PDLP Chapter 473 Crazy
Chapter 473 Crazy
"Of course it's no problem."
Without a second thought, the King of Qing nodded in agreement: "You are all guests from afar, and I will certainly treat you well."
After saying this, the King of Qing summoned a servant from his residence and instructed him, "Take these distinguished guests to rest and make sure they are well taken care of."
"Yes."
The servant obeyed and hurriedly led the three men in black robes away.
The Azure King stared intently at the departing figures of the group, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
Since ancient times, barbarians have been the greatest enemy of the Nine Provinces. No matter which government was in power, they regarded barbarians as a monstrous threat. Anyone who contacted barbarians privately was often punished for treason, and even members of the royal family were no exception.
However, this could not eliminate the connections between ordinary people, even the powerful and the barbarians.
Why?
Although barbarians are cruel, their lands are rich in good things, not to mention medicinal herbs!
On the grasslands where the barbarians lived, there were countless precious medicinal herbs, such as python bone grass and python blood grass, which were priceless.
In the Xia Kingdom, a single python blood grass could fetch at least ten thousand taels of silver, and even then, it was always in high demand but not readily available. Therefore, although the imperial court strictly prohibited private dealings with barbarians, those who secretly contacted barbarians were never stopped.
Long ago, the Azure King ordered Huang Ting to secretly contact the barbarians in order to reach a deal with them. Now, that deal has finally been successfully completed, and...
He doesn't need to pay any costs.
According to the agreement reached between Xia Yuanying and the barbarians, the barbarians would provide Xia Yuanying with a large amount of python blood grass and python bone grass, and the price Xia Yuanying would have to pay was... people.
That's right, it's people.
The barbarians don't want money, they want people.
The barbarians did not know how to cultivate crops, so although there was arable land on the grasslands, they could not grow food and could only eat the prey they hunted.
It is obvious that eating only meat cannot guarantee the body's nutrition; it is necessary to supplement with foods such as grains and tea to supplement carbohydrates and vitamins.
However, it is clear that because the imperial court prohibited private dealings with the barbarians, the barbarians could only obtain these foods through smuggling. Not only were the prices exorbitant, but the quantities were also very small, which could not meet the barbarians' needs at all.
In this situation, the barbarian leaders came up with a solution: to kidnap Xia people and have them cultivate the land for them!
The barbarians were brutal. In the past wars between the Xia Kingdom and the grassland barbarians, the barbarians often treated the Xia people who had no power to resist as food. The women were raped and tortured to death and then cooked in a pot, while the men were reduced to serfs and made to work as farm laborers for the barbarians.
This is also why the conflict between the Xia people and the barbarians was irreconcilable. There was no way around it; although the barbarians were human, they were no different from wild beasts. Even the most depraved person would probably find it difficult to do something like cannibalism.
With the Xia Kingdom's strict defense against the barbarians, coupled with the protection of the Great Wall Army, the barbarians were able to invade Xia Kingdom's territory less and less, and the number of people they captured naturally decreased as well. Under these circumstances, the barbarian high command came up with a solution: to contact the Xia Kingdom's nobles and exchange high-end medicinal materials that they could not refuse for people!
Thus, the connection between the Green King and the barbarians became a natural progression. The two sides quickly reached an agreement: the barbarians would provide the Green King with the medicinal herbs he desired, while the Green King would provide the barbarians with Xia people who could cultivate the land.
For Xia Yuanying, the Green King, this was a risk-free and highly profitable deal. If he were to trade a single Python Blood Grass in silver, he would need to pay at least 1 taels of silver. However, if he were to trade it in people, he would only need to give the barbarians 1000 people.
The Xia Kingdom lacked everything except people.
With just a wave of his hand, Xia Yuanying could issue an order and gather tens of thousands of starving people in no time. Using these starving people to exchange for the barbarians' precious medicinal herbs was an incredibly worthwhile deal.
As for whether the traded population will strengthen the barbarian tribes...
That was no longer Xia Yuanying's concern. The barbarians were far beyond the Great Wall and posed no threat to him in the short term. Now, his attention was entirely focused on the dragon throne in the capital!
"Someone is coming."
The Green King suddenly spoke up.
Soon, a eunuch hurriedly entered, knelt down and bowed: "Your Highness."
"Spread the word that I have a large quantity of Python Blood Grass and Python Bone Grass. Martial artists who wish to obtain these herbs to break through their cultivation realm can come to the city and discuss the matter with me in detail."
"Yes."
The eunuch, having received the order, bowed and withdrew.
Meanwhile, inside the vast Qingwang Mansion, Lü Xiaoyu, who had been busy all day, rubbed her lower back, looking exhausted.
Everyone thought that entering the Qing King's mansion would grant them the Qing King's favor and allow them to enjoy wealth and glory. However, only people like Lü Xiaoyu knew that once they entered the Qing King's mansion, they would not only fail to gain the Qing King's favor, but they would not even be able to see the Qing King's face.
This is only natural. There are countless women in the Qingwang Mansion, but the Qingwang only has one bird. Even if the Qingwang indulges in revelry every night, how can he possibly favor so many women?
In fact, the women brought to the Qing Prince's mansion mostly worked as maids, and as for the Qing Prince's favor, they could forget about it.
Moreover, being favored by the Green King is not necessarily a good thing, because... very few of those women who thought they were lucky enough to be favored by the Green King survived.
"I wonder how my younger brother and mother are doing?"
Looking exhausted, Lü Xiaoyu glanced at the night outside the Prince's Mansion and sighed softly.
Since being forcibly taken to the Qingwang Mansion, she has never seen her family again, and therefore misses her younger brother, mother, and her deceased father terribly.
Her father had passed away, but his voice and smile remained in Lü Xiaoyu's memory, filling her heart with hatred for the Qingwang Mansion.
Because of the Qing Prince's Mansion, her originally harmonious family was torn apart, her father died, and she was forcibly confined to the Qing Prince's Mansion, deprived of her freedom.
But... what could she do?
She was just an ordinary woman, powerless to resist the behemoth that was the Qingwang Mansion. She could only submit and bury her hatred deep within her heart, daring not to reveal it in the slightest.
"Xiaoyu, are you tired? Come and eat."
Back inside, Zhang Xiuxiu, who shared a room with Lü Xiaoyu, waved to her.
Zhang Xiuxiu was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with some baby fat on her face, making her look extremely cute.
Like Lü Xiaoyu, she was also forcibly brought into the Qingwang Mansion. Fortunately, Zhang Xiuxiu's family did not resist, so her family was not harmed.
"coming."
Lü Xiaoyu went over and had a meal with Zhang Xiuxiu.
Although they were servants of the Prince of Qing's mansion, their meals were quite good, with plump grains of rice, some meat, and vegetables, much better than what ordinary people ate.