At this time, Bian Zhang suddenly rushed up, holding a strange object in his hand, and shouted to the man: "If you move again, I will shoot you to death!"
Shopkeeper Cui was stunned by this sudden turn of events. It took him a long time to recover and hurriedly said: "This strong man, two little brothers, if you have something to say, let's talk it over. Since we want to go together, then let's
We should be honest with each other. Cui will introduce himself first, I am from Boling..."
The man didn't wait for Shopkeeper Cui to finish speaking, and already said repeatedly: "It turns out that you are the caravan of the Cui family. The Cui family and the Zhen family are also known as the two major families in Hebei. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just heard that the current emperor has confiscated all the various goods in Hebei.
It’s puzzling how Shopkeeper Cui is willing to donate five carts of grain for half the land of a large family.”
Liu Yu sneered: "Who said their land was confiscated? The imperial court paid for it and then distributed it to the people in those areas."
Shopkeeper Cui nodded and said: "This little brother is quite knowledgeable. It's just that our family didn't want to sell the land at that time. It was just that the Zhen family took the lead and others did not dare to go against His Majesty's wishes. You don't know that the Zhen family
Zhen Yan followed the emperor closely. She gave all her sisters to the emperor. Although she was not accepted as a concubine, she often went in and out of the palace. It is said that for this little beauty, the emperor even gave up his own son...
"[
Bian Zhang turned his wrist, and the object in his hand was pointed at Shopkeeper Cui, and he shouted angrily: "You are talking nonsense, Liu Bang brought it upon himself, he is not worthy of being a prince at all!"
"Fourth brother, don't be reckless." Liu Yu didn't want to entangle too much, so as not to reveal his identity. He cupped his hands towards shopkeeper Cui and said, "I heard from the shopkeeper that he has quite a few complaints against the current emperor, but you are willing to donate food.
Even I am a little confused."
Shopkeeper Cui hurriedly waved his hands and said: "Don't talk nonsense. There must have been some complaints at the beginning. Our Cui family has a large population and half of the land is missing. Although it will not make everyone hungry, life will naturally be tight. Later, the emperor
To encourage everyone to do business, our family leader also organized two caravans to try a trip to the Western Regions. They made a lot of profits, which was equal to the harvest of the past year. Now, our Cui family has more than ten caravans.
Even though the Zhen family has the emperor's backing, they can't compare with us in terms of wealth. Now that our Cui family can securely be the number one family in Hebei, how can we complain to the emperor again? It's not too late to be grateful."
After a pause, Shopkeeper Cui continued: "Our Cui family also has a caravan that was brutally murdered by the Qin people. Your Majesty is going to punish them, so why not do we contribute a little bit?"
Liu Yu nodded, then turned to the man and said, "As soon as Shopkeeper Cui said it, I won't be confused. It's just that you want to join the army, why didn't you participate in the conscription a few days ago? This is a bit confusing."
The man laughed loudly and said: "I told the truth, my surname is Gao Minglan. I was originally under Yuan Shao. Your Majesty was kind and pardoned Gao's death penalty. Because of Gao's identity, I went to apply for the army but failed. I think.
Gao is skilled in martial arts and would rather die on the battlefield and serve the country than be buried in the countryside like this!"
Shopkeeper Cui was shocked and said: "So you are General Gao, no wonder you are so skilled!"
Gao Lan turned to Liu Yu and said, "Now it's time for you to tell me who you are and what's in that wooden box."
Liu Yu winked at Bian Zhang and said, "Fourth brother, tell them."
Bian Zhang was able to pester Liu Yu and take him out with him. He was definitely not the kind of reckless boy. His little mind was very nimble. When he saw Liu Yu's eyes, he immediately understood. He cupped his hands like an adult and said, "I'm here.
My surname is Bian Mingzhang. This is my eldest brother. His last name is Yu. My brother is going to the west to visit his relatives."
The surname Bian is not a popular surname. Shopkeeper Cui and Gao Lan don't care much about their life experience, but they are quite curious about the wooden box. Shopkeeper Cui frowned and said: "If you don't explain what is in this box, I'm afraid that when you clear the customs
It will be a bit troublesome, so you might as well open it and let us take a look, so you can rest assured."
Liu Yu smiled and said: "To tell you the truth, I don't know what's inside. It was entrusted to us by a relative, and we specifically stated that it should not be taken apart along the way. We should be loyal to others who entrust us with it."
Please forgive me for my difficulty in obeying my order. However, please rest assured that there will definitely not be anything prohibited here."
In fact, what he said was wrong. Not to mention Fang Tian's painted halberd, even ordinary people owning spears and swords were considered against the laws of the Han Dynasty. Although Liu Xin did not confiscate civilian weapons like Qin Shihuang did, he also imposed strict restrictions.
Ordinary people can only hold weapons with limited lethality such as swords, waist knives, and hunting bows. All other weapons are prohibited. Therefore, Gao Lan only carried a wooden stick and a waist knife with him, but not the long spear he was accustomed to use.
However, Gao Lan was a generous man, and what Liu Yu said about "being a loyal person when entrusted by others" really appealed to him, so he couldn't help but persuade him: "Shopkeeper Cui, don't you have more than a dozen carts of goods? One
A wooden box would be inconspicuous if mixed in."
In fact, Shopkeeper Cui has walked this road countless times. The inspection at the pass is not very strict. Otherwise, when would there be so many caravans traveling from north to south every day? He just used words to scare these people.
Young brothers. Now, even Gao Lan has said this, and shopkeeper Cui is happy to go along with it, saying repeatedly: "That's it, that's it. Brother, put the box away, let's go in and have a drink."
Liu Yu and Bian Zhang were still children, so naturally they didn't know how to drink. Gao Lan wanted to get to the Western Regions as soon as possible. Shopkeeper Cui also had so many goods to take care of, so they only had two or three small drinks. Everyone ate some food and decided
Traveled all night.
Even if the world is peaceful now, thieves cannot disappear. It may be better during the day, but at night these monsters and monsters will appear from all corners. Therefore, unless there is a relatively large caravan, usually merchants will wait
We set off at dawn. However, shopkeeper Cui drank some wine today, and Gao Lan was by his side, and the two little brothers seemed to be no ordinary people. They were much more courageous, so they decided to set off overnight. The businessman was very profitable, so he had to go one day early.
When you get to your destination, you can make a day's profit earlier. If you make more trips, the profits will come rolling in.
After leaving Maoling City, more than a dozen cars passed through villages and towns, but the road was surprisingly quiet. Not to mention robbers, not even a petty thief was encountered. After asking about it, I found out that troops and thieves had been passing by constantly in the past few days.
Everyone ran away after hearing the news. Who would hit the knife edge at this time? Therefore, this period of time is the safest.
At dawn, the group had arrived at Long County, which is under the jurisdiction of Hanyang County in Liangzhou. It was much deserted than Maoling. Shopkeeper Cui looked up at the hint of exposure in the east, turned around and asked: "General Gao,
Brothers, do you think you should go to the city and take a short rest, or continue on your way?"[
Gao Lan was eager to show off his skills in front of the army and said without hesitation: "We'd better go a little further while the morning is cool."
Liu Yu was also worried that the palace would send people to chase him, so he repeatedly echoed this.
Although it is early summer, there is a severe drought in the north this year, and the weather is already very hot. If we wait for the sun to rise, it will be even more unbearable. For caravans traveling far away, they can only use the cooler time in the morning and evening to travel.
Now that brothers Gao Lan and Liu Yu have joined, there is no need to worry at night. Shopkeeper Cui naturally obeys their advice, nodded, and shouted to the guys: "Brothers, cheer up, work harder, and hurry up."
Let’s go to Pingxiang City for breakfast!”
The group of people walked forward for more than ten miles, when suddenly there was the sound of rapid horse hooves behind them. Shopkeeper Cui was very alert, and he quickly got up, put up his hand on the awning and looked towards the east. All he saw was smoke and dust in the distance, which seemed to be countless.
Hundreds of horses are coming at a gallop.
Nowadays, unlike in the past, the Han Dynasty has completely controlled the entire grassland. There is an abundant supply of horses. A slightly wealthier family can raise three or five good horses. The caravans traveling from south to north have also been replaced by carriages. This is the main place
Large caravans with hundreds of horses can be seen everywhere on the business roads. Take the Cui family as an example, the caravan he led was the smallest, and the largest caravan had as many as six hundred horses.
Despite this, Shopkeeper Cui still did not take it lightly and reminded in a low voice: "General Gao, the people behind you are not evil, so you need to be more careful."
Although the two young brothers Liu Yu are powerful, they are still children in the eyes of shopkeeper Cui. When encountering big problems, they must rely on veterans like Gao Lan.
Gao Lan also felt that these hundreds of horsemen came too fast and did not look like ordinary caravans. If they were not the imperial army, they were probably a group of powerful horse bandits. Although large groups of horse bandits have disappeared in recent years, but now
When war breaks out again in the west, it is inevitable that some people will return to their old ways and fish in troubled waters.
Before Shopkeeper Cui could finish what he said, Gao Lan had already jumped out of the car, untied the reins, and pulled out a horse. Although this horse was not as good as the war horse he originally rode, it was better than it. At least it could make him a horse.
It’s time to show off your skills.
The hundreds of horsemen came very fast, and in the blink of an eye they were clearly visible. The first man was wearing red armor and a red robe, with a fiery red horse on his hip. From a distance, it looked like a ball of fire. There were dozens of horsemen surrounding him,
They were all in white clothes and armor, sitting on white horses, followed by hundreds of knights in black clothes and black armor.
Gao Lan was holding the wooden stick and was eager to try. Seeing this situation, he hurriedly said: "Shopkeeper Cui, quickly take everyone back to the roadside."
Shopkeeper Cui asked in surprise: "Is it possible that even General Gao can't resist the enemy?"
Gao Lan shook his head and said: "This is the imperial army. If it is a horse bandit, how can it get such neat equipment? If nothing else, it will be difficult to gather dozens of white horses."
Shopkeeper Cui suddenly realized what he was doing, and quickly directed his men to rush the carriage to the roadside.
At this time, the team of cavalry had already arrived. The fiery knight reined in his horse with a "hush", his gaze was like a torch, sweeping over the faces of the caravan, and then he lightly scolded and said: "Let's go!"
Only then did Shopkeeper Cui discover that the knight in red was actually a woman, but her expression was so cold that no one dared to look at it.
As the woman in red shouted, everyone rushed past the caravan on horseback. Shopkeeper Cui couldn't help but make an even more surprising discovery. The knights in white were actually beautiful young women, and those in black
The knights are all burly men, all eight feet tall. This cavalry is definitely not an ordinary army.
At this moment, a knight in white suddenly left the group and headed straight for the caravan.