Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 507

Cao Yong set off from the capital on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month and arrived in Zhangjiakou at noon on the third day.The left-wing ranch of Taipu Temple to go to, after leaving Zhangjiakou, we have to go another three hundred miles to the north.

During the [-]-mile journey, there were no big places, only two small post stations as temporary footholds.

Cao Yong rested in Zhangjiakou for a long time and bought a lot of dry food.

It's not outside the mouth yet, but the weather here is already much colder than the capital.Even if Cao Yong was wearing big wool clothes, he couldn't help but feel the chill.

This time it was a galloping horse, and everyone didn't have much luggage. Cao Yong was afraid that the weather would be colder outside the mouth, but it would take ten and a half months to turn around, so he asked Xiaoman to take the two of them to the city to buy furs clothes.

When Xiaoman and the others came back from the city, they were accompanied by an acquaintance, Cui Fei, the foreign steward of Prince Jian's residence.

This is not the first time I met Cui Fei in Zhangjiakou. In April last year, when Cao Yongchu was appointed as the Minister of the Taipusi, when he and Tang Zhiyu went to the pasture, they met him here.

The last time I saw him, I just dealt with it face-to-face; this time I saw him, but Cao Yong was somewhat happy.

Prince Jian's Mansion has a big Shaoguo Zhuangzi in Yizhou, which sells wine outside the mouth all the year round.I heard that it was not Cao Yong's concern to bring illegal salt to Mongolia.

Since it is a long-distance race, it is necessary to know more about the situation in Mongolia.

After Cui Fei asked for peace, Cao Yong asked about the situation outside his mouth.

Cui Fei shook his head when he heard this, and said with a bit of sigh: "Master Cao, why did you stay in Zhangjiakou? I have been here for years. It is not because of the snow disaster outside the mouth. The snow on this road is three feet thick. It was difficult, and I wanted to sell more wine a few years ago, but I was stranded in Zhangjiakou. Fortunately, it was very cold, and there were many people drinking to keep out the cold, so I sold it slowly, and it will be better when the spring comes."

At the end, he couldn't help but smiled wryly, and said, "That's all I'm talking about, little one. Not to mention anything else, there are quite a few herdsmen fleeing to Zhangjiakou recently, and the price of rice in this city has risen by several percent. Even if the snow melts, those old Mongols who have lost their livestock will probably have to drink the northwest wind to live, so how can there be anything in exchange for wine?"

One foot in the Qing Dynasty was almost the same as the one foot in later generations. Let alone three feet of snow, it was one and a half feet of snow, which was a fatal natural disaster for both the pastures and the Mongols.

At this time, there is no such thing as "captive breeding".Whether it is the royal ranch or the ordinary Mongolian people, they are all forms of grazing.

The snow was thick enough to bury the grass deeply, and it was not uncommon for the livestock to starve to death without enough food.

Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, Cui Fei didn't need to be deceived. Cao Yong was very sad when he heard it.

Isn't this a house leak that rains overnight?Originally, the Northwest has been eager to move in the past two years, and it is almost time to use troops.There is no money in the treasury, and the racecourse beyond the Great Wall suffered another heavy snowstorm.

It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, even if she wants to send troops to put down the rebellion, if there are not enough horses, all this is empty talk.

I vaguely remember that the fourteenth elder brother was ordered to go out in the 57th or [-]th year of Kangxi, and he was still in the northwest until the death of Kangxi. During this period, it took three to four years to say the least.

All the power of the whole country was devoted to suppressing a tribe, but they fought for three or four years. I don't know if it was because of the lack of horses?
Seeing Cao Yong groaning silently, Cui Fei bowed and asked, "Master Cao is going on a business trip, so you have to prepare well. If nothing else, the dark gauze needs to be stretched a few feet. Otherwise, the eyes would not be able to bear it in the snow. Years ago, the younger one had braved the snow to deliver wine to the nearest tribe, and it hurt his eyes, and it took him several days to recover, so he was not blind."

Cao Yong thanked him for his kind reminder, and said a few more words, asking people to see off the guests.

In addition to buying fur clothes and felt boots for everyone, Xiaoman also bought a lot of soft leather that has been tanned to make leggings and knee pads for everyone.

The next day, the snow lived and the sky was fine.

After leaving Zhangjiakou, Wei Hei became more vigilant.

But when he got to the endless snowfield, he felt a little relieved.Except for the azure blue sky, the eyes are snow-white, as if everything in the world has disappeared, and even the road has become blurred.

Between the sky and the earth, there are only a few black dots like them, galloping towards the north.

The snow on both sides of the road, not to mention three feet thick, is always more than one foot thick.Even on the road, the horses seem to struggle a bit.

I set off from Zhangjiakou at dawn until noon, and I guess I didn't travel dozens of miles.I can't blame Cui Fei for not being able to sell wine. If it is a horse-drawn carriage on such a road, it will not last long.

If the horse cannot run, the body cannot move, and the person loses energy.

Even Cao Yong, sitting on horseback, felt a little numb in his hands and feet.He handed over the reins to his left hand, and with his right hand, he took out a pocket watch from the front of his coat, opened it, and saw that it was already the second quarter of noon (11:30 am).

Cao Yong reined in his horse and called everyone to have a rest.

Although the bought food was kept in cowhide pockets and not frozen, it was still completely cool.

Just catching cold beef, eating cold biscuits, and just the cold water in the water bag, it was really difficult to eat.

Fortunately, after listening to Cui Fei's words, they knew that it was cold outside the Great Wall. Except for the water bags, everyone was carrying wine bags on the horse.After drinking two sips of spirits, my body felt much warmer.

After hitting the top, everyone got up and got on their horses again. Now the big guys are looking forward to arriving at the small post on the way early and drinking a bowl of hot porridge.

After walking for more than ten miles, we arrived at a fork in the road.

Due to heavy snow and few people walking, the road here is not as conspicuous as before.

When Cao Yong saw it, he couldn't help being a little worried, what should he do if there is no way to ride a horse?On this Daxuedianzi, there isn't even a person who asks questions?

What are you really afraid of, what are you coming to.I don't know if it was covered by fresh snow or heavy snow was blown by the strong wind. The road has been completely covered, and there are no traces to be seen.

Looking around, it was all white, without even a coordinate.Fortunately, the sun was setting in the west, looking at the sun, I also estimated the general direction in my heart.

It is three hundred miles between Zhangjiakou and Harani Dunjing, where the left-wing pasture of Taipu Temple is located. Cao Yong once went back and forth, and remembers the way.

There are two post stations on the way, one is a hundred miles away from Zhangjiakou, and the other is 180 miles away.

According to Cao Yong's memory, from this fork in the road to the right, it will take more than 20 miles to reach the small post station outside the mouth.Therefore, he didn't panic and walked in the general direction.

It took nearly two hours to walk this way, and it was already the golden sun falling to the west. At sunset, I reckoned that I had to travel twenty miles, but I still didn't see the shadow of the post station.

Cao Yong felt that there was something wrong, so he let out a "wow", reined in the horse's reins, and looked around intently.Although he didn't want to admit it in his heart, but looking around, there was no building in front of him, and there was no human habitation.

Everyone, seems to be lost.

Wei Hei looked up at the sky, with a heavy face on his face.
In the originally blue sky, thick clouds rolled up.It was windy, and it was getting stronger and stronger, making the sky gradually filled with thick clouds.

The sound of the wind gradually became sharper, whizzing past, and it hurt people's faces.

It seems that in an instant, the sky suddenly turned black, and the "woo woo" wind rolled up snowflakes all over the sky, and the blizzard came...

*
Capital, Orchid Courtyard, Shangfang.

It's almost February, and it's time to make new clothes. Mrs. Li asked someone to find some good materials from the storeroom, thinking about making clothes for the women in the mansion.

Therefore, Chuyu was called, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discussed the distribution of ingredients.

Tianyou and Hang Seng were sitting opposite each other, with a few clay figurines placed in the middle, they were having a great time, giggling non-stop.

People in this banner live, the most important thing is face. When, what clothes to change, and what materials to use are all particular, and you can't make any mistakes, otherwise you will make people laugh.

There is an old saying, "It is better to wear something worn than to wear it wrong", otherwise, people will be regarded as "two-five-eyed" and "half-crazy".

In the first month, when it is warm and cold, people wear clothes made of squirrel, ermine, and pearl fur.

February is early spring, and as it gets warmer, people wear "Na silk", that is, two layers of silk with very thin cotton or camel's hair in between.

Today, among the good materials that Mrs. Li asked people to look for, most of them are made of silk, and there are also two bolts of fine cloth made inside.

Except for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who kept a few bolts of silk and the two bolts of muslin for their own use, the others picked their colors and sent two to Mr. Zhuang's yard, two to Tian's, and Zijing. one horse.There are a few decent stewards in the front yard, and each family also reserves one horse.

The remaining few horses that were not as good as the material were given to the head maids of Lanyuan and Wutongyuan.

After the distribution was completed, the maids carried the materials and sent them to various places.

Mrs. Li touched a piece of material left on the kang, and sighed a little: "The second wife likes to wear this begonia red dress the most. In the early years, she wished she could be this color all year round."

Seeing that her mother-in-law's expression was not right, Chu Yu remembered the slightly flamboyant appearance of the Zhaojia family in the Duke's Mansion yesterday, and didn't know what to say.

After Mrs. Li finished speaking, she seemed to know that she had made a slip of the tongue, shook her head, and said with a smile: "Look at me, what are you talking about?" After speaking, he looked out of the window and said, "It's getting dark, why hasn't the master come back? Want to come?" There are many things in the yamen these two days, and most of them stay in the front yard when they come back."

Chu Yu looked at the fine cloth on the kang, and remembered that her husband loved to wear cotton underwear.These two bolts of muslin are just enough to cut two new sets.

Although the weather in Beijing is getting warmer, I heard that Mongolia is very cold.Chu Yu's heart was heavy, and she felt that she was thinking about it.

After hearing what her mother-in-law said, she turned her head and looked out of the window. Hearing the sound of the cold wind beating on the window lattice, she felt that her heart was following closely...

She was frowning endlessly when she heard a "plop" and Hang Seng grunted off the kang.

Chu Yu was so frightened that she almost lost her wits. She wanted to reach out to stop her, but how could she stop her?
Hang Seng had turned over from the kang, at that moment, Chu Yu couldn't help closing his eyes, not daring to look.

Mrs. Li also saw that something was wrong, so she couldn't help shouting: "My little ancestor, this... what is this?"

Chu Yu felt that the blood all over her body was congealed. When she opened her eyes, she saw Hang Seng standing upright on the ground.

At this time, I heard "giggle" laughter, and Tianyou replied in a childish voice: "Grandmother, grandson, brother, somersault..." While talking, with the kang on his neck, he also turned down.

"Wow... Mother... Mother..." Although Hang Seng said that his feet were on the ground just now, he didn't knock and fall, but after all, he was a toddler who was less than his second birthday, so he was too scared to fall down.No, when he woke up, he grinned and cried out loud.

This cry made Chuyu calm down, and hurriedly got up from the edge of the kang, and ran to Hang Sheng.

She squatted down, touched Hang Seng's small arm, then touched Hang Seng's calf, and only after seeing that there was no injury at all, she let out a long breath.

"Wow... wow..." Seeing his mother approaching, Hang Seng immediately threw himself into her arms, crying loudly.

Seeing that Hang Seng's face was pale, Chu Yu knew that he was bluffing hard, so he stretched out his hand, stroked the back of Hang Seng's head, and coaxed: "It's all right, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, our Hang Seng is going to be a general, don't be afraid... "

Tianyou was sitting on the edge of the kang, holding Li Shi's arm with both hands, seeing Heng Seng crying hard, he pouted his face, raised his head and asked, "Grandmother, brother... brother is crying..."

Mrs. Li thought about the situation just now, and couldn't help being afraid for a while.

If this little child hadn't landed on both feet first, then... just thinking about it makes people tremble.

She lowered her face, straightened Tianyou, and asked, "What's the matter, you told your brother to do somersaults?"

Tianyou saw that grandmother was unhappy, nodded, and whispered: "It's grandson, let's see, can you be faster than Zuo Cheng..."

"You child, you are so naughty..." Li Shi was annoyed in his heart, and said with a bluff on his face: "If you fall your brother, see if your grandfather doesn't use a whip to beat you..."

Tianyou saw his younger brother crying pitifully, and both his grandmother and mother changed their faces again, feeling that something was wrong, their little faces drooped, and they also cried out loudly...

*
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