Nine Hundred and Twentieth IX: Rabbit and Sheep Poison Policy (3)

Wu Liba had an ominous premonition.

"There were so many rabbit holes in pastures?"

Wu Liba called the owner of the racecourse and asked about the situation carefully.

The owner of the racecourse shook his head, "Although there were rabbit holes in previous years, they were not many, and they were not as dense as they are now."

The uneasiness in Wu Liba's heart became more and more intense, something was wrong, there must be something wrong.

Although he was born in the grassland, he lived a good life since he was a child. He rarely had contact with the herdsmen at the bottom, and he didn't even have a deep understanding of the situation in the grassland. Because he is a wise man of a foreign race in northern Xinjiang, he learned the culture of the Han family in the Central Plains, and used the essence of Han family culture to help northern Xinjiang become prosperous.

Over the years, in order to help northern Xinjiang recover from the blow of horse plague, Wu Liba had no intention of focusing on other places.

Furthermore, the king of the northern border is getting older, and the princes under his knees are getting more mature, and the battle for the throne is about to surface.

With the addition of the two major hidden dangers, how could Wu Liba have the energy to care about the lives of the herdsmen at the bottom?

If it wasn't for the large increase in the number of rabbit holes, which caused the ranch horses to become lame, he wouldn't have checked them out.

When the people under his command presented the investigated news in front of him, Wu Liba slapped his palm on the table in anger, with a grim expression on his face.

"Who allows these idiots to pretend to be smart and raise wild rabbits?" Wu Liba was anxious.

The guard's expression was startled, and he immediately lowered his head to hide the anger welling up in his eyes.

If it weren't for the imperial court's policy error, buying sweat-blooded BMWs from the Shalan Kingdom, which caused the entire northern Xinjiang to be infected with horse plague, and the herdsmen at the bottom were so poor that they had no money to buy rice for cooking? If these rabbits were not kept, it is unknown how many common people's families would be forced to die and sold themselves into slavery.

However, the guard didn't dare to say this, he had been with Wu Liba for several years, and he knew this person's temper well.

"Master, do you know the life of the herdsmen in the past few years?" the guard reminded cautiously.

Wu Liba's expression froze.

Of course he knows!

It even had an indirect relationship with him to cause such a situation.

In order to cultivate more war horses, the northern Xinjiang imperial court promised the benefits of the herdsmen's families and sold them the horses, and then the officials came forward to buy them back at a high price. Because of this policy, Northern Xinjiang was able to develop in just a dozen years, and even threatened Dongqing not to dare to act presumptuously.

This suggestion was put forward by Wu Liba, and it was because of it that he secured his position as a wise man in one fell swoop and was deeply trusted by the king.

The same is true for success, and the same is true for failure.

Herdsmen families devote all their resources to war horses and have no other source of income.

Horse plague broke out in northern Xinjiang, and there were not a single herdsman's war horses in ten, and the imperial court refused to make up for their losses, resulting in the destruction of many herdsmen's families. Even if Wu Liba doesn't care about the lives of the people at the bottom, he can still figure out these consequences, and he has a clear mind.

Wu Liba said angrily, "Even so, they shouldn't do this."

The guard had a weird expression.

Herdsmen do not raise rabbits in exchange for food, what else can they do?

Is it possible to not eat food and eat hay on the ground?

Rabbits have a short birth cycle and are easy to raise. Ordinary herdsmen rely on them to survive the hungriest period.

If the Northern Xinjiang imperial court were willing to show some mercy to the herdsmen and compensate them for their losses, they would not have raised rabbits.

Herdsmen have lived in grasslands for generations, and they also know how annoying it is for rabbits to dig holes.

However, for the sake of their family, they had to do so.

The guard wisely chose to remain silent, and Wu Liba said, "Continue to investigate! Find out who the masters behind those caravans are. I don't believe that the Central Plains will be so short of rabbit meat and fur... This is clearly a crime against us. The conspiracy in Beijiang must be caught!"

The guards were ordered to investigate.

I don't know if I don't check it, just check it a little...

Wu Liba looked terrified.

Almost every month, caravans from different places buy smoked and dried rabbit meat and tanned rabbit skins from herdsmen in northern Xinjiang. The quantity is not large each time, but the cumulative amount in a year is a terrifyingly astronomical figure. In addition, they also buy wool and mutton.

Compared with selling mutton, herders prefer to expand the size of their flocks,

Sell ​​wool.

The herdsmen made an account.

As long as the sheep are alive, the wool can be sold continuously, and the profits will flow steadily.

If the sheep were slaughtered, it would be a one-time transaction, not worthwhile.

Selling wool makes more money than selling rabbits. Almost every household raises sheep of different sizes, so that the number of sheep grows linearly.

The herdsmen in northern Xinjiang also have the habit of raising sheep, and Wu Liba was not sure if this was a conspiracy for a while.

After much deliberation, he took a group of guards to make an unannounced visit to the herdsman's family.

"...It seems... that there is nothing wrong..."

Wu Liba rode on a horse and looked into the distance, the herders were driving their flocks, the blue sky and green grass, everything seemed so harmonious and peaceful.

"Old man, it's hard work to keep so many sheep."

Wu Liba was dressed in the attire of an ordinary herdsman, and he didn't bring any valuables on him, so he looked like an ordinary person.

The old shepherd who was driving the sheep smiled and said, "It is indeed a bit hard work. This year the pasture is not luxuriant, so we always have to move around."

Northern Xinjiang is a nomadic people, and grazing follows the grass.

Where there is more grass, they will drive the animals to eat there.

Wu Liba faintly felt that there was something wrong with the old shepherd's words, so he tried a word.

"There are so many sheep, I don't know how much pasture to eat. According to this way of eating, we will soon rush to another pasture..."

The old shepherd said, "That's right, they are too good to eat. If you don't drive them, they will be so hungry that they can pull out the grass roots in the mud."

After Wu Liba heard this, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, as if he had grasped the truth.

He hurriedly asked, "Old man, where did you herd the sheep before?"

The old shepherd pointed casually, and Wu Liba thanked him, then hurriedly got on his horse and ran towards that direction.

Now this season is the time when pasture is abundant.

From a distance, the entire vast grassland looks like a piece of emerald jade that has fallen into the world. It is so green and refreshing.

However, when Uliba ran to the destination pointed by the old shepherd, he found that the grass in this area was a bit sparse.

To use an image metaphor, it looks like mild hair loss. Although the scalp is not exposed, it can be clearly seen that the hair is not as thick as before.

Riding on the horse, Wu Liba muttered to himself, "Sheep...rabbit..."

The breeze on the prairie blows the pasture, swaying and swaying.

"Could it be...grass?"

In an instant, he figured out all the joints, and his heart tightened.

Grass is the key to raising war horses, and the people behind the scenes clearly use this roundabout method to indirectly squeeze the survival resources of war horses!

"What a sinister strategy!"

Wu Liba clenched his back molars.

Fortunately, he discovered it early, otherwise, if the enemy was secretly subordinated for another seven or eight years, Northern Xinjiang might not be able to support war horses.

"This matter must be reported to the king, and he will make a decision. As for the person behind the scheme, he must also be arrested and dismembered."