Chapter 290: The Power of the Secret Medicine

"Luan'er, it's true! Come quickly and look, that oriole on the tree looks like it's right in front of my eyes."

In the backyard of the Prince's Mansion, Feng'er was holding a monocular.

After this object was made, they were very curious about what it was.

When Yan Wang said it could bring distant objects close as if by a clairvoyant's vision, she did not believe it at all.

After all, the things Yan Wang had made before could still be explained.

But a clairvoyant's vision was truly the ability of an immortal.

It was only after Yan Wang taught her a bit and let her actually look through this so-called telescope that she found it was indeed so.

Upon hearing this, Luan'er took it from Feng'er's hand to look as well.

Sure enough, the oriole on the tree dozens of meters away seemed to be right before her eyes, as if pressed against them.

"Ah, it's true!" Luan'er could not help but let out a cry of surprise.

Two small dimples appeared on her face as she smiled.

Zhao Xu lay on a rattan chair with a smile on his face, watching the two of them quietly, "How is it? Now you should be willing to accept the loss of the bet, right?"

Just a moment ago, he had said he possessed the ability of a clairvoyant, and naturally, neither of the two girls believed him.

So he had made a bet with them.

Feng'er gave Zhao Xu a coquettish look upon hearing this.

Swaying her waist in a carefree manner, she came before Zhao Xu and pressed her red lips onto his left cheek, making a "pop" sound.

Zhao Xu twisted Feng'er's waist and joked, "I think you lost on purpose, wanting to take advantage of me."

Hearing this, Feng'er giggled.

Luan'er's pretty face flushed slightly; it was her turn.

When she reached Yan Wang, she was just about to lightly touch Zhao Xu's right cheek.

But she suddenly felt a great force, and she fell onto Yan Wang.

Then, a "pop" sound rang out.

Seeing this, Feng'er laughed even more uncontrollably.

Luan'er tapped Zhao Xu's chest lightly,

and acting like a spoiled child, said, "Your Highness..."

The three of them were frolicking.

At this moment, a maid entered the backyard, and the three of them immediately regained their composure.

"Your Highness, the gatekeeper of the Prince's Mansion says that Manager Yang requests an audience," the maid said.

"Tell him to go to the Council Hall first," Zhao Xu said, then straightened his clothes and walked out.

Some time ago, he had sent Yang He to Yanguan to be in charge of matters concerning the Border Market, with the idea of opening up trade with the Northern Di.

Now that Yang He had returned, perhaps there was progress.

Arriving at the Council Hall, Zhao Xu saw the high-spirited Yang He.

At this, he had an inkling, "It seems Yang He's harvest is quite good."

"Looking at you, it seems you have good news to tell me," Zhao Xu said, getting straight to the point.

Yang He bowed and, raising his head, chuckled, "Your Highness truly has eyes like torches; nothing can be hidden from you."

"Enough, don't learn from that sycophant Liu Fu; tell me something substantial," Zhao Xu raised an eyebrow.

After pondering for a moment, Yang He said, "After your subordinate arrived at Yanguan, the trade at the Border Market was still dominated by the Northern Di and the powerful clans; as long as one didn't hold a Merchant Permit from the powerful clans, these Northern Di merchants wouldn't buy anything from you, nor would they sell you anything."

As he spoke, Yang He raised his fist, "But later, by a stroke of luck, the horses in a Northern Di merchant's caravan all got diarrhea—it was a miserable sight."

"Your Highness, you might not know, but these beasts are not like humans; once they have diarrhea, they are not far from death."

Zhao Xu said, "I know, continue."

"It just so happened that I found out about this, and I remembered what Your Highness had said about the Secret Medicine of the Prince's Mansion. This Secret Medicine can treat wounds and also treat diarrhea in livestock, so I poured some into the fodder for the Northern Di merchants' horses to eat."

"As a result, within a few days, the Northern Di merchants' horses were all better, and their appetites were much better than before. This shocked the Northern Di merchants, and they chased after me asking what this thing was."

Zhao Xu smiled lightly.

Allicin was already widely used in the livestock industry in the modern era.

Besides being able to treat various diseases in animals caused by bacteria, it also had the functions of increasing animal appetite, survival rate, and even increasing weight, egg production, and milk yield.

Yang He was still spitting as he talked, "Later, I played hard to get and wouldn't tell him, but this Northern Di merchant still found out about this Secret Medicine of the Prince's Mansion, and then proposed that he wanted to buy it."

"These Northern Di people are quite shrewd. They can go without drinking Wine or wanting Perfume, but they want this Secret Medicine, which is very beneficial to them," Zhao Xu snorted coldly.

"Indeed, later this Northern Di merchant told the truth; it was what their King said—they cannot trade the cattle and sheep of the Grassland for Yan Wang's Wine and Perfume and the like, but they specifically wanted this Secret Medicine," Yang He said.

Pausing, he continued, "However, your subordinate is not stupid; how could I let them take advantage of us alone? I said the Secret Medicine is as important to the Prince's Mansion as Warhorses are to the Northern Di; if they want the Secret Medicine, they must trade Warhorses for it. At first, they didn't agree, but after a few days, they sent people back and said it was fine."

"Good." Hearing this, Zhao Xu clapped his hands.

One of the reasons why large-scale animal husbandry could not be realized in ancient times was the high mortality rate of livestock.

For example, diarrhea in horses is often contagious.

If one horse has diarrhea all over the ground, other horses eating things off the ground will also be infected.

Naturally, they would die in large numbers.

If there is a way to treat it, it is different.

The Northern Di people naturally know how to calculate this.

If the Yan Wang's Secret Medicine is truly effective, the number of livestock they can save will not just be one or two batches.

It would be strange if they weren't tempted.

"It's just that your subordinate did not dare to make the decision alone, so I returned to ask Your Highness if this matter is feasible," Yang He finally said, "After all, if the Secret Medicine of the Prince's Mansion fattens up the cattle and horses of the Grassland, it will still be disadvantageous to Yanzhou."

"Hahaha, your thinking is not wrong, but this matter is of no concern. Perhaps no matter how many cattle, sheep, and fine horses are raised on the Grassland, in the end, they will all be mine," Zhao Xu said solemnly.

By comparison.

This matter is naturally more beneficial than harmful to Yanzhou.

With Artillery, no matter how many Cavalry the Northern Di raise, they cannot ride their Warhorse up the city walls, can they?

They would still have to dismount for hand-to-hand combat.

And he only needs to hide within the majestic pass and develop steadily; eventually, he will make cavalry a thing of the past.

Therefore, using the Secret Medicine of the Prince's Mansion to open up trade with the Northern Di in the short term is cost-effective for him.

However, his current need for Warhorse is not that urgent.

So he said to Yang He, "Go back and tell the Northern Di that they can have the Secret Medicine, but they must no longer restrict Northern Di merchants from purchasing Wine and Perfume; otherwise, hmph..."

"Yes, Your Highness." Yang He nodded.

It is not that the Northern Di do not like Fine Wine and Perfume.

They are buying the Wine and spices of the influential clans.

If they truly want the Secret Medicine of the Prince's Mansion, then they must stop playing tricks on the Prince's Mansion.

Otherwise, if he truly gets annoyed, no one will have an easy time at this Border Market.

After all, the Border Market is within Yanguan; this is the territory of Yan Wang, and the power to flip the table lies in the hands of Yan Wang.

Having settled this matter, Yang He departed.

He will head to Yanguan once again to expand the interests of the Prince's Mansion in the Border Market.

And Zhao Xu looked at the Telescope in his hand, thought for a moment, and headed toward the North Camp.

The horn of war is drawing ever closer.

This reconnaissance tool should be handed over to the generals so they can familiarize themselves with it first.