"When they invaded Youzhou some time ago, Yang Miaozhen and the others intercepted a caravan, you know this."

Zhou Shaoyu said, waving the small hoe in his hand to dig out a black stone, picked it up and looked at it, only to find that it was not coal. Come to think of it, it's so easy to find. It's not that I didn't let people ask the locals in Bingzhou, but basically they all shook their heads and didn't know, either they heard unreliable rumors from somewhere, or even if there was really coal, it was not the kind that was very easy to mine.

Unless you have paid special attention to or engaged in this aspect at the beginning, no one really pays attention to the problem of coal mines.

"I heard a little." Ainul was a little puzzled, and didn't know what Zhou Shaoyu said had to do with her.

"In fact, later, Yang Miaozhen wanted to pretend to be a caravan to go to Yunjing City to make waves, but because the vigilance in the city failed, he never thought that the batch of goods was traded out and made a lot of money, if it weren't for this, the reconstruction work of Yundale City might not have started so quickly." Zhou Shaoyu stopped and observed the surroundings.

This area is not remote, and the distance from Cloudsdale is relatively close to the rumored location of other coal mines, that is, it is just a few more mountains. Zhou Shaoyu didn't have any expectations for this, because he felt that there was no reason why he couldn't find out at such a close distance. And the reason why he still came was because the Xuanyang Mountain man swore that there would be coal here.

As for the basis, it is just to look at the topographic map of this area, and then calculate the conclusion.

It's really mysterious.

By the way, another team of people exploring iron ore is also led by Xuanyang Mountain people.

At first, I thought it was a man, and I had a bit of a close relationship with Qin Liangyu, but I never thought that someone was a woman at all. A beautiful female Taoist priest dressed as a man, and claimed to be from Xuanyang Mountain after finishing her work, you say that it is rare or not.

Contributions are naturally there, not to mention, many times the calculation is quite accurate, of course, it is impossible to believe it all, and it is more of a good omen for the picture. The main contribution is that she and the same sect she brought with her do have some ability in medical skills, and the medical affairs of the state are handed over to her.

"And according to the current intelligence, the Great Liang side has imposed a strict trade blockade on the Turkic side." Zhou Shaoyu's speed of speech is not fast, mainly because it is purely a current compilation, since he intends to convince people, he naturally has to be highly credible, of course, it is better to make it more perfect, and the speed of speech is slower, so it is better to seize the time to think.

"If Gao Yuyao is still staying in Jinling, the capital division, a ban is probably a joke, the so-called Tiangao Emperor is far away, and no one is willing to give up so much of it. But the problem is that Gao Yuyao is staying in Licheng with a large army, and the current main generals under his command are all from the poor family, and most of them are newly promoted, not only Gao Yuyao's henchmen, but also those old interest groups in the court, so this article has been well implemented. ”

Hearing this, Ainul was stunned for a moment and wondered: "In that case, why can the caravan still be intercepted." ”

"It's simple, because that's what Gao Yuyao secretly sent." Zhou Shaoyu smiled, even if Yang Miaozhen and the others did not get information under torture at the beginning, as long as they analyzed it in detail, they could basically guess whose caravan it belonged to. "The most profitable business in this world is monopoly, Gao Yuyao used her power to do this very well, and on the other hand, not to mention anything else, you Turks are indispensable for tea alone."

Tea is a hard need, the grassland is dominated by dairy food and meat, drinking tea will have the effect of eliminating greasy and helping digestion, and can also eliminate sleepiness and relieve fatigue, moisturize the throat, and make up for other nutritional deficiencies. There is a saying that 'it is better to have no food for three days than no tea for a day', which refers to the herdsmen living on the grassland, which shows the importance of tea.

It can be said that for the grassland side, tea can be called a strategic trade product. Of course, fine silk cloth or porcelain is also a very popular commodity.

"Gao Yuyao's idea is very good, and it's no wonder that she stopped moving after getting Licheng, and I only figured it out later, I have to say, that girl is really thoughtful and smart." Zhou Shaoyu praised it, but Ainur felt weird, she was also the Empress Dowager of Daliang, and she actually called her 'that girl' directly, and there was no one else.

I only heard Zhou Shaoyu say again: "And what we have to do is to use the situation established by Gao Yuyao to earn the benefits that belong to us." ”

Ainul is not interested in business, but he can't figure it out at all, so he has to wait for Zhou Shaoyu to continue to solve his doubts.

"It's impossible to completely blockade, there are always people who are willing to take risks under huge benefits, but there are only a handful of people who can finally break through the barrier and trade, so the big head still belongs to Gao Yuyao. And as long as Gao Yuyao is not stupid, he will never trade enough goods, because once Ashina Huqin and the tribes under his command buy a large amount of materials and then hoard them, then it will be extremely unfavorable for Gao Yuyao's side to trade in the future.

So the best way is to hang, the trade will continue, but it will not be much each time, just stuck on a line, barely enough demand, and even almost, so as to continue to force Ashina Huqin to continue to spend high prices to buy from Gao Yuyao.

Of course, the Turks can also find other things, such as trading with Silla or Dongwa, but don't forget that Gao Yuyao's sailors have taken shape, even if the current Liang is far less than before, and these two countries are no longer so respectful, but for them, the Liang is a behemoth after all, and if it is not necessary, they will never choose to offend and go to war.

Once the sea is blocked, only Silla can trade by land, but this line will take a long time, and the cost will increase significantly, and then the final transaction price will also rise, and in the end it is estimated that it is far higher than the price given by Gao Yuyao.

Well, what do you think when you hear that? ”

Ainul furrowed his eyebrows, and seemed to understand something, such as through commerce and trade, he can also indirectly control a lot of things in a country. Of course, if the time and situation are changed, Gao Yuyao will definitely be difficult to blockade, but now it is different, the northern border, Youzhou is occupied by the Turks, needless to mention, and the annexed state under the control of Zhou Shaoyu is temporarily lacking in resources and cannot carry out large-scale trade.

As for Yongzhou further west, after passing through the successive disasters of the Turks and the Western Regions, it is also in a state of ruin, and there is not much output, and the other territories in the hands of Xiao Yao's wife, even if they want to trade, they must be prioritized with the Western Regions, otherwise if they are just squeezed, the countries of the Western Regions will have problems sooner or later.

In this way, Gao Yuyao can be regarded as a complete monopoly business.

It's just, what does this have to do with yourself? Ainul thought.

"It is true that we are not rich, although Tanzhou can take out a large number of materials for trading, but it is not at all easy to transport them from afar, but it is not so much that nothing cannot be sold." Zhou Shaoyu This is the truth, at least there is Jingzhou and Yuzhou in the middle, such a long-distance caravan transportation, it will definitely not be able to hide people, even if people do not intercept it, I am afraid that the news of the final sale to the Turks will be exposed sooner or later, which is not conducive to the image that Zhou Shaoyu has established so far.

"There are many Turkic tribes, and now they all nominally respect Ashina Khuqin Khan and listen to his orders, but it may not be necessary to say that they are dead. And Ashina Huqin is also a human being, when facing various tribes, there are also far and near, in the face of limited materials, it is natural to divide more and less, in the long run, what do you think those tribes who can't share what materials will think? ”

Ainur thought for a while, became even more puzzled, and said, "Could it be that according to your intentions, you are trying to win over that part of the tribe by means of trade and trade?" It's ...... too."

I'm embarrassed to say it, it's too direct, but it's also true, not to mention that it's just a transaction, even if it's a free gift, it's impossible to want people to secretly switch to the camp. In the final analysis, Ashina Huqin still has a certain prestige, and no one dares to rebel easily, and the ending is too beautiful to think.

Perhaps the proportion of the young and strong population of the entire Turkic has been decreasing, but the army of Ashina Huqin has suffered the least losses, so that the Ashina tribe has further gained an advantage and is more and more afraid to resist.

Of course, these tribes are not stupid, they have indeed been forcibly conscripted again and again, and the young and strong are indeed missing again and again, but they will never easily shake the fundamentals, and they are bound to have reservations, at least to ensure a certain amount of self-preservation. Maybe they can join forces when Ashina Huqin loses power, but they will never rebel easily because of some resources.

"Who said it was going to be wooed?" Zhou Shaoyu is not stupid, and it is unreliable to use co-optation to fool. "Because we entered the grassland to harass, so that the strength of the greatly reduced troops have to go into the depths of the grassland to carry out nomadic herding, but in the same way, it is more troublesome to want to attack, even if you are familiar with the grassland, you may not dare to 100% guarantee a big victory, and in the event of an accident, the whip is out of reach, and there is no support to evacuate will increase the loss. In that case, why not just lure them out?

The lack of materials can be endured for a short time, but it is not good for a long time, compared to what you have seen, now there has been some trade in the market compared to the past, which is enough to prove that some tribes can no longer sit still, and have to come out on their own to find cooperative transactions.

At this point, you don't have to do anything. Don't woo, don't complain, just make friends, put on a posture of understanding and be willing to trade. At that time, some tribes in the steppe will be chaotic themselves. ”

"How?" Okay, Ainul is even more foggy.

"Easy." Zhou Shaoyu is confident. "The first batch of people to trade with you must have one thing in common, that is, they have the farthest relationship with Ashina Huqin, and therefore they have the least amount of materials and have to come out to trade, which also shows a problem, these tribes are the most unpopular group.

In this case, the steppe tribes are nomadic in the depths, that is, at great distances. Because they were afraid of being attacked, they naturally did not dare to come out on a large scale or even the entire tribe to trade, so only a part of the people and horses could be transported.

So the question is, with the rules of the jungle on your steppe, isn't it logical for other tribes to rob the materials of these unpopular tribes? After all, no one dislikes that they have few supplies, and the grassland is so big, who knows who did it? And even if you know, what? ”

Ainul's eyes lit up.

"If this continues, these tribes will have few choices, or endure it, but this is simply impossible, and no one can go without tea for a long time. Either they are forced to resist, and on their own, they obviously can't resist successfully, and at this time, as the only place with a clear banner against Ashina Huqin and can provide material transactions, I have become the best place to go? In other words, at that time, these tribes will naturally want to get closer to the market! ”

Zhou Shaoyu gave a thumbs up and said, "Smart." ”

What a ghost, Zhou Shaoyu also came up with it temporarily. But it has to be said that this does have a deep strategic purpose.

Gao Yuyao's blockade of trade was tantamount to stucking the Turks' necks, and at the same time making a lot of money. But at the same time, it also gave Zhou Shaoyu convenience. Although their supplies are not as abundant as those of Daliang, there is no need to target the entire Turks at the beginning of the fight, and they only need to concentrate on those tribes that lack supplies.

There is a famous saying in the Analects that does not suffer from a small number but suffers from unevenness.

And sitting in Ashina Huqin's position, it is impossible to divide it equally, not to mention his personal character, but that position forces him to have more benefits with the tribes close to him, so as to obtain the allegiance of these tribes. As for the tribes that don't want to be seen in the first place, it is natural to be left out in the cold.

After a long time, these tribes still don't have an opinion? That's it, it's a big deal to find a way to do it yourself. But what if you get it and get robbed? It doesn't matter if no one robs it, can't you send someone to make a show to grab a few waves?

In this way, the contradictions between the grassland tribes are bound to increase, and Ainul, who has a certain reputation and strength, has become the best place to take refuge. In this regard, it is absolutely beneficial for Ainur.

On the other hand, for Zhou Shaoyu, there is no harm.

As long as Ashina Huqin is still there, these new tribes, including Ainur, will not dare to enter the grassland easily, and during this time, increase cultural export, increase assimilation efforts, and strive to let them change from nomadic herding to settled farming, not all, as long as half of the people can change, that is progress.

From this point of view, Zhou Shaoyu would rather Ashina Huqin be stable for a longer time.

And at this time, in response to that sentence, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

At least Zhou Shaoyu won't want to start a war with Ashina Huqin now, which is not beneficial at all. And as long as he doesn't go to war, Gao Yuyao, who still wants to make money on the Turks, will not easily provoke a war.

Using Ashina Huqin to contain Ainur and make the latter firmly nailed to the border of the state is extremely in line with Zhou Shaoyu's strategy for long-term planning.

Don't look at the fact that all the grassland tribes are now hiding in the depths of nomadism, but this does not mean that the grassland close to the boundary of the state can make Ainur unscrupulous, and the incident of being attacked and disturbed as a result of entering the grassland to graze has happened more than once.

(End of chapter)