Mayi County is the northernmost strategic road of the Great Sui Dynasty and the most populous county among the northern border counties. It is governed by Shanyang County and is a famous commercial distribution center.

Although the county is not big, it is concentrated in nearly a thousand shops and hundreds of inns. In addition to winter, a large number of caravans from south to south gather in Shanyang County every day. They brought huge consumption capacity and supported hundreds of thousands of military and civilians in Shanyang County.

That morning, the caravan and his team arrived in Shanyang County. After a difficult journey of thousands of miles, everyone was exhausted and their appearance became dark and thin, but everyone was in good spirits and laughed.

The leader Zhao Dan pointed at the county town in the distance with a horse whip and said with a smile: "After entering the county town, we can rest for a few days. We also opened an inn in Mayi County, and the conditions are pretty good."

"Old Zhao, what do you mean by your good conditions?" Cheng Yaojin asked from the side.

Along the way, Cheng Yaojin called Zhao Dan Zhao Wudan, which made him angry and ignored Cheng Yaojin. After entering Mayi County, Cheng Yaojin began to change his words and called him Lao Zhao. Zhao Dan's temper was slightly relieved.

Zhao Dan glanced at him and said disdainfully: "How good do you think it would be? There is no woman or wine. At most, only hot water and clean bedding. If you don't like it, you can live in another house!"

Cheng Yaojin grinned and said, "Actually, I only care about whether I want money or not. If I don't have money, I live for free, but the conditions are good!"

Zhao Dan glared at him fiercely, and wanted to say he would charge you twice the money, but when he thought that Cheng Yaojin was Zhang Xuan's friend, he held back his words.

"It's time to collect money or money, don't think it's free!"

On the other hand, Zhang Xuanzheng and Li Shentong were talking about his itinerary to head north. Zhang Xuan's tone was relaxed, as if he was talking casually.

But in fact, a few days ago, he accidentally heard a conversation between Li Shentong and Chai Shao. Chai Shao leaked some secrets, as if he was saying that the batch of things were hidden?

Although Li Shentong stopped Chai Shao's leak in time, Zhang Xuan still confirmed his guess that Li Shentong did not go north to train with him, but must have been for those items.

However, Li Shentong's plan has nothing to do with him. He has his own priorities. Buying the most important medicine in the Turks is the first priority.

"It's the first time Uncle Li is going to the Turks!" Zhang Xuan asked with a smile.

Li Shentong rode on the horse and said with a smile: "A few years ago, my brother was the prefect of Mayi County and had also been to the grassland several times, but he did not leave Mayi County and walked back in the Baideng Mountain area. I hope he could go a little further this time."

At this moment, a team of cavalry ran out of the city and rushed along the official road. When they rushed to their side, the leader suddenly stopped the war horse and shouted, "Old Zhao, is it you?"

Zhao Shan also recognized the person and laughed: "General Liu, long time no see."

The officer urged him to step forward and punched Zhao intimately, "You, who is not brave, didn't you say that last year was the last vote? Why are you here again?"

"I don't have a life of happiness! The superiors are not allowed to go home to retire, so I have no choice but to come again."

Zhao Shan introduced the officer to everyone, "This General Liu is a famous local hero in Shanyang County. Now he is a captain in Mayi Daoyingyang Mansion. He and I are old friends."

The Liu Zhengwei was quite generous and clasped his fists and smiled at everyone, "Liu Wuzhou, please take care of me!"

Zhang Xuan saw that this man was tall and had a thick lion nose. He had a rough and bold appearance, a majestic voice, and had the spirit of a man in the north. However, his every move was not polite, and he was an extraordinary lieutenant.

After hearing his sign-up, Zhang Xuan realized that he was Liu Wuzhou, one of the heroes of the late Sui Dynasty. It seemed that the small Mayi County was also a place where dragons and tigers were hidden.

Everyone greeted him, and Liu Wuzhou said to Zhao Shan again: "It's a coincidence that you came here this time. It's very uneasy to the Turks. So far, twenty-four caravans have been baptized and it's a blessing to escape with their lives."

Zhao Shanyi was shocked, "What happened?"

Liu Wuzhou sighed, "It seems that the dark horse thief from ten years ago has appeared again. Now Shanyang County is full of caravans, everyone is panicked, and no one dares to go north."

"Dark horse thief!"

Zhao Dan was stunned. Ten years ago, he went north to the Turks and almost died at the hands of this horse thief. The experience of escaping from death still vividly remembers it.

"Uncle Zhao, isn't the situation good?" Everyone gathered around and asked.

Zhao Dan smiled bitterly, "It's very, very bad, but since you're here, let's stay first!"

………….

The inn where everyone stays is called Longhu Inn. It was jointly invested by Zhao Shan and the Liu family in Mayi. It is also one of the three most famous inns in Shanyang County.

Although all the inns in Shanyang County were full, the owner of the Great Dong came to stay in the hotel, and Longhu Inn still found a way to free up two yards for them to live in.

"Young Master, I actually don't think there is any need to go to the Turks to buy medicine. Maybe we can buy it in Mayi County. Why don't we go out and look for it?"

Cheng Yaojin heard that there were dark horse thieves, and his interest in making money faded a little and began to give up.

"Didn't Lao Zhao say that it is impossible for a sale here?"

"Hey! Listen to Zhao Wudan's words, how many times have he told the matter correctly along the way?"

Zhang Xuan thought about it and said that although Cheng Yaojin obviously meant to shirk it, he made some sense. Zhao Dan's experience was all from the past years, so maybe it would be sold this year?

"Okay! Let's go look for it separately. If you help me find the purple insect jade pupa, I will add another ingredient."

Cheng Yaojin was overjoyed. He actually wanted 20% of the pieces, which was like a pie that was lost in the world! He rubbed his hands and said excitedly: "That... Master, it may cost some money to inquire about the news. I don't have a penny on me. Look......"

Zhang Xuan took more than a dozen stakes of money and threw it to him, saying to him: "You can drink wine, you can visit the brothel, but things must be done, do you hear it?"

"Look at what the young master said, 20% of all! No matter how scoundrel I am, I will not be unable to get along with the money. Don't worry! I will definitely come back after the news."

Cheng Yaojin hurried out after taking the money. Zhang Xuan was bored in the inn alone, so he turned around and left the inn.

It was late spring, but Mayi County, far away in the northern border, was at its peak. The air was filled with the breath of mid-spring, with flowers and willows everywhere, green trees, and the weather was not too hot. The spring breeze was refreshing, which made people feel particularly energetic.

Zhang Xuan walked alone on the street. It has been almost half a year since he came to this dynasty, but he felt that he had not fully integrated into this dynasty. He tried his best to use the language of this era and also worked hard to learn how to deal with people, but his thoughts were a bit out of place with this dynasty.

For example, when doing business, Li Shentong and Chai Shao were disdainful of doing business, but he didn't feel embarrassed. After all, it was profitable, so why not do it?

In fact, it is no wonder that for a few months he came to the Sui Dynasty, almost all his energy and attention were on practicing martial arts. He paid too little attention to other aspects, so that when Li Shentong and Chai Shao chatted, he felt that he could not get in. The topic they chatted with seemed too far away to him.

"We want to - go north, go north!"

"The prefect comes out!"

A loud noise came from a distance, which attracted Zhang Xuan. He walked over and turned a corner. A square appeared in front of him. Opposite was the county government office. There were more than a thousand businessmen crowded in front of the steps, and a large area of ​​black people were all anxious. There was an uncontrollable anger in his eyes.

They waved their hands and shouted, "We want the prefect to come out!"

Zhang Xuan also knew something. Since the Turkic trade route was cut off, the prices of various goods in Mayi County plummeted, and the prices of silk and satin had fallen below the cost price, even lower than those in Taiyuan. Seeing that this journey north was about to lose money, how could these merchants not be in a hurry?

Zhang Xuan looked from a distance. At this time, a group of people walked out of the county yamen. The leader was an official in his fifties. He was tall but not burly, but looked very bloated. His whole face seemed to be stung by a bee, swollen and black.

"Premier Wang is here!" Someone shouted, and the merchants immediately became quiet.

This bloated middle-aged man was Wang Shougong, the prefect of Mayi County. It was the third day that these merchants gathered to condemn them. Wang Shougong was really overwhelmed and had to find a way to solve this problem.

Wang Shougong shouted in a hoarse voice: "I can understand your difficulties, and I will try my best to solve this problem for everyone. I have reported to the court as quickly as possible a few days ago. As long as the Ministry of War approves, the army can protect everyone from the north, but everyone may also have to bear some of the army's northward expenses."

Everyone shouted: "We have no problem with paying expenses. The key is when the army will protect us from going north. Can the prefect give us a clear time?"

"It should be these two days, everyone will hold on!"

Zhang Xuan turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly saw Chai Shao's figure and was hurriedly walking towards an alley next to the government office. Zhang Xuan's heart moved and immediately followed.

There was no one in the alley, it was a dead end, with only a side door of the government office, but no Chai Shao was seen. He obviously entered the government office through the side door.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to walk forward, the side door opened creakingly. Zhang Xuan hurriedly retreated and hid behind the wall. He saw an official in his thirties accompanying Chai Shao. They spoke very quietly, but Zhang Xuan heard clearly not far away.

"Zhong Jian went west and did not leave any letters, but I guess the owner would know where he was going. In two days, there will be orders coming from Luoyang, and I will hand them over to my brother in time."

"Then please, I live in Longhu Inn and can find me at any time. If I am not here, Brother Yao can give the order to the supernatural powers."

"Don't worry! I know it in my heart."

Chai Shao bowed to the officials and hurriedly walked towards the alley. Zhang Xuan hurriedly hid behind a big tree. Chai Shao hurriedly walked past him without finding him hiding behind the tree.

Zhang Xuan looked at Chai Shao walking away, then looked into the alley again. The side door was closed and there was no one. The official had already returned to the office.

Zhang Xuan thought to himself, 'This should be the secret end of Wuchuan Prefecture, but it seems that Zhang Zhongjian is also in the Turks and is heading west. Could it be that he is the advance army sent by Wuchuan Prefecture?

Who is this official? Chai Shao called him a pharmacist, and this name seemed a bit familiar, but Zhang Xuan couldn't remember it for a moment.

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Just when the merchants strongly demanded to go north, a mysterious guest came to Liu Wuzhou's home and was led into a secret room by Liu Wuzhou.

The visitor was a Turkic man dressed as a Han man. He presented a letter to Liu Wuzhou. The Liu family was a powerful man in Mayi County. Generally speaking, the powerful forces on the border would have close relationships with foreign races, and the Liu family was no exception.

The Liu family and the Turks had a very close relationship. It was precisely because of the secret support of the Turks that the Liu family could make a fortune in Mayi County and accumulate a lot of wealth.

It is precisely because of this relationship that Liu Wuzhou is more focused on the interests of the Turks when facing a choice.

After reading the letter, Liu Wuzhou asked, "When did Shi Shu and Hu arrive in Qifubo?"

"Report to General, my master just arrived in Qifubo yesterday. Recently, he lacked financial resources and hoped to get the support of General Liu."
Chapter completed!