"I'm finally back in Yangzhou!" A young man with a face full of vicissitudes of life finally stepped on the soil of Yangzhou. He couldn't help but sigh as he stood on the land.
"My Lord, let's hurry up and try to reach Shouchun as soon as possible!" There was a man with a face full of scars next to the young man. The scars were already very scary. When he spoke, he could make children cry.
"Forget it, there's no hurry!" The young man was very excited. He couldn't wait to fly to Shouchun immediately. However, he didn't know why he slowed down.
"What's wrong, My Lord? The Military Advisor and the others will be very happy to know that we are back. "The other man said.
"Yuanzhi and the others …" The young man muttered.
"My husband, what's wrong? Why aren't you moving? "A voice came from the carriage behind the young man.
"Get off the horse. We're not in a hurry to go back!" The young man said to the bronze-skinned woman behind him.
"Oh!" The woman didn't ask too much. She listened to the young man and got off the carriage.
"My Lord, aren't we going by water?" If they went by water, they could reach Yangzhou faster. They could go from Lujiang to Hefei and then to Shouchun. They could even go down the river and go from White Horse Lake to Shouchun. It would be faster and less tiring.
"Isn't it the same on land?" The young man also got off the carriage and led the two strong men and a beautiful woman to the nearest city in Yangzhou.
Xinye City, the county city of Jingzhou, had now become a bridgehead in Yangzhou. The original Xinye City was very prosperous and there were many merchants coming and going. Most of the merchants were doing business between Yangzhou and Jingzhou. Yangzhou could give the merchants of Jingzhou status while Jingzhou could give the merchants of Yangzhou benefits. The combination of the two was very harmonious. For a time, Xinye City's prosperity was not inferior to Jingzhou's capital, Xiangyang.
However, the prosperity didn't last long. Once Jingzhou and Yangzhou fell out, the entire vast trade route of Xinye was completely blocked.
The goods of Jingzhou couldn't be transported to Yangzhou and the merchants of Yangzhou couldn't enter Jingzhou. Therefore, Xinye City slowly declined.
But all in all, Xinye City was much better than when the young man first came.
"Let's go, let's enter the city!" It was already getting late. The young man and the others prepared to enter the city to rest for a while before making further plans.
When they reached the city gate, the young man and the others were stopped.
"What happened?" The young man frowned. Looking at the sky, it wasn't time to close the city gates yet. Why were they being stopped?
"My lord, they won't let us enter the city!"
"How dare you stop our Lord's carriage!" The brawny man with a scar on his face was about to step forward and argue, but he was stopped by the young man.
"What's wrong with this soldier? It is not yet night time, why are we not allowed to enter the city? "Liu Mang asked the two guards of Xinye City.
"You want to enter the city?" The two guards asked the young man and his group.
"That's right! We're here to visit our relatives. It's getting late and we don't want to spend the night outside the city. We want to enter the city and rest for the night. We'll continue our journey tomorrow! " Liu Mang said to the two guards.
"You want to enter the city? Sure, but you have to pay the toll first! " The two soldiers looked at the young man and his group, then they looked at each other and said with a smile.
"Toll?" The young man was stunned for a moment. He thought about it and understood. After all, this was an unspoken rule. You couldn't avoid it. The soldiers guarding the city gate had to stand guard from day to night. Relying on their own salary, they were naturally not satisfied. The Yangzhou army also didn't have any subsidies for night shifts. Therefore, the soldiers guarding the city gate had an unwritten rule. They could get a fee from the merchants that passed by. Generally speaking, the fee would be calculated according to the amount of goods that the merchants brought. A large cart would be worth 10 copper coins. This way, relying on the flow of customers, they could earn a good amount of extra income to compensate for the day and night guard duty.
"Sir, we are not merchants. We are only going to Yangzhou to visit our relatives!" The young man explained to the two soldiers. Their group only had one carriage and two war horses. How could they be merchants?
"Not a merchant?" The two gatekeepers looked at each other and repeated the question.
"Yes, yes. We're not merchants. We're here to visit our relatives!" The young man continued to explain.
"It's not up to you to decide whether you are a merchant or not!" The two guards pointed at the young man and said.
"Then who has the final say?" The young man continued to ask.
"Of course it's us! If we say you're a merchant, then you're a merchant! " The two guards pointed at Liu Mang and said.
"Then we're merchants. Ten copper coins, right? We'll pay!" Although the young man was very dissatisfied with the two soldiers, he only glanced at them and waved his hand to the scarred man behind him. He quickly took out ten copper coins from the scarred man's pocket and handed it over. "Sir, this is our toll!"
"Ten copper coins? Haha, do you think we're beggars? "The two guards didn't take the money. Instead, they opened their eyes wide and shouted.
"Then how much do you want?"
"At least this much." The two Yangzhou soldiers who were guarding the gate stretched out five fingers of their palms.
"Fifty copper coins?" Although fifty copper coins was five times more than ten copper coins, it wasn't an excessive amount. Ordinary merchants could still afford it.
"Fifty? Hehe, it's five thousand! "The two gatekeepers revealed their true colors.
It wasn't as simple as fifty as the young man thought. It was five thousand copper coins. How much was five thousand copper coins? If it was converted to gold, it was only half a gold coin. However, this was only a carriage and two horses. If you were other merchants, how much money would it cost?
"Five thousand copper coins? Why don't you rob us? " The other strong man said with dissatisfaction. "We couldn't rob you in the past."
"Five thousand copper coins? These two soldiers are too much." The young man wanted to continue to mediate.
"Too much? Five thousand copper coins, I'm telling you. Not a penny less. If it's not enough, you can stay outside the city tonight. " The two guards at the gate were very confident. Why? Because they saw the young man and the others coming from the south with only one carriage and two war horses. They knew at first glance that he was not a local. Similarly, he was not a big merchant or someone with a big background. He was just a passerby. If they did not kill such a person, who else would they kill? In the words of the two guards, he was just a foreigner.
"You!" The strong man beside the young man couldn't help but want to attack, but he was stopped by the young man.
"Five thousand copper coins. Okay, we'll pay." The young man took out half a gold coin from his waist and threw it over. The two guards were moved and only then did they let the young man and his group leave.
Seeing that they had received five thousand gold coins in such a short time, the guards were all smiling. However, they still felt a little regretful when they saw the bulky man put away the money pouch. If they had known earlier, they would have asked for more.
Seeing them leave, one of the guards said greedily to the comrade beside him, "Although there are only four people, this money is not small."
"What? You want their money and want to take it for yourself?" The comrade beside him asked.
"Take it for myself? I don't have that ability! "Not to mention how much money this group of people had on them, just these few horses were worth a lot.
"Then what do you mean?"
"How much is the price of these horses now?" The guard counted with a smile.
"Forty gold coins!" The comrade beside him knew a little about the market price.
"You're talking about inferior horses. They can only be used to carry things." The guard who spoke laughed disdainfully. "These horses are worth at least a hundred gold coins. Hey, hey, help me cover the shift. I'll be back soon. "
"What do you want? You can't be thinking about those horses, right? "
"I'm not doing anything. Even if you give these horses to me, I'll find them too hot." These few horses together were worth five to six hundred gold coins. How could a small guard like him dare to take them? Didn't he know that an ordinary man was innocent but guilty of possessing a treasure? He didn't leave to act on his own. He left to report to someone.
"Is this true?" The Commander-in-Chief Of City Gates was reporting to a middle-aged man. Although this middle-aged man was middle-aged, he still had a frivolous expression on his face. He didn't have the steadiness of a middle-aged man.
"Every word is true. How could this lowly one dare to deceive the general? Those warhorses, oh, they are all tall and sturdy. They all look incomparably majestic. Just looking at them makes me envious. Each one is more majestic than the other." The gatekeeper was reporting to one of his superiors.
This person was a general of ten thousand men in Xinye City. He was incomparably greedy. He was guarding the south gate. Horses were something that a general could only come across by chance. A good war horse could save a life. Unfortunately, this person had never obtained a good war horse. They were either inferior or ordinary horses. Now that he heard that there were several good war horses, he was naturally tempted.
"Do you know where they are?" Not only did he lack a horse, but even his commander, General Wei Yan, also lacked a good war horse. If what the Commandant said was true, then these war horses would have to be shared with General Wei Yan.
"They've entered the city. They should be staying at an inn!" The Commander-in-Chief Of City Gates reported.
"Looking for an inn?" The middle-aged man muttered to himself. "Good. Keep an eye on them. I'll be right there."
The young man and his group entered Xinye City. When they were far away from the south gate, the burly man beside the young man immediately complained. "My lord, you're too kind to them. Five thousand coins. Just going through the city gate costs five thousand coins. Why don't they just rob us? If it were up to me, I would've just killed them. These greedy bastards. "The burly man was very dissatisfied.
"Calm down, calm down." The young man comforted everyone. It was easy to kill the guards, but it would be hard to deal with them quickly. Moreover, the bastards were easy to deal with, but they didn't know who was behind them. How could they deal with them?
The young man and his group entered the city in the name of visiting their relatives, but they already asked for half a gold. If other people entered the city, wouldn't it be even more? In fact, the young man and his group thought too much. If it weren't for the fact that Liu Mang's group was small and unfamiliar, the guards wouldn't have dared to ask for five thousand coins for a carriage. One must know that there were nobles behind these merchants.
"It's getting late. Let's find a place to stay first!" Liu Mang led the horse in front.
"Dear guests!" Soon, the young man and his group found a place to stay. It was called Octagon Inn. It was currently open for business. When the waiter saw that the young man and his group were unfamiliar faces and had horses, he immediately welcomed them.
"There are four of us. Please arrange three rooms for us." The young man said to the waiter.
"Alright! Three rooms! Dear guests, please come in! "
Just as the young man and the others were about to teach the warhorses to their son and bring them to Mas in the backyard, something suddenly flew out of the Octagon Inn.
"My lord, be careful! There's a hidden weapon! "The burly man immediately ran to the young man's side to protect him. The young man didn't stop him. After all, who could hurt him in front of him?
The young man took a closer look. It turned out that the hidden weapon in front of him wasn't anything else. It was a person. A living person who was groaning in pain on the ground.
"What's going on?" The young man couldn't help but frown and ask when he saw the man lying on the ground in pain.
"Let me tell you, Liu Wu. Your package is considered to be left here. Either you come back with money to redeem it, or you can scram! Who do you think you are? You don't even pay for your stay! " A man who looked like a butler with a few servants behind him said disdainfully to the man who was thrown outside.
"What a pity! All his wealth is gone in one day. "The waiter shook his head as he looked at the man who had fallen to the ground.
"What's wrong?" The young man seemed to be interested and asked.
"My lord, the man who was thrown out is called Liu Wu. He was originally a wealthy merchant. Why didn't he bring his wealth with him? Instead, he was blinded by lard and brought all his wealth to us!"
"Blinded by lard?" The young man frowned even more. "How could he be blinded by lard? How can Shangyong City compare to the treatment and power of merchants in Shangzhou?" In Yangzhou, people who brought all their wealth to Yangzhou were encouraged. Not only were their taxes halved, but they were also given the title of 'Official Merchant'. This allowed them to have enough rights to be on equal footing with others, instead of blindly becoming the most lowly merchant.
"He thought so too. That's why he offended Xinye's Old Master Guo!" The waiter explained. It turned out that Old Master Guo was originally a noble in Xinye City. After Xinye became Yangzhou's territory, the Guo Family's benefits were not divided. Instead, in order to make Xinye more stable, the governor of Xinye, Liu Qi, took measures to appease the Guo Family. This allowed the Guo Family to become stronger.
The Guo Family also had a few people working in Xinye City's government.
How did Liu Wu end up like this? It was because Liu Wu thought that the merchants in Yangzhou had returned home and were masters. He thought that there was no need to lower his head and avoid nobles anymore.
Therefore, in the past few business competitions, Liu Wu, who had no backing, had contradicted the Guo Family several times. He did not even give the Guo Family any face. Originally, because Xinye had just entered Yangzhou, the Guo Family kept a low profile and did not talk much with Liu Wu. However, after the governor of Xinye disappeared for a long time, the Guo Family finally showed their fangs.
All of Liu Wu's wealth was confiscated by the Guo Family in just a short while.
The Guo Family used all kinds of methods to test Yangzhou's attitude towards merchants. Later, when they saw that Yangzhou did not respond, they went back to their original methods.
What kind of people were the Guo Clan? They were nobles. What was Liu Wu? He was just a lowly merchant. How could Liu Wu's wealth compare to the suppression of these nobles? Soon, Liu Wu's family business collapsed.
Most of it was annexed by the Guo Family. That was why Liu Wu was so miserable.
"Shouldn't Liu Wu be an official merchant? How dare the Guo Family make a move on Liu Wu? " Those who brought all their wealth to Yangzhou would be rewarded by the Yangzhou government. An official merchant was one of them.
"Official merchant? Haha, it's just a name. This official merchant spot has long been taken by the Guo Family. How could it be Liu Wu's turn? " Yangzhou also gave out official merchant spots. That was to encourage merchants from other provinces to come to Yangzhou to develop Yangzhou's business. Only when the business was developed, it would naturally drive Yangzhou's economy. Only with investors would there be greater market returns.
However, the official merchant spots in Xinye, which were tax-free and had benefits, were all taken by the Guo Family. Not only did they take the official merchant spots, but they also used their own interests to deal with the merchants from other provinces. These people were originally attracted by Yangzhou's policies. They wanted to develop their grand plans, but they did not expect that the Guo Family would use the methods of nobles to cheat them of most of their wealth. They either used force or in the dark.
These merchants who came to Yangzhou could only suffer because they brought all their wealth. They did not expect that this was a road of no return.
"Guo Family?" The young man repeated the name a few times. He remembered this Guo Family.
"Milord? That Liu Wu? "The burly man asked the young man. He seemed to want to ask if he would help Liu Wu. The young man waved his hand. It was better to avoid trouble. It was not a good time to cause trouble.
"Young man, please take our horses to the backyard and feed them with good fodder. Put the money on our account." The young man asked the burly man to take out a piece of gold and give it to the young man. The young man smiled and was about to accept the order.
"No need to go through so much trouble!" A loud voice rang out behind Liu Mang. "I will take care of these horses for you."
"Hm?" Liu Mang turned around and saw a familiar face. It was the military officer who was guarding the gate.
The gatekeeper was standing beside the man on the horse. Judging from the appearance of the man on the horse, the man seemed to be a lieutenant.
"The Guo Family is here!" The waiter at the side said carefully in a low voice.
"The Guo Family?" The young man frowned.
"Who are you?" The young man asked the Yangzhou Military General who was riding on the horse.
"I am the General of Xinye City's Garrison, Guo Yi!" The General quickly reported his name.
"So it's General Guo. May I know why General Guo is looking for us?" The young man walked forward and asked.
"Where are you from?" Guo Yi asked the young man.
"General, we are from Jingzhou!"
"Are you here to visit your relatives?"
"Yes!"
"What do your relatives do?" Guo Yi asked the young man as if he was checking his household registration.
"My uncle just settled down in Shouchun. We came to find him after we heard the news."
"Oh, that's good!" Guo Yi nodded.
"General, what do you mean?"
"Nothing. We lost a few horses in my family, so we came to look for them. Look, we found them!" Guo Yi wasn't an idiot. If he was, he wouldn't have said so much to the young man in the beginning. He said so much to find out the young man's background. Now that he knew that the young man came from Jing Province, Guo Yi would be nervous if he came from other places, but he didn't need to be so nervous in Jing Province.
Now, Jingzhou and Yangzhou were enemies. His former employer and his current employer were no longer allies. They were enemies. The Jingzhou Navy was wiped out by the Yangzhou Navy. Therefore, Jingzhou was no longer a threat to Yangzhou. The young man was here to visit his relatives. His relatives did not have a high status in Yangzhou. At most, they were just ordinary people who settled down in Yangzhou.
"Bullshit! This is clearly our warhorse! " The ferocious-looking man immediately said angrily. They rode these horses all the way here. How could they be Guo Yi's horses? "We were riding them just now!"
"You said you rode these horses before?" Guo Yi smiled and asked the man with a scar on his face.
"Yes! We rode them into the city! " The man with a scar on his face explained.
"That's great! As soon as I lost my horse, you rode on it. Now that I've caught you red-handed, what else do you want to say? "Guo Yi revealed a treacherous smile as he looked at the young man and his group of people. "Men, take them down!" “
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