Kong Youde was only a boy of fifteen or sixteen at this time, almost as tall as an adult man like Wu Bond, and the look on his face and eyes showed the caution of a child from a poor background.
When he entered the room, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Quan.
Nowadays, guerrilla generals and the like have to kneel down when meeting a fourth-rank or above civilian official, let alone a small private soldier.
Zhang Quan nodded to him kindly, and seeing that his nose was red from the cold, he took a sticky rice bun from the side of the goose meat pot and handed it to him: "Baby, warm your hands."
Mao Wenlong said to Kong Youde: "Youde, this spring, you transported ginseng and mink skins to Fushun for the big market. What was the situation of the Mongols and Jurchens in the horse market at that time? Please report it carefully to Shilang Zhang."
Kong Youde held the sticky rice buns, still kneeling, and said respectfully: "At the horse market this spring, many Tatars from the Mongolian Nuantu tribe in the north came to sell horses, but they were all inferior horses and no one wanted them. The Mongolian Tatars were there.
They were drinking and making trouble in Fushun. Later, I heard that General Li Shen had given them a reward of silver, so they were sent away. However, more Jurchen Tatars from Jianzhou came, and they were quite honest. They brought old ginseng, leather goods, and Dongzhu.
, honey, it’s all very good and not expensive, and merchants in Shanxi and Hebei have all taken over it. Later, when they didn’t have enough to sell, they took away a lot of our goods, and they were very polite to us.”
Zhang Quan asked: "Didn't the Jianzhou Jurchens bring horses to sell?"
Kong Youde shook his head: "No. It is said that the Jianzhou Tatars can collect a lot of horses from the Haixi Jurchens and the Barbarian Jurchens. Fushun is close and they can drive the horses here with much less effort than the Mongols. Let's just Digu, yes
It’s not because the old Tatar chief has proclaimed himself king and wants to gather his horses to attack us..."
Zheng Haizhu suddenly interrupted him and said with a strange smile: "They are going to attack us in the Ming Dynasty, that's for sure, but if they don't bring horses to the horse market this spring, they probably want to seduce the appetite of the horse dealers from all over the world. Wait until next spring.
Horse market, let’s do something big.”
Kong Youde raised his neck slightly and looked at Zheng Haizhu at the table.
He had seen this woman when she first arrived in Liaoyang City. Xu San told him that she was a businessman who was doing business in partnership with General Mao, and she was considered the boss on the south side.
But I didn't expect that this woman not only did business, but also sat at the same table as the Minister of War.
Kong Youde looked at Zheng Haizhu with a somewhat surprised look: "Master Zheng seems to be in the horse market this spring. Yes, the market will open for about ten days. Those Jurchen Tatars told the horse dealers that this year the Ye He tribe in Haixi will stop
You know, the savage Jurchens can’t get by with their good horses. When their Khans take care of the Yehe Jurchens in the autumn, there will be no problem with two or three thousand horses coming to the horse market next spring.”
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There was a slight silence during the dinner, and Zhang Quan said to Kong Youde: "Baby, please go out first."
Then he smiled and pointed to the steamed bun in his hand: "Eat it while it's hot."
Kong Youde hurriedly kowtowed again, then got up and left.
Mao Wenlong's face darkened, he looked at Zhang Quan, then at Zheng Haizhu and Wu Bondang, touched his stubble-covered cheeks and said: "Damn, looking at it like this, it's really a bit strange. He's a Jianzhou Tatar."
Were you afraid that Ye He would not be able to get horses in exchange for food?"
Zheng Haizhu said: "The Jurchens are all hunters, so they are the best at setting traps. The old chief can set a trap and spread the word before the horse market next spring that a large number of good horses are coming, and then let his Eight Banners soldiers pretend to be
As a trader, he first sneaked into Fushun City and cooperated with the Tatars who came later. By the way, the Mongolian Warm Rabbit tribe is also very suspicious. Maybe they will come again next spring to ask for rewards. In fact, they are Nurhaci's side agents. "
What Zheng Haizhu said is how Nurhachi planned to attack Fushun in history, but through the foreshadowing, this speculation was not so abrupt when he said it himself.
With a "bang" sound, Zhang Quan banged his wine glass on the table.
Although he has a strong temperament, his actions are always gentle and gentle. His actions at this moment are a rare expression of emotion.
"Li Yongfang can no longer be used by the court. The slave chief already established himself as Khan last year, but Li Yongfang actually allowed so many Jurchens to enter the city in a grand manner at this year's Fushun Horse Fair!"
"Secretary Zhang," Zheng Haizhu said slowly, "with all due respect, Li Yongfang can still be used. Regardless of whether he has been bribed by Nurhachi, or this person is just stupid and lax, if the old chief really launches an attack next spring
, Li Yongfang should just stay in his position as Fushun General to avoid Nurhachi becoming suspicious. As for the movements of the Tatars in Jianzhou, we will definitely go to spy, but instead of sending military generals, it is better for merchants like us to
go."
Zhang Quan was startled for a moment, and then he looked thoughtful.
Mao Wenlong breathed a sigh of relief.
Today, Zheng Haizhu talked about Fushun or Nurhachi's first prey during the banquet. Mao Wenlong was quite happy at first, thinking that this eldest niece actually knew the war, which made him look good in front of Zhang Shilang.
When Kong Youde talked about the situation in Fushun Horse Market, Mao Wenlong was a little nervous again. He was afraid that Zhang Quan would blame him and he was also lacking in side affairs. Although he had only been a garrison in Aiyang before and had just been transferred to Liaoyang, no matter how he said it,
To the east of Liaoyang, where Mao Wenlong was guarding, was Fushun.
Fortunately, Zheng Haizhu was on his side, and the girl offered to spy on the military situation. Looking at Zhang Quan's face, it turned out that the anger was gradually fading away.
Just listen to Zhang Quan saying warmly to Zheng Haizhu: "Girl, you have courage, I admire you. However, the harvest in the Tatars this year is very poor. If you go there as an ordinary caravan, you will definitely be like a sheep falling into a tiger's mouth. The goods will be robbed, and the people will be killed."
Killed. Let me think about whether there is any other way."
Zheng Haizhu was secretly moved.
Zhang Quan, a civil servant, is very kind. Like father, like daughter. It is also a blessing for Xianglin to marry Miss Fengyi.
Zheng Haizhu then looked probing and asked Mao Wenlong: "Hey, Uncle Mao, didn't you say that Li Chengliang's son Li Rubai married the daughter of Shuerhaqi, who is Nurhaci's niece?"
Mao Wenlong said: "Yes, when Mr. Li was alive, the two Nurhachi brothers were as respectful to him as their biological fathers. Shuerhaqi sent his daughter over for marriage, and Mr. Li said that his sons all had real wives.
Now, the only way to do it is to be a concubine. The Jurchens said that even being a maid is a blessing to them. Look at how well behaved they were back then..."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Mao Shou," Zhang Quan interrupted Mao Wenlong, "the imperial court has always known that General Li and Shuerhaqi have a good relationship, so they specially supported Shuerha back then.
Qi, let him contain his brother Nurhaci. It's a pity that he died of illness early."
Mao Wenlong took a sip of wine and said: "He died of any disease. He was a tough man who could be beaten to death by a tiger. It is said by all our Liao generals that Shuerhaqi wanted to lead people to stand on their own in the mountains, but Nurhachi locked him up and starved to death."
Zhang Quan snorted coldly: "Most likely, Nurhachi is not a good person. So, is Li Rubai's concubine still in Liaoyang now?"
Mao Wenlong nodded: "Yes, Shuerhaqi's daughter is called Yilanzhu. There is no need to hide it from Zhang Shilang. Mao's concubine sometimes prepares ointment and sends some to Yilanzhu. This suggestion
The Zhou girl is also pitiful. She was only thirteen years old when she was sent to Li's family in Liaoyang. A few years later, when she gave birth to her first child, Li Rubai, news of her mother's and her father's deaths came one after another. She had some problems, but she has gotten better in recent years."
Speaking of this, Mao Wenlong suddenly realized: "Yes, this woman has always said that she wants to go back to Jianzhou to worship her mother-in-law."
Zheng Haizhu said with a smile: "Shilang Zhang, Uncle Mao, our caravan can accompany her back and bring some good brocade tea leaves for her to give away. Maybe we can also enter Hetuala to see if Nurhaci has anything.
movement."
Zhang Quan thought for a while and asked Mao Wenlong: "Has Yilanzhu ever guessed that his biological father was killed by his uncle?"
Mao Wenlong said: "She must not believe it. She also said that several of her cousins were very good to her. She begged Li Rubai many times and wanted to return to her hometown to pay homage. Li Rubai did not dare to agree because he was afraid that someone from the Liao generals would report Li Jiatong to the court.
Chief."
Zheng Haizhu persuaded Zhang Quan and said: "Secretary Zhang, in my humble opinion, Nurhachi will not kill this niece. It is when the old chief wants to neutralize his prestige among the banner people. If he harms his married niece who returns to his hometown to worship, it will not only appear narrow-minded, but also
It's like telling the Eight Banners that Shuerhaqi, a compatriot of his own flesh and blood and fighting in all directions, was killed by him."
Zhang Quan took a few more sips of wine and finally agreed: "Okay, let me talk to Li Rubai first. He said that the court knew that he was wronged and allowed his concubine to return to the old city of Jianzhou to show off to the Liao generals.
Attitude. I won’t talk much about the rest. We don’t need to let outsiders know what we have calculated today. I and Mao garrison have to plan the strength of the military fortresses from Liaoyang to Fushun. When Miss Zheng and Mr. Wu come back, they will make a quick move.
