"Please ask Governor Guo and Lord Ma to come and discuss matters!"
Wang Chengyin thought for a while and then gave instructions outside.
Then the lobby fell into silence. Under the dancing candlelight, Wang Chengyin's expression became a little uncertain.
After waiting for two-quarters of an hour, Xuanfu Governor Guo Zhicong rushed over in a hurry: "General Wang, why did you call me here in such a hurry?"
"Look at this!"
Guo Zhicong took the letter and glanced at it, his heart sank: "Is there any movement among the Mongolian tribes recently?"
"No, they are all quite honest."
"Then what does the imperial court mean? Are you going to take action against Tumut and Yong Shaobu?"
Guo Zhicong murmured to himself: "That's not right. Although the actions of the new emperor's ascension to the throne have allowed the court to recover a little, it should be recuperating at this moment.
Moreover, Liaodong still has the great enemy Jiannu. At this time, it is taking action against the tribes in Monan. This is considered a two-front battle, but it is really an unwise decision. "
"Governor Guo, please stop guessing. If you have this time, you might as well write to the court and ask the court, so that we can be prepared!"
Wang Chengyin interrupted Guo Zhicong's soliloquy: "I have asked the commander of Madu to come. Let's take a look."
Just as he was talking like this, Ma Luosheng, the commander of the Wanquan Command Division, arrived in the lobby. After learning the news, he was a little surprised.
"The imperial court's intentions are unclear, so I will ask all the generals to be ready to go to war at any time."
"Commander Ma, all of you must be prepared for the Sixteenth Guards under our command. If there is really going to be a war, we will need your support for logistical support."
"Governor Guo, it's up to you to provide food and other supplies and appease the people."
The three of them ended the conversation after a brief discussion.
In the lobby, Wang Chengyin tapped his fingers on the table gently, and said very rhythmically: "Inform the garrison of Zhangjiakou Fort, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu City, and the deputy commander-in-chief of Yongning City Marquis, and ask them to mobilize the elites, improve military discipline, and be ready for expedition at any time. Prepare!"
After making arrangements, he wrote a letter and asked his confidant to send it off.
Early the next morning, Chongzhen and others walked around the city after breakfast, only to find that the city had changed drastically.
The armaments were lax yesterday, but today we can see sergeants patrolling from time to time. It seems that these sergeants have all been on the battlefield.
The guards at the gate of the city only made a routine inspection and immediately let them go, without showing any difficulty as they did yesterday.
The people in the city are all honest and behave like good citizens.
Overnight, the city changed drastically. If he hadn't come earlier yesterday, he would have thought that Xuan Mansion was like this.
"It would really be a ghost if it weren't for ghosts."
Chongzhen sighed: "Let's go and see Zhangjiakou."
For a journey of more than sixty miles, everyone did not hesitate to ride horses, and they arrived in a matter of hours.
The mutual market is not inside the fort, but on the inside of the side wall five miles away from Zhangjiakou Fort in the north.
Chongzhen was amazed by the spectacle of the scene, the endless cattle, sheep, mules and horses.
There are many kinds of velvet, brocade, striped silk and taffeta in various colors, and brocade inlaid with gold and copper.
Thousands of ants gathered in a cluttered mess, department stores gathered together, and thousands of tents were spread out in the domes.
It's hard to imagine that while having to guard against each other and sometimes fighting, they can still do business calmly.
Looking at the prosperity in the distance, Chongzhen asked in a low voice: "Steward Han, do you think the mutual trade in Zhangjiakou counts as marriage and compensation?"
Han Huang looked stunned for a moment, then fell silent.
How did the mutual trade in Zhangjiakou and other places come about?
On the 29th of Jiajing, Anda Khan attacked Datong. Qiu Luan, the commander-in-chief of Datong, was frightened and had no idea, so he bribed Anda Khan with a large amount of money to let Anda Khan attack other places.
When Anda Khan saw how spineless the Ming Dynasty was, he suddenly attacked Beijing and plundered people's property.
And Emperor Jiajing's policy was even more fucked up. It roughly meant that he would first let Anda Khan grab enough in Beijing, and then send a large amount of "skin coins, pearls and jade" to beg for peace.
With this kind of sweetness, twenty years later, the Anda tribute incident occurred. The general idea was that Anda became a vassal, but the Ming court wanted to give Sui gifts. To put it bluntly, it was to give money to seek peace.
There is no record of how much there is, but it is at least one million taels of silver every year.
He even took this opportunity to ask the Ming Dynasty to exchange tribute and trade in Zhangjiakou. This is how the mutual trade in Zhangjiakou came about.
It seems that Ming Dynasty got a lot of war horse furs, etc., but Anda got the salt tea and other scarce items that they urgently needed.
If we calculate it this way, the annual reward is compensation, and the mutual trade is marriage.
After thinking for a while, Han Huang said softly: "Your Majesty, since the opening of the mutual trade, the people on the three sides have gathered at banquets, the troops on the border have been disarmed, the farmers have left the field, and the travelers have traveled at night, and the world has been peaceful.
The population of the nine borders is increasing day by day, the defenses are getting stronger, the fields are expanding day by day, and merchants are becoming more and more popular. The people on the border are beginning to know the joy of life. It must be seen that the benefits of mutual trade outweigh the disadvantages! "
Chongzhen did not respond to Han Huang's words.
They only saw the benefits of this prosperous mutual trade, but they did not see how much strategic materials the merchants had sent to the enemy through this mutual trade.
Not to mention that the loopholes in the mutual market rules gave countless greedy people the opportunity to steal tens of millions of silver from the court and the people.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen's eyes showed murderous intent: "Let's go back, it's time to do business!"
One day later, the army arrived outside Xuanfu City, and Wang Chengyin, as the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu City, naturally had to greet them outside the city.
The first feeling I felt when I saw the army was that it was indeed the army of kings.
The more than 20,000-strong army marched without any sound except for the sound of steps and wheels. There were many spears in the army and the cold light shone.
The sergeants all had solemn expressions, their armors were bright and bright, and their aura was rising. They were stronger than the elites of Xuanfu Town like themselves.
After the army stopped for a moment, three cavalrymen walked out from the middle army. The leader turned out to be an old woman wearing armor.
Although she is a woman, her oncoming aura is very domineering, very capable and chic.
Wang Chengyin was in a daze, and then he remembered something. The only female general in the Ming army was the loyal lord Qin Liangyu.
"Wang Chengyin, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, has met Marquis Zhongzhen!"
"Guo Zhicong, the governor of Xuanfu, and Ma Luosheng, the commander of Wanquan, have met Marquis Zhongzhen!"
The three of them hurriedly greeted each other. Although the four of them were of the same rank, Qin Liangyu, as the commander of the expedition army, was one level higher than the official.
Then Qin Liangyu introduced Zhou Yuji, the commander of Tengxiang's right guard, and Wei Yang, the commander of the Tiger and Beni guards of the Nine Guards of the Forbidden Army, to everyone.
After some polite remarks, Wang Chengyin whispered: "Marquis Zhongzhen, this army expedition is..."
"This is not the place to talk. Let's talk at the governor's office!"
After Qin Liangyu finished speaking, he said to the person behind him: "Commander Zhou, please bring someone with me into the city."
"No!"
After hearing Qin Liangyu's arrangement, Wang Chengyin immediately stopped him: "Marquis Zhongzhen, it is against the rules to lead an army into the city."
"Of course I know it's against the rules!"
Qin Liangyu looked at Wang Chengyin with a half-smiling look on his face: "Your Majesty is in the city. They are His Majesty's personal guards. Do you think they can enter the city?"
