Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 145 - 128: The Barbarians

It was night, in Liang Run’s house.

Zhao Yao, Liang Run, Tong Xi, Tong An, Ding Yuan, Uncle Zhang, and Ding Shan, along with Da Niu and Xiao Niu, were sitting at a table, eating hotpot together.

When they returned from Dahua Village, the villagers gave them a lot of vegetables they grew themselves, as well as pork, chicken, duck, goose, and lamb. Oh, and also pickled vegetables made by the villagers.

This trip to Dahua Village can be said to be very fruitful.

Everyone sat together, eating hotpot with laughter and joy, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.

While eating, Zhao Yao did not forget to feed pieces of raw meat to Xiao Bai.

Bai Bai didn’t come to the capital with Zhao Yao, but Xiao Bai did.

White Deer was going to Shu, and wasn’t at ease leaving Xiao Bai in the mountains, so she let Xiao Bai stay by Zhao Yao’s side.

Xiao Bai liked Zhao Yao and was very willing to stay by his side. However, it was rather shy by nature, either wrapped around Zhao Yao’s arm or hiding in his lap.

At this moment, Xiao Bai lay by Zhao Yao’s hand, obediently eating its dinner.

Da Niu and Xiao Niu sat on either side of Zhao Yao’s left hand, with Lai Man and Lai Le crouching below his feet.

Now and then, Zhao Yao would take some meat from the table to feed Lai Man and Lai Le.

This time, they didn’t use the secret passage to leave the palace and didn’t go to the Pei Mansion either. However, before leaving the palace, Zhao Yao instructed the cats and dogs in the Cold Palace to notify Lai Man and Lai Le guarding the Pei Mansion.

After finishing dinner, Liang Run took Zhao Yao and the others to stroll around the West Market’s night market.

The West Market at night was very lively, with brilliant lights and bustling crowds, even more lively than during the day.

Because there were so many people, Da Niu and Lai Man didn’t follow. However, Xiao Bai still stayed by Zhao Yao’s side, coiled up like a "bracelet" around Zhao Yao’s wrist.

In the night market, besides various local delicacies, there were also all sorts of exotic items for sale.

Zhao Yao noticed that there were Hu people selling things by the roadside, including Hu cakes, lamb, fine wine, furs, and jewelry made from various bones.

"How are there Hu people here?" Last year, when Zhao Yao visited the West Market’s night market, he didn’t see any Hu people. The last time he left the palace, he didn’t see any Hu people in the West Market either. "When did they appear?"

"About half a month ago, some Hu people started appearing in the West Market," Liang Run said, "I’ve heard that the court is allowing Hu people to trade with us."

"How come I haven’t heard of it?"

"These Hu people aren’t pure Hu people," Liang Run explained, "they are children of Hu people and Han people."

A word instantly popped into Zhao Yao’s mind: "Mixed heritage."

Liang Run said, "I’ve heard that they are allowing these Hu and Han descendants to do business in Great Zhou first. If they perform well, they will allow the Hu people to do business."

"There are quite a few good things on the Hu side." Zhao Yao had heard from Liang Zhaoyi about the matters in the Hu region, "furs, meat, medicinal herbs, and most importantly, horses. The horses there are excellent."

"Do you want to try some of their goods?" Liang Run said with a smile, "Their cakes taste pretty good."

"Of course, we want to eat, and we have to try the lamb too."

Tong Xi quickly said, "Young Master, can you still eat?" When eating hotpot earlier, the Young Master ate quite a lot. "Don’t overeat and have a stomachache when sleeping tonight."

"Eating one or two cakes and some lamb is not a problem." As Zhao Yao spoke, he walked over to the Hu people’s stall, "Boss, I want ten cakes and ten bowls of lamb."

"Alright, young master." The stall owner, seeing how good-looking Zhao Yao was, complimented him, "Young master, you are really handsome." It was the first time he saw such a good-looking child, so tender as if a pinch could make him burst into tears.

"Thank you for the compliment." Zhao Yao was not frightened by the fact that the owner was a Hu person, tall and rugged, with deep eyes and a high nose. "Boss, is your father or mother a Hu person?"

"My mother is a Hu person."

"Where did you live before? Have you been to Hu people’s places? Didn’t your father and mother come with you?" Zhao Yao curiously asked several questions in a row.

During this period, the owner was asked such questions every day, but he was not annoyed at all. No matter who asked, he would answer patiently.

"I previously lived in Wusun, and the people there are all Han and Hu mixed." While making the cakes, the owner introduced their situation to Zhao Yao, "In our place, Han and Hu can intermarry. I grew up on my mother’s side, and only returned five or six years ago."

"Actually, when I was very young, I came back once, but at that time the Central Plains was a land of war and unrest. My parents decided it was better to return to the Hu region."

Some fifteen or twenty years ago, it was the most chaotic time in the Central Plains, with wars raging everywhere and natural disasters, making life extremely difficult for the people of the Central Plains. In contrast, the Hu side was a little more peaceful.

"A few years ago, a relative of ours came to find us and told us that Great Zhou was established, the Central Plains were peaceful, and the lives of the common people were starting to get better. So, my father decided to bring us back to Great Zhou." With a smile on his face, the owner said, "In these few years since we returned, life has been getting better each year. Now we can even do business in the capital, something we never dared to dream of before."

For someone like the shop owner, a descendant of Hu and Han, they were very common in the border regions, not discriminated against, but people like them were previously not allowed to enter the Central Plains at will, let alone come to the capital.

To the capital, they naturally longed to come. Now that the court is allowing them to do business in the capital, it’s a great opportunity for them.

Zhao Yao and the others sat down at the owner’s stall. The owner served them the Hu cakes, followed by the lamb soup.

"Little young master, you can break the cake into pieces and soak them in the lamb soup to eat."

"Lamb soaked bread?"

"Little young master, you know it, you’ve had it before?" The owner spoke with an accent from the Hu region.

"I’ve never had it, only read about it in books." Zhao Yao lowered his head and took a few sips of the lamb soup, its taste different from what he usually drank. The lamb soup he usually drank had most of the gamy taste removed, but now the gamy taste was strong, yet not unpleasant.

"Little young master, how does it taste? Can you get used to it?" The owner knew that the lamb soup they usually drank had a very strong flavor, and many customers previously said they couldn’t get used to it.

"Although it tastes strong, it’s very delicious." Zhao Yao ripped a piece of the Hu cake into bits and soaked it in the lamb soup, then began to eat it, his eyes lighting up, "Delicious."

Liang Run and the others had a harder time accepting such a strong taste.

"Little young master, you can really get used to it?"

"Yes, as long as it’s delicious, I can eat it." Zhao Yao grinned, "When I grow up, I’ll definitely go to the frontier to try the local delicacies."

"Then when you go to our place, you can eat a lot of delicious food." The owner said proudly, "We have a lot of good food over there, you’ll definitely fall in love with our place."

"Really? Then I’ll definitely go when I grow up." Zhao Yao eagerly asked the owner about the delicious things they had.

The owner enthusiastically introduced the food and customs of their place. Zhao Yao and the others listened with great interest.

"Boss, do you have a lot of horses there?"

"A lot, the horses in our area are very famous." The owner said, "Every household has its own horse there."

Hearing this, Zhao Yao’s eyes lit up brightly.

"Boss, can I buy horses from your place?"

"Of course, you can. Our family’s relatives have a horse farm with many horses." The owner said, "The horses at my relative’s horse farm are all good ones, both the Central Plains people and Hu people often go there to buy horses."

Zhao Yao glanced at Liang Run, and Liang Run caught on.

"Boss, are you busy tomorrow? If not, can we discuss the matter of buying horses?"

"I’m not too busy in the afternoon."

"Then shall we discuss it in the afternoon?"

"No problem." New customers arrived at the stall, and the owner apologized to Zhao Yao and the others before getting busy again.

"Yao Yao, if we’re going to buy horses, we can’t just listen to what he says; we need to check out his relatives’ horse farm." Liang Run said seriously, "Horses aren’t cheap; we have to choose carefully."

Zhao Yao understood. He nodded and said, "Second Uncle, you should talk to him tomorrow afternoon and explore the situation with their horses. If the talks go well, you should personally go to Wusun."

Liang Run chuckled lightly, "I’ve always wanted to go to the frontier and buy some furs and medicinal herbs to sell."

"Now that business exchanges are starting, Second Uncle, you can get a head start and buy some furs and herbs over there to sell." Zhao Yao suddenly thought of many things, "Let Big Uncle also send people to Wusun."

"Alright."

"Second Uncle, when you go, bring some things from the capital to sell, too." Zhao Yao lightly tapped the table with his fingers, "Second Uncle, if this boss is a decent person, I think you could consider working with him."

In business, Liang Run was more experienced than Zhao Yao. So, Zhao Yao didn’t say much more.

"Wusun is close to Dawan, I wonder if they have any Ferghana horses there?" Zhao Yao said, "If they have Ferghana horses, Second Uncle, you must find a way to get one back."

Lie Huo was a descendant of Ferghana horses and other breeds, and it was already so impressive. If it were a purebred Ferghana horse, its speed and endurance would surely surpass Lie Huo.

"Yao Yao, a Ferghana horse is worth a fortune, are you sure you want to buy one?" Although Liang Run had never seen a Ferghana horse, he’d heard quite a bit about them, especially their prices. It’s not an exaggeration to say they’re worth a fortune.

"Yes, preferably buy two, a male and a female." Zhao Yao said seriously, "Horses are very important, we have to buy them. Oh, and their sheep are also good, we can buy some back as well." The horses and sheep they bought could be taken to his fief later.

At this moment, Song Jicai and the others arrived at the stall selling Hu cakes.

Shen Sen immediately spotted Zhao Yao, pointed at him, and shouted, "The little guy from last time!"

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