stubborn thief

Chapter 288 Sand
This meal of steamed duck with Cordyceps was very unpleasant for Liu Chengzong.

In his mind, he had already estimated the economic situation of the Hexi Corridor, but he still had many romantic fantasies about the economic level there.

But Shili has nothing to say about what he saw and heard when he came here. It can be summed up in two words: sand.

The road from Turpan to Hami is full of sand, and from Hami to Guazhou, Guazhou is deserted, with only about [-] households surrounding the shrinking oasis.

Liu Chengzong asked about Dunhuang, which is a name that haunts people's hearts and dreams, and it is the place where the dream of the Western Regions of the Han people began.

Shili just shook his head numbly, saying that there is no Dunhuang.

It has been a full 100 years since the sandbank was abandoned by Ming Dynasty. During these 100 years, it nominally belonged to Abdul Rain Khan of Turpan, but in order to avoid further conflict with Ming Dynasty, Shazhou and Guazhou were in tacit agreement between Turpan and the Gansu General Army of Ming Dynasty. declared buffer zone.

Under no one's management, the Dunhuang Oasis still stands in the endless Gobi, but only the abandoned farmland on both sides of the Dang River and the willow trees sown by wind and sand remain.

The fragile Gobi irrigation has long been a relic.

Maritime trade impacted the Silk Road, and now it is just a golden road for the eight cities of Yarkand, Kashgar, Khotan, Yingjisha, Aksu, Wushi, Turpan, and Hami.

In the past 30 years, the tribes of Yarkand have attacked each other, and in fact, only smugglers from the three cities of Aksu, Turpan, and Hami have traveled the Silk Road.

People no longer needed Dunhuang, and the chaotic Yarkand was unable to manage the Western Regions, and the area between Daming and Hami, Turpan became a truly barren land.

Hearing such news from the envoys from Turpan, Liu Chengzong was very depressed.

Although he had expected this in his heart, he still didn't realize that the environment was so bad.

It wasn't until he led the army into the territory of Luhuo County, cooperated with the township officials' task force in the northwest to destroy two noble manors, and announced the freedom of more than 400 slaves, that he felt a little better.

However, the impact of this incident was not high. In the mountains beside the Niqu River, his lion soldiers found many terraces suitable for farming.

Since Nangqian was carrying out a massive land reclamation work, the soldiers of the Lion Army knew that the commander-in-chief was concerned about the fields. Many of them were farmers, and some of them were experts in farming.

These people are very concerned about the soil along the way. Whenever they find a meandering area, they will go forward to explore the water and soil of the platform, and often get good results.

The most fertile land here is the small plain in the mountainous area, also called Bazi. Almost all the noble manors occupy the Bazi. Except for Bazi, the second place is the platform in the meandering area of ​​the river valley. The area is small, but it is easy to irrigate and the soil is relatively healthy. Very fertile.

But in this area, most of the land is the impact of the river. The slope land on both sides of the river can be repaired into terraced fields. The soil is not so good and the labor is more laborious.

The guards registered the fields suitable for reclamation one by one, waiting for the immigrant call for reclamation. For Liu Chengzong, he was more emotional.

He has already discovered the pattern, the closer to the Ming Dynasty border, the better the geographical environment and the better people's lives.

In most places ruled by Kangning Prefecture, there are few farmlands and a lot of grazing land. The entire Kangning Prefecture has more than one million hectares of pastures and countless cattle, sheep and livestock. However, this does not mean that they are rich. In fact, they are very poor.

Like the Mongolian herdsmen who cannot afford meat, the people in the pastoral areas mainly rely on a small amount of highland barley and dairy products to sustain their lives. Only the extremely wealthy nobles will slaughter and eat meat, but the nobles do not raise cattle, so it is equivalent to the herdsmen not killing cattle.

After entering Luhuo County, Liu Chengzong gradually became able to see the Mongols, because the Fan people did not eat fish, but there were many small fishers on the river. When he got closer, he saw that there were pole-pullers on the small fishing boats and small rafts. It's the Mongols who run away when they see the army.

After all, rivers are not grasslands, and there are cavalry on both sides of the boat, and there is nowhere to run if they want to run. When I called them over and asked, the Sichuan official language was more slippery than anyone else.

They are not Tumed, their ancestors were the army transferred from Jiangxi to Chengdu with the prime minister at the end of Yuan Dynasty to suppress the rebellion.

Liu Chengzong didn't ask about how to fight the rebellion in Chengdu. Anyway, these Mongolians' boating skills and fishing skills are really good. .

Ten miles northwest of Luhuo County, Uncle Cai Zhongpan led Changhexi chieftain Muya, and his followers were wrapped in thick fur robes, like a group of pandas standing in the ice and snow waiting for bamboo.

People are approaching from a distance, and Mu Ya is still complaining to Cai Zhongpan, saying that he is half a fellow, and you are hiding such a big matter from me!
He didn't know the news of Liu Chengzong's coming until three days ago. Before that, Cai Zhongpan had kept him in Luhuo, which made Muya feel uneasy. He wondered whether Cai Zhongpan had discussed with the chieftain of Lijiang and detained himself here. .

It made him worry in vain for more than ten days before he realized that Liu Chengzong was coming... Damn it, it's a good thing, what's there to hide!

As long as it is not Mu Tianwang who comes, it is a good thing for anyone to come.

Liu Chengzong saw them from a distance, so he rode his horse a few steps faster, got closer, got off the horse and hugged him with his uncle, then looked at Mu Ya beside him, and said to Cai Zhongpan: "This is the eldest brother that uncle mentioned to me. Hexi chieftain?"

Muya hurriedly clasped her fists first before saluting: "Yes, I'm going down to Changhe Ximuya, and I'll meet the commander-in-chief!"

"Forget it, I don't like those worships, I heard from my uncle that Mu Tusi and he are talking about going to the Xiangdang." Liu Chengzong laughed, then raised his hand and said: "Let's go, let's get on the horse and talk while walking. "

Muya nodded when she heard this, stepped forward to take the reins of the red flag, and glanced back, when a servant was about to step forward, Cai Zhongpan quickly pulled his sleeve and winked hard.

Cai Zhongpan said in his heart that based on his understanding of his nephew, if Muya pulled out a slave here to serve as a stepping stone for Liu Shizi, the two families would not have to talk about anything, and war would be inevitable.

He really didn't want Liu Chengzong to fight Muya, and he didn't even want Liu Chengzong to fight anyone here.

It hurts to lose, and when you win, you get a piece of money-losing land in your hands.

These lands are all income in the hands of the chieftain, but when the temples are demolished and the nobles are expelled in the hands of the Lion Army, there are still a bunch of slaves waiting to be fed, and they have to find ways to find food for them, and all that is left is to improve the living standards of others. up.

No matter how great your prestige is, you can't do this all the time.

On the way, Cai Zhongpan and Liu Chengzong took a few steps forward, reported the recent situation, and said: "Marshal, I have spoken to Tan Muya, as long as there is a boundary, pay tribute, ask for money, food, and women, as long as If you can afford it, it’s okay, just a little.”

To be honest, Liu Chengzong is not very interested in giving money and food to women. No matter how many things he wants, these things will eventually be passed on to the common people. He asked, "What?"

"Don't be too much, he has to pay tribute to the court, and he hopes that the Lion Army can be his backer."

Liu Chengzong didn't quite understand the logic of this matter, and said: "It's easy to be a backer, but he doesn't plan to pay tribute to Daming? Or does he want to expand?"

"It's not Ming, nor is it expansion." Cai Zhongpan said: "It's Lijiang. There is no place to expand in the west of the Changhe River. To the east of it is the imperial court's Sichuan Chief Envoy, to the southeast is the Sichuan Metropolitan Command and Envoy, and to the south and west is Lijiang's Mu family. The site is gone, and if you walk two hundred miles west on Dajian Road, you will have the surname Mu."

As he said that, Cai Zhongpan pointed to the north again: "Walk two hundred miles to the northwest, and his surname is Liu. Jinchuan is building watchtowers in the north. Where is he going to expand?"

Liu Chengzong couldn't help smiling, and he said why the chieftain of Changhexi was so restless. In this environment, everyone would have to be restless.

"Uncle is doing well, I know it well."

Liu Chengzong didn't say anything on the way, because Muya tried his best to introduce his relationship with Shaanxi merchants, and also said that Liu Shizi should try his hometown dishes.

It is a genuine hometown dish. Muya invited six chefs from Shaanxi and six cooks from Sichuan from Dajianlu, and brought the ingredients brought from the edge of Sichuan. Yesterday morning, he started to sauce fermented soybeans and blanch in the largest manor in Luhuo County. Bamboo shoot juice, old marinade, and high soup.

Shaanxi merchants talk about ostentation, and they don’t stop eating. Most of the cooks in Chuanbian were brought here by wealthy merchants, and they were hired by various chieftains to open restaurants in Dajianlu.

Mu Ya followed the spectacle of the banquet according to the specifications of the salt merchants in Sichuan, making Liu Shizi feel like a bumpkin.

The cooks are all from Guanzhong, and he set up the Lantian Nine Big Bowls, roasted elbow, stewed cabbage, slivered meat, small crispy meat, old tofu... Among the dishes that looked hard, he only served with thick wine pot helmet more familiar.

The chef in Chuanzhong served northern Sichuan jelly, honeydew hoof flower, distiller's bone grains, hibiscus tofu, pork ribs in orange sauce, soft-shelled turtle soup and lactose tiger.

In fact, the last little snack was originally a lactose lion. The raw material was stone honey made from sugar and milk and crisp cheese to make it look like a lion. It has been a tribute from Sichuan to the imperial court since the Song Dynasty. Under Cai Zhongpan’s instruction Let the cook change the style and make it into a tiger.

"Mu Tusi has spent a lot of time preparing this banquet."

Among the dazzling array of dishes, Liu Chengzong felt that every dish was delicious, but his favorite was the small round pickles on the table, and asked, "What is that dish?"

The banquet is very satisfying, especially Muya is very considerate. Knowing that the Lions are on an expedition all the way, there are no cooks who can handle it. The same banquet is prepared by the Lions. It is probably the best if the amount is large. The dishes here are famous delicacies in northern Shaanxi...

Hearing Liu Chengzong's question, Mu Ya felt very flattered, she patted her chest and said: "Marshal, that's Yutong sauerkraut under my jurisdiction, it's made with high mountain round roots, it's not the turn of today's banquet, if Marshal I like it, and at night, I will serve sauerkraut fried bacon and sour noodle soup.”

Liu Chengzong nodded, and said to Cai Zhongpan: "This is good, it can be used as military rations."

Mu Ya was so choked by a sentence that she didn't know how to answer it, she thought for a long time before she said with a smile: "Does the commander know what is the most precious thing in this banquet?"

Liu Chengzong blinked and replied, "Is it the invited cook?"

Mu Ya waved her hand and said, "No, it's Sichuan salt. All the dishes today use the high-quality Sichuan salt brought by shopkeeper Zhao."

Liu Chengzong looked around, this storekeeper Zhao was a merchant that Cai Zhongpan asked Mu Ya to find from the Chengdu Mansion, and he used to be the same storekeeper of the Zhao family in Weinan, and he was engaged in the sale of salt and tea.

Sitting at the table, a meal is eaten very discreetly, without saying a word.

After all, for shopkeeper Zhao, the people at this table are either the chieftain or the leader of the rebel army. In their territory, no one is easy to get along with.

Liu Chengzong asked: "How expensive is Sichuan salt?"

"The chieftain's yamen below is called Changhe Xiyutong Ningyuan Military and Civilian Propaganda Commissioner. It does not produce salt." Muya lightly tapped the table with her hand: "20 liang of fritillaria, four catties of Sichuan salt, salt transport When you arrive at Yutong, it’s already full of big chunks of crispy salt.”

Fritillary is a medicinal material, which has always been a precious thing. It has a good effect of relieving cough and reducing phlegm. The Chuanbei in Chuanbei Pipa Gao is this.

20. Two pieces of fritillary can be exchanged for four catties of salt. Liu Chengzong felt that he had underestimated the value of salt a bit.

In his opinion, salt is everywhere, not to mention precious, but this is based on the vast territory of the Lion Army.

If you look at chieftains like Changhexi, whose land has not changed for hundreds of years, no salt means no salt.

"The commander-in-chief is the one who handles big things, and he can't help with big things in Changhexi, but if the commander-in-chief uses the top-down territory, as long as he can give me some cheap salt, everything can be negotiated."

Mu Ya has been very much looking forward to Liu Chengzong and Shopkeeper Zhao talking about smuggling business. He thinks it should be about salt, so he has been trying to bring the topic to that side, hoping that when the Lion Army uses his territory to smuggle salt, he can open a small mouth for him. Son.

But what Liu Chengzong wanted to do was emigrate. Although the salt wells in Sichuan were very close, large-scale smuggling meant little to him. The difference in altitude between the two places could even erase the long journey to transport salt from Nangqian.

But after Mu Ya said that, Liu Chengzong asked: "Mu Chieftain, since you said so, can you discuss everything with salt?"

"Yes, as long as the price of the salt is not too expensive, even half a catty of Fritillary for four catties of salt will do."

"I don't lack fritillaria, there are all over the grass that came here." Liu Chengzong looked at Mu Ya: "I lack one thing."

Mu Ya moved closer: "What?"

Liu Chengzong said: "Food."

Hearing these two words, Muya's heart skipped a beat.

He thought about Liu Chengzong's lack of money and other things, but he never thought about Liu Chengzong's lack of food, he dared not think about it.

Anything that is lacking can be exchanged, but the lack of food often means war.

Because of the high consumption, heavy weight, and difficulty in transportation, once there is a shortage of food, it is not a problem that can be solved simply by trade.

He has seen Liu Chengzong's soldiers, all of them are strong and well-equipped, and these Shaanxi barbarians are fierce, and I am afraid that he and Yazhou's soldiers are not enough for them to fight.

The atmosphere on the big round table suddenly froze, Muya's back was already wet with sweat, he took a deep breath: "What does the commander mean?"

"I have an idea. When I came here, I saw most of the land in Kangning Mansion. There are many places that can be reclaimed to grow grain, but there is no land."

Liu Chengzong didn't know where Muya's nervousness came from. He was short of food, but the territory of the Lion Army was large enough to not starve the soldiers, but there was a big shortage of food and grass for the subsequent immigrants.

"Let me the land to the west of the Dadu River that is suitable for reclamation but not reclaimed, such as mountains, valleys, terraces, and saline-alkali land." Liu Chengzong opened his hands and said, "I will rent as much salt as there are five mu per catty."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)