Daming Yinghua

Chapter 147 Hetuala

Yi Lanzhu, Li Rubai's concubine, suddenly heard that Ming Guo allowed her to go back to Hetuala to pay homage to her parents, she couldn't help but be overjoyed.

She was told that she was only allowed to bring a woman who was close to her, that her two sons were not allowed to go with her, and that the entourage was also arranged by the imperial court, Yi Lanzhu nodded repeatedly.

This Jianzhou woman, who was sold by her father into a political marriage just after she was a child, has long been accustomed to a humble life in a foreign land for more than ten years.

It wasn't until the day of departure that Yi Lanzhu and her mother-in-law walked out of Li's mansion with their burdens on their backs, that they didn't know the situation of the people and horses.

Shen Shi, Mao Wenlong's concubine, came to see him off, and introduced the caravan of Miss Zheng and Mr. Wu to Yi Lanzhu. The family prepared a gift for Yi Lanzhu, and the guards on the car were some of Mao Wenlong's personal soldiers.

Yi Lanzhu recognized Kong Youde as a familiar face, and saw that Zheng Haizhu and the two maids were young and gentle, and Wu Bangde was not a vicious boss, so she felt more at ease.

From Liaoyang, the important town of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, to the east, along the winding Taizi River, across the vast river plain, passing through the famous military fortress Qinghebao, you can reach Hetuala, the royal city of Jurchen in Jianzhou.

The distance of five or six hundred miles seems not short. In winter, using a horse-drawn sledge, a unique means of transportation in Liaodong, is not slow. It takes about ten days, and it can be reached just before the ancestor worship day on December 22 set by the Jianzhou shaman. arrive.

According to the weather, the sky was clear for several days after the departure, and in the dazzling blue sky, not a single cloud could be seen, only the goshawks passing by like black lightning.

The wilderness is boundless, and the white snow covers all the edges and corners and sloppiness on the ground. The occasional gust of wind is not very strong, but it is like an elf playing mischievously, bringing up a whirlpool of snow powder, which sparkles in the sun with interesting colors. golden light.

Even if you travel in winter, the pure and beautiful scenery is still pleasant.

Kong Youde was in a very good mood.

He was sitting on the horseback, holding on to the Fangbian flag, which showed his identity and guarded against bandits. His fingers were a little stiff from the cold, but the soles of his feet were warm.

He was wearing the leather boots given to him by Zheng Haizhu.

The suede leather and the lamb lining are very solidly sewn, and they can't be taken off without five qian silver, which is worth more than half a month's salary for these soldiers.

When staying at the hotel that day, Zheng Haizhu called him to the corner and took out his boots.

Kong Youde was quite embarrassed, patted the cotton-padded jacket on his body and said: "Master Zheng, the winter clothes General Mao gave us are quite thick, and I also have cotton boots, but it's just that it's not yet the first month, so the old shoes I wear are out."

Zheng Haizhu shoved the leather boots into his arms: "I know that General Mao treats you all as if he is his own boy. What he sends is his, and what I send is mine. I have a nephew who is just like you. Big, you two are a bit alike."

Kong Youde grinned silly, put on his boots with a silly smile, stomped on the snow, and said strangely, "Yi, it fits right."

Zheng Haizhu said softly, "That's right, can I not know what size my nephew's feet wear? You two are the same age. His parents are gone, and I'm not the only one who cares about his clothes, shoes and hats."

Kong Youde raised his face, but stopped smiling: "Master Zheng, my parents are gone."

"Why not?"

"I was exhausted from mining in Tieling. I thought I couldn't die from exhaustion, so I ran out and voted for General Mao."

Zheng Haizhu was silent for a while, and said: "Death cannot be resurrected, you live well, marry a wife and have a baby early, and your mother and father will be happy in heaven. Besides, General Mao raised you like a real father. You have to give him the old man Do it well."

Kong Youde said sternly: "It must be. How many times has the imperial court owed our Liao generals food and salaries? Every time, it was not just General Mao who came up with his own ideas. Not only our own soldiers, but also ordinary battalion soldiers. How much will the civil servant of the bird fly all kinds of birds on his chest!"

Just as Zheng Haizhu was about to pick up the water bag to drink, he put it down again, staring at Kong Youde and said, "Youde, what you said is wrong, isn't Zhang Shilang a civil servant?"

Kong Youde was startled, a little embarrassed: "Hey, that's right, the peacock on Zhang Shilang's chest is pleasing to the eye."

Zheng Haizhu withdrew his amiable look, and said with a suppressed voice: "There are virtues, and the defense of the family and the country. Military generals and soldiers are all great. I never think that military personnel are inferior to civilian officials and should be bullied by them. But on the contrary Come here, you warriors must not be disrespectful to court officials, if you get used to it, you may kill General Mao someday.”

Kong Youde's embarrassment turned into guilt, he scratched his head, patted his cheek again, and let out a convincing "Oh".

He felt that Miss Zheng's words were neither fierce nor violent, but they were quite reasonable.

Zheng Haizhu looked at this kid who would become a titan in the future. Of course, this kid didn't know yet. Many years later, it was Sun Yuanhua, a civil servant of the Ming Dynasty, who decisively came forward to take them in when their Dongjiang soldiers were like bereaved dogs.However, in this time and space, since she has come and has come to the present step by step, she will let Sun Yuanhua meet Mao Wenlong and his men in advance according to the plan.

"You are virtuous," Zheng Haizhu's tone regained his obedience, "Today I heard you brothers talking about firearms. How heavy is the cannon you are talking about?"

"One weighs about ninety kilograms, and one cart can pull three. We heard from veterans who fought Japanese pirates in Pyongyang that those things are better than tiger squat guns when fighting in the wild. That's a lot of energy. It's a pity that it's expensive, so you have to use refined copper."

Zheng Haizhu smiled: "What are you afraid of, money is not saved, it is earned. By the way, I will let you earn a small amount of money after helping General Mao and the others settle the matter of Fushun. I want to recruit three hundred young people first. Zhuang Miner went to Shandong, and I told General Mao that since your family is originally from the mine, you just happened to ask you to help me find someone, and I will give you silver later, so you can save to marry a wife."

Kong Youde let out an "ah", and then a look of joy appeared on his face, and there was a bit of hesitation in the look of joy.

"Master Zheng, the mine in Shandong doesn't eat people, does it?"

"Don't worry, I also have shares in the business, not your sweat mine in Liaodong. It's mining coal to make fuel for copper and iron smelting."

"That's a good thing, and it's also a way for my fellow villagers to find a way to live in the south."

"That's right. Come on, let's feed the horses."

Kong Youde ran away resolutely.

Wu Bangde came out of the shadows wearing a cloak.

"In terms of talking, it has to be your women. Why didn't I see that this kid is half like your nephew."

Zheng Haizhu stood up and patted the snow on the robe: "If you buy people's hearts, if you say it from my mouth, it is the truth. This doll is not bad. It looks silly, but it is actually very sophisticated. It is rare that the foundation is still pure. "

Wu Bangde agreed: "Well, Jing, you are not the only one to follow just because of a pair of leather boots. Shan, I know that you can't sell fellow villagers for dozens of taels of silver."

Zheng Haizhu tilted her head, and Wu Bangde followed her to the outside of the inn.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the snow field shows a kind of fantastic blue.

Zheng Haizhu turned her head and saw the silhouettes of Yilanzhu, Aya and Mu Zaohua reflected on the south window of the inn.

She pouted over there, and said to Wu Bangde: "As soon as I entered Liao, I was observing Aya. You are afraid that she is a spy sent by Jianzhou to Daming, but I am also worried. After two months, I see that she is getting worse and worse. She is getting happier and happier, all she has to do all day is to prepare clothes for the baby in her womb, if I don't call her, she won't go to crowded places, she can't wait to stay in the room, like a hen lying on its nest."

Wu Bangde said: "That's good. But this time, I'm still worried that she won't be able to control Yi Lanzhu. After all, she is a woman from Jianzhou, and she is her family's enemy."

Zheng Haizhu sighed meaningfully: "Looking at it from another angle, they are neither the Yehe woman nor the Jianzhou woman. They are just two women who share the same disease and love each other. They have both suffered so much, so they can talk naturally. Yi Lanzhu Hearing that she died of a man and was still pregnant with a child, her eyes immediately changed, like a Bodhisattva. You don’t know that in another car, these days, my ears are full of teachings from Yilanzhu Ya's mother's book."

Wu Bangde said: "That's why we have to let Zaohua stick to them, so that Aya won't forget about it for a while and talk to Yilanzhu about Jurchen."

For Zheng Haizhu and Wu Bangde, Aya's advantage is language.Of course, this advantage cannot be taught to the people of Jianzhou.

And in another four or five days, after passing Qinghe Fort, Wu Bangde and another intelligence officer, Li Daniu, will head north to Fushun City to inquire about the situation on the pretext of watching the big market and receiving business offers.

Zheng Haizhu took a deep breath of the icy but refreshing winter night air, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "This time you are in Fushun, if you come across Li Yongfang close at hand, don't be impulsive."

Wu Bangde looked up at the moon.

The moon on a winter night is the only bright object in this world, as bright as the halo that once shrouded Amei's cheeks.

"I won't be so stupid. If I were so stupid, Amei would laugh at me in heaven."

……

After walking along the frozen Taizi River for a few more days, after visiting General Zou Chuxian and presenting gifts on behalf of Mao Wenlong at Qinghe Fort, Zheng Haizhu and Wu Bangde parted ways and went to Hetuala in the east and Fushun City in the north respectively. advance.

Many of the inns outside the customs are run by Jurchens.

Many shopkeepers were mercenaries recruited by the mining tax eunuch Gao Huai when he harmed Liaodong.

They had saved enough money, they didn't want to work hard for the leader of their tribe, and they could speak Chinese, so they opened an inn.

Nurhachi was happy to use these inns to attract merchants in the pass, and some news came, so he didn't let the Eight Banners soldiers harass him.

When Yi Lanzhu first saw these inns, she immediately felt cordial, so she chose the most elegant one with great interest, and flattered Zheng Haizhu: "Master Zheng, I have money for myself, I invite you to stay here."

Zheng Haizhu naturally let her go.

The group was led by a young man attentively. After passing through the hall, they heard figures swaying in the courtyard and the sound of "shuashua" dancing knives.

Yi Lanzhu walked over curiously.

Out of the corner of his eye, the man with the pigtails of money and a silver robe caught sight of a woman in a flag dress. He just regarded it as an unruly female customer in the store, ignored him, and continued to wield the knife.

Yi Lanzhu stared at him, the corners of her mouth began to twitch, and finally shouted tremblingly: "Agu!"

This is the meaning of "elder brother" in Manchu.

Mang Gurtai withdrew his knife suddenly, and looked at Yi Lanzhu in shock.

(End of this chapter)