Before Jiang Pengji left for the alliance meeting, she gave Wei Ci a secret mission.
Now that the alliance meeting was nearing its end, the merchant teams that Wei Ci sent out had arrived at the north borderline one after another from different routes.
The three tribes of the Northern Borderline were stunned by the sudden horse plague. Not only did their military strength suffer, but their economy also collapsed.
The large stud farm was severely damaged, and the Imperial Court still gave them some subsidies and support. However, the small stud farm and the normal herdsmen were in deep trouble.
A few caravans entered the border of the northern territory, and they were extremely surprised when they saw the desolate scene that was no longer as bustling and prosperous as before.
"How long has it been? How did Beijiang become like this?"
They were not the only ones who wanted to know the answer to this question. Countless herdsmen of the Northern Borderline who had lost their families also wanted to know the answer to this question — why had things become like this?
Before the horse plague, the northern borderline was Dongqing's greatest threat.
In the eyes of the North borderline, Dongqing was just a piece of fatty meat stained with blood. Sooner or later, they would tear it into pieces and swallow it into their stomachs.
After the horse plague, everything changed.
First, the warhorses suddenly died from the disease. Less than ten to twenty percent of them survived. Then, the horse plague spread further and affected ordinary horses.
The quality of ordinary horses was inferior to that of meticulously trained warhorses. After the horse plague ravaged the area, the death rate of the horses reached a terrifying rate of less than one percent!
"… As you all know, ever since this King ascended to the throne, he united the three tribes of the Northern Borderline, causing the military strength of the Northern Borderline to skyrocket. The King of the Imperial Court was not satisfied with this. He was still very ambitious … All these years, he had been training warhorses on a large scale. Wasn't it to attack Dongqing? In order to breed a large number of warhorses in a short period of time, the Imperial Court even encouraged ordinary herdsmen to breed horses in large numbers. Ordinary herdsmen could buy foals from the stud farm and sell them to the farm after they grew up. Many herdsmen profited from it and attracted more and more herdsmen to raise … "
"Many herdsmen saw that it was profitable and sold their cattle and sheep to raise horses. Many borrowed money to raise horses …"
When he said that, the old man from the merchant group clicked his tongue. His hoarse voice had a tinge of schadenfreude.
"Now, with the horse plague, all the horses that ordinary herdsmen have reared for a year or two have died."
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.
They finally understood that for many Northern Borderline herdsmen, horses were money.
A single horse plague had caused their efforts and money to go down the drain.
After working hard for several years, not only did he not earn anything, he even lost his underwear.
Apart from those who came from wealthy families, many ordinary herdsmen were so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. Countless families had been ruined.
At this moment, a merchant lamented, "How pitiful …"
Someone didn't agree and mocked coldly, "How are they pitiful? It is obvious that the Northern Border Imperial Dynasty is too evil. If it weren't for their ambition, the herdsmen wouldn't have been persuaded to raise horses instead of cattle and sheep. Now that we have provoked the horse plague, it seems that God has opened his eyes. "
In the beginning, ordinary herdsmen mostly herded sheep and cattle, and there were not many horses.
Because of the Northern Borderline's Imperial Court's repeated calls, the herdsmen reduced the number of sheep and cattle and switched to raising horses.
Otherwise, these herdsmen would not have ended up in such a state.
It was clearly the Northern Borderline Imperial Court's fault, but in the end, the common people had to pay the price.
"Shut up." Hearing this, everyone was shocked and hurriedly warned, "This is the Northern Borderland, if the barbarians hear this, do you want to die?"
After traveling for a while, the caravan received very few sheepskins, rabbit skins, mutton jerky, and rabbit jerky.
"The herdsmen don't raise sheep anymore, how much dried goods can we get?"
Looking at the dried goods they received, many people frowned.
After so many days, they had only received so little. How were they going to report in the future?
"Didn't we say to buy as much as we can? Anyway, we don't have to worry about sales, we just need to buy, we can make a profit no matter how much we buy. "
Even so, after several caravans walked around the three tribes of the Northern Borderline, they had received less than 20,000 sheepskins and rabbit skins.
If it was in the past, they would have received 30,000 to 40,000 sheepskins and rabbit skins, and even more mutton jerky and rabbit jerky.
The size of these caravans varied, and they seemed to be ordinary caravans, so they did not attract the attention of the officials. Apart from sheepskins and rabbit skins, they also bought many special products unique to the Northern Borderline, and privately agreed with the ordinary herdsmen that they would come back in two to three months.
Even so, the caravan was not optimistic about the prospects of the next purchase.
"For these goods, I don't know how many people have gone … The next time we come, we probably won't even get mosquito meat …"
They bought all the goods they could, and almost cleaned out the ordinary herdsmen's stores.
If they came back in two to three months to buy again, even if they were willing to pay a high price, the herdsmen would not be able to produce the goods.
A merchant interrupted, "After a while, the pasture in the Northern Borderline will be lush, and the herdsmen can raise more rabbits and sheep … Anyway, the horses they raised are all dead, and the pasture is just sitting there. It's better to raise some small animals that can support their families."
If they didn't find a way to support their families, these unlucky herdsmen would be so hungry that they would have to eat grass.
The merchant continued, "In my opinion, rabbits are not bad. They give birth quickly and give birth quickly."
Sheep and rabbits had different growth cycles. They couldn't raise a lot of sheep in two to three months, but they could raise rabbits.
If they wanted to have enough to eat in a short period of time, raising rabbits was a good choice.
The pastures in the Northern Borderline were so big, and there was grass everywhere. It was convenient to raise rabbits without having to worry about feeding them.
At this time, someone raised a different opinion.
"If we really do as you say and they only raise rabbits, then we can only buy them. I don't know how much money we'll lose on this trip. "
The head of the caravan clicked his tongue and said indifferently, "People in Wanzhou are rich, and they like these things … We'll do business along the way, and we'll earn twice as much on this trip. We won't lose out. No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat. Buying rabbit skin and rabbit meat won't earn us much, but it'll add up to a considerable amount. "
"… But …" Someone hesitated, "No matter how rich Wanzhou is, they can't keep doing unprofitable business …"
The voices of the caravan gradually faded away.
Not only did these traveling merchants not know Wanzhou's purpose, but even the people of Wanzhou didn't know what they were up to.
"What did the lord ask you to do? It's going to be spring ploughing now. If you keep buying sheep skin and rabbit skin, I'm afraid it'll rot in your hands. "
Feng Jin looked at him coldly for a while, but still couldn't guess Wei Ci's real intentions.
Naturally, Wei Ci couldn't reveal the specific details. The fewer people who knew the plan, the better.
If Feng Jin and the others guessed it themselves, then it would be a different story.
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