ATPnovel Chapter 10 The Cart Inn
Chapter 10 The Cart Inn
Watching Lu Xingzhou leave.
Coming to his senses, Yu Wendou murmured:
"Intelligent, capable, knowledgeable, and courageous—such a talented individual, I hope he doesn't die young!"
Butler Sun looked slightly surprised: "Master, how can we demonstrate that my young nephew is intelligent?"
In three years, the banditry along the Liao River for hundreds of miles was quelled!
Neither my father-in-law nor Lord Wu dared to make such a boast; wasn't that reckless and foolish?
Yu Fengzhi saw it more clearly: "Is this Brother Lu repaying Father's favor?"
Butler Sun suddenly realized, "Oh, I see! I thought the master was after his grain!"
"Hahahaha~!" Yu Wendou laughed heartily.
The conversation between the two cannot be known to a third party, so how can one explain to others the kindness they have shown him?
That's where Lu Xingzhou's cleverness lies!
Yu Wendou patched it up.
"It's uncertain when his grain production will be able to affect our business."
"Nowadays, the railways are all controlled by the Japanese and Russians. The freight rates are cheap, but we are at their mercy. For us, unimpeded waterways are becoming increasingly important. If we could establish a large town at the confluence of the three rivers to protect the waterway, our fleet could make one more trip each year, and the profits would be more than ten or twenty thousand silver dollars."
The Dongliao River is 150 meters wide on average, and the Daliao River is 200 meters wide at its narrowest point, so the bandit problem was still manageable.
At its narrowest point, the Xiliao River is less than 80 meters wide, and boats traveling on the water can hardly avoid attacks from bandits with guns and cannons. There are frequent incidents of various boat fleets being robbed.
Butler Sun immediately became convinced of the "gentleman's agreement" between Lu Xingzhou and Yu Wendou.
I thought about it even more deeply.
It is said that Grasshopper's lair is in Zhangwu. It is hard to believe that he would run more than 400 miles away to the source of the Liao River to commit murder unless he was instructed by someone.
"So, the bearded man burned down dozens of villages around the source of the Liao River for this reason?!"
Yu Wendou nodded in agreement.
The reason this patch is convincing is that it is not fake.
However, once the news gets out, the danger Lu Xingzhou will face is probably more severe than he imagined.
Yu Fengzhi felt a pang of pity: "Father, why didn't you provide Brother Lu with more advanced equipment?"
"Fortune favors the bold, and Father prepares everything meticulously; what use is he?"
"father!!"
The elderly Yu Wendou shook his head in an unquestionable manner, and Yu Fengzhi had no choice but to shut up.
Lu Xingzhou wasn't anxious.
Yu Wendou thought that by working together in a tacit manner, he could silence the gossip and reduce the world's doubts about his development.
Little did he know that this excuse itself was what he wanted to do.
Before the towering tree of Marshal Zhang fell, the threat of bandits to the survival of the people in Northeast China was greater than that of the Japanese and Russian invaders.
We must proceed slowly and gradually to drive out the Japanese invaders.
However, he felt that eliminating more than 10 bandits, who seemed to be a formidable force but were actually a motley crew of varying quality fighting their own battles, was as easy as sweeping away fallen leaves in autumn.
Heading southeast from Zhengjiatun, after traveling more than thirty miles, there was little snow left on the vast plains.
Zhu Kaishan, riding a horse alongside Lu Xingzhou, looked at the bright sun in the sky with some worry.
"Master, I reckon that twenty li stretch from the source of the Liao River will be difficult to traverse!"
City dwellers who have never lived in temperate or cold climates can hardly imagine how difficult it is to walk on muddy dirt roads where snow freezes and then thaws repeatedly. Lu Xingzhou knew this all too well.
"Please remember to work hard today, we must get to Wangjiadian. Tomorrow night when we arrive at Weizi, there's plenty of pork stew with vermicelli!"
A horse-drawn cart loaded with over a thousand kilograms of supplies, plus women and children, is traveling at full capacity. If it gets stuck in the mud or its axle breaks, well, let's get busy.
"Alright~ Since you've said that, no one still feels tired!"
The speed increase is to protect the elderly, women, and children in their own families.
Wangjiadian is the only roadside inn where you can rest along the 120-mile stretch from Zhengjiatun to the source of the Liaohe River.
If they couldn't get there, they would have to rest in the freezing cold wilderness, and at least half of the women and children would fall ill.
There was also pork stew with vermicelli to eat. The farmhands were willing to travel through the night, let alone walk a short distance at night!
The driver, full of energy, cracked his whip, while the men on horseback flanking him did not complain.
At this time in Northeast China, visiting someone's neighbor required walking sixty or seventy li (approximately 30-35 kilometers). There were almost no Northeasterners over sixteen who couldn't ride a horse. The group quickened their pace and hurried on their way.
Zhu Chuanwu was an excellent rider and a horse lover. He stared at Lu Xingzhou's Jinzhou horse ahead of him, occasionally clicking his tongue in amazement.
Seeing his expression, the somewhat bored Sanjiang River immediately began to tease him.
"Stop staring! Your eyes are practically sunk into the horse's rear end. Is the young master's horse something you should be eyeing?"
Regardless of the performance difference between Mongolian horses and Jinzhou horses, the taller Jinzhou horse is far superior. What real man doesn't like a tall, big horse?
Zhu Chuanwu rolled his eyes at him, annoyed: "What's it to you if I'm just looking? The young master hasn't said anything yet!"
"Hey~ You think you're so tough? Let's have a go!"
Although Zhu Chuanwu was impulsive and reckless, he was upright in character, and naturally he and the scoundrel Sanjiangshui looked down on each other.
The two started arguing, and Zhu Kaishan glared at Chuanwu, about to curse him.
He was the head of the estate, and theoretically, he could manage everyone except the owner, Lu Xingzhou, and Lin Fengyi. However, Sanjiangshui and Niyang were the owner's followers, and speaking harshly to them would affect unity, so naturally, the sons would be disciplined first when there was a conflict.
Lu Xingzhou was not unreasonable, so he naturally didn't give him a chance to scold his son and spoke first:
"Chuanwu, we should be almost at Wangjiadian. There are guns in the box your mother is sitting in. Go and distribute them to everyone."
Zhu Chuanwu was overjoyed; this meant he was going to temporarily take over as the gunner!
He raised an eyebrow triumphantly at the Three Rivers, then spurred his horse and headed straight for his mother's carriage.
The Three Rivers Water gave a disdainful smile.
So what if I'm the cannon wielder? I'm the boss's personal bodyguard!
Having observed the two's behavior, Lu Xingzhou decided not to interfere.
The upright martial arts practitioners and the scoundrels from Sanjiangshui each have their uses; since they're idle anyway, let them make a fuss.
On the carriage, Wen's mother brought up something that made Lin Fengyi blush. She looked nothing like the charming young sister-in-law who had seduced the young marshal into making a mistake.
Her innocent appearance was breathtakingly beautiful, but Zhu Chuanwu, who rushed over, ignored her completely.
This guy is so upright he's almost single-minded. He's unmoved by Xiu'er's pursuit and can't have room for any other woman in his heart except for Xian'er.
"Mother, please get up and make way. The landlord wants me to distribute the guns among everyone!"
Wen's mother stood up in shock: "My God~ I've been sitting on a gun all along?!"
Chuanwu and his men carried the two boxes down and opened them, revealing 40 brand-new Springfield M1903 rifles, also known as Springfield rifles.
Lu Xingzhou is a capable fighter, but that doesn't mean he has to deal with danger all by himself. He had already secretly placed two boxes of rifles on Lin Fengyi's carriage.
Chuanwu distributed the guns, and the farmhands who received them were overjoyed and began to play with them.
Chuanwu, who had returned to Lu Xingzhou's side, expressed his concern:
"Boss, what kind of good gun is this? Most of the guys probably don't know how to use it. What will we do if we run into trouble?"
Only one-third of Zhang's troops were equipped with bolt-action rifles, and it was quite normal that the farmhands, who were only good at firing old-fashioned firearms, didn't know how to use them.
Lu Xingzhou had no expectation that the gun would come in handy now.
He asked, half-laughing, half-crying, "What, you really want to run into trouble?"
March and April are the poorest time for landlords and peasants, a period commonly known as the lean season.
It was also during the spring planting season, and bandits who didn't want to exploit the situation would generally not choose this time to commit robbery.
Zhu Kaishan explained, "The boss's idea is that there are many people and suspicious activity at the inn, so having guns is just a deterrent. Once we get to the fortified area, there will be plenty of time for everyone to practice shooting!"
That's it!
Zhu Chuanwu was once again impressed by the young boss who had thought of this.
After walking for more than two hours after dark, many women and children were shivering from the cold. Finally, they saw the inn, its large red lanterns swaying in the cold wind.
Zhu Kaishan shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, speed things up! The sooner we get to the inn, the sooner we can warm up!"
"Hurry up and run a few steps, my legs are completely numb!"
The scattered responses also carried in the direction of the car dealership.
Inside Wang's shop.
Wang Tieshan, the boss who looked like a Maitreya Buddha, was discussing the spoils with a fierce-looking burly man, and his expression clearly showed his dissatisfaction.
"What do you mean by 'over the mountain wind'? You only gave me these few coins? You've been smoking too much opium, don't you remember my methods?"
The burly man, not daring to be annoyed, forced a smile.
"You haven't sent us any letters for two months, and we're almost out of sea salt. What's the boss doing, eating seaweed and smoking opium? This 700 silver dollars was scraped together from between our teeth as a tribute to you!"
"Hmph~ Guoshanfeng's teeth have quite a big gap!"
Wang Tieshan didn't believe a word the brute said.
"Hehe~ You at least gave us a little information so we could get a ticket, otherwise we really wouldn't be able to make a living!"
Even a beard needs to make a living; it's hard to just sit around and eat your savings if you don't make any money.
But Wang Tieshan was even more frustrated: "Ever since Lao Yu's kiln was smashed (robbed), fewer and fewer people have come to this place. Where am I supposed to find a target?!"
His extra income has decreased significantly in the past two years, which has delayed his plans to marry a sixth concubine.
The burly man cursed, "That damn Grasshopper, what's gotten into him? He's made us gang starve!"
Just as the two were feeling down, a lookout ran in to deliver a message.
"Second-in-command, this is bad! A large convoy is coming from the north, and it looks like they have at least twenty or thirty guns!"
The burly man was startled and immediately drew his gun, pointing it at Wang Tieshan's head and cursing:
"You son of a bitch, you dare to betray me?!"
There haven't been any caravans on this road for several months. The fact that so many people are here must mean that Wang Tieshan informed the soldiers to come and arrest them.
These unscrupulous shop owners are masters of double-dealing. With only three people, how could he possibly be a match for this bunch of people?!
Wang Tieshan disdained to fire his gun.
"In this godforsaken place, if these thugs could get here so quickly, you'd all be dead a million times over! Go hide in the cellar, you disgraceful wretch!"
The brute, realizing what had happened, sheepishly tucked his gun back into his waistband and signaled his men to hide in the cellar.
He followed Wang Tieshan, clearly showing his distrust.
Wang Tieshan could only scoff, "If you slip up later, don't blame me for selling you out!"
Then, with a smile, it faced the cold wind.