Chapter 183 182. Spring breeze blows, war drums beat
While the Lei family was enjoying a lively and warm venison hotpot, a war broke out on the Dongyuan border.
In the past, it was just a minor friction, you hit me and I hit back, and it was not a big deal. But this time, the fighting was like a formal war. Those tall nomads who were good at fighting robbed several villages on the border of Dongyuan and massacred all the villagers.
The bad behavior made the border troops stationed in Dongyuan extremely angry. When the court just received the news, three battles of varying sizes had already broken out.
Two defeats and one tragic victory.
It shocked the government and the public.
By the time this news reached Lei Li from Sanlihe Village, it was already February of the new year, and the village was busy with spring planting.
Lei Li felt a little unbelievable.
He is in his twenties now. The most thrilling moments for him were when he killed a robber at the age of seventeen and when he picked up a man and took him home as his husband at the age of twenty. He had no idea about the deaths in wars.
Qingmi County, where he lived, had good public security and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. They rarely encountered bandits, let alone such a big thing as a war between two countries.
It broke out so suddenly on such an ordinary day.
"There were actually signs of this happening a long time ago, but we were too far away to know about it."
Meng Luo shook his head and sighed, "Didn't Nanjiang suffer from a drought and locust plague two years ago? Dongyuan and the foreign tribes also suffered from droughts, but they weren't as severe as Nanjiang, so there hasn't been any news."
"Last winter, the snowstorm in Nanjiang collapsed houses, and the snow in Dongyuan was even heavier, causing the prices of fur and cotton to rise significantly, and even rice prices to rise as well."
"—Also, the price of food sold to foreign tribes has increased several times. They have traded with many merchants in Dongyuan."
Lei Li and Zhou Yi both knew this.
If Dongyuan merchants are smart and have a sharp eye, they can make a fortune by reselling, but if they are unlucky or stupid and just follow the trend, they may lose everything.
Because this trade route is greatly influenced by the government policies of Dongyuan and the attitudes of foreign tribes, if both sides are relaxed, they will make money. If one side -
Especially if foreigners suddenly turn against the Dayou Dynasty, hostilely boycott it and then implicate Dongyuan merchants, it is easy for merchants to be tortured, killed and robbed, and even the entire trade chain is cut off.
"Because those foreigners felt that the goods sold to them by Dongyuan were too expensive, several to ten times the price they sold to our people, they were dissatisfied and decided to do something drastic."
Meng Luo was indignant. "It's expensive, but don't you think about the fact that shipping it there doesn't cost money? Capital, vehicles, manpower, and time—don't they all cost money?"
"Besides, their place isn't a good place at all. It's no different from a bandit's den. If you're not careful, you'll die. If you don't sell it at a higher price, you'll be doing a disservice!"
What's more, there is no peace in the foreign territory. There are many tribes and bandits everywhere, and even collusion between officials and bandits. Even if the royal family of the foreign tribe encourages trade, they can easily be killed by the hostile tribe.
Therefore, Dongyuan merchants are doing business to make money with their lives on the line, so it’s no wonder that the selling prices are high.
certainly.
There were also unscrupulous merchants who cheated foreigners and sold fish eyes as pearls at exorbitant prices. This led to a distorted reputation of Dongyuan merchants among foreign tribes as a whole. If the price was a little higher, they would be considered as scammers who were trying to cheat people out of their money.
Lei Li naturally knew this, so he keenly discovered the key point, "So this war is related to these Dongyuan merchants? Or is it an excuse from foreign tribes?"
"It's related to the Dongyuan merchants."
Meng Luo paused and said, "You all know that our Dayou Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, and each prefecture is very different."
"really."
Zhou Yi nodded.
Although the Dayou Dynasty had only nine prefectures, which was far from the 34 provinces of modern China, each prefecture had dozens of county towns, and each county town had twenty or thirty towns, and each town had villages of all sizes.
The topography and climate of each prefecture city are quite different, so one prefecture city may be filled with warm spring sounds while another may be freezing cold with wind, frost, rain and snow.
"The foreign tribes have vast areas and sparse populations, but their climates are very consistent."
Meng Luo took a sip of tea and continued, "The snow hasn't even fallen in Xiling yet, but Dongyuan is already covered in snow. The situation in the more remote nomadic tribes is even colder, their winter can last from October to March of the following year."
"The snow this year was particularly heavy. I heard that there was one that lasted two days and two nights, and the snow piled up to people's knees. I haven't seen such heavy snow in Kyoto."
"This blizzard also froze a large number of cattle and sheep to death."
Cattle, sheep and horses are the foundation of nomadic tribes.
Their daily necessities all come from cattle and sheep. Milk and meat are the main food, fur is used to keep out the cold and build windproof and warm tents, and the horns and bones of cattle and sheep can also be used to make weapons and decorations.
These were also the main commodities traded with merchants from the Dayou Dynasty.
When the blizzard disaster came, these tribes had no choice but to sell the frozen cattle and sheep to Dongyuan of the Dayou Dynasty at a low price, but the profit-seeking merchants lowered the price and were only willing to give half of the usual price.
The foreigners were angry and killed the Dongyuan merchants and robbed their goods, but it was still not enough for their people to survive the harsh winter, so they thought of looting the villages of Dayou Dynasty, and then it became a reality.
“…”
Lei Li and Zhou Yi were both silent after hearing this.
In the final analysis, both sides were at fault in this matter. The Dongyuan merchants should not have profited from the disaster, and the foreign tribes should not have vented their anger on innocent people, burning, killing, looting, and even sparing the elderly and children.
"So what now?"
Zhou Yi asked seriously, "How will the imperial court respond? Will they send the Fifth Prince to Dongyuan again?"
"I don't know."
Mengluo shook his head.
Two years ago, the fifth prince went to Dongyuan as a peace negotiator to appease the people and negotiate with foreign tribes.
They didn't know what conditions they had agreed to, but in any case, the foreign tribes who had been suffering from the drought and were ready to revolt settled down again, and the foreign trade in the east also ushered in a period of peace.
If we continue to negotiate now, it is likely that the fifth prince will be sent.
"If we negotiate again this time, the foreign tribes will definitely ask for exorbitant amounts of food. They've suffered from disasters for years and their food reserves are running low. They'll definitely demand a large amount of food."
Lei Li thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If the court agrees, Xiling will be the first to bear the brunt. Nanjiang has suffered a disaster and needs to recuperate. Dongyuan is busy taking care of itself, so only Xiling is the granary."
"The grain tax was raised once before, by 15%, and it wasn't raised back last year. And now it's being raised again this year—"
I'm afraid it's either 20% or 30%.
Whether it is to pay for food compensation or to prepare food and fodder for war, the food in Xiling has been delivered.
The grain stored by the imperial court is used as military rations, and the tax rate will be raised in order to replenish it in a short period of time. Otherwise, the imperial court will be anxious if it has no grain. If it delays for too long, the payment of officials' salaries will become a problem.
"Peace talks may be difficult."
Zhou Yi frowned and said, "The conflict between the foreign tribes and our dynasty has been going on for a long time. The Dongyuan merchants and border troops in particular have great hatred for the foreign tribes. This time, the people of several villages were massacred, and the people are in a state of panic."
"If we don't have strong measures and continue to keep the people of Dongyuan in a state of panic, the prestige of the imperial court will decline significantly, and the trust in the government will also decrease."
"The border troops executed the enemy first and reported later, indicating that their generals advocated war and intended to strike back with thunderous force. Unfortunately, fate did not go as they wished. They suffered two defeats and one narrow victory. Now they must be holding their breath to subdue the foreign tribes."
"I want to fight too..."
Meng Luo hesitated and sighed, "We've fought three times, and only won once by a narrow margin. This battle will probably be difficult... It would be great if we could negotiate and no more casualties would occur."
"No."
Zhou Yi said firmly, "Strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows. This is the true way of diplomacy. If you just want to negotiate, escape, and give in when you encounter a problem, won't the soldiers and civilians who died die in vain?"
"This war must be fought and won. We must subdue them and force them to negotiate voluntarily. We must forge a stable and peaceful Silk Road."
"This is what's good for the people on both sides."
"Zhou Yi is right."
Lei Li thought the same thing. How could someone beg and cry, holding hands and making peace with someone after being beaten up? Isn't that insane?
Meng Luo was stunned when he heard this. "Then, how do we fight? The foreigners are tough and very good at riding and shooting. Their women and men can all ride horses to fight. If necessary, even the elderly and children will go to the battlefield."
"It can be said that everyone is a martial artist."
"In our Dayou Dynasty, only Wuxing Prefecture can compare. The people of Wuxing are martial artists. Almost all the top military scholars are from Wuxing. Many famous generals in history came from Wuxing."
"But there's the covetous Wanyi Kingdom right next to Wuxing. Both Wuxing and Wensheng have to defend it, so we can't spare any troops to support Dongyuan."
The more Meng Luo spoke, the more difficult he felt this battle would be, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"You're right."
Zhou Yi nodded and pondered, "Foreigners are fierce and ruthless, bandits are rampant, and there are wolves on the grasslands. Therefore, they are very good at riding and shooting, and are also very good at guerrilla warfare and evasion, avoiding direct combat."
"Dongyuan is mostly plains, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. If a war breaks out, most of the soldiers who go to the battlefield will be new recruits, and they will need to rely on constant battle training. This training alone will result in a large number of casualties."
"Yes."
Lei Li nodded. "Besides, the weather gets warmer as the foreign tribes move towards us, but it gets colder as we advance. Therefore, the baggage we have to carry will be heavier and more numerous, which is very disadvantageous to us."
“…”
Meng Luo listened to the two people discussing how to fight a war better. It was a bit magical, making his brain fuzzy, as if the knowledge was slipping by without leaving a trace.
"...How about we get back to the original question?"
Meng Luo whispered, "If a war really breaks out, who will the court send to the front lines? The Fifth Prince?"
"It's hard to say."
Lei Li suddenly had an idea, and recalled the look the Third Prince gave him before he left. "I think this time... it will be the Third Prince who will go."
"The Third Prince?"
Meng Luo was confused for a moment. "Why? The Fifth Prince is very resourceful and has many people supporting him. Whether he advocates peace or war, he will be able to make great achievements, right?"
"No."
Lei Li said meaningfully, "If he advocates peace, the Fifth Prince will lose the support of the people of Dongyuan. If he advocates war, the situation is unclear now. He might be defeated and then ask for peace. That wouldn't be a good thing."
"But the Third Prince is different. He has no one behind him, so if he dies, he might just die."
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