Chapter 453 Big Tiger
Chapter 453 Big Tiger
A caravan left Yewang and headed west.
The carriage was filled with various linen, pottery jars, lacquerware and other daily necessities.
The convoy moved very slowly and stopped at a place at noon.
When the tribal herdsmen saw this, they immediately surrounded them.
The guys in the caravan took the opportunity to shout and sell goods.
Liu Dahu leaned against a tree with a smile on his face, feeling the cool southeast wind and silently looking at the camp in the distance.
The camp was surrounded by wooden fences and was for people to live in.
Outside the camp, there were many cattle and sheep grazing. It was obvious that this was a small tribe that had migrated from elsewhere, and perhaps there were several clans among them, with their leaders following orders under the command of General Anxi of Yewang.
"Aren't you afraid that the Jin people will suddenly attack and steal your cattle and sheep?" Liu Dahu pulled out the stopper from the cowhide water bag, took a sip of wine, and sneered.
Of course, I just laughed inwardly.
This place is quite far from Heyang, and the Jin people don't seem to have many cavalry, so it is almost impossible to avoid the sight of the wild cavalry.
The deal not far away went smoothly.
As a servant of General Anxi, Liu Dahu was very prestigious in Hanoi and Shangdang. There were some deals that only he could do and others could not.
Guards brought food purchased from the tribal camp.
Liu Dahu reached out to take the milk and jerky and began to eat them slowly.
"The milk is good. It should be squeezed from the ewes that gave birth to lambs this spring, right?" Liu Dahu asked casually.
"That's right." The guard said, "I watched them milking. When the sun is at its zenith, the yin and yang are alternating, and the milk is delicious."
"Not bad." Liu Dahu looked at him approvingly.
This kid has a promising future and it is very comfortable to serve him. Let him make some money in the future.
As for how to make a fortune, that was very simple. Just allow him to smuggle some of his own goods and sell them along with the caravan.
Liu Dahu finished drinking the milk and burped.
Don’t say that freshly squeezed milk cannot be drunk. This is how shepherds have been doing for thousands of years. It doesn’t matter whether it is sterilized or not, as long as it can fill your stomach.
Cow, sheep and horse milk have always been the staple food of ordinary herdsmen. After entering the Central Plains, they have some farmland that "relies on the weather for harvest", but dairy products still occupy the most important part of their lives.
"Don't forget to buy some kumis." Liu Dahu ordered as he started chewing the jerky.
The guard responded, then carefully picked out the maggots from the jerky and put the remaining meat into his mouth to chew.
Doing business is really profitable.
Just now he saw that more than fifty pairs of boots he brought were sold at once, including more than ten pairs of satin long boots, and the rest were leather boots - boots (also written as 鞮, 鞾), there was no such word originally, it was called "Hu people's shoes that connect to the shins", which was learned by King Wuling of Zhao when he was wearing Hu clothing and riding and shooting, but it was not popular before, and it was not widely worn until the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
For warriors who often need to fight, leather boots that can protect the ankles and even the upper shins are indeed better than shoes. They are a must-have item and sell very well.
In addition to boots, they also sold a lot of pants (closed-crotch pants, not open-crotch pants worn by non-Han people), felt hats, pottery jars, spoons, knives and other daily necessities.
Selling luxury and valuable items is really not as profitable as selling this kind of things because the quantity is too large.
Everything they sold was produced in the city. There were indeed some craftsmen in the tribe who made such items, but there were not enough of them to meet all the demands, which gave the Jin people who lived in the city an opportunity.
The Han Dynasty occupied several states, but in the end, the people of the country (the Huns) lived worse than the people of the Jin Dynasty. I really don’t know what to say.
Taking the deal done by General Anxi as an example, the Jin craftsmen made the items, the Xiongnu sold them, the Jie people acted as guards, and the ordinary herdsmen could only exchange them with leather, cheese, jerky, kumis and even livestock, and they couldn't even get the price.
In the whole process, General Anxi earned the most, followed by the craftsmen, then the Jie people, and the ones who lost the most were the ordinary herdsmen.
But life can still go on, so just make do with it and don't think too much.
Another guard hurried over.
Liu Dahu raised his eyelids and asked, "What's the matter?"
"A familiar leader said that a lot of Jin soldiers have come from the north city. The situation is tense, so we should be careful." said the guard.
"How did they know?"
"Someone who came back from the south said that there are more and more ships approaching the three cities of Heyang than before."
“That alone is not enough to judge.”
"Some people also said that the number of cavalrymen in the north city was at most a thousand, and the most recent count was two thousand. They were practicing combined attack techniques outside the city, and sometimes they charged directly at the rangers who were monitoring them."
Liu Dahu sat up straight.
Some things cannot be deceived, such as the distribution of supplies and the gathering of troops.
It was almost impossible for the Jin people to achieve surprise when fighting.
When the Han army went to war, it was only possible to achieve surprise by hunting down and expelling the Jin army's scouts on a large scale.
Since the Jin army was gathering supplies and troops in Heyang in a blatant manner, they must have some agenda.
"You go back to Yewang. I have to inform General Anxi regardless of whether he has received the news or not." Liu Dahu ordered.
"Okay." The guard didn't waste any words and ran straight to his mount, turning around and heading towards the Wild King.
Liu Dahu raised his head and looked towards the camp again.
After the exchange, the herdsmen were delighted and went back to their tents.
In the wilderness where the grass was growing well, women were milking cows everywhere.
The elderly make cheese that can be stored for a long time, and even pick wild fruits to make wine. Children herd cattle and sheep, ride horses and chase and play in the wild, and their innocent laughter can be heard from far away.
What a great place.
Liu Dahu couldn't help but stand up and look at the endless wilderness.
Once upon a time, this place was full of Jin people's villages. But now, the houses are dilapidated, the canals are blocked, and the fields are barren - it can't be said to be completely barren, at least these herdsmen grow a lot of food, but they never take care of it. There are almost as many weeds as millet in the fields, and it is good to harvest one hu or eight or nine dou per mu of land, which is not comparable to the three or four hu per mu of Jin people's farmland.
But it's still a good place.
Recently, a tribe moved from Wuwei, first to Hexi, then settled in Shangdang by Shanyutai, and then part of them moved to Henei. When they first came to Henei, a fertile land, they were all stunned that there was such a good pasture in the world.
Hanoi is just a corner of the Central Plains.
South of the river, there are countless excellent pastures. The reputation of the Guangchengze Pasture established by Shao Ze has spread to Hebei. It is said that the grass and water there are abundant, and even in years of drought, the pastures never dry up. If they can be used for grazing, who knows how many tribes they can support.
Everyone is heading east and south.
At the end of last year, Yao Yizhong, the leader of the Chiting Qiang tribe in Nan'an, led his troops to migrate eastward to Yumei, with tens of thousands of followers.
Prior to this, Peng Tianhu, the leader of the Lushui Hu tribe in Anding, defeated Jia Pi and his tribe settled in the heart of Guanzhong.
Moving eastward and southward is the general trend.
Liu Dahu didn't know what was happening in the west, as one tribe after another moved eastward.
Perhaps, there is no complicated reason, it is just because the Jin court is weak and everyone wants to get a piece of the pie.
When the nearby tribes leave, the distant tribes will occupy their pastures. Migration is the norm on the grassland.
Who can resist the temptation of the high-quality pastures in the Central Plains?
"Let's go." After finishing his meal, Liu Dahu got on his horse and walked listlessly in front.
A long convoy followed closely behind, heading west.
A melodious song was heard in the wilderness, sung by shepherds.
The Jie people who were accompanying the guards also took out their zithers and played them on horseback.
Liu Dahu laughed out loud.
The sky is high and the clouds are light, the grass is lush and the birds are flying, the cattle and sheep are roaming the wild, and the horses are galloping.
It is such a beautiful scene, this is the romance unique to the grassland people.
I really hope this is their forever land.
******
At the end of May, the convoy entered Hedong.
When you get here, you’ll see a completely different scene.
Liu Dahu even saw some farmland that had just been harvested.
The wheat straw was piled high and was taken away in carts.
Birds swooped down and pecked at the ears of wheat left in the fields.
Wheat is originally grown in Hedong, but it is usually spring wheat, and winter wheat is rarely grown.
In recent years, the number of such plantings has increased more and more. The fundamental reason for this is probably that the local tyrants in Hedong followed the Han army to the battlefield and abducted many people from Henei, Jijun, Henan, Hongnong and other places. As a result, the practice of planting winter wheat gradually increased because it really helps to improve land utilization.
The people of Jin still have some tricks up their sleeves.
At the beginning of June, the caravan arrived in Pingyang. After selling all the goods, they went straight to the Anxi General's Mansion with the money.
Liu Dahu did not rest, but began to inquire about the news, and reported it to General Anxi after returning.
The most popular figures in Beijing today are two people, one from the east and one from the west.
To the west, King Yao of Zhongshan repeatedly defeated the Jin people and once captured Chang'an. Later, he had to retreat due to lack of food. Chang'an was so big, but Peng Tianhu didn't want it and the King of Zhongshan also despised it. It's really a pity.
The King of Zhongshan is currently trying to pacify the various Hu people in Guanzhong, and the people of Jin are also trying to pacify them. Whoever can gain their support will own Guanzhong.
As for the Jin people's aristocratic families and fortress owners, they will generally join the victorious side after the dust settles, and there is no need to specifically appease them - and even if they are appeased, it may not have much effect.
The one in the east is Shi Le.
He joined forces with General Zhenyuan Liang Fuci and had just attacked and killed the beggar commander Tian Hui.
Bo Sheng, who had once defected to Sima Yue, led his troops to surrender.
At this point, Shi Le had been concentrating on managing Hebei for several years, and with Yecheng as his base, he had almost conquered Jizhou.
The court appointed him as the Shizhong and the General of the Eastern Expedition to guard Yecheng, and he was highly respected.
Liang Fuci was appointed General Zhenyuan and Governor of Jizhou (in charge of peace and stability).
Liu Dahu silently took note of the news, preparing to dictate it after returning home, and have the clerk write it down and bring it back to Yewang.
"Back then, Shi Chao was the governor of Jizhou, and Shi Le lived in Yecheng. The court wanted to appoint Shi Le as the governor of Yuzhou, and ordered him to lead his troops south to conquer Henan for the Han Dynasty." Liu Dahu sighed in his heart, "Shi Le is really lucky. If he really went to Henan, he would most likely be wiped out by Shao Xun, or at most they would fight each other and live in peace in a corner. It would never be as good as staying in Hebei."
"However, General Zhenyuan is still in Anping and is the governor of Jizhou, while Shi Le is only the governor of Yecheng. It is not a big problem that Hebei is not under his sole control."
"If we conquer Youzhou next, Hebei will be conquered. The Han Dynasty will reach its peak."
"I don't know when we can capture Guanzhong..."
After completing the investigation, Liu Dahu returned to General Anxi's Mansion and wrote down the news he had obtained today.
(End of this chapter)