In the evening, the detailed contents of the telegram finally arrived.
After receiving the order, the Meteor Squad organized an elite tracking team and entered Zhenla's territory. The logistics team followed, mobilizing a total of one thousand six hundred people.
Along the way, the envoys stopped at a total of five tribes. Three of them were exterminated, and a total of 461 people were killed. Not only did these people not give any useful information, they even tried to use force to stop the envoys, and even poisoned them.
According to Wang Juan's order, anyone who tried to stop them was to be killed. Thus, the heads of the four hundred and sixty-one people had been cut off, marinated, and hidden. When the envoy was brought back, they would either be brought back together or be brought back by the second echelon, but they had not yet returned.
The remaining two tribes were very easy to talk to. Not only did they point out the way for the Meteor Squad, they also provided some vegetables. The Meteor Squad used the meat they had hunted to trade with the two tribes.
At the same time, the two tribes were briefed on the current situation in the Great Tang, and they were welcome to settle down at the border. The original tribes there had already dispersed.
This way, the two tribes could first interact with each other, and then they could deepen their relationship.
After that, they went straight to the royal capital and forcibly brought back the envoy who had bullied the women of their own country. They were not stopped by any force, and after Zhenla's King Bafawarman sent someone to inquire about the matter, he no longer cared.
Of course, he did not send his own soldiers to help capture the envoy. At the same time, he had his people seal off the news so that it would not spread among the common people. He was probably worried that it would affect the morale of the people.
The Meteor Squad was currently escorting the envoy back as quickly as possible. On the way back, they found a place with a signal and sent the news to a relay station, all the way to Yizhou.
After reading the contents of the telegram, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan exchanged a smile.
"It seems that Bafawarman is rather tactful. I thought that when we went to his royal capital to capture the envoy who had just returned, he would at least say a few words, protest, or even send soldiers to protect the envoy. I didn't think that he would just let it go."
Zhang Xiaobao said to Wang Juan with a smile.
Wang Juan picked up the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the wastepaper basket. She gently shook her head and said, "Maybe he wants to paralyze us first, and then organize the army to fight. We have to give him some pressure first. Their ordinary tribes are quite united. They dare to block our people and poison us. Unfortunately, they are destined to have a bad ending."
"That's right, they really can kill. More than four hundred people died, and perhaps all the youths of the three tribes were killed. Why did they have to come to our Great Tang to bully two weak girls? Let's see how many lives they have to pay for it."
Zhang Xiaobao also shook his head. It was true that many people had died, but he had no regrets, nor did he feel any guilt. Killing was not the goal, but the means. After killing this one, once the news spread, the Great Tang would be at peace with its neighbors.
The King of Zhenla didn't want the news to spread, but he could help the other party spread the news everywhere. He could also write about it in the newspapers and let the people of the Great Tang see it and feel the power of their country.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan discussed again. In order to continue to put pressure on Zhenla and make them as obedient and stable as before, the two decided to set off three days later. They would travel slowly downstream.
They would go to Dianchi Lake to enjoy the scenery, then turn west and cross the Lancang River. They would continue to head west and enter the territory of India, or Piao Country, which was also Myanmar.
They had to move slowly so that the intelligence personnel from other countries who were stationed in Yi Province would have more time to return. If they were too stupid and couldn't return faster than they could, they would have to think of other ways to let their intelligence personnel from other countries get the news.
Going down from Yi Province would give people the feeling that they were going straight to Zhenla. When the King of Zhenla found out, they would see if he would send a letter of apology.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's purpose wasn't to fight, but to understand the situation of the various specialties along the way. For example, jade, jade, these things had to be developed properly. There were also gold mines and so on.
In addition, they wanted to make more detailed maps to see where they could build roads. In the future, they would occupy those areas. They couldn't be like now, where they would risk their lives to enter the forest from the mountains.
After making one round, they could return in winter. They would continue to choose a place and then go there to build.
*****
Three days passed quickly.
Xiaobei and the others had already packed their luggage and said goodbye to the children in the school. They also left 'homework' for the little boy who liked to play Monopoly. In fact, it was to let him understand the various data in the game and remember the environment of the places he passed by. After that, he would write a letter and get someone to send it to Xiaobei and the others before replying.
The little boy was very reluctant to leave. He had learned a lot from playing the game. He had obviously learned more than other children of the same age, and this made him yearn for the life of learning in school. People were like this. When they couldn't compare to others, they didn't have the motivation to learn. Once they were strong in a certain aspect, they would become stronger in that aspect because they wanted to protect this advantage.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family's teams took the boat and did their best to advertise that they were going to the Annan Protectorate before going to other places. They even organized a farewell party and left amidst the people's farewells.
As soon as they left, the officials in Yi Province obviously felt more pressure. Many things that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family arranged after they came over were taken over by them. If they didn't do a good job, the results wouldn't be very good.
*****
The fleet moved slowly on the river. In order to reduce the speed when the current was flowing, the boats even set up anti-wind sails to offset some of the power of the current.
Other boats hated that they couldn't have an extra pair of wings so that they could move faster.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were afraid that Zhen La's intelligence personnel wouldn't be able to send the news back in time, so they specially sent a report to the Annan Protectorate and asked them to do a lot of local advertising. They said that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family would be coming over soon with a large army, so they had to organize people to level the resting place of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family in advance.
Moreover, it was a real start of construction. The local people also had to organize and help with the construction of houses. This money was paid by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
In fact, they wouldn't go at all. The buildings and leveled grounds could be used for other things, so they could just treat it as helping to build the place.
"So busy." Zhang Xiaobao stood at the bow of the boat and sighed.
"It's fine if we're busy. In fact, compared to ordinary people, we're already very relaxed. We don't need to wake up early every day and return home late. Moreover, what we do is more meaningful than what they do. I don't intend to live a life where home — — work place — — home."
Wang Juan stood beside Zhang Xiaobao and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao pointed at the other boats on the river and said, "I'm not talking about us, but them. Our fleet has taken up one of their routes, and this is when all the boats are lined up in a straight line. If they were to move horizontally, they wouldn't be able to move at all."
Wang Juan looked in the direction Zhang Xiaobao pointed at, and sure enough, it was very busy there. A large cargo ship had sailed against the current and was now slowly moving forward, buying food at the same time.
Normally speaking, the ship would prepare its own food, but looking at the situation, in order to be able to carry more goods, the ship would eat along the way, and buy food wherever it went.
The people who had boats near the two sides of the river had an additional business. They would prepare the food and put it in a big bucket on the small boat, and then sail the small boat into the river. A small sail was hung on the boat, and the words "Box Lunch Sale" were written on the sail.
Many cargo ships would let them pass, and then use a rope to hang the food up, pour out the food, and then hang the bucket back. It was very convenient, and it also saved manpower. There was no need to arrange an extra kitchen to cook, and there was no need to prepare food. If drinking water, they could just drink directly.
The only drawback was that the cost was high. The food bought was more expensive than the food cooked by oneself, but not by a lot. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it.
Wang Juan really didn't see such a situation. Now that she saw it, she took out a telescope and looked carefully.
The large cargo ship happened to be going against the current, and its speed was not fast. The small boat was flexible, and it was easy to get close to it, but it also looked very dangerous. If they were not careful, the small boat would accidentally hit the big ship. It was impossible to die, but the ship would definitely be destroyed.
"It's very interesting, isn't it?" Zhang Xiaobao saw Wang Juan looking over there and smiled, and said to her, "In fact, this is the pursuit of life, and fairness is impossible. Look at the people on the small boat, they have good skills to control the boat, and at the same time, they can think of this method and are willing to work hard. "
"The food they cook must taste good, or there will be competition." Wang Juan followed.
She knew what Zhang Xiaobao meant. This part of the people who rowed the boat and sold food would definitely earn more money than others. With money, they could hire others to continue to expand their business, build more boats, and cook more food to sell.
The income would increase even more, and the people who were hired by them would naturally not be able to match their income. The word "exploitation" could be used, and the income fairness of society would be broken.
However, when they earned more money, they would have to collect more taxes from them. Otherwise, society would be in turmoil. This was another kind of injustice to them. They were smart and worked hard for it. They earned a lot of money, but there would always be people who were jealous.
"It's not easy, it's not easy. Regardless of whether they are smart or stupid, there are people like us who help them maintain life. Everything is for the sake of living a better life." Zhang Xiaobao sighed again, like a philosopher.
"Let's buy a share and try it." Xiaobei's voice sounded not far away.
They were also unwilling to stay in the cabin, so they ran to the deck, basked in the sun, and looked at the scenery. They were waiting for others to fall into the water so that they could save them. This was not a very "proper" way of thinking. Who would wait for others to fall into the water?
However, this was what Xiaobei and the others thought. Unfortunately, this dream was not so easy to realize. There were many boats coming and going, and the people who rowed the boats were proficient in swimming. Even if they fell in, they would probably not wait for Xiaobei and the others to save them.
Following Xiaobei's instructions, someone immediately shouted in that direction and asked the food seller to come over. Someone else went to prepare a large basin to hold the food.
The Tang Empire's unique Rice Seedling Flag was recognized by all Tang people. When he heard the shout, the food seller urged the people on the cargo ship to send the money over.
When the money was in hand, the food seller turned the rudder, observed the distance between the two sides, and paddled diagonally against the current.
Zhang Xiaobao's boat was also moving forward, but it was not fast. After waiting for a while, the food seller's boat turned the rudder again and moved side by side with the big boat.
The small boat was pushed by the big boat's water, and it looked very dangerous, as if it could capsize at any time. There were a total of four people on the boat, and two of them were in charge of controlling the oars, so that the small boat could fight against the water brought by the big boat again and again, maintaining the balance of the small boat.
Xiaobei looked down and said, "It's not easy. If I were to row, I promise that the boat would capsize and then swim to the shore. However, there is no gain without effort. It looks like a family, not bad. "
The people on the boat threw down a rope, and at the same time, two long poles were extended from the deck. This way, the people rowing the boat did not need to control the oars, but directly grabbed the poles and fixed their small boat so that it was in the same direction as the big boat.
When Xiaobei saw this, he ran into the cabin. When he came out, he held a loudspeaker and shouted to the people below, "Learn from this. In the future, equip your boat with two bamboo poles. Why bother controlling the oars?"
The people holding the poles on the boat looked up and shouted to Xiaobei, "Thank you, I didn't think of this before."
"Look, am I not very noble?" Xiaobei felt that he had done a very big thing, so he asked Xiaoyuan, who was also looking at the small boat.
Xiaoyuan answered wisely, "Noble, you are really too noble. After you taste the food later, you can also give some suggestions for improvement. That will be even more noble."
"Okay." Xiaobei agreed, but then he showed a troubled expression. "If it's really too bad, I'll give you the leftovers, okay?"
"Use a small plate and let's eat one portion. I'm going all out. It's just a big mouthful. I don't believe it will kill me." Xiaoyuan mustered a lot of courage.
Xiaobei smiled happily. She was just joking and did not expect Xiaoyuan to be so cooperative.
The buckets for the food were quickly brought up. There were two buckets of vegetables and one bucket of rice, a ratio of two to one. Moreover, there was a bamboo box on one of the buckets for vegetables. Inside the box were salted vegetables.
Someone below shouted, "The salted vegetables are not for sale. They are for us to eat. I'll let you have a taste."
"Thank you." Xiaobei shouted back with the loudspeaker. After shouting, he was puzzled and asked Xiaoyuan, "Why don't they sell the salted vegetables?"
"Because the salted vegetables are not delicious?" Xiaoyuan replied with uncertainty, then shook his head. "No, if it's not delicious, why would they give it to us? Don't give them money for the salted vegetables. Give them two packets of snacks in return. Also, give them a small jar of fermented bean curd and stinky tofu. Courtesy demands reciprocity. "
Xiaoyuan's last words were an order to the inner courtyard. They were used to not giving money when others gave them things. When the time came, they would give other things in return. In fact, they would lose money every time. The value of the things they gave in return was often several times or even dozens of times the value of the things they gave them.
However, once they encountered something, they would still be very happy and would be willing to give more valuable things back.
After the food was poured out, the snacks, fermented bean curd, and stinky tofu were put into the buckets and hung back for them.
Xiaobei tried the salted vegetables. They were very ordinary cucumbers and radishes, but they tasted really good.
Smacking his lips, Xiaobei was even more puzzled. "It's pretty good. There's even some sesame oil in it. Especially this cucumber. It was actually soaked in a large sauce and has a sauce fragrance. If it was sold, many people would definitely like to eat it. Could it be that the production can't keep up? Brother. "
Xiaobei could not understand. When asking her brother, she was naturally asking Zhang Xiaobao and not Xiaohai.
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the salted vegetables and then at the vegetables. He said to his sister, "Because the people on the cargo ship are also smart."
"What do you mean?" Xiaobei asked.
"If they sell salted vegetables, then the price of the salted vegetables will definitely be cheaper than the vegetables. Moreover, salted vegetables are also saltier than the vegetables. When the time comes, the people on the cargo ship might only buy a bucket of vegetables and then some salted vegetables. Wouldn't the food seller earn less money?"
Zhang Xiaobao explained to Xiaobei.
Xiaobei and the others all opened their mouths wide. They looked at the salted vegetables in shock and then looked at the vegetables that were poured out. They were very speechless.
"They … they only have this little trick up their sleeve?" Xiaobei said with a sigh. She felt that this person was really too difficult to judge. A food seller actually had such tricks up his sleeve.
Zhang Xiaobao smiled and said, "It's not a little trick. It's wisdom in life. Our country is supported by these little tricks. We can learn from them in all kinds of industries and all kinds of things. Then we can promote the development of society. When society develops, more little tricks will appear.
Bit by bit, this country will become stronger. Otherwise, look at the people in other places. They are all very stupid. Without little tricks in carpentry, they can't do well in carpentry. Without little tricks in carpentry, they can't build houses. Without little tricks in cooks, how can they come up with better new dishes?
Don't underestimate them. They are an important part of society. If someone can learn all the little tricks, then what they have is great wisdom. "
"Got it. Thank you, Big Brother." Xiaobei listened very seriously and said happily after she understood.
Xiaoyuan also said, "So that's how it is. Everything comes from life, and then the changes in life promote the improvement of wisdom. Then … can we sell vegetables and salted vegetables?"
Zhang Xiaobao thought for a moment and said, "Since you have nothing to do and don't need to run around and interact with people, you can help them think about how to sell salted vegetables and vegetables at the same time."
"Yes, consider it as homework for you. Think about it carefully. When you've thought it through and it's really feasible, send someone to tell them to sell food. Eat it. You guys buy it, so eat it first. Even if it's not delicious, you have to eat it. "
Wang Juan said. Then she looked at the bitter faces of her siblings and smiled. "Let's eat it then.
I don't believe that he would dare to poison me. I'll go first. Look, this is an eggplant. It's not roasted eggplant. It's directly stir-fried, and the skin is fried. This is a cabbage slice. There are small bites on the stem of the cabbage. Xiaoyuan, take a look. Is the cabbage fried with vinegar? "
Xiaobei went over to look at the dishes. There were a total of two dishes. One was an eggplant, and the other was a cabbage. They didn't look good, so she decided to give Xiaoyuan a chance to eat first.
Xiaoyuan really went to eat. She took a spoon, scooped out a little, and placed it on the plate. She picked it up with her chopsticks and ate it. "Not bad. It's edible. It's just a little bland, and there's little oil. There's actually some meat inside."
"Then you guys eat." Wang Juan said to her siblings. Then she whispered to Zhang Xiaobao, "How do you think we can sell salted vegetables and vegetables at the same time?"
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