Cao Li was escorted by several government officials to the palace and announced the canal digging tomorrow, and the people dispersed.
At dawn the next day, more than 10,000 people swarmed out of the city, frightening the soldiers guarding the city.
The day before yesterday, 20,000 to 30,000 people came to Yancheng excitedly. Today, 10,000 people rushed out with all their might, carrying messy tools.
The government servant who was responsible for maintaining the canal digging hurriedly ran to the palace to report it. Zhao Bin was so angry that he scolded his mother: "Damn it, why are you trying to attack the local tyrants in the name of serving as a corvee? Does the palace have so much food?"
"Your Majesty, we don't have that much food, but do we have sheep?" said the Yamen servant.
"Where are the sheep? Aren't the sheep distributed to the people outside the city?" Zhao Bin said angrily.
"Before I came back, I saw a large group of sheep in the north of the city. They should have been driven by the Xianbei people. But when they saw so many people rushing out, they drove the sheep back." The Yamen servant said carefully.
"Fuck, these rogue people. Xiao Chu, hurry up, send someone to stop the sheep for me." Zhao Bin shouted.
"It's the prince, my subordinates will go right away." After Xiao Chu said that, he turned around and ran out of the hall.
Soon, five fast horses galloped out of the north city gate and chased all the way north. Not long after, they saw a herd of white sheep in the distance, with no end in sight.
The Xianbei people also saw five people rushing towards them. The leader ordered the five hundred people to stop and the sheep continued to move north.
When Xiao Chu and his people arrived, five hundred Xianbei nobles took out the swords from their waists.
Xiao Chule's truce horse asked loudly: "Are you sent by Suhe Ministry to deliver sheep?"
At this time, a man walked out from behind the crowd. He was about fifty years old and had a gray beard. He was Su Hetu.
Su Hetu asked with a heavy face: "Since I have made an agreement with King Yan to exchange cattle and sheep for salt, why did you send people to rob me?"
"It turns out to be the Suhe clan leader. The clan leader must have misunderstood. The people who came out of the city just now were not soldiers, but common people. These common people were all doing corvee work and digging canals." Xiao Chu replied.
A bearded man next to Su Hetu suddenly shouted: "Nonsense, who is doing corvee work like that? That's obviously the rhythm of a charge."
Xiao Chu was also speechless. He didn't see how the group of people got out of the city at that time. When he came out on horseback, he only saw from a distance that the people were digging holes and digging dirt over there.
"I recognize you, you are the guard around King Yan." Su Hetu said.
"Xia Chu, the guard commander of Prince Yan's Mansion, heard that Su He's troops were coming to deliver cattle and sheep, so he specially sent me to meet him to avoid any misunderstanding. The people just now really went out to dig ditches from the city.
If you don't believe it and the clan leader, you can send someone to check it out. "Xiao Chu said.
"Captain, don't believe him. The Han people are the most cunning. He must be here to delay us, and he must be followed by a large army. Kill them quickly before the large army catches up," the bearded man reminded.
Su Hetu was a little hesitant because he was not sure what Prince Yan's Mansion was going to do, whether it was really going to rob the sheep.
What he was driving this time was not the livestock from his own tribe. The total number of cattle, horses and sheep he was driving this time was tens of thousands.
This was the order of Xianbei Khan, asking him to exchange livestock for salt. If he was really robbed by King Yan, the entire Suhe tribe would be executed. When he thought of this, he regretted that he should not have been so reckless and gullible. All the cattle and sheep were driven over at once.
But when I thought about it, King Yan had never broken his promise before, and always delivered the salt to them on time. Moreover, they drove the sheep north, and it seemed that no one was chasing them. Is there really any misunderstanding this time?
Seeing that no one answered, Xiao Chu continued: "Chief Suhe, from the time you saw the people leaving the city to now, no one has chased you to rob cattle and sheep.
If it is really the prince who sends people to rob you, even if he cannot catch up with you, he will not let you drive away the sheep so easily, but look at the shadow of a pursuer behind me. "
Su Hetu looked at Xiao Chu and said loudly: "Then where is His Highness King Yan?"
"My prince is not good at riding horses, so he sent me here to explain. He is afraid that Su He will misunderstand the clan leader. Su and the clan clan leader can send someone to check it out, or send someone to follow me back to the city."
Su He suddenly thought for a while and said: "Well, Gu Li will drag you to take a few people to check it out. Su He and Rio Tuo, you have been to Prince Yan's Mansion. You and Commander Xiao go back to see Prince Yan. I want to hear from Prince Yan." A personal promise.”
"It's the clan leader!" After hearing Su Hetu's instructions, the bearded man immediately led a few people to turn their horses and head toward the northeast of Yancheng.
Su He and Rio Tuo gently squeezed the horse's belly, slowly walked out of the team, and came to Xiao Chu. Xiao Chu glanced at him and then said to Su Hetu: "Chief Suhe, I'll stay, how about I let others take brothers Su and Rio Tuo to see His Highness King Yan?"
Su He suddenly looked at Xiao Chu and thought that since he was the only one here, there shouldn't be any problems, so he immediately replied: "Okay"
Xiao Chu said a few words to the guards behind him, and they turned their horses and galloped towards Yancheng with Su and Rio Tuo.
Xiao Chu looked at the sheep behind Suhe and asked in confusion: "Chief Suhe, in the past, your cattle and sheep would only arrive at Yancheng in the afternoon. Why did they arrive at Yancheng in the morning today?"
Su He suddenly looked back at the sheep that were still heading north, and then turned to Xiao Chu and said: "We brought a lot of cattle and sheep this time, and it would be difficult to reach Yancheng in one day, so we set off yesterday. .”
There is nothing to hide in this matter, and livestock cannot fall from the sky. If they can arrive early, they must have set off early. Xiao Chu, this idiot, just wants to confirm his guess.
Xiao Chu looked at the sheep that were still heading north, feeling a little anxious in his heart, "Chief Suhe, you have not traded with my prince once or twice. Since the sheep have already arrived, it is better to stay where they are."
Su Hetu said coldly: "I can't let the sheep stop until my people come back. Please forgive me, Commander Xiao."
Xiao Chu could only helplessly stare at the sheep behind Su He Tuo as they continued to move northward. Although the speed was slow, they were still getting further and further away.
Su Hetu stared at Xiao Chu intently. Fortunately, not long after, Gulituo came back with his people. Gulituo communicated a few words with Suhetu in Xianbei dialect. Suhetuo had doubts on his face and looked at Xiao Chu from time to time.
Finally, Su Hetu couldn't help but asked out of curiosity: "Commander Xiao, why are you digging a canal under the city?"
When Xiao Chu saw Suhe suddenly asking, he said: "There is insufficient water in the city, so the prince ordered people to build canals to divert water, mainly to provide water for the people in the city.
You nomadic people live in pursuit of water and grass. You go wherever there is water and grass. We Han people live in cities, so we can only dig wells and open canals. "
"Commander Xiao, I can stop some of the sheep first, but not all of them." Su Hetu said.
"Yes, but Chief Suhe, you must have been able to tell by now that we have no intention of robbing.
These brothers must not have noticed any pursuers coming. If there were pursuers, even if you drove all the cattle and sheep back to Suhe Department, it would not help.
Suhebu is only a few dozen miles away from Yancheng, are you right? "Xiao Chu said slowly.
Su Hetu did not return to Xiao Chu, but whispered a few words to the person next to him, and then the person turned his horse's head and chased the sheep that were getting farther and farther behind him.
After a while, the sheep in the distance gradually stopped moving forward, and Xiao Chu smiled suddenly at Su He: "Clan leader Su He is wise."
Half an hour later, Suhe Rio and several guards rode towards the crowd on horseback.
Su He suddenly came back and asked in Xianbei dialect: "How is it? Have you met King Yan?"
Su Heli Tuo took a few breaths and said: "Report to the clan leader, I saw it. King Yan said that those people were indeed going to build the canal, and Prince Yan's Mansion had already started transporting fine salt to the city gate, but His Highness Prince Yan didn't expect us. The meeting came so early. King Yan also asked the clan leader to come to the palace to have a talk. What does the clan leader mean by "a talk"?"
Suhe Tuqian was still listening with interest, and when he heard the last sentence, Suhe Rio Tuo rolled his eyes.
One of the guards came to Xiao Chu and said: "Commander, the prince has an order, just let them stay where they are. Yanba just ask them to send people to get it from the city. In addition, let Su Hetu go to the palace to talk."
"good"
After speaking, Xiao Chu turned to Su Hetu and said: "Chief Suhe, the prince said that you can stay where you are, leaving the guards behind, and the others can go back with us to get the salt. The prince also specially invited the chief to go to the palace to talk."
Su Hetu discussed with a few people, then left 200 people to guard the livestock, and followed Xiao Chu back to Yancheng with 500 people.
In Prince Yan's palace, Su Hetu crossed his arms and saluted, saying: I have met His Highness Prince Yan.
"There is no need to be polite, Chief Su He. Please take a seat quickly. This time, Chief Su He has come in person. It's really a big help." Zhao Bin smiled and motioned for Ling'er to serve tea.
"Your Majesty, you're welcome. I, Su Hetu, am deeply honored to be able to do business with Your Majesty." Su Hetu responded with a smile.
"I wonder how many livestock Chief Suhe brought this time?" Zhao Bin asked curiously.
"Back to the prince, this time I came to trade with the prince on the order of Tuoba Hong Khan of our Xianbei tribe. This time I brought a total of 50,000 cattle, sheep and horses." Su Hetu said unhurriedly.
"How much?" Zhao Bin asked again excitedly.
"Fifty thousand heads," Su Hetu repeated.
Zhao Bin couldn't believe his ears. Not only Zhao Bin, but Ling'er and Wang Wu also thought they heard wrongly.
Fifty thousand head, not to mention dividing it from house to house, is enough to divide it by head. Now I can really make a fortune.
"Hahaha, Ling'er, go to the dining room and prepare a banquet. Today I want to stay drunk with the Suhe clan leader." Zhao Bin stood up from his chair and laughed loudly.
Suhe suddenly saw that Zhao Bin only asked about cattle and sheep but not about salt. He couldn't sit still and said, "Your Majesty, what about salt?"
"Uh, Yanba, oh yes, Yanba," Zhao Bin recovered from the gaffe just now.
Zhao Bin, who sat back on the chair, continued: "Chief Suhe, the salt you brought this time is not, but the cattle and sheep you brought are a bit too much. I'm afraid there isn't that much salt now."
"This..." Su Hetu panicked.
"Hey, there's no need to panic, Chief Suhe. I have plenty of salt. It's just that it takes a while to process the salt into the fine salt you see.
But don't worry, I want you to take away the existing salt first. I will give you as much salt as you want, and you will give me as many cattle and sheep as you want.
In no more than ten days, I will ask someone to hand over all the fine salt to you. What do you think? "Zhao Bin said.
In fact, it's not that he doesn't want to deliver them all at once, it's just that he's worried that he won't be able to handle so many cattle and sheep at once, so he might as well let these Xianbei people raise them for him temporarily in the north of the city. There is water and grass in the north of the city, and there is no need to arrange special people. To take over.
Su Hetu thought for a moment and then said: "Okay, I believe His Highness King Yan, and I will do as the King says."
Zhao Bin saw that Su Hetu agreed readily, so he continued, "But Chief Su He, I still want to ask for something."
"Your Majesty, please speak." Su Hetu said curiously.
"After you transport the salt back, can your people come back and help me take care of the cattle and sheep. I will give you a pound of coarse salt for each person as wages. What do you think?" Zhao Bin said.
"My lord, how many people do you want?" Su He suddenly asked.
"I don't know. Anyway, as long as they can take care of these cattle and sheep, how many people do you think we need?"
Zhao Bin didn't know how many people were needed to take care of these cattle and sheep, so he had no choice but to ask Su Hetu for advice.
"Your Majesty, to be honest, not all the people I brought are from my Suhe tribe. There are only a few hundred people in my Suhe tribe. I can only select a hundred people from my tribe for the prince, and the rest All the people are sent from other tribes and the Great Khan’s tent." Su Hetu replied.
"Okay, no problem. One hundred people is one hundred people. When the manpower is insufficient, I will send more people." Zhao Bin said happily.
At noon, Su and Tu stayed at the palace to enjoy a Chinese-style meal. After receiving the order, He Miao immediately led people to the city gate. On the one hand, he sent people to deliver the salt, and on the other hand, he sent people to notify the towns to come and collect the cattle and sheep.
For ten consecutive days, He Miao almost lived and ate at the city gate. Each household on the outskirts of Yancheng was allocated a cow and two or three sheep. All the ewes were distributed, and the extra rams were kept. After the restaurants in the capital are opened, these excess rams will be slaughtered and sent to the capital.
As for the people outside the city, they all ate mutton and drank mutton soup that night. For them, this is more abundant than the Chinese New Year.
