Chapter 181: Han Slaves of the Northern Frontier
Jin Sui felt both touched and amused. It seemed her impersonation of Li King was truly successful! At the very least, she had earned the recognition of the Black Feather Camp soldiers.
“Before, I had to pretend to be a Prince out of necessity. Now that everyone knows I’m a woman, how can I still pretend to be a man?”
“If you believe me, then tell the Prince yourselves. He might not be good at expressing closeness with his subordinates, but he will listen to your opinions.”
Hao Duojin chuckled and asked, “Leader Ji, I heard you and the Yan Clan Head discussing business in the Northern Frontier. Can we get involved in anything?”
Other soldiers chimed in, “That’s right! We’re building new houses and acquiring farmland in the border city to settle our families, and we need money.”
“Our Great Xia’s goods sell for a high price in the Northern Frontier. It would be great if we could also do some business.”
Jin Sui quickly smiled and said, “Of course! If you trust me, let me make the arrangements…”
Before she could finish, everyone nodded repeatedly, “We trust you! We all trust Leader Ji.”
Only Hei Hu asked worriedly, “Will it cause trouble for Leader Ji?”
Jin Sui said emotionally, “No! I was just short-handed! If you’ve worked so hard to travel to the Northern Frontier, the Prince will support you bringing back some goods to earn a little money.”
Border Soldiers were once the poorest military, receiving the worst provisions and military pay. A pair of boots for the Yan Prefecture Army was enough to equip the Border Soldiers with a full set of gear. But this would change from now on.
The Yan Clan had the right to Northern Frontier trade, but they couldn’t raise an army and needed Gu Changxiao for escort. It was only natural for them, the Border Soldiers, to earn some military funds through this.
It’s not like we’re asking the Yan Clan for favors, nor are we extorting merchant caravans. We’re just bringing goods ourselves.
Jin Sui then wrote a list, containing names of various leathers, herbs, and raw gemstones:
“These are all in high demand. The profit can multiply dozens of times when brought back to Great Xia! Don’t buy other goods randomly if you don’t understand them. Your capital is limited, and if you’re stuck with inventory, you’ll lose money.”
“I’ll ask Princess Tuoya’s Bodyguards to act as guides. You should take this opportunity to collect a batch of goods from nearby tribes. Don’t collect too much, just what horses can carry.”
“If you don’t have the capital, I’ll lend it to you.”
The soldiers were overjoyed and thanked Jin Sui repeatedly. Jin Sui was also happy to share with them how to identify the quality of goods, assess their value, and so on.
They nominated Hao Duojin to be in charge, giving him all their silver. He and a few other shrewd brothers would go to buy the goods.
Jin Sui quickly said, “Don’t use silver to buy, it’s not cost-effective. Trade with goods. Sugar, refined salt, tea, and linen are in high demand in the Northern Frontier, especially during winter.”
She thought for a moment and then took out some vegetables and fruits, tea, refined salt, and white sugar from her Space:
“These items are not worth much in our border city, but they will be valuable in the Northern Frontier.”
“This is your first time, so take these to trade with the Northern Frontier tribes. See what they like, and next time you can bring more of these items.”
Hao Duojin quickly said he wanted to buy from Leader Ji with silver. Jin Sui pretended to be angry:
“With our relationship, you call me Leader, and I would take your silver?”
“Consider it a gift from your Leader Ji to my brothers. Hurry up and trade. By the time the Prince enters the Royal Court, there won’t be time.”
The soldiers were deeply moved and repeatedly declared that Leader Ji would always be their leader! With one command, they would face death without hesitation!
Jin Sui quickly smiled, “Please don’t let the Prince hear this, or he’ll think I’m trying to abduct you! By the way, where is the Prince?”
Yan Jiu went to deal with her own shopkeeper. Gu Changxiao hadn’t been seen for half a day.
Hei Hu said, “Tuolei came to find the Prince, and the Prince went to his tribe.”
Hao Duojin whispered, “The Prince probably has other matters. I saw the Prince’s Personal Guards deliver a secret letter to the Prince.”
Jin Sui asked Hei Hu to accompany her for a ride nearby. As soon as they left the camp, Hei Hu excitedly spotted several plump wild rabbits not far away and immediately drew his bow:
“Why are the rabbits in the Northern Frontier so foolish, not avoiding people!”
Jin Sui reached out and stopped him, “Don’t hunt.”
Hei Hu retracted his arrow without asking any questions. Jin Sui saw a shepherdess in the distance, holding two small rabbits while herding sheep. It seemed these rabbits belonged to her.
She quickly warned Hei Hu, “Be careful, rabbits burrow. Don’t twist your horse’s hoof.”
It was not far from the Royal Court, yet there were herdsmen raising rabbits. It seemed the news of Han Chinese collecting rabbit wool and rabbit fur had already spread.
Jin Sui secretly rejoiced. She had to get the wool spinning machine working as soon as she returned to the border city.
Looking up at the distant snowy mountain, she asked Hei Hu, “Do you know where Langjuxu Mountain is?”
Hei Hu scratched his head and pointed north, “It’s at least a thousand li away!”
Jin Sui imagined Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty walking this path, pursuing enemies all the way to Langjuxu Mountain and watering his horses in the vast sea.
She couldn’t help but feel a yearning, and quickly reminded herself to first deal with the small island nation.
You’re not a warmonger, why are you thinking about these things!
The Northern Frontier is truly vast! Its territory is boundless, and its population is sparse, yet the environment is harsh and the land is barren. This is why generations of Northern Frontier people have turned their gaze south, repeatedly wanting to ride their horses into the Central Plains.
Jin Sui looked at the snowy mountain again. If Batel knew that by crossing the snowy mountains and deserts towards the Western Regions, and continuing further west, there was a fertile land called Tianzhu.
And the people there were not as tenacious and skilled in battle as the Han Chinese, would he turn his attention westward and stop thinking about going south?
This, like instigating the Northern Frontier people to raise rabbits and grow cash crops, was a plan that required long-term, subtle promotion.
Jin Sui felt it was very feasible. She had to depict Tianzhu as more prosperous, with gold everywhere, fertile land stretching for a thousand li, and sheep and cattle able to eat their fill right at their doorstep. The rivers would be so full of milk that they would be milky white.
Seeds could be scattered casually to harvest grain, and the mountains and plains would be filled with valuable spices…
Haha, Jin Sui’s lips curled up. “Once my Taoist Temple is built, I guarantee I can instigate the Northern Frontier people to head west.”
“Don’t worry about getting lost, I can also provide you with maps!”
Hei Hu saw Leader Ji staring at the shepherdess with a smile that was, how to put it, like a pervert seeing a pretty girl.
Hei Hu whispered, “Leader Ji, you are a woman now, you can’t stare at girls like that.”
Jin Sui: …I didn’t stare at girls randomly when I was a man either!
The two continued forward. When they saw a large wheat field, Jin Sui stopped and examined the wheat seedlings. They were growing very small.
What was funny was that the Northern Frontier people also distributed porridge, and they directly poured sheep dung into the wheat fields without fermentation.
The weeds in the fields grew more lustrous than the wheat. Jin Sui pulled up a stalk and said to Hei Hu with a sly smile, “What do you think if I buy this weed in the Northern Frontier?”
Hei Hu was confused, “This is a weed in the wheat field. Besides cutting it for horse feed, it’s useless. What does Leader Ji want this weed for? It grows everywhere in the wilderness around our border city.”
Jin Sui grinned slyly, “Heh heh, weeds growing in the wilderness won’t do. It must be from wheat fields. Its seeds have extremely high medicinal value.”
“I’ll tell the Northern Frontier people that I’ll buy these seeds at a high price. What do you think will happen when the news spreads?”
Hei Hu wasn’t good at thinking, but since Leader Ji asked, he tapped his temple and tried hard to think. The more he thought, the more terrifying it seemed!
He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, “Then, then when the autumn harvest comes, these fields will be ruined. The crops will yield at most thirty percent, all of it will be grass seeds!”
“Hiss, Leader Ji, are you really going to do this?”
Jin Sui praised, “Not bad! Who said my Hei Hu isn’t smart? You’re very smart now!
It’s a joke. A plan that you can understand at first glance, how could the Northern Frontier people not understand it?
We should just encourage them to grow cash crops. If I really encouraged them to grow grass, Batel probably wouldn’t let me build a Taoist Temple.”
Hei Hu said sincerely, “Leader Ji, if you were to become an official in the Imperial Court, you would definitely become a Prime Minister!”
Jin Sui chuckled, “Let’s forget about that. Being a Prime Minister is too tiring!”
At this moment, she saw farmers working in the fields, and there were quite a few Han Chinese among them. She curiously asked a Han farmer, “How do you farm in the Northern Frontier?”
The Han farmer looked at her warily and didn’t answer at first. Jin Sui took out two pieces of brown sugar from Hei Hu’s sleeve and gave them to him. He quickly looked around, put away the sugar, and then whispered:
“We are Han Slaves captured by the Northern Frontier people from the border pass, specifically to farm for the tribes.”
Jin Sui and Hei Hu both felt uneasy. They asked again, “Are there many Han Chinese in the Northern Frontier?”
The man nodded, “Quite a few. Almost every large tribe has hundreds or thousands of Han Slaves. Some were captured from the border pass, and some chose to stay in the Northern Frontier after land was ceded a hundred years ago.”
Ceding land refers to the battle where Great Xia recaptured the Sixteen Prefectures. The Northern Frontier ceded the Yan land, but many civilians were kept by the Northern Frontier.
Jin Sui asked her last question, “Do you want to return to Great Xia?”
The man snorted dismissively, “It’s all the same wherever we are, it’s all a life of toiling like oxen and horses. In Great Xia, we were Tenant Farmers for the Gentry, and we still couldn’t eat our fill or stay warm.”
After speaking, the man urged Jin Sui, “You’re a merchant from Great Xia, right? Hurry up and leave. If they see me talking to you, I’ll be beaten.”
He didn’t even ask Jin Sui for anything. In this era, the lives of common people were truly like wild grass, blown by the wind and taking root wherever they landed.
She sympathized with these Han people who were enslaved farmers in the Northern Frontier, but thinking of the refugees in the mountains near the border city, what was their situation any different?
As they returned, Hei Hu noticed Jin Sui’s somber mood. He wasn’t good at comforting people, but he still tried to organize his words:
“Leader Ji, there are too many pitiful people in the world, we can’t help them all. It’s already amazing that you can make the people in our border city live good lives!”
“The Imperial Court doesn’t even care about these Han people who are stranded in the Northern Frontier. Even if they escape back to Great Xia, they’ll still be refugees.”
“Don’t be sad.”
Jin Sui sighed softly, “I’m not sad, it’s just that seeing my compatriots living such difficult lives makes my chest feel a little tight.”
Hei Hu and the others always talked about what they did in the border city, thanking her. But only she knew that she did those things for herself as well.
Looking back at the Han Slaves working in the fields, perhaps she could do more, change even a tiny bit, but for these bottom-level people, their situation would improve greatly.
Well, it seems the Taoist Temple needs to be built quickly. She had previously thought of using the Taoist Temple to gather information about the Northern Frontier and then facilitate business.
Now, it seemed she might be able to do more.
Unexpectedly, they encountered Gu Changxiao halfway. He was only accompanied by two Personal Guards and looked very anxious.
Jin Sui was startled. Had there been new developments at the Royal Court? Being in an enemy country, one truly had to be vigilant and attentive at all times.
As it turned out, Gu Changxiao came to her side and anxiously asked:
“Sui Sui, why did you go out with only Hei Hu? You should bring more people. Many of Lei Zan’s confidantes have escaped. If they find out you are here, it’s too dangerous!”
Jin Sui said with relief, “I thought something had happened! So that’s what you’re worried about! Don’t worry, I haven’t gone far. We have Fish Oil Firearm with us. If they dare to cause trouble, we’ll just kill them.”
She told Gu Changxiao what she had seen along the way, “I didn’t expect there to be so many Han Slaves in the Northern Frontier.”
Gu Changxiao’s expression changed, returning to the deep and wise demeanor she had first known him by, unlike his recent childish and stubborn self.
His voice was low, but his tone was firm, “One day, I will bring them home.”
Jin Sui reminded him softly, “If going home means being like oxen and horses for the Gentry, I doubt the common people will be willing.”
A sharp glint flashed in Gu Changxiao’s eyes, not just towards the Northern Frontier, but towards the Great Xia Gentry. It was a chronic illness that would require drastic measures to cure.
But if it wasn’t treated, they could only watch as the Great Xia dynasty slowly declined.
Jin Sui said softly, “I will support you! To be honest, seeing the refugees in the mountains didn’t make me feel as bad, because even being a refugee was a choice the people made themselves.”
“But seeing these Han Slaves truly saddens me. They were all forcibly captured by the Northern Frontier people, and for generations, they have been slaves and servants to the Northern Frontier.”
Their homes and country are gone, and there is no hope. Their lives are not even worth as much as a sheep’s; they are just living numbly.”
“Gu Changxiao, when you have power in the future, you must bring these people home. Give them hope, let them stand up again and be upright Han people!”
Jin Sui’s eyes were moistening. She was restraining herself, suppressing her emotions. To personally witness her compatriots being driven like oxen and horses, and for her compatriots to be numb to it.
That feeling, anger, and sadness were not enough to express it. It was as if her veins were burning and her soul was roaring.
I transmigrated here, whether by the will of the Gods or something else. Since I am here, I must do something, leave something behind, and change something.
Before, I was clueless, taking things one step at a time. But now, Jin Sui has found her goal and solidified the meaning of her journey here.
I am a child of the Flower Planting Family. No matter where I am, I cannot forget my mission. I want my compatriots to stand up and be honorable people!
After setting this goal, Jin Sui suddenly felt that everything else became less important, such as love.
She glanced at Gu Changxiao. Love was such a complex and luxurious thing. It would be better if she had it, but it was also fine if she didn’t. There were too many things to do in the limited time.
They walked in silence for a long time, both with heavy hearts. As they neared the camp, Gu Changxiao said:
“I just met with the Northwest Camp personnel.”
Jin Sui was startled and lowered her voice, “Did something happen?”
“Father Emperor is gravely ill, Prince Yu is consolidating power, and he’s using the Northwest Camp as a scapegoat, cutting military pay and sending his own confidantes to lead the army. My old subordinates are being ostracized and persecuted. I plan to send them to the border city.”
Jin Sui clapped her hands in support, “Once the Northern Frontier Envoy enters the capital, Prince Yu will be too busy to bother with the border city. We can take this opportunity to win over talented individuals.”
“Let them all come to the border city. We can accommodate as many as come. Don’t worry about military pay. Once Northern Frontier trade opens, customs duties alone will be enough to support a hundred thousand troops.”
Gu Changxiao suddenly smiled, “So, I don’t have to go to the Northwest Camp. We can return to the border city together.”
Jin Sui was stunned for a moment. She had just praised him for becoming rational, and now he was being childish again. Did he really not want her to leave with Yan Jiu?
