Entering the official post in the big town of Xuanfu, when the postmaster inspected the military survey in Zheng Haizhu's hand, he looked at the generals outside the door who were not many in number but had a neat appearance. He immediately said attentively: "It turns out they are from Beijing. Mrs. Zheng, the younger one has already been kept in bed."
"Well, is Governor Cui in Xuanfu or Datong? Where is Mr. Zhao?"
"To get back to my wife, Governor Cui should be coming to our town in the next few days. Mr. Zhao should be taking his troops to Shanfang Fort to garrison."
"Oh..." Zheng Haizhu thought for a while and then asked, "Is the Shanfang Fort a military fort located north of Zhangjiakou and south of Yehuling?"
The postmaster nodded: "That's exactly where it is."
"At this time a few years ago, was Mr. Zhao also stationed there?"
"That's not true. I heard from Mr. Qian, who stayed in our town, that this year we must guard against the Jurchen Tatars."
"Okay, I understand. Could you please and the postman, please guide my people to transport the baggage and boxes to the backyard, and don't let the dogs and cats who come and go see the tricks of the firearms. Then gather some fodder for the horses."
"Gentlemen, would you like something warm?"
"No, the young man in gilded clothes outside will take them to eat. Just bring three bowls of noodles to me and the two generals. We have something to say and we won't go outside."
The postmaster immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
This official post in Xuanzhen has enough room for a big house, but it is a little short on food.
Not surprisingly, the frontier troops who fought in the war were in arrears with food and salary, and the court was not interested in the expenses of the post station.
Zheng Haizhu, Ma Xianglin, and Zhang Mingshi entered a room with a fire kang and sat down. Zheng Haizhu said to the two of them: "What the postmaster said is similar to what I guessed. Although when we left Beijing, the Tangbao from Liaodong had not yet arrived, but With Zhang Chengyin, Zou Chuxian, Mao Wenlong and others, Liao Town should not have allowed Nurhachi to take advantage. The Tatars could not grab anything in central Liaoning and southern Liaoning, so they might have thought of bypassing Ningyuan, Shanhaiguan and Jizhen, and inhabiting the small Mongolian tribes and Zhangjiakou area. , try your luck. Otherwise, what will they eat this winter and next spring?"
Before Zhang Mingshi was imprisoned, he had been fighting in the southwest. He only had a rough idea of the topography of the important towns in Jiubian, and he was even more blind to the habits of the Jurchens.
At this moment, he couldn't help but be surprised and said: "Mom, how poor can the old chieftain's family be? Come all this way to get food?"
Ma Xianglin, who had experience in fighting in Liaodong, responded calmly: "There are more and more Dingkou in the Eight Banners, and Jiangnan is not the most fertile land for the establishment of slaves. Naturally, the establishment of slaves has to capture the west in order to survive."
Zheng Haizhu said without any disdain: "Yes, it is those barren mountains and rivers that produce the most ferocious and ferocious predators. But Nurhaci is not just a reckless man. Think about it, from outside the pass, he crossed over from the north of the Great Wall, more than a thousand miles away. How much supplies can the Tatars bring? They must rely on the Mongolian tribes such as Horqin and Nekalkha in the middle for support, so the old chief began to marry these tribes a few years ago."
Zheng Haizhu felt from the bottom of his heart that Nurhaci did have a strategic vision.
Although in this time and space, the historical process was obviously changed by the victory of the Battle of Fushun. Crow Falcon Pass and Qinghe Fort were still in the hands of the Ming court, generals like Du Song and Liu were still alive, and Mao Wenlong was still under the control of General Zhang Chengyin who was not killed in the battle. With the support, they have also gone to Dongjiang in advance, but all these cannot make Mingting really sit back and relax.
Even if the Battle of Saarhu did not come as planned, the ambitious Nurhachi and the brutal but efficient Jianzhou Eight Banners were still like a malignant tumor on the neck, slowly eroding the body of the Ming Empire westward and southward.
As they were talking, the postman reported outside: "There is a man who is said to be an old friend of the madam. His name is Yan Wu. He wants to see the madam."
Zheng Haizhu smiled happily: "Please come in."
…
"Are you Xu San? No wonder you're called Yan Wu, Yan Wu Xu." When Ma Xianglin saw the person coming, he only recalled the person's real name.
Xu San, who had kidnapped Zheng Haizhu with Mao Wenlong as a dental pawn many years ago, is now wearing a fur hat and brocade robe, with a rosy face and the air of a wealthy border businessman.
With a smile on his face, he bowed to Ma Xianglin and said, "Thank you, General Ma, for remembering me."
Zheng Haizhu motioned Xu San to take a seat and explained to the two generals: "Xu San married the daughter of General Mao. Like Mr. Mao Chengbei, he is the general manager of our Haoming Trading Company. He travels more to the north, from Jizhen to Xuan The older generation is familiar."
Hearing this, Zhang Mingshi clasped his hands and said: "That's good, little brother, oh no, Mr. Xu, Lao Zhang, a southerner, how could I have thought of guarding Beisei for the rest of my life? The customs and customs here are mainly about the traps. You You have to give me some pointers.”
Ma Xianglin observed Xu San's appearance and demeanor in silence, while thinking about what Zheng Haizhu said on the city wall that night.
Whether it is along the canal, whether Songjiang Customs goes north to Liaohai Road, or south to Yuegang, it is enough for Azhu's business to prosper and make money, but she also plans to Monan Mongolia outside the Great Wall, and looking at it, it is not Just started recently.
Even if Ma Xianglin didn't have the opportunity to send him to the Xuan Mansion, even if Zhang Mingshi couldn't be fished out of the imperial edict, A Zhubi would still find other generals to help the army with business.
Thinking of this, Ma Xianglin's confusion and depression these days were increasingly replaced by the idea of reviving his mind.
Zheng Haizhu, who was sitting opposite him, quickly got to the point: "Xu San, without further ado, please first talk about the situation of establishing slaves this autumn and the news about Lin Dan Khan."
"Yes, madam," Xu San said with a serious tone, "Nurhachi destroyed Ye He's tribe and suffered losses himself. He was eager to rob people and food, but Dongguan was tightly guarded and they couldn't get in. From Yizhou to Kuandian there are another With General Mao keeping an eye on it, even if the Ministry of Construction went to southern Liaoning, they couldn't grab it. So they sent out four banners and dozens of Niulu, about ten thousand people, and passed through Horqin and came here."
Zheng Haizhu interrupted him and asked: "Zaisai of the Chahar tribe, during the Battle of Fushun, Li Rubai did a good job. Didn't he abandon Jianzhou and become friendly with the Ming Dynasty later? Chahar is Lin Dan Khan again." In our territory, even if Jianzhou passes through Horqin and Nekalkha, which are already married, how can we still feel like we are in an uninhabited land in Chahar?"
A trace of disdain flashed across the corner of Xu San's lips: "Madam, from what I see, the descendant of Genghis Khan, the golden-blooded Lin Dan Khan, is just a thief and a cunning thing. Last year, he took several thousand taels of silver from the Ming Dynasty. As a reward, I just sent a boastful letter of credence to Nurhaci to warn the Ministry of Construction not to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. This damn thing can't even be said to be working hard. This is a joke. The old chief and him Will the Eight Banners Soldiers hate him? When Nurhaci comes to the west this year, I heard that Zaisai is going to stop him, but I think it is uncertain whether Lin Dan Khan will provide support to Zaisai."
Zheng Haizhu listened attentively and said calmly: "Xu San, what you said is very useful, but I think that this Lin Danhan is not necessarily a coward. The reason why he is so sparing is because, first, he wants to save his capital and unify Monan first. Mongolia, the second is to see how the combat strength of our frontier army in the Northern Fortress of the Ming Dynasty compares with that of the Jianzhou Tatars. Of course, he is really thick-skinned. He behaves like this and still comes to Xuanda Town to ask for rewards. Xu San, we After entering the town, I saw some Mongolians, unlike horse traders and fur traders, are they sent by Lin Dan Khan to collect rewards?"
Xu Sandao: "Yes, I have already inquired about it. Those who look like nobles from the North are the subordinates of Sutai, one of Lin Dan Khan's great fortunes. They are specially responsible for asking for annual rewards."
This time, even Ma Xianglin asked in surprise: "Is there another eldest wife? Isn't there only one Dafujin who built a slave?"
"General Hui Ma, these Northern captives are different from Jiannu. Lin Danhan has several Fujins, and the Han people in Beiguan are called Niangzi. Three of them are Dafujins who are in charge of money, Dingkou, etc. Although Su Tai ranks second The title is also Dafujin. It is said that Ye He was married to the Jurchen tribe. Lin Danhan valued her very much and kept his money bag."
"That's right," Zheng Haizhu continued, "Ye He Jurchen and I, the Ming Dynasty, have always been on good terms. No wonder Lin Danhan asked Su Tai to handle the reward."
The woman's face no longer concealed the smile of "God help me".
"Xu San, go buy me a leather robe with a left gusset like the one worn by Mongolians. Before I meet with Governor Cui, I need to meet with the Mongolians under Su Tai's tent and show them a good thing."
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(I am attending an awards event related to this book in the past few days. I am in a hurry, so updates may not be guaranteed. I am very sorry.)
