The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 695 A Great Life, a Frustrating Death

Braving wind and snow, they traveled thousands of miles just to sell some tea and casserole dishes. To the people of the Central Plains, this seemed like a loss, but to the Xianbei people of the grasslands, these were necessities.

Because there are no grains or vegetables on the grasslands, the daily diet mainly consists of beef, mutton, and dairy products. Eating too much of these can easily lead to a feeling of fullness and can also cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

Tea can effectively neutralize greasiness, promote digestion, supplement vitamins, prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, improve immunity, and even have antibacterial properties, reducing gastrointestinal infections. In short, tea can replace vegetables and make up for some of the diseases caused by the lack of vegetables among the nomadic people of the grasslands.

Although the Hu people did not understand digestive aids or vitamin supplements, they could appreciate the benefits of drinking tea. Therefore, tea became a necessity in their lives as soon as it entered the grasslands, and they snapped it up immediately upon its appearance.

The role of a clay pot is no less important than that of tea, because it can be used to cook rice. Cooking rice, which is a common task for people in the Central Plains, is a major challenge on the grasslands.

The grasslands have no iron ore and no iron forging technology. The iron that is finally obtained is all used to forge weapons. Who would be willing to forge iron pots?

Without an iron pot, you can only barbecue, but besides the monotonous taste, the biggest drawback of barbecue is food waste.

Fresh meat contains oil and water. Grilling evaporates the oil and water, resulting in serious food waste. Boiling, on the other hand, can turn the oil and water wasted from grilling into soup, which can warm the stomach and satisfy hunger.

Although the nomadic people of the grasslands ate cattle and sheep, they were not so extravagant as to be able to eat beef and mutton freely. They also faced serious hunger problems. They were so careful with their food that they could hardly bear to waste it.

This shows the importance of pots to the grasslands. In the past, without pots, they could only barbecue, and there was no way to stop it even though they knew it was wasteful. But now it's different, because they have earthenware pots.

Earthenware pots can not only cook delicious food, but also cannot be melted down to make ironware, which can perfectly avoid the salt and iron embargo policies of the Central Plains dynasties, making them incredibly friendly to the people of the grasslands.

Kebineng's eyes lit up with excitement as he looked at the fresh tea leaves and the brand-new clay pot. "Great! Excellent! With these tea leaves and clay pots, we can save many lives this winter. I wonder how many tea leaves and clay pots Young Master Cui brought?"

Han Long replied, "Eight thousand catties of tea leaves and two thousand three hundred clay pots."

Kebineng sighed helplessly, "How come there's only so little? This isn't enough!"

With hundreds of thousands of men under his command, the amount of tea and casserole he needed was far too large; this amount wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in his teeth.

Han Long spread his hands and said, "There's nothing we can do. Both of these items were smuggled in by the pseudo-Han people. As for the tea, needless to say, our Great Wei doesn't have any tea trees at all. The clay pot might be able to be imitated, but our Great Wei simply doesn't have that technology. It's already good enough that we were able to transport these over. Such a small amount of trash had to be transported from Jiangdong by sea to Youzhou, and then from Youzhou to the grasslands. We also had to guard against the detectives along the way. It wasn't easy for our Cui family either."

Kebineng grumbled, "Our grasslands need tea leaves the most, but we have no tea trees; we need clay pots the most, but we have no cooking skills. What kind of situation is this?"

From Kebineng's perspective, the grasslands were really too poor. They had nothing to eat or wear, and all the necessary supplies had to be transported from the Central Plains.

However, the despicable Central Plains dynasties continuously blockaded the grasslands, leaving the nomadic peoples of the grasslands with nowhere to buy things even if they wanted to, which was utterly hateful.

Therefore, Lao Tzu was determined to unify the grasslands, and then send troops south to demand an explanation from the Central Plains court, asking why the Central Plains dynasty was blocking him and why it was not selling him salt and iron.

Han Long sneered inwardly, "If your grasslands have everything, what are we Central Plains for? If you are self-sufficient, how can we control you?"

While complaining, Han Long took out a bamboo tube from his pocket and handed it to Kebineng, saying with a smile, "Chief, my father is seriously ill, so I will be the one dealing with your tribe from now on. This is a small gift for our first meeting, please accept it."

Kebineng sneered, "You Central Plains people are so hypocritical. If you're going to give a gift, just give a gift. Why use so many fancy words?"

He took the bamboo tube and opened it. Looking down, he exclaimed with delight, "White Sugar, this bamboo tube must weigh at least two pounds!"

White sugar is a luxury in the Central Plains, let alone on the grasslands. It's really sold by the gram. For Han Long to give away two jin (1 kg) as a gift at once is definitely a big deal.

Han Long made grand promises, saying, "A little bit of white sugar is no big deal. My father's ideas are outdated. Now that I'm in charge, I'll naturally make it bigger and stronger. From now on, whether it's tea, cloth, pottery, porcelain, or even grain and sugar, as long as the leader can eat it, I can send you anything except salt and iron."

Kebineng listened with a broad smile, but rubbed his hands together and said, "If possible, I would also like some salt and iron. The price is negotiable."

Salt is a necessity, but there are no salt-producing areas on the grasslands, so the demand for salt has never decreased and there is no substitute.

Iron goes without saying; without iron, there are no weapons, and without weapons, there's no way to conquer other tribes and expand one's power. Therefore, Kebi dreamed of achieving freedom in salt and iron production, but alas…

"Well..." Han Long hesitated. He couldn't just agree to this casually. If he did, Ke Bineng would definitely think he was just making empty promises.

But his hesitation was seen as an opportunity by Kebineng, who excitedly said, "What are you standing here for? It's freezing cold. Come inside the tent with me and warm up."

Han Long, who was dragged into the tent by Kebineng, received the highest level of hospitality from Kebineng. Not only was there a wide variety of barbecue, but he was also provided with many dancers.

Han Long, using the excuse that the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, settled down and spent his days eating meat, drinking, and playing with women with Ke Bineng. Soon, he and Ke Bineng became brothers.

However, Han Long did not forget his mission. After spending more than a month in the camp, he calculated the time and felt that Sima Yi was coming soon, so he decided to take action.

That noon, Han Long arrived at Kebineng's tent to check in. After exchanging pleasantries, he said, "Brother, I've been staying in the tribe for too long and I have to go back. Otherwise, once the mountains are closed for the New Year, I'll be completely trapped on the grassland. But since you've taken such good care of me, there's something I need to tell you before I leave."

After speaking, he deliberately looked around. Kebineng, who had become completely familiar with Han Long, had no suspicions about him. He decisively drove all the maids out of the tent and ordered the guards outside the tent to retreat ten steps away to prevent eavesdropping.

After making sure no one was eavesdropping, Han Long leaned close to his ear and said, "Although Yuyang Shanggu has been sealed off, Liaodong has not. I have already established contact with Gongsun Huang, the new governor of Liaodong, and made an agreement with the pseudo-Han merchant caravan. From now on, goods from the pseudo-Han will no longer need to come to Youzhou. They can be directly transported to the grasslands from Liaodong. This way, the quantity will be large and the transport will be safe."

Kebineng asked in surprise, "Is this really true?"

Han Long nodded and said, "It has to be true, but we also need the leader's cooperation. We'll do it like this..."

Han Long's voice grew softer and softer. Ke Bineng, thinking he was afraid of being overheard, subconsciously moved closer. This was the moment Han Long had been waiting for. As Ke Bineng became immersed in the joy of immense profits and gradually lost his focus, Han Long suddenly turned around and came behind him. He then covered Ke Bineng's mouth from behind with his left hand to prevent him from screaming for help, while his right hand gripped the dagger and plunged it into Ke Bineng's abdomen, twisting it forcefully. After pulling it out, he stabbed Ke Bineng in the throat, and finally, carefully and gently placed him on the ground.

Although Kebineng, who had suffered two fatal wounds, was not dead, he was in great difficulty speaking. Lying on the ground, he looked at Han Long with a mixture of shock and resentment and said, "Why...?"

Han Long laughed and said, "I forgot to tell you that my name is Han Long, not Cui Long. I am here to take your life on the orders of General Sima Yi. As for the reason, I'm sure you know it, so I won't go into details."

"By the way, there's a new kind of paper money that's popular among the pseudo-Han people lately. They say that if you burn it for your deceased relatives, they can use it as money in the underworld. Since you've been so good to me, I'll burn some paper money for you after you die, so you can rest in peace."

Kebineng was so angry he wanted to curse, but instead he spat out a few mouthfuls of blood. Seeing his pain, Hanlong helped him by plunging the dagger into his throat and twisting it three times. Only after confirming that he was definitely dead did he get up, wipe the blood off his hands, and turn to leave. As he left the command tent, he pretended to bow to the tent door and said, "Brother, you should rest well. I'm leaving now. I'll bring you what you need, and then we brothers can have a good drink together."

After speaking, he left gracefully under the watchful eyes of the guards, returned to his camp, and led his prepared troops south on horseback. After traveling several miles south, he turned around and headed east towards Yanshan, intending to meet up with Sima Yi. If they could not meet up, he would hide in Yanshan for a while.