Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 942 Ningxia Town (I wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival)
Along the border between Yulin Town and Qingyang Mansion, that is, the edge of Taibai Mountains, they entered Ningxia Town after walking for four days. When they entered Yulin Town, Wang Tong and his party left Yan'an Mansion and passed a small village. An idler volunteered to be a guide.

There was nothing strange about this guide, it was just an idler who wanted to earn some spare money to spend in winter, and Wang Tong's reward here was a horse, which was quite generous.

But because of having this guide, it really saves a lot of time. At least they can enter Ningxia town before New Year's Eve, and everyone can get a better rest.

Entering Yan'an Mansion from Shanxi, Wang Tong already felt the poverty and desolation in northern Shaanxi. After passing through Bao'an, he went all the way west to Ningxia Town, but what he saw along the way was worse than Yan'an Mansion.

I am used to the prosperity of Beijing and Tianjin, the beauty and prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River, and the magnificence and vastness of the grasslands. Wang Tong and his team are not used to it. In this northwest region, loess is everywhere in sight, and even plants can be seen. Not much, if you say that the idler leading the way is also knowledgeable, walking along Taibai Mountain, at least it looks more comfortable.

There are also several small villages along the road, but these villages often discover their existence very early, and then the sound of gongs and whistles can be heard from a distance.

When the horse team passed through the village, the villages where people could still be seen just now were usually quiet and deserted. Walking in or around the village, one could feel that someone was staring at the horse team, but they never came out.

If it was in Shanxi and Beizhili, when such a horse team passed the village, all the smart people in the village would come out to see if they could earn some pocket money, and the children would also come out to watch the fun.

The northwest is completely different. The villages I mentioned just now are still small villages. Villages of a certain size have hopeful buildings. After seeing Wang Tong's team coming, they immediately closed the gate of the village. Wang Tong and others passed by, and they could see the The young men with swords and guns, and even the archers, were coldly hostile.

"My lord, don't be surprised. Our place is very chaotic. If you are not careful, maybe a horse thief will come in, and the whole family will suffer. Sometimes, in order to fight for water and land, the villages themselves have to fight Let's fight!"

The idle man was not surprised and said it lightly, but Wang Tong frowned and asked:

"Is the horse thief a Han Chinese or a Tartar from outside?"

"The Tartars don't even touch poor people like us when they cross the border. They are all desperate. Some are escaped from the guards, and some are gangsters from various families. I heard that there are still people who make a fortune by doing this. The little one wonders, how can this be done?" Get rich?"

Seeing the barrenness and desolation along the way, no one would be in a good mood. After hearing this, Wang Tong felt even more bored, but these things cannot be solved now, and can only be solved slowly.

"My lord, these places in the northwest of our country are no better than the east and south. They were born in this place because of bad luck in their previous lives. They have to toss their lives to drink saliva on weekdays. When they see a greasy smell in the New Year, they have to thank God. Horse thieves make a fuss during the holidays. If there is an accident, please come and live with the Tartars, life is hard!"

The idle man has a lot of emotions, this idle man is a person who has seen the world, it is said that he stayed in Xi'an for a few years, maybe he returned to this poor place because of a crime, but everyone didn't bother to care.

After entering Ningxia Town, the situation is no different from what I saw after passing through the security guards, but it has become more serious. The villages of a small scale all look like fortresses, or they are dangerous places to rely on, and when passing these villages, they will occasionally come from A young man on a horse came out from the village and followed him for dozens of miles before returning.

"These people are sneaky, and they are indispensable among horse thieves."

The idle man commented that after Wang Tong heard this, he said to Ma Sanbiao in private:

"If you have the ability to risk your life to eat on knife's edge, why don't you go wandering on the grassland, but live poorly in this place where the birds don't shit."

"These people have a piece of sky above their heads. I don't know how big the world is, but when the time comes, I will find people to wander around the villages, and I can recruit quite a few."

Ma Sanbiao has followed Wang Tong for these years, and his knowledge is also extraordinary, and his views coincide with Wang Tong's.

After seeing the poverty and desolation for a few days, I went deeper into Ningxia Town, but found that it is better than Northern Shaanxi. After all, this is the outskirts of the Hetao area, and the fields are not bad.

According to the report given by Jin Yiwei, the output of the fields cultivated by each guard is extremely low, because the irrigation system on the Hetao side has not been repaired and it is completely abandoned. The result after repairing the irrigation canal.

However, these fields are a good thing, but compared with northern Shaanxi, Ningxia Town has a big problem, that is, it has to bear the double pressure of the Alta Tumote Department and the Hetao Department.

Since the 15th year of Jiajing, when the military influence of Emperor Zhengde was almost eliminated, [-]% of the various emergency reports and battle reports received by the imperial court came from Ningxia Town, from hundreds of Tartars entering Ningxia The town was burned and killed, and tens of thousands of riders crossed the border. There were many scenes, large and small.

The only advantage of being in such a place is that it is easy to accumulate military exploits. This is why Qianbai brought a dozen tribesmen to the border town, but in the end he was able to accumulate such status and power. Made with real guns.

The various ethnic groups are mixed together, and the folk customs are fierce, which is also caused by the constant war and the situation of constant war preparation. Since entering Ningxia Town, the names of all the places where officials are set up can be seen from the name.

Wuzhongbao, Tianshuibao, Xiajiabao, Lijunbao, etc. have the word "bao". Eight of the ten counties and towns along the way must have the word "bao", and the rest are Qingshuiying and Yuquanying. The names, nine out of ten are related to the military town, and the building regulations are mainly for military purposes.

It's approaching New Year's Eve now, but there is no festive atmosphere. There are strict guards everywhere, and the investigation is meticulous. Moreover, Wang Tong's side is old in battle, so he can understand military affairs clearly. The soldiers in one place were all on alert, without the slightest slack.

"I can't help it. Tartar came here at this time. Who cares about celebrating the New Year? Everyone is very excited."

The idle man naturally had an explanation, but Wang Tong and the others knew that something was wrong. After the Anda tribe was wiped out, the pressure on Ningxia, Yulin, and Yansui was much less. They faced the various tribes on the grassland. , In fact, they already have an advantage, so why are they still facing a big enemy like this.

The idle man doesn't know about this detail. Ningxia town is poor, and Sanjiang Trading Company doesn't set up a semicolon here. In places where the generals are the main ones, there is always an innate dislike for the inner guards and spies. Jin Yiwei The errand here is also not going smoothly, and it is not easy to get any news.

We can only go to Ningxia Town to talk about everything. Compared with the local tension in Ningxia, Ningxia Town itself has a very Chinese New Year atmosphere. There are quite a few rich and noble people who come out, and they are all dressed in brand new clothes.

Different from other places in Daming that Wang Tong has been to, here are not all wealthy Han people in silk and satin robes, often with white cloth wrapped around their heads, or wealthy merchants from the Western Regions wearing pointed felt hats. As for the poor, people of all ethnic groups, etc. It's nothing unusual to dress like that.

Unlike the strict interrogation at various places along the way, the interrogation at the gate of Ningxia Town was very lax. The soldiers at the gate took a few small coins and let people in.

It didn't seem like they were coveting the money, it was more like they didn't care about it, and Wang Tong and others also noticed that these city guards had scars on their faces and hands.

Bumping and bumping in the barracks is a common thing, and it is not unusual to have injuries, but the scars of these soldiers are obviously left by street fights, which is a bit strange. Wang Tong stared at the scars a few more times, and was stared at. The soldiers watching were a little annoyed, so they didn't want to cause trouble here.

When passing through Bao'an in northern Shaanxi, Wang Tong's caravan of hundreds of horses was targeted because they thought it was a big caravan, but when it came to Ningxia town, it was not unusual.

There are many caravans and caravans from the Western Regions, from Shaanxi, and from the grasslands, but Wang Tong also noticed that there are also a certain proportion of four-wheeled carts in the style of Huwei carts.

The town of Ningxia is very similar to Guihua City, Datong, and Xuanfu. Although it is a big border town, it is a transportation hub in the region, where businessmen from all walks of life gather, and it is more prosperous than other places.

After the idle man came to Ningxia town, he bid farewell to Wang Tong and the others. In addition to giving him the horse, because he was a good guide along the way, Wang Tong gave him five taels of silver. The idle man is very grateful I'm happy now.

A group of people rode horses into the city gate and walked on the main street. Like other cities, the road connecting the city gate is one of the widest streets in a city, so-called main street.

It wasn't long before the horse team entered the city, but they found that there was chaos in front of them. Wang Tong and others didn't know what to do, but a man on the street hurried out of the house and shouted:

"Guest officer, let the horse team move to the side of the road first, the Grand Master's team is coming, and his family can't rush!"

Wang Tong exchanged glances with the people around him, Wang Tong waved his hand, and the people behind him led their horses towards the side of the road one after another. Wang Tong smiled at the man and nodded, cupping his hands to thank him. The man replied with a smile, and went home. went.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, there were only a small number of merchants who came to Ningxia town, and people on the street were consciously nervous, and they all fled to the sides of the street.

Not long after, dozens of cavalry appeared on the street. They were all strong and strong knights. They looked like they belonged to all Han and Mongolian races. They talked and laughed loudly as if no one else was there. Went out of town.

Just as Wang Tong and the others were about to leave, they heard some people discussing:
"Thanks to someone reminding me that the man from the Hanzhong mansion in Laba was not knocked down by these people with a horse and broke his leg."

(End of this chapter)