strictlysupreme Chapter 2210 Harvesting Cotton
Chapter 2210 Harvesting Cotton
"What did you say?"
When everyone heard the scouts say that there were Tang troops ahead, they were all shocked, and some even showed looks of fear.
The Tang army represented power and destruction to them. They turned pale at the mere mention of it and were terrified at the mere mention of it.
"Why are there Tang troops here? Did we reveal our whereabouts?"
"The Tang army is coming, what should we do?"
Several leaders began to panic.
"How many troops does the other side have?" At this time, Zhao Tiejun remained calm and asked the scout.
"The Tang army has several thousand soldiers, but they are not coming for us. They are chasing another group of about a thousand people.
They seem to be from other tribes."
The scout replied immediately.
After hearing the scout's words, the group calmed down. It was good that they were not coming for them.
It looked like they were chasing other rebels and just happened to pass by.
"Chief Ma, I suggest that we avoid their attack for the time being." Zhao Tiejun looked at Chief Ma.
"Yes, pass the order down, stop the team, find a place to set up camp, and send out more scouts to gather information."
Chief Ma nodded, he was also afraid of the Tang army.
Then all the leaders reached a consensus and immediately sent someone to convey the order to find a suitable place to set up camp.
After setting up the camp, several leaders gathered together again. At this moment, the atmosphere in the tent was a bit solemn.
"Alas~~~~~Now the Tang army's encirclement and suppression is becoming more and more urgent, and many tribes have been wiped out by the Tang Dynasty."
A leader sighed at this moment, the death of the rabbit makes the fox mourn, their situation is becoming more and more difficult.
"Yeah, I really don't know what will happen to us in the future?" Someone immediately echoed and felt the same way.
"Everyone, now that things have come to this, we have no way to retreat. Do you still want to surrender to the Tang Dynasty?"
Zhao Tiejun said with a cold face.
After Zhao Tiejun finished speaking, Chief Ma also said:
"What Chief Zhao said is true. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. We are at the end of our rope.
Don't be too naive. Even if you want to surrender, the Tang people may not necessarily accept you.
If we can accomplish this now, we will have the capital to expand our influence.
Gather the tribes that were surrounded and suppressed by the Tang army and strengthen our own tribe."
After hearing this, several leaders fell silent. They also knew that what Leader Ma said made sense and they should not think of surrendering to the Tang Dynasty.
"Okay, let's wait here for the intelligence from the scouts ahead before making any plans."
Zhao Tiejun said comfortingly.
"Report, the Tang army has reappeared in the area, still chasing a group of tribesmen."
At this time, there was another report from outside.
"Investigate again and report back!" Chief Ma gave the order immediately.
When others heard the news, they started to get nervous again. It had only been more than an hour and the Tang army appeared again.
Next, every one or two hours, scouts would come to report that the Tang army was chasing the tribe and would not stop until dark.
In the following days, the rebel troops led by Zhao Tiejun remained in a hidden place without any movement.
Regarding the news of the appearance of the Tang army, people went from being nervous at first to being numb later.
During the day, the Tang army would appear at regular intervals, but there would be no news at night.
Moreover, in the first two days, the Tang army was chasing the rebels, but in the next two days, the situation changed and the rebels were chasing the Tang army.
This made the rebel leader with Zhao Tiejun a little confused. He thought, when did their tribes become so powerful that they could even chase and kill the Tang army?
The farce ended only on the third day. There were no more chases during the day, so for safety reasons, they decided to wait another half day.
On the fourth day, the team continued their journey after discovering that the Tang army was gone.
~~~~~~~~
Workshop Market, this is the name given to this place by passing merchants.
Because there are workshops everywhere here, it is a workshop area formed by workshops of major families and nobles.
Later, as more merchants came, a market gradually formed in an open space nearby.
Many merchants settled here, or some special merchants came here to purchase cotton.
The Prince Ji's Mansion did not monopolize the technology, and had long since spread the cotton processing method.
There are many people who fluff cotton among the people, and it has become a technical job.
At this time, the place seemed rather deserted, with only a few individual travelers, because the road was blocked due to the war in the Western Regions.
Few people come here to buy directly.
"Brother Wang, this year's cotton harvest is a bumper one. It took us more than half a month to finish picking it."
In a pub, several middle-aged men in gorgeous clothes sat together with beaming looks on their faces.
They are all stewards left here by the aristocratic families.
"Haha, Brother Zheng is right. We just finished picking the fruits yesterday." The Wang family's steward laughed twice.
"It seems like we are going to make a lot of money this year." Another manager of the Zheng family took a sip of wine and said happily.
“That’s natural, and the price will go up this year, after all, Prince Ji’s Mansion didn’t plant any cotton this year.
We have collected half of the cotton production of the survivors over there, even if Prince Ji's Palace collected the other half, the quantity would not be much."
The Lu family steward nodded.
"This move by the family is indeed a brilliant one, but it's a pity that they didn't overthrow Prince Ji. It's really a pity."
The Cui family's steward shook his head regretfully.
"It's a pity. We tolerated Wang Wencheng for several years, but in the end, Prince Ji still escaped.
It won't be so easy to deal with them in the future." Steward Wang echoed.
At this time, the Zheng family steward smiled and raised his glass:
"Okay everyone, these are not things we can worry about. Our responsibility is to run this place well.
Earn a lot of wealth for the tribe, and we can also benefit from it.
As for dealing with a behemoth like the Ji Wang Mansion, let the clan plan it out."
"Brother Zheng is right. This year we have a good harvest. I think we will also be rewarded by the clan."
Manager Lu’s words made everyone smile.
"Let's talk about business. The clan should have told you about the cotton purchase. We are all of the same origin, so we should discuss it first and there is no need to fight over it.
I have sent people to talk to them, and the cotton of other nobles has been picked. They don't have workshops, so they sell it every year.
This year we must take the initiative and not let Prince Ji's Mansion take it away. The clan sent a letter specifically mentioning this matter."
Manager Wang looked at the few people with a serious face.
The managers of the Cui, Zheng and Lu families also became serious. They had also received orders from their families to cooperate with the other families and make every effort to purchase the cotton from the nobles.
The purpose is very clear, which is to prevent Prince Ji’s Mansion from getting it.
The profit of cotton is higher than that of grain, and it has a wide range of uses. It is now in short supply throughout the Tang Dynasty, and the profits are very considerable.
“Everyone, I discussed this matter with the steward of the Duke of Zhao’s Mansion not long ago, and they will also do their best to purchase cotton.
The cotton from the two Gao families, the Prince of Jin's Mansion, the Prince of Wei's Mansion, and several other princes had been directly delivered to the workshop of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion.
They are contacting other people.”
(Among firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, which one is the most expensive in ancient times?
I had a long argument with someone on short video today.
I said the order is based on value, from low to high. Someone told me that firewood is the most expensive.
Can tea be cheaper than firewood?)