The detailed date of the initial construction of Laiyuan Fort is unreliable. It was rebuilt on the site of the original city wall in the 41st year of Wanli (1613). It is a fort less than 40 meters away from the Great Wall. It has a circumference of two miles and thirteen steps and a wall of three feet high. 5. It is built next to the Qingshui River in the east, and the east and west fort walls are connected to the Great Wall. The fort has two gates, the Laiyuan Gate in the north, the Yongshun Gate in the southwest, and the folk name Nankou.
Laiyuan Fort covers an area of about 100 acres. There is a general administration office, 300 barracks, two city halls, 24 tax offices, three appreciating halls, a podium and the City God's Temple. There are two ancestral temples and one octagonal pavilion. The General Administration Office is where the managers who come to trade in Yuanbao work and live, and the Guanshi Hall is where the guards watch. The garrison in the barracks was to guard the Great Wall and to supervise the market. The Fushang Hall is where the government rewards market supervisors and rewards Mongolian tribal leaders. The tax office is responsible for taxation.
Speaking of Liyuan Fort, we have to mention the West Realm Gate, which was later commonly known as the Xiaojing Gate.
People in later generations know much about the Great Realm Gate, but they don't know that there is a small Realm Gate a hundred meters away. It was called the West Realm Gate at that time. It was twelve feet (about forty meters) away from the North Gate of Laiyuan Castle, so it was called a gate. In fact, it is just a door hole dug in the Great Wall. "It is too high for people to ride horses, and it is wide enough for two horses to walk side by side." It is not as good as one-tenth of the Dajing Gate. People and animals outside the pass enter through the West Gate. After entering the pass, people and animals are separated into separate lanes. The Great Wall and the fort wall on both sides of the gate form a 100-meter-long east-west lane to curb the invasion of large numbers of troops.
After entering from the West Gate, the open space between Laiyuan Fort and Laiyuan Fort is the horse market. Other supplies can be traded in the fort. Of course, people in the pass can also go out to trade. There is also a trading market at the foot of Yuanbao Mountain outside the Great Wall, where Mongolian caravans Stay there more.
Although the snow has stopped, the wind continues, and the sky is so gloomy that snow may continue to fall at any time.
There was a lot of snow on the road. Chang Yu and his party were riding slowly. Many caravans passed by in a hurry. There was no doubt that they saw the notice and quickly left Laiyuan Fort. The distance between the two places was only twenty miles. If there was any trouble, You will know immediately, not to mention that the notice is posted not only in Zhangjiakou but also in Laiyuan Fort.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way." At this time, there was a shout from behind. Everyone turned around and saw a cavalry of more than a hundred people galloping towards them. Pedestrians on the road gave way, and Chang Yu and his party also quickly reined in their horses and walked to the roadside. They had already recognized the soldiers and horses sent by He Chengxin to protect Shi Kefa. Zhu Cixiang muttered: "Shi Kefa is not very good at fighting, but he is good at cleaning up people and messes." Chang Yu couldn't help laughing and said: "He He is originally a civil servant and is good at this."
After the soldiers and horses left, everyone walked for more than ten miles. They were only a few miles away from the Laiyuan Fort. They could already see the vast mountains and the Great Wall in the north. The villages at the foot of the mountains on the west road were connected for several miles, and cars and horses came and went. It didn't stop, which made Zhu Cixiang very puzzled: the village must be too big, but Chang Yu guessed it.
The function of Laiyuan Fort is that it is a fort in wartime and a city in peacetime. However, in addition to military buildings, the fort is also a government office. People are not allowed to live in the fort and shops are not allowed to open. However, it is also the largest trading port. Most businesses are in Zhangjiakou. A branch was established, and then the goods were brought here to open a market. Later, for convenience, they rented private houses as warehouses to store goods. Later, they built them themselves. Gradually, this area became prosperous, with warehouses everywhere, shops, inns and restaurants. , and of course there is a place to find young ladies.
As for why only the west is so prosperous, the reason is simple: there is a big river in the east.
The Qingshui River, which is branched off from the Yang River, goes north from Zhangjiakou to Laiyuan Fort, then passes through the Great Wall and continues northward for hundreds of thousands of miles...
After running for more than ten miles in one breath, the horses were a little tired. Chang Yu and his entourage dismounted and went to the river to drink their horses. While chatting, they saw someone fighting on the roadside not far away. Hey, everyone immediately got into the mood. Like everyone else, this kind of excitement If you don’t look at it, you won’t look at it.
It's not a one-on-one fight, but two groups of people fighting each other. It's hard to tell who they are, but they are definitely not a caravan carrying goods. In the area of Zhangjiakou, there are people from all three religions and nine streams. It's not just people who take goods. Wherever there are people, there are people. There are rivers and lakes that are constantly in trouble, not to mention a place like the port, where in addition to white and black, there are also various forces mixed here.
Therefore, the identities of these two groups are unknown, but who cares about their identities as they watch the excitement, just enjoy watching the fun and seeing who wins and who loses.
Although it was a group fight, there was a big difference in the number of people between the two groups. One group had fourteen or five people, while the other group only had six or seven people. However, the fight was very fierce for the small group, and they did not lose much, and their attacks were unusual. ruthless!
Neither side used weapons, either with bare hands or sticks, and the fight was fierce in the snow.
"Hey, these people are tough, they must fight often!" Wang Lang muttered beside him, while Wang Zhengnan frowned and said: "Look at their skills, they are not like ordinary ruffians..."
"But I don't want to be a Lianjiazi," Chen Suole said with raised eyebrows. Wang Zhengnan nodded: "I'm not a Lianjiazi, but I'm not an ordinary person either..." After hearing this, Chang Yu felt something in his heart and took a few steps forward. Wanting to see it clearly, the party with the larger number of people saw this and thought they wanted help, and shouted: "Qingshui Gang is doing things, Mo Yan is meddling in other people's business..."
"Qingshui Gang, you are so brave, do you know who I am?" The big man with the smaller number jumped up and punched him.
"I don't care who you are, I have to take care of you as the King of Heaven..."
Chang Yu smiled, and he saw some clues: "Wu Shu, go up and help."
Since Wu Yan was punished by Chang Yu, he has become extremely low-key and does not pretend to be crazy or act stupid. This time when he went to Beijing as a guard, he was so low-key that he became a transparent person. He pretended to be a fan and hid in the team without showing his face, which surprised others. But Chang Yu once said to Wang Zhengnan: "This person will definitely shine in the future!"
"Help who?" Wu Shu flashed out with a stick.
"Of course I'll help you." As soon as Chang Yu finished speaking, Wu Shu jumped into the battle group with a stick. He used the stick as a spear, stabbing, stabbing or chopping in the blink of an eye, killing all the Qingshui Gang members who didn't have much advantage. He fell to the ground and wailed.
As a direct disciple of Shi Jingyan, he might not be able to defeat a master like Wuzhong when meeting Wang Zhengnan, but it would be easy to beat up some gangsters.
The gang of gangsters were beaten and unable to resist, and they uttered harsh words and ran away in confusion. The six or seven people came up to Chang Yu and others, cupped their fists and thanked them: "Thank you for your help, good man, we..." Before he could finish his words, suddenly Seeing Chen Suole open his palm and reveal something, the expressions of several people changed drastically, and they quickly raised their hands and said, "I have met you all, sir."
Dongchang's waist badge is also a badge with the word "Servant", which means he has an extraordinary status. Not to mention them, even the commander has to be polite when they see him.
Chang Yu guessed correctly, these people were Jin Yiwei's spies. The reason why they didn't reveal their identities or use weapons just now was because they were worried about exposing their identities.
"To finish the work, this kind of gang should be dealt with as soon as possible." Chen Suole said with a smile, and put his belt card back into his arms. The Jin Yiwei smiled bitterly and said: "These gangs are backed by people behind them. We really can't deal with them easily." ".
"The backer, huh, can it be as big as the backers of our Jinyiwei and Dongchang?" Chang Yu snorted coldly, and those Jinyiwei also laughed: "This is what the Lord said, we have to go to the Qingshui Gang to finish the work. "Get back the place." Chang Yu, whom they didn't know, only knew that he was also a guard of Dongchang. But I also know that the personal attendant is here, and the eunuch is not far away. I heard that he is in Zhangjiakou. These few people should be the confidants around him who came to Yuanbao to investigate.
Chang Yu asked again why he was fighting with this group of people, but Jinyiwei's spies also smiled bitterly. It was really difficult to explain. They were ordered to investigate and investigate carefully. There are mixed forces here, and one mistake can cause trouble. But he couldn't reveal his identity... When he couldn't bear it anymore, he had no choice but to do it.
Everyone sighed after hearing this. It's not that easy to be a spy, especially in Xuanhua, where there are so many spies. You don't know who your opponent is and whether the people around you are trustworthy.
"Jinyiwei has been operating in Xuanfu for a long time. Didn't they cultivate a force of their own as a cover?" Chang Yu was very puzzled, and Jinyiwei said: "Of course, but the superiors now feel that they are no longer trustworthy, and it is very likely that they will all be captured by the Tatars." My wife was bribed, so I transferred them away, and we are all the new ones..."
"Then how long has the manpower been in Xuanfu for the longest time?" Chang Yu asked again.
"It's been more than three months. When we raided several Shanxi merchants in Dongchang, all the Jinyiwei here have been replaced except for the secret agents who have been hiding deeply." The Jinyiwei who spoke suddenly looked very embarrassed again: "A few of us To be honest, although he is a Jin Yiwei, he belongs to Dongchang."
Oh, Chang Yu smiled. In fact, Dongchang has the right to second Jinyiwei's manpower, but it is wrong to say that Jinyiwei belongs to Dongchang.
"We were originally the subordinates of Mr. Li, the commander and commander. Later, Mr. Li was poached by your Dongchang, and Mr. Li transferred some of us... Do you think we also belong to the Dongchang? "That man laughed, and Chang Yu and his party also laughed.
When Chang Yu first took charge of the East Factory, he was in urgent need of manpower. He recruited the Jinyiwei commander Wang Guoxing, the commander Li Ruogui, and Qianhu Gao Wencai to the East Factory. The reason for this was not that a few people were more capable, but that they He was extremely loyal to Emperor Chongzhen and once committed suicide in history.
"Sure enough, they are all brothers from the same yamen." Chang Yu took out a few taels of silver from his arms and gave it to the man: "It's such a cold day, today I'll treat some brothers to drink some wine to warm themselves up."
"Hey, how can this be done? It's all thanks to your help today. How can I let you spend any more money? It happens to be noon. Let's treat a few brothers to have a good drink..." The leader said Chang Yu patted his chest and said with a laugh: "A meal for a dozen of us in this business costs a lot of money. You should keep the salary you earn."
The man's face turned red: "It won't cost you money, it's unjustifiable..."
"Our Dongchang is well paid." Chang Yu laughed and said, "I've never heard of our Dongchang being paid very high as a personal guard!"
"That's true," a few people said, and then they invited Chang Yu and his party to have lunch at a roadside restaurant.
Chang Yu didn't want to go, but it was indeed already noon and due to the city closure, there wasn't even a snack seller or restaurant in Yuanbao, only here. In addition, he also wanted to know more about the situation here, so he and the seven spies went to a wine shop on the roadside and ordered some food and wine to eat and drink.
It is said to be a wine shop, but it is actually a food stall, but the dishes are very rich, including not only mountain delicacies, river fresh food, and grilled knives to keep out the cold, and the store's craftsmanship is not bad, which makes Chang Yu's appetite whet his appetite.
