Chapter 1213: Distant Alliances and Close Attacks (Part 1)

"Father, while we were interacting with Huaxia, we seem to have made a discovery: the alliance between Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe is not as good as it seems. Huaxia appears to be very wary of the Xuanyuan Tribe, and the Xuanyuan Tribe seems to feel the same way about Huaxia."

"For instance, when the Xuanyuan Tribe trades Ironware and Weapon with us, they never tell Huaxia, even though Huaxia has its own Iron and can smelt it too."

"However, Huaxia is unwilling to trade Iron to the Xuanyuan Tribe. Even if they do trade, the quantity is very small. It seems they do this on purpose, simply not wanting the Xuanyuan Tribe to possess too many Iron Weapon."

"The Xuanyuan Tribe also trades with us in secret, not wanting Huaxia to know they already have many Iron Weapon."

"There are other trades as well, all kept hidden from one another. So, I think they aren't trying to oppose our Jiuli, but are instead opposing each other."

"It's just that the Xuanyuan Tribe thinks Huaxia doesn't know we are trading with them, but in reality, Huaxia uses some method to stay very clear about the Xuanyuan Tribe's affairs. Huaxia knows about our trades with the Xuanyuan Tribe very clearly."

"But when Changle spoke to the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe, those people had very strange expressions."

Chiyou looked thoughtful: "Oh, so that's how it is. Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe appear to be in an alliance, but in reality, they are in a competitive relationship. Their territories are connected, right?"

Bingzhu nodded quickly.

Chiyou understood at once: "Then that makes perfect sense. Huaxia needs an ally, but not one that is too powerful, so they are intentionally restricting the Xuanyuan Tribe."

"If that's the case, it might actually be a good thing for us to form an alliance with Huaxia. I believe the Tribal Chief of Huaxia would certainly agree. It's just that we are too far apart, with the Xuanyuan Tribe sandwiched in between, making communication difficult."

Qianxi clapped his hands: "Oh, Leader! You are truly brilliant!"

Chiyou raised an eyebrow: "What is it, Qianxi? Could it be that the Tribal Chief of Huaxia said the same thing?"

"That's right! The King of Huaxia—ah, that is what they call their leader."

"He said he wanted to trade with our Jiuli, not necessarily form an alliance, but trade nonetheless. He specifically called us over to discuss it together, and he gave us these things first before stating his own ideas."

Qianxi hurriedly asked Bingzhu: "Where are the drawings Baifeng gave us? Hurry and show them to the Leader."

"Oh, let me find them."

Bingzhu took a small animal-hide pouch from the chest area of his clothing, opened it, and pulled out several sheets of paper that had been well-preserved, quickly handing them to his father.

"Father, look. This is what the King of Huaxia gave us. He said that Huaxia needs these things of ours, and nothing else is required. They can trade using Silk, paper, and these Glass and Porcelain items."

Chiyou opened the paper carefully, as the paper was very thin and quite precious to the Jiuli.

"What are these things? Why have I never seen them before?"

Bingzhu cleared his throat and said very seriously: "Father, the King of Huaxia told us something that he said is very important for the development of our Jiuli. The things he needs can only be found in that place."

"What things?"

Bingzhu pointed his finger to the east: "The sea, the great sea! That is what the King of Huaxia said. He said that at the easternmost part of our territory, there is a sea. The sea is a large lake with no visible end; the water is bitter, the waves are huge, and it contains all kinds of fish and such—the food is endless."

"We have already been there, Father, but of course, we said it was a cursed place, which is why we didn't dare to go near it again. But their King said it isn't a curse at all; it's just a very normal situation, just very normal waves."

"And in our territory, as long as you keep going east, you can reach the edge of the sea. It is all the same sea, and it really is so large you cannot see the edge."

Chiyou didn't even have to think to know what that was; his impression of it was very deep.

"That is called a sea? Did he say anything else?"

Bingzhu recalled and said: "He said there is also salt inside. The seawater is bitter because of the salt. The things he wants are the Grass inside; he said they can be eaten and are delicious. As long as they are dried, they can be stored for a long time. Huaxia wants that kind of water-grass. Father, the drawing given to you is that kind of water-grass."

Chiyou flipped through the sheets of paper, all of which were Grass, but he didn't recognize which kind it was.

"Fritillaria, come over and take a look. You have been to that place; see if you have ever seen these Grass."

Fritillaria hurried forward and took the paper from Chiyou's hand, carefully wiping his hands on his clothes before taking the paper.

"Leader, I don't remember clearly either. It is true, it really seems like there were many Grass by that lake... sea. They were all green, but not the green of Grass or tree leaves. The leaves were especially large. I have already forgotten what they looked like."

Chiyou took a deep breath and asked Bingzhu again: "Then what about the salt he mentioned? Such an important matter, did he just tell you directly?"

"Does Huaxia lack salt, and do they want to trade salt with us?"

"No, Huaxia shouldn't lack salt. Speaking of that, Father, their food is also exceptionally delicious, with all kinds of ways to prepare it. Oh, you haven't eaten it; after we ate Huaxia's food, it felt like our food was just for filling our stomachs—it wasn't tasty at all."

"Their salt is as white as Snow and very fine. It isn't bitter at all, just salty—it's excellent. So, I don't think Huaxia lacks salt."

Chiyou's face darkened: "Stop talking about useless things. If you think our food isn't tasty, then don't eat it. Answer the question I asked you first."

Bingzhu immediately pulled himself out of his memories, though he did indeed miss Huaxia's food.

"Father, Huaxia has no intention of trading salt with us. The King of Huaxia did not mention this matter."

"He only said there is salt in the sea, but he didn't say how to get the salt out of the seawater. He only said that if we want to know the method, we must trade for it with the water-grass."

"If we want to know, the first batch of water-grass will be a gift to them, and only then will they teach us how to get the salt out."

"Oh, right, Father. That Silk isn't entirely a gift for you. They said that to ensure we wouldn't be afraid that Huaxia was tricking us, they gave us some Silk in advance as the cost of the first trade, so that we could trade with them with peace of mind."

"If we don't trade with them, then this Silk can just be considered a gift for you."