Ren Baqian hadn't seen many different kinds of people and things in this world.
All he had seen and come into contact with were basically aboriginals.
Then, there were the foreign merchants in Lan City and the people who came to celebrate the empress's birthday at the Honglu Bureau.
No matter how poor Lan City was, it was still under the rule of the emperor. In particular, the merchants at Jingdao were all from big and influential families. They more or less put on airs and didn't have much of a market atmosphere.
After arriving at Valley City and walking out of the mansion that had been arranged for them, they saw many shops and stalls of all shapes and sizes. Moreover, most of them were foreign merchants and remnant citizens of the Hao Nation. There weren't many aboriginals here.
Beside Ren Baqian was a young aboriginal called Feng Ting. Like the other aboriginals, he was bald, had a fierce-looking face, had a body full of strong muscles, and was twice the width of an ordinary person.
This was the guide that Xi Wangu had arranged for him.
After all, Ren Baqian and his bodyguard were unfamiliar with this place.
"Most of the people live in the mountains. They set off in the morning and will only arrive here at noon. There aren't many people now, but there will be more in the afternoon, "Feng Ting explained to Ren Baqian.
Ren Baqian knew that the people he was referring to were the aboriginals.
As for the people from other countries and remnant citizens of the Hao Nation, they weren't included here.
Just like how the people from other countries rejected the aboriginals, the aboriginals also rejected them.
"Set off in the morning and arrive at noon? It's not too far away, "Ren Baqian said as he looked at the few aboriginals around him.
"There's a big city called Nanhuang to the south of the Great Basin. It's more lively there and has a lot of good stuff," Feng Ting said.
The goods sold here were mainly oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and cloth for the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation. Other than that, they also bought herbs and animal hides. They were mainly targeted at commoners and didn't have a lot of good stuff.
In Nanhuang, it was mainly targeted at the aboriginals in the Sixty Thousand Mountains. Every day, many villagers brought the things they found in the mountains to Nanhuang City to sell and exchange. It was extremely lively and had a lot of good stuff. It was even livelier than Lan City.
After all, there were limited ways to store things in this world, and many things couldn't be stored for a long time. The journey to Lan City was also very long, and it would take at least 20 days. If it was a convoy, the speed would be even slower, and it would take more than a month.
Some gems and minerals were still fine, but some rare fruits would have already rotted by the time they reached Lan City.
There were also some strange beasts that were on the verge of death after leaving the environment of the Sixty Thousand Mountains. When they reached Lan City, not many of them could survive.
Back when he participated in the Great Hunt, he saw some strange mounts. Basically, they were mutants that had been captured from the Sixty Thousand Mountains and sent to Lan City, and they survived.
The empress didn't care about these things, but the second and third generations of the aboriginal officials were very fond of them. Riding on them would also make them look good.
However, there weren't many of them.
Along the way, Ren Baqian occasionally chatted with Feng Ting. Most of his attention was on the shops and pedestrians on both sides of the road.
After walking for some time, Ren Baqian gradually recognized the differences between the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation and the merchants from other nations.
The people of Great Xia were usually more arrogant. After all, they were backed by the most powerful nation.
These few days, when Great Xia attacked, the merchants were all captured. However, they couldn't go back either. These few days, the war between the two nations had temporarily ended, and these merchants were able to travel freely again.
After all, they had just lost a battle.
However, they were also different from the merchants of the Yun Nation and the Chen Nation.
The merchants of the Yun Nation were very extravagant. Whether it was their attire or the utensils they used, they were all more exquisite. Each and every one of them welcomed people with a smiling face and scolded behind their backs. What the aboriginals hated the most was this kind of thick-skinned behavior.
The merchants of the Chen Nation were characterized by their dark skin. They were dark, skinny, small, and ugly.
Even after moving from the Yun Nation to the Chen Nation, perhaps it was due to the fact that people were born in different places, but they still exuded a sense of pettiness.
Simply put, the temperament of the people of these three nations was very different.
As for the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation, they should actually be called the Shanyang people. It was said that they first migrated from a place called Shanyang. Later, as they multiplied and the commoners of Great Xia who couldn't survive continued to migrate over, they merged together and developed.
There wasn't much difference in appearance from the people of Great Xia and the Yun Nation, except that their foreheads were more prominent and their eye sockets were slightly deeper.
There were also many differences in their clothing. These remnant citizens of the Hao Nation wore a small blouse on the upper body and a pleated skirt on the lower part of the waist. There were slits on both sides, and one could inadvertently see their hairy legs through the slits.
Both men and women were dressed like this.
The most important thing was the hatred hidden in their eyes. Although they didn't show it on the surface and buried it in their hearts, it couldn't be hidden.
Their nation was destroyed, ruled, and tens of millions of people were kept in captivity in a basin.
It had been 71 years, and this hatred had almost penetrated deep into their bones.
In particular, when they saw Ren Baqian, they were astonished and amazed. After that, the hatred in their eyes seemed to be even stronger than when they looked at the aboriginals, which made Ren Baqian feel very puzzled.
He had never dealt with them before.
In fact, it wasn't difficult to guess their thoughts. They were kept in captivity, but Ren Baqian had infiltrated the aboriginal court with aboriginal guards.
They were both outsiders, but they were treated differently.
Furthermore, Ren Baqian was the husband of the empress and had contributed to the war with Great Xia.
Although they didn't know the specifics, they more or less heard some rumors in this place where merchants from various nations gathered.
Even in their dreams, they wanted Great Xia to drive those barbarians back into the mountains. Even if Great Xia became the master of this land in the future, they would still be able to live freely.
However, Great Xia lost miserably. It took 71 years for Great Xia to send out their troops, but they were defeated miserably.
How could Ren Baqian, who played a major role in this, not be hated? If he were an aboriginal, they would have added this kind of hatred to all the aboriginals.
However, he wasn't. He was also an "outsider" to the aboriginals.
"Come here." Ren Baqian waved at a man not far away. That man lowered his head and hurried away as if he didn't hear him.
"Capture him," Ren Baqian said faintly. Even a blind man could see the hatred in that man's eyes when he saw him. He touched his waist, hesitated for a moment, and then let go.
A guard went over, grabbed the back of that man's neck, and dragged him over.
"What are you doing?" that man struggled and shouted.
"Search your waist and see what's on it," Ren Baqian said softly as he supported his chin with his finger.
Following which, a knife made of bone was handed to Ren Baqian.
"Want to kill me?" Ren Baqian held the bone knife with two fingers and looked at it calmly.
This bone knife was rather sharp and was about one and a half feet long. These people from the Hao Nation stuffed the bone knife into their skirts and placed it close to their legs, so it wasn't easy to see.
"No, Sir, you have misunderstood." That man lowered his head and asked. He was surrounded by aboriginal guards, and even if there were another 100 of him, he wouldn't be able to hurt Ren Baqian. He wasn't a fool and naturally knew what to say.
"Why?" Ren Baqian asked doubtfully. "I have never seen you before, so I don't think we have any enmity."
"Sir, you have misunderstood. I wouldn't dare."
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, it's not up to you to say. I feel that if you want to kill me, you will be courting death, "Ren Baqian ignored his words and said.
He felt that he wasn't mistaken. The other party's eyes were filled with hatred, and his hand was placed on his waist, where the knife was hidden.
Looking at Ren Baqian with hatred in his eyes and such an obvious action, Ren Baqian was treating him as a fool if he said that he didn't have any intentions?
"Actually, I quite like to see people hate me to death but can't do anything to me. However, I want to know why they hate me so much that they can't help but touch their knife even in front of so many guards, "Ren Baqian said softly.
"There's a reason for every action. Don't tell me that you are afraid of seeing so many people and want to touch your knife for a sense of security?"
That person immediately said, "Sir, I just thought of something and wanted to touch my knife to see if I brought it out. In the end, I realized that I didn't bring it and wanted to go back to get it."
"Well, that makes sense." Ren Baqian nodded.
That person heaved a sigh of relief.
"However, I don't believe you. Bring me back and interrogate me for a few days before I consider whether I believe you or not." Ren Baqian waved his hand at the guard.
That person's expression changed drastically. If he was tortured for a few days, would he still be alive? What's the point of considering whether you believe me or not at that time?
Many people in the surroundings also looked in this direction. After hearing this, they lowered their heads and hurriedly left, not daring to look again.
These days, Xi Wanya had been killing, and many people were trembling with fear. They only dared to bury their hatred in their hearts.
Looking at this situation, everyone knew that this person wouldn't be able to live.
In fact, Ren Baqian had more or less guessed it. Perhaps not everything, but he could guess a little.
He walked around the streets for a long time, and the gazes he saw made him feel that it wouldn't be easy to get any information from them.
It was better to do something simple and direct.
This time, I'm here to do a good deed and to save the lives of all of you. With your petty tricks, sooner or later, the empress won't be able to endure it.
Now, you can be excluded. Sacrificing one of you, or a few more, will bring happiness to millions of families.
I will erect a monument for all of you later.
Don't say that everything was a human life. He wasn't a saint, nor was he a monk. He didn't pay attention to the equality of all living beings.
Killing one, ten, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand innocent people would allow one hundred thousand, one million, or even ten million people to obediently submit to Dayao's rule and contribute to the modernization of Dayao. That would be his goal.
To put it bluntly, Ren Baqian also knew that it was impossible for him to not kill people.
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