Buy horses in the east market, buy saddles and shackles in the west market. Buy bridles in the north market, and buy whips in the south market.
The story of Hua Mulan joining the army on behalf of her father comes from folk poetry. Although it was well known to everyone at the time, there were also some records in official books.
But her story comes from word of mouth and doesn't sound very credible.
Even though it was only about two hundred years before the Southern and Northern Dynasties, people have different opinions about Hua Mulan's place of origin, surname, etc. This indeed adds to her legend, but makes her even more untrustworthy.
The story should be about Tuoba Tao, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who defeated Rouran in the Battle of Rouran.
The first two wars were in the first year of Shiguang. Tuoba Tao personally conquered Rouran and returned with a great victory. In the second year, he once again led his troops to the north and defeated Rouran in Monan, severely damaging the Rouran tribes that were once powerful.
Judging from the time point, the Northern Wei Dynasty, which had not yet unified the north, had its capital in Pingcheng, which was later called Yunneicheng.
It can be seen from the words in Mulan Ci that Hua Mulan could not have participated in these two wars, because neither Henan nor Guanzhong was the territory of the Northern Wei Dynasty at that time.
After bidding farewell to her parents, she will stay by the Yellow River in the evening. No matter where her hometown is, Hua Mulan must live south of the Yellow River.
So Hua Mulan should have participated in Tuoba Tao's third war against Rouran.
At this time, Tuoba Tao had already put down the Hu Xia regime in Guanzhong, and Rouran repeatedly invaded the border, so Tuoba Tao once again went north to conquer Rouran.
At this point in time, things seemed to match up, and Tuoba Tao, who could be said to be a man of great talent and strategy, dealt Rouran a fatal blow during the Northern Expedition.
The first half of the story of Mulan Joining the Army describes in great detail the scene of the Northern Wei aristocratic children joining the army.
The Khan ordered his army to be large, and produced twelve volumes of military books, each with his name on it.
This shows that Hua Mulan's father is a standard backbone of the Northern Wei military group.
But judging from Hua Mulan's buying and selling operations when she was in the army, she should be in Chang'an, because at this time, Northern Yan controlled Henan, the Liu Song regime was in the south, and Beiliang was in the northwest. In addition to Chang'an, Guanzhong was also
No other city has so many markets.
If Hua Mulan really exists, she should be from Guanzhong...
I left the Yellow River at dawn and stayed at the top of the Black Mountain at dusk.
Hua Mulan's march route is also described here. She should have marched through the Black Mountains among the east-route army led by Tuoba Tao, and met with the west-route army at the Rouran Khan's court.
This expedition could reach far, reaching Hanhai in the east, Zhangye in the west, and Yanran Mountain in the north. It was much more enjoyable than Yang Jian's defeat of the Turks later. In a land thousands of miles in radius, Rouran was stunned and beaten.
More than 300,000 people surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent rise of the Turks.
In the end, Tuoba Tao was not satisfied yet, so he sent people to Lake Baikal and captured all the Gaoche tribe nomads there before returning to the army.
I don’t hear my mother-in-law’s voice calling her, but I hear the chirping voice of a horseman from Yanshan.
It is estimated that Hua Mulan also crossed the Yanran Mountains with the army (the Yanshan Mountains here are definitely not the Yanshan Mountains in Hebei) and reached the shores of Lake Baikal. The journey was long, and in addition to fighting with the enemy, there were also wind knives and snow swords.
If the story is true, it cannot be described as a heroine.
After all, since ancient times, no woman has been able to fight all the way and travel such a long distance.
No wonder the poem says that after she returned, she saw the emperor in the palace and wanted to make her a minister...
Later, the animations compiled by those in the west were even more interesting. Hua Mulan actually fought the Huns, and she only brought two or three kittens with her. However, the enemy was extremely ferocious, with a large number of people. I wonder if those humanoid creatures didn't know.
Ah, I still like to randomly arrange heroes from other nations to deliberately disgust people.
…………
Well, when Li Po was visiting Luoyang Nan City, he discussed this heroine with Li Xiuning. As a member of the Kansai family, Li Xiuning was very suspicious of this folklore.
But when they first met, Mulan was a topic of conversation.
At that time, Li Xiuning was just a teenage girl who was about to get married. She didn't care much about the authenticity of the legend, and she still longed to become a heroine like Hua Mulan.
The feelings of a young man are so precious. Thinking of Yunnei's story back then, Li Xiuning smiled, and her gaze on the man became a little gentler.
There are many merchants in Nanshi, selling everything. If Hua Mulan came to Luoyang now, she would obviously not have to travel to so many places.
Li Po wandered along the street, disrupting the order of the market.
Several minor officials in charge of the market ran over tremblingly, and were called in front of Li Po. Li Po mainly asked about the price of grain in the market and the operation of Nanshi in the past two years.
The clerks were so frightened that they stammered some words.
Li Po is quite satisfied. Luoyang has sufficient food and stable food prices. The merchants on the market have only opened in the past two years, and the goods they sell are becoming more abundant year by year.
This is mainly due to the opening of water transportation this year. People in the south have been better at doing business than people in the north since ancient times. Most of the merchants who came to Luoyang were from the south.
Most of the merchants who came here from Guanxi and Shanxi were government merchants. They were doing big business dealing with the government, and they looked down upon the benefits of Nanshi.
And once businessmen become active...well, no matter how active businessmen are these days, they won't see much impact in a short period of time. In addition, commercial activities are completely dominated by the government. No matter how many opportunities there are, they want to prosper.
It’s really not easy either.
The most significant effect of today's commerce is not the circulation of materials, but the widespread use of new money.
Coins are originally exchanges of equal value derived from commerce. As commerce improves, new money minted by the government will circulate faster among the people and become more popular.
By the sixth year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, there were almost no traces of the coins of the previous dynasty on the market.
This situation illustrates many problems. One is that after the Tang Dynasty pacified the princes, the political power was quickly recognized by the officials and the people. The second is that the economic policies implemented by the government were effective, which gradually stabilized the people's hearts.
Furthermore, the promotion of coins is closely related to business, which shows that business is showing signs of prosperity.
Nanshi is one of them. The business atmosphere here is extremely active, although it is not as good as the east and west cities in Chang'an, and even slightly worse than the North and South cities in Jinyang.
But Luoyang's geographical location and its position in the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty will determine that the depression here is only temporary...
…………
"I heard that Governor Li pacified the Japanese country and sent back many prisoners. They will arrive in Luoyang in the near future. Do you want to use them to replace civilian service?"
The group of people left Nanshi and wandered aimlessly in Luoyang City. At this time, Li Xiuning asked.
Li Po nodded and said: "The Central Plains has been in war for a long time, the population is withering, and the people are in poverty. How can I dare to launch a large-scale civil service? Many people in the court felt that the world was settled, and it was time to repair ditches, roads, or build some palaces.
It's time for Yu.
Firstly, it is an urgent matter, it is necessary; secondly, it is to tell the world that peace and prosperity are coming, with the intention of stabilizing the people's hearts...
Do you think what they said is right?"
Li Xiuning pursed her lips and smiled, "Brother is testing me. If eldest brother thought what they said was wrong, how could he activate civilian service last year?
But since the eldest brother asked, I think it’s just a matter of doing things according to one’s ability.
Since what everyone said makes sense, it depends on how to do it.
With Yang Guang's incident in front of him, I think his ministers will no longer advise the king to abuse the power of the people and drain the lake.
However, in the past dynasties, all the work was carried out using the power of the people, and no disadvantages were seen. I think that the eldest brother should not be too taboo about this, so as not to tie his own hands and feet."
Li Po looked at Li Xiuning with admiration. It is rare for a woman to speak so grandly in this world. She deserves to be the daughter of the Li family. "Although what you said makes sense, you still stand on a high ground. I don't blame you.
I grew up in fine clothes and fine food, and I never really saw the suffering of the people.
In fact, most of the people in the court also have this problem... But I have been in that refugee camp, and every family has been missing its backbone..."
Li Po shook his head and sighed, "Half of the lives of the old and the young have been lost. In winter, just for a bite to eat, they will do anything. How can it be so miserable?"
Since I have seen such tragic scenes, how can I forget about it when I become emperor? Therefore, when it comes to initiating civilian service, I am always very cautious, but it is not necessary to use it. Otherwise, the government alone will not be able to take care of it.
That’s why we have to think of some ways from elsewhere to make up for the shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty.
Just after the war, there is no shortage of elite soldiers and generals, and everyone is eager to make contributions. This is why the Japanese and Baekje people came, what? What do you think I did wrong?"
Li Xiuning raised her eyebrows in dissatisfaction, squinted her eyes, and said to herself that I didn't think you did anything wrong. It's just that you said that I come from a wealthy family and don't know the sufferings of the people, which is a bit exaggerated...
"I don't dare to say that my eldest brother is wrong, otherwise why don't I want to be punished?"
Li Po is the ancestor of the wisecrackers, "The house was ransacked, and all the female relatives were not brought into the palace... Ha, maybe I got your wish, so don't you want to offend me?"
Li Xiuning laughed, and finally muttered, "I don't want to enter the palace... Brother, isn't he thinking about someone in my house?"
Yeah, I'm quite sharp-tongued and have some potential...
Li Po turned around and looked at Li Xiuning. Since the two met, it seems that she has never been angry at all. Well, she whipped herself when she was on a mission to Jin, but she was not really angry.
Needless to say, Li Po's preferences went without saying. At this moment, he immediately started talking, "Oh, lonely people are really pitiful."
Li Xiuning's heart suddenly twitched as a result of the hit. He immediately turned his head and looked over. Seeing that the man's face was filled with confusion and malicious intent, he was so jealous that his head started to burn.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know who my eldest brother is interested in. Do you want me to talk to you and let her accompany you to the palace?"
Li Po glanced sideways, feeling happy in his heart. The woman became angry, and she was indeed particularly lively, "Then it's up to you to tell me, who dares not to listen when I call people into the palace?"
The villain in Li Xiuning's heart was jumping up and down, and she couldn't hold it back any longer. She didn't know how it was transferred from the Japanese to the woman in her house, and she didn't know whether what she said was true or false.
He rolled his eyes with suspicion on his face, and the enchanting appearance of the Changsun clan appeared in his mind involuntarily...