Xian Sun of the Ning Mansion of the Red Chamber

Chapter 173 Ma Mingluan

Deng Zitong shook his head and said: "It's not like this every year. Most of the trading time is in autumn and winter. At this time, the grassland is full of autumn and horses are fat. Naturally, those tribes will take advantage of this season to exchange for some winter preparations. After winter, roads will be blocked by heavy snow, and the annual market will come to an end.”

"Then the target of this mutual market is any tribe on the grassland?" Jia Ying asked again.

Deng Zitong shook his head and said: "How is that possible! The north is cold and bitter, and this vast and endless grassland seems boundless, but in fact, every place has its own division. For those tribes on the grassland, the bigger the belonging area, the more suitable for grazing. The bigger the pasture, the stronger the tribe will be. Similarly, on the grassland, only powerful tribes can get more pastures. And those small tribes, because they don’t have enough pastures to feed their tribesmen, will either be annexed by big tribes, Or they will migrate and go far away.

There are only two options for the direction of migration, either north or south.It's just that the further north, the more bitter the cold, not all tribes are willing to migrate north.What we want to support is those tribes that go south, so that they have enough resources to survive, and return to the grassland to regain their grassland. "

When Jia Ying heard this, she couldn't help thinking slightly.

What Deng Zitong said may be a bit light-hearted. Those tribes who went south lost the pastures they depended on for survival and could only become wandering tribes.And there is only one way for the wandering tribe to survive, and that is to rob.

There are only two kinds of objects to rob.One is the vassal tribes of large tribes that are smaller than their own tribes but have their own pastures.However, after robbing these tribes, they will inevitably face crazy and bloody revenge from the suzerain tribe, so this kind of robbery generally does not last long.And the second type of object is Daqian, who is rich in the south.

Once there is no hope of surviving, these barbarians will fight to the death, committing crimes in the southern border town of Dagan, robbing grain, livestock, and salt.This kind of thing often happened even in the years known as the Prosperity and Prosperity.

But a mutual market trade gave these tribes a vent.After all, people die in wars, and the most important thing in Daqian is population, but they are different. Every adult man in the tribe is the capital for them to survive on the grassland. Once the adult male population of the tribe falls below a certain limit limit, then their tribe can only wait to die out.

Therefore, as long as they can survive, they usually will not start the war lightly.With a mutual market place, they can exchange war horses, cattle and sheep for salt, grain, tea, silk, and occasionally some iron pots.

Grain is used to survive the winter, while salt, tea, silk and iron pots are used to exchange with those big tribes on the grassland to make up for their losses.

Salt and iron are extremely scarce necessities for nomads. Without salt, people cannot survive. Without iron pots, they can only use cowhide bags to cook meat.However, Dagan's official control over the appearance trade of salt and iron is very strict.Silk and tea are the favorite luxuries of nobles on the grasslands, and exchanging silk and tea for horses, cattle and sheep is the most happy thing for officials.

For these tribes, they have a chance to live without dying.As for the generals in the border town of Dagan, it is a very cost-effective deal to exchange some insignificant resources for the Hu people to no longer commit crimes in the south.

This can be regarded as a disguised exchange for peace.

It's just that this kind of peace can't last long. Once the royal court of the Huns decides to invade the south, these small tribes near the border town of Dagan will be used as pawns to consume the strength of the frontier army. When both sides are exhausted, The main force of the Xiongnu Royal Court will suddenly appear, and it is easy to break through a frontier pass, gradually widen the gap from here, and drive straight in.

Whether it is the court of Daqian or the royal court of the Huns, they are all making their own wishful thinking, and it depends on who has the upper hand.

Deng Enyu vacated his military mansion, and held a grand banquet to entertain the king of Beijing, the new master and the old servants.

The border patrol team will stay in Datong Town for a few days, and the guards of the nearby pass will come here to pay homage to the new King of Beijing, first to get to know their new master, but to report the situation of the border town to Shui Rong.

As for Jia Ying, there are tea horses, patrols, and censors sent by the Procuratorate to perform the duties of patrolling the frontiers, representing the imperial court and the king of Beijing to inspect the frontier fortresses.Including the big and small eunuchs sent by the Chief of Rites, these few days have been hard to see. They travel between the Commander's Mansion and the Guarding Eunuch's Mansion, and they don't know what they are busy with.

It is said to be an inspection, but in fact it is just a formality. No matter where you go, you will be accompanied by people from the General Military Mansion. It is like traveling at public expense. You eat and drink along the way, and even at banquets, there are many merchants to accompany you.

Along the way, Jia Ying and several supervisory censors received a lot of rare things, some were gifts from merchants traveling from north to south, some were gifts from generals in the frontier army, and most of them were some high-quality furs. , ginseng, deer antler and the like.But don't underestimate these things, if these things are in the capital, any one of them can be sold for hundreds of taels of silver, which is enough to cover the salaries of these officials for several years.

The supervisory censor of the seventh grade is no more than ninety stones a year in rice, which is only 50 taels of silver.

"My dear brother, let me introduce someone to you. This is Fan Ting, whose name is Shouguo. He is from the Fan family in Taiyuan Prefecture. He is my best friend." In the restaurant, Deng Zitong introduced a person to Jia Ying.

The man clasped his fists towards Jia Ying and said, "I've heard about Mr. Jia's name for a long time, but it's rare to see him today. It's really a blessing for the three lives of Shouguo."

The Fan family in Taiyuan is a prominent family in Shanxi and the top Shanxi merchants. Even Jia Ying has heard of the name of the Fan family in Shanxi.

"Brother Fan is polite!" Jia Ying clasped her fists and replied softly. Although the other party came from a prominent family, he was just a merchant. After all, there was still some distance between merchants and officials.

But I heard Fan Ting say again: "Speaking of which, I will wait for the Shanxi merchants to thank the great talents, but it is just that there is no one to recommend them."

Jia Ying asked curiously, "Oh? Brother Fan, why did you say that? Jia doesn't remember any past dealings with Shanxi merchants."

Fan Ting replied with a smile: "My lord, maybe I don't remember. The reason why we and other Shanxi merchants travel to the border so frequently lies with your lord. Do you still remember the Yangzhou salt administration?"

Jia Ying was slightly taken aback when he heard the words, and then remembered that when he was helping Lin Ruhai deal with the salt administration crisis in Yangzhou, he had contacted Shanxi merchants, but at that time he was just a matchmaker and didn't pay much attention to the origins of those people. Presumably, there should be people from the Fan family in Shanxi.

Jia Ying smiled slightly and said, "Brother Fan is talking about ticket salt?"

Fan Ting nodded and said, "That's exactly what happened. I want to thank the Lord for giving me a chance to participate in the Jiangnan Salt Market."

Jia Ying shook his head and said, "Brother Fan thanked the wrong person. The vote and salt system is for the imperial court to improve the government. The only way to thank is to thank the imperial court."

What's more, Jia Ying also understood that Fan Ting's words were just a means of socializing in the mall to bring the relationship between the two closer. If you really want to thank, why wait until now, the Fan family is not without people in the court.

But Deng Zitong on the side interjected: "You don't have to be too modest, brother, but you don't know that once this policy came out, not to mention the Shanxi merchants, it solved a big problem for our frontier army. It's really not good to support tens of thousands of troops. It's an easy thing, the rations allocated by the imperial court are not enough every year, and father needs to raise part of it himself, but now it's better, not only don't have to worry about the military rations anymore, but someone will send them over in person, my virtuous brother deserves a 'thank you' Character."

Jia Ying looked at Deng Zitong and shook her head helplessly, "Brother, don't give me a high hat. At that time, Jia Ying was still a white man. How could he have such ability? It's all thanks to Master Fu and Master Lin. Having Your Majesty and the court's wise and good governance really has nothing to do with me."

"Thank you, thank you!" Deng Zitong said while pulling Jia Ying back to his seat.

But Fan Ting on the other side suddenly clapped his hands, and immediately several maids came in with a wooden box in their hands. Fan Ting looked at Jia Ying and said, "There is nothing in the frontier fortress that can catch the eyes of adults." For things, Fan has prepared some mountain goods, let’s talk about it, and please accept it with a smile.”

Saying so, he ordered the maid to open the wooden box. Among the three wooden boxes, there was a complete fur, one was white all over, one was white with gray, and the other was dark brown with some white stripes sandwiched between them.The three furs are of different sizes, the snow-white one should be a fox fur, the gray one is a wolf fur, and the dark brown one with white stripes should be a sable fur.

Just looking at the color and luster of the three furs, one can tell that they are high-quality things, and the price is hard to find.

What a great handwriting!
Jia Ying looked slightly hesitant, but looked at Deng Zitong beside him: "Is this too expensive?"

Deng Zitong shook his head with a smile and said: "They are all wild things, and how valuable they are, it's all from Brother Fan's wish, brother just take care of them."

Jia Ying nodded with a smile on her face when she heard this, and warmly invited Fan Ting to sit down for a banquet.

Jia Ying still understands the principle of being in harmony with the light. Others accept it. If he doesn't accept it, it will make people feel uneasy.Furthermore, how could he refuse the kindness of Deng's father and son?
After the banquet, Jia Ying asked for a tour of the city, and Deng Zitong readily agreed, but when he was about to accompany him to leave, his own soldiers invited him back. It should be that there was an urgent military matter to deal with. Deng Zitong looked at Jia Ying with apology.

"Brother Shi, you can go yourself, you don't need to accompany me." Jia Ying said with a smile on his face.

But Deng Zitong summoned a middle-aged general in armor beside him, and said: "Your brother is a guest from afar, so it is good that no one is with you."

After saying that, he said to the person beside him: "You are welcome."

"I will understand at the end."

After Deng Zitong left, Jia Ying looked at the middle-aged general and asked, "What's your name, General? What position do you hold in the army?"

"Returning to my lord's words, the last general Ma Mingluan is currently serving as the guard of Weiyuan City." The middle-aged general said in a confident voice.

"garrison?"

The border town military system and the Weisuo military system in the Ming Dynasty were two independent systems. The ranks of generals in the border towns, from high to low, were the commander-in-chief, deputy commander-in-chief, general, guerrilla, garrison, and general. Chief, Sentinel Officer, Captain, and Chief.

There is no fixed rank for the general manager and above of the seventh rank, and it depends on any position.A commander-in-chief can command 1000 people, while the garrison can command 2000 to [-] people. If the number reaches [-], it is considered a battalion, and the chief officer is a guerrilla.The deputy commander in chief and the general in charge, this can be regarded as a general in the army who has been able to stand on his own.

"How long has Ma Shou been in the frontier army?"

"Returning to the adults, the last general was born in a military household and joined the frontier army at the age of 15. It has been 20 years now."

"How many battles have you experienced?"

"There were 76 battles, big and small, and three hundred and six heads were beheaded."

He has been in the army for 20 years, has gone through 76 battles, and killed more than [-] enemies.Such a record, such a veteran, actually only got one defense?
However, Jia Ying didn't say much. No matter what age, a person's position depends on his comprehensive ability. Just a record can't explain anything.

"Well, this officer has just arrived at the frontier, and I don't know much about this place yet. I was introduced by the guard Rauma."

Ma Mingluan looked at the young official in front of him, and there was a hint of envy in his eyes.There is such a big gap between people. Some people have already stood at the top of the world since they were born, while some people have worked hard all their lives, but in the end they are still mud legs.This time, he won the job of accompanying the Shangguan with great difficulty. The purpose is to show his face in front of the imperial envoy. If he is lucky enough to meet the prince face to face, maybe.
All of this is just a glimmer of hope in his heart. He has no money and no power. After 20 years of hard work at the border, he finally got rid of his low military status, but it is so difficult to go further!

It's a pity that after so many days, let alone seeing the prince face to face, there is no chance to catch a glimpse of him from a distance.

Ma Mingluan was naturally unwilling, so he turned his attention to the person accompanying him.

But among this line of heavenly officials, there are either censors or eunuchs, and all the subordinate officials of the palace are in the general military mansion, so he is not qualified to approach there.The only official who came from the Ministry of War and was still in charge of the party, but he did not expect to be a young boy, and judging from his relationship with the son of the chief soldier, the two families seemed to be family friends.

Ma Mingluan couldn't help but wonder, was this opportunity really worth it after spending all his urgent needs and giving up some of his military achievements?
"What do adults want to know? The general has lived in Datong Town for more than 30 years, and has visited Fort 52. In terms of understanding, I am afraid that few people can match the general." Ma Mingluan adjusted his mentality. I don't intend to give up this opportunity, whether it can be done or not, I have to try it to know.

"Fort 52? Why don't you just tell me about this." Jia Ying walked on the streets of the city, listening to the lively yelling from both sides, and said seemingly casually.

Xi'er, Baburi and a group of guards followed far behind.

As for the supervisory censors, they are still in the restaurant at the moment, and it is heard that some merchants have brought a few orchids to present.

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(End of this chapter)