I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 142 How are we going to get through this?
As it turns out, the square-shaped son-in-law of the Bone Power Clan Chief's business style could indeed be described as that of a foolish landlord's son.

That's incredibly genuine.

However, out of consideration for the Bone Force Clan and Dili, Tang Zhao couldn't take advantage of him too much. He always kept a good eye on things and maintained the bottom line of ensuring that he gained an advantage while the other party didn't suffer a loss.

Both parties were happy.

After signing the order, Tang Zhao apologized, "There are quite a few orders for Liuli Workshop, so please wait a few more days, Lord Duoji."

Dorjee, speaking fluent Chongqing dialect, said, "I'm fine with waiting as long as I want."

He would come to the Tea Horse Market once a year, firstly to accompany his wife to visit her family, and secondly to trade goods there, staying for half a year at a time.

So he has plenty of time.

Guli Turan, acting as the intermediary, warmly invited both parties to a celebratory banquet.

Unable to refuse their hospitality, Tang Zhao and Gu Ci had no choice but to go along with their host's invitation.

The banquet lasted until nightfall, and Tang Zhao drank a lot of water, having to run to the latrine every half hour.

Tang Zhao, who hadn't slept all night, had dark circles under her eyes and her eyes were lifeless. Gu Ci felt guilty and clumsily tried to feed her.

After eating three more bites of braised pork knuckle and feeling greasy, Tang Zhao had to stop his good intentions. She took the rice spoon, cleaned up the food herself, and went back to her room to catch up on her sleep.

At noon, more than a dozen carts of goods were delivered to Liulifang. The manager in charge of transporting the goods stood respectfully in the front hall, waiting for Tang Zhao to summon him.

Seeing that the girl was still asleep, Dongmei had no choice but to arrange for her to rest in the guest courtyard. It wasn't until Sheli Tuli and his men arrived that she had to wake Tang Zhao.

"Girl, the Turks have come to demand the goods!"

Tang Zhao woke up with a start, asking as he got out of bed, "Has the delivery from Liuli Workshop arrived yet?"

"They arrived at noon, and seeing that the young lady was asleep, we didn't dare to disturb her. So we arranged for them to rest."

Tang Zhao nodded and went to the front yard to receive Sheli Tulimaide. After accompanying him to examine the mirror of light, he led him to a wooden box that was as tall as an adult man.

"This is the latest product from Liulifang, the Pot-Light Mirror. Because it can reflect a person's entire body, it is also known as the Full-Body Mirror." At Tang Zhao's signal, the guard opened the box and stood the full-body mirror up. "What do you think, Relic Tuli?"

Maide stared at the full-length mirror that seemed to glow in the sunlight, and only one thought came to his mind: No wonder the Khan insisted on attacking Dayu, he has so many treasures!
Tang Zhao narrowed his eyes, his gaze unfriendly.

Maide was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly, "Our clan is only responsible for raising horses, we are not good at fighting!"

Patriotic businessman Tang Zhao silently recited in his heart: Fifty-six ethnic groups, fifty-six flowers, fifty-six brothers and sisters are one family!
With a large family, there will naturally be a few who go astray; a good beating will fix that!

Tang Zhao suppressed the urge to beat the man into a pulp. "This is the prized possession of the Liuli Workshop. Does Your Excellency Shelituli like it?"

After the servant translated, Maide nodded repeatedly, clearly pleased, his small, beady eyes filled with anticipation. "Could I purchase a full-length mirror as well?"

Tang Zhao declined, saying, "The glass used for the full-length mirror requires extremely high manufacturing and cutting techniques, which the craftsmen have not yet mastered. This particular side was only made by chance."

“Someone once offered ten thousand taels of gold to buy it, but I did not agree. Now I am giving it to the Shari Tuli clan.”

Maide didn't even realize what was happening.

"This mirror is worth more than ten thousand gold pieces. Firstly, it commemorates the successful trade between Liulifang and the Sherituri clan. Secondly, it symbolizes my friendship with the Sherituri clan."

Maide listened with tears in his eyes. If it weren't for the huge age difference between the two, he would have wanted to become sworn brothers on the spot.

Tang Zhao: There's absolutely no need for that.

After the goods were checked, Maide, beaming with joy, carried the box containing the full-length mirror onto the carriage and strode away with his men and a dozen or so carts full of goods.

After Tang Zhao and the others had walked a distance, he said, "Go tell the Glass Workshop that they are not allowed to produce full-length mirrors without my order." "What about the ones that are already finished?"

"Smash it!"

"Yes!" Dongmei relayed these words to the manager of Liulifang, who solemnly agreed with a pained expression.

Although the villa was large, it could not accommodate such a large number of horses. After discussing with Gu Ci, Tang Zhao decided to return to Wuwei immediately.

In the northwestern military camp, King Xuan was sighing at the moon, his sorrow surging like a tide. He wanted to compose a poem, but couldn't come up with a single word.

"Report! Your Highness, the General of the Flying Cavalry is escorting the horses back to camp!"

As King Xuan hurried back, he asked, "Do you know the number?"

"According to the scouts, there are approximately five thousand horses."

"!" King Xuan felt all his worries disappear. Zhao Zhao really was the best!
Five thousand fine horses galloped into the stables in a grand procession, and the soldiers in charge of managing the stables were surrounded by the horses, making it difficult for them to even turn around.

King Xuan strode over and casually touched a fine horse. It was shiny, plump, and strong, clearly a top-quality horse.

"Excellent!" King Xuan laughed heartily. "With magnificent warhorses and valiant soldiers, why should we worry about the instability of the borders of our Great Yu!"

Tang Zhao quickly declared, "Father, I need to take away six hundred horses."

"?" King Xuan asked in confusion, "Why?"

"To defend Wuwei City!" Tang Zhao said matter-of-factly. "The laws of Dayu stipulate that a fiefdom can have six hundred guards. As the lord of Wuwei City, it is only natural that I should equip the soldiers guarding Wuwei City with warhorses!"

King Xuan was even more puzzled, "Weren't the soldiers in the fiefdoms all infantry? When did they become cavalry?"
"Wuwei is on the frontier, and there is always the risk of war. How can we defeat the Turks if we don't equip our guards with the best equipment?"

Infantry against cavalry is a one-sided massacre!
That makes sense, but, "what exactly constitutes the highest level of equipment?"

Tang Zhao counted on his fingers, "Warhorses, armor, helmets, spears, bows and arrows, scimitars, not one can be missing!"

King Xuan swallowed hard. Goodness, how much will this cost?

The more I listen, the more excited I get.

"Father, do you have any extra iron?"

King Xuan shook his head.

Tang Zhao was disappointed. "Then I'll just have to trade the horse for the iron," Tang Zhao muttered. "I wonder who has an iron mine."

"Wait," King Xuan called out to her, "You want to trade horses for iron ore?"

"Ah!" Tang Zhao looked at him with a "what if" expression. "The most valuable thing I have is a horse."

King Xuan clutched his chest and glared at his son: "Stop pretending to be mute! Say something to me!"
"Although there is no surplus iron in the army, there are ways to buy iron. As long as you have money, you can buy iron."

Tang Zhao pressed his advantage, "That blacksmith..."

Gu Ci promised, "Once we acquire the iron ore, I will have the army blacksmiths forge iron for you." He paused and added, "If you are not satisfied, I will send someone to the military camp to learn blacksmithing techniques."

Tang Zhao had been waiting for him to say that, and he happily agreed. After getting a bowl of food from the army camp, he felt relieved and took over Gu Ci's tent, then went to sleep.

Gu Ci and Jiang Yiming led their men to re-divide the area and relocate the warhorses, working until midnight.

Inside the central tent, King Xuan, who had experienced a night of dramatic ups and downs, felt utterly powerless: the old folks were cunning and shrewd, and the young ones were even more cunning and shrewd than monkeys. How was he supposed to live like this?