Luoyang Brocade Chapter 44: Focus on (1)
The barbarians mentioned by the lame man are the collective name given by the Zhou people to the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall.
Turkic Khitan, Uighur, Mohe and other ethnic groups outside the Great Wall live in the bitter cold land outside the Great Wall. Mainly nomadic, the folk customs are sturdy. The Turks, in particular, have a large number of herdsmen and war horses, and everyone is good at volley shooting. Even women can mount a horse and fight. It has become the overlord among the people outside the Great Wall.
The Turks were like a pack of wolves separated by a fence, coveting the fertile Central Plains of Zhou Dynasty. In recent years, there have been frequent attempts to harass border officials. However, the Great Zhou Dynasty established its dynasty by force and its national power was so strong that it was impossible to shake the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the short term.
There are many Turkic tribal leaders who admire the culture of the Central Plains. Silks, tea, porcelain, refined salt, and even writing and paper from the Zhou Dynasty could be sold at sky-high prices as long as they could be transported outside the customs.
It is the nature of businessmen to pursue profits, and the huge profits here are really tempting. Even if he is beheaded for collaborating with the enemy if caught, it cannot stop the prosperity of the smuggling business.
Among these, the most profitable is human smuggling.
This is put more nicely. To put it bluntly, it means abducting beautiful young men and women and selling them to wealthy and powerful leaders of the Turkic people.
Ordinary civilian girls could not be sold at high prices, so those who were bold turned their attention to the daughter of an official.
A daughter of an official with a good family background, who is both beautiful and literate, and is good at playing the piano, flute, reciting poems and painting. If you catch such a smuggler and sell it, the profit will naturally be huge.
Of course, those who dare to attack the daughter of an official are definitely not ordinary gangsters.
The gangsters headed by Scar Er, the lame man, are the boldest and most rampant gang among them.
The boss hides behind the scenes and is responsible for "smuggling and selling stolen goods." The second master dispersed most of his men everywhere, looking for suitable targets and waiting for opportunities to strike.
The so-called suitable target is a lady with outstanding temperament and stunning appearance. Such a goal is elusive. Sometimes I don't see one for months. Sometimes when you encounter something, you have to weigh the difficulty of doing it.
Those who can ride on official ships are the family members of officials and are protected by many servants. If you are not careful, not only will you not be able to take someone away, but you will also be killed.
"How many servants are there on that official ship?" The second master restrained his impatience and asked: "How is the skill? How many boatmen are there on the ship?"
The lame man thought for a while and replied: "Such a big official ship has about a dozen boatmen on board. There are about eleven or twelve servants disembarking, and I guess there are still a few more on board. These servants walked quite a bit. Stable, quite strong, looks good."
Scarface frowned when he heard this: "Second Master, what I heard from the lame man is that the people on this official ship should have high official positions. The risk for us to seize such an official ship is really high... ."
The lame man sneered and quickly interrupted Scarface: "What we do is licking blood with the tip of a knife. How can we not take risks? Besides, this is not the first time we have robbed an official. . These officials look majestic, but they turn into cowards when they encounter swords and guns. We don’t take human lives, nor do we rob gold or silver, we only rob two people. They will only seek revenge based on which enemy they are. Besides, the ones who were robbed were unmarried girls, and they were unwilling to report it to the authorities, and they didn’t dare to speak out. In the end, they had to suffer the consequences of being dumb.”
Who dares to publicize such a thing when the daughter of a virgin is snatched away by gangsters?
Once word spreads, the woman's reputation will be completely ruined. Even if she is lucky enough to find her one day, she will never marry again in this life. It will also bring shame to the family.
Because of this concern, most officials who suffered such tragic events sent people to secretly search for their daughters' whereabouts afterwards. After searching for a year or two, there was really no hope, so he reluctantly announced that his daughter had died of illness.
This is also the ingenuity of the gangsters in committing crimes. Firstly, he did not kill anyone, and secondly, he did not steal gold, silver and jewels, but only took away beautiful girls. In this way, you can make a fortune quietly without worrying about being chased by officers and soldiers.
Scarface was robbed by the lame man. He felt a little unhappy and snorted: "We usually rob low-ranking county magistrates and other officials. From what you said this time, they are high-class official ships." . Those who can ride on this kind of official ship must be at least officials of the fourth rank or above. In this way, if you take action without hesitation, you will not be afraid of encountering tough ideas?"
Cripple and Scarface quarreled.
The second master frowned, a pair of triangular eyes flashed fiercely, and he shouted angrily: "Okay, shut up for me. Whether it is worth the risk or not, I will wait until I see it for myself."
......
After Ling Xiao entered the shop selling the Four Treasures of the Study, he touched this and that again, with a look of joy on his face.
The shop assistant on the side was very attentive and introduced the paper and ink inkstone in the shop.
Since leaving Dingzhou City, Ling Jingshu has changed from her usual gloomy mood. The corners of her lips are slightly raised, and her voice is soft and elegant: "Axiao, if you like it, buy some."
The customers and waiters in the shop couldn't help but peek over after hearing such a pleasant voice. In my heart, I secretly fantasized about the true appearance under the gauze, and my heart was filled with ecstasy.
Ling Xiao hesitated for a moment, but couldn't bear to part with it: "It's better to buy less!"
High-quality pens, inks, paper and inkstones are quite expensive.
The money Ah Shu brought with her was reserved for medical treatment, so it would be better to save some.
Seeing his appearance, Ling Jingshu felt distressed and amused at the same time: "Since I liked it, I bought them all. We don't lack this little money."
Both Mrs. Ling and Fifth Master Ling donated generously. The money she brought with her was enough for the two siblings. ~IndoMTL.com~ After spending more than half an hour in the shop and buying a lot of pen and ink that may not be needed, Ling Xiao looked satisfied.
Ling Jingshu looked at Ling Xiao who looked satisfied, and felt extremely satisfied in her heart.
After finishing shopping, Ling Jingyan and others happened to come over. Just looking at the maids holding brocade boxes in their hands, one could tell that Ling Jingyan and Mr. Jiang had also lost a lot of money in Rouge Shop.
Everyone came here in joy and returned satisfied!
Not long after walking out of the shop, a lame beggar suddenly rushed forward and knelt down in front of Ling Jingshu and Ling Xiao: "Young masters and ladies, please have mercy on me! I have been hungry for three days. I haven’t eaten anything for days..."
As he spoke, he kowtowed, with tears streaming down his face. He looked really pitiful.
Ling Jingshu frowned and took a step back subconsciously.
As soon as a strange man came within three feet of her, her whole body tensed up almost immediately.
Bai Yu behind him immediately rushed forward, randomly took some scattered silver from his sleeve and gave it to the lame beggar: "Take the silver and leave quickly."
The lame beggar took the broken silver and kowtowed repeatedly to thank him.
Coincidentally, at this moment, a gust of breeze blew by. Most of the veil on Ling Jingshu's face was lifted by the wind. Most of his face was exposed.
The lame beggar took a breath and looked straight at Ling Jingshu.
Ling Jingshu frowned but said nothing. She pulled Ling Xiao and walked around the lame beggar towards the official boat.
In front of a grocery store not far away, a tall and sturdy man stood. He had excellent eyesight, and he could see Ling Jingshu's beautiful face, and his triangular eyes almost glowed.
......
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