Those two thousand Gatu people were indeed in Kewen Village, and Charles let them hide in the ancient residence of Griffin Knights.
Not many people know about this secretive location, and no one thought that Charles would cooperate with Zakar.
However, this station is not a good place for Gatu people.
Because as long as the entrance to the valley is blocked, they won't be able to get out - there is only one entrance to this place, and it's not spacious.
Of course, there is actually a secret path inside the station that leads to Goddess Mountain, but only Dalion knows about that path.
Li Ang has walked that path once, but he also doesn't know how to go because it requires a long detour in the fog and forest.
You will get lost as soon as you enter this misty forest. Except for Dalion, who has lived here since childhood, others will probably never come out again if they enter.
Currently, Dalion is blocking the valley entrance with Griffin Knights.
Gatu people at the station did not try to rush out - there was only a three-meter-wide road at the entrance of the valley. One side of the road was a cliff, and the other side was a deep stream and rapids. There was no other place to stay, and the entrance of the valley was a corner.
But outside the corner of the valley entrance, there is an open space where an arc-shaped military formation of dozens of meters can be laid out.
As long as the brain is not broken, anyone can see it, and it is definitely impossible to escape.
So Gatu people also retreated into the inside of the station - they couldn't get out, but Li Ang's troops couldn't get in either, and the two sides were facing each other like this.
Li Ang doesn't really care about this confrontation, as long as they are trapped.
"Dalion, just stay here and keep an eye on these Gatu people, and don't let them come out. I have to go to Fletcher..."
Li Ang planned to leave after arranging the troops, but after thinking about it, he turned back and asked Dalion: "You and Charles have a good relationship and spend the most time together. Did he experience anything unusual when he was with you?"
"If I hadn't seen these Gatu people with my own eyes, I'm afraid it would be hard for me to believe that Charles would collaborate with the enemy..."
Dalion thought for a while and pointed at the station, "Your Majesty, Charles has always regarded you as a god, and built a statue for you to worship every day. Sometimes a person will talk to himself in front of the statue alone... Is this abnormal?"
Li Ang was stunned. "That tomb in the station was built by Charles?"
Li Ang still clearly remembers that there is a very conspicuous tomb in the Griffin Knights station - the tombstone reads "Here lies the brave and fearless King of Pendor, Li Ang His Majesty Griffin."
In front of the tomb stands a life-size statue of Li Ang.
It was built for him by Charles and Dalion after he disappeared. The tomb was actually empty.
At that time, Dalion explained that on the one hand, this tomb was built because most people thought that Li Ang was dead, and on the other hand, it was to give Griffin Knights the name of "revenge for Li Ang."
After all, Griffin Knights's identity was very embarrassing at that time - in the eyes of others, they were equivalent to an illegal armed force at that time.
At that time, Amy was Queen of Lionheart Kingdom, but due to historical reasons, Griffin Knights could not be loyal to the Lionheart Kingdom. Therefore, they had to use the name of Li Ang to preserve themselves, that is, to let others regard them as Li Ang's private army to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Li Ang originally thought that Dalion got the instruction from his adoptive father, but he didn't expect that it was actually the suggestion of Charles.
"Your Majesty, Charles's worship of you has actually gone beyond the concept of a monarch and a minister... He regards you as a god. Moreover, he can probably be regarded as the kind of fanatical believer - I think that even if you ask him to die, he will do it without hesitation."
Dalion said, stroking his chest and bowing his head to Li Ang: "Judging from the situation here, Charles did collude with Gatu people. But I am also convinced that his loyalty to you is unquestionable. I don't know why he did this, but there is probably some reason. Your Majesty, I hope you can give him a chance to defend himself."
"I will."
Li Ang nodded, thought about it and left.
After returning to Long River City, Li Ang received the message sent back by Raphael.
Raphael has arrived at White Deer Fortress, and he locked Charles into Pande Bank - there are hundreds of Noldo Elves guarding there, and Vendathir who once fought side by side with Raphael is also there.
This is a very safe approach, and Raphael has indeed grown a lot.
However, Li Ang still has no time to ask what happened to Charles because he still has to rush to Fletcher.
He will first go and completely deceive Zakar, and then come back to clean up the house.
Sigismund is indeed a very efficient person. He built Fletcher's trading market in only three days.
Maybe it's fate, maybe it's coincidence. The location of the mutual trade market is right at the riverside camp where Li Ang once fought a bloody battle with Gatu people.
The original small riverside camp has gone through many expansions by Ralph and Charles, and is now a medium-sized fortress that can accommodate thousands of people.
Moreover, this fortress spans the long river, like a barbell. There are military stations and walls at both ends of the river, and in the middle is a very solid wooden bridge.
In other words, this medium-sized fortress is actually equivalent to building a small castle on both sides of the river. Even if the castle on the other side of the river is occupied by the enemy, it can still defend the bridgehead at the other end to block the attack. At the same time, it allows the defenders to cross the river and quickly counterattack. It is a military fortress with both offense and defense.
Now, the north side of this fortress is designated as Gatu people's trading ground; while the south side is designated as New Kingdom of Pendor's hypermarket, with a bridge in the middle.
This is of course a very fair approach. Li Ang always does business based on the principle of fairness and voluntariness...
Including the list he made for Zakar, it also seemed extremely fair. Even Zakar felt that he seemed to have taken advantage...
For example, a goat weighing over fifty pounds can be exchanged for five pounds of salt;
Two sheep can be exchanged for one pound of dye;
Six sheep can be exchanged for one pound of Bax spices, and they are already ground into powder;
The more expensive lead pots and lead cauldrons only cost as much as three or five sheep;
Even the extremely valuable Fushou Gao is on the list - this stuff has indeed cured Zakar's old injuries and constipation, and it can also refresh the mind. It can also relieve coughs, vomiting and diarrhea - most common diseases on the grassland can be cured! Gatu people has even called this stuff a 'miracle medicine'. But for such a precious thing, one pound only costs ten sheep!
Of course, the sheep must be raised to more than fifty pounds, otherwise they will not be harvested - Li Ang left many fifty-pound scales for the trading yard prepared by Gatu people.
This standard is also extremely fair. A fifty-pound goat is actually not that big. It only takes one year to raise it and it will reach this weight. It is not yet an adult. Generally, goats can actually grow to more than one hundred pounds.
Zakar even thought that such a sheep was a bit too small, but Li Ang said that a sheep of more than fifty pounds is most suitable for roasting sheep - this is indeed true.
"Li Ang Your Majesty, this price is indeed very kind. I have no objection... If you need a war horse, I am also willing to sell it to you."
Zakar feels that Li Ang is really sincere in opening this trading center. In his opinion, this kind of pricing is almost the same as picking it up for free - sheep are really not worth much on the grassland.
"There is no need for war horses. My army currently has enough horses. Of course, if you are willing to sell stallions, I can buy a few..."
Li Ang rejected Zakar's proposal. "Gatu people is also a human being. Let your people live a better life. Everyone can raise sheep, women and children can also herd sheep, and it can also replenish the food reserves of your tribe. But raising horses requires a lot of energy and young manpower..."
Zakar looked at the compassionate Li Ang and nodded slowly. "That's right... Your Majesty Li Ang, you are indeed a kind king."
"In this way, both of us can reduce the number of troops stationed and invest more manpower and material resources into people's lives... But you have to take care of this market. I'm worried that Zhuda's tribe will come to destroy it - I don't want to trade with him. You know, he will definitely not exchange sheep for it."
Li Ang also nodded and stretched out his hand towards Zakar.
Zakar also reached out, grabbed Li Ang's paw and shook it hard. "Please rest assured, Zhu Da will never come again. Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty Li Ang."
The two parties agreed on the price and the matter was settled.
In order to ensure that the transaction with Gatu people can be maintained for a long time, Li Ang asked Andongjia, who is temporarily stationed here, to manage this trading area - Andongjia once managed the trading area with Misty Mountain people at Raven Territory, and now he is quite familiar with it.
Let Misty Mountain people maintain the transaction between Gatu people and Pande, which seems fair and reasonable.
Of course, the most important thing is... Li Ang does not intend to let decent people like Ralph or Leofric take care of this matter.
The person in charge of managing this trading field is most suitable to be a relatively "flexible" person like Andongjia.
Because Andongjia and Ansen are in love, she knows what those 'necessities for life on the grassland' that Li Ang got...
Fushou Gao is opium. There is no need to explain the situation of this stuff. Anyway, Ramon has now monopolized the opium market of Xingar, and the supply is very sufficient.
Lead kettles and pots are not just lead products, their inner layers are also painted with mercury paint - which can achieve a non-stick effect and make these utensils look shiny and beautiful, and they are easy to clean.
However, long-term use of lead products can lead to lead poisoning, and heating of mercury paint will produce more deadly mercury toxins...
And those so-called Bacchus spices are actually contraband that was not allowed to be sold in Bacchus country twenty years ago, and they are also overstocked.
These spices are not natural spices, but are processed by the former Bax merchants by mixing waste spices with various toxic additives. The reason why they are powdered is to avoid being seen...
But this second-hand spice can indeed remove the greasiness of meat, and the effect is excellent-probably because the content of things like camphorin is particularly high...
Since the effect of removing greasiness is particularly good, it is indeed a good thing for the grassland people who have been eating meat for a long time. Even if it is eaten in small amounts, it will not kill people. At most, it will cause liver cancer and reproductive system diseases...
There is only table salt with no additional ingredients, because it is not made according to the real table salt standard - it is a semi-finished sea salt that has not been distilled twice, that is, the first salt made directly from sea water. It looks and tastes fine, but long-term consumption may cause blindness, forgetfulness, hair loss, tinnitus, general weakness and other minor problems...
They are all small problems.
You see Zakar has sincerely expressed his gratitude...
These are the most lacking good things on the grassland. Li Ang does honest business.
Half a month later, Gatu people completely withdrew from the grassland and indeed sent a large number of sheep.
At this time, the two thousand Gatu people who were stuck in the ancient garrison had almost exhausted their food and grass. It seemed that Zakar had used the fastest efficiency to collect 20,000 sheep.
These sheep immediately became the benefits used by Li Ang to reward his subordinates - they had been fighting everywhere before, and the troops were tired and needed encouragement.
Twenty thousand sheep did not seem to be much after being divided up by thousands of troops. Almost every soldier could get two sheep, and those who had made great achievements in battle could get a little more.
However, another saying soon spread on the mainland: soldiers who have made great achievements in battle should use fat sheep as reward, because the soldiers will use it when they return home to marry their wives - after all, roasted whole lamb is one of the three-piece wedding banquets...
Of course, this statement also provides supporting services for Li Ang's sheep raising plan...
After Zakar's people sent the sheep to Fletcher, Li Ang also let go of the Jatu troops in the ancient garrison as promised. They were very honest.
Shortly after this unit was released, news of Gatu people's internal strife came from the North - this came from a Gatu people named 'Shazha'. He was originally a subordinate of Zhu Da, but now he defected to Zakar.
The tribe of Judas the Destroyer was attacked on a large scale by Zakar. Zhuda was killed in battle and the tribe was annexed.
Gatu people fully obeyed the leadership of Zakar and began to conduct large-scale transactions with Fletcher.
Probably because Zhu Da's tribe has been taken care of by Zakar, the transaction went very smoothly. Gatu people basically happily led the sheep in exchange for the good things they wanted, and no unnecessary conflicts occurred.
After all, for Gatu people, there is really no shortage of sheep, especially goats that are easy to feed...
Sheep are indeed very good livestock, they are adaptable and easy to feed, they are docile and calm and easy to manage.
And everything from goat milk to wool to mutton and horns is used in all parts of the body. Even sheep intestines are a must-have trauma suture item for doctors.
The only downside is that goats consume more pasture than horses and they chew on grass roots...
Of course, chewing grass roots will not cause desertification of grassland, but will make the recovery period of grassland longer-several times slower than the recovery of grassland gnawed by cattle and horses.
For Gatu people, it is their living habit to change pastures every season and rotate grazing in different pastures throughout the year.
The livestock they originally raised more were horses and cattle.
But the Li Ang trading market will force them to raise a large number of sheep - only goats can be exchanged for those good things, which could not be obtained by robbery everywhere. Especially salt and metal utensils, which are necessities that are really lacking in the grassland.
When goats are raised in large numbers, after about a year or two, when they return to the first pasture, they will find that... the pasture has not fully grown.
Without enough pasture, they must reduce the number of livestock grazing—but what types of livestock?
Horses are picky about food, and the pastures have not yet fully grown, so they cannot feed many horses, but they can still feed sheep - compared with horses, goats are indeed easier to raise...
Besides, it doesn't matter if one season of missing horses is needed in a short period of time. Gatu people There is no shortage of horses now...
At the same time, the trading market of Li Ang only accepts sheep.
Then the choice is easy to make.
After reducing the breeding of cattle and horses time and time again, Gatu people will gradually become a professional goat breeder - whether it is for trade or to feed more livestock to protect the tribe's food reserves, this is a choice that must be made.
So this vicious cycle can only continue... until everything is irreversible.
Coupled with the dependence on 'Fushou Gao' and the intake of various toxins, Gatu people will also find that their neonatal mortality and malformation rates will be frighteningly high after one or two years, and their adults will gradually become weak.
The mighty warriors will become as skinny as firewood, and their proud riding and archery skills will be unable to be used due to trembling hands and dizziness...
But the reason for all this, given Gatu people's cultural level, I'm afraid we will never be able to find the answer.
They will probably blame the gods Indar for giving up on them...
Moreover, no matter how they try to change everything by then, it will be too late. Raising sheep for New Kingdom of Pendor honestly will probably become the only reason for their existence.
If nothing else happens, in a few years, Gatu people will become gentle, polite, good at singing, dancing, warm and hospitable...
Conquering, in fact, does not necessarily require a sword.