197: Chapter 197 The Prototype of the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse

Behind the merchant followed a caravan.

They were pushing wheelbarrows loaded with sacks of tea and salt—commodities that were scarce on the grasslands.

These wheelbarrows could be pushed easily even along rugged mountain paths.

The wheelbarrows played a major role in their ability to bypass checkpoints and smuggle controlled goods into the grasslands via treacherous mountain trails.

This type of wheelbarrow was the prototype for the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse.

When Zhuge Liang was transporting military grain, roadblocks often occurred due to poorly maintained plank roads or landslides during the rainy season; in such situations, wheelbarrows were difficult to park.

After all, they only had one wheel.

If you didn't provide a balancing force, it would tip over onto the ground, and everything loaded on the wheelbarrow would fall out.

To solve this problem, Zhuge Liang installed four support legs around the wheelbarrow.

When not in use, the support legs could be lifted.

When the wheelbarrow stopped, these four legs would be lowered to prevent it from tipping over.

Cao Jiacheng maintained friendly interactions with the nomadic herders on the grasslands. He had also meticulously built his own exclusive intelligence network to understand where the grassland tribes were grazing and what scarce goods they needed.

Cao Jiacheng's caravan dealt directly with small tribes.

Large tribes would try to force prices down, so to obtain greater profits, Cao Jiacheng chose to do business with the smaller ones.

The small tribes could buy tea and salt from Cao Jiacheng at lower prices, and they were happy to do so, reducing the amount they purchased from the large tribes.

Cao Jiacheng's approach was to ignore politics and stand only for profit.

This not only greatly annoyed the large Xiongnu tribes, but the Governor of Shangjun also hated him with a passion.

Not only was Cao Jiacheng aiding the enemy, but his smuggling also caused Shangjun to lose a significant amount of fiscal revenue.

The Governor of Shangjun had wanted Cao Jiacheng for a long time.

After Meng Tian significantly increased the reward amount, someone close to Cao Jiacheng finally grew tempted and reported his whereabouts.

The men sent by Meng Tian immediately took Cao Jiacheng into custody.

Just as Cao Jiacheng thought he was going to die, he was surprised to find that Meng Tian did not intend to kill him, but instead wanted him to find a way to contact the leader of the Tuan Tribe.

Cao Jiacheng felt he was just a pure merchant and did not want to get involved in political struggles, but Meng Tian did not give him many choices.

If he didn't contact the leader of the Tuan Tribe, he would die!

With no other choice, Cao Jiacheng could only choose to comply.

To prevent Cao Jiacheng from escaping, the workers in his caravan were all replaced by Meng Tian's scouts. Even when Cao Jiacheng needed to relieve himself, there would be a scout watching him from the side.

These scouts were agents specifically trained by Meng Tian to gather all kinds of intelligence.

They wouldn't relax their surveillance just because you needed to use the latrine.

Under Meng Tian's coercion and with no other options, Cao Jiacheng could only brace himself and work for Meng Tian.

"Sain baina uu!"

"Mr. Cao."

As soon as Cao Jiacheng's caravan arrived at the Tuan Tribe, they were immediately greeted with a warm welcome from the tribe's nomadic herders.

Although Cao Jiacheng was disliked by the large Xiongnu tribes and the Governor of Shangjun, he was very popular among the small tribes who could buy scarce goods at lower prices.

In the past, when Cao Jiacheng saw these herders welcoming him, he would respond enthusiastically.

But this time, he only gave a slight nod.

He was a very clever man; how could he not know what Meng Tian wanted him to do by contacting the leader of the Tuan Tribe?

Cao Jiacheng's gaze couldn't help but fall on a young man in the caravan.

This man was eight feet tall, with a grand appearance that people of the time found extraordinary.

He had a light beard on his chin, giving him a somewhat ethereal air.

After entering the Tuan Tribe's sphere of influence, they were surrounded by a large number of mounted archers. It was like entering a den of enemies, surrounded by powerful foes.

If the Tuan Tribe had any ill intentions toward them, a single attack could take them all out.

Cao Jiacheng was quite bold, but the first time he entered the Tuan Tribe and dealt with its people, he had been extremely nervous.

He had been terrified that the other party would disregard all rules of conduct and kill him.

Yet this young man, who was clearly visiting the Tuan Tribe for the first time, showed not the slightest hint of panic on his face when facing those hardened grassland men.

He looked at the circular tents of the Tuan Tribe with a face full of curiosity.

He didn't have the slightest sense of panic from entering an enemy camp; instead, he appeared overly relaxed, just like a tourist.

Cao Jiacheng was incredibly impressed by this man's state of mind.

He could never learn that kind of psychological fortitude.

The news of Cao Jiacheng's caravan reaching the Tuan Tribe was reported to the tribe's high-ranking officials as quickly as possible.

The high-ranking members of the Tuan Tribe, including Jin Tu, all came to receive Cao Jiacheng's caravan.

Of course, they weren't there to receive Cao Jiacheng personally, but to be the first to pick through the goods brought by the caravan.

Jin Tu felt a sense of disbelief as he looked at the salt, tea, and even the many bronze swords that his tribe desperately needed.

During this period, the performance of bronze swords was superior to that of iron swords.

The Xiongnu's heavy defeats at the hands of the Qin Army were partly because their blades were not as sharp as the bronze swords held by the Qin soldiers.

"Good, good, very good!"

Jin Tu was overjoyed.

He looked at Cao Jiacheng, only to see a face full of worry.

He was surrounded by people, making it look as if he were being held hostage.

Jin Tu's brow furrowed.

He felt that the atmosphere of Cao Jiacheng's caravan was a bit off.

In particular, the eyes of the workers were sharp and bright; one look was enough to tell they were no simple characters.

Their bearing was also more like that of elite soldiers.

Jin Tu's expression immediately became cautious.

None of those who could reach a high position were fools, and the other high-ranking members of the Tuan Tribe also sensed that something was wrong.

"Mr. Cao?"

Jin Tu was just about to ask a question.

He saw the young man with the relaxed demeanor step forward, place his hands in front of him, and bow, saying, "I am Lu Jia, a strategist for His Majesty the Head of State of the Great Qin Empire."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Cao Jiacheng.

Jin Tu's gaze also turned toward Cao Jiacheng.

He could not understand what Lu Jia had said.

Cao Jiacheng translated it into the Xiongnu language.

Upon hearing it, Jin Tu's expression stiffened slightly.

The way he looked at Lu Jia became unfriendly.

Jin Tu didn't know Lu Jia's purpose for coming, but the man's status was equivalent to a strategist by the Chanyu's side; his position in Great Qin must be very high.

If he could take control of this man and hand him over to the Chanyu, then wouldn't he receive a reward?

Perhaps this time, when the Chanyu went south for a military campaign to raid the borders, he would bring the Tuan Tribe along!