He turned his head to look at Zhu Xing and Meng Yuan, discovering they were admiring the weapons brought by Great Xia. A cold smile crossed his face as he whispered, "Could it be you think that the camps of Zhu He and Tongling, because of their kindness, exploit the nearby camps this way?"
The reason they use such methods is because they lack the strength to annex the other nine camps.
At this point, Qiu Peng finally understood thoroughly and nodded his head.
Seeing that he had understood, Xia Chuan shifted the topic with a smile:
"Of course, the approach you suggested doesn’t apply here at Five Ape Mountain, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work elsewhere. The core issue is..."
With a clearer mindset, Qiu Peng naturally realized the crux of the problem. Seeing Xia Chuan’s testing gaze, he immediately gave the answer.
"Unless Great Xia’s strength cannot dominate, in other words, cannot claim the territory for our own, we can adopt such unequal trade methods, indirectly having other camps acquire resources for our Great Xia!"
Just as the elder brother had said, talents must be cultivated.
Xia Chuan nodded, looking at Qiu Peng, a hint of admiration rising in his eyes.
"The camps in the vicinity of Five Ape Mountain are not yet qualified to trade with us. These forty thousand catties of iron ore can only be regarded as a gesture of goodwill from Great Xia. If they have any sense, they should understand after returning."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng felt more invigorated, watching everyone who had finished exchanging the supplies, and now surrounding the hundreds of weapons, a peculiar smile appearing on his face as he laughed, "Sir, did you already know that they couldn’t afford these weapons, and just brought them to show off?"
Xia Chuan nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
Seeing their reaction to Great Xia’s weapons was not unexpected; to be precise, he already knew this when he first interacted with Xiao Kangcheng.
The weapons smelting level around Five Ape Mountain is really far behind that of Great Xia.
Despite both being made of Ten-forged Iron, the weapons from around Five Ape Mountain have too many impurities mixed in, and the solidification level is insufficient. In terms of sharpness and hardness, they fall far short compared to the arms of Great Xia.
Poor weapon quality is also the reason why the hunting level of the camps around here cannot improve.
Previously, Xia Chuan had priced ordinary weapons at five times the weight.
In other words, a saber weighing 600 catties would require three times that, which is 3000 catties of iron ore, to exchange, according to the coal-to-iron exchange rate here in Five Ape Mountain, it would cost 45000 catties of coal just to exchange for the lightest saber.
These are just ordinary weapons; the price of special weapons like bows and arrows is even higher.
A Ten-stone Iron Bow costs 5000 catties of iron ore, which translates to 75000 catties of coal.
Initially, Qiu Peng didn’t fully understand, but now he realized that Xia Chuan set the prices so high never intending for these people to trade at all.
He brought these weapons over just to show them.
"First pique their curiosity and awe towards Great Xia, so when they send people to visit Great Xia, their understanding will deepen, and the subsequent pace of annexing these camps can be quicker."
After Xia Chuan gently spoke these words and saw the materials exchange had ended and everyone was still gathered around the weapons, he stepped directly in front of the crowd.
"Everyone, this mutual exchange meeting ends here. I know you want these weapons, but you didn’t bring enough coal stone today, so let’s do this instead."
At this point, Xia Chuan paused and signaled to Qiu Peng to put the weapons away, then continued with a smile, "I just mentioned that each camp can send three people to visit our Great Xia Camp. At that time, they can bring resources to exchange. These weapons are quite common in Great Xia, and you are welcome to trade for them anytime."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed a bit of regret but could only nod.
"Sir, may I ask when to send people to visit, and how can we find the Great Xia Camp?"
Chen Hua from the West Peak Camp was the first to ask this question.
Many turned their heads to look at him, with slight shifts in their expressions.
Xia Chuan’s eyes flashed as he looked at Chen Hua with a hint of approval.
Being proactive in asking this question clearly shows that the West Peak Camp is most interested in merging into Great Xia, hence the urgency to learn about Great Xia.
"Everyone, rest assured. I have arranged everything. Tomorrow night after dark, I will send someone here to wait. Once all ten of your groups have gathered, they will escort you to our Great Xia Camp, and return you by the same route a day later."
Aren’t there eleven here?
The crowd exchanged puzzled glances for a moment. A few quick thinkers immediately realized something, shifting their gaze to Xiao Kangcheng.
"Excuse me, everyone. Our Xiao He Camp already has people in Great Xia!"
Xiao Kangcheng cupped his hands with a smile and explained.
The others instantly understood. He was the only one here who knew Xia Chuan, and clearly, Xiao He Camp had already been in contact with Great Xia.
Seeing that the people from the Great Xia Camp had packed up, Xia Chuan had no intention of lingering. He signaled Yuwen Dao to lead the people to withdraw first, then turned to the leaders of the Five Ape Mountain Camp, cupping his hands with a hearty laugh:
"Everyone, let’s leave it at that for today! Tomorrow night, at the Great Xia Camp, we await your esteemed presence."
Suddenly recalling something, he turned to look at Xiao Kangcheng, inviting:
"Leader Xiao, it’s on the way, so come along with us. Xiao Yuan and the two young ladies, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu, are waiting for us not far from here, and it would be just right to hand them over to you."