly toward the outside of the carriage through the gap of less than two fingers.
"good!"
"yes!"
After counting the interest.
The responses from Xu Qiancheng and Yang Yu came into the car one after another.
After hearing the response.
Song Yuanfu quickly lowered the gap in the car curtain that was only open for less than two fingers.
The gap was once again blocked by the heavy curtain.
Song Yuanfu quickly leaned forward and got closer to the coal stove that was always giving off a strong warmth.
The iron kettle on the coal stove was quickly moved away, causing the warmth in the carriage to rise rapidly.
After more than a hundred breaths.
Song Yuanfu, who had lost all the chill in his body, once again placed the iron pot on the iron frame of the coal stove.
Then he slowly lay down on the soft carriage.
His fingers tapped his thigh again and again.
Half an hour later.
The iron kettle on the coal stove suddenly made a whistling sound.
Song Yuanfu slowly sat up after hearing the sound and took out several empty water bags from the side of the carriage.
After opening them one by one, he immediately lifted the iron kettle and slowly poured the boiling water into the water bag.
Beside him, dozens of full water bags were placed.
Another quarter of an hour.
The slow-moving carriage gradually stopped moving forward.
At the same time, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside the carriage.
"Dong Song's family, everyone in the village has frozen to death."
Wearing a gray and white cashmere robe and a cashmere felt hat, Xu Qiancheng, the commander of the trapped camp, stopped his horse and spoke slowly.
"Are they all freezing to death?"
In the carriage, Song Yuanfu's face paused slightly when he heard this, and then he slowly walked out of the warm spring-like carriage and spoke slowly to confirm.
"One hundred two or three households in the village, with more than 460 people, all died of freezing death, and no one was spared."
Xu Qiancheng turned over and dismounted, using the body of the war horse to slightly cover his body.
After shielding himself from the cold wind, he slowly answered.
Song Yuanfu's body suddenly trembled as he walked out of the carriage.
I don't know if it was because of the cold outside the carriage or the news brought by Xu Qiancheng.
After more than ten breaths.
Song Yuanfu gradually came back to his senses, and his back became rickety invisibly.
I don’t know if it was because of the bone-chilling chill outside the carriage, or because of the burden of thousands of lives on my shoulders.
"Xu Quchang...this...how many villages is this?"
Song Yuanfu tightened his cashmere cloak and asked slowly in a low voice.
It’s been a journey.
Song Yuanfu saw too many victims of the Liaodong disaster with their families and families.
I saw too many frozen bones on the roadside.
Of course.
Whether it's a disaster victim with his or her family, or a person who froze to death on the roadside.
The whole village was far from freezing to death, and it gave Song Yuanfu a deeper and greater feeling.
If they can survive, many people will choose to leave their homes.
However, what if there is no way to escape?
Then you can only watch your loved ones "move away" from you one after another.
Song Yuanfu couldn't imagine what kind of despair it would be.
At that time, perhaps "leaving far away" in advance will also be a kind of relief.
Xu Qiancheng's face couldn't help but pause when he heard this.
After counting the interest.
Xu Qiancheng sighed in his heart, and then slowly answered: "It's the twelfth one."
"Twelve already." Song Yuanfu murmured in a low voice, and then stopped talking.
After a while.
Song's commercial fleet drove slowly into the deserted Zhengjia Village.
"Song Dong's family, what should we do with the dead villagers?"
"Still the same?"
After Song's Trading Company drove into Zhengjia Village with many cars.
Yang Yu hunched over, put his hands in his sleeves, walked slowly to Song Yuanfu's place and asked in a low voice.
"Stay the same as before."
"Let the brothers find the ancestral land of Zhengjia Village and bury all the more than 460 villagers in their ancestral land."
Song Yuanfu's eyelids slowly lowered, and his voice sounded a little helpless and lost.
"yes."
Yang Yu agreed, then turned around and walked slowly towards the gang of guys.
...
...
At night.
The howling cold wind suddenly stopped.
The sky was once again filled with goose-feather snowflakes.
Inside a private house in Zhengjia Village.
Song Yuanfu, Xu Qiancheng and Yang Yu were sitting on the ground around the coal stove.
"More than ten miles east of here, there is a Linjia town."
"That Linjia Town is the only big town within fifty miles."
"There will definitely be a large number of people inside who will survive."
"At dawn tomorrow, everyone will set off for Linjia Town immediately after breakfast."
"Be sure to arrive at Linjia Town before nightfall."
Song Yuanfu put away the map in his hand, reached out to flip the pancakes beside the coal stove, and spoke slowly.
Xu Qiancheng felt and estimated the snowflakes falling from the sky like goose feathers outside the house.
After counting the interest.
Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly and agreed, "Okay."
If it were a different time or place, let alone travel more than ten miles in one day.
Even if it is traveling more than forty miles, it is not a problem.
But nothing.
This place is close to Liaodong.
And heavy snow like goose feathers has fallen in the sky again.
At this time and place, it would be extremely difficult to travel more than ten miles in one day.
The words are over.
Song Yuanfu took off two pieces of browned meat from the coal stove.
of cakes and handed them to Xu Qiancheng and Yang Yu.
After the two of them took the cake.
Song Yuanfu took off a piece of brown dough cake again.
While chewing slowly, he slowly opened his mouth to explain some matters to the two people beside him after arriving in Linjia Town tomorrow.
While the three of them were eating for nothing, they were discussing.
Suddenly there was the sound of rapid footsteps outside the house.
The footsteps trampled on the snow, instantly making bursts of harsh crunching sounds.
The three people in the private house looked at each other silently.
Xu Qiancheng immediately stood up quickly and strode towards the door.
It was obvious that there would be no one except Xu Qiancheng's personal guards who could approach this private house so quickly from the hidden sentries.
Now, with his bodyguards walking so hastily, it was obvious that something big had happened.
After Song Yuanfu and Yang Yu looked at each other, they stood up silently and walked towards the door.
At the door.
As soon as Xu Qiancheng opened the door, a bone-chilling chill instantly swept through the three of them.
However, at this moment, none of the three people cared about the bone-chilling chill.
The door is more than twenty steps away.
A young man wearing a heavy cotton coat and carrying a wild goose-wing knife unique to Wang Daying ran towards the house, panting.
After more than ten breaths.
Panting, the young man clasped his fists and saluted: "Chief Qi, according to reports from the scouts, there is a caravan of more than a thousand people two miles away and is heading here."
"And there are a large number of people on horseback guarding both sides of the caravan."
As soon as this statement came out.
The faces of the three people in front of the private house suddenly became condensed.
In this era, any caravan with more than 200 people must have a powerful person or a noble family behind it.
And behind the caravan of more than a thousand people, there must be loyal ministers in the court, or relatives of the emperor.
And for a caravan that can mobilize soldiers to protect it, there must be a vassal king behind it.
Nothing else.
Except for the vassal kings from various places, anyone who dares to mobilize soldiers and horses privately and step out to govern the territory will be regarded as treason.
And if the vassal king mobilizes more troops than one song, it will be tantamount to treason.
Therefore.
At this time, the person coming slowly from two miles away must belong to a vassal king.
Thinking about this.
Xu Qiancheng asked in a deep voice: "What flag is that caravan carrying?"
"The song is long." Xu Qiancheng's personal guard took a few breaths, then clasped his fists and saluted again: "According to the scouts' report, the caravan did not fly any flags, not even the caravan's trade flag."
As soon as this statement came out.
Xu Qiancheng and the others frowned instantly.
A caravan under the vassal king did not fly any flags during its business trip, and even the business flag was not hoisted.
Moreover, the caravan was guarded by a large number of soldiers.
What is the intention of doing this?
Xu Qiancheng and the three of them looked at each other silently, and they all saw a look of caution in each other's eyes.
At this time, night has fallen, and everyone is in the "wilderness".
If the person who comes here really has evil intentions.
Then after killing the person, there will be enough time to destroy the corpse and eliminate traces.
He could even frame this matter on the people of Liaodong who were suffering from the snow disaster.
After all, people will always do anything to survive.
In front of the house.
Xu Qiancheng composed himself and ordered in a deep voice: "Send the entire order! Be on guard immediately! If anyone dares to act rashly! Be sure to root it out!"
"Follow the order!"
When Xu Qiancheng's personal guard heard this, his expression immediately straightened, and then he clasped his fists and saluted.
After the bodyguard figure completely disappeared in the snow.
Xu Qiancheng quickly turned around and walked towards the house. As he walked, he said, "You two, come quickly to discuss."
"Okay." Song Yuanfu agreed, and then took Yang
I quickly walked into a private house.
The door to private housing is closed again.
However, the three people in the private house could not feel the slightest warmth.
"It's very possible that the other party has bad intentions."
"Maybe he will commit murder and robbery."
Xu Qiancheng stood beside the coal stove and spoke in a deep voice with an extremely solemn expression.
There are really countless such incidents in the Western Region.
Under the leadership of Lou Daoyong, the trapped camp has protected countless caravans, let alone captured the "property" of invading enemies.
Therefore, after hearing that the caravan did not fly any flags, Xu Qiancheng's first reaction was that the other party wanted to commit murder and robbery.
Song Yuanfu frowned and groaned for a few breaths after hearing this.
If someone were on the sidelines, he might think that Xu Qiancheng was being alarmist.
But this place is close to Liaodong.
And it is the land in Liaodong that is suffering from snow disaster.
The caravans that can capture Liaodong at this time will carry all the goods for warmth.
It is self-evident how valuable heating items are in Liaodong, which is hit by snowstorms.
When the benefits far outweigh the risks, countless people will choose to take risks.
Song Yuanfu never dared to overestimate human nature.
After counting the interest.
Song Yuanfu frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Is Xu Quzhang confident?"
Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly when he heard the words, and immediately answered the question: "Before setting off, the prince will give me two hundred repeated crossbows."
As soon as this statement came out.
Song Yuanfu's frown instantly relaxed.
"In that case, then let "him" never come back! "
Song Yuanfu silently clenched his fists and spoke in a deep voice.
At this moment, Song Yuanfu didn't want to think about which vassal king that caravan belonged to.
I don't even want to think about whether that caravan really had any malicious intentions.
The words are over.
Song Yuanfu faced Xu Qiancheng and solemnly raised his hands in salute and said: "From now on, the one thousand one hundred and sixty-two people in Song's merchant house will obey the orders of Xu Quchang!"
"The people in Song's business are all from the five families of Yang, Chai, Yu, Liu and Jiang, so there is no need to worry about their loyalty."
"Xu Qu, let's give it a try. If something goes wrong, Song will personally go to the prince to apologize."
Xu Qiancheng looked at Song Yuanfu in surprise when he heard this.
He never expected that Song Yuanfu, a small businessman, would have such great courage.
Xu Qiancheng composed himself, solemnly clasped his fists in return and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Song, Xu will definitely make sure that the thief never comes back!"
The words are over.
Xu Qiancheng stopped being polite and immediately ordered in a deep voice: "Song's family, please quickly order people to take down the business flag and the royal flag given by the prince."
"Follow the order!" Song Yuanfu agreed, and then quickly looked at Yang Yu beside him.
When Yang met the official, he raised his hands in unambiguous salute and said, "I'll be here for a hundred years."
With that said, Yang Yu trotted out of the house.
Xu Qiancheng paused for a moment, and then ordered in a deep voice: "Dong Song's family immediately mobilized three hundred strong men, armed with bows and arrows and white quilts, on the roofs on both sides of the village entrance to stand ready at any time."
"With the sound of crossbow arrows, they quickly threw arrows at the thieves."
When Song Yuanfu heard this, he looked serious and said, "Song will make arrangements now."
"Wait a minute."
As soon as Song Yuan Fufang turned around, Xu Qiancheng quickly stopped him with words.
After Song Yuanfu turned around with confusion.
Xu Qiancheng ordered again in a deep voice: "After the Song Dong family has dealt with this matter, immediately lead the remaining staff to the goods department."
"Xu will arrange some manpower to lead everyone to form a car formation to prevent thieves from jumping over the wall."
Song Yuanfu's face froze when he heard this, and then he raised his hands again and saluted: "I obey the order!"
Xu Qiancheng nodded slightly, and then quickly explained: "Song Dongjia must remember that this
Everything must be completed within a quarter of an hour, and never more than a quarter of an hour. "
Song Yuanfu nodded heavily and agreed in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Mr. Xu Qu, Song knows it well."
It took the caravan two quarters of an hour to complete the last two miles before nightfall.
And at that time, the sky was not dark yet, and the heavy snow had not yet fallen from the sky.
Judging from the situation at this time.
If the caravan belonging to an unknown vassal king wants to complete the last two miles.
It will take at least three quarters of an hour.
This also means that if Song Yuanfu can complete everything assigned by Xu Qiancheng within a quarter of an hour.
Then Xu Qiancheng will have two quarters of an hour to arrange his troops.
And he also had two quarters of an hour to set up a car formation in the village with the help of the soldiers trapped in the camp.
The words are over.
Song Yuanfu did not dare to delay at all and walked quickly outside the house.
After Song Yuanfu's figure completely disappeared outside the house.
Xu Qiancheng pulled out the sharp goose-wing knife from his waist with a click.
He looked coldly towards the direction two miles away.
After counting the interest.
Xu Qiancheng strode out of the house with a wild goose-wing knife in his hand.
...
...
Zhengjia Village is two miles away.
A line of hundreds of fully loaded carriages walked slowly through the white snow.
The screeching sound of the wheels rolling over the white snow was heard as the convoy moved forward slowly.
In the center is a huge carriage.
A middle-aged man wearing a fox fur cloak sat in the main seat of the carriage.
Beside him, a blazing charcoal fire was continuously providing a rich warmth to the huge carriage.
An exquisite wine pot sat firmly in the iron basin above the charcoal fire.
The fragrance of fine wine slowly escapes from the spout.
The middle-aged man wearing a fox fur cloak slowly took off the fox fur cloak behind him, revealing his inner clothes.
Then he slowly reached out and took out the warm and exquisite wine flask from the iron basin.
"General Liu has been working very hard these past few days, and I would like to drink a glass of thin wine to go away the fatigue."
The middle-aged man held an exquisite wine flask and slowly poured the warm wine inside it into the two wine cups placed on the small table beside it.
Wait until the drink is eighty percent full.
He slowly picked up one of the wine cups and handed it to the middle-aged general who was sitting next to the small table with an iron armor hidden under his cotton robe.
"I will finally thank Master Pan."
The middle-aged general known as General Liu took the wine cup with both hands and thanked him with a respectful expression on his face.
"You and I are both serving the prince, so why do we need to live like this?"
After hearing this, Mr. Pan pretended to be dissatisfied and spoke slowly.
The words are over.
Master Pan picked up the wine cup on the small table, raised his head and drank the wine in one gulp.
Smash it softly behind your mouth.
Master Pan seemed to be sighing with emotion, and said slowly as if to win over him: "What's more, if General Liu hadn't been with me all the way."
"Perhaps Pan has been completely wiped out by those ambitious caravans."
"How can we get more than two hundred truckloads of goods for nothing?"
"After returning to Pingcheng, Pan will definitely report to the prince what happened during this period of time."
"When the time comes, Pan will look for my sister again to say a few kind words for General Liu."
"This way we can express Pan's gratitude."
General Liu's eyes were filled with ecstasy when he heard this, and he quickly clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Master Pan is so kind and kind to Liu Ming. I feel deeply in his heart."
"In the future, whenever Mr. Pan can use Liu, he will just send someone to look for Liu immediately."
Master Pan laughed loudly when he heard this and said, "If General Liu can use Pan in any way, just use words."
The words are over.
The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
For General Liu, it was a great blessing to be able to associate with the younger brother of the same mother as the concubine Dai.
What's more, this Master Pan has a certain status in the heart of the king.
As for Mr. Pan, whether it is truthfully reporting the situation to the acting king Xu Qi, or looking for his sister to blow his pillow.
All are effortless things.
If you can make friends with a general in the army just by doing this, wouldn't it be a great thing?
The two people in the carriage kept changing glasses.
Outside the carriage, hundreds of carriages loaded with goods were slowly heading towards Zhengjia Village.
If you look closely, it is not difficult to find that the hundreds of carriages covered with goods come in more than ten different specifications and sizes.
There are even more than ten kinds of symbols carved in inconspicuous places on the carriage.
Three quarters of an hour later.
Hundreds of carriages loaded with goods slowly arrived not far from the entrance of Zhengjia Village.
Soldiers wearing felt hats and heavy cotton coats rode slowly to the large carriage.
"Master Pan, General Liu."
"Zhengjia Village has arrived."
After the soldiers in heavy cotton-padded clothes turned over and dismounted, they faced the carriage with clasped fists and saluted with a respectful look on their faces.
inside the carriage.
Master Pan and General Liu, who had reddish faces, put down their wine cups one after another.
"General Liu, Zhengjia Village has arrived. Please stay overnight in Zhengjia Village tonight."
Master Pan put down the wine cup in his hand and leaned back slightly.
He had been a businessman for the acting king Xu Qi for nearly twenty years, and he had never lived in a carriage, and he rarely even set foot in a tent.
It is precisely because of this that the caravan of more than a thousand people trudged forward in the night, just to rush to the nearest village to stay overnight.
Upon hearing this, General Liu clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "It all depends on Master Pan's orders."
The words are over.
General Liu's face paused for a moment, and then he spoke again: "Master Pan, please wait for a moment. Liu will send someone to the village to investigate."
Master Pan shook his head slightly when he heard this and said, "Go directly to the village. There is no need to investigate further."
"The Jiang family business that was wiped out today visited this Zhengjia village half a month ago when they returned from Liaodong."
"According to his account, all the people in Zhengjia Village froze to death in the snowstorm."
General Liu's expression changed slightly, and then he clasped his fists and saluted, "May I ask Mr. Pan, have the people from Jiang's Trading Company ever cleaned out the corpses?"
Master Pan heard this with a sneer on his face and said: "The Jiangdong family is very timid. Seeing that the entire Zhengjia Village was frozen to death in the snow disaster, they picked up the caravan and ran away without saying a word. They would rather set up tents in the wilderness. I dare not live in Zhengjia Village, which is full of dead people."
General Liu's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and then he clasped his fists and saluted again: "Liu will take the people to the village to clean up the bodies first."
Mr. Pan stretched heavily, and then said with disdain: "No need to go to that trouble, just go into the village together. It's not too late to clean up after entering the village."
"Pan is not as timid as the Jiangdong family."
"Besides, I'm really tired after this day's journey."
"Don't waste any more time."
