With doubts in his heart, Shen Hao turned around and went to the library, which contained a lot of information about the Nanman side.
The so-called Southern Barbarians are actually dozens of tribal alliances in the vast area south of Zhuohuo Pass and west of Treasure Sea. It used to be called the Black Stone Royal Court, but now it was broken up by the Jing Dynasty and no longer dared to regroup, so it was called the Southern Barbarians.
Although there is the word "barbarian" in the title, this does not mean that the opposite side is uncivilized barbarians. On the contrary, the cultivation civilization of the southern barbarians is also extremely developed, and what is lacking is the living standards of ordinary people. For example, fur clothes are the most common in the Southern Barbarians, and the workmanship is rough. They are just furs sewn together to make clothes, and there is no style.
In addition, there is a shortage of pig iron in the Nanman area. Generally, the Nanman people cannot even afford a pot, and most of them use clay pottery to cook food. Kitchen knives are even more scarce, so they usually use axes to chop. And not every household in a tribe even has an ax. They have to borrow it or own it publicly.
So the food over there in Nanban is all rough style. If you want to be precise, you don't have the conditions.
In addition, there are many barbarian tribes in the southern barbarian territory, such as the fox tribe, the elephant tribe, the wolf tribe, the cat tribe...
After looking at the accompanying pictures in the information, they are all humanoid but have obvious animalistic features. Shen Hao always felt that instead of calling them "Southern Barbarians", it would be more appropriate to call them "Orcs".
According to the data, the Nanman were quite powerful when they were gathered together to form the Black Stone Royal Court. After they were broken up, they became mermaids. Each tribe is very separate, but they can always be self-sufficient by relying on nomadic herding, hunting, and farming.
In other words, the Southern Barbarians will not be short of food under normal circumstances, unless there is a disaster.
So have Nanman suffered any disasters recently?
Shen Hao looked through all the recent official reports and found nothing about the disaster in Nanman.
If there hadn't been a disaster, wouldn't those smugglers have suffered a loss by transporting large quantities of grain to the Southern Barbarians' territory?
The messages are conflicting. It only shows that there are still key points that are not grasped.
Smugglers can't do stupid things. Since they took the trouble to transport it to the Nanman side, they can definitely sell it. Although the Nanman side was not affected by the disaster, there must be other reasons for needing a large amount of food. Only when there is demand on one side will the goods be provided by the other side, and only when one comes and goes does it become a business.
Although Shen Hao has no way of knowing about the affairs in Nanman at present, he can know about the black market matters in Jingxi if he wants to know.
Therefore, in the follow-up information sent by the "Impermanence" Department, the buyers and sellers of the previous large-scale smuggling transactions have been clearly identified. Among them, grain, pig iron, and pan-spiritual stone were all as expected by Shen Hao, and were all led by government-run shops.
Grain is dug out of official warehouses, and excuses are easy to find. Just "loss of old grain" can replace a large amount of new grain every year.
Minerals such as pig iron and panling stone are easier to withhold. As long as the actual output is reported lower, the actual output will be much higher than the reported one, and the extra part can be disposed of privately.
In the final analysis, the methods of these government-run shops and the people of Xuanqingwei's embezzlement of criminal property are actually the same. If there is a difference, it may be that the people of Xuanqingwei line their own pockets, while these government-run people not only line their own pockets but may also benefit the enemies of the country.
Pig iron can be used to forge kitchen knives and agricultural tools, and naturally it can also be used to forge weapons and armor.
The pan-spiritual stone is the driving force of the middle and lower-grade magic weapons, and it is the foundation that allows ordinary people to temporarily possess the abilities of monks through the magic weapons.
As for food, generally self-sufficient places can handle minor disasters by themselves. Unless there is a major disaster, they will not need external food transportation. But there is one exception, and that is grain harvesting. What are you doing to collect grain? It can be said that it is to prepare for a major disaster as a precaution, or it may be to prepare for a major military operation.
If the three are combined into one, the situation on the Nanman side is worthy of study.
Shen Hao's body began to feel a little restless for no reason. He hadn't felt this way for a long time since the Wen family's vote.
But for this kind of thing, he, a mere official of the Hundred Households of the Black Flag Camp in Fengri City, doesn't have such long hands. If you want to investigate and keep things within your control, you must first retract your gaze from the direction of Nanman and dig deeper into the officials of various government-run shops who were involved in these large-scale smuggling cases.
Shen Hao thought for a while and then ordered the attendant outside the door: "Call Wang Yiming."
Not long after, Wang Yiming knocked on the door and came in, bowing obediently and standing in front of Shen Hao.
"I wonder what your orders are, sir?"
"Has any recent report letter from the copper cabinet mentioned three places: Guancang in Tukui City, Rongshan Mine in Tancheng, and Iron Furnace Factory in Xiaoshan, Licheng?"
The copper cabinet has now become an essential and important reporting channel for every city within Fengri City's jurisdiction. This is the only way for ordinary people to directly contact Xuanqing Guard. Since Shen Hao took office in Fengli City's Black Flag Camp Hundred Households, this channel has changed from "explicit" to "actually usable". Zhucheng now also screens and reports the reporting letters in the copper cabinet just like Licheng did at the beginning. Investigations are included in daily errands.
The matter of the copper cabinet has been actually handled and managed by Wang Yiming since Chen Yiyun was still at the Qianhu Office. After Shen Hao took office, Wang Yiming's authority was not adjusted, so the report letters screened by the copper cabinets from various places were finally summarized in the Qianhu Office. During the Black Flag Camp, Wang Yiming will make the final judgment.
Even Wang Yiming thought that the first thing Shen Hao asked after taking office was the copper cabinet, but it was not until now that the inquiry came.
With his mind racing, Wang Yiming didn't hesitate for long, nodded and said: "Sir, these three places you mentioned are important government-run shops in our Fengri City area. Although they have little power, they are rich in oil and water. Therefore, every time Tongcai reports They are indispensable in any collection of letters.
The most recent one was eight days ago [5200]. "
Shen Hao nodded, this was pretty much what he expected. The more rich a person is, the more trouble there is, and the poorer the place, the calmer the situation.
"Have you checked?"
"Yes. But only the Licheng Black Flag Camp investigated it before. I remember it was the officer in charge of Xiaoshan Iron Furnace Manor who was reported to have forced his subordinates to have wives to accompany them many times."
"What?!" Shen Hao thought he heard wrongly.
Wang Yiming had no choice but to repeat it again. He also thought this was strange at first, and his reaction was similar to Shen Hao's.
"Tsk, have you investigated this matter?"
"The verification results are false. The specific investigation process report was not mentioned."
"Who in Licheng took over this case?"
"B flag."
"Is that Zhang Liao? Go to the order and ask Zhang Liao and Chen Tianwen to come see me tomorrow morning and bring the file about Xiaoshan Iron Furnace."
"Yes, I will notify you right away." Wang Yiming frowned as soon as he left Shen Hao's mansion. He couldn't understand his superior. You just offended the local government office in Fengri City, and are you now planning to attack the government-run shops? So unscrupulous?
