Gu Xunhua said: "The secret of the identity of the prince and princess, we can't say it at the meeting.The number of Han people in Hu Manzhai is not as large as that of Hu people, if those foreign Hu people know that the prince and princess of the Ming Dynasty are in the city, I am afraid that they will be forcibly seized in less than two days." ”

He paused for a moment, and then said: "This time the matter does not seem to be simple, to win over the 'Huhan Rabbit Tribe' and the business names of these many Hu tribes, Zhuo Tuo Erhan, who only relies on the 'Black Wind Banner', should not be able to do this. ”

Among the various tribes of Humanzhai, the three strongest parties are the Han Chinese, the Jurchens and the Mongols, and their representatives are the "Bailong Xing", "Black Wind Banner" and "Huhan Rabbit Division". These three parties have always been not harmonious, and the Jurchens and Mongols often clashed because of the competition in the market, and they regarded each other as enemies.

Mrs. Zhong said: "Mr. Gu suspects that Zhuo Tuoerhan and Zaiman have joined forces this time, and they have been manipulated by others?"

Gu Xunhua said: "Not bad." This time, we charged 100,000 taels of silver and promised to protect the safety of the three people in Humanzhai, but Mrs. Chu of the 'Thousand Flowers Workshop' did not tell us the details of the whole matter. ”

He looked at Zhong Bailong and said: "The current situation is very unfavorable to our 'Bailong Xing', whether we insist on not making concessions or compromises, and we have to ask Brother Zhong to make a decision." ”

Zhong Bailong sat on the chair, his brows furrowed, his head bowed in contemplation, and he did not speak for a while.

Zhong Dagui, the younger brother of the two young masters of the Zhong family, said: "Although this business of 100,000 taels of silver is not expensive, with the status of our 'Bailong Xing' in Hu Manzhai, it was originally not a problem to protect a few people, but now the situation is different, if you have to leave the three of them in the house, all the Hu tribes will have to make it difficult for us, and it is really not worth it to take such a big risk to make this money!"

Zhong Dafu also nodded and said, "What the second brother said is good. Now in Hu Man Village, there are seven or eight hundred people in the banner of the 'Black Wind Banner', and the number of people and horses in the 'Huhan Rabbit Department' is not less than him, plus other Hu people shili, the other party can have at least more than two thousand people, and our Zhong family's disciples are less than five hundred, even if they gather some Han merchants, it will not reach half of the number of the other party. With such a big difference in strength, we are afraid that there is not much choice. ”

Zhong Dagui said: "Yes, if we really fight, we will definitely suffer a big loss." Dad, I think it's better to hand over those three people according to what they said, and it's a big deal to return the 100,000 silver taels we collected to 'Qianhuafang' afterwards, it's better than taking the entire Zhong family together!"

With a "bang", Zhong Bailong slapped his palm on the table, stood up from the chair, and said loudly: "Bastard! How do I usually teach you? The most important thing for a businessman is the word 'letter', since he has received the silver two and promised the others, he must do his duty, how can there be a reason to send people out because they are afraid! What is the use of returning the silver taels!"

This boss Zhong Da doesn't know martial arts, he is a weak businessman, but at this time, he scolded his son with a strong voice, Zhong Dagui looked five big and three thick, and he was so frightened that he hung his head.

Zhong Bailong was angry, Gu Xunhua, Ouyang Yong and others in the hall did not dare to speak, Zhong Dafu was still clever after all, and looked at his mother sitting on the side. Under such circumstances, only Mrs. Zhong can persuade her husband.

Cheng Yaozhen got up and walked to Zhong Bailong's side, helped him sit down on the chair, poured another cup of tea and served it to her husband with both hands. Zhong Bailong took the teacup, and the expression on his face really eased a little.

Cheng Yaozhen said: "Blum, how long have you and I been married?"

Zhong Bailong said: "Mrs. married into my Zhong family at the age of eighteen, and it has been twenty-five years now. ”

Cheng Yaozhen said: "In the past twenty-five years, how has Yaozhen treated you and the Zhong family?"

Zhong Bailong said: "At present, Zhong Bailong is just a small businessman, he has only read a few books, his family property is thin, and he is frail and sickly, and you are the descendant disciple of the head of the 'Emei faction', with strong martial arts, talent and appearance, which are not worthy of me." My wife is committed to marrying me, and over the years, she has taught her husband and children in the Zhong family, helping me take care of my business and handle the affairs of the firm. ”

Cheng Yaozhen looked at her husband with gentle eyes, and said: "Although I have done some things over the years, why haven't I done all my best to develop the Zhong family's business and endured all the hardships? Isn't that what you mean by naming your children Dafu Dagui?"

"Yaozhen knows the importance of the merchant's credit, but now with the strength of our 'Blum Bank', if we want to be the enemy of all the foreign shili in the Hu Man Village, the odds of victory are probably less than 12 out of 12. In order to be trustworthy to others, it is necessary to fight for all the foundation that the Zhong family has established over the years, as well as the lives of rich and noble children, do you think it is worth it, anyway, Yaozhen thinks it is very inappropriate. ”

Listening to his wife's words, Zhong Bailong sighed and said, "How can I not know what you are talking about? If there is no prince and princess among those three people, for the sake of the net worth and life of the Zhong family and the brothers of 'Bailong Xing', I may be able to compromise one or two, but to hand over the prince and princess of the Ming Dynasty to the Hu people, such an unfaithful and unrighteous thing, I Zhong Bailong will never do!"

He put the teacup on the table heavily, and said: "Although we are people in the rivers and lakes, we are still Han people after all, and we are the people of the Ming Dynasty, if we do such a thing, our Zhong family will definitely be scolded by tens of millions of people, not only our family, all the brothers of 'Blum Xing' will be called traitors by others!"

"Yaozhen, my mind has been decided, that is, I really want to pay for everything in the Zhong family, and I also want to protect the prince and the princess. When the time comes, together with the Hu people, you will take the rich and noble children to escape from the Hu Barbarian Village, although there is no family wealth and industry, but you can still save your life. ”

When Zhong Bailong said this, the look on his face was extremely resolute, and Cheng Yaozhen saw it in her eyes, and knew that her husband had made up his mind, and there was no room for change.

Hu Manzhai is a place where there is no royal law, and there is no lack of illegal business in the business done by "Bailong Xing" over the years, but this boss Zhong Da, who has no martial arts, has never forgotten that he is a Han Chinese.

Looking at her husband, Cheng Yaozhen's face also showed a resolute look, and said: "Blun, we are husband and wife, why don't you know Yaozhen's intentions?

At this time, Dagui also said: "Daddy and Mom won't leave, and my eldest brother and I won't leave, so everyone will fight with those Tartars!"

Zhong Bailong looked at the wife and son in front of him, although his heart was bitter, but he was also quite moved, and then looked at Gu Xunhua and Ouyang Yong on the side, opened his mouth to speak, Gu Xunhua had already spoken first: "Gu Mou has received the kindness of Brother Zhong all these years, and it is impossible to repay it, this time Brother Zhong is determined to protect the prince and princess, Xunhua will also swear to follow him to the death, in order to serve his life!"

Ouyang Yong smiled "hehe" and said: "Mr. Gu has read a lot of books, and he can really speak, but he can't compare to me Ah Yong, there is nothing else this time, let's have a good time with those Hu people and Tartars!"

The word loyalty and righteousness are often closely linked, and the person who knows that he dies, this is the righteousness on the rivers and lakes!

At this moment, a message from a disciple suddenly came from outside the house: "Master Qiqi, we have received a flying pigeon biography from Mrs. Chu of 'Thousand Flowers Fang'!"

Zhong Bailong's expression moved, and he said, "Bring it to me." ”

Soon, a letter sealed with fire paint was delivered to Zhong Bailong's hand, he opened the letter and stared at it, and only after a while did he hand the letter to Gu Xunhua on the side.

Mrs. Zhong asked, "What is written in the letter?"

Zhong Bailong said: "Mrs. Chu said in the letter that there are arrangements to escort the crown princess back to Beijing, and someone will be sent to pick us up tomorrow to highlight Hu Manzhai." ”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ the officers and troops of the Third Route approached Hu Manzhai and camped fifty miles away from the city, but they were in a confrontational posture with each other.

Donglin and the eunuch party were bound to win the crown prince Zhu Cihong, and they both believed that as long as they blocked the southwest direction, they would block all the roads to Jingshi, and the reason why they did not immediately attack the city was that they were afraid of each other, and the other was that the two parties had enough confidence in their own Liliang in Human City.

The battle between the two sides was not only outside the city, but also in the Hu Manzhai village.

Several parties in Hu Manzhai were also tense, until a news came out, which eased up a little. This news is that "Blum Xing" has promised the Northern Border Business Alliance to hand over the three prisoners in two days.

It is said that these three criminals are the targets of the siege of the city by the officers and soldiers, and as long as they are handed over, the siege of Hu Manzhai will be lifted.

The time of the day passed in a blink of an eye, and when the night fell, a team of people suddenly appeared at the south gate of Hu Manzhai.

The group consisted of more than thirty riders, escorting a two-wheeled carriage. The two people at the head, a middle-aged man dressed as a scribe, and a man with a stubby figure and a mighty appearance. The hooves of their horses were covered with cloth sheaths, and the wheels of the carriage were covered with a layer of cowhide, so that they could gallop down the road without making a sound.

On duty at the south gate of the walled city was a group of Han warriors, who saw this group of men and horses coming, and immediately opened the gate and let them out.

In a matter of moments, the group left the city silently, heading south under the cover of night.