Since the middle and late Wanli period, wars have continued throughout the world, and the demand for military horses in the Central Plains has greatly increased. The price of horses has soared, several times higher than before.
Seeing that it was profitable, the Fan family, the leader of the eight Shanxi merchants, invested a lot of manpower and material resources to build a large ranch at the foot of Chi'er Mountain on the east bank of the Yellow River, at the junction of Mongolia and Han.
After the ranch was built, the Fan family smuggled a large number of horses from the grassland through various relationships. Among them, the poorer quality horses were resold to the mainland of the Central Plains for money, while the better quality horses were kept as horse breeders so that they could be used as horse breeders on the ranch. Live and multiply, give birth to more horses, and exchange for more silver.
Relying on this ranch, the Fan family made a fortune every day!
From the border grassland to the mainland of the Central Plains, there are countless checkpoints in between, and the inspection of strategic materials such as horses is extremely strict. As the head of the eight major Shanxi merchants, the Fan family has extremely wide connections and good hands and eyes, so naturally it can be achieved unimpeded.
Pony dealers like Ma Yong and Ma Wu do not have the kind of network to sell horses directly to the mainland of the Central Plains. They can only settle for the next best thing and sell the horses that they have worked so hard to get from the grasslands at low prices. To the Fan family ranch.
A good horse costs thirty taels of silver!
A medium horse costs fifteen taels of silver!
A low-grade horse costs eight taels of silver!
This is the purchase price offered by the Fan Family Ranch. If it were placed fifty years ago, it would be quite fair, but today, it is quite unfair, not even a quarter of the normal market price. .
But there is no other way. The Fan family is powerful, has powerful hands and eyes, and has the support of the frontier army. Knowing that such a price is unfair, the pony traders can only silently endure this kind of exploitation.
More than half a month ago, Ma Yong and Ma Wu led their men to get dozens of high-quality horses from the grassland with great effort, and then rushed to the Fan family ranch, thinking Sell for a good price.
You know, the people at the Fan family ranch are extremely despicable. They insist that these dozens of horses are too thin and can only be purchased at the price of medium horses. This is equivalent to forcing down the price by half.
The Ma brothers were dissatisfied and argued with them, but it was of no use at all. Instead, they aroused the greed of the other party.
Relying on the strength of the crowd, the Fan family ranch surrounded the Ma family brothers and others, preparing to rob, kill and sell goods. In this way, dozens of high-quality horses could be obtained for free without spending a penny, and then resold to the mainland of the Central Plains. Thousands of taels of silver!
Fortunately, Ma Yong and Ma Wu were more alert. Seeing that the situation was not good, they immediately led their men to break out. After a bloody battle, they managed to rush out... but they also killed more than a dozen of their men, and the two brothers each received a knife. Dozens of high-quality horses were completely lost!
After rushing out, they were worried that people from the Fan family ranch would continue to hunt them down. The Ma family brothers could only hide and wander around with their men, and their lives were extremely miserable.
When they were desperate, they happened to meet Han Shanjun and learned that Han Shanjun had abandoned the dark side and became an officer. The Ma brothers were very envious, so they followed him to Dongsheng City. This is what happened in the past.
…
After figuring out what happened, Qin Feng pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Who is in charge of affairs in the Fan family ranch?"
"This is Fan Renshan, the eighth son of the Fan family. He is sinister and despicable. He regards wealth as his life. He also suffers from a strange eye disease. His eyes are as red as blood. Therefore, he is nicknamed: Red-eyed Pixiu. He is a food-eater. .”
"Besides Fan Renshan, are there any other powerful people in the ranch?"
"There is a Cao Daqiang who was originally from the border army and is now the leader of the ranch guard. He is ruthless and has outstanding sword skills. The knife on my shoulder was made by Cao Daqiang. It was aimed at the neck. Fortunately, I dodged quickly. He only managed to save his life and only injured his shoulder, but he didn't take advantage either. I cut off his left ear with a knife and completely disfigured him."
"How many guards are there in the Fan family ranch, what are their equipment, and how many good horses are there?"
"The guards have six to seven hundred people. They are well-equipped and well-trained. They are better than the average frontier army. There are about four thousand good horses, as well as a large number of camels, cattle and sheep. Sir, what are you asking for these?"
"Haha, it's nothing, just curious!"
…
During the banquet, Qin Feng asked a lot about Chi'er Mountain and the Fan family ranch, and also asked about the surrounding geography. The Ma family brothers told them everything they knew.
After the banquet, Qin Feng went back to his sleeping tent to rest.
On the other side, the Ma family brothers murmured in their hearts, thinking that this matter might not be simple, so they went to Han Shanjun privately for advice: "Brother Han, during today's banquet, Lord Guard asked a lot about the Fan family ranch. What are you going to do?"
"Haha, there is a shortage of horses in the army now. Your Excellency asked about the ranch, probably because he wants to get a batch of good horses back so that he can use them to form a cavalry battalion!"
"I see, but Fan Renshan is treacherous, cunning, and ruthless. If Lord Guard wants to buy horses from him, he is afraid that he will be killed."
"Haha, you heard me clearly, what I said is: Your Excellency is going to bring back a batch of good horses, not a batch of good horses."
"Get a batch and take it home, buy a batch and take it home...is there any difference between the two?"
The Ma brothers were a little confused, and they repeatedly pondered the meaning of their words. They seemed to have thought of something, but they couldn't believe it.
Mr. Qin is an official of the imperial court, how could he do that kind of thing?
If Mr. Qin was not prepared to do that kind of thing, why did he inquire in detail about the situation of the Fan family ranch?
In addition, Mr. Qin is the garrison officer of Baichengzi. Why did he come all the way to Dongsheng City? And where did the camels and supplies in the city come from?
…
The more the Ma brothers thought about it, the more they felt that that kind of thing was very likely, but they were not very sure, so they had to look at Han Shanjun with questioning eyes, trying to get an accurate answer.
Han Shanjun didn't speak, he just touched the saber at his waist. The answer was self-evident.
"Hi-his!"
The Ma brothers took a breath of air-conditioning at the same time, and then looked at each other, with excitement and suspicion in their eyes.
The two brothers had a blood feud with the Fan family ranch. If Qin Feng really did that kind of thing, it would be equivalent to avenging the two brothers, so the two of them were naturally excited.
What I doubt is, does Qin Feng really have the courage to touch the pasture of the Fan family, the leader of the eight Shanxi merchants?
The inquiring eyes fell on Han Shanjun again.
Han Shan still didn't speak, he just stretched out a finger, pointed at the location of the liver and gallbladder, and then pointed at the sky...'My lord, maybe he doesn't have anything else, but what about his courage? It's big enough to cover the sky. ! '
The Fan family ranch may be in trouble this time!
Is Han Shanjun's guess correct?
Completely correct!
In the sleeping tent, Qin Feng did not rest, but was thinking about robbing the Fan family ranch.
The Tianwei Army had just been established and was very short of horses. If they could get more than 4,000 good horses from the Fan family ranch, they could solve their urgent problem.
The smuggling caravans that had robbed and killed the eight major Shanxi merchants had obtained a large amount of military supplies, but not much gold and silver.
The Fan family ranch purchases horses all year round, and there must be a large amount of gold and silver in them. If they can get these gold and silver, they can solve the problem of insufficient military pay.
Considering the above two points, Qin Feng decided to do something big again and lead people to rob the Fan family ranch!
Anyway, I have already made enemies with the eight major Shanxi merchants, and I am still the kind of person who will never stop fighting, and I am not afraid of another blood debt in my hands! '
The problem is that robbing the Fan family ranch is much more difficult than robbing a smuggling caravan.
In the Gobi desert, there are only a few people. With a little calculation and a little trick, they captured the smuggling caravan and then killed and silenced them. It can be said that God didn't know it and the ghost didn't know it!
The Fan family ranch is different. It is located at the junction of Mongolia and Han. Various conflicts often occur around it, so the people inside are extremely vigilant and have very strong defensive measures.
In addition, according to the Ma brothers, more than fifty miles southeast of Chi'er Mountain-Fan Family Ranch is Weiyuan City, one of the border gates set up by the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of elite soldiers are stationed in it, one-third of which are cavalry!
Weiyuan City Guards General - Song Yaowu, 34 years old, from Taiyuan Prefecture - Qingshui County, has strong martial arts skills, is proficient in riding and archery, has guarded the border for many years, and is good at using troops... He is known as the 'Song Tiger' in the army, and he is definitely a fierce general. level person.
The most important thing is that Song Yaowu took the daughter of the Fan family as his wife. She was the son-in-law of the head of the family, Fan Yongdou, and the brother-in-law of Fan Renjie and Fan Renshan!
Once something happens to the Fan family ranch, Song Yaowu will definitely send troops to rescue.
The ranch is more than fifty miles away from Weiyuan City. If you go to report the news, gather people and horses, come for rescue... you will definitely arrive within an hour and a half.
In such a short period of time, it was already difficult to capture the heavily guarded Fan family ranch.
After taking over the ranch, we have to drive the more than 4,000 good horses inside to the bank of the Yellow River, and then cross the Yellow River to avoid tracking and leave no trace... This is simply harder than climbing to the sky!
But what Qin Feng believes in, even if it is more difficult than climbing to the sky, he still has to try hard!
But just to be on the safe side, let’s step on the plate first!
The next day, Han Shanjun was asked to stay in Dongsheng City to take charge of various affairs. Qin Feng took Xiong Da, Xiong Er and ten soldiers, disguised as horse traders, crossed the Yellow River on a sheepskin raft, and then Head straight to Chi'er Mountain - Fan's Ranch...
