Rumble, rumble, rumble, a heavy sound suddenly sounded from the front.
Following this sound came bursts of dust.
Although it is next to the Yellow River, it is late autumn and naturally there is a lot of dust.
Chen Hua was shocked, could there be another barbarian attack?
"Get ready." Just as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by a voice: "Master Chen, it's Ping."
Chen Hua saw him working hard. Is there something urgent?
Behind him were Hu Liang and Puda, all three of them looking happy.
Wan Ping bowed his hands to Chen Hua and said, "Tell Master Chen that Hu Shang is interested in cold-proof products and clam oil, so he came here to have a look."
"Okay, let them come over." Chen Hua couldn't help but be overjoyed. Before he arrived in Ningzhou, business came to his door.
"Tell Master Chen that the smell of blood here is very strong and Hu Shang cannot smell it." Hu Liang sniffed and raised his hand as a reminder.
Pu Da also bowed his hand and said, "Tell Master Chen that business should be smooth and stable, and there should be no bloody disasters."
Although both of them are businessmen, they are also ministers of the Kingdom of Israel.
"Okay, move the caravan forward, and we'll negotiate later." Chen Hua returned the courtesy and nodded, obediently.
After all, they were a small country subordinate to Zhaojiazhuang, and Chen Hua was not overly polite to them.
The security group is mainly to protect the safety of the caravans of the Kingdom of Israel, and the negotiations are mainly about the affairs of the country's ministers Puda and Hu Liang.
Wanping represented the security team and supervised the entire negotiation process.
This time the caravan, although Zhaojiazhuang did not organize the caravan, but used a battalion of soldiers and horses to protect it, and the profits participated in the commission.
Originally, Zhao Ping did not want a commission, but Hu Liang and Pu Da took the initiative.
The reason is very simple. The kingdom's troops have not yet formed an army and are in urgent need of protection from the security group.
This time they were faced with barbarian archers and cavalry again, and the security team could not be allowed to bleed and exert force without compensation.
Chen Hua was leisurely, drinking tea and waiting for the outcome of the negotiation.
Half an hour later, Wan Ping rushed over and reported: "Report to Master Chen, it's done, it's done."
"Zidan (word Wanping), what's done?" Chen Hua thought that the negotiation was done, and suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said calmly.
With a smile on his face, Wan Ping danced and said: "These Hu merchants saw Zhaojiazhuang's cold-proof things and liked them very much. They asked for three thousand sets."
Chen Hua put down the tea cup with a smile on his face: "It's really unexpected. I didn't expect it to be so popular. Where is the clam oil?"
"I never expected that Clam Immortal Oil would be more popular, and Hu Shang wanted all of it. We thought twice and gave Hu Shang 7,000 boxes." Wan Ping couldn't help but answer with excitement.
Seeing the excitement on Cheng Ping's face, Chen Hua couldn't help but be surprised: "Why is clam oil so popular?"
"I heard that clam oil can not only moisturize the skin, but also beautify the skin. It is said that this is the conclusion reached by the princess of the Kingdom of Israel herself." Cheng Ping showed a mysterious smile.
Although the Kingdom of Israel is small, it is still a kingdom.
The princess is no ordinary person. Since she said so, it must be an authoritative conclusion.
Chen Hua couldn't help but be overjoyed. He rubbed his hands and walked around a few times. At the same time, he shook his head with some regret: "If I had known better, I could have ordered more clam oil. I must prepare some next time."
"What's the price?" Chen Hua walked around for a few times and suddenly remembered a question.
"I can't believe the prices in Lanzhou are so high. A sweater and trousers cost 2 taels of silver each, gloves and shoes cost 1 tael of gold, and a box of clam oil costs 1 tael of gold." Cheng Ping said while gesturing with his hands, almost overjoyed. jumped up.
Xu Te also came over at this time. He patted Cheng Ping on the shoulder and finally relaxed his brows: "I originally thought that taking the risk of going to Lanzhou would be a loss, but I didn't expect that I would still make a profit."
"Risk is directly proportional to the return. What the little sage said is indeed true. No wonder Hu Shang dared to take the Silk Road. It seems worth it." Chen Hua nodded.
"Although there is a lot of clam oil sold, there are still a lot of things to keep out the cold. This time we have to look at the situation in Ningzhou." Xu Te looked at Cheng Ping and said to Chen Hua.
He still had one sentence he didn't say. Hu Shang's products to keep out the cold were not as popular as mussel oil. How would the sales be in Ningzhou (Xining)?
He didn't dare to say these words, so he could only keep them in his heart.
Three days later, the caravan finally appeared in Ningzhou (also known as Xining).
Ningzhou is also called Qingtang City. It was once the capital of Tuyuhun. It is mainly built with stone walls. Its defense and prosperity are far different from those in the mainland.
This was once the territory of the Song Dynasty, but after the Song Dynasty crossed south, it was occupied by the Xixia people, and now it is the territory of the Hu people.
However, because it was a bitter cold plateau, far away from the Central Plains, and because this was where Tibet was located, the Hu people did not pay much attention to it.
At this time, there was heavy snow under the sky, and it was boiling and falling.
When they came to the city gate, they saw a group of twenty Tibetan soldiers looking at them repeatedly.
One of them, who looked like an officer holding a machete, shouted loudly: "Stand, what are you doing?"
"I'm telling you, Master Jun, that we are shopkeeper Hu, a businessman from the Song Dynasty. We came to Xining specifically to do business." Hu Liang stepped forward and bowed respectfully, and a silver ingot fell into the hands of the officer.
The officer weighed it in his hands, looked them over, and frowned: "Why are there so many people doing business?"
"I'm telling you, Master, the number is very large. In addition, in order to protect the horse bandits, we have to bring more manpower." Hu Liang saluted respectfully again.
The officer held the machete in one hand, looked at them coldly, and still shook his head: "No, there are too many of you. Zanpu has regulations and cannot allow more than a hundred people to enter the city."
Pu Da looked at his red palms from the cold and said, "Tell the military master that the weather is too cold and you must wear something to keep out the cold, otherwise your hands will be frozen."
As Pu Da spoke, he took out an object and handed it to him.
"What is this?" The officer named Boten looked at it and couldn't help but be stunned.
Pu Da simply put it on himself, raised his hands and said, "Master Boten, these are gloves, specially made to keep your hands warm."
Boten looked at it for a few times, his eyes hesitant: "Is it warm? Is it not useful? Do we still need to use weapons?"
After speaking, he raised the scimitar in his hand, which was not only a demonstration, but also a statement that the weapon in his hand could not be hindered.
"As long as it is warm and does not affect the use of weapons." Puda said, handing the gloves to Boten.
Boten took his hands off the handle of the knife and tried to put on gloves.
He drew out his machete and swung it a few more times, making a whirring sound.
Hu Liang and Puda hurriedly got out of the way. The Tibetans were also barbarians. This was their territory again. If they were injured accidentally, they would be injured accidentally.
Boten walked a few more steps and waved again among the snowflakes before nodding with satisfaction.
Boten looked at Pu Da, his eyebrows suddenly wrinkled: "The shopkeeper doesn't wear fur clothes, isn't he afraid of the cold?"
"It's not that the villain is not afraid of the cold, but it's because he's wearing a sweater." Pu Dala opened his shirt and showed that he was wearing a furry sweater underneath.
Seeing Boten's doubtful mood, Hu Liang hurriedly took out a sweater from the car.
Boten took it, not knowing how to use it, and looked at Hu Liang.
Pu Da hurriedly stepped forward and explained: "Master Boten, take off your coat here and wear it underneath."
Boten nodded, took off his leather jacket, put on his sweater, and waved his machete a few more times.
"It is indeed warm and convenient, but now my feet suddenly feel cold." After saying that, he looked at the feet of Pu Da and Hu Liang, and saw their woolen clothes coming out from the hems.
Seeing the greedy look in Boten's eyes, Puda didn't know what Boten was thinking.
Pu Da took out a pair of woolen socks and woolen trousers from the carriage and said respectfully: "Master Boten, these are trousers and trousers, they are very warm."
Boten took the woolen pants with a puzzled look in his eyes, because the pants were not ordinary at all.
Puda had no choice but to step forward and give a demonstration, and a smile appeared on Boten's face.
After putting on Boten, he waved his scimitar in the heavy snow.
"Shopkeeper, I still have dozens of subordinates." He finally put away the scimitar and pointed at the other subordinates.
It seems that this person is not stupid and actually understands the reason for accepting his subordinates.
With smiles on their faces, Pu Da and Hu Liang immediately said, "We have them, we have them."
As they spoke, the two took out cold-weather suits from the carriage, one for each person.
Boten looked thoughtful as Pu Da and Hu Liang gave each of his men a set of things to keep out the cold.
"Does Lord Boten still have his parents and children?" Puda looked at Boten deep in thought and hurriedly stepped forward and asked.
Boten stretched out his hands. Pu Da didn't understand, so he had to ask: "There are ten people in the family?"
Boten nodded and looked at Puda and Hu Liang.
"How many adults are there, Lord Boten, and how many children are there?" This must be clarified, otherwise it will make the other party unhappy.
After getting Boten's report of the number, the two of them gave them ten more sets of things to keep out the cold as requested.
Seeing the smile on Boten's face, Pu Da stepped forward and saluted again: "May I ask what you have to ask for, Master Boten?"
"Shopkeeper Hu, it seems that you are indeed businessmen, but there are too many of you. Three hundred people will go in and the rest will stay." Boten looked at the entire caravan in front of him.
Puda passed another silver ingot smoothly: "Master Boten, look at the heavy snow. It's snowing heavily in the sky now. If you stay outside, you will freeze to death."
Boten weighed the silver ingots in his hand, looked at them repeatedly, looked at the snowflakes flying in the sky, and fell into deep thought.
Pu Da and Hu Liang looked at each other with nervous expressions in their eyes, and stood respectfully in front of Boten.
"Okay, because of the snow, you can go in, but you can't mess around." Boten moved his body and finally said.
Pu Da and Hu Liang couldn't help but be overjoyed. Another silver ingot fell into Boten's hands.
Boten waved his big hand, and the Tibetan soldiers pushed open the city gate.
Chen Hua looked at the about one hundred barbarians who were tied up, and was extremely worried. How could they get into the city?
Although the barbarians have no weapons, what should they do if they shout?
Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, took out the rag, and stuffed it directly into the barbarian's mouth. The barbarian whined several times and had no choice but to say nothing.
Wan Ping nodded and immediately ordered his men: "Gag their mouths."
The soldiers of the security group found rags and stuffed all the barbarians with rags.
"Who are they and why are they tied up?" Seeing the bound barbarians, Boten couldn't help but wonder. He took out his scimitar, put it on Puda's neck, pointed at the barbarians and asked.
Other Tibetan soldiers also took action, some with guns and some with knives, and they dressed up security regiment soldiers towards Hu Liang or businessmen.
The battle was about to break out, and Chen Hua hurriedly stepped forward.
He bowed respectfully to Boten and said, "Tell the military master, this is a slave. I heard that it can be traded in the city."
After saying that, Chen Hua conveniently dropped a gold ingot into Boten's hand.
"Since he is a slave, of course he can trade." Boten weighed the gold ingots in his hand with a smile on his face.
Seeing the frightened look in the foreigner's eyes, Boten couldn't help laughing.
He had seen this look from slaves many times.
All slaves look like this. It seems that there is nothing wrong with these being slaves.
Boten put the gold ingot into his sleeve, laughed and waved to let him go.
Wanping couldn't help but wonder why he was a prisoner of war and became a slave again.
In fact, what Chen Hua said is actually correct. The victorious party has any power to deal with prisoners of war, and can even trade them as slaves.
When the Hu people heard that Chen Hua wanted to trade them as slaves, each of them was more terrifying than being killed on the battlefield.
If the barbarians are said to be barbaric, the Tubo people are even more barbaric.
Because the wealth of the Tubo chieftains was measured by slaves.
You can die happily on the battlefield, but if you become a slave, life is really worse than death.
The chieftain had the power to do whatever he wanted with the slaves, including skinning people for clothing.
Finally entering Ningzhou, Chen Hua found that there were about 50,000 people here, more than half of whom were Tibetans, 30% were Han people, and 20% were Tibetans.
Because it is a plateau, the people here tend to be darker.
Chen Hua's skin is average in Changyuan County, and people here are considered fair-skinned.
There is a big difference between the Tibetan people and the Han people in their clothing. They wear tight clothes with narrow sleeves and left hem and short hair.
Chen Hua also found that it is very simple to distinguish the Tubo people. They especially like to apply red makeup such as cinnabar, commonly known as red face or red face.
Unlike Chen Hua who looked at Chi Mian curiously, Hu Liang and Pu Da were already accustomed to it.
Seeing that the Tubo people liked red faces so much, Chen Hua came to Hu Liang and asked, "Hu Shangshu, may I ask why they like red faces?"
