Two days later, in the morning, at the border market of Yingwei County...
At this moment, Yingwei County and its border market are even more lively. It has become a transit station for countless people to enter the Gulang grassland. The wool and various grassland specialty medicinal materials transported from the Gulang grassland are all distributed here. At the same time, for those who want to enter the Gulang grassland, this is also a forward station where they can replenish a lot of supplies, inquire about various information, and even hire manpower.
As the benefits of the Gongtian grassland were gradually realized, more and more people came to the Gulang grassland to set up ranches and do some big work. The border market of the entire Yingwei County has doubled in size this year, but the merchants and all kinds of people from the six northwestern states, as well as those wanderers who were ready to call it a day, still crowded this border market.
Before, there were basically no things produced in the territory of the Black Jie tribe in this area, but now, some special products that could only be seen in the southwest of Qiyun Mountain before, some precious rubies and sapphires, rare medicinal materials and exotic precious metals, as well as things from several special exotic beasts, can be seen here.
"Brother Mao, Brother Mao, come and have a look. These earth dragon bones are authentic, good stuff. You can tell at a glance that they are more than fifty years old..." In the bustling Bianji, Xu Meng and Mao Taishun, who used to be in a team with Yan Liqiang, were strolling in the medicine market in Bianji. When Xu Meng saw those white earth dragon bones displayed on a medicine stall in Bianji, he couldn't help but walked over, then shouted and asked Mao Taishun to come and have a look.
Mao Taishun pushed through the crowd and came to the medicine stall. He looked at the dragon bones on the stall and even picked one up to smell it. "Not bad, not bad. It's really rare to see dragon bones of such good quality. Boss, where did you get this stuff from..."
“These dragon bones were brought by several soldiers of the Dragon Teeth Army from the territory of the Black Jie people. I bought them at a high price. They are absolutely authentic. You won’t find better dragon bones than these in the entire Han Empire. If you want them, I can sell them at a lower price. Ten silver coins for one or two ounces of dragon bones…” said the owner of the medicine stall with a smile.
As more and more gold and silver coins of Qiyun County were issued, the gold and silver coins were of full purity, exquisite style, no fear of counterfeiting, and very convenient to carry and trade. Now in the transactions here, all the vendors have begun to like to use the gold and silver coins issued by Qiyun County to price. If they use silver or gold to trade, of course it is okay, but the price of gold and silver also depends on the purity. When trading, the price is also a few points higher than that of gold and silver coins, which is called loss. Now there are people in the market who are doing the business of exchanging gold and silver for gold and silver coins, which is very popular.
Mao Taishun and Xu Meng chatted with the owner in front of the medicine stall for a few words, but left without buying anything. The owner of the medicine stall didn't mind, because that's how business is done, not everyone who asks will buy.
"Brother Xu, you are not a pharmacist, but you just like to look at these things all day long. Although we are rich now, we can't mess around..." After Mao Taishun and Xu Meng left the medicine stall, Mao Taishun talked to Xu Meng as they walked, "We came here this time to see if there are any suitable people. It is estimated that our merit land may be allocated next month. If we want to build a ranch, we can recruit people now and make some preparations..."
"Hehehe, I just can't help but want to take a look. I wanted to be a pharmacist before, but I didn't have the conditions and I couldn't meet a good master, so I was delayed..." Xu Meng grabbed his head and grinned.
Mao Taishun laughed and patted Xu Meng on the shoulder. "It doesn't matter. You can't become a pharmacist. When you have a son in the future, if you are willing to spend money, find a master for him and let your son be a pharmacist!"
"I think so too. When our ranch is built this year and we can make money safely next year, I will find a wife and have a baby. I will also live a stable life of making money by lying down for a few days and be a local rich man for a few days..." Xu Meng's eyes were full of longing for the future, and then he complained, "Damn it, the labor here is too expensive. If it were in the past when we couldn't eat, I would have been unable to resist working as a porter to make money. I think we should wait for Jia Lang to come back and go to places outside Ganzhou. I heard that recruiting refugees and displaced people from the northwest outside Ganzhou is much cheaper than here, even if the round-trip travel expenses are included. Those refugees and displaced people are satisfied as long as they have food to eat and a place to stay..."
"Of course I know this. Jia Lang is going to pick up his father, and it will probably take more than a month for him to come back. Let's see if we can find some loopholes here and find one or two people who know how to raise sheep and graze. We can stabilize the people first, and after we recruit other people, we can let him be a manager and lead the people to work..."
"Well, Brother Mao, you are really thoughtful..."
"Hahaha, running a ranch requires careful planning. It's just like when we chopped off the heads of the Shatu people before. We need to have a plan..."
The order to kill the Hu people has been stopped. Mao Taishun and Xu Meng, several rangers who had teamed up to make a fortune, have now gone their separate ways. Zuo Yuquan and Zhao Bing cashed in and sold their meritorious fields and grasslands and left with a large sum of silver, while Mao Taishun, Xu Meng and Jia Lang stayed and planned to live a few years of stable life as local landlords here. Mao Taishun said that he was too old and wanted to live a stable life for a few days. Jia Lang wanted to carry on the family line and bring honor to his ancestors. Xu Meng had not made up his mind whether to settle down before, but after this injury, he has changed a little. He plans to settle down for a while and run a ranch on the Gulang grassland with Mao Taishun and Jia Lang. These days, Xu Meng and Mao Taishun live in Yingwei County and come here to hang out whenever they have time, which is quite fun.
It was a coincidence today that when the two of them had been wandering around the market for half an hour and had just arrived at the market where the villagers from Yulong Mountain sold mountain products, as soon as they arrived here, Mao Taishun saw a large group of people gathered in a corner of the market, making a huge noise, as if there was something strange. Mao Taishun also vaguely heard someone in the circle asking where this thing came from. He and Xu Meng exchanged a glance, and then the two squeezed over together.
Xu Meng's strength was just like that of a bulldozer. While they were saying "make way", Xu Meng was in front and Mao Taishun was behind, and the two of them had already squeezed through the heavy crowd and came inside the circle.
At the innermost of the circle, there was a mountain villager with a simple and honest face, dark skin, and who looked to be only in his twenties. He was surrounded by a group of people. The people around him were staring at the mountain villager and talking at the same time. The mountain villager had something in his hand, but had hidden it behind his back, and was looking at the people around him with vigilant eyes.
"Please take it out and show it to us. We didn't see it clearly just now..."
"Yes, yes, take it out and have a look..."
"Yes, take it out and have a look. If it's suitable, I'll buy it immediately..."
"Uncle, may I ask, what are these people gathered here looking to buy?" Mao Taishun turned his eyes and saw an old man next to him who seemed easy to talk to, so he took the initiative to ask.
"I don't know what it is either. Just now this young man came here with a few broken pieces of jade in his hands. There were some words and human images on the jade pieces. The young man said he found them in a cave in Yulong Mountain. He didn't know what they were and he couldn't read, so he brought them here to sell to see how much he could get. Then people here suddenly gathered around him..."
Jade pieces, words, human figures...
Hearing these three words, Mao Taishun's heart shuddered. He had heard before that some very precious secret techniques and martial arts were not printed on paper but engraved on jade pieces and jade slips to avoid damage.
Amid the urging of the crowd, the honest-looking mountain man seemed a little embarrassed, and took out the thing he was holding, and quickly showed it to everyone. This time, Mao Taishun saw clearly that it was indeed a broken piece of jade, half the size of a palm. There were several human figures and words on the jade. Mao Taishun had a sharp eye, and even in a split second, he could see clearly a line of words on the broken piece of jade - "Any high position and double position is normal, and the side door low position and small position is strange. Low and high, side and normal..."
Of course, not only Mao Taishun saw it clearly, but others also saw it clearly.
At this moment, Mao Taishun's whole body shuddered. The text was clearly a martial arts secret manual...
Before Mao Taishun could speak, a big man in tight clothes next to the mountain man grabbed the mountain man's hand and said, "Come on, little brother, I want all your jade pieces. Here, here are the twenty silver coins you wanted, just sell them to me..."
"What do you mean you want it? Do you know whether it's first come first served? We were the first to come here!" Someone nearby immediately became unhappy and took out money. "Here, little brother, here are thirty silver coins. I want them..."
"What do you mean by first come first served? Is it true that selling things is also based on reservations? Naturally, whoever offers the highest price gets the item. I'll offer fifty silver coins..."
Several people started arguing nearby, refusing to give in. Their voices grew louder and their faces redder. More and more people gathered to watch the fun, and even started pushing and shoving. Finally, they attracted the attention of the patrol officers who were patrolling the border market. Several patrol officers separated the crowd and came inside. Without further ado, they took the mountain man who was selling things and the people who were arguing and refusing to give in to each other to the Criminal Investigation Office...
The Criminal Investigation Office of Yingwei County is right next to Bianji, not far away, in order to manage the public security of Bianji nearby. Many people who came to watch the fun followed the office to watch.
Arriving at the government office, the mountain villager who had just sold the jade pieces was probably frightened. He did not expect that he would cause such a big trouble. When he arrived here, he was questioned by the criminal arresting officer in the government office. He immediately took out the broken jade pieces he had on him in public and explained their origins. These things were all found in a cave in Yulong Mountain. He did not know what they were, so he wanted to sell them in the border market, but he did not expect that it would cause a dispute...
In the court, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the words and human figures on the jade pieces could now be seen more clearly, which immediately caused a sensation in the court.
The official in the Criminal Investigation Office looked at the jade pieces and immediately bought them from the mountain man with 100 silver coins. He left the jade pieces in the Criminal Investigation Office and immediately sent someone to report to his superiors...
In the afternoon, a piece of news quickly spread throughout Yingwei County and Bianji. Someone found a mysterious cave in Yulong Mountain and picked up a precious martial arts secret book from the cave. However, the jade pieces that were originally placed in the Criminal Investigation Office had disappeared when the magistrate of Yingwei County and his men came to check...
Two days later, an even more sensational news spread throughout Qiyun County and Ganzhou. The secluded cave where Yuan Tianfeng, the world-famous Martial Emperor hundreds of years ago, practiced martial arts was discovered in Yulong Mountain. Some people have found some jade slips and jade pieces left by Yuan Tianfeng in the mountain.
Three days later, more than 10,000 Longya troops stationed at Baishi Pass received an order to pack up and march into Yulong Mountain with murderous intent, surrounding several important roads and an area in Yulong Mountain.
The notice issued by the Qiyun Guard Office at this time said that the remnants of the seven Shatu tribes were hiding in Yulong Mountain and wanted to do something bad, so the garrison of Baishi Pass was ordered to mobilize and prepare to encircle and suppress the remnants of the seven Shatu tribes. As for the martial arts secrets and the cave where the martial arts emperor Yuan Tianfeng practiced in seclusion, they were completely fictitious...
…
ps: I recommend a new book, the name is a bit similar to the one by Lao Hu, it’s a history book, "Overlord of the Great Wei"!
(End of this chapter)