It's a pity that there is no Huo Huanbu in the market. There are even very few businessmen from the Western Regions.
Nowadays, the Hexi Corridor is full of horse bandits. The merchants on the Daliang side can't get through, and the merchants on the other side of the Western Regions can't get on either.
Although there are many businesses in the market, they are far less than "prosperous".
After an afternoon of inspection, Song Che felt that the current business scale was far from meeting the standards for opening a bank.
It took nearly three months to travel from the south of the Yangtze River to the northwest. If he only came here to sell cloth, Song Che would be somewhat unwilling.
This gang of horse bandits really blocked my way of making money.
…
That night, Song Che and the others stayed at the inn in Ganchang, preparing to return to Xiliang City with the large army at dawn the next day.
Earning a piece of mutton-fat jade with blood today makes the old fox Tang Hulu extremely happy. For him, if he can make a fortune every day, it doesn't matter whether he goes to the Western Regions or not.
Song Che didn't have that much passion. Xiliang was so desolate that it made people feel cold. He even wanted to sell the goods in his hands to Tang Hulu so that he could go home.
"well……"
Song Che rested his head on his head and looked at the top of the bed. On this hot day, there was a lack of water in the kitchen and he was covered in sweat, so he couldn't fall asleep.
"Snapped!"
Slapping him on the arm, Nangong Yueyu turned her hand, handed a flattened, bloody mosquito to his eyes, and asked:
"You said you don't lack anything, why do you come to a place like this to make trouble?"
Song Che smiled and said two words: "Pursue."
Nangong Yue said: "When I play Cuju, I also run after the ball."
“The pursuit I’m talking about refers to the goals you want to achieve at every age and at every stage of life.
I have achieved all the material pursuits of money, fame, status, and women. What I want to pursue now is spiritual freedom."
Song Che stretched his fingers one by one in front of her and said with a smile: "Go to the highest mountain to watch the sunrise, go to the vast sea of sand to watch the sunset, go to the Western Regions to see beauties, go to Persia to watch the dancing, go to Siam. Look at the transvestite, oh yes, you have to go to the continent of the Western Hemisphere to look for a thing called 'tobacco'. Life is a long road, and once you have enough food and clothing, you should yearn for poetry and distant places."
He tilted his head and looked at Nangong Yue who was beside the pillow: "So, beauty Nangong, what about you?"
"I?"
Nangong Yue's thoughts became more and more confused, and finally she simply fell into Song Che's arms: "I have nothing to pursue, I just want to follow you, boss."
"Now, your pursuit is very correct."
Song Che smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if you are confused in life. Choose someone who is not confused, step on his shadow, and follow him. One day, you will get what you want."
"OK."
…
night.
Late at night.
Sudden!
There was a lot of noise.
Suddenly I heard someone shouting:
"The horse bandits are coming!"
The dark night was instantly lit up by firelight.
Song Che hurriedly got out of bed, wrapped himself in clothes and came to the window. He opened the window and looked out. He saw countless rockets flying into the forage field like meteors in the direction of the town entrance. The guards quickly gathered towards the town entrance. There were sounds of fighting and fighting. The sound of horses and horses' hooves was mixed together.
"What an arrogant horse bandit! He even dares to rob an official's business!"
Nangong Yue took off the sword from the bow and asked, "Boss, are we going to provide support?"
Song Che shook his head. There must be many horse bandits who dare to loot the land. If even the guards can't stop them, how can they be opponents?
"Leave from the back of the market, quickly!"
All the merchants in the market were awakened by the sudden attack by the horse bandits. For a moment, the cattle, sheep, horses, carts and carts were hurriedly moved back.
"The horse bandits are coming!"
"Run!"
The horse bandits broke through the town entrance, armed with torches and machetes, and rushed into the foraging field. They seemed to hear them shouting:
"Stop killing people randomly! Catch the businessmen! Especially the Daliang businessmen! Hurry!"
How can a man with two legs outrun a horse with four legs? Soon, the merchants were overtaken by horse bandits.
The horse bandits obviously had a purpose. Whenever they saw a wealthy merchant from Daliang wearing a long gown, they would knock him out with the back of a knife and directly capture him on the back of a horse.
Song Che was obviously among them. Several horse bandits and cavalry rushed towards him. Nangong Yue and Lu Jingxiang fought hard to stop them. Song Che also distanced himself and counterattacked the horse bandits with muskets.
But there were too many horse bandits, sometimes as many as eight hundred, and they soon surrounded the merchants from another neighborhood.
“Boss Song, save me——”
"Bang!"
Before Tang Hulu finished shouting, he was knocked unconscious with a knife and dragged onto the horse's back.
Nangong Yue and Lu Jingxiang couldn't resist the large number of horse bandits, and they were gradually dispersed. Seeing that the situation was not good, Song Che hurriedly ran into the alley, thinking of sneaking away, but the moment he got into the alley, the back of his head Suddenly, there was a heavy blow, followed by a spin, and then everything went dark, and the consciousness gradually blurred...
"Everyone has been arrested, let's go quickly! Don't wait for Xiliang Banzi to come!"
"Drive! Drive!"
"Boss! Boss..."
…
…
dizziness.
heavy.
Falling.
pain.
"hiss……"
Song Che opened his eyes suddenly and subconsciously wiped the back of his head, which made a big bulge.
It took at least a quarter of an hour before the blurry scene in front of him gradually became clear.
The rickety prison car drove through the desolate hills and ravines, and the cries of wild geese could be heard from time to time in the sky. Outside the prison car was a group of horse bandits armed with knives.
There were three prison cars, and all the Daliang merchants were imprisoned in them. There were more than 20 people, and they were still in coma.
Song Che moved with difficulty and shook Tang Hulu, who was lying opposite, "Boss Tang, Boss Tang..."
Tang Hulu slept like a dead pig, and even snored slightly. Song Che patted his face and pinched him, "Huh..." He snored, opened his eyes suddenly, stood up and shouted:
"I'm not a businessman in Daliang! Don't arrest me! Don't arrest me!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The horse bandit knocked on the prison car with his knife and yelled: "Why are you making such a noise! Don't make any noise!"
Tang Hulu woke up instantly when he saw the knife. He pulled the prison cart and cried: "Everyone, look at me, I am not a businessman in Daliang, I am just a Persian wearing a long gown. You have arrested the wrong person... …”
The horse bandit yelled: "I've already captured you, am I going to put you back? Be honest, or I'll bleed you!"
Tang Hulu was so frightened that he trembled and hurriedly shrank into the prison car. He did not dare to speak loudly, so he could only wipe away his tears and sob:
"It's over, it's over, it's all over now, my family business, my Dina, my three illegitimate children, how can they live without me..."
Holy shit!
Don’t you remember that he believes in Allah? Where did the illegitimate child come from?
Song Che comforted: "Boss Tang, don't cry yet. If they want to kill us, they don't have to go to all the trouble to catch us here. We should be fine."
Tang Hulu was stunned and continued to wipe his tears: "They must have captured us back to the bandits' den, and then blackmailed our families to pay a ransom. If we couldn't pay, they would break up the vote. We still have to die. It's over, it's over, it's over... "
Song Che didn't think so.
If it was really kidnapping and extortion, why only kidnap the people from Daliang?
Moreover, attacking a business is not a trivial matter. Is it worth taking such a big risk to seek wealth?
Furthermore, looking at this team of horse bandits, they didn't even rob a cart of goods. Their purpose is definitely not simple.
