That night, Chen Qing ordered the killing of more than a dozen cows to reward the soldiers. Although the Northern Song Dynasty law required official approval to kill cows, this was a time of war and everything was subject to authority.
Early the next morning, Chen Qing led several soldiers on foot down the mountain to the county town. Naturally, local Zhao Xiaoyi acted as their guide.
"Xiao Yi, where is your home?"
"Cui Mo Town is in the west, about twenty miles away from here."
Chen Qing remembered what Liu Wu had asked him to do before he died, and he asked curiously: "Why did Liu Wu have to ask me to tell his son that he died serving the country?"
"Hey! Liu Wu is my uncle. He has been a gangster since he was a child. Later, when he got married, he refused to change his ways and did nothing all day long. Later, my grandfather asked someone to let him join the Xiang army. He was still good at eating and gambling, and served as a soldier for ten years.
For several years, I haven’t received a penny from my family.
His son looked down upon him and even disowned him as his father. Once he was scolded by his son, saying that he was a useless waste because he could not serve the country and support his family.
Liu Wu was greatly stimulated and ran to join the Huanqing Army. He wanted to fight the Xixia people, but he didn't even see the Xixia people. His only wish was to let his son know that he could serve the country and kill the enemy.
waste."
Chen Qing nodded, "In two days, we will go to Liu Wu's house!"
…………
Linyou County is a medium-sized county with a population of tens of thousands. The key is that it is far away from the battlefield and has not been destroyed by the Jin soldiers. It basically maintains the style of the Song Dynasty.
The Jin soldiers fought with the Song army in Heshangyuan, and all counties in the south were affected. A large number of people fled to Linyou County, making Linyou County crowded with tens of thousands of refugees. The county was noisy, noisy, and dirty.
.
There were several soldiers standing at the city gate, eyeing every passerby. Zhao Xiaoyi was very smart and stepped forward and gave each person a handful of money. The leading soldier weighed the money and waved his hand to let them in.
Entering the county town, a warm and stinky smell hit our face, the cries of children, the yells of women, the impatient roars of men, and the shouts of small traders came one after another.
The city gate seemed to be a market, crowded with farmers from nearby villages who came to sell vegetables. The ground was muddy, trampled to pieces of vegetable leaves and chicken and duck excrement, and the stench was overwhelming.
Zhao Xiaoyi touched Chen Qing with his elbow and pursed his lips to the side. Only then did Chen Qing notice that there was a reward notice posted on the wall next to him.
'Five hundred Song Army cavalry are wanted. Anyone who knows their whereabouts should immediately report it to the government. If the information is true, they will be rewarded with three thousand guan. Anyone who dares to have an affair and conceals it or fails to report it will have their entire clan exterminated!'
Chen Qing snorted and led everyone away quickly, more than a hundred steps away from the city gate. Chen Qing took a long breath of fresh air. The air at the county gate was too dirty.
"Proprietor, where should we go next?" Zhao Xiaoyi asked.
Chen Qing thought for a while and said to the two soldiers: "Go and buy four mules. They will be used to transport oil and salt later. By the way, buy the oil, salt and lamp oil together!"
"we know!"
The two soldiers walked away quickly, and Chen Qing said to Zhao Xiaoyi: "I want to buy fodder, where can I go?"
They have 600 war horses, and they consume an astonishing amount of fodder every day. The fodder they bring from Chencang is enough to feed the war horses for ten days at most. What should they do next?
The issue of fodder for war horses was Chen Qing's biggest concern.
Zhao Xiaoyi scratched his head, "I remember there was a store selling fodder next to Wazi. I wonder if it's still open now?"
"Take me to see it!"
Wazi is the commercial complex of the Song Dynasty. There are all kinds of shops selling food, drink, entertainment and goods. Brothels and inns are also distributed in it. Basically, there are them in every county.
Wazi in Linyou County is located in the middle of the county, covering an area of nearly 200 acres, and has 156 shops of various sizes. It looks very much like the small commodity wholesale market in later small counties.
In front of Wazi Gate is a square, paved with stone slabs, surrounded by several large restaurants, and the houses of wealthy families are also good. It seems that it is indeed the commercial center of the county, but the square is full of refugee tents, beggars and
Small vendors crowded around and shouted, making the road very congested.
To the left of the gate is a row of grain shops, about seven or eight of them. The one at the end has a big sign with black characters on a white background, 'Qiao Ji Livestock Grain!'
This is the store that specializes in livestock food.
Chen Qing took Zhao Xiaoyi into the store. The store was quite large but dimly lit. There were two rows of baskets on the wall. Several refugee-looking men were collecting money to buy black beans. The store clerk was very impatient and looked contemptuous.
The skinny shopkeeper glanced at Chen Qing and said rudely: "We won't accept Huizi, we won't accept Shaanxi money, and we won't accept Sichuan money!"
Chen Qing was startled and didn't understand what it meant?
Zhao Xiaoyi snorted, "We use Xuanhe money and silver, what do you think?"
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up and he immediately stepped forward with a smile, "Sir, please don't be surprised. There are so many refugees coming to the shop that we can't bear to be disturbed. Please sit in the back room!"
Zhao Xiaoyi explained to Chen Qing in a low voice, "Huizi is paper money issued by the imperial court and has become waste paper. Shaanxi money and Sichuan money are both iron money. Only five cents can be worth one piece of propaganda and copper coins. Big stores don't accept them."
of."
That's it, Chen Qing understood now.
The back room is regarded as a VIP reception room, with tables and chairs, and the large table is also filled with small dustpans.
The shopkeeper poured them two cups of hot tea and said with a smile: "My surname is Wang, and I am the shopkeeper of a small shop. We will see what the guests need and how much they need, and we will try our best to satisfy them."
Chen Qing glanced at the livestock grains in the small dustpan, including coarse materials, fine materials, dried alfalfa, black beans, barley, and some unknown things. Chen Qing grabbed a handful of beans that looked like peas and asked: "What is this?"
?”
"These are wild beans. They grow all over the river. They are the cheapest. You can buy a bushel for a few copper coins. The shop originally had a few hundred dan, but they were all bought up by the refugees."
“Where are the black beans?”
"Black beans are thirty cents a dou, and barley is the same price, but they are basically all bought up by the refugees. These people are like locusts, sweeping them away wherever they go."
"Then just buy fodder!" Chen Qing was disgusted with his attitude towards the refugees and was too lazy to talk to him and went straight to the topic.
"There are both fine and coarse materials. The dried alfalfa is guaranteed to be alfalfa from Hexi. The price can be negotiated. How much does the customer want to buy?"
"I plan to ask for five thousand loads of fine materials, and you will be responsible for delivering them!"
Shopkeeper Wang's eyes widened, and his head immediately shook like a rattle, "There is no place to purchase goods now. The total of fine materials, coarse materials and dried alfalfa in the small shop is only 3,000 tons, and I can't sell them all to you.
The most I can give you is five hundred dan."
Chen Qing took out six fifty taels of official silver and put it on the table, "I bought all three hundred taels of silver and three thousand dans. Do you want to sell them?"
Shopkeeper Wang stared at the money and blinked, "My dear, this is five times the price!"
"Sell! The guest is so sincere, how can I not sell it? I wonder where the guest wants to send it? It's not too far away."
"Not far, twenty miles away!" Chen Qing said calmly.
…………
At night, shopkeeper Wang walked back and forth in front of the steps of the county government office, worried.
Today, all three thousand tons of fodder were sold out, and sold at a high price. He could personally earn at least dozens of taels of silver, but shopkeeper Wang accidentally discovered an opportunity to make a fortune today.
Three thousand guan! He will never earn so much in his life.
As an insider who has been selling fodder for twenty years, who in Fengxiang Mansion will buy fodder? How much is needed? He knows it clearly, but three thousand tons of fodder were sold today. From the demand of the other party to buy black beans, it should be for horse feeding.
The opponent has at least three to four hundred horses. Who can have so many horses, except Jin Bing, but will Jin Bing buy horse feed?
After much deliberation, there is only one possibility, that is, the 500 Song Army cavalrymen with a reward of 3,000 yuan are hiding in Linyou County, most likely in Qilin Village.
The desire to get rich finally overwhelmed the conscience of the Song people,
Shopkeeper Wang walked into the county government office...
County Magistrate Li Boliang squinted his eyes and asked, "Are you sure the other party is the Song Army cavalry for whom the reward is offered?"
"I can't guarantee it, but I can buy fodder for hundreds of horses at a time. Besides them, who else can I think of?"
"Maybe it's Yang Guo's rebel army? They are also hoarding fodder, which is normal!"
"County Lord, Yang Guo and the others don't have any horses. What's the point of hoarding fodder? With so much money, it's better to buy grain. It can't be them."
Li Boliang cursed secretly, and could only reluctantly say: "I will send someone to Qilin Village to investigate in two days. If it is really them, I will report it to the superiors."
"And there's a bounty for the villain!"
Li Boliang gave him a cold look and said, "Don't worry! If it's true, you won't be spared a penny."
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[Thank you for your support, I will add one more chapter. Lao Gao has very few manuscripts. I cannot add too many updates during the new book period. I hope you will forgive me! 】