The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 108 The Precious Iron Pot
How can one distinguish between Guan Jun and mountain bandits?
Merchants from the Western Regions will tell you:
The former readily let you in.

The latter is waiting at the pit to rob you.

Moreover, they can switch between the two identities with ease.

Guan Jun was forced to become a bandit.

Few military households in the entire Bei Kingdom were living a good life.

The State of Bei has been established for 273 years.

The number of military households increased several times over.

The military farmland allocated by the imperial court was far from enough to sustain them.

In addition, there were instances of high-ranking military officers seizing military farmland for their own private use.

The lives of the military households were extremely difficult.

Emperor Taizu of Bei retained the Yuan Dynasty's garrison system because he did not want to waste the country's resources on maintaining an army.

The imperial court has far too many holes that need to be plugged with money.

The annual budget allocated to the Ministry of War for military pay was pitifully small.

almost negligible.

Border Town, a remote area in the northwest.

It is about 100 li away from Huaiqing Prefecture.

It borders tribes such as the Mongol Tatars and the Oirats.

Before the Yuan Dynasty.

These foreign tribes frequently crossed Junma Mountain and went straight to Huaiqing Prefecture to plunder.

After the Mongols were driven back to the grasslands, Emperor Taizu of Bei built a border town at the pass of Junma Mountain for border security.

It also has the following guards: Ningwei, Qianwei, Zuotunwei, Youtunwei, and Zhongtunwei.

It was used to guard the northwestern border of the country.

In this way, a gate was installed for Junma Mountain.

As long as the border troops guard this northwestern gateway, the Mongols will no longer be able to easily enter Huaiqing Prefecture, or even march south into the Central Plains as they once did.

However, the plundering nature of the Mongol-Tatar tribes remains unchanged throughout history.

They also frequently fought amongst themselves over control of the ranches.

Small tribes that do not align themselves with larger tribes are easily annexed.

The consequences of annexation will be dire.

The cattle, sheep, horses, and women were taken away.

Men and children can only be slaves.

The Mongols harbored deep resentment towards the Han Chinese who drove them back to the grasslands.

Winter border patrols have become a habit.

this year.

The amount of rain that God distributes to His people is quite uneven.

From summer to autumn, the rains in the area south of the Zhuohe River seem endless.

North of the Zhuohe River, especially in the semi-grassland and semi-desert areas of the northwest border, the number of times it rains is very limited.

Spring drought makes it difficult for pasture grass to grow.

In the sweltering summer heat, most of the sparse grasslands have been scorched to death.

Autumn is the best season of the year for sheep to fatten up for winter.

These days, forget about gaining weight for winter; even the news coming from the once-lush autumn pastures isn't good.

The herders had to find new pastures.

Tribal migration was inevitable!
before going.

The Ejina Torghut tribe, which is closest to the border town, is planning something big!
The tribal chief, in his early twenties and the eldest son, had just inherited his father's estate earlier this year.

He was eager to prove himself to his people.

Under his leadership, the life of the Ejina Torghut tribe will only get better and better.

On a good day, good food and drink are the most important things!
He planned to lead a group to Huaiqing Prefecture and seize a hundred or so large iron pots.

Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol Tatars only knew how to cook rice using ceramic pots.

They need to move around with the grasslands all year round, and the earthenware pots are easily broken due to bumps and knocks during the relocation process.

Having been established in the Central Plains for over a century, they naturally know the merits of Central Plains iron pots! Iron pots are not only sturdy and durable, but also have good heat resistance.

It's incredibly useful for simmering milk tofu, milk skin, and other dairy products in a large iron pot.

Even a large tribe like the Ejina Torghuts, after so many years of hard work, has only managed to accumulate eight iron pots.

More than a hundred herding households have to take turns using it at mealtimes.

The more frequently you use it, the more wear and tear will occur on the bottom of the pot.

The pot has been patched so badly that you can't even tell it's the original one, but I still can't bear to throw it away.

It's not that they don't want to buy new cast iron pots.

The nine important border towns in the north of Bei State only traded with each other once a year.

Iron products were strictly controlled by the imperial court and were produced in limited quantities.

Not to mention the price!
It takes three or four fine horses to trade for a large iron pot.

The Tatars couldn't do anything about the policies of the Bei Kingdom.

Since you're unwilling to sell, we'll just have to take matters into our own hands and rob it!

The young chieftain also needed to consult with the chieftains of several nearby tribes.

With a large number of people and mutual support, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Without much persuasion, the leaders of several Tatar tribes agreed!
Big iron pots—which tribe doesn't have a shortage of them?!
In just two or three days, the five tribes selected more than 800 Batel (warriors).

Batel and his men traveled light and quietly crossed Junma Mountain.

It took the Ejina Torghut tribe half a year to finally dig a secret passage that bypassed the border town.

This autumn, it finally came in handy.
Huaiqing Prefecture.

The most prominent five-courtyard official residence in the city.

The plaque above the gate reads "Ningyang Marquis's Residence".

Zhao Muyun, the thirty-three-year-old Marquis of Ningyang, had just finished a half-month-long inspection tour.

The five garrisons are visited every month.

With thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face, he returned home covered in yellow sand and dust.

I haven't had a decent meal in many days.

My stomach has gotten so thin from hunger.

It wasn't mealtime yet, but they were already clamoring for food.

They didn't even care about dining etiquette, and started gulping down a large bowl of mutton noodles.

Lady Jiang, the wife of the Marquis, was used to it and did not find it strange.

She gently urged him to eat slower, saying, "Have some mutton soup first to soothe your stomach. No one's going to take it from you!"

Her answer came with the slurping sound of noodles.

Only after finishing a large bowl of noodles and drinking half a cup of tea did Zhao Muyun begin to show concern for his family:

"Is everything alright at home? What has Madam been busy with lately? Have Ran'er and Zhi'er caused any trouble? Why was Rui'er punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall?"

Seven days ago, I attended a banquet hosted by the wife of Prefect Ban.

Jiang selected some matters that she considered important and gave her husband a brief report.

Diplomacy by wives can sometimes be a form of information transmission.

Finally, the topic of children comes up, which is a bit upsetting:
"Hmph! It's all because the Marquis has spoiled Ran'er so much that she's become increasingly outrageous. I'd be surprised if she didn't cause trouble one day!"
What outrageous thing could a simple-minded child like Zhige do?

It was I who made Rui Ge'er kneel in the ancestral hall; Aunt Ni only knows how to give him money every day!
What good thing did the Marquis think he did with all that silver?

This time, he set his sights on a village woman who sold fruit, and even gave her husband twenty taels of silver to force them to divorce!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Muyun's usually gentle face darkened considerably.

Ran'er, the fourteen-year-old legitimate daughter.

At most, she's just a bit wild, fond of wielding weapons, and likes to dress up as a man and go out to right wrongs.

The trouble she caused was entirely within her acceptable range.

The second son of a concubine, Zhige'er, is only ten years old this year. His mother was his concubine's maid, who died in childbirth.

He was given to his stepmother, Lady Jiang, to raise immediately after birth.

This child is kind and honest, and has a very good relationship with Jiang and her daughter, just like a biological child.

The only thing that gave him a headache was his eldest son, Zhao Rui, who was born out of wedlock.

(End of this chapter)