After the wind subsided, the rain continued to fall for most of the night.

That night, the big pawn gave up the main tent to Ainen, and Liu Jing and Lao Nie nested in another smaller tent next to it.

Liu Jing pondered about the Xiongnu's sale of horses to Yan State, and the snoring of Lao Nie Rulei came from his ears, and he tossed and turned all night.

The next morning, he could only hear the strange silence outside the tent, thinking that the wind and rain had stopped, and he hurriedly went out to check the supplies and horses.

"Thanks to Chen Li's thoughtfulness."

He inspected the car by car, while forcefully lifting a corner of the tarpaulin, reaching in to touch it, and thanking Yanmen County Shou Chen Yuan in his heart.

The gold and silver utensils and grain silks tightly wrapped in tarpaulin were almost undamaged and damp. After looking at the supplies, he went to inspect the horses and camels.

At dawn after the gale, the sky was clear gray-blue, but the temperature dropped sharply, and Liu Jing only walked outdoors for a while, and his hands and feet were numb from the cold.

Fortunately, the animals were safe.

Although they were covered with spots of dried mud and water, they were not injured, and they all ate with round stomachs, and were in good spirits.

It must have been the big family who instructed the herdsmen to help us feed the night grass after the wind and rain, which was really thoughtful.

Thinking so, he reached out and rummaged through the trough of green grass full of small purple flowers.

In order to go to Longxi, he went from Qi to Luoyang, and later was ordered by the emperor to go out of the fortress, and then walked from Luoyang to the land of Yan Zhao, but he had never seen such a small-leaved and thin-stemmed plant.

Listening to Lao Nie, this kind of inconspicuous grass, called alfalfa grass, is inexhaustible and inexhaustible on the grassland, and can be called the king of pasture.

Liu Jing didn't know anything about horse politics, and even riding horses was for the Huns to learn and sell, but he was as careful as a hair, and he was the best at observing and summarizing.

Seeing that they were walking nearly 100 miles every day along the way, and pulling heavy loads, the horses and camels in the convoy suddenly only ate the wild alfalfa grass on the grassland, but they became stronger and stronger, with thick necks and round waists, strong legs and feet, and no fatigue at all.

It seems that this alfalfa grass is different from the cereal and bean crops such as millet, soybean, and wheat that are traditionally used to feed horses in the Central Plains.

What's more, horses eat a huge amount of food, if corn and beans are the staple food, one horse's food is enough to catch up with a family of five, which is simply competing with the people for daily rations.

Raising horses like this has a huge financial burden, and how can the people of Li not complain.

"Well, the northern part of the land of Yanzhao, as well as the climate of the counties of Longxi, is not much different from the grassland, if you want to raise good horses, you must introduce alfalfa to the Central Plains."

Since this grass can grow wild and spread all over the mountains, it can be seen that it is also quite easy to plant and maintain, and most of it depends on the climate.

Liu Jing thought about it, took out a small bamboo slip that he carried with him, and took out a sheathed copper book knife hanging on his waist every day, and carefully carved two small characters on it-

Lucerne.

After writing, he put away the knife and found some items from different cars.

***

Before he set off, he personally supervised the loading of the truck, and inspected it countless times along the way, so he remembered everything clearly.

At this moment, Liu Jing took out two pairs of copper goose foot short lamps and two three-color brocade deep clothes in turn, thought about it, and took out a round copper mirror engraved with grass leaf patterns.

The bronze lamp and deep clothes were given to the old man and his wife, and he saw that the lady of the house was using a Chinese copper kettle, obviously not rejecting Han things.

And although she is old, she still wears big earrings and a variety of ornaments, and her love for beauty is undiminished, this bronze mirror is exquisitely carved, the mirror is bright, and the light shines brightly, and the lady will love it.

"Almost, we're just staying overnight.

If you give too much, the big pawns don't dare to take it. ”

I don't know when, Lao Nie also got up, stretched behind him and said.

"There's still a word engraved on the back of this mirror, okay?"

Liu Jing handed the bronze mirror to Lao Nie.

I saw that between the patterns on the back of the bronze mirror, there was an eight-character inscription neatly engraved by the workman, which reads "Like the light of the sun, Changle Weiyang".

Lao Nie smiled,

"It's just right, the Huns, like the Han people, believe in God, and believe in the sun, the moon, or something."

The beliefs of the Xiongnu were many and mixed, worshiping nature and ghosts and gods, and believing in the witchcraft that accompanied them.

For nature worship, "heaven" is the core of their worship, and their Shan Yu often calls themselves "born of heaven and earth, and placed by the sun and the moon in the Xiongnu Da Danyu".

Like the light of the sun, the meaning is beautiful, which is in line with their beliefs, even if it is Chinese, there is always Lao Nie to translate from the side.

Since King Yan's people have been in contact with the Xiongnu for a long time in advance, Liu Jing's top priority is to use the rich materials brought by the imperial court and the relationship with the Da Yan clan to try to obstruct them.

He was well versed in the art of negotiation, so he naturally did not expect the Huns to immediately live in harmony with the Han court like good neighbors.

But if they can be persuaded to remain neutral, and do not help each other in the war between the imperial court and the vassal states, they will be considered to have fulfilled their wishes.

Thinking about it like this, he couldn't help but think of the seven princes of Zuo Xian Wang in the main tent, thought for a moment, and then groped for a moment and took out a wrong gold and iron dagger and showed it to Lao Nie.

***

The dagger of the Han Dynasty was often used in conjunction with the long sword, which was short and easy to hide, and could be used flexibly, which could be used as a tool for self-defense and as an ornament.

This dagger is about one and a half feet long, with a flat body and two sharp peaks, and a cold light, which is carefully quenched and forged from fine wrought iron.

What is even more rare is that the spine of the dagger is raised, and the two sides of the ridge are inlaid with layers of gold plates, one side is a flame pattern, and the other side is a cloud pattern.

The blade of the knife echoes in black and yellow, flashing with golden light, and it is held in the hand, like holding a burning torch.

Liu Jing remembered that this dagger, which was also an old thing of the Qin Dynasty, was turned out by the queen from the palace treasury.

Qin's luxury is unrivaled, even if Yan and Zhao also gave gifts to the Xiongnu at the same time, in terms of the abundance of materials, it must be the Han court that has the advantage.

Although the Xiongnu also had copper ore, iron ore and smelting technology, the high-end craftsmanship highlighted on the wrong gold dagger in front of them was enough to make the grassland craftsmen sigh.

Nie San held the dagger up and down with one hand, meaning something,

"Because of the relationship between the Huyan clan of the Da Yan clan, Ainen and the prince have more contact with the Han people, and their minds are also flexible.

In your words, it is civilized, not barbaric.

They understand that the Central Plains is huge, there are many capable people, and there are also soldiers and horses, which are far from being comparable to those tattered border counties. ”

At this time, Liu Jing also thought of the queen's earnest instructions to him before leaving,

"These precious things are indeed much heavier than ordinary gifts between the two countries.

First, it is to show goodwill to the Huns, to show our sincerity in negotiating peace, and second, to show our strength.

Although we are not good at riding and archery for the time being, we have our own strengths, and we are not lambs of a weak country who let them take what they want.

As long as the Huns understand this, your affairs will be easier. ”

Liu Jing suddenly remembered something again, and looked at Lao Nie in a daze,

"What if, I mean, what kind of covenant can be reached with Maudun, but the Huns don't have words, how can they make a covenant?"