cynical

Dayong Dynasty, Taishi 19th year.

The long team is advancing on the endless desert.

The boy was riding a horse and swayed leisurely following the footsteps of the horse. The wide goggles and flaxen scarf covered most of his face, only revealing a little fair skin.

Nangong Le stared blankly at the blue mountains in the distance, as if estimating how long it would take to reach the next destination.

A gust of wind blows, yellow sand fills the sky, goggles block them, but Nangong Le still frowned uncomfortably.

Although the glass lens has been polished as much as possible, and the material used to replace the rubber is the best and softest under the existing conditions, but the goggles made in this backward era are still not comfortable to wear for a long time.

Nangong Le simply closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The explosion brought him to this time and space, and changed him from a killer to the youngest son of the Nangong family, from a "baby" to "Nangongle". In the past 19 years, he has made a breakthrough with his cross-generational knowledge. Family business, saying that he is as rich as an enemy is definitely not bragging.Of course, money is a trivial matter to him, the point is that he wants to live comfortably in this life as well.

The monotonous desert is not necessarily calm and calm. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Donglin, his confidant, came to him, "Master, I found several corpses ahead. They looked like they were soldiers stationed on the frontier, and one of them was still alive."

"Frontier defenders? What are they doing here?" Nangong Le muttered, then waved his hand and said, "If you're still alive, save them."

"Yes!" Donglin led several people to go.

Not long after, several subordinates brought a person back. The person was lying on a hunchback, and his life and death were unknown.

Nangong Le asked casually, "What's the situation?"

Dong Lin said: "The team doctor has already given him preliminary treatment, but he lost a lot of blood. I don't know if he can survive."

"Do you recognize who he is?"

"It's the commander of the Northwest Army, Yin Sheng. I found this from him."

"Huh, is that him?"

Nangong Le let out a scream, took off the goggles, and looked at the ring pendant Donglin handed over.

This ring pendant is not made of common jade, but is made of transparent colored glaze, and the surface is hollowed out with the pattern of auspicious beast carrying a vase—it is the "treasure" produced by Nangong's family.

Sure enough, it belonged to General Yin, but I didn't expect him to carry it with him.

Fifteen years ago, this item was extremely valuable and was all the rage. It was popular for everyone to wear a glazed ring pendant, but it is not very valuable now.The so-called gentleman is like jade. The value and cultural connotation of jade cannot be replaced by casual things. Nowadays, most people who maintain their status still like to wear jade rings.

Nangong Le rolled his eyes, stuffed the ring into his bosom, and said: "You take good care of this man."

Seeing the seriousness on his young master's handsome face, which had always been unserious, Dong Lin didn't dare to neglect, and immediately conveyed the order.

At night, a group of people camped in a valley for the night, and Yin Sheng woke up after dinner.

Nangong Le strode into Yin Sheng's tent. The man was dressed in plain clothes and sat cross-legged on the ground, with his sword on his right hand and his left hand covering his abdomen—the place where he was most seriously injured.When Nangong Le entered, the man looked up. Although his complexion was pale and haggard, his star eyes were still clear and energetic.

"It turned out to be like this..."

Nangong Le murmured, which attracted the man's suspicious gaze. He immediately shifted his focus, smiled brightly, and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

The man forced himself to stand up, cupped his fists and saluted, "Thank you for saving my life, my lord!"

"You're welcome, I saw you fell in the desert, so I'll help you. The general is seriously injured, you should sit down and rest." Nangong Le smiled and said Mimi, pulling the man to sit side by side, and at the same time ordered: " Donglin, go prepare some digestible food."

After Dong Lin left, he turned around and asked, "What's the general's name? Why did he faint in the desert?"

The man hesitated for a while, but after all he couldn't resist the young man's clear and curious gaze, he tilted his head slightly to avoid the other's stare, and said in a deep voice: "Xia Yinsheng is the guard of Xingshan City, this time I entered the desert with a few of my men. I wanted to find out the situation, but I didn’t expect to get lost in the desert and encounter sand robbers again.”

"I'm ashamed to say that Yin did not expect this to happen before he left the city. He didn't bring many people with him, and the Sand Bandit had hundreds of people. Although the soldiers fought bravely, they were still invincible. I'm afraid that Yin has already... Alas!"

Yin Sheng was full of guilt and resentment. It was undoubtedly because he made a wrong decision as the leader, which led to this fate. If he had made more preparations before entering the desert, or had more people accompanying him, perhaps this would not have happened. tragedy.

"By the way, where is this place?" Yin Sheng hadn't stepped out of the tent yet, so he didn't know what was going on outside.

"This is a valley in the desert. It's already night. Let's camp here to rest and set off after dawn." Nan Gongle answered the question, and then asked: "General Yin, do you remember the characteristics of those sand robbers?" For example... Is there a big black mole on the face of any leader? It's around the corner of the eye."

Yin Sheng was puzzled, thought for a while and replied, "I haven't seen it yet."

"And what about their attire?"

"They all covered their faces, and their clothes seemed to be similar to those of ordinary barbarians, with swords and bows on their waists, and leather boots on their feet."

"That's it. Oh, the food is here." Seeing Dong Lin coming in, Nangong Le changed the subject, "There are only big pancakes and broth, and the taste is not very good, please don't mind. The pancakes are hard and broke into pieces." It’s better to soak in soup.”

"You are very kind, thank you."

Dong Lin brought hot broth and a few flatbreads, Nangongle asked Yin Sheng to serve the soup himself, while he took a flatbread, broke it into nail-sized pieces and threw it into the soup bit by bit.

Seeing Nangong Le taking care of himself so carefully, Yin Sheng felt very embarrassed. He scooped up a spoonful of broken cakes and put them in his mouth. He is a general who is used to suffering, and he didn't expect the food to be delicious under such circumstances. , but I didn't expect that the broth was thick and delicious, and the broken flatbread was not good in appearance, but it was still delicious. This thing can be called gourmet in ordinary people's homes.

It was only then that Yin Sheng realized that the young man in front of him was unusual, ordinary people walking in the desert, how could they have such good dry food.He couldn't help but sized the boy up and down, and after a closer look, he couldn't help being surprised——

The clothes on this young man are made of the best newly woven white die cloth, which appeared more than ten years ago. Although the color is not as bright as silk, it is softer, warmer and more durable. It is not cheaper than silk, and now noble families are proud to be able to wear this kind of fabric, and apart from these rich and powerful families, not many people in the market can afford it.

Not only that, what Yin Sheng coveted was "goggles" hanging around the boy's neck. With this kind of equipment, soldiers don't have to worry about being blinded by the desert wind and sand when they are fighting, but a goggle costs [-] pieces. Money—equivalent to food for a civilian family of three for three years, how can the army afford it!

There is also a dagger on the boy's waist, with a small symbol on the handle, which is the mark of "Northern Industries", the top weapons manufacturer in the Central Plains, indicating that the dagger is their product!Not to mention the leather boots on the boy's feet, the leather is ordinary, but the thick, grooved soles, which are said to be called "rubber", are of extraordinary value!

Yin Sheng was extremely surprised. The young man's outfit cost five hundred guan, which is less. If you say he is a wealthy Hu merchant, he doesn't look like one. He knows exactly what those Hu merchants look like, most of them are bulging Belly, covered in silk and satin, gold jewels, seems unwilling to dress up as a moving jewelry box.But this young man is definitely not like that. The wealth revealed invisibly is enough to compare with any "jewel box"!

However, it is hard to imagine that he came from a wealthy family, how could a son of a wealthy family come to the desert to do business?

What is the origin of this young man?

Yin Sheng collected himself, and asked politely, "I haven't asked the young master's name yet."

Nangong Le smiled sweetly, looked at Yin Sheng and replied, "My younger brother's surname is Tong and his name is Le."

Yin Sheng was uncomfortable with the bright eyes, looked away, and asked casually: "Mr. Tong is walking in the desert, but Hu Shang?"

Nangong Le smiled and said: "Hehe, I am from the Central Plains, and this time I followed the caravan at home to the desert."

Yin Sheng frowned slightly, "Business with barbarians in the desert?"

"Exactly."

Knowing that the young man is actually a businessman, Yin Sheng couldn't help being a little disappointed, and thinking of the other party's business partner, he was even more slightly angry, his sword eyebrows were raised, and he said displeasedly: "You sell them things to make their lives better, Wouldn't it be the same as funding them to attack our dynasty!"

Nangong Le raised his eyebrows.Yoyo, I haven't seen you for more than ten years, and the little baby at the beginning has grown into a conservative and stubborn old man. It's really not cute.

As soon as he rolled his eyes, the bad water in his stomach bubbled up—if he was told some theories from his previous life, how would he react?

Thinking of Yin Sheng's stunned look, he became interested, and asked with a smile: "General Yin, tell me, why did those desert barbarians come to invade the Central Plains?"

Yin Sheng replied earnestly: "The desert is desolate. Every winter, there will be white disasters. Spring and summer are green and yellow. The life of the barbarians is hard to survive. Seeing the abundance of water and grass in the Central Plains and the abundance of life, they come to invade the Central Plains. make it their own!"

"And what if they're full?"

Yin Sheng was startled, frowned and said: "Barbarians are cruel by nature, even if they are full of food and drink, they will invade me!"

"Oh. General Yin, what do you think is the most important thing in war?" Nangong Le asked, but this time he continued without waiting for Yin Sheng's answer, "If you want me to say, the most important thing in war is nothing more than food, grass, What do you think about the strength of the troops and the support of the people?"

Yin Sheng thought for a while, then nodded slightly.

Nangong Le smiled, raised a finger, and analyzed: "In terms of military strength, although the barbarians are naturally strong, their weapons are backward. In real competition, they are equally as good as our soldiers, right?"

Yin Sheng glanced at the young man suspiciously, and after some consideration, he nodded reluctantly and admitted.

"Then let's talk about food and grass. Food and grass are equal to money. Only when you have money can you provide a steady stream of supplies. Then tell me, what should you do to destroy the other party's food and grass supply?" He raised his second finger.

"Blocking the commercial road, they will not be able to get the supplies they need!" Yin Sheng said firmly.

Nangong laughed, he knew that Yin Sheng, who was conservative and restricted by the times, would give this answer.

Blockade and conquest, this is the way the Central Plains dynasty has always treated the barbarians. When the country is strong, it conquers them and makes them vassals; He was humiliated by the barbarian invasion.

It cannot be said that it is wrong to do so, but it is only a temporary solution, not a permanent cure.

"Congratulations, you got the wrong answer!" He winked playfully, making Yin Sheng stunned.

"Let me ask you again, you said that I sold things to the barbarian tribes to help them fight wars, but do you know what I sell?" He raised three fingers.

The corners of Nangong Le's eyes twitched slightly, and Yin Sheng was taken aback again by his handsome appearance under the candlelight.

He turned his head away, coughed unnaturally, and said, "What else can you sell? The barbarians are short of food and clothing. Naturally, you are selling some food, salt, clothing, etc. Maybe you are also smuggling weapons!"

Yin Sheng glared at Nangong Le as he spoke, as if wondering if the other party really did this.

But Nan Gong Le did not refute, but instead said with a smile: "Congratulations, you got the answer right!"

Yin Sheng stood up, glaring at each other, as if what he was facing was not a savior but an enemy, but before he could reprimand, Nangong Le got up and patted him on the shoulder. The force seemed gentle, but Yin Sheng was crushed involuntarily. go down.

He was startled, before he could think about how this young man was so strong, what Nangong Le said completely attracted his attention.

"That's right, what I sell is food, clothes and weapons. The salt I sell is as white as snow, and the sand is as fine as sand; what I sell is down jackets made of the finest white quilt, which are light and warm, even if it is a white disaster." You can run and jump in the snow in that kind of weather; what you sell is the top dagger, like this one, it cuts iron like mud... Don't worry, listen to me, do you know how much these things are worth?"

Yin Sheng glared angrily, and Nangong Le gave the answer before he could respond, "Salt, ten guan for a catty; down jacket, one for fifty guan; dagger, one for one hundred guan. Do you think that in a barbarian tribe How much can you sell? Which barbarians do you think can buy it?"

Yin Sheng said angrily, "How would I know!"

"Tsk, you idiot, you can't turn your head!" Nangong Le raised his index finger and shook his face with disgust, "You don't even think about it, only rich people can afford such expensive things in the Central Plains, but in the barbarian tribes , who else can buy it except the elders and leaders of the big tribes? Even they can only buy a small amount to meet their own enjoyment needs, and it is impossible to arm their own army with these things.”

"But where does their money come from? You have blocked them from the Central Plains. They can only search from their own people. The people living at the bottom will become more and more miserable, and although these leaders can live a more comfortable life , but all their money was plundered by me, and I had to pay taxes when I returned to the Central Plains, and the taxes went into the national treasury, and finally used for the army. Tell me, am I subsidizing the barbarians, or creating wealth for my Yong Dynasty? ?”

Yin Sheng opened his mouth, unable to utter a word.

Nangong Le kept talking, "Look, the wealth of the barbarian tribes reached the Central Plains through these luxuries. They are poor and have no financial resources, but what about the people's hearts? The leader makes the people fall into a more difficult situation for his own enjoyment. Do you think so? Can the leader win the support of the tribe?"

Yin Sheng was silent.

Nangong Le looked at him, but smiled and said nothing.

What he is talking about is a theory that completely subverts this era, even though he has been quietly taking action to change the world in secret; even if he is familiar with the highest ruler of this dynasty, as long as he speaks out, he can gain unparalleled power by others, He never said it either.

Because, he doesn't need these auras.

But at this moment he wanted to say it, because he wanted to know what expression this serious-looking man would show.

It must be very cute!

Nangong Le snickered in his heart, staring at Yin Sheng intently, taking in all the other's reactions.

After a long time, Yin Sheng let out a hesitant and vague response from his throat, saying "what you said makes sense".

It seems very unwilling.Nangong Le couldn't stop laughing inwardly, bullying such a stupid piece of wood is really interesting, the piece of wood in the previous life was also bullied by herself like this...

Thinking of her good partner in her previous life, Nangong Le's eyes dimmed.I have been in this world for 19 years, and I have found both Scorpio and Tianhe, but the wood that is really close to me has never appeared, and I don’t know if something happened...

Nangong Le sighed, blinked lightly, and cleaned up his troubled thoughts.

Then, realizing that the other party was peeping at him, Nangong Le laughed twice, laughing until Yin Sheng's face turned red, and without waiting for his reaction, he got up and prepared to leave.

But if this alone is not enough to satisfy Nangong Le, before leaving, he added maliciously, "Little brother is just talking about some superficial opinions, the general just listen to it. It's late at night, and I have to get up early tomorrow morning to hurry , the general is still seriously injured, it is better to rest as soon as possible. Although there is a small scooter in the team, the ride is not very good, and the general will be wronged tomorrow."

Yin Sheng was startled, but in the blink of an eye, the other party had already walked to the door, and he quickly said: "Young Master Tong!"

Looking back, Nangong Le blinked her big eyes and asked silently.

Yin Sheng blushed and said, "May I ask you where you are going tomorrow?"

"Naturally, I'm going to the desert. The goods are still in the queue. I'm going to those tribes to sell them."

Yin Sheng was in a hurry, "I, I need to go back to the border town, and please lend me some horses and dry food, sir. It will be a big reward in the future!"

Nangong Le curled her lips and said, "Dry food for the horse is not a problem, but with your body, which has a hole in the east and a hole in the west, if you jolt the horse twice, you may bleed."

"Uh, this..."

"Also, are you sure you can go back to the border town from here alone? Just don't get lost again."

Yin Sheng was quite embarrassed, so he bite the bullet and said: "Please ask the young master to lend me another guide!"

"Tsk, this can't work, the guide gave you, what should we do?" In fact, there is more than one person in the team who knows the way, but Nan Gongle just wanted to make things difficult for this old-fashioned guy, pretending to be sorry, and said: "General Yin, it's better to go with him." Let's go for a walk in the desert together, we can return to the border town in half a month at most, and the general's injury will heal by then, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?"

"Half a month? It's impossible!" Yin Sheng said loudly, "I'm the commander, how can I not be in the army for half a month?"

"Then there's nothing I can do about it."

Nangong Le spread his hands, with a look of regret.But he didn't leave just then, instead he stood where he was, waiting for Yin Sheng's reaction.

After a brief silence, Yin Sheng stood up suddenly, and severely reprimanded him: "Young Master Tong! If you don't send me back, can you afford to delay the military affairs in the border town? You are bringing a frontier general into the enemy's camp now." , if there is an accident, you are treason!" After a pause, he added, "I can compensate you for your losses."

Nangong Le didn't like to hear his words, and the slender eyebrows were raised along with a trace of anger in his heart.

"Treason?"

He is not an unreasonable person, at best he is just a bit mean-spirited. If Yin Sheng is willing to sincerely ask him to make fun of him a few more times, everything is negotiable. I didn't expect this stubborn man to refuse to give up. How dare you reprimand him?

Do you think everyone will be weak when they see the official?That's really embarrassing, he Nangong Le is not this kind of stuff.

Nangong Le folded his hands on his chest, raised his chin, and said with a sneer, "General Yin, don't forget whose tent you are staying in now."

"You dare to threaten me!" Yin Sheng raised his brows upside down and stood up abruptly.

However, Nangong Le completely ignored his fierce aura, smiled innocently, and said, "How dare I, if the general wants to go back, just leave. From here to the border town, if the footsteps are fast, maybe seven, You can get there in eight days, I wish the general good luck.”

He smiled sweetly, ignoring Yin Sheng's dark face, he lifted the curtain and was about to leave, but just as he took a step, he stopped and turned around, and said with concern, "By the way, General, if you want to leave Be careful, the ones who robbed and killed the general were not some sand robbers, they were all regular troops from the barbarian tribe.”

"what?!"

Yin Sheng was taken aback, and was about to catch up and ask, but he moved too much and pulled the wound on his abdomen. A burst of severe pain made him bend over and stop. When he chased out with pain, Nangong Le had disappeared. Under the twinkling starlight, Yin Sheng Only then did I see the whole picture of the camp, the black tents were all of the same shape, making it impossible to tell which was which.

"damn it!"

Yin Sheng clenched his fists and scolded the profiteer in his heart, but he couldn't help thinking about what the other party said before he left.

The one who attacked him was not a sand robber?But the regular army?Isn't that...