Chapter 20 Travel

  They must go to Liaodong before and after the Spring Festival! Lu Fuyou was almost certain that Fan Yongdou and others would not dare to stockpile so many goods, and if they could not get rid of them smoothly, it was also possible for the business to go bankrupt.

  More than a year of business downturn has led to the withdrawal of many small businesses in Zhangjiakou, and even Lu's family feels under great pressure. As the business grows bigger, there are also difficulties of its own. People like Lu Fuyuan and Fan Yongdou may not be able to leave Zhangjiakou for their entire lives.

  "The Chahar people may not be willing to cooperate with me, but they will not let such a large merchant team go to Liaodong!" Lu Fuyou waited patiently for the opportunity to retaliate.

  A month ago, a sudden bandit raid on his merchant caravan was undoubtedly Fan Yongdou's conspiracy, and he even linked it to Ge Feng. In the past, Ge Feng's connection with the bandits was his means of attacking dissidents, but unexpectedly, the means that had been applied to others were now being tasted by himself.

  The split of Zhangjiakou business is a lose-lose situation, this collective can only speak with one voice, both sides are mutually restrained, and can only make each other helpless. Fan Yongdou and Lu Fuyou both hope to end the dispute as soon as possible.

  After staying in the collection for half a month, Di Zhe brought new mission back to Xuan Town and returned to the grassland again, returning to the horse bandit's old camp in the mountain valley.

  Only Fan Yongdou and his elder brother knew the secret in the Fan family. Before the Lu family was defeated, if this secret were to be revealed, it would still bring great trouble to the Di family.

  The old camp in the valley is as quiet as a prairie.

  After being captured, the newly absorbed horse thieves felt the superior conditions of the mountain stronghold and became obedient one by one. If this situation were to spread out, there would definitely be many horse thieves who would come over to surrender.

  Xiao Zhiyan arranged hidden sentries around the mountain valley for ten miles, and no matter the rain or snow, they were not allowed to slack off, and violators would be punished.

  Inside the earth house, a simple sheepskin map was placed on the table. To say it's simple, in fact, it's just a few lines that outline the terrain and topography around Zhangjiakou, which is what Xiao Zhiyan drew from memory.

  Xiao Zhiyan pointed to the map and explained in detail: "To block the road from Zhangjiakou to the grassland, we don't need too many people! A few hundred men's troops can't hide on the grassland, it's easy to be noticed by Chahar's patrol soldiers, at that time it will be looking for trouble!"

  Di Zhe stroked his chin, furrowed his brow and said, "This is a matter of great importance, we can't afford to make the slightest mistake!"

  "I know, but I think even if Lu's family wants to send a message to the Chahar people, they won't do it openly, only a few people will come out!"

  "It should be so!"

  Xiao Zhiyan curled up the corners of his mouth and said, "Let me take care of this! I'll select fifty skilled archers from the mountain stronghold to go over, you just rest assured!"

  Di Zhe nodded and said: "If Brother Xiao has such confidence, then I can rest assured."

  This is exactly what Zhai Zhe's mission was - to seal off the passage from Zhangjiakou to the grasslands after the merchant caravan left, and intercept the messenger sent by Lu. Everything that Lu Fuyou wanted to do was within Fan Yongdou's expectations. The Dongtu people who had been relied on before were defeated, and with Ge Feng's betrayal, the Lu family became deaf and blind in the grasslands, and Fan Yongdou had laid out his plans for a long time.

  The day of the merchant team's departure was the biggest secret among the eight cooperative business houses, and only Fan Yongdou and Zhai Tang knew about it. The selected partners and guards from the eight major business houses had been waiting in Xuan Town for nearly ten days, respectively waiting at each business house's branch.

  The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when the Kitchen God ascends to heaven.

  In the late afternoon, wealthy families in Xuan Town would set off firecrackers and hang red lanterns at their doorsteps. After the hour of hai, at midnight, inside the Dashengquanhao store, Ke Zhuanggui gave a single order, and messengers rushed to various places to transmit the command: "Prepare the merchant team!"

  In their dreams, the partners were awakened and put on their cotton clothes, taking up their whips; the guards gathered their swords, guns, bows, and arrows, and rushed to the warehouse of the business. In the quiet night, each family business carefully loaded the goods from the warehouse onto pack horses and carts, covering them with outer layers.

  The town of Xuan's gate outside the pass closes at 3 pm every day and opens at 5 am, no matter what. No one can leave the pass to deliver messages in the middle of the night.

  At 4:00 AM on the twenty-fourth day, the sky was dark and gloomy. The merchant caravan preparing to leave the pass had lined up for nearly a mile at the city gate.

  The soldiers guarding the gate opened it and urged loudly: "Hurry up, hurry up!" They had already received the notification from above and did not check these goods again.

  For the merchants of Zhangjiakou, as long as they didn't offend the big shots in the government, smuggling contraband out of the pass was never a problem. Probably before the imperial court replenished the military salaries for the garrison troops at Datong, this gate would remain forever open.

  The snow on the ground had melted for over a dozen days and what remained was not thick, the road in the early morning was frozen solid, and the merchant caravan walked without any obstruction.

  A night of busyness had no impact on the state of these people, they were all the most capable partners and most experienced guards from each family, Ke was the leader of this merchant group.

  It was past half past four, and it was already late morning when the merchant caravan arrived at Zhangjiakou. Without stopping for a moment, they headed straight to the grasslands.

  By this time, there were not many people left in the alleys, but both sides of the street were still crowded with onlookers, truly a deserted alley surrounded by spectators.

  The messenger of Lu's family couldn't get out of the pass to deliver the message last night, and was blocked by a merchant group again this morning, only one hour ahead of schedule to inform Lu Fuyou.

  Lu Fuyou couldn't be sure if the merchant caravan would rest at the gathering, so he decided to observe for a while. The caravan's speed on the grassland was not fast, and it could not escape the pursuit of cavalry. It wouldn't be too late to report after the caravan entered the grassland. What a big caravan! Lu Fuyou, who was secretly watching from upstairs, was shocked. Without 100% assurance, how dare Fan Yongdou be so bold? If this team were ambushed on the grassland, all eight families would suffer greatly.

  After leaving Zhangjiakou, the merchant team turned east at the junction of the grassland and the mountain forest. Within the sight of the grassland, a dozen or so cavalrymen appeared scattered, who were Eryuzhao's men, carefully monitoring the possible approach of Chahar patrol soldiers from the west. Xiao Zhishan's men were ambushing in the western forest, with clear division of labor between the two.

  To avoid the sight of possible patrolling soldiers, the merchant team chose a prairie path with sparse trees.

  After entering the grassland, the road became even smoother. The grass on the ground would not thaw and become muddy like in the inland areas due to the high temperature at noon. The merchant team continued eastward, only stopping in the late afternoon to find a place with thin snow for the mules to eat and drink.

  This road has been trodden by experienced buddies many times, and it's clear where to rest and eat.

  The excellent horse of Ertai Zhuo attracted the attention of Chahar patrol soldiers, until the caravan turned into the forest, more than a dozen cavalrymen fled northeast and escaped from Chahar people's pursuit.

  Xiao Zhiyan's men and horses have been hiding deep in the forest.

  In the afternoon, the sun moves westward, and the temperature gradually drops, making it somewhat chilly in the woods.

  In the late afternoon, two horsemen appeared on the road from Zhangjiakou to the grassland, walking hastily.

  "Someone's coming!" a scout who was closely watching the road entrance reported to Xiao Zhishen.

  Xiao Zhiyan turned over and mounted his horse, quietly watching the two men pass by from their ambush point about 400 steps away. He urged his warhorse to lead a dozen or so men to encircle them from behind, blocking the two men's path back to Jizong.

  "Where are you two going?"

  Xiao Zhiyan urged his horse on, holding a short bow made of birch wood in his hand.

  "Bandits!" The two men facing him were flustered and frightened.

  Fine weather, good light, the knight on the left looked clearly and suddenly shouted: "I know you, you are the guard of the Di family." The tavern was one of the places where the guards in Jizhong liked to go most. Xiao Zhiyan used to appear there frequently, so it's not strange that he was recognized.

  "Not bad!"

  "Was it your caravan that we robbed last time?" The knight suddenly realized.

  "Brilliant!" As soon as Xiao Zhi's words fell, he urged his horse forward, and a short arrow flew out, hitting the man's chest. Another person turned their horse's head to escape, but it was too late. The dozen or so cavalrymen behind him surged forward, and long arrows flew wildly. He managed to escape only ten or more steps before being shot by multiple arrows and fell under his horse.

  Xiao Zhiyan put away his bow and ordered: "Drag all the corpses into the woods, and clean up all the bloodstains on this side!"

  A moment later, the intersection returned to calmness.

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