The Zhenbei Army's military pay has been tight for many years. Even if the prince now supervises the country, the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot be too harsh, and it is impossible to fill the previous holes at once.
Moreover, as the new year approaches again, every guard station has to find a way to raise military food and money, including the Guangbao Guard where he currently works.
Among the several large guardhouses, only Broken Gold Guards had the most money.
The newly built military houses made every soldier envious.
Xiao Zongqi knows what Broken Golden Guard was like before.
He saw with his own eyes that Broken Gold Guards couldn't even get fifty taels of silver as wages, and even had people block the camp gate. Now, only a year later, the military pay is no longer in arrears, and even his wife can be bought to live in a big way.
If he hadn't already been a powerful figure in Guangbao, he would definitely regret it.
Ruijin Town can live a good life, except for the military salary from the imperial court, and the role of the Song family is indispensable.
It was Song Liyun who first helped sell leather goods for the guards.
"Miss Song, if you want to come to the grassland to buy fur goods, why don't you ask Luo Baihu to issue a warrant, so that the patrol brothers from all over the place can help you take care of it without you having to worry about it."
Mr. Xiao led Song Liyun and Song Dekui to the tent next to them with an affable attitude.
Wu Dong and others were dumbfounded. Xiao Zongqi was transferred from Broken Gold Guard. He has always been arrogant and domineering, and rarely spoke to others so kindly.
Song Liyun couldn't tell her that she wanted to go to Mida Valley to inquire about her lover, so she could only say: "In addition to buying leather goods, I also want to contact some beef and mutton, so that I can purchase a large amount of them in stock next month."
When Mr. Xiao left Broken Golden Guard, the Song family only sold vegetables and acorn noodles, and resold some leather goods, and did not yet operate Tianxiang House.
Now when he heard that he wanted to buy mutton, he couldn't help but be surprised and said: "The mutton that Broken Golden Guard wants to eat comes from its own source, so you don't need to go to the grassland to buy it."
He also knew about the Wuda tribe, but he didn't know about Zhao Tingduo's marriage proposal.
Song Liyun smiled lightly and said: "I am now the steward of Tianxiang House in Qili County. Tianxiang House belongs to Jinwei and the county government. The business is good. Fresh mutton is needed every day. The live sheep sent by the guard alone are not enough."
Xiao Zongqi's eyes suddenly lit up. Of course he knew about Tianxiang House in Qili County. It was a big restaurant with a good name.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Zongqi recalled the military report from the past few months, which mentioned that Tianxianglou colluded with rogue bandits to commit the Suijin Town tragedy.
Tianxiang Tower has been taken over by Broken Gold Guards!
If the cattle and sheep of the Uda tribe are not enough to sell, how big a way to make money is that?
At this time, Mr. Xiao's heart was burning, and he looked at Song Liyun as if he were looking at the God of Wealth who could turn stone into gold.
Guangbao Guard is one or two hundred miles away from Ruijin Town. Like Ruijin Guard, it also guards the two mountain passes leading to the grassland from the Wu Dynasty.
Likewise, there is a small market here next to the health center.
In Xiao Zongqi's eyes, although the small market is not as good as Qili County, it is still better than the shabby Broken Gold Town.
As soon as he arrived in Guangbao, he took possession of the shop and let his family take care of it.
Either way, I can barely make more than one or two silver dollars a month.
Xiao Zongqi calculated that he controlled the cattle and sheep on the Xiaoba grassland, and if he could get the mutton purchase business from Song Liyun, he would have a good business that could guarantee the harvest during droughts and floods.
This place is also called Xiaoba Grassland. Because it is a pasture, not only Wu Dynasty herdsmen but also Di herdsmen come here. The Zhenbei Army patrols here all year round.
It's just that it's cold now, and the herdsmen of the Wu Dynasty have returned to the mountains to spend the winter. There are still Di tribes left on the grasslands. Where there are tribes, there are cattle and sheep...
He had not thought about whether the Di tribe would be willing to hand over their cattle and sheep. Anyway, allowing these barbarians to survive in Xiaoba until now was considered to be the tolerance of the Wu Dynasty.
Otherwise, the people will be left behind to raise sheep exclusively for the guards...
Ruijin Town and the Wuda Tribe are not exactly like this, they can do the same.
"Don't worry, Miss Song. Now your Uncle Xiao also has someone powerful in Guangbao. From now on, all the cattle and sheep in this atom will be mine. If you want it, just say it and you can come and get it at any time." Mr. Xiao Qi patted it.
Chest said.
Song Liyun raised her eyebrows. She had heard from Abu that herders basically relied on dairy products for their daily lives. Except for old cattle and sheep that were no longer fertile, cattle and sheep could not be slaughtered easily unless there was enough food.
Now Mr. Xiao wants to buy all the cattle and sheep of these Di tribes. If the problem of food is not solved, the people of a tribe may starve to death.
But now that Mr. Xiao is in the mood to make a big deal, she can't say too much. She just nodded and agreed: "Okay, if Tianxiang Tower needs mutton in the future, please ask Mr. Xiao for help."
When the man was found, Mr. Xiao was not in a hurry to return to the guard station. Instead, he asked the Kun tribe to kill a sheep and stew it in a pot.
In the evening, in the tent specially held for Song Liyun and Xiao Zongqi, a long table was set up with large pieces of cooked mutton and milk wine piled on it.
In addition to the two distinguished guests Song Liyun and Xiao Zongqi, Song Dekui and Wu Dong were also present.
The leader of the Kun tribe is called Balin, and he is in his thirties.
At this time, he took his wife, a beautiful woman, to serve the guests diligently and eat mutton.
Use a knife to cut the mutton from the bones into slices, then wrap some dark green grass sauce in a wooden bowl on the slices of meat, and you can eat it directly.
Song Liyun had tasted this way of eating at Wuda Camp at the mouth of Huangsha River Valley.
The beggar said that this was wild leek flower sauce unique to the grassland.
Salt and tea are precious commodities on the grasslands, and it is not easy for small tribes to buy them from caravans.
The wild leek flowers that bloom all over the grasslands in August have a special pungency, which can replace salt and satisfy the vitamin deficiency caused by the lack of vegetables.
Each tribe will collect and pound it into paste during this time, which can last for a year.
It was Song Dekui's first time on the grassland, and he was attracted by the strange food. He did not need anyone to wait on him, so he cut the meat and ate it by himself with a knife.
The leader Balin respectfully placed the slices of meat in front of Song Liyun and said in stiff Wu Dynasty language: "The fattest mutton is dedicated to the most distinguished guest."
Song Liyun nodded in thanks: "Thank you very much for your tribe's kindness!"
Bahrain offered mutton to Mr. Xiao Qi again, with the same words, and added: "General Xiao Qi, I hope you will take good care of me in the future!"
Mr. Xiao laughed loudly: "Don't worry, you just need to live here. If you are short of food, I can help you with it."
Bahrain immediately beamed with joy and thanked Mr. Xiao Qi again and again.
Song Liyun glanced at him: What does Bahrain mean? Doesn't he know that Mr. Xiao is already plotting against him?
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Bahrain said what he meant during the conversation.
After all, Bahrain is young and energetic, and much bolder than the old man from the Red Stone Tribe.
When the Mida Valley was in chaos, he took his family and tribe to Xiaoba Grassland.
This is both grassland and under the sword of Zhenbei Army.
Bahrain knew that the now prosperous Uda tribe was defeated in the grassland battle and was worse than his current tribe. In the end, it relied on the Wu Dynasty to survive and grow.
He also had this intention.
There are currently more than fifty men, women, and children in the Kun tribe. If they settle down and allow women to have children, the number of people in the tribe will definitely double in twenty years.