At the turn of summer and autumn, a team of horse-drawn carriages and camels meandered to Daxing Mansion.
The caravan was large in scale. In addition to the specialized personnel such as coachmen, guides, accountants, craftsmen, and cooks, there were also a large number of temporary Mongolian men and horse-riding guards with special permission from the military government to carry strong bows and crossbows.
Along with the convoy, there were quite a few herds.
The running routes of this kind of caravan often go deep into the grasslands and deserts. It takes more than half a year to go back and forth. It only takes one trip every year, and one trip brings huge benefits. There can be no more than ten trading houses of this size in the entire northern Xinjiang. .Each one has a great background, and it is also a good place that many people from Hebei to Monan flock to.
Just like this, when the caravan came back from the north, people continued to surrender along the way. These new people who surrendered were placed under an equally new escort.
The name of the escort team was Yang Woyan, who was a Han slave kidnapped to the north by the Mongols earlier. Later, because a nobleman from the Zhou Dynasty went north and was attacked by the Mongols, Yang Woyan took his companions to rescue him. Got the credit.
Soon the Zhou army went deep into the grassland to raid, rescued the nobleman, and took Yang Woyan and others with him. Yang Woyan escaped from the Mongolian tribe and was recommended by the nobleman to do trivial things in the caravan.
Yang Woyan has a tenacious character and is very good at talking and doing things. When the caravan returned, he was just an ordinary clerk. But when it was near Zhongdu, he had become a guard, which can be counted on ten fingers of the entire caravan. A big shot.
Wherever the caravan passes, the origins of the newly recruited manpower are inevitably a bit complicated. This is because as the frontier continues to push northward, the situation from Hebei to Monan becomes more and more stable, and the small and scattered Mongolian tribes that were originally active in the mountains Bandits, horse thieves, and even scoundrels in some local towns are looking for a way out.
Such people can struggle out of the harsh environment in northern Xinjiang, so they naturally have their own abilities and their role. But after all, they are new recruits, wild and untamed, and do not understand the rules at all. They can be convinced along the way and led smoothly. It is really not an easy task to get to Zhongdu, but judging from Yang Woyan's appearance, he is still able to do it.
In the last two days of the trip, there happened to be a sandstorm. Outside the city of Daxing Prefecture, everything was yellow and yellow. The official roads were all covered with sand, leaving only the street trees on both sides of the official road to guide the direction. Beside the official road. Most of the houses were covered in dirt, and only a little bit of green was visible in the farmland.
Scenes like this are not uncommon in northern Xinjiang. Every time they occur, it will cause herds to flee in many places and also affect food cultivation in the Tuntian area. However, compared with the more severe black disasters and white disasters, this is not Nothing serious.
Yang Woyan didn't know that he would encounter sandstorms when he came to Daxing Prefecture. However, the closer he got to Daxing Prefecture, the more people there were on the official road responsible for maintaining and assisting the caravan in transporting. Several horses in the caravan ran away. It was those people who helped to find it.
On certain sections of the road, there were people who looked like postmen gathered together. They were excitedly scooping up sand and dust with shovels and transporting it, apparently to fill the marks left by the ruts on the rammed earth road.
This is very smart. The sand blown down by the storm is naturally free of weeds and debris, and the proportion of hard gravel is very high. It is the most suitable material for backfilling roads and ramming construction.
Yang Woyan thought that this was a secret technique unique to people in Northern Xinjiang. It turned out that Zhongdu knew it too and could mobilize so many people at any time.
Everyone has been notified of today's arrangements for the motorcade. It will enter the city from Huicheng Gate in the northwest corner and stop at Yangfangdian.
The so-called Yangfangdian is a newly opened commercial area west of Baiyun Temple, east of Chongshou Temple, and north of Guangyuanfang. Because it mainly caters to merchants traveling to and from northern Xinjiang, there are especially many sheep sellers, including mutton, sheepskin, and wool. In addition, there are large workshops housing thousands of craftsmen, responsible for the finishing of felt or leather goods.
Of course, mutton restaurants and brothels with various styles are also famous.
There were still ten dozen days away from the city, and many caravan guys and guards became excited. Talking about the entertainment activities after entering the city, the team laughed one after another. A man was extremely excited, jumped on the cart and shouted: "This time I I’ve saved enough money! I’m going to make it impossible for ten women to get out of bed!”
Before he finished speaking, someone below lamented: "You are confused! How can you save money for this? What you are saving is your waist!"
The people in the queue laughed. Several people said that money is really not an issue. Even if everyone joins in, they must let him show off his talents and try his luck, and never escape halfway.
Talking and laughing, everyone braced themselves for the last stretch of the road. However, when the convoy entered the city, another caravan arrived at the same time. Everyone's sight was obscured by the sandstorm, and when they found out, the two convoys had already mixed up. Come together.
The leader of the soldiers at the city gate cursed a few times and flipped over the two documents, saying that the two teams were mixed together and there was no way to check the heads.
The people in the convoy also complained about why they could not enter the city, and they were agitated several times. The stewards of the two convoys shared some loose money and invited the soldiers to have a drink with smiles on their faces, but they were actually refused.
After finally separating the teams and sorting them out, the soldiers carefully checked the documents, and then randomly checked and questioned a few guys. Finally, they gathered the newly registered members of the caravans on both sides and took a look.
In fact, what kind of reputation can be seen from this? You need to check the different ethnic groups. There are too many Mongolians working for the Han people now, and there are thousands in the army. You need to check whether the people are peaceful and good, let alone the head. After passing Juyong Pass , only the military camps in various places have registration records, and the men who joined the caravans have done more or less dirty work, and there are not a few who have lives on their hands.
Besides, in the huge Zhongdu City, there are twelve gates where hundreds of thousands of people come in and out every day. If you really want to check them one by one, nothing can be done!
Seeing that the faces of the caravan members were getting more and more ugly, and the queue waiting to enter the city was getting longer and longer, the soldier leader finally announced that they were allowed to go.
After a few hundred steps into the city, the team manager hummed and said: "The gentlemen from the Dushang Taxation Department are not so strict in tax inspections! But the little guy at the door is the most difficult to take care of, and he is very annoying every time!"
While the military men were arranging, someone waved and called out from the second floor of a restaurant next to the road.
A smile immediately appeared on the caravan steward's face, and he turned to Yang Woyan and said: "Old Yang, come here, I will introduce you to the veterans who know the merchants!"
It turned out that the person waving the hand was a capable shopkeeper of the trading company. In his early years, this gentleman served as a general in the army. Later, he broke his leg, so he retired and found another place. The steward introduced to Yang Woyan that although this gentleman had retired from the army, he was still in the army. He has a deep relationship and a wide network. He can know in advance what the villages in northern Xinjiang are in urgent need of recently or what new products are available.
Even the government officials did not dare to neglect such a person. Several stewards asked their subordinates to continue taking the convoy to the Yangfang Store. Ignoring the dust, they hurriedly quickened their pace and went upstairs to the restaurant.
When we got upstairs, we saw three tables in the hall, which were packed with people. Several prominent shopkeepers from the business were there. The stewards hurriedly said hello with smiles on their faces. They sat down to chat for a few words, and then they found out that the caravan was along the way. We spent the night in Xiaoxing and didn't bother to inquire about the affairs of the imperial court. In fact, there was a story that had already spread throughout the country.
Not long ago, a powerful minister of the Goryeo Kingdom died of illness, and there was a lot of chaos in the country. Fortunately, Yin Chang, the former Nanjing stayer who had been left idle by the Zhou Dynasty, happened to meet him and helped calm the situation. The King of Goryeo, who was supported by the powerful ministers, abdicated and returned to the throne. After moving to Dazhou, the new king of Goryeo ascended the throne and sent his credentials to Zhongdu, promising several things.
First, the Goryeo Kingdom completely handed over the famous Bilanjeong Yeseong Port to Dazhou for operation. From then on, the Goryeo State no longer restricted the construction and residence of Han people in Yeseong Port. The two waterways from Yeseong Port to Kaesong Twenty areas on each side were controlled by Zhou's own garrison.
The second is that the Koryo Kingdom will no longer restrict Han merchants from entering the territory of Koryo, and will treat them as Koryo natives.
The third is that Korea will no longer restrict the trafficking of Dazhou goods into Goryeo, as long as it is approved by Yeseong Port.
Fourth, Korea will no longer restrict the entry of Koreans into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty to work, study, and do business. Those who enter the Great Zhou Dynasty can only follow the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Fifth, Goryeo and Dazhou jointly launched trade with Japan, and will choose appropriate ports in the southern part of Goryeo to support trade with Japan and shipping transit to Song; however, for special materials such as gold, silver, and sulfur, trading authority and allocation quotas , all under the unified control of officials appointed by the Zhou Dynasty.
You must know that Goryeo has millions of households and an output of 3,000 rivers and mountains. Compared with its medicinal materials, ginseng, porcelain, handicrafts, sesame oil and other specialties, the value of the cattle and sheep in the Monan grassland is not as good as that in the country; Compared with the demand for goods, no matter how large the Mongolian households in Monan are, they cannot keep up.
Another thing that cannot be circumvented is the cost of cargo transportation. Goryeo relied on sea transportation. The cost of shipping goods from Tianjin to Licheng Port was less than one-third of the cost of transporting goods to Monan by car and horse teams. And the specialties of the northeastern hinterland such as Being able to go directly to Qingyuan Mansion in the Southern Dynasties through Licheng Hong Kong, the time was shortened by 15 days compared with the original.
If we then consider using the Goryeo Kingdom as a springboard directly to the Japanese Kingdom... then it will simply be an endless money tree that will grow in front of us!
Not only the merchants were tempted, but also the nobles of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not to mention His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In recent days, some nobles closely related to the royal family have leaked the news, saying that the Great Zhou Dynasty will take this as an opportunity to carry out a large-scale campaign in Goryeo. In order to build ships, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people must be mobilized to completely control Goryeo and even enter Japan.
For this reason, the Imperial Court's left and right departments and the Recording Department are sending a large number of people to Goryeo. The army has also mobilized capable generals in advance to survey Licheng Port and the terrain in southern Goryeo. Recently, there are rumors that the emperor plans to suspend the military operation in Goryeo.
The expansion of the grassland turned the army and manpower to Haidong.
"This...is this true?" The caravan stewards were all stunned.
The shopkeepers said: "We don't know what military and political plans the imperial court has. However, several trading houses that are familiar with us, as well as our own, have recently reduced the next batch of supplies to be sent to northern Xinjiang. Even
This dinner is a farewell drink, and next month we will go to Korea to explore a new way of making money for you!"
After drinking a meal of wine, Yang Woyan left the wine shop and felt dizzy.
It's not that he can't drink enough, but he never thought that the new dynasty in the Central Plains would act directly and swiftly for interests; all military and political plans revolved around benefits of one kind or another without any concealment. Is this a serious court, or what?
It feels like the faces of these people are no different from the Mongolians!
With his mind racing with thoughts, Yang Woyan arrived at Yangfang Store with others, and found that the caravan members who had settled there, except for some who had applied in advance to stay out all night, were noisily discussing the matter. The imperial court was about to mobilize personnel from Northern Xinjiang.
The rumors of a large-scale march to the sea have become known to everyone.
Many caravan members are thinking about whether they should learn to swim quickly or try to learn how to sail. Some guards with military backgrounds are worried about the huge changes in northern Xinjiang in the future. They feel that they are not familiar with the environment in Goryeo after all.
, or the grassland makes people feel at ease.
Yang Woyan was also a little confused. It was a stroke of luck to get rid of the status of a Mongolian slave, but if the imperial court really reduced its investment in northern Xinjiang, or even reduced its garrison, he, a new recruit, would have no chance to make contributions.
possible.
However, on the second day, Yang Woyan had no time to worry about it anymore.
Because there were more than 40 people under his management, three were missing out of thin air. The people who were clearly seen last night suddenly disappeared without any warning beforehand.
Zhongdu is under the emperor's feet, and there are rules for control. Suddenly there are fewer people, so you can't get away with it. Yang Woyan reported it to the steward in a panic, and the steward took him to report to the Dushang Taxation Department, who was in charge of the Yangfangdian area.
.
The governor of the capital was a good-tempered man, and comforted Yang Woyan: "Don't panic, there have been a lot of people fleeing in various places recently, and this is inevitable in the capital. The caravan is even harder to control... These people just think that the court's attention is
We must move our power from northern Xinjiang to other places, and the situation in Monan and Mobei will be reversed."