The captain's heart tightened. The opposing side had over a hundred people combined, while their guards totaled only sixty or seventy.
Although they had over 400 slaves, the slaves were all tied together by the hands in strings, possessing no combat ability, and might even hold them back during a fight.
So, while they appeared to have many people, their actual fighting force consisted solely of the guard squad.
He glanced at the bandits' weapons—wooden clubs, machetes, axes—a complete hodgepodge.
They didn't look very professional, but if a fight really broke out, even if his side won, there would definitely be casualties.
Before he could speak, the burly man continued, "We only seek wealth, not lives. As long as you pay the toll in money and grain, you can pass."
Mei Sheng and the other two exchanged glances. Seeing that this group of bandits truly had no intention of hurting anyone, they hesitated for a moment before jumping down from the carriage.
"I wonder how much the toll is?" Mei Sheng took two steps forward and asked.
His thoughts aligned with the guard captain's; if the other party only wanted money and not lives, he was willing to pay to avoid disaster.
Of course, it also depended on how big the other party's appetite was. If it was too large and exceeded what he could bear, they would have no choice but to fight.
The burly man glanced at him and spoke, "We aren't asking for much. With so many of you, we will only collect 30 strings of cash or 60 piculs of grain."
As if afraid Mei Sheng would disagree, he continued, "You are a merchant caravan selling slaves, right? The price of 20 slaves is enough for the toll. There's no need to fight to the death, don't you agree?"
Mei Sheng was speechless. They had even calculated the price for him. Quite impressive.
To be honest, hearing this price made him heave a huge sigh of relief; it was within his acceptable range.
After all, based on the current number of people on both sides, he did not have the upper hand. If a real fight broke out, the losses would likely far exceed 30 strings of cash.
However, 30 strings of cash was not a small sum. As a merchant, seeing that the other party's attitude was quite decent, he tried to bargain.
"Good heroes, our business isn't easy either. Could you perhaps be accommodating and lower the toll a bit?"
Surprisingly, the burly man actually started to consider the question, even discussing it with a few men standing next to him before finally settling on a price.
"The lowest is 28 strings, we can't go any lower. It's not easy for you to do business, and it's not easy for us to be bandits either. Sigh, let's understand each other."
Mei Sheng was speechless again. What kind of talk was that? You guys are literally robbing people and still saying it's not easy? If it's not easy for you, is there any easy business left in this world?
Seeing that the other side was easy to talk to, Mei Cai joined the bargaining ranks: "Hero, we slave sellers can't fetch high prices. Between food, drink, and hiring guards, we don't make much money!"
"Besides, you know that barbarians are running rampant right now. When we travel, a moment of carelessness could cost us our lives. This journey has been so rough. Sigh, how about 20 strings?"
The burly man also sighed. "Alas, it's tough for everyone. We also have large families to feed. 20 strings really won't do. Add a little more."
The two sides entered a bargaining phase, going back and forth, and finally settled on 25 strings of cash.
Mei Sheng was just about to return to the carriage to get the money when he heard the sound of approaching horse hooves in the distance.
Both groups of people grew tense, fearing that the arrivals were barbarians.
Both sides hurriedly stepped aside to the edge of the road, choosing to conduct the transaction later—money in one hand, passage in the other.
"Shopkeeper Mei?" Jiang Jin called out in pleasant surprise.
Looking at the hundreds of slaves he brought, her expression became even more joyful; these were all potential soldiers and labor.
Mei Sheng froze for a moment before shouting in great joy, "My lady?"
Mei Ren was also thrilled: "My lady!"
Jiang Jin had already ridden to the front. Looking at the two confronting yet seemingly friendly groups, she asked curiously, "What are you guys doing? Getting ready for a fight? If there's a prize, count me in."
Mei Sheng's heart settled, secretly thinking that the 25 strings of cash could probably be saved now.
He smiled and said, "This hero here says it's not easy being a bandit, so he asked us to pay a little toll."
The burly man tightened his grip on his knife. "A person must be honest. We just agreed on a price."
Although he wasn't too smart, he could see that these two groups knew each other, and now they wanted to back out and not pay.
He had finally managed to catch a piece of business like this; naturally, he was unwilling to give it up easily.
Jiang Jin raised her eyebrows slightly. "Honesty? Did you pave this road? Did you plant these trees?"
The burly man pursed his lips tightly and, after a few breaths, answered honestly, "No."
Jiang Jin laughed. "Since you didn't, what right do you have to collect a toll?"
The scene quieted down, the atmosphere a bit awkward. The bandits all grew tense, just waiting for their boss to give the order on whether to fight or not.
The burly man was left speechless. If he had the right to collect a toll, would he still be a bandit?
Ignoring their tension, Jiang Jin scanned the bandits and asked, "Where are you bandits from? State your names."
Speaking of this, the burly man regained his confidence.
He straightened his back. "I am Zhao Er of Mount Wuhu. This matter has nothing to do with you. Leave quickly, or else don't blame us for collecting a toll from you too."
Jiang Jin couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth. She thought he was going to be Zhao Zilong, but it turned out he was just Zhao Er.
She looked at Lu Ping beside her, her eyes asking a question.
Lu Ping explained simply, "The bandits of Mount Wuhu total around 500 people. It is said they are a group of non-violent bandits."
Non-violent bandits were bandits who didn't take lives or pillage women; simply put, they made their wealth amicably.
Jiang Jin's plans already included bandit suppression. So, after taking over Gefeng City, she had people ask the city's residents about the bandit situation in Gefeng County.
It was just that she had been too busy recently and hadn't found the time. Plus, it wasn't suitable for her to make big moves right now, as it could easily expose the fact that Gefeng had changed owners, so she hadn't taken action yet.
Jiang Jin glanced at Zhao Er, feeling very satisfied. Looking at this physique and this mental state, he was absolutely prime strong labor.
She looked at the sky; it was getting a bit late today. "As for money, I don't have any, but..."
"I have a sword!" She waved the blade in her hand.
"If you're not convinced, we can fight. But think it through carefully. My subordinates might not know their own strength. Missing an arm, losing a leg, or dropping a head is standard procedure. Want to try?"
Zhao Er was speechless. For some reason, at this moment, he felt like the bandit wasn't him, but the woman standing before him.
He was unwilling to just give up, but he truly didn't want to fight. Although this woman's group only had a few dozen people, several of the ones at the front gave him a very dangerous feeling.
While he was hesitating, a man beside him couldn't hold back anymore. He stepped forward, pointed at Jiang Jin, and shouted, "Then let's fight! Who's afraid of who? You think you guys are so tough?"
Jiang Jin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You're quite brave. Eldest nephew, I'll leave him to you. Remember not to kill him."
Yun Chengxuan had been waiting impatiently for a long time. He vaulted off his horse and strode toward the man.
The man was dumbfounded. Wait, shouldn't they exchange a few more words and argue a bit? How could they just start fighting the moment it was mentioned?
Besides, sending a man who didn't look very robust to deal with him—was this looking down on him?
He raised the blade in his hand at Yun Chengxuan. But before he could even swing it down, with a loud bang, the blade in his hand went flying.
Next, he only felt the world spin as his line of sight changed drastically!
Watching himself get further and further from the ground, he saw many, many dark tops of heads.
Holy crap, Zhao Er is so young, yet he actually has white hair!
He had never noticed it before. But then again, it made sense. Zhao Er was much taller than him, so he usually couldn't see the top of his head.
Wait a minute, ahhh, why am I flying?!
