Kaqu had already stated that the Western Region would not be able to pay tribute in the past two years, and I agreed to him, but I couldn't really come empty-handed. Someone happened to suggest that those two people be dedicated to me, so I accepted it, because he didn't believe in the art of immortality either... …I had no idea that I would like it, let alone give him a valuable gift in return.
Now that the Qin Dynasty had destroyed the Xiongnu, its power shocked the world and strengthened Kaqu's determination to rely on the Qin Dynasty. He was a staunch supporter of the Western Regions' attachment to the Qin Dynasty, so he was the one who came every time as an envoy.
Now that I heard that I was willing to pay for the construction of the Academy, I was overjoyed. I quickly bowed and said: "On behalf of the countries in the Western Regions, I would like to thank Your Majesty! I promise Your Majesty that the Academy of the Western Regions will be built within three years, so that more people can People from the Western Regions know the characters of Qin and the etiquette of Qin!"
I nodded with satisfaction. Two carts of gold, silver, money, and silk were definitely not enough to build a school palace. The countries in the Western Regions would definitely have to bleed money by then. If it was built, it would naturally achieve my goal. If I built it randomly, hehe, then But they are disrespectful to Da Qin and me. When the time comes, they will naturally have excuses and means to deal with them.
Moreover, they were sent away with only five cartloads of books and two cartloads of money, so Da Qin was not considered a loss to his grandma's family.
Spend a little money and do big things!
Kaqu thanked him again and stood aside.
Next up is Hajusu!
Hazhusu stepped forward and bowed respectfully and presented a gift book: "Emperor of Great Qin, Beihu does not have any valuable products, only horses and cattle. To show that Great Qin and Beihu have eternal friendship, Lu Te Khan presented to Great Qin One thousand good horses and ten thousand cattle! They have arrived at the foot of the Great Wall. In addition, the corn that Da Qin has provided to Beihu over the years has been replaced with cattle and sheep of equivalent value. The settlement will be completed this autumn, and a total of two hundred thousand cattle will be returned to Da Qin. 400,000 heads, sheep, and 100,000 animal skins of all kinds, thanks again to the Emperor of Qin for his kindness!"
I took the gift book and glanced at it. For these nomadic people, 210,000 cattle and 400,000 sheep were not a small number. The Qin Dynasty gave them a total of 1.4 million stones of corn, and a working cattle cost about six The key to stone corn is that it has a price but no market. Cattle basically have one litter per year, and each litter only has one animal. Raising cows and horses is the same as raising pigs. Pigs need to eat if they want to gain weight. The same goes for cows and horses. If they want to have the strength to plow the land and run, they need to feed. , it is difficult to breed on a large scale under current conditions.
Zalut not only played a role in containing the Xiongnu, but also provided a large number of cattle for the Qin Dynasty. Together with the cattle from the Xiongnu and the Northern Qiang clan, the Quyuan plow and cattle farming that I implemented was realized. , Da Qin's grain production has been greatly improved, so if he hadn't committed suicide himself, I wouldn't want to touch him. Wouldn't it be better to keep him and raise livestock for me?
"Very good!" The cow and horse are exactly what Da Qin needs, and their value is sky-high compared to those two beauties!
I praised with satisfaction: "Khan Lute is determined. Now Daqin and Beihu will benefit from each other. I hope that there will be eternal peace between the two countries!"
Then he glanced at Chen Qing and said: "Dian Ke, please give me three carts of gold, silver, and three carts of silk to show my heart!"
What Great Qin lacks most now is gold, silver, money, and silk. In ancient times, the most important things were food, salt, and iron. If I hadn't been suspicious of Zarut, maybe I would have chosen to give them food, but now their attitude is unclear, so I'd better give them some. It is better not to eat or drink gold and silver.
Hazhusu's expression did not change, and he still said respectfully: "Thank you, Emperor of Qin! I will definitely express the Emperor of Qin's feelings to Khan Lute!"
I nodded slightly. After paying tribute, it was already time for the palace lanterns to be lit. After everyone left, I returned to the Sihai Palace.
Also late at night, Hazhusu, disguised as a chamberlain, entered the Sihai Palace after being carefully searched.
With suspicions about him and Zarut, and Chu Mo's thrilling experience, I don't dare to leave the palace casually now.
After Hazhusu came in, he bowed respectfully: "I have seen your majesty!"
"No courtesy." I waved my hand. The expression on Hazhusu's face was as respectful as it was two years ago. I felt a little relieved: "Sit down."
After Hazhusu sat down, I looked at him with a smile and said jokingly: "Now that you are honored as the Righteous King of Beihu, you don't need to address me with contempt."
Hazhusu naturally did not dare, and said quickly: "The villain will always be a citizen of Da Qin, how can he be called the right virtuous king!"
I chuckled with satisfaction, and asked directly the doubts in my heart without probing: "Aren't you mainly in charge of the cavalry of various tribes in Beihu? Why did you come to Xianyang as an envoy?"
Hazhusu's words were the same as what I had guessed at the time, and he said without hesitation: "Back to Your Majesty, Zalut believes that the villain has been on many missions to the Qin Dynasty and has a better understanding of the situation in the Qin Dynasty. Moreover, the villain's identity is no longer a secret. Zalut I especially feel that a villain can show more sincerity by coming to Da Qin."
According to the investigation by Meng He, Feng Youcheng and others, no abnormality was found in Hazhusu, and Zalut did not make any abnormal movements. I nodded and said, "How many troops do you have now? If Zalut decides Having betrayed Great Qin, how confident are you that you can suppress Zarut without Great Qin’s intervention?”
Hazhusu was startled, with a look of horror on his face, and said in horror: "What do you mean, Your Majesty? Could it be that Zalut will betray Great Qin?"
I smiled and said comfortingly: "Don't be suspicious, I'm just making this assumption, don't take it seriously."
Hazhusu gradually regained his composure, thought for a while and said: "Back to Your Majesty, there are more than 30,000 cavalrymen in Beihu. The rest were lost in the Xiongnu's raid. The villain has more than 10,000 personal soldiers in his hands. The remaining More than 20,000 cavalrymen are nominally under the control of the villain. The cavalry that Zarut can mobilize without relying on any troop transfer certificates can be estimated by the villain to be more than 10,000."
"More than ten thousand... Although it's not much, it's not a small amount." I rubbed my eyebrows and raised my head and said, "Has Zarut done anything unusual recently? For example, he paid special attention to the control of cavalry, or secretly recruited a large number of cavalry. Food and grass?”
Hazhusu frowned, as if he was recalling carefully, and after a long time he came back to his senses and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the villain and Zalut are almost inseparable, and there is nothing unusual about him. If there is anything different..."
Hazhusu raised his head and looked at me: "That means he suddenly fell in love with hunting recently!"
I wondered: "Isn't it strange that nomads like hunting?"
Hazhusu shook his head and explained: "Your Majesty does not know something. Although Zalut served in the army for many years and became the Great Khan of Beihu, he never liked hunting. In his words, everything has spirituality. , we have already killed enough people in the army, if we kill prey wantonly for fun, we will only increase our sins, and we may be punished by God."
I laughed, but I didn't expect Zarut to believe this, and then asked: "Then why did he suddenly fall in love with hunting recently?"
Hazhusu hesitated and said: "The villain doesn't know, but his hunting method is quite strange. He made a kind of arrow that makes a sound, and let the guards listen to the whistle of the arrow and shoot in the direction of the prey. At the beginning There were also people who deviated from the direction of the whistle, and Zalut was quite angry, and severely punished a few people, and everything became orderly after that. Not to mention, from now on, no prey can escape the salvo of thousands of arrows."
