Chapter 314: The First Mission of the Ministry of Rites

Upon receiving news from the Baifeng tribe, Baoxi felt extremely surprised. He had assumed that the tea and grain trade between their two tribes was about to cease, as Baifeng liked to hide at home and never come out; he had not expected that this time, it would actually be Baifeng who came looking for him.

Furthermore, what made him feel puzzled was that the person sent said they were the King of their Huaxia State, rather than the Tribal Chief of the Baifeng tribe. Baoxi could not understand these messy things of Baifeng's, but in any case, as long as he knew Huaxia was still the original Baifeng tribe, it was just a change of name.

This time, the people from the Ministry of Rites had come with sincerity. Aside from the meeting gift, they also spoke generally about the future trade between the two sides, suggesting it would be best not to stop, but to exchange what one has for what one lacks, as this would be good for both sides.

Baoxi agreed verbally, but in his view, these people were just sent to deliver a message and had no authority to make decisions, so his attitude was very cold and perfunctory.

The people from the Ministry of Rites brought a small piece of Sulfur, saying they wanted this quality of Sulfur, and that the quantity needed was very large.

Baoxi felt this thing called Sulfur was somewhat familiar; it seemed that one of the tribes he had conquered had a lot of it, but he had never paid any attention to it. Could it be that it had some great use?

Just like tea, which in their eyes was just trees all over the mountains and leaves that no animal wanted to eat, yet in Baifeng's words, it became a treasure that could cure a hundred poisons. In any case, Baoxi had tried it, and no matter how it was prepared, the taste of that tea was not something he could accept. But just because of this, over the course of a winter and summer, they, the Suiren clan, had exchanged useless waste for a large amount of grain from the Baifeng tribe.

As for this Sulfur, if it would not affect their tribe, it was naturally fine to let them go and get it; this kind of business was too cost-effective.

Baoxi asked very bluntly what this Sulfur was taken back to be used for, and the people from the Ministry of Rites, just as Baifeng had rehearsed in advance, pretended that they could not say.

Under the pressure of Baoxi saying he would not give the goods if the purpose was not explained, the people from the Ministry of Rites had to explain the truth: using Sulfur to repel insects and treat illnesses. This was, of course, no problem; Sulfur itself possessed such efficacy, and even if Baoxi tested it on the spot, he would not be able to find any fault.

Baoxi did indeed intend to try it, because he could not possibly believe them completely just because of a few words. However, in this kind of weather, there were absolutely no insects alive and jumping around outside, so he had people catch some lice from their own bodies. They placed the little lice on the Sulfur, and the lice immediately wanted to run away; those that didn't move were basically dead, and those that hadn't touched the Sulfur also moved further and further away from it.

Baoxi was very happy. Firstly, if what Baifeng said was true, then the trade matter was basically settled, which could bring an unexpected fortune to their tribe. Secondly, Baifeng had once again found good things in their own territory that they themselves did not recognize. Baoxi and the people from the Ministry of Rites were all wearing smiles.

However, they did not see Wangzuo in the back. From the moment the Ministry of Rites took out the Sulfur, his legs began to tremble. Even in the dead of winter, small beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead. If these people from the Baifeng tribe knew that the living essence could burn and even turn into blue fire, then all his years of hard work would have been in vain, and he would also have to bear the consequences of deceiving Baoxi.

Wangzuo listened nervously from the side, while in his mind, he had already played out the scene of him taking a Dajian to stab the people from the Ministry of Rites to death several times. He only needed to say he thought the people from the Ministry of Rites were going to assassinate the Tribal Chief; at the very least, it would not be a major crime.

But unexpectedly, the people from the Ministry of Rites did not mention a single word related to fire, only saying it could repel insects. This was what allowed Wangzuo to set his suspended heart down.

Baoxi rested his hand on the table and thought for a few seconds, then turned to look at Wangzuo and said, "I remember the tribe that has this thing called Sulfur is the one you led people to attack, right?"

Wangzuo had not yet recovered from the shock just now when he was given another big fright by Baoxi. After a brief moment of confusion in his eyes, he hurriedly nodded and said, "Oh, oh, that's right, it is that tribe."

Wangzuo rarely lost his composure like this, but Baoxi only scanned him with a suspicious gaze and asked no more.

Instead, he turned to look at the people from the Ministry of Rites: "How much of this thing do you want, and what is our exchange ratio?"

The Minister of Rites shook his head and apologized to Baoxi: "Tribal Chief Baoxi, we have already established a state, and the division of labor is clear. Our duty is to contact you. As for the subsequent matters, our King and the Ministry of Revenue will coordinate with you. You can just treat us as message deliverers; we do not have the power to decide."

Baoxi did not make things difficult for them, but he also did not have much interest left, so they agreed to discuss it three days later at an open river bend to avoid the appearance of an ambush.

This was the first major matter the Ministry of Rites had taken over since the founding of the state, and they had successfully completed the task. Afterwards, they performed a salute, boarded the Boat, and returned to their own territory.

Seeing that the people had gone far away, Baoxi ordered his men to open the gift. In a box, a jar was cushioned with Wild Rice Grass. Baoxi could already roughly guess what it was. He used a little force and pulled out the stopper; upon smelling it, the fragrance of Wine assailed his nostrils.

Baoxi laughed heartily; this gift had touched his heart. He then took out the jar and took a big gulp straight from the mouth. In this deep Winter, drinking a mouthful was truly comfortable, and his Wine had been cut off for nearly half a month; he was truly craving it.

The Ministry of Rites returned to the tribe to report back. Baifeng was very satisfied with their performance because the Ministry of Rites had been followed by people from the Phylum and the Ministry of War the whole time, so Baifeng knew every word they had said without a single error.

Then Baifeng arranged for the Department of State Affairs to schedule his itinerary, to go to the border area between the two sides in three days. Baifeng did not need to arrange for the people from the Phylum personally; naturally, the Secretariat would arrange it properly.

When Baoxi returned to his residence, he asked about the Chinv tribe. Wangzuo had never revealed that he was originally from the Chinv tribe, so Baoxi also thought it was just one of the ordinary tribes that Wangzuo had conquered.

Wangzuo pretended to be reminiscing and unfamiliar, saying to Baoxi: "That tribe is quite large, but most of the land is useless. The Sulfur that Baifeng and the others want is indeed very abundant, and there is an especially large pool behind the mountain where there is even more Sulfur."

Baoxi said unintentionally: "You even turned over their back mountain?"

Wangzuo was so scared he did not dare to move, fearing that saying the wrong thing would cause trouble.

Baoxi pondered for a moment: "Wangzuo, you take people to that place today and pick up more Sulfur. If the Baifeng tribe can use it, we can use it too."

Although Baoxi was already used to caves full of crawling insects and savages covered in lice, if there was a way to solve these things, he would certainly have to use it.