The cold winter is gone with the arrival of the spring breeze. Although spring in the northwest is not much different from winter, everyone is sincerely happy to see the recovery of all things.
The new year has begun.
Last year has gone with the cold winter, and a new round of expansion in the northwest has begun. Except for the specially left pastures on the Qingxi grassland, all other places have been turned into farmland.
In many places, saplings improved by Xiliang farmers have been planted along rivers. After the improvements made by Xiliang farmers, these saplings can grow on the grasslands.
As the saplings grew, new grass was planted around them, and neat farmland was opened up as villages emerged.
As the guard of Qingxi Grassland, Zhuo Bufan saw with his own eyes how this grassland was transformed bit by bit by them.
He thought he was sent here, but after arriving at the Qingxi Grassland, Zhuo Bufan discovered that managing the place gave him a sense of accomplishment far more than cultivating himself.
He watched cities rise from the ground under his governance, and places that were once desolate were turned into fertile farmland where countless people could live and work in peace and contentment.
There were also those who had no home to live in and were given a new life under his arrangement.
Only then did he realize that besides practicing, there were so many things that people could do. What he learned in the Sword Sect was not only useful in practicing, but also in governing the country.
He showed everything he had learned in his life, and the old prince was not embarrassed by Prime Minister Li. After handing over all military power, everyone in the old prince's lineage not only got reuse, but as long as they stayed safe, no one was settled by the queen.
On the contrary, with the development of Xiliang, those people have continuously become richer by relying on the wealth they have accumulated in the past, but everyone is also very law-abiding.
Because they knew very well that there was only one ruler in Xiliang, and there was only one person in the ruling class, and that was Li Xiang, the king of Xiliang.
They have seen too many forces that were directly uprooted by Xiliang because of their arrogance. In Xiliang, as long as you keep to yourself, pay all the taxes you should pay, and don't cause trouble.
Xiliang basically doesn't care about you. After the initial panic, the old prince became happy and took the two young princes from Jiuyuan City to Qingqing Grassland.
Xiliang King Li Xiang did not stop them, but sent troops to escort them. When they arrived at Qingxi Fortress, a palace was built for them to live.
Only then did Zhuo Bufan realize how unbearable his thoughts were before. In the past, he was always worried that Li Xiang would be unfavorable to King Jiuyuan, and wanted to use his talents to protect the old prince and the others.
After such a long time, he realized that the things he was worried about were nothing to worry about.
Li Xiang's mind was far more generous than he expected. Although Jiuyuan Prince's Palace was taken away by Li Xiang, all the treasures in Jiuyuan Palace returned to the hands of the old Prince Jiuyuan a year later.
Ryo treats these people very well.
This made him work even harder.
Since the last battle with the Qing Tribe, the relationship between the Qing Tribe and Xiliang has been tense. There has been no more war between the two sides, but anyone with a discerning eye can see the problems between the two.
You can often see the Xiliang army and the Qing tribe's army confronting each other at the junction, and neither of them is willing to retreat a little.
Over there, although the two sides have not established fortifications such as fortresses, they can clearly see military camps. Once the other side makes any moves.
The troops in the military camp are ready to respond immediately and are on war alert.
It's not that the Qing tribe doesn't want to fight with Xiliang, but they haven't found any good opportunities. They know that not long after Xiliang entered Qingxi Grassland, it is the best time for them to take action.
However, there has been constant friction on the front line between the prairie and the Daqian army, and all the tribes' armies are preparing for that side.
Coupled with the emergence of the chaotic world, they were even more powerless and could only allow the Xiliang army to develop on the Qingxi grassland.
"Report!"
"Say!" Zhuo Bufan raised his head and said.
"Master Qi, the Qing tribe has sent an envoy." The soldier said quickly: "The other party said they have a deal they want to make with our army."
"Making a deal?" A question mark appeared on Zhuo Bufan's forehead: "What business can we do in Xiliang with them? Although we have a lot of food, we will never sell it to them."
Not selling food to the grassland people was a policy Li Xiang had set from the beginning. In the northwest, anyone who dared to sell food to the grassland people would be awaiting revenge from the Xiliang army.
There is no shortage of food in Xiliang's granary. Many people in the city usually go to Xiliang's granary to buy food. Some distant businessmen even come to the northwest to buy food.
Anyone who purchases grain on a large scale will be investigated by Xiliang. Anyone who has anything to do with the prairie people will not be able to purchase grain.
Even if you can buy it, you can only buy a little enough rations for yourself for a month.
As for the idea of purchasing grain through common people and then collecting it collectively, don't even think about it, because the common people in Xiliang also buy enough grain.
Each household will purchase food according to its population, and will be given at most a little more, which is enough food for a month and a half. No more can be purchased.
If you want to buy again, you have to wait a month.
This prevents the other party from purchasing grain through civilians, and the people who collect grain will also be inspected. Although Xiliang no longer collects agricultural taxes, any chamber of commerce that purchases grain must first pass Xiliang's investigation before it can go to Xiliang Go up to the earth to buy grain.
The grassland people also know that Xiliang has a large amount of grain, and they have wanted to trade with Xiliang a long time ago, and wanted to use the wool, mutton and other things on the grassland to exchange for grain.
Unfortunately, none of them were successful.
"This subordinate doesn't know!"
"Then go and bring me the messenger!" Zhuo Bufan tidied up the things on the table. Many things were not convenient for outsiders to see.
Soon a woman followed the soldier and came to the study. Zhuo Bufan looked up and was a little surprised. He stood up and said, "Isn't this Princess Gulina? I don't know why the princess is here?"
Gu Lina smiled and nodded at Zhuo Bufan and said, "I didn't expect that General Zhuo would still remember me?"
"How could Zhuo forget!" Zhuo Bufan made a gesture of invitation: "Please sit down."
Gu Lina sat on the guest seat without courtesy. Zhuo Bufan asked: "I didn't know Princess Gu Lina was coming. Does Prince Qing know about it?"
In the middle of the year for the prairie people, the tribal chiefs of the seven major tribes on the prairie were canonized as kings, and the Golden Family was proclaimed emperor. They were completely in opposition to Dagan.
This also caused the tribes that were originally opposed to falling out with Da Gan to join the grassland family. Now the entire grassland has been tied together, but if there is no external force, they may kill each other.
These are not what Xiliang has to consider. Zhuo Bufan looked at Gu Lina. This beautiful woman in front of him was not a simple person. Not only was he related to the grassland shaman, his father was the king of the Qing Tribe, the Qing King.
His mother's status is even more noble. She is the most powerful black tribe king among the seven tribes and the only queen among the seven tribes.
Her strength is at the Grand Master level. This status makes her very unique among the Qing tribe. She is very ambitious and has good wrist skills.
However, judging from the information, her father didn't like her very much. It's not that he didn't like her, but he was somewhat unwilling to let her have power.
Since ancient times, the Qing tribe has always had men serve as tribal leaders, and Gulina wants to become a tribal leader, if Gulina can get the rights.
Maybe the Qing Tribe will become like the Black Tribe. Although it is not an embarrassing thing for a woman to be the head of the family, there is also the Black King of the Black Tribe.
But that's because the former leader of the Black Tribe died tragically and had no successors. The whole family was full of people who couldn't hold up the wall. The Black King had no choice but to become the leader of the tribe and is now training the family's descendants.
Power will eventually fall into the hands of men.
The Qing Tribe is not like the Black Tribe. Although some of the Qing Tribe's patriarch's sons are mediocre, they are not helpless people. Naturally, they will not let the power of the tribe fall into the hands of a woman.
Therefore, Gulina's development in the Qing Tribe is not very good. King Qing plans to marry Gulina to the third prince of the Golden Family. With the support of their Qing Tribe and Black Tribe, the third prince will definitely become the head of the Golden Family and the Prairie Empire. of the emperor.
This is a political marriage, and Gulina has always opposed it. But as she gets older, she has fewer and fewer reasons to refuse, and some people in the Black Tribe are also preparing to take back power from the Black King, so her mother I can't take care of her for the moment.
This puts more and more pressure on Gu Lina.
"I came here to cooperate with you!" Gulina said, "I just don't know if General Zhuo can make the decision!"
"Since you don't know if I can make the decision, why did Princess Gulina come to me?" Zhuo Bufan spread his hands and said with a smile, "Then why don't we just let it go?"
Zhuo Bufan just wants to manage the Qingxi grassland well, so if there is any entanglement with the Qing tribe, there will be less entanglement.
Because Xiliang has no preparations for war with the prairie side now, he just came back from Jiuyuan City not long ago.
Xiliang's expansion direction this year is in the Central Plains. Wang is planning to capture Liangzhou and Bingzhou, which may take about two or three years.
In other words, within two or three years, Xiliang will need stability on the grassland, so if possible, we can minimize the trouble.
It is best if both sides do not invade each other.
Gulina was speechless for a moment, the man in front of her was a little choked when she spoke, but this time she was asking for something, so she suppressed the anger in her heart.
"I wonder if General Zhuo is interested in gold mines?" Gu Lina said.
"Gold mine?" Zhuo Bufan looked at Gu Lina: "Princess Gu Lina is not joking, is she? Did you discover a gold mine on the grassland?"
Xiliang lacks a lot of gold. Zhuo Bufan knows this very well. Xiliang spends a lot of gold and silver every year. He doesn't know where the gold and silver go. In short, it is very scarce.
Gu Lina saw hope in Zhuo Bufan's eyes. She smiled and said, "It's a large gold mine. I wonder if General Zhuo would be interested in it?"
Zhuo Bufan sat upright: "I'm very interested. If this has something to do with the Qing tribe, then I'm sorry, I don't have the right to get involved."
Zhuo Bufan would not involve the Qingxi grassland army in the war for the sake of the gold mine. A large gold mine was not yet attractive enough to involve the entire Qingxi grassland army in the war.
The war in Xiliang consumes real gold and silver. The outcome of a war is extraordinary. I don’t know how much gold and silver the Lord needs to spend. In short, it will definitely not be less than ten million taels. Plus the consumption of food, weapons and equipment, and death in battle.
Compensation.
After a war, this man knows how much it will cost!
Moreover, Xiliang is about to fight on two fronts. Coupled with the army of ghosts and monsters in the west and the ferocious beasts in the north, there are too many places to start the war, and it is no longer possible to support the Qingxi Grassland side to start the war.
Gulina smiled and shook her head: "This gold mine has nothing to do with the Qing Army."
"Then I don't know how the princess plans to cooperate. Also, I want to know where the gold mine is and why the princess wants to cooperate with me instead of your father or mother?" Zhuo Bufan was not dazzled by the gold.
, the more gold mines, the better for every force.
Free pies will not fall from the sky, and even if free pies do fall, don’t eat them, because free ones are the most expensive.
"I don't want my father and mother to know about this gold mine!" Gu Lina said slowly: "This is a large mineral vein discovered accidentally by my men. I can guarantee that only I know about it. No one except you and me.
Know that vein.
This gold mine is not far from your Qingxi Grassland, in the Liangyuan Canyon. The specific location can only be told to you after you and I reach an agreement.
For some reasons, I cannot let my father and mother know about this mine, nor can I let the people of the Qing tribe know about it, so I want to cooperate with you!"
Gulina was also helpless. Except for the hundreds of people she had recruited, everyone else under her command had more or less connections with her father and mother. Once she let them know about the gold mine, she would get nothing.
She also controlled several tribes, and indeed many people were loyal to her, but she did not dare to let those people know that no one could resist the temptation of gold.
This gold was related to her rise, but if she let her parents know, she would get nothing, so she had no choice but to look for Xiliang.
Although she will lose some gold for this, it is better than getting nothing at all.
"You mean you want me, Xiliang, to help you mine gold?" Zhuo Bufan immediately reacted: "Then I wonder how the income from this mining will be divided?"
"Fifty-five!" Gu Lina said.
"Fifty-fifty? This is a little inappropriate, after all, I, Xiliang, take care of all mining matters, and Princess Gulina, you just provided a piece of information!"
"I only provided one piece of information, but General Zhuo, don't forget. Without this information, you will never find the location of the gold mine. Moreover, the Liangyuan Canyon is under the control of our Qing tribe. Without my help, you can't enter."
go!"
Zhuo Bufan frowned: "This matter is of great importance, can you allow me to think about it more?"
"No problem!" Gu Lina nodded with a smile.
"Okay!" Zhuo Bufan shouted to the outside: "Here comes someone!"
Two soldiers from the Xiliang Headquarters walked in and Zhuo Bufan said: "Princess Gu Lina will go to Huaqing Garden to rest!"
Gu Lina left with two Xiliang headquarters soldiers. Zhuo Bufan looked at Gu Lina's back and smiled. The gold mine may be real, but mining?
Although there are many people in Xiliang, they are not cannon fodder, and none of them are stupid.
