I'm watching the gate in the jail

After exiting Shanhaiguan Pass and heading northeast all the way, it seems that the spring breeze has been cut off behind us, and everyone put on thick cotton robes again.Press the spring clothes back to the bottom of the box.

In order to get winter clothes for the children, they wasted a day in Sanhe County, and then rushed for two days, and finally arrived at Liaodong Town according to the original time.

They're meeting someone here.

In the following journey, this person will lead them to move on.

As the saying goes, "In the east of the sea, Liao is the first frontier, and since Zhongxia is Ning, Sri Lanka must defend it." (Note 1) The group of them walked all the way, the more they went north, the more depressed they were, but when the horse team came to the Liaodong city, looking at the majestic Liaodong city wall, and the large number of convoys waiting to enter the city at the gate, everyone's spirit All excited.

"Ah! Finally arrived in the big city! Dad, I want to go down to play."

Alan opened the window of the carriage and saw the bustling crowd outside, and shouted excitedly.

People around waiting to enter the city heard him speak and looked over curiously.

Seeing such a white and quiet child wearing a padded jacket with a mink fur collar and a fox fur cap on his head, he is as cute as a child who has just stepped out of a painting. The Tatars or the Jurchens all smiled.

"Caravan? Make a face, it's your first time in Liaoyang."

The guard at the gate asked curiously after checking the guides and boxes of their group.

"Yes, I went west to Guangning when I walked to Shisanshan Station. This is the first time I went east."

Wanda smiled respectfully.

Liaoyang is the headquarters of Liaodong Capital Commander, Deputy Chief Soldier and Patroller.And Guangning is the headquarters of the command and envoy division, the commander-in-chief and the governor.These two are the largest military and commercial centers in the vast Liaodong region. (Note 2)

"Going to the business and bringing children."

The guard glanced at Wan Lan who was standing behind Wanda, who was looking around curiously at the people entering and leaving the city gate and asked.

"If you have to come out, you can't shut it down."

Wanda sighed half-truthfully, "I'm not young anymore. In a few years, maybe I'll be able to run a business alone. I'm very brave."

"Blessed."

The soldier said enviously.

"By the way, I want to ask you something."

When Wanda received everyone's Lu Yin with both hands, he took the opportunity to stuff a piece of silver into his hand.

The little soldier padded his money and smiled with satisfaction, "You're welcome, just say it."

"Which direction is the Dengyun Inn in the city? I heard that it is a big hotel. Not only can you stay there, but you can also find interpreters and guides."

"Dengyun? That's a big inn. It is said that it is no worse than the 'No. [-] Building in the World' in Beijing. Just go east after entering the city. It's still early, put down your luggage, and you can still stroll around the city Let's go shopping."

After receiving the extra money, the military master was in a good mood, so he couldn't help but say a few more words.

"Thank you, Mr. Jun, thank you."

Wanda led the road back, turned around and urged everyone to get on the road.

"You see, it's all because you insisted on following. As long as we enter the city along the way, we will not be questioned."

Wanda took A Lan's small hand with suede gloves and complained in a low voice.

"Which company's horse racing team still has children?"

"Father, no one will bring children to investigate intelligence."

Alan pulled Lawanda's sleeve, stood on tiptoe, leaned into his ear and whispered, "Didn't you realize that I'm actually your biggest 'cover'? And I'm so smart, you take me, Absolutely no one doubts it."

Wanda touched his little head dumbfounded.

"All right, ancestor."

Not long after the group walked east, they saw a three-storey building with a big signboard with red letters on a black background at the main entrance, with the words "Dengyun" written on it.

A Lan stood at the door with his head up and looked around for a while, then turned around and said to Wanda and Yang Xiuxian solemnly, "Although compared with the inns and carriages in the previous towns, it is indeed grand and grand, but it is not as good as' Compared with the number one building in the world, it’s a bit overreaching.”

Wanda and Wang Zhi smiled and walked into the inn while holding his hand.

Qiu Zijin followed them, throwing candied fruit into his mouth as he walked.

During this period of time, his "going out syndrome" broke out again. Whether he was traveling in a carriage or occasionally staying in a country shop, he couldn't help but sigh a few words: There is no house again", or "The troubled king is to repay the guests in the south of the Yangtze River, haggard Liaodong and go further east", and then put candied fruit in his mouth to resist the bitter cold weather and boring journey.

He tried to share it with Alan at the beginning, but he was politely rejected by the little Alan—he grew up eating exquisite pastries and fruits made by his father and the palace cooks. It’s not that he doesn’t like these folk things, I really can't get used to it.

Although Alan didn't grow up in the palace, he was also well-clothed and well-fed since childhood.Except for the occasional beating in daily life, what was really called "ten fingers not touching the spring water", Wanda originally thought that this child would definitely not be able to endure the hardship of sleeping in the open.

What he didn't expect was that Alan not only endured hardship, but also never complained.

Along the way, it is rare to come across a decent inn. Most of the time they live in chariot shops and Datong shops, and more than [-] people sleep in their clothes.

Meals are also sent casually. Everywhere, the first step is to replenish the horse team's food, water and dry food.When traveling, basically three meals a day consisted of steamed buns, steamed buns and pickles, which made Qiu Zijin want to cry.

After all, they are a caravan, not a troop of nobles who show off their wealth in the world of martial arts. They always bring their own high-end chariots or large ships that can walk on land when they go out.

A few times I accidentally missed the time to enter the city and had to live in the wild, with the boundless Great Wall on one side, the vast grassland on the other, the orange-red bonfires reflected, and the howling of wolves not far away. The child can sleep peacefully as long as he holds Wanda.

Wanda suspects that this may be the Zhu family's Taizu, Taizong and Xuanzong's genes are at work.The sons of the Zhu family yearn for the setting sun on the Yellow River, the solitary smoke in the desert, and leaping horses and whips.

A few people entered the inner hall of "Dengyun Inn", and found that although it was not as magnificent as "Xinghaihui", it could be regarded as bright and clean, open and sparse.Considering that this is a frontier after all, it is really rare.

"Guest officer, are you staying in a shop? How many people? How many shops do you need? Please show me your wayfinding credentials."

Xiao Er, who was very discerning at the door, had already called for someone to pull the carriage to the stables in the backyard. Gao Hui and Mei Qianzhang rushed over to help.

The shopkeeper's eyes turned back and forth between Wanda, Yang Xiuxian and Qiu Zijin, and finally fell on Wanda who was holding the child's hand, and he judged that he was the leader of the caravan.

Wanda smiled, and handed him the directions of himself and others.

The shopkeeper opened the guide, and after seeing the words "Wan Xing Hai", he stopped breathing.

"grown ups……"

After everyone allocated the room, the shopkeeper came in respectfully and saluted Wanda and Yang Xiuxian.

"Subordinate Wang De, I have been waiting for you adults for a long time."

It turns out that this "Dengyun Inn" is a stronghold of Jinyiwei in Liaodong, and they have been operating here for more than 30 years.Regardless of the unimpressive appearance of the shopkeeper standing in front of him, he would be forgotten immediately if he was thrown in the crowd. He is a senior officer of Jinyiwei with the rank of a thousand households, and he has taken root in this place for more than ten years.

This stronghold can only be known by high-level officials like Jin Yiwei who command the affairs. Yang Xiuxian had never heard of it when he was a thousand households, let alone other yamen in the imperial court and spies from foreign races.

For Wang Qianhu, it was a great event to see the Commander of Jin Yiwei in front of the frontier of Saibei in this life, and he was a little excited for a while.

But why do adults take a child with them when they go out to investigate?

Wang Qianhu looked away inexplicably——Alan was trying to grab a wooden statue of Haidongqing placed on Duobaoge. He just took off his boots and stepped on a chair, but was hugged by Wang Zhi Come down and take him to the back to wash his face and hands.

"Could it be that this young master... is a..."

Wan Qianhu hesitated for a while, then whispered.

"A master dwarf?"

"puff!"

Wanda just sat down and picked up a teacup to drink water, preparing to listen to information about this place.Unexpectedly, Wang Qianhu had such a "sense of humor", he was so frightened that he immediately spit out the hot tea that he hadn't had time to swallow.

Yang Xiuxian put down the teacup, wiped the water stains around his mouth, and thanked himself for drinking quickly.

"Wang Qianhu... what are you talking about?"

Wanda rejected Wang Qianhu's apologetic handkerchief, and shook off the water droplets on his clothes.

"He's just an ordinary kid, a dog."

"The lower official thought he was a master dwarf in Jinyiwei, who specially pretended to be a child as a cover. I didn't expect it to be your son. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Wang Qianhu hurriedly bowed in embarrassment, hoping that this Lord Wan, who has a lot, don't worry about his unintentional mistakes.

Hey, but this adult was ordered to go out to investigate the case, how could he bring his son with him.

Could it be that there is something special about this child?

The handsome young man who just left with the child in his arms should be the legendary Mr. Wang Zhi of Xichang.

This Lord Wan really deserves to be the younger brother of the imperial concubine, even the duke of the dignified Xichang wants to take care of his children.

"It's not something you should take care of, don't take care of it."

Yang Xiuxian said in a low voice.

"Yes, yes, the villain has overstepped."

Sensing the strong sense of threat in Yang Xiuxian's tone, Wang Qianhu hastily adjusted his thoughts and began to report on the current dynamics in Liaoyang City and the changes in several aspects of the situation over the past year.

Wang Zhi brought Wan Lan, who had washed her hands, and came over. Wan Lan sat on a small chair in the corner of the room, tilted her head, and listened carefully.

The more she heard the back, the more she frowned, until she almost turned into a bitter face.

After the shopkeeper had finished speaking, it was almost time for dinner, and Wanda told him to retreat to greet the guests, so as not to arouse others' suspicion.

"Yes, thank you sir."

Wang Qianhu's throat hurt from what he said, and he hurriedly bowed and retreated.

When he reached the door, he seemed to think of something, turned around hastily, and whispered to Wanda.

"My lord, your name 'Wan Xinghai' is not as prominent in the Nine Sides as it is in the capital. But people of other races know a lot. If you walk here and use this name..."

If the name "Wan Xinghai" could still be used as a pseudonym more than ten years ago, even if Wanda roamed the boundaries of Daming.Since he opened the "Xinghaihui", especially after the Guozijian bombing incident the year before last, the fact that "Wan Xinghai" is the commander of Jinyiwei "Wanda", at least in the eyes of various secret workers and Tanma, has already It's no longer a secret.

"Don't worry about that, the road guide just now was specially for you to see. I don't use this pseudonym now."

Wanda smiled, nodded understandingly, and touched the other guide on his chest.

Laozi's new pseudonym is "Wan Dafa".

It is very suitable for my identity as a businessman.

The remaining group of people are "Yang Shouye", "Qiu Dewang", "Gao Fu", and "Wang Cai". They are all good names for everyone.

"What do you think, my lord?"

After dinner, everyone gathered in Wanda's room.

After listening to Wanda's retelling, Qiu Zijin frowned.

According to this Wang Qianhu, since the last "Battle of Ding Hai", Liaoyang has maintained a peace in which several forces compete with each other.

Compared with the Jurchen, the Tatar side is more harmful to Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the 12th year of Chenghua, the Mongolian Tatars gradually grew bigger.

Tutuo Hua's half-brother, Borjijin Mandulu conspired with his father-in-law, Garthlan, to kill his nephew Bayan Munch, and claimed to be the Great Khan of Mongolia.And in a short period of time, the Ordos and Tumed tribes were annexed.

In the spring of that year, the remnants of the Southern Yuan Dynasty, who felt full-fledged, prepared to invade Xuanfu, one of the nine sides.Based on the intelligence, the imperial court judged that their attack on Zhangjiakou was fake, and that their real purpose was to take advantage of the chaos to raid Liaoyang.

So in the early summer of that year, the Ministry of War secretly dispatched Ma Wensheng, the right servant of the Ministry of War at that time, who was familiar with military affairs and was good at training troops, to Liaodong to prepare Jimen and Liaodong border preparations to prevent Nanyuan's strategy of attacking the west.

According to the information obtained by the local Jinyiwei, after the Lord Ma traveled thousands of miles to Liaodong, he led the officials to inspect several dangerous border towns nearby, and cooperated with the state capital to repair and strengthen the city fortress. Among the young and middle-aged, a group of young men who are familiar with the local conditions and conditions are selected, including Han Chinese, Tatars, and Jurchen tribesmen, to coordinate and practice together.Every day during the exercises, he puts on his armor himself and plays with the soldiers, which earns the respect of these northern men.

Mandulu saw that Liaodong was strictly guarded and there was no room to take advantage of, so he could only stand still and go back to the grassland to join the tribal struggle again.

From the autumn of the 12th year of Chenghua to the autumn of the 13th year, during the whole year, Liaodong had neither Tatar harassment nor Jurchen offenders, and they lived in peace with each other.

Not only that, the Liaodong horse market is also booming.

Horses are naturally a major part of the horse market trade. The Liaodong Horse Market was opened in the Yongle period. Firstly, it was to transport horses to the imperial court, and secondly, it was to "retain" foreign tribes.

After Emperor Yongle, Ming's foreign strategic policy was "to use non-war as the best strategy, and restraining money as a trick" (Note 3).

The so-called "restraint" means to control and win over.

Politically, it is expressed as the establishment of prison guards, with the tribal chiefs as officials.Issue seals, official uniforms, imperial edicts, and allow them to retain their original language and living habits, but they must abide by the laws of Ming Dynasty and pay tribute regularly.For example, Duoyan Sanwei and Jianzhou Sanwei are all like this.

In terms of economy, it is manifested in the use of "mutual markets", especially the "horse market" as a means to strengthen the control of the people's livelihood of various tribes.Emperor Xuanzong once said: The imperial court does not have horses and cattle, but makes a market with them, and the food they eat depends on China.If it is rejected, he must have resentment, and the emperor allowed him to trade in each other, which is also Huaiyuan's benevolence. (Note 4)

Outside the Great Wall, it was bitterly cold, and there was little output. If one wanted to obtain Ming rice, cloth, tea, silk, all kinds of curios, books, and agricultural tools for farming, one always plundered blindly, and it was not a long-term solution.It is feasible to exchange what is produced in the country and benefit both sides.

Once the economy is bound, "war" will definitely not be the first option.

Just like what Yang Xiuxian judged before, only reckless small tribes who only care about immediate benefits, and even horse thieves, will take the risk of becoming a grassland when they are out of reach.

There must be a deeper reason for the sporadic wars that have turned into a confrontation between the two states.

And compared to Tatars, Oalas, and Jurchens who had no other output except horses and animal furs, they had more things in their hands to exchange with the Ming Dynasty.Their ginseng, mink, sea otter, pearl, and fungus are all very popular among Daming people.

And they're good at business.

When they were in the capital, the Jinyi Guards also needed to monitor the tribute envoys in various guild halls.These Jurchens gave Yang Xiuxian, Gao Hui and the others a headache every time.

The Jurchens would bring much more than what they needed to pay tribute to the capital. They would get rid of the middlemen and earn the difference by themselves. Not only would they go to the market specially designated for them by the capital to sell things, they would even be so bold as to send the nobles in the capital to Beijing through brokers. Rich people introduced Huitong Hall and used it as a shop to trade in it.

Yang Xiuxian once personally captured the Chongqing princess of the Empress Dowager Zhou, and even Wanda's brother Wantong, and brought people to buy pearls from them in the Huitong Hall... Even because it was a private transaction, he was even exempted from paying taxes.

The imperial court stipulated that the envoys of all ethnic groups could only do business in Beijing for a maximum of five days, and after five days, they had to go back to the mansion and return to the various guards, and they were not allowed to stay in Beijing without reason.

This group of people raced against time, even if they were walking on the road, they could trade with the common people along the way.It’s good to buy some brooms, dustpans and even children’s toys—these things are nothing in Beijing, but when you leave the customs, you can change them and become worth a hundred times.

Anyway, regardless of whether the people of these tribes made a profit in the end, these detaining officials must have made a lot of money.

With money, who wants to fight?

In the final analysis, on Daming's side, the purpose of opening a market is not at all for that little tax.

According to Chen Yue's memorial, the reason for the sudden rebellion of the three guards in Jianzhou at the end of last year was because Ma Wensheng stopped the sale of farm tools in the horse market and delayed the cultivation of the Jurchens, so they retaliated wantonly.

"If you want to say this is the reason, then indeed, Ma Shilang gave this order..."

Qiu Zijin frowned and said, "But that's not to make things difficult for the Jurchens deliberately, but to prevent the iron weapons from being exported to the Tatars and forged into weapons. If we talk about targeting, it's targeting Mandulu."

Constrained by the natural environment and technological development, the tribesmen in all parts of the frontier have not yet fully mastered the maize harvesting technology.Plowshares, shovels, shovels, etc. for cultivating the land still need to rely on imports.

"And that was not an order just issued last year. When Ma Shilang first arrived in Liaoyang the year before last, Xia Tian issued this order. It was said that the Jurchens were afraid that they would not have farm tools, which would delay this year's spring plowing before they came to plunder. Didn't they come to plunder last spring? Are you farming?"

Wan Lan swayed her calf and said sharply.

This Ma Shilang is not just a rough man who only knows how to march and fight. He once served as the governor of Shaanxi for seven years, rectifying the tea horse trade in the west.When he was in Shaanxi, he made a great achievement, which was to exchange tea and salt for more than 8000 good horses for the imperial court. He was one of the very few military generals in the Ming Dynasty with super high economic skills.

As soon as he arrived in Liaodong, in addition to rectifying military affairs, he thought of cutting off the possibility of the Mandulu tribe seeking weapons in terms of trade.It cut off the source of weapons for raising troops without blood, which is simply a "stroke of magic".

How did it come to Chen Yue's mouth that Ma Shilang insisted on going his own way, obstructing frontier commerce and causing war?

"It seems that Mr. Chen and Mr. Ma have a lot of grievances in private."

After listening to everyone's analysis, Wanda sneered.

"It's really interesting that a place as big as Liaodong can't accommodate the right servant and the right deputy of the Ministry of War at the same time."

Judging from the timeline, Wanda feels that after Chen Yue was appointed as the governor of Liaodong, he came here and had an unhappiness with Chen Yue who was originally here to guard against the Tatars and rectify military affairs, which led to the incident last year.

It is likely that the Jurchen ministries have suffered from the disaster.

As for why the war suddenly escalated this year, further investigation is needed.

Of course, all of this is still the conjecture of the few of them, and they still need to visit carefully to find out the evidence.

But no matter what, Chen Yue's slander of his comrades in the memorial is a certainty.This person's character was first discounted in Wanda's heart.

"It is said that in the battle at the beginning of the year, Chen Yue broke through more than 50 enemy villages, burned more than 500 houses, and beheaded more than [-] people. Live... here, there will be no 'killing the good'?"

Qiu Zijin suddenly thought of it.

"Even if there is no false credit, as a 'counterattack', the result of this battle is too great."

Yang Xiuxian folded his arms and said.

"It's not like the Jurchen Three Guards took advantage of the New Year's Eve to sneak attack, it's simply Master Chen leading them to ambush..."

Deliberately provoking side issues...

That's a big problem.

"Tomorrow morning, everyone, get up early, take our goods, and go to the horse market to find out."

As the saying goes, "seeing is better than hearing a hundred times", since according to Chen Yue's notes and the analysis of everyone, the cause of all disasters is because of the Liaodong Horse Market, so I will go and see if I can find any clues tomorrow.

"Father, I want to go too!"

Wan Lan couldn't wait to say, "I want to buy something. I bought a lot of things and brought them back for the empress and the prince to play with."

"Do you have money? Do you want to buy something? I won't give you money."

When the child went out, he had nothing but his clothes and shoes.There is still money, there is a fart!

"I have money."

Wan Lan said, walked to Mei Qianzhang's side, and stretched out her hand.

Under the surprised eyes of everyone, Mei Qianzhang took out a purse from his pocket.

"Father, look!"

Wan Lan proudly opened the pocket of her purse.

Suddenly, the room was filled with golden light.

"During the Chinese New Year, my mother gave me a lot of gold leaves. There are also Dadongzhu, Mao'er's eye, and lapis lazuli."

Wan Lan said, pouring out a handful in her hand like pouring jelly beans.

"Ancestor, quickly take away your magic weapon! Your father's eyes are going to be hard to open."

Wanda hurriedly stuffed all the jewels he grabbed back.

Dead child, don't you know that "wealth is not revealed"?

He is more than "Lu Bai" now, he is short of showing off his wealth live on the whole network.

"Why do you have so many gold, silver and jewels!"

Wanda's hand holding the purse was shaking.

"I told you, the empress and Your Majesty rewarded you."

Wan Lan looked upright.

"No, why is his money with you!"

Wanda turned to Mei Qianzhang.

"what……"

Mei Qianzhang scratched her head in embarrassment, "Your Majesty said, it's too dangerous for a child to hold money. You and I will follow Alan every day, so let me keep it."

"You don't need to keep it in the future, just give it to me. You are so beautiful, you dare to hide the small treasury privately!"

As Wanda said, seeing Wan Lan aggrieved and wanting to refute, he preemptively kicked his ass.

Seeing that A Lan reluctantly handed over the heavy purse to fill the weight of the pouch, Wanda only felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

Maybe this is the mentality of "hating the rich" at work.

The author has something to say: Wan Lan: Jin Yiwei Bloody Dwarf + Demon Showing off His Wealth Note 1: "Ming Taizu Records Volume 103"

Note 2: "Inventory of the Distribution of Military Guards and Stations in the Liaodong Area of ​​the Ming Dynasty" Note 3: "Liaodong Chronicles"

Note 4: "Ming Xuanzong Shilu Volume 84"

Thousands of miles in Liaodong, Liaoshui song, ancient garrison, no city and no house - "Journey to Liaodong", Wang Jianfan of the Tang Dynasty, in order to report to the south of the Yangtze River, haggard Liaodong and headed east. —— "Wearing the Wild Goose", written by Liu in the Song Dynasty