The inn where Xia Xun and Ximen Qing stayed was called "Yelai Inn". This name is very common. You can find inns with this name in almost any big city, but they do not belong to the same owner. Yuelai Inn
The name is taken from the saying of Confucius: "It is not a pleasure to have friends come from afar." So it became a favorite name for people who open inns.
But of course there can only be one inn with this name in a city, so it belongs to whoever uses it first. Because of this, people who often walk around know that the one that can be called Yuelai Inn must be this one.
The oldest inn in the city, the oldest inn may not be the highest standard inn, but it must be a relatively well-behaved place.
When Xia Xun and Ximen Qing checked in, it was already dark. When the moonlit night fell, it was not advisable to go shopping in the dark, so they simply ate something in the inn and ordered two bathtubs.
The water temperature was good, and I had a nice bucket bath.
While the two of them were soaking in the hot water with their eyes closed and concentrating, the last bus of the day from Four Seasons Car Company arrived before the city gate was locked. The guests on the car came down one after another and looked around for accommodation. Two of them were not businessmen.
I chose a nearby inn to check in, but went from inn to inn to find out where a man named Gao Sheng and a man named Xia Xun were staying.
The inn would not tell anyone about its guests' information casually, but these two merchants had badges of Jinan Prefecture officials. With this badge, they had the right to ask the inn for all the guest information they needed.
Finally, they got what they wanted at the Yuelai Inn. Soon, they also moved into this inn. The shopkeeper of the Yuelai Inn and two guys who knew about it were given a gag order, prohibiting them from revealing their true identities.
Their public identities are: Wang Ming, Wang Siyuan, uncle and nephew, both businessmen in Jinan.
Ximen Qing went out early the next morning. He had to contact the various vehicles that had arrived separately, and he also had to meet with people outside the customs. These secret relationships were the result of years of hard work by his father and son, so it was naturally inconvenient.
Let Xia Xun know that even though Xia Xun has never done business, he still understands these rules. What's more, he originally wanted to do it only once and leave all subsequent transactions to the scapegoat expert named Cao, so he didn't want to understand these things.
Xia Xun waited leisurely in the inn until noon. Ximen Qing came back excitedly. When he saw him, he said: "The winter food over there is in a hurry, and they are eager to trade. They have sent a messenger over a long time ago. I have already
We made an appointment and asked him to wait there. Come on, let's go now." Upon hearing this, Xia Xun hurriedly left the inn together with Ximen Qing.
The Peiping at this time was naturally very different from the Beijing he remembered more than six hundred years later. Even if Yongle moved the capital and rebuilt Peiping, it would still be very different. Even so, every move and every eye
, what you see and hear will still give people the feeling of a majestic city in the world.
There are all kinds of people walking on the street, including all kinds of people of color, letting you know that this city involves the world. From time to time, there will be a few elephants leisurely walking past you with their long trunks swinging. These are all cultivated by Yuan people who believe deeply in Buddhism.
It was abandoned here when I fled Dadu. From time to time, a group of officers and soldiers with clanging armor would pass by, in neat formations, with murderous intent. However, the residents in the city had become accustomed to it. The peddlers continued to hawk, and the shoppers continued to shop, without receiving the slightest hint of harassment.
disturb.
Is this the capital of the next two hundred years or so of the Ming Dynasty, which does not cede territory, accept tributes, claim vassal status, or make peace with each other, where the emperor guards the gates of the country, and the emperor dies in the country?
Walking in the market, Xia Xun's eyes were filled with novelties and his heart was filled with emotions.
This was not the first time for Ximen Qing to come here. He had no intention of admiring the scenery and just led Xia Xun forward. The meeting place between the two parties was in the guest room in the backyard of a leather goods store. There was a sign hanging at the door. Xia Xun took a careful look at it.
, it said "Xie's Leather Goods". Ximen Qing took Xia Xun into the store, whispered a few words to the shopkeeper, and was immediately let into the backyard. There was a big man waiting in the guest room in the backyard.
Although this man is dressed in Han Chinese clothes, and his hairstyle and appearance are all according to Han customs, his thick eyebrows, curly beard, high bridge of nose, and sharp eyes can still make people vaguely look like a prairie man.
Breath. He and Ximen Qing had obviously met each other before. As soon as he saw Ximen Qing, he stood up, clasped his fists, and said in slightly stiff Chinese: "Brother Gao came so quickly. This must be the Xia Xun that Brother Gao mentioned."
Brother Xia."
Xia Xun returned the courtesy and said, "It's me. I wonder what I call you?"
Ximen Qing smiled and said: "Brother Xia, this good man is called Lakshen, and he is a close confidant of the leader of the Haramanglai tribe, Boriti China. Lakshen, this is Xia Dong who wants to buy a large amount of fur and animal sinews from you.
Lord. Lord Xia is very wealthy and powerful in Shandong, and he has a very strong backer behind him. Not only does he need a large amount of goods this time, but he will continue to buy from you in the future. If you can connect with this line, your department will
The days ahead will be much better.”
Lakshen showed a happy smile on his face: "Oh, yes, I...I have already heard from the person who informed me of my arrival."
Lakshen let the two of them into their seats, but he stood upright. Without even saying a polite word, he immediately said straight to the point: "Niguchi Sukqi Khan has always hoped to fight back to the Central Plains and regain the capital. But your Ming Dynasty
His Royal Highness the King of Yan is very powerful. He defeated our Khan's army every time and drove them far away. They fought back and forth, but we small tribes who only guarded a small piece of grassland and had no strength to move.
It was a disaster.
We have no salt, no rice, no cloth, no iron pots, and no medicinal materials. Life is very difficult. There are not many middle-aged people in our tribe. Most of the people left behind are old people, women and children. They are weak. If there is no food,
If you eat, you will starve to death; if you don’t have clothes, you will freeze to death; if you don’t have medicinal materials, you will die of illness easily.”
As he spoke, he emphasized his tone with powerful movements: "Our Lord Boritichi doesn't care about these damn wars. He just hopes that our people can live well and that we can raise our whips and sing every day.
Go herding with a happy song. We can provide you with all the furs and sinews you want. These are the best materials for making armor and crossbows. But I want to know how much money you can give us? And
, I must make it clear in advance that if you want so many goods at one time, I have no way to transport them in. You have to find a way by yourself."
Xia Xun wanted to laugh when he heard this. Is this also a businessman? Before I could do anything, he first took out all his trump cards. Isn’t he willing to let me lower the price? If he does business like this, he will get a lot of money.
Loss? But that’s why Xia Xun couldn’t bear to lower the price too low. The money was paid by King Qi, and the other party was a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people who were waiting for food. Xia Xun really couldn’t bear to listen to them.
A mouthful of porridge and a few pennies on a piece of cloth.
Xia Xun had some good intentions, and the other party was asking for something. With Ximen Qing's help and mediation, the two parties quickly settled on the price. Ximen Qing smiled and said: "Lak Shen, to be honest, this price is really low."
, but you also know that we are responsible for bringing the freight in, managing it up and down, and clearing the checkpoints, which all cost money."
Lakshen nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand, those officials are more greedy than jackals."
Ximen Qing smiled and said: "I know that what you need most is tea, cloth, food and medicine, but in order not to attract attention, we did not bring any physical objects this time. The transaction is mainly in treasure currency. Is that okay?
"
Lakshen frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and nodded happily: "No problem! The Ming Dynasty's treasure banknotes are also valid here. We can use the treasure banknotes to buy things from the Jurchens, as well as the Han people in the west and the west.
There are many merchants, and they trade with us, but they are not willing to accept these things that are difficult to carry and difficult for them to sell. When we have money, we can buy grain and medicinal materials directly from them. Besides, the people we escorted over in the car,
You can also use the money to buy some daily necessities near Peiping and then transport them back quietly."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Okay, then you can inform your clan leader to prepare the goods."
Lakshen glared and said, "When do you want it? Are you lucky enough to come in?"
Xia Xun said: "We will take care of these things. You just need to be prepared. As soon as there is news, you can start shipping the goods immediately!"
Lakshen patted his chest and said, "No problem, our stuff has been prepared and can be shipped out at any time!"
At this point, he suddenly remembered something, slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, I have a gift here that our patriarch wants to give to our distinguished friend Xia Xun."
He turned around, strode to the wall, and took a large package from the chair. The package seemed to be in tatters, but as soon as he opened it, Xia Xun and Ximen Qing's eyes lit up. What a beautiful fox.
The fur, the three fox furs, are all fiery red, like a ball of flame. If you touch it gently with your palm, you can immediately feel its softness and warmth.
Lakshen held three flaming fox skins in his arms and said solemnly to Xia Xun: "We adults say that it was you, the noble one, who saved our tribe. Otherwise, in this cold winter, our old people will starve to death.
Women and children will be taken as slaves by other tribes, while the young and strong men will become horse bandits who only know how to burn, kill and plunder, and become a group of inhumane beasts. Our Hala Manglai tribe will not be able to
Reexist.
This is the best fire fox skin, caught by the best hunter. The arrow only penetrated its eyes, so there is no scar on the fur. Even on our grasslands, it is an extremely rare treasure.
Lord Thechna asked me to bring it as a gift to our most distinguished friend and benefactor. Please accept it."
Lakshen stretched his arms forward and bent down deeply.
Xia Xun smiled and happily took the fire fox leather. He began to feel that this trip to Peking was much easier than he expected. Maybe he would be able to complete his mission soon, return home in glory, and marry a new wife...
On the Haramanglai grassland, scattered snowflakes were floating in the air, melting before they fell to the ground.
The grassland in early winter looks like a lifeless wasteland. Large and small felt bags are scattered on the wilderness. The largest one in the middle, a milky white felt tent, is the tent of the leader of the Haramglai tribe.
At this time, the left and right sides of the tent were filled with elders and dignitaries of the clan. The one sitting at the top of the table alone was Boriti China, who was wearing a leopard skin jacket. He yelled: "Xiribari, can you please let me save my worries? Do you still think of me as your father! Do you still think of me as the clan leader?"
For the survival of my whole family, I finally managed to contact a big buyer from the Central Plains who could pay us enough money to allow our family, young and old, to survive the cold winter. You actually want to sabotage it? What are you trying to do with those young people? ?Don’t think that I, Boritichina, am already old, dazzled, and deaf. You think that I don’t even know the things you did behind my back!”
Standing in front of him was an arrogant and rebellious young man. Facing his furious father, he looked disapproving and said, "Father, what you sold to the people of the Ming Dynasty were all used to make fine weapons. They use these things to make sharp weapons, which in turn are used on us. If the Great Khan knows about it, will he let you go?"
Boritiechi waved his hand heavily and said angrily: "Don't mention the Great Khan to me. Our tribe was in a dilemma of life and death. Where was he when we were in poverty? In the white disaster the year before last, so many people in our tribe froze to death and starved to death. Where was he when he was a human being? I am the leader of the Haramglai tribe. I am only responsible for the men, women, and children of this tribe. I only want my people to survive. What do you know, you stupid kid? You are just like Elbek. , do you ever want to fight back to the Central Plains? That’s just a dream. If we had this ability, we wouldn’t have asked people to drive us out in the first place!”
The young man smiled brighter and more arrogantly after hearing this, like a young lion standing in front of an aging lion king, with a stern look in his eyes, implying provocation and contempt: "Father, you are old, are you really Old. You gave your sons a strong body, but you didn't give us a brave and strong heart, because you are too cowardly! However, what you didn't give us, Changshengtian gave us. Changshengtian He has given us wisdom, given us courage, and given us strength.”
He glanced at Boritichi with disdain and said coldly: "Father, I feel that you are no longer suitable to be the leader of our tribe. I, Shiribari, am more qualified to lead our tribe than you, because The leader our Haramglai tribe needs is a lion, not a sheep."
"What? You beast, how dare you speak to me like this, you... I will banish you and drive you out of the tribe, you... you..."
Boritichi felt dizzy for a while. He quickly stepped back and sat down with his hands on the table. The young man stood proudly and said, "Father, as the leader of the clan, you will only lead us to escape and avoid the conscription of the Great Khan." , what was the result of evading the Ming army’s encirclement and suppression for so many years? We originally had 80,000 tribesmen and were a very powerful tribe on the grassland. What has become of us now?”
His voice became louder and louder, and he glared at his father fiercely, approaching step by step: "My eldest brother Haribari was killed during the battle with the Ming army. What were you doing at that time? I was still very young at that time, and I followed him all the time. Next to you, I can see clearly that you have been urging the tribesmen to escape quickly. You always said that the army is invincible. If we can fight, we will not be driven back to the north of the Great Wall. Your only way to protect the tribesmen is to escape! That is Huang The methods used by sheep, who are we? We are the warriors of Genghis Khan, who in the world is invincible?"
He suddenly raised his palms and sang loudly in Mongolian. The voice was majestic and magnificent, as if it came from an urn:
"Only I, the Great Khan,
Holding banner and flag in hand.
I can’t see the river or the sea below,
There are no clouds in sight.
There is no Shura in heaven,
The earth also has no spirit.
Heaven and earth,
Prostrate yourself in silence.
What a stupid clown,
And dare to be a horse hoof..."
The impassioned singing echoed in the felt tent, and the tribal leaders who stood for a while were shocked. As they sang, thinking of the invincible majesty of the Yuan army in those days, some people couldn't help but sing along.
Get up. Boritiechi yelled angrily: "Shut up, everyone!"
The singing stopped suddenly, and Shirebaz burst out laughing. He laughed for a while, then suddenly stopped and asked: "Father, do you know where my second brother Ulanbaz has gone?"
Boritichina gasped, and his lungs were like bellows, making a shushala sound: "You...didn't you say that he went to Khan?"
Shirebari smiled strangely: "It's okay to tell you now. Yes, the second brother went to join the Great Khan, but... it was not Nikuchi Sukqi Khan, but a powerful khan in the west, that
Khan once said, 'Although the world is big, there is no room for two monarchs', and he wants to be the king of the world."
Bori Tiechina thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened in horror. He stood up from the table and said, "What did you say? Ulan Bage defected to the lame Tiemur?"
Xireba replied seriously: "To be precise, we led the lame man to the east..."
Boritichi sat back on the felt, gasped a few times, and said in a hoarse voice: "What about you? What are you going to do? Like your second brother, you want to destroy the four great khanates.
, but the guy who claims to be the heir of Genghis Khan, please come back and be our Khan?"
Shireba said: "No! He is not of the blood of the Golden Family and is not worthy to rule all of us Mongolians. I think with the current strength of our Great Khan, as long as we can unite, instead of being as timid as you, just
If we know how to escape, we can restore our past glory. I think that as long as I lead my people to go to the Great Khan and be reused by the Great Khan, our people will no longer suffer from hunger like now."
Boritiechina sneered: "Childish! We, the clansmen, old and young, are nothing but a burden. The Great Khan is not willing to take him with him when he is running for his life. Are you going to join him? Haha...
"
Shirebari said sternly: "That's because we have been running away and being cowards, so we were abandoned by the Khan. Now I want to do something, an earth-shattering event..."
A strange smile appeared on his face and he said: "As long as I succeed, the Great Khan will reuse me and take me in. In that way, we will no longer be wandering abandoned children."
Boritiechna shouted angrily: "I am the leader of the clan, and I will not allow you to do this!"
Shirebari sneered: "Father, you have disappointed the people. Do you think they will still listen to your orders?"
Boritiechi was startled when he heard that there was something in his words. He looked around and saw only a pair of cold eyes. Boritichi's knees went weak and he fell to the ground weakly.