Coming out of the mouth of victory, along the Yinma River and then turning west, through the hills and rivers, there is a winding road leading to the Barbarian Mountain, the road surface is obviously groomed, although it is rugged, but it can still pass horses and vehicles, and the pedestrians on the road are intermittent, most of them are caravans driving camels and horses and vehicles with their heads bored. A group of people and horses rushing towards the direction of the Barbarian Mountain were particularly eye-catching, and the common people could see that this was a person from the Guannei, and they should be noble, not only wearing good-looking clothes without patches, but also dozens of Xuandewei cavalry guards with bows and arrows on their backs.

Li Yu is most afraid of seeing the two debt collectors - Shen Shoulian, Sun Tingyao is in the middle of the team, they set off from Yangzhou together in April, there was a chance to block Li Yu in the pass, but the thieves in Shanxi are too bad, both of them are afraid of death, they don't have the courage to go to the battlefield to find Li Yu, but hide in Taiyuan to spend all day and wine, this game is a few months later, until the thieves gradually calmed down, then swayed and started again. When they arrived in Datong, they immediately got in touch with Fengzhou, and accepted Li Fugui's suggestion to invite them to Manhan Mountain to discuss, and at this time Sun Tingyao suddenly wanted to eat live donkeys - this way of eating donkey meat was just transmitted from Beizhili to Datong, and cooked a delicious soup with spices in advance, and then locked the live donkey in the hut without food and water, and drove it to run day and night, the donkey was hungry and thirsty but only to drink the hot soup to quench his thirst, and the soup into the abdomen would gradually burn its internal organs and invade the skin, and the donkey would be eaten after he was tired to death, It is said that the meat is delicious, Sun Tingyao heard that there was a delicacy and his heart was itchy, and he refused to give up if he didn't eat it in his mouth, Shen Shoulian also wanted to talk to a few Datong girls he met last time, and the two of them did their own things and fooled around for a few days, until a person they didn't want to see suddenly appeared in Datong, and then they remembered that it was time to go out and do business.

"Bo Xi, I've been riding a horse for most of the day, my legs are tired and numb, let's find a car to sit on, how can Li Hanmin hide in such a place, there is not even a decent road." Shen Shoulian touched his leg on the horse and muttered.

"Of course, riding a horse is not as comfortable as riding a woman, it's all because you have to go to find a fan, but when Li Laojiu came, this guy is a local snake in Shanxi, and it must be no good to show up in Datong, hurry up!" Sun Tingyao replied hatefully.

"But you're also going to eat donkey meat, what if Li Laojiu comes, are we still afraid of him?" Shen Shoulian turned his face and asked Urden, "Old Wu, didn't you say it's almost there, it's past noon and hasn't arrived yet, how far is it?" ”

"Less than twenty miles." Uerden replied angrily, these two guys tossed all the way, the car was too bumpy, to go horseback riding, riding a horse felt tired, and had to walk, a day's walk for two days before he arrived, if it weren't for the Grand Commander's Office to order him to accompany him personally, and ensure that the people were sent to the Barbarian Mountain safely, he would be lazy to wait.

"It's so far! Then I'll just walk around, and wait for Ma-sama, Taro, and wait. Shen Shoulian stepped on a short and sturdy family and got off the horse, helping the family to limp and walk slowly, Sun Tingyao then also dismounted, followed with a stick, Ouerden glanced at them, said a few words to his subordinates, and turned around to pick up Ma Shiying who was left behind.

After a meal, Ma Shiying caught up in an ox cart, and Yang and the deputy envoy were dressed in a green coat and a small hat - he secretly went out of the customs, Sun and Shen went to collect debts, and they also wanted to pull him up, these two guys are too rich, Ma Shiying felt that he was likely to be able to use it in the future, so he reluctantly agreed, but he was tired enough to choke along the way.

When the three of them got together, they didn't want to go, and they didn't get up as soon as they sat down, and Uerden frightened them and said that the wild wolves in this area would come out at night, and the groups were extremely vicious, and the number of people might not be able to withstand them, and the three guys were terrified when they heard it, so they got up and hurried away, and arrived at the camp of the Barbarian Mountain before dark.

There are still five miles away from the camp, Li Yu personally led the Flying Tiger Battalion to meet them, and soon after walking forward together, they saw thousands of people standing enthusiastically on the side of the road, welcoming them in the middle of the road, the sound of gongs and drums was higher than a while, and there was a neat three-eyed sound in the middle, the Mongolian girls sang and danced in unison, the villagers from northern Shaanxi also sang the Qin dialect, and the girls of the Mongolian and Han ethnic groups offered wine and ears of wheat to the guests.

"Greetings to Master Ma, Ma Da is a man of the world, and the stars of Wenqu are descending to earth."

"Welcome to Sun Engong, Sun Engong will always enjoy great blessings and abundant wealth!"

"Welcome to Shen Engong, Shen Engong is as blessed as the East China Sea and has a lot of money!"

……

The sound of the slogans of the flesh and numbness, coupled with the bright smiling faces of Li Fugui, Ma Qi and the officials, Ma Shiying, Sun Tingyao and Shen Shoulian were a little flattered, forgetting the fatigue of the road for a while, puffing up their chests to accept the cheers of the people, and waving to everyone from time to time.

Wang Fang, who commanded the welcome ceremony, asked the guests to stay, waved the order flag in his hand, and the Fengzhou infantry of the two sentinels, the guard guards of the three squadrons, and the Fengzhou iron cavalry of the three sentinels shouted slogans, walked over in a neat formation, and passed in front of the guests in turn, at the same time, the war drums sounded rhythmically, and the two cannons brought back from Yangcheng by the guns of the Wuxuan battalion continued to roar.

"Master Ma is a great nobleman, worship the prime minister and enter the cabinet!"

"Sun Engong is very rich, and he has countless money!"

"Shen Engong is blessed, there is a way to make a fortune!"

The soldiers shouted like thunder, which made Ma Shiying embarrassed: "It's too much, it's too much!" You have to boil it slowly to enter the cabinet, and it's a little early. ”

"Don't call us two bengongs, I really can't afford it, this set of ceremonies for the people to cheer and review the army can only be enjoyed by the governor and governor, we are in business, how embarrassed!" Shen Shoulian's face was full of excitement, he could still be a benefactor if he gave usury, which was too ashamed.

"Afford it, afford it, we Fengzhou people don't understand the noble and low, just remember who is kind to us, Master Ma is our old Shangguan, who has helped us a lot over the years, Mr. Shen and Mr. Sun lent us money at a critical time, we haven't starved to death for more than two years, and we can't forget the great kindness!" Li Fugui said with a smile on his face, while quietly kicking Li Huai and Li Yu, who nodded with a red face and said yes.

When it was completely dark, this farce was over, and Ortaipi invited the guests into the camp for dinner without smiling, and the three guys felt hungry, and they entered the camp surrounded by Fengzhou officials.

After eating the most sumptuous dinner in Fengzhou so far, Ma Shiying and the three of them, accompanied by Li Yu and the senior officials of the Great Commander's Mansion, went to Li Fugui's official room - the creditor came to collect debts, and after all, they still had to face it.

"Yongnian, I think the potato roast beef is delicious, the mushroom stewed pheasant, wild leeks and scrambled eggs are also good, I didn't expect that there are stinky tofu and soy sauce in this place, I have eaten so many delicacies from the mountains and seas, I have never eaten so fragrant, delicious, really delicious!" Sun Tingyao muttered to Shen Shoulian as he walked.

"The girls who sang and danced during the banquet were not bad, but they didn't let me touch them, and the big judge said that whoever likes them will have to stay as a son-in-law, so I'd better forget it." Shen Shoulian replied with a look of regret.

Entered the official room, the guests and hosts were seated separately, Ma Shiying was let to the main seat by everyone - Lao Ma is an old friend of Fengzhou people, thanks to him as a protective umbrella over the years, Fengzhou's private goods business can become more and more rampant, Xuanda Governor Wei Yunzhong, Datong Governor Zhang Zongheng is full of support, has organized several strike-hard actions, Lao Ma has reported in advance, and also took the opportunity to instruct the local government to arrest a lot of business robbers Chahar, Shanxi businessmen, to help Fengzhou eliminate competitors, like Lao Ma is willing to take money to do practical officials, it is worthy of everyone's respect.

Ma Shiying talked about the great principle of making money in harmony, and then asked the two sides to talk slowly, and drank tea leisurely, Shen Shoulian smiled and touched the loan deed, and patted it on the table, the IOU is here, and the Chinese are also here, written clearly in black and white, with 80,000 taels of interest, it should be repaid at the beginning of the year, and if you can't admit it, then pay it back!

"I admit it, but, but I can't pay off the debt, can I delay it for a while." Li Yu blushed and whispered.

"Li Shuai, we have given a few more months, and our money is also hard-earned money, is Li Shuai not going to pay it back? If you don't want to say it back, let's just lift our legs and leave. Sun Tingyao laughed, and casually pointed at Li Huai, "******, what do you say?" ”

Li Huai's head was buried, Du Hongtai heard that the debt collector was coming, and he was panicked, under the pretext that there were many people in Dongshengwei Yansui and needed to be appeased by his fellow countrymen, so he ran to Dongshengwei to be a fellow acquaintance and left him here to suffer.

"Who said that we won't pay it back, our people on the grassland can't afford to lose this face, and if we don't have silver, we will use our property to top it, such a big Fengzhou can't do without your money." Ortai replied coldly.

"That's good, I think your cattle, sheep, and horses are quite valuable, oh, by the way, you just brought a lot of people from the Guannei, and the young and strong are also very valuable, take these to the account, don't worry, we won't take advantage of you!" Shen Shoulian smiled even more beautifully.

"Don't think about it, horses, cattle and sheep are our lifeblood, and we won't do human trafficking, my family will pay you off your debts, do you want to?" Li Yu stood up and said angrily.

"Don't dare, don't dare, you are the chief soldier of the imperial court, how dare we ask for it, we want money." Sun Tingyao immediately smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't get angry Yuzi, let's talk about it," Li Fugui pressed Li Yu back to his chair and said to Sun and Shen with a smile, "There are coal, iron, and salt ponds in Fengzhou, these are all money, we not only have to pay back the money, but also let the two ben gongs make a fortune and make a fortune." ”

"That's right, Li Xiangli, then we'll talk." Sun Tingyao answered immediately.

"Let's talk." Li Fugui called over Li Huai, Yun Rong, and Ma Qi, and got together with Sun and Shen.

"Li Shuai, let's talk in another place, this official is looking for you for something." Ma Shiying felt that there was nothing to do with him, and waved his hand to call Li Yu, who was also fine, away.

Of course, Ma Shiying is not only here for Sun and Shen to be a middle-aged person, this is just a big fart in his opinion, he also has another important task - the head of the Taifu Temple sent a letter to the elder Wang, who talked about his views on the immigrants in Fengzhou, in his opinion, the immigrants in Fengzhou are mixed, and the demand for grain, cloth and other goods in the customs will also increase greatly when the population of Fengzhou increases, which is a major benefit to their business, but there is another possibility, that is, Fengzhou can not withstand the population pressure and collapse, which is terrible, The smuggling of Fengzhou involved too many people, in addition to the folk merchants of Shanxi, there were also the nobles and eunuchs of the Beijing Division, the upper and lower officials of the Taifu Temple, the local officials of Datong and the two towns of Shanxi and the border guards, everyone had to be unlucky, especially his big old Wang, not only did a big smuggling business, but also bought the sick and weak camel horses of Fengzhou at a low price to fool the imperial court, and the Ming army in western Liaoning had complained, scolding him for being too black-hearted, and not wanting to get a good horse if he didn't give enough money. He can still hold it down now, but these can't stand the investigation, and if something happens to Fengzhou again, I'm afraid he will have to run away. He hoped that Ma Shiying would go to see it in person and try his best to help Fengzhou support it, even if he gave some money, if it really didn't work, then he had to prepare to retreat.

Ma Shiying read this letter, he didn't sleep well for a few nights, he was also afraid, he secretly went to Fengzhou over the years, and made a lot of money from it, but the conscience of heaven and earth, he didn't put it all into his pocket, most of it funded his friend Ruan Dacheng in the same year, this guy is running around for the comrades who were beaten into eunuchs - it costs money to rehabilitate Zhaoxue and return to the imperial court, of course, Lao Ma also got benefits, he can replace Song Tong Yin Renyang and the deputy envoy will have the help of comrades. Lao Ma has another worry, in April this year, the imperial court decreed, promoted Zhang Zongheng to the governor of Xuanda, and enabled Zhang Tinggong, who lived at home, to be the governor of Datong, the old guy only rushed to Datong from Tong'an's hometown at the end of June to take office, this person is a Qingliu family, he was suppressed by the eunuch party and resigned and went home, and he is not a person all the way, the two of them are awkward to see who looks, if the old guy finds some fault to check his old horse, it will be troublesome. Ma Shiying secretly made up his mind that he had to discuss with Li Yu, if this old guy knew each other, everyone would be fine, if he dared to come nonsense, then he would join forces with Li Yu to cause some trouble and blow the old guy away. After figuring out these joints, Ma Shiying couldn't wait to see Li Yu - this person has a simple brain and can't distinguish between right and wrong, and he is bold, daring to stick a knife in his accomplices' ribs, and this kind of person is still reliable at a critical time.

"Hermes-Epitek, we are our own people, the official knows that your life is not good, don't worry about those two profiteers, they are just bluffing, the official will send them away, you must tell the official if you have difficulties." Ma Shiying said kindly.

Li Yu's heart was full of heat: "My lord, the last general is too difficult, I am panicked when I lack money, to be honest, there is still some silver in the big treasury, but it is not enough to repay the debt, and the military tickets are supported by this bit of silver, and silver is also used to buy grain and cloth from the customs, I am worried that many people will freeze to death and starve to death this winter, my lord, what should you do if you tell the last general?" ”

"Hermes-Epitek, don't be discouraged, haven't you broken through for so many years, how many people have survived because of you, they are all looking at you, for the sake of the people, you have to grit your teeth and hold on, we will help you," Ma Shiying said this, he felt that he was also moved, and asked solemnly, "You tell the truth, will Fengzhou collapse?" ”

"Absolutely not, the people of Fengzhou are used to suffering, and no matter how great the suffering is, they can bear it," Li Yu's eyes were a little red, and he replied firmly, "Our potato and corn harvests this year are not bad, we can barely satisfy hunger, there are no cotton clothes and quilts, we will replace them with sheepskins, and we can dig more coal for heating, people will die, but we will not collapse, and we will be able to take a breath until next year's grain is harvested." ”

"This official also thinks that the people here are in good spirits, and there should be no accident with you, okay, this official will greet Lord Wang of Taifu Temple and ask him to give you some food and cloth on credit," Ma Shiying nodded, stared at Li Yu again and said, "Do you know the situation in Da Ling River?" The imperial court will most likely order you to send reinforcements. ”

Li Yu was stunned for a moment, and immediately smiled bitterly: "My lord, do you see me going out like this?" I'm the chief soldier of Tuntian, who farms! ”

"Zhang Chun, the superintendent of the army, has already played to the imperial court, please transfer you to Liaoxi, Lord Zhang, you know," Ma Shiying sighed slightly, lowered his voice and said, "A friend from the court said that the ministers laughed at Zhang Chun's proposal and ignored it at all, but now it is different, Zu Dashou was surrounded by the Daling River and could not break through, Sun Chengzong, the governor of Jiliao, and Qiu Hejia, the governor of Liaodong, were anxiously red-eyed, and ordered Song Wei, the chief soldier of Shanhai, and Wu Xiang, the chief soldier of the regimental training, to lead the troops to rescue, but these two rescued three times in August and failed three times, and they no longer dared to move forward. The imperial court urgently ordered Zhang Chun to go out of the customs to supervise the rescue of the army, I think it is still more auspicious and less auspicious, Zhang Chun once again played when he went out of the customs to ask you to send troops, this time there is Qiu Hejia jointly seconded, the court is likely to catch you as a life-saving straw - it doesn't matter if Dalinghe is lost, but Zu Dashou can't help it, the 7,000 horse army and 7,000 infantry army trapped in Dalinghe Fort are almost all the elite of the Guanning army, Liaoxi can't afford to lose this army, if the court orders you to send troops to Dalinghe, what should you do? ”

"Don't go, what does it matter to me whether Zu Dashou and the Guan Ning army live or die, the water in western Liaoning is too muddy, I'd better hide away, and the Ming army in western Liaoning can't succeed with all its might, with my little force, if I can rescue the Guan Ning army, then the sun will come out of the west." Li Yu shook his head and replied.

"Da Ling River was clamoring to repair last year, and the emperor also transferred the elite Shi Yan soldiers and the Sichuan army to the Da Ling River to guard, but it was dragged and not started, and so on this year, the Shi Yan soldiers and the Sichuan army were driven away, and Zu Dashou went up to start work again, but the city was surrounded by Jianyi before it was repaired, isn't this asking for hardship, there is no cat in Liaoxi, ghosts don't believe it, Han people really can't wade through this troubled water, however, you must also obey the will of the imperial court. In this way, if the imperial court wants you to send troops, you will try your best to ask for food, money, and ordnance, and you can afford this money with a salary of six million taels a year, and if you don't give money, you will shout that you are poor and hungry and not send troops, and you can't listen to them if you give money, I estimate that if the court gives an order, it is just to prevaricate the emperor, no one will really expect you to succeed, you can fight how you want, and finally find some heads to fool around. ”

"Thank you for your advice." Li Yu stood up gratefully and saluted.

"Hermes-Epitek doesn't have to be polite, we are our own people." Ma Shiying replied with a smile.