Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 213 Strange
The battle did not last long, only a quarter of an hour, and there were not many casualties on both sides. Although everyone on Ma Shizhou's side was alive, many were injured, especially the seriously injured man who was stabbed in the arm. Although it was not cut off, it looked completely disabled. If Ma Shizhou and his men had not brought medicine and provided timely treatment, he might have died before he could reach the tribesmen.

As for the other wounds, they were not lightly injured, but they were all flesh wounds that looked scary, without any broken bones. On the contrary, the Mongols lost several people. In addition to the Mongol who fell off his horse after being shot directly by Ma Shizhou with his musket, it is estimated that there were two or three deaths, and even more injuries.

After the Mongols retreated, Ma Shizhou did not send anyone to pursue them. After all, he did not have many people on his side, and the other side were all cavalry. If he only let a few Mongols in the team and his own men chase them, not only would they fail to capture the other side, but there might also be casualties on his side.

In addition, there were also injuries on his side, and the carriage and cargo had caught fire. Rescuing people and cargo was the most important thing. Ma Shizhou asked half of the people to remain vigilant, and the rest to treat the wounded and pull away the unburned carriage and horses to isolate the source of the fire.

It was impossible to put out a fire on a prairie, and there was no water nearby, so it was not realistic to put out the fire with manpower. The burning goods and carts had to be abandoned, and other carts that were not exposed to the fire were moved aside to ensure that the losses were minimized.

After finishing all these, the goods that had been burned were almost all gone. After counting, they found that nearly half of the goods were lost. The lost goods included not only cloth, tea, salt, sugar, but also some supplies needed by the tribe. These things would be worth a lot of silver.

"Sixth Master, the responsibility for this is mine. If I had done that at that time..." Ma Shizhou said to Zhu Shenzhui with shame. As the team leader, he was naturally responsible for such a big incident. Moreover, the caravan suffered a heavy loss this time. After the incident, Ma Shizhou had been blaming himself.

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and said, "This is none of your business, Uncle Ma. This incident was an accident. Besides, Uncle Ma responded appropriately at the time. He has done his best to save the people and half of the goods. There is no need to mention the other things."

Ma Shizhou was stunned. He was ashamed but grateful, and bowed deeply to Zhu Shencui. Although he didn't say anything, he remembered Zhu Shencui's kindness and magnanimity in his heart.

"Where do these Mongols come from?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

Ma Shizhou shook his head and said, "After the encounter, for the sake of the caravan's safety, we did not send anyone to chase them. We traveled day and night for the next few days to go directly to the tribe. When we arrived at the tribe, we informed the lady of the incident. After hearing about it, the lady was furious. The Taiji sent a lot of people to the place where the incident happened to inquire about the news. But the strange thing is that the people who came back a few days later said that they did not find this group of people. Several small tribes nearby were also carefully investigated, and they all said that they had never seen these people. No one knew where this group of people came from, let alone where they went afterwards."

"So, the origins of these people have not been figured out yet?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

Ma Shizhou nodded in shame. Not only did he lose manpower and goods, but he didn't even know where these people came from. Ma Shizhou didn't know how to explain to Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhu Shenzhui frowned slightly. This matter seemed strange. The appearance of these Mongols and their behavior were definitely not a simple encounter. Although there was no evidence, Zhu Shenzhui always felt that these Mongols came with the intention of attacking his caravan from the beginning, and they were very decisive in doing things. When they saw that they could not defeat Ma Shizhou and others, they retreated decisively. When they left, they not only set a fire, but also took away all the dead and injured.

"Sixth Master, Uncle Ma and I have discussed this matter privately. We both feel that these Mongols are well prepared and are probably not just horse bandits on the grassland." Kang Youfu said this.

"Oh, please tell me more about it."

Kang Youfu bowed to Zhu Shenzhui and immediately told him his own judgment. It was not the first time that the caravans of Hengtong Trading Company traveled between Daming and the grassland. All along, all the links had been opened up, whether on the Daming side or the grassland side.

There is no need to talk about the Ming Dynasty. The current Hengtong Trading Company is no longer the same as when it was first established. With the normalization and gradual expansion of grassland trade, the scale of Hengtong Trading Company has continued to expand.

Apart from the business aspect, the owner behind Hengtong Commercial Bank was Zhu Shenzhui. Kang Youfu, Ma Shizhou and others were very clear about Zhu Shenzhui's background. In the development of the commercial bank, Zhu Shenzhui not only used his status as a member of the royal family to provide insurance for the commercial bank, but also established connections in several garrisons and provincial government offices in Shanxi.

In addition, Wang Rong is now the commander of Luzhou Guard, and Zhou Anmin is the captain of the Jinyiwei. The official obstacles have been completely gone. Even if these people cannot control the border troops, don't forget that there is still a eunuch Wei Zhongxian in the capital.

On the grassland, Tana's tribe is now a family with Zhu Shenzhui. The relationship between the two is not just a simple cooperative relationship. Ashi Timur is a qualified leader, and he certainly understands the benefits of both sides joining forces. Although Ashi Timur's tribe is not the top in the grassland, it is considered a large tribe in the local area. Moreover, Ashi Timur also holds the position of the right wing of the Mongolian army and the title of Jinong, and can be regarded as a nobleman among the Mongols. With Ashi Timur's own status and the name of the tribe, unless there is a war with the nearby tribes, no Mongols will risk offending Ashi Timur to do such a thing.

If such a thing is discovered, the small tribe may be exterminated. What is more serious is that wantonly attacking the Ming merchant caravans on the grasslands is a violation of the rules formed in the grasslands for hundreds of years. Once the news spreads, the Ming merchants will no longer come to the grasslands. The loss will not only be to Ashe Temur's tribe, but all the tribes on the grasslands will suffer.

The consequences of the people who broke the rules and attacked were certain. Since the people who attacked the caravan were Mongols, it was impossible for them not to know the consequences of doing so, but they still did it anyway.

If these Mongols were bandits roaming the grasslands, this is possible, and it can also explain why they disregarded the rules and attacked the caravans on the grasslands. However, Kang Youfu believes that if they were bandits, there are several questions that do not make sense. One is why the bandits knew that the caravan of Hengtong Trading Company would appear in that place, and why they happened to intercept the caravan halfway.

If this is called a coincidence, it is too coincidental. You have to know that the grassland is not the Ming Dynasty. There is no so-called official road in the grassland, not even a small path. In the endless grassland, a caravan of more than 20 people walking into it is no different from a drop of water entering the sea. It is not so easy to find its trace. Even if there is a general direction, it is intriguing to intercept the caravan at the right time and place.

Secondly, it was even more strange that these Mongols resorted to fire attack without capturing Ma Shizhou and others.

Since the purpose is to intercept the caravan, then the main target is the goods carried by the caravan. Isn't obtaining these goods the real purpose? Even if Ma Shizhou and others resist strongly and cannot be captured for a while, as the leader, it is completely feasible to retreat first, and then use the advantage of the Mongolian cavalry to harass the caravan and find an opportunity to seize the goods.

But this group of Mongols did not do so. After suffering casualties, they started to set fire directly. This behavior was even more strange. It seemed to be venting anger, but in fact it proved that the real goal of this group of people was not to seize the supplies but to destroy the supplies directly if they failed to seize them.

This practice is extremely unreasonable. Everyone knows what the supplies carried by the caravans on the grassland represent and how much profit is involved.

"Sixth Master, I think the origins of these Mongols are probably not that simple. Not only do they know the time and route of the caravan's passage and are able to wait there and attack, but they also set fire directly when they cannot win the battle. It's very strange." Kang Youfu said sternly.

Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly. He had just thought about the questions that Kang Youfu had mentioned. He looked towards Ma Shizhou with a questioning look.

"What Shopkeeper Kang said is correct. I have been thinking about this matter all the way. I know quite a bit about the Mongols. What they did is indeed very strange. Also, just as Shopkeeper Kang said, how did these Mongols know the whereabouts of the caravan? This is something that one cannot help but think about."

"Uncle Ma, is there anyone in the caravan...?" As soon as Ma Shizhou finished speaking, Kang Youfu couldn't help but ask.

Ma Shizhou resolutely denied: "That's impossible! The people in the caravan are all senior members of the company, and even the Mongolian brothers who accompanied them are people close to my wife. From the start to the grassland, I was the leader, and I arranged the route and schedule. Even if someone knew a little, they wouldn't know everything. Besides, the caravan has always been strictly managed, and no one has left the team without permission."

"In the battle on the grassland, everyone fought bravely. If it weren't for these brothers fighting desperately, let alone protecting nearly half of the goods, I'm afraid even my old bones would have been left on the grassland. I know what Shopkeeper Bai Kang means, but if you want me to doubt my brothers, I'm sorry, I can't do that!"

Ma Shizhou's decisive answer made Kang Youfu look a little embarrassed, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Zhu Shenzhui knew clearly that Kang Youfu put forward this view only to make a judgment and exclusion, and had no other intention. After all, Kang Youfu was different from Ma Shizhou. He was a pure businessman, while Ma Shizhou was still a soldier at heart.

The two men have different backgrounds and experiences. Kang Youfu would not have the kind of feelings that Ma Shizhou has for his brothers. In Kang Youfu's view, business is business, and businessmen are more concerned with reason than feelings. However, these are exactly what Ma Shizhou cannot accept.

(End of this chapter)