The inn where Xia Xun and Ximenqing stayed was called "Yuelai Inn", this name is very common, and you can find an inn with this name in almost any big city, but they do not belong to the same owner. The name Yuelai is taken from the sentence of Confucius: "If you have friends from afar, you will be happy." As a result, it became the favorite name of the innkeeper.

But in a city, of course, there can only be one inn with this name, so naturally whoever uses it first is whoever uses it. Because of this, people who often walk outside know that the one who can call the Yuelai Inn must be the oldest inn in the city, and the oldest inn may not be the inn with the highest specifications, but it must be a more regular place.

When Xia Xun and Ximenqing checked in, it was already dark, and as soon as the moon and night fell, it was not suitable for those who were blind to go out shopping, so the two of them simply ate something in the inn, and asked for two bath buckets, adjusted the water temperature, and came to a barrel bath beautifully.

When the two people were soaking in the hot water and closing their eyes to recuperate, the last bus of the day of the Four Seasons Car Company arrived before the city gate was locked, and the guests on the car came down to look for accommodation one after another, and two of them did not choose an inn to stay in, but began to inquire about the whereabouts of a person named Gao Sheng and a person named Xia Xun from house to inn.

The inn would not have casually told the information of the guests to others, but these two merchants carried the waist card of the official of Jinan Prefecture, and with this brand, they had the right to ask the inn for all the guest information they needed. Finally, they got what they wanted at the Joy Inn, and soon, they also moved into the inn, and the shopkeeper of the Joy Inn, along with the two men in the know, were given a gag order forbidding them to reveal their true identities.

Their public identities are: Wang Ming, Wang Siyuan, uncle and nephew, Jinan businessman.

Ximenqing went out early the next morning, he had to contact the various vehicles that came separately, and he also had to meet with people outside the customs, these secret relationships were all the way that his father and son had worked hard for many years, and it was naturally inconvenient for Xia Xun to know, although Xia Xun had never done business, he also knew these rules, not to mention that he wanted to do it only once, and all the subsequent transactions were thrown to the black pot expert surnamed Cao, so he didn't want to solve these things.

Xia Xun waited until noon in the inn, Ximen Qingxing rushed back, and when he saw him, he said: "The winter grain over there is urgent, and they are in a hurry to trade, they have already sent a messenger over, I have made an appointment with the place, tell him to wait there, go, let's go now." When Xia Xun heard this, he hurriedly walked out of the inn with Ximenqing.

At this time, Beiping was naturally very different from Beijing after more than 600 years in his impression, even if it was very different from the appearance of Yongle after moving the capital and rebuilding Beiping, despite this, every move, every eye, what he saw and heard, still gave people a feeling of being a majestic city in the world.

There are many kinds of people of color in the streets, so that you know that this city is implicated in the world. From time to time, a few elephants will walk leisurely past you with their proboscis fling, which are all raised by the Yuan people who believe in Buddhism, and were abandoned here when they fled from the capital. From time to time, a group of officers and men in sonorous armor would pass by, and the queue would be neat and murderous, but the residents of the city had become accustomed to it, and those who were hawking continued to sell, and those who went shopping continued to shop, and they were not disturbed in the slightest.

Is this the capital of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years in the future, which does not cut the land, does not pay for it, does not call the ministers, does not make peace, guards the country, and the king dies?

Walking in the market, Xia Xun's eyes were full of novelty and his heart was full of emotion.

Ximenqing is not the first time to come, he has no intention of enjoying the scenery, just lead Xia Xun forward, the place where the two sides meet is in the backyard guest room of a leather store, there is a sign hanging at the door, Xia Xun glanced at it carefully, it is written "Xie's leather goods". Ximenqing took Xia Xun into the store, whispered a few words to the shopkeeper, and was immediately let into the backyard, where there was a big man waiting in the backyard guest room.

Although this person is wearing a Han costume, and his hairstyle and dress are also dressed according to the habits of the Han people, his thick eyebrows, curly beard, high nose bridge, and sharp eyes can still make people faintly see the breath of a grass man. As soon as he saw Ximenqing, he got up and hugged his fists and said in slightly stiff Chinese: "Brother Gao came so fast, this must be Brother Xia Xun Xia that Brother Gao said." ”

Xia Xun also saluted: "It's here, I don't know what Your Excellency will say?" ”

Ximen Qing said with a smile: "Brother Xia, this hero's name is Lakshen, and he is a close confidant of Lord Biri Tichi, the patriarch of the Hara Manglai tribe. Rakshen, this is the Xia proprietor who wants to buy a large amount of fur and animal tendons from you. Xia Dongzhu is rich and powerful in Shandong, and there is a very hard backer behind him, he not only needs a large number of goods this time, but will continue to buy from you in the future, you can take this line, and your ministry will be much better in the future. ”

A happy smile appeared on Rakshen's face: "Oh, yes, yes, I ...... I've heard from the person who informed me of my coming. ”

Rakshin let the two of them into their seats, but he stood upright, without even saying a polite word, and immediately said straight to the point: "Nikosu Keqi Khan has always hoped to fight back to the Central Plains and regain the capital. And your Royal Highness King Yan of the Ming Kingdom is very powerful, he has defeated our Great Khan's army every time, and he has driven it far away. They fought back and forth, and our small tribes, who only guarded a small piece of grass and had no strength to migrate, suffered.

We have no salt, no rice, no cloth, no iron pots, no medicinal herbs, and our life is very difficult, and there are not many people in the prime of our tribe left, and most of those left behind are old people, women, and children, who are weak and will starve to death if they have no food to eat; If you don't have clothes to wear, you will freeze to death; Without medicinal herbs, it is easy to die of illness. ”

He said, adding to his tone with a powerful movement: "We don't care about these hellish wars, he just wants our people to live well, that we can go to the herds every day with whips and happy songs, and that we can provide you with all the furs and tendons you want, these are the best materials for making armor and bows and crossbows, but I wonder how much you can give us?" Also, I have to make it clear in advance that I can't bring in so many goods if you want so many goods at once, so you have to figure it out yourself. ”

Xia Xun wanted to laugh when he heard it, is this also a businessman? I haven't done anything yet, he took out all his hole cards first, and this price is not for me to press? Wouldn't he suffer a big loss if he did this? But that's the only way, Xia Xun couldn't bear to keep the price too low, the money was from the King of Qi, and the other party was a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people waiting to be fed, Xia Xun really couldn't bear to deduct the few pennies from a mouthful of porridge and a piece of cloth from their mouths.

Xia Xun had a little kind thoughts, the other party was asking for someone, and the two sides quickly finalized the price with the help of Ximenqing, Ximenqing said with a smile: "Lakshen, to be honest, this price is indeed lower, but you also know that it is we who are responsible for bringing the goods in. ”

Rakshen nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand, those who are officials are more greedy than jackals." ”

Ximen Qing said with a smile: "I know that what you need most is tea, cloth, food and medicine, but in order not to attract people's eyes, we didn't bring physical goods this time, and the transaction is mainly with treasure money, which is no problem, right?" ”

Lakshin frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said happily: "No problem!" The treasure money of the Ming Dynasty also works in our place, we can use the treasure money to buy things from the Jurchens, and there are many Han merchants in the west, and they trade with us, but they are not very willing to accept these things that are difficult to carry and difficult for them to sell, and we have money, we can directly buy food and medicinal materials from them. Besides, the people who came by car can also use the money to buy some daily necessities near Beiping, and then quietly transport them back. ”

Xia Xun smiled and said, "Okay, then you can inform your patriarch to prepare the goods." ”

Lakshin glared at the bull's-eyed and said, "When are you going to want it?" Can you get in? ”

Xia Xun said: "Let's do these things." All you need to do is be ready to ship as soon as you get the news! ”

Lakshin patted his chest and said, "No problem, our things are already ready and ready to be shipped out at any time!" ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, I have a gift here, which our patriarch wants to give to our distinguished Xia Xun friend." ”

He turned around, strode to the wall, and took a large package from the chair, the burden looked tattered, but as soon as it was opened, Xia Xun and Ximenqing's eyes were bright, such a beautiful fox fur, three fox furs, all fiery red, like a flame, the palm of the hand gently stroked it, and immediately felt its softness and warmth.

Lakshin held the three flame-like fox skins in his arms and said solemnly to Xia Xun: "Our lord said that it was the honorable you who saved our tribe. Otherwise, in this cold winter, our old men will starve to death, women and children will be taken captive as slaves by other tribes, and young men will become horse bandits who only know how to burn and plunder, and become a group of inhuman beasts, and our Hara Manglai tribe will cease to exist.

This is the finest fire fox skin, caught by the best hunters, and the arrows only pierce its eyes, so that there is not a single scar left on the fur. Even in our grass plains, it is an extremely rare treasure, and Lord Hirothechi has asked me to bring it and present it to our most honored friend, our benefactor, and I ask you to accept it. ”

Lakshin folded his arms forward and bent down deeply.

Xia Xun smiled and happily took the fox skin, he began to feel that this trip to Peking was much easier than he expected, maybe he would soon be able to complete his mission, return to his hometown in fine clothes, and marry a new daughter-in-law......

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On the grass plain, scattered snowflakes fluttered and melted before they fell to the ground.

In early winter, the grass plain looked like a lifeless wasteland, large and small felt bags were scattered on the field, and the largest one in the middle, the milky white felt tent, was the big tent of the chief of the Hara Manglai tribe.

At this time, the tent was full of elders and magnates in the clan, and the top one was the one who was alone at the table, and he was wearing a leopard skin jacket obliquely. Do you still have me as a father in your eyes! And is there no patriarch like me!

For the survival of the whole clan, I finally contacted a big buyer in the Central Plains, who could pay us enough money to let our family survive the cold winter. Don't think I'm old, dazzled, deaf, you don't know what you're doing behind my back! ”

Standing in front of him was an arrogant and untamed young man, facing his father in anger, he looked disapproving, and said: "Father, what you sold to the people of the Ming Kingdom are all things used to make fine ordnance, and they use these things to make sharp weapons, which in turn will be used on us. If the Great Khan found out, would he let you go? ”

He waved his hand and said angrily: "Don't mention anything to me about the Great Khan, where is his tribe when he is in a dilemma of life and death, and when he is poor?" In the white plague the year before last, when so many people in our tribe froze to death and starved to death, where was he? I am the patriarch of the Hara Manglai tribe, and I am only responsible for the men, women, and children of this tribe, and I only want my people to live. What do you know about hairy kids? Are you, like Erlebok, obsessed with going back to the Central Plains? It was a dream, and if we had the ability, we wouldn't have called people out in the first place! ”

The young man laughed brighter and more arrogantly, like a young lion, standing in front of an aging lion king, his eyes widened, implying provocation and contempt: "Father, you are old, you are really old. You have given your sons strong bodies, but you have not given us a brave and strong heart, because you are so cowardly! But what you did not give us, the Immortal Heaven gave us. Immortality has given us wisdom, courage, and strength. ”

He glanced at him contemptuously, and said coldly: "Father, I think that you are no longer suitable to be the leader of our clan, and I, Xiri Barri, are more qualified than you to lead our tribe, because the leader of our Ha Ramang tribe needs is a lion, not a sheep. ”

"What? You brute, how dare you speak to me like that, you ...... I'm going to banish you, I'm going to drive you out of the tribe, you're ...... You ......"

He was dizzy for a while, hurriedly took a few steps back, sat down with a few cases, and the young man stood proudly: "Father, as the head of the clan, you will only take us to escape, to escape from the Great Khan's conscription, to escape from the encirclement and suppression of the Ming army, what is the result of escaping for so many years?" We used to have 80,000 tribes, and we were one of the most powerful tribes in the Grass Plains, but what has become of us now? ”

His voice became louder and louder, glaring at his father viciously, approaching step by step: "My eldest brother Hari was killed in the battle with the Ming army, what were you doing at that time?" At that time, I was still very young, I have been following you, I can see very clearly, you have been urging the clansmen to flee quickly, you always say that the army is invincible, if we can fight, we will not be driven back to Saibei, the only way for you to protect the clansmen is to escape! That's the means used by the yellow sheep, who are we? We are Genghis Khan's warriors, who in the whole world cannot be defeated? ”

He suddenly raised his palms and sang loudly in the ancient Mongolian language, and the voice was majestic and magnificent, as if it came out of the urn: "But I am a great khan, holding a banner and a banner."

There are no rivers and seas below, and no clouds are seen above.

There are no assuras in the heavens, and there are no spirits on the earth.

Up and down to earth, prostrate and solemn.

What a stupid clown, and dare to be a horse's hoof......"

The impassioned singing echoed in the felt tent, and the tribal leaders who stood twice for a while were shocked, singing and singing, remembering the invincible majesty of the Dayuan army back then, and some people couldn't help but sing along. He yelled in a very angry manner: "Shut up for me!" ”

The singing stopped abruptly, and Xiri Bari laughed, he laughed for a while, and suddenly asked, "Father, do you know where my second brother Ulaanbari has gone?" ”

She was wheezing, and her lungs were like bellows, making a shara sound: "You...... Didn't you say that he went to the Great Khan? ”

Xi Ri Bari smiled weirdly: "It's okay to tell you now, yes, the second brother is going to the Great Khan, but...... It was not Nikosu Khan, but a powerful khan to the west, who once said, 'The world is big, but there is no room for two monarchs,' and he wants to be the king of the world."

After thinking about it, her eyes suddenly widened in horror, and she stood up and said, "What are you talking about?" Ulaanbari defected to Timur the Cripple? ”

Xiri replied solemnly: "To be precise, it is to lead that cripple to the East......

He sat back on the felt, gasped a few times, and said in a hoarse voice: "What about you, what are you going to do?" Like your second brother, you want to invite back the guy who destroyed the four khanates, but claimed to be the heir of Genghis Khan, and be our khan? ”

Xi Ri Ba Ri said: "No! He is not the blood of the Golden Family, and is not worthy to rule over all of us. I think that with the present strength of our Great Khan, if we can unite and not be like you who are cowardly and only know how to escape, we can restore our former glory. I think that as long as I lead my people to the Great Khan and be used by the Great Khan, our people will no longer be as hungry as they are now. ”

He sneered: "Childish! As far as our clansmen now, the old and the young, are simply a burden, and the Great Khan is unwilling to take them with him when he escapes, so you go to him? Haha......"

Xiri Bari said sharply: "That's because we have been running away and have been cowards, so we have been abandoned by the Great Khan, and I am going to do one thing now, an earth-shattering event......"

With a sinister smile on his face, he said, "As long as I succeed, the Great Khan will reuse me and take me in, so that we will no longer be wandering outcasts." ”

"I am the head of the clan, and I will not allow you to do this!" ”

Xi Ri Bari sneered: "Father, you have already disappointed the people, do you think they will still listen to your orders?" ”

He looked left and right, and all he saw was a pair of indifferent eyes, and his knees were weak, and he sat on the ground weakly. ~！