"So what if it's not easy? The conservative forces in the Wuhu area are quite strong. These people have always been obsessed with the Situ Dynasty. We don't need to be too accommodating. Even if we accommodate them, it will be difficult to gain their support. Instead, it provides a stage for them to oppose us. These people might as well use more violent methods to arouse the hatred of the lower-class landless tenant farmers and farmworkers and incite them to take revenge against the big landowners and nobles. We will let them go and drive away the big landowners and scare those deep-seated peasants away. Once the lower class people exploited by these big landowners and nobles are left unchecked, they will think of all kinds of ways to take crazy revenge. In the end, we only need to step in to clean up the mess."
The thin scribe slowly stroked the beard under his chin, and seemed to think carefully before continuing: "Of course, this requires a certain degree of control, but at least for now we can use the people we originally arranged to provoke Instigate those peasants who don’t have much sense. Aren’t there already peasants who have spontaneously taken action to seize land and property? Very good, we are adding fuel to their fire and making them more noisy. We only need to protect those who are loyal to us. People are enough. When things get serious, whether it is the common landowners or industrial and commercial forces who have stayed in the local area, they will naturally panic when they see the fire starting to burn towards them, or they will turn into ashes. Either they join us, I believe these people are smart people and will make wise choices, and by then, it will be our turn."
Bi Xiao was so impressed by his teacher's methods that he could not help but come up with a method to deal with the current unfavorable situation in just a few words, and each link was linked to the thorny problem that he was facing. Bi Xiao couldn't help but say Nod yes.
After pondering for a while, the lean scribe added: "However, because the threat of the imperial navy fleet has not been eliminated, it is not appropriate to go deep into the north. The army of the empire in the Five Lakes is already quite weak to cope with the Taiping Cult's offensive in the north. This The waterways in the north of Baling are crisscrossed and connected with Yueyang Mansion, the capital of Wuhu County. Although there is no danger to defend, the navy can use this convenient river to enter and exit at will. Our navy is still weak and cannot compete with the empire for the time being. For the naval confrontation, they can only rely on Baling City as a defensive base and gradually penetrate northward. It is not surprising that the Imperial Army can only rely on the dangerous fortress of Yueyang Mansion and take a defensive position at this time. It just needs to strengthen scout patrols and searches. To prevent small groups of enemy troops from taking the opportunity to attack."
"Teacher, don't worry. Bi Xiao understands this and has already made arrangements." Hearing the arrangements made by the thin scribe, Bi Xiao felt much more at ease and turned to ask, "How is the progress with the general?"
"It went very smoothly. The troops left behind by the Imperial Army on the southern front of Wuhu are too weak to resist our attack. Everything is as we expected. The situation there is roughly the same as here. What needs to be done now is to stabilize situation, try to calm down the situation and let Wenning and Baling accept the reality. This is the time for the people we have cultivated and developed over the past ten years to show their skills. With their intervention, many things can be solved, and the effect will be much better than ours. Heaven and earth. Although the local Tang people do not dare to cause chaos due to the current situation, over time, the people's hearts will not be stable for a long time. Therefore, we must form an autonomous government with our local forces in the shortest possible time. Of course, this will still need to wait until the future. Those who still have illusions will only give in when they are forced to a dead end, so what I just arranged must be implemented immediately, the sooner the better, and the more noisy the better." A cold smile appeared on the corner of the thin scribe's mouth, in order to achieve the necessary The purpose, even if the means are somewhat less bright, is hard to say.
Looking at the bustling city gate in front of him, even though he had been mentally prepared, Caron was still greatly shocked. Ordinary single business travelers entered and exited through the secondary gates on both sides of the main city gate, while the main city gate was the main passage for large caravans and carriages to enter and exit.
The inspectors are carefully checking whether the goods carried by the passing caravan merchants have paid taxes. The small building next to the city gate is probably the inspection agency of the Taxation Department. Although the inspectors are serious, they are still polite. As long as there is no If you bring prohibited items, even if you don’t pay taxes, you will just pay them on the side. If the quantity is large, you will of course need to pay a fine. The carriages entering and exiting the city gate were divided into two columns, and there was a long queue, waiting for the inspectors to conduct random inspections. Everything seemed so harmonious and lively.
Even outside the city gate is bustling with people. Food stalls and grocery stores of various flavors are scattered all over the city gate. These were established to facilitate the merchants and travelers who came in and out of the city early in the morning, as well as the caravan drivers and porters. There are puddles of oily stars floating on the steaming mutton soup. In the churning cauldron, the haggis, mutton and several large bones are boiling with the soup. A large pile of thick noodle buns are neatly stacked, golden and crispy. Look at it. It was so heartbreaking that even Caron couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
"Uncle, would you like to have something to eat?" Caron nodded and sat down with his companion. The enthusiastic waiter immediately came to greet him, "Sir, what do you want?"
"Two bowls of mutton soup, five steamed buns, and a plate of beef." Caron didn't say much. His mind was completely attracted by the busy scene of people coming and going on the road. This was the case outside the city, and inside the city. Don’t know yet? Li Wufeng really has the ability to reach heaven and earth, and he has made this desolate and barren Qingyang Mansion so prosperous in just a few years
Thinking about these problems, even the fragrant and delicious beef and steamed buns in soup seemed to be less fragrant, and the hunger just now disappeared as the mutton soup entered the stomach.
In fact, as soon as I set foot on the northern trade road Kalong across the entire Tengger Grassland, I felt a slightly different atmosphere from the past. Most of the endless caravans came from Tanghe, and silk, tea, pottery, porcelain, and shochu were still the most popular. A large amount of exported materials, but it can be seen that the amount of ironware, grain, cotton, woolen cloth, glass, and medicinal materials sold to the Tengger Grassland is also gradually increasing. From west to east, the journey takes 25 days. According to statistics, a total of 338 large and small caravans were encountered on the road, including 252 caravans transporting from the Tanghe Empire to the Tengger Grassland and the Western Continent. The eighty-six caravans surpassed, and the average number of caravans encountered per day was more than thirteen. This was only the caravans passing through the northern trade routes. With the elimination of internal tariffs and the reduction of external tariffs in the Western Regions, through the Western Regions The caravans passing through the borders of various countries have gradually replaced the mainstream role of the northern trade route, and the North Luzon trade route further south is also developing rapidly. These situations are all information that Caron obtained after talking to the merchants he met along the way.
Caron doesn’t know how much transit tariffs such a huge transaction volume will bring to the Luobi people, but what is certain is that the benefits that the Luobi people will get from it are definitely not only monetary, but also many strategic materials such as ironware and grain. There can be a steady stream of input along this important trade route. But what puzzles Caron is that since the Luobei people and the Tanghe people already have such close economic ties and are said to have formed an alliance, why did the information obtained by his side turn out to be that the Luobei people not long ago also There was a big fight with Li Wufeng, the northwest king of the Tanghe people, because of the Mote people, and there was a lot of grievances? Are the Luobei people really powerful enough to ignore the fact that the Northwest people can cut off their source of supplies? Caron doesn't believe this speculation.
The half-day stay in Mangye Town allowed Caron to once again feel the prosperity of Qingyang. Although it is just a market town, its liveliness is far better than any place along the way, such as the livestock trading market, the leather and fur trading market, and the new The thriving vitality of the opened wool trading market made Caron, who had always thought he had seen the market, had to admit that the richness of goods here far exceeded any other place on the Tengger Grassland, and this was just Qingyang. A market town in Fuzhou, of course, the geographical location of this market town is somewhat special. Businessmen from all over the world are bargaining here. It can be seen that most of the businessmen with large amounts of money are Tang people and people, but there are still a few agile-minded Indians, Mote people, Yuli people and even people from the Western Regions. Businessmen joined the ranks, and merchants from all over the grasslands belonged to various ethnic groups. They relied on their familiarity with their own ethnic groups and tribal areas to master the first step of the acquisition. Here, whether they were Tang people or The Mote people, the Luobi people, or the merchants from various countries in the Western Regions have all forgotten their own nation and origin. They only have negotiations, transactions, and payments. Merchants are their only identity, and making money is their first priority.
After coming out of Mangye Town, Kalong was thinking about what kind of changes Qingyang City would have. After more than an hour of rushing, he finally saw the beauty of Qingyang City, the capital of the northwest.
While drinking the mutton soup, while thinking about it, Caron made a move. The shopkeeper next to him probably also noticed that these two guests were unusual. Just by looking at the horses of the two, the sharp-sighted shopkeeper knew that they were not ordinary people. They had lived in the northwest for a long time. Everyone knows a lot about horses. Needless to say for this master-like guest, even the servant's mount is a first-class horse worth at least eighty gold coins. This is not something that ordinary people can enjoy. Affordable.
After waving to the waiter to go about his business, the shop owner hunched over and ran over: "Sir, what else do you need?"
Shaking his head, Caron pointed to the long queue of convoys and pack teams and asked: "Boss, what's going on? Are there so many convoys waiting to enter the city every day?"
"Sir, it's morning now. It's the time when caravans from all walks of life come in and out. The caravans in the city are waiting to leave the city and hit the road. The caravans that arrived last night are waiting to enter the city to unload their goods. It's like this every day. Inspection Department There are only so many people, but fortunately it’s just busy in the morning, and things will be much better by noon.” The boss explained with a smile.