Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 204 Smuggling
Cheng Boxian was very excited when he went on a trip for the first time.

When he was in the Imperial College, he heard about the Tao of Towering Khan more than once.

The tribes in Mobei applied for the construction of roads in order to facilitate paying tribute and reporting tribal conditions to the court.

This road runs through Monan and leads directly to the Uighur tooth tent in Mobei. It is thousands of miles long and connected with Qinzhidao. It is a road built spontaneously by the grassland people. It is very spectacular.

Of course, what he yearned for was not the towering Khan Road, but the Monan grassland around the road.

As a general, how could Cheng Boxian not yearn for the feeling of galloping on the Monan grassland?

Even if you don't have the opportunity to go to the battlefield, it would be good to walk the path of our ancestors.

Chen Qingsi saw through this guy's thoughts at a glance and said, "Lingzhou is in trouble. I'll give you a few days to play."

The General Jinwu mentioned by Li Zhi was Cheng Chubi, Cheng Boxian's father.

Let Cheng Chubi arrange escorts, which can cover the eyes of others and ensure the quality of the escorts.

For some unknown reason, Cheng Boxian also sneaked into the escort and went north with him.

Chen Qingsi was just bluffing all the way, but with Cheng Boxian around, many things became easier to do.

After all, Cheng Boxian's grandfather Cheng Zhijie and Huang Heshou's father served in the Wagang Army together. This friendship may come in handy at critical moments.

Because he had reached a deal, Fujia was very enthusiastic on the way north and talked about a lot of his experience in business over the years.

Fujia traveled all over the country and suffered a lot when he was young. However, after he met the great Mobei Uighur merchants in Lanzhou, he stopped running around and concentrated on traveling to Luoyang and Lingzhou, mainly selling tea.

I have been running for 20 years, so I have a certain understanding of the situation in Lingzhou and Mobei.

Chen Qingsi did not ask for too much information. He knew that businessmen like Fu Jia were the most shrewd and cautious. He wanted wealth and would avoid all risks. Even if he knew something, he would keep it secret and not get involved.

It was impossible to get anything bad to say about Huang Heshou, Feng Yang, and Xu Kai from his mouth. Asking questions too hastily would make him wary.

Chen Qingsi looked like she was letting herself go. The goods had been sold. This trip was just for sightseeing.

Fujia was a little uneasy when he saw this. If he had extra money, he would buy silk and porcelain directly. He would not care about Chen Qingsi's life or death, but he had no money left, so he had to exchange tea leaves for leather and then trade with Chen Qingsi.

There is a process.

If Chen Qingsi had an accident during this period, the losses would be huge.

Driven by profit, Fujia couldn't help but come to the door when they were about to enter the realm of Lingzhou.

"Chen Langjun, you haven't slept yet!"

Chen Qingsi said: "I was bored on the road, so I lay down in the car for a while. Now I don't feel sleepy at all, so I just read a book to pass the time."

Fujia sighed: "I have observed your husband's conversation and temperament, and I know that you have thousands of books in your chest."

Chen Qingsi assumed the identity and sighed: "So what? Reading thousands of volumes is just for my own entertainment."

In the Tang Dynasty, not only were merchants not allowed to be officials, they were also not allowed to take the imperial examinations. No matter how talented they were, they were useless.

Fu Jia also knows what it feels like to be rich but not expensive, and he empathizes: "It is always good to read more books and understand more things. I often suffer from this. Many times, I am deceived without even realizing it." . However, the things in the book are not entirely correct. The greedy and evil roots of the human heart are far beyond what pen and ink can write about."

Chen Qingsi said: "It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. For this reason, our ancestors even have family rules. Our Chen family has been doing business for generations. If the children of the clan want to serve the family, they must personally lead the caravan on a long journey." , see the world.”

"Ling Zu is so insightful!" Fu Jia praised repeatedly. Seeing that the topic had no intention of deviating, he felt relieved. For a noble man like Chen Qingsi, it is enough to go out and suffer once. How can he come several times more?Fujia still hesitated for a while, and then said casually: "Tomorrow we will arrive at the border of Lingzhou and Huile County. What should I do, sir?"

Chen Qingsi said: "The original plan was to visit the local big businessmen and inquire whether there was any reciprocity. Now that I have the Fudong family, I can take some free time to travel around, see the roaring scenery of the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and appreciate the beauty of the south of the Yangtze River outside the Great Wall. If I have enough time, I would also like to see the wonders of the towering Khan Road and see the vastness of the Monan Grassland."

Fujia said with a gloomy expression: "It's not a big deal for Lang Jun to travel in Lingzhou. But if you want to go out of the border to Monan, it's best to seek protection from local powerful people, so as not to be caught as a smuggler, and you will suffer." The imperial court is the most strict with smugglers. If you catch them, you will lose half of your skin. If you are unlucky and encounter smugglers from the grassland, you may even lose your life."

Chen Qingsi's expression changed greatly and she said: "Don't scare me from the Fudong family. This is our territory of the Tang Dynasty, and the tax revenue is not high. Why is it like this?"

Fu Jia said: "There are those who have interests and take desperate risks. The previous dynasty sold illegal salt and focused on beheading. Are there still too many salt dealers left?"

Chen Qingsi showed a trace of fear, her face turned slightly pale, and a trace of fear flashed in her eyes as she said, "I have read in a book that those private salt dealers are life-hungry people."

Fujia wanted to scare him and said, "What you are doing is life-threatening, so of course you are willing to risk it."

Chen Qingsi rubbed her arms with both hands and said, "I'd better be honest. If you are unfamiliar with this place, if you encounter an accident, you don't know who to turn to for help."

Seeing this, Fujia smiled with satisfaction, chatted for a few words and left.

Chen Qingsi closed the door, with a hint of chill in her eyes.

The news revealed by Fujia made him smell something unusual.

smuggling!

Maybe you can start here.

Chen Qingsi thought in her heart.

It took them two people to reach Huaiyuan County in the northernmost part of Lingzhou.

The situation in Huaiyuan County is more prosperous than Chen Qingsi imagined.

The streets are very lively, and all you can see are all kinds of small vendors. Most of them are locals, setting up stalls in front of their homes, selling all kinds of sundries.

Most of the people coming and going were merchants from all over the world, wearing all kinds of clothes, but without exception, everyone spoke fluent Tang Dynasty Mandarin, chatting, or discussing business.

Chen Qingsi was led by Fu Jia to a very popular inn in the city... Datong Inn.

"The world is unified, what a great name!"

Chen Qingsi said in admiration.

That night, Zhou Kui led Di Renjie to Chen Qingsi's room in the dark.

"Mr. Chen!"

Di Renjie set out ahead of them, and the reason for coming here was to find relatives. Many years ago, Lingxia was also a place where prisoners were distributed, and there were many immigrants.

Even local officials couldn't find out.

Chen Qingsi helped Di Renjie up and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Huaiying. On the way here, I found out a piece of news that there is a smuggling problem in Lingxia Prefecture. We can start here."

He took Di Renjie's hand and couldn't wait to tell him what he discovered on the road.

(End of this chapter)