As soon as Li Luo and the others entered the tent, several people in the tent stood up to greet them. Shen Xiangdong returned the greeting, greeted everyone, and found a place to sit down casually. ??
The tent was quite small, so it seemed a bit tight when everyone was sitting there.
The middle-aged man surnamed Cheng said slightly apologetically: "I feel sorry for disturbing Mr. Wu from coming over so late."
Shen Xiangdong smiled slightly and said: "Master Cheng, you are too polite. We are friends all over the world. We are destined to be together. If you can use me, just speak up."
"Haha, Mr. Wu is quick to talk and is indeed a sweetheart."
Cheng Jiyuan complimented Shen Xiangdong, but he only smiled and showed no joy.
He hurriedly collected his thoughts and said: "I already know several elders in the tent, so Ji Yuan doesn't need to waste any more words. The main purpose of inviting Mr. Wu here this time is to discuss the itinerary after tomorrow."
After finishing speaking, he straightened his body and said solemnly: "You all know that we will arrive at Sanchakou in one day at most. This place is Xirong, the junction of Huo worship and Hui Mongolia. The land is barren and no troops are stationed in each country. , it can truly be called a land without an owner, and there are more bandits and thieves than cattle. I am afraid this road is the most uneventful..."
Before he finished speaking, someone in the tent said with a hint of impatience: "It's not our first day traveling across the rivers and lakes. Who knows this place? If it were Taiping, whoever would still go through Yingchou Gorge would have gone to Chen River Valley."
The speaker is also one of several larger merchants named Zhao Tianci. He is extremely arrogant. When Li Luo and others wanted to join the caravan, they criticized him and encountered many obstacles. Moreover, Cheng Jiyuan was angry because he was the leader of the caravan. There are old grudges and constant conflicts.
Sure enough, Cheng Jiyuan's face darkened, a haze flashed in his eyes, he glanced at Zhao Tianci, and said in a stiff tone: "I wonder what Brother Zhao has to propose?"
Zhao Tianci laughed and said: "Brother Cheng, you are the leader of the caravan. Zhao will go as you say. How dare you have any objections?"
Cheng Jiyuan's face turned red and white, and he was extremely angry.
However, the trader surnamed Zhao was the most powerful in the caravan, but he was not popular and often bullied the smaller ones. The other two families immediately promoted the trader of the Cheng family, who was the second most powerful, to be the leader of the caravan.
Zhao Tianci was narrow-minded and dissatisfied with everyone's recommendation of Cheng Jiyuan, so he made things difficult for him from time to time.
With the strength of the Zhao family, no one wanted to offend, and no one spoke for a while in the tent, which was extremely dull.
Shen Xiangdong broke the dull situation and said with a smile: "I have never been to the Western Regions, but I don't know the origin of these three intersections. I only felt dangerous when I heard what Master Cheng said. Master Cheng and Master Zhao must have gone through it several times. Can you tell me about it? Let’s see which way is safer to take tomorrow?”
When Cheng Jiyuan saw Shen Xiangdong rescuing the siege, he nodded and expressed his gratitude.
Although Zhao Tianci said he was arrogant, Li Luo and the others were really good at talking. They seemed to be strolling along the way, showing no signs of worry. Their sharp edges were restrained, and they had the aura of wealthy family members.
Although Zhao Tianci was arrogant, he was also quite wary. When he saw what Shen Xiangdong said, he snorted coldly and stopped interrupting.
Cheng Jiyuan wanted to enter the Chen Valley from the road near Xirong. There was a broken mountain called Haz between this road and Xirong.
Haz Mountain is the barrier between Xirong and Sanchakou. The terrain is dangerous, with drought and little rain, and there are many poisonous insects. It is almost a dead place. Only in the Chen River Valley area does the terrain become flatter.
In the past, business travelers often chose this road to enter Xirong to avoid the horse thieves entrenched at the three forks.
After Cheng Jiyuan finished speaking, the other two merchants agreed with the proposal. Shen Xiangdong nodded and agreed. Zhao Tianci saw everyone looking at him and snorted in agreement.
Then Cheng Jiyuan told some more places to pay more attention to on the way, and Shen Xiangdong gave a few pointers. They were all critical points of life and death in this westward march. Cheng Jiyuan and the other two Shang clans were all in admiration. Even Zhao Tianci With his eyes high above his head, he also listened intently.
After discussing for nearly an hour, Hu Chajing hid behind and kept dozing off. Cheng Jiyuan hinted, intentionally or unintentionally, that if Shen Xiangdong really encountered horse thieves, he should move closer to several big merchants and resist the enemy together. Don't worry about it. The other person, Shen Xiangdong, smiled and did not answer.
After discussing the itinerary for the next day, several people breathed a sigh of relief. One of the businessmen named Han sighed: "We are weak because of our weakness. We have been doing business in the Western Regions for many years. We are worried every day, deeply afraid of throwing our lives on the road. I don’t even know which ditch the body will be buried in.”
Cheng Jiyuan also sighed and said: "The world is in chaos. If we businessmen can seek peace, we can pray to God and worship Buddha. Who in the court will care about our life and death?"
Another person continued: "Brother Cheng, when Hu was in Tianshui, he heard someone say that our Dagan defeated Xirong in Dizhou recently and killed hundreds of thousands of enemies. Is this true or false?"
The businessman surnamed Han groaned and continued: "I also heard this rumor, saying that he was a newly promoted young general in the imperial court, and he also beheaded a member of Xirong and some other high-ranking general."
Cheng Jiyuan nodded and said: "I have also heard people talk about it, but some people said that they killed tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, and some said it was hundreds of thousands. Cheng doesn't know how much it is."
Zhao Tianci said angrily: "That's nonsense."
"Brother Zhao, how do you say this?" the businessman surnamed Hu asked hurriedly.
"It's just a lie to fool the villagers, but some people will believe it." Zhao Tianci said with a smile.
"Oh, please give me some advice from Master Zhao." Shen Xiangdong asked with a smile.
Zhao Tianci rolled his eyes and said proudly: "Zhao has also heard these rumors. The leader is Li Luo, the son of Prince Chun Li Chengye. He only lost the crown when he was young, and he took the position of the general of the auxiliary country. He has a high and powerful position. Hum , in fact, he is just a young boy. Don't think about it. General Di Jiedi has been in the army for decades, fought hundreds of battles, and guarded Xifu with 500,000 soldiers. He has never had such a great victory. The general's fraction doesn't even count. Could it be that he has three heads and six arms, or is it possible that he can spread the beans and make an army? He can kill hundreds of thousands of enemies as soon as he arrives in Xifu? In my opinion, even if Li Chengye comes in person, he may not be able to defeat him. Commander Zuo of Xirong."
"Then why are there such rumors in Xifu?" Shen Xiangdong asked, brushing his beard.
Zhao Tianci glanced at Shen Xiangdong contemptuously and said, "This is not simple. The more you boast about your military exploits, the more rewards you will receive when you return to Zhuocheng. Hundreds of thousands are ridiculous, and if you can kill ten, it's not bad. What? The great general of the auxiliary country is nothing more than a playboy teasing under a woman's skirt."
Huchajing was furious and was about to stand up to teach Zhao Tianci a lesson. Li Luo quickly stopped him and smiled at Huchajing, indicating that it was okay.
Huchajing suppressed his anger and sat back. Zhao Tianci looked complacent, completely unaware that he had almost caused a huge disaster.
Cheng Jiyuan frowned and said: "Brother Zhao, why do you say it so unpleasantly? Be careful not to spread it to the ears of the government."
Zhao Tianci rolled his eyes and said, "What, Brother Cheng wants to inform?"
Cheng Jiyuan was furious and said: "Zhao Tianci, am I, Cheng Jiyuan, this kind of person?"
Zhao Tianci snorted coldly and wanted to speak. Han and Hu hurriedly stood up and persuaded them to stop.
The businessman surnamed Han advised: "Okay, okay, how can we, the common people of Li, take care of the affairs of the prince's palace and the court? Don't hurt the harmony. They have their own wealth, and we also have our own life. This time we can go smoothly."
Returning to our hometown is better than anything else. We must take care of each other along the way, and we must not be vindictive. Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, this general will not care about our life or death. Brother Cheng, don't be angry, Brother Zhao is just unintentional
Don’t take what you said seriously. Brother Zhao, Brother Cheng is doing this for your own good. If this news reaches the ears of this general, it will cause disaster. Besides, everyone knows how Brother Cheng is, so how could he do such a thing?
We will arrive in Xirong soon, so it would be better if we don’t talk about the matters on the battlefield."
Cheng Jiyuan rolled his sleeves in anger and ignored Zhao Tianci.
Zhao Tianci also felt that he had made a mistake and reluctantly handed over his hand as an apology.