It takes time for the news to spread, and even if Liu Yuanxiang and Shen Hao start taking action non-stop, there will be no immediate results.
Tan Bin and the others would first go to Huzhuyuan to investigate the situation, and then return to Wuhu. This trip would take half a month. Moreover, Liu Yuanxiang also needs to make some preparations in advance. So there will be a window period in the middle.
This window period can really work out in the hands of a caring person.
For example, after Zhu Shou returned, he began to purchase barbarian slaves from all slave chambers except the Dividend Chamber of Commerce. Regardless of race, as long as they were barbarians, as long as they were healthy and usable, Zhu Shou wanted them, and the price also went up. In half.
There is also competition among the dental shops. Sometimes they will take the initiative to raise the market price, and sometimes they will join forces to suppress the price of the Slave Chamber of Commerce. Zhu Shou's move attracted the attention of some colleagues, but no one took it seriously.
Because the quantity and quality of slaves captured in the south have declined in the past six months or so compared to previous years, it is normal for Zhu Shou to appropriately raise some purchase prices. Some people follow and some don't. But generally speaking, I don't think there will be any big changes in the supply of slaves in the south.
Only Zhu Shou knew that if he was hoarding barbarian slaves now, the market price would soon double or even triple. He could use his foresight to make a lot of money.
The Dividend Chamber of Commerce also took the action of hoarding barbarian slaves, and even purchased barbarian slaves from other slave chambers like Zhu Shou, and the price was also raised by 15%.
The merchants were suspicious, but there was no sign that the market was in decline, so other slave chambers, in addition to retaining some high-quality barbarian slaves, took advantage of this inexplicable "price increase" to get rid of the rest of the ordinary barbarian slaves. After making a lot of money, sit back and watch the jokes from the bonus chamber.
It stands to reason that after receiving this vote at a higher market price, the Dividend Merchant would have to ship the goods, but what everyone waited for was that the Dividend Merchant would continue to hoard without any movement.
Later, someone asked, and the answer given by Liu Yuanxiang, the shopkeeper of the Dividend Chamber of Commerce, was that the barbarians in the south were becoming increasingly difficult to capture. Recently, there were many safari teams encountering the wolf tribe, and their goal was to plunder the population. He was worried about what would happen, so he was prepared. Stock up on some barbarian slaves just in case.
This statement does not seem to be false, and there is even news that the Dividend Chamber of Commerce has sent scouts to investigate the barbarian areas further to the southeast.
This has nothing to say except that Liu Yuanxiang is "cautious". Many people are even secretly holding back their laughter and waiting for Liu Yuanxiang to slap themselves in the face.
What changes could happen to the barbarians? It’s funny! After being plundered for decades, the entire ethnic group is afraid that it will be ruined. How can we reform it?
But things are just so weird. It took only half a month for the work to turn upside down.
March twenty-first.
The Dividend Chamber of Commerce broke the news that the sentinel they sent to Baekdu Gorge successfully discovered the recent return of the barbarians after three people died. The news he brought back was extremely shocking.
The barbarians in the area south of Baektu Gorge are not considered barbarians at all. On the contrary, they live a very prosperous life. The big groups gather together the small groups, and the division of labor is clear. Those who can farm will farm, and those who can fight will be like an army. It is time to recuperate. It’s almost time to rebuild the royal court.
The barbarians even sent out a large number of roaming raiding teams to gather the population scattered in the northwest. This is the reason why the Slave Chamber of Commerce's harvest has become increasingly scarce in the past six months. And there should be a direct conflict with the hunting team of the Slave Chamber of Commerce soon.
Not only that, a total of more than 200,000 barbarian troops were stationed in the three places of Baekdu Gorge, Jianchuan, and Hjuwon!
Facing the established army, there is almost no suspense about the fate of the Slave Chamber of Commerce.
"Things are going to change over there with the barbarians!"
The news was only spread through the gossip at first, but later Liu Yuanxiang, the owner of the Dividend Chamber of Commerce, officially reported the news to the southern frontier army, which suddenly raised the uneasy mood.
Of course, as of the end of March? News about the barbarians was still under control. Have you heard everything that needs to be heard? But the common people, as well as the Yamen officials further away, have no idea at all.
The current commander-in-chief of the southern frontier army was named Zuo Yuliang. His official position was the third rank. His position was the officer-in-charge of southern military affairs. He was fully responsible for military and political affairs in the entire area from Haixia to Zhuohuo Pass. He had more than 250,000 soldiers and horses. He is a frontier official in the true sense.
However, Zuo Yuliang can only serve as the "Southern Military Affairs Officer" for four years at most, and then he needs to return to the Ministry of War to serve as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. Belonging to the "reserve general", all military attaches who have passed the threshold of the third grade. This is true. It is impossible to lead troops all year round. It's enough to make you familiar with military affairs every now and then, so that you don't become a dexterity. This has been the long-standing practice of the Jingjiu Dynasty.
After receiving the news from the Hongli Chamber of Commerce, Zuo Yuliang did not take any side of the word or neglect. Instead, he sent three forward battalions and six heavy supply battalions in one go to the south of Zhuohuo Pass on March 25th? According to what the Hongli Chamber of Commerce said. Explore three places: "Jianchuan, Baekdu Gorge, and Hojuwon". At the same time, a baggage transfer point will be established.
Zuo Yuliang would not report the matter before getting accurate information? This is the responsibility of a military officer.
On the fifth day of April, the forward battalion headed for Jianchuan encountered a group of 3,000 mixed barbarian cavalry shortly after passing Wuhu, and the two sides immediately engaged in a field battle.
Half an hour later, the two sides separated. The barbarians retreated, leaving four hundred corpses behind. The forward battalion heading towards Jianchuan lost more than two hundred men, and could only be repaired on the spot.
As soon as this battle report came into Zuo Yuliang's hands, he realized that things might be worse than he thought. Because the barbarians have always closed their doors and refused to fight for so many years, and they have never even had such a large organized army appear in the frontier army's field of vision.
But this time? Instead of retreating, the barbarians fought hard. This arrogance alone is completely different from the past.
Sure enough, on the sixth day of April, another battle report reached Zuo Yuliang: This morning, three hundred miles south of Wuhu Lake, they encountered a mixed force of 2,000 barbarians and fought. We have killed more than 600 enemies and suffered more than 300 self-inflicted losses. We are now unable to continue moving south, so we still ask for reinforcements.
Although more enemies were killed, 30% of them were damaged in the battle, which undoubtedly shows how tragic the battle was. This is still a wild cavalry killing each other. They should be advancing and retreating like the wind. Even if they are defeated, they should not be fighting like this. Mostly it is the result of intentional competition between the two parties.
Judging from the results of the battle, the southern frontier army's combat effectiveness is obviously stronger, but its strength is limited. It is not a one-sided crushing situation.
Zuo Yuliang looked at the two battle reports and knew in his heart that the barbarians were really gaining momentum.
After that, Zuo Yuliang sent three additional partial armies, each with 5,000 men, and the same number of auxiliary troops to go south to Zhuohuo Pass again, vowing to get closer to explore the actual situation in Jianchuan, Baitou Gorge, and Huzhuyuan.
