Chapter 882 Caravan

Chapter 882 Caravan

Chapter 882 Caravan
In early June, Guanqiu Lu arrived at the north bank of the Sanggan River.

The millet planted in April has grown very tall.

In the fields, a group of people gathered together, seemingly listening to someone telling a story.

Guanqiu Lu listened for a while and found out that the clerk from the shogunate's agricultural department was teaching the Xianbei people how to intercrop various crops in the fields.

Simply put, it is about how many mulberry trees to plant in one acre of field, what types of crops to plant, how many to plant, and how to plant them.

"Sanggan, Sanggan, the rivers dry up when mulberries are ripe, hey." Guanqiu Lu stopped listening.

These are the simplest planting techniques, and the farmers in the Central Plains are very familiar with them. Even he knows them because he participated in the management of a manor when he was young.

The Sanggan River Basin is probably the best arable land available to people of this generation.

The planting time of 穄 is one month earlier than that in the southern foothills of Yinshan Mountain and more than one and a half months earlier than in some areas north of Yinshan Mountain.

Moreover, late-maturing varieties (four months in growth) can be grown here, which have a good taste and high yield per mu. In contrast, the millet on the northern foothills of the Yinshan Mountains can be harvested in three months, but has a poor taste and low yield per mu. The difference is very obvious.

However, the Sanggan River Basin is still not as good as Taiyuan.

Suotou should be very clear about this, so the word "Nantu" often appears in the mouths of upper-class people.

It seems like it’s all gone to waste now!

Guanqiu Lu turned around and took a look, and saw Pugulü's son Pugusing.

I've had a lot of contact with him these past two days and successfully negotiated the use of his family's pastureland.

According to Guanqiu Lu's original intention, he only wanted to rent his family's pasture, but King Liang required him to involve the nobles of the tribe in this transaction and give them a share.

The Pugu clan has a lot of pastureland, and there is nothing wrong with giving away some of the wasteland known as "idle land", but they are not confident that they can get a share of the money.

It's no use talking about it, it can only be proven by facts.

When Pu Gu heard and saw Guanqiu Lu, he just nodded slightly and continued talking to his entourage. There was a look of worry and joy on his face, and no one knew what he was struggling with.

"Sir, the cakes are ready." The attendant came over and said softly.

Guanqiu Lu nodded, came to the river bend, sat directly on the grass, grabbed the soft baked Hu cake and started eating.

The followers ate in batches.

Their caravan consisted of more than a hundred vehicles and more than four hundred people. One third of them were old friends who had followed him around the country for many years, one third were members of the Guanqiu clan, and the remaining one third were official slaves bestowed upon him by the King of Liang.

Most people were equipped with weapons, and even a groom could fight with others.

Of course, they mainly rely on official support to do business, and their self-defense capabilities are only used to deal with small groups of bandits. If they really encounter a tribal-scale robbery, they will have no way to deal with it.

Tuoba Liugou was one of the official slaves granted to him. Because he was skilled in archery and horse riding and could speak Jin language, he was taken in by Guanqiu Lu and became one of his close followers.

At this moment, he was also eating Hu Bing, and he ate it very carefully, picking up any crumbs that fell on the grass and eating them carefully. It was obvious that he had lived a hard life.

"Liu Gou." After eating two Hu cakes, Guanqiu Lu burped, took out a few fruits from his bag, threw them to Tuoba Liu Gou, and asked, "I saw you listening with your ears perked up just now. What did you hear?"

Tuoba Liugou quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "Sir, Pu Guting is scolding a few clan leaders."

"Why scold?" Guanqiu Lu asked curiously.

"Because those clan leaders listen to the shogunate's agricultural officials' teachings on farming every day, and they seem to be fascinated by it. Pugu is not very happy to hear it."

"What did he say?"

"He borrowed the words of the shamans, saying that the spirit of one person can occupy the body of another. The Shanyu Protectorate is the spirit of the people of Jin, and it will slowly occupy the body of the Dai Kingdom."

Guanqiu Lu laughed out loud.

The followers also laughed.

You know what, this Chief Hu is quite knowledgeable.

As soon as they left Yanmen Pass and arrived at Yinguan County, they saw the Wuhuan tribe paying tribute and sending it to Pingcheng.

In fact, there were not many things, and most of them were physical objects, but the Wuhuan and Xianbei people did not have their own writing system, so the matter was mainly recorded and delivered by clerks sent by the Shanyu Protectorate.

Undoubtedly, it is much more formal and more realistic than before, but it was handled by officials from the Central Plains from beginning to end. Although there is a Xianbei chief above them, it is another matter whether that rough guy understands it or not.

Over the years, the chiefs and leaders of the tribes have been in contact with Han officials, and the influence of this cannot be underestimated.

From this perspective, what Pu Gu said was not wrong. He instinctively felt threatened.

But what can be said? Now their regime is facing the threat of Tuoba Yihuai, and they rely a lot on the State of Jin. The Shanyu Protectorate has its own army, and there are also Jin troops inside the Yanmen Pass. It is unrealistic to turn against them directly.

Moreover, Hanguan is really comfortable to use.

Everything is well organized, so you don't have to worry about anything.

To put it bluntly, some military officials only knew how many "groups" of sheep they had, but didn't know how many "heads" they had. With the Han officials, they now knew, and not only the numbers of cattle, sheep, horses and camels, but also the numbers of people, equipment, food, leather, carriages and felt tents. The numbers were very complete, highlighting a professional.

Naturally, Daigong Mansion and Shanyu Protectorate would also know this number.

Pugulü and Puguting, father and son, had a love-hate relationship with Han officials. They wanted to rely on them, but were afraid that they would affect their internal affairs.

Maybe it won’t matter for one or two years, but what about ten or twenty years?
******
Guanqiu Lu did not stay in Xinping for long, and then continued to head north, arriving in Pingcheng on the tenth day of June.

To the east of Pingcheng is a muddy water, and to the east of the water is a market called "Dongshi". Guanqiu Lu bought land and built a house here, set up a shop and warehouse, and left more than ten people to look after it.

He did not rush into the shop, but took a few followers to take a tour of the newly opened East Market.

"There are indeed a hundred horses. If you are interested, come quickly." The person shouting spoke in the difficult Jin dialect, his eyes rolling around.

Guanqiu Lu stopped and asked, "Is this the fruit horse presented by the Dongyi during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty?"

"That's right." An attendant replied, "They should be coming from Goguryeo."

"How could things from Goguryeo get here?" asked Guanqiu Lu.

"Goguryeo and the Yuwen clan have made an alliance."

"I see." Guanqiu Lu nodded and said, "Is there really someone riding this horse?"

It's not that he looked down on it, the horse was really too short, only three feet tall at most - judging from its size, it was indeed possible to ride it under the fruit trees.

"You don't know, sir." The attendant said, "The King of Liang is brave and likes to ride a fierce horse. The officers and officials in Pingyang and Bianliang chase after the horse. But the world is so big, some scholars like to dismount from the horse. They ride it and walk under the peach tree, stroking the fallen flowers and gently breaking the peach branches, which is very elegant."

"There are also those with fragile skin and soft bones, frail bodies and weak spirits. They are carried in carriages when going out and supported by servants when coming in. They are weaker than women. If they want to ride horses, they can only ride fruits and dismount."

Guanqiu Lu laughed non-stop, but felt a little sad at the end.

Fortunately, a strong man like King Liang came into the world, otherwise, there is no telling to what extent this trend would have gone astray.

Men should act like men. What's the big deal about being weaker than women?

"Buyeo's good horses, Diao Wei, Meizhu..." someone nearby shouted loudly.

"Why are there so many foreign merchants?" asked Guanqiu Lu.

"Sir." Tuoba Liugou stepped forward and said, "They come here every year. Only last year when there was a war, no one came."

Guanqiu Lu nodded slightly.

"Left General Mo Han made his fortune by selling goods from outside the Great Wall to the Central Plains." The attendant just now said, "Buyu horses are similar to Xianbei horses. They are both good horses and much taller than Xiongnu horses. There are also minks, foxes, and martens. Their fur is soft and squishy, ​​so the world calls them furs."

"I have only heard of the story of splicing a dog's tail with a sable's tail. Could it be that the sable tail was also resold by Mo Han?" asked Guanqiu Lu.

"It's hard to say." The attendant smiled and said, "Maybe it was his ancestor."

After that, he added: "Sir, you can actually buy fine horses, famous furs, and beautiful pearls and bring them back to the Central Plains, and you will definitely make a lot of money."

"Is the Fuyu Kingdom still there?" asked Guanqiu Lu.

The state of Fuyu was located more than a thousand miles north of Xuantu. It had cities and palaces, the land was suitable for growing grains, and it had 40 households (approximately people).

This country was not barbaric and ignorant. They knew how to farm, build cities, and had handicrafts, commerce, and inland shipbuilding. In history, they were destroyed by Goguryeo.

After the demise of Goguryeo, the Bohai Kingdom rose in the Tang Dynasty. At its peak, it had a population of two to three million. Its rice, fermented black beans and other items had always been tributes. It was known as the "Prosperous Kingdom of the East Sea". When it was destroyed by the Khitan, it still had more than one million people.

This should be the peak of civilization in the Northeast region, and it then began to decline, and by the late Ming Dynasty it was dominated by tribes.

"Buyu still exists," the attendant replied, "During the reign of Emperor Wu, it frequently came to pay tribute. During the reign of Emperor Hui, the country was in turmoil, so it rarely came. And until now, it has stopped paying tribute for a long time. King Liang has pacified the Xiongnu, and Guandong is relatively peaceful, but I don't know if Fuyu will still send envoys to pay tribute."

Guanqiu Lu stroked his beard and pondered.

If a few foreign envoys could be brought to the court, the king would be honored and would certainly look upon him differently.

However, he quickly rejected the idea, thinking that this matter could not be handled by him, and it would be better to do a favor to Yu Mie.

After visiting the East Market, Guanqiu Lu and his party returned to the trading house.

To be honest, I was a little surprised.

He now began to rethink his business layout. He must do livestock trading, but there are actually many other goods that can be traded, and the profits are quite considerable, especially the Buyeo beads, which are as big as hawthorns and are truly amazing.

Just as he was about to call his confidants to discuss matters, there was a sudden commotion outside.

Tuoba Liugou got the signal with his eyes and went out to investigate.

After a while, he came back and reported: "The Duke of Dai has recruited soldiers and ordered everyone to bring their own horses, equipment, and dry food within 15 days to assemble at Wuzhouchuan. I heard that Helan Aitou is coming and the outside of Wuzhou City is full of bandit cavalry."

"Duke Dai?" Guanqiu Lu was stunned.

"Sir, the Queen Mother of Dai is in Changchun Palace." an attendant reminded.

"It's already summer, why are you still in Changchun Palace?" Guanqiu Lu asked subconsciously.

The attendant smiled and said, "It is rumored in Pingcheng that Tuoba Yulu appeared in Madam Wang's dream and she became pregnant after sexual intercourse. Perhaps she is pregnant and cannot travel."

"Oh." Guanqiu Lu suddenly realized, and then laughed and scolded: "What do you mean by sexual intercourse in a dream? It must be some old maid's lover--"

The attendant coughed lightly and said, "Last year, when the king attacked Pingcheng, he went to Baidengtai, and Madam Wang often came in to discuss matters..."

Guanqiu Lu's face turned pale, he looked at everyone, and changed the subject, "The current situation is chaotic, it's really annoying. How can we do business with this war? I will go into the city to see Wang Duhu later, and you can count the goods here."

"Yes." Everyone responded with their heads down.

(End of this chapter)