Liangfangkou Pass was a military pass of the Haizhou Guards located near the camp. The Ming Army stationed there was led by an officer with the surname Li. This pass was very small, fifty meters on each side, built of green bricks, and sewn with white ash. The city walls were not high, and there was a trench outside the city. It could be considered a very simple coastal defense fortification, responsible for guarding the road from Liangfangkou to the Yaozhou Inn.
Early in the morning, Li Beiyu stood on the city wall at the west gate of the pass and looked into the distance. He looked in the direction of the estuary of the Liao River, worried and irritated. About a month ago, a large number of wooden rafts floated down from the upper reaches of the Liao River, carrying hundreds of people and large amounts of cattle and horses. Some villagers even said they saw a strange thing flying in the sky.
When Li Beiyu learned of this, he thought that a fat sheep had come and he could make a fortune. After all, there were cargo ships coming in and out of the estuary from time to time. As a coastal defense officer, although his position was a bit low, it was normal to collect taxes. In the end, the people sent to collect the taxes rushed over excitedly, but were beaten up and chased back.
The enraged Li Beiyu had wanted to lead his soldiers to redeem himself, but after leading a dozen or so soldiers over with great difficulty, he immediately fled with his tail between his legs. Not only did the enemy have a large number of people, they were also equipped with extremely strong armed forces. Just looking at the fact that the group of soldiers were all wearing armor, they must be the retainers of some general.
This kind of people could not be provoked!
After Li Beiyu retreated, he did not plan to meddle in other people's business, and did not even think of reporting it. After all, it was better to avoid trouble. He thought that after a while, that group of people would naturally leave. In the end, in more than half a month, that group of unknown origin had rapidly expanded. The number of people had increased from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and there were thousands of wooden rafts coming down the river. The goods that were transported were really piled up like a mountain.
This time, Li Beiyu was really stunned. He had never seen such a situation in all his life. So he hurriedly reported to the Haizhou Guards, and at the same time, sent people to inquire about the background of that group of people. In the end, the commander of the Haizhou Guards hurriedly ran over to take a look, and was as panicked as he was at the beginning. A dignified third-rank official had actually fled with his tail between his legs. When he returned, the city gate was tightly closed, as if facing a great enemy.
Before the commander left, he even reminded Li Beiyu not to provoke that group of people. If there was anything, they could discuss it. Don't cause trouble. If they had any requests, try your best to satisfy them. If you can't satisfy me, just tell me. Don't start a war.
Looking at the commander's cowardly expression, Li Beiyu thought to himself, "I only have this many people. Isn't starting a war courting death?" However, he was curious and asked, "Sir, where did that group of people come from?"
"Do you know Zhou Qingfeng? Number one in the world! He had offended all the influential figures in Liaodong, and he was not even afraid of Nurhachi from the Jurchen Jianzhou in the north. Fortunately, our Sea Province Guard is too far from Fushun, so this official was not harmed. I heard that he escaped from Fushun and traveled downstream along the Hun River. I didn't expect him to escape here. "
The commander of Haizhou warned again, "I'm going to report to the Liaodong Inspector-General and the yamen. Before the order is issued, you must not provoke this tiger. I heard that his title of 'number one in the world' is not a bluff to deceive people. Just by looking at how strict his army is and how orderly his troops are, this is not something we can deal with. "
The commander was so serious that Li Beiyu was scared out of his wits. He felt that he was simply a neighbor to a ferocious beast. He also knew his own limitations. He knew that this small barrier of his could not stop the tigers and wolves in front of him. If he wanted to save his life, the best way was to be obedient and not overestimate his capabilities.
After Li Beiyu decided on a strategy, he immediately sent his men to get a dozen big fat pigs, as well as dozens of buckets of wine and food. He even forced some women to send them in the direction of the camp. He only wanted to build a relationship and please the other party. Even if there was a war, he could just let them go.
The 'laborer' team went there trembling with fear, but soon returned smoothly. The leader also sent Li Beiyu a piece of good news — that team was called the 'Revolutionary Army'. They did business fairly and did not ask for civilian goods. Whatever we send them, they will buy it at the same price. But the women returned and forbade us from defiling people.
Hmm … this was strange.
Li Beiyu was only a minor officer. Knowing that the team was actually so good-tempered, his courage grew. Looking at the silver handed over by his subordinate, his face darkened and he shouted, "Those people are traitors. You dare to covet their silver? Do you want to die? Tell me … how much did they give you? "
The subordinate immediately became embarrassed and took out two silver ingots from his pocket.
Oh my … there really was silver!
Li Beiyu's eyes immediately lit up. He pulled the subordinate over and shook him with all his strength, shaking out another two silver ingots. He was both happy and angry as he scolded, "You bastard! How dare you be greedy for my money? This adds up to fifty taels, and you only gave me ten taels. Men, drag this guy away and give him forty lashes. "
The greedy subordinate was quickly pulled down his pants and cried out in pain. Li Beiyu looked at the silver in his hand in a daze — a dozen pigs and dozens of buckets of wine and food had actually been sold for fifty taels of silver. This was a good deal.
Since he couldn't escape, why not make some money?
"Men, go to the surrounding villages and buy more pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks. This time, I want to personally investigate the bandit camp. "Li Beiyu thought that he was an officer after all, so it was only natural for him to earn more. But after he sent his men to prepare the goods, he received news less than two hours later — Sir, the people in the surrounding villages have brought their livestock and poultry to investigate the bandit camp.
What …? This is cutting off this old master's source of income!
Li Beiyu was so anxious that he quickly gathered his men to stop the villagers near the pass. All transactions had to go through him, or else they would be flouting the law. But when he rode a donkey to the direction of the bandit camp, he found that not only was there a huge bandit camp on the mudflat, but there was also a crowded market.
Although Zhou Qingfeng had prepared a lot of food, the ten thousand people in the camp still needed as much meat, vegetables, fish, and shrimp as possible. Li Beiyu and his men arrived at the market and saw many bamboo baskets filled with yellow croakers. The fishermen used bamboo baskets to deliver the fish, and the buyers in the camp weighed them and paid them on the spot.
"Oh, these people don't pay taxes." Li Beiyu saw the continuous payment of silver and thought that a lot of taxes would be gone. The fishermen laughed heartily after receiving the silver. They went to the market to buy the various goods they needed, such as cloth and food. In order to expand the trade and obtain more meat, Zhou Qingfeng specially took out some of the food he brought to sell.
And in front of Li Beiyu, several barefoot children were also carrying baskets of oysters, sea cucumbers, abalones, and other things to the market. The buyers in the camp actually spent money to buy these undesirable foods, although the price was very low.
But when a few cents of silver was placed in the hands of the children, they all cheered and jumped for joy. Because there was an almost inexhaustible variety of seafood on the beach, as long as they were diligent, they could dig more than ten baskets a day.
Yay, yay, yay … The barefoot children dragged the baskets and left laughing. He believed that before long, they would come back with all kinds of seafood they had harvested. That would be another joyous occasion. This happy scene made everyone in the market full of smiles. This mood was more carefree than the New Year.
Li Beiyu rode his donkey into the temporary market and found that there was a dazzling array of goods for sale here. It was even livelier than the big market in Haizhou City. The surrounding villagers rushed over early in the morning, bringing their produce to exchange for daily necessities. There was even a free small clinic in the market, where dozens of recruits from the medical company were conducting free medical treatment. To put it bluntly, they were using the people as practice.
Even if they could not cure major illnesses, they could still treat minor illnesses. Even if they could not treat minor illnesses, they could still broaden the horizons of the rookie medics. This small clinic did not charge money for medical treatment, so many extremely poor people came with their families. Moreover, there was even a female doctor in this clinic, which was tantamount to a great blessing for the lower-class women who were plagued by diseases but could not be treated.
Li Beiyu looked at the endless stream of people and could only sigh. He had worked in Liang Fang Guan for many years, but he had never seen such a lively scene. He shook his head, wondering if he should go and see his old ailment of rheumatism and bone pain. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face squeezing out of the crowd. He immediately lowered his voice and cried out in surprise, "Officer Niu? Why are you here? "
Officer Niu was also startled. He hurriedly pulled Li Beiyu's hand and whispered, "Brother, please don't make a sound. I'm here to investigate the bandit camp."
"Forget it. You're the officer in charge of drying salt in Haizhou City's Fort Zhenhai. Why the hell are you here to investigate? Don't tell me you're here to sell illicit salt. "Li Beiyu pondered for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that his guess was correct. It was a pity that he was only guarding a pass and could not control a salt pan. Otherwise, he would have dared to buy all the salt in the salt pan.
"Hehehe …" Officer Niu could only laugh dryly when he saw that he had been exposed. "Brother, you know it too. If my salt pan didn't sell illicit salt, the hundreds of kitchen farmers would have starved to death long ago. Besides, I'm really here to investigate the bandit camp. I've already established a relationship with the purchasing manager here. I know what they want and how much they want. I already have a plan, so I'm ready to go all out. "
Li Beiyu could only roll his eyes. He had nothing to sell, so he could only be jealous. Looking at the market, he found that there were many soldiers pushing wheelbarrows, continuously bringing in sacks of coarse salt. The salt was worthless by the sea, but it would be expensive if it was transported inland.
"Officer Niu, you're really good at doing business. Can you introduce me to the leader of this bandit camp? Also, let me find out the actual situation of these traitors. " Li Beiyu patted Officer Niu's chest. "You can't keep all the profits to yourself. You have to let me get some as well."
"You want to get some profits?" Officer Niu deliberately looked around. Actually, there were so many people in the market that no one was paying attention to them. However, he purposely got close to Li Beiyu's ear and whispered, "Isn't it easy to get some profits? Let's see if you're brave enough. "
"Brother, you even dare to sell illicit salt. Why wouldn't I dare?" Li Beiyu was envious. He patted his chest and shouted, "Aren't they just a bunch of rebels? Why should I be afraid of them?"
"Hmph …" Officer Niu laughed coldly. "These rebels are looking for a few guides to head towards Gai Province. If Li Beiyu can help, we won't have to worry about not having enough money."
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