Chapter three hundred and forty-eight exchange messages
"So that's it. It seems that Zhou Ting is really planning to suppress Beiguan!" He Qizhou was startled, and then asked: "Then how many garrison troops do you have now? How many people are needed to defend Yuguan?"
"I have two battalions of infantry and one sentry of cavalry here." Jiang Shuo said.
"Not that many, right?" He Qizhou had been here for a few days and had seen some of the soldiers' faces several times.
"It's definitely missing something."
"How much is missing?" He Qizhou frowned.
"Three hundred. Don't frown. Usually there are more people than idle people. Now we share the salary of the two battalions equally. We are never lazy in training. The combat power of 700 people is definitely more than that of 1,000 people before! Besides, there are many soldiers in each army.
There is a shortage of personnel. Who said that the imperial court has no money now? There are currently less than 2,000 defenders in Yuguan. It is mainly because I am here to support them. They do not need to keep too many people. If I lose here, I think
It would take at least 20,000 people to stop the Northern Zhou army!"
"Seven hundred infantry and one hundred cavalry? Then there should be no problem in defending 500 of them through the advantage of the terrain." He Qizhou said.
"Indeed, that's why I keep that trade road open. If I really find that a large increase in troops from the north threatens the safety of this pass, I will seal that lane no matter how much money I lose. By the way.
, after you go back today, can you see if there is anything strange about the soldiers in Northern Zhou City? Do they know any martial arts? I am worried that those people are masters sent by Tianlong Sect and Qinglong Temple. If that is the case, it is really dangerous.
"Jiang Shuo said.
Qi Zhou said: "I have paid special attention to it. It is unlikely that they have learned internal martial arts, but they are all strong and strong, and they are definitely elite soldiers!"
Jiang Shuo said: "The soldiers will block it and the water will cover it. I don't believe they can break the city in one breath! As long as they defend for three or four days, Yuguan will have time to add troops from elsewhere."
"Is there still a large army stationed nearby?" Qi Zhou asked.
"There are 30,000 border troops stationed in Yuzhou Fucheng. It is more than 200 miles away from Yuguan and can be reached in two days. These 30,000 people are also the reserve troops of Sanguan in northern Shanxi and Lingzhou in Longbei. They are four days away from each place.
." Jiang Shuo said.
"It should be the reserve army to deal with the Northern Zhou's attack from the northwest, right?" He Qizhou asked.
"That's right, it's right behind the three places. By the way, tell me about your situation? Is Xu Mu with you? How is she?" Jiang Shuo said.
"She is in Guancheng across the way. She was poisoned by Master Chiyan's dart. She was seriously injured and she is also very thin..."
"I heard that there is no cure for Chi Yan's poison Cheng Zong. Are you going to die soon?" Jiang Shuo suddenly became gloomy. He was overjoyed to see He Qizhou alive and was very hopeful about Xu Mu's survival.
Hope, hearing what He Qizhou said, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Now the injury is almost healed, the poison has been cured by about 60-70%, and the skills have recovered a bit. The Salt Gang is nominally afraid that I will come and reveal the price of Qi's goods in the north, so they keep her as a hostage. In fact, they are probably worried.
I leaked the secrets of those straw carts. In short, if we want to come back, it should be difficult for them to stop us," Qi Zhou said.
Jiang Shuo patted her chest and turned from worry to joy: "You said it completely in one sentence. It scared me to death. Before I met you, my relationship with her was much better than yours!"
"You knew Xu Mu was a girl, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you want to watch my show?" He Qizhou said angrily. Jiang Shuo said aggrievedly: "How can you? We all promised to keep her secret.
A real man must keep his word, right? Speaking of the strangulation battle in front of the palace, it was really exciting. When I heard that Xiao Jihuai heard about it, his face turned green, hahahaha..."
"I didn't know that at the time, otherwise I would have given up long ago! But Xiaoxue said that she had no intention of marrying into the Xiao family..."
Jiang Shuo suddenly said: "Hey? I wonder why Xu Mu is so nice to you, when it turns out that he had an affair a long time ago? But she does have good taste, and I also think you are much better than the one named Xiao! Don't be careless, that guy
He's quite strong. If you want to quarrel, fight, etc., big brother, I can help you pull people into the formation..."
"Go, go, I don't need you to interfere, just take care of your city first. We still need to think of a countermeasure first to find out what the Northern Zhou Dynasty wants to do?" He Qizhou said.
"It makes sense. What should we do?" Jiang Shuo said cheerfully.
He Qizhou was a little worried about this hands-off shopkeeper. After thinking for a while, he still said: "I think we should start with Wei Xing. In this way, you let Longxingji and I complete some transactions first, so that I have a reason to come over tomorrow and continue.
Let’s talk, what can you get a better price for here?”
"You guys eat everything!" Jiang Shuo muttered and said, "To be honest, it doesn't matter whether you want rice or not. The price is unlikely to drop. We are also short of food here. We just need furs to make winter clothes for the soldiers, so we changed it.
So I changed it. The price of tea can be reduced a little, 10% to 20% is up to you!"
"Okay, it can't be too cheap for the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Let's deal with three thousand sheepskins first. We will hand over the goods tomorrow morning. I will reduce the price of sheepskins by 10%, and you will reduce the price of tea by 20%. You can go find Shopkeeper Wu later.
Talk to Shopkeeper Zhao from Bailiju and say that in the current war, there are too many people in this small town and we can’t keep dragging it out. Trade it if you can. The prices at Lotus Gang have become somewhat loose. You ask Shopkeeper Zhao to talk quickly and talk seriously.
No, you are not going to open the city gate again! Let's see if Wei is still prepared to delay in this situation."
"good idea!"
"By the way, I almost overlooked something!" He Qizhou suddenly shouted.
"Why are you so nervous?" Jiang Shuo asked.
"Did Jiang Li tell the agents of the Wucha Division who were in contact with him about the information that exposed his identity?"
"Yes, I was eavesdropping outside the door. Fortunately, I sent someone to deliver the information, and the court will not be fooled." Jiang Shuo said.
"But the Yan Gang probably already knows that Jiang Li knows that his identity has been exposed. I think this is the real reason why they want to delay, right?" He Qizhou himself felt it was a bit confusing, but Jiang Shuoming didn't understand.
Jiang Shuo asked: "You mean they knew that the plan to deliver false information failed, and wanted to use this time to make amends?"
Qi Zhou nodded and said: "Well, it is even possible to use the trick. The plot is definitely not small. I estimate that only Sikong Lang in the entire caravan knows about it."
Jiang Shuo said: "Then let's make the deal you mentioned first, and see Wei Xing's reaction tomorrow. In addition, I will ask my subordinates to increase their vigilance secretly. If that doesn't work, I will detain Si Kong Lang and interrogate their plan."
"It's not that far yet, so be careful and alert the enemy. I'll think about it when I get back. I'll talk about it tomorrow," Qi Zhou said.
... He Qizhou was able to negotiate a tea business, which was beyond Guo Wen's expectation. Although the amount was not very large, he at least saw hope. So after handing over the goods agreed yesterday the next morning, Guo Wen decided to do it in person.
Let's go talk about it. Less than 40% of this batch of goods really belongs to their Lotus Gang. There are several small gangs behind him, and dozens of merchants are eagerly waiting, hoping to rely on this deal to survive the cold winter.
Perhaps seeing that the Lotus Gang was making progress, Sikong Lang personally took action this time, and the person accompanying him was none other than Jiang Li.
It's still the Salt Gang and Xinglong Ji, and the Lotus Gang and Bailiju will talk first. Maybe it's because Jiang Shuo put pressure on them last night. This time Bailiju has Shopkeeper Zhao and Wei Xing, but it's still Wei who is in charge of the talks.
Xing. Guo Wenle handed over the matter of price negotiation to He Qizhou first.
"Shop Manager Wei, I wonder if you have discussed what you said yesterday with Shopkeeper Zhao?" He Qizhou asked directly.
"Yesterday I was too vague. Brother De, please explain it in more detail." Wei Xing became cunning.
"Well, what we mean is that we can reduce the price of each sheepskin from one to two to one. Can you reduce the price of each piece of cloth from two to five to two and silk and porcelain to two percent each?
You must know that your goods are not necessary in winter, and we have not seen much price increase in those cities in our country. Our quotation is very sincere." Qi Zhou could only repeat yesterday's quotation.
Wei Xing looked unhappy and said sullenly: "After all, we have lowered the price much more. Everything is reduced by 20%, but you only lowered it by 10%, 67%, and I don't see anything in it."
Sincerity.”
He Qizhou didn't want to get too entangled and asked Guo: "Gang leader, do you think this will work? We'll add half a cent to each piece of cloth, and everything else will remain the same."
Guo Wen thought for a while and said with some sadness: "Just add half the money, shopkeeper Zhao. Anyway, we won't buy too many things you have on hand. The total price is probably not much different. To be honest, I don't
We don't have the ability to sell too much. The main thing is that everyone can relax and get a good start for the real big deal later. The New Year is almost over. How about we find a way to complete the deal as early as possible so that we can go back and have a peaceful sleep.
"
Shopkeeper Zhao was a little embarrassed. In fact, the price quoted by Guo Wen was already very close to the bottom line in his heart. Coupled with Jiang Shuo's pressure yesterday, he was very willing to make a deal. However, seeing that Wei Xing still seemed unmoved, he had already made up his mind.
Although he was nominally the second shopkeeper, the transactions with the Northern Zhou Dynasty were always handled by the chief shopkeeper and Wei Xing. If he made a decision rashly, he was a little afraid that the chief shopkeeper would be unhappy, so he answered vaguely:
"What Gang Leader Guo said is absolutely true. In fact, we also have the same intention. I heard that in previous years, the longest negotiation was only eight days, and today is the seventh day. It's just because we have to wait for more than three months, and the expenses have gone up a lot, and
The goods are not all ours. If Gang Leader Guo can make more concessions, we can make a deal now. Wei Xing, do you think this is the case?"
"That's right, Gang Leader Guo, if you can reduce the price of each sheepskin to nine and a half cents, we will accept your offer just now." Wei Xing said calmly.
"It seems that we still can't negotiate, so let's wait." He Qizhou interjected: "But if all our goods are sold to Xinglongji, it will be even more difficult for you and the Yan Gang to negotiate. I think if
If the talks collapse, everyone’s losses will not be as simple as earning a few cents less profit.”