Chapter 1346 Seed

Of the 500 people Xin Zhao took out, only 13 came back. More people were lost on the road and I wonder if they can be found.

Zhao Xindao: "Just after we passed Jiuquan, we encountered a group of horse bandits. There were nearly a thousand of them. They surrounded a piece of land to build a city. The city wall was made of yellow mud. It was not very high, but it could be seen that it looked like a city. The guide said that the Central Plains The past few years of the war have not been peaceful in the Western Region. I don’t know how many large and small tribes have perished, so I thought these were newly built small tribes.”

"As a result, we were arrested as soon as we entered. In the end, we killed the horse bandits, occupied the city, and changed their leader before leaving. Before leaving, we also sent a message to Xiliang, hoping that Xiliang would send troops. We came to collect the land and collect the people, but because time was urgent, we did not wait there."

"The Western Region is indeed in chaos. The various kingdoms are not convinced by each other and often fight. However, I have the credentials and customs clearance documents given by His Majesty. Most of the kingdoms have let us go. Among those who are unwilling to let us go, there is Zhang Shi."

Zhao Xindao: "Zhang Shi is proficient in Buddhism, and most of the tribes along the Western Regions believe in Buddhism, so relying on his knowledge, he can resolve any difficulties along the way. When I waited at Lop Nur, there were still 489 people there. .”

Why is that person missing?

Because they were so unlucky after entering Lop Nur. It was a desert and it was difficult to tell the direction. Even if the guide they brought had walked through it before, they still got lost when they entered again.

Before they could find the right direction, they encountered a group of caravans being chased by horse bandits. Zhao Xin turned around and ran away with the people, but Zhang Shi drew his sword and rushed forward.

He had no choice but to turn around and grab Zhang Shi back. In the chaos, the crowd screamed, and then a sandstorm appeared from the sky and swept them quickly.

Xin Zhao only had time to reach out and grab Zhang Shi...

When he woke up again, there were only about fifty people left around him, and the rest of them were swept away. Except for Zhang Shi, who was held in his hand, there were three people from the caravan and two horses among the others. bandit.

Xin Zhao directly killed the horse bandits, then accepted the three trembling merchants and continued to go west while looking for people.

Then, they were sold by three businessmen.

Zhao Xin prided himself on being smart, and Zhang Shi was not stupid either, but they did not realize that the three businessmen were so cunning and treacherous. After pretending to surrender, they claimed that they knew the way to the west and knew the direction. Anyway, they had many trade routes going back and forth. Years, guides can do it, they can!

Both Zhao Xin and Zhang Shi thought they were honest and honest, and they were indeed merchants from the Western Regions.

Oh, those three people all have fair faces and deep eyes, and have faces from the Western Regions. Zhang Shi has come into contact with many Western Regions businessmen. He patted his chest and assured Zhao Xin, "The Western Regions merchants keep their promises and will not lie to us."

Then the group of people was sold to a man Yazi, who asked them to mine gems.

Of course, Xin Zhao would not be captured without hesitation. He led his people to resist and ran out. Then he was captured by the local government and sent to various parts of the country as slaves.

Herding sheep, feeding horses, cutting grass, planting grass, and even pouring night scent have to be done.

Because the people were scattered, Xin Zhao didn't find a chance to escape for half a year. In the end, he relied on his sharp tongue to persuade the king of his country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and then he was let go.

But before they were happy and walked out of that country, that small country got into a fight with its neighboring country over water, and the fight was quite serious. The king who just saw them off was killed less than two days ago, and then they fell into War, they were captured and led northwest. By the time they tried every means to persuade the new king to let them leave, a year had passed.

In addition, because they got lost along the way and had various accidents, they had no idea where they were. The small country’s impressions of the Central Plains were all hearsay, and they didn’t have a detailed route to Shule. They asked a lot of questions. People, and only a few people can roughly give them some direction.

Zhao Xin held Zhao Hanzhang's hand and burst into tears, "But the direction they pointed was also wrong. The direction was even a hair's breadth away. We went colder and colder, and finally arrived at a place called Kobdo. We didn't know until we got there. We're on the wrong track."

But Zhao Xin felt that they had made such a mistake, so they might as well make the mistake and cross Khovd, pass through the territory of the Northern Huns to Wusun, then from Wusun to Dawan, and finally turn around and return to Shule.

Along the way, they collected local crop seeds. In addition, there were also some medicinal materials and local products. They saw cotton in some places in Wusun, Dawan and Shule.

Without exception, they were particularly strict in controlling cotton seeds, and they lost a lot of money. The money for traveling expenses and buying seeds was all earned in cash.

The Zhao family's good business bloodline awakened in Xin Zhao's body, and he accurately found the goods that would be needed at the next stop, buying low and selling high, supporting the mission along the way.

When he arrived at a place where cotton seeds were found, he racked his brains even more, knowing that the city gates were very strict about checking these foreign business travelers.

Zhao Xin, who originally wanted to establish diplomatic relations with them, learned the lesson after experiencing it several times. He no longer took out his credentials as soon as he came up, but would first make inquisitive inquiries.

In the end, Zhao Xin and others operated in the city. They spent nearly two months in each place to build connections, purchased large quantities of cotton seeds outside the city, and then formed a caravan to sneak back.

The journey back was also difficult, but much smoother. With experience gained from going there once, they avoided a lot of dangers on their way back.

But there are some dangers that cannot be avoided, such as the horse bandits that roam everywhere in the grasslands, Gobi and deserts.

They were very unlucky. They met a big horse bandit who was out hunting grass and grain. Even though they were good at martial arts, they still chased them away;

But they were also very lucky, and they met Zhao Erlang, who was out of boredom, so he went to patrol further afield.

Zhao Hanzhang: "So you brought the cotton seeds back?"

Zhao Xin: "I brought it back. Not only did I bring a batch, but I also bought extra. When I met businessmen who were going to China, I also gave the seeds to them and asked them to bring them back. As long as they can bring them back to China, The seed is given to them completely.”

At that time, whether they plant it themselves or sell it, the seeds can be spread, which is a good thing for them.

Two carts of seeds are now parked outside the palace gate.

Zhao Hanzhang immediately asked someone to bring the things in, and everyone followed to join in the fun.

When the sack was untied, revealing the seeds wrapped in oilcloth inside, all officials, both civil and military, could not help but be excited.

Civil servants: From now on, the people will no longer have to suffer from the cold.

Military attachés: From now on, soldiers no longer have to suffer from the cold when going on expeditions.

Quilts and coats made of cotton wadding were used by all civil and military officials. Some of them were benefits given by the court during the New Year, and most of them were bought with money.

Because cotton was scarce, the price was quite high. Not to mention ordinary people, even officials with small assets had to pay a lot of blood and heartache to buy quilts and cotton-padded clothes for the whole family.

Now that there are more seeds, the price should come down, right?

Good night