Yu Song and An Xi entered the courtyard quietly.
The courtyards in the north are different from those in the south. They are much more rugged. Because it is cold, the walls are built very thickly. The front and back yards of this family's courtyard are extremely spacious and have a roof.
There were a lot of goods piled up in the yard. The two men were like nimble black cats, splitting into two groups and moving silently in the darkness.
After a while, An Xi found that there were quite a lot of goods piled up here, including tea, silk, porcelain, powder, scented soap, etc. The quantity was very large. This courtyard seemed to be a place specifically for storing goods.
The thirty carts of iron ore they had tracked down had been unloaded and piled in the front yard, basket after basket covered tightly with burlap. An Xi uncovered the ore and discovered it had been refined into spherical balls.
There were four strong men guarding inside and outside the front yard gate, two inside and two outside. Yu Song's body was hanging upside down on the eaves, as if it had always been there.
The windows in the house were half open, and it seemed that the people on both sides were very confident about the safety here.
The aroma of wine and food wafted out from the half-open window, along with the conversations of a few people while they ate and drank.
"The last batch of goods has arrived today, a total of ten thousand pounds of refined iron. Once the batch of ceramics arrives tomorrow, we can set off."
"The north is unstable right now, and I'm not sure if traveling west this spring will be as safe as in previous years."
"If everything goes well, this trip will be enough for us to eat for a year. We should be able to make twice as much this year as last year. If things get chaotic, we can raise the price of goods even more."
The speaker drank and imagined the huge profits he could get after processing all the goods in the small country in the west.
"I've seen that the quality of today's batch of refined iron isn't as good as last year's. I'm afraid the price will be lower than last year."
"The price cannot be lowered. If Prince Baha wants to lower the price, we can go to other small countries to sell it. We won't be afraid of not being able to sell it at a high price."
"This isn't good. The Western Yi Kingdom has been cooperating with us for several years and has a close relationship with the eldest son. If the eldest son knew about this..."
"As long as our tribute is in place, the eldest son of the Western Yi Kingdom will not pursue the matter. Besides, if the quality of the iron ore is not good, it cannot be blamed on us."
"If there hadn't been a commotion at Mangshan, which caused many miners to flee, this wouldn't have happened."
…
Yu Song was listening quietly, and when he heard a bird cry, he quickly ran to meet An Xi.
Wan Jinlan waited there for less than half an hour before seeing the two men return.
"Master, there are eight guards in the courtyard, four in the house, and various goods piled up in the courtyard. They must be sent to the small country in the west for trade."
The territory of Liangzhou strangles the throat of communication between the Central Plains and the western countries. If the major trading companies in the Central Plains want to do business with western countries, this is the only way to go.
Tea, silk, and ceramics from the Central Plains were much loved by Western countries and often sold at extremely high prices. At the same time, Western pearls, jade, spices, etc. were also sought after by the nobles of the Central Plains. Fruits such as grapes and melons were also introduced from the West, as were white flounder, which could be used to make warm clothing.
"Master, the person behind this caravan must be the eldest son of the governor's mansion."
Yu Song couldn't imagine any force in Liangzhou that would dare to sell iron ore to other countries in exchange for money. Such behavior was tantamount to treason.
"They should be leaving in a few days. If we want to take action, we must do it as soon as possible."
Wan Jinlan nodded. "Well, let's take action tomorrow night and survey the surrounding area now."
An Xi asked, "Are we stealing?"
Wan Jinlan: "What if I don't steal it? Why don't you ask them if they will sell it to you? Even if they do, I don't want to pay them with banknotes."
An Xi: “…”
He added, "These iron ores are all beaten into balls and placed in a basket. The weight of each basket should be roughly the same, and there is a fixed number of baskets."
Yu Song: "That's easy. Just steal the same amount from each basket. It's a little troublesome, but there's a good chance you won't be discovered."
Wan Jinlan agreed with Yu Song's point of view.
While the three were talking, they heard the door open. The people guarding outside the yard went back inside, and no one was left to guard the door.
An Xi said, "I'll go back and check the situation."
After An Xi left, Wan Jinlan and Yu Song began to explore the surroundings.
The back mountain seems very close to the courtyard, but in fact it is still some distance away. There is a dry riverbed between the back mountain and the courtyard. It is sandy and very soft to step on. There are poplars and reeds on both sides of the riverbed.
There was a village over there. As the night deepened and the people were asleep, the barking of dogs had long since died down.
After the three of them reunited, An Xi said that everyone in the yard had gone to bed, two of them sleeping under the shed, snoring loudly.
Wan Jinlan and Yu Song did not find any place to temporarily hide the iron ore. Although the poplar and reed bushes looked dense, they were completely unable to hide anything, and it would be inconvenient to hide them too far away.
After much thought, she decided that she could only go back and call for more help.
An Xi was left behind to guard the place, and Wan Jinlan also left him a bag of dragon claw powder.
It was already late at night when Yu Song and Wan Jinlan returned to the mountain village.
I took a nap first, and when I woke up, the morning exercise in the back mountain was over.
When Wei Xian came back for dinner, he gave her a letter that Xia Feng had sent back.
In the letter, Xia Feng said that the war in the north was about to end. He also mentioned that a military supervisor had come from Kyoto and expressed his desire to visit Qingyuan County. He also warned everyone in the stronghold to keep a low profile recently.
Wan Jinlan didn't have any thoughts after reading the letter.
This military supervisor represented Emperor Jian'an, and the one who should be worrying now was the Governor of Liang Province. Although she and Xiao Feng were at risk of being exposed, they would be safe if they were careful and cautious.
Besides, Xiao Feng had been on the front line for a long time without being discovered, so she naturally didn't need to worry too much.
Wei Xian asked, "Madam, have you found a solution?"
Wan Jinlan explained the results of the past few days' exploration and said, "Send some people to steal the iron ore at night. If we don't have enough carriages, we can hide the goods along the way."
Wei Xian felt complicated as he listened to how Wan Jinlan smuggled the iron ore back.
When he was in the imperial guards, he was taught to be loyal to the country, to protect the royal family, and to safeguard the people, but now he has started stealing.
Then he heard Wan Jinlan say, "Come with me in the afternoon. Send out all seven carriages in the mountain stronghold and call thirty brothers."
Wei Xian nodded with mixed feelings.
Everything was ready. When it was completely dark, Wan Jinlan and his friends met up with An Xi at the same place as yesterday.
An Xi had already applied the dragon claw powder and was just waiting for it to take effect.
From a distance, the two guards at the door were sitting at the door with their heads down, leaning against the wall in a daze.
After waiting for another half an hour, Yu Song went around to check and found that there was no one conscious in the yard.
Leaving someone on guard, everyone took action.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
