Xiao Mingyuan felt uncomfortable and itchy all over. He could no longer stay in northern Jiangsu.
He asked someone to find Lan Xiangan and Liu Kai and said:
"I have checked 2,000 dan of rice and there is no problem with it.
In that case, let’s tell the brothers to start loading the trucks and transporting them north!
Don't let the soldiers go hungry!
I paid the young master the money and then returned to the capital to report."
Lan Xiangan heard this, but refused and said:
"What is Lord Xiao talking about? We've only checked so much! We're still a long way from thirty thousand shi!"
Your Excellency has always been conscientious and responsible in his work, so that we can avoid any mistakes in the rice and grain, and prevent the soldiers from having problems eating it!
I tossed and turned last night and was extremely impressed by you, lord!
Therefore, I have decided to listen to what you have said and inspect all 300,000 dan of rice!
Besides, even if we don’t continue the inspection, we have to wait until all the rice and grain are loaded and the escort convoy leaves the Subei city gate.
You can return to Beijing to report, right?"
The dark and thin "Sister-in-law Jiu" who was holding the teapot at the side could not help but lower her head.
Sometimes it’s really helpless to hold back your laughter!
My third uncle is so annoying.
Xiao Mingyuan felt extremely uncomfortable at this moment. Sometimes his whole body was itchy, and sometimes his face was painful and swollen.
It seems that he really is suffering from that allergy!
He doesn't care, he wants to leave, he wants to go home!
He didn't want to stay in this shabby place for even a moment!
Xiao Mingyuan pretended not to understand Lan Xiangan's sarcasm, waved his hand and said:
"The Subei Liu family is a well-known family in the northern border. How could they destroy their own reputation?
I think we should stop checking the rice here.
It doesn’t matter whether you are sent out of the city gate or not!
With General Lan here, nothing will go wrong. I'm very relieved."
After he finished speaking, he placed a stack of banknotes on the table and said to Liu Kai:
"Young Master, here are two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Could you please check it?"
Liu Kai took a look at the banknote and said with a smile:
"No hurry, we'll pay the banknotes after the grain is loaded."
Lan Xiangan said:
"Your Excellency, this is wrong. Although you and I came from Jianzhou together, our responsibilities cannot be mixed.
Lord Xiao was responsible for purchasing grain in northern Jiangsu and sending the grain-carrying carriages out of the city gate before he was considered done.
My duty is to transport it from the gate of Subei City to the military camp outside Fencheng.
This official would never dare to overstep his bounds. Everyone should do their job properly."
Seeing this, Xiao Mingyuan endured the discomfort in his body!
He really wanted to refute it, but what the other person said made sense!
He could only curse inwardly, then gnashed his teeth and shouted at the escort soldiers who were checking the rice, saying:
"From now on, don't open the bags anymore, just load them directly into the car!
Before nightfall today, the first batch of 100,000 dan of rice must be shipped out of the city gate!"
He didn't want to stay in northern Jiangsu for a moment, and even in the afternoon, he went to move a few bags of rice himself.
But even so, the 100,000 shi of grain had not been loaded by dark.
Xiao Mingyuan spent another sleepless night at the post station, staying awake until dawn.
The next day, five hundred horse-drawn carriages and one hundred ox-drawn carts loaded with one hundred thousand dan of grain set out from the north gate of Subei City.
The horse-drawn carriages were transferred in advance from dozens of post stations in the surrounding prefectures to the Subei City post station for use.
Ox carts are common in the homes of ordinary people in Suzhou, northern Jiangsu.
They drove their own ox carts to help the court transport military rations. They could earn three taels of silver in a month's round trip!
Xiao Mingyuan waved to the escort officer Lan Xiangan and finally breathed a sigh of relief!
He immediately paid the grain and silver, took Liu Kai's signed document, and headed towards the ferry without looking back!
Liu Kai got on the carriage, handed the banknote to Si Jinxing, and said:
"Benefactor, General Lan is gone."
Si Jinxing took the banknote and said with a smile:
"But please don't call me benefactor anymore. You saved me a few months ago.
You helped me a lot again this time."
Liu Kai heard this, but still waved his hand and said:
“No, no, regarding the river issue, even if Liu didn’t come, the benefactor could still save himself, so they can’t be compared.”
He didn't want to continue this topic, so he asked:
"Why is benefactor selling this grain so cheaply? Even according to the normal price of rice, it should be worth 300,000 taels!"
Si Jinxing pursed her lips and smiled, saying only:
"It's mainly because it came too easily."
Upon hearing this, Liu Kai asked in confusion, "Benefactor, what are you talking about? What comes easily?"
Si Jinxing shook his head slightly and handed over the matter of the remaining food and grass to Liu Kai.
Then he said:
"I still have something to say to my uncle, so I'll take my leave of the young master."
Liu Kai did not suspect anything. He got off the carriage, bowed, and watched the carriage gradually go north.
And inside the city gate, in another carriage.
A pretty girl lowered the curtains and said, "Follow me."
At the same time, at Balipo outside Wuzhou City.
Lei Ling came galloping over and reported loudly:
"Coach! There are two roads ahead.
One leads to the Devil May Cry Forest.
The mountains and forests are densely forested and the terrain is complex, but the advantage is that it is close, and the past is the boundary of Fencheng.
The other route is much easier to travel, but it requires a lot of detours and will take at least two or three days longer.
Where are we going?
Qi Moli, wearing armor, tightened the reins, and the black horse raised its front hooves high and neighed!
The howling cold wind blew his black hair away, making his stern face look even more aloof and frivolous!
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked forward.
The little girl said there might be an ambush in the dense forest?
He turned to look at Lei Ling and said:
"Fencheng has lost five cities in a row. We can't delay any longer. Let's go through the dense forest!"
Seeing this, Lei Ling had no choice but to obey!
Half an hour later, tens of thousands of troops had reached the outskirts of the dense forest, and a few crows fluttered in fright and flew away.
Qi Moli raised his black cloak and shouted:
"All soldiers, listen up! Forward!"
After he shouted, he took the lead and walked into the dense forest!
Lei Ling followed closely with the vanguard soldiers, followed by Lan Xiangkun and his team.
The road is difficult to walk on in the dense forest. The deeper you go, the denser the trees become, and a gloomy atmosphere envelops you!
Qi Moli summoned his inner strength and shouted loudly:
"Stay close to the team and don't get separated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of arrows whizzed through the air!
Qi Moli pulled out the whip and swept the arrow out, but was still hit in the chest by a cold arrow!
Seeing this, Lei Ling's eyes widened and he shouted, "Protect the Marshal!"
However, suddenly, densely packed sharp bamboo stakes appeared on the ground twenty feet behind them!
It’s a bamboo stick array!
This time, the reinforcements were completely blocked out!
At this moment, a group of men in black rushed out from the woods and launched a surprise attack on Qi Moli and others!
Lei Ling wanted to cover for Qi Moli, but was besieged by a dozen men in black!
He was extremely anxious!
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