Northwest of the Zhangjiakou Market, by the Qingshui River, there is a large fenced area surrounded by nearly a thousand horses.
These horses were brought to the trade market by some tribes who had just finished the winter to exchange for some daily necessities.
There are many yurts set up near the entrance of the market, in which live the newly arrived herdsmen and those Ao Lachi who received Ming salary.
In the past, businessmen or officials from the imperial court who were interested in buying horses would enter these yurts, bargain with the herdsmen selling horses under the arrangements of Ao Lachi, and after completing the transaction, they would pay with one hand and leave with the horses in the other.
If a wise person first pays to buy those Ao Lachi, then there will be basically no problems in the transaction in the end. But if you don't do this, when you pay for the horse, they will often forcibly transfer it to you and give you some inferior horses.
If the herdsmen who sell horses are from large tribes, under the influence of Ao Lachi, they have learned this trick over time and often use their inferior qualities as good to deceive others.
The herdsmen who came to Yi City this time happened to belong to the two largest tribes nearby. One was the Sizi tribe located in the northwest of Zhangjiakou, and was led by one of their leaders, Erzamu.
He heard that the Liaodong Jurchens had invaded the capital of the Ming Dynasty and seemed to have conquered several cities in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he took advantage of this opportunity and came to inquire about the news.
The other one is the Chahar tribe where Lin Dan Khan belongs, headed by Lin Dan Khan’s son Erkongoro Ezhe.[
His capable father could not defeat the Liaodong Jurchens, so he was forced to move away from Hancheng of Wachartucha (now Chifeng) and ran to the Chahar border.
The descendants of Genghis Khan were dignified, but they could not control the various Mongolian tribes, causing them to defect to the Jurchens one after another. They could not defeat the Jurchens, and when they were depressed, they often lost their temper and angered others.
As the first heir, Erkongoluo Ezhe stayed with his father and suffered many misfortunes. After being depressed, he finally found an excuse to come to the prosperous Zhangjiakou to relax.
Unexpectedly, after arriving in Zhangjiakou, they encountered martial law that had never been seen before. Instigated by Ilzamu and those Ao Lachi, he took the lead and first attacked the Ming soldiers who implemented martial law.
In a large shop near the entrance, many people gathered because of the martial law. They happened to see the conflict at the entrance of the market from a door.
Suddenly, the conflict became the subject of their conversation.
"I dare to bet you that no matter what the reason for imposing martial law this time, you will not dare to offend these Mongols in the end." A middle-aged businessman asserted.
"Why do you see it?" asked a businessman who seemed to be new to Zhangjiakou.
"If it had been earlier, it was just those Ao Lachi, they were small, and for such a large-scale military martial law, they might just drink and eat meat in their own yurts. No matter how arrogant they are, they are still people with brains.
.right?"
Everyone in the store nodded. Looking at the situation, how few people dared to cause trouble, they really thought they were Genghis Khan alive!
"But right now, you can see that there are five to six hundred Mongolians, all of whom have arrived in the past few days. There are also those who have just come out of the yurts. Judging from their clothes and decorations, they are probably also prominent figures among the Mongolians."
The middle-aged businessman stood at the entrance and pointed at the group of Mongolians not far away.
Many businessmen have already discovered this, so they all nod in agreement with his point of view without looking at it.
"Those Ao Lachi are already so arrogant in normal times, and now that these Mongolian nobles are here, they are even more powerful. Do we, the coward soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, dare not to let them go? Maybe this martial law will end in an anticlimax.
"The middle-aged businessman came to a conclusion.
A younger businessman was a little unconvinced and said: "That's not necessarily true. Looking at this posture, there must be something important, and maybe there are important people here. These Mongolians may cause trouble when they are making such a fuss during martial law.
It’s not necessarily possible to suppress big people by force if you make them angry.”
"Why, you're not convinced, why don't you make a bet?" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged businessman looked at the young businessman and asked provocatively.[
Anyone who could come to Zhangjiakou to trade with the barbarians had a certain sense of adventure and the urge to win. When the people around them saw the two people's posture, they immediately started booing.
The young merchant originally had the same idea as the middle-aged merchant, but seeing that the middle-aged merchant was so sure, as a Ming Dynasty citizen, he felt a little offended, so he mentioned another possibility.
Now, he is being coaxed by the people around him, and he can't help himself, so he just rushes to the shelves and agrees to the middle-aged businessman's bet.
He took out an ingot of silver from his arms, and then shouted to the counter with a red face: "Shopkeeper, you can bear witness, and these two taels of official silver will be left here for you."
Now during the martial law period, everyone is locked up in this shop. Everyone is chatting. Seeing this bet, the shopkeeper who often frequents the casino joined in the fun and said: "Okay, I will make a bet here to buy the Ming army to suppress the Mongols.
Pay five, if you buy the Ming army and there is nothing you can do against the Mongols, pay one one. Let’s all bet!”
In this way, it became the shopkeeper opening the shop. Everyone in the shop cheered. The middle-aged businessman immediately crowded towards the shopkeeper, then looked back at the young businessman, took out a piece of silver from his arms, and said loudly
: "For five taels of official silver, the Mongols are as arrogant as ever."
Others also spent money to buy bets and traveled around a lot. Now the outcome of this matter is basically certain. If you don't take the money, you won't get it.
After one of them bought the bet, he turned around and said to the young merchant: "Young man, this matter will be left to Taizu. During the Chengzu period, even during the Zhengde period, you will win, but now, ah, young man, your money is really good."
many!"
After saying that, he shook his head. I don't know whether it was because he felt sorry for the young man's money, or because he was too wasteful.
Everyone in the store quickly bought up the bets. When the shopkeeper made statistics, it turned out that only the young merchant bought the Ming army and could suppress the Mongols. He made a little calculation and realized that this was a losing streak, and he quickly said: "Is there anyone else buying?
If the Ming army can suppress the Mongols, I will pay ten for one, is there anyone?"
Everyone laughed after hearing this. The shopkeeper raised the odds so high, obviously he was optimistic about the Mongols. Even though the odds were so high, no one bought the Ming army.
They laughed and looked at the young businessman as if he were a fool.
The young merchant's previously blushing face had just faded away, but when they smiled like this, his face suddenly turned red again.
He gritted his teeth, took out another ingot of silver from his pocket, and said to the shopkeeper: "Add three taels to buy the Ming army."
There was an old businessman who saw that the young businessman was plainly dressed and did not seem to be a rich man. Now he was acting so impulsively, so he kindly reminded him: "Young man, don't lose all your money for goods."
The middle-aged businessman from before said darkly: "Yes, young man, it doesn't matter if you are ignorant. The most important thing is to assess the situation. If you should admit defeat, just admit defeat."
The young businessman's face turned even redder, and he loudly said to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, hurry up and register. I, Wang Yan, will tell you the truth."
Of course, the shopkeeper would not let go of the money that was delivered to his door. He quickly took it and registered it. Seeing that no one was buying anymore, he squeezed the money and said to everyone: "Everyone, the betting is over. Let's see the results next."
"
Then he said to the person next to him: "My guest, can you give up your position and let the young man stand here?"
When he said this, he even winked. The man understood that the shopkeeper wanted to let this fool come over and see the result so that he would not lose unfairly. He understood and made room for Wang Yan to stand over.
.
The shopkeeper has a good eloquence, and while watching, he broadcast live to others in the store: "The Ming army under martial law has gathered at the entrance of the market. The leader seems to be a thousand households. This level seems to be a bit low."
"The Ming army was surrounded by the Mongols. There were many Ming soldiers, but they were huddled together. The Mongols on the periphery seemed to be very arrogant, and they were saying something to the Ming soldiers."
"None of the nearby Ming troops came to help. They pretended not to see it. Hey, you are really cowardly!"
"A Ming army soldier ran away on horseback. It seems that he went to move reinforcements. I wonder if a big shot will appear."
Because people in the store bought bets, they had to be served tea by the store clerk. However, because there were so many people and few seats, many people stood with a cup of tea and listened to the shopkeeper's live broadcast while drinking.
When I hear the shopkeeper talking about big shots, his tone of voice is a bit teasing, I will smile heartily.
Only Wang Yan's face turned red again. He didn't say anything and just kept staring outside.
After less than a cup of tea, I heard the rumble of horse hooves coming from far and near.
Everyone in the store who had started talking in low voices immediately stopped talking and listened carefully to the shopkeeper's report.
"Come, come, the leader seems to be a young man in his twenties or thirties. Hey, why did he only bring about 300 people? Isn't this enough?"