The two of them showed humility to each other and entered the castle together. The Eight Banners soldiers guarding them saluted them very respectfully. Fan Yongdou was surprised that the Fan family in Shenyang had so much power in the Eight Banners.
The two went directly to the largest building complex in the city, the original Ming Dynasty General Military Mansion.
At the entrance of the General Military Mansion, an Eight Banners general was greeting him.
"Brother Xiao Shan, this is our armor with a yellow flag, and he is currently the guard of Xiping Fort." Fan Chengyin introduced.
Bu Se smiled slightly at Fan Yongdou. Obviously he didn't speak Chinese very well, and he just made a gesture to invite him in.
The group of people came to the atrium, where many carpets were spread on the ground and a small Kang table was set up. Some of the accompanying Manchu and Han officials were already seated. After the group came in, the guests and hosts sat down.
"Brother Xiao Shan, the place you are renting a house in is a wealthy family in Zhangjiakou, and your daily life must be pampered. There is nothing to entertain in this bitter cold land of Liaodong, so you are really being neglectful." Fan Chengyin said politely, and clapped his hands after speaking.
A roasted camel was immediately brought up below.
Fan Yongdou grew up outside the Great Wall and knew that nomadic people often use the dish "roasted camel" to entertain guests during festive banquets.
This means that the host attaches great importance to the guests. This is also the highest level of courtesy.
This surprisingly large dish is made from baked eggs, fish, pigeon, chicken or duck, sheep or camel.
The specific method is to stuff the hard-boiled eggs into the belly of the fish, then bake the fish, stuff it into the belly of the pigeon, and then put it into the belly of the roasted chicken or duck, and finally put it into the belly of the roasted chicken or duck. Roasted chicken or duck stuffed into the belly of a sheep or camel.
After the lamb is roasted, it is stuffed into the belly of the camel, and the gaps are filled with rice, almonds, and pine nuts.
Finally, the whole camel is baked with eggs, fish, pigeons, chickens or ducks or sheep in its belly.
This dish has a pleasant aroma and is delicious. This dish was also the largest dish in the world at that time, because it was only eaten at banquets with more than 90 people.
A group of cooks began carving up the roast in the central courtyard. At the same time, a group of dancers filed up and began to perform songs and dances accompanied by a group of musicians.
Civil and military officials began to come up in turn to propose toasts. Fan Yongdou had a good drinking capacity, and the wine was drunk until the glass was dry. The guests and hosts were all happy for a while.
"Brother Xiao Shan, you came to Daqing this time not just to visit relatives, but also to visit my father." After the wine, Fan Chengyin affectionately hugged Fan Yongdou's shoulders and whispered.
"Of course, first of all, I'm here to see Uncle Shi and all the clan brothers. Secondly, I also want to come to Shenyang to take a look and see the style of the Qing Dynasty." Fan Yongdou replied calmly.
Seeing how cautious he was, Fan Chengyin was very satisfied. He came to receive him this time because he was entrusted by the emperor to observe the leader of the young generation of the Fan family who stomped his feet in Zhangjiakou and made the Mongolian princes tremble.
All supplies on the grassland are smuggled by the Fan family. If the Fan family is unhappy, it will be easy to make them feel uncomfortable.
Shanxi merchants in Shaanxi took the trade route to export to Outer Mongolia. There were two roads, one of which was "taking the west exit". The activities of making a living in the Mongolian area outside the Great Wall via the Tiger Killing Pass in Youyu County, Shanxi Province. This road mainly goes to Guihua City (Hohhot), Ordos, and Jiuyuan (Baotou).
Shanxi people go outside the Great Wall, and the west exit - Shahukou is one way. There are other ways, such as going through Zhangjiakou to the outside of the Great Wall, so those who take Zhangjiakou are also called "walking through the east exit".
The Fan family almost monopolized the horse trade in the east entrance.
A large amount of salt, iron and cloth from the interior flowed from Zhangjiakou to the Turgut Tribe, Duoyan Sanwei, Haraqin Tribe, Chahar Tribe, and even the Inner and Outer Khalkha Tribe.
Materials on the grassland are extremely scarce, and they all rely on mutual trading and smuggling. Ming Dynasty has always used this to strangle their throats. If they are obedient, they will give them more trades. If they are disobedient, mutual trading will be reduced or even terminated.
There is no tea and salt to eat on the grassland. I really can't stand it anymore. I either rebel or surrender. At the worst time, they even used skin bags to cook meat and eat it because iron tools were hard to come by.
Because Zhangjiakou is located at the intersection of geographical units such as the North China Plain, Mongolian Plateau, and Loess Plateau, it "has the natural situation of a land commercial port." The "Zhangku Avenue" extending from Zhangjiakou's Dajing Gate is a road carrying gold and silver. of international business.
Zhangku Avenue is a trade and distribution route starting from Zhangjiakou and leading to the city of Kulun (now Ulaanbaatar) in the hinterland of the Mongolian grassland. It is through Zhangku Avenue that tea, silk, cloth and fine goods from the mainland are continuously transported and sold. To the Mongolian grasslands and even Russia and even Eastern European countries, horses, cattle, sheep, and leather from the Mongolian grasslands also entered the interior.
The east entrance is far more important than the west entrance, and the east entrance can lead to the northeast.
Although there are currently roadblocks outside Zhangjiakou such as Duoyan Sanwei, Haraqin, and Chahar Lindanhan. But this is the only realistic option for the Qing Dynasty at present. After all, the road to Jinzhou is impassable.
"Your Majesty knows Zhangjiakou and the power of the Fan family in Zhangjiakou. Before I came, he specially invited me into the palace and asked me to entertain my brother well. Your Majesty said that when you arrive in Shenyang, you can move around freely and take a good look at my Qing Dynasty. You can see everything in the new dynasty. Hahaha”
"Then I would like to thank His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty for his grace. I am here on behalf of my family to see if I can extend the trade route to Liaodong. The ginseng, mink skin, velvet antlers, mountain delicacies, and medicinal materials in Liaodong are top-notch. Very good."
"Yes, our Liaodong is a land of quick treasures, but my brother also has things we need in the Qing Dynasty, such as salt from Yuncheng, tea from Ningwu, and cloth from Yuci. These good things cannot be cheap for the Mongols. Dad said that our Fan family is willing to help my brother open up sales in Liaodong."
Fan Yongdou's heart moved. This was the beginning of the confession.
It seems that the Qing emperor wanted to send the Fan family in Shenyang to contact the Fan family in Zhangjiakou to engage in material trade.
But Fan Yongdou didn't see anything. He didn't know what was going on in the Qing Dynasty, so how could he promise it. Just use some lies to deal with it. All I said this time was to take a walk and take a look.
Seeing how cautious he was, Fan Chengyin admired him for being able to keep his composure. He even carried the emperor out, and he was able to ignore the rabbit. This shows that he is decisive and able to endure.
Fan Chengyin clapped his hands, and the dancers immediately separated. A pretty girl of fifteen or sixteen years old walked out, knelt down next to Fan Yongdou, and drank with Fan Yongdou.
"Hahaha, brother Xiao Shan, what do you think of our Liaodong women? They are still pleasing to the eye."
"Hahaha, she is really stunning in the world, brother, you have a heart." Fan Yongdou was knowledgeable and naturally did not hesitate to praise her.
After a banquet, the guests and hosts parted happily. Fan Yongdou was a little drunk and was supported by the girl on the bed.
Fan Yongdou lay stretched out on the bed, but the drunkenness on his face disappeared without a trace. The girl who looked at her had a big mouth.
"I'm all pretending, otherwise I would have to drink and vomit today," Fan Yongdou said helplessly.
The girl couldn't help but laugh. This young man is really interesting.
"What's your name?" Fan Yongdou looked at her with interest.
This girl doesn't look like a firewood girl, she should be the daughter of an official. After the fall of Liaodong, the common people were all rewarded by Nurhachi to the Eight Banners officers and soldiers as slaves. Many ladies and ladies of the official families were reduced to prostitutes or even camp prostitutes.
It seemed that this was the first time that the girl saw a customer asking her name. As a singer, she was a pariah in this era. The customer was not looking for her because he was greedy for her body. The name was all called Xiaohong Xiaocui, and she was a little stunned for a while. Living.
Fan Yongdou thought she was not getting any benefit and was unwilling to answer, so he threw a pearl flower casually.
"Ah! What a beautiful pearl flower. It's worth at least thirty taels of silver. Thank you for the gift, Master." The girl suddenly smiled like a flower and was blessed.
"The name of my family is Xiao'e. The family's surname was Qu. Now that we have fallen into the dust and have disgraced our ancestors, it's okay not to mention the surname." Qu Xiao'e lowered her head and said.
"What, what did you just say?" Fan Yongdou sat up in surprise.
"The slave's name is Qu Xiao'e"
"Not this sentence, what did you say in the previous sentence?"
"This beaded flower is so beautiful, it's worth thirty taels of silver."
Fan Yongdou was silent for a while, and he understood that Uncle Liu was not talking nonsense. Prices were indeed high in the Qing Dynasty. Pearl flowers in the mainland, which only cost three taels of silver, could be sold for thirty taels here, which was a hundred times more. . What exactly is going on.
