Compared with the lively and prosperous east and south sides, Bianjing West City, which is further away from the inner city, appears to be much deserted, at least judging from the flow of people, and there are far fewer shops here than those two sides. But even so, Xicheng, especially the area near Kaiyuanmen, is still an area that merchants of all sizes attach great importance to. Because there are many carriage shops and warehouses here, it has become a distribution center for bulk goods.
As one of the top large trading houses in Tokyo, Gu's Trading Company naturally has its own warehouse and carriage shop here. The two are connected and cover an area of several acres. They are much more prestigious than other businesses.
At this time, in front of the warehouse where the signboard of Gu's Trading Company was hung, there were more than twenty mule carts filled with goods waiting to be shipped. Only the shopkeeper in charge of the affairs here was still looking forward eagerly, waiting for the final order to be delivered.
With the frequency of Gu's business doing business all over the world, a batch of goods will be shipped almost every three to five days, ranging from more than ten cars to hundreds of cars. However, no matter how many goods are to be shipped, they must be shipped before the current owner is in charge. The trip can only take place after the approval of Gu Hui, the young master who has important matters in the family, and he issues the order. But things were a little strange today. It was almost an hour late. It was almost dark, and no one came to deliver the order. Could something go wrong
Just when the shopkeeper was a little hesitant and wanted to send someone to ask a few more questions, a man with a sinister face came over impatiently: "Shopkeeper, it's not a problem to delay it like this. If things are delayed for a long time, None of us can afford this responsibility, so let’s get the convoy off as soon as possible.”
"This... Boss Li, you don't know something. My business has always had rules. You can't leave without the Lord's order..." Before the shopkeeper could finish his words, Boss Li glared and half-threateningly said: "This Your Gu's Trading Company promised me to send the stuff out of the city today. Look what time it is now. If it's really delayed, can you afford it? It's just a greeting. What can it do? Hurry up. Let’s set off!”
The other party had a tough attitude, and he was a customer who was extremely valued by his young master. The shopkeeper immediately felt even more embarrassed. At this time, a young man next to him also said: "Thank you, shopkeeper, you should do as the guest wants. If something happens, I will be responsible. We have arranged it with the city gate early in the morning. If If you don’t leave the city today, the previous expenses will be in vain.”
This young man is also a child of the Gu family. Although he does not have as much power in the family's business as Gu Hui, he is really in charge of the warehouse and horse racing business here. As soon as he spoke at this moment, even an old man like Shopkeeper Xie could only obey the order: "Okay, let's set off now!" After saying that, he turned around and shouted, and at the same time took the long riding whip beside him and shook it in the air. It shook and made three crisp snaps.
As the sound of the whip symbolizing departure was completed, the cartwheelers who had been prepared in advance also stepped forward, shouting and shouting, and thus drove the strong mules pulling the cart full of goods out of the warehouse, along the The bluestone road that had been paved long ago exited the alley, then entered the wider long street imperial road, and walked slowly towards Kaiyuanmen not far away.
In just one meal, the convoy arrived in front of the city gate. It was almost time to close the city gate, which caused people and vehicles entering and exiting the city gate to react.
It was a bit more, but after seeing the Gu Family Trading Company banner in front of the motorcade, the guard over there still smiled and came forward to say hello, and quickly cleared a passage for them.
In order to encourage commerce, the Song Dynasty collected extremely low taxes on the entrance and exit of the city gates. As a result, the guards had even less gray income, and their lives were miserable. Only when you encounter someone as wealthy as the Gu Family Trading Company, will you take care of things in advance and give them enough benefits. For such a God of Wealth, these guards naturally have to cooperate well. After all, this is a long-term business.
Seeing this, the boss Li who was following the convoy also showed a satisfied smile, so he had to cooperate with such a large commercial bank. Not only would this be safe and secure, but the work efficiency would also be much higher than ordinary ones, and there would be no trace of the company. The guards made any random checks, which was a treatment that other caravans did not have at all.
The team moved forward slowly and soon passed through the long city gate. It seemed that even the last few mule carts were about to leave Tokyo. But at this moment, the sound of galloping horses came from behind, followed by several sharp shouts: "On the order of General Sun, the commander in front of the palace, we have detained the Gu Family Trading Company's convoy in front. Don't let them leave!" As they shouted, dozens of people and horses accelerated even faster, and rushed to the city gate in the blink of an eye.
This frightened the people around the caravan. Everyone screamed and ran to the side. Amidst the crashing sound, many burdens were overturned, and the goods such as firewood, vegetables, etc. fell to the ground. The guards The pawn was even more helpless and froze on the spot.
"What are you still doing? Get out!" Boss Li's expression changed and he quickly urged him. But those carriage-bearers were all good people working in the Gu family business. How could they have the courage to listen to the shouts from behind? Instead of running away, they tightened the reins and stopped the mules.
During this period, these men and horses quickly passed through the city gate and appeared behind them. Sun Tu, who was in the lead, shouted sternly: "Everyone is squatting aside with their hands on their heads. Anyone who dares to move without permission will be shot to death!" This sentence scared these handlebars out of their wits, and they immediately obeyed and squatted aside. The only mules on the scene were squeaking uneasily, kicking on the ground, and raising a lot of dust.
Boss Li's heart sank to the bottom. Who would have thought that trouble would arise even after he left Tokyo? But he was determined in the end and remained calm even at this moment. He quickly turned around, clasped his fists and smiled: "Do you have any advice for me? We are all businessmen. I don't know which law we have violated..."
"Have you violated the law? You must know in your heart what these are?" Sun Tu actually didn't know what he was thinking. He found some clues in Nanshi and hurried here. After he hurried here, he learned that a group of convoys had just arrived. Anxious to leave the city, he quickly chased after them - he didn't even know what was in these big cars or whether there were any prohibited items.
However, judging from Gu Hui's reaction and the fact that he asked someone to temporarily store things back in the warehouse when he came here, there must be something fishy about this matter, and you can take the risk to investigate.
If it were a more experienced official, he would not dare to do such nonsense even if he found more clues. Gu's Trading Firm in Beijing
The power is on the one hand, but more importantly, the impact of such an approach is too great. One bad move will bring endless troubles to oneself. As for officials, many times they just want to make no mistakes, and ten times of merit are not worth one mistake.
But Sun Tu was not someone whose hands were bound by the unspoken rules of officialdom. His current situation did not allow him to plan slowly. Now that he had discovered something, he had to get to the bottom of it. So he immediately chased after him and stopped the convoy so decisively. Then, regardless of the strange looks from countless people inside and outside the city gate, he waved his hand and ordered: "Search for me, search carefully, don't leave anything in the car." Let it go.”
He had said so, and the people below naturally did not dare to neglect. After agreeing, they rushed forward quickly, untying the ropes, and moving the goods when they came down. They were immediately busy.
"You... what do you mean? My Gu family business has always been run in a responsible manner. This time, I have already asked the government to inspect it and paid the full business tax. How can you do this!" Boss Li became even more flustered when he saw it. , yelled loudly, and stepped forward to stop the theory.
His performance became even more suspicious in the eyes of Sun Tu. With just one look, someone stopped him. Sun Tu just sneered and said: "You don't have to say whether there is anything wrong with the goods. I've checked it." Only then did I know.”
At this time, another group of people hurried over, and the leader was a young censor who was patrolling the city. As soon as he saw this, his expression darkened and he yelled loudly: "Who are you, how dare you act like this in front of the city gate and block the trade routes? Forbidden Army, when were you allowed to search merchants' goods?"
Indeed, the Forbidden Army has never had such authority, and Sun Tu and the others were all wearing military uniforms, so they were naturally questioned by this person. Sun Tu turned around when he heard the sound, glanced at the visitor and said, "This censor has come at just the right time. I, Sun Tu, came here to inquire just because I found out that the Gu family firm may have left Tokyo with important things."
"Absurd! The Gu family business has always been in business, and it is well-known by everyone. How can such a thing happen? Come here, drag them away quickly. I will definitely participate in your misbehavior and disrupt our business in the Song Dynasty!" He didn't believe Sun Tu's explanation at all, so he immediately shouted with a fierce look on his face. And as soon as he waved his hand, the soldiers from Yushitai who were patrolling the city with him quickly surrounded them and wanted to take action against Sun Tu and others.
In the eyes of these Yushitai people, the Forbidden Army, especially the Forbidden Army that made mistakes, is really nothing. Not to mention these soldiers, even if the command of the imperial army is in front of their superiors, they can only stay humble and restrain their hands, so they are so justified in taking people.
Then, with a few bangs and muffled groans, people fell to the ground. These soldiers are just like ordinary soldiers. How can they be the opponents of Shandong Army veterans who have fought hundreds of battles? Sun Tu had just asked them to let go and do whatever they wanted. When these people saw that the other party was so bold, they naturally wanted to show them how powerful they were.
"I've rebelled against you, and dared to hurt my people on the censor's desk!" The censor suddenly became furious, rolled up his sleeves, and waited for himself to come forward.
At this moment, in front of a car in front, a soldier exclaimed: "What is this..." As soon as the car came to the front, it attracted many eyes!