Ang Lee and his team lived in the Angi family's territory with peace of mind. With more than a thousand soldiers of the Tang Dynasty stationed there, the small forces around did not dare to have any ideas. Even if they had more soldiers than the Tang Dynasty, the foundation of the Tang Dynasty was too great, so they did not dare to provoke them. In order to protect the precious gem mine, Ang Lee specially deployed 300 soldiers to guard the mine, which was only 300 paces away from the entrance of the mine. He also set up strong tents. The ballistas installed in the arrow towers could cover a radius of 500 paces. There were four such arrow towers in total, which were enough to prevent the enemy from approaching. In addition, there were more than 100 ordinary heavy crossbows. 100 of the 300 soldiers were defensive soldiers armed with heavy crossbows, and the rest were 100 cavalrymen and 100 infantrymen. With the help of so many soldiers, guarding the mine was not a big problem.
Of course, the Angi family also stationed more than 500 soldiers here, which was more than the Tang Dynasty's troops. However, the Angi family's camp was on the other side of the mine, which was 600 paces away from the Tang Dynasty's camp. The two camps, one on the left and one on the right, protected the mine very well. Ordinary small forces could not get close. Even if there were large forces, there was nothing to worry about, because large forces could not hide their identities. If they dared to invade the property of the Tang Dynasty, they were courting death. It was too difficult for these low-level armed forces to kill nearly a thousand guards quietly. As long as they could not kill all the enemies, there would be endless trouble for them. Once the news leaked out and annoyed the Tang Dynasty, they would have no way out.
Some strange faces appeared around the mine almost every day. Although these people were dressed as woodcutters and hunters and looked like they happened to pass by, the Tang Dynasty's troops had long been equipped with binoculars. As long as they observed carefully with this magic tool, they could see the faces and eyes of these strangers, so they could judge whether they were really passing by or not.
According to the statistics of the Tang Dynasty's troops, there were 50 to 60 people spying around the gem mine every day. At most times, there could even be hundreds of people. With so many people spying on the gem mine, it could be imagined how much they coveted this gem mine. If it were not for the Tang Dynasty's troops and the Angi family's troops, and the large number of troops, the gem mine would have been seized. Even if they did not have the ability to occupy it for a long time, it was not bad to rob it and leave. At least, the gems that had just been mined and had not been transported away would fall into their hands.
With so many people spying on them, the Tang Dynasty's troops stationed there felt very uncomfortable. These spies were as annoying as flies, but after all, there was no evidence. They could not shoot all these people! With the existence of these spies, Li An realized that the troops stationed at the ore cave could not move. As long as these troops withdrew, the gem mine would definitely be captured. Even if they only stole a single batch and left, they would suffer heavy losses.
It was not a good feeling for thousands of people to guard against thieves. This made the soldiers stationed there a little irritated. The feeling of being watched all day was too uncomfortable. However, as long as they were seriously stationed, these people who were monitoring them would not be able to find any flaws. They could only be helpless.
In order to deter these people who did not give up, Ang Lee personally led hundreds of troops to the ore cave to inspect the gem mine. When Ang Lee entered the Tang Dynasty's military camp and picked up the binoculars to observe, he saw many greedy faces. These spies were all locals. They should be spies of various forces. There might even be spies of the bandits. They were all looking for flaws. Once the defending troops showed a fatal flaw, they were likely to swarm in. Ang Lee had to be careful about this.
The head of the Angi family naturally understood the situation. With so many strange spies staring at his family's gem mine, this matter made him feel uneasy. Fortunately, the troops of the Tang Dynasty were stationed together. Otherwise, he did not know what to do. His biggest wish was that the Tang Dynasty could appropriately increase their troops. At present, the Tang Dynasty only had about a thousand troops. This number was too small. It seemed that it was not enough to protect the interests of the Angi family. In order to make up for the lack of troops of the Tang Dynasty, the Angi family was also recruiting young and strong people on a large scale to expand their strength.
However, blindly expanding their strength also had a fatal trouble. That was, it was easy to be infiltrated by hostile forces and thus leak their secrets. The Angi family had expanded so many people in such a short time. It was estimated that no one would believe that there were no spies of other forces among them. However, the matter was urgent, so the head of the Angi family did not care so much. He had to set up his stance first and slowly screen them later.
Seeing so many people spying on the gem mine, Ang Lee was also very unhappy. Originally, he did not plan to transfer troops from the Tang Dynasty, but the situation had developed to this point. It seemed that he had to transfer more troops. Ang Lee immediately passed an order to transfer three thousand troops from Liuzhaozhou. However, these troops would take a month to arrive. For the time being, it was impossible for them to arrive so soon. Before the new troops arrived, Ang Lee did not plan to leave the Angi family. After all, the benefits of the gem mine were very important. As long as the gem mine was occupied, even if the Tang Dynasty had ten thousand troops, they would not need the support of the imperial court. Such a good thing naturally could not be missed.
Just as Ang Lee issued the order to transfer troops, the head of the Deqin family and the head of the Saye family contacted the head of the Suo family, the head of the Fang family, the head of the Mu family, and the head of the Su family. They gathered six families at once and prepared to discuss the matter of the gem mine. It seemed that even if the Tang Dynasty intervened, they would not give up. At least, the head of the Deqin family and the head of the Saye family could not take this lying down.
"Brothers, our family's spies have already infiltrated the Angi family. However, the Angi family does not seem to particularly trust these newcomers. For the time being, we have not found out much useful information."
The head of the Su family said.
The head of the Deqin family said coldly, "Our spies have already sent back news that the gem mine of the Angi family is extraordinary. The quality of the gems inside is extremely high. Such a mine is at least worth hundreds of ordinary gem mines. The value is too high."
Obviously, due to the earlier alliance with the Angi family, the head of the Deqin family had already buried a spy in the Angi family. The status of this spy was not low. He could access many of the more confidential matters of the Angi family, so he could let the head of the Deqin family understand some of the situation of the Angi family.
Previously, due to the Angi family's strong blockade, even the family elders did not know much about the gem mine. Therefore, the spy buried by the head of the Deqin family did not send back any news. However, after a month of mining, the head of the Angi family naturally could not continue to hide it because he needed to sell these gems. At this time, he could not hide it even if he wanted to. Therefore, the news was leaked out and the head of the Deqin family learned about it.
Now, the mining progress of the Angi family had increased a lot, and they had obtained more precious gems. The spy of the head of the Deqin family saw these precious gems being mined with his own eyes and quickly sent the news back. After learning this news, the head of the Deqin family could not sit still. With such great wealth under his nose and watching his old neighbor constantly mining, how could he not be envious? However, there were more than 300 soldiers of the Tang Army stationed near the mine, which made them dare not act rashly. The mined gems were escorted by hundreds of people every time. The distance from the mine to the stone city of the Angi family was only 20 miles. In this process, it was too difficult to rob on the way, and there was not much maneuverability. This gave the head of the Deqin family a headache. However, if the six families joined forces to make trouble, there might be a glimmer of hope. They did not intend to confront the Tang Dynasty head-on, but they could find an opportunity to sneak attack the Angi family. As long as they did not directly confront the troops of the Tang Dynasty, they believed that there would not be too much of a problem.
Hearing what the head of the Deqin family said, the faces of the other five family heads were quite anxious. The benefits of the top-grade gem mine were too great. Every time the Angi family mined a bit more, their hearts would be in pain. They were too greedy for such great wealth, just like a group of hungry old dogs who saw a pile of bones in the distance. They could not help but want to take a bite.
"Everyone, there are troops of the Tang Dynasty stationed next to the gem mine. I don't think we should think about the gem mine. There is not much chance of success. Moreover, even if we occupy the gem mine, we can't hold it. I think it's more appropriate to set up an ambush on the way and rob a batch of gems."
The head of the Suo family said.
The head of the Sayer family nodded and said, "Brother Suo is right. The gem mine is not easy to deal with. We can only find a way on the way. The gems they mined always need to be transported out. Let's rob on the way and rob as many as we can."
"Yes, although there are hundreds of people escorting the gems every time, as long as we are well prepared, there is still hope of success."
The head of the Fang family said.
"It's not difficult to rob, but we can't expose ourselves. I think we should wear the clothes of the imperial court when we act. Put the bucket of shit on the imperial court and let them settle the score with the imperial court!"
The head of the Su family said.
The imperial court they were talking about was naturally the imperial court of the Pyu Empire. They were a small force in the Pyu Empire and were in a semi-independent state. Other than being the subordinates of the Pyu Empire in name, there was not much relationship between them. They did not even pay taxes.
"Even if we want to frame the imperial court, we have to be careful. We can't be careless. The gem mine is only twenty miles away from the Angi family. It's too difficult to rob here. I think we should wait until the Angi family sells the gems before we rob them. That way, the chances of success will be higher."
The head of the Deqin family said.
His family had the most spies and were the most well-hidden. They naturally had a deep understanding of the situation. He knew some of the sales channels of the Angi family. As long as he kept an eye on these channels, he could naturally find out when the Angi family sold and transported the gems. When the time came, he could just rob them directly. That way, the success rate would be higher.
Every small force had their own sales channels. They could open shops in their own stone cities and let passing merchants buy the gems. They could also transport the gems to other cities to sell. The more channels they had, the better. The more hidden, the better.
The Angi family had many sales channels. They had shops in more than a dozen cities of the Pyu Empire. They also had shops in several southern cities of the original Nanzhao. These shops sold gems and local specialties. Every year, they earned a lot of profits. Now that they had the best gem mine, their profits would naturally multiply.
However, if they wanted to make a profit, they must safely transport the gems to these shops. At the same time, they also had to transport the money back. This process was full of danger. Normally, there was no big problem. However, if all the small forces were eyeing the Angi family's caravan, it would be troublesome. This was also the main reason why the Angi family was very worried. It was also the main motivation for their large-scale expansion of personnel. Only with sufficient personnel could they better protect their wealth and prevent others from robbing them halfway.
In the past, the Angi family's caravan had been scattered, which was more efficient. However, since they had the gems, the Angi family's caravan had been much more concentrated. More than 100 people were needed to transport the gems.
Of course, this was not enough. They still had two routes, one open and one dark. The open route had more than a hundred people moving together, while the dark route might only have one or two people carrying the most precious gems. They walked on the road as if nothing had happened, and no one would be able to tell that they were hiding precious gems. This way, they could protect the gems to the greatest extent and prevent others from robbing them.
However, this was only effective on the basis of internal unity. If there was internal disunity and there were enemy spies, the consequences would be quite serious, especially for the Angi family members who were responsible for escorting the precious gems. Once they were recognized, the gems would definitely be lost.
Because the road from the gem mine to the Angi family's stone city was escorted by the Tang Army, the Deqin family and the other six families did not find an opportunity to act. It was too risky to act on this road, so they gave up this plan and began to focus on the Angi family's sales channels.
Under the investigation of many spies, most of the Angi family's trade routes were exposed. After investigating these trade routes, the Deqin family and the other six families began to prepare for action. They had been planning for half a month and were ready to bite off a large piece of meat from the Angi family.
Because the Angi family's caravan was not a single caravan, they were prepared to act together and act from multiple directions at the same time. In the south, they would act in the territory of the Pyu imperial court and disguise themselves as Pyu imperial court soldiers. In the north, they would act in the deserted valley and disguise themselves as bandits.
In a valley controlled by the Pyu imperial court, the Angi family's caravan of more than 100 people was slowly moving forward. They were escorting 50 carriages, each of which was full of goods. There were precious gems, local fruits, and local specialties. Because the value of the goods was relatively high, they were very vigilant along the way. From time to time, they would pay attention to their surroundings to avoid being attacked.
On both sides of the valley, there were more than 300 people lying in ambush. They were the warriors of the Deqin family and the Sayer family. All 300 of them were masked. After all, they were allies with the Angi family and some of them knew the Angi family.
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