There was a heavy snowfall last night, giving the earth a silvery make-up.
Zhu Qizhen stopped and looked into the distance. At the end of his gaze, the sky and the earth were connected, which was quite spectacular.
The cold morning wind blew across my face like a knife.
At this moment, he suddenly understood the mood of Emperor Taizong Zhu Di.
Wouldn’t it make people nostalgic for such great rivers and mountains?
"Your Majesty, it's time to leave!"
Yuan Bin waited for a long time and finally couldn't help but come forward.
He was frightened by the drink yesterday, but fortunately nothing went wrong. However, that Atulu was too enthusiastic, so he had to leave quickly, or else he would have to stay for the emperor to eat again!
"Brother Huang, Brother Huang!"
Yuan Bin's heart tightened, and he turned around and saw Arturu walking quickly.
"What are you doing here on such a cold day?"
Zhu Qizhen turned around and said with a smile: "Look at the scenery!"
"Looking at the scenery?"
Atulu looked around, then shook his head and said, "What's there to see here? Come on, I'll introduce you to some friends!"
Zhu Qizhen asked with interest: "What friend?"
Atulu said: "They are all herdsmen here. They heard that a Han friend with a good drinker came here and came here to see him!"
Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but feel amused. It seemed that both Mongols and Han people liked to join in the fun.
I drank for a long time yesterday, and everyone knew about it this morning.
"Just in time, I also want to make a few more friends!"
Zhu Qizhen did not refuse and followed Atulu towards the tent.
Yuan Bin hurriedly followed and whispered: "Your Majesty, we still have business to attend to!"
Zhu Qizhen turned slightly sideways and replied in a low voice: "We are doing business now."
Yuan Bin was puzzled, but had no choice but to let it go.
Well, you are the emperor, you are the biggest, you have the final say!
If something happens, no big deal... I'll just take the twenty or so guards in uniform and accompany you on the road!
When I returned to the tent, I saw three rough men drinking kumiss.
Atulu was very excited, talking to several people in Mongolian, then turned around and pointed at Zhu Qizhen:
"This is Brother Huang. He is very cheerful and drinks very hard!"
He knew that Zhu Qizhen could not understand Mongolian, so he changed to Chinese on purpose.
Mongolians have always respected the strong, and in their view, alcohol consumption represents strength.
Aturu also has a pretty good drinking capacity in the local area. If he can drink him down, he must be very special.
Therefore, several acquaintances rushed over immediately to see if this warrior had three heads and six arms.
However, when they saw Zhu Qizhen, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in their eyes.
This person looks ordinary, and even talks and behaves more like a scholar.
Can he really drink Atulu down?
"Brother Huang, let me introduce to you. This is Tamur, this is Hulun, and my brother-in-law, Usak. By the way, he also has a Chinese name, called Kazak!"
Zhu Qizhen was stunned. Usak, a Mongolian, gave himself a Chinese name, Kazak?
What the hell?
"This ha..."
"Kazak!"
"Yes, Kazakh, I mean..."
Zhu Qizhen looked troubled and said: "Among Han names, the surname Ha is very rare. How did you come up with the idea of using this surname?"
Kazakh immediately said: "Why are we so rare? Ha Ming of Beihaiwei, isn't his surname Ha?"
Zhu Qizhen was quite surprised. He didn't expect that the word "Ha Ming" was quite popular in Mobei.
"Do you know Haming?"
"I don't know it, I've heard of it!"
Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Is this person famous?"
Kazak's face became very respectful and said: "Sweeping across Mobei and killing Boyan, who doesn't know?"
This person's Chinese is obviously better than Atulu's, and he sounds much smoother.
Zhu Qizhen thought about it and asked: "Isn't Boyan your Mongolian general?"
"So what?"
Kazak suddenly frowned, clenched his fists, and said: "This man bullied us a lot back then. If Haming doesn't kill him, I will kill him with my own hands!"
Zhu Qizhen laughed again: "You have a grudge against Boyan?"
At this time, Atulu's wife brought another large pot of kumiss, lit a charcoal fire, and roasted a few lamb legs on the fire. They looked very fresh, as if they had just been slaughtered.
Aturu said: "Everyone, stop standing, let's talk while eating!"
Zhu Qizhen followed the others and sat around the charcoal fire, thinking to himself that he would roast mutton when he got up early in the morning. Such a life... would be really pleasant!
It was windy and snowy outside, and they were eating roast mutton and drinking kumis in the yurt. The lives of these people were more nourishing than the life of an emperor like me!
Kazak was the youngest and took the initiative to pour wine for everyone.
However, his face was covered with a layer of melancholy.
"Cattle and sheep are our wealth. In the past, we had to take our cattle and sheep with us wherever we went. If there was a snowstorm in winter and the cattle and sheep froze to death, we would starve to death even if we didn't freeze to death!"
Arturu interrupted him: "Kazak, what you said and did is all in the past!"
"Didn't Brother Huang ask why I changed my last name?"
A wry smile appeared on Kazak's face and he continued: "There are seven people in my family. I have three brothers and one sister. However, my three brothers were all dragged to the battlefield by Boyan to fight with you Han people. They will kill each other.
Go, what’s the end?”
"My third brother was only fifteen years old. I was still young at that time, only twelve years old. There was another snowstorm. All the cattle and sheep were requisitioned. There was no food at home. My mother left the last piece of dried meat to my sister and me.
I starved to death..."
"My sister was reluctant to eat it and left the dried meat to me. If she hadn't met Atulu, my sister would have died too."
"Later I found out that all three of my brothers were killed in the war. Even so, Boyan did not let us go. He came to the grassland to catch young men. There were no adults left, so he only caught old people and children. I was only twelve years old.
If you are old, you have to follow him to the battlefield to fight and fight to the death...why?"
The more Kazakh talked, the more excited he became. He picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhu Qizhen clearly saw tears shining in the corners of his eyes.
When it prospers, the people suffer; when it dies, the people suffer.
The war between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia lasted for hundreds of years. In the end, only the people at the bottom suffered.
They are no different from the Han people. The Han people work all day long and then turn in the grain. They graze hard and then turn in the cattle and sheep.
The young and strong have to go to the battlefield. They say they are fighting, but in fact they are serving as cannon fodder for the main army.
It is conceivable what kind of suffering the people at the bottom of the desert are experiencing.
They even didn't hate the Ming Dynasty or the Han people at all, but they hated the superior officers and generals on the grassland.
Boyan is the second-in-command of Oara. Logically speaking, he should be respected and worshiped by the Mongols.
But I didn’t expect that there was no respect, no applause, only curses!
"so……"
Kazak looked at Zhu Qizhen and said: "Whoever in this world can make us eat and drink enough, so that my children no longer need to starve and freeze, and no longer have to live in fear, I will regard that person as a hero!"
Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, there is something wrong with your logic.
I took the soldiers to kill him first, and Boyan. Why do you only remember Ha Ming?
So, with a thought in his mind, he deliberately lengthened his tone: "I heard that the emperor's surname is Zhu, why didn't you change your surname to Zhu..."
"The emperor is a god and a god of immortality!"
Kazak waved his hands repeatedly and said nervously: "We are mortals, how dare we have the same surname as Changshengtian?"
Arturu patted him on the shoulder and said: "Brother Huang is here to do business. Why are you talking about those bitter things? Come on, drink!"
Kazakh and others all picked up their wine glasses: "Dry!"
Zhu Qizhen also drank it up in one gulp, and then asked: "I'm so sorry, I was just drinking wine yesterday, and I haven't discussed business yet."
Atulu laughed and said: "It doesn't matter, our cattle and sheep are very good, don't worry about selling them. I will take you to see them later. If you like them, buy them. It doesn't matter if you don't like them. They have them at home."
, you can go and see them one by one. Don’t worry, the price is absolutely fair!”
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said: "Easy to say, easy to say!"
At this time, Hasar said: "In the past, cattle and sheep were mainly slaughtered for food, and most of them were taken away by the people of Boyan. But it is different now. Businessmen from the relevant areas often come here.
We can buy them in large quantities and don’t have to worry about selling them at all.”
Zhu Qizhen knew better than him that the reason why merchants came to buy it was because the demand for cattle and sheep in the pass had increased.
Cattle are livestock and are mainly used for plowing the land.
In the past, labor was not valuable, and even landlords were reluctant to buy cattle.
Because the money to buy a cow can easily hire a large group of people to work. These people eat less than the cows and work more than the cows. Why should we spend money to buy the cows?
The situation is different now. Everyone is going out to work, and labor is becoming more and more expensive.
In the past, if you hired a tenant to farm, you would be given at most 50% of the income, but now 70% of households do not farm at all.
As labor costs continue to rise, cattle farming has become more popular.
As for sheep, they are mainly used for meat. Now that everyone has money and their consumption power has increased, the demand will naturally increase.
If there is a need, there will be an attack. If cattle and sheep are needed inside the pass, the Mongolians outside the pass will raise cattle and sheep. Both sides get what they need, and it is a win-win situation.
In addition, there are countless mines and workshops outside the customs, and manpower is being recruited everywhere. If you don't want to herd, you can also go out to work.
As long as people have enough to eat, who has the leisure to fight and kill?
Regardless of Mongolian or Han people, everyone is born in the womb and just wants to live a good and stable life.
In the past, when they had no choice but to resort to robbery, they would take risks.
It's different now. Since engaging in production can make you have enough food and clothing, who would take huge risks to rob?
Zhu Qizhen nodded: "Since we are so close to each other, I will buy all your cattle and sheep and give you a good price."
Atulu nodded and the other party was so happy that he suddenly smiled: "I will give you a discount, according to the market price, 10% off!"
His family has hundreds of cows and 500 sheep, all in one litter. This business is not small!
For this reason, he also showed the utmost sincerity and gave me a 10% discount.
Yuan Bin listened to Yahuazi and asked, "What? You just want them all?"
Let’s not talk about what you are going to do when you buy these cattle and sheep. Have you brought any money?
Zhu Qizhen didn't seem to care and said to Yuan Bin: "You go to Erkhun City today and get the banknotes!"
Yuan Bin frowned and thought to himself, "I'm leaving, why don't you stay here by yourself?"
But at this moment, I heard rapid footsteps coming from outside.
Immediately afterwards, the door curtain was lifted, and a Mongolian man hurriedly walked in, chirping a few words to Atulu.
After hearing this, Atulu immediately stood up and responded a few words in Mongolian. Then he walked to the tent and took down a pair of bows and arrows.
Yuan Bin immediately became nervous and on guard.
But Kazak and the others were seen getting up one after another, looking for weapons that they could get their hands on.
Zhu Qizhen was also confused about the situation, so he asked: "Atulu, what are you going to do?"
Aturu turned his head and said, "We'll go out to do some errands. You can continue drinking and wait for us to come back."
Zhu Qizhen frowned and couldn't help but asked: "What happened?"
Kazak said angrily: "Damn it, a group of thieves are here to steal the sheep again. We are going to hunt them down."
After speaking, several people left in a hurry.
Only Zhu Qizhen and Yuan Bin were left in the tent, as well as the steaming roasted leg of lamb.
Zhu Qizhen cooked it again, cut off a piece with a knife, and looked at Yuan Bin: "Eat some, stop standing!"
Yuan Bin was not in the mood to eat meat at this time, so he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you'd better follow me into the city first!"
Zhu Qizhen ignored him and asked, "Who is the sheep thief they are talking about?"
Yuan Bin thought for a while and said: "After Mobei was transferred to the Ming Dynasty, not everyone joined the Ming Dynasty sincerely, especially the former aristocrats. They could not accept the same status as the lower class people like Atulu. Over time, a diaspora force was formed.
, just like before, they are engaged in the business of robbing families and homes, I guess these are the people."
Zhu Qizhen ate another piece of mutton leg, chewed it carefully, and asked: "I want to ask you a question, do you think the gap between Mongolian and Chinese can be eliminated?"
Yuan Bin thought thoughtfully, and then said: "The Mongols are actually the same as the Han people, but because of their harsh conditions, they have become a serious concern of our Ming Dynasty. And now it seems that, as Atulu, Kazakh and others said, they are also
Not wanting to live the old life, I believe that the gap between Mongolian and Chinese will only become smaller and smaller until it disappears completely."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "These two days have been really fruitful, and we should get ready."
Yuan Bin quickly asked: "When is the emperor going to enter the city?"
"The time agreed with Qiqi Ke is still two days away. Now let the twenty people around you go out. I'm going to start planning!"
"Your Majesty, please give me your orders!"
"First of all...calculate how many cattle and sheep he has at home, and bring in the money. You can't let others go, right?"
Yuan Bin frowned and asked doubtfully: "The emperor still wants to buy pigeons?"
"What kind of pigeons are you buying?"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head helplessly and said: "Anyway, go get the money. I have reached an agreement with Atulu and I want all his cattle and sheep!"
Yuan Bin nodded and asked again: "I will do it now!"
"Okay, next..."
Zhu Qizhen kept issuing instructions, and a big net was spreading quietly.