Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 203 Slippery Porter
With the help of Shen Tu Zhuo and Cai Zhu'er's planning, Zhou Wen Cong rearranged the defenses of Yangguan.

After the new trade route was opened, he had long wanted to implement the inspection and defense of Yangguan, but he had been waiting for the right opportunity to make this move more effective.

For a long time, the defense of Yangguan has been a self-contained chain of interests—

Caravans that had been bribed and had connections made only needed a token inspection before being allowed to pass. Whether the goods were more or less than advertised, or whether the declarations were made according to the list, they were all turned a blind eye.

Conversely, if the caravan is a complete novice with no connections, even if it is transporting goods honestly and in accordance with all regulations, they will still try to stop it. They will either deliberately delay the time for entering or leaving the country, or find a few faults to confiscate the goods and threaten the owner, until the owner understands and obediently pays tribute.

This time, the King of Qin took a radical approach, replacing all the generals and soldiers involved in city defense and border inspection from top to bottom, no matter how solid their connections or how sincere their tributes, they were all stripped of their original status.

The reason that caravan selling fine iron weapons could pass through Yangguan without hindrance must be because they had cultivated the border defenses for many years. The soldiers who let them pass may not have known what the caravan was actually carrying, but they must have made a fortune and were used to giving them the runaround. After all, nothing had gone wrong for so many years, so why bother?

But now that things have changed, they have immediately lost their previous support. If they want to deepen their ties with Ti Nu, they must quickly find another way out and use the fastest and most convenient means to establish new connections with border guards and regain the privilege of passing through the pass.

Since taking over the Zhenxi Army, the King of Qin began sweeping reforms, and the major overhaul of the border defenses was a natural progression. This caused considerable trouble, but did not arouse suspicion. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Caizhu assisted Shentu Zhuo in closely monitoring the five suspicious caravans, intending to select the one most likely to be a lackey of the Grand Minister.

Finally, they set their sights on a caravan called Fengtai.

This caravan was more deceptive than the one described in Lord Shentu's travelogue. Whether it was because they had been in the business for a long time or had learned from past mistakes, they appeared to be no different from ordinary caravans. The caravan leader chatted and laughed with the other merchants, seemingly very familiar with them, and even did business with them, but they still gave themselves away.

Before leaving and after entering the pass, almost all caravans would rest at Tazichang on the outskirts of the city. Here, they could prepare drinking water and dry food, recruit helpers to escort goods, or guides who were knowledgeable about the western trade routes and the customs of various countries. It was normal to stay here for one or two days, but the Fengtai caravan had already rested at Tazichang for a full six days.

Clearly, after the border guards were replaced, they hadn't yet found a way to cross the border with refined iron weapons.

Having locked onto their target, Cai Zhu'er and Shen Tu Zhuo began their performance.
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Beside the earthen wall of Tazichang, Caizhu, wrapped in a scarf, stood with her hands on her hips next to a crooked wooden sign that read in haste, "Recruiting escorts, generous benefits, daily wages."

People would come up to inquire about the price from time to time, and Cai Zhu'er would skillfully negotiate with them.

Two lazy porters asked, "What route?"

Cai Zhu'er asked, "The wine and liquor route, coming back from Mohe, just needs to be brought into the pass, is that possible?"

The porter asked again, "How many days? How much?"

“Two days,” Cai Zhuer said, holding up a number with her hand.

"So much?" The porter was overjoyed that two days' wages were equivalent to half a month's wages at other places. He thought he had been ripped off and hurriedly said, "I can go, I can go. When do we leave?"

"My wages aren't so easy to come by," Cai Zhu'er said, adopting the airs of a mistress. "Can Mo He speak properly?"

"No, it won't..."

"There are too many wine jars over there. The road is bumpy, and we're stuck outside the pass. Can you pick up the stones?" This doesn't mean she really didn't know how many wine jars her family had, nor did she really want them to pick up the stones. Rather, it implies that she wanted to conceal the fact that she had been extorted and make more money from it, but the border guards were strict, and she needed to find someone with connections to help her smooth things over.

“You can’t make money this way.” The two porters understood her words and gave up. “The road has just been opened; who can pick up the pieces?”

Several more people arrived, but none of them caught Caizhu's eye. Concealing one's wealth at customs was a common tactic among Hexi merchants to reduce taxes. If they weren't discovered, they could make a fortune; even if they were, they weren't severely punished or exiled as before, at most facing a fine of twice the amount of silver to atone for their sins. Driven by profit, many merchants dared to take the risk.

Cai Zhu'er's recruitment of helpers also attracted the attention of the Fengtai Merchant Caravan.

The situation is very tense right now. If she can use this to find a reliable contact, they would be willing to pay a higher price to poach such a cargo escort.

Just then, a young man dressed in faded shorts strolled over and stopped in front of Cai Zhu'er's recruitment sign. Two gourds of wine jingled from his waist, and a dirty face mask covered his mouth and nose, revealing only a pair of small, darting eyes that gave off a strangely sneaky vibe. He didn't look like a proper porter at all.

When Cai Zhu'er first saw him, she almost didn't recognize him, thinking he was just trying to pick her up again. It wasn't until he coughed twice and spoke that she realized Shen Tu Zhuo was setting a trap for them.

Disguised as a porter, Shentu Zhuo asked slickly, "Sister, you're hiring? What kind of job are you looking for?"

Cai Zhu'er: "..." She desperately tried to hold back her laughter so as not to give herself away. That sickeningly sweet "sister" made her roll her eyes. She could only suppress her laughter and reply, "Where's the liquor business? Picking up the goods from Mo He. Two days. Can you leave?"

"I can walk, of course I can walk, don't worry, sister, I, A-Zhuo, am the best at serving drinks!"

"Can you speak the Mohe language?" Cai Zhu asked seriously.

"Yes!" Shen Tu Zhuo mumbled, his voice trembling at the end.

"..." Cai Zhu'er got goosebumps all over. "Sister, sister, what else can you do besides call me sister!"

"Oh, sister, don't be angry. I, Mohe, can only speak a little bit of Mandarin, but I speak the 'tinu' language very well."

“But I don’t need you to speak English! I’m connected to Mo He through the wine business!” Suppressing her anger, Cai Zhu’er continued, “There are countless wine jars over there, but the road is bumpy, and we’re stuck outside the pass. Can you even pick up the stones?”

“I just heard them say that my sister is looking for someone who can pick up stones,” Shen Tu Zhuo said. “If I didn’t have that skill, I wouldn’t dare take on this job.”

"So...you have a solution?"

"I have no choice, but I have connections," Shen Tu Zhuo chuckled, gesturing with his hand. "I'll pay you this much, sister, trust me, I guarantee I'll take good care of you."

"Really? You?" Cai Zhu'er feigned wariness. "Are you trying to scam me?"

Shen Tu Zhuo leaned closer, lowering his voice but deliberately letting a little slip out so that those around him could hear: "I have an uncle who was just transferred to the Yangguan border to work as a guard, and he's in charge of checking the cargo boxes. It's just a few more wine jars, right? I'll send a message and give him plenty of money, and my uncle will loosen his grip a little, and the red stamp of inspection will be stamped on."

Seeing that he spoke with such conviction, Caizhu was persuaded: "Then give it a try. If you deliver the goods properly, you'll be well rewarded. If you dare to lie to me, you'll be in big trouble!"

In the nearby Fengtai caravan, several people exchanged glances.

They did not act rashly, but waited to see if Caizhu could successfully conceal the truth from Gaomin and bring the wine jars they had brought back from Mohe into the pass.

Two days later, they received the results at the Tazichang.
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Next chapter: He was a mute, but he was very strong.