"God bless, we beat the bandits away, haha!"
"It's not God's blessing, it's this little brother Qin who is so powerful. He is our savior!"
"That's right, my benefactor is here, please bear with me and pay my respects. I am really grateful to my benefactor today, otherwise my mother-in-law would have been a widow!"
…
The caravan members cheered loudly as they survived, and some even ran over to kowtow to Qin Feng, thanking him for saving his life.
Qin Feng didn't dare to support him, so he quickly reached out to help him. In fact, his ability to defeat the sand bandits this time depended partly on strength and partly on luck.
After cheering, Manager Sun began to rectify the team and wanted to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible, but was blocked by Qin Feng. The team could not leave for the time being, and the car formation had to remain as it was.
The reason is very simple. Although the bandits have retreated, they may not have really left. They may have hidden in the surrounding woods. If the caravan leaves here and loses the support of the car array, and the bandits take the opportunity to kill one of them, it will be terrible. That’s it!
"Thank you, little brother Qin, for reminding me. I almost got confused, but we can't go on like this, right?"
"Don't be anxious. You can send someone to Zhenbeicheng to ask for help. We learned that the Xue family's caravan is trapped. Those officials dare not ignore death. As soon as the reinforcements arrive, we will be safe."
"Okay, everything depends on little brother Qin!"
Regarding Qin Feng's ability, Manager Sun and others were convinced and admired. They immediately followed the plan and selected two smart and capable men to go to Zhenbei City with tokens to ask for help.
Mouse followed him. He hunted in Lianglang Mountain all year round and was very familiar with the surrounding terrain. Even if there were bandits hiding in the forest, he would still be able to sneak out.
The remaining workers were divided into three teams, taking turns to stand guard and rest.
During the break, people naturally talked about the bandits.
In the Mu Us Desert, there used to be more than a dozen groups of sand bandits. After fighting and annexing each other, now there is only one group left. There are about seven or eight hundred people. They come and go without a trace, killing people and stealing goods, and commit all kinds of evil. It gave the government a huge headache, but there was nothing they could do about it.
It is said that there are three leaders among the sand bandits, with different origins:
The boss, Hou Wanjin, was originally a bodyguard in the Central Plains. He led dozens of escorts and made a living by providing bodyguards.
Once, Hou Wanjin and his men escorted a fifth-grade magistrate back to his hometown. Seeing that he was carrying a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, and all his concubines were as beautiful as flowers and jade, he became evil-minded and passed by a wilderness. At that time, he killed the magistrate's entire family, insulted the female family members, then took away the gold, silver and jewelry, and escaped with his men outside the Great Wall to become bandits!
His character traits are: greedy, stingy, cruel, cunning and suspicious. He never trusts anyone, even his own companions, so he is nicknamed: Old Yin Monkey!
In addition, this 'Old Yin Monkey' has done many evil things and caused great public outrage, even alarming the Governor's Mansion on three sides. The Governor himself personally issued an order: any officers and soldiers in the border army who can kill or capture the bandit leader Hou Wanjin alive will be promoted by two ranks. , Reward five thousand taels of silver!
…
The second master - Temur, a Mongolian, was originally a little prince of the tribe. He failed in the struggle for power and fled the grassland. He became a member of the sand bandits. He was fierce and bloodthirsty. He was good at using a machete and led his team to rob many times. The passing caravans had their hands covered in blood!
The person who was killed by Qin Feng before was most likely this guy!
…
The third head of the family, Han Shanjun, was originally a child of an ordinary military household in Qianhusuo, Zhenbei. He had practiced martial arts since he was a child, and had extraordinary abilities. He was also tall and handsome, so he got the nickname "Jinmaohu".
Han Shanjun has a child bride named Ye Waner, the daughter of a private school teacher. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also literate and talented. The two grew up together and have a great relationship with each other!
Unexpectedly, sitting at home behind closed doors will cause disaster to come from the sky.
Just a few days before the two were going to get married, Han Shanjun went out to buy things for the application. A group of soldiers from the Qianhu Office broke into the house and forcibly took away Ye Wan'er in the name of arrears of "sub-grain". Han's father and Han's mother came forward. He tried to stop him, but was beaten to death by the soldiers.
It was later learned that it was Zheng Qianhu who fell in love with Ye Wan'er and wanted to take her as his concubine, so he sent his own soldiers to snatch her away!
A few days later, Han Shanjun returned and learned what had happened. He came to seek revenge. However, he was alone and was no different from dying in vain. So he surrendered to the bandits in anger and swore a blood oath to kill Zheng Qianhu. revenge.
Two years ago, when Zheng Qianhu was traveling, he was hit by a cold arrow in the chest and almost died. It is said that it was done by Han Shanjun. After that, Zheng Qianhu became a frightened bird and did not dare to leave Zhenbei City for even half a step.
In addition, although he became a bandit, Han Shanjun had a good nature and never killed innocent people indiscriminately, so his reputation was much better than that of the other two leaders.
Enough chatter, let’s get back to the main story!
As time went by, the sky gradually darkened, and the caravan crew worked together to cut down many dead branches from the surrounding hills and lit more than a dozen bonfires inside and outside the car array, which lit up as brightly as day.
Then, while on guard, they used a bonfire to heat the dry food they carried with them, mainly pot helmets.
Guokui is a staple food in the northwest region. It is made from fermented wheat flour. It is crispy, solid, and large. One weighs seven or eight kilograms. It is also very easy to preserve. Even in the scorching summer, it can be kept for more than ten days. It will deteriorate and is a must-have when traveling far away.
Looking back on those days, one of the important reasons why the Qin Dynasty, which rose in the northwest, was able to annex the six eastern countries was that it used pot helmets as its staple food.
It is said that the soldiers of the Qin army made a set of two pot helmets, drilled two holes in each, tied them with cowhide ropes, and put one on the front and back chest, just like a robe. If they were hungry while marching, they would Just tear off a piece and chew it. It's delicious and can satisfy hunger, and it doesn't slow down the marching speed.
If encountering an enemy attack, the pot helmet is hard and thick and can withstand cold arrows and protect the body. It is no worse than armor. This is also the origin of the name "pot helmet".
Qin Feng and Jin Yuniang were sitting together and were about to bake a piece of Guokui. Unexpectedly, a red lacquer food box appeared in front of them. It contained braised beef and mutton, several delicious pastries, and a jar of Jinhua wine!
Along with the food box, there were also the little rabbit, Xue Jinyu, and the little maid, Luliu!
Qin Feng took the food box without being polite, and shared the delicacies inside with Jin Yuniang. He opened the wine jar and smelled it. The aroma was pure and strong, and the taste was first-class. He immediately poured a bowl and drank it in big gulps.
As a soldier, there is no one who is not addicted to alcohol. It has been a few months since I came to this world, and I have not drank a drop of alcohol. Today I can get over the alcohol addiction, and I am happy.
Little Tutu-Xue Jinyu did not leave, and took the opportunity to sit next to the bonfire, and even took the initiative to pour a large bowl of wine for Qin Feng: "Brother Qin, thanks to you this time, otherwise, including me, the caravan and the hundred There are so many people, I am afraid they have become the victims of the bandits a long time ago, and I will never forget the grace of saving my life!"
"Haha, Mr. Xue, you don't have to be polite. I had to fight to protect myself!"
"We are friends of life and death. We have a son-in-law. It's too natural. Let's do this. From now on, I will call you Brother Feng and you will call me Jinyu. How about we treat each other as brothers?"
"good!"
Perhaps because of his upbringing, Xue Jinyu, although born as a girl, has a bit of the boldness of a manly man. Qin Feng is not a shy person, so he immediately took the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, recognizing this brother! '
Now that he has recognized his brother, he can speak more freely.
"Xiaotu... no, Jinyu, when you go out to do business, do you often encounter robbers?"
"Yes, the caravan carries a large amount of goods and gold and silver, so it will inevitably be noticed by thieves, but large-scale sieges like this are still very rare. Why are these damn sand bandits targeting me?"
"Gold and silver are too heavy to carry and hide. Why don't you use banknotes to trade? That would be much more convenient!"
"A bank note, what is it?"
"The banknote is...just..."
Qin Feng was depressingly aware that he had accidentally let slip that it was the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty and silver notes had not yet come out.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a kind of treasure banknotes were printed, but those things could only be called banknotes, not banknotes!
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty did not have a mature financial management system and printed banknotes indiscriminately, leading to inflation and public dissatisfaction. By the Zhengde period, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were basically abolished, and gold, silver, and copper were still used as currency in commercial circulation. .
Shanxi businessmen were smarter and invented a kind of money order. It was very convenient to deposit money in place A and withdraw money in place B. However, the money order only had the function of deposit and withdrawal, and could not be used as currency for circulation, nor was it a real bank note.
In the original history, silver notes in the true sense only appeared during the Qing Dynasty and Daoguang years, which is still two hundred years away from now!
I drank some wine and accidentally revealed the secret, what should I do?
Qin Feng had no choice but to lie, saying that the banknote was a banknote that he had imagined, a kind of banknote that could be freely stored, exchanged and traded!
Speaking of banknotes, the bank that issued the banknotes was involved!
Talking about banks, it also involves finance!
Talking about finance, it also involves a series of topics such as country, society, human beings, business, morality, marriage, love, childbirth, why and how to have children, which posture makes it easier to get pregnant, and post-pregnancy care... !
All in all, Qin Feng was eloquent and eloquent, and it took him nearly two hours to explain clearly the matter of the banknote.
After explaining, my tired little tongue hung out... At the same time, I secretly swore that I would never leak secrets indiscriminately again.
Look at the people around: the little maid Luliu was just eating without even raising her head. She didn't understand a word!
Jin Yuniang's eyes were full of little stars. Although she didn't understand much, her fiancé was so knowledgeable that he even knew about a woman's pregnancy, which made her very proud!
Look at the little rabbit again - Xue Jinyu, with her eyebrows upturned, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, and her little cherry mouth wide open. She can put three eggs in at a time. This is no longer a simple surprise, but a shocking and shocking thing. Horrible!
Qin Feng's words seemed to open a window in the sky, allowing her to see another world.
It turns out that a piece of paper can replace gold and silver!
It turns out that money is not money, money is just a series of numbers!
It turns out that making money is not difficult, the small goal is 100 million!
…
It turns out that you can have children, get married, and fall in love again, and love is not limited to men and women, there is also the love of beauty, the love of lilies, the love that spans life, death, and species!
For half an hour, Xue Jinyu said nothing. Her spiritual world was greatly impacted, and her originally slightly distorted outlook on life... suddenly became even more distorted!
Half an hour later, Xue Jinyu came to his senses and looked at Qin Feng with burning eyes, as if he was seeing a unique treasure.
"Brother Feng is very knowledgeable and talented. It would be too unfair to stay in a small place like Seven Kills Castle. Do you have any plans to find another job?"
"Oh, how do you say it?"
"Brother Feng, please come to our Xue family and serve as the general manager and be fully responsible for the Xue family's business. If Brother Feng is willing to give in, Jin Yu can make the decision. You will have 20% of the shares in all the Xue family's business. In addition, there is a brand new four-story courtyard in Suide City, thirty male and female servants each, and three hundred acres of fertile land. What do you think?"
Unexpectedly, Xue Jinyu actually wanted to solicit, and the price he offered was not low.
You know, the Xue family is one of the three major Qin merchants, with millions of wealth, of which 20% of the shares are worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which is enough for ordinary people to spend ten lifetimes.
Besides, the Xue family has a huge influence in the northwest region. Being the general manager of the Xue family business means that even high-ranking officials such as the prefect and chief envoy will have to give you some face when they meet you. It is much better than being a small household.
Will Qin Feng agree to such a good thing that is both profitable and face-saving?
