With people from the Prince-in-Law's Mansion following him, the food purchase went much faster, and carriages and guards were also dispatched.
It took more than half an hour.
The sky is still dark and the carriage has been loaded with food.
In addition to the 1,500 kilograms of rice, white flour, and buckwheat noodles from the grain store, the Prince-in-law also collected 600 kilograms of rice and white flour for a total of six carriages.
Knowing that Brother Jiu and Jiu Fujin were in the palace, the husband-in-law also prepared two carts of other food, one cart of sheep and one cart of pigs, all of which were alive.
This adds up to eight carriages, and the team cannot move any faster.
Erhe knew it in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He patted the steward on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll take note of this favor. I'll make arrangements for you when you come to the capital for the New Year!"
The steward hurriedly said: "It's not easy for a young person to receive merit. We, the prince-in-law here, must be careful."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Erhe smiled, but in his heart he wanted to curse.
He was very thorough and even arranged for fifty Mongolian armored men to follow him.
Let's see who has the patience.
"Kick, kick, kick, kick..."
As the sky turned white, a convoy also left the town.
Princess Duanjing had been married to Karaqin for eight years. In addition to the population brought by the capital, the princess' mansion also had some Mongolian handymen.
So no one can get out of her place, but there is news coming in.
She looked indifferent and listened to the news from outside.
The guards and soldiers stationed at the station have left the town.
They came here to buy rice. If the princess was ill, the husband-in-law's house would make arrangements.
Princess Duanjing stood up and looked in the direction of the station with regret.
I should have thought of a way to send the letter yesterday.
If you don't ask for anything else, just send the Erden family away.
Looking at the prince's face, he would not allow his family to continue living in the princess mansion...
Princess Duanjing is not a brave person, and she also knows that the marriage between Manchu and Mongolia is a national policy, and that she, the princess, represents the dignity of the court in Mongolia.
She also studied since she was a child and knows what etiquette, justice and integrity are.
But the human heart is the most elusive.
She was just too lonely, thinking of the capital, and the round-faced guard who used to be on duty in Ningshou Palace, so she kept that young man by her side to talk...
*
Karahe Tun Palace.
Brother Jiu stood at the entrance of the palace, looking to the north.
There was no movement.
Today is already twenty.
Erhe hasn't sent anyone back yet.
Shouldn't the grain trucks drive slowly and people come back first to deliver the letters?
If you don’t save enough food, you will have to delay purchasing it elsewhere.
"What's going on, old man? Are you tired of doing things? Or are you tired a while ago and are you lazy now?"
Brother Jiu was dissatisfied and complained to Shu Shu.
Pigs and sheep are being killed these days, but food is still being consumed.
Now there are only two hundred kilograms left. One meal tonight, and tomorrow there will be only porridge.
Shu Shu saw Brother Jiu worried about food and said: "Don't worry, the cow at the post station is injured. We will eat beef tonight..."
The beef is very filling, so you can make multigrain porridge tonight.
In this way, two hundred kilograms of rice can be moved to tomorrow.
Brother Jiu took a breath and said: "If we haven't sent anyone back, that means we have enough food. If it doesn't arrive tonight, it should arrive tomorrow."
Cao Yueying and Zhang Tingzhan came to look for the ninth elder brother.
They started eating sheep at the age of seventeen. They had different ideas at that time.
But after eating it for four consecutive days, my face turned green.
Didn’t Chunlin bring two carts of vegetables from Changping?
On the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days, every meal was a combination of meat and vegetables, which looked good.
Starting from the 17th century, it was basically mutton and pork, and at most there were just a few green vegetables stewed in the broth.
Both of them worked in the Prince's Mansion, so they knew that the food in the Prince's Mansion was not like this.
Afterwards, the two of them realized that they were short of food.
"Jiuye, Jiufujin..."
The two came forward to greet him.
Seeing that the two of them had something to do with Brother Jiu, Shu Shu returned the gift and went back to the palace.
"Master Jiu, can you ask someone to divert the food from the stations along the way and make up for it later..."
Zhang Tingzhan said.
From Gubeikou to here, there is a palace and five inns in the middle. Two hundred catties of grain are moved to each place, which is one thousand two hundred catties.
Now everyone is here, just waiting for the emperor's reply.
Once the emperor has circled the address of the palace, everyone can return to Beijing.
Brother Ninth looked at Zhang Tingzhan and said: "The food has been moved here with great effort, and they have lost money. Let's go back in a few days. Is there nothing to eat on the way?"
In the post stations outside the customs, there are few officials traveling in winter, so the inn stations have countless reserves.
Zhang Tingzhan was stuck. He really didn't expect this and looked at Cao Yueying.
Brother Jiu also looked over.
Cao Yueying said: "If Lord Er has not come back tomorrow, we can only speak to the Mongols first."
There are twenty Mongolian households in the canyon, with about a hundred people. If I count, each family saves one hundred kilograms of grain, and borrows half of it, which is five hundred kilograms. As now, each meal mainly consists of cattle and sheep, and they can survive for three more days.
sky,
When he and Zhang Tingzhan were surveying in the valley, they had dinner at a Mongolian house.
Although they did not farm, they prepared food, including flour and millet from the Kalaqin tribe.
Fried fruits are cooked on the noodles to make milk tea, and millet is made into fried rice to replenish the food.
Their diet is mainly fish, meat, and milk, and they don't eat much grain, so their reserves are limited.
But it's winter now, and the mountains and roads will be closed due to heavy snowfall in half a month, so I have some food reserves.
Brother Jiu immediately shook his head and said: "No, it's better to search for them than to search for the inn or the general military office of Gubeikou. It's too shabby and makes them think that the Qing Dynasty is poor..."
Having said this, he felt that he should trust Erhe more and said: "If we haven't sent anyone back, that's good news. We should have bought enough food. He went to Haraqin on the 17th and arrived on the 18th.
If we go back, we will arrive tomorrow at the latest, so just wait..."
*
In the palace, Shu Shu looked at Xiao Song and said, "How many kilograms of meat have been produced?"
The palace's cow's leg was broken, so it had to be killed. Just now, Xiaosong went to see the cow being slaughtered.
It was an adult bull that had gone to the canyon to deliver meals to the guards a few days ago.
Xiaosong said: "The six hundred and twenty kilograms of cattle produced 35% clean meat, two hundred and twenty kilograms, but there are still about a hundred kilograms of water and more than a hundred kilograms of cow bones..."
Shu Shu calculated in her mind.
The beef is only half cooked, which is 110 kilograms of meat and about 50 kilograms of water, which is nearly one kilogram per person on average.
It was really a meal and it was gone.
The palace manager finally knew what he was doing, and he injured the cow without anyone's instructions.
It would be better if I had two meals a day.
But Beijing has long been accustomed to three meals a day, and they also had three meals a day along the way.
Xiaosong and Walnut both knew about the food shortage.
"Are we going to divide the troops? Send Master Zhang and Master Cao back to the capital in the afternoon. The two people on the left and right are also sick. Arrange for fifty guards to follow..." Walnut said.
The reason why food accidents occurred is because there are too many people, so we just need to reduce the number of people.
Shu Shu sighed and said: "For those who are coming out, even if they are sent back to Beijing, they should at least prepare dry food for one day..."
In fact, we are not even ready for that.
In addition to eating meat constantly, I also have three hundred kilograms of Dongzi vegetables left.
The reason why it was stopped a few days ago was because the rice was wasted and not used properly, so there is still a lot of it for the time being.
Xiaosong said: "We have been sweeping up the Rehe area in the past few days. This afternoon we will go for a run around to see if there are any roe deer and deer..."
Shu Shu nodded, that was fine, even if there was not enough food, eating meat would be the second best option.
Wait until noon, and eat beef stew in a big pot.
beef……
Everyone was really fascinated by the lake.
There are pieces of beef as big as a fist per person, a large bowl of beef offal soup, and a bowl of multigrain porridge made with beef soup.
After finishing the lunch, everyone felt as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood. Except for those who stayed behind at the palace, all the other guards were dragged out to hunt by Chunlin and Fuqing.
I went out for two hours and came back at dusk. There was a burst of joy and people were shouting from a distance.
It turned out that I was lucky enough to catch up with a group of deer in the afternoon. There were more than forty deer of all sizes, and everyone was able to wrap them up, leaving only more than two hundred pheasants and hares.
The hunting team was divided into two teams, and there was a competition in the afternoon.
It was agreed that the winner would wait to eat, and the loser would start grilling the meat.
A bonfire was lit at the official camp outside the palace.
From far away on the official road, the sound of rapid horse hooves could be heard.
It's just that it's not coming from the north, but from the southwest.
It was the postman who brought the letter from the capital.
This is the emperor's reply.
Brother Jiu was a little surprised when he received the letter.
I originally thought that the letter from Beijing would arrive tomorrow afternoon, but it turned out to be a day early.
After reading Kangxi's reply, Brother Jiu was a little dissatisfied.
It’s just a palace location, why do we need to appoint Tianjian?
If he had known that this was going to happen, wouldn't it be nice if he brought an official from Qintian Prison with him this time?
If the next step is to urge him to return to Beijing, then this errand can be regarded as an anticlimax and come to an end.
Brother Ninth asked people to invite Zhang Tingzhan, Cao Yueying, Fu Qing, Chunlin, Cao Shun, Gao Bin and others to come over, tell the emperor's reply, and discuss matters about returning to Beijing.
"It took three and a half days when I came here, and I tried to walk for two days when I went back..."
Brother Ninth said.
He was really scared.
No wonder it is said that the three armies have not moved, and food and grass have gone first.
This logistical supply is so important.
Fortunately, they were guarding the edge of the paddock and there was still room for hunting around, otherwise it would have been chaos.
As for the departure time, we still have to wait for Erhe’s food to arrive.
Brother Jiu said: "If we don't send anyone back today, we should be on the way. If we arrive tomorrow, we will set off back to Beijing the day after tomorrow. If we don't arrive tomorrow, we will send someone to have a look."
Is it a shortcut through the paddock and everyone is lost?
Brother Jiu is really worried.
Everyone is not very worried either.
Today is the fourth day of a round trip of 600 miles, so there should be some movement.
*
On the official road, everyone was hurrying in the dark.
The leader of the bodyguards of Erhu Mansion looked at Erhe in front of him.
He was told by his consort to pay attention to whether Erhe would send someone ahead of him on the way.
If that's the case, the person will be intercepted.
As they followed the grain truck, fifty people came out as escorts, followed by a hundred people.
As a result, this man didn't have any manpower to deliver the letter, but he could see that he was impatient and just hurried on.
A journey of three hundred miles. Yesterday I got up early and drove late and walked one hundred and fifty miles. Today I worked very early again.