"By the way, old man, how many empires did Great Shang confer on this land back then?"
The old man coughed twice: "Oh, that's a lot. When Dashang was founded, there were a total of twenty-three major countries south of Southern Xinjiang, and there were even more small countries and tribes."
"It's just that it's been too long. Many countries have perished, and not many remain!"
Zhao Rui nodded, put away the red cloth on the table, stuffed it into the old man's arms, and then raised his finger to the main river.
"This king's trip is to dredge this river. If all the surrounding tribes and countries do not surrender, I will clear them out. I wonder if the old gentleman can help?"
The old man looked a little dull: "That is a big project. It is south of Southern Xinjiang. This river is nearly three thousand miles long. There are tens of thousands of large and small tribes and villages along the way. Just rely on you.
If the troops fight all the way, I'm afraid they won't be able to conquer it."
Zhao Rui couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the local situation would be so complicated.
Before he could speak, the old man suddenly stood up.
"If His Highness King Zhao could use this young man's willingness to negotiate with the tribes around the river, maybe they would be willing to submit to the great merchants."
Zhao Rui suddenly became excited. It would be great if he could incorporate all the land on both sides of the river into Dashang without losing any blood.
"Thank you very much, old man! I don't know your name yet."
The old man laughed, took off a seal from his body and handed it over.
"Your Excellency, Li Lanzhang! The local people call me Old Man Zhang. Your Highness, please look at me and call me!"
Zhao Rui bowed respectfully: "Mr. Li, my army is fighting deep in the jungle and is in short supply of food and grass. I wonder if your village can supply some first?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Lanzhang immediately ran outside and called all the young men over.
"You guys are so abominable. You broke into His Royal Highness King Zhao's military camp casually and injured so many people. Killing you is not too much."
"Now His Highness King Zhao will give you a chance to atone for your sins. Go to the stronghold immediately and transport half of the food here, and you will be exempted from the death penalty."
Zhao Rui was stunned by this combination of kindness and power. He didn't expect that the old man had such an ability to manipulate people's hearts.
Those young people did not dare to show any slightest hesitation and hurriedly ran towards the village.
Zhao Rui also became very interested in the dark cloud debt. Just as he was about to go to the village with Li Lanzhang to take a look, a strange rustling sound suddenly came from the surrounding woods.
The next moment, a dozen scantily clad savages walked out of the woods. These guys were all dark-skinned, their faces covered in white paint, and they held simple bows, arrows, sticks and other weapons in their hands.
When he saw these guys, Li Lanzhang's eyes suddenly widened.
"Your Highness, these people are cannibals living deep in the jungle. Many of our young descendants were captured and roasted by them when they went hunting in the mountains."
Zhao Rui seemed extremely calm. It was not surprising to encounter cannibals in such a primitive jungle. He immediately ordered the crossbowmen to release arrows.
These savages were indeed uncivilized people. After firing a volley of crossbows, they became frightened and fled in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, Li Lanzhang next to him looked calm.
"His Royal Highness King Zhao, you have stirred a hornet's nest. This group of cannibals is very large in number. They are not escaping, but are going back to bring in reinforcements. It won't be long before this military camp is surrounded by them."