The casting of the artillery went smoothly, which was attributed to Ming Hui's coordination and distribution.
Before new iron was smelted, Ming first used bronze to make the outer layer of the cannon.
However, during this period, the caravan from the Central Plains arrived in Shazhou.
The caravan brought not only a large amount of silk and cloth, but also a needed iron smelting team and gunpowder raw materials.
Shen Bing didn't think much and immediately asked his team to take over the production.
Market trade, however, was not going smoothly.
This is not to say that Yuezhi people don't like silk.
In fact, silk is sought after wherever it goes.
The problem is that silk is too expensive. One piece of silk shipped to Shazhou can be exchanged for two or three horses... How can ordinary people afford three horses to enjoy silk.
Therefore, only the nobles of the Yuezhi could afford to exchange it, including Qiu Jique, who exchanged fifty pieces of silk for making clothes in one go.
However, there are only a few nobles who can afford silk.
The tens of thousands of silks brought by the Central Plains caravan were not something that the Yuezhi nobles could digest.
What the people exchanged more was cloth.
Although it can be sold at a good price in Shazhou, and a piece of cloth can be exchanged for a sheep, it is much inferior to silk.
Shen Bing knows why this situation occurs:
The road from Shazhou to the Western Regions was cut off by the Xiongnu, so the Yuezhi caravans in Shazhou did not dare to buy silk even if they wanted to do business...
To do business, you have to buy at a low price and sell at a high price to make money.
If silk cannot be transported to the Western Regions and can only be sold in Yuezhi, there is actually no money to be made.
Businessmen are not stupid, they all wait to see the situation.
From this, Shen Bing could also see that the Yuezhi people were not very confident that the Qin army could break through the Xiongnu encirclement.
If the Yuezhi estimated that the Qin army could defeat the Xiongnu and open up the trade route to the Western Regions, then they would buy a large amount of silk while the price was not high.
Once the Qin army won the battle and the trade routes were clear, the price of silk would surely rise.
Shen Bing knew from Qiu that his guess was right.
This time it was Qiu Juque who came to find Shen Bing. He advised Shen Bing:
"This king has heard about the Xiongnu occupying Gushi and Loulan."
"It is said that the Xiongnu stationed 10,000 troops in Loulan and 30,000 troops in Gushi."
"Let's take the people of Loulan and Gushi as slaves to build city defenses day and night..."
"In my opinion, the general should first improve Yuezhi's city defense. If we go westward, the sun will grow longer. It's not too late to make plans in the future!"
Shen Bing knew what Qiu Juque had in mind.
Now the Qin army and the Yueshi are actually on the same boat.
The reason is that Yueshi Jing's vitality was severely damaged after the battle with the Qin army...
This serious loss of vitality does not mean how many soldiers the Yueshi killed and wounded.
In fact, the Yuezhi lost not many troops. There were still 50,000 troops from the original 70,000, and some of them fled to the west.
The problem is that the Yuezhi slavery system has been shaken by the arrival of the Qin army and the infiltration of instructors into the Yuezhi ranks... Many Yuezhi soldiers and civilians have expressed their willingness to join the Qin army.
This is normal. Who wouldn’t want to be a free man and be promoted to a noble title with military merit?
If Shen Bing had not strictly ordered not to join Qin at will in order to take care of the interests of the Yuezhi nobles, I am afraid that the Yuezhi army would have "surrendered" again.
However, although the Yuezhi soldiers and civilians did not do this, most of their thoughts turned to the Qin army.
Therefore, even if Shen Bing lets go and returns the command to Qiu Jiuque, it will still be difficult for him to control him.
Qiu Jiu understood this.
Therefore, if the Qin army was defeated by the Xiongnu because of its eagerness to attack, the Xiongnu would then counterattack into Shazhou.
Qiu Jiu still hopes that he will continue to be the king of the Yue clan. At the same time, he is also considering the interests of Shazhou, so of course he should build the defense of Shazhou first before considering other things.
Shen Bing replied:
"Your Majesty, please be at ease."
"Even if we are going to attack the Xiongnu, we will leave 10,000 soldiers to garrison in Shazhou."
"As long as we can defend Yangguan and Yumenguan, there is no fear of Shazhou falling!"
When Shen Bing said this, Qiu Jie felt relieved.
Although the trade was not very smooth, it did not have much impact on the Qin caravan.
Because the silk that has not been sold yet can be stored in Shazhou, and only a few people need to be left to look after it while selling it.
The caravan returned to Qin with a large amount of furs, seeds, livestock, etc., and then went to Xitao to exchange for silk cloth and then shipped it back...
After going back and forth like this, within a few times, the wealth will increase exponentially.
And this group of people who have become rich will soon attract people and businessmen from all over the country to gather in Xitao to follow suit... Shen Bing has already opened a business route and laid the groundwork, and the rest is only a matter of time.
While Shen Bing was dealing with various matters, a messenger came into the tent and delivered a letter from Fusu to Shen Bing.
The letter first briefly talked about the development status of Xiahetao and Xitao, and then suddenly mentioned Xianyang:
"I wonder if the general has heard that my father has invited a candidate again."
"First there was Lu Sheng and then there was Hou Sheng... It is said that they were all recommended by Zhao Gao, saying that these two people could find the elixir of immortality for my father."
"Fusu hopes they can indeed find this medicine!"
Then there was no more content.
However, Shen Bing knew the meaning of Fusu's words.
Fusu actually doubted the authenticity of the "elixir of life".
In fact, it wasn't just Fusu who had doubts. Anyone with a clear mind knew that this was impossible.
But who is Ying Zheng, and who dares to refute what he believes?
Even the young master Fusu is no exception.
In fact, Fusu especially cannot discuss it, because if he is not careful, he will be labeled as having "bad intentions":
As a young master, does Fusu not want the emperor to obtain the "Elixir of Immortality"?
Because once the emperor obtains the "Elixir of Immortality", it means that Fusu has no chance to become the emperor.
So Fusu may intentionally interfere with it or even be detrimental to the emperor...
Therefore, Fusu could only tell Shen Bing implicitly in his letter.
Thinking of this, Shen Bing casually took out the fire seal and burned the letter.
Shen Bing could not comment on this matter, because Shen Bing's identity at this time was also very special... He was half of Fusu's teacher and had an interest in Fusu.
If Shen Bing persuades Ying Zheng, for example, that there is no "elixir of life", does that mean he is suspected of colluding with Fu Su?
Not only will it harm yourself, but it may also implicate Fusu.
But Shen Bing wasn't too worried.
Because he knew that Lu Sheng, Hou Sheng, and later Xu Fu could not make any big waves.
Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng just swindled some money, but because they could not find the "elixir of life", they hid and triggered the "confucianism" incident.
Xu Fu's price was higher, and he defrauded three thousand boys and girls.
Shen Bing didn't think he could change anything, so he had no choice but to let it go.
If there is anything to worry about, it is that these so-called alchemists were recommended by Zhao Gao.
Could it be that Zhao Gao and Li Si have some inspiration?