"Tuligan! Tuligan!"
Looking at the white satin-like river not far away, the Mongolian guards cheered.
"Isn't this Luanhe? What does tuligen mean?" Ma Xianglin asked Mangui.
Mangui said: "The further north the Luanhe River goes, the more twists and turns it becomes, so the Mongols call it Tu Li Gen, which means nine twists and eighteen bends."
Mangui said, got off his horse, and like the Mongolian and Han knights in the team, put their horses to drink water at the nearby tributary of the Luanhe River that was not frozen.
Zheng Haizhu came over with Chang Zhongxin, the second generation of Shanxi merchants, and said to Ma Xianglin and Mangui: "The Mongols told me that the upper reaches of the Luanhe River are the grasslands absolutely controlled by Lin Dan Khan. A few dozen miles east of the river source is Chacha, where the royal tent is. Khanhot.”
As she spoke, she leaned over to pick up a tree trunk and started drawing on the snow. While drawing, she continued: "On this trip, Governor Cui asked General Ma to inspect the terrain outside the Great Wall. Mr. Chang and I wanted to inspect the trade routes. In fact, In this chaotic world, the trade routes must be consistent with the layout of the soldiers' garrison. In this case, the merchants will not be afraid of being robbed by the Tatars, and the military towns can still receive taxes. You see, from Zhangjiakou to the source of the Luanhe River, and then to Yue'er South of the sea, if several trade routes for tea, horse and fur goods are formed, the upper and middle sections will be taxed by Zaikarkha and Lindan Khan, and the sections near Jizhen and Xuanda will be taxed by our Ming Dynasty. Wouldn’t a large area of land be revitalized?”
Mangui said in a rough voice: "Are there so many traders?"
"Why not," Zheng Haizhu said. "There is no way to make a living in farming, either as a soldier or as an outsider. Didn't the old chief Nurhaci also sell mushrooms for several years when he was young? Besides, there are Rakshasa in the west. People are coming in.”
Zheng Haizhu pointed at the fishing sea, which is the direction of Lake Baikal in later generations. In fact, in history, less than a hundred years later, the Qing Dynasty signed a treaty with Tsarist Russia in the border town of Kyakhta to delineate the Sino-Russian border, and used Kyakhta as a port to trade fur, silk and tea. The profits earned by Russian businessmen in Kyakhta accounted for a quarter of Tsarist Russia's treasury, and the Shanxi Merchant Group, the foreign trade manager of the Qing court, had close to 200 large and small businesses in Kyakhta.
Therefore, in the late Ming Empire, due to political corruption and weak national defense, it was completely out of touch with the era of global trade. It had no awareness and no strength to manage the Far Eastern Pacific region and the Mongolian Plateau. This was really one of the huge pain points of the Han Empire.
At present, Zheng Haizhu's idea is to first rely on the Luan River in front of him and try to slowly restore the Ming court military fortresses between the mouth and the Mongolian grassland that existed during the Yongle Emperor's period, and at the same time serve as a tax collection place for merchants such as the canal checkpoint.
This large area from Zhangjiakou to Chengde and later Chifeng had more geographical advantages than the sphere of influence of the Li Chengliang family in Liaodong.
Ma Xianglin and Lin Danhan are both still very young. They trade time for space. This space should not just stop at the level of blocking Houjin or even raising the self-respect of bandits.
Next to Zheng Haizhu, Man Gui stared at the snow and said, "I heard before that our Ming Dynasty did not ask merchants to pay taxes, so the army could not raise enough money. After a few trips to Zhangjiakou, I realized that this statement is like fart, and it means that the officials are fooled. Ours. There are many different ways to tax merchants. They charge according to each camel, mule and horse, according to the size of the box, and according to the length of the load. Oh, and there are also tea sellers. Mr. Chang, is that so? "
Chang Zhongxin respectfully offered compliments: "General Manchu pays close attention to every detail. If he comes to the trade route, he will certainly be able to dominate."
Man Gui said, "I don't want great authority, nor do I want to be rich and wealthy. I just want military pay to be paid on time, so I can chill the hearts of the brothers at the border. Mrs. Zheng, then go back and tell Lord Long Live." Well, collect more tax money to supplement military pay."
Zheng Haizhu smiled: "That's what I think, but it will only work if Lin Danhan is not stupid, let alone a coward."
Ma Xianglin curled his lips meaningfully, raised his head, glanced around the mountains and forests near the tributaries of the Luanhe River, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Although it is not the time yet, there is a vast plain to the north of the Luanhe River. Spending the night is like staying in an ice cave. You and that He Zhuo said, don't rush to cross the river, rest for a night in the lee of the forest edge, the people and horses are rested, and we can start our journey again tomorrow morning."
…
In the ice and snow, Ma Xianglin was obviously not the only one who took a fancy to this sheltered haven.
At the beginning of Shen Dynasty, a group of people appeared on the snowy field in the south.
He Zhuo, who was standing outside the camp with his arms folded, suddenly changed from a relaxed posture to alert.
Almost at the same time, He Zhuo heard Zheng Haizhu's voice not far away: "General Ma, is that a caravan?"
He Zhuo turned his head and looked around, and saw the handsome Ming Dynasty general riding on a horse, holding a slender iron tube in his hand and pressing it against one eye.
"It should be a caravan, about thirty people, the horses are like pack horses, pulling the cart," Ma Xianglin said, "I'd better take someone to take a look."
He Zhuo walked up to Zheng Haizhu and asked, "What is the barrel your general is using?"
"It's a telescope. You can see people and horses half a mile away as clearly as you can see me now."
He Zhuo snorted coldly.
But she was quite aware of the complicated situation in her heart.
Before leaving Chahanhot, the women from Taiji, Mongolia, said to her in a strange way: "He Zhuo, when you go to Zhangjiakou this time, you will definitely get jewelry as beautiful as the sun and rouge as beautiful as the sunset, right?"
Summer insects cannot speak of ice.
These women who only compare themselves to whose family has more cattle, sheep and slaves, these women who are happy to paint their faces like monkey butts and cover their pancake faces with pearls, have no idea that the world outside Chahanhot , what is the most enviable and pursued thing.
He Zhuo gained more than he imagined.
Not only did she see Zhangjiakou, the largest trading place in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty, but she also got to know the Ming Dynasty’s sophisticated border ministers, shrewd businesswomen, and brave soldiers. Wow, this is something I've never seen before.
Soon, the Ming general galloped back, dismounted and said to the two women, "They are Ming people from Ji Town. They have the right accent. They want to sell tea and cloth to Inner Khalkha. They can't cross the river today and want to camp next to us." .”
"Going to Inner Khalkha, why did you come out of seclusion at this time?" He Zhuo showed his usual suspicious look on his face.
Ma Xianglin said: "I asked about this, and they said that they heard that the Jin army was trying to grab the west, so they didn't dare to leave in October, and they are on the road now."
Hodro asked no more questions.
Our own Mongolian guards, plus Ming Ren, an elite group with two generals and one deputy, totaled nearly a hundred people. As long as they didn't encounter a large Houjin team, there was really no need to be frightened.
It was Zheng Haizhu who took the initiative to tell Ma Xianglin: "Please arrange for a few more brothers to stay on duty today."
Ma Xianglin nodded and said: "I also have relatives in my family who want to travel to the Monan trade route. Can I ask my wife for advice on tea?"
Zheng Haizhu saluted He Zhuo and said goodbye, then followed Ma Xianglin into the tent.
She recognized the excitement flashing in Ma Xianglin's eyes, and was about to lower her voice and ask, "Is he yours?" when the curtain was lifted again.
Mangui quickly came to them: "Those people, there is something fishy, I want to take someone to see them."
"Oh?" Ma Xianglin saw Ma Biao walking back and forth outside the tent, so he asked Mangui, "Did you find something strange?"
Mangui said: "I just asked Ma Biao about the tea leaves and cotton cloth sold by those in Jizhou. But their ruts are too deep. Look at the height of the goods stacked on the car, whether it is a full tea basket or a piece of cloth. You can't make such a deep mark in the snow. Unless you're pulling something as heavy as a Crouching Tiger Cannon."
After Man Gui finished speaking, he found that Ma and Zheng's reactions were very strange.
There was no sign of sudden vigilance or solemnity.
Then, after Ma Xianglin showed a faint approval, he looked at Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu approached Mangui and said succinctly: "It's a cannon, but it's not a tiger squatting cannon. It's General Ma's people. We have Tatars to fight."
