Taking control of Wugang Prefecture and Chengbu County, and intimidating the nearby mountain people, Zhu Shunming prepared to develop Nanshan Ranch.

Nanshan Ranch is located in the southwest of Jiu'an Town 30 miles, the average altitude is 1700 meters, there are more than 200,000 acres of continuous grassland, stretching for 80 miles, it is a rare alpine pasture, the average annual temperature is 11 degrees, it is very suitable for raising horses.

Before the advent of machine guns, cavalry was the absolute king of field warfare, making thousands of miles of detours, outflanking, frontal raids, harassment, reconnaissance, and messenger delivery...... Without cavalry, there is no strong army.

The Han people in the Central Plains have been repeatedly harassed by the grassland peoples, and a big reason is that there are not enough war horses.

During the height of the Mongol army, the Tartars riding on short Mongolian horses ruled almost the whole world.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a shortage of horses, and the imperial court implemented horse administration, which initially solved the problem of war horses, and only then did Emperor Chengzu conquer Mobei five times, recover Annan, shock the northeast, and subdue the northwest feat. Without horses, can the Yongle Emperor walk to Mobei?

It's a pity that in the Wanli Tianqi Chongzhen period, the corrupt government turned the horse coup d'état into a harsh government, and many horse households took horses to join the Liukou, and there was an absurd thing that the Liukou had cavalry and the court lacked horses.

If Zhu Shunming wants to cut off a piece of venison, he can't do it without a war horse or cavalry. Therefore, after taking control of Wugang Prefecture, Zhu Shunming couldn't wait to prepare to develop Nanshan Ranch, raise war horses, and train cavalry.

………………

Wang Xing had long since retired from the army and served on a jury.

Since joining Zhu Shunming's team, Wang Xingcai has been well fed, clothed and sleeping peacefully, so he wholeheartedly supports Zhu Shunming.

He was very happy to hear that he had been asked to return to his old job of raising horses. He has a natural affection for livestock, as if he can understand the words of animals and know the feelings of animals. The animals were also very friendly to him, as if they were of their own kind.

"The entire Nanshan Ranch is all handed over to you, asking people to give people, asking for money, asking for conditions, raising at least 50,000 war horses, and providing 10,000 adult war horses every year, can you do it?"

"Yes, guaranteed to complete the mission." Wang Xing, who had been a soldier, replied crisply.

Thinking of riding the head horse, followed by a herd of horses that could not see the edge, Wang Xing's blood boiled all over his body. So blissful!

He has been to see the Nanshan Ranch, which is very suitable for raising horses. The temperature is not high, the pasture is vast, the pasture is lush, the water source is sufficient, the fly in the ointment is that the pasture is not a good breed of pasture, and it needs to be improved.

In order to raise horses, Zhu Shunming spent a lot of effort. Wang Xing recruited hundreds of teenagers to serve as herdsmen; Two hundred households were set up on the pasture, and troops were stationed for a long time; Scavenge for suitable horses everywhere to act as stallions.

Before he saw the herd of horses appear, Zhu Shunming spent forty or fifty thousand taels of silver.

The Han people raise horses, and in addition to the site, stallions are also very difficult to find.

The Han people traded with the grassland peoples, and only tea, porcelain, iron pots and other materials were allowed to enter the grassland, and weapons, grain, and salt were strictly forbidden to trade.

There was also a threshold for horses sold by the steppe people to the Han Chinese, and stallions (both adult and underage) were strictly forbidden to leave the grassland, and only mares and geldings were used to trade with the Han Chinese.

Therefore, Zhu Shunming wanted to raise horses on a large scale, and a stallion problem stumped him.

The south does not raise horses, coupled with the blockade of the grassland peoples, and the war in the north, it is really difficult to find stallions in the Wugang area.

………………

Zhu Shunming rectified the Gang, and all those who committed unforgivable crimes were sent to prison for labor reform, and those who committed minor crimes were all co-opted. Based on these boat gangs, with outstanding soldiers as grassroots officers, Zhu Shunming established the first water army, the Wugang Naval Division.

After three months of recruit training, the sailor soldiers are quite reborn. The honest wooden one became calm and steady, and the exaggerated and slippery grew into a capable and neat one.

The army is a melting pot, and it will be clear after iron or slag has been smelted.

In addition to continuing to engage in cargo transportation, the Wugang Navy Division also undertook the task of patrolling the waterway from Wugang to Dongting Lake.

………………

Anhua County, Changsha Prefecture is an important production and distribution center of dark tea. A large amount of black tea was loaded from Anhua, along the Zijiang River, through Xinhua, Shaoyang, to Wugang Prefecture. Then from Wugang Prefecture with pack horses on the back, over the mountains and mountains, west to the north, through Guizhou, Sichuan, west to Tibet, South Asia, north to Gansu, Shanxi, Mongolia.

Chang shopkeeper has been collecting tea in Anhua for more than ten years, and he is one of the few big tea merchants in Anhua.

The Chang family of Yuci, Shanxi, the owner of the shopkeeper, is a well-known wealthy businessman in Shanxi, who trades with foreign customs all the year round, and the business is bigger than the sky.

In previous years, the tea of the shopkeeper went north, generally took the east line, entered the Yangtze River from Dongting Lake, went down the Yangtze River, went to Yangzhou, and then diverted the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to the north, and took the land route in Linqing, Shandong, entered Shanxi, and exited the customs.

With the deterioration of the situation in the Ming Dynasty, Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi were all over the ground, the officials above and below the canal were corrupt and extorted, and the tea tax of the imperial court was getting heavier and heavier.

The shopkeeper had to change to the western route, and transported it by pack horse over the mountains and mountains. Wugang Prefecture has become a must-pass place.

There is a Zhu Demon King in Wugang Prefecture, and the shopkeeper has heard of it a long time ago. The earliest news was delivered by the shopkeeper Fan, who was also a tea merchant. Shopkeeper Fan has always talked about the fact that there is a Wanxiao Building in Wugang, and the service inside is breathtaking, and it is really a man's paradise. The backstage of Wanxiao Building is the Zhu Demon King.

Can make the well-informed Fan shopkeeper full of praise, Wanxiao Lou must have its uniqueness. But this Zhu Demon King, who is sacred?

Soon, Chang Shopkeeper's tea was seized in Wugang Prefecture, and he had to go to Wugang Prefecture to deal with it.

The reason why the tea of the Chang shopkeeper was seized is very simple, he did not pay the tea tax in Wugang Prefecture.

The tea leaves of the shopkeeper are one hundred taels of tea, and they come from Anhua on a short-legged pack horse on a mountain road. His caravan has been on this road for several years, dotting all aspects along the way, and has been safe and sound. I didn't expect that there was an accident in Wugang Prefecture now.

"Dare to ask your lordship, why did you seize the tea goods of our tea house?"

The person who met the shopkeeper was Ding Baihu, a veteran soldier.

"You didn't pay taxes on your tea, so it was deducted." Ding Baihu said angrily: "When you were enforcing the law, you actually dared to resist, and you injured several brothers in my inspection department, violently resisted the law, and the crime was added to the first degree." Fortunately, you took the initiative to come, otherwise the Inspection Department would have gone to Anhua to arrest people. ”

"Dare to ask where the tea and horse division are?" Shopkeeper Chang asked rhetorically.

It was the Tea and Horse Division that managed the tea trade in the Ming Dynasty. Tea monopoly, like table salt, requires tea. The tea introduction is issued by the tea horse. The seizure of illicit tea is also the duty of the Tea and Horse Division.

That's why the shopkeeper has this question. His implication was that except for the Tea and Horse Division, other departments were not qualified to seize tea.

Ding Baihu has been cultivated to no longer fear the powerful, let alone a small shopkeeper. He leaned back and sneered: "Chang Shopkeeper, this is Wugang Prefecture, Boss Zhu's territory, don't pinch your identity." In Wugang Prefecture, the law is the largest, and Boss Zhu must obey the law. How much more are you a small businessman? ”

"From Wugang Prefecture, no matter what kind of goods, whether there are customs procedures or not, you have to pay taxes. Dare to resist taxes, hehehe, we have built a lot of farms, and we are preparing to open mines, are you going to farm or mine? ”

Chang shopkeeper has been in business for many years, and naturally knows how to observe words and colors. The hundred households in front of him were full of self-confidence and did not enter, so he had to compromise.

However, he heard the message from Ding Baihu's words.

"What do you mean...... Goods without customs documents, as long as they pay taxes, can they be passed? ”

After receiving a positive answer, the shopkeeper Chang asked, "That ...... Salt & Iron ......"

"I don't care where your goods come from? As long as you pay taxes, you can transport, sell, and open shops on Boss Zhu's territory. ”

Zhu Shunming also has a bit of a taste of inaction in business management. As long as you pay taxes according to the rules and regulations and don't peddle fakes, you can sell the rest of what you want to sell, where to get the goods, whether the goods have been approved by the Ming Dynasty, and even as long as the stolen goods are not robbed on the ground in Wugang Prefecture, you can sell them openly.

Nowadays, there is no shadow of official salt on the ground in Wugang, and all of them are illegal salt that is sold openly. Moreover, with Zhu Shunming's acquiescence, instigation and even protection, the illegal salt in Wugang Prefecture was sold to Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places.

Wu Chengye, a former small smuggler of salt, became one of the wealthy merchants in Wugang Prefecture in just one year.

Most of the civilians who dared to try made a fortune and turned over, from poverty to well-off families, and they were full of confidence and enthusiasm. In a free county, freedom of thought, politics, and travel, people's subjective initiative is brought into full play, and even the air is vigorous and vibrant.

"If you need salt goods, you can purchase them in our Wugang Prefecture, which is not more expensive than if you buy and sell them from Changsha Prefecture, and there is no risk."

Zhu Shunming took control of Wugang, and all the businesses controlled by the Minwang Mansion were taken over by him, and the private salt business was even more prosperous.

The sailor is responsible for purchasing and transporting from Changsha Prefecture, the Shunfeng Dart Bureau is responsible for the security of bulk cargo, and the salt merchants are responsible for channels and terminal sales.

A channel led by Zhu Shunming, armed escort, and bulk goods of merchants was expanded in all directions, and all the southwestern provinces were smuggled salt from Wugang Prefecture. The high price of official salt is almost unwanted. Many government-run salt merchants with salt sources hate this arrogant private salt channel. There have been dozens of armed clashes, large and small.

The shopkeeper was a little surprised. The ...... is that the sale of private salt has been made public. Isn't it risking the world's condemnation? The sale of private salt has never been on the table, and when the imperial court suppresses it, it will not be able to see the light, and secondly, the government-run salt merchants are not easy to mess with. It's okay to steal and sell illicit salt in a small fight, large-scale sales, really when salt merchants are good people who pave roads and build bridges?

The rich salt merchants who raised their families in private, the salt on the surface, and the salt industry division that were raised by the rich will all crack down on Wugang Prefecture, which is blatantly taboo, and this Zhu Demon King is either stunned or full of confidence.

No matter which one it is, it is not something that Changji Tea House, whose roots are not in Huguang, can provoke.

The shopkeeper often decided to admit it. He paid 30% of the transit tax on the tea and paid enough fines for his rebellious men.

Chang shopkeeper purchased small quantities of salt in Wugang Prefecture and sold them along with tea goods. The northern grasslands also need enough salt.

Salt in Wugang Prefecture is really cheap, and as the hundred households said, it can be seen everywhere like rice and pork, and it is openly sold.

Before leaving, the hundred households inadvertently said, "You can replace tax silver with horses", and the price given is not low, and the stallion is even more sky-high. Even if it is trafficked from the grasslands, the profits are still not low.

This is an ambitious guy! Shopkeeper Chang made a conclusion to Zhu Shunming. He decided to write a letter to his owner in Shanxi, informing him of Zhu Shunming's situation. Maybe Zhu Shunming can make some investment. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty is unstable, it is not necessarily safe to put all the belongings on the alien races outside the Guan.

Eggs are still not put in one basket as well.