Once the business grows bigger, the small city of Yuzhou will not be enough.
Yaowang Valley monopolized the medicinal materials business from Yuzhou to the capital, so other drug dealers found other ways and went to other cities to do business.
Mu Lingxiao heard from someone that if he went north from Yuzhou City, across Mobei and to Beiqiang, they had precious medicinal herbs that he could bring back and sell for a good price. He could also sell the silk from Yuzhou City over there, exchange goods for other goods, and make a profit from the difference.
Mu Lingxiao then went with two or three friends and hired an escort company to travel to Mobei.
The first time I went there was last year. We headed north in early spring and came back in autumn. The northern desert is too cold and people from the south are not used to it.
These people got medicinal herbs, silk, tea, ceramics, etc. and transported them to the Northern Qiang Kingdom in a dozen horse-drawn carriages. They were indeed the things they liked, so they exchanged them for ginseng, deer antlers, and other uncommon and precious medicinal herbs.
As soon as he returned to Yuzhou City, he made a fortune, more than tripling his money.
Therefore, this year, more people invested with them. Mu Lingxiao led a caravan of more than 200 people with 20 to 30 taels of silver, heading north to Beiqiang.
This time, a lot of good medicinal materials were exchanged, including two thousand-year-old ginsengs, two iceberg snow lotuses, deer antlers, animal fur, and so on.
I thought I could make another fortune this time when I returned to Yuzhou City.
Who would have thought that when they were only two or three days away from the city gate, they were robbed by a group of bandits at night.
Not only did they rob their goods, but they also killed their people. Mu Lingxiao was protected by the people from the escort agency and was able to barely escape.
But all his belongings were gone, he couldn't be found, his pass was lost on the way, and the soldiers guarding the city gate would not let him in no matter what.
Mu Lingxiao had been hungry for two days. He was so angry that he started making a big fuss at the city gate.
"Luckily I met Miss Liu, otherwise I would have died outside the city and would not have been able to return."
Xu Dong was also drinking with them. He stroked his beard and said in surprise, "It shouldn't be like this. We in Yaowang Valley have been operating on this road for many years. We have heard that there are bandits, but the reputation of General Zhenbei has made them dare not go out at all."
"When you left the city, did you not ask the Zhenbei Army to escort you?"
General Zhenbei has been guarding Mobei for so many years, and there is an unwritten rule.
All caravans doing business between the Great Zhou and the Northern Qiang Kingdom had to ask the Zhenbei Army for escort. A round trip took three to five days, with a team of about twenty people, and the cost was about ten taels per person.
In fact, General Zhenbei just wanted his people to make some extra money.
After all, the Mobei Army has been guarding the north for so many years, and the funds allocated by the court are limited. They have a large number of people and they also need to eat. Apart from reclaiming wasteland and farming in the local area, plus the funds allocated by the court, they basically have no other income.
Later, General Zhenbei saw more and more merchants coming and going, so he set his sights on them.
At first, General Zhenbei did not accept any money because the situation between Mobei City and Beiqiang was peaceful and there were no bandits.
Later, for some unknown reason, a group of roaming bandits appeared, and it was not known whether they were from the Northern Qiang or the Great Zhou, and they would rob passing merchants from time to time.
Not only did they rob the caravans of the Great Zhou, but they also robbed the Northern Qiang Kingdom. To the north of the Northern Qiang was the Persian Kingdom, and their caravans coming to the Great Zhou were also robbed.
General Zhenbei led his men to patrol the open space between the two countries, but did not see who these bandits were.
Later, General Zhenbei's men came up with an idea that as long as they sent their soldiers to escort them, nothing would go wrong.
Sure enough, when the bandits saw the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army appear, fewer merchants were robbed.
Sometimes, even if they attacked, General Zhenbei's men were not cowards. They quickly drove them back and captured one or two leaders.
Later I learned that some of these roaming bandits were from the Northern Qiang, and some were from the Northern Liang further east. When their people made mistakes, they would be exiled to the west.
There are mostly deserts in the west, but you can reach Beiqiang by crossing the desert, and live in Beiqiang. Of course, some people don't want to go to Beiqiang, and want to occupy the land and survive in this open space, which is not impossible.
They raised horses, grazed livestock, traded with merchants from Northern Qiang and Da Zhou, and occasionally robbed.
But they also knew that the soldiers under General Zhenbei were very powerful, and when they saw their flags, they didn't have the courage to rob them anymore.
So over the years, General Zhenbei has relied on this job to train and support his subordinates.
However, for some unknown reason, the bandits who had never appeared in previous years actually ignored the Zhenbei Army this time.
Hearing Xu Dong's question, Mu Lingxiao gritted his teeth in anger.
"Of course we did. We had a lot of goods this time, so we hired thirty soldiers and spent three hundred taels of silver."
No matter how much you spend, you can earn it back.
However, these soldiers were also injured and killed by the bandits.
Mu Lingxiao closed his eyes, unwilling to recall what frightened him.
"We crossed the Mohe River in the evening and set up camp by the river. The goods were in the middle and we surrounded them with tents. Our people were at the innermost, the escort agency people were on the outer layer, and the Zhenbei Army was on the outermost."
The Mohe River flows all the way northward and is the mother river of the Northern Qiang. The Northern Qiang Kingdom developed well relying on the river, farming, raising cattle and horses, and even going up the mountain to hunt.
Logically speaking, there should be no problem with such a formation. The flag of the Zhenbei Army is flying outside, and the bandits can see it from afar.
Unless there are a lot of bandits.
"We had been walking for many days and were exhausted. We were sleeping soundly when we heard some shouting and fighting. When I came out of the tent, I saw the bandits approaching us and several tents were burned down."
At this moment, Mu Lingxiao didn't care about these goods. He was lucky enough to be able to run away.
So they all ran south together, while the Zhenbei Army and the Escort Agency's people fought desperately behind them.
Mu Lingxiao continued to recall: "They fought until dawn. We found a hillside to hide. We saw that there were thousands of bandits. Many people died. They didn't chase us, but took our goods away."
Lu Yunzheng's eyes lit up: "Did you see where they went?"
Mu Lingxiao nodded: "Go west."
There is a desert on the east side, which is not suitable for living. There are mountains on the west side... which is even more unsuitable for living. No one knows. After all, there is heavy snow all year round on the mountains in the west, and it is said that there are monsters there. No one would really want to live there.
Coincidentally, Lu Yunzheng arranged for Mu Lingxiao to stay first, and less than a day later, Xu Dong also received news from Yaowang Valley.
"Oh, these bandits are too rampant. Our caravan was also robbed."
General Zhenbei was originally recuperating from his injuries. He also heard the news that his men were injured and was so angry that his head was buzzing.
"What? There are actually thousands of bandits. I really give them face. I haven't been out on patrol for the past six months, but they have grown so fast."
"Come here, take my armor. I want to lead the troops to encircle and suppress these daring bandits."
General Zhenbei had a deputy general under him named Du Liang, who suddenly stood up and said, "General, let your subordinates handle such trivial matters."
The next day, Du Liang led three thousand soldiers and left Mobei City.