Three Kingdoms

   Chapter 2659 What is the trap

  The sky is getting brighter, and in the outer area of ​​Dingxiang County, everything around the Shanyuting area in the middle of the old Xiongnu gradually appeared.

   Today, this place has become a gathering place for various tribes and clans in Jiankun.

  In Jiankun State Middle School, not everyone is like the Poshihe family, who still remember the big man in their hearts.

  Even in the tribe of Poshi River, some ordinary herdsmen may not be able to remember the imprints on history, and they can still have any feelings for the big man. Just like those Chinese who have stayed abroad for a long time in later generations, many people have forgotten where their roots are after a long time.

  Summer is the busiest time for nomadic tribes. With the prosperity of green grass, cattle, sheep and livestock begin to breed. With the stability and expansion of production labor, the demand for utensils gradually increases.

   In a few days, there will be a big meeting in Jiankun, and at this big meeting, the leaders of various big tribes will also come.

In the area under the jurisdiction of Shanyuting in the middle of the old Xiongnu, the Poshihe tribe had the most tents, occupying the largest piece of grass, and the rest of the tribes were also distributed around it. From time to time, herdsmen rode Horses drive cattle and sheep, far or near.

  In the tribe of Poshihe, Wang Ling woke up from the tent, washed up a bit, put on his outer robe, and walked out of the tent.

  The early preserved meat is already ready, and the broth is cooked with some spices, exuding the smell of fat. The bread is not too dark, but fermented. After baking, the outside is a little browned, but the inside is still soft. It can be eaten directly, or it can be shredded and soaked in broth.

This kind of food, if it is in Chang'an Sanfu, or in the land of Hedong, it is nothing, but here, it is relatively rare, especially the spices, once cooked, it overflows immediately, it is simply worthless Uncompromising luxury.

   You know, spices were expensive in the feudal era when there was no large-scale artificial cultivation.

   It's not that Wang Ling is so extravagant, but because this spice was specially given to Wang Ling by General Li Dian.

  According to Li Dian, Hu people do not understand Chinese, but they understand spices.

  The civil strife in the southern Xiongnu also caused some turmoil in Jiankun.

  It's normal for a rabbit to die and a fox to die.

Wang Ling originally thought that this trip to Jiankun would be hard work on the way, but it would be extremely easy to convince the various ministries of Jiankun. Some people refused to meet each other, and some were incomprehensible, which immediately made Wang Ling feel the turbulent undercurrent here.

  Jiankun people originally thought it was a unified Han country, but they found that the Han people have now split into three parts: east, west, and south.

  What will happen to Dahan in the future?

   This naturally requires consideration.

  Not everyone has a forty-five-degree perspective of God. For most ordinary Jiankun people, they are unwilling to fall into this obviously huge storm and be crushed into powder.

  Wang Ling can understand this point, but understanding is understanding, and attachment is attachment.

  Three or four miles away from Wang Ling's tent, there are about a hundred tents of different types, old and new, and the king's tent bearing the banner of Jiankun Poshihe Department is guarded in the middle.

Although it is said that neither Li Dian in Yinshan nor Zhao Yun in Changshan sent soldiers to garrison here, but in order to avoid suspicion, the Jiankun tribe did not dare to build a strong camp with deep trenches and high fortresses. It is probably necessary to dig a trench and set up a thin wooden fence to prevent livestock from running around, which is basically equal to zero in terms of defense, let alone build some defensive facilities such as deer villages. The rider was not prepared, nor did he intend to defect and fight accordingly...

   This may be regarded as a tacit understanding that is still tacit at the moment.

As the Jiankun people gradually settled down around this place, these herdsmen on the grassland brought some vitality to this piece of land. Groups of herdsmen men shouted, rode horses and wore leather robes, Driving the cattle and sheep, and singing idylls with those herdsmen women from time to time...

  Wang Ling watched, then smiled, lowered his head and continued eating.

  Wang Ling believes that the possibility of Poshi Heyuan rebelling is really not high, but he wants an opportunity to hold Jiankun State tighter.

The pain that Jiankun has experienced before proves that the strength of an alliance structure that is too loose is very weak. If this time he can take the opportunity to form an alliance with most tribes and unify their affiliations, Jiankun can pull out a war of 30,000 to 40,000 at any time. strength. In this way, whether it is among the Eastern and Western Han people or in the desert, Jiankun will of course gain a better status.

   It's just that since Wang Ling is here, can Jiankun Kingdom's calculations be satisfactory?

   After eating and drinking, Wang Ling changed his clothes again, and headed to the Wang Tent in Poshi River.

  The king tent of the Poshihe family is naturally much larger than ordinary tents. After all, it is a large tribe with tens of thousands of people.

  This king's tent is composed of more than a dozen large cowhide tents, which are interconnected and multi-purpose for support. The largest space can accommodate dozens of people to gather in the king's tent.

  The large pillar in the center of the king's tent protrudes from the top of the tent, and above it flutters the king's flag representing Poshihe Yuanchang, with a blue background and white tassels, hunting and dancing.

  Looking from a distance, this king's tent is tall and majestic, and it is quite majestic. Although it is not comparable to the king's tent in the most powerful period of the Huns, at least it is much taller than the Southern Huns, but this impressive tent, when you look closely, is inevitably a bit shabby.

  The tent is a layer of cowhide, plus a layer of felt blanket, and there are many patches on it...

Jiankun migrated here, and the consumption of cattle and sheep along the way was astonishing. Even if the cattle, sheep and livestock were not counted, at least thousands of Jiankun people died on the road. Under such conditions, if As soon as Po Shi Heyuan took office, he said that he would renovate the king's tent first, so he wouldn't be able to sit in his position for a long time.

Someone had already reported that Wang Ling had just arrived in front of the tent when the curtain of Wang's tent was lifted from the inside. A tall and strong middle-aged man, who looked like a guard, strode out of the tent, stretched out his hand and stroked his chest as a salute, "I have seen you." Han envoy. 』

  Wang Ling nodded.

   Then Po Shihe Yuanchang also came out and invited Wang Ling to enter.

From the outside, it looks like this is a whole king's tent, but in fact, after entering the king's tent, you will find that in order to support such a large tent, pillars of all sizes are indispensable, and these pillars have no specific structure. The distribution is exquisite, resulting in poor light and ventilation, scattered pillars cut the light, and a strong smell of mutton rushes towards you.

  Wang Ling couldn't help but sneezed, then rubbed his nose.

  The felt blanket laid on the ground provides a certain degree of softness, but it can still be felt that the ground is not completely flat...

   Po Shi Heyuan greeted, "Please sit down, the envoy of the Han Dynasty!" Go drink! Get some snacks and dried fruit! 』

  Wang Ling thanked Po Shihe Yuanchang and sat down.

  Suddenly, Wang Ling somewhat understood why people like Jiankun seemed a little stubborn.

  Look around, look at the king's tent, and then look at the utensils in the king's tent, and you will understand that these Jiankun people have been out of this era for too long...

   Their impression of the big man may still be one or two hundred years ago.

  『I don’t know why the Han envoys came to find me. 』Poshi He Yuanchang pretended not to know anything, and said with a smile.

   For the Jiankun Kingdom, they were unwilling to accept the recruitment of the Han people.

   It is one thing for the Jiankun people in individual tribes to accept the recruitment of the Han people, but it is another thing to be recruited into the system.

  Jiankun people do not want to fall into the quagmire of war between Eastern and Western Han.

   This is what they fear most.

  Secondly, Jiankun people want to do business on both sides. Anyway, if it is the same item, it is better to buy from the other side.

   Of course this is the most ideal state.

  Which specific step can be achieved, or to what extent can it be achieved? In fact, Po Shihe Yuanchang has no definite idea in his mind.

  Wang Ling looked at Poshi He Yuanchang, smiled and said: "In Chang'an, some dull people once said to the general Hushi that you Jiankun didn't follow orders, so just kill them..."

  Po Shi Heyuan listened, his heart skipped a beat, and then he realized, "Huh? Uh...then the General of Hussars is so smart and wise, surely he won't listen to the advice of these stupid people...』

  Wang Ling chuckled, "Kill all of them, of course it's not okay, after all, our hussars general has a kind heart and kindness to the world... But there are also some suggestions, we should kill half and keep the other half..."

  Po Shi Heyuan finally couldn't hold back the smile on his face, pulled it down and asked in a deep voice: "Is the Han envoy here to threaten the king?" 』

  Wang Ling still looked calm, "This is not a threat... respected King Jiankun, this is reality..."

"Reality? 』Po Shihe Yuanchang repeated.

  Wang Ling nodded, "Dear King Jiankun, have you ever seen the wolf king on the grassland negotiate with a group of cattle and sheep? 』

  Po Shi Heyuan took a deep breath, and suddenly fell silent.

  In the king's tent, candles made of tallow and tallow were burning and shaking, as if they were exuding the unyielding cries of cattle and sheep after they died, and they seemed to be hiding under the light and crying about their suffering.

  What Wang Ling said is indeed true.

  Weak country, no diplomacy.

"However..." Wang Ling smiled, as if his smile hadn't changed from the beginning to the end, "The Hussar General respects the contributions made by the ancestors of the Jiankun royal family to the great man... so I am willing to give you another chance... Of course, you You can also choose to refuse. You know, the things that you think are very important are actually the same to us... and the very ordinary things on our side are very important to you... So I think, Dear King Jiankun, you may have misunderstood something... Like this time, I am not here to discuss, but to inform...』

  Wang Ling still smiled slightly, "Dear King Jiankun, do you understand?" 』

   Po Shi Heyuan was silent for a long time, and some smiles appeared on his face, "Ah, I understand, I understand... What orders does the great Hussar General have, please tell the Han envoy..."

  Wang Ling nodded, slowly talked about the matters that Fei Qian had informed, and then said that the official documents would come in two days, and Po Shihe Yuanchang could choose whatever he wanted.

  Of course, different choices will result in different prices.

Po Shi He Yuanchang personally sent Wang Ling out of the big tent, and then watched Wang Ling get on his horse and return to his temporary residence with a smile on his face. Go inside the tent.

   Entering the big tent, the difference between the inside and outside atmosphere made Po Shihe Yuanchang, who was used to being in the big tent, feel a little stuffy. He couldn't help but took a few heavy breaths, and then punched a pillar.

  The column shook, and dust fell down.

  Po Shiheyuan ignored the dust falling on his body, and whispered: "Go and invite the elders to come here!" 』

  Wang Ling didn't force Po Shi Heyuan to make a decision on the spot, because Wang Ling had the confidence.

  But Poshihe Yuanchang did not have this confidence.

  Elder Jiankun arrived soon, and they all saluted Poshi Heyuan.

  『What did the Han envoy say? Some impatient, before sitting still, he asked, "Are the Han people going to conscript our sons, cattle and sheep?" This is absolutely unacceptable! 』

  Po Shiheyuan glanced at the impatient elder, "I don't like it. 』

"what? 』The impatient elder didn't hear clearly.

   Po Shi Heyuan took a deep breath, and said almost word by word: "Han people, look down on them!" Do you understand? 』

The impatient elder nodded first, then became furious, and after jumping up violently, his face was flushed, but in the end he didn't say anything or do anything, sat down slumped, and repeated in a murmur, "Don't you see?" Up...ha, I can't look down on...」

  『Alas...』 The elder with gray hair and beard sitting on the other side sighed, 『In the past, we were stronger on horseback, but now... ouch...』

  『Why are you depressed? ! We have our advantages! 』Some people feel unconvinced.

  『Then tell me, what do you say we have? ’ The elder with the white beard sneered.

  『We have war horses! Excellent steed! 』

  『The Han people also have horses from Dawan! 』

  『We have cattle and sheep! 』

  『The Han people have, there are many Xiongnu and Qiang people, all of whom are shepherding sheep for the Han people...』

  『We have craftsmen who know how to make bows and arrows best! 』

  『The Han people also have them. They have what is called a workshop. They don’t do anything every day, they just make soldiers, bows and arrows...』

  『We have vigorous sons and unyielding warriors! 』

  『Okay, let it be, but with this warrior, do you want to fight to the death with the Han people, or do you want to fight for the Han people? 』

"I…"

   Then everyone fell silent.

  In the huge king's tent, the atmosphere was like frozen ice, weighing heavily on everyone's head.

   I don't know how long it took before someone asked Po Shihe Yuanchang, "My king, the envoy of the Han Dynasty...what conditions did you say?" 』

  『Huh...』 Poshi Heyuan took a deep breath, as if he wanted to spit out the boredom in his chest, "It's not a condition, it's a notification... There will be an official text in two days... Do you understand? This is the attitude of the Han Hussar General towards us...either we are his subordinates and obey orders, or we are his enemies and start a war...we are not qualified to negotiate conditions...』

  『Why? ! 』

  『Because we can’t beat it! 』

  『We are not vassals! 』

  『Is it possible that you still want to be the master of the Han people? what! 』

  『At worst, let’s go! Let's go back to the North Desert! 』

"You go back? Don't you ask your followers, how many people are willing to go back to that cold place again! 』

  『Which side are you on? We Jiankun people, or a spy sent by the Han people! 』

  『I think you look like a spy! I just want to lead us Jiankun people to the road of death! 』

  『…』

  The elders became confused again.

"Shut up! Shut up! Poshi Heyuan shouted loudly, "Didn't you hear what I said?" ! Han people look down on us! Do you know what it is to look down upon? ! In terms of money and food reserves, I heard that the Han people have already started to build ten-year warehouses! Do you know what a ten-year warehouse is? It is to store food and grass that can be eaten even if there is a famine for ten years! As for us, how many cattle and sheep will die in a year of white disasters and black disasters? ! In terms of armed combat, the Han people welcome us to do it at any time! The Han envoy said that the Han soldiers in Hedong have not been able to win the meritorious service of the first level for a long time! Do you know what is the first level of meritorious service? It's our heads! One head, one meritorious service! Moreover, males are still required, old and young, women and children are not counted! Therefore, the soldiers in the Northeast of the Han River are eager for our heads! Some Han people are already calculating, saying that if we do it, how many merits and rewards we will get! 』

Poshi Heyuan finished a long list of words in one breath, and he couldn't help feeling a little short of breath. He sat on the head, looked at the elders around him, gasped for a while, and then continued, "Of course, we have another layer of identity, which is our identity." Our ancestors are Han Chinese, so the Han people didn’t completely regard us as people in the desert, so they didn’t do anything...』

   Po Shi Heyuan said in a deep voice, "However, the first condition is that we must accept the order of the Hussar General..."

  『So... what do the Han people want? 』

Poshi Heyuan was silent for a while, as if he was recalling, and he seemed to be organizing his words, "The Han envoy said that we are not forbidden to sell war horses, but we must have a sales guide for war horses. Go to Chang'an to get them, and how many war horses you have received. , how many war horses can be sold... as well as skins, horns, tendons, etc., first report the quantity, pay the sales tax, and then sell it, how much it sells is our business, but if it is sold without proof, it will be punished according to smuggling …It’s not just us Jiankun people who are like this, the Hu merchants in the Western Regions, and the Han merchants in the east are all the same...』

  The elders were all taken aback, and there was some hesitation among each other. It took a long time before someone asked: "Then this tax..."

  Po Shihe Yuanchang said: "It's all the same, everything is the same!" Same as everyone else! Different horse grades, different rubber horns, according to the standards set by the Han people... Then there will be random checks... If the goods are found to be different from the ones cited, they will also be dealt with as smuggled...』

   "It seems...it's okay..." The elders began to chatter, as if they had completely forgotten the state of righteous indignation towards the Han people before.

"Also, the Han people will set up a large, fixed market in the cloud...The Han traders on the other side of the market are also well-recognized, and there will be no more problems of low prices and fake goods...In addition, because of the previous There is a language barrier between us and the Han people. The Han people gave us ten places to study in Chang’an, the Han people, and do interpreters... The Han people will also send some interpreters here, and teach our children some basics for free. After all, our ancestors were also Han Chinese, so how could we not understand Chinese...』

  『This…』The elders looked at each other.

They originally thought that the Han envoys put forward very harsh conditions, such as how many cattle, sheep and livestock they wanted, and how many vassal soldiers to participate in the war, just like the Huns treated them back then. There's something unbelievable about it.

  Poshi Heyuan looked around and sighed, "I called you here just to discuss... Is there any trap here..."

  (end of this chapter)