Ang Lee's opinion was supported by Lao Guo. He had been in Summer Province for more than three months, and he knew that in Summer Province, the Provincial Governor Lao Wang was a very powerful figure. As long as the Provincial Governor didn't say anything, his subordinates wouldn't dare to act recklessly. Many times the news of the imperial army's encirclement and suppression seemed to have something to do with this Wang Provincial Governor.
However, Lao Guo didn't have enough evidence. What's more, Wang Provincial Governor held a high position. Without enough evidence, Lao Guo didn't dare to lay a finger on him. What's more, Lao Guo's troops were stationed in Summer Province, and they still needed the help of the Provincial Governor in terms of logistics. Otherwise, if Wang Provincial Governor played a trick on them, the 8,000 troops would have a hard time.
"If the Minister and the Physician break the law, the officials of the Ministry of Personnel will come to deal with them. We'd better think about the next step of the Horse Gang's plan!"
Lao Chen said.
Ang Lee said, "Based on the current situation, the Horse Gang is going to take away all the treasures they've accumulated over the years by using the carriages, and the carriages have to travel on the official road at a slow speed. It's too easy to catch up with them, so the Horse Gang along the way is nothing to worry about. However, according to the information we got from the horses, there are about three or four hundred Horse Gang members in the Horse Gang's lair. Only about one hundred of them can leave through the official road, and the rest of the Horse Gang members will escape through the mountain paths, and the most likely ones are the ones we've guessed before."
"That's right. What's more, according to my guess, the Horse Gang will leave their lair in Mount Qiwu in three or five days, and develop in the east of the river. Our scouts have found traces of the Horse Gang spies in the east. They're about to reach the river, and should have crossed it by now."
Lao Guo said.
"It seems that the war will start soon. I can't wait!"
Lao Chen said excitedly.
On the streets of Summer State City, there was finally a merchant who made a move. After all, it was very cost-effective to be able to buy a shop with a good location at a 20% discount. If they didn't make a move earlier, it might be snatched away by others. At that time, it would be too late for regrets.
There were quite a few merchants in Summer State City, and the rice shop owner didn't have many businesses. Therefore, it was quickly sold out. Some of the merchants who were prepared to lower the price heard this news and were filled with regret. They regretted that they didn't buy it in time and let others get such a great bargain.
After selling the shop, the rice shop owner had money in his hands. This amount of money was indeed quite a lot. However, he would never have thought that the amount of money he obtained from selling his business was already well controlled by the Summer State's Secretary. Therefore, he could only be happy for nothing because this money would soon be given to the Secretary. After the Secretary kept a small portion, he still had to hand over the majority of the money to the Summer State's Provincial Governor.
Hearing that the Secretary wanted to see him, the owner of the rice store was very happy. Seeing him at this time, it must be about the documents. It seemed like there was some progress.
"Doctor Zhong, is there any progress on the matter we discussed yesterday?"
The owner of the rice store opened his mouth and asked.
The Secretary looked at the owner of the rice store with a smile and said, "There's some progress, of course there's some progress. However, the price of documents for more than a hundred people isn't low!"
The owner of the rice store felt his heart sink. He felt that things weren't going well. He asked nervously, "Then how much do you need?"
"Fifty strings of string."
The Secretary of State extended a few fingers.
"Fifty strings of string?"
The owner of the rice store guessed, thinking that he could get half the price with more people.
The Secretary Zhong lightly shook his head.
"Five hundred strings of string?"
The owner of the rice store opened his mouth again.
The Secretary Zhong smiled and said, "The price of one person?"
Five hundred strings of string of cash was already a very high price. He didn't expect it to be the price for one person. This was too much, too much. Usually, when applying for documents, it would only cost a few coins at most. If there was a problem, it would cost less than a hundred times. Usually, one person would have more money, but this time, one person actually wanted five hundred strings of cash. This price was too high. It was five hundred times higher than the usual price. This was simply blatant robbery.
"Doctor Zhong, this price is too high. Isn't this robbery? It's too expensive, really too expensive. "
The shopkeeper almost fainted from anger. He couldn't accept such a high price no matter what.
The Secretary sighed regretfully and said, "If you think it's too expensive, then don't do it. Go out and turn left, I won't see you out."
Seeing that the government official wanted to chase them away, the rice shop's shopkeeper hurriedly smiled and said, "Doctor Zhong, please do a good deed and make it cheaper! This price is a bit too high. I really don't have that much money. Lower it, lower it. "
The Secretary Zhong already knew that the rice shop's shopkeeper had sold his property and had a large amount of cash on hand. Through the Summer Province Provincial Governor's advice, he also understood that these fellows were definitely in cahoots with the horse bandits. Over the years, the horse bandits had robbed so much property that they definitely had more wealth than he asked for. If he didn't take this opportunity to make a huge profit, how could he be worthy of this opportunity?
"I know it's not easy for you, but the price can't be lower. If you can't get that much money, then hire fewer workers. I still have matters to attend to, so I won't keep you here. Go back!"
The Secretary of the Treasury said resolutely.
Seeing that the Secretary Zhong wasn't willing to lower the price, the rice shop's shopkeeper was about to explode. However, there was no other way. Who asked him to not have the ability to do this?
However, if he really took out so much money to get the document and the horse bandit leader found out, who knew how he would be punished? After all, this amount of money was already eighty percent of the funds from selling his property. If he spent eighty percent of the funds from selling his property all at once, the horse bandit leader would definitely not let him off. However, the task had to be completed. This made it difficult for him to back down.
"Doctor Zhong, please calm down. I'll go back and raise the money. I'll go back and think of a way."
The rice shop's shopkeeper was about to cry. Clearly, he felt very wronged.
"Good, good, good. Then hurry up and raise the money!"
The Secretary of the Treasury said lightly.
The rice shop's shopkeeper left helplessly. Such a high price made him feel very uncomfortable. He didn't have much time to complete the task. If he asked the horse bandit leader, there wouldn't be enough time. However, if he didn't ask for permission, he really didn't know what to do.
After returning, the rice shop's shopkeeper told his subordinates about the matter. When they heard that the price was so high, all of them were furious. They felt that the Secretary Zhong was taking advantage of the situation. He was simply too ruthless. He was even more vicious than the horse bandits.
"Shopkeeper, we sold our property with great fanfare. This matter has already been known by the Secretary Zhong, so he knows how much money we have. That's why he gave such a high price."
"That's right! Shopkeeper, everyone in the city knows that we've sold our stores. They also know how much we've sold them for. The Secretary and Physician is deliberately swallowing the money we've earned from selling our businesses! "
"Greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Why don't we make a move tonight and kill this corrupt official?"
The subordinates said angrily.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you want to make a big deal out of this? Can a mere Secretary Zhong swallow so much money in one go? There must be someone above. If we kill the Secretary Zhong, we'll be completely exposed. "
The rice shop's shopkeeper said angrily.
"Shopkeeper, the Secretary Zhong's demand is too high. No matter what, we can't give him so much. If we really can't, we'll just fake it! I know a capable person who can make fake certificates. Perhaps he can help us with this matter. "
One of the subordinates said.
"A person who can make fake certificates? Is he reliable? Where did you meet him? "
The rice shop's shopkeeper asked.
"Shopkeeper, don't worry. I met him in a brothel. Although this person is lecherous, he's very reliable. I've seen him make fake certificates with my own eyes. They're almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Most people wouldn't be able to tell."
The subordinate said.
"Can you find this person now? How quickly can you get these certificates? "
The shopkeeper asked with concern.
If they could pass off fake as genuine, then there was no need to spend so much money. Fifty thousand strings of string of cash was not a small sum. Regardless of the era, this sum was extremely large.
"Shopkeeper, I'll go find him now. I'll definitely find him in a brothel."
The subordinate said.
"Don't worry about the money. Tell him that if he can do it, I'll give him two hundred strings of cash as thanks."
The shopkeeper said.
Hearing that, the shop assistant left happily.
However, this matter didn't go smoothly. The subordinate couldn't find this person in the brothel. After asking around, he found out that this highly skilled person had actually been invited by the Secretary of State. He hadn't been to the brothel for two days.
The shopkeeper was even angrier when he heard the news. The Secretary of State seemed to have a divine foresight. He seemed to have predicted everything. Otherwise, how could he invite this person who could make fake certificates to the Secretary of State's yamen?
But thinking about it carefully, perhaps there was something even more terrifying. That was, the Secretary of State's yamen had made fake certificates for him. They had used this highly skilled worker to make fake certificates for them.
The moment he thought about the fake certificates and the exorbitant fees, the rice shop's shopkeeper was filled with anger. This was forcing him into a corner!
"Shopkeeper, we definitely can't accept such a high price. If it really doesn't work, we can just find a few dozen coachmen to transport the goods. We don't necessarily need people from the mountains to escort them."
One of the subordinates said.
"Let's ask the chief! I don't think the chief will agree to this price! "
The shopkeeper of the rice shop said and then sent them to the mountains.
With such a high price, the leader of the mounted bandits was about to die from anger. This was simply robbery. He was even more ruthless than the mounted bandits. He had taken all the money from the sale of the rice shop.
"Chief, what should we do? The Secretary of State's yamen asked for too high a price. It almost emptied all the money from the sale of the rice shop."
The subordinate said.
"I know. Let me think about it. You can leave first."
The mounted bandit leader wanted to discuss with Shou Hou and One-eyed how to solve this matter.
"Big Brother, this Secretary of State's yamen must be tired of living. How dare he cheat us of so much money. I really want to bring people into the city to kill this corrupt official."
Shou Hou said angrily.
"Big Brother, 50,000 strings of cash is just a small amount. We have more than 500,000 strings of cash here! As long as we can transport 500,000 strings of cash to Hedong, losing 50,000 strings of cash is acceptable. After all, there's no better way now. "
One-eyed said.
"Brother One-eyed, 50,000 strings of cash, 50,000 strings of cash! That's a whole 50,000 strings of cash! That's all the assets of a dozen rice shops. This loss is too great. "
The mounted bandit leader said with heartache.
"Big Brother, there's no better way now. In order to save more money, it's not impossible to give up 50,000 strings of cash. The most important thing is to get to Hedong as soon as possible."
One-eyed insisted.
Hearing that, the mounted bandit leader looked at Shou Hou with heartache and asked, "Brother Shou Hou, what do you think?"
Shou Hou said generously, "Big Brother, as long as we can get to Hutu Mountain in Hedong alive, that's enough. I don't care about other things at all. Even if I have to throw away all the money, I won't frown."
The Horse Gang Leader closed his eyes helplessly. He was very distressed, but the two brothers beside him didn't feel distressed at all. Especially Skinny Monkey, this guy actually had the idea of throwing away all the family property, which really disappointed him.
"Why don't we take the north road to transport the treasures? We can only transport the grain through the official road. In this way, we don't have to send people to escort it. The grain isn't too valuable. What do you think?"
The mounted bandit leader said.
"Big Brother, the north road is slightly better than the middle road, but it's not easy to go! There's more than one or two boxes of treasures. There's no way to transport them! Moreover, the journey is not safe. "
Shou Hou said awkwardly.
"No matter how difficult it is, we can't give up these treasures. It's not easy for us to get these treasures. We can't let the soldiers take advantage of them."
The mounted bandit leader said firmly.
Shou Hou said unhappily, "It's up to you, Big Brother. Anyway, I don't plan to bring these treasures. The road in the middle road is the most rugged. It's good enough that we can bring enough dry food. It's not easy to carry extra things."
The mounted bandit leader looked at One-eyed and said, "Brother One-eyed, why don't we take the north road together and send these treasures safely to Hedong? Let the people in the city recruit some people to specially transport the grain. What do you think?"
One-eyed knew that his big brother was a miser. He nodded helplessly and said, "Since Big Brother can't bear to part with 50,000 strings of cash, we can only do this. However, I'm afraid it's not an easy journey! How long will it take to reach Hedong? "
"Big Brother, in fact, the best way is to bury these treasures in a place where no one can find them. In this way, they're still ours. When we need them in the future, we can come back to dig them up."
Shou Hou said.
The mounted bandit leader shook his head and said, "Although this idea is good, to bury so many treasures, we'll need to dig a big hole. One or two people won't be able to do it. But if there are more people, who knows what will happen in the future? It's better to be safe and transport them directly to Hedong! Just let our brothers have a hard time on the road. "
Shou Hou and One-eyed looked at each other and didn't say anything. They knew it was useless to persuade him. This guy had already made up his mind.
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