What the smuggler wants is money. At the price of 60 yuan per stone, this batch of grain is enough for him to earn 6 million yuan. If he sells it all at once, he can save a lot of trouble. However, Mi Fang He flatly refused and said: "No, this batch of goods is going to Puyang. I love residual jaw cancer."
Liu Dai was stunned. He was supposed to be the prefect of Qiao County, and the smugglers had to curry favor with him no matter what they said. However, this stupid young man actually refused his proposal. Looking at the group of big men behind Mi Fang, Liu Dai understood. Yes, they are engaged in armed smuggling. Although he is a prefect, the war in the north is in full swing. He only has 5,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, who are stationed in subordinate counties. Moreover, these soldiers and horses are not very obedient to his command. , he really doesn’t have much chance of winning if there is a fight.
But Mi Fang waved her hand loudly again and said, "How much money do you want, just tell me."
Liu Dai couldn't help but feel the black lines on his forehead. He didn't look like a smuggler at all. He spoke so rudely to the prefect of himself. It seemed that he was also an arrogant master there. But now Liu Dai had something to ask for, so he had no choice but to Lowering his voice, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother, why should you sacrifice the near and seek the far away? You should just do the next favor."
It turned out that Liu Dai was originally the governor of Yanzhou. After Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, he naturally could not become the governor, so he had to take a casual position under Cao Cao. Recently, he was sent to Qiao County as the prefect, and he was told that he must collect 20,000 shi every month. military rations,[
Like Runan, Qiaojun's people have long been in dire straits under Yuan Shu's brutal conquests. The war not long ago destroyed all the crops in the fields. The people themselves relied on grass roots and bark. Come to satisfy hunger, and where can I get military rations to hand over to the government?
Although there are many cases of grain smuggling in Qiao County, most of them are just small incidents. The limited grain is simply not enough to make up the total. Cao Cao's military orders are very strict. Failure to complete the task of collecting military grain is a death penalty. This is a dilemma. , the life-saving Mi Fang is here, how can Liu Dai let him go?
Mi Fang laughed loudly and said: "What's the problem? Mi will sell you fifteen thousand dan, and you can figure out the rest by yourself, but you have to do me a favor."
As Mi Fang expected, Liu Dai was not helpless. He had been busy collecting military rations for so many days and had accumulated seven or eight thousand shi of grain in the official warehouse in the county. However, Liu Dai was still suffering. He said with a face: "Fifteen thousand dan is too little. If I pay it this month, what will I pay next month?"
Mi Fang said disdainfully: "As long as you can do me that favor, I can transport fifteen thousand shi of grain to you every month. Please use the pinyin domain name of this website to visit us."
Liu Dai was shocked, and then he remembered that he had not asked about this person's origin, and asked hurriedly: "Who are you?"
Mi Fang knew that Liu Dai was doubting his ability, so he couldn't help but raise his head and said: "I am Mi Fang, a native of Xuzhou. My brother is the right servant of the Household Department of the Han Dynasty and is in charge of the world's business. My sister-in-law is the commander of the Fourth Army of the Han Dynasty. Every month Tens of thousands of dan of grain is not a piece of cake."
Liu Dai took a breath of cold air. No wonder this man looked so arrogant. It turned out that he had two big backers behind him.
In fact, it is none of Liu Dai's business even if Mi Fang has many and strong backers. The two sides originally belonged to two different camps, but now Liu Dai can't be tough at all, because Mi Fang has the food he urgently needs. Of course Now, he can also mobilize troops and horses to seize Mi Fang, including his people and goods. However, before that, Mi Fang definitely does not want to be captured without mercy. Seeing his nonchalant look, if he forces him to rush, he might destroy the food with a fire. Burn it completely. If this happens, not only will he not get food, but he will also offend the people behind Mi Fang. As the prefect of Qiao County, Liu Dai knows very well that the Fourth Army Corps stationed opposite is Liu Xin's hand. ,
Liu Dai tried his best to calm down and said with a smile on his face: "Exceptor, I don't know if Liu can help you."
Mi Fang also had a smile on her face. She pointed at the convoy and said, "Don't be surprised, Master Liu. If I sell all the grain to you, without cover, other goods will not be able to be transported to Puyang smoothly, and those Things can only be sold at a good price in Puyang. I don't ask for anything else. I just hope that it will be convenient for you to give me an identity for this batch of goods."
Liu Dai understood that Mi Fang was asking him for customs clearance procedures. Although Mi Fang also held government vouchers, those vouchers could only be used in places like Qiao County that bordered areas under Liu Xin's rule. There is no use in traveling north. Liu Dai can provide legal protection for Mi Fang's cargo, but if something happens to Dong, the consequences will be quite serious.
Seeing Liu Dai's hesitation, Mi Fang smiled and stuffed him with a small cloth bag and said: "Here are the goods that I want to transport. You will know after Mr. Liu goes back and takes a look. If Mr. Liu is still unwilling to take this risk, It's dangerous, so I have no choice but to go back home. Anyway, this is not the only way to Puyang. My sister-in-law also has good friendships with several other generals, so it must not be difficult to pass a few checkpoints."
Liu Dai had already vaguely guessed what was in the cloth bag, and was about to refuse when he suddenly heard the second half of Mi Fang's words and was stunned. That will happen in the future. If there is no food, this month He wants to move his head,
Thinking of this, Liu Dai gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I will issue you a voucher now, but you must sell me three months' worth of grain at once."
Liu Dai was still more cautious. If Mi Fang really didn't take this road in the future, where would he buy so much grain? If he could buy 45,000 shi of grain at a time, it would be enough for at least three months. Within three months, we can successfully complete the food collection task assigned by Cao Cao. As for three months later, we can only take one step at a time.
The appearance of such a large caravan on the road is still very eye-catching. If you have the voucher issued by Liu Dai, you can avoid government inspections along the way and ensure a smooth journey. This temptation is still quite big. Mi Fang hesitated for a moment and then After agreeing, Liu Dai couldn't help but be overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
Cao Cao ordered the counties to collect military rations as a last resort. In order to prevent county officials from taking advantage of the opportunity to plunder, he specially allocated special funds. Liu Dai purchased the grains from Mi Fang at a price of 80 yen. In fact, He can still make less money in the official position. He has already been marginalized under Cao Cao and has no future in his official position. It is not a bad idea to make a small fortune.
In order to thank Mi Fang, and to maintain this relationship so that he could make long-term profits, Liu Dai took the risk and offered to indicate on the voucher that the goods Mi Fang was transporting were official grain for escort. In this way, not only did the government officials along the way not He would deliberately create difficulties and provide necessary conveniences. With Liu Dai's help, Mi Fang's journey north became smoother. However, Liu Xin did not go smoothly in the Western Regions, [
After arriving at Yumen Pass, Liu Xin's escort mission was naturally taken over by the Fifth Legion. The entire escort team still consisted of 5,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. However, the goods originally loaded on the carts were now replaced by Camels and horses came to take charge of transportation. Dian Wei and Wei Yan followed Liu Xin closely, while Huang Zhong stayed at Yumen Pass, ready to lead his army to the Western Regions at any time.
Outside Yumen Pass, as far as the eye can see, there are swamps and Gobi everywhere. Under the leadership of the guide, the team went all the way west. The guide was called Baguli, who was brought back from Shule by Jia Xu when he visited the countries in the Western Regions last time.
After walking for half a day, a strong wind suddenly blew up. The strong wind blew up the yellow sand in the sky. The surroundings were chaotic. No one could be seen ten steps away. The team suddenly fell into chaos.
Liu Xin was also exposed to the desert for the first time. Seeing this situation, she couldn't help but feel nervous and shouted loudly: "Stop moving forward."
However, the strong wind carried the gravel and made bursts of shrill strange noises, drowning his voice. However, the guide Baguli was very calm and rushed over to pull Liu Xin's horse's head and said: "Don't panic, sir, this is just a desert." Edge, as long as you cross this section of the road, the front will be safe."
When marching and fighting, news mainly relied on various flags. There was a sandstorm and it was difficult to see the people nearby, let alone the various flags. Some flagpoles were broken because they could not withstand the strong wind. Fortunately, the Han army Well-trained, and the Fifth Army Corps has been stationed in the Liangzhou area, the soldiers were somewhat accustomed to the strong wind and sand, and there was not much panic. When they could not hear Liu Xin's order to stop advancing, all the soldiers were Heading against the wind,
The climate in the desert is constantly changing. In the evening, after the team trudged forward for two hours, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. A red sunset on the horizon illuminated the rolling sand dunes. What appeared in front of Liu Xin's eyes was another Another magnificent view,
Liu Xin turned around and looked at the soldiers around her. Many of them had crooked helmets. Even the carriage Diao Suan was riding in was covered with a thick layer of yellow sand. She couldn't help but said with lingering fear: "Wen He, Liu I heard people say that when the flying general Li Guang was chasing the Xiongnu, he once got lost in the desert. He didn't realize it at that time, but today he has just begun to see the power of the desert."
Jia Xu straightened his hat which was blown by the wind and sand, and said with a smile: "My lord, I don't know. This kind of wind and sand is not serious. If you encounter the black wind and sand in the depths of the desert, it will really make the sky and the earth not respond." It doesn’t work, but my lord also needs to worry. Going west from here to the city of Muni is a well-traveled path, and you won’t encounter windy areas again, so it’s safe to go all the way from here.”
But I heard the guide Baguli exclaim: "It's not good."
Liu Xin asked hurriedly: "What happened?"
Baguli said with a grimace: "The strong wind just now delayed our trip. We won't be able to reach the oasis ahead tonight."
Liu Xin laughed loudly and said: "If you can't make it in time, you can't make it in time. What's the point of being nervous? This is like marching to a war. We can't just spend one night somewhere."
Baguli sighed and said, "You don't know something. The desert is like no other place. When you spend the night in the desert, you must beware of three major hazards."