Matthew, who had nothing to do, was running and exercising while thinking about his future.
"Ma Shangshou," someone shouted, "come with me, Lord Ning wants to see you!"
Matthew's heart was beating fast, but he had no choice but to respond and follow obediently.
After turning a few corners, Ren Ning stood alone on the hill.
Accompanying him is the shiny black horse.
Matthew felt calmer.
Although Lord Ning is not easy to mess with, as long as Lei Er, who is carrying the machete, is not around, his legs will not tremble so much.
"Master Ning, are you looking for me?"
Ren Ning nodded and joked: "Ma Shangshou's face is rosy and radiant. It seems that he is doing well recently."
Matthew wiped his sweat.
He had just run around dozens of times, and now he was covered in sweat, but his face was glowing and shiny.
"Sir, Matthew is doing very well."
You can eat, drink, have a bowel movement, and sleep. Apart from not being able to leave or making any small moves, there is almost no one to care about anything else.
It's quite relaxing.
However, a while ago, several members of other caravans naively thought that no one was watching, so they wanted to sneak away.
Before the end, they had not run ten miles, and they were dead.
Matthew could see clearly.
The tracking skills of this group are simply top-notch, and they are merciless when killing people.
You are just the leader of an ordinary caravan, so don't commit suicide.
"I wonder what business you have with me?" he asked thoughtfully.
"Sit down first!" Ren Ning motioned for him to sit down on the mound together. "I think the merchants have also seen it in the past few days. We discovered a huge herd of ownerless camels."
Matthew couldn't laugh or cry.
An ownerless herd of camels?
Aren't the several business leaders, big and small, who were captured by Archduke Langston and went south together "all guests" here?
"Yes, yes," Matthew didn't know what he meant, so he could only flatter him: "You see, there are so many camels."
"Congratulations on your great harvest, sir."
Except for the more than forty boxes of ordnance, all the camels he had at the beginning were materials and goods from ordinary caravans.
Most of the camels that have just come out of the desert these days are carrying Langston's family property.
Most of the boxes are filled with gold, silver and jewelry. The total amount is definitely an enviable amount of wealth.
Ren Ning seemed not to have heard anything and said directly: "As far as I know, Ma Shangshou's camel caravan is just a medium-sized caravan..."
"Sir," Matthew quickly corrected: "It's just a small to medium-sized caravan."
When he was in the Principality of Langston, he was not even qualified to enter the Duke's Palace.
"Hmm." Ren Ning nodded, "I wonder if Lord Ma is willing to lead a large caravan?"
Um?
Matthew was stunned.
When he reacted, his heart was pounding.
But soon there was a chill in my back.
Matthew was cautious: "I don't know...what do you mean, Mr. Ning?"
In the past few days, he had seen many more dead people than he had seen in the entire previous half of his life.
So I don't dare to think about it at all.
"That's what it means literally." Ren Ning laughed: "We have caught so many ownerless camels, we can't just leave them alone. After all, they have a huge appetite and eating them is a headache."
"I thought that Mr. Ma happened to be the leader of the trading team, and he might be useful in your hands. I asked you what you meant."
Phew! Phew!
Matthew's eyes shone and his breathing became a little rapid.
He couldn't help but stretched his neck, "Sir, what about Barry and the other business leaders who escaped?"
"Who are those?" Ren Ning smiled and shook his head: "I have never seen these people."
Matthew rolled his eyes, and his heart dropped.
As the saying goes, a small soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier. Likewise, a merchant who doesn't want to be the leader of a large caravan is not a good caravan member.
Since the beginning of Jianqi's trade, there has been no small business leader who has not thought about leading a large caravan one day.
Just think about it,
Camels lined up in a long queue, with bright caravan flags on both sides, followed by shining guards...
Every time I passed a village, tribe or even a small town, the locals, even city lords, clan chiefs, etc. looked at me with admiration and flattery. What a scenery it was.
Done!
Matthew no longer hesitated: "Master Ning, I am willing. A hundred is willing."
"Okay." Ren Ning was not surprised, "Then all the camels outside will be under your control."
Matthew nodded frantically, "Thank you, sir. I will definitely be willing to die in vain in the future..."
He rambled on to show his loyalty without repeating his words. After a while, he stopped when he saw Ren Ning's impatient expression.
"Sir, I wonder what other members of the caravan should do?"
These people are all rebellious and have high eyesight, and they all know him as a small business leader, so they may not be obedient.
"The wind and sand are so big. The caravan members who can escape are all elites, and there are not many of them." Ren Ning glanced at him indifferently, "You can figure it out yourself."
If it can be suppressed, then accept it; if it cannot be suppressed, wipe their necks to avoid future troubles.
"I understand, little one." Matthew could see it clearly, and he felt frightened again, and he didn't dare to say anything more.
The two chatted for a few more words.
Matthew then recruited his subordinates and happily accepted the other camels.
After walking a few dozen feet, he turned back and took a thoughtful look.
On the hill, Ren Ning was looking at the north while riding the black horse, not knowing what he was thinking.
Matthew shook his head.
No matter what this adult was thinking, at first he just wanted to protect his caravan, so he decided to stay and did not follow the other Langston soldiers to flee north.
Unexpectedly, not only was his life no longer in danger, but he also seemed to have the opportunity to become the leader of a large caravan.
It's really a twist of fate.
If you can return to your hometown in Beixiong one day, you must check to see which ancestral tomb is smoking, and pay your respects.
It was hard to think about it, but Matthew knew it very well.
Everything he has is thanks to the man on the hill.
On the hill.
Gu Datou walked up happily.
In addition to Langston's gold, silver and jewelry, the camels caught these days also contained a lot of various ordnance and food.
After all, the quality of the ordnance of the "Central Army" protecting the Duke was far from comparable to the forty boxes of ordnance that Matthew had hidden.
When the soldiers of the Eighth Battalion saw it, they felt itchy. After getting permission, they happily replaced all the equipment that needed to be replaced.
Everyone is beaming now.
"Datou, Lei Er is back?" Ren Ning asked.
These days, they have been sending people to wander between the ruins of Luoxi and the Desert of No Return, and they have indeed found many lost camels.
But compared with the number when Langston and his party set out, there is still a big gap.
Lei Er was very reluctant to give up, so he personally led a team of people into the desert to search.
After all, a camel is almost equal to a small treasure.
Counting the time, it’s time to come back.
Gu Datou nodded, "They just came back and are eating and getting ready to rest."
"As for the camels, they only brought back forty-three."
"Only forty-three?" Ren Ning smiled, "Don't be too greedy, this is already a lot."
Gu Datou smiled naively: "I can't help it, it's all money, food and weapons."
He was also afraid of poverty.
"Don't worry! There will be more in the future, and more."
Ren Ning said, looking up at the sky.
"It seems that the wind and sand are going to stop completely. You go down and let the brothers prepare first. We will prepare to set off in the next two days."