Chapter 278: An Unexpected Fulcrum

Raole's social form is still in the period of slave society, although animal husbandry is developed, agriculture and handicrafts are almost none, just when the previous king Xi died violently, the grassland officially entered a "chaos" phase that has not been seen for decades, the tribes or for the king, or for self-protection have begun to reorganize the army with all their might, but at this critical moment, they suddenly found that the most basic and important weapons such as scimitars, bows and arrows can not be bought!

Rao Leben is close to Datang, and after years of development, he has relied on autumn plunder, or he has taken the initiative to take refuge from afar, and the various ministries have more or less recruited some craftsmen, but now that even the pig iron bumps have been embargoed, not to mention the craftsmanship of these craftsmen belonging to the various ministries, what do they use to build waist knives and bows?

It is difficult for a clever "woman" to cook without rice, and what Zhenzhen is talking about is the current situation.

This is not the first time to say that a similar embargo has occurred, in previous years, when there was a famine, especially after the heavy snowstorm on the grassland, the Tangdi side would implement an iron embargo - to prevent the autumn plunder. However, in the past, when faced with such a situation, although the heads of various ministries could not help frowning, they would not regard it as a serious matter. After all, according to their past experience, they know that the ban of the imperial court is far from omnipotent, and there are always many businessmen who will try their best to smuggle weapons over for the sake of profit.

There are weapons that are stockpiled by various ministries on weekdays, and then there are smuggled goods of these profit-seeking merchants to supplement, although the imperial court has issued a ban, it is not appropriate or anything, and when the autumn plunder, I have not heard that there is no shortage of scimitars and bows and arrows.

But this year's situation is very different, since the former King Xi died violently to Li Chengzhong's succession in the past half a year, the five Xi to fight for the throne first made a fierce internal fuss, although the final result is that the northern Yu Suo and Shali Department stand out, but for the five departments that have been involved, there is one case that is the same - after those months of fighting for the king, everyone's already small arsenal reserves have been consumed. From the side, this is also an important reason why the infighting was able to stop within half a year, the waist knife has been blunted, the quiver is gradually empty, how can this battle continue?

Although the nomads come and go like fire when they fight, their speed is as fierce as the wind, but the fragile social foundation determines that it is difficult for them to withstand a long war of attrition, the last time the infighting consumed not only the weapons, but also the cattle and sheep that depend on it for a living, the tribal infighting is not as good as the previous autumn plunder, it is purely a loss and no input business, after the fight, except for the Yusuo Department and the Shali Department really grabbed something to talk about as a small supplement, the strength of the other three tribes is a setback. The connection between things is like this, and when the frustrated three began to replenish the consumed weapons after the fight, they had to adopt a long-term method due to the sharp reduction of cattle and sheep and other goods.

Since then, this embargo, which has not shown any warning in advance, is certainly a blow to the two tribes of Shali and Yusuo, and it is even more fatal for the three southern tribes - ask the elders in the tribe, no one has heard of the embargo in Tang Land at this time, and the month is completely wrong!

To be placed in previous years, after encountering such a situation, everyone's first reaction is to rob, but this good method is not used at the moment, the looting in previous years is five people, even if there are not many people in each family, after cooperating with a large army, they are not afraid of the Tang Dynasty border army, and as long as they do not go too far, kill less people and then control the scope of looting, Tang Ting, who is also unwilling to fight, is to turn a blind eye to this, and issue a few more edicts afterwards- The nomads in the north have to rush to supplement their lives if they are not happy, this is an old rule that has been passed down for thousands of years, and the court can not know and be inconsiderate?

But now it's not possible, the five departments have already fought like this, and the two strongest departments are even more life-and-death, how can you join forces? Even if they are willing to join forces, who in the three southern divisions would dare to let Shali and Fusuo borrow their own pastures at this time? Only a fool can open the door and steal the thing.

The coalition failed, and the Domo of the three parts of the Domo Department refused to let go of the Governor's Mansion again, but how could the other two be good? Full support for Domogao is impossible. But the southward raid of his two coalition forces also didn't work, one of these two departments was backed by Yusuo and the other was backed by Shali, how to go? Not to mention that the attitude of the Youzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion this time was extremely tough, half of the Tiancheng army had already gone out to camp in Jiehe, and it was still Jia Maniac himself who personally commanded the troops. Or even Tu Yezhuo has mobilized the clan, and in previous years, when he encountered the autumn raid, this old fox gave way with his tail between his legs.

Not only can the two not go, but even if they can go, it is not easy to rob under the formation of Tiancheng Army and Longmen Xi, there are fewer people who are sent and they are not useful, and they are afraid of being taken advantage of by the strong enemy behind them, and the things that are snatched have not been consumed, not to mention that the two departments that are not strong in Rao Le are really worried about bearing the anger of the court alone.

The situation has changed again and again, and under the interrelated and constrained, even if it is tense, at least for now, no one dares to let the horse go south.

Grab this road can't go through, and the Tang people have just embargoed when they shouldn't have done it, and the evil thing that makes matters worse is that those businessmen who were excited when they encountered the embargo in previous years have completely disappeared this time, seeing that the embargo has been going on for so long, except for a few people who secretly "touched" and "touched" to negotiate, the acquaintances who used to specialize in this line of business were not seen.

And even the stealing of these kittens and two "touching" businessmen are not a big deal, one hundred and ten scimitars, three or two thousand arrow clusters dare to call it a big business, such an idea is not enough to support a small-scale autumn plunder, and Rao Le can be used for a fart at the moment?

Although the taunts who were in charge of the tribes gritted their teeth and scolded the businessmen for being crazy, they seemed to be ruthless as if they were cheering themselves up: Lao Tzu still didn't believe that these nine bastards who only recognized money in their eyes didn't come to the door! But what is extremely strange but really happening is indeed that the nine surnamed businessmen seem to have changed their "sex" overnight, and they really don't make this money!

Seeing that the situation in the grassland is tense day by day, seeing that Li Chengzhong, the old man who doesn't kiss the sheep and doesn't "lick" the sheep, suddenly gave up the throne, seeing that the Shali Department and the Yusuo Department have begun to march into the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, seeing that the war will burn all over the grassland in an instant, the three southern tribes of the nine surnamed Shanghu who are already desperate can only grit their teeth and go north to find a way, even if they know that the Khitan people in the Song Desert are using the inventory to rob the fire, they can only endure it, in addition, there are Silla goods obtained by the Heishui Tatar people, not to mention the poor quality and high price. I don't know what the Shali Ministry has done in the middle, but I can't even get the Khitan goods in the past two days.

The situation is like this, to say that the saddest thing in the three southern tribes is the Duomo department, Duomo Gaotun guards the outside of the governor's mansion with the intention of strange goods, standing in such a volcanic crater, and his two hands plan to fight the idea, so that the thirst for weapons has become more and more intense, and it is difficult to get the waist knife and bow, and the foreign trade of the entire tribe was suddenly completely blocked at this time.

Almost overnight, Duomobu suddenly found from top to bottom that whether it was the Tang caravan or the trading Longmen Xi, there was no trace, a few days ago they were still worried about not being able to buy ironware, but now they can't buy anything, not to mention silk, porcelain, or even the pottery and pottery used by ordinary people, especially salt.

If you want to buy something, you can't buy it, you can't sell it, the current season is in early winter, whether it is from the fat and strong body that the livestock has raised, or from the perspective of reducing the pressure of forage in the severe winter and preparing for winter in a family is the most critical time to sell livestock.

If the cattle and sheep can't be sold, what can they use to buy high-priced waist knives and bows; Seeing that the salt, pottery, etc. needed to prepare for winter have not been found, and the cattle and sheep in the pen who should have been sold are still consuming a lot of forage day by day - these autumn forages are not prepared for these livestock, and Duomobu is really anxious from top to bottom.

These are important matters related to every tent in every household, especially when the Domobu herdsmen see that the neighboring Tuxian and Cuoping are still trading normally, the anxiety in their hearts grows like weeds in late spring.

What if these merchants had bought enough cattle elsewhere? What if they don't come to Domob again? The pottery, pottery, salt and other things at home have to be replenished, and more importantly, if these livestock cannot be sold, the pasture grass saved in autumn is simply not enough to eat, and if they can't do it, they can only starve to death in their own pen, which is almost an unbearable loss for any herdsman.

After being anxious, it is inevitable to ask these merchants why they are not only in the Duomo Department, and then there is news that now those who are almost monopolized the merchants in the north have moved to Longmen County, I heard that Longmen County has settled them and is good, and the person who does this is the current Rao Le Sima, the former Longmen County Commander Tang Cheng, it was he who sent the words to ban the trade with the Duomo Department.

As for why Tang Cheng did this, the reason is very simple - the patriarch Domogao offended him, and now he has sent two thousand soldiers to surround him, so everyone is affected by the patriarch.

Since the root is in the patriarch, the ordinary herdsmen and the common people dare not say anything, but as each day passes, as the unplanned grass is consumed by large bundles of grass, the slightest dissatisfaction grows vigorously under the fermentation of Jiao's mood.

Rao Le Du Governor's Mansion, "Lu" Terrace.

The weather was getting colder day by day, standing at the highest point of the unobstructed Governor's Mansion, there was already a bit of awe-inspiring strength in the wind blowing in his face, but Duo Mogao, who was standing by the railing, was unaware of this, and his eyes were just staring condescendingly at the two black spots in the distance.

These two black dots are two camps, learning from the example of the Tang Army, the five departments of Rao Le also carry their own flags every time they go out, these two black spots are one for the blue wolf, one is the flying wolf with wings on the ribs, the blue wolf represents the Yu Suo in the five departments of Raole, and the flying wolf is the symbol of the Shali department.

The Shari tribe had arrived four days earlier, and the more distant tribes were only a day slower than them, and now they were camped outside the governor's palace at a distance of forty or fifty miles.

As Domogao had predicted, although the earthen enclosure outside the Governor's Mansion was really vulnerable, neither of the two divisions, Shali and Yusuo, who were afraid of each other, sent troops to the Governor's Mansion first; But contrary to his expectations, these two parts did not pinch first as he wished.

Sandpipers and mussels compete, fishermen profit, in the past few days, perhaps the three tribal chiefs, including Domogao, have been thinking about the same sentence, and the hot situation that should have been about to break out has actually dragged out a calm that can be done.

Tuxian and Cuoping did send people - two thousand people each, when he saw the "few" four thousand people, Duo Mogao, who was full of teeth, could only reluctantly give up the dream of participating in the fight for the king, and now he was thinking about how to sell the Governor's Mansion in his hand, especially the copper drum in the Governor's Mansion, at a good price.

In the fire, he knew that neither Shali nor Yu Suo could resist the temptation, and the governor's mansion could not be stopped, the bronze drum in the house was the first holy relic that had been inherited for hundreds of years and was well-deserved among the Raole Xi people, which not only represented the authority of King Xi, but also a symbol of the wolf god recognized by the Xi people.

Compared with the edicts of the Tang court, this huge and heavy bronze drum is the real symbol of King Xi, or even it has gone beyond the symbolic meaning and has become a unique weapon to summon the hearts of the people. No one aspiring to the throne of King Xi can ignore it!

Li Chengzhong was "looted" and left, which made Duo Mogao thunderous, and his first reaction when he heard the news was to rush to the Governor's Mansion to check the copper drum, fortunately this copper drum was not taken away, otherwise Domo Gao would have personally led the troops to chase Tang Cheng and his party.

In the past three days, both Shali and the Servant have sent emissaries to each other, and there has been more than one round, but they have been too stingy, and neither side has bid far from the level that Domogao expected.

Selling a cow and a sheep still has to have three points of profit, if you want to be the king of Xi, how can you do it without paying a price? Looking at the two small black dots in the distance, Duo Mogao, who suddenly had a trace of happiness in his heart, smiled coldly.

At this moment, an old man in his fifties with a docile face walked over quickly.

Domogao still looked quietly ahead for a while before he spoke, "What's the matter?" Say"

"The three patriarchs have arrived", this old Xi obviously knows why the three patriarchs came, and also knows that this is the thing that annoys Domogao the most, in order not to touch the mold, his voice is more and more deferential, "The three patriarchs are down there now, I don't know if I want to see them?" ”

And for the sake of cattle and sheep weapons! Domogao really didn't want to see these three fools who only focused on the small interests of his own clan now, but he also knew that he really didn't have the capital to refuse at the moment.

"Bring them up!" , while waving his hand irritably, Duo Mo Gao thought of the root cause of all this, and then scolded with a cruel smile, "Tang Cheng, when Lao Tzu frees his hand, he has to kill you alive!" ”

Tang Cheng, who was eager to cut it and was fast, didn't have time to guess people's minds at all, he was very busy now, very, very busy.

In the impression left by Tang Cheng's later generations of reading history, he always felt that the ancient nomadic tribes were as self-sufficient as the peasants and people in the Central Plains, and they should not be so dependent on the outside world. Even after he became the commander of Longmen County, he felt the same, but he didn't expect that as soon as he entered the state of war, Rao Le, who had nothing to produce, would be like a beast that woke up from sleep, and his appetite could not be filled.

In this context, the merchant trade exerted a power far beyond his expectations, and it was also after this personal experience that Tang Chengcai finally truly understood why the great arms dealers of the United States in later generations had such huge power and global influence.

As an agent of Hebei Province to observe the border trade, holding the huge merchant network of the nine surnamed Hu, the largest merchant group in the north, and having the right to clear and seal the customs of Suoyang Pass, for the current Rao Le, his influence is needless to say, and as a traverser who has been trained in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty for several years, once Tang Cheng realizes this, he will no longer have time to listen to Li Chengzhong's talk about the ancients.

Now he is like a busy spider, using the caravan in his hand as a thread, and little by little he is beginning to weave the imaginary web.

In the past, he ran to Jinyang to see Min Qian, and sent Laifu to contact the nine surnamed Hu Shitang to become only himself and Longmen, how could he have thought of Rao Le when he did these things? But life is like this, you never know what kind of major impact something you are doing now will have on your life in three, five, or even ten years, but this impact is real, and the present determines the future, which is the butterfly effect of life.

"Have you sent all the people who were selected from your clan to collect news?"

"Yesterday they had already set off with the caravan", the one who replied was Tu Yehei, at this time he no longer had the appearance of a rich and noble son a year ago, sitting behind the bookcase in Tang Cheng's tent like a scribe.

Hearing this, Tang Cheng nodded and picked up the list of caravans and the manifest that was going to leave today.

Tu Yesi waited quietly, and it wasn't until Tang Cheng finished reading the list and the manifest that he spoke: "Lord Sima, shouldn't it be time for Duomo to let go of his hands, the atmosphere on their side has been wrong for so many days, after all, it is close to us, in case the dog jumps off the wall in a hurry......"

"One piece and one relaxation, the way of civil and martial arts, it's time to loosen", Tang Cheng put down the bamboo pattern paper in his hand and said after a while: "There are four clans in the Duomo Clan, not to mention the clan led by Duomo Gao, find a Su Ri who has the most distant relationship with him among the other three clans, put the caravan over, explain it to the team leaders, and no additional price will be allowed when doing business with this clan."

Stir up division! Tu Yeji smiled knowingly, and continued to ask without knowing it: "It's easier to distinguish between the tribes, but it's even more difficult to distinguish between the tribes within this tribe, if the three tribes have muddy water to 'touch' the fish, how to cook?" ”

"Haven't the numbers of the tribes of Domo and the number of cattle been collected? As long as this amount remains the same, even if there are fish in troubled waters this trip, we don't have to worry about it when we go to the next trip, and the people who are selected will naturally clear out the fish that they touch", at this point, Tang Cheng's face "revealed" a sneer, "Where the benefits are, it is still possible to turn against each other like father and son, let alone people from the same tribe"

"Yes", after keeping Tang Cheng's words firmly in his heart, Tu Ye continued to ask: "When do you think the supply of weapons such as waist knives should be released?" And what charter should be used to put it? The leaders of the caravans who have been in and out of Raole these days will ask about this, and it seems that they are also anxious to wait......"

Just as he was talking about this, Zheng San walked in from outside, saying that there was a visitor from outside.

Guest! Tang Cheng waved his hand to Tu Yesi when he heard this, and walked out of the tent, and saw Min Su'an, the second housekeeper of the Hebei Provincial Observation Mission, standing not far in front of him with a man in Chinese clothes in his thirties.