On the edge of the Great Desert's steppes, in the Tam Tribe.
At the center of the chaotic arrangement of tents, an ancient-styled Han shop stood out, exceptionally eye-catching.
Inside the shop, Wumu Wood, chieftain of the Tam Tribe, stared with hope at the new faction that had suddenly appeared in the shop's list of trading partners.
But upon seeing the partner's name—'Barren Mountain Village'—he realized it was merely a village.
Disappointment flickered across his face.
"A village?! Sigh!"
He shook his head, a look of despair clouding his gaunt features.
The Tam Tribe's current situation was not good; they were, in fact, facing a life-or-death crisis!
Life on the steppes was harsh and competition was fierce—they fought over grazing lands, water sources, and Heaven-Gifted Lands (another name for Secret Realms)...
His Tam Tribe had once known a glorious past, possessing several grazing lands, over ten thousand elite warriors, and even a Heaven-Gifted Land.
Unfortunately, because of that Heaven-Gifted Land, they had been targeted by a more powerful tribe. War after war, defeat after defeat.
From last year to now, their tribe's elite warriors had been all but wiped out, most of their treasures plundered, and their grazing lands carved up by a pack of wolves. They, along with their old and weak, were driven all the way to this dangerous region bordering the Great Han.
Before they could even catch their breath, another nearby tribe had set its sights on them...
But they were unprepared for war. Due to the prolonged conflicts, the tribe's supplies were severely depleted.
Left with no choice, Wumu Wood, as the tribal chieftain, could only pin his hopes on the 'Intermediate Shop' they had seized from the Great Han at the peak of their power!
But who would have thought that within the Intermediate Shop's 500-li radius, the only contactable party was a single village!
A village! What damn use was that!
Could it provide weapons?
Could it provide food?
'Can it be that the heavens wish for my demise!'
At this thought, Wumu Wood felt his heart turn to ash.
Yet even in his despair, a sliver of hope remained. Clinging to the idea of trying anything in a desperate situation, he sent a message to 'Barren Mountain Village'.
...
On the shop panel, two trading partners were blinking, indicating incoming messages.
Shanwu City: Barren Mountain Village? A village? Who gave you permission to build a private shop?!!!
Tam Tribe: Trade?
Seeing these two vastly different messages, Xiao Jing was taken aback, his brows furrowing.
'What's the meaning of this message from Shanwu City?'
'Does the law of the Great Han forbid the private construction of shops? This is too damn tyrannical!'
Although he thought this, he was still mindful of the imperial court's authority. After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Jing sent a message to Shanwu City.
Barren Mountain Village: Sir, we don't understand. Why can't we build one?
Shanwu City: I said you can't build it, so you can't build it. Tear it down at once, or don't blame us for what happens next!
Seeing this, Xiao Jing's brows furrowed deeply. A flicker of anger rose in his heart, and he decided to simply ignore Shanwu City's message.
Perhaps Shanwu City was indeed powerful.
But to think they could make him tear down a shop built from a precious blueprint with just a few words? Impossible.
However, Shanwu City's unusually hostile attitude also made Xiao Jing realize that building his Basic Shop might have infringed upon someone's interests...
'I must get stronger, and quickly!'
'I was originally planning to buy some food from Shanwu City through the shop. Looks like that plan's a wash. I'll just have to go into the city to buy some myself later.'
With that thought flashing through his mind, Xiao Jing began to reply to the Tam Tribe's message.
Barren Mountain Village: Let's trade! Do you have warhorses or food? I can trade weapons for them!
Tam Tribe: Weapons?!! How many? Is it a large quantity? Warhorses, I have them! Food, I do not!
Wumu Wood was shocked. A mere village actually had weapons.
He knew a fair bit about the Han Dynasty's court and was aware of their strict control over weaponry. What ordinary village would dare commit the crime of privately hoarding weapons!
After the shock came elation. Hoarding weapons was a good thing!
His tone couldn't help but become a little frantic!
Looking at the message from the Tam Tribe, Xiao Jing raised an eyebrow.
'The other party seems a bit desperate. Looks like there's a huge profit to be made here...'
Barren Mountain Village: 100 Rusty Iron Spears (White), 20 Terracotta Helms (White), 5 Rusty Sabers (White) and 5 Rusty Spears (White)!
Xiao Jing had selectively listed some of the weapons he had no use for.
Seeing the weapon list from Barren Mountain Village, Wumu Wood was a little disappointed.
Tam Tribe: The quantity is a bit low and the quality is a bit poor. Do you have any better weapons, and in larger numbers?
Barren Mountain Village: There will be in the future! How should we calculate the price?
Wumu Wood wanted to win over Barren Mountain Village, so after a moment of hesitation, he offered a price slightly higher than the average for weapons in the Great Desert.
Tam Tribe: Iron spears for 8,000 copper coins each, terracotta helms for 14,000, and rusty sabers and spears for 6,000. My ordinary warhorses are 9,000 copper coins a head.
HOLY SHIT!!!
Seeing the prices offered by the Tam Tribe, Xiao Jing's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
8,000 copper coins for a single rusty iron spear?!!!
'Is the Great Desert just that rich, or am I just that ignorant?'
'And the price of a White-quality weapon is almost the same as a warhorse! This is insane!'
'I've hit the jackpot!!'
He had browsed the forums and had a rough idea of the weapon trade prices in the cities of the Great Han.
From what he knew, a Gray-quality weapon went for about 5,000 copper coins.
A White-quality weapon would fetch 1,000 copper coins at most, yet the Tam Tribe was willing to spend nearly 10,000. This was just too damn profitable.
At this moment, Xiao Jing suddenly understood why Shanwu City would want to prohibit villages from privately building shops.
It was too profitable!!!
Barren Mountain Village: Deal! The total for the weapons is 1,140,000 copper coins, which is 114 taels of gold. I'll use 18 of those taels to buy 20 warhorses!
While buying warhorses from the Tam Tribe this way was extremely profitable, Xiao Jing's main goal was to equip his own forces, not to act as a middleman.
Besides, recruiting Wind Cavalry consumed a lot of gold. These 20 warhorses, added to the 15 he already had on hand, would make 35—more than enough for now!
Barren Mountain Village: By the way, do you have any stallions for breeding?
Tam Tribe: We do, third-rate studs. But we only accept high-quality weapons in trade for them, not money!
Xiao Jing was a bit disappointed to see this. He persisted for a while, refusing to give up, but finally relented when it became clear the Tam Tribe would not budge an inch.
With the Pixiu Altar in place, the transaction went smoothly.
After Xiao Jing grudgingly paid the 114,000-coin teleportation tax (the original total was 228,000, which he and the Tam Tribe split evenly)...
A flash of white light flared. The weapons on the altar vanished, and in their place appeared 83 taels of gold, 6,000 copper coins, and 20 warhorses!
"Good! With this money and these warhorses, I can finally recruit the Wind Cavalry!"
Xiao Jing was thrilled!
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel internally. No wonder so many people in history loved smuggling goods to the Great Desert. The profits were simply off the charts!
'However, since the Tam Tribe appeared on my Basic Shop's trade list, they can't be too far from Barren Mountain Village. I have to be on my guard!'
Xiao Jing thought.
But even with this apprehension, Xiao Jing wasn't the type to stop eating for fear of choking. He wouldn't let his wariness hinder his village's development.
After all, he was confident that his village's development speed would be unimaginably fast!
'Still, the food problem isn't solved! Looks like I'll have to go to Shanwu City to buy it myself later!'
Xiao Jing thought, a headache coming on.
After wrestling with the problem for a moment, Xiao Jing pushed it from his mind.
He summoned Guo Yun and ordered him to lead the warhorses to the Wind Cavalry barracks.
He was going to start recruiting Wind Cavalry!
After all, he had been looking forward to the Wind Cavalry for a very long time...