“Good, Chengdu, put this away. Dian Zhuangshi, go and settle your family.”
Dian Wei took the three gold ingots that Zhao Hao threw to him, gave Zhao Hao a grateful look, and then tossed the tiger he was carrying on his shoulder to Yuwen Chengdu.
"Waiter, tell Old Liu that he's been taken care of all these years thanks to him."
One piece of gold is to express my gratitude for his care; the other two pieces are for my family to take care of while I am away, and to look after them in their spare time.
"Well, that's good, it saves time. Waiter, tell the shopkeeper that Dian Zhuangshi is going to Luoyang with my Zhao family from Jinyang to do business. If he doesn't take good care of Dian Zhuangshi's family, let him deal with it himself."
"Ah... uh, young master, rest assured, no matter what, I will definitely deliver the message!"
...
The tiger was indeed a white-browed tiger with piercing eyes, and its body was nearly four meters long, showing that it was no ordinary tiger.
Zhao Hao naturally took it to the workshop inside the space to perfectly divide the tiger skin and meat, preserving the good condition of the animal skin so that he could sell it for a good price.
Dian Wei didn't care how Zhao Hao had completely dissected the white-skinned tiger. Anyway, the carriage was big enough, and Zhao Hao must have made his own arrangements. He only managed to catch the tiger on the last day to hunt it. He had already used up 90% of his strength to kill it and travel, and now he just wanted to get a good night's sleep.
Zhao Hao could only give the spacious carriage to Dian Wei, while he and Yuwen Chengdu enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the falling petals...
"Stop right there! What are you doing here? Where are you from?"
Before long, Zhao Hao's carriage headed towards the bustling Hulao Pass.
Now that there is no more fighting near the capital, and everyone knows that Dong Zhuo and Zhao Hao have formed a powerful alliance, people have resumed their previous livelihoods, selling goods in Luoyang City to earn money and food.
"My lords, this is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."
Zhao Hao secretly slipped three strings of cash to the gatekeeper and continued speaking.
"We are merchants from Ji Province, under the command of Governor Han. My surname is Zhao, and these two are my guards."
The Xiliang soldiers initially thought they had found another sucker, but upon hearing that he was from Jizhou, they immediately perked up and even tried to stuff the money back into Zhao Hao's hand.
"You...don't look like business people! We need to check what's in the car!"
Zhao Hao chuckled, but showed no sign of displeasure, and took the initiative to open the curtain at the back of the carriage for the official.
"General, please look. This is a top-quality tiger skin, this is a century-old ginseng from Ji Province, and these are some rare items that the Governor of Ji Province has plundered..."
At this point, Zhao Hao pretended to look around before whispering in the soldier's ear.
"Young General, as you know, our governor offended the governor of Bingzhou and Grand Tutor Dong last time. Now, the governor of Bingzhou wants to take revenge on my governor, Han. Therefore, Governor Han specially ordered me to bring these gifts to visit the Grand Tutor under the guise of doing business."
But how could the Grand Tutor easily grant me a meeting with someone from outside the Great Wall? However, I've heard that the Grand Tutor has a son-in-law named Li Ru, who is also the military advisor of the Western Liang army. He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and has keen insight; he will surely understand my sincere intention to make friends.
So, young general, after you've inspected and cleared us, could you please arrange for one of your brothers to lead the way to visit Military Advisor Li Ru? Don't worry, it won't be difficult for the brothers. If it goes well, we'll have to thank you profusely, young general!
The soldier had never been praised as a general like this before, and he immediately became a little conceited.
Moreover, what this guy said didn't seem to be a lie. There were only three of them in the group, so even if they were put into the city, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Furthermore, such sensible and kind-hearted people will definitely be rewarded with a lot of money if you do good deeds for them!
"Hey, you're on the right track, buddy. I'm Niu Dali, a platoon leader under General Xu Rong. Brother Zhao, just wait a moment, I'll go make the arrangements!"
"Oh, General, I'll remember that 'brother' you called me. From now on, you'll be my dearest friend and brother! If Military Advisor Li agrees to the alliance between our two families, Brother Niu will definitely reap the rewards!"
"Alright! But I have a piece of advice for you, brother: once you enter the city, absolutely do not head north. Otherwise, if anything unexpected happens, don't blame me for not warning you."
Soon, Niu Dali arranged for a child soldier to lead Zhao Hao and the other two to Li Ru's residence.
"Niu Dali!"
"Uh... General Xu!"
Xu Rong was not originally a direct descendant of the Xiliang Army, but Dong Zhuo's attention, appreciation and promotion made him subconsciously lean towards the Xiliang Army and feel that he was one of its members.
"Hmm, where did one person go? Never mind, have you found anyone suspicious?"
"Reporting to the general, the boy needed to relieve himself and went to the restroom. Everything is fine today; we didn't find anything suspicious, just some kind-hearted civilians!"
"Hmm, not bad! Keep up the good work. The Grand Tutor has entrusted us with the important task of defending Hulao Pass, so we cannot slack off, understand?"
"Rest assured, General, I will absolutely not let any suspicious person go unpunished!"
...
After leaving Hulao Pass, they soon arrived at the city of Luoyang.
With the soldiers acting as guides and Zhao Hao's financial resources, the guards at the city gate naturally didn't obstruct them much.
Although Zhao Hao had appeared at Hulao Pass, very few people recognized him.
Therefore, Zhao Hao walked openly on the familiar streets of Luoyang, yet few people recognized him.
"Young master, this is Lord Li Ru's residence."
Zhao Hao nodded to the child soldier, and he also chatted with the man for a while along the way.
Apart from the combat soldiers and their attendants, many of these so-called "Xiliang soldiers" were just conscripted men temporarily recruited to serve as auxiliary troops and county soldiers.
This child soldier was only 15 years old and was a refugee from Anding County. If it weren't for Xu Rong, who was organizing a new army in Anding at the time, he probably would have starved to death.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
