Zhou Tong and Wei Chenglin looked very similar. The only difference between them was their age. If Zhou Tong said that Wei Chenglin was his elder brother, no one would doubt him.
After exchanging a few words with Zhou Tong, Prefect Jin got down to business. Zhou Tong quickly understood Prefect Jin's intention: he wanted Zhou Tong's help to bring Wei Chenglin to Lanwei under the guise of doing jade business, so that Zhou Tong could find out about the situation there.
After a moment's thought, Zhou Tong spoke:
"Over the years, Zhou has expanded his jade business and opened many jade shops."
I also have shops in Lanwei and Louye that specialize in selling jade and jade artifacts. After the riots broke out in those two places, I closed the shops because I was worried about fighting there.
I am not clear about the situation in Lanwei at the moment. It is said that they are conscripting men there, and most of the young people have left, leaving only the elderly, women and children.
In Lanwei, there are also some people who do jade business. Among them is a jade merchant named Huang Siyuan, who is Huang Liang's cousin. It is estimated that only his shop is still open.
If Brother Wei goes to Lanwei to find out what's going on there, I can take you there and help you reopen your shop.
By using his jade business as a cover, Brother Wei could secretly investigate Lanwei and find out what was going on there.
In Lanwei, no one doubts Brother Wei's identity. Almost all the jade merchants in Lanwei know me; they would all assume Brother Wei is my elder brother.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, finding Zhou Tong's plan feasible. This way, Wei Chenglin could enter Lanwei City discreetly and avoid arousing suspicion from the local forces.
"Isn't it very dangerous for Manager Zhou to personally escort people to Lanwei?" Prefect Jin asked.
"The biggest danger in Lanwei City is being conscripted into the army. However, Huang Liang doesn't arrest people randomly. They only arrest locals and strictly inspect outsiders entering Lanwei."
I haven't been to Lanwei for a while, so I'm not familiar with some things about the city. Brother Wei, you could go to my mining area first; there are people there who know the specifics of Lanwei and can also find out about the jade market, so you won't give yourself away when you get to Lanwei.”
Everyone nodded. Zhou Tong was very thoughtful. Wei Chenglin decided to stay at Zhou Tong's mine for two days to get a feel for the situation and familiarize himself with some jade business before heading to Lanwei.
The three places of Yuanxi, Lanwei and Louye in the desert were three important towns on the ancient Silk Road, lined up from east to west.
Three hundred li to the west of Louye are some countries in the Western Regions, which have long had trade relations with the Great Northern Dynasty.
Yuanxi has jade mines and is incredibly rich. However, Lanwei and Louye, deep in the desert, are different. They have no mineral deposits, and the locals can only rely on trade to survive.
It can be said that the merchants coming and going supported the people of Lanwei and Louye. Even if the forces in the two places rebelled, they dared not cut off the trade routes here, because this was their source of income. If their source of income was cut off, the people here would not be able to survive.
Due to the trouble caused by the foreign kingdoms, the forces in Lanwei and Louye were forced to rebel, hoping to completely break free from the rule of the Great Northern Dynasty.
In order to enhance their strength and contend with the Great Northern Dynasty, they must develop their own power as soon as possible. However, given the sparse population in the desert region, developing military strength is no easy task.
Having no other choice, they had to conscript men from all over the country to expand their strength.
This move also had significant side effects, leading to a large exodus of young and middle-aged men from the area, who were unwilling to fight.
Merchants doing business here were also afraid of war, and most of them chose to leave.
Merchants are driven by profit; they know that while silver is a good thing, one must also be alive to spend it.
What's most disheartening is that the Western Region merchants who were once active in both places have gradually disappeared. These foreign merchants are the gods of wealth; without them, life would be difficult.
In ancient times, cross-border business required the presentation of official documents, which were essentially travel permits; without them, one could not move an inch.
Due to the rebellions in both regions, some merchants from Western Regions countries, fearing that their journeys would be disrupted, suspended cross-border trade.
This is not a good thing. If this situation continues, Lanwei and Louye will lose their sources of income, and it will be difficult for them to survive in the long run.
The foreign people didn't care about any of that. They hoped that the forces in Lanwei and Louye would go to war with the Great Northern Dynasty. The more chaotic the situation, the better. Ideally, it would be a mutually destructive conflict, from which the foreign countries would benefit the most.
At this moment, Xiao Yi was sitting in Huang Liang's military camp, with several people standing beside him.
After Xiao Yi's great victory over Huo Pingxi's army, he did not advise Huang Liang to attack Yuanxi and take it down, which Huang Liang deeply regretted.
Xiao Yi anticipated that the Northern Dynasty would continue to send troops to attack Lanwei, possibly increasing its forces to 20,000. In order to defeat the enemy again, he made a meticulous battle plan.
After this victory, Huang Liang must lead troops to attack Yuanxi. The Yuanxi government only has about a hundred people, so taking them down will not be difficult.
Yuanxi has high city walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. With Yuanxi as a base, it can resist the Great Northern Dynasty for a long time. In this way, the northwestern territory of the Great Northern Dynasty will be completely disrupted and no longer peaceful.
To his surprise, the Great Northern Dynasty did indeed send 20,000 troops, but instead of heading to Lanwei, they stationed themselves in Yuanxi and remained there for an extended period.
These 20,000 troops will hold the line like nails, firmly controlling the situation and gaining the initiative. It will be difficult for Lanwei and Louye to gain any further influence.
I underestimated my enemy. I made a lot of preparations this time, hoping to defeat them in one fell swoop, but it seems that all my efforts were in vain.
The Great Northern Dynasty still had capable people. They were not in a hurry to quell the rebellion, but instead stationed troops in the west of the region to control the overall situation.
What should I do now? Emperor Yelü Wu values me highly, so I can't just go back to my vassal state after all this trouble.
If this rebellion is successfully quelled, the northwestern border of the Great Northern Dynasty will be a unified entity. What I have done during this period will actually help the Great Northern Dynasty. In this way, the southwestern border of the Great Northern Dynasty will be more stable, which is something that the vassal states do not want to see.
So what should be done now? Xiao Yi racked his brains. After much consideration, he felt that he should start with Yuan Xi to solve the current predicament.
However, I am not very clear about the situation in Yuanxi right now, so I need to find someone who is very familiar with the situation in Yuanxi to find out the situation there first.
Ma Yuanhao and Huang Liang were unaware of Xiao Yi's true purpose in coming to Lanwei. In their view, Xiao Yi had come from a foreign country to help them fight against the imperial court and establish themselves as kings.
But they never dreamed that the foreign kingdom would regard them as pawns in its fight against the Great Northern Dynasty, in order to weaken the Great Northern Dynasty's strength and give the foreign kingdom ample time to breathe and recuperate.
Xiao Yi decided to walk around the city and find a Yuanxi person who could serve him.
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