Li Jiangyao suddenly became energetic: "Oh? What kind of conspiracy?"
Situ Wushou looked at the setting sun outside the window and said quietly: "Manihan told Tilian that the magic weapon of the Holy Tang Dynasty to control the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang was not the 100,000 soldiers of the Zhenjiang Protectorate, nor the saint's principles, but It is a continuous trade road. Because of the Xijiang trade road, silk, porcelain, and tea from China can be transported to places farther west, while Persian tapestry, Dashi's swords, Tianzhu's spices and Gaochang's Horses can also be continuously sold to Shengtang. Every caravan passing through the thirty-six countries of Western Xinjiang will bring endless wealth to the local people, and the people of Western Xinjiang will be better and better if they have money to wear clothes and eat. Be grateful to Shengtang and rely on Shengtang.”
Situ Wushou paused for a moment and looked at Li Jiangyao and Du Jian with sharp eyes: "So Manihan said that he would cut off the dog chain tied to the neck of the Western Border by Shengtang on behalf of the Turkic Empire!"
Li Jiangyao's heart trembled: "When he said dog leash, he meant..."
Situ Wushou nodded: "It refers to the trade route. After Tilian left Manihan's mansion, the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became. She knew that I was now a member of the Shengtang Government Bureau, and she was worried that Manihan would be harmful to me. , so he came to tell me overnight."
"Have you reported this to your superiors?" Du Jian asked from the side.
Situ Wushou: "Report? How do you report it to me? Do you want me to go and tell the boss that a Qiuci dancer listened to the drunken words of Lord Suiye and realized that he was going to destroy the trade route? What I said is not just to find someone. scold?"
Li Jiangyao asked calmly: "Then why did you tell us?"
"Because you are Pegasus scouts!" Situ Wushou replied equally calmly: "The feather cavalry gallops without stopping, the number one soldier in the Western Frontier! In the entire Protectorate, you are the only ones who are loyal and loyal without caring about selfishness. I can only tell it to you, so it won’t be regarded as irrelevant nonsense.”
Li Jiangyao: "Thank you, Master Situ. Please tell me where Manihan's Governor's Mansion is."
Situ Wushou was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: Damn it, are you so fierce? Are you going to kick down Governor Ye's door directly?
Li Jiangyao saw what he was thinking and smiled slightly: "You misunderstood, I am not looking for trouble with Manihan. We, the Zhenjiang Protectorate, can't just bully the nobles of others without any evidence."
"What do you mean?"
Li Jiangyao glanced at Du Jian who was standing next to him, and then explained to Situ Wushou: "If Manihan is really what you think, secretly attacking the Shengtang caravan and destroying the peace of the Western Xinjiang trade routes, Then he probably has secret contacts with the Turks, and at the same time he also deliberately pays attention to the whereabouts of the caravans. I want to send someone to keep an eye on them to see if there is a chance to discover anything."
Situ Wushou suddenly realized: "I see. If that's the case, you don't have to worry about it anymore."
Hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but stare at Situ Wushou with some confusion, only to hear the other party continue: "Ever since Ti Lian reported to me, I have been more careful and have been sending people to keep an eye on Manihan Mansion. Next The officer’s plan is similar to yours, he wants to wait for more solid evidence before reporting it to his superiors and taking action.”
Li Jiangyao and Du Jian couldn't help but look at each other. Neither of them expected that the young official with a bit of businessman temperament in front of them would have such courage and means.
"Have you found anything?" Du Jian asked curiously.
Situ Wushou: "There are no valuable clues yet, but yesterday, more than twenty Turkic horse traders suddenly went to Manihan."
Li Jiangyao stood up suddenly: "What did you say? Turkic horse dealer?!"
Situ Wushou was startled by his posture: "Sir, don't worry, Turks often traffic horses on our trade routes, which is not unusual. And Manihan's guards are indeed needed..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Jiangyao waved his hand to interrupt: "The fifth murder I just mentioned to you happened yesterday, seventy miles away in Mashha!"
As soon as these words came out, the clever Situ Wushou immediately came to his senses: "Fuck! Could it be them?!"
Du Jian stretched out his hand and held the handle of the knife: "Boss Li, I'm probably right, how can I fix it?"
Li Jiangyao still had a doubt in his mind: "Master Situ, you said that Turkic horse dealers are common, but is it also common for them to continue to stay at the customer's home after completing the transaction?"
Situ Wushou shook his head: "That's just a joke. Whoever buys horses can't specially entertain horse dealers?"
"In this case, it's a bit strange for the Turks to stay at Manihan's house..." Li Jiangyao murmured to himself.
Situ Wushou thought for a moment and suddenly remembered something: "I know! Yesterday, a large business group happened to come to Hetian City. It was a silk fleet owned by the well-known company "Rongbaozhai". They replenished some supplies here, and they will Go all the way west to Persia. Maybe those Turks are waiting for them!"
Li Jiangyao nodded after hearing this: "That makes sense. The Turks used the intelligence provided by Manihan to secretly attack the Shengtang Business Travel in order to achieve their purpose of destroying the trade security of Western Xinjiang. Big merchants like Rongbaozhai , is naturally the best target. The reason for hiding is probably because I want to pick up a big leak and then withdraw to my own territory."
He turned to Du Jian and said: "We have no evidence, and we can't directly find Manihan's door and go to it, and the silk caravan just provides an opportunity to catch the thief."
Situ Wushou said from the side: "Sir, let me leave the previous matters to my subordinates. I immediately sent someone to find the manager of the Rongbaozhai caravan, and in the name of checking the goods and checking the documents, I sent him a message to meet him here. .”
Li Jiangyao secretly praised the other party's intelligence and nodded slightly with a smile: "What a coincidence, the young master of Rongbaozhai is my good brother. Who knows, this time I will be an escort for that boy Murong."
-
On the deserted road leading to the border of the ghost desert, the sun was like fire and the heat wave was steaming. The camels and horses were all panting heavily and moving forward slowly step by step.
It’s hard to deal with livestock, let alone people.
The guys in Rongbaozhai were all sweating profusely. They were yelling and kicking, and they were cursing the damn sun.
If it weren't for the "Western Route" to go to countries such as Persia and other countries, the boss could offer four or five times more wages than usual in the store, so a fool would be willing to endure the hardship of traveling across mountains and rivers.
Earning more is the first motivation for caravans to travel thousands of miles.
However, in addition to the old ways of earning a living for their wives and children, many young men go out to broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge.
Although the Middle Land of the Holy Tang Dynasty is prosperous and prosperous, and the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang also has many exotic customs, but these are not as good as the more distant world, which can fill young people with infinite curiosity and yearning.
If you don't take advantage of your youth to venture out and see what's going on, why don't you have to wait until you're seventy or eighty to travel around the world?
Wouldn't it be nice for him to follow the caravan all the way west, take care of food, housing, and pay?
As a result, even though everyone knew very well that the "Western Route" business was extremely difficult, a large number of people still signed up every time the owner organized a group to set off.
Due to the large number of participants, merchant bosses often have room to make careful selections. Those guys who are in poor health, cheating, weak-willed, and not good at business will all be eliminated. Anyone who can stay on the "Western Route" can be regarded as a leader in the business.
Rongbaozhai is a well-known large business in Western Xinjiang. The boss behind the scenes is the Murong family, whose business is spread across the 28 states in Middle-earth. Therefore, their strength and position are among the leaders in various trade fields in Western Xinjiang. The big and small clerks under them, They have gone through various selection tests and are quite capable.
The captain of the Rongbaozhai caravan, Mo Fengchu, is in his fifties. His business skills for more than thirty years are well-known in the business circles of the Western Border. He looked at the thirty or so men who followed him to Persia to sell silk and satin. He was very satisfied and shouted with a smile: "Brothers, don't blame the sun for being poisonous. It's poisonous in its own way."
A boy wiped his sweat and asked, "What's so good about it?"
Mo Fengchu smiled slightly: "It has been said since ancient times that in this business, the profit is small if you are close, and the profit is high if you are far away. So the worse the weather is and the road is difficult, the more gold and silver we can earn. Think about it, Others cannot withstand this poisonous sun and are unwilling to transport silk to Persia. When we get there, won't we be able to live in rare goods and kill everyone?"
"Boss Mo is right! The rich people in Persia like our Shengtang's silks and satins, so don't worry about buying them to death! When the time comes, whatever price we say will be the price!"
Lao Mo's two simple words aroused the enthusiasm of all the clerks to make money, and suddenly even the intense heat no longer felt so unbearable. Everyone cheered up and accelerated their pace on the road.
Mo Fengchu smiled proudly and was about to take out the water bag and take a few sips when he suddenly heard an exclamation from his subordinate who was walking at the front.
Immediately, the entire caravan came to an abrupt halt, and everyone looked forward in confusion.
"What's the matter?"
Mo Fengchu urged his horse and quickly ran to the front.
A strange guy wearing a black robe and a hood was standing straight in the middle of the deserted road, almost blocking the way of the caravan. There was a wooden pole stuck on the ground beside him, and a bloody cow head hung on the pole.
Mo Fengchu felt bad, but his face remained calm as usual.
"Brother, we are from Rongbaozhai, please give me some advice."
Because he couldn't see his appearance clearly and couldn't tell where the other party came from, Lao Mo had to ask him his purpose in Shengtang dialect. Fortunately, the thirty-six countries in Western Xinjiang have been affiliated with Shengtang for a long time, and most of the people understand Shengtang dialect.
Sure enough, when the man opposite saw Mo Fengchu speaking, he laughed softly and replied in a not very proficient Tang dialect: "Goods, stay. People, get out!"
Mo Fengchu was slightly startled: It's actually a woman?
He looked around cautiously: "Girl, maybe you didn't hear what I just said clearly? We are heroes from Rongbaozhai and Suiye, so we all have some friendship..."
Before he could finish his words, the other party snorted again: "Three."
three? Mo Fengchu was a little confused: "Three what?" Three taels of gold? Three camels?
Before he could react, the other party said again: "Two."
I go, co-authored she is counting down!
"One!" Following the words, the woman in black robe sneered: "Okay, you don't have to get out this time."
Hearing the murderous intent in the other party's words, Mo Fengchu felt something was wrong. Just when he was about to say something more, an arrow suddenly flew through the air and penetrated the neck of a waiter, killing him on the spot.
Everyone in the caravan was shocked when they saw this, and suddenly fell into panic. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty burly men appeared from behind the sand dune ridge beside the deserted road, and surrounded Mo Fengchu and the others with bent bows and knives.
Woman in black robe: "That's what you Shengtang people are like. You are obviously given a way to live, but you value your wealth more than your life. Well, choose a way to die. Stand in a row obediently, and I will make it easier for you; if you dare If you resist, you will end up worse!"
Mo Fengchu was stunned for a moment, and then nodded slowly, dismounting and muttering: "Brother, you really hit the mark. The rest will all depend on your tricks."
