A few days later, two imperial edicts were delivered to Xuanfu Town.
The first edict was to transfer Shanxi You to participate in politics, and assign Wang Xiangqian of Shoukou North Road to be the censor of You Qiandu and the governor of Xuanfu.
Note that this is a transfer, not a promotion. On the surface, Wang Xiangqian seems to have changed from a third-grade councilor to a fourth-grade governor, and was demoted one level.
As for why Wang Xiangqian is still so excited, we can only say that this is the national situation of the Ming Dynasty. The fourth-rank governor is more involved in politics than the third-rank governor.
Of course, there are reasons for the court's arrangement like this. Wang Xiangqian was promoted to the third rank immediately after being promoted to the third rank within half a month. It was a bit ridiculous, and it would be easy for him to be unable to be promoted in the future.
But judging from the current situation, the governor seems to be none other than Wang Xiangqian.
A group of old bureaucrats can always think of compromises when it comes to this kind of issue, so they have implemented an operation of clearly reducing the number of employees and actually increasing the number of employees.
Anyway, the governor is just a dispatcher, and I can be either a third-rank or a fourth-rank official, so let Wang Xiangqian go back to the fourth rank and rebuild first.
The second edict was to order Lin Tailai, the imperial envoy who inspected Xuanfu Town, to rush to the side wall of Zhangjiakou Fort to preside over the ceremony of canonizing Baihutai, the chief of the Harashen tribe on the right wing of the Northern Barbarians, as the governor and Tongzhi.
Zhangjiakou Fort is only sixty miles away from Xuanfu Town, and it takes more than half an hour to reach it on horseback. It is currently one of the most important passes in Xuanfu Town.
Originally, Lin Tailai had thought about going to Zhangjiakou Fort to inspect the Ma Market. Now that he had received the imperial edict to preside over the canonization, he wanted to go to Zhangjiakou Fort as early as possible.
The main thing is to familiarize yourself with the geographical environment first. If someone wants to rob civilian men because of their strong troops and horses, they will at least know how to retreat.
On this day, accompanied by Wang Xiangqian, who had turned into a governor, Lin Qin sent to Zhangjiakou Fort to inspect the work.
Zhangjiakou Fort is located at the bottom of a valley surrounded by mountains, only seven miles away from the border wall.
If the northern barbarians wanted to enter the interior through the mountain pass between the East and West Taiping Mountains, Zhangjiakou Fort was the place they had to pass.
Zhangjiakou Fort must also have a city wall, with a circumference of about four or five miles, which is much smaller than Xuanfu Town.
If there was no horse market, this place might just be an ordinary border fort, but with the horse market, everything starts to change.
Administratively, Zhangjiakou Fort belongs to Wanquan Youwei, and is currently guarded by a commander named Zhang. This is definitely a super high-end guard in the border fort defense.
Under normal circumstances, the defense of ordinary border forts is usually carried out by military attachés at the level of Qianhu, collectively referred to as Beiyu Qianhu or Guard Qianhu.
At this time, Zhangjiakou Fort only had two gates in the east and south. The east gate was called Yongzhen Gate and the south gate was called Chengen Gate.
Regarding the gate names of border town castles, most of them are in this style.
Commander Zhang, who was responsible for guarding Zhangjiakou Fort, was two miles outside the south gate and respectfully greeted Imperial Envoy Lin and Governor Wang.
After meeting, Lin Tailai asked curiously: "Your surname is Zhang too? What does it have to do with this Jiakou Fort? Is it a coincidence?"
Commander Zhang replied: "My ancestor, Zhang Wen, the commander of Wanquan Right Guards, built this Zhangjiakou Fort during the Xuande period."
Lin Qinchen conscientiously encouraged him and said: "It turns out that he is a hero of the country who has guarded the border for generations. What I admire most are the soldiers who guard the border in a difficult environment."
The name Zhang Wen sounds a bit familiar, oh, it collides with his follower Zuo Hufa.
However, Lin Tailai did not say anything, and the Zhang family brothers who were the protectors on the left and right also pretended to be deaf and dumb. They were not free to make fun of everything.
Afterwards, Commander Zhang invited the big guys to enter the city, but Lin Qinqin stopped and asked, "Is there Mrs. Zhong Jin in the city?"
Commander Zhang is a little confused, what do you mean, imperial envoy?
Qin Envoy Lin added in detail: "I heard earlier that Beibei Zhongjin's wife and three wives went from Xuanfu Town to the side wall of Zhangjiakou Fort. Are they in the city now?"
Commander Zhang is still confused and can't tell, boss, are you expecting her to be here or not?
Still answered truthfully: "She did pass through Zhangjiakou Fort a few days ago, but she has returned to the outside of the border wall and has not appeared inside the border wall again."
So Imperial Commissioner Lin felt relieved and followed Commander Zhang into the city.
After seeing the barracks, streets, government offices, and some private shops in the castle, Commander Zhang invited Lin Qin to climb the northern city wall.
More than ten years ago, a tall platform was built on the north city wall, with fifty-two steps and about five feet high, protruding directly from the north city wall.
There is also the Yuhuang Pavilion built on the platform, which is the commanding height of the city and functions like an enemy tower. It is now the landmark building of Zhangjiakou Fort.
After Lin Tailai boarded the Yuhuang Pavilion, under the guidance of Commander Zhang, he looked towards the north.
The East and West Taiping Mountains and the mountain pass in the middle are clearly visible, as well as the side wall built on the mountain pass, and the Qingshui River meandering through, all within the field of view.
Commander Zhang said: “Standing in Yuhuang Pavilion, you can have a clear view of all the wind and grass at the mountain pass in the north, which is very convenient for command.
Whenever it was time for trading, the Hu people would enter through the gate on the side wall of the mountain pass, and the Han merchants would come forward to greet them, and the two parties would trade along the banks of the Qingshui River."
Lin Qinqian asked: "Why is there no one around at this time and so depressed?
Where have all the people who came to trade gone? Logically speaking, it should start in April and May.”
Commander Zhang: "..."
He really didn't know how to answer this question.
Lin Qinchen asked doubtfully: "What's going on?"
Governor Wang reminded in a low voice from the side: "Didn't you personally order the temporary closure of the horse market? You also said that you would re-examine the qualifications of each tribe."
"Oh!" Lin Tailai suddenly realized. He had almost forgotten that he had given such an order, causing such a depressed situation.
This is called - a grain of sand on the top becomes a mountain when it falls.
Imperial Envoy Lin looked north again, shook his head and said: "I am really not satisfied with this. This kind of trading market is too rough, and there are many things wrong with it.
First, allowing the Beilu barbarians to pass through the border wall and penetrate several miles into our territory is a hidden danger to border security.
Secondly, both parties were trading anywhere along the Qingshui River, and the market was chaotic and extremely irregular.
Third, on-site management responsibilities are unclear and emergencies cannot be handled in a timely manner."
After hearing this, the Zhang family brothers who were following Imperial Envoy Lin all thought in unison: Do they want to draw a few lines on the ground while sitting in the restaurant, and then start collecting health fees?
When I was still the little boss of Anletang, and when I first took charge of the Hengtang Fish Market, I said the same thing.
Is the king participating in politics? Governor Wang asked curiously: "Then what do you think?"
Lin Qinqian pointed to the side wall of the mountain pass seven miles away and said: "A new castle should be built close to the side wall specifically as a trading venue.
After passing through the side wall, the barbarians directly entered the newly built castle and completed transactions inside the castle. This would prevent them from wandering around outside and reduce potential safety hazards.
In the castle, a city government office was set up, with officials and hundreds of soldiers stationed there to manage transactions on site and maintain market order.
Once something happens, respond in time and close the city gate immediately. How can the criminals escape?"
Governor Wang nodded frequently when he heard this. Although his uncle often spoke nonsense, he always made sense, at least it sounded self-defeating.
After finishing speaking, Imperial Commissioner Lin kindly patted Governor Wang on the shoulder and said encouragingly:
"Xiao Wang, you are the governor now, so I have to trouble you to handle this matter. It is a great achievement to give you a new official who has taken office.
But when you show your merits to the court after it is completed, don't forget to explain that it came from my instructions and ideas, and that it received my strong support."
Governor Wang: ""
Wang Xiangqian is now the governor! Someone who can speak to the governor in this tone must be an old man, right?
After Qin Envoy Lin finished instructing the next step of Ma City, he remembered another task of his and asked Commander Zhang: "You can't see the situation beyond the border wall here. Also, how are you going to do the canonization ceremony?"
Commander Zhang pointed to the side wall of the mountain pass seven miles away and said: "Then let's move up the road, continue walking to the side, and climb up to the watchtower on the side wall to look outside the fortress."
So Lin Tailai came out of Zhangjiakou Fort again and headed towards the mountain pass wall in the north.
When we got closer, we found that there were two watchtowers next to each other on this side wall, and there was a gate under each watchtower.
The word "horse" is written on one wall door, and the word "market" is written on the other wall door. Together they are "horse market".
Then Qin Envoy Lin entered the side wall, cordially expressed condolences to the soldiers guarding the side pier, and then boarded the watchtower above the character "horse".
Gazing at Saibei outside the border wall and the scattered cyclists moving back and forth, Lin Tailai finally felt like he was at the forefront of the border.
In the traditional sense, the mountain pass and the side wall at the foot are the dividing line between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Lu. Behind you to the south is the Han Dynasty, and to the north is the Hu Dynasty.
However, at the limit of his field of vision, Lin Qinqi could vaguely see some buildings that looked like houses.
Commander Zhang then introduced: "The war on this border has subsided in the past twenty years, and some captives in the Kalashen region on the opposite side have built houses and settled near the border wall. This may be to the benefit of the horse market."
Lin Qinqi could only say that the situation is really different now. These northern rebels actually dared to settle close to the border wall.
A few decades ago, this group of captives would have been stolen from their homes by the Ming Dynasty's border troops and beheaded to demonstrate their merits.
Lin Tailai asked again: "How will the canonization ceremony be conducted specifically?"
Commander Zhang pointed to the north and continued to introduce: "If there is a larger canonization event, a temporary camp will be set up outside the border wall, a tent will be built, and an earthen platform will be built.
Then our ministers went to the temporary camp and the Beilu chiefs went to the temporary camp to receive their seal.
To be continued...