After crossing Fangcheng Mountain and entering Ye County, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The road was going very fast, and everyone was sitting in the car, bumping up and down, which was really uncomfortable. If you endure it for a few more days, you can have a good rest when you arrive in Xiangcheng County.
Shen Duan ate a large plate of dumplings and walked out of the wine shop feeling his stomach. I saw the junior member outside under the shade of a tree, chatting with his subordinates. He said: "Commissioner, I'll tell you the truth, the loquats you sold these past two days have some smell. Could it be that they were damaged on the road?"
The junior member said: "What can I do? When selling fruit, there will always be something bad on the road. When we get to the place, we can only add money. Today we will walk for another day and we will reach Rufen Town. We will think of a way when we get there."
Shen Duan nodded, without saying anything more, and walked slowly to the foot of a big tree.
Lu Song, who was driving the carriage, came up and whispered to Shen Duan: "Marquis Yu, there seems to be something wrong with the fruits these people are transporting."
Shen Duan said: "What's wrong?"
Lu Song looked at the few people outside the first member and whispered: "Who is not cautious about fruit sellers? They have to check several times a day. But this group of people has never looked at the fruit since loading it into the car. They Selling fruit like this, how much money have you made without losing all your money?"
Shen Duan smiled. Said: "It is their capital that has been lost, and it is none of our business. We are just transporting goods. As long as the goods are loaded on the truck, and there are no accidents, we will never check. Watch the road, catch the truck, and don't worry about other things."
Lu Song was a little reluctant and opened his mouth to say more. Shen Duan said: "Those of us who transport goods, Shangguan once specifically told us that we only need to transport the goods safely, and just pretend not to see the rest. I know what you want to say, don't worry too much. If it is embargoed Of course there are people in Xiangyang City who are in charge of the goods. If they don’t care about it, we certainly don’t care about it even more.”
After speaking, Shen Duan patted Lu Song on the shoulder and signaled him to stop talking.
These are troubled times, and Xiangyang is an important transportation corridor between the north and the south, so there are many kinds of forbidden objects traveling from south to north. Wang Xiaolie specifically confessed that the transportation team did not care about trivial matters. In addition to gold, silver, ironware and other military supplies, general goods can be transported as long as they are loaded on the truck. In particular, there should be no excuse to inspect goods on the road to give customers peace of mind. The transportation team is only responsible for transportation and does not interfere with other tasks.
The yamen has dedicated officials to inspect various prohibited items with a variety of methods. It is actually difficult to smuggle real strategic materials to the north through Xiangyang. As for some unimportant smuggled items, the Zhenfu Division turned a blind eye.
Lin Shengyuan and Huang Yuanwai walked out of the liquor store, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's cloudy today and there's no sun, so it's much more comfortable."
Huang Yuanwai said: "Those of us who are traveling are most afraid of rain. We will reach Xiangcheng in two days' walk. The weather is miserable, so don't let it rain!"
Lin Shengyuan said: "I see that the cars are covered tightly. Even if it rains, there will be no big problem. These cars are very easy to use and the road surface is dry. Why should we worry about it! There are heavy soldiers in this area and there are no robbers on the road. It is the best time to do business." It’s peace of mind!”
Huang Yuanwai nodded. Without saying much, he went over to urge Shen Duan to set off.
Xiangcheng County is where Wang Xiaolie has stationed a large number of troops, so there is no one who can cause trouble here without opening their eyes. Trafficking goods from Xiangyang is in good order under Wang Xiaolie's rule, so don't worry. What Huang Yuanwai was worried about was that after passing Xiangcheng, thieves were everywhere. Without military protection, you are just a fat sheep.
Ye County is located between Fangcheng Mountain and Ziyun Mountain, with an endless plain. Hundreds of cars were walking on the road, and the journey was smooth. The sun has not yet set and we have already arrived at Rufen Town.
At this time, Ziyun Mountain in the north is not far away. Tomorrow we will cross Ziyun Mountain and arrive at Xiangcheng County.
The junior member said to Shen Duan: "I have a lot of cargo in my car. Please bear with me, Marquis Yu. Wait outside the cargo yard while I find someone to move it."
Shen Duan said: "Come on, feel free to go. I'm familiar with this road, and I know the owner of the goods yard. If it's not convenient for you to find someone, I have people I know in this town who can help carry the goods."
The junior member said hurriedly: "I dare not trouble Marquis Yu. I have been doing business for a long time, so I naturally have people."
After saying that, the junior member brought a companion and went to find someone.
Watching the junior members go away, Shen Duan looked at the dozens of cars in front of him and shook his head. The plums are fine, but many of the loquats have gone bad after these days. The driver could smell the smell of alcohol from a distance and told Shen Duan many times, but Shen Duan just ignored him.
Sitting under a big willow tree in the goods yard, Shen Duan said to Huang Yuanwai and Lin Shengyuan: "After a while, the first group of people came to move the goods, and we went out to find a wine shop and have a couple of drinks. We will have a drink before dawn tomorrow. Okay, we can reach Xiangcheng County without getting dark."
Huang's nickname is "Huang Yuan". After a while, he couldn't help it anymore and said: "The loquats sold by the new member were damaged a lot on the road. I can still smell the smell of wine from behind. Isn't it a loss of capital if I do this business?"
Shen Duan said: "We only care about transporting goods and don't care about other things. When loading the truck in Xiangyang, the junior members watched the loading. Now even if everything is broken, it has nothing to do with me."
Huang Yuanwai nodded. He added: "It's hundreds of miles from Xiangyang to here. Did anyone sell loquats before?"
Shen Duan said: "This is my first time transporting this kind of goods. Now it seems that loquats cannot be stored for a long time, so trafficking like this is not possible."
In fact, along the way, several people noticed that there was something abnormal about the goods outside the first team. It's just that Shen Duan didn't say it, and of course others didn't either. Now at the end of the field, Huang Yuanwai couldn't help but asked.
Shen Duan roughly guessed that the junior member was probably trafficking in prohibited items. Judging from the dozens of carts he loaded, it should not be gold, silver or copper coins, but grain and tea. The quantity is large and it is easy to sell in the north.
The Jin army occupied Jiezhou and were not allowed to sell salt to the territories of Zhai Xing, Wang Xiaolie, Li Yanxian and others. Similarly, the Song Dynasty did not allow grain and tea to be transported to the north. Tea is a daily necessity. Official sales are not allowed, so it can only be smuggled.
Rufen Town is close to the Shuishui River, and not far down the river is Beiwu Town, which enters Yancheng. That was Dong Ping's territory and Wang Xiaolie had no control over it. The smuggling route from the north under Wang Xiaolie's rule is here. Most of this road can also take advantage of the commercial road to Xiangcheng County, which is extremely convenient.
Wang Xiaolie knew this very well and gradually formed a tacit understanding. Along this road, salt was transported from the north and tea was exported from the south, which was the largest smuggled material from both sides. As for horses in the north and cattle in the south, they follow the trade route of Yingzhou in the south.
It didn't take long for the first member to bring back dozens of men. Each one is strong, young and powerful.
Shen Duan looked at it and couldn't help but shake his head. I was familiar with this road, and it was obvious that the men brought in from outside the new members were not local people doing odd jobs. If your guess is correct, it should be from their smuggling gang. To be so blatant is a bit much.
When they arrived, the first member settled the remaining money with Shen Duan. But he ordered the men he brought to remove the wicker baskets containing loquats and plums from the car and put them on the wheelbarrow that was being pushed.
Lin Shengyuan and Huang Yuanwai stood aside and watched these people busy. After watching for a while, Huang Yuanwai said: "These are so bold! Look at some of the loquats in the willow baskets that are all broken, and there are obviously things inside. How dare you do such nonsense in broad daylight!"
Lin Shengyuan asked: "Why are they doing this?"
Member Huang said: "There must be forbidden items in these baskets. Isn't this junior member afraid of checking?"
