March is already very warm in the south, but in the north it is just the beginning of spring and the flowers are blooming.
This is still the weather inside the Great Wall. Beyond the Great Wall to the north is the grassland. Although the weather in the grassland is much better than the winter a few months ago, it is still a bit cold.
The grassland in my memory seems to be like what is written in the poem: "The sky is vast and the fields are vast, and the grass is blown by the wind and cattle and sheep are low."
But the actual grassland is not like this now. One winter has passed, and all the tender grass on the grassland has not yet grown. As far as the eye can see, it is a large area of dull yellow, with only a few spots of green dotted among it.
Ma Shizhou told Zhu Shenzui that the grassland will not take on its true appearance until April. The weather is still changing a lot, sometimes cold and sometimes hot, and the weather will not stabilize until May.
It had been a few days since Zhu Shenzui left the Great Wall and entered the grassland. He was wearing a fur coat and a hat, dressed like an ordinary herdsman, and he and his people drove several carriages slowly on the grassland. There is also a small triangular flag embroidered with the company name on the car, which is the symbol of prairie merchants.
Although the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia have been at war since the founding of the country, the flow of traders on the grasslands has never been interrupted. After all, the Mongols need the goods of the Ming Dynasty, especially salt, tea, cloth, silk and even grain, copper, ironware and other supplies. Mongolian cattle, sheep, skins and even horses were also needed by the Ming Dynasty. Except for the horse market opened by the imperial court, many of them were sold privately through merchants.
In order to obtain supplies from the Ming Dynasty, the Mongol Khans of all dynasties ordered not to intercept and kill traders on the grasslands, because such behavior would kill the goose to obtain the eggs. The Mongols are not stupid, especially the Mongolian nobles. They know very well that only the existence of merchants can enable Mongolia to obtain supplies from the Ming Dynasty in a long-term and stable way.
Once the merchants are intercepted and killed and the goods brought by the merchants are plundered, no merchants will come to Mongolia again. That's why the Great Khan issued this order, and for hundreds of years, this has become a rule on the grassland and has been implemented.
The small flags Zhu Shenzui and others put on their cars represented their status as merchants. As long as they saw this small flag, the Mongolians would understand what they were doing.
This is also a safety guarantee for merchants traveling in Mongolia. Zhu Shenzui did not know this before, but Ma Shizhou told him. Thanks to this advance arrangement, in the past few days after entering the grassland, their group was still able to Consider it a success.
Because Ma Shizhou was there, Zhu Shenzui and others went out of the Great Wall smoothly.
The relationship was cleared in advance, and Ma Shizhou had served as an officer in the border army before, so he was very familiar with the border. In addition, their group was not as large as those large caravans, only six people and a few vehicles. That's it, the defenders at the border pass who spent some money to buy it easily reached the outside of the Great Wall.
Today's Mongolia is divided into several tribes, namely Tumut, Chahar, Horqin, Khalkha and Oara, plus the Buryat tribe further north.
Among them, Chahar headquarters is directly under Lindan Khan, and Tumote is currently under the jurisdiction of Lindan Khan. These two Mongolian tribes are close to the border and directly border the Ming Dynasty.
Going north from central Shanxi, the first to enter is the Tumut tribe. After entering the grassland, if you go east, you will reach the Chahar headquarters of Lin Dan Khan.
Zhu Shenzui made a plan for this trip to the grassland and discussed it with Ma Shizhou.
It was finally decided that after entering the grassland, we would go northwest to Fengzhou Beach.
Fengzhoutan was also called Helingel in later generations. It was the residence of Ada Khan before. Although Lin Dan Khan has moved his residence to the Chahar headquarters after he succeeded to the throne, Fengzhoutan is still an important place for the Tumote tribe. area.
When they arrive at Fengzhoutan, they will stay there for a while, and then go north to Sanniangzi City (Hohhot). Then turn east from Sanniangzi City and arrive directly at Jining. After leaving Jining, turn back and go south, then enter eastern Shanxi via Chahar, enter the Great Wall from Yanghewei or Gaoshanwei, and finally return to Shanxi.
This route was decided after careful consideration. Firstly, the several areas they passed through were the main bases of the Tumut and Chahar tribes close to Shanxi. Secondly, this route was relatively safe. Zhu Shenzui was the third Once you enter the grassland, if you don’t know the conditions of the grassland, it is not safe to go too deep.
As for the third one, this time he went north to the grassland. In addition to understanding the situation in Mongolia, Zhu Shenzui also had other ideas. The current Great Khan on the grassland is Lin Dan Khan. Both of these are under the control of Lin Dan Khan. However, due to the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty and the relative independence of the Horqin and Khalkha tribes, Lin Dan Khan currently has a good relationship with the Ming Dynasty in order to gain the support of the Ming Dynasty, and it is easier to travel in his territory.
The terrain of the grassland is different from that of the Ming Dynasty. Many places look similar when you look at them.
It's better to be closer to the Great Wall, but the deeper you go, the harder it is to identify the direction. In addition, there are no official roads on the grassland, and you can't even find the small roads. If you don't have someone who knows the way to guide you, you will almost miss it after entering. Discredit.
Ma Shizhou was indeed familiar with the grassland. After entering the grassland, he led Zhu Shenzui and the others along the way. With the guidance of the occasional streams, hills, sun, moon and stars on the grassland, and his rich experience, the journey went smoothly.
Although Ma Shizhou doesn't like to talk much, even if he is camping along the way, he is often alone. But after contacting him, Zhu Shenzui had to admit that the person recommended by his uncle Wang Rong did have some brushes. Without him, he would have been lost the next day after entering the grassland, let alone traveling with just these few people. , can't even tell the direction.
"Uncle Ma, it's windy and cold, why don't you drink some wine to warm yourself up?" When the time came, Ma Shizhou directed everyone to camp. After the camp was set up, everyone was busy with cooking and sorting the goods. Zhu Shenzui was not idle either. After finishing his work, he came to Ma Shizhou with a wine gourd and handed the gourd to him with a smile. give him.
After thanking him, Ma Shizhou took it, unscrewed the lid, put it to his mouth, took a sip, and then closed it.
"No more sips?"
"No more, there is still a long way to go. You have to drink this wine slowly. After a while, after finishing this wine, you can only drink the Mongolian kumis." Ma Shizhou forced a smile and handed back the wine gourd. Give it to Zhu Shenzui.
Zhu Shenzui didn't drink it after taking it, hanging it directly on his waist, and then looked towards the setting sun.
The scenery on the grassland is still very beautiful, especially at sunset. The sky is a bright red, and the grassland that has been dyed yellow but has not yet turned green is colorful.
"If tomorrow goes well, we may meet a small tribe." Ma Shizhou pointed to a direction on the right.
Seeing the confusion on Zhu Shenzui's face, Ma Shizhou explained a few words and told Zhu Shenzui that he could tell from the traces left on the grassland.
The place where they camped had been stationed by tribes before. Although some days had passed, they could still vaguely distinguish it. Although the tribal herdsmen in the grassland are nomadic, their migration and life still have traces. Ma Shizhou lived in the grassland for several years, so it was not difficult for him.
Judging from these traces, if they continue to move forward tomorrow, they will most likely encounter this small tribe. The population of this small tribe should not be large, probably only a few hundred people. This is very common in the grasslands.
"Sixth Master, you have to be more careful tomorrow. It is best to leave directly after the transaction. Don't stay with the Mongolians at night. If the Mongolians want to treat you to wine and meat, just find an excuse to shirk it. Don't agree to it all at once." As he said that, Ma Shizhou's expression became a little serious and he said to Zhu Shenzui solemnly.
Zhu Shenzui was confused and asked why? Now that we have met the tribe, it is natural for them to conduct business and trade. And after making a deal, it is reasonable to drink and eat meat together. In addition, walking on the grassland and being stationed with the Mongolian tribes can be regarded as taking care of each other. Why did Ma Shizhou say such a thing?
Also, wouldn’t the Mongolian Great Khan have regulations? Prairie merchants are not allowed to be harmed. According to this rule, it is safe for them to walk on the grassland, but the information revealed by Ma Shizhou is not like this.
"Sixth Master, the rules are rules. The actual situation is different from the rules." Ma Shizhou said with a bitter smile.
He told Zhu Shenzui that the situation on the grassland was very complicated. They had just entered the grassland and were close to the border. The herdsmen here were more Chinese-speaking, so the journey here was basically peaceful. But from now on, they have entered the hinterland of the grassland, and the situation is different from the previous days.
Zhu Shenzui was right. There were regulations on the grassland that prohibited harm to traders, but not everyone could abide by the Great Khan's rules.
It would be better if they encountered a large tribe or if their caravan had more people.
But they were just a small caravan. Including Zhu Shenzui and Ma Shizhou, there were only six people in the entire caravan.
Except for Ma Shizhou himself, the other five people came to the grassland for the first time and did not understand the customs and culture of the grassland. Zhu Shenzui has been learning Mongolian from Ma Shizhou these days, and now he can only say a few simple greetings. As for Others can't even speak a word.
The tribe is large, which means that the Mongolian leaders of the tribe are all middle- and upper-class Mongolian nobles. These nobles are well-informed and most of them also understand Chinese. Their observance of rules and vision are naturally not comparable to that of ordinary Mongolian herdsmen. Small tribes are different, especially small tribes with dozens of people. They are usually composed of a few or a dozen family herdsmen who report to the group for warmth. They are the lowest level among the Mongolians.
In the Ming Dynasty, there has always been a saying that poor mountains and harsh waters breed unruly people, and the same is true in Mongolia.
These small tribes don't care whether the Great Khan is a great Khan or not, because such a high-ranking figure as the Great Khan is too far away from them. Driven by interests, once you become greedy, you can do anything. Kill a few people on the grassland and throw the bodies away casually, and they will be devoured by hungry wolves wandering the grassland overnight, leaving no bones or dregs left.
