It was getting late, but the camp outside the company headquarters was bustling with activity.
When the caravan passed by the Chulian headquarters, it was warmly welcomed by the Chulian tribe. The Chulian tribe leader even sent people to help the caravan set up tents near the tribal camp. The caravan carried a lot of goods. The Chulian tribe leader hoped that the caravan could
Rest here for a night so that the tribesmen can trade goods.
The goods of the Tang Dynasty were naturally very popular in the grasslands. Ordinary herdsmen could not enjoy silk tea, but they could exchange some medicinal materials and porcelain. In addition, some salt seasonings brought by the caravans, such as pepper and ginger, were also very popular.
Although the purpose of the caravan coming to the grassland this time was to cover Qin Xiao's visit to Zhenyu Khan, on the surface it could only show that it was coming to the grassland to do business, so if there were tribes willing to trade, the caravan could only stay.
Ximen Hao asked people to put all the goods out, and the herdsmen from the company headquarters came to trade one after another. Now the grassland tribes are not allowed to trade horses with Tang merchants, so they can only exchange cattle, sheep or various animal skins for the needed items.
.
Cattle and sheep hides are not rare items in the grasslands and are cheap, but when transported back to the Central Plains, they can be sold at high prices.
Qin Xiao was sitting by the fire at this time, and the smell of roasted lamb hit his nostrils. Even Lu Xiaolou beside him kept staring at the golden roasted lamb, his throat squirming.
The leader of the Chulian clan was very particular. Before the business was done, he gave the caravan ten sheep as a gift, and sent people to set up a fire to roast the sheep for the caravan. In addition, he also brought out the clan's mare's milk wine to entertain the guests.
It was Qin Xiao's first contact with the herdsmen of the northern grasslands. He had only heard that the grassland people were fierce butchers, but now he saw it with his own eyes and found that the grassland people were not as scary as the rumors said. They were even very warm and sincere in their treatment of others.
Guests are treated well.
"Yang'er, try how it tastes." Ximen Hao tore off a piece of lamb meat with his own hands and handed it to Qin Xiao.
Entering the grassland, Qin Xiao's identity naturally had to be concealed. According to the pre-arranged agreement, Qin Xiao changed his name to Ximen Yang and followed the caravan as Ximen Hao's nephew to practice. Along the way, Qin Xiao only called Ximen Hao "uncle", and Ximen Hao
Hao was still a little stressed and did not dare to call Qin Xiao his nephew, but Qin Xiao called him uncle very smoothly, and Ximen Hao got used to it.
The mutton was delicious and Qin Xiao ate it heartily. Lu Xiaolou was also busy devouring it as if he had never eaten before. This made Qin Xiao doubt whether he had really been to the grassland.
"A few dozen miles to the north, there are barren mountains." Ximen Hao glanced at the temporary market where trade was taking place in the distance, and said softly: "We promised to hold a market here tonight, and there are not many tribesmen coming out of the company headquarters.
By daybreak, we can almost complete the transaction, rest for half a day, and then we can set off after lunch tomorrow."
Qin Xiao said while eating: "I just took a walk there. Many shepherds trade cattle and sheep directly. We are setting off tomorrow. Do we have to drive a group of cattle and sheep on the road?"
"No, no, no." Ximen Hao said with a smile: "The cattle, sheep and animal skins and other materials obtained from the transaction can be stored here. After the statistics, a contract will be written, and their clan leader will fingerprint it. When we return, we will
You can use the contract to take away the cattle and sheep from here."
"Are they cheating?" asked a man next to Lu Xiaolou.
When Qin Xiao came out this time, in addition to Lu Xiaolou, he also brought four good players with him. This man named Wang Dang was one of them.
Ximen Hao shook his head and said softly: "Compared with the people of the Tang Dynasty, the herdsmen of various grassland tribes pay more attention to their promises. From the Great Khan to the ordinary herdsmen, once they make a promise, they will definitely abide by it. Although they are not convinced
In our eyes, Jiedao is a group of barbarians, but they value Xinnuo more than their lives."
"That's true." Lu Xiaolou said from the side: "The higher your status in Zaoyuan, the more important you are to your promises. Once you break your promise, you will be despised by everyone, and you will even have no place to stand."
Ximen Hao smiled and said: "When we do business on the grassland, we first drag the goods around in various parts of the grassland. Each tribe will leave a contract after the transaction. If they cannot receive the cattle and sheep in time due to special reasons, even if they want to migrate,
There will be people left to guard the cattle and sheep that are supposed to be delivered to us until they are handed over to us.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Xiao suddenly raised his hand. Everyone was stunned. Qin Xiao listened intently and frowned: "There is the sound of horse hooves."
"It's normal to hear the sound of horse hooves on the grassland." Ximen Hao said, "Don't worry too much."
Qin Xiao shook his head, closed his eyes, and quickly said: "The sound of horse hooves is very fast, they are coming this way, it's already this hour...!" Before he could finish, he heard a horn horn suddenly sounding in the distance.
With the low sound, Ximen Hao finally changed his expression and said in a deep voice: "This is the horn sound of unknown forces invading the territory, reminding the people in the tribe to be careful."
At the sound of the horn, Qin Xiao turned his head and looked over, and saw the herdsmen from the company who were trading running back one after another, especially the young and strong members of the clan, who were walking fast. Some people had already pulled out the sabers on their waists and ordered the clansmen to disperse.
The young man had already climbed onto his horse, shouting and ordering the tribesmen to deploy their defenses.
Ximen Hao frowned and already stood up and walked towards the market. The caravan's personnel responded quickly and quickly collected the goods when the herdsmen withdrew. Others quickly moved the trucks under the command of the caravan guards.
Forming a circle, the outermost barrier, the goods and horses all rushed into the circle formed by the cars, moving extremely quickly.
Qin Xiao had also followed Ximen Hao to the caravan. Seeing that the people in the caravan could react quickly before Ximen Hao arrived, and handled it properly, with flexible and skillful movements, he sighed in his heart, thinking to himself about Ximen
If a family can eat this bowl of rice, it really has a foundation.
The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and the women and children of the tribe hid in the tents, while all the young and strong men held swords and bows. Under the command of the tribe leader, they used ox carts as barriers to deploy defense.
Qin Xiao watched the herdsmen coming out of the company headquarters in a panic and sighed with emotion. He thought to himself that it was not easy for the weak tribes to survive on the grasslands. They had to be prepared for attacks from other tribes at any time. Looking at the reactions of the herdsmen, it was obvious that they would do the same in normal times.
Train regularly, plan ahead, and be ready to deal with sudden disasters at any time.
Ximen Hao said before that if caravans from other countries enter the grassland, even if there is a war between the various tribes, as long as the caravan does not get involved and stays aside honestly, then the grassland people will not harm anyone in the caravan.
So after the caravan people formed a circle with trucks, everyone entered the circle and raised the caravan flag.
Soon, Qin Xiao saw a group of cavalry suddenly appear in the night like ghosts.
There were not many of them, only about twenty, but they came with ferocity, like wolves and tigers. These people wore pointed helmets on their heads, oval leather armor on their shoulders, and armor on their chests, and on their waists.
It was a leather waistband, and one of them was holding a flag. In the darkness, it was hard to see what was written on the flag.
"Duerhu wolf cavalry!" Ximen Hao's face changed slightly when he saw Lai Qi, and whispered to Qin Xiao: "They are Tiehan's wolf cavalry!"
Qin Xiao was startled, thinking that Duer's troops were far away in Monan, so why would the wolf cavalry suddenly appear in the middle of the night?
This group of cavalry approached the tribal camp, slowed down their horses, and one person shouted loudly: "Where is Chulianqi, the clan leader of Chulian Headquarters?" The voice was loud, like thunder.
The leader of the Chulian clan obviously saw that the rider was Tiehan's wolf cavalry. He immediately stepped forward, crossed his arms across his chest, and said respectfully: "Are you the envoy of Durhu Khan, who is as great as the sun? I am a beggar from Chulian, and I don't know how distinguished I am.
What is the order from the envoy?"
Qin Xiao saw that even the leader of the Qi clan was so respectful in front of a wolf cavalry, and sighed in his heart, knowing that it was not easy for even the leader of the clan, and the Du'er tribe was indeed feared on the grassland.
"The Great Khan has an order, but the Shihun tribe does not obey the Khan's order and bullies the weak. It has become a vicious wolf that everyone hates on the grassland." The cavalryman raised his saber high and loudly said: "The Great Khan is determined to punish the Shihun tribe. Yuqili Khan
Lead the crusade. Within three days, the company headquarters will send 150 elite warriors, 200 horses, and 300 cattle and sheep to Juyanhai to assemble."
As soon as these words came out, the herdsmen who heard it suddenly moved, and many of them looked horrified.
The clan leader, Chu Lianqi, hesitated for a moment, wondering: "Dear envoy, the Shihun tribe and our Chu company headquarters are hundreds of miles apart, and there has never been any conflict. We...!"
"Don't you want to obey the orders of the Great Khan?" The knight said sternly: "The Great Khan has orders. Anyone who disobeys the orders will be the enemy of the entire grassland, and the Great Khan will personally attack them."
Chulianqi said helplessly: "I dare not. However, the population of Chulianqi is sparse. The entire tribe adds up to only more than a thousand people. Excluding the old and weak, there are only three to four hundred young and strong people left. We simply cannot afford to send so many troops."
horse."
"If you are in trouble, come with us and explain to Chelihan now!" The knight sat on the horse, condescending and threatening in his tone.
Ximen Hao lowered his voice and said: "Qili is Tie Han's younger brother. Tie Han has proclaimed himself the Sun Khan of the Prairie a few years ago, the Khan of Khans. Several of his brothers have also been named Khans. Qili is
Tie Han's right-hand man is brave and good at fighting, and all the grassland tribes are frightened when they hear his name."
Qin Xiao nodded and frowned: "The company headquarters is from Xile and is protected by the Zhenyu tribe. Tiehan sent people directly here to gather troops. Aren't you worried about conflict with the Zhenyu tribe?"
"If other tribes find out about the company headquarters' trouble, the True Feathers may come forward." Ximen Hao said softly: "But the other tribe is Duer's corps, and the True Feathers would not dare to come forward no matter what. They will never
Will directly conflict with the Duer army for such a weak tribe."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Qin Xiao looking straight over there with a stern expression. Ximen Hao turned his head and looked over, only to see the team of wolf cavalry clapped their horses and came towards the caravan. His heart was shuddered and his expression changed.