Chapter 880

The scout who was biting on the hollow copper tooth was named Amu'er.

After being tied to the wooden stake in the dark room for three hours, his lips finally loosened.

It wasn't that the Mingjing Si had used force; it was that Chen Yan had someone place a bowl of hot millet porridge and a dish of pickled radish strips on the low table in front of him.

The steam from the porridge had barely risen in the freezing air of the dark room for half a stick of incense's time before Amu'er's throat couldn't hold back any longer.

He was a third-rank scout of the Royal Court's Inner Guard; half a month ago, Yun Geti had scattered forty men to the edge of the southern grassland, specifically to keep an eye on the trade fair that had recently appeared on the Great Zhou border.

Chen Yan sat on an old chair in the corner of the dark room, his fingers resting on the armrest, listening to Amu'er stumble through the explanation of the cause and effect.

"Of the forty men you scattered, how many infiltrated the trade fair?"

Amu'er licked his cracked lips, his eyes drifting constantly toward the bowl of porridge.

"Three. Counting me, three people got in; the rest are watching from far away on the periphery."

Chen Yan tapped his fingers on the armrest.

"Where are the other two?"

Amu'er's neck shrank back a notch.

"One is mixed into a merchant caravan coming from the direction of Fengzhou, working as a groom."

"And the other?"

Amu'er's voice dropped.

"The other is working as a cargo handler at the millet shop on the south side of the trade fair; he's been at it for five days already."

Chen Yan turned his head to look at Zhang Wenqian, who was standing at the entrance of the dark room.

Zhang Wenqian nodded and turned to leave.

Chen Yan looked back at Amu'er.

"This time you came to the trade fair, what did Yun Geti tell you to investigate?"

Amu'er's fingers curled within the ropes.

"To investigate the scale and cargo volume of the trade fair, to check how many herdsmen from the grassland come every day, and to see if there are any ironware or weapons among the things Great Zhou is selling."

The corners of Chen Yan's mouth moved slightly.

"What did you find out?"

Amu'er swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"The trade fair's cargo volume is larger than what's rumored outside. Silk and tea are the main items, but what really attracts the herdsmen to come are the millet and fine salt. The price is less than a third of the salt price rationed by the Royal Court, and the herdsmen are trading horses for grain very quickly."

He glanced at the bowl of porridge again.

"I wrote these things on a silk paper strip, preparing to send them back to the Royal Court."

Chen Yan stood up, walked to the low table, picked up the bowl of porridge, and walked to Amu'er.

"Drink."

Amu'er was stunned for a breath, then opened his mouth and gulped down the bowl of porridge with Chen Yan's help. He drank so hurriedly that the porridge spilled from the corners of his mouth and ran down his neck.

Chen Yan placed the empty bowl back on the low table and squatted down in front of Amu'er.

"You are going to take a letter back for this Duke."

Amu'er's eyeballs rolled twice within his swollen eye sockets.

"Take it back? Are you going to let me go?"

Chen Yan stood up straight and patted the water stains of the millet porridge from his hands.

"I'm letting you go back to tell Yun Geti exactly what you saw. No need to hide anything. Tell him how big the trade fair is, and tell him how many herdsmen have come."

A layer of confusion flashed across Amu'er's face.

Chen Yan returned to his chair and sat down.

"Also, help this Duke pass on one more message to Yun Geti."

Amu'er stared at him.

There was nothing extra in Chen Yan's voice.

"Just say that the Great Zhou Xiazhou trade fair welcomes all grassland tribes to come and trade, including the tribes directly under the Royal Court. This Duke has plenty of millet and fine salt; I'll sell to whoever comes."

Amu'er's mouth opened.

"You want me to take this message to the Great Khan?"

Chen Yan crossed his right leg over his left and rotated his fingers on his knee.

"Take it."

He looked at Amu'er.

"But you only need to take this one message. As for your companion working as a cargo handler in the millet shop that you saw at the trade fair, don't mention him after you go back."

Amu'er's complexion changed.

Chen Yan's fingers paused on his knee for a beat.

"That person, this Duke has a use for him."

Amu'er's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he nodded desperately within the constraints of the ropes.

After dawn, Amu'er's ropes were loosened, and he was given a bag of dry rations and a waterskin, then released from the north gate of Xiazhou.

Chen Yan stood in front of the sand table in the main hall of the Governor's Office, looking at the small red flag on the sand table marked as the Rouran Royal Court.

When Zhang Wenqian entered from outside, there was a hint of uncertainty in his expression.

"Zhuguo, the cargo handler in the millet shop has already been spotted by the hidden agent. When should we move?"

Chen Yan shook his head.

"Don't touch him; let him continue working as a cargo handler."

The corners of Zhang Wenqian's mouth twisted to the side.

"Keep him?"

Chen Yan fished two small chess pieces out of the box, one red and one white, placing the red one at the location of the trade fair and the white one at the location of the Royal Court.

"Amu'er goes back to report the news. What will Yun Geti do after he knows the scale of the trade fair?"

Zhang Wenqian thought for two breaths.

"Either blockade the border to prevent the herdsmen from going south, send more scouts to keep watch, or simply send troops to destroy the trade fair."

Chen Yan used his finger to push the white chess piece an inch toward the red chess piece.

"He won't send troops."

Zhang Wenqian looked at him.

"Why are you so certain?"

Chen Yan's finger drew a large circle on the sand table, enclosing the Rouran Royal Court and several vassal tribes in the surrounding area.

"The news of the Helan Clan being wiped out should have reached the Royal Court by now. Yun Geti now has two things in front of him: the first is that the Helan Clan was wiped out by the remnants of the Turkic army, and the second is that Great Zhou has opened a trade fair at the border to siphon off the horses and cattle of the grassland herdsmen."

He pointed his finger, which had drawn the circle, toward the west.

"The Turkic remnants wiped out his vassal tribe, which means that the Turkic people were not completely finished after the Battle of Jinshan and still have the strength to attack the eastern part of the grassland."

His finger slid toward the south again.

"The Great Zhou trade fair is siphoning off the wealth of the grassland in the south, which means Great Zhou is fighting an economic war."

He withdrew both hands from the sand table and tucked them into his sleeves.

"One is a military threat, the other is economic infiltration. With two fires burning in front of Yun Geti at the same time, which side will he choose to extinguish first?"

Zhang Wenqian's voice dropped by half.

"The Turkic people."

Chen Yan nodded.

"Yun Geti is a martial man. There are only two compartments in his brain: one for fighting and one for not fighting. He doesn't understand economic warfare and doesn't want to understand it, but he understands the fact that the Turkic remnants wiped out his vassal tribe."

He walked behind the desk and sat down.

"He will first send troops to the northwest of the grassland to pursue and suppress the Turkic remnants. As for the trade fair, he will at most send a few scouts to keep watch; he won't take action in the short term."

Zhang Wenqian stood beside the sand table, rubbing his chin twice.

"What if he doesn't pursue and suppress the Turkic people?"

Chen Yan fished a stack of documents out of a secret drawer in the corner of the desk and picked up a brush to write a few words on the top one.

"If he doesn't pursue them, this Duke will add another bundle of firewood for him."

Zhang Wenqian walked to the desk.

"What kind of firewood?"

Chen Yan handed the written document to him.

Zhang Wenqian looked down and saw only one line of text on it.

Notify Gao Jiong, and let Qifugu take the initiative to contact the people sent by the Royal Court when they come to investigate the old camp of the Helan Clan, expressing his willingness to investigate the whereabouts of the Turkic remnants on behalf of the Royal Court.

After reading it, Zhang Wenqian returned the document to Chen Yan.

"Zhuguo is letting Qifugu go and curry favor with the people of the Royal Court?"

Chen Yan folded the document and stuffed it into an envelope.

"Qifugu has now occupied the pastures and livestock of the Helan Clan. He will have to give the Royal Court an explanation for this matter sooner or later. Rather than waiting for the Royal Court to come and investigate him, it's better to let him take the initiative to approach them."

He stamped the envelope with a secret seal.

"He will tell the people of the Royal Court that he was the first neighbor to arrive at the old camp of the Helan Clan after the white disaster, saw the traces of weapons left by the Turkic people, and said he was willing to investigate the Turkic remnants on behalf of the Royal Court."

He handed the envelope to the hidden agent at the door.

"In this way, Qifugu's image in front of the Royal Court changes from a suspicious neighbor to a loyal vassal."

Zhang Wenqian stood in front of the desk for three breaths.

"But Zhuguo, what if Qifugu really goes to pursue the Turkic remnants?"

Chen Yan put down his brush and leaned back against the chair.

"He won't go to pursue them. He's just making a gesture. In reality, he just swallowed the family fortune of the Helan Clan and hasn't finished digesting it yet; how would he have the energy to pursue any Turkic remnants?"

His fingers rotated within his sleeves.

"But his gesture will make Yun Geti feel that the Qifu Tribe is one of his own; at least he won't take action against him for the time being."

Zhang Wenqian took his hand down from his chin.

"Yun Geti gained a loyal vassal, and Qifugu gained a safe shield. Both sides feel they have taken advantage."

Chen Yan stood up from the chair and walked back to the front of the sand table.

"The person who really took advantage is not on the grassland."

He pushed the triangular chess piece marked as the trade fair on the sand table another inch forward.

"Zhang Wenqian, it's time to add chips to the trade fair side."

Zhang Wenqian's footsteps followed.

"Add what?"

Chen Yan fished a square chess piece out of the box and squeezed it in his palm twice.

"Houses."

Zhang Wenqian's eyeballs fixed for a breath.

Chen Yan placed the square chess piece on the location of Xiazhou City on the sand table.

"How many of those empty houses that were cleared out south of Xiazhou City last year are still left?"

Zhang Wenqian went through it in his mind.

"On the vacant land cleared after the old barracks south of the city were demolished, a batch of new houses was built before the new year. They vary in size, and altogether there are more than two hundred and thirty of them."

Chen Yan tapped his finger on the square chess piece.

"This Duke wants to use this batch of houses to fish."

Zhang Wenqian looked at that chess piece.

Chen Yan's voice dropped to a range where it could only be heard clearly within two steps.

"Release news in the trade fair, saying that there is a batch of new houses in Xiazhou City of Great Zhou for sale, with no restrictions on status; grassland herdsmen can also buy them."

Zhang Wenqian's Adam's apple rolled.

"Grassland herdsmen buying houses in Xiazhou?"

Chen Yan turned around to look at him.

"Not just houses. Those who buy houses can settle in Xiazhou, receive Great Zhou household registration documents, enjoy the same treatment as Great Zhou commoners, and their children can enter the official schools of Xiazhou to study."

Zhang Wenqian clapped his palms on his knees twice.

"Zhuguo, this move is too poisonous."

Chen Yan walked behind the desk and sat down again.

"Where is the poison?"

Zhang Wenqian stood still in front of the desk, his voice half a notch more urgent.

"Those herdsmen on the grassland who are almost dead from the white disaster, the leaders of small tribes who are crushed by the taxes of the Royal Court—once they hear that Great Zhou has houses for sale, household registrations to be had, and schools to study in, what will they think?"

Chen Yan picked up the brush and dipped it in ink.

"They will bring all their family's cattle, sheep, and horses to trade for a house."

Zhang Wenqian's voice became another fraction more urgent.

"After they come, they won't leave. Their cattle, sheep, and horses will stay in Great Zhou, and their people will also stay in Great Zhou. Rouran will have one less household of herdsmen and one less group of livestock."

Chen Yan put his brush to a blank document, writing a few lines in neat handwriting.

"You can't see it with one or two households, but what about after a hundred or two hundred households?"

Zhang Wenqian clapped his palm on the desk.

"The foundation of Rouran will be hollowed out! Herdsmen are the blood of the grassland, and livestock are the meat of the grassland. All the blood and meat will flow to the Great Zhou side, and what's left will be just an empty skeleton!"

Chen Yan put down his brush and blew the ink on the document dry.

"Go and do it."

He handed the document to Zhang Wenqian.

"Starting tomorrow, add a new announcement to every wooden sign in the trade fair. Just issue it in the name of Deputy Governor Zhang."

Zhang Wenqian took the document and looked down at it.

There were seven characters written on the document.

Buy a house and settle down, welcome to Zhou.

Zhang Wenqian folded the document, tucked it into his bosom, and turned to walk toward the door.

When he reached the door, he stopped for a step and turned back to look at Chen Yan.

"Zhuguo, if Yun Geti discovers that the herdsmen are running toward Great Zhou, will he blockade the border in advance?"

Chen Yan tapped his finger on the desk for the last time.

"He can't blockade it."

Zhang Wenqian waited for him to continue.

Chen Yan's voice was drawn into a thin line in the cross-breeze of the hall.

"The border of the grassland is thousands of miles of wasteland and Gobi, not a city wall. Even if Yun Geti sends a hundred thousand people to guard it, he won't be able to guard against a herdsman who wants to take his whole family south."

He stood up from the chair, walked to the front of the sand table, and placed the last chess piece on the position of the dashed line between the grassland and Great Zhou.

"Besides, he can't even scrape together a hundred thousand people in his hands now."

A sound of carrier pigeons flapping their wings came from outside the hall.

Hongye walked quickly from under the corridor, clutching a copper tube in his hand.

"Zhuguo, an urgent report from the northern hidden post. An envoy has set out from the direction of the Rouran Royal Court, flying the banner of a Royal Court tax envoy, and the direction is toward the new territory of the Qifu Tribe."

Chen Yan took the copper tube, unscrewed it, pulled out the paper strip, and took a look.

He handed the paper strip to Zhang Wenqian, who was standing at the door.

"Yun Geti sent a tax envoy to find Qifugu."

Zhang Wenqian looked at the paper strip, his voice tightening.

"So fast?"

Chen Yan placed the empty copper tube on the frame of the sand table.

"It's not fast; it's that he's short of money."

His voice was sent out toward the direction of the door.

"After the Helan Clan was finished, the Royal Court lost one of its largest tax-paying tribes. Yun Geti needs to fill this gap from other tribes."

He turned around, walked to the front of the sand table, and his finger paused for a breath on the position of the Qifu Tribe.

"Qifugu just swallowed the entire family fortune of the Helan Clan; it's the fattest piece of meat in the entire eastern grassland."

His finger slid from the position of the Qifu Tribe to the position of the Royal Court.

"Yun Geti smelled the meat."

A new board was added to the wooden sign on the north side of the trade fair. The board was brushed with a white ash base, and large characters were written in ink.

Any grassland herdsman who brings cattle, horses, and sheepskin to the trade fair official counter for registration can trade for a new house south of Xiazhou City, Great Zhou—three rooms of brick and tile with a courtyard, plus a Great Zhou household registration document, and children can enter the Xiazhou official school.

The political commissar of the One Heart Society held a translated copy in Rouran language and read it aloud three times next to the wooden sign.

During the first reading, several herdsmen nearby who were trading horses for millet looked over here, their faces carrying a kind of bewilderment at not understanding.

During the second reading, two people put down the reins in their hands and walked to the front of the wooden sign to listen carefully.