tiger......
Zhu Bai stood still, turned around and looked around carefully.
Under the dappled sunlight, the tiger's unique yellow-backed black-striped fur is looming.
Damn it, there really is a tiger! !
Not to mention, the tiger's camouflage is very suitable for this dense mountain forest.
If he hadn't learned from Yi Xing's background, he might not have noticed it even if he walked by.
Maybe he was attracted by the smell of blood.
He silently reviewed the geographical location in his mind.
South China tiger!
The South China tiger once roamed across more than 20 provinces and cities in China, but later became extinct in the wild.
Unexpectedly, never expected that one day, he would be able to face a South China tiger in the wild.
The tiger looked at Zhu Bai coldly with golden eyes.
Zhu Bai was busy confirming the characteristics of this tiger.
Small body, short ears. Stripes are narrow and short. The hair on his face is long and exploding, like Zhang Fei's beard and sideburns, but the hair on his body is thick and short.
That’s right, it’s the South China tiger.
Still just an adult male.
The coat color is bright and the stripes are clear. Strong and majestic.
Zhu Bai was so excited.
Fugui saw that Zhu Bai was not leaving but was staring away with bright eyes. He came over and asked, "What are you looking at, Your Highness?"
Zhu Bai pointed forward and whispered: "Look. There is a tiger. It is so beautiful."
The others all froze, and then looked along Zhu Bai's finger.
No one saw it at first, but the tiger shrank back.
Then Fugui suddenly shouted and ran away along the path.
The others were also so frightened that they ran after him without thinking.
The tiger was so frightened that it turned around and ran towards the mountains desperately.
The vigorous figure disappeared into the dense forest like a ray of yellow light.
Zhu Bai smacked his lips: Tsk, look, he was really scared away. I haven't seen enough yet.
Fugui and the others realized halfway through that they should protect Zhu Bai and ran back again.
Zhu Bai stood there and watched them running up and down the ridge, only shaking his head and sighing.
Seeing that Zhu Bai was fine, Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and asked tremblingly: "Old, old, old..."
He wanted to ask, "Where's the tiger?" but couldn't get the answer straight.
Zhu Bai: "Oh, the tiger was scared away by you."
Fugui took a deep breath and said, "Tiger eats people. Your Highness, don't take any chances next time."
Zhu Bai raised the blunderbuss in his hand: "Idiot. In fact, they are also afraid of people. Besides, if they really want to pounce on me, I still have this, so you are not afraid of anything."
Fugui blushed and sneered: "Didn't you see a tiger before?"
Zhu Bai smacked his lips: "It would be nice if it was a goat or a rabbit. We can also have meat tonight. I have been eating steamed buns for many days."
Fugui: "Master Zhang should be anxious. Let's go down the mountain quickly to meet Master Zhang."
After Fugui came down from the mountain, he told Zhang Yu about the bandits and tigers.
Then Mao Xiang and Zhang Yu felt their hairs stand on end as they listened, and from time to time they cast frightened glances at Zhu Bai: This child is really not an ordinary person.
In other words, he is not human at all.
Wouldn't it be normal for a child of this age to be so frightened that his legs would go weak?
He actually still has the heart to appreciate it.
I don’t know if it’s because the robbers went back to tell people, but no one dared to stop Zhu Bai and others on their way.
Go to Lintaowei to stay overnight.
Zhu Bai still left half a cart of food and half a cart of tea, and then said the same thing to the commander.
The further you go to the northwest, the colder it becomes, the greater the temperature difference between day and night, and the stronger the wind.
Fortunately, Zhu Bai made sheepskin jackets for everyone to protect them from wind and frost.
The next stop is Hezhouwei, the place for tea and horse trading.
After Xifan surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the third year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu established four guard posts in Hezhou, Taozhou, Xining, and Minzhou, collectively known as the "Four Western Guards", which were under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Capital Division.
Among them, the Hezhou Guard has three guard posts, with a total of about 17,000 people.
From a distance, I could see officials from the Hezhou Guard coming out to greet him.
The commander is Ning Zheng, and the commander is the general Hesuo Nanpu of Xifan.
Zhu Bai was interested in both men because they were both legends.
Ning Zheng was from Fengyang, with a long face, full beard, and a strong and tall figure.
It was with him as the vanguard that Deng Yu was able to defeat the Western Fans and build the Hezhou Guard.
Therefore, it is most suitable for Ning Zheng to be the commander of the Hezhou Guard.
Lao Zhu set the location for the first tea-horse trade after the rebellion, firstly because Hezhou was located right in the middle of the four Western Guards, and secondly because he absolutely trusted Ning Zheng.
Ning Zheng later became Mu Ying's right-hand man and stayed in Yunnan until his death.
He Suonanpu has a flat face, narrow eyes and slightly high cheekbones.
His original name was Jisuo Nanpu, and he was the leader of the Tufan tribe. After surrendering, he paid tribute to Lao Zhu with horses and animals, and was given the surname "He" by Lao Zhu.
After surrendering, he helped build the city in Hezhou and maintained local order.
While the various tribes in Xifan were uneasy and the old tribes of the Yuan Dynasty were always ready to make a move, Suo Nanpu was indispensable for Hezhou's ability to maintain stability.
However, although Lao Zhu "praised He Suonanpu for his sincerity and gave him a robe", he was still wary of him, otherwise he would not have asked Ning to be a commander, and only gave He Suonanpu a minor official with a full rank of fifth rank.
After all, a guard station has 5,600 soldiers according to regulations, and Lao Zhu will not hand a knife to the enemy.
As usual, Zhu Bai read the imperial edict first, and then sat down to ask Ningzheng about Hezhou's defense.
Ning Zheng speaks Mandarin with Fengyang accent, which makes Zhu Bai feel more friendly.
He Suonanpu tried hard to speak Mandarin, but it always seemed weird, like a foreigner speaking Mandarin.
At first glance, these two people look like tough men who fight hard and don't like fighting in the court. They are taciturn and have sharp eyes.
It's also possible that they just heard about his reputation, so they didn't dare to talk nonsense.
When Zhu Bai asked a question, they answered.
If Zhu Bai doesn't ask, they won't say anything.
Zhang Yu and Ning Zheng were old acquaintances. Now they were listening and murmured in their hearts: This guy was never like this before. Why are you acting like a boring gourd now?
Zhu Bai: "On what date and where will the tea-horse trade take place?"
Ning Zheng: "Undecided."
Zhu Bai: "Everyone is participating."
Ning Zheng: "Undecided."
Hey, this situation isn't right. Isn't this just slacking off?
Zhu Bai secretly gasped, thought for a moment, and said to others: "I have something important to say to these two adults."
Ning Zheng winked at the guards, and then those people retreated, leaving only the two of them and Zhu Bai.
Zhu Bai said: "Master Ning, there is no one here now. I have a few words to ask, please tell the truth."
Ning Zheng stood up and saluted: "Yes."
Zhu Bai: "It has been six or seven years since the third year of Hongwu. You and Lord He Suonanpu have been guarding Hezhou. Xifan has always been peaceful. Why did they suddenly rebel this time?"
Ning Zheng pursed his lips and said nothing: Is this something I can say? ! !
