Chapter 708 Zhao Congfang opened his eyes when he saw the money
In Qunu City, the capital of North India, the Tang Army led by Zhao Congfang was stationed opposite the Brahmin Temple. This was originally a residential area for the rich. After the Tang Army took over, they recruited a large number of slaves to renovate and demolish the redundant courtyard walls.
, and surrounded the entire camp with walls and guard towers, covering an area equivalent to three Brahmin temples.
The Aryans also believe in the theory of Feng Shui. The area opposite the Brahmin Temple is backed by the river in the city and is closest to the gods, so it is considered the best Feng Shui location besides the temple.
The temple priests and elders originally chose this place as the best place to live for the Brahmins and Kshatriya nobles. Now that it was occupied by the Tang army, they had to move to a less popular place in the city.
Among the generals in Anxi, Zhao Congfang was not as capable as Feng Changqing in commanding operations, not as brave as Bai Xiaode, and not as strict in military management as Duan Xiushi. But Li Siye dared to put him in remote northern India just because he was relatively balanced in all aspects and could stand alone.
Block one side.
Recently, the king of the Dravidian Kingdom in the Deccan Highlands has become ambitious for some unknown reason and considers himself the leader of the alliance against outsiders. He wants to send troops to help North India regain its kingdom and drive the invaders from the east north of the Indus River.
The king entangled thousands of Kshatriya warriors and more than 30,000 Dravidian Shudras, and marched across the Deccan Plateau in a mighty manner and arrived at Balayaga on the lower reaches of the Ganges tributary.
After Zhao Congfang learned about it, he took the initiative to attack. He led only 2,000 Tang army elites as light cavalry and defeated the Dravidian army on the banks of the Ganges. Only the king and several hundred warriors were left to flee south.
The Tang army captured 10,000 Vaisya and Sudra slave soldiers. Zhao Congfang usually dealt with the prisoners by driving them to the bank of the Ganges River, hacking them to death one by one with a horizontal sword, and then throwing them into the river.
But when he saw the rows of black-skinned Dravidian soldiers that day, the joy in his heart was comparable to seeing a cool spring in the desert. Even Dai Wang, as smart as Dai Wang, could not imagine such a business opportunity, but he keenly caught it.
The Kunlun slaves were far more valuable than the Silla slaves in Chang'an. In his eyes, these thousands of dark-skinned captives were like shining gold.
He immediately gave an order to the deputy general beside him: "Kill the old, weak, sick, and those with lighter skin. The rest will be tied up with hemp ropes and taken back to Qunu City."
These Dravidians are regarded by the Aryan race as the footsudras of Brahma. They are slightly higher than the Dalits who are untouchables, but they also belong to the untouchable class. They are discriminated against because of their skin color. But they dream
I never thought that one day I would be taken seriously because of my skin color and become a real slave, embarking on a journey to a foreign country.
Zhao Congfang imprisoned the prisoners in the fence of the horse farm outside Qunv City, and immediately selected ten of them with better looks. He ordered people to go to Hexi with his letters. He hoped that this big business could get Li Siye's permission and support, and he would take them with him.
At the end of the letter, he requested that a card be set up in North India to collect commercial taxes from foreign Arabs and Byzantines.
Four months later, the reply sent by Li Siye was delivered to Qunu City. Zhao Congfang took the envelope in the stone hall of the mansion and sent the messenger off to rest. He opened the envelope and read it carefully. He couldn't help but feel angry after reading the end.
"It requires money and manpower to set up checkpoints in towns and rivers. I have been doing it myself for so long. I didn't expect that I would have to give Li Siye 70% in the end? Isn't this the same as making money on your knees?"
His lieutenant general Kang Huaien crossed his arms and explained: "Doctor Li is in charge of the entire Hexi, Anxi, Beiting, Hebei and other places. Every place needs money to strengthen defense. In my opinion, it is extraordinary to be able to leave 30% of the money for us.
Have mercy."
Zhao Congfang naturally looked dissatisfied. He asked Kang Huaien: "What do you think? We are more than 20,000 miles away from Chang'an. We have left our hometown and have not been able to return to our homeland for more than ten years. We just want to gather some money to comfort ourselves. Isn't this wrong?
.If it weren’t for the fact that there is money to be made in North India, who would want to stay in this hellish place?”
There was no trace of embarrassment on Kang Huaien's face, and he continued to cross his hands and said: "What the general said is true? We live outside the country, that's why we are so obsessed with money. But why does the general have to worry about setting up a card to collect taxes? Therefore,
And to offend Dr. Li is really not worth the gain."
"Huh?" Seeing the change in Kang Huaien's tone, Zhao Congfang was able to understand what he meant: "In General Kang's opinion? How should I choose?"
General Kang seemed to have something in mind. He crossed his hands and approached Zhao Congfang: "North India is rich in products? But pepper spices are already controlled by the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce. The leader of the association, Dai Wang, is a close confidant of Dr. Li. We have no chance to be among them.
Come in. But Kunlun Slave is completely different. Doctor Li called it a dirty little thing in the letter. He probably looked down upon it and only asked you to discuss the decision with Dai Wang. Since it is a negotiation, there is a lot of room for maneuver.
A lot."
After hearing this, Zhao Congfang showed an expression of enlightenment, nodded and said, "Continue."
"Trading in living people is different from pepper and spices. Dai Liulang does not need us to introduce pepper and spices, but selling in living people is inseparable from us. For these captives in the hands of the general, you can agree with him on the price of each prisoner.
Once they are in our hands, it has nothing to do with us how much they can sell for taking these captives and sending them to Chang'an."
"Wonderful," Zhao Congfang couldn't help but clapped her hands and said, "General Kang's plan is very good. The only problem is how to communicate with Dai Wang and how to get the best price for us."
Kang Huaien stepped forward and crossed his hands and spoke: "If General Meng does not give up, Huaien is willing to ride a fast horse to Shule Town to meet Dai Liulang, and he must negotiate a reasonable condition for the general."
"That's very good. I will order you to arrange horses and send you to Shule."
…
Kang Huai'en returned to Qunu City from the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce branch in Shule Town. As soon as he got off his horse, he went straight to the temple-style mansion of the general. Zhao Congfang heard the soldier's report and excitedly ran down the steps to hold General Kang's hand and personally held him
Welcome into the stone hall.
"Wynn has returned triumphantly this time, and there must be good news for me to tell you."
"It is indeed true. My subordinates have already reached an agreement with Dai Liulang. The price of Kunlun slaves in Chang'an is 1,300 guan per person. The Western Regions Chamber of Commerce is willing to buy it from us at the price of 500 guan per person. But there are two
condition."
"Are there any conditions?" Zhao Congfang was a little unbelievable. He had already suffered a huge loss at this price.
"These conditions are easy for the general to fulfill, otherwise my subordinates would not be able to fulfill them for you. The first condition is that Kunlun slaves only need men under the age of forty, and they are required to be in good health and have no disabilities. The second condition is
The first condition is that every Kunlun slave must undergo purification before being delivered to him."
General Zhao tugged at his beard and thought for a moment and said: "Isn't it a bit cruel and inhumane to turn a good and strong laborer into an eunuch?"
Kang Huaien didn't take it seriously and said in confusion: "What the general said is different. These Dravidian Shudras are not even treated as human beings by their own king. Why should the general pay such a high price for them? Just treat them as human beings."
They are castrated animals. Recently, the rich and powerful people in Chang'an like to use Kunlun slaves as their followers. However, because the risk of castration is too high and people are easy to die, Dai Liulang hopes to control the risk at the place of shipment, as long as he can survive the castration.
He can save you the loss of gold exchange, a Kunlun slave has fifty taels of gold, no problem."