At the gate of Xuanfu's city gate, soldiers leaned lazily against the city wall, occasionally getting up and checking out the pedestrians in the city.

The civil war between the Mongols on the grassland did not affect the Ming Dynasty. No matter which tribe among the Mongols won, they dared not easily cause rebellion against Zhangjiakou. The necessary tea, salt, sugar, and even iron pots for cooking in Mongols needed to be obtained from the Ming Dynasty, and Zhangjiakou is the most convenient channel, no doubt.

After stepping up the meal, Sun Zicai led the caravan to the city gate.

The walls of Xuanzhen are majestic and tall. As the northern barrier of the Ming capital, they defend against the most powerful enemy in a century. The prototype was built by Emperor Chengzu when he was the King of Yan in Beijing. Later, Emperor Chengzu also came out of the blockages from here for five campaigns to Mongolia.

Zhai Zhe stepped forward and handed the road to the military inspectors. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, there must be road to the government to do business abroad, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward. Of course, the government's investigation is not so strict, and no one cares about ordinary small vendors.

A man wearing a chief dress reached out to take the pass, glanced at him, and asked Zhai Zhe, "What is he pulling?"

"It's all tea!" Zhai Zhe smiled, touched a small piece of silver from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "We belong to the Jiexiu Zhai family, and we have to go in and out of here dozens of times every year."

The man always squeezed the amount of silver, waved his hand and said, "Let's go!" Now the Ming Dynasty has suffered serious military pay, and the gates of Xuan Town on duty have always been in short supply. They can directly exploit some money from the merchants who come and go.

Zhai Zhe handed over another small piece of silver and asked, "What was the caravan that just passed by?"

The man was stunned for a moment, put the money in his pocket, and said with a sarcastic look on his face: "Like you."

Zhai Zhe's face looked a little embarrassed.

There was little exchange between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia before Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty. Almost all borders in the northern border were closed. The Mongolians attacked the border for years in order to obtain tea, iron and other things, and wars continued. During the Longqing period, when the chief minister Gao Gong was in charge, he took the opportunity to successfully negotiate peace with the Altan Khan of the Tumot tribe of Mongolia. Altan Khan vowed never to violate the wisdom, so he opened the border and allowed the Mongolians and Han people to trade with each other, creating prosperity on the border.

However, the imperial court has strictly restricted goods on traded goods, such as grain, iron and other goods, which are absolutely not allowed to enter the grassland privately. Any caravans have no limit on the profits of goods under the ban, and caravans have been smuggled. In recent years, with the shortage of military pay, border troops have also participated in it for their livelihoods. The ban has become a means of profit. Just like Zhai Zhe's goods cannot be all tea, but as long as there is no special explanation above, it is normal to turn a blind eye after collecting the benefits.

The caravan suddenly opened his sight after leaving Xuanzhen. The mountains on both sides were still undulating and gradually transitioning to the hills. Zhai Zhe arranged for one person to go to Zhangjiakou to report the news. The guards immediately dispersed to form a nearly two-mile radius that spread forward. From here, they will be used.

More than 30 miles between Xuanzhen and Zhangjiakou were safe in the past. Since the past few years, there have been two incidents of horse thieves robbing merchants, but the garrison has ignored them at all. The caravans dare not take it lightly when they pass by. However, this place is a place where the Ming border troops are attacked. When Zhangjiakou was prosperous, there were more than a thousand guards, and horse thieves dared not enter this place at will.

Walking four or five miles, the land under your feet gradually became soft, and the road was covered with yellow and green grass. Zhai Zhe saw a piece of soft land in the middle of the road not far ahead, leaving a rut, and walked over and got off the horse and checked carefully. When Sun Zicai arrived by his side, he asked, "Is it the cargo team that just now left behind?"

"It should be that there are more than a dozen carriages and seventy or eighty pack horses."

"With such heavy ruts, they transported grain\u

1000

98df!" Zhai Zhe reached out and pressed the soil under the ruts, and said to himself: "Is there really a caravan going out of the gate in winter?"

"Everything will be known when you arrive at the market!" Sun Zicai reminded.

While the caravan was walking, the guards who were exploring the road in the distance made a few loud whistles and ran back.

"Someone is coming!" The guards hurriedly retreated, pressing against the caravan, and the pack horses stopped, and the guys' faces turned pale.

Zhai Zhe touched his waist knife and was careful to be on guard. Soon he heard the sound of iron hooves. There were nearly a hundred cavalrymen in the formation. After a while, the guard who was checking in front whistled a few more times, and Zhai Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.

"I am my own people, the brothers in the market are here to pick me up."

Zhai Zhe urged his horse to go forward, and turned over the foot of the mountain to face a row of eighty or ninety cavalrymen. The leader was covered with loose hair and dressed in Mongolian clothes. He was wearing a birch short-term worker on his waist and a long bow of gold on his saddle.

"Brother Xiao!" Zhai Zhe looked happy and went up to say hello. The person who came was Xiao Zhiyan, the head of the Zhai family's permanent guard stationed in Zhangjiakou, and he was also a good player who Zhai Zhe personally brought into the Zhai family.

"Are you back? Hao Tou asked me to pick you up." Xiao Zhiyan clapped his hands on the horse's back, his lips slightly raised, and the smile on his face made people feel like spring breeze.

The Hao Tou he mentioned was Hao Yangyou, the chief leader of the Zhai caravan, and was also the confidant of Zhai Zhe, a famous Xingyiquan master in Shanxi. The Jin area's merchants are selected for thousands of times when they go out to the frontier. It is very important to know the roots and bottom of the arts. It is afraid that the merchant guards colluded with bandits and cooperated with each other, so they chose them locally, which also led to the rise of the style of martial arts practice in Jin area.

The two of them walked together, and Zhai Zhe asked: "Have there been any changes in the market recently? Which business was the one that just passed?"

"The one who just passed by was the Fan family's caravan." Xiao Zhiyan raised his eyebrows and continued: "The Mongols in the grassland were in constant war. The Dongtumots outside Zhangjiakou were defeated. Lin Danhan led the Chahar tribe to occupy the Bashang grassland. It is said that he was preparing to march towards Guihua City in 2009."

"Then the Fan family dares to purchase goods?" The Fan family is not a top-notch business in Zhangjiakou. Zhai Zhe was curious about how they would have it.

13ea

Such a courage.

Xiao Zhiyan shook his head and said, "There are three caravans in Zhangjiakou this year, but only the Fan family came back a month ago."

Zhai Zhe asked: "How many horses are brought back?" The Mongolians and Han people have always bartered. They have no gold and silver in their hands, only livestock and fur. Therefore, only large businesses with strong strength can operate their business with the Mongolians.

"No horse!"

Zhai Zhe exclaimed: "Impossible!"

"There is no horse! Guess what the Fan family cargo team brought back?"

"What?"

“There are ginseng in the fur!”

"They went to Liaodong!" Zhai Zhe gritted his teeth. It was indeed a dangerous situation. From Zhangjiakou to Liaodong, he had to pass through the Duoyan Grassland, which was the nomadic land of the Chahar tribe of Lindan Khan of Mongolia. Although the main force of Chahar was gradually migrating westward and fighting with the Tumote tribe in the dam, the risks of a small caravan trying to cross there were self-evident.

The caravan that received the support was even more rushing. Zhai Zhe changed his taciturn attitude on the road and had a great time talking to Xiao Zhiyan. He asked him carefully about the changes in the situation in the past few months after he left Zhangjiakou.

Xiao Zhiyan has been dressed in Mongolians since the day he entered Zhangjiakou, but he was a Han. His accent sounded a bit Shaanxi, but Zhai Zhe was not sure of his origin and did not pursue it. The Han people who were seeking life on this grassland not only had caravans, but also the Han people who fled to famine and entered the grassland reclaimed tens of thousands of acres of fertile land near Fengzhoutan and Guihua City for farming for the Tumote tribe of Mongolia.

When he first entered Zhangjiakou in the third year, Xiao Zhiyan was poor and had only one horse and two bows, and wanted to find a job to guard the house. However, most businesses like him who had unknown origins would not be willing to accept it. However, after Zhai Zhe saw his archery skills and dating him for a while, he forced him to recruit him into the Zhai family. That was his first time in the business of the business. Later he realized that he was not the only one with vision, and several businesses were actually eyeing Xiao Zhiyan, but he was a little slower.

People with abilities will never worry about finding a way out. People with mercy and ruthlessness will not be able to do business. The bosses in Zhangjiakou are not much more kind than those horse thieves. If they follow the rules every step, they will not be able to make a breakthrough.
Chapter completed!