Naruto Puppet Master

The next day, just when Ouyang Feng left the sphere of influence of the White Camel Mountain, the entire escort team on the surface of the White Camel Mountain began to mobilize loosely on the outside and tight on the inside.

At the same time, far away in the grasslands, many people from the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Jin Dynasty in the Central Plains began to secretly sneak towards the Western Regions day and night.

Ten days later, the once bustling towns of Baituo Mountain began to be filled with camel and horse teams. At the same time, all caravans heading to the Western Regions were forced to stop for two months. .

The traveling caravans, including their people and goods, were all forcibly squeezed into the villa tavern.

Fortunately, Ouyang Ke, who is well aware of the negative consequences of strong pressure, has ordered that not only the basic accommodation in the hotel is free, but also all the goods brought by the merchants can be purchased fairly by Baituoshan at the price of previous years. Therefore, these merchants did not cause much trouble. uneasiness.

After all, merchants appear just to make money, and they just want to make more money by traveling further. Now that Baituo Mountain has made it clear that it is going to make a big move, and the risks are greatly increased at this time, it is a rare act of kindness for them to be willing to fairly purchase the goods from the caravans. The move was made.

How dare these businessmen, who have a low status in both the East and the West and are used to the chaos of the world, complain!Instead, he became grateful to the young master of Baituo Mountain whom he had never met before.

"It seems that White Camel Mountain is really going to attack the Western Region." A blond and blue-eyed Hu Shang sat in the hotel and looked at the escort meeting outside and said in an incomprehensible tone.

"Yes! I just don't know how much appetite our young master from Baituo Mountain has." Another black-haired and black-eyed Han merchant at the same table said in agreement:

"I have made a rough estimate in the past few days. There are at least a dozen camel guards for every 100 people in a group! This is a camel group of more than 1000 people, plus the 3000 cavalry cavalry, plus others, I Judging from the strength of Baituo Mountain, there are at least [-] troops, of which about [-] are definitely cavalry!" A Hu merchant continued to whisper:

"This kind of military strength is probably second to none in this barren Western Region, except for the big country Xiliao near the west. The small countries with few people in the east and central part should not be able to stop the White Camel Mountain." A Hu who travels to the Western Region all year round Shang said: "Unless they unite and bring together the three major bandits in the Western Region to resist, I'm afraid they will be swallowed up by our young white camel master Ye soon."

"Well, that's how I see it, but now the White Camel Mountain people have started to block the news before they set off, and no one is allowed to go to the Western Region."

"With no caravan supplies in the vast desert, even if a few spies escape the blockade of White Camel Mountain, it's still a question whether they can get out alive! Let alone deliver the news on time."

"Yes! Yes! It seems that [-]% to [-]% of the eastern and central parts of the Western Region will fall under the control of Baituo Mountain. I just don't know if they can stop Xiliao's interference in the future." Han merchants said: "Xi Liao Liao is a big country with hundreds of thousands of troops. If we intervene, I'm afraid Baituoshan will have no choice but to give in."

"No, Li, your news is out of date. Although Xiliao is still a big country, their domestic situation is already very bad. As long as they are not specifically provoked, they probably don't have the time and energy to take care of the white camels. Shan's action?" Hu Shang, the blond and blue-eyed man, said at first.

"Oh, it's true that I haven't been to the Western Regions for several years. Why, Aka, something big happened there." The Han merchant named Li asked curiously.

"Well, just in the past few years! The prince-in-law who was originally the most trusted by the king of Xiliao revealed his ambitions and had a huge conflict with his father-in-law." Hu Shang named Aka said: "Now in Xiliao In the Liao Dynasty, because the prince-in-law controls about [-]% of the country's army, while the king only controls [-]% of the army, the balance is a bit unbalanced."

"If the king of Xiliao had not held great righteousness and had sufficient control over the royal city, plus the army controlled by the [-]% neutral nobles was still wavering, I am afraid that the situation in Xiliao would have changed long ago."

The blond Aka sighed and said: "Over the years, although the two forces have not completely broken up, they have also made the entire Xiliao country a mess, especially those greedy noble pigs, taking advantage of the country's chaos. At that time, the exploitation of those of us who used to be merchants also became more harsh.”

"In the past two years, many of my friends have disappeared into the desert without anyone noticing. I originally planned to rest for a few years before taking a look again, but I just happened to catch up. Things here.”

"Oh, who says it's not the case! The Jin Kingdom over there is becoming more and more harsh. If the White Camel Mountain area is not fair and you can still make money if you go there, I plan to rest for a few years and then take a look. ” Han Shang Li sighed empathetically.

"So the two of them have plans to stop temporarily after this time." Another Hu Shang said with a slight frown.

As caravans that travel all year round, although they are competitors, because the market is too big, it is impossible for a few caravans to eat up them. Therefore, if they have a deep enough friendship with each other and a long enough cooperation time, Friends will indeed retain eight points of trust. After all, in front of the bandits, robbers, and exploitative officials and states from various countries along the way, they are naturally a group.

Therefore, it is necessary to get together once you have the opportunity.Just like this, the three people at this table, Aka, Li and another Hu Shang, formed an alliance with a community of interests.

Although the three of them were all running the Silk Road, Han merchant Li was mainly responsible for taking care of the two of them in the Han territory, Aka was responsible for the sales and trade routes after leaving the Western Regions, and Ajin, who had just frowned, was responsible for dealing with unnecessary troubles in the Western Regions.

It's just that there was a problem in the Western Region at this time, and Ajin's ability was questioned, but Han Shang Li and Aka showed signs of wavering.

After all, the three wealthy people have made a lot over the years, enough for the three of them to live a comfortable life. Although they are greedy and want to continue making money, when the risks have obviously become greater, Li and Aka naturally also No more risking your life to make this money.

Even if he had a choice, Ah Jin actually wanted to stop, but he was also a well-known businessman in the Western Regions. He had connections with people from various countries in the Western Regions on the Silk Road. If he continued to run trade routes, then there would be Be filial and see that someone can take care of your future interests.

But if he wants to stop, he must first find a strong enough backer. Otherwise, someone who peeks into his wealth may be killed at some point, and everyone in the family will die.

However, it is not so easy to find a reliable backer. If you find the wrong person, it will not just be as simple as losing most of your savings.

If you are single, you may be silenced.

Many of Ah Jin's seniors disappeared without a trace like this.

"Alas, we also know your difficulties, Ah Jin. If we just continue, we will be risking our own lives. You have to understand us!" Han Shang Li sighed and said, "Now you get ready first. Come on! Anyway, if it doesn’t work, what do you think of this White Camel Mountain?”

"Well, you mean?" Ah Jin, who had a gloomy face, looked at his Han friend in surprise.

"Well, Li is right. The three of us know enough about White Camel Mountain. The rules here are strict, and there are no messy nobles. Living here is no worse than the citizens of those big countries."

"Because only the owner of the village, the Ouyang family, is the absolute master here, and the others are just servants and supported subjects. In addition, the Ouyang family has always been well-behaved and has no bad habits, so it is very reliable to rely on them." Aka nodded and said.

"But the Ouyang family's Baituoshan power does not recruit people casually. They have been here for several generations. They have enough loyal servants and enough wealth. I'm afraid even if I want to get involved, they will I’m not willing to accept it either!” Ah Jin said with a wry smile.

"But in the past, they only controlled the territory of a few hundred miles around Baituo Mountain. Naturally, there will be no shortage of manpower after generations of training."

"But this time they are going to expand outward. If they really gain a foothold, let alone swallow up most of the Western Region, even if they only swallow up the eastern part of the Western Region and most of the central region, it will be completely different."

"Perhaps a country will be established by then. It will be impossible for all servants to be employed at that time. There will certainly no longer be such restrictions on the people under my command, and they will definitely accept the help of outsiders." Han merchant Li Said with certainty.

"That's right, if my hometown wasn't here and my family members were living well there, I would have considered joining here." Aka said with some regret: "It was easiest to get mixed up with the nobility from the beginning of the founding of the country. What an opportunity for identity!”

"This is really true!" Ah Jin thought with some excitement after hearing the persuasion of his two friends.

"Well, and if Baituo Mountain can really grow, then my business is not going to be interrupted. At worst, I won't go further west. Anyway, the rules of Baituo Mountain are still reliable." Han merchant Li's eyes flashed. Said with a hint of shrewdness.

"Well, you're okay, but I'm not. Xiliao is a vast territory. If Baituo Mountain can hold on even if it can capture most of the Western Region this time, it's unlikely that it will collide with the tiger in Xiliao within ten years. ," Aka said regretfully: "Anyway, I will stop for a few years after this is over. I hope this world will be more stable in a few years!"

"Ah."

....

At the same time, when the entire White Camel Mountain was in motion, Ouyang Ke, who was in charge of all this, was also listening to the reports of the people below in the office hall.

"Because the young master was willing to buy the goods collected by the merchants at a fair price last year, no one made any trouble. Although the inn is now full of people, we can still support more than two more people with the usual supplies in the inn. Months of time." A middle-aged servant said.

In White Camel Mountain, except for the Ouyang family, which is the absolute leader, the functions under its subsidiaries were originally divided according to the position of the villa. However, since Ouyang Ke began to control the power of White Camel Mountain and cultivate dead soldiers four years ago, various functions and rights began to It is divided and more detailed.

In addition to Afu, who controls the dead soldiers for Ouyang Ke himself, Ghost Shura, who controls the ghost-faced army, and several camel team captains who control the armed forces on the surface of the villa, there are two internal and external housekeepers, and the internal housekeeper is in charge of the entire White House. Tuoshan's chores, especially the control of various cultivation resources and precious medicines, can be regarded as the one with the greatest jurisdiction besides the above team leaders.

Secondly, there is the Outer Butler, who controls all the external commercial properties of the Ouyang family, and at the same time assists the Ouyang family in collecting a large amount of materials for various needs through normal means. He is regarded as an important servant with actual power.

Of course, in order to avoid the possibility of losing the tail, the number of outside stewards is variable. As long as the business they control reaches a certain level, downstream branches will be divided and given to other promoted stewards. At most, they can only become nominal leaders. There is no absolute decision-making power.

At this time, the person who reported to Ouyang Ke was Pu Jin, the only outside housekeeper at present.

"Well, you did a good job. This time our White Tuo Mountain army is about to attack. The entire Western Region is our target. Even if we can't win all of it, the eastern part and most of the central part must be swallowed. Therefore, the foundation Absolutely no chaos is allowed.”

"For this reason, I hereby promise that after the success of this operation, not only will the soldiers who followed me make meritorious deeds, but those who fully supported the forward material operation at the rear will also receive the rewards they deserve. At that time, I can represent my uncle. Grant you the status of a retainer." Ouyang Ke said, throwing out an incentive bait.

"Retainer?" Although the literal meaning was clear enough, the servants who had never stepped out of the Western Regions still looked at Ouyang Ke in confusion.

"The so-called retainers are subordinates of important ministers who are one level higher than servants."

"In the past, in my Ouyang family, the lowest level was all kinds of slaves, who were not in control of life or death. Secondly, there were the families who had been loyal to my Ouyang family for many years. Because of their loyalty and ability, they were rewarded with being released from slavery and given names to their servants. Ouyang Ke said calmly: "In the past, only servants were enough to handle affairs for my Ouyang family."

"But later we will swallow up the Western Region, or even the entire Western Region. At that time, it will not be enough to rely on the manpower we have trained ourselves. Therefore, I established the position of retainer. As long as we make enough contributions to my Ouyang family and make an oath and The family motto is to be loyal to my Ouyang family forever and ever, then you can get the title of retainer."

"Given surnames, manors and fiefs, as long as our Ouyang family survives, these loyal retainers will be treated like nobility for generations to come."

"You have no worries about food and clothing, you have access to dignitaries, and you have a way to advance."

"Of course there are differences between retainers. Merit and contribution are used to divide the scope of fiefdoms and the rights and benefits they can enjoy. At the same time, in order to avoid the degradation of future generations, the title of retainers only retains the basic aristocratic treatment for the incompetent, and gives the most important Opportunities for advancement.”

"This is simply a gift! Young Master, you are our reborn parents!" After hearing Ouyang Ke's explanation, several guards captains immediately thanked him with tears streaming down their faces.