"Why aren't they letting us through? What law have we violated? We've been walking this path for decades..."
"Why do you want to check our goods and not let us bring wool through customs..."
"A pound of top-quality wool costs ten copper coins, which is less than one-tenth of the price at the border market in Yingwei County. You are robbing..."
"Huai En Ling, we are treated favorably by Huai En Ling, how can this happen? We will go to the Imperial Capital to sue you..."
The leaders of more than ten Shatu caravans were excited and gathered at the gate of Baishi Pass, shouting loudly, spitting and looking excited. Behind these caravan leaders were the Shatu caravans waiting to enter the pass. The rhinoceros horses, camels and ox carts of those caravans were piled with bags of wool collected by these caravans. The long caravans lined up outside the pass, stretching for seven or eight hundred meters. From the sunrise in the morning to now, it is almost noon. They have spent the whole morning here. As the sun rises higher, these Shatu people who are stuck outside the pass are getting more and more miserable...
An atmosphere of uneasiness and restlessness was flowing among the caravan!
In the distance, on the towering Baishi Pass, the soldiers guarding the pass were still standing solemnly at the pass and on the wall as usual, looking coldly below. Only those who were observant and sharp-eyed in the Shatu caravan noticed that there seemed to be many more archers among the soldiers at the pass. The atmosphere at Baishi Pass today was slightly different from the past.
Today is September 1st. Early in the morning, when Baishi Pass was opened, the Shatu caravans wanted to pass through the pass as usual. However, today's Baishi Pass was different from the past. Just outside the pass, a notice with the seal of the Qiyun Protectorate had been posted. The content of the notice could be summed up in one sentence - from today on, Qiyun County will implement a wool monopoly policy, and all wool transported from the Gulang grassland to enter the pass will be purchased by the Qiyun County Monopoly Bureau at a unified price here. No Shatu caravan is allowed to sell wool privately into the pass.
For the Shatu caravans, this monopoly policy was like a bolt from the blue. Previously, the Shatu people on the Gulang grassland were very happy selling wool, and even though the Black Jie people were fighting with them, it did not affect their enthusiasm for selling wool at all.
In the eyes of those Shatu merchants, all this was thanks to the Han people who invented the weaving technology of wool cloth. Without this technology, the sheep they raised on the grassland would have almost no use except for eating. It was this technology that made the sheep they raised double in value and became a hot commodity on the grassland. The wool was inexhaustible and would grow again after being used up. The wool all over the grassland could be exchanged for a lot of real money in the interior. Where in the world can you find such a good business. The Han people invented a way to turn wool into wool cloth, but the Shatu people would not thank the Han people for this. In their eyes, this was just another good opportunity for them to make the Han merchants humble themselves in front of them and let them do whatever they wanted. As long as they had wool in their hands, they would not be afraid that the Han people would not bow their heads.
But the good times did not last long. Just when these Shatu people thought they could still exchange the wool wrapped in sheep dung and mixed with sand for countless gold and silver from the Han people, the notice from the Qiyun Protectorate posted at Baishi Pass today was a heavy blow to all the Shatu caravans. At first, many Shatu people could not understand the Chinese characters on the notice, nor did they understand what monopoly meant. But when those who understood it explained it, all the caravans were furious.
"The content of the notice has been clearly written, and the seal of the Governor's Office has been used on it. It has been issued. No one can say anything about it!" Xiao Yuman, a military officer at Baishi Pass, picked his ears, with a warm smile on his face, looking at the excited Shatu caravan leaders with an indifferent expression, "You can continue to shout here, and you can shout until next year. If you want to go to the Imperial Capital to complain to the Prime Minister and the Emperor, please do so. Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that Baishi Pass is now under the control of the Qiyun Governor's Office. You should know what the Governor's Office is. If you don't know, you can go and ask around. Even the words of the Prime Minister of the court are useless here..."
"General, our caravan has been doing business in and outside the Great Wall for decades. We have always abided by the law and regulations when entering and leaving the Great Wall and have never done anything beyond the law. I don't know why you are so harsh on us today and don't show us any mercy at all?" The leader of the Shatu caravan, a man with a wrinkled face and wearing brocade clothes, squeezed to the front of the crowd and spoke loudly to Xiao Yuman.
Xiao Yuman narrowed his eyes and his gaze swept inconspicuously across the knuckles of the right hand of the leader of the Shatu caravan who always claimed to be law-abiding. The calluses on the knuckles of people who have held a knife for too long are different from those of ordinary people. People who shoot arrows will also have corresponding marks on the thumb and knuckles of their right hand. The leader of the Shatu caravan seemed to have noticed something, and put his hand into his sleeves, quietly avoiding Xiao Yuman's gaze.
"Don't you know what the seven tribes of Shatu have done?" Xiao Yuman acted as if he hadn't seen the unusual callus marks on the tiger's mouth of the leader of the Shatu caravan, and his face remained unchanged. "If it weren't for your people attacking the Han people who attacked Fengbian Village and killing so many of us, the governor wouldn't have been so angry and issued such a policy..."
"The ones who attacked Fengbian Village were from the Tuli Tribe, which is under the Tulang Tribe. They have nothing to do with us. We are from the Tumo Tribe..."
“Yes, yes, yes, that was done by the Coyote Tribe. It has nothing to do with us…” Several caravan leaders shouted at once.
"How come there is no relationship?" Xiao Yuman pointed at the Shatu people around him. "Haven't you seven Shatu tribes always shared honors? Haven't you always spoken to us with one voice? You always said how are we seven Shatu tribes? How are we seven Shatu tribes? Now that something has happened, you are no longer from the Tulang tribe. You say you are from such and such, but I don't know whether it is true or not. Even if you are from the Tulang tribe, you would not write the three words Tulang tribe on your forehead, right! And that day, the Tuli tribe attacked Fengbian Village, killing people and setting fire. I heard that it was because Tuli was jealous that Fengbian Village could also do wool business and wanted to grab all this business. Because of this, the supervisor was furious after knowing the situation and issued this wool monopoly order. If you are not happy, go to Tuli to reason. This is the rule of Baishi Pass in the future!"
Go to Tuli to seek justice? Didn't you destroy the Tuli tribe? You chopped off Tuli's head and hung it on Baishi Pass. How can we go to Tuli to seek justice? The leaders of the Shatu caravan raised their heads and looked at the disgusting head that had rotted away in the wooden cage next to the gate not far away. They were all speechless. Half a month ago, the news of the destruction of the Tuli tribe had spread throughout the Gulang grassland, which brought great shock to all the Shatu people. When the head of the Tuli tribe was hung on Baishi Pass, the Shatu people who entered and exited Baishi Pass in the past half month did not dare to raise their heads...
"If you are so overbearing and insist on monopolizing the market, then I will not sell the wool in my caravan!" a Shatu man shouted at Xiao Yuman.
"It's up to you whether to sell it or not. Our supervisor has always convinced people with reason. We won't force you to sell it, and we won't rob you of your things. Otherwise, we would be bandits. If you don't want to sell it, you can take the wool back and use it yourself, hehe..."
"At this price, I'd rather burn this place down than sell it!"
"If you want to burn it, please do so. However, within thirty miles of Baishi Pass, it is strictly forbidden to burn miscellaneous items at will, so as not to trigger the border beacon signal. So if you want to burn it, you have to pull it thirty miles away before burning it. Otherwise, military law will be ruthless. Don't blame me for not reminding you in advance!" Xiao Yuman's tone did not change, and he was still smiling. "By the way, let me remind you again, at the wool specialty store over there, only the first person who goes there every day can get ten copper coins per pound if the wool is of good quality. The second and third people who go there, even if the wool is of the same quality, will get a lower price. That's all I have to say, please do as you wish!"
After saying these words, Xiao Yuman turned around and left, no longer paying attention to the Shatu caravan that was shouting here. The leaders of the Shatu caravan were all dumbfounded when they saw the expressionless soldiers guarding the pass. There were only two options before them. Either they could sell the wool they brought here at a low price of ten copper coins per pound, or they could keep the wool in their hands and then it would be worthless...
(End of this chapter)