The city walls of Xizhou are busy every day.

Many people were moved into the city from the six counties under the jurisdiction, and the population was large, but the work to make ends meet was too little, so Li Su ordered each household to send one or two middle-aged men as a husband, and every day went up to the city tower to repair the city wall, pick up earth and stones, carry the ordnance to defend the city, etc., manage two dry meals, and also pay three cents, so as to stabilize the hearts of the people in the city.

There are more and more caravans from Shazhou, transporting grain and grass, pig iron and masonry, this is another big expense, I didn't know if I was not in power before, now it seems that maintaining the stability of a city, and even making it more prosperous, its difficulties are really comparable to ascending to the sky, no wonder Cao Yu can't wait to hand over the power, the weakness of the heart and being caught by others is on the one hand, and on the other hand, I am afraid that it is also because the management of the city is too cumbersome and difficult.

Li Su felt that his head hurt very much now, and the pain was about to explode.

The caravan brought a lot of things, which is a good thing for Xizhou, but when things are shipped, what about the money? What to pay the merchant?

In the past, there was a big man who helped him to support it, after all, it was only a small amount to help him, a private house in the city, no matter how expensive it was, it was not expensive, but this time it was to repair the city wall, build weapons, and thousands of bricks and stones and pig iron were transported in, which meant that thousands of silver dollars would be spent, and no matter how rich the money was, it would not be able to support the expenses of a city, and Xizhou had raised that Turkic cavalry for many years, and the treasury was already empty enough to run mice.

A living person can't let urine suffocate to death, not to mention that Li Su is still a smart person among the living, and he must tremble when he has urine.

So Li Su was cross-hearted, and simply brought Cao Yu's assassin official seal, and the caravan brought things, Li Su had no money to give, but ...... You can hit a white strip.

No one likes white strips, but Li Su's white strips are exquisite. He stamped his official seal on the white slip and wrote that the amount owed was in the form of a penny per month.

The white strip stamped with the official seal represents not the private arrears, but the entire Tang Dynasty, the official seal on the white strip is real, and now this year is a year of honesty. The government and businessmen are the same, no letter and no stand, no matter whether Xizhou can be defended in the future or not, even if Baitiao gets Chang'an City, the government will have to recognize it, as for the trouble of the imperial court to find Cao Yu and Li Su, that is a matter of the future, Li Su wants to hold Xizhou, and he can't take care of other details.

So although the merchants were reluctant. But the official seal on the white strip still has a certain degree of credibility, and the businessmen still pinched their noses to admit it, and then said ...... The interest of one cent per month on the white strip also made the last trace of unhappiness in the hearts of the merchants turn into ashes, since the government is so sincere, it is not too unacceptable to be in arrears for a while, and there is interest.

The news spread, and the powerful businessmen no longer had any scruples. Despite the lack of cash each time, there was still a steady stream of caravans that could transport supplies from Shazhou. Piles of bricks and stones, pig iron piled up under the city wall, although for the entire Xizhou city wall dozens of miles long, this bit of bricks and stones is really not of much use, but it is better than nothing.

Five iron furnaces were opened in the city, and dozens of blacksmiths with iron-making skills were drawn from among the people to open the furnaces and make iron day and night. Craft weapons.

Two months later, Wang Zhu led a cavalry from Shazhou, loaded with what Li Su urgently needed, saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. Then, Jiang Quan transferred fifty henchmen from the cavalry camp and opened a workshop in the east of the camp.

Every manufacturing detail of the earth-shattering thunder, coupled with the assembly line production method, after Li Su taught for a few days, all the fifty soldiers knew it, and he left the workshop satisfied.

As Li Su said, in order to defend this city, he has done all the efforts that should be done, and the next result depends on the will of God, if the will of God is destined to keep this city, Li Su will not leave any regrets and guilt, and he is more open-minded than anyone else when he pulls his legs away.

…………

"Why did you get squeezed dry by me so quickly?"

On the upper floor of Xizhou City, Li Su looked at Na Yan with a dissatisfied face, and shook his head and sighed from time to time, just like a father looking at his unsuccessful son of a ruined son.

"Will you die if you bring more money on you? It's only been a long time since you came to Xizhou, and you have no money? Li Su muttered a few words, and then squinted at him suspiciously: "You shouldn't be hiding private money, right?" This is not a good habit, good boy, take it into my bowl quickly, and I will pay you back with interest in the future. ”

Na Yan's old face had been twisted into a bitter gourd, and he sighed in one breath with a sad and desolate expression.

"Li don't drive, Li Xianzi...... Can you make some sense? I'm a businessman who has been trapped in Xizhou by you for a year, and this year people eat horses and chew, plus build a house for you, and you extort one or two opals or two every now and then...... Now I'm really poor. ”

"Nonsense, am I that bad? Those who don't know hear it and think it's true, don't ruin my reputation! Li Su pushed Na Yan in disgust, and the two of them were standing on the railing of the city tower at this time, and this one almost pushed Na Yan directly from the city.

The fat sheep lost weight, Li Su couldn't help but feel sad in his heart, and he had a feeling that he was about to go bankrupt, although it was obviously Na Yan who was bankrupt, maybe subconsciously, he had completely regarded Na Yan's money as his own money.

"Li Beijia, your house is almost finished, these days you are leading the battle to defend the city, the house in the city is not idle, the general appearance has been built, just some fine trivial polishing, you can live in it in about a month......"

Li Su's face suddenly showed joy: "This is the best news I have heard in recent months, yes, I finally got my house together before you went bankrupt." ”

Na Yan looked at him with a somewhat complicated gaze, hesitated, but couldn't help but say: "Forgive me for taking the liberty of it, it's really hard for me to guess your thoughts, when you said you wanted to build a house, I didn't think much about it, I contributed money and effort for you, when the house was about to start, I saw that the construction site was full of all kinds of masonry and wood, and I felt that something was wrong at that time, and I thought carefully that you might just build a house as a disguise, and the masonry and wood used to build the house might be used to repair the Xizhou city wall......"

Na Yan shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Until today, your mansion is about to be completed, and I don't believe that the bricks, stones, and timber transported by the caravan from Shazhou ,...... They really built a house for you, Li Beijia, your mind. I can't figure it out......"

Li Su smiled proudly: "That brother thinks too highly of me, do I look like the kind of person who abolishes his personal interests for the sake of public business?" The city wall has to be repaired, and my big house has to be built, so I won't be delayed, and it's not me who pays for it anyway......"

Na Yan smiled bitterly a few times and shook his head silently.

To Li Su. That's both reverence and fear. From the beginning of getting acquainted with Li Su outside Jingzhou City, Li Su's every move was in his sight, and most of Li Su's actions were beyond that Yan's expectations, this person seems to have a completely different thinking from ordinary people, so that people can't touch his pulse at all, many things seem to be dead knots that cannot be untied, and it seems that Li Su has been forced into a desperate situation. But between Li Su's hands overturning, he easily broke the game, and this kind of ability, Na Yan was particularly amazed.

Regardless of Li Su's status and position, for Na Yan, this is a friend worth making, although this friend has almost drained him, but Na Yan does not value these things.

It's a pity. However, he is completely contrary to the position of the representative behind him, so the relationship between the two is still that of friend and foe. In the state of indistinguishable friend from foe, you can't go further, and your life is unsatisfactory nine times out of ten, these unsatisfactory things include things you want to do but can't do, love that you want to throw away but can't get rid of, and. People who want to pay but can't.

The two of them stood at the head of the city, closing their eyes and feeling the hot wind blowing from the depths of the desert, and somehow fell silent.

After a long time, Nayan opened his eyes and looked at the endless desert in the distance outside the city. Suddenly, he said: "The Xizhou limit is not far away, right?" ”

Li Su also opened his eyes, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Big limit? This word is interesting, that brother is a particular person. ”

Na Yan sighed: "My identity, don't hide it in front of you, yes, I am from Qiuzi, but I don't want to be hostile to Datang in my heart, let alone hostile to you, I have been in Datang for 20 years, and I even have a kind of hometown belonging to Datang, but it's a pity...... I was born at the wrong time, at the wrong time. ”

Turning his head to look at Li Su, Na Yan said deeply: "Li Beijia, you and I both know that the day when the armies of the Western Regions will come to the city of Xizhou is not far away, at that time, the heavy troops are pressing the border, and the battle clouds are thick, how should Li Beijia deal with it?" ”

Li Su didn't answer this question, because this question has been asked by too many people, and he is tired of answering, and then he will ...... The answer to this question is a bit discouraged and detrimental to one's glorious and majestic image.

So Li Su didn't answer and asked: "That brother is from Qiuci, this time in the armies of the Western Regions, Qiuci is probably also a soldier of the whole country to participate in this grand event, right?" Maybe it's your cousin who is leading the troops? ”

Na Yan is obviously not stupid, he didn't answer this implicit question, just blinked, and said with a smile: "Don't drive to ask the wrong person, I'...... It's just a businessman. ”

Li Su also smiled, and then showed a pure and cute expression: "I'm just a child......"

The two looked at each other and smiled, the meaning of the smile was very complicated, like each pregnant with a ghost, and like helpless.

"Anyway...... On the day of the arrival of the army, Xizhou will not be lucky, Li Beijia, you and I have a fate, I advise you again as a friend, the general trend is irreversible, when to avoid it, I really don't want to see a young man die in the tower of this lonely city. "That Yan is deeply authentic.

Li Su laughed: "Don't worry, I'm not so stupid, I can stay alive, everything is possible, if my life is gone, there will be nothing." ”

Na Yan smiled: "You can think like this, it shows that you are not a pedantic and stupid fool, very comforting." ”

Li Su turned his head and looked at him deeply, and suddenly said, "That brother, you really have no money?" ”

Na Yan suddenly showed a bitter color, didn't say a word, and sighed sadly in the sky.

Li Su said with a smile: "Since you have been squeezed dry by me, you have no use value, brother, you can lead your caravan out of the city, go back to Qiuzi, go to Chang'an to continue trading to make up for the year's deficit, in short...... You're free. ”

He stared at him with a little shock, and then, his eyes gradually turned red.

Li Su didn't look at him, just stared at the white desert in the distance, and sighed with a smile: "Remember to be cautious when traveling with others in the future, if you meet a young man like me again, you can hide as far as you can, don't be ......fooled by him."

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PS: There are two more ...... Ask for a commuter pass...... (To be continued......)