Wusunjin is an extremely ancient people, has been living in the north and south of Yaoshan, the Northern Wei Dynasty had a close relationship with Xianbei, but it was repeatedly oppressed by Rouranjin, and was finally forced to retreat to the west of the Green Ridge, and then there is still a small part of Wusunjin left, Yiwu country is a country built by a part of Wusunjin

Like other countries in the Western Regions, Yiwu is also ethnically complex, in addition to Wusun in, there is also Tiele in the Yuebu, that is, the later Shatuo in, in addition to a small number of Qibi and some Western Turkic in, and even hundreds of Huhua Han in, they are the descendants of the original Yiwu County Han In, living in Yiwu City, intermarriage with Hu in the past hundred years, language and customs have been Hu, in addition to the appearance and a little bit of Han into the characteristics, the rest are completely different, in them can no longer see a little shadow of Han in

Among these intricate peoples, the most powerful of the Etile Moonbe were the most powerful, and they occupied the most beautiful pastures in the area, and the pastures around the Pushi Sea were occupied by them, while Wusunjin was mainly concentrated in the city of Igo and its surroundings, and they built an army of nearly 6,000 jin

The king of the Iwu country is called Mo Si, about forty years old this year, the body is quite fat, there are more than a dozen wives and concubines, and he has given birth to dozens of children, especially the three older sons have been fighting for power and profit in recent years, each grabbing the territory, and the whole of the Iwu country is in a panic

But the real trouble of the king is not the struggle for power of several sons, but the external trouble, is the threat and control of the Western Turks to the Yiwu country, before the death of Datou Khan, the entire Western Regions are under the control of the Western Turks, after the death of Datou, the Western Turks began to fight for power and profit, the countries of the Western Regions and the Tiele tribes took the opportunity to get out of the control of the Western Turks, but the Yiwu country has never been able to get rid of the control of the Western Turks, this is not because Wusun Jin is willing to be a slave of the Western Turks, but because the powerful Chuyue Bujin has always threatened the survival of the Yiwu country

It was precisely because of the mediation of the Western Turks that the Zhuyue tribe did not dare to attack the Yiwu country, and the Western Turks used the strong pressure of the Zhuyue tribe to make the Yiwu country dare not betray

This is a painful balance at the cost of heavy annual taxes, half of which must be paid to the Western Turks every year, and for this reason, the Western Turks have also set up a financial supervision chief called Tutun in the Yiwu State to supervise the payment of taxes in the Yiwu State

This situation has been going on for many years, from the initial antipathy to the gradual submissiveness to the current habitual

The cruel exploitation of the Western Turks made the Yiwu country into general poverty, and the city wall was built by the Han Dynasty hundreds of years ago, and the erosion of hundreds of years made the city wall low, and it was unable to repair it in a few places

The city is divided into two different worlds, the west is the civilian area, the houses are low and dilapidated, the houses are crowded, the sewage is everywhere, the streets are full of children are running naked, without clothes to wear, and the vast majority of the people in the country are civilians. To the east is where a small number of nobles and merchants live, with neat houses and dense shops, selling silk, porcelain, pottery and all kinds of daily necessities from Dunhuang, and the nobles on the street are well-dressed and red-faced, most of them have a group of wives and concubines, live in luxury, they enjoy tax-free privileges, and the Western Turks cannot exploit them

At the end of the middle street is the palace of the king of Iwu, also a splendid palace where King Mosi and dozens of his wives and concubines and children lived

In the afternoon, the city of Yiwu was still as lively as usual, the news of the Sui army's attack on Rouyuan Town did not reach here, although the weather was unusually hot, but the civilians of Yiwu had to be busy for survival, and the streets were bustling and noisy

"The caravan is entering the city"

I don't know who shouted, the people flocked to the city gate from all directions, only to see a huge caravan coming in from the city gate, composed of more than 200 camels and thousands of horses, full of pottery, cloth and other goods, headed by a horse, a young flag bearer held a big flag high, the big flag was written 'Xiao', this is the Xiao caravan from Dunhuang

And the next few horses also have flag-bearers raising flags into the city, the big flags are written with the word 'Xie' and 'Shen', which is also the two big clans of Dunhuang, the caravan of the three major families came to Yiwu country together, so that the Yiwu city is boiling, the caravan is surrounded by three layers on both sides of the outer three layers, the eyes of each enter are full of enthusiasm, that is the desire for wealth, the children run barefoot with the caravan, shouting happily

Countless merchants rushed to hear the news, ready to rob the goods, at this time, the eldest prince Aman led a team of cavalry to run, Aman was in charge of the trade of Yiwu country, the arrival of the caravan of Dunhuang, also made him smile, the caravan can make the treasury more income, can also make him in front of his father to publicize the political achievements

"The eldest prince, there are three caravans coming," an official called out in surprise

Next to the eldest prince Aman is a bald old man, about fifty years old, he is the Western Turkic Tutun stationed in Yiwu country, and he is also a tax supervisor, named 'Shun', everyone calls him Bald Shun, but the bald brows are furrowed, and he said to himself: "It's strange, in the past, I had to come here in autumn, why did the midsummer season come now, how did they live in the Gobi Desert?" ”

"Your Excellency Tutun, it doesn't matter when you come, the important thing is that they brought wealth, so that we can pay our taxes in the autumn and live a comfortable winter, isn't it a good thing?"

The eldest prince Aman was so excited that he ignored Tutun and urged his horse to meet him

"Mr. Shaw"

He saw the leader Xiao Yuansong, shouted, and greeted him

Almost everyone in Yiwu City knew Xiao Yuansong, and everyone called him Xiao Caishen, because he always came to Yiwu City with rich goods and made a lot of money

Xiao Yuansong was being shortlisted by more than a dozen merchants, and the merchants not only had to sell his goods, but also sold the local products they usually bought to Xiao Yuansong, although the Xiao family was not the largest caravan, and several Sogdian caravans were larger than him, but the merchants of Yiwu City did not like the treacherous Sogdians, and they were willing to do business with the Han Dynasty

Xiao Yuansong heard the shout, and as soon as he turned around and saw the eldest prince Aman, he stepped forward with a smile, hugged the eldest prince tightly on the horse, and joked: "Your Royal Highness, you are thinner than last year, I am worried that there is not enough food in the city to satisfy these gluttonous guys under me."

Ah Man found that there were many more caravan guys than before, there were only two or three hundred entries before, but now there were nearly a thousand entries, and he couldn't help but be startled, "What are you doing with so many men?" ”

Xiao Yuansong introduced him with a smile: "It's not exactly my buddy, there are also two other caravans, haven't you noticed that the goods we have transported are also twice as many as before?" ”

Ah Man nodded, it has nothing to do with him how many guys come, he doesn't have to worry about food and lodging, and the more money he comes, the more money he spends, which is a good thing for Yiwu City, he also smiled: "As long as you can afford to pay for food, there is as much food as you want"

Both of them laughed, Xiao Yuansong saw Tutun, he didn't like this black fat bald old man, every time he came to take stock of his goods, as if he was the master of the goods, and this time, his goods could not be counted

Xiao Yuansong has a way, there is an unwritten rule in this, you can not count the goods that come in, but you must pay a ransom money to Tutun, which is Tutun's private income

He urged him to step forward and saluted: "Venerable Tutun Dajin, I am also about to go to you"

"What are you looking for me to do?" Tutun squinted his eyes and smiled, his little eyes flashed with a longing bright color, in fact, he also hoped that the caravan in Dunhuang would come ten times a year

Xiao Yuansong scratched his head, looked at the caravan, and said helplessly: "This time I plan to pay the ransom money, I will do business soon, and I will go back early in the morning."

"Why are you in such a hurry to go back and stay a few more years?"

"There's no way, there was a grand chamber of commerce in the capital in early August, and the family wanted us to participate, so we could only come early this year."

"No wonder?"

Tutun stared at the caravan with blazing eyes, thinking in his heart, he whispered a few words to Xiao Yuansong, Xiao Yuansong frowned, "It's a little too much, minus a little bit"

"Why is Mr. Xiao so stingy?"

Tutun refused to give in, "If you don't have a thousand, then I have no choice"

Tutun caught the caravan's eagerness to return, did not give in at all, and looked at Xiao Yuansong with a smile, his term of office will expire next year, how can he not hurry up and make more money?

"Good"

Xiao Yuansong reluctantly agreed, "I'll settle down first, according to the old rules, I'll go to your house at night"

"Welcome"

Tutun laughed, turned and left

Xiao Yuansong saw that the prince and Tutun were gone, so he shouted to the various merchants around him: "The merchants of the inn come first, we have to stay first, at least twenty inns."

Dozens of innkeepers were shortlisted, shouting loudly, this one has exquisite food, that one can provide beautiful girls, all kinds of characteristics to compete, competing for a big deal that is rare this year

Shen Guang, who was mixed in the team, looked at the city and the city gate, pursed his lips, and said to Su Lie: "With such a dilapidated city, there is no need for the general to use this kind of 'concealment and crossing the sea' strategy, the army will be crushed as soon as it comes."

Su Lie said coldly: "What do you know? The general is a soldier who cherishes his brother and submits without a fight, you know? ”

Shen Guang didn't dare to say anything, at this time, Xiao Yuansong picked the inn, and the shopkeepers led them to the inns everywhere

Night slowly fell, more than 4,000 Sui cavalry slowly stopped their pace, looking at Yiwu City ten miles away from afar, under the bright moonlight, Yiwu City is exceptionally clear

Wang Wei whispered a little uncomfortably on the side: "General, Captain Su is inexperienced, I'm a little worried."

Yang Yuanqing smiled, "Don't worry, although he is inexperienced, he is very smart, and he is not reckless, he will act according to my plan, as long as he is given more opportunities to exercise, he will definitely be a famous general of the Great Sui in the future"

"I hope there won't be any accidents, too"

"Even if there is an accident, I am not afraid, this low and broken city can't stop the iron cavalry of the Great Sui cavalry, I just don't want to consume the Wusun army too much"

Yang Yuanqing turned around and ordered: "The three armies are not allowed to slack off, and they are ready to charge at any time."

To be continued