In the palace, people from the Xiang family entered the palace.
The capture of Xiang Anxi was regarded as a shame by the Xiang clan. This time they wanted to suggest to the Barbarian King that they send troops to conquer Xiucheng and regain the glory that belonged to the Xiang clan.
Xiang Longqiang and Xiang Boli knelt down in front of the Barbarian King, with vows and firmness on their faces.
The Barbarian King may seem rough and arrogant, but he is actually very thoughtful. Otherwise, he would not be able to occupy this position. Barbarians are mostly upright and aggressive by nature. If they disagree, they will often draw swords against each other. If you want to rule these people, there is no way. How can you do it with just a little skill?
This time he lost two cities one after another. It is impossible to say that the Barbarian King is not angry. But because of this, he will not underestimate his opponent. No matter whether this person is the loyal Duke of Daqian as mentioned by the national teacher, he Everyone must understand the other party's situation clearly before taking action.
The Art of War says that if you know your opponent, you will be victorious in every battle.
We don't even know who our opponent is, and it's easy to suffer a loss once a fight begins. Scouts have been sent out, but it may take some time to get the exact information. But Xiang's family wants to take action now. This is not for the Barbarian King. Problem?
"Two generals, the actions of Bukhan are a provocation to our barbarians. I am incompatible with them, and it is inevitable to seek revenge from them. But I am not ready yet. Can I wait a little longer until I am ready? What are you going to do next?" The Barbarian King persuaded him kindly.
Again, leading the barbarian generals is not like how Emperor Wen treated his ministers. Sometimes he could ignore them, and sometimes he could suppress them with force. The way barbarians get along with each other is to be straightforward. If you have something to do, you must discuss it. If you want to Using force to pressure others will only have the opposite effect.
The Barbarian King had good intentions, not only did he not want the Barbarians to suffer losses, but he also wanted to appease the Xiang people and prevent them from being impulsive.
It's just that the barbarians value honor too much. In their view, Xiang Anxi's capture is the greatest humiliation for the Xiang family. They must rescue the people and restore the glory of the Xiang family. They can't even wait a day.
"Your Majesty, the three thousand warriors of the Xiang family are ready. Please allow us to go to battle." Xiang Longqiang, the head of the Xiang family, said loudly, expressing his attitude.
"Your Majesty, please agree. We don't need the support of soldiers. We Xiang people can do this on our own." Xiang Boli then spoke. There was no room for redemption in his emotions.
The Xiang clan is considered a big family among the barbarians. In addition to those who have already joined the barbarian army, it is extremely brave to be able to gather three thousand soldiers this time. I am afraid that it will take all the men between the ages of fifteen and forty to gather together. Cheng. This shows what kind of determination he has towards his family.
When the Barbarian King heard this, he knew that it was useless to say anything at this time. Xiang's family was already ready for a battle. If he tried to stop him again, he was afraid that the other party would not listen to the order and send troops directly. In this case, it would be It caused great damage to his credibility as a great king.
If you disobey your family this time, will other members of the family disobey you next time?
"Okay, then I wish you victory. If you can't win quickly, you only need to have a stalemate with them. Then I will come back with my barbarian army. I will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and rescue General Xiang." In desperation, The Barbarian King had no choice but to nod in agreement. In fact, why wasn't this an opportunity to test his opponent?
Finally getting the support of the Barbarian King, Xiang Longqiang and Xiang Boli were overjoyed. Then they stood up, saluted, turned and left, looking very excited.
Just two hours later, three thousand soldiers emerged from the north gate of the barbarian capital. Among them, there were two thousand cavalry and one thousand infantry.
After receiving the following report, the Barbarian King said nothing. Everything that should be reminded has been reminded, and then it depends on Xiang's ability. "Young man, whether it is you or not, you have offended us Barbarians this time, you There won’t be any good fruits to eat.” Facing the north, this voice rang in the heart of the Barbarian King.
...
Hugh city.
Outside the city, thousands of barbarian civilians and prisoners were working feverishly. With each hand, criss-crossing trenches were formed one after another.
Although they knew clearly that these trenches were dug to defend against their own barbarians, these barbarians still worked very hard. This was also because Feng Xun, who was in charge of supervising the work, fully carried out Shen Ao's orders and gave clear rewards and punishments.
For example, those who work hard will have food to eat and soup to drink after work. Although there is not a lot of meat in it, at least they will not starve.
In contrast, those who are sneaky and sneaky, or even those who are resistant and unwilling to work, are often beaten with whips, and when they get off work, they will not even give you a little food. In just a few days, they will Seven people have been beaten to death and more than ten people have starved to death.
Seeing that the obedient people can live a good life and even have enough food for the ordinary barbarian people. The rebels are worse than death other than death. How can everyone not know what choice to make?
Everyone knew what they should do, and the trenches were dug faster and faster. Seeing that it only took a day to reach the required distance, Feng Xun was very satisfied with the result, and immediately reported to the young master.
At this time, Shen Ao was not in the city, but beside a dead beach west of Xiucheng, holding a handful of black soil in his hand and enjoying himself silly.
When he was in the city before, Shen Ao ordered people to collect available information, which also included some rumors.
But be sure to pay attention to these rumors. If you get it right, you will gain a lot, and you can even make a lot of money.
Now that he has come to Barbarian Land, Shen Ao always doesn't want to come back empty-handed. He wants to see if he can get some novel gadgets and bring them back to Daliang City to make a lot of money.
Shen Ao had such a request, and the people below naturally fulfilled it with all their heart, so they heard rumors about the Dead Beach. When he heard that there was no grass growing there and the ground was black and shiny, Shen Ao became interested and went there one morning He arrived here on horseback with a group of people waiting.
Looking from a distance, it turned out to be a black field. There was also an indescribable smell in the air.
Even if others smell it, they don't know what it is. But to Shen Ao, the smell is very familiar. If it's not oil, it could be something else.
I had only heard that there was oil underneath near the ancient Dashi, but after all, so many years have passed and there is no way to verify it. According to records, later generations did get some from there, but the remaining output was not much. Unexpectedly, rebirth In this life, I actually let myself encounter it.
Petroleum, in the eyes of many people, may only be used as fuel. But in fact, its uses are very wide, and plastics, asphalt, and synthetic rubber are all indispensable.
Even the clothes we wear (the polyester, acrylic, nylon and other fabrics we see from the clothing labels) are all synthetic fibers produced from petroleum. Among the fibers used in textiles, the proportion of chemical fibers is close to 3/4, and natural fibers are Fiber accounts for only 1/4, and more than 90% of chemical fiber products rely on petroleum, so think about it, how much petroleum will you "wear" in your lifetime?)
And everything we eat is inseparable from petroleum. (Petroleum is not only used to make fertilizers, pesticides, etc., petroleum products are involved in the preservation, dyeing, and seasoning of many foods, as well as the chewing gum we chew... …If you include the oil indirectly consumed in food production, then a person will “eat” 551 kilograms of oil in his lifetime. A bottle of 500 ml pure water, after discovering water sources, mining, purifying, bottling, and transporting, is finally placed in your hands. In front of us, a total of 167 ml of oil needs to be consumed.)
Of course, this is not needed for food, clothing, etc. But with oil, Shen Ao can make plastic through artificial refining, build roads, and make synthetic rubber without any problem.
No matter what happened, with this thing, Shen Ao would have more confidence in defending Hugh City next.
Holding the black soil in his hand, he smelled it carefully and knew that it should have come from the underground. He only needed to dig a few feet into the ground to get the crude oil directly. Shen Ao stood up again and faced the guard captain who was following him. Shi Lei said: "The trenches should be dug soon. Then move the manpower here and let them transport some black oil to Xiucheng. The young master will be of great use."
"No." When Shi Lei heard this, although he was curious, he still nodded instinctively and agreed.
Just when Shi Lei agreed, a scream suddenly came from above his head, and then a white shadow quickly descended and rushed toward the place where Shen Ao was standing.
"Haha, Xiaobai is back. It seems there must be something new." Shen Ao looked up at the black shadow that was getting closer and closer, with a smile on his face.
Xiaobai's speed was very fast. He was still in the sky just now. Now he was in front of Shen Ao and landed on his shoulders. Then he kept screaming.
While listening to Xiao Bai's narration, Shen Ao stretched out his hand to the side, and soon a roasted leg of lamb was held in his hand. When Xiao Bai finally stopped shouting, the leg of lamb was naturally put in into its mouth.
With a cry of joy, Xiaobai flew to the open space aside with the leg of lamb in his mouth and began to feast.
Everyone was already accustomed to the fact that Duke Guo was able to communicate with Hai Dongqing. Now they were all looking at Shen Ao to see what he had to say.
"Xiao Bai has sent news that there is movement among the barbarians, some on horseback and some on foot. There should be about three thousand people. Haha, we have work to do." Shen Ao smiled and said what he got from Xiao Bai's mouth. The news came out. I have to say that Xiaobai is really very smart. After Shen Ao taught him arithmetic, he could also get a rough idea of the number of enemy troops.
As soon as they heard that there was a battle to be fought, Shi Lei, Ao Qi and others all became excited. Perhaps a good man has the desire to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.
The next time, Shen Ao returned to the city, and immediately called the generals and began to arrange their troops.
