Hearing that there were herdsmen outside who wanted to see him, Shang Cheng didn't speak immediately, but first asked the stone squatting beside him: "How is it, can you see it?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Shi Seventeen, who was sitting by the fire, was a flurry. He always thought that Shang Chengcheng was Shao Chuan, the brigade commander of the town guard, who knew that the dignified "Shao Brigade Marshal" had no right to decide not to see a herdsman on the grassland, and he had to ask his own soldiers for this unworthy matter. He glared at Shang Cheng in surprise. Isn't this person Shao Chuan? But it doesn't make sense! Except for Shao Chuan, who among the officers who stayed in the town could follow a long guard lieutenant behind his buttocks?

Stone laughed, "If you want to see it...... he stabbed the iron hook of fire into the edge of the fire, and glanced at Suza silently; Suza immediately got up and went out. The stone said, "I can't die, where did those steppe people come from?" ”

“…… It's hard to say. It's everywhere. A few families lived on the edge of the Luhe River, some came from the north of Mogan, and two families had not seen before and moved here after the first heavy snowfall of the year. I sent people to ask, and they themselves said that they used to graze in Black Wolf Beach, and a few years ago, they didn't know what happened to offend the Tuqi people, and they were driven out of Black Wolf Beach. ”

"From Luhe and Mogan? Are they all Turks? ”

"It's really a Turquoise people, who dare to spend the winter on the edge of our beacon tower? See if I don't slaughter them ten times! Shi Qiqi said with a smile, "It's not the Tuqi people, according to their own words, they are Luhe people and Mogan people, more than a hundred years ago, the Luhe River and the Mogan Mountain were the pastures of their families; It is said that in the early years, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty also gave them the title of king, allowing them to graze there for generations. ”

A young lieutenant with no beard on his lips smacked his tongue and asked, "Really?" And what's going on? ”

"! Fake! Shi Qiqi spat into the fire pit, "It may be true that he let go of sheep on the edge of Mogan Mountain, but when he heard it, he knew that it was a nonsense made up to deceive people!" They themselves are so bad that they are most afraid of being looked down upon, so they have to put gold on their faces. In the early years, there was a family with thicker skin, others were crowned a king and a marquis, they were terrible, not to say which dynasty and which generation they were the descendants of the sister of the five emperors and six emperors, but also brought gifts to climb relatives, and the brothers were so angry that they gave them a stick as a treat. However, the ten sheep they sent were really fat, and there was no choice but to laugh and accept ......" shook his head and sighed as he spoke, as if he was still feeling sorry for the fate of the two fat sheep. "The sheep is really fat. That night, he slaughtered and sacrificed his teeth to all the sentinel brothers, and as a result, everyone ate so much oil that even when he went to bed at night, he farted with the smell of mutton fat in the bed......"

The whole room was amused by his vulgar metaphor. Shang Cheng patted his knees and asked while laughing and scolding, "That family, are you here this year?" ”

"I haven't seen each other for five or six years. I heard that it was annexed by a large tribe on the Alegu side. ”

Shang Cheng was not surprised by such a result. He didn't care about the grassland family that might have a bit of a kinship with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In the steppe, where stories of mergers and divisions are played out at any time, this is not surprising at all.

After laughing, Shi Shi asked Shi 17 again: "Do you know all these grassland people outside the beacon tower?" ”

Now, Shi Qiqi has understood that this is the stone interrogating him. He didn't break it, he smiled and said: "I've lived on the beacon tower for a long time, can I still know him?" Don't hide it from Captain Zhao, I know most of these people, and the heads of several families are also nodding acquaintances. These are all small tribes on the grassland, and they can't afford to provoke the Tuqi people, and they can't provoke us, so when we fight with the Tuqi people, they hide far away and don't help each other. Speaking carefully, they are closer to us than to the Turks, and when there is a disturbance in the grassland, they sometimes send us a message in advance. ”

"Can you believe them?"

"When it's time, but most of the news they send can't be trusted."

The stone took out the iron hook, aimed at the two half-burned dark red branches and buried them back, stared at the fire as if intentionally or unintentionally, and continued to ask: "These people graze around this beacon all year round?" ”

"I came here in the winter, and the rest of the time I was on the grassy beach in the east of the village. Although there is a shortage of water, the grass is not fertile, and the livestock are not easy to raise, but because of the lack of water, the people of Tuqi do not go there to graze, and they can also hide and clean. When winter approached, the Turks moved north, and they moved back. There's a water tower over there, and no matter how cold it is in winter, some water can be stored under the ice, barely enough for people to drink from livestock. It's really not good, and we can still hope that the two deep wells in our village will survive. In the final analysis, they are also a life, and the brothers cannot do it if they do not save their hearts. Besides, they are not Turquois......"

At this time, Suza returned.

Shang Cheng asked him: "Have you asked clearly?" ”

Suza gave him a military salute and said, "Your Excellency, I have asked all my subordinates." There are three Mogan people, five Luhe people, two black werewolves and one coward living in the grass dang. Last month, when the white-haired wind blew, they made an oath together in front of the white wolf and the condor, and now they have cooperated with the family, and publicly elected a Luhe man named Hahere as the elder of the clan. Their tribal name is Haho. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "Now Hahre is outside the stockade. He has brought goshawk feathers, swan feathers, women, horses, cattle and sheep, and wants to dedicate them to your feet......"

Shi Qiqi and a few lieutenants who knew some grassland customs glanced at each other, and they all bowed their heads silently.

Shang Cheng asked, "It sounds like a lot of things, but it's not worth much." One by one, this is to be obedient, right? ”

"Yes!" Suza said bluntly, "Offering the Goshawk Feather is a sign of their heartfelt submission to your majesty; The banner of the steppe people is the swan feather used, and when you present it, it means that they will always obey your guidance; A woman expects your children and grandchildren to prosper; Horses and cattle and sheep are a sign that they are willing to give you their wealth......"

Before he could finish speaking, Shang Chengcheng frowned. He stared at the flickering red light in the fire, and was silent for a long time.

He did not think about the submission of the small tribe of Hahe, but thought of a question that he had been thinking about for a long time: how to divide and disintegrate the Turks. He and Zhang Shao have been trying to use salt, tea, and iron tools to win over some small grassland tribes with scarce materials in the grassland, so that they can serve as the vanguard and advance team of the war, to delay the pace of the war of the Turks, and to shake the foundation of the rule of the Turks. However, firstly, because his time was too tight, secondly, because he lacked understanding of the situation of the peoples on the steppe, and because there was no suitable middleman, no breakthrough was made in this matter, and only some smugglers who sold salt, iron and horses, or horse bandits on the steppe, were recruited. These people can be used as spies to inquire about some sporadic information, but if they want to promote the course of the war, their role is very limited. And those grassland tribes who are active at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, either follow the Tuqi people with all their hearts, or they are the grass on the wall, they don't want to offend Da Zhao and dare not provoke the Tu Tu people, and they often treat the people sent by Yan Shanwei are all hypocritical and perfunctory, and some even accept Da Zhao's materials in person, turn their backs and take them to ask for merit in front of the Tu Tu people, and then run with the rewards of the Tu Tu people and say that these are all captures, and then they continue to stretch out their hands and continue to ask for salt, iron, tea, and food...... Some of the "seizures" were even taken out again and again by those shameless guys for credit! There has been more than one such thing in the Wei Mansion! But he and Zhang Shao are still gritting their teeth and asking Wei Fu to continue to do this kind of loss-making business, otherwise it is very likely that their efforts will be wasted......

What's worse is that this thing can't see the light of day. If the court knew, he and Zhang Shao would have to walk around without eating. Even if the imperial court has the intention not to pursue it, the imperial historians will not let them go. The sharp tongues of those men are more vicious than anything else, and the articles they write must teach them to be ashamed......

Alas!

He sighed deeply, smiled helplessly and said:

“…… Let that elder in. I met him......"