"Brother Daiyang! Will the Futi Guard at the mouth of the Songhua River to the south really send troops to raid the tribute convoy?!"
"By the witness of the Sky God! On the lower reaches of the Songhua River, the only ones who can mobilize two or three hundred horsemen are the Futi Guard!"
"What about the Hurree tribe of the Haixi Jurchen?"
"You won't see Hurree cavalry until you reach the middle and upper reaches of the Songhua River. They're even stronger than the Futi Guard, able to send out three or four hundred horsemen, or even more!"
"Three or four hundred horsemen?! Does Hurree raid tribute convoys too?"
"Hurree is a bit better. As long as you hand over a quarter to half of the tribute goods and profits, they won't make a move, and they'll even protect the tribute convoys of smaller tribes! With the strength of your two hundred horsemen, handing over a quarter should probably be enough! But they'll keep a tight eye on you the whole way!"
Daiyang, chieftain of the Kaolangwu Guard, stood atop the wall of the ancient guard post and, for the sake of the Salt and Ironware and his dead father, gave them some pointers on the situation around the Songhua River. Hearing Chieftain Daiyang's information, Ali fell silent. When he had gone to pay tribute before, the Haixi tribes had indeed collected "protection fees" from him. But at the time, he had not carried much wealth for tribute, and he had some ancestral connection with a great figure in Liaodong, so the Haixi tribes had let him off lightly.
But right now, this horse convoy of two hundred men was fully loaded with provisions and tribute goods, carrying Iron Armor, Ironware, and Salt. Though the horsemen had enough fighting