The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 114 Losing everything

The exiled prisoners had just left.

The group of Western Region merchants who had gone back to Anxi City to find their backers fled back to Longshan Pass in a very sorry state.

This time.

They voluntarily gave Guan Jun almost all the gold and gemstone jewelry they were carrying.

They only pleaded that they be allowed to bring back those goods and camels, which were not particularly valuable in the state of Bei.

The Longguan garrison soldiers, who had planned to disband after this job, finally agreed to their pragmatic approach.

They were only after money; they didn't really want to kill anyone.

If a foreigner is killed within the territory of the State of Bei, the imperial court will truly investigate the matter thoroughly.

The Western Region merchants who were released from the pass ran away incredibly fast.

In just two days, they caught up with the exile caravan on the Guanlong Ancient Road.

The officials were very welcoming when they saw these familiar faces at the post station.

Seeing that the cargo boxes on their camels were still intact, he exclaimed, "Truly worthy of the Li Family Trading Company!"

Look at the power and influence of this thousand-year-old family!

Even a bandit like Guan Jun has to give face to the merchant guild.

The leader of the Western Regions merchant caravan said with a wry smile, "We turned back before we even reached Xijing City!"

"Why?"

"The Po Jun uprising in your country's Anxi Prefecture has besieged Xijing City for ten days! They have not only set up roadblocks at every intersection in Xijing City, but the people in the suburbs have also joined the army."

The officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

How did they manage to break out of the countryside so quickly and even besiege Xijing City?

The leader surnamed Huang gritted his teeth and made a final, defiant stand:

"Xijing City is a thousand-year-old imperial capital, extremely wealthy, and its city walls have been continuously repaired and reinforced throughout the ages, making it towering, sturdy, and well-defended! It's not so easy to breach!"

The subordinates responded enthusiastically:
"Yes, yes, yes! The garrison in Xijing City is composed of elite troops, and sieges here have always been the most difficult to fight!"

"What can mere refugees accomplish! With one rebel army in the east and another broken army in the west, in the end, no one will submit to anyone else's command!"

"That's right! Before the imperial court even sends troops, the refugees in the eastern and western capitals might start fighting amongst themselves!"

The merchant leader was greatly alarmed upon hearing this:

"There are homeless people in Tokyo too? We were planning to go there next year!"

The leader, surnamed Mao, was not one to keep secrets. Thinking of their humiliating escape from Nanhe Prefecture, he said:

“Nanhe Prefecture is even more chaotic than Anxi Prefecture. The refugees there even kill the county magistrate! I advise you not to get involved in this mess.”

The others nodded vigorously: "Yes, your camel caravan is really eye-catching; they all look like easy targets."

What they didn't notice was.

The Western Regions merchant leader, who had just been frowning, suddenly had a flash of wild joy in his eyes.

This deal was totally worth it!

We also need to speed up our return to China.
Another Ni family merchant caravan, which transported grain from Jiangnan to the border town, thought differently.

They had traveled between the border town and Jiangnan for many years, and this was the first time they had lost everything.

This year, the Jiangnan region, known as the land of fish and rice, also encountered a once-in-a-century flood disaster.

Grain production may decrease or even fail completely.

The same amount of silver cannot even buy 30% of the grain that was available in previous years!

This is the most favorable treatment that a major grain merchant in Jiangnan offers to a customer who has been with them for fifteen years!
Not to mention that the amount spent on grain was several times higher than usual.

The worst thing is...

A large group of refugees had been secretly watching the Ni family's caravan. They had only been gone from Jiangnan for two days.

Fifty grain transport ships were robbed, along with the grain!

Although the grain transport team was guarded by more than 3,000 border troops.

They were utterly powerless against the looting of 80,000 to 90,000 refugees.

Even during the fighting, the border troops escorting the caravan suffered one-third casualties.

This is just a complete loss!

News of the robbery of the Ni family caravan was immediately sent back to Zhao Muyun, the general of the border city.

Zhao Muyun, a bolt from the blue!

He stared in disbelief at the urgent report in his hand, repeatedly asking the messenger:
"They looted it all? The grain I bought with my own money was all stolen by these refugees? That's enough to feed 300,000 people for half a year! Do these refugees have the guts of a bear or the courage of a leopard?"

The grain harvested this year in the Northwest Military Fields will last until February of next year at the latest.

The main labor force in military households was in the garrison, and they did not receive military pay all year round.

They relied entirely on the elderly, women, and children in the family to raise sheep and weave cloth to sell.

If the hard-earned money of the military households' families couldn't buy the grain at cost price brought back by the Ni family's caravan, they would have to buy grain at market price in Huaiqing Prefecture.

The already impoverished lives of more than 40,000 military households were further exacerbated.

The messenger quickly summarized the major events that had recently occurred in the thirteen provincial administrations of Bei State, which had come with the urgent report.

Zhao Muyun was so astonished that he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

An hour later.

The brigade commanders and captains of the five border guards were all summoned.

After the urgent report was circulated among them, everyone clenched their fists, wishing they could rush to Jiangnan immediately.

"Damn it, they actually dared to rob our border town! We've been bleeding and risking our lives fighting the Tatars at the border, and the General personally paid for the grain for over 40,000 military households, and these bastards still stole it!"

"Where did these refugees come from? How do they have such great abilities? Why didn't the guards report to the authorities and get the stolen grain back? Are the local government offices just for show?!"

"General, we in the border region must hold those responsible accountable!"

Their commander-in-chief had empty eyes.

"Report to the authorities? Do you know what kind of chaos the other thirteen provincial administrations are in right now, except for Shangdu?"

The officers and platoon leaders were astonished: Has it come to this?
Zhao Muyun took a deep breath:

"They have evolved from unarmed peasants to rob landlords and wealthy merchants, massacre county officials and garrison officers, and have become an organized and disciplined army of refugees!"

The imperial court then dispatched the Yanwang Army, the most experienced force in suppressing bandits, to the Central Plains.
Especially at times like these, our important border towns must not lose their composure! The Tatars love to take advantage of chaos and make a quick buck.

Don't make a fuss about the food issue; let me think of a solution.

The poor general pondered the matter deeply.

The final solution that came to mind was:

He wanted to borrow one million taels of silver from his brother-in-law, the elder brother of his concubine Ni, who was also the head of the Ni family business.
With grain prices skyrocketing, prices for winter goods like cotton will only rise even higher.

Since neither the caravans nor the guards can bring these things back, they can only take the money and buy them at market price in Huaiqing Prefecture!
After calculating, it's uncertain whether one million taels will be enough to last until next autumn's harvest.

This loan is no small sum for any established family.

In order to achieve his goal, Zhao Muyun went back to the Marquis's mansion and put in a lot of effort on Aunt Ni, using both sweet words and practical actions.

The emotional value is full.

Aunt Ni was so pleased with herself that she eventually wrote a letter to her father and brothers who were far away in Wu and Yue.

The letter devoted a great deal of space to describing the hardships faced by the border soldiers and their families, and how the Marquis's family had devoted themselves to the cause of the border defense.

The ink on the letter was still wet when Zhao Muyun hurriedly put it away.

He also instructed the head steward of the Marquis's residence to personally deliver Aunt Ni's letter to Wu and Yue.
(End of this chapter)