As the most business-savvy ethnic group among the Qiang people, many people in the Qiang tribe need to go in and out of the Han land frequently, so they are the most well-informed.

It can be said that they were the first of the Qiang tribes to learn that the Han court army possessed a weapon that could trigger large-scale explosions, and they also knew that the Han soldiers and horses could ignite spirits and form monstrous flames to destroy their enemies.

The prison sister Qiang Kudong once reported the matter to the King of Qiang, hoping to win the trust and favor of the King of Qiang. But how can he describe the king of Qiang, but he can't figure out what an explosion is.

Ku Dong had no choice but to change the popular way of saying it, telling the Qiang King that the explosion was like thunder and lightning, and the Han soldiers and horses could make the thunder and lightning explode in the enemy's military formation, killing pieces of enemy troops.

Hearing such an explanation, King Qiang laughed, "Nonsense. Thunder and lightning are the power of the Aquila God, how can it be driven by people. Old Bitter Winter, it must be that your subordinates are stupid and have been deceived by the cunning Han people! ”

Ku Dong said no, and clarified several times that what he said was true, but instead of believing it, King Qiang said that Ku Dong was making trouble unreasonably, and people blew him out with a stick.

Later, Han Sui was blown up by gunpowder and fled to the tent of King Qiang. It stands to reason that he can always tell the Qiang king the power of gunpowder and the details of the battle, and then inform the Qiang tribes. But he didn't.

As for the reason...... Han Sui was afraid that after King Qiang knew the power of gunpowder, he would not dare to be an enemy of the church army led by Luan Yi. At that time, the king of Qiang would definitely hand over his head of Han Sui to Luan Yi in order to maintain the harmony between the Han court and the Qiang people. In order to save his life, Han Sui decisively hid the gunpowder matter. So much so that the Han army's possession of gunpowder is still known only to Sister Qiang.

King Qiang did not believe in the power of gunpowder, but Bitter Winter was convinced. The reason is very simple, his brother-in-law has been stationed in Chang'an for business all the year round, and last month he saw the Han Ting army using explosives to collapse the east gate of Chang'an in one fell swoop.

Ku Dong knows that his brother-in-law is not a person who speaks out of tune, and what he says is never exaggerated. That means that the gunpowder really smashed the Chang'an City Gate...... No, in Han Chinese parlance, it's called an explosion.

Obedient...... Bitter winter, click your mouth, that's the gate of Chang'an City! Chang'an is the famous eastern capital of the Han Dynasty! How tall its city gate is, how solid the city tower is, I have been to Chang'an several times in the bitter winter, and I have seen it with my own eyes. Don't talk about Qiangdao, even the entire Han Dynasty does not have a few cities so big. However, such a sturdy gate was gone in the blink of an eye.

Can a human body be stronger than the Chang'an City Gate? Can withstand the so-called explosion? At least the prison sister Qiang people can't bear it, and it is also difficult to resist the burning of the Qiang people. Therefore, this battle of Hanting will definitely win a big victory.

Therefore, in the face of the threat of Xi Zhicai at this time, Bitter Winter has no temper at all. I was so angry and tricky that I was invited back to the big tent and sent someone to respectfully offer milk tea. "Mr. Xi, everything is easy to discuss, easy to discuss."

"Oh?" Xi Zhicai sat cross-legged, looked at Kudong with a smile, and asked, "What does the leader of Kudong mean now, is he willing to help my Han attack Burning Dangqiang?" ”

Bitter Winter is troubled, don't you want to do it? If I don't say a word today, the king of your family, the king of Qi, will one day throw gunpowder on my head. He replied awkwardly, "Yes!" Naturally, I want to, but ......"

"Just what?" Xi Zhicai's face was pale, and his sharp eyes stared at the bitter winter, and his spine was cold.

"Let me ask with a cheeky face, after the fall of your dynasty, how much does my prison sister need to pay tribute to your dynasty every year?" Ku Dong also has his own calculations in his heart, if the Han asks for more offerings every year than the burners, then the prison sisters will not be able to live. Rather than this, it is better to desperately stand on the side of King Qiang and break the net with the Han Court.

Bitter Winter's thoughts, Xi Zhicai knew it, and immediately replied: "As far as I know, now the king of Burning Dangqiang has asked for a tax burden of 12 million taels of silver from your ministry this year. Yes and no? ”

Bitter Winter was stunned and secretly shocked: Only a few people in Qiangdi know this number, where did the people of Hanting get it? He couldn't help but throw this question to Xi Zhicai.

Of course, Xi Zhicai wouldn't tell him, these news were all inquired about by the Great Han Aegis lurking in Qiang Dao. He smiled and waved his hand, and said, "The leader of Bitter Winter doesn't need to know where I got this information from, just tell me if your ministry is responsible for the tax burden of 12 million taels of silver?" ”

Bitter Winter nodded.

"And that number was nine million the year before, and ten million last year. That is to say, this year is 2 million taels more than last year, and 3 million more than the millennium, and you have accumulated it year after year, and the increase is huge. How much it will rise next year is still unknown. Yes and no? ”

Bitter Winter looked bitter, "Yes!" ”

"Compared with burning Dangqiang, my Han is much more merciful, and only collects 10 million taels of taxes from you every year!"

"What?" Bitter Winter jumped high, "Ten million, this is too high." That's right, the taxes collected by Dangqiang in the past two years have been a lot, more than 10 million taels. However, their tax rates are set on an annual basis, and if the income is not good, it will fall. How can it be as unchanged as you big man, always 10 million? Instead of that, I might as well continue to be a dog under Burndangqiang. ”

Xi Zhicai took the lead and said sternly, "You keep saying that the tax of burning Dangqiang is calculated according to the year, so let me ask you, has their tax amount fallen?" ”

Choked when the bitter winter landed. The tax burden is more than one year after another, and the accumulation is getting higher and higher...... Never fell.

"Let me ask you again, how much do you earn in the year of burning?"

"This?" Bitter Winter's eyes rolled, "On average, there are only more than nine million a year." The 11 million that the Qiang people wanted last year was still the 11 million that our whole clan had managed to save by smashing pots and selling iron, and this year's 12 million still don't know how to make up! If Hanting and us are subject to tens of millions of taxes, we can't afford to pay either. Therefore, there is no difference between casting and throwing to Hanting, and we can't live our lives. ”

"You're lying!" Xi Zhicai said loudly: "Don't think I don't know. Last year, your prison sister Qiang earned more than 2.7 million taels of gold by borrowing glass alone, and at the current ratio of one gold for seven silver, your ministry won more than 16 million taels of silver in this trade alone. This is not counting the income you have obtained from the Immortal Brew, Silk, and Shandong Brocade, which add up to far more than 30 million. You can pay the tax of 10 million taels in full. ”

Bitter Winter was shocked when he heard this, "How do you know so clearly?" ”

Xi Zhicai snorted coldly and replied, "Bitter Winter Leader, I advise you to take a long-term view." At present, the tax burden levied by our Han is not only much less than that of the Qiang people in Yaodangqiang, but the tax amount is still fixed, although it will not be reduced, but it will not increase for a considerable period of time in the future. In the near future, the defeat of our Han heroes will definitely bring a safer order to the Qiang Dao, and at that time, the abundant dance of our Han will continue to be transported from the Han land here, and then flow into the countries of the Western Regions from here, thus bringing greater prosperity to the Qiang Dao. At that time, my Celestial Dynasty can allocate a part of the funds to build a large collection of east and west circulation on the territory of Sister Qiang, and help your ministry to make profits from it. In this way, you only need to pay a small amount of taxes, but you can win a huge amount of wealth, why not? It's a pity that the leader of the bitter winter can't see through this, and insists on refusing the good intentions of the play, which is really anxious. ”

As soon as he heard this, Bitter Winter's eyes lit up, "Is this true?" Hanting wants to build a big bazaar for our tribe in Qiangdi? ”

"Bitter Winter's leader isn't entirely right." Xi Zhicai stroked his long beard, and then said: "It's true that you want to build a market. It's just that the bazaar does not belong to you Qiang people, but to our Han court. It is mainly used to carry out and promote exchanges and trade between the East and the West, and to maintain the order and security of the market in the future. Of course, King Qi Rende will not ignore the friendship between your ministry and us, so he will cut one-third of the shop from the market and rent it to your ministry for your merchants to trade. ”

The Han people want to garrison troops in Longxi? I'm afraid that protecting the bazaar will come second, and it's true to monitor all Qiang people in Qiang Dao! At that time, if there was a slight change in the twenty-four Qiang tribes, the explosives of the Han people could fall on their doorsteps at any time.

This is also the first concern of Bitter Winter, but then again, if the Han garrison in Longxi opposes the Han people, the Han army in this bazaar is the enemy who supervises and slaughters them, and if they obey the Han people, then the Han army in the bazaar will become their patron saint.

In the past time, the bitter winter has had enough of the humiliation of burning Dangqiang. Instead of being a slave under the King of Qiang, it is better to hand over his net worth and life to Han Ting, and let Han Ting station an army on his own territory to protect himself.

In this case, garrisoning is not a problem. "It's just ......," Bitter Winter twisted his eyebrows, "wouldn't it be too small to give us only a third of the market?" ”

"Small?" Xi Zhicai smiled, "It's not small!" Does the boss know how big this bazaar is? ”

"How old?"

"The area is equivalent to one-third of Chang'an City."

"A third of Chang'an?" Bitter Winter was dumbfounded, "Mr. Drama, don't trick me!" Chang'an City is so big...... His one-third of the size of the bazaar, that, that's too big! Where in the world is there such a big market? ”

Ku Dong's skeptical attitude is completely understandable. In fact, when Xi Zhicai first heard Luan Yi's plan, it was also unbelievable. But the reality is that Luan Yi is indeed planning to build a market in Longxi. This market should not only include all types of products of the Han Dynasty so far, but also attract things that are worth learning from and buying from the West, so as to become a transit point for the economic and trade between the East and the West in the world.

Because the market needs to contain a large number of products, it has to be large enough. According to preliminary estimates, it will be necessary to reach at least one-third of the size of Chang'an City to achieve the expected purpose. In fact, the scale of the market is much larger than expected, because the construction of the market is accompanied by the corresponding infrastructure, such as inns, taverns, as well as the daily living houses of merchants, warehouses, churches, government offices, etc. Its actual area may reach the same size as Chang'an City.