"Tuligen! Tuligen! ”

Looking out at the white satin river not far away, the Mongolian guards cheered.

"Isn't this the Luanhe River? What does Tuligen mean? Ma Xianglin asked Man Gui.

Man Gui said: "The more the Luan River goes north, the more twists and turns there are, so the Mongolians call it Tuligen, which means nine bends and eighteen bends." ”

Man Gui said, turned over and dismounted, and like the Menghan knights in the team, let the horse go to the tributary of the Luan River, which was close at hand and had not been frozen, to drink.

Zheng Haizhu walked over with Chang Zhongxin, the second generation of Jin merchants, and said to Ma Xianglin and Man Gui: "The Mongols told me that the upper reaches of the Luan River are the grasslands absolutely controlled by Lin Dan Khan, and dozens of miles east of the source of the river is Chahanhot, where the king's tent is located. ”

As she spoke, she leaned over and picked up a tree trunk, drew it on the snow, and continued as she painted: "On this trip, Cui Dudu asked General Ma to inspect the terrain outside the Saiwai, and Chang Gongzi and I want to see the trade routes. In fact, in this chaotic world, the trade routes must be consistent with the layout of the soldiers' garrisons, so that the merchants are not afraid of being looted by the Tartars, and the military towns can still receive taxes. You see, from Zhangjiakou to the source of the Luanhe River, and then to the south of the fishing sea, if a number of trade routes for tea horses and leather goods are formed, the upper and middle sections are taxed by Transkhalkha and Lin Dan Khan, and the few sections close to Jizhen and Xuanda are taxed by our Daming, and this large area outside the Sai is revitalized. ”

Man Gui said in a rough voice: "Are there so many traders?" ”

"Why not," Zheng Haizhu said, "There is no way to live in farming, either as a soldier or as a runner." Didn't the old chief Nurhachi, when he was stunned, also sell mushrooms for several years? Besides, there are Rakshasas coming in from the west. ”

Zheng Haizhu lit up the fishing sea, that 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 demarcate the border between China and Russia, and use Kyakhta as a port to trade furs and silk tea. The profits made by Russian businessmen in Kyakhta accounted for a quarter of the Russian treasury, while the foreign trade managers of the Qing court, the Jin merchant group, had nearly 200 large and small businesses in Kyakhta.

Therefore, in the late Ming Empire, because of the corruption of the government and the laxity of national defense, it was completely out of touch with the era of global trade, and there was no consciousness or strength to pass through the Far East Pacific and the Mongolian Plateau, which was really one of the huge pain points of the Han Empire.

At present, Zheng Haizhu's idea is to rely on the Luan River in front of him first, and try to slowly restore the military fortresses of the Ming Dynasty that existed during the Yongle Emperor period between the mouth and the Mongolian steppe, and at the same time serve as a place for merchants to collect taxes like the canal banknotes.

This large area from Zhangjiakou to Chengde and then to Chifeng in later generations has more geographical advantages than the sphere of influence of the Li Chengliang family in Liaodong.

And Ma Xianglin and Lin Dan Khan are still very young, exchanging time for space, this space should never just stay at the level of blocking Houjin, or even raising Kou's self-respect.

Beside Zheng Haizhu, Man Gui stared at the snow and said: "Lao Tzu heard in the past that we don't ask merchants to pay taxes, so the military salary is not even. Later, I went to Zhangjiakou a few times before I realized that this statement is like a fart, and it is the official master who has been blinded by us. There are many kinds of commercial taxes, according to each camel, mule, and horse, according to the size of the box, and according to the length of the burden. Oh, and the one who sells tea. Chang Gongzi, is that so? ”

Chang Zhongxin respectfully offered his praise: "General Man is meticulous, if he comes to the trade route, he will also be able to make a difference." ”

Man Gui said at a glance: "Lao Tzu doesn't want any majestic majesty, nor is it rare to have thousands of fortunes in his pocket, as long as Lao Tzu's military salary can be paid on time, Mo chills the hearts of the border brothers." Mrs. Zheng, then you can go back and talk to the Lord Banzai, collect more taxes and silver, and make up for the military salary. ”

Zheng Haizhuwaner: "That's what I think, but Lin Danhan has to be not stupid, let alone a bad seed." ”

Ma Xianglin pursed his lips meaningfully, raised his head, glanced at the mountains and forests near the tributaries of the Luan River, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Although it is only now, the Luan River is north of the Pingchuan, and spending the night is like being in an ice cave. Tell him that he should not be in a hurry to cross the river, and rest for the night in the leeward part of the woods, and that the men and horses will rest well, and that they will hurry again tomorrow morning. ”

……

In the ice and snow, Ma Xianglin is obviously not the only one who takes a fancy to this safe haven.

At the beginning of Shen, on the snowfield in the south, a team of people appeared.

Standing outside the tent with his arms crossed, He Zhuo suddenly changed from a relaxed posture to an alert one.

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 followed the prestige, and saw the handsome general of the Ming Kingdom, riding on a horse, holding a slender iron cylinder in his hand, and one eye was attached to it.

"It should be a caravan, about thirty people, and the horses are like pack horses, pulling the cart," Ma Xianglin said, "I'll take people to take a look." ”

He Zhuo walked to Zheng Haizhu's side: "Your general, what is that cylinder?" ”

"It's a telescope, looking at people half a mile away, as clearly as you look at me now."

Hojo snorted coldly.

But she is quite aware of the complicated situation in her heart.

Before leaving Chahanhot, the women of Mongolian Taiji said to her in a strange way: "He Zhuo, if 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 can't talk about ice.

These women, who only compare whose cattle, sheep and slaves, these women who are happy to paint their faces like monkeys' buttocks and cover their cake faces with pearls, will not understand what is the most enviable and chased in the world outside of Chahanhot.

He Zhuo gained more than he imagined.

She not only saw Zhangjiakou, the largest mutual market in the northern part of the Ming Kingdom, but also dealt with the old and spicy border ministers, shrewd merchant women, and brave soldiers of the Ming Kingdom, and saw things that she had never seen before, whether in Yehebu or Chahar.

Soon, General Ming galloped back, dismounted and said to the two women: "It's the Ming people from Jizhen Town, the accent is right, and they want to sell tea and cloth to Inner Khalkha." They don't cross the river today, and they want to camp next to us. ”

"Go to Inner Khalkha, why did you get out of the customs at this time?" He Zhuo's face showed his usual suspicious look.

Ma Xianglin said: "The general asked, and they said that they heard that the Houjin army had robbed the west, so they didn't dare to leave in October, and they only went on the road now." ”

Hordra didn't ask any more questions.

The Mongolian guards of their own family, plus the elite of the Ming people, who have two generals and deputy generals, are nearly a hundred people, as long as they do not encounter a large Houjin team, they really don't need to be like frightened birds.

It was Zheng Haizhu who took the initiative to tell Ma Xianglin: "Today, you will arrange a few more brothers to be on duty at night." ”

Ma Xianglin nodded, and said: "The general's family also has relatives who want to run the Monan Trade Road, can you ask Mrs. one or two about the tea matter?" ”

Zheng Haizhu saluted He Zhuo and said goodbye to Ma Xianglin into the tent.

She recognized the excitement that flashed in Ma Xianglin's eyes, and was about to lower her voice and ask, "Is it your person?" when the curtain was lifted again.

Man Gui hurriedly walked to them: "Those people, there is something strange, Lao Tzu wants to take someone to take a look." ”

"Oh?" Ma Xianglin saw Ma Biao walking back and forth outside the tent, so he asked Man Gui with Yanyan, "What did you find?" ”

Man Gui said: "I just asked Ma Biao, the tea and cotton cloth of those Jizhou traffickers. But their rut marks are too deep. Looking at the height of the stacked goods on the car, whether it is a full tea basket or a cloth, there is no such deep mark in the snow. Unless, it's pulling something as heavy as a tiger squat cannon. ”

After Man Gui finished speaking, he found that the reactions of Ma and Zheng were very strange.

There was no sudden vigilance.

Then, after showing a faint approve, Ma Xianglin looked at Zheng Haizhu.

Zheng Haizhu approached Man Gui and said concisely: "It's the cannon that pulls, but it's not the tiger squat cannon." That's General Ma's man. We've got Tartars to fight. ”