At the border between the northern grassland and the Central Plains, a group of refugees were sitting by the Shenmu River, with a bonfire rising next to them.
This place is located on the northern border of the Wang Consortium, bordering the grassland, but it is already sparsely populated, and Wang's troops rarely even patrol here.
A group of people gathered around the campfire to keep warm. The clothes they wore were obviously patched and not washed often. They also carried homemade guns in their arms. At first glance, they looked like they had been in the wilderness all year round. Horse bandit.
A middle-aged man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks said: "Brother, do you think they will come? The agreed date has already passed."
"I don't know. "A tough middle-aged man rubbed his hands: "Who knows what's going on on the grassland? I heard it's quite chaotic there, and some small tribes were wiped out as soon as they said they were wiped out."
"Then should we continue to wait? We have been waiting for two days," the middle-aged man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks cursed and said: "If the goods they bring are not as good as they say, our trip will be in vain."< /p>
"Wang Ergou, I asked you, can you calm down for a while? I've heard you nagging here for the past two days. If you don't want to wait, just go back," a man said and went back. There was spit on the ground.
The leader of the horse bandits stopped talking. The reason why he waited here for two days was not because of his integrity or anything else, but because the family was about to be in trouble...
< p> They live on the road from the Central Plains to the northwest, but the trade routes between the northwest and the Central Plains have been cut off for who knows how many years. The horse bandits who were prosperous back then now have to farm their own land every day, which is too cheap.Although I heard that the trade route will be reopened, isn’t it still open? They had encountered several caravans before and wanted to rob them, but now the caravans that can travel to the northwest and the Central Plains are all big merchants, and their weapons are much more sophisticated than them.
Furthermore, he is also a smart man. Who is this person who opens the trade route? But 178 Fortress!
This 178 Fortress is different from the consortium. If they plunder the caravans in the future, the group of killers in the 178 Fortress will most likely send troops to crush them regardless.
The leader of the horse bandit thought, since being a horse bandit is risky, can he take advantage of this trend and do some business?
But what kind of business can I do, and I have no goods...
So, a while ago, a herdsman came from the north on horseback and said he wanted to do business with them. The leader of the horse bandits named Su Lei was immediately tempted.
The herdsman was riding a very tall horse and said that they had a lot of furs from prey on the grassland, as well as beef and mutton that could be traded.
These things are scarce in both the northwest and the Central Plains!
Especially fur, which is one of the favorite things of the nobles in the fortress. Just like game, if you can wear a beautiful fur from the wilderness, you will be the best at the dinner party. The most dazzling existence.
Of course, Su Lei also heard what others said.Yes, I haven't seen it with my own eyes.
But it is true that in Zong's Bastion Market Town, there are grocery store owners who buy furs all year round.
No, those barriers now belong to Fortress 178.
The Shenmu River is very shallow, and now due to the cold weather, it has all frozen into ice.
Why nomadic people always choose to go south in winter may be part of the reason why rivers are passable.
While the horse bandit leader Su Lei was meditating, the faint sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the distance. He looked up and saw a group of people walking from the frozen river. The leader was Is a teenager.
Su Lei stood up: "I am Su Lei, you are late."
The young man sitting on the horse smiled and said: "Good things always come later, The furs we brought were lots and lots of furs, and they were in very good condition. Did you bring what we wanted?”
At this time, Su Lei remembered something very strange. According to his imagination, the things that the northern nomads wanted to trade should be salt or weapons, but the other party was very strange. They actually asked for tea, Chinese cabbage, coriander, onions, ginger, garlic, pepper, Sichuan pepper and other seasonings...
Of course we also need antibiotics and some ironware, but the ironware we need are pots and pans, not knives and swords...
Su Lei said: "Our goods It's just a few kilometers away. I have to confirm your sincerity before I can take you to pick it up."
The dozens of people behind Su Lei looked at the boy silently, as well as the hundreds behind him. They were young and strong men, all riding tall horses, following closely behind the young man.
After hearing what Su Lei said, the young man smiled and said, "Send someone over to inspect the goods."
Su Lei winked at the middle-aged man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and the other person shrank back. Shrunk.
On the contrary, the man who had scolded the middle-aged man before took the initiative to walk towards the herdsmen.
The young man looked at the man and praised: "You are quite courageous. What is your name?"
Su Lei suddenly felt that this young man had the confidence of a superior, and the man also had the confidence of a superior. He didn't mind and replied in a low voice: "Cui Qiang!"
As he said that, the man had already walked among the herdsmen. He was surprised to see that all these people were carrying piles of food on their backs. fur.
Cui Qiang stretched out his hand to check. The furs were so well preserved that even the best hunter in the Central Plains couldn't do it. There were no gun holes, only two small holes like tooth marks, as if they had been dug. It's like being bitten to death by a wolf.
If the furs here are sold to the northwest or the Central Plains, you will make a fortune.
It is best to sell it to the Central Plains, where the people are richer!
Cui Qiang checked for half an hour before finally ending. He turned back and shouted to Su Lei: "No problem."
Su Lei took a deep breath and said to the boy: "Follow me. Let me come, I will take you to the place where the goods are stored, vegetables, ironware, medicines, we have everything. ”
The young man laughed happily: “When I saw that you didn’t have any goods around you, I thought you were going to be a wolf with nothing. Since you sincerely want to trade with our tribe, then what do you do?” A very correct decision. ”
As he spoke, Su Lei discovered that the boy on the other side didn’t seem to be afraid of their local guns, but these herdsmen obviously didn’t carry any thermal weapons. Why are they so confident?
< p>You know, no matter how crude a gun is, it is still a gun.Su Lei asked doubtfully while leading the way: "Why don't you buy weapons or something? Why buy so many daily necessities?
The young man smiled and said, "It sounds like if I want a weapon, you can get it for me." ”
The words were sarcastic, but Su Lei really couldn’t refute it. If he could get better weapons, they wouldn’t have to run around with guns.
p>The young man glanced at Su Lei and smiled: "Don't mind, I'm just stating some facts. After this transaction is completed, you will gradually become rich. By then, it will not be too late for us to trade other commodities." . ”
Su Lei was stunned for a moment, and he realized that this young man actually wanted to cooperate for a long time in the future.
The reason why the other party didn’t buy a gun now was because the other party saw clearly: Su Lei and the others You can’t get it either.
But just because you can’t get it now, doesn’t mean you won’t get it in the future.