The autumn rain, like the urine of an old and frail man, was not much but was endless, the post road became muddy, the wheels were wrapped in thick mud, the carport was full of splashing mud spots, and the hard-dressed horses lost their spirits, staring at the tall cyan city wall ahead.

Wulipu, the place where the officials and people stay and rest in the city and out of the city, since more than 10 years ago, the Xianbei soldiers threatened the imperial capital from afar, for hundreds of years, the emperor has not suffered from war, a large number of residences have been built outside the city, most of these houses are built five miles away from the city wall, this is because the imperial court has a decree, no buildings are allowed to be built within three miles of the imperial capital city wall.

According to the gift of the sage, farewell to relatives and friends, to leave the city five miles, important friends and teachers, then to send out ten miles, so there are businessmen in five miles or ten miles to build a teahouse, over time, it formed a bazaar, the people of the imperial capital also casually named, five miles shop, ten miles shop, easy to understand, easy to remember.

The best teahouse in Wulipu is called Wangdu Building, Wangdu Building is a small teahouse opposite, it is said to be a teahouse, in fact, it is just a simple tea shop built with bamboo and thatch, the small tea shop does not even have a name, only a piece of cloth is used to pick a tea disguise, usually it is mostly a merchant footman who rests here and drinks saliva, and a little bit of identity enters the Wangdu Building opposite.

So the two sides formed a sharp contrast, Wangdu Lou was quiet, only occasionally came a sad and mournful tune, which was the parting song sung by the singer brought by the prince of the Shi clan. The small tea shop is very lively, the boss and the guests laugh loudly, the boss is an old man in his forties, his voice is loud and loud, and his two guys are also loud voices, as soon as he speaks, not only resounding through the small tea shop, but also the opposite Wangdu Lou can be heard.

Today, too, the shopkeeper and the guests laughed loudly, and most of the guests were old customers around them, who were very familiar with each other, and they shouted and teased unscrupulously, and from time to time burst into laughter.

But in the midst of all this uproar, the table at the door was very quiet, and because the business was relatively good, the shopkeeper also set up sheds on both sides of the door, and each set up a table, and the table on the left was occupied by several officers, who drank tea quietly, and occasionally looked at the carriage on the road.

The carriage stopped on the post road, and the coachman sat quietly on the wheel, the autumn rain came obliquely, and the clothes were soaked, but the coachman still sat still, which made these officers sigh, is this still a caravan, this discipline is stronger than that of the Eagle Lingwei.

Three men wearing hats and robes came from behind with long knives, the convoy was too long, the caravan had hundreds of carts, plus the convoy of the King of Qin to deliver grain, adding up to seven or eight hundred carts, from five miles to ten miles, every time they rested, the Eagle Guards and the coachmen they hired went to the side to rest, and the caravan guards took on the responsibility of protection, three people in a team, patrolling back and forth.

The boss's daughter came over with a big teapot and asked diligently if she wanted to add water, an officer mentioned it, and then asked her to add it, and the boss's daughter poured water very quickly, while asking where they came from?

The boss's daughter saw that she was in her twenties, so she combed her hair at will, inserted a wooden hairpin, and when she poured water for them, she glanced at Xi Feng from time to time, but Xi Feng didn't notice it, and replied casually that she was from Chang'an.

"It's hard to walk so far on this day. The woman smiled and said, "Take a good rest, this damn god, it's endless when you get up, why don't you wait for the rain to stop before leaving." ”

"No way, there is an order, let alone rain, even if it snows, knives, you have to go. The officer on the side said with a smile, he was obviously the first time to the imperial capital, curiously looking at the magnificent city wall in the rain in the distance, Chang'an is a thousand-year-old city, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty was set here, and it has been continuously repaired for thousands of years, the city wall is as high as more than ten zhang, all of which are made of bluestone, at a glance, it is a fortified city that is difficult to overcome.

But this imperial capital is not worse than Chang'an, and may even be stronger, looking at it from a distance, the city wall is at least ten zhang, and the thickness is not known how much, there are reeds swaying in the wind under the city wall, obviously there is not a small river ditch.

The little lady was about to continue, Liu Han, the only one on the table who was not wearing a military uniform, suddenly raised his hand, startled the little lady, and ran from the side of the convoy A big man wearing a lily coat came over, and the big man stood in front of Liu Han, Liu Han commanded: "Each brother has a pot of hot tea, oh, give Tianna and they will also send a pot of incense." ”

The big man agreed to come down and turn around and go in, and the little lady hurriedly chased in.

"Brother Liu, look at what you have brought with you, it is no worse than our Eagle Lingwei. The officer praised that when they first set out on the road, these officers looked down on the caravan, but as they walked down, they were impressed by both the men and the guards.

No matter how long they walk, the first to complain must be the soldiers of the Eagle Guard, as soon as they rest, the soldiers will lie down or sit, but the caravan is different, when resting, there must be someone to go out to investigate, someone to guard the back, someone to guard the carriage, someone to patrol.

If you camp in the wild, Eagle Lingwei is simply set up a camp, but the caravan must be a six-flower camp method, the open and dark sentry are meticulous, the water source must be checked when drinking, and when eating, there must be five people around a fire.

Walking on the road, no one spoke loudly, the whole caravan was quiet, there was a whistle in case of emergency, and there were heralds galloping in front and behind.

It's a caravan here, and if you throw away the goods, it's an army.

If it weren't for the fact that Rhino Feng was leading them, most of the officers would have guessed that this was an army with some purpose.

Liu Han sighed, this is not the first time, he had to repeat again: "We are taking the Western Regions trade route, there are many horse thieves in this trade road, the guys have developed a habit, and they have become an army when they look at it, in fact, there is, alas, these are all exchanged for their lives, and a few trading companies die every year, and the money we earn is the money we earn." ”

Xi Feng smiled faintly, Liu Han had already quietly given him the bottom, his caravan was trained according to the law of the army, everyone could shoot a strong bow, the cultivation of the guards was all above the martial apprentices, and the cultivation of his close guards was above the warriors.

"That kid was too strong back then, my cultivation has improved over the years, and he definitely didn't stand still, so I brought some people back, and this time I want to find him, and I must kill him. ”

Liu Han told Xi Feng not to tell King Qin about this, if King Qin knew that he had so many warriors and martial artists under him, if he came to draw them, would he give it or not?

After hearing this, Xi Feng happily told Liu Han that he would not tell King Qin, however, King Qin would not transfer his subordinates, this is the rule, otherwise those wealthy families of the scholar clan dare to accept the conquest, as soon as they accept, all the talents that the family has managed to win will be gone, who is willing!

Liu Han scoffed at this, that is the Shi clan, even the prince does not dare to provoke easily, but we are different, didn't this prince blackmail tens of thousands of taels of silver as soon as they met! Okay, even if there is no now, but it is a forced shareholding, which is worse than blackmailing silver!

Obviously, the dangers of the trade road in the Western Regions, these officers have also heard about it, although this road is hard, it is much easier than before, all because of this generous merchant.

Along the way, Liu Han sent them wine and meat every three or five times, although he did not entertain women, but his mouth and waist bag were used a lot, just out of Chang'an City, Liu Han gave each officer one hundred taels of silver tickets, each soldier ten taels of silver tickets, this made the soldiers happy, although they are Eagle Lingwei, but the monthly salary is only four taels of silver, and the salary of the ordinary border army is only two taels of silver per month, and because the imperial treasury is empty, the border army is often in arrears, and the soldiers complain.

And this is just the departure fee, on the way, Liu Han also sent hard money and wine money from time to time, and Xi Feng secretly calculated that on the way alone, Liu Han spent no less than three thousand taels of silver. He quietly reminded Liu Han, but Liu Han didn't care, and later, he didn't care anymore.

"Brother Liu, have your people arrived?" asked Xi Feng.

"I have already sent Liu Tie into the city. Liu Han turned his head to look at the convoy and sighed: "There are so many cars, I don't know how much I have to pay for this entrance fee." ”

Liu Han sent someone to pass a book a few days ago, telling the Imperial Capital Store that he was going to arrive in the next few days, but for some reason, after sitting here for so long, they hadn't shown up yet.

Going on the road with Xi Feng and them, there is actually another benefit, there is no need to pay the city fee, Xi Feng is to escort food to the imperial capital, naturally there is no need to pay any entrance fees, Liu Han also took a ride, exempted from this item.

But when they arrived in the imperial capital, Liu Han and Xi Feng did not dare to take this risk, in other places, Xi Feng took out the order of the King of Qin, and the magistrate did not dare to care, but the emperor couldn't do it, especially now, the emperor is seriously ill, the prince is in charge of the country, and the inventory of the imperial capital is several times stricter than before, once it is found out, Liu Han's goods are bound to be confiscated, and Xi Feng will also be punished for serious crimes.

Liu Hanyou took out a stack of silver tickets and handed it to Xi Feng: "This is for the brothers, let's break up here, you go on an errand, at the foot of this heaven, I'm afraid there is no guy who robs the house." ”

After the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, the emperors of all dynasties attached importance to grain storage, after moving the capital from Chang'an, they built three granaries around the imperial capital, and the grain from Yongzhou in Jingzhou was sent to Changkou Warehouse, and the grain from Yangzhou and other places in the southeast was sent to Pingkou Warehouse.

This practice makes Liu Han very puzzled, why send food, why don't you pay money directly, and Yongzhou is not rich, there are still some areas affected by disasters this year, and the imperial court needs relief, and the grain arrives in the imperial capital, and when needed, it has to be sent back.

Asked Xi Feng, Xi Feng didn't know, but Lao Huang understood, Lao Huang told Liu Han that the imperial capital has a population of millions, and the land near the imperial capital is either owned by the imperial family or by the scholar family, and the imperial court can't collect much tax, and the land in the north of Sili and Youzhou has always been barren, and it has been facing the outside for a long time, and needs the support of the imperial court food, so the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty built a granary near the imperial capital and stored grain, which has become a national policy, and every emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty has unswervingly implemented it.

Liu Han was speechless after hearing this, this sounds like a copy of having food in his hand and not panicking in his heart, but along the way, he saw a lot of hungry and cold homeless, out of kindness and long-term considerations, he bought more than fifty children, all of whom were brought to the imperial capital, and now they are in the carriage behind.

Xi Feng didn't approve of this move, but he didn't stop it, anyway, it didn't cost much, fifty children added up to less than five hundred taels of silver, and the average child was less than ten taels of silver.

"Don't look at these children as young now, they can become the best helpers in the store in seven or eight years, don't worry, I'm a businessman, and every expense has to be calculated. Liu Hanjiao explained with a smile.

But Xi Feng felt that the expression was not treacherous, but a little unbearable, or sad.