Grain looted
The waitresses at the wine shop and the female workers at the winery are all in place, but the green plums will take two more months to ripen. Fu Zhiqiao wants to take advantage of this time to brew more Taibai wine, so that production can start as soon as the green plums ripen.
She relayed the request to Old Man Gao to increase the production of Taibai wine, and then arranged for Defu to purchase the grain.
Before the wine shops had completely moved to the wineries in the countryside, buying grain was very convenient. But now the wineries are forty or fifty miles away from the city, and the price of grain in the city is higher than outside. The long distance and high transportation costs make it very uneconomical to buy large quantities of grain from the city.
The winery is only 30 li from Yunzhong County. You can reach Yunzhong County by going around the Yanshan Mountains from the winery. It is more cost-effective to buy grain in the neighboring Yunzhong County.
The procurement was handled by Defu. He first went to Yunzhong County to find a grain shop and negotiate the price, and then the winery sent a convoy to transport the grain back.
The plan is to purchase 20,000 jin of grain, which will require dozens of grain trucks to make several trips to load it.
Wenshan led a grain transport team of twenty people. They took a shortcut around the Yanshan Mountains and arrived in Yunzhong County after dark. After resting at an inn for the night, the group went to the grain shop early the next morning to buy grain, pay for it, load it onto carts, and return to the winery.
Before setting off, Fu Zhiqiao specifically instructed that the grain transport did not need to be completed in one trip; it was better to make two extra trips to avoid any accidents. The grain truck was too conspicuous; the sacks were full of white rice, and if it attracted attention, it could easily cause trouble.
To avoid attracting attention, the grain transport team disguised itself as a merchant caravan, and Wenjiang even loaded a layer of dried wild vegetables on the top of the grain carts.
Even so, the grain transport vehicle was still discovered.
Halfway up the Yanshan Mountains, a group of people were watching the grain transport team below.
"Wang Qi, have you found out everything? It's definitely a grain transport vehicle?"
The man named Wang Qi was a burly man with a stubble beard. He replied in a rough voice, "That's right. I've been watching them for a long time. This caravan has about twenty people. They buy grain in Yunzhong County and transport it to Qingzhou to buy more. This is their fifth trip."
Six grain transport vehicles, one driver and two guards, the spies who were keeping an eye on them had long since figured out the pattern of the grain transport convoy.
"What's there to be afraid of with just twenty people? We have over a hundred, and besides..." Another thin man looked at the convoy below, a sinister smile spreading across his face, his expression filled with excitement. Grain trucks are great! With grain, we can have enough to eat.
"Second Brother, they've stopped!" shouted one of the bandits on lookout duty.
The young man known as Second Brother was named Cheng Yexuan. He silently stared at the people below, the broadsword behind him reflecting a chilling glint in the sunlight.
Judging by the time, the medicine should be taking effect soon.
"Let's do it."
At Cheng Yexuan's command, rustling sounds began to emanate from the previously silent woods.
The bandits had long lived in the mountains and were very familiar with the terrain. The trees and rocks along the roadside provided them with a lot of convenience by obscuring their view.
Wang Qi gave an attack signal, and a group of rough men dressed in miscellaneous clothes emerged from the dense forest carrying knives and surrounded the grain transport team.
Wenshan reacted quickly, drew his sword and shouted, "Ambush!"
Upon hearing this, the guards quickly drew their long swords and surrounded the carriage.
The bandits had their faces covered, so their features were obscured, but one could sense the burning desire in their eyes as they gazed at the cartloads of grain.
Looking at this group of fierce-looking bandits, Wenshan's face turned extremely ugly.
They had already crossed the steep Yanshan Mountains with their grain. Once they passed this forest, they would be able to enter the official road to Qingzhou. Because they had been safe and sound the previous times, they had relaxed their vigilance and found a relatively spacious open space to rest and give their horses some water.
Unexpectedly, they were still targeted by bandits.
Wenshan clasped his hands in greeting: "Heroes and valiant men, our caravan is merely passing through. If you wish to pay for your journey, that's no problem at all..."
Wang Qi was an impatient man: "What's with all the talk? Who's asking you for travel expenses? Leave the grain, and everyone get out of here!"
The two sides drew their swords and faced each other, immediately creating a tense atmosphere.
Wen Shan turned his gaze to the young man at the head of the group. Cheng Yexuan glanced at Wen Shan indifferently and said nothing.
Silence is an admission.
Wang Qi said impatiently from the side, "What are you dawdling for? As long as you hand over the grain, you can live!"
Wenshan could not agree to this. He gripped his long sword tightly and assumed a fighting stance.
It's unclear who started it, but amidst the flashing swords and the chaotic melee between the two sides, it all came to a standstill.
The paths in the woods were much narrower than the pipes outside, and the guards had to protect the grain while also being wary of bandit attacks, leaving them with very little room to maneuver.
But they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.
Two fists can't fight four heads; the enemy outnumbered them too much, and they were no match for these bandits.
The guard looked at Wenjiang in a panic, "Boss, what should we do?"
Before Wenshan could answer, someone exclaimed, "Ah Shou!"
"Chen Shou!" Wen Shan turned around to dodge the attack. Looking back, he saw a bandit wielding a large knife and slashing at the guard Chen Shou. In the nick of time, Wen Shan leaped up and swept his leg, knocking the bandit to the ground. He himself was then attacked from behind by another bandit.
A sharp pain shot through his back, and Wen Shan's entire body swayed precariously, as if all his strength had been drained. His legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground, realizing that he suddenly had no strength left. He looked up at the other guards, and they were all in the same situation.
Wenshan realized he had been given Chinese medicine. Thinking of the herbal tea he had drunk in the tea stall earlier, his pupils contracted sharply, and he looked coldly at Wang Qi, "You actually poisoned me."
What a despicable tactic! These bandits have figured out their route and know they'll be passing through this area today, so they've set up an ambush to rob them!
Because he was poisoned by the muscle-softening powder, he couldn't muster any strength. Wang Qi easily knocked the knife out of Wen Jiang's hand and placed it against Wen Shan's neck. "Anyone who dares to move will be killed!" he said, pressing his blade down.
A bloody mark quickly appeared on Wenshan's neck.
The guards' expressions changed drastically. Wenshan couldn't be allowed to get into trouble. Everyone in the winery knew that the Wenjiang and Wenshan brothers were the owner's confidants.
Everyone stopped moving. Wang Qi chuckled and said, "Hehe, so what if I drugged you? All's fair in war. How about it? Still want to fight?"
Cheng Yexuan walked slowly over: "If you all don't want to suffer, you'd better surrender."
The bandits had made it clear from the beginning that if people left behind the food, they wouldn't be killed.
The guards were also at their limit. They had all been poisoned with muscle-relaxing powder and were no longer able to fight. No matter how much they resisted, they were like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
The grain carts must be protected if possible, but now they have fallen into the enemy's trap. Blind resistance will only result in the loss of lives and the winery will lose both its people and its wealth.
When the guard team was first formed, Fu Zhiqiao said that the guards should do their best to protect the winery's property. If they were injured or killed, the winery would take full responsibility for their families. If their lives were in danger, he hoped that they would prioritize their own survival.
It was because of this sentence that the guards became so devoted to Fu Zhi Qiao.
Watching helplessly as the grain was stolen, Wenshan's eyes were terrifyingly gloomy. Today, he was doomed!
He was unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing he could do.
The bandits drove away in their grain wagons. Wang Qi and a few of his men cleaned up the mess. Only after watching his brothers drive away did Wang Qi untie the ropes and release them.
All the guards stared at Wang Qi in astonishment. He really wasn't going to kill anyone?
The guards breathed a long sigh of relief, overwhelmed with joy at surviving a disaster. Then they began to worry about how they would explain to their master that they had lost the grain.
Wenshan looked serious and said in a deep voice, "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. Give them the grain, and let's go back and report to our master first."
*
The cut wasn't deep. After a simple bandage to stop the bleeding, Wenshan rushed off to report to Fu Zhiqiao: "Miss, we were ambushed in Yanshan. All two thousand catties of grain were stolen. It was all due to my incompetence. Please punish me, Miss."
Wen Shan knelt down on one knee to admit his mistake; as the captain of the grain transport team, he could not escape responsibility.
The news of the grain robbery reached her immediately. Knowing that he was injured, Fu Zhiqiao quickly had someone help him to a stool to sit down.
"Mountain bandits? There are mountain bandits in Yanshan?" Her attention was completely drawn to the mountain bandits Wenshan was talking about.
Yanshan belongs to Qingzhou, and Qingzhou has always been a safe place with few incidents inside or outside the city. So how did they encounter bandits?
"We had just left Yanshan today when we were surrounded by a group of bandits who were lying in ambush in the woods. There were about seventy or eighty of them, and they were armed with broadswords, axes, and bows and arrows. They poisoned our herbal tea and stole all two thousand catties of our grain." Wenshan explained the situation in one breath.
"Do we have any other casualties?"
A hint of shame flashed across Wen Shan's face: "Three of us were injured. One was hit by an arrow and two were cut by swords, but none of them were seriously injured, so their lives are not in danger." Wen Jiang paused, "However, I believe that these bandits do not intend to kill us."
Hearing that no one had died, Fu Zhi Qiao calmed down a bit. She poured herself a cup of tea and asked, "How do you know?"
“The bandits were numerous, and our guards were no match for them. They had planted people in the teahouse beforehand and drugged our herbal tea, leaving us powerless to fight back.” At this point, Wen Jiang glanced at Fu Zhi Qiao’s face and, seeing that she looked normal, continued, “With their strength, they could have easily silenced us, but they didn’t wipe us out after they succeeded.”
"Yes, you're injured too. You should rest for the next few days. Go back and tell Wenjiang to send someone to comfort the injured and their families, and ask the doctor to treat their injuries properly."
After Wenshan explained the whole story, Fu Zhiqiao told him to go back and rest.
After Wenshan left, Fu Zhiqiao sat alone at her desk, her face gloomy.
Fortunately, the grain was transported in batches, so the loss this time was not too great. However, the theft of the grain was still very infuriating. Two thousand catties of grain is not a small amount.
What are these bandits' intentions? Are they robbing randomly? Or are they targeting me? If they're targeting me, then I'm in trouble.
If this grain transport route falls into the hands of bandits, it will be a huge loss for Fu Zhiqiao.
Once they robbed us, they'd do it again. It's hard to guarantee what these bandits will do next. It seems this route for buying grain will have to be put on hold.
A cold glint flashed in Fu Zhi Qiao's eyes. Do you think my things are so easy to steal? Of course, there's a price to pay for stealing.
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