Emperor Ming Dynasty

Meng Qingbiao and others led the convoy and continued heading north.

The group of them will pass through the Badaling Great Wall, pass through Yanqing, Huailai, Baoan, Xuanfu, and then arrive at Zhangjiakou Fort on the Outer Great Wall.

Along with Suiyuan's Taiping, Xuanfu Town, which was known as the front line of the Great Wall for more than [-] years, has gradually lost its military function.

Governor Xuanda, Sun Changzhou is the last one.

When he served as the governor of Chahar, the Xuanda area was dismissed from the military town and the government was established.

That is, it belongs to Datong Mansion in Shanxi and Xuan Mansion in Hebei.

The former guards gradually turned into counties, towns, and civilian offices.

However, although there are no military households, there are still two to three thousand frontier troops stationed in Datong and Xuanfu due to the proximity to Gyeonggi.

They still guard the Great Wall, but instead of defending against the Tartars, they collect taxes.

This is also the characteristic of Daming.

During the Shaowu Dynasty, all the former guards in the border town were dismissed, and the guards became counties, and the thousand households and hundreds of households became the towns.

As for the land, it was all distributed to the people who cultivated the land, and the emperor didn't bother to pursue it.

To be honest, compared with the Central Plains and the South, these lands are extremely barren, with a maximum yield of two hundred catties per mu.

Therefore, the emperor did not feel distressed.

The guards in the interior are different, especially in the south. All registered land must be vacated and returned to the court.

If you really don't want to vacate, or if you have already been assigned to the common people and have been transferred for dozens or hundreds of years, then it doesn't matter, just pay the land fee according to the market price.

With the expansion of the region, the Northwest and Northeast are the main reclamation areas of the imperial court, and land is no longer a scarce resource.

In other words, Zhu Yixi also sees it openly. In an agricultural society, land is the most valuable and stable industry. Just like ordinary people in later generations who have money to buy a house, there is no way to stop it.

Therefore, as long as you pay taxes on time and register, there are no restrictions.

Suiyuan and Chahar are stable, and the Great Wall is also peaceful, and the situation of intruders in those famine years in previous years no longer appears now.

The people naturally settled down and stopped fleeing famine.

At the same time, the grassland trade has formed two commercial roads, one east and one west, and the constant flow of merchants has brought a series of bustling markets.

Longmen Escorts marched all the way, harvested enough forage when they were short of fodder, and called veterinarians when livestock were sick, which was considered thoughtful.

When they arrived in Zhangjiakou, they were immediately shocked by the lively scene.

The huge market is just at the foot of the Great Wall.

There are hundreds of merchants coming and going, and they speak dialects from all over the world, which makes people's ears restless.

Cattle and sheep are the main products here, and the smell of sheep and sheep can almost wash away people's noses.

Many people sat directly on the ground, holding two or three sheep in their hands, and then wrote a sign with the number on it.

Many Mongolians wore special Mongolian robes and spoke awkward Chinese. In the cold wind, they bargained without fear. You come and go, so lively.

Once someone asks the price, the two hands will pinch each other in the robe, and then lead the person away after an agreement is made, and the time and place are set before the transaction is made.

"Aren't you afraid of running away?"

The second child, Zhu Baisong, muttered.

Meng Qingbiao sent the merchants in, and while wandering around, he explained:

"Have you seen that majestic Yamen?"

"That's the Commercial and Taxation Department. After the two of you have finished the deal, they will send it directly to the Commercial and Taxation Department, and the Commercial and Taxation Department will sign the sales order."

"At that time, merchants can directly give silver dollars or direct bank notes. Whether it is a merchant or a Mongolian breach of contract, then they will no longer be allowed to do business in Zhangjiakou."

"The Mongols can't run away, they have pastures, and the governor of Suihua can manage them; businessmen can't run away either, their money and property are all in the interior."

"So it is!" Zhu Baisong suddenly realized.

This is not the first time for Meng Qingbiao to come here. He walked in the market and said with emotion: "I was guarding the city wall in Zhangjiakou back then, not to mention how cold it is."

"When I go to the market during the ten-day vacation, I can always buy a few catties of mutton, which is enough to satisfy my appetite."

"If I could be promoted to team leader back then, I might be in a certain county, or Zhangjiakou County, as the head of the township!"

Zhu Baihuyuan's face also showed longing: "Yeah, I'm worse than you. I didn't even touch the deputy captain, so I stepped back soon."

"It's better to be an official!"

In the early days of Shaowu, any wounded soldier or officer in the army could go to the local government to earn a position as an official.

But with the passage of time, the number of official positions decreased day by day, and the Governor's Office and the Ministry of Officials of the Five Armies would only arrange village elders for those with military ranks.

Officers above team rank can arrange to go to the local area to patrol and nourish the elderly.

Moreover, apart from being injured, the only way to arrange an official position is to retire.

Soldiers in the Beijing camp have served for as long as 20 years, and they can only have official positions after they retire.

The frontier army worked harder, eating the same salary, but enduring wind and rain in the frontier, with poor supplies, so the service life is generally about 15 years.

This is the result of careful calculation by the officials.

The Beijing camp eats well and wears warm clothes near the city of Beijing. Although the training is a bit hard, compared with the frontier army, it is pampered.

Therefore, his body can support until he is 40 years old, and he is still a hero.

The frontier army was exposed to the sun and rain, and lacked supplies. At the age of 35, his body was not in good shape, and he was not as good as those young people.

It is normal to have younger men to replace them.

The officers above the team will have arrangements, and ordinary soldiers basically go wherever they come and go, and go to their hometowns to serve as veterans of the patrol battalion and the patrol inspection department.

If you have connections, you can even get a part-time job.

This can be regarded as being able to retire with peace of mind.

"Lao Tzu's deputy team is retiring from the army, and the Ministry of War directly issued a senior officer, and he is still in Hunan."

Meng Qingbiao said with a face full of resentment: "Ten silver dollars a year, what are you eating?"

"It's still comfortable working in the escort agency." Zhu Baisong echoed: "Escort masters can earn at least one hundred and eighty yuan a year, and ordinary trippers can also earn twenty or thirty yuan, and they can be happy in Beijing."

"The boss has a good vision." Meng Qingbiao sighed: "The Longmen Bodyguard Agency has made a lot of money in the past few years, and our brothers have also made a lot of money. We bought a house in the capital, which was never expected in the past."

Putting his mood away, Meng Qingbiao pointed to the three fences in the distance:
"Zhangjiakou mainly trades cattle, horses, and sheep, so there are three paddocks in the east, west, and south, where the cattle and sheep are kept."

"We are the sheep market. People in the capital love to eat hot pot and mutton in winter. Even if the ground is covered with snow, the merchants dare not stop."

"The horses don't have enough fodder and they're too thin. There aren't many people now, and the same goes for the cows."

Zhu Baisong opened his mouth wide: "My boy, this is only one of the three major markets. If it were in summer and autumn, it would be so lively."

"Hmph!" Meng Qingbiao said proudly, "Let me tell you, three or four years ago, Zhangjiakou sold nearly a million sheep in just one year."

"There are tens of thousands of more precious gazelles."

"Tsk tsk!" Zhu Baisong was full of emotion: "That is to say, each of the millions of people in the capital will eat a sheep every year!"

"Most of them are eaten by middle-class families."

Meng Qingbiao said softly: "A catty of mutton costs ten renminbi, and pork only sixty-seven renminbi. Ordinary people are reluctant to buy two catties of pork together!"

The entire caravan wandered in Zhangjiakou for nearly three days, adding a large amount of supplies, enough to support a month's food.

Sometimes they couldn't hold back anymore, and the merchants rushed to approach a thousand sheep, ready to eat while walking.

Based on the calculation of three to 400 people, it can be solved in ten days, which can save a lot of transportation capacity.

When crossing the border, facing such a huge team, the commercial and tax department didn't panic at all. He came with a dozen people, and within an hour, all the things were paid for.

Then pay tax according to the goods.

This is a tariff.

The Great Wall is stuck there, and if you want to go north, you must pay taxes.

Of course, having been a soldier here for several years, Meng Qingbiao certainly knows some trails, and taking a caravan can save a lot of money.

But this matter cannot be discovered, and once it is discovered, it will usher in a fine of ten times.

Besides, there are so many people with mixed eyes, who can guarantee that there will not be a few cunning people to report it?

For the Escort Bureau, which makes money from harmony, it is better to provoke bandits than Yamen.

Saving money for others and causing trouble for himself, Meng Qingbiao would never do it.

After passing the Great Wall, the time came to the end of January.

The entire grassland is still covered with heavy snow, only the withered grass on the ground is faintly exposed.

The roads that were easy to walk in the past are now muddy and difficult.

In this regard, Meng Qingbiao had already calculated.

He let the camel with big feet walk in the front to open the way.

After they wade out a path, the horses walk.

The draft horses are all Mongolian horses, and they are extremely adaptable to the grassland environment. They can even use their hooves to dig out dry grass under the snow to eat while walking slowly.

"This official way is better than expected."

Meng Qingbiao smiled and said: "I thought it was just a small road, but I never thought it would be very solid, and our speed will be faster."

Zhu Baisong stared at the official road less than two feet wide in front of him: "I heard that the imperial court built this official road ten years ago, but there are many weeds on the grassland, and it didn't take much effort to cover the official road... ..."

The convoy traveled on the crude official road, the speed was maintained at Rixing [-] li, dragged for [-] li, and more than a hundred bodyguards and troopers were patrolling back and forth.

After walking for three or five days, I didn't even meet a tribe.

The whole Escort felt very strange.

You know, in order to maintain this official road, the imperial court arranged for a small tribe to be on duty every one or two hundred miles along the way, and now there is no one inhabited.

The merchant in the convoy explained: "The tribes on the grassland have to move around every year, sometimes even three or four times. They graze here in spring and summer, but not necessarily in autumn and winter."

"They must have gone somewhere warmer for the winter."

Walking all the way, stepping on the snow all the way, the convoy did not get lost, and walked nearly [-] miles, two ways.

When the heavy snow in Mobei first melted, he arrived at Kulun City.

The one who greeted them was the governor of Mobei, Zeng Ying.

"It's great that I haven't seen the caravan for half a year."

Zeng Ying was overjoyed.

Mobei snowed heavily for three to four months, and the caravan had to return south in August and September. When they came north, it was basically summer.

But now it is extremely rare to see a caravan at the beginning of spring.

However, when he realized that what he sent was one hundred thousand catties of gunpowder, Jianshe showed a dignified look.

One person in the caravan claimed to be Jinyiwei Qianhu, and brought the emperor's decree.

The emperor asked the Governor's Mansion in Mobei to find a land with plenty of water and grass to build a military camp that could accommodate 5 people.

Hidden, safe, and unknown to others.

"Your Majesty is going north to Fengjing?"

Zeng Ying's heart was full of pride.

As expected, in the days that followed, escorts and caravans from the capital came to the north in an endless stream.

Almost every three to five days, a large amount of supplies will be delivered.

Or cloth, or cannon, or salt.

What caught his attention the most was a group of tin cans.

"What is this?" Zeng Ying looked at the square iron box, which was piled up like a mountain.

"Army rations."

The officer explained: "There is a distance of two thousand miles from Mobei to Beihai, so long-distance raids are bound to be restricted by military rations."

"Sometimes, there isn't even any firewood to make a fire."

"And these tin cans contain cooked food, which is enough to preserve for a long time and maintain the army's raids."

"How long can it last?" Zeng Ying took apart the palm-sized iron can in front of him, revealing a compacted piece of meat.

He couldn't help but tasted it, it was salty and fishy, ​​but it was edible, but there was not only meat, but also some rice, meat only accounted for less than [-]%.

"At least three months."

The officer smiled and said, "Master Hou, this military ration not only contains bacon, but also stir-fried noodles, a lot of salt and sugar, and even fish."

"It doesn't taste very good, but just such a box can fill the stomachs of soldiers."

"There is no fodder, and it can even be used as horse fodder."

"Good stuff." Zeng Ying spat it out, then rinsed her mouth with water.

But he had to admit that although this stuff was unpalatable, it was meat after all.

As long as there are no maggots and it is really hard to swallow, it can be used as military rations.

"Are you sure it's three months?"

"Master Hou, it's absolutely true, the colder the place, the longer it will be kept, even up to a year."

"Okay—" Zeng Ying was overjoyed: "With this sharp weapon, why worry about injustice?"

"How is this made?"

The officer explained in detail how to boil it and expel the air.

"Since this is the case, why bother to transport it all the way from Beijing, why not cook it directly in Mobei?"

Zeng Ying made a suggestion: "In recent years, I have also reclaimed a lot of wasteland in Mobei and hoarded a lot of grain, which just happens to be made into military rations, saving the effort of operation."

Afterwards, Zeng Ying secretly summoned the tribes directly under the Governor's Mansion and asked them to select elite cavalry for other uses.

The excitement of Kulun cannot be hidden from Jebtsundamba in the temple.

The temples all over Mobei are his best eyeliner.

Even the Mongols who worked for the Governor's Mansion had to respect him.

"Buddha—" The eminent monk who was serving said in a low voice: "It seems that Mobei is not peaceful anymore."

"Amitabha!" Jebtsundamba sighed softly, "The grassland has been peaceful for so long, it seems that the good times are coming to an end."

"Remember, don't talk nonsense."