Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 128 Channels
"Are you really going?" Liu Daogui glanced at everyone.

"How could it be false? Aren't the garrison troops on the border looting everywhere?" Fu Shanzi patted his chest.

"You can go, but you must obey my military orders!"

Everyone looked at each other and bowed: "I am willing to follow!"

"Okay, go back and prepare a few things, and gather enough strength and energy!"

A good sword will rust if it is not used, so Liu Daogui was willing to go with the flow and help them, and by the way, include the soldiers in it.

Come and don't go indecent.

Fu Shanzi is right. Why can only thieves snatch it away, but you can't snatch it away yourself?

Kou can go, so can I!

"Yes, sir!" Everyone went happily.

Liu Daogui went to Cao Ji to borrow money. When he heard that it was a private salt business, his eyes lit up immediately. He did not hesitate like before, nor did he ask any questions. He directly took out 20,000 strings of cash.

This made Liu Daogui curious about the Cao family's financial situation.

Cao Ji was always evasive and vague, but he always managed to come up with the money...

The strength of the local tyrants is indeed extraordinary.

Liu Daogui will pay the remaining 50,000.

Money can make money, this is much more cost-effective than using it to buy generals. As long as you can hold on through the first two years, you will make a lot of money in the future.

However, if you want to do private salt business, you need more than just salt, you also need channels.

It took more than a hundred years for Yandu to develop its scale and channels.

Without channels, the salt cannot be distributed and it is useless. It is impossible for Liu Daogui to deliver the salt to every county in the north. The time and transportation costs involved are not something Liu Daogui can afford.

And if a stranger entered the north with a large amount of contraband salt and was unfamiliar with the place, the biggest possibility was that he would be robbed by others.

"How many private salt dealers from the Tianshi Dao does Ganzhi know?" Liu Daogui asked Meng Ganzhi.

He had been lurking in Yandu for half a year and must have known a lot of people.

"Do you remember Kuai En, Zhang Mazi, Li Daosan and others? If you can find them, the salt will be dispersed."

"Kuai En?"

This man hijacked another ship and seemed to have disappeared out of thin air. It is basically impossible to find him.

However, it is not difficult to find people like Zhang Mazi and Li Daosan. Snakes have their own ways, and rats have their own paths. They have been making a living in Yandu all year round, and their accent is also from the Guangling area.

He is also quite powerful and can fight with hundreds of people.

"I'll give you three months and ten Tiger Guards to contact the former salt smugglers. How about that?"

"One month! I only need one month to find them!"

Meng Ganzhi, Meng Ganzhi, young people are full of energy and really live up to the name.

Liu Daogui smiled and said, "Then I'll give you another three thousand coins. It's up to you how you use them to restore the broken private salt channel. If it's not enough, just come to me."

"Yes, sir!" Meng Ganzhi's face was full of excitement.

Liu Daogui is now well-connected in both the black and white worlds, and Guangling is his base camp, so it is easy for him to find the two illegal salt dealers.

If we follow the clues, we should be able to find the others too.

The world is full of goodwill, and the world is all good.

As long as it can bring them long-term benefits, these people will come to them.

After arranging Meng Ganzhi, he called in Liu Zhong, Liu Zun, Mao Dezuo, and the Wang brothers to discuss the matter of "suppressing the bandits". Killing was normal in those days. Mao Dezuo was from Xingyang, and the Wang brothers had fought their way from Hebei to Yanzhou, and from Yanzhou to Mount Tai. Now they were going back and were familiar with the route.

Zhai Wei is now on the verge of death, Yan is busy gathering troops, the Jin Dynasty is busy fighting among its own people, and the troops in Huaibei are being transferred back to Jingkou...

"This time, we will be divided into two groups, each with a thousand men. The two groups will be one in front and one in the back, supporting each other. Mao Dezu will be the leader of the front group, with Liu Zhong, Liu Heibi, Mao Yi, and Mao Bian as deputies. Liu Guangzhi will be the leader of the rear group, with Liu Zun, Wang Yuande, and Wang Zhongde as deputies."

The names of the brothers Wang Rui and Wang Yi violated the Sima family's taboo, so Liu Daogui named them after their courtesy names to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Several people looked at Mao Dezuo in surprise.

But this is exactly what Liu Daogui intended.

After Mao Dezuo joined the rear for a few months, he had brought dozens of his men under his command into obedience. He had strong military qualities and he was originally from Xingyang.

He also has a very high reputation among the Eight Buildings, and the five brothers are all brave and powerful men.

The capable will be promoted and the mediocre will be demoted. Only when everyone has the opportunity will the Eight Buildings be able to move forward and maintain internal vitality. Otherwise, if everyone is from the Liu family and others cannot be promoted, who will work hard for them in the future?
Liu Zun asked doubtfully, "Then where are we going to attack this time?"

"You can decide where to go. I only have one rule: come back the same way you went, to protect everyone."

Liu Daogui let them go.

The situation in the north was very complicated. The territories of Zhai Wei, Yan State and Jin Dynasty were intertwined. Hu people, refugees and beggars lived together in clans. The Jin army on the border often went north, and the Hu people often went south.

There is no point in making any plans, we can only act according to circumstances.

However, this also tests the level of the generals.

Liu Daogui is willing to bear the consequences, drive out the barbarians, and recover our lost territory. He cannot rely on himself alone.

The Eight Buildings have reached their current stage, and it is time to train generals.

Wang Yuande and Wang Zhongde were both talented generals with experience in leading troops, and Mao Dezuo was a refugee leader with outstanding abilities. This arrangement was the most reasonable.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone bowed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Daogui increased the number of soldiers in each battalion to 1,600, with 200 men in each battalion.

Before becoming soldiers, many of them were ruthless men who would lick blood and sword. As soon as the military order was given, 1,600 people quickly gathered, plus 400 rear guards, making a total of 2,000 people.

Each person wore at least one piece of bamboo armor and carried bows and crossbows. Each group had twenty donkeys and mules, carrying five days' worth of food.

There is not enough food. It depends on their own abilities. They went out to plunder, so they have to find ways to get food themselves.

In order to avoid being seen, the eight-colored flag was not brought and became the flag of the Jin army.

The Jin army on the border often went north to burn, kill and loot, which just happened to cover their tracks.

More than two thousand people stood under the city wall. They were all fierce and brave, and their morale was high, except for some old soldiers of the Northern Palace who were careless.

"Let me tell you the rules first. All spoils will be divided equally when we return to the city. Anyone who hides property will be executed. Anyone who harms fellow Chinese will be executed. Anyone who disobeys military orders will be executed..."

Liu Daogui said the word "behead" seven times in a row, each one full of murderous intent.

Only by enforcing orders and disciplining the troops can we win every battle. The combat effectiveness of the Northern Palace Army and the Eight Buildings is unquestionable. The only concern is military discipline.

In the Battle of Linzhang led by Liu Laozhi, if the soldiers had not fought for the armor and weapons of the Yan army and lost their composure, Murong Chui's reputation of being invincible would have been shattered.

"If you dare to violate my military law, you will be beaten like this, with no mercy!" Liu Daogui grabbed a long spear, pressed it against his knees, broke it into two pieces, and threw it in front of everyone.

The old soldiers in the Northern Palace all knew that Liu Daogui was serious this time, and they immediately became serious and less careless.

"Take orders."

"March out!" Liu Daogui pointed to the north.

The two groups of people slowly walked out of the city gate and headed north...

(End of this chapter)