While nothing has been unexpected, I actually hope there will be some unexpected things along the way.
As expected, the northern barbarians appeared in front of me, and did not engage in sword fights with the army I led. Instead, they brought with them items unique to the northern barbarians, such as monster furs and ginseng.
There are special quartermasters here who evaluate and negotiate the prices of various items according to categories, and then use them to exchange for food, weapons, and armor.
This was an event that was enough to shake the world. The generals guarding the border took the initiative to trade goods with their opponents, and the goods traded were very confidential materials such as weapons and armor.
Of course, there were not many weapons and armors, but more of them were food, cotton clothes and the like.
This shows that the official border commander has not completely lost his mind.
But such things are not shocking and shocking enough.
The most powerful enemy of Daxia in its more than 800 years of history, arguably the most mortal enemy among mortal enemies, was actually able to make deals with the people of Daxia.
And the deal was with official figures of Daxia.
Both parties were familiar with each other and the transaction process was very smooth.
There were not many contradictions. The fact that there were more than 2,000 soldiers surprised the barbarians, and they asked questions using the official language of Daxia.
If I lead thousands of soldiers under my command to encircle the northern barbarians again, it will be a great victory, but the more than 2,000 soldiers under my command now are not my usual men.
Even my adjutant was watching me with a fierce look in his eyes. More than 2,000 soldiers were not only monitoring the barbarians, but also me.
Once there is any change in me, there is no way to accept it.
Then these two thousand soldiers will not attack the other side, and it is very likely that they will kill me under the leadership of the adjutant.
Although life and death were in danger, I did not feel too much fear in my heart.
I just asked the adjutant beside me with a cold face.
"What are you doing? Are you raising an enemy to protect yourself?"
The adjutant was very calm. He first took two blood ginsengs containing extremely powerful blood and placed them in front of me, and then slowly explained: "This is a bitterly cold place at the border. The salary given by the court can only barely allow us to survive, and our martial arts progress is slow."
"In the daily bloody battles, if we don't have herbs that can warm up our Qi and blood and replenish our body's essence, it won't be long before we are plagued by illness..."
"Is that why you made a deal with them?"
I still just say this: the salary of soldiers at the border is already three times that of normal soldiers, and all kinds of related treatment are much better than those in the areas south of the Yangtze River that have not been invaded by barbarians.
The adjutant knew that he had failed to convince me, and the atmosphere around him became increasingly tense. Some soldiers had already loaded their bows and crossbows.
The adjutant suppressed the restless soldiers, and seeing that I remained calm in this desperate situation, he even praised me.
"You are indeed a hero who can penetrate deep into the north and slay the barbarians."
He turned around and looked at the soldiers and the northern barbarians who were wary of each other but still trading.
The adjutant calmly explained, "This year's snow is heavier than in previous years. Without sufficient rations, the barbarians' southward advance will be more ferocious than ever before."
"We use this gentle method to trade with them. This will not harm the people on our border, but will also allow us to obtain the specialties of the northern barbarians and replenish our army's soldiers..."
"And what about next year? The northern barbarians will never be satisfied. Next year, when they feel strong and vigorous, they will march south wearing our armor and wielding our weapons."
"They come south every year, don't they? If the barbarians didn't come south, our border would have no meaning, and the benefits we receive would disappear completely."
The adjutant remained calm and said, "We have carefully selected the tribes we will trade with. They are all small and medium-sized tribes among the northern barbarians."
"After trading with us, during the war, they will not only provide us with intelligence, but will even proactively help us. We won't encounter them on the front lines..."
I didn't comment, because I had already encountered small groups of barbarians fully equipped with Daxia standard military equipment on the front battlefield.
What the adjutant said made a lot of sense, but this could not conceal the fact that he was trading with the enemy and aiding the enemy.
There is a better solution to all this, as long as Daxia's army is strong enough, like the Emperor Wu.
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The army marched out in a flat manner, annihilated all the major tribes of the northern barbarians, chased them northward, and forced them to flee for tens of thousands of miles, while all his generals were granted titles of nobility.
In recent years, war reports have often been received from the border, saying that the situation is critical, and the court has allocated funds in waves.
In the final analysis, the border guards wanted to harbor the enemy to protect themselves.
After more than 800 years of weakening since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, the strength of the northern barbarians has reached its lowest point.
Initially, it required the whole nation’s efforts to resist, but now a team of border troops can make the northern barbarians breathless and make it difficult for them to move south and enter the pass.
Even if the border generals have the ability and strength to completely quell the rebellion of the northern barbarians, they are unwilling to do so and completely kill them. Their achievements will not be too great. After all, the barbarians today are not the northern barbarians at the beginning of the founding of the Great Xia.
But if you give it a little blood when it is weak, and then reach a secret agreement with it, allowing it to continue to defeat the enemy.
They will be able to receive continuous funding from the court, and the entire army will benefit.
No, not the entire army, but the group of people who control the army can get a lot of benefits, as well as some of the trusted troops of the army controllers can get great benefits.
Other armies would find it more difficult to deal with the northern barbarians, as they are well-fed and well-clothed, and have good weapons and armor, making them more difficult to deal with.
In the final analysis, this is harming the public interest and benefiting oneself.
As for the reasons given by the adjutant, they are of course all good. For the many people at the border who hold adjutant positions, each of these reasons is valid and beneficial to them.
The benefits from the transaction will be evenly distributed among this group of people, allowing them to make a lot of money.
They also received the lion's share of the subsidies provided by the imperial court.
Well, the only ones who suffer are the people.
The people living at the border were harmed by the northern barbarians' invasion, and the imperial court used more silver and salaries to support the soldiers at the border. Of course, this silver did not come out of thin air, but came from taxes collected from all over Daxia.
I haven't visited many places, and I only know about the tax collection situation in Jiangnan, Jianyi, Xingguo, and Longxing Prefecture. The rich pay very little tax, and the vast majority of the tax revenue comes from ordinary people.
Well, I can only say that when it comes to letting the people get hurt, the north and the south are similar, and each has their own little tricks for living.
"Captain, how do you make a decision?"
The adjutant looked at me with burning eyes. More than 2,000 soldiers were lined up around him, and the atmosphere was tense.
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