Looking at the pale and dying young man in the ice, Wu Gen and Mo Xin smiled evilly like wolves seeing a lamb. After waiting for three days in the bitter cold, they finally captured this man, who turned out to be a private salt dealer.

This is a great opportunity to take advantage of others.

Wu Gen took a pot of warm water from the house and poured it on the young man's head.

Ah sneeze, the young man sneezed and woke up. This man's body was quite strong, but after being tortured like this by Wu Gen and Mo Xin, he actually recovered so quickly.

"Boy, you dare to sneak attack the army and break into the checkpoint without permission, but you have committed a capital crime. You are very courageous." Wu Gen held the broken knife he brought back from the city in both hands and said slowly.

The young man glared angrily and said nothing.

"No, according to the laws of Zhao State, you can avoid death." Mo Xin, who was next to him, suddenly retorted.

"Is there any other way? I would like to ask Brother Mo for advice. After all, this man looks young. It would be a pity to die." Wu Gen's face was full of curiosity, as if he was thirsty for knowledge.

"Corruption can be imposed." Mo Xin said decisively, "Some nobles need eunuchs to serve in their families, so we made this rule. In this way, you don't have to die, but you just lose your heirs."

Wu Gen glanced at the young man with some pity, and passed his finger across the broken blade, "That's right, it's better to die than to live. Your Excellency, it's up to you which way to choose."

Seeing that the young man ignored him, Wu Gen sighed and said: "God has the virtue of good life. Since you can't make a choice, I will go over your shoulder and choose corruption. Lao Mo, help me melt the ice on his lower body with water. I'll be fine."

Torture."

Mo Xin stood up and brought a basin of hot water, ready to pour it on the young man.

Seeing that the two of them were really about to start a fight, the veins on the young man's forehead popped out and he shouted loudly: "You two villains, kill them if you want. Why should you humiliate me like this? In eighteen years, grandpa will be a good man again."

Wu Gen looked around the young man and sighed: "How much effort did his parents put in raising such a strong man, but they have to be separated from each other like this, and the white-haired man gives away the black-haired man? How miserable is it?

It doesn't matter if you die, you have no one to rely on at home, you are bullied, and all your family property is taken away, isn't it pitiful?"

The young man's throat moved twice, with a look of hesitation on his face.

Wu Gen and Mo Xin winked at each other, and Mo Xin squatted in front of the young man, "This little brother, please don't talk about life and death out of recklessness.

It's easy for you to die, just kill it with one knife, and the family has made arrangements. If you don't say anything else, you don't look like a married person at your age. If you die like this, your family will have no heirs, and your ancestors will know all about it, so don't you blame you for your no heirs?

For such a crime, even if we meet after death, we will be scolded by our ancestors."

The young man listened and remained silent for a long time. Wu Gen and Mo Xin did not urge him.

"Then how can you let me go?" After thinking for a long time, the young man muttered, with a rather ugly expression on his face.

"Ahem." Wu Gen and Mo Xin looked at each other with joy on their faces, "This brother, I want to engage in private salt business. I don't know where he is from."

"My name is Baoxiang, and I am from Sangmu Township in Dingyuan City. Because my family was poor, I had no choice but to have the idea of ​​selling salt privately." Now that he had given in, the young man no longer hesitated and vomited everything out.

"Then what's the profit from selling private salt? It's worth the risk, brother, to cross the wilderness on a snowy night." Wu Gen squatted down and stroked his non-existent beard.

"Haha." The young man laughed. The two of them had been chatting for a long time, but they were waiting for him here.

Baoxiang looked naive, but he was not a fool. The two of them, one with a white face and the other with a red face, complimented each other in order to seek wealth.

"Put me down and I'll tell you to wait, otherwise there's no need to talk." Baoxiang straightened his neck and closed his eyes slightly, with an expression of love.

Wu Gen smiled, showing his white teeth, "It's not impossible to let you go, but at the moment, we can only remove the ice on your body, and we don't dare to take off the rope. We are all smart people, and I think my brother will also

I understand."

"Yes." Baoxiang simply replied, naked and frozen in the ice. Even though he had practiced martial arts passed down from his family for many years, he couldn't bear it for a long time.

Wu Gen and Mo Xin carried Bao Xiang into the house and lit the fire. Gradually, the ice armor on Bao Xiang's body melted, revealing his strong body.

Wu Gen put a cup of hot wine into Bao Xiang's mouth, and after he swallowed it, he covered him with General Zhong's leather coat.

"I earn hard-earned money as a private salt, and it only costs five taels of silver per trip. Tell me, what do you two want to do?" Seeing that his body was getting warmer, and it seemed that the two of them had any ill intentions, Baoxiang asked.

Wu Gen smiled and sat in front of the other party, "Brother Baoxiang, have you ever thought about how hard it is for you to sell these salts secretly, and you are always worried?

How about this, I'll make it easy for you to pass customs, and I'll also provide you with horses for transportation. How about a 70-30 share of the proceeds, I'll give you 30%."

Baoxiang rolled his eyes and said, "You think I'm a fool. I worked hard to sell salt, but you want to take 70% of it out of thin air. How can there be such a person in the world who takes advantage of me?"

Wu Gen was not in a hurry, he stretched out a few sticks to use as calculation chips, and said earnestly: "Brother, you need to be able to settle accounts, I will wait for you to calculate it carefully.

You only earn five taels for smuggling a bag, but after I provide the packhorse, the horse can transport three bags at a time. Including the four bags you carry, you can earn twenty taels of silver. You can share six taels. Isn’t it a return?

Earned one or two more.

Besides, since I'm stationed at Huangzhong Ridge, you can pass through with confidence, and you'll save a fortune for customs clearance. Isn't this a good thing for you and me?"

Baoxiang listened for a long time, staring at the calculation chips on the ground. He suddenly raised his head and glanced at Wu Gen, then lowered his head and thought, and finally said: "Six and four are open, I am six and you are four. Not to mention foot power and money, after all, I am salt."

You still need capital to buy it. How can you get a big share of it if you just sit here and don’t contribute any money or effort?”

Wu Gen laughed and said, "Brother Baoxiang, this is a bit unfair. When it comes to buying and selling, what matters is long-term and mutual benefit. In this way, let's make some concessions to each other, 50-50, how about it, this is my bottom line."

Baoxiang muttered a few words and gritted his teeth and said: "But, if it's 50-50, it's 50-50. Let me go quickly. There's just one thing, don't take advantage of me and stab me out."

"That's natural. Now that we have made this deal, we are like grasshoppers on a rope. If we work together, we will both benefit, and if we divide, we will lose." Wu Gen said as he put his hands behind his back and waved them, signaling Mo Xin to prepare for the situation.

, reached out and loosened the thorns tied to the treasure elephant.

Mo Xin looked around and realized what the deal was. To buy shares from the army's horses and sit in the house to collect the money. This was much easier than using a mouse to steal the money.

Baoxiang got free, moved his muscles, and retracted his arms behind his back, "I've been played with by you two all night, and I'm hungry. If I don't get some interest, I'm always unhappy. What are you doing?" He turned around and glared at Wu Gen.

.

Wu Gentan took his hand away from Baoxiang's back, "I didn't expect brother Baoxiang to have such a magical power. He could actually form four arms. I don't know if the two extra arms are real or fake."

"It's up to you."

"Okay, okay, don't care. Since we are working together, we naturally treat our brothers to a drink."

The three of them sat at the table, warmed some wine, took out the dried meat, chatted while eating, and inquired about each other's details.

Soon, Wu Gen figured out Baoxiang's background.

Baoxiang was originally a middle-aged man in his family, and his father was a military commander. However, due to an accident, the whole family was demoted to common people. When Baoxiang was ten years old, his father passed away in depression, leaving only Baoxiang and his mother.

Living hard.

In order to supplement his livelihood, as he got older, Baoxiang started a business of selling private salt. You must know that salt and iron are important weapons of the country. Selling salt is very profitable, but it is also a business that loses your head.

In Zhao State, the share of private salt has been divided up. Baoxiang, a newcomer, is naturally oppressed everywhere. Seeing that he cannot do private salt business in the country, Baoxiang starts to think about selling it across the border.

A few days ago, it was easy to travel through Huangzhong Ridge when there was no one guarding it. Since Wu Gen arrived here, Baoxiang had to stop his business for a while. However, as the New Year was approaching and his family was about to run out of food, Baoxiang gritted his teeth and took the risk to cross.

Barren Tomb Ridge.

I never thought that I would be so unlucky to bump into Wu Gen and Mo Xin. After a shabby trick, the two sides did not even fight directly and were captured alive. Although I was still a little unwilling, thinking about the vicious and insidious methods of the other party,

In addition to what Wu Gen said about making money, I still endured it.

"By the way, I clearly saw you two drinking in the house, why were you hiding in the dark?" Halfway through the meal, Baoxiang's face turned rosy and he asked in confusion.

"Hey." Wu Gen took out a square wooden plate. There were two wooden figures more than a foot high on the plate. The bottom of the wooden figures was movable, and a rope was tied to it. The other end of the rope was tied to the tail of Mo Xin Mouse.

.When the mouse moves, the wooden man also moves. The shadow shines on the window, really like two people having a drink at the table.

Baoxiang burst into laughter and slapped himself in the mouth. Such a little trick could actually deceive him, so he raised the glass in front of him and drank it down in one gulp.

It is said that there is no such thing as a meal of wine between men. If that doesn't work, then two drinks.

Baoxiang stayed here for three days, getting drunk every day.

Reluctant to let go of his children, Wu Gen has also abandoned his old career these days and squandered the wine and meat he brought back this time. For the sake of money, a little wine is nothing, men just need to be more generous.

Three days later, seeing that the new year was approaching, Baoxiang was worried about his mother at home and asked to bid farewell.

Wu Gen actually directly gave the general's war horse to him, without even paying an IOU, and without worrying that the other party would never return. Baoxiang hesitated for a moment, then took the reins of the horse, but before mounting the horse and leaving, he extended his hand to Wu Gen.

Five fingers shook.

Wu Gen understood in his heart, and it was settled. After a lot of coaxing and coaxing, the private salt shop in Huangzhongling was finally established. From now on, as long as he stays here for a day, he will have a steady stream of money in his pocket.

Two days after Baoxiang left, those transporting supplies from the Xiang army arrived at the foot of the mountain.

It was the New Year's Eve in three days, so Zhang Yuan sent someone to bring all the New Year's gifts, and also brought a pair of corps commander's tokens. It turned out that Zhang Yuan appealed to Qu Commander, saying that Wu Gen had contributed a lot in the sacrifice, although

Due to his status as a commoner, he cannot be given a higher position, but he can still be given a corps commander position.

In other words, Wu Gen can command four soldiers, and Mo Xin is one of them. However, the rest of the soldiers have not yet been deployed, and they will only be allocated when there are enough soldiers.

Looking at the corps commander's token, Wu Gen smiled brightly. He was an official now. He turned to look at his only subordinate, Mo Xin. He was just about to show off his authority, but when someone came, Duotou poured cold water on himself.

Zhang Yuan ordered Mo Xin to return to the camp after the New Year, leaving only Wu Gen to guard the place.

Wu Gen was very unhappy. Once Mo Xin left, he would no longer be a bare corps commander and could only control himself.

Mo Xin laughed loudly when he heard this. If he really worked under Wu Gen, he didn't know how this cheap corps leader would torment him.

Before the New Year, Mo Xin left in a hurry. This ghost place was so evil that even the rats he raised looked uneasy all the time. It would be better to leave earlier. Only a tough guy like Wu Gen could suppress him.

Live in bad luck.

After setting off several strings of firecrackers to celebrate the New Year, Wu Gen looked eagerly into the distance every day. Finally, on the fifteenth day, Baoxiang arrived as promised, bringing a total of four bags of personal salt.

Seeing the dusty Baoxiang, Wu Gen smiled with a smile on his face and diligently dusted him off. After returning this time, because he no longer had to worry about someone guarding the pass, Baoxian stuffed four bags full and returned them to Wu Gen.

Brought some drinks and food.

The two set up a table on the fire bed in the room, put four side dishes on it, put the wine flask into a warm bowl, and chatted about what they had seen after parting while eating.
To be continued...