Seven Hundred and Seventy-Four: 4 Kills, Layout (4)

Before Jiang Pengji ran to join the alliance, she gave Wei Ci a secret mission.

Now that the alliance is coming to an end, the caravans dispatched by Wei Ci are arriving in northern Xinjiang one after another from different routes.

The three ethnic groups in northern Xinjiang were stunned by the sudden horse plague. Not only did their military strength suffer, but their economy also collapsed.

The big horse farm was seriously damaged, and the imperial court gave some subsidies and support, but the small horse farm and ordinary herdsmen were in bad luck.

Several caravans entered the border of northern Xinjiang and were surprised to see a depressing scene. It was no longer the lively and prosperous place it once was.

"How long has it been? How come Northern Xinjiang has become like this?"

Not only do they want to know this question, but countless herdsmen in Northern Xinjiang who have lost their families also want to know - why it has become like this!

Before the horse plague occurred, Northern Xinjiang was a serious concern of Dongqing.

To the eyes of Northern Xinjiang, Dongqing is just a piece of fat meat stained with blood, and sooner or later they will bite it into pieces and swallow it into their belly.

After the horse plague, everything changed.

First, war horses contracted the disease and died suddenly, with less than 10% to 20% surviving. Then the horse plague spread further, affecting ordinary horses.

The quality of ordinary horses is not as good as that of carefully bred war horses. After the horse plague rages, the mortality rate reaches a shocking rate of 1 in 100!

"...You also know that since this great king came to power, he has integrated the three tribes in Northern Xinjiang, which has greatly increased the combat power of Northern Xinjiang. The King of the Imperial Court is not satisfied with this, and is still ambitious... He has been cultivating war horses in recent years. Just to attack Dongqing? In order to breed a large number of war horses in a short period of time, the imperial court even issued an edict to encourage ordinary herdsmen to raise a large number of horses. Ordinary herdsmen can buy foals from horse farms, and then sell them to the horse farms after the foals are grown. Many. Herdsmen make profits from it, attracting more and more herdsmen to feed..."

"Many herdsmen saw the profits and sold their cattle and sheep to raise horses. Many people borrowed money to raise horses..."

Having said this, the old man of the caravan clicked his tongue, his hoarse voice a little more gloating.

"Now there is a horse plague, and all the horses that ordinary herders have raised for a year or two have died."

Everyone gasped.

They finally understood that for many herdsmen in northern Xinjiang, horses are money.

A horse plague wiped out all their hard work and money.

After working hard for several years, I didn't make any money. Instead, I lost all my pants.

Except for those with rich families, many ordinary herdsmen are too poor to eat, and countless people have lost their families and died.

At this time, a businessman sighed, "It's pitiful..."

Some people disagreed and sneered, "Why are they pitiful? It's clearly the Northern Xinjiang Imperial Court that has done too much. If they weren't so ambitious, how could the herdsmen be persuaded to stop raising cattle and sheep and instead raise war horses? Now that horse plague has been caused, it can be seen that It was God who opened his eyes."

At the beginning, ordinary herdsmen mostly herded sheep and cattle and raised few horses.

Because of the repeated calls from the Northern Xinjiang Imperial Court, the herdsmen reduced the number of sheep and cattle and instead raised a large number of horses.

If not, these herdsmen would not have been reduced to the point where their families were ruined.

It was clearly the fault of the Northern Xinjiang Imperial Court, but in the end, ordinary people had to foot the bill.

"Shut up." Everyone was shocked when they heard this and quickly warned, "This is the northern border. If the barbarians hear it, you want to die, right?"

The caravan traveled for a while and received very few sheepskins, rabbit skins, mutton jerky and rabbit jerky.

"Herdsmen don't raise sheep much anymore. How much dry food can we receive?"

Looking at the dry goods collected, many people looked sad.

After collecting for so many days, they only received such a small amount. How will they deliver the goods in the future?

"Didn't I tell you that we should charge as much as we have? Anyway, we don't have to worry about sales, we just need to collect. If we charge more or less, we will make a profit."

Even so, several caravans visited the three tribes in Northern Xinjiang and received less than 20,000 sheepskins and rabbit skins.

If it had been left in the past, a casual collection would have yielded 30,000 to 40,000 sheepskin and rabbit skins, and even more mutton and rabbit jerky.

These caravans ranged in size, and they seemed like normal caravans, but they did not attract official attention. In addition to sheepskins and rabbit skins, they also purchased many specialties unique to Northern Xinjiang, and talked privately with ordinary herdsmen. We agreed to pick it up again in two or three months.

Having said that, Caravan is not optimistic about the prospects of its next acquisition.

"I've gone to countless houses for these goods... Next time I come here, I probably won't be able to get even a single piece of mosquito meat..."

They purchased all the goods they could and almost cleared away the reserves in the homes of ordinary herdsmen.

If they come back to purchase in two or three months, they will pay a high price, but the herdsmen will not be able to produce the goods.

A businessman interjected, "In a while, the pastures in northern Xinjiang will be plentiful, and the herdsmen can raise more rabbits and sheep... Anyway, all the horses they raised have died, and the pastures are just left alone. Raise some little beasts that can feed the family.”

If they no longer find a way to feed their families, these unlucky herdsmen will be so hungry that they will eat grass.

The businessman continued, "Look at it, rabbits are good. They give birth to strong young and raise them quickly."

The growth cycles of sheep and rabbits are different. You cannot raise many of them in two or three months, but you can raise rabbits.

If you want to have enough food and clothing in a short time, raising rabbits is a good choice.

The pasture in Beijiang is so big and there is grass everywhere. It is very convenient to raise rabbits without having to worry about feeding them.

At this time, someone put forward different opinions.

"According to what you said, they only raise rabbits, so we can only collect rabbits. I don't know how much money we will lose in one trip."

The leader of the caravan clicked his tongue and said nonchalantly, "We are rich in Marushu and like these things... We can do business along the way and make twice as much money every time we go back and forth. We won't suffer any losses. Mosquitoes are still meat no matter how small they are. Harvest rabbit skins The profit from rabbit meat is small, but it adds up to a lot.”

"...But..." someone hesitated, "No matter how rich Marushu is, we can't keep doing loss-making business..."

The caravan's discussion gradually faded away.

Not only did these merchants not know the purpose of Maruzhou, but even the people in Maruzhou didn't know what medicine was sold in the gourd.

"What on earth did my lord ask you to do? It's time for spring plowing now. If you harvest sheep and rabbit skins, I'm afraid they will rot in your hands."

Feng Jin stared coldly for a while, still unable to guess Wei Ci's true intention.

Naturally, Wei Ci couldn't disclose the specific content. The fewer people who knew the plan, the better.

If Feng Jin and the others guessed it themselves, that would be a different matter.

Wei Ci shook his head and said, "This matter is a secret. Without the permission of the lord, Ci cannot reveal anything. If Huaiyu is curious, wait for the lord and others to return in triumph, and you can ask her again about sheepskins and rabbit skins... Even though spring plowing is about to begin, But the purchased sheepskin and rabbit skins are not useless. Now, the entire Marushu has been brought under the lord's command, and the number of people is much more than that of Xiangyang County. If we don't make preparations for the cold in the coming winter as early as possible, when the time comes Aren't you in a panic? Just think of us as preparing for a rainy day and making plans for the coming year." To find this site, please search "" or enter the URL: