These soldiers, who had just transformed from civilians to warriors, had personally participated in some battles under Mu En's devilish training, and their response speed was very fast. Of course, this was also due to the timely warning of the alarm.
The merchants were arranged in the middle of the shelter composed of camels and cargo boxes. The soldiers were waiting with crossbows and swords. However, after a long time, the thundering sound of horse hooves did not come. Mu En led a few of his followers to
We greeted him at the place where the arrow was launched.
When Yang Hao saw Tang Yanyan pinching his nose and pinching his boots with two fingers and rushing over, he smiled and said, "Actually, it doesn't stink at all."
Tang Yanyan rolled his eyes cleverly and said angrily: "Of course you can't smell it yourself."
In fact, even if there is a smell, it is not easy to smell it in this open place, but the girl loves cleanliness, so she is psychologically repelled. Yang Hao didn't have time to say more, laughed, took the boots, patted the sand off his socks,
He hurriedly put on his boots, tied the straps tightly, and stood up with his sword in hand.
After a while, Mu Kui came back on horseback and said from a distance: "Sir, there is no need to panic. We are meeting a tribe that is also rushing to the Yeli tribe for a meeting. Now Mu En is interrogating them about their origins.
." Yang Hao ordered his soldiers to remain on alert. He went out to greet them, got on a war horse, and asked, "How many people are coming and what's the situation?"
Mukui said: "They have more than two hundred people and more than twenty carts, all dressed as Qiang and Han people. When our whistle blows, they are also panicked, and they quickly set up formations to protect the carts and prepare to do something."
Zhan. My subordinates have carefully observed them. They are old and young, as well as women and children. Their clothes are messy and their weapons are all kinds of."
After hearing this, Yang Hao felt relieved and kicked his horse and said: "Let's go and show me. If everyone is going to the meeting of the Yeli clan, please don't get into conflicts because of misunderstandings."
Yang Hao and Mukui rushed over a hillside, and saw more than two hundred people on the yellow land in front of them, many on war horses. They closely guarded the more than ten carts and some women and children in the middle, separated by half an arrow.
On the ground, Muen was riding alone, with empty hands, talking to the Qiang people who had formed a formation to protect themselves.
Yang Hao hurriedly stopped the more than 20 guards who came with him, reined in his horse and stood there waiting. As soon as these people of his appeared, the Qiang people who had formed a formation to protect themselves couldn't help but commotion again. Mu En exchanged words with them for a while.
Conveniently, a horse came out, and immediately there was a young man in his twenties. From a distance, he saw him talking to Mu En. Mu En pointed at Yang Hao from time to time, and it seemed that he was introducing himself.
identity.
After a while, Mu En and the young man came side by side. Yang Hao had already ordered the soldiers to put away their weapons to avoid causing fear to the other side. When he saw them coming, he galloped forward to greet them with his sword pressed.
.
Mu En introduced in a loud voice: "Sir, this person is Tuoba Yan, the young leader of the Bailingqiang tribe in Hengshan. Brother Tuoba, this is my Lord Yang Hao, the prefect of Luling."
The young man has a strong figure, and his movements astride the waves while galloping from a distance are very soft and coordinated. He is obviously a master of riding and shooting. His skin color is very rough, and his dark skin makes his face look more like a leopard's.
The strong and vigorous figure is slightly older, but the eyes are very sharp, and they look very intently.
During this period, Yang Hao used troops against the Qiang people and had put a lot of effort into the large and small tribes. He knew the larger tribes very well. When Mu En mentioned the Bai Ling clan, he knew their identity. Bai Ling clan talked about it
They belong to the same clan as the Xiazhou Li family, and are both descendants of the Xianbei royal family, but their tribe returned to the Xiazhou grassland much earlier than the Northern Wei Dynasty collapsed and returned to the grassland.
When the Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty wore Han clothes, learned Chinese, and even changed his surname to a Chinese surname, it aroused opposition from some Tuoba nobles. Some of them refused to change their surnames, so they left the imperial capital and returned to the grasslands. Among these tribes
There is the Bai Ling clan. Over the past three hundred years, some of these tribes were annexed by other Qiang tribes, and some were annihilated by Tubo, Uighur or Han armies. The Bai Ling clan's territory became smaller and smaller, and finally they were in the grassland where the jungle was strong.
Unable to survive, they moved to the east of Hengshan and lived among the Han people.
After the fall of Tuoba Wei, some of the Xianbei people who stayed in the Central Plains integrated into the Han people, and some fled back to the grasslands to integrate into the Qiang people. With their advanced culture, they became the leaders of the Qiang tribes. Now they occupy Xiazhou and maintain the grassland.
The true nature of the tribe. And those tribesmen who were the first to return to the grasslands because they refused to integrate are now more sinicized than them.
Most of Bai Ling's people now make a living by selling salt. Yanzhou and Lingzhou in Xixia are both salt-producing places. The main products they produce are green salt and white salt. Because of their pure quality, they are better than the salt of the Song Dynasty.
It was plentiful and cheap, so it was very popular among the Han people. However, in the Song Dynasty, in view of the lack of sales of locally produced salt, tax revenue was greatly reduced, so the Song Dynasty imposed strict laws and banned the sale of green salt. In this way,
, almost all the people of the Bai Ling clan are private salt traders.
The imperial court banned green salt to raise tax revenue, but your products are more expensive than others and the quality is not as good as others. You can imagine how the people will choose, so the Qiang who want to sell green salt and the Qiang who want to buy green salt
The Han people are very friendly to the Bai Ling clan who sells smuggled salt. Among the Qiang tribes in Hengshan, the Bai Ling clan is also relatively wealthy and civilized.
When he heard that this man was Yang Hao, the prefect of Luling, the young man glanced at him in surprise. However, this man had dark skin and a big beard. When he showed a shocked face, his eyes were only slightly widened, so it was hard to tell.
Too many expressions. He looked at Yang Hao, who was all dressed in Han military uniforms, with bright armor and bright swords and guns. Then he showed a look of relief, hurriedly touched his chest and saluted, and said respectfully: "Bai Lingshi Tuoba Yan, I have seen you before."
Master Yang Hao."
"Young Patriarch, please forgive me." Yang Hao also saluted him and said with a smile: "We were heading to the Yeli tribe. We heard the warning, so we came to investigate. The Young Patriarch and these tribesmen also went there.
Are you from the Yeli Clan’s meeting?”
A smile appeared on Tuoba Yan's face: "Yes, sir, your Majesty will convene the Qiang people in Hengshan to discuss exchanges and sales of goods. I, Bai Ling, am now engaged in business, how can I not come? I will lead you here.
I took twenty cartloads of goods purchased from the Central Plains and went to the Yeli tribe to sell them to other grassland tribes. I also bought some green salt and white salt and came back. At the same time, I also wanted to see if there were any other ways to make a profit.
After all, it is not appropriate to rely on selling salt..."
When he said this, he showed a faint look of embarrassment. After all, private sales of green salt were prohibited in the Central Plains, and he was obviously smuggling. At this moment, he was facing a prefect of the Song Dynasty. Of course, some words were difficult to say. But he
He is not afraid to make it clear that the Song Dynasty government cracked down on private salt dealers within its jurisdiction and had no control over their Qiang village. Moreover, in order to gain a foothold, the Han prefect wanted to do business with the Qiang people in Hengshan, and many of them were not easy to bring to the table.
Everyone has his or her own privacy regarding the topics we have come up to talk about. Big brother, don’t talk about second brother...
Yang Hao nodded and said: "I see. Since it was a false alarm, that's it. I have brought many merchants with me here. Maybe you can find mutually beneficial partners. Now the merchants are a little frightened, and I still need to return.
Appease. Young patriarch, although you choose a place to camp, I will restrain your subordinates and do not disturb you."
Tuoba said hurriedly: "Excuse me, sir. Since you have already camped here, I will move to three miles upstream and set up camp."
The two of them circled their horses and returned to their camps. After a while, they saw Bai Ling's team of men and horses appearing from the slope. Bai Ling's tribesmen were riding on their horses, looking here and there, pointing, and seemed quite curious. Immediately
There are also some women, all wearing white robes and curtains on their heads, which are used to block the wind and sand and the sun when traveling in the northwest wilderness. Some women lift their curtains and look here curiously. From a distance
Although their facial features could not be clearly seen, their plain robes and curtains fluttered in the wind, which made them look somewhat graceful, causing some of the sergeants in the camp to whistle.
Bai Ling's tribe did not come to interact with them. They went upstream along the river and began to unload their trucks and set up tents about three miles away. The sun set on the west mountain and the bright moon rose, and the two camps were set ablaze one after another.
There was a bonfire, and some warriors with bows and spears were vaguely visible patrolling outside the camp.
Yang Hao stood on a dirt slope, subconsciously holding his horsewhip, looking at the bonfire of Bai Ling clan in the distance. Mu En slowly walked over and stood behind him. Yang Hao didn't look back, just got down and shook his head.
He picked up his riding whip and said after a while: "Li Yuchang's main business is to sell salt. Among the salt he sells, the salt solution is only used to cover up people's eyes. Under the protection of Fuzhou, the salt he sells everywhere is mainly in the form of green salt.
Salt is the main source, which is a huge profit. A large part of it must be the source of Fuzhou's wealth, and it should be the same for Linzhou.
In order to ensure the sales of salt, the imperial court cracked down on smugglers of green salt. In order to monopolize the sale of salt, the two prefectures of Linfu must also make things difficult for them. Therefore, it is not surprising that Bai Ling came uninvited and wanted to open a channel from me.
.But..., I really don’t know how to treat these people who have high hopes for me.
Take the Bai Ling clan as an example. If I cooperate with them, from a short distance, I will have to compete with Linzhou and Fuzhou for profit, which will inevitably make the two states of Linfu dissatisfied. From a distance, as the imperial court
An official actually violated the imperial ban and secretly sold salt to others. His crime was not light.
If I don't agree, how can I win over them with my current military prowess and small favors? When I saw the Bai Ling tribe coming, I suddenly realized that my original plan was not careful enough. The Qiang tribes came in pursuit of profit and first proposed
The cooperation must be something they cannot do on their own, and it is not allowed by the two states of Linfu. I am really dancing on the edge of a knife..."
He fell silent. The evening wind on the grassland was very strong, making his robe make a sound. After a while, Yang Hao sighed softly and said: "In less than a year, I moved from the squire's house in Bazhou to
A servant became the prefect of Luling Prefecture and the military envoy of the regiment. I had great power, soldiers and money. I had never dared to imagine this kind of scenery before. I think many people in the world are envious of my situation. But...
…, Up to now, the path I have taken is not the one I want to take. Nothing I have done is what I want to do…
I can't walk the way I want to go, and I haven't done what I want to do, so it's okay to be involuntarily, but walking among the imperial court, Fuzhou, Linzhou, and the Qiang in Xiazhou, everyone is...
I have to rely on everything, but I can't rely on any of them. The higher I go, the heavier the authority becomes, and the more afraid I am. The higher I go, the stronger the wind becomes. But where are my roots? Then
This feeling is like walking on thin ice, like facing an abyss. You don’t know when you will fall, and your bones will be shattered, and you will never be able to stand up again..."
Mu En stood behind him like a mountain and said calmly: "I can understand what the young master said."
He slowly walked to Yang Hao, stared at the bonfire in the distance, and said slowly: "At the beginning, when the Lord fled on the grassland, Mu En was still a young man, and we only had a few dozen people and a few dozen horses.
, no food, no belongings. The people chasing Xiazhou may show up at any time. When you open your eyes, you must hold the knife. When you close your eyes, you must still hold the knife. The enemy will appear.
When we came here, we wanted to fight in a bloody battle and protect our Lord and fight our way out. We had no direction and we would naturally rush to that place if we felt it was safe.
It is dangerous when the enemy appears, but when the enemy does not appear, we are even more nervous. You don't know when they will come, when you are eating, sleeping, or when you see a clear blue sky and feel relieved.
Sometimes, we can't meet anyone after walking for a long time, so we have to dig grass roots, chew tree bark, and eat earthworms. When we meet a tribe, we have to please them, flatter them, and try our best to be friends with every tribe, but we can't believe it.
They don't know when they have benefited from Xiazhou, they will suddenly stab us in the back..."
"That kind of day is so similar to the situation of the young master today. We don't want to live like that, but if we slack off and shrink back a little bit at that time, we will have no way to survive. In the end, we can only feed ourselves to vultures and wild wolves. We will try our best.
We only have what we have today by working hard. Luling Prefecture is now our home. Although we still have to fight and fight outside, at least our family is in a safe place, so that we have no worries.
Days like this are as beautiful as heaven compared to before. All this is thanks to the young master. We also want to live a better life so that our children and grandchildren will no longer fight and kill. I know the young master is doing it.
It is for all this. The three thousand warriors in my clan are willing to follow the young master, facing mountains of swords and seas of fire, without fear or regret."
Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Compared to your original situation, my current situation is much better. Listening to you, I feel that I am just moaning for no reason. I am in the midst of blessings but don't know how blessed I am. Haha, don't say it.
Now, this is not the time to be depressed. There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain. Let’s take it as it comes. Let’s go back.”
The two of them had just turned around when they heard the voice of questioning coming from a distance. Yang Hao and Mu En stopped and looked back, and saw a person coming from the Bai Ling clan's camp. The sentry placed on the outermost layer of Yang Hao's camp was showing up.