I have become immortal, Taoist friends still need to be diligent

"Come and take a look at the good persimmons."

“Don’t miss the plump pine nuts.”

"..."

Five days later, Li Mu arrived at Gyeongnyeong City in Gyeongju, the three northwest states, which is also the seat of the state capital of Gyeongju.

Qingning City is not very big, with only four to five million people, but Li Mu knows that there is a famous family here, the Ma family.

The Ma family can be said to be the largest family in the three northwest states. They have been generals for generations. The ancestor who founded the Ma family was one of the 28 generals who founded the Wei Dynasty.

At that time, Ma Hu, the ancestor of the Ma family, relied on his status as a master and led the Northwest Wolf Cavalry to conquer most of the land in the three northwest states from the Wei Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of Wei, the ancestor of the Wei Dynasty, was impressed by Ma Hu's contribution, so he gave Ma Hu the title of Marquis of Qingning, and Qingning County as the Ma family's fiefdom, which was hereditary.

Now, after more than two hundred years of development, Qingning County has become the capital of Qingzhou. Logically speaking, today's Qingning City is no longer a county-level unit, and the court should have given the Ma family a county-level fiefdom.

However, the Ma family's inheritance has long been rooted here, so the court made a compromise and changed the Ma family's fiefdom to a nearby county. However, the Marquis Mansion in Qingning City also belonged to the Ma family's fiefdom, and Qingning City was under the jurisdiction of the court, so the Ma family's fiefdom was transferred to a nearby county. The direct lineage of the family basically developed in Qingning City.

The purpose of Li Mu's trip was to cooperate with the Ma family. Li Mu planned to rely on his forged weapons and exchange ten-year-old herbs slowly cultivated by the Li family with the Ma family for high-year herbs and high-grade metals.

Although the grain output in the northwest is lower than that in the central and southern parts of the Wei Dynasty, due to the many good mines in the northwest and the Ma family's network, it is still possible to obtain better herbal medicines.

"Qingninghou Mansion."

After Li Mu found out the location of the Ma family, he led Hei Xuanfeng to the location of the Ma family's Hou Mansion.

"Who are you and what's wrong with you?"

When they arrived at the gate of the Hou Mansion, they saw eight fully armed soldiers standing at the door with solemn faces. When Li Mu arrived, one of the leaders came to ask.

"Please inform me that Uncle Zhongwu from Qingping County has come to pay homage to Marquis Qingning."

Li Mu took out the newly replaced Earl's token and handed it to the soldier.

"Your Majesty, wait a moment."

Then the soldiers entered the Hou Mansion.

Speaking of which, Li Mu is now an earl and can build a private army.

According to the regulations of the Great Wei Dynasty, barons and viscounts can only have twenty to fifty guards, and are not allowed to prepare armor.

But the earl can have one hundred private soldiers and can prepare armor, the marquis can have three hundred private soldiers, and the duke can have five hundred private soldiers.

As for the highest title of king in the Wei Dynasty, it can only be awarded by the royal family of the Wei Dynasty, and the number of private soldiers can reach one thousand.

But there is a difference between a title and a title. Just like Li Mu, the baron before him had some military exploits and helped the Wei Dynasty expand its territory, so he was given hereditary treatment.

This means that Li Mu can be passed on to the next generation, and the fiefdom and title will not be compromised. But Li Mu’s current count will be downgraded one level in the next generation.

The royal titles are basically reduced by one level from generation to generation, and their gold content is no higher than that of the Marquis of the Ma family. No matter how many generations the Ma family is passed down, as long as Wei Dynasty is still there, they will have peace of mind.

"My Lord Earl, the Marquis invites you."

After a while, the soldier returned and said to Li Mu.

"it is good."

Li Mu then walked to Ma's house with the soldiers.

The Ma family is different from other aristocratic families. They were founded by military merit. The gates are all stone buildings and the courtyard walls are four meters high.

When I entered the courtyard, I saw that there were all soldiers in training and children of the Ma family. The military atmosphere was very strong.

After passing the training ground and coming to the housing area, it turned out that the houses were all the same size, like soldiers lined up.

Further back, there is an inner courtyard. After entering, we arrived at the place where the Ma family lived. Outside were the residences of the Ma family's private soldiers.

Although there are no longer rows of houses inside, they have been replaced by the same courtyard all around, guarding a small fortress in the center.

The fortress is more than 30 meters long and 8 meters high. It has a wall with archery positions on it, just like a miniature military castle.

After a while, Li Mu followed the soldiers to a courtyard similar to other courtyards.

"Hahaha, this must be Uncle Zhongwu who is famous in the capital. I've heard of this famous name for a long time."

As soon as Li Mu entered the yard, he saw an old man in his seventies who was dressed simply but had sharp eyes and said boldly to Li Mu.

"Li Mu from Qingping County has met Mr. Hou."

Li Mu bowed generously. After all, the other party is also a strong master. Although he is old, the other party has a higher title and age than himself, so it is okay to salute.

"Okay, come on, take a seat."

Li Mu then discussed the matter with Marquis Qingning.

"How many high-grade weapons and mid-grade weapons can you provide in a year?"

After all, Marquis Qingning had just retired from the military a few years ago, and he spoke very cheerfully. When he saw Li Mu talking about cooperation, he immediately started asking about the Li family's output.

"Back to the Marquis, I can provide you with thirty high-grade weapons and one hundred and twenty medium-grade weapons a year."

Li Mu answered very conservatively, thinking that Li Mu wanted to leave some for the Li family.

"Well, it can be considered a big business. In this case, I have nothing to refuse. After all, we are all nobles from the three northwest states, and we should cooperate with each other."

Marquis Qingning was very straightforward. The two of them planned the general direction and settled the matter. Later, the people in charge of the Li family and the Ma family would discuss it in detail.

After Li Mu finished the official business at Ma's house, he resigned with Marquis Qingning.

"Nephew Li Xian, our Ma family actually has something else. I wonder if you would like to know a little bit about it?"

Seeing that Li Mu was about to leave, Qingninghou took Li Mu's arm and said meaningfully.

"Oh, please let the Marquis know."

Li Mu was very curious about what other good things the Ma family had, and he needed Marquis Qingning to tell him specifically.

"Our horse family is in charge of the Northwest Chidan Racecourse. We have good horses for circulation every year. I wonder if my nephew is interested."

Qingninghou said to Li Mu with a smile.

"Good guy, you dare to resell your troops and horses."

Li Mu was shocked in his heart. This Chidan Horse Farm was one of the best military horse farms in the Wei Dynasty and was responsible for transporting military horses to the Wei army.

Its importance is self-evident.

"I wonder how much the Marquis can provide?"

Li Mu is also very interested in good horses. After all, long-distance travel is impossible without good horses. In the future, if the Li family has private soldiers, they will need good horses to enhance their combat effectiveness.

Otherwise, it will be like the Song Dynasty. There is no suitable military horse farm, the army does not have good horses, it cannot catch up with others, and even if it wins, it will not be able to expand the results.

"There are one hundred middle-grade horses every year, five top-grade horses every year, and one excellent every five years."

Qingninghou said with a slight smile.

"Okay, I want both, but we have to go back and discuss the specific amount."

Li Mu was intrigued when he heard about the top-grade horses, but he had to go back and see how much the Li family needed before discussing the specific amount. If a part of the market could be opened, he could also sell mid-grade horses to make money.

As for the top-grade horses that only fools sell, Li Mu got this horse through Mr. Zhao's name and some connections.