When General Ma returned to Datong Fucheng, he went directly to the governor's Yamen without even taking a breath.
Governor Liu had been waiting for news from Xinpingbao. As soon as General Ma arrived, he immediately invited the Houya.
"How is it? Has Liu Heng agreed?" Governor Liu asked eagerly to General Ma who had just sat down.
General Ma shook his head and said, "Not only did Liu Heng not agree to stop building the fortress, he decided to fight King Shunyi instead."
"What? He's crazy." Governor Liu was shocked.
He never expected that Liu Heng of the Tiger Flag wanted to go to war with King Shunyi on the grassland.
General Ma took the tea cup from the servant, blew the hot air inside, and continued: "He is not crazy, but he has to do this. If he doesn't do this, he and Tiger Flag will die. "
"What do you mean?" Governor Liu frowned, not quite understanding what he meant.
General Ma said: "This time when I went to Xinping Fort to see him, I found out that the King of Shunyi not only asked the Tiger Flag to stop the fort being built, but also asked the Tiger Flag's caravan to withdraw from the grassland, and only the Tiger Flag was allowed to Zi Qi sold the goods to Han merchants on the grassland."
After speaking, he picked up the bowl and took a sip.
"The Tiger Character Banner can sell goods to the Mongols without going to the grassland. This is a good thing!" Governor Liu said puzzledly, "Is it because of this that Liu Heng disagrees?"
Hearing this, General Ma curled his lips secretly.
He despises these civil servants who don't understand the way of merchants at all, and they are not as good as him, a military commander who was born as a general, because there are people in the family who are doing business and have some understanding of the ways of merchants.
However, the contempt is in the heart, and the explanation still needs to be explained. After all, the other party is also the governor of Datong.
He said: "Sir, this is not only not a good thing for the Tiger-Character Flag, but also a bad thing, because in this way, the Tiger-Character Flag will lose its marketability, and the profits will be made by those Han merchants who work hard for the Mongolian nobles."
"The goods were sold to the Mongols after all. There is no difference! How could the profits be transferred to others?" Governor Liu said with confusion.
Seeing that Governor Liu knew nothing about it, General Ma stopped talking about the business methods of merchants and said directly: "King Shunyi asked Hu Ziqi to sell them things at the price of grain and tea at the horse market two years ago."
Governor Liu frowned when he heard this.
He doesn't understand the ways of a merchant, but he also understands that today's food prices are twice as high as two years ago. Businessmen are all seeking profits, and it is impossible to do business at a loss.
General Ma picked up the tea cup and took another sip of tea.
I didn't drink much water all the way back. I was very thirsty now. If the tea in the cup hadn't been a bit scalding to my mouth, I would have drank it in one gulp.
After a while, Governor Liu frowned and said, "Is what you said true?"
"Everything the official said is true, unless Liu Heng deceived the official." General Ma said seriously.
Governor Liu looked thoughtful.
He knew that since Liu Heng dared to say this, it was most likely true. It was normal that the Tiger Flag would not give in, except for the smuggling business between the Tiger Flag and the Mongols.
General Ma put down the tea cup in his hand and whispered: "Sir, there are many officials involved in the Tiger Flag smuggling business, not only our Datong officials, but also the Xuanfu."
"I know." Governor Liu replied angrily.
He himself gets a lot of benefits from the tiger-character flag smuggling business every year. If he were asked to give up this benefit, he would be reluctant to give up, and other officials who received benefits from the tiger-character flag smuggling would also be reluctant to give up. Huaxia Library
Faced with such a huge interest relationship, even if he is the governor of Datong, he cannot shake it, let alone the officials of Xuanfu.
After thinking for a while, he looked at General Ma and said, "Is he sure he can deal with the Mongols?"
General Ma thought for a while and said: "The official looks at him, he seems to be very confident, and it seems that there are more than a few thousand soldiers and horses in the Tiger Flag, there should be other soldiers and horses."
"That's good." Governor Liu nodded assuredly.
General Ma blinked and looked at Governor Liu in front of him, thinking he had heard wrongly.
Seeing the strange look on Mr. Ma's face, Governor Liu realized that what he had just said was somewhat ambiguous, so he explained: "You have been in Datong not long ago, so you may not be aware that the Tiger Flag has always been more than just three thousand soldiers and horses. There are three thousand soldiers and horses in the register, but it is only for the imperial court to see."
Hearing this, Ma Zongbing understood.
In addition to the three thousand registered soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag, the other soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag are like the personal servants raised by the generals, except that the Tiger Flag has more personal servants.
"One more thing." Ma Zongbing said again, "Once the Mongolian army invades the border, we need to suppress this matter and cannot report it to the court."
Governor Liu nodded and said, "Even if King Shunyi really sends an army, as long as you and I don't report this matter, the court will not know about it."
"I'm worried about Wang Xinyi." Ma Zongbing said in a low voice.
Governor Liu snorted coldly and said, "Don't worry, if a local official like me says there is no such thing, then there is no such thing. No one will believe the words of a censor who is about to return to Beijing to report on his duties."
"With these words from my lord, I can rest assured." Ma Zongbing clasped his fists.
Governor Liu picked up the tureen on the table and said, "Once King Shunyi sends out the Mongolian army, Yulin and Xuanfu are likely to notice it. Has Liu Heng told you how to ensure that the officials in those two places do not report to the imperial court?" .”
"Xiaoguan reminded him of this matter, but judging from his intentions, it seems that he is sure that the officials in those two places will suppress this matter." Ma Zongbing said.
Governor Liu nodded.
He has met Liu Heng and knows that he does things in a measured way. Since he said so, he must be sure to do it.
………………
Qingcheng, the pearl on the grassland.
Many Tumote Taijis came to the fortune teller's tent.
Since the Tiger-Character Banner came to the grassland to build a fortress, many Taiji persuaded Bu Shitu to send troops to deal with the Tiger-Character Banner, but Bu Shitu never agreed.
It's not that the other Taijis can't send troops on their own, but because of the big defeat when Su Nang sent troops, many Taijis don't have the confidence to win against the Tiger Flag alone, so they delay again and again and give the Tiger Flag It’s time to build more forts.
"Great Khan, we can't wait any longer. If we continue to wait, the castle will be built to Qingcheng." The red-faced Zola Kashen said as he looked at Bu Shitu sitting at the top of the sweat tent.
More and more people brought the tiger-shaped flag to the grassland, and with the experience gained from building several forts, the speed of building forts also increased.
Moreover, not all of the piers built by Tiger Character Banner are large-scale piers. Instead, the most built ones are Huolu piers.
These fire road piers are located every seven or eight miles, which are simpler to build than large piers, while large piers are mostly built in some key places.
As the auxiliary fort of the large fort, the fire road pier protects the surroundings and ensures that all the forts can be connected together instead of existing separately.
