After inspecting the border forts in Fuzhou, Cao Wei was ready to leave Fuzhou and rush to other places to continue his inspection.
However, on the day he left, a young man dressed as a Confucian scholar suddenly stopped the convoy.
I saw the Confucian scholar wearing a sword singing loudly.
"Tread on the Helan stones and sweep away the dust of the Western Sea."
"Common clothes can be used to death, but it is a pity to be poor."
(Quoted from Yao Sizong of Song Dynasty)
"Cao Duqian and Yao Chengsi, a scholar in Guanzhong, are willing to join the army and be loyal to the imperial court!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Wei's personal attendant, Cao Yan, stepped forward and prepared to teach this Confucian scholar who did not know the heights of heaven and earth.
"Bold scholar..."
In his opinion, this scholar clearly wanted to take a shortcut!
If you really want to join the army, why bother to stop your carriage and go directly to the recruitment office?
Doing this is nothing more than wanting to directly invest in the master's account.
What is the identity of my master?
People with unknown origins like scholars also want to reach heaven in one step?
"etc!"
At this moment, Cao Wei's voice suddenly sounded in Cao Yan's ears.
"Bring the scholar closer."
In fact, Cao Wei didn't understand the other party's thoughts, but the current situation was not right. If he directly drove the other party away in public.
No matter where the other party comes from, the impact will always be bad.
Don't let one person chill the hearts of a whole group of people.
In addition, the scholar was afraid that he had calculated this, so he dared to block his way.
"yes."
Cao Yan couldn't help but feel helpless when he heard this. The head of the family had spoken, so naturally he could only act according to his words.
After a while, Cao Yan brought the scholar to the carriage.
"Come up."
Hearing this, Yao Chengsi wanted to step forward, but Cao Yan held out his hand to stop him.
"Your sword."
Cao Yan glanced at the sword on the scholar's waist. As the captain of Cao Wei's personal soldiers, how could he let a stranger approach the owner of the house with a sharp weapon?
What if the other party is a spy or assassin of the Xia people?
Xia people are cunning and can do anything.
"you……"
Seeing the suspicion in Cao Yan's eyes, Yao Chengsi was like a cat with hairy fur, ready to refute him.
At this time, the car door suddenly opened.
"Why, Cao Yan, do you think I can't lift the knife?"
After saying this, Cao Wei turned his eyes to Yao Chengsi.
"Scholar, come up."
Compared to Cao Yan, Cao Wei's insight is obviously much more detailed. The scholar in front of him looks very ordinary, just dressed as an ordinary Confucian scholar.
However, the materials used for the other party's clothes are extremely high-quality. Unless you belong to a luxurious home, you cannot afford such fabrics.
It can be seen that this scholar's family is well off.
Secondly, the scholar's figure looks very thin, but when the opponent walks, his lower body is extremely smooth, and there are also faint calluses on the opponent's jaw.
After comprehensive examination, the opponent should have martial arts skills.
Although I don’t know yet what the other person’s knowledge is, if he can sing the lyrics, if he composed the lyrics himself, his talent and learning will not be too bad.
At first, Cao Wei looked down upon people who tried to take shortcuts.
However, after observation, Cao Wei felt that this scholar was not the kind of person who would boast.
It is a recognized fact that there are many heroes in Guanzhong. Therefore, Cao Wei plans to give the other party a chance. If the other party can really impress him, he does not mind accepting a scribe.
To take a step back, even if the other party is a clueless liar, Cao Wei will not lose anything.
If you spend thousands of dollars to buy horse bones, you always have to put in the investment first.
After the road blockage was over, the convoy resumed its journey.
As the carriage continued to drive, Cao Wei's expression in the carriage also changed and he said calmly.
"Scholar, do you know who I am?"
If a military minister like Cao Wei, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, really becomes serious, that sharp and frightening murderous aura will immediately hit his face.
However, Yao Chengsi did not seem to be intimidated, but smiled slightly when he saw him.
"The famous Cao Duqian, who doesn't know about it and who doesn't know about it in the border areas?"
"oh?"
Cao Wei still had a straight face: "Since you know, you know the consequences of blocking the road without permission. If there is a military situation, I can kill you directly!"
"Cao Duqian, you can't."
Yao Chengsi said confidently: "Because I am here to give you a gift."
Giving gifts?
Hearing this, Cao Wei immediately felt that he had found the wrong person this time. Since the other party dared to blatantly say the word "gift", then this "gift" was probably not ordinary gold or silver.
“Where do rituals come from?”
While talking, Cao Wei glanced at the other party's sleeves several times.
It's empty, how can there be any etiquette?
"Of course."
Yao Chengsi smiled knowingly: "This gift is not a yellow and white thing, but a route, a border smuggling route!"
Cao Wei slowly shook his head, planning to continue testing the other party.
"Then you have found the wrong person."
"Smuggling is not my business. I only care about military matters. You should go to the Yamen of the Transshipment Department."
Yao Chengsi said firmly: "No, the students did not find the wrong person, because this smuggling route is related to the Tibetan tribe."
Since the signing of the alliance during the Jingde period, Song and Xia ushered in a long period of peace.
Not only that, Zhenzong also opened exchange markets (mutual markets) in Baoanjun (today's Zhidan, Shaanxi) and Zhenrongjun (Guyuan, Ningxia).
However, the scale of the market trade was far from meeting the needs of both parties. The two parties here refer to the Xiazhou Li family and the border residents.
Where there is demand, there is a market, and smuggling trade will follow.
Among them, the most important smuggled commodity is green and white salt produced in Wuchi and Baichi.
Compared with the salt produced in Jiezhou, green and white salt is delicious and cheap, and is deeply loved by people in the border areas. At the same time, the wealthy families in Beijing also prefer green and white salt.
[The salt from Xirong tastes better than the salt from Jiechi, and the salt from Xirong is endless.]
As we all know, there is no need to pay taxes for smuggling, so the profit is far higher than that of normal trade.
When the profit of a commodity reaches 100%, some people dare to trample on all laws.
In the border smuggling trade, there are mainly three types of people: familiar households, businessmen, and border troops.
Among the three, the main force is familiar households, because familiar households are originally Tibetan tribes, are located in border areas, and have some autonomy. They can completely avoid the Song court and contact the Xiazhou party members.
In addition, the ancestors of both parties still have some friendship, so using this as a line makes the connection more convenient.
"oh?"
Cao Wei on the side heard that there was smuggling by the Tibetan tribe. Although he was surprised, he was not surprised.
Smugglers are like weeds in the field. Wild fire cannot burn them out, but they grow again when the spring breeze blows.
Cao Wei had heard similar news before, but he didn't want to take care of it at that time.
It is impossible to open up a smuggling route by oneself alone. The smuggling trade is mostly formed by the alliance of multiple forces.
At that time, he himself was still under suspicion from the officials. He had not solved his own affairs, so how could he have time to care about other matters?
But it's different now.
The news came at just the right time, just in time to take the other party’s sacrificial flag!