Chapter 308 General Xiao’s Plan
The Zhenbei Army's pay has been tight for many years. Even though the Crown Prince is now regent and the Ministry of Revenue can no longer be too harsh, it is impossible to fill the previous holes all at once.
Moreover, it was the end of the year again, and every garrison had to find ways to raise military rations and wages on its own, including the Guangbao Garrison where he was currently stationed.
Among the several large garrisons, only the Suijinwei silver coins were the most abundant.
The newly built military houses made every soldier envious.
General Xiao knew what the Broken Gold Guards were like before.
He saw with his own eyes that the Broken Gold Guards could not even pay their wages of fifty taels of silver, and had people blocking the camp gate. Now, only a year has passed, the military pay is no longer in arrears, and they can even buy wives and have a lavish wedding.
If he had not already been a powerful figure in Guangbao, he would have regretted it.
Suijin Town can live a good life. Apart from the military pay from the court, the most important factor is the role played by the Song family.
The first person to help the garrison sell furs was Song Liyun.
"Miss Song, you're going to the grassland to buy furs. Why don't you ask Captain Luo to issue a warrant? That way, the patrol brothers can help you take care of it, and you don't have to worry about it."
General Xiao led Song Liyun and Song Dekui to the tent next to him with a friendly attitude.
Wu Dong and others were stunned. General Xiao was transferred from the Suijin Guard. He has always been arrogant and domineering, and rarely speaks to others in such a friendly way.
Song Liyun couldn't bring herself to tell the story of her plan to go to Mida Valley to inquire about her lover, so she could only say, "In addition to buying furs, I'd also like to contact some beef and mutton dealers. I can buy a lot of it next month."
When General Xiao left Suijinwei, the Song family was still only selling vegetables and acorn flour, and some furs, and had not yet run Tianxianglou.
Now, when he heard about buying mutton, he couldn't help but be surprised and said, "The mutton that Broken Gold Guard wants to eat can be found in our own places. Why do we need you to go to the grassland to buy it?"
He also knew about the Wuda tribe, but he didn't know about Zhao Tingduo's proposal of marriage.
Song Liyun smiled calmly and said, "I'm currently the manager of Tianxianglou in Qili County. Tianxianglou is owned by the Suijin Guards and the county government. Business is good, and we need fresh mutton every day. The live sheep sent by the guards alone are not enough."
A gleam of brilliance suddenly flashed in General Xiao's eyes. Of course he knew Tianxianglou in Qili County. It was a well-known restaurant.
In a blink of an eye, General Xiao recalled the military reports from a few months ago, which mentioned that Tianxianglou colluded with bandits and committed the Suijin Town tragedy.
Tianxiang Tower was taken over by Suijinwei!
The Uda tribe doesn’t even have enough cattle and sheep to sell, how big of a way to make money is that?
At this moment, General Xiao's heart was burning with excitement, and he looked at Song Liyun as if he was looking at the God of Wealth who could turn stones into gold.
Guangbao Wei Suo is one or two hundred miles away from Suijin Town. Like Suijin Wei, it also guards the two mountain passes leading to the grassland in Wu Dynasty.
Similarly, there is a small market here next to the garrison.
In the eyes of General Xiao, although the small market is not as good as Qili County, it is better than the dilapidated Suijin Town.
As soon as he arrived in Guangbao, he bought the shop and asked his family to run it.
It's neither good nor bad, and I can barely make a profit of one or two taels of silver a month.
Mr. Xiao thought that since he controlled the cattle and sheep on the Xiaoba grassland, if he could take over the business of purchasing mutton from Song Liyun, he would have a good business that would be profitable regardless of drought or flood.
This place is also called Xiaoba Grassland because it is a pasture. Not only Wu Dynasty herdsmen but also Di tribe herdsmen come here, and there are Zhenbei Army patrols all year round.
It's just that it's cold now, and the herders of the Wu Dynasty have already returned to the mountains for the winter. The Di tribe is still left on the grassland, and where there is a tribe, there are cattle and sheep...
He didn't think about whether the Di tribe was willing to hand over their cattle and sheep. Anyway, the fact that these barbarians could survive in Xiaoba until now was already considered tolerant by the Wu Dynasty.
Otherwise, just keep them here and raise sheep for the garrison...
Isn’t this exactly what happened in Suijin Town and Wuda Tribe? I can do the same.
"Don't worry, Miss Song. Your uncle Xiao has connections and power in Guangbao now. From now on, all the cattle and sheep on this piece of land will be mine. Just tell me if you want them. You can come and get them anytime." General Xiao said, patting his chest.
Song Liyun raised her eyebrows. She had heard from Abu that the herders' daily lives basically depended on dairy products. Except for old cattle and sheep that were no longer reproductive, cattle and sheep could not be slaughtered easily unless there was enough food.
Now General Xiao wants to buy all the cattle and sheep of the Di tribe. If the food problem is not solved, the people of an entire tribe may starve to death.
But now that General Xiao was in high spirits, she couldn't say too much. She just nodded and agreed: "Okay, from now on, if Tianxianglou needs mutton, please ask General Xiao for help."
After the person was found, General Xiao was not in a hurry to return to the garrison. Instead, he asked the Kun tribe to kill a sheep and stew it in a pot.
In the evening, in the tent specially set up for the banquet for Song Liyun and Xiao Zongqi, a long table was set up, piled with large pieces of cooked mutton and milk wine.
In addition to the two distinguished guests Song Liyun and Xiao Zongqi, Song Dekui and Wu Dong were also sitting with them.
The leader of the Kun tribe is called Balin, who is in his thirties.
At this time, he brought his wife, a beautiful woman, who was serving the guests mutton attentively.
Use a small knife to cut the mutton into slices from the bones, then wrap some dark green grass sauce in the wooden bowl on the meat slices and you can eat it directly.
Song Liyun had tried this way of eating before at the Wuda Camp at the mouth of the Huangsha River Valley.
The beggar said that this was wild chive flower sauce unique to the grassland.
Salt and tea are precious commodities on the grassland, and it is not easy for small tribes to buy them from caravans.
This wild leek flower, which blooms all over the grassland in August, has a special spicy taste and can replace salt and also meet the vitamin deficiency caused by lack of vegetables.
Every tribe would collect the mushrooms during this time and mash them into a paste that could be eaten for a year.
It was Song Dekui's first time to the grassland. He was attracted by the rare food and didn't want anyone to serve him. He took a knife and cut the meat himself.
The headman, Balin, respectfully placed the sliced meat he had cut in front of Song Liyun and said in a stiff Wu Chao dialect, "The fattest mutton is presented to the most distinguished guest."
Song Liyun nodded in thanks: "Thank you for your tribe's kindness!"
Balin offered mutton to General Xiao again, saying the same thing, and added, "General Xiao, I hope you will take good care of me in the future!"
Xiao Zongqi laughed heartily: "Don't worry, you just stay here. I can help you with food and other things."
Balin immediately smiled happily and thanked General Xiao repeatedly.
Song Liyun glanced at him: What does this Balin mean? Doesn’t he know that General Xiao is already plotting against him?
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Balin expressed his meaning during the conversation.
After all, Bahrain is young and energetic, much braver than the old man from the Red Stone Tribe.
As soon as the Mida Valley was in chaos, he fled to Xiaoba Grassland with his family and tribe.
This is not only a grassland, but also under the knife edge of the Zhenbei Army.
Balin knew that the now powerful Wuda tribe had been defeated in the battles on the grasslands and was even worse than his current tribe. In the end, it was only with the help of the Wu Dynasty that it survived and grew stronger.
He also had this idea.
There are now more than fifty men, women, young and old in the Kun tribe. If they can settle down and let the women have children, the number of people in the tribe will double in twenty years.
(End of this chapter)
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