Standing in front of Master Feng's grave, Zhao Ming lowered his head and looked at the jade pendant in his hand.
This was what Mr. Feng left to him before he died.
From the first time Zhao Ming met Mr. Feng to the last time he saw Mr. Feng, this jade pendant went round and round and fell into Zhao Ming's hands again.
It seemed to represent a ring, and Zhao Ming couldn't help but laugh and curse in his heart.
"You old fox, you didn't even give me the title deed to Fengjiazhuang in the end. You are not honest."
Zhao Ming shook his head secretly. In fact, he didn't complain too much about Mr. Feng.
Master Feng is a smart man.
If Zhao Ming is just someone who is content with the status quo, he will definitely not be at ease.
And precisely because he saw that Zhao Ming was not someone who was content with the status quo, he was particularly relieved.
I also know that it doesn't matter whether the land deed is given or not, because as long as Zhao Ming wants it, he, Mr. Feng, will not be able to keep the land deed whether he dies or not.
Mr. Feng guessed correctly. Zhao Ming really didn't have any idea about the land deeds in Fengjiazhuang.
After taking care of Master Feng's funeral, Zhao Ming's stay in Fengjiazhuang was already on his tenth day.
"Da Shan, are you really leaving?"
Today, as usual, Zhao Ming was training riding skills outside the village with a group of brothers who were about to go to Chahar, when he suddenly heard the news that Dashan was preparing to say goodbye.
Although I had expected it, I didn't expect this day to come so soon.
Dashan nodded silently.
Looking at the mountain, Zhao Ming opened his mouth, but in the end it just turned into a long sigh, "Take care!"
However, when Dashan was clasping his fists and preparing to ride away alone, Zhao Ming still called out to him.
"etc!"
As he spoke, Zhao Ming waved to Ah Fu who was waiting in the distance, and Ah Fu trotted forward quickly.
"Uncle!"
"Go to the accounting room and withdraw ten small yellow croakers to Brother Dashan. In addition, prepare dry food for Brother Dashan for about ten days."
Listening to Zhao Ming's instructions, Ah Fu didn't hesitate at all, got on his horse and galloped towards Zhuangzi.
Dashan hesitated for a moment but still did not refuse, but stood aside in silence, and after a while he seemed to have thought of something.
"Master Zhao! I still have to remind you of some things."
"Oh? About Chahar?"
Zhao Ming knew that Dashan must have a secret, but he couldn't force the other party to tell him whether he wanted to.
"Well! Chahar's situation is a bit complicated. This is something I heard mentioned by my friends. It may not be accurate. Mr. Zhao, please refer to it appropriately."
Dashan nodded and began to tell some of Chahar's previous situations.
The current commander of Chahar is a division commander named Zhang.
In Chahar, the most serious problem is banditry.
It seems that it is difficult for real herdsmen to survive in the description of the mountains. To describe it in one sentence, there is no county without bandits, and there is no county without bandits and police.
This means that there are so many gangs and bandits that it is impossible to calculate specific values.
Moreover, these bandits are not all knife bandits in Guanzhong.
You can always trace the bandits in the land of Guanzhong. Even if some of them are someone else's white gloves, you can find them if you check them carefully.
But in Chahar, these people may be docile herdsmen one second, and they may be large-scale banditry based on tribal units the next second.
Some people are patrolling the neighborhood one second, and then they can start robbing roads the next.
In addition, it covers part of Inner Mongolia, and there is really no shortage of horses. The bandits come and go like the wind, plundering, covering their faces, and chasing but unable to catch up.
After a while, when someone changes his clothes, who knows if he is a bandit or a herdsman?
According to historical records, large bandits may number thousands, while small bandits may number hundreds or dozens of people. They run rampant in groups, harassing villages and robbing wealthy households. They are extremely vicious and are accustomed to it. Especially the worst, killing officials, plundering outsiders, resisting the army...
It can be seen that the banditry in Chahar is serious.
Secondly, the system over there is still using the system of the previous dynasty. Zhao Ming can't remember when Chahar was reformed, but according to Dashan, at least it hasn't been reformed yet.
Therefore, almost all the people in Chahar are soldiers. Boys must be registered at the age of three, and must join the army at the age of sixteen.
There are currently four major ranches. They were originally called the Four Herds, but are now renamed as ranches. Other systems remain unchanged.
The former general manager became the field director, and the deputy general manager was changed to the deputy field director.
Below are two deputies, five village owners, and fifty shepherds.
In other words, when Zhao Ming went there, he had fifty people under the shepherd alone.
Each group of grazing areas is composed of a chief shepherd, a deputy chief, a herdsman, and a breeder, a total of four people.
In other words, Zhao Ming has four large pastures and fifty grazing areas under his command. Plus some scattered helpers and cooks, there are about a thousand people!
These are all the people responsible for Zhao Ming's work. He can also bring 300 armed forces northward, which is more than 1,300 people.
At first glance, the power seems great, but in fact, each area under the jurisdiction of a shepherd chief is like a small ancient inn.
These small officials are only responsible for some things within their duties, and they don't care about anything else.
Moreover, the prairie land is vast and sparsely populated, so it is difficult for superiors to issue instructions to everyone perfectly, and it is even more difficult to have a supervisory role for everyone to implement.
Secondly, there are these petty officials in the establishment. No one knows whether they are really loyal to their duties or whether they are colluding with some tribesmen.
Secondly, other places in Chahar are fine, but Zhao Ming is responsible for the grassland area, and the upcoming post is for ranch duties.
This will inevitably lead to exchanges and communication with the Chahar Eight Banners.
However, the Eight Banners tribes currently have some hostile relations with each other, and their relations are complicated.
Some are descendants of the Yuan and Mongolian dynasties, and some have foreign surnames that came in later.
In fact, it is a struggle between the big surname and the small surname, similar to the clan fights in the south. This kind of thing also happens often.
After hearing so much, Zhao Ming felt that this errand was really not that simple.
Isn't this just a mess? Let him, the enemy, go over and sort out the situation.
OK OK! Old Song, you play like this, right?
Zhao Ming sneered in his heart, "Why don't I think you gave Chahar to me!"
After talking to Dashan again, Ah Fu also came out with a few packages.
After taking the package, Dashan solemnly hugged Zhao Ming.
Zhao Ming also clasped his fists with both hands and said with a smile, "Brother Dashan, it's a long way to go!"
Hearing this, Dashan smiled for a long time, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "Master Zhao! The mountains are high and the rivers are long. See you later!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Dashan didn't hesitate anymore. He got on his horse, carried his baggage and shouted softly, and the horse started galloping.
Dashan is not a person who likes his mother-in-law, and Zhao Ming is also the same. He firmly believes that if we meet again next time, our relationship will not be weak at all!
——
Another half month later, after properly arranging all matters at home, Zhao Ming had already led a group of brothers on the way north.
There is no train here, so the best way to go to the north is of course to travel lightly with one person and one horse.
It's just that there is no Dashan in the team, and there is an extra Wang Er, and the monkey who was originally accompanying him.
Other than that, it’s Ah Fu.
In order to stabilize Feng Yunyun's heart, Zhao Ming brought along Ah Fu, a loyal servant of the Feng family. There are also two cooks.
Anyway, the preparations this time are much better than last time. After all, this time is not a war in general. There may be conflicts, but Zhao Ming can be regarded as the chief official of one party this time. Although he is not the top leader, his power is not small. .
It's just that this is a hard job, and most people really don't want to go to that damn place and suffer like this.
This is not the future. Traveling such a long distance on horseback is not as comfortable as traveling by off-road vehicle.
There was no preparation or any other logistics. Fortunately, most of Zhao Ming's men had been marching and fighting for many years.
The swordsman brothers were not bad either. They came here without saying a word, which made Ah Fu and the two cooks responsible for taking care of Zhao Ming's daily life miserable.
"Where are you now?"
Zhao Ming waved to the monkey and asked.
