Ang Lee came to Summer Province full of confidence. If he couldn't settle the Horse Gang here, he would lose face and be laughed at when he went back. Although the reason Ang Lee came to Summer Province had nothing to do with the Horse Gang, since there were Horse Gang in Summer Province, he had to get rid of them. This was in line with Ang Lee's usual style of doing things.
Therefore, when he heard that the merchants were having a headache because of the Horse Gang, Ang Lee immediately thought of himself. Since such a powerful person like him was here, why would the merchants still need to be afraid of the Horse Gang? Wasn't this a slap to his face?
However, these merchants didn't give Ang Lee any face because they didn't feel that Ang Lee was here to fight the Horse Gang. They only cared about what they saw in front of them. If Ang Lee had stood on a high place and declared loudly as soon as he arrived, telling all the people in the city that he was here to eliminate the Horse Gang and wouldn't leave until the Horse Gang was eliminated, these merchants might be very happy and full of expectations. However, Ang Lee had been here for so long and had done nothing. At least in the eyes of these merchants, Ang Lee really did nothing and didn't declare anything. It was as if he was like air. After coming to Summer Province City, he quietly hid in his residence. Under such circumstances, how could the merchants feel that Ang Lee could help them solve the Horse Gang problem?
The Tang dynasty newspaper had been developing for many years. Ang Lee's name often appeared in the Tang dynasty newspaper, but his appearance had never been drawn in the Tang dynasty newspaper. Therefore, except for those who had seen Ang Lee, ordinary people couldn't recognize him. And Summer Province was far away from the capital, so the merchants here couldn't recognize Ang Lee.
Seeing Ang Lee say such big words, one-third of the guests in the restaurant turned their attention to him. They quietly looked at Ang Lee and seemed a little surprised.
Those who were a little further away didn't hear too clearly and just looked. The merchants at the next table directly walked over.
"Brother, how can we say more than that? However, we've already inquired clearly. This time, the imperial court official came to Summer Province for the coal mine, not to eliminate the Horse Gang. He didn't bring many soldiers and horses."
"Yes, we all know that he only brought 300 soldiers. Compared with the 8,000 soldiers in Summer Province, such a small force is simply insignificant. I really don't dare to count on it."
"Fortunately, the soldiers under General Guo will patrol along the way, so the Horse Gang can only look for opportunities in the cracks. We have a great chance of escaping the Horse Gang's robbery."
"Yes! Last year, when General Guo didn't come, we were miserable. We would be robbed six out of ten times. The losses were too great. Not to mention the profits, we couldn't even earn back the capital! "
"We originally planned to leave Summer Province forever, but General Guo came with the soldiers. This gave us hope. Although we couldn't eliminate the cunning Horse Gang, it was enough to make the Horse Gang fear us and not dare to be too presumptuous. Now, in every ten trips, we'll be robbed at most twice. We can successfully transport the goods eight times. Although the losses are still not small, there's also a lot of profit."
"Brother, since you said so just now, do you know any inside information?"
A group of merchants came over to chat.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "No, no, no, I don't know any inside information. It's just a feeling. The Horse Gang is so arrogant. Not to mention the imperial court officials, even ordinary people can't stand it. They will definitely teach them a lesson."
"I hope so! We can't wait for these damn Horse Gang to die as soon as possible. These guys rob us from time to time and make us suffer a great loss. "
"Yes! We don't dare to transport too many goods at a time for fear of being robbed. "
Two merchants said.
Hearing this, Ang Lee said, "Haven't you thought of spending some money to hire guards to transport the goods?"
At this time, Ang Lee thought of the escort agency. Since ancient times, escort agencies had been very popular in order to protect the goods. However, there were no escort agencies in the Tang dynasty, which made many merchants suffer losses in the capital.
"Brother, you're too simple-minded. The Horse Gang is very fierce. It's useless to hire too few guards because they can't beat the Horse Gang. However, if you hire too many guards, it will cost a lot of money. Then there's no profit to speak of. It's better to take some risks and secretly transport the goods. Maybe you can make more money."
"Yes! At the peak of the Horse Gang, there can be three to five hundred of them at a time. Every Horse Gang is very fierce. If the escort team is less than a thousand people, they won't dare to fight at all. Even the elite troops of the imperial court need two to three hundred people to fight against three to five hundred Horse Gang. The cost of so many guards is too high. It's not something small merchants like us can afford. "
The merchants said helplessly.
Ang Lee heard this and nodded in agreement. These merchants were right. The Horse Gang came and went like ghosts. Their numbers varied and there was no pattern to speak of. This brought great difficulty to the encirclement and suppression work. At the same time, the merchants had to go to different places to do business and there were many transport routes. It was very unrealistic to ask a large number of imperial troops to escort them. The imperial court only had a total of eight thousand troops in Xia Province. These troops sounded like a lot, but in fact, it was not a lot. After being scattered to guard various counties and provincial cities, the remaining mobile troops were only five thousand cavalrymen. Moreover, these cavalrymen had to take turns to rest and rest. They couldn't let five thousand people work in shifts! This would cause the soldiers to be similar. The military expenditure would also increase greatly. The imperial court would also have objections.
There were many people who would always say that once there was a war, they would need food and pay. Then, when there was no war, wouldn't the soldiers need food and pay?
This was a very good question. However, it also showed that he was lacking in standards. Soldiers who did not fight also needed food and pay. But once there was a war, the consumption of these two aspects would increase greatly. If there were casualties, the expenditure would increase in the north of the city.
For example, in order to increase the enthusiasm of the soldiers, when mobilizing for battle, all the soldiers would be given extra allowances. In a situation where there were many soldiers, this was not a small expenditure. In addition, soldiers who fought bravely and killed the enemy would be given large rewards to encourage more soldiers to fight bravely. If soldiers were injured, money would be spent to treat their injuries and provide nutrition. As for soldiers who died in battle, not only would their families receive pensions, the imperial court would also take care of their children. A certain amount of financial compensation would be given every year until the child grew up.
With so many expenses added together, it was definitely not a small amount. It was even many times more than when there was no war. It was even possible that it was hundreds of times more.
The situation in Summer Province was slightly better. After all, the horse gangs were nearby and were not very far away. The food supplies for the army of 8,000 could be placed in Summer Province City. If they went to the border to fight, the army of 8,000 needed 80,000 strong laborers to be responsible for transporting food, weapons, tents, and various other equipment.
The consumption of 80,000 able-bodied laborers was also very large. They had to eat along the way and consume a lot of resources. They even had to send out an additional group of soldiers to protect their safety. If these able-bodied laborers were killed by the enemy, their families would also have to receive compensation. This was also a very large expense.
In short, as long as it was a war, money had to be constantly spent. Without money, the imperial court would never be able to fight a war unless they could guarantee victory in every war and seize enough materials and money from the losers. Only in this way could they use war to support war.
However, in both ancient and modern times, there were very few armies that could really use war to support war. Most of the armies relied on the logistical support of the imperial court. Once they lost the logistical support, the army would face the danger of being completely annihilated. Therefore, logistical support had always been the focus of military experts. Cutting off the enemy's food supply was also a very important victory method for many military experts to defeat a strong enemy.
"That's true! It's too expensive to hire guards. The imperial court's troops can't always protect a caravan. The horse gangs are really difficult to deal with. The only way is to eliminate all the horse gangs. Only in this way can all the problems be solved once and for all. "
Ang Lee opened his mouth and said.
The merchants around him all had expressions of approval.
"Brother, what you said is what we're thinking. That's right. Only by completely eliminating the horse gangs can business in Summer State City be better. Sending guards to patrol is just a bad idea."
"We can't blame General Guo. The horse gangs are too cunning. General Guo has led the main army into the mountains many times and fought with the horse gangs more than a dozen times. It can be said that he killed many of them, but he still can't completely eradicate the problem of the horse gangs. Moreover, the imperial court's troops have also lost hundreds of men. General Guo is so distressed that he's crying. "
"That's right! These horse gangs have been entrenched in Mount Qiwu for a long time. They're too familiar with the terrain and various situations in the mountains. It's really too difficult to eliminate them. It's really worrying! "
"Now, even in my dreams, I want to wipe out all the horse gangs in Mount Qiwu and leave no one alive."
"Why don't we write a joint letter to the imperial court and ask them to send more troops to encircle and eliminate the horse gangs in Mount Qiwu?"
"Are you new here? We've written a joint letter a long time ago. Otherwise, General Guo wouldn't have appeared in Summer State City. However, we can do it a few more times. This way, the imperial court may really send more troops. "
"For the small Summer State, the imperial court has already sent 8,000 troops. They probably won't send any more. General Guo's failure to eliminate the horse gangs must be temporary. He's not familiar enough with Summer State City. After some time, he'll be able to completely understand the terrain of Mount Qiwu. He'll definitely be able to eliminate the horse gangs' lair in one fell swoop and avenge us."
"That's right. The horse gangs' good days won't be long. We'll endure for two or three years. By then, things will definitely change. The horse gangs are grasshoppers after autumn. They won't be able to jump around for long."
The crowd was talking at once.
Ang Lee looked at the crowd and said, "You're right. The horse gangs will definitely be eliminated. However, it won't take as long as two or three years. It should be faster."
Seeing how these merchants hated the horse gangs so much, Ang Lee couldn't wait to wipe out all the horse gangs in Summer State City. Then, he could be proud again.
"Sir, let's order a song!"
Unbeknownst to him, two young prostitutes came to the second floor and stood not far behind Li An.
"Oh, Miss Lotus, what a coincidence! Ever since I heard your pipa song last time, it's still ringing in my ears. "
Ang Lee said happily.
The rest of the merchants probably recognized the two of them. Their expressions were more friendly.
"It's rare that you still remember me. Then let's order a song!"
The lotus girl requested.
Li An naturally couldn't refuse the young lady. Moreover, there were so many merchants watching from the side. If he refused, it would seem a little too petty.
"Alright, alright, alright. What songs would you like to hear? Let's listen to music while we chat."
Ang Lee comforted Miss Lotus, then looked at the merchants and said politely.
"Since you're the host, we won't stand on ceremony. Let's start with the Song of the Rainbow Feather, then the Song of Forgetting Weichuan, and the Song of Yichuan …"
These merchants didn't stand on ceremony and directly ordered songs. In their eyes, Ang Lee was a foolish merchant with a lot of money. If they didn't take advantage of such a person, wouldn't they be mistreating themselves?
Ang Lee smiled and motioned for Miss Lotus to start playing the pipa. Then, he continued to discuss with the crowd how to eliminate the horse gangs.
While chatting, Ang Lee didn't forget to observe Miss Lotus from time to time. On the surface, it seemed like he was admiring the beauty of the lotus, but in reality, he was observing if there was anything wrong with her.
However, even if she knew Ang Lee's purpose, Li Hanlu was still in a bad mood. She didn't like Ang Lee looking at other women with lustful eyes. It made her feel uncomfortable. Of course, if Ang Lee looked at her with such eyes, she would be very excited.
Every woman was vain, and a rude woman like Li Hanlu was no exception. She liked to be pampered by Ang Lee, but she didn't like Ang Lee looking at other women with the same eyes, especially strange women. It made her very uncomfortable. But in the Tang dynasty, men had supreme rights and could easily live a life of three wives and four concubines, but women couldn't do so. In this case, women could only learn to endure silently. Even if they were unhappy, they had to endure it. Who could be blamed for this?
Many pairs of lustful eyes glanced at Lotus from time to time, but this little busker didn't seem to be flustered at all. She still covered half of her face with the pipa and played one good song after another. The tune was very smooth and pleasant to the ears, as if she wasn't affected by the gazes of the crowd at all. This showed her superb performance skills.
"Good, good, good. It's so good."
When the merchants heard the good song, they naturally applauded happily and seemed very happy. Then, they continued to talk about business.
Some merchants were really bold. They didn't hide the trade place they were going to and the types and quantities of goods they were going to sell. They weren't afraid that the news would leak out and be known by the horse gangs.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
