The Sages had written thousands of moral essays, all of which were earnestly persuading the people to be good. They had worn out their mouths, and with the addition of thousands of words written by their pen, their arms were sore from writing, and countless bamboo slips were used, but they were still not as useful as the Zhuxin dialect slang. What people do not look out for themselves, and what people die for wealth and birds die for food? Just listen to it, it was easy to recite, and it was not nonsense. No wonder everyone believed it. In this depression surrounded by slopes on three sides, there were five or six men with different appearances and attire. There was not a single bonfire lit. In the middle of the night in the wilderness, there were no women around. It was easy to imagine what they were plotting. It could not be that these fellows felt that the border between the two dynasties was not peaceful and wanted to do a good deed of eliminating traitors and pacifying the people.
Most of the people here were horse bandit leaders who rode fast horses and did evil deeds. Speaking of the horse bandits that were a big problem at the border, compared to the bandits that were living in the corners of the empire, they were naturally much more valiant. Moreover, they came and went like the wind, and their lairs were hidden. It was as difficult as ascending to the heavens for the government to catch them. The combat ability and cunning of the horses were not something that the ordinary bandits in the jianghu could compare to. The four horse bandit leaders in front of them were not the rough men in the hearts of the common people. One of them was a man in his thirties. He was fair, handsome, and gentle. He wore an elegant green robe. His thumb and index finger were rubbing a jade pendant that was carved from mutton fat jade. He smiled but did not say anything.
There was a stout fatty sitting beside him, but his skin was dark, making him look comical. Beside his buttocks were a Xuanhua Broad Axe and a Golden Sparrow Mountain Splitting Axe. He did not speak, but the smile on his face made people feel that he was charmingly naive.
The other two were worthy of being bandits. Not to mention their sturdy bodies, just their arms, which were as thick as a woman's thigh, were enough to make their muscles bulge. One of them, a middle-aged bandit with a scar on half his face, knocked on the golden scabbard on his leg with his fist and said casually, "Chief Xiao, although it was Song Diao 'er who introduced us to this matter today, we are all brothers. As for how to divide the goods, we have to be clear about it first. Otherwise, after this matter is settled, if there is an imbalance in the distribution of the spoils, we brothers will fight before we can even get our hands on the silver. It's not worth it."
Sitting opposite the bandit leader was the Second Gang Leader of the Fish-dragon Gang, Xiao Qiang. Xiao Qiang heard the man's explicit words and his face was covered in saliva. He could clearly smell the man's fishy breath. However, Xiao Qiang only frowned slightly. After secretly exchanging glances with the handsome and scholarly bandit, he nodded with a smile and said, "Boss Wei speaks frankly. It is indeed reasonable. This carriage of goods came from the residence of the former Weapons Supervisor in Lingzhou. They have connections in Lingzhou and can raise the price to 35,000 taels of silver. However, if we sell the goods, I estimate that we will only get a little more than 20,000 taels of silver. Together with the 3,000 taels of silver sent by the son of Vice Captain Zhe Chong at Tuma Pass, we will count it as 25,000 taels of silver. The five of you here will each get 5,000 taels of silver. What do you think? But let's make it clear first. I can't wait until the day the goods are sold. I have to take the money back to Beiliang first. However, since all of you heroes have brought your brothers out to do business, I don't have the face to be on equal footing with you. Therefore, I will only take 4,000 taels of silver. What do you think? "
The four bandits discussed and agreed with a smile. Their smiles towards Xiao Qiang also became more sincere. After all, there were not many people who were willing to take less money. Besides, without Xiao Qiang as an insider, and with Xiao Qiang's friend Song Diao 'er acting as the middleman, they would not be able to put together such a big platform with more than 100 people.
Who did not dream of being able to roam the border alone with 100 horses?
Unfortunately, for a team of 100 horses, not to mention that horses were difficult to find. There were many wild horses in the desert. If one was lucky, one could occasionally encounter a herd of hundreds or thousands of horses. However, even if the bandits managed to get some, they would not be able to raise warhorses that could fight skillfully. Bandits and bandits had to have good horses before they could be bandits. If one could not train a horse well, one's legs would go weak at the sight of an inferior horse or easily lose control of it. Who the hell would dare to fight with others? Wouldn't that be courting death? Therefore, to the bandits, if anyone knew how to raise and train a horse, they would want to worship them as if they were their ancestors. If one were to go to the horse market to buy a horse, regardless of whether it was in Beiliang or Beimang, one would have to report to the government. To the bandits, wasn't this equivalent to being tired of living? Did they think that the military officers in the government were not generous enough? As for horse smuggling, it was also very risky. It was also a matter of losing one's head. Otherwise, who would not be able to gather a team of more than 100 people? Moreover, one should not forget that 100 bandits would inevitably bring along their families. This meant that at least 200 mouths would have to eat meat and drink wine every day. Every few days, they would have to f * cking go to the brothel in batches to find soft and tender women to vent their lust. Only then would they not feel resentful. As the head of this family, one would not be able to raise them without some ability.
Therefore, in the circle of horse bandits, it was a joke that anyone who could become a leader, regardless of whether it was the phoenix head of a few hundred bandits or the chicken head of a few dozen bandits, could go to Beiliang and Beimang with their ability to become a general.
Song Diao 'er, who looked like a white-faced scholar, did not speak much. This time, he had brought 34 horses, which was the most out of the four of them. Among the hundreds of horse bandits at the border, his strength was only average. However, Song Diao' er's name was very well-known. He came from a small noble family in Beimang. After studying hard for more than ten years, he finally obtained a scholarly rank with great difficulty. Just as he showed signs of standing out, he was replaced by a fat brother from his family. In a fit of anger, he killed the father and son and kidnapped two women, who he should have respectfully called his concubines, as well as some money and valuables, to become a horse bandit. Unexpectedly, he really took root in this barren land that relied on martial prowess to survive. He was meticulous and vicious. A few horse bandits who provoked him were wiped out along with their men, horses, and nests. Originally, with Song Diao 'er's means and financial resources, it was easy for him to deal with a group of 50 bandits, let alone 70 or 80. The other leaders of the horse bandits wished that the women in the village had just given birth to a child so that they could get on their horses and rob them. Song Diao' er went in the opposite direction and kept the number of his men at 36. The three men beside him were all ferocious horse bandits, but even if the three of them worked together to burn the bridge after crossing the river, they were destined to suffer great losses. This was probably the key reason why Xiao Qiang of the Fish Dragon Gang was willing to take the risk.
The two met in Lingzhou City. Although Song Diao 'er was a bandit, he was more or less a scholar. When he went south to visit the scenery of Beiliang, he happened to meet Xiao Qiang, who was good at swordsmanship. They were quite friends despite the difference in age. The scholarly bandit nicknamed Song Diao' er was also very close to Xiao Qiang's son, Xiao Ling. Xiao Ling was not good at fighting, but he liked to read books and poems. He was not very sociable in the Fish-dragon Gang, but he was very happy to talk with Song Diao 'er. When Xiao Qiang left Lingzhou, his original intention was to ask Song Diao 'er to take care of him along the way. But he did not expect that the incident at Tuma Pass would change everything. Song Diao' er was so clever that he immediately pointed out Xiao Qiang's weakness. He beat around the bush and said that with Xiao Ling's talent, he was more suitable to be the leader of the Fish-dragon Gang. At first, Xiao Qiang was still in a dilemma and was unwilling to immediately agree to this bloody business that was contrary to the word "righteousness". After coming out of seclusion, every day he saw Liu Nerong's unfamiliar cold face, Xiao Qiang was angry. A few days ago, he finally saw Song Diao 'er, who was pretending to be an ordinary bandit, and made a secret signal. Only then did the deputy leader of the Fish-dragon Gang make up his mind. Whether it was Liu Nerong or a carriage of goods, how could they compare to the bright future of his son, Xiao Ling?
Moreover, if the Fish-dragon Gang was handed over to Xiao Ling, who was quick-witted and had many connections, it would definitely rise up strongly. It could be said that he was worthy of the pedantic old leader who had conquered the country but could not keep it.
After all, Jianghu should be handed over to the young people to fight for. Old guys should not occupy the latrine. Liu Nerong was too soft-hearted and she was also a woman. What could she do? When she got married in the future, would the whole Fish-dragon Gang become her dowry?! Not to mention Xiao Qiang, the rest of the old guys who had retired in a gold basin would be bitterly disappointed.
Xiao Qiang's mind flashed and he had mixed feelings. His heart became colder and hardened. He said with a smile, "The Fish-dragon Gang has more than thirty people. Except for Liu Nerong and the guest Gongsun Yang, their martial arts are not outstanding. Gongsun Yang is good at the Rapid Arrow Technique, which can cause great damage to the cavalry of several leaders. When the time comes, I will definitely take advantage of the chaos to kill Gongsun Yang first."
Song Diao 'er pressed the jade pendant and said softly, "We are not in a hurry to kill them. In the next two days, we will first harass them in batches and let the Fish-dragon Gang be tired of dealing with them. Later, I will ask Boss Xiao to bring a few taels of knockout powder and see if we can put it in their food. But this matter is just icing on the cake. It will be best if it works, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't. If we have a hundred riders to deal with more than thirty people, it will be like a hunt. Originally, if it was a big escort agency, there would be many carts and we would know a little bit about the art of stopping and forming a formation. Unfortunately, the Fish-dragon Gang only has one carriage. Even if they have the art of war experts, they can't do anything. They can only blame it on their bad luck. "
The other three leaders looked at each other and they all looked a little cold.
Song Diao 'er suddenly smiled and said, "By the way, the Fish-dragon Gang has more than a dozen ready-made familiar horses. I don't want them. Let the three leaders distribute them at will. But that Liu Nerong belongs to me. There is no discussion."
The fat black guy who played with the double axes gave a thumbs up and smiled at Song Diao 'er. "Brother Song, you are indeed educated. You love the country but not the beauty. I admire you!"
The other two big men also smiled playfully. Only a fool would not agree to such a wonderful thing. On the border, having a good horse was a hundred times more important than having parents!
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