"Get up, pack your clothes, and go back with Guard Ni. It's up to me to deal with the consequences of King Huai's mistake."
After speaking, Li Luo turned his horse around and said to Ni Qing: "Ni Qing, take this girl back to the camp first, arrange for the maid in King Huai's tent to be sent to the military officer, and warn the military officers that there must be no
Anyone who behaves frivolously and disrespectfully in violation of this order will be punished as if he was teasing a woman from a good family."
"Yes, I will obey the order." Ni Qing responded.
Li Luo glanced at the woman who was still kneeling on the ground with tears in her eyes, felt a pain in her heart, and turned around to leave.
Back at the Chinese army's tent, Chu Ying'er was already waiting inside. When she saw Li Luo coming in, she stood up and saluted, "General."
Li Luo took his hands in vain and said with a smile: "No need to be polite, thank you for the hard work, Miss Chu."
Chu Ying'er did not lie, and replied directly: "General, my subordinates have investigated several important towns in Xirong and various places in Dizhou. In recent years, the population of Xirong has increased rapidly, the army has continued to expand, and the people engaged in farming and herding have been
There has been no increase, so Xirong has to exchange some grain with other countries in the Western Regions every year."
Chu Ying'er paused and said in a cold voice: "Exchanging slaves for food has become commonplace in Xirong. When times are bad, one person can't even pay the price of a sheep."
"Are all these trafficked people from Dagan?"
Li Luo's voice was quite strange. Chu Ying'er raised her head and glanced at Li Luo, but Li Luo's eyes were distant and his face was calm, showing no emotion or anger.
Chu Ying'er replied: "Not entirely. Dagan accounts for about 70%. There are also some small countries in the Western Regions adjacent to Xirong. Also, among the merchants who trade slaves, at least nearly half of them are from Dagan.
of."
Li Luo was not surprised. When he was in Zhuocheng, there were many geisha women from the Western Regions. Although the imperial court had explicitly banned human trafficking, it was almost in vain.
Not to mention secret transactions, there were also these transactions in broad daylight. Zhang Zeliu and Yu Ying bought a few of them and wanted to give them to Li Luo, but Li Luo declined them all.
Just hearing these words from Chu Ying'er again, I still felt inexplicably uncomfortable in my heart, as if a huge stone was pressing down on my chest, but there was no color on my face.
Li Luo calmed down slightly and asked, "How is the situation in Xirong this year?"
"It's not bad. We have the upper hand in all the battles with the countries in the Western Region. There are no natural disasters. Apart from a lot of wars, there are no major events. It's just that there are rumors among the business travelers that the marshals on the left and right of Xirong are not on good terms." Chu Ying'er looked at Li Luo.
, then said: "I'm afraid the Privy Council will come to investigate this."
"Yes." Li Luo nodded, "I will ask Mr. Yang to help. Is there any other news?"
Chu Ying'er took out a book from her arms, handed it to Li Luo with both hands, and said: "General, this is a subordinate who has written down in detail some customs, geography and other miscellaneous things along the way, including local officials and some influential clans.
, please take a look at it, General."
Li Luo said happily: "Okay, okay, Miss Chu is really thoughtful." Taking the book, Li Luo opened it casually, and the handwriting that came into view was extremely beautiful, the lines and strokes were extremely smooth, and the weight and thickness of the strokes were naturally clear, compared to some
Everyone did not hesitate to give in. Li Luo glanced at Chu Ying'er and said in surprise: "Miss Chu's handwriting is so neat."
Chu Ying'er paused for a moment, as if she didn't expect that Li Luo would praise her words. She didn't know what she was thinking. She was in a daze for a moment. Only when Li Luo called out twice did Chu Ying'er wake up.
"General, is there anything else?"
"Oh," Li Luo was slightly surprised, but he didn't ask any more questions, "You go down and have a rest. I'll ask Ni Bai to find someone to make some food for you. You don't have to do anything else these two days, just rest in the camp."
rest."
"No need to trouble General, my subordinates will make arrangements on their own." Chu Ying'er bowed, returned to being cold and cold, turned around and walked out of the tent.
Li Luo smiled slightly, lowered his head and carefully looked at the sentiments of the people of Xirong recorded by Chu Ying'er.
Chu Ying'er opened the curtain, stopped suddenly, turned around and said, "General, there is one more thing."
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"Five days after the New Year's Eve, it will be the Changning Festival held every three years in Xirong."
"Changning Festival? But what about the Xirong clans going to their ancestors' mountains to pay homage?"
"Yes, it turns out that the general already knows."
Li Luo's eyes flashed, and he smiled softly and said: "I have read in a book that it is said that there is the ancestral god Barrow of Xirong on this ancestral mountain. It was this god Barrow who created the various tribes of Xirong. Every three years, the ancestors of Xirong
Families, big and small, all go to the ancestral mountain to worship. According to the reputation of each clan and the duties they serve, each clan ranks in the ancestral mountain and receives some temple blessings and royal benefits."
Chu Ying'er said with a hint of embarrassment: "General, this is not a temple blessing from Da Gan. The holy guide of the Xirong country has a high status and is more loved by the people than the king of Xirong. He can unite with other tribes to abolish the king and establish another one.
Others, even the king of Xirong, must be respectful and respectful when they see Sheng Yin, and do not dare to show any slights."
"Haha, if things go on like this, how can there be no chaos? How can a majestic king of a country allow others to snore and sleep under the royal couch? The current king of Xirong is just over 30 years old and has lofty ambitions. In recent years, he has made great efforts to use force. It seems that
Coming to Xirong Dynasty is not a peaceful time."
"Oh, the general has made a plan? I won't interrupt you, please leave first." Chu Ying'er seemed to feel that she had said too much, so she hurriedly bowed and left the tent.
Li Luo smiled and was not angry. He sat in front of the map and read the slip in his hand carefully. After lighting the lamp, Li Luo put down the slip and pondered for a moment. He then sent a message to Liu Ce and Shen Xiangdong to come to discuss matters with the Chinese army until dawn.
A few people dispersed on their own.
Li Luo didn't rest. He called Ni Qing and Ni Bai and sent an urgent message to Zhuocheng.
A few days after the urgent message was sent out, nothing unusual happened in the camp as before. However, the Chinese army's spies were secretly more active in the Shahu and Tianshui areas, and Li Luo also quietly went out two or three times.
A few days later, a reply came from the royal city. After Li Luo read it, he immediately ordered the generals to go to the central army to discuss the matter.
In less than a moment, all the generals in the camp arrived. Except for Liu Ce and Shen Xiangdong, everyone else was confused and didn't know what was going on.
Li Luo didn't say much and read out Emperor Wanlong's imperial edict, which shocked the generals' hearts.
It is decreed that from today onwards, the grain trade in Tianshui, Shahu and other states must be registered and recorded. No matter how big or small, they must go through the Western Conquest Strategy. If grain is traded privately, no matter who the other party is, they will be punished for the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and will be executed immediately.
No forgiveness.
As soon as this order was issued, Li Luo's power in Xifu was considered to be extremely great.
In several prefectures in the West, merchants who buy and sell grain account for one-third, and the rest are merchants of horses, ironware, silk and other goods. If bartering is included, the percentages must be added. In this way, unless
If they rebel openly, otherwise with the support of one hundred thousand Shepherd Sirius soldiers, more than 30% of the businessmen will act under Li Luo's guidance.
In recent years, some Dagan merchants in Xifu are only seeking profit, colluding with border customs, secretly dealing with enemy countries, ignoring the soldiers who fight to the death on the border, and there are not a few who surrender to the enemy and traitor. Some even collude with horse thieves, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil.
It's just that the court is unjust and has no one to rectify it, and Dagan's laws prohibit the army from interfering in local affairs. As a result, the state officials are even more lawless. Most of the border guards turn a blind eye, and some simply join in.
Making huge profits aroused the anger of the people in Xifu, and it was not until Di Jie, the envoy for the expedition to the west, came to take office that he was somewhat restrained.
After Li Luo read the imperial edict, all the generals in the tent looked happy. With Emperor Wanlong's order, the grain trade in Tianshui, Shahu and Xifu was controlled by Mu Tianlang. Although it may not be able to punish many people who surrender to the enemy and treason.
spies, but at least they would not let Dagan’s food fall into Xirong’s hands casually.