Jia Ke didn't wait long in the flower hall when he heard footsteps outside the flower hall. Jia Ke looked up and saw that the soldier was leading the way, followed by a burly man in his forties, but now he had some fat on his belly.
.I think this big man is Wang Tao, the military commander.
Jia Ke didn't dare to neglect and hurried to the door of the flower hall to greet him. Wang Tao saw that Jia Ke was so sensible and nodded with satisfaction. You must know that most of the people in this frontier fortress are rough men who don't know etiquette. People like Jia Ke are so respectful and polite.
, still rare.
Wang Tao entered the flower hall and sat down on the grand master's chair in the center. Jia Ke followed him in from the outside and stood respectfully to the side waiting for questions.
Wang Tao then raised his eyes and saw that the young man in front of him was handsome and heroic. Although he was still young, he also had a majestic air about him.
In fact, when Jia Ke entered within a hundred miles of Xuanfu Town, he received reports from various passers-by and knew that the small Qianhu sent by the capital was coming. Originally, a fifteen-year-old boy sent by the capital was coming.
Wawa, Qianhu, who served as Kaiping Guard, complained quite a lot, thinking that this was nonsense. If the disciples of the wealthy families in the capital wanted to come to gild, they could just stay in the military town in the rear for a while, but Kaiping Guard was different from the Tatars.
At the front line of the confrontation, he would not be able to explain anything if something happened. I saw Jia Ke today. Although I didn’t know his abilities, I saw that he had a heroic spirit. He was relieved to have him serve as Qianhu of Kaiping Guards.
point.
Wang Tao still had a very good impression of Jia Ke, so he asked kindly: "Are you Jia Ke of Kaiping Wei Qianhu?"
Jia Ke quickly returned: "My subordinate is the new Kaiping Guard Qianhu Jia Ke."
Wang Tao added: "Do you know where Kaiping Guard is?"
Jia Ke bowed and reported back: "When my subordinates came, they had already read the map. The Kaiping Guards are at the northernmost end of Xuanfu Town, close to the grassland. They are the first line of defense against the Tatars invading our country, and they are also the first line of defense for the Tatars.
A frequent target of human harassment.”
Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction and asked: "Now that you know, you still dare to go? Do you know how many powerful generals I have, they don't dare to go there to guard it."
Jia Ke answered him: "My subordinate is also a general, and he also has some martial arts, but he is not a direct branch. If I don't risk my life and fight hard, I'm afraid I will never get ahead. Moreover, my subordinates still have some knowledge of their own martial arts."
You are confident, so you dare to go to Kaipingwei to be a member of this thousand households."
Wang Tao said to Jia Ke: "Since you are confident, I will not stop you from making achievements, but I have a few words to tell you."
Jia Ke asked respectfully: "I wonder if you have any advice, sir. I will definitely obey your orders."
Wang Tao told him: "The Kaiping Guards are no better than other places. They are said to be a place of thousands of households, but there are 2,000 soldiers stationed there. They are all elite, and there are even 600 cavalry. When you arrive, you must not show off your strength in private, but communicate with the elderly more often."
If the Tatars invade with heavy troops, they must not leave the fort, but must use the castle's advantage to confront them. Send fast horses to inform the rear, and wait for our military orders before making plans."
Jia Ke respectfully replied to Wang Tao: "Thank you for your advice. I will definitely obey your orders in my humble position."
Wang Tao was then satisfied, and then ordered Jia Ke to take out the confession documents, take out his personal seal, stamp the seal on the official certificate, and return it to him. He also ordered someone to fetch the Qianhu seal of Kaipingwei and handed it to him with his own hands.
He will take office immediately.
Jia Ke received the seal of the Kaiping Guard, said goodbye and left Jiedu Mansion. He took Liu Yu back to the inn, thinking that once the supplies were ready, he would go to Kaiping Guard to take up his post.
You must know that Kaipingwei is still more than 300 miles away from Xuanfu Town, and the number of people becomes sparse as we go. It is not like there are inns everywhere in the interior where you can rest and buy supplies.
When Jia Ke was having lunch, he set up a banquet in the room and asked Liu Yu to invite the shop owner.
After a while, Liu Yu came in with an old man in his fifties. Jia Ke immediately got up to greet him and asked the old man to sit at the table. The old man said, "I don't dare." But in the end, he couldn't refuse, so he and Jia Ke had to sit down together before the banquet.
Sit opposite each other.
Jia Ke sat opposite the old man: "I wonder what your surname is and how many years you have lived here."
The old man said politely: "I dare not bother you, but my surname is Hu. He is fifty-five years old this year. He has opened an inn here for thirty years."
After listening to the old man's words, Jia Ke first poured wine and food for the old man, and then asked: "Since the old man has been in Xuanfu Town for many years, I wonder if there is a grain store nearby or a place that sells supplies for long journeys."
The old man surnamed Hu asked: "I don't know why the guest officer wants to buy these things. These materials are controlled items and ordinary people cannot buy them casually."
Jia Ke quickly explained: "The old man misunderstood. I am an officer going to the border fortress to take up a post. I only have to travel a long way and need to buy some supplies before I can go on the road."
The old man surnamed Hu quickly apologized and said: "I was the little old man who was rude. It turns out that the guest officer is an adult, so it doesn't matter. I know someone who does this business. I can introduce him to you."
Jia Ke quickly thanked him, and then the guests and hosts had a good time. After the banquet, the old man surnamed Hu said to Jia Ke when he was leaving: "Your Excellency, please wait in the inn. I will send the waiter to call the man here. Then the Lord will discuss with him face to face."
That’s it.”
Soon the waiter came in with a middle-aged man in his thirties.
When Jia Ke asked, he found out that this person's surname was also Hu and he was related to the innkeeper, but he didn't pay much attention to the lecture. After all, it was only human nature to introduce business to one's own people.
The discussion between the two went smoothly. Jia Ke ordered ten loads of grain, one hundred kilograms of dried meat, and some camping supplies such as tents from him. A total of 30 taels of silver were spent. They agreed to deliver the goods the next day.
Both the buyer and seller were very satisfied this time. Jia Ke did not need to search for and buy supplies in an unfamiliar place. The businessman surnamed Hu was also able to earn a few taels of silver from this transaction.
Early the next morning, the businessman surnamed Hu delivered all the supplies, including a whole carriage. Jia Ke saw that their original carriage contained the luggage of himself and his soldiers. Now it could not hold so much stuff.
, so Jia Ke discussed with the businessman and spent another twenty taels of silver to buy his carriage together. The businessman named Hu was very happy and gave them a lot of horse feed.
After everything was ready, Jiaco and the others set off, heading north towards Kaipingwei.
The further north we went along the way, the more desolate it became. Fortunately, Jia Ke had the foresight to bring enough supplies. Otherwise, he would have been freezing and starving in the barren mountains.
Walking straight north from Xuanfu Town, it took five days to reach Kaipingwei.
Kaipingwei is the castle closest to the Tatars on the border. As soon as they arrived near Kaipingwei, a ranger spotted them and came up to question them. When they asked, they found out that it was the newly appointed Lord Qianhu, and they immediately dismounted and knelt down to salute.
Jia Ke asked the rangers to get up and asked them about the recent situation of the Kaiping Guards. The person who came forward to answer Jia Ke was the leader Xiaoqi Zheng Kai. This man was in his mid-twenties, strong and agile in action. At first glance, it was obvious
Battle-hardened.
Zheng Kai came to Jia Ke, knelt down on one knee, saluted Da Qian, and said loudly: "The Third Kaiping Guard Cavalry Team, Xiaoqi Zheng Kai has met Master Qian Hu."
When Jia Ke saw him kneeling and saluting, he quickly got off his horse and helped him. Liu Yu took the horse stool and put it behind Jia Keshen, asking Jia Ke to sit down. Zheng Kai stood beside Jia Ke, waiting for Jia Ke to ask questions.
Jia Ke first asked: "Who is in charge of Kaipingwei now?"
Zheng Kai replied: "All small matters are made by Mr. Wang, the Registrar. However, whenever there is a big matter, it is the Registrar Wang who convenes all the adults from hundreds of households to discuss it. Recently, only the Tatars in Kaiping Guards have been harassing them frequently. This is a big matter."
There is no decision, each of you has your own opinion on whether to defend or attack, and we have not yet reached a unified approach."
Jia Ke was silent for a moment and then asked: "What is the frequent method?"
Zheng Kai was stunned by his question, and then thought for a moment before saying: "The last few Qianhu masters were assassinated by Tatars, so they say they were harassed frequently."