On the second day, Zhao Jun brought Qingliu and Meng Yi to the county magistrate's mansion at the agreed time.
"Qingliu, look, this government office is much worse than the county magistrate's office."
"Yes, the county lieutenant and the county magistrate are officials of the same rank, but there is a huge difference between them. I think that County Magistrate Yu is also very afraid of General Ma."
Qingliu spoke without hesitation in front of Zhao Jun.
"Our main task is to deal with the county governor. I don't want to see anyone named Ma again for the next period of time."
"It's already mid-May, time is running out."
Zhao Jun was thinking about her cotton, so she didn't bother with Ma Hong for the time being.
As they were talking, they entered the hall of the county magistrate's mansion. Yu Zhaoyi had been waiting there for a long time.
"Master Zhao, Lord Meng, did you have a good rest last night?"
Yu Zhaoyi respectfully led Zhao Jun to the seat of honor, and Meng Yi also sat in the front.
"Not bad. Let's stop talking nonsense. I want to understand the situation in the Northland first."
Zhao Jun just sat down without exchanging many pleasantries with Yu Zhaoyi.
Yu Zhaoyi was also surprised at the speed of this Lord Internal Secretary.
"How many counties are under the jurisdiction of Beidi County? What was the approximate cultivated area in previous years? What crops were mainly grown? How was the harvest?"
"ah?"
Zhao Jun asked several questions in a row, which confused Yu Zhaoyi again.
"Don't you know?"
Zhao Jun glanced at him coldly.
"No, I know."
Yu Zhaoyi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and organized his words.
"Well, Beidi County is quite special. It's adjacent to the Xiongnu and is on the Qin border, so Beidi County doesn't have many subordinate counties. Plus, there are relatively few people in Beidi, so it's almost directly governed by Beidi County."
Yu Zhaoyi answered each question one by one.
"As for crops, we mostly grow corn and wheat. Because of the climate in the north, corn and wheat don't grow very well, so we have to rely on government aid every year. Every household has a poor harvest, so many people have moved away, so now the cultivated area is even smaller."
“There’s a lot of land, but no one’s farming it.”
Yu Zhaoyi has been in Beidi County for several years, and he feels sad when talking about this.
Zhao Jun nodded thoughtfully. No wonder there are so many wastelands in the north.
That’s perfect. I’ll leave it all to her to grow cotton in the future.
"By the way, I see a lot of people wearing woolen clothes in the North, and mutton seems to be very common. Do they produce sheep here?"
She asked again.
"Well, this..."
Yu Zhaoyi hesitated for a moment, then thought of Zhao Jun's previous behavior and said it out.
"Of course, Beidi County doesn't produce sheep, and no one here knows how to raise them, but..."
"But the Xiongnu knew how to raise sheep, and they never lacked mutton, so the people in the north would sometimes exchange goods with those outside the Great Wall."
Meng Yi, who was sitting next to him, was shocked when he heard this.
How can we trade with the Huns?
Compared to Meng Yi's shock, Zhao Jun seemed exceptionally calm.
When Yu Zhao saw Meng Yi's big reaction, he quickly added.
"But the people we trade with are not the bad Xiongnu. In fact, many people outside the Great Wall want to communicate with us peacefully, but there are also many who are looking for trouble. So trading with them sometimes depends on luck."
Yu Zhaoyi stammered, saying that this kind of transaction was common in the North, and he wondered if they could accept it.
"Beidi is an important border area of Qin State. Wouldn't this situation affect the lives of the people here? Then wouldn't we have to allow these Xiongnu to enter the city when trading?"
Obviously Meng Yi couldn't understand.
"this……"
For a moment, Yu Zhaoyi didn't know how to answer.
The North has always been like this.
"Meng Yi, when you entered the city, did you see any children with big eyes and high noses who looked different from us?"
Zhao Jun didn't look at Yu Zhaoyi but asked about Meng Yi instead.
"Yes, I saw it. Isn't that the unique appearance of people from the north?" Meng Yi replied.
"No, of course not. I think it must be a mixed-race child born from the intermarriage between the northerners and the Xiongnu outside the Great Wall."
Having said this, several people looked at Yu Zhaoyi.
It has come to this point and he has nothing to hide. They will know it after he stays in the North for a while anyway.
"Yes, there were indeed intermarriages between the North and the Xiongnu, but they were all Xiongnu women who volunteered, and it had no impact on the North."
Meng Yi was a little surprised, he looked up at Zhao Jun.
Since she discovered it as soon as she entered the city, she probably wouldn't object to such a thing.
really.
"I have no objection to trading with people outside the Great Wall. As long as both parties have a need, such private transactions cannot be prohibited."
"By the way, how do they usually trade? Do they allow people from outside the Great Wall to enter the Northland and trade freely, or do people from the Northland go out of the city to trade?"
Zhao Jun asked in detail.
She had an idea in her mind. Didn't the Tang Dynasty have a treaty to open border trade? Maybe she could try it now.
"Your Excellency, it is like this. Because General Ma Hong is in charge of the security of the city gates, the Xiongnu generally cannot enter the city. It is the people of the northern land who leave the city. However, the trading location is in a forest not far from the city gate. It can be seen from the city gate and is relatively safe."
When Yu Zhao heard that the Internal History did not pursue the matter and even agreed, he felt relieved and spoke more clearly.
"Well, okay, I understand this matter. Let's talk about planting first."
Zhao Jun nodded and turned the topic back to the main topic.
"I have a batch of cotton that I need to plant in the north, and I need the help of many people. The seeds grown from this plant are not edible, but they can be made into warm clothing."
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