Chapter 1260

However, since Duan Yu came, everything had changed.

Private mining was definitely not allowed.

But Duan Yu did not cut off the livelihood of the surrounding people.

Instead, he hired all the people to work in the salt fields.

And the wages given were more than the money the people had obtained from private mining in the surrounding area.

There was no need to worry about violating the law, and the income was higher than before; there was no reason for anyone not to be willing.

In this way, the path of private mining for the people was directly cut off.

If one had to say who lost the most, it was still the aristocratic families and powerful clans in Hedong Commandery.

These aristocratic families and powerful clans colluded with the salt supervisors, mined privately in large quantities, and then sold the privately mined salt layer by layer; some were sold to the Eastern Qiang, some were sold to the Xiongnu, and even to the Xianbei.

In those places, the price of salt would often double several times.

The aristocratic families and powerful clans used this method to accumulate wealth, and then used the money earned by these laborers and people to come back and buy the land in the hands of the people.

In disaster years, the land did not produce grain, and the powerful clans and aristocratic families would use extremely low prices to collect all these fields.

Then they would hire these people who sold their fields to become tenant farmers.

Tenant farmers grew grain for the powerful clans and aristocratic families and collected grain.

After the autumn harvest, the aristocratic families and powerful clans would raise the price of grain, making the money the tenant farmers earned after a year of hard work not enough to fill their stomachs.

Over time, the people were miserable, while the grain and silver storage of the aristocratic families and powerful clans were full of money and grain.

But every copper coin was stained with the blood and sweat of the people.

On the east side of the salt pond, Tie Shitou was leading a team of about dozens of cavalrymen patrolling the salt fields.

"General."

Bursts of hurried shouts came from behind Tie Shitou.

Tie Shitou, riding on the horse, turned his head to look, only to see a cavalryman quickly coming toward this direction.

"General, something major has happened."

The cavalryman shouted anxiously while galloping on his horse.

Upon hearing this, Tie Shitou frowned.

Major event?

Instinctively, the name of a person appeared in Tie Shitou's mind.

Yuan Shu!

Could it be Yuan Shu?

"What happened?"

When the cavalryman came near, Tie Shitou asked, "What happened?"

The cavalryman had an anxious expression on his face, pointed his finger in the direction behind him, and said, "General, Madam and General Wang have come."

Hmm?

General Wang?

Madam?

"Why did Madam come?" Tie Shitou's face was full of questions.

"It was General Erhu who brought Madam here."

Wang Erhu?

Tie Shitou was even more confused.

Not Wang Hunu, but Wang Erhu?

Tie Shitou didn't ask any more questions, but turned his horse's head and galloped toward the direction of the camp.

Before long, Tie Shitou brought a team of attendants back to the camp.

"Brother Shitou..."

When Wang Erhu saw Tie Shitou, he shouted with a crying voice.

Tie Shitou, who had not yet dismounted, was stunned, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Erhu, where is your brother, why did you come?"

Tie Shitou hurriedly came to Wang Erhu's side, then squatted down and supported Wang Erhu's shoulders.

"Brother Shitou, my brother... my brother... my brother is trapped in the city."

Wang Erhu said while wiping his tears, "My brother, in order to let me bring sister-in-law out, closed the city gate and dropped the thousand-jin gate, and was trapped in the city by the Tiger Bravery Army under Yuan Shu."

"What?"

The expression on Tie Shitou's face stiffened.

"What did you say?" Tie Shitou hurriedly shook Wang Erhu's shoulders and said, "What Tiger Bravery Army, what happened to Yuan Shu, and what happened to your brother!"

Wang Erhu, while crying, told everything that happened in detail.

When he heard that Wang Hunu, in order to cover their departure, closed the city gate and dropped the thousand-jin gate, Tie Shitou was completely stunned.

"Husband... hurry and go save Hunu."

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Lan'er, holding little Tie Rui, poked her head out and looked at Tie Shitou, who was standing in a daze, and said, "Hunu was captured by them because he was protecting me and Rui'er. Husband, you have to save Hunu."

Tie Shitou, who had reacted, stood up abruptly.

"Pass the order to assemble the troops, assemble all the troops, march into Anyi!"

South of Anyi City.

Ji Ling was still standing in front of Yuan Shu with his head drooping, just like last night.

The whip in Yuan Shu's hand kept falling on Ji Ling's body with a "pop, pop" sound.

"Useless!"

Yuan Shu looked at Ji Ling with an angry face and scolded, "A sack of wine and a bag of rice, I let you pursue people and you couldn't catch them, I let you capture people, and you let them run away again. Tell me, what else are you good for!"

Ji Ling, with his head lowered, was full of grievances.

Could this be blamed on him?

Could this be blamed on him?

He was not the one who closed the gate, and he was not the one who dropped the thousand-jin gate.

At that time, in that situation, let alone him, even if it were someone else, it would be the same.

"General."

Fan Xian, who was standing on the side, took half a step forward and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter if they ran away; didn't we capture one?"

Fan Xian looked to the side.

Not far from everyone, Wang Hunu, who was tied with ropes, was being pressed to his knees on the ground by two soldiers.

Wang Hunu, who still had a piece of broken cloth in his mouth, lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Blood was still flowing from his shattered armor.

"General, according to my deduction, that Tie Shitou will definitely come back to save him," Fan Xian said with a smile. "As long as the General waits quietly in the city."

"If that Tie Shitou comes back, the General only needs to use him to threaten Tie Shitou to submit."

Yuan Shu's eyebrows twitched when he looked at Fan Xian, and after a light "hmm," he nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense."

"Not bad, not bad."

Saying this, Yuan Shu didn't forget to glare at Ji Ling, who was standing on the side with his head lowered, and said, "Listen carefully, learn more from Fan Xian, and use your brain more for everything."

"You couldn't even capture two people; you are simply useless."

Wang Hunu, who was kneeling on the ground with his mouth blocked to prevent him from biting his tongue, opened his closed eyes slightly when he heard the conversation between the two.

Before long.

Just when Yuan Shu and his party climbed onto the city wall, a rolling dust smoke rose from the direction of the south of Anyi City.

"They are here!"

Fan Xian pointed his finger in the direction of the south of Anyi City and said, "General, they are here."

Not long after Fan Xian finished speaking, hundreds of Liangzhou elite cavalry arrived outside the south of Anyi City.

The leader was Tie Shitou, who had an angry face.

"Yuan Shu!" Tie Shitou pointed the long spear in his hand at Yuan Shu, who was on the city wall, and shouted angrily: "Release Hunu, I will let this matter go, otherwise..." ===== CHAPTER 1262 =====