The Savage Lady Wants to Kill Me! Reborn on the Path of Cultivation

Duan Tianyang nodded slightly after deep thought, and instructed Zhu Wu: "Seal this secret passage first, it may play a key role in this battle."

This secret passage is like a double-edged sword. Once discovered by the enemy, they may use it to sneak up the mountain and launch an attack on our side.

But on the other hand, we can also use it to sneak down the mountain quietly and launch a surprise attack on the enemy!

"Yes! Brother Tian!" Zhu Wu's eyes flashed with a gleam and he responded quickly.

He sealed the entrance of the cave tightly with stones, so that there was almost no visible flaw.

Duan Tianyang nodded with satisfaction, then turned and left.

As they walked, he said to Zhu Wu, "We need to prepare more fishing nets."

"Brother Tian, ​​what is the use of fishing nets?" Zhu Wu asked curiously.

"Place fishing nets on the first and second lines of defense and hang as many large rocks as possible in them." Duan Tianyang explained in detail, "Once the defense line is breached by the enemy, our brothers can quickly cut the fishing nets and let the rocks roll down the mountain to create obstacles for the enemy."

Zhang Tao and Zhu Wu listened and took notes carefully.

Just as Duan Tianyang was arranging the details, a soldier hurried over, saluted respectfully and reported to Duan Tianyang and others: "Sir, a caravan has arrived from the east, and the vehicles seem to be loaded with food."

Duan Tianyang was moved after hearing this and asked, "Which country's caravan is this?"

"From the looks of it, it seems to be a merchant caravan from our country," the soldier replied.

Duan Tianyang pondered for a moment and ordered the soldier: "Take some people and lead them over."

The soldier answered and left immediately. Soon, a dozen soldiers arrived with several carriages, each of which was piled high with sacks.

When the soldiers brought the caravan members to the vicinity of Duan Tianyang and others, seven or eight people walked out of the caravan, including men, women, young and old, with messy clothes and covered in dust.

There was no sense of dignity from them; they were obviously just a group of ordinary businessmen.

A young man in his thirties shouted in dissatisfaction: "My Lords, what do you mean by this? We are all honest businessmen and have never defaulted on taxes. You should protect us, why are you stopping us?"

"How dare you! Don't be rude in front of the adults!" a soldier shouted.

The young man wanted to continue, but his companion beside him pulled his sleeve and signaled him to shut up.

Duan Tianyang walked forward with a smile and asked, "Is that food in your car?"

"That's right!" the older young man answered loudly.

"What kind of food is it specifically?" Duan Tianyang continued to ask.

"Rice!" the young man responded gloomily, "What's wrong with that? The government has never stipulated that we cannot buy rice in Xifan and then ship it back to the country for sale."

Duan Tianyang smiled and explained: "I don't have any other intentions, I just want to buy your batch of rice."

Although the Chimba tribe has sufficient food reserves, wheat is the main food, and rice is not common.

In view of the impending war, he hoped that the soldiers could improve their food.

Hearing this, the young man's expression eased a little. He bowed respectfully and said, "So it was you who wanted to buy food. I misunderstood."

Duan Tianyang waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, and then asked: "How much do you plan to sell this batch of rice for?"

The young man asked, "Are you planning to buy them all, sir?"

Duan Tianyang nodded in confirmation.

The young man was silent for a moment, then turned to talk to his companions, one of whom made a number eight gesture.

Then, the older youth nodded and replied: "Since you are interested in buying it, I can give you a preferential price, a total of eight thousand taels."

"What?" Zhang Tao and Zhu Wu could hardly believe their ears.

The several horse-drawn carriages in front of them were loaded with no more than one or two thousand dan of rice, but the other party actually asked for an exorbitant price of eight thousand taels.

This is an outrageous price, and it's clearly a rip-off.

"How much rice do you have in total?" Zhu Wu's voice was solemn.

"Two thousand shi in total." The other party responded concisely.

(In modern measurement units, 1 dan is approximately equal to 120 jin)

"It's just two thousand shi, but you want to ask for eight thousand taels of silver?" Zhu Wu frowned, his tone full of doubt.

The older young man nodded slightly and explained nonchalantly: "Your Excellency may not know that the price of wheat has soared to two taels of silver per stone, and rice is even more expensive. The price of four taels per stone we offer is actually fair. If it is shipped back to China, the selling price will probably be much higher."

Zhu Wu was furious in his heart and cursed inwardly as a "scoundrel", but on the surface he tried to remain calm: "Five thousand taels, this is our final offer, not a cent more."

After that, he gave an order: "Brothers, start collecting food!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" The older young man waved his hands hastily, "My Lord, are you kidding me? Eight thousand taels is already the reserve price, I won't give a cent."

Zhu Wu's eyes were wide open with anger, and he was about to explode, but Zhang Tao smiled and motioned him to calm down.

He slowly said, "Since you insist on eight thousand taels, then let's do this. We want all the grain."

He turned to a soldier beside him and whispered a few words.

After Zhang Tao finished his instructions, the soldier agreed and ordered his men to go to the vault to move the silver.

The amount of silver was huge, totaling 8,000 taels, which was carefully carried down the mountain by eight soldiers and divided into four boxes.

When the soldiers placed the four boxes of silver neatly in front of the other party, Zhang Tao waved his hand and said, "This is eight thousand taels of silver. Please check it."

The older youth smiled and responded, "Your Excellency is straightforward, there is no need to check. I am sure that Your Excellency will not deceive us."

"Okay!" Zhang Tao turned to the soldiers around him and ordered, "Start weighing the grain now to confirm whether it has reached 2,000 dan."

While the soldiers were busy weighing the grain, Duan Tianyang asked Zhang Tao in a low voice, "Brother Zhang, isn't it a bit too expensive to buy this batch of rice with eight thousand taels of silver?"

Duan Tianyang didn't know much about the price of grain, but when he saw Zhu Wu's angry expression, he felt vaguely that he was being ripped off.

Zhang Tao smiled slightly, leaned close to Duan Tianyang's ear, and whispered, "This price is indeed a bit high, but Brother Tian, ​​please rest assured, I have a way to prevent them from taking advantage of us."

Duan Tianyang blinked in confusion, quite curious about Zhang Tao's plan.

Two thousand shi of grain were piled in front of them, packed into nearly a thousand sacks, and the soldiers weighed them one by one in an orderly manner.

However, as it grew darker, the food was still far from halfway collected and the progress of weighing was worrying.

The older young man stepped forward, bowed to Zhang Tao and said, "Sir, the quantity of these two thousand dan of grain is correct. Is it possible that we do not need to weigh them one by one? Even if I am bold enough, I would not dare to deceive you, sirs."

Zhang Tao still smiled and replied: To ensure accuracy, it is better to say it clearly. "

The young man looked embarrassed and added: "But sir, it is getting dark soon. If we delay any further, I am afraid we will not be able to set off on time."