Elonqen Grassland
The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and cattle and sheep are visible in the windblown grass. Under the blue sky, countless tents stand on this grassland. Tens of thousands of cattle and sheep are driven by shepherds, slowly walking towards the sheepfold. ····················
This is the Royal Court of Luobi, where the Luobi people have lived for generations. Most of the Luobi nobles also live here. However, right here, a middle-aged man dressed as a Zhou person is walking among these Luobi camps, and The burly men around him seemed not to be surprised by the appearance of this middle-aged man, and some even came forward with their own sheepskins to sell them.
Zhang Ye checked the quality of the leather, then nodded and said in Luobi language:
"Your sheepskin is the best. If the goods you have are of this quality, I am willing to buy them for half a penny!"
After listening to Zhang Ye's words, Bals, the big Luobei man who came over to sell his own sheepskins, suddenly showed a look of surprise on his rough face and said with a smile:
"Shopkeeper Zhang, don't worry. My sheepskins are the best in the entire Elonqen Grassland. The price will be as you say! You are the Zhou businessman with the most fair bids in the entire Elonqen Grassland. You are different from those black-hearted guys." Same!"
The big man Luo Bei on the side listened to Zhang Ye and was actually willing to buy a sheepskin with half a penny. They all got excited and gathered around to introduce Zhang Ye's sheepskins, bragging about how good their sheepskins were and asking Zhang Ye to buy them. Take a look anyway.
Although wars are raging in the Great Zhou Dynasty at present, the surrounding armies are still very strong because of the fighting, and the main force of the Luobei people is restrained by the Kipchak Khanate in the west. They are afraid that they will be stolen by the eager Kipchaks when they go south. home, so I didn’t dare to go south to plunder property on a large scale. I only dared to go south on a small scale to grab some things and run away...
However, small-scale plundering will always be met with a strong counterattack by the Zhou Dynasty defenders. Just like last year, thousands of light cavalrymen wanted to take advantage of the autumn harvest to make a profit in Liaoyang, because the speed advantage of the light cavalry was without any warning. A sudden attack, this group of Luobi people did achieve certain results at first.
However, just when the confidence of these Luobi people increased greatly and they wanted to expand the results of the war, the Fengwu army responded quickly and organized a continuous encirclement and outflanking. The powerful firearms greatly reduced the disadvantage of infantry against cavalry. Although Luobei The people made full use of the wolf pack tactics and started to run away if they couldn't be defeated. However, the cumulative casualties after several consecutive setbacks caused more than half of the casualties to this small force of thousands of people.
Seeing more and more Fengwu Army troops coming here to support them. If they don't leave, they will easily be wiped out. The Luobi people just want to flee back to the grassland with their butts between their legs. They originally wanted to return to the grassland. On the vast grassland, the Fengwu Army, which was mainly infantry, could only stop here and did not dare to continue the pursuit.
But what they never expected was that under the combat order signed by Ye Mingsheng, Guo Zhiping led more than 10,000 cavalrymen of the Third Division to chase them all the way and even kill them directly on the Elonqen grassland. The humble cavalry abandoned their helmets and armor, and the whole army was just trying to escape for their lives.
In the end, although Guo Zhiping was worried that the lone army would go deep and be easily surrounded and annihilated by the Luobi people who reacted, he did not continue to pursue him. However, in retaliation, he destroyed several small Luobi tribes on the eastern grasslands... ··········
After this battle, the Luobi people finally understood the strength of the Fengwu Army. Although they were greedy, they still did not stop plundering southward. However, the frequency of plundering dropped significantly. From the previous more than ten times a year, It has now increased to five or six times a year. After all, although the Luobi people are barbaric, they still calculate their accounts very clearly. Their input is not directly proportional to their output. Sometimes they even have to do business at a loss. Their enthusiasm for going south to plunder Naturally, it will drop significantly!
Although the method of looting gradually became unavailable, the Luobei people's demand for Zhou commodities still existed, and the demand increased steadily every year. The nobles of Luobei needed gold and silver objects, ceramics, silk, ordinary The people of Luobei need Dazhou tea, pots and pans, and other basic daily necessities.
Ye Mingsheng was also keenly aware of the great development potential of the Luobei market, so he issued an order for Dadongsheng Trading Company to increase its investment in the Luobei market and deepen its development in the Luobei market. Ye Mingsheng knew very well that there was no market for firearms yet. When it develops to the point where the nomads can sing and dance well, it will be difficult for the Fengwu Army and Liaoyang alone to go deep into the grassland and completely defeat the Luobi people's expansion on the grassland!
Therefore, in order to avoid being disturbed by the Luobei people in their pursuit of the world, Ye Mingsheng's strategy for the grassland has always been very clear, which is to end the war with war, face the Luobei people with a strong attitude, and let the Luobei people have victory with fierce fighting. However, Ye Mingsheng also used trade to satisfy the Luobei people's demand for Zhou commodities, and at the same time, he also earned a large amount of profits for himself to support his expenses for the war. , and obtain war horses, an important strategic material in the cold weapon era.
So far, Ye Mingsheng's strategic policy has been very effective. Although small-scale conflicts between the two sides have occurred from time to time because of the Luobi people's ambitions, they have always been small-scale conflicts and have not expanded into large-scale wars. Maintaining a state of political coldness and economic heat·················
And now this businessman named Zhang Ye is one of the deputy shopkeepers of Dadongsheng Company in Luobei. He is responsible for the leather business of Dadongsheng Company in Luobei. It is worth mentioning that he is not the only one doing business in Luobei. Dadongsheng's family, Yunbin and Youyan, which are close to the grassland, all have businesses competing for the Luobei market.
Even in Liaoyang, although Ye Mingsheng implemented public-private partnerships in important businesses in basic industries and established the dominant position of Dadongsheng Company, in order to prevent Dadongsheng Company from lacking vitality and breeding corruption due to lack of market competition, Ye Mingsheng also gave other companies Several private companies in the country issued licenses for Luo Bei Trading, using market competition to force Dadongsheng Company to continue reform and innovation.
Although there is market competition, Dadongsheng Company relies on the strong advantage of being backed by Liaoyang Manufacturing Bureau, and it has very strong competitiveness in terms of product quality and product style. With this advantage, Dadongsheng Company operates in Luobei. The market share continues to expand. Up to now, Dadongsheng Company has become the largest Dazhou Company in Luobei, occupying nearly half of the market share, and has a vague monopoly attitude.
After dealing with these big Luo Bei men for a while and dealing with them all, Zhang Ye came to the core area of Luo Bei Royal Court. It was heavily guarded and most of the Luo Bei nobles, including the Great Khan, were is to live here.
The soldiers in charge of the guard immediately became alert when they saw Zhang Ye's appearance, and immediately shouted an order:
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
In response to the soldier's questioning, Zhang Ye handed over the token on his waist without panic and said with a smile:
"I am the shopkeeper of Dadongsheng Company. I have something to ask Lord Dabaragan! This is the token given to me by Lord Dabaragan..."
While talking, Zhang Ye quietly stuffed a small piece of broken silver into the soldier's hand. Sensing Zhang Ye's small movement, the soldier immediately grinned and stopped checking. He directly put Zhang Ye in and walked into the core area of the royal court. , he walked to a luxuriously decorated courtyard by familiar means.
Different from the ordinary Luobei people who live a traditional nomadic life, under the influence of the Zhou culture, more and more people in the upper class of Luobei began to bid farewell to the past life of living in the open air and began to imitate the powerful people of the Zhou Dynasty. Build luxurious houses and various landscapes for your enjoyment.
And now the Lord Dabaragan whom Zhang Ye wanted to visit was one of the trend-setters among the upper class of Luo Bei who was at the forefront of the Zhou Dynasty. When he came to the gate of the courtyard, Zhang Ye was quickly led by his servants to a place. In front of the room, as soon as I walked into the room, I heard hearty laughter inside.
"Shopkeeper Zhang, my dear Anda, what new gadgets have you brought me this time?"
Zhang Ye looked around and saw only a middle-aged man with a big belly, sitting on a seat inlaid with various gems and looking at him. This person was the target of his trip, Dabaragan, the great prince of the Luobituwa tribe. !
The Tuwa tribe is one of the most powerful tribes among the Luobei tribes. All the men of the tribe have been mobilized and have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. However, unlike the Great Zhou tradition of inheriting to the eldest son, the tribes on the grassland believe in strong The person is the king, so Dabalagan did not live in the royal court as an envoy of the Tuwa tribe.
Of course, he is nominally an envoy and can also be considered a hostage in a certain sense. However, because of the strength of the Tuva tribe, Dabalagan is also very respected in the royal court... ········
After Dabaragan finished speaking, the eyes embedded in his big face looked at Zhang Ye critically. Under his gaze, Zhang Ye smiled slightly, took out a beautifully decorated box from his arms and put it in his hands. Presented to Dabaraganda:
"Please Lord Dabaragan take a look at this!"
Upon hearing this, Dabaragan took the box without any courtesy. However, he did not open the box directly. Instead, he looked at it carefully and then said:
"Is this box made of rosewood?"
After Dabaragan finished speaking, Zhang Ye gave him a thumbs up and praised:
"Master Dabaragan has great eyesight! This box is made of rosewood!"
Listening to Zhang Ye's words, Dabaragan's expression showed a hint of contentment, but to Zhang Ye's surprise, Dabaragan still did not open the box but said with a smile:
"This box is made of red sandalwood, so the things in the box must be very valuable. You Zhou people have always said that you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for any reason. Shopkeeper Zhang, you suddenly gave me such an expensive gift. , I think you can ask me for help if you need anything..."
Zhang Ye was silent for a while after hearing this, then sighed, gave a thumbs up to Dabaragan and said:
"Sir, I don't have much time left in Luobei. I know as many as eight hundred people from Luobei, but your wisdom is the highest I have ever seen!"
As soon as these words came out of Dabagan's face full of meat, the joy and pride could not be hidden. Although he was the eldest prince of the Tuva tribe, he was not good at riding and shooting because he was fat since he was a child. , so he was disliked by his father and became a laughing stock among more than a dozen brothers. He was even sent to the royal court as a hostage.
It is not that Dabaragan has never thought about changing his situation, but unfortunately he is the kind of person who gets fat even after drinking cold water. Therefore, after trying many methods and failing, all Dabaragan can do is accept the reality. , in his opinion, although force and courage are very important, wisdom is more important!
He once imitated the great Zhou classic Mencius' "I Want the Fish" and said something like this: The fish is what I want, and the bear's paw is also what I want. Both are incompatible. He who gives up the fish and takes the bear's paw is brave. Wisdom is also what I want. I cannot have both. It is the one who sacrifices bravery for wisdom.
Although Dabaragan was very insistent on what he said and regarded himself as a wise man among the Luobi people, the Luobi nobles who advocated bravery thought that this was just an excuse because Dabaragan was not good at bravery, so they all ridiculed him. Dabalagan, and now that Zhang Ye praises Dabalagan's wisdom, it is undoubtedly Dabalagan's heart...
After taking a deep look at Zhang Ye, Dabaragan said simply:
"Just because of what you said to Shopkeeper Zhang, I will accept this gift!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ye bowed to Dabaragan and said:
"Thank you for your respect, sir!"
Dabaragan used his thick fingers covered with gemstone rings to roughly open the rosewood box, only to see a thing made of wood and glass lying quietly inside.
Seeing the appearance of this thing, Dabaragan's eyes flashed with confusion. He originally thought that Zhang Ye would send gold, silver, jade or something like that, but he didn't expect that he would actually send this kind of worthless gadget. , just when Dabaragan thought Zhang Ye was playing tricks on him and started to get a little angry.
Zhang Ye then spoke again:
"The last time I had a drink with you, I heard that you were very interested in Liaoyang's clairvoyance, so I kept it in mind. Then I went back to ask someone to get one for you. I didn't expect that this thing is very difficult. Well, even in the Fengwu Army, only the governors Ye Mingsheng, He Jingyun, Yuan Song and a few other senior generals have the equipment, and I have no connections but can’t get it!"
"Things have been settled like this, but maybe Changsheng Tian also wants to fulfill your wish, sir. By chance, I finally got one from the Fengwu Army, so I quickly took it and dedicated it to it. Master, Lord Dabaragan, please bring the smaller end of the clairvoyance close to your eyes, it will allow you to see far away places... ·”
(I just realized that I have written one hundred and fifty thousand words, but I have not specifically described the Luo Bei people, because there will be a plot involving them next, so I will pave the way for this first chapter. You can guess this Zhang Ye! Good night)
