Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 192
The official road between the capital and Sanwei in Tianjin was built along the canal due to various considerations. It is very simple to obtain food by relying on the river.

These large car shops or villages along the way have several livelihoods. One is to receive traveling merchants for lodging and meals, the other is to buy cheap grain and privately brew spirits, and the third is to inform people from all walks of life.

When setting off on the third day, the farmer who followed Wang Tong pushed over an older man, begging Wang Tong for some wages with a smile on his face.

After Liu Shouyou's Zhuangzi outside the city returned to Wang Tong, many Zhuangzi followed the original people to work elsewhere, and the ones who stayed were all Mongols who let their horses go. , only two married local wives, and the rest were bachelors in their early thirties.

Wang Tong has always been very generous when it comes to money. He also wanted to win over these horse herders, so he simply gave advance payment of two months' wages. When Tan Jiang took the money, he shook his head and smiled wryly.

The twenty or so shepherds delayed their departure for a while, and each of them had a big bulging leather bag on their horse and a small water bag in their hand.

After setting off on the road, Wang Tong knew why General Tan was smiling wryly. These shepherds actually started to drink spirits early in the morning. Each sip was quite nourishing, and a few of them were so excited to drink that they immediately sang loudly.

The atmosphere of the team became lively all of a sudden, the children sitting in the carriage clapped their hands and laughed, and the pedestrians on the road all looked sideways. Ma Sanbiao, Sun Dahai, and Zhang Shiqiang followed Wang Tong on horseback and patrolled the team back and forth. Wang Tong glanced at it for a few times but couldn't help shaking his head. He was so happy, it didn't look like moving at all, but like an outing.

"If these Tartars can afford to drink this on the grassland, they came to our Daming on the grassland, and the few wages they earn every month are all thrown on the wine."

Ma Sanbiao said with a smile on the horse, Wang Tong was a little surprised, and asked casually:

"The price of this wine is not expensive. The monthly wages of twenty or so people are only six taels of silver. Look at how much they bought. How many jars are there in the car!"

"I don't know if the price is low, but when I was working on the Zhuangzi, I heard them say that the spirits here can only be drunk on the grasslands, that is, most of the Taiji, and the heads of a small tribe with a thousand people are not enough. Ge, it is very easy to say that it is easy to exchange ten catties of good wine for a good horse, and this is considered conscientious."

Wang Tong shook his head, he was applying the modern knowledge to the ancient ones, and indeed there were many differences.

It's only three days' journey for the capital to go out, and there are no people on both sides of the official road. There are large tracts of fields, and it is winter now, looking very desolate.

There was a shepherd who was drinking happily, and suddenly he rode his horse and rushed into the field. Wang Tong thought something had happened. There are already more rabbits, and he threw the rabbits into the car with a smile, and then continued to drink.

The children who watched applauded, and the atmosphere became more enthusiastic. The shepherds became even more excited when they saw people cheering. People continued to ride horses towards the fields on both sides. After walking for more than an hour, they also brought back a dozen It's a rabbit, and it doesn't worry about meat when it rests at noon.

Because there were large carts, the team couldn't move fast. Every time Wang Tong walked a section, he checked whether the fire medium in his copper pipe was burned out, and replaced it with a new one after burning out.

During this interval, he noticed one thing. The bows used by the herdsmen are different from the bows used by the generals of the Tan family. The bows used by the generals of the Tan family are Ming’s standard military bows. The bows are long and narrow, while the bows used by the herdsmen are much shorter. , but the bow is very thick, it looks like a crescent moon.

When he went to ask Tan Jiang, Tan Jiang understood this, and explained:
"These shepherds use horned bows. They can't shoot far but shoot fast. They are powerful within thirty paces. If the Tartars' elite cavalry can break through armor within thirty paces, these people can also hit a rabbit."

It seems that the difference between professional and amateur is here. The horse herders drank happily and kept riding out to the side of the road to see if they could find any prey, while the generals of the Tan family strictly abide by their duties , everyone is cautious.

Although General Tan said seriously last night, the three-day journey was very peaceful, but these generals did not relax at all. Zhang Shiqiang, Sun Dahai and others have been patrolling back and forth, and their behavior towards the shepherds is at best a smile That's all, those people trained by Wang Tong himself and the teenagers who followed also marched silently.

At noon, I also found a village to rest. Wang Tong gave me enough money, and the people in the village were willing to work hard to entertain them. The dozen or so rabbits they caught were skinned and stewed, and they bought good meals for them.

After eating and continuing on the road, Wang Tong had to tell the herdsmen not to drink in the afternoon. If they drank so much alcohol, they would have to sleep on horseback. What else could they do.

Those shepherds were also obedient. In the afternoon, under the supervision of Ma Sanbiao and others, they only drank a few sips secretly and did not dare to be as presumptuous as they did in the morning, but they might drink to their heart's content at night.

After walking for less than an hour in the afternoon, Tan Gong, who had been blowing the wind on the pile of goods, climbed down from the top, said a few words to General Tan, and climbed up again.

General Tan greeted Sun Dahai first, and asked Sun Dahai to transfer 50 of Wang Tong's 30 men to the end of the team, and then rode to Wang Tong's side.

"Master, Tan Gong said that there are a few riders behind. They have appeared since yesterday afternoon, and they showed up from a distance this morning, and they appeared again just now."

Wang Tong groaned for a while, but he raised his voice and shouted to Ma Sanbiao first, without saying anything:
"Sanbiao, everyone in this wilderness is panicking, and giving away weapons and other things will also give everyone courage."

Because there are many old, weak, women and children in the team, and it is the official way, the people on foot were not issued with weapons, and they were all placed on several carts. When Wang Tong yelled, Ma Sanbiao dragged Sun Xin and came together. When they got to the cart, they untied the tarpaulin and sent down the knife shield and spear inside.

Wang Tong owns half a sword, half a shield, and half a spear, while the teenagers use spears. They have rarely touched real swords and guns this year, and they are all very excited.

Seeing Ma Sanbiao go to untie the tarpaulin on the carriage, Wang Tongcai turned around and said to General Tan in a deep voice:
"Could it be sent by someone from the city?"

Tan Jiang shook his head and said uncertainly:
"The road between the capital and Sanwei in Tianjin is not peaceful. There are even eunuchs who are on errands stopped. After the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, there are no people on this road. It is also possible that we passed by those Zhuangzi who spent too much money. ..."

I have lived in several places along the way, and I really don't know where the whereabouts were exposed. Wang Tong's face darkened, and General Tan said in a low voice:

"Don't worry, master. Counting the nearly [-] people here, there are almost a hundred men who can go to battle, and there are enough armors. Besides, the master is a thousand households of Jinyiwei, and his identity and strength are all here. That's not the case. A long-eyed lock dares to touch it."

The lock was talking about thieves and bandits, Wang Tong didn't say anything, there are not so many blind people in this world, a caravan of thousands of households in Jinyiwei will be watched by people, think about the things that happened before leaving Beijing, you know It's not that simple.

After thinking about it, there is no good way. If they send people back to the capital to ask for reinforcements, those who are weak on the way may be cleaned up. If they go to Tianjin to find someone, the water far away will not quench their thirst.

"Be careful, you find someone to keep an eye on those shepherds, go to Tianjin, I'll take care of good wine and meat, whoever drinks on the way, I will let the horse run away on him."

Even if they didn't say anything, the men all got their weapons and the shepherds were scolded not to drink, everyone still felt that the atmosphere was getting tense.

Several carriages pulling women and children arrived in the middle of the team. Several lively children who were originally in the carriage outside were also called by their family members to stay in the carriage.

Tan Gong sat on the top of the carriage and kept yelling at the people below, dispatching horsemen to check for traces in the direction he had set, and Tan Jiang also kept asking Wang Tong for instructions.

Wang Tong made an adjustment to the formation, and gave a death order with the drivers driving the carts. If there was a problem, the carts would be cut off in the middle. The team turned slightly to the left and continued to move forward. When the two teams were aligned, they stopped and formed a circle.

Carriages carrying women, children, old and weak, gold, silver, and weapons go directly to this circle, use official roads as the center line and base, and use the carts to form a position. This is what Yu Dayou said in the martial arts hall However, Qi Jiguang, the chief soldier of Jizhen, used the partial van tactic for the same reason.

Wang Tong didn't expect that the things in the Wuguan Middle School could be used at this time, not to mention Tan Jiang and other sensible people, Li Tao, Sun Xin, Li Hutou and other young people from the Wuguan also understood it and knew that there was something to be done. happened, but these young Yingjie didn't have any intention of being afraid, instead, they became energetic one by one.

"At the very least, there are two locks following behind, and a group of people followed in the afternoon."

Arriving at a small village at night, just as Wang Tong finished arranging accommodation, General Tan came up to report in a low voice. Wang Tong cursed in his heart, but remained calm on the surface, and ordered in a deep voice:

"There are not many places in this village that can be entered and exited. Use a large cart to block all the openings. Your brothers will come in a shift tonight. The teenagers from the Huwei Martial Arts Hall will be mixed with my servants. There will be a group of twenty. You two Each brother leads a group and rotates every hour. The whole team, regardless of men, women, old or weak, are not allowed to take off their clothes and go to sleep. When they hear the sound of the gong, they must get up and prepare immediately."

"The guards are tight at night, and the thieves don't dare to attack. This place is so dark that it is hard to see that if you rush up, you will die. But I just asked the people in this village that the journey tomorrow will be almost after dark. It takes half an hour to see the lodging place, and I'm afraid there will be a fight on the road tomorrow."

"Hit and hit, it's nothing more than killing."

Hearing General Tan's statement, Wang Tong said coldly.
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wait for another chapter

(End of this chapter)