Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 14

Chapter 14 First Messenger
Walking out of the tent, the cold autumn wind blew towards Lu Zhen, causing the remaining drowsiness to dissipate. Wherever his gaze reached, the originally verdant and greenish plains were now completely withered. Autumn had already come to an end, and the coming harsh winter was coming.

Although it had only been a month since Xie Lao Qi and the others had died, Lu Zhen’s body had undergone an earth-shaking change. Compared to when he first arrived, he had become even more taciturn. Ordinary herdsmen didn’t dare to approach him easily. However, as a Divine Envoy acknowledged by everyone, his position in the tribe had not changed at all.

The young man, who should have jumped off his feet, was now as calm as an old man who had experienced many vicissitudes of life. If anyone who had known him before had seen this scene, they would have been shocked. Anyone who truly understood Lu Zhen would be worried if they saw the gazes of the Rahab Clan people around him, because deep within those gazes, there was already an extremely strong hostility and murderous intent hidden.

The deaths of Xie Lao Qi and Cao Bing shattered all of Lu Zhen’s fantasies. These Meng people had been listed as his mortal enemies since then. So he stayed here, saying that he couldn’t leave, but rather that he didn’t want to leave, because he had to avenge his enmity before he could leave in peace.

But apparently, the Rahab tribe did not give him a chance to take revenge. Normally, surveillance in the name of protection was needless to say. There was no chance for him to interfere in the major and minor affairs of the tribe. He wanted to stir up the hatred between He Zha and Mu Jia, but he failed. This made Lu Zhen almost unable to think of any way to achieve his wish.

Not only did the Rahab tribe not weaken this autumn, but they grew stronger and stronger. In just a month, their cattle, sheep, and livestock had nearly doubled. They had even befriended the surrounding tribes, large and small, and they seemed to have the posture of becoming the leaders of the Mongolian tribes in this area.

All of this was thanks to Lu Zhen, the Divine Envoy.

It was because he helped Rahab Clan extract salt from the rock wall, allowing them not only to satisfy their own needs, but also to use the extra salt in their hands to trade with the surrounding tribes in exchange for cattle, horses, and livestock, and these tribes had to accept Rahab Clan’s kindness.

The tribes on the grassland had always lacked salt, and the only one who could satisfy their needs was Daming in the south. It was also because they understood this point that the Ming Kingdom was particularly concerned about the salt issue. Even if they were to discuss it with the Meng people, there were still very few transactions. Moreover, the price was extremely high, often causing Meng people to be dissatisfied.

However, the Mongol tribes could only endure the situation where the other party held a monopoly position.

Now, things had finally turned around. The quality of the salt produced by the Rahab Tribe was not inferior to that of the Ming Kingdom. The price was reasonable, and to a certain extent, they could even owe it on credit. This was naturally the best thing for the people of the surrounding tribes. In just a few months, the Rahab tribe had gained a great deal of wealth and friendship with other tribes because of the salt trade. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Rahab tribe rose to prominence.

If it was an ordinary person who knew about this result, they would definitely feel regret and frustration, because all of this was caused by themselves. But Lu Zhen did not have such thoughts, because he knew very well what kind of changes the Mongolian grasslands were going through.

A figure who had almost unified the divided Tatars and Tatars and who in the decades that followed posed a great threat to Great Ming in the south was on the rise. Any internal enemy that could threaten him would be completely devoured by him, so what if Rahab Clan had more cattle and sheep? In the general trend of history, in front of historical powerhouses, it was just a mantis in a carriage.

Lu Zhen could even say that the more popular Rahab Clan was today, the more miserable the outcome they would face tomorrow. So when he saw a few more blackmailers coming towards him from afar, a mocking smile flashed in his eyes.

However, when he heard the identity of the other party, his heart suddenly tightened, “We came to discuss matters with you on the orders of the First Grand Master.” The leader of the group was a man in his forties, with a scarlet face, looking at an extremely strong man. His voice was as loud and clear as a mighty face, so even though he was a little distance away, Lu Zhen could still hear these words clearly.

“I actually sent someone here first.” Lu Zhen’s eyebrows instantly knitted together, forming a deep word “Chuan”. He had counted thousands of times, but he had omitted this variable. If Rahab Clan were to surrender and join the ranks, they would no longer be an obstacle to each other’s fulfillment of their ambitions.

Lu Zhen underestimated this rare expert on the grassland. Originally, the Mongols, who had thought that the strong would prey on the weak, would only use force to conquer them, but they didn’t expect that the other party would actually come up with such a move. In this way, things would be out of his control.

“What should we do?” Lu Zhen couldn’t help but be dumbfounded when he saw a few important people in the department welcome these guests to He Huer’s tent, and the latter even accepted them with a smile on his face.

@ @ @ @

However, the situation in the tent was clearly not as harmonious as Lu Zhen thought. After a few words, the originally polite and friendly He Huer and the rest of the Rahab tribesmen’s faces sank.

Meng people have always been straightforward and heroic, not as much as the southern han people, meet without any greetings, directly rushed to the subject. After the messenger entered the account, he put forward his intention of coming. He was ordered to recruit Rahab Clan to his account.

Had He Huer and the others heard this a few months ago, they would naturally have been very excited. Who didn’t know that in terms of power on the grasslands, the former Grand Master was a first-class existence. Once he was able to take it into his account, he would no longer have to worry about his livelihood in the future.

But now, it was different. Rahab Clan had earned a lot of money from salt, and it looked like it was going to rise to prominence. If he wanted to recruit them as trusted aides, it would be fine. However, just by inquiring, they knew that the other party had only taken a fancy to their recent sources of wealth and salt, so He Huer and the others naturally had different views.

Seeing their thoughts and words filled with excuses, the messenger’s expression darkened. “What, do you still dare to disobey the intention of the First Grand Master? Do you know what will happen to those tribes that refused to obey their orders?” His tone was a little more dense.

Hezha, who had been sitting at the bottom without saying anything, was immediately annoyed, “He was only a Grand Master of Wa La first. Do you think he is the sweat of our grasslands? He actually wants everyone to obey his orders?”

“What? Looks like you have a problem with the Grand Master?” Hearing this, Bo Hu suddenly turned to look at Hezha, his eyes filled with killing intent that could not be concealed.

However, Hezha was not a friendly person, so he immediately looked at each other unyieldingly, “So what? Your Washa Tribe can’t cover the sky with one hand!”

Seeing that the two sides seemed to be at odds with each other, He Huer hurriedly said, “Hezha, is this your attitude towards guests? Why don’t you go out?”

When the other important people in the other tribes saw this, they remained silent. Mu Jia even smiled complacently. He Zha’s actions were exactly what he wanted.

Actually, Hesha regretted it the moment he said that. Although the grassland tribes had not been completely conquered, and there was even a Tatar tribe that was trying to make things difficult for them, if they were to be angered, a small tribe like their Rahab tribe would only have to wash their necks and wait for their slaughter.

However, it was impossible for him to humbly beg for mercy, so when he saw He Huer say this, he snorted coldly and got up to leave the tent.

Just as He Zha was about to take the bow and go hunting outside to relax, he heard a voice from the side, “He Zha, why didn’t you go to entertain the guests, but came out?” It was Lu Zhen who looked at him from not far away.

Hezha was feeling depressed and wanted to talk to someone. Lu Zhen was obviously a suitable candidate, so he walked over and snorted, “Because I offended the guest.”

“Oh? What are these guests up to? They can actually make you angry?” Lu Zhen said unknowingly.

“They were also sent here first.” As Hezha spoke, he remembered something, “Do you know who was first?”

“I’ve heard people mention that although he’s not from the Washa Tribe, he clearly has the potential to become the next Genghis Khan.” Lu Zhen said casually.

“Hmph” A cold snort of disdain came out of Hezha’s mouth. “How can he compare to the great Genghis Khan? He’s just an ambitious man with some tricks.”

“You seem to be a little dissatisfied with him. By the way, you haven’t answered my question yet. What exactly happened that caused you to conflict with them?” Lu Zhen asked curiously.

“As I said, he has great ambitions first. This time, he actually took a fancy to our Rahab Clan, wanting to swallow us all!” Hezha said with a deep gaze.

“There’s actually such a thing?” Lu Zhen suppressed the nervousness in his heart and probed, “Then what do you mean?”

“He Huer definitely won’t agree. Now that we Rahab Clan are rising, how can we agree to be annexed? However, he didn’t dare to offend us first, so I stepped forward!” Hezha said casually.

Lu Zhen nodded, “I see. However, it seems like this matter should be quite troublesome.”

“That’s right, I do have some prestige in the grasslands first. Perhaps the people in our ministry will be convinced by him, but I will definitely not let them succeed!” Hezha stated his position seriously.

A thought flashed through Lu Zhen’s mind, but his face did not reveal the slightest bit. Instead, he advised, “You’d better not force yourself into this matter, otherwise it will only be bad for you. If someone catches you, you’ll be in trouble.”

“You mean Mu Dai? He doesn’t have the ability yet!” Hezha said disapprovingly.

When Lu Zhen saw him say this, he did not continue to persuade him. However, he added in his heart, “I am referring to an outsider like me …”

@ @ @ @

Counter attack, call for backup! Counter attack, call for backup! ! Counter attack, call for backup! ! ! (Say something important three times)