While Lu Shu and A Duo were running away wildly.
Outside the Quechang Reservoir area, Zhao Xuan sat casually on a big rock, stuck the torch in his hand on the ground, and watched the Mongolians approaching from the opposite side.
In the past four or five hours, he and Belgutai had negotiated several times, and both parties were very tired. However, the interests and bottom line of both parties are also clear. If there had not been that major omission, Zhao Xuan could even go back and report that he had expanded the influence of the trade route and Dazhou simultaneously.
However, that omission cannot be circumvented no matter what... Where did Lu Shu go? Is he still alive?
If this noble man cannot be found, no matter how much influence I, Zhao, have in expanding the Great Zhou Dynasty, no matter how many contributions I make, what will it be of use?
Zhao Xuan would think about this problem every half a moment, and then he would feel a splitting headache and sweat all over his body.
This state fell in the eyes of the Mongolians on the opposite side, making them feel that the military power displayed by their side had an effect. Several ferocious-looking Mongolian youths immediately held their heads high and chests high. Some even sneered twice, pulled out the swords they were wearing and waved them in their hands.
Belgutai was an important member of the Golden Family, and someone Genghis Khan had to rely on. Although his subordinates were not as carefully selected as Qerxue, they were all experts from the Mongolian headquarters. Most of the captures that Belgutai had previously captured during his previous expeditions with Genghis Khan were also thrown at them.
For example, these Mongolian youths all have shiny silver iron scale armor, which is obviously the equipment of the escort army in Daxing Mansion in Zhongdu. Judging from the style, it is still the same quality as when King Hailing first established the purple antler, green antler, and yellow antler armies. A particularly outstanding customized model, except that all the brightly colored velvet tapes were damaged and replaced with leather tapes.
This kind of armor and helmet weighs more than forty kilograms. Wearing such armor, he could walk freely and even leap like flying. Zhao Xuan had only seen Guo Ning, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The few Mongolians in front of him seemed very reluctant.
Thinking like this, a sneer appeared at the corner of Zhao Xuan's mouth.
This sneer immediately made several Mongolians angry. In their way of thinking, if someone despises their majesty, it must be that their majesty is not strong enough, so several people stepped forward at the same time.
After taking two steps, Belgutai shouted loudly: "Stop!"
After shooing away his men, he walked to Zhao Xuan and found a big stone to sit on.
This famous strongman was short and stocky with a stocky build. Compared with Zhao Xuan, his waist was not as thick as his thighs. He was obviously a general who fought on the battlefield, but he actually looked very weak.
But at this time, the two were sitting across from each other and talking, and Belgutai could not overwhelm Zhao Xuan in terms of momentum.
In the situation in front of them, the stupid ones among the Mongols may feel that they have the upper hand and can enjoy all the supplies they have. They can also kill the men or merchants in front of them at will as they did in previous years. But Belgutai knew that was not the case.
He even began to regret that when he led his troops into the Kurdistan Region, he should not have been so arrogant. If I had been more humble and low-key back then, I might not have to worry so much now.
As the right-hand man of the Great Khan and a member of the Golden Family who was ordered to sit in the grassland, Belgutai's identity could easily overwhelm anyone in this wilderness. But obviously, the general of Zhou Dynasty in front of him was not among them.
This feeling made Belgutai very uncomfortable, and he had to admit the reality. It seemed that the relationship between the grassland and the Central Plains had slowly returned to the time when the Jin Kingdom was strong.
At that time, the Jurchens relied on force to establish a strong defense line on the edge of the grassland, and from time to time sent their troops deep into the area to massacre. At the same time, relying on a large number of rewards, he continued to bribe the Mongolian tribes and induced the Mongols to kill each other. Genghis Khan once said that he believed that the emperors of the Central Plains were all made by heavenly beings. Although that sentence was intended to mock the incompetence of the Jurchens, it did reflect the thinking of the Mongols at that time.
Genghis Khan had anticipated this before leaving the grassland. But Belgudei feels that the situation may be more difficult than then.
The area controlled by the current Han'ers on the grassland is less than one-tenth of what it was at the height of the Jin Kingdom, but their force is definitely greater than that of the Jurchens, and the rebuilt defense line is also extremely strong. Belgutai does not want to test it at all.
What’s even more troublesome is that Da Zhou’s financial resources
And the ability to use financial resources is far superior to that of Dai Jin.
Da Jin would only keep spreading money and rewards, but Da Zhou continued to carry out trade.
Ordinarily, when Genghis Khan sent his troops south several times before, didn't he destroy all the cities in the Central Plains? Didn’t they kill more than a million people from the Central Plains? Didn’t he snatch all the wealth of the Central Plains into his hands?
But now it seems that the people of the Central Plains are like a sick man who was on the verge of death a moment ago. In the blink of an eye, he is now alive and kicking, his face glowing red, he eats and drinks every day, and his stomach is like a bottomless pit. Belgutai simply didn’t understand how they could need so many cattle, sheep, furs, and horses forever. How can we continuously provide so much food, medicinal materials, cloth, and tea in batches?
The Jurchens' rewards and the Haner's trade had completely different impacts on the grassland.
Reward is a one-time transaction. No matter what the Central Plains court gives, it will definitely fall into the hands of the tribal leader or Zhaudhuri who respects the will of the Central Plains court. After they get financial support, they will definitely expand aggressively, and in the end they will be unable to escape the situation of raising tigers.
But Haner's trade not only brings continuous benefits, but can also be carried out with anyone. There are thousands of households on the grassland, but no one wants to monopolize this benefit.
Yeli Ya wanted to monopolize the benefits of trade, and soon attracted Belgutai; Belgutai bet that after he maintained the existence of the dog farm, his niece, the princess of the prison country, Alahaibeji Will reach out soon.
So what happened next was, to be honest, a bit embarrassing.
On the one hand, the more you want to improve the strength of the tribe and be ready to respond to Genghis Khan's call and start war with the Central Plains again, the more you can't do without trade with the Central Plains. Because if you want to become a dog driven by the sweat, you must first make yourself fat, and the only ones who can bring dog food are actually Han'er from the Central Plains. And with the cunningness of the Han people in the Central Plains, they must have benefited more from trade than the Mongols.
On the other hand, just because this huge benefit attracted everyone's attention, Belgutai knew that he must maintain the situation. If he announced to the public that he had fallen out with the Central Plains people and that he would no longer be able to do business, all parties whose interests would be harmed would not be able to accept it. Alakhaibegi, who has always had a tough personality, would probably think that Belgutai was making up stories to deceive everyone in order to monopolize the benefits. .net
As Genghis Khan's sons continue to grow, Belgutai's status in the golden family has declined. He couldn't bear the accusations from Alakhaibeji, let alone Genghis Khan's possible doubts!
so……
Belgutai felt that his confidence was weaker than that of Zhao Xuan and his face would not look good, so when the two sat across from each other, he specially found a seat farther away from the torch. At this time, the night was dark and the firelight was dancing, making Belgutai's expression increasingly gloomy and uncertain.
"Are the conditions still the same as those two? Have you thought clearly!" he asked.
"Only these two items!" Zhao Xuan held out two fingers: "The murderer must pay with his life! Send someone to find the missing people in the caravan!"
