The melting ice water of the Esgar Snow Mountain converges on the leg of the mountain to form Wudu Lake, which extends four rivers to the southeast to moisten nearly half of the territory of Huazhou, and the Matai grassland is located in the area through which the water of Wudu Lake flows. The Matai Plain originally had Matai County, which was sixty-five miles away from Wenjin County, located in the southwest direction, and the Western Regions Coalition invaded several times to capture Matai County, the city walls were destroyed, the houses were burned, the people were scattered, the county became a wilderness, and Matai County was also withdrawn eighteen years ago. The decree of the Anxi Protectorate to move to Huazhou was issued as early as March, and Sima Hua Sicheng took several directors of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry to check the address of the army stationed, and finally selected the old site of the abandoned Matai County.

After the address was selected, the court was played, the Son of Heaven had already marched north, the prince was in charge of the country, and Chen Zuoxiang was in charge. Chen Zuoxiang issued an order through the political affairs hall that the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate sent people to meet with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry in Huiye Mansion, and finally agreed on the location of the garrison with Jiang Anyi, the assassin of Huazhou, and began to build a military camp, and within three years, the 160,000 troops of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate were moved to Huazhou.

At the beginning of May, the officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry arrived at Huiye Mansion, and Yang Huaiwu, the special envoy of the Anxi Prefecture, also arrived on time.

Matai County has been submerged in a patch of grass, and the occasional exposed ruins tell of the prosperity of this place in the past. Herds of cattle and sheep graze on waist-high meadows, colorful wildflowers bloom wantonly, and the snow-capped mountains in the distance are majestic, and the melting snow water hangs from the mountain streams, turning into the gentle water of Wudu Lake and slowly flowing through the grasslands. The fish in the clear water chase happily, splashing waves from time to time, and the melodic pastoral songs echo in the heavens and the earth, and the beautiful scenery in front of you is intoxicating.

Cheng Zihe, the middle of the Ministry of Engineering, sighed: "The beauty of Huazhou makes people open-minded, refreshed, and magnificent. Xiaguan has studied Kanyu for many years, this place is really good, there is a high mountain screen in front of it, there is a water source on the side, the terrain is flat and open, and it is suitable for the army to be stationed and practiced. This place is not far from the border pass, once there is a change outside the fortress, the army can arrive within a day, Yang Shaoshuai, I don't know what you think? ”

Yang Huaiwu's face was gloomy, and he was unwilling to move to Huazhou from the bottom of his heart. Bingzhou is a rich land, all industries are developed, Anxi Duhufu sits in Wuyang Mansion, and is also in charge of government affairs, his father is the "soil emperor" of Bingzhou, as a young marshal, he is the "soil prince", who dares to disobey half a point.

But the Son of Heaven decreed, who dares to disobey, from the rich and prosperous Fucheng to the barbaric Huazhou, and it is also a deserted grassland, even if the city can be built in the future, where to find the Qinglou tavern casino and other fun places for a while. These are still secondary, the most important thing is that the will clearly states that from now on, the Metropolitan Protectorate will only be in charge of the military, and will not interfere in local government affairs.

The four major capitals are located in all directions, with abundant oil and water, and their fathers are honest, love soldiers like sons, and never deduct the salary of soldiers, even so, in the past three years, the family has at least five or six hundred thousand taels of income, and these money are mainly obtained from the local government. The Metropolitan Governor is also in charge of local government affairs, and at least half of the annual tax is paid to the government office; Most of those county lieutenants, canons and other officials were given to retired lieutenants in the army, and these people knew how to repay their kindness, and they always had to pay one or two filial tributes during the New Year; The business of local money, which is rarely intervened by the Metropolitan Protectorate, without the nod of the Metropolitan Protectorate, no matter how good the business is, it will not be able to operate. Not to mention the side, the best tavern Qinglou in his own house, which one dares to ask for money without opening his eyes, and when he leaves, he is afraid that he will have to send more than 100 taels of silver.

At the beginning of the year, the father received a secret order from the Son of Heaven to inquire about the relocation of the town to Huazhou, and the father was full of promises, and did not have half a word of opposition to the idea that the Son of Heaven wanted to return government affairs to the locality. The father angrily reprimanded him for trying to hold himself hostage, beware of causing trouble to the family, and asked him to be imprisoned in the house for half a month and not allowed to leave, until the decree was issued, everything was a foregone conclusion.

The benefits are gone, and from now on he will go to this barren grassland to blow the wind and defend the border, Yang Huaiwu's mood is extremely depressed, and when he heard Cheng Zihe ask his opinion, he responded coldly: "Where the military camp is stationed, a few adults are in charge, but there is one point, in October this year, the Protectorate will move 60,000 troops to settle in according to the will, and if the soldiers have less food and clothing, no wonder will turn their faces and deny people, and complain to the Son of Heaven." Ben still has official business, so he left first. ”

Beating horses and whips, Yang Huaiwu took more than 20 guards to Wenjin County in the northeast, leaving Jiang Anyi and others face to face. This time to Huazhou army Sima Han Liangqing accompanied Yang Huaiwu to visit relatives, invited him to Wenjin County Hanfu wine tasting, Yang Huaiwu and Han Liangqing have a deep friendship, every year when Hanfu out of wine will send someone to send ten cars to him, this time to check the station, Han Liangqing went home first, Yang Huaiwu heard that he had something to say, of course there are benefits can not be let go, an hour later, Yang Huaiwu came to the door of Hanfu.

Han Yuanshi took his children and grandchildren out to greet him, entered the lobby from the plaque of "Full of Loyalty and Righteousness", and sat down as guests and hosts. Han Yuanshi said with a smile: "The young marshal can come to the cold house, the old man is not good at being polite, come and serve wine." ”

The bright red wine was placed in the glass cup, shining like a jewel, exuding an aromatic smell, Yang Huaiwu laughed and said: "Han Lao is really fast-talking, I will like it, come, do it." ”

Raise a glass and drink it, a glass of wine weighs two taels, and Yang Huaiwu drank it all in one gulp. Han Yuanshi praised: "Happy, the young marshal has a good amount of wine, the old man admires, please drink another glass." ”

With two glasses of wine in his stomach, Yang Huaiwu felt a little dizzy, picked up the beef jerky next to him and bit it. The old man sitting opposite him stood up with a smile and saluted: "Young Marquis, the old man Luo Shiming is the head of the Weiyuan Dart Bureau, and it is a good fortune to see the young marquis today. ”

Luo Shiming raised his glass and drank it all, but saw that Yang Huaiwu didn't hear it, Gu Zi bit the beef jerky in his hand, and didn't answer him at all. Luo Shiming stood there awkwardly holding his glass, Han Yuanshi frowned secretly, this Young Marshal Yang was arrogant and rude, and he didn't seem to give Luo Shiming face, but in fact, he even brushed his own face.

Han Liangqing got up with a dry smile and said: "Young marshal, Old Man Luo is a friend of life and death of his father, and his old man is the top master of the Northwest martial arts, admiring the prestige of the young marshal's father and son, and specially came to say hello to the young marshal." ”

Yang Huaiwu threw away the beef jerky in his hand, raised his wine glass, took a sip and put it down, and said, "That's it, sit down." ”

Luo Shi will be old next year, put down the wine glass with a smile, bent down to pick up a two-foot-high red lacquer nan box from the side of the chair, and said with a smile: "The old man learned that the young marshal was coming, so he specially brought a small gift to offer, please accept the young marshal with a smile." ”

A pro-soldier stepped forward to take it, took it to the coffee table next to Yang Huaiwu and opened it, Yang Huaiwu's eyes immediately opened round, this is a piece of sheep fat jade a foot high, skillfully carved into a mighty general, stepping on a rock, stable as a mountain. Yang Huaiwu has seen a lot of mutton fat jade, knowing that gold and silver are priceless and jade, and the jade the size of chicken eggs is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, this piece of jade is about high, half a foot long, and the jade is more than 50,000 taels of silver, not to mention that the carved generals are lifelike, and the saber on the waist cleverly uses the original yellow of the jade, which is extremely vivid, this is a priceless treasure.

"Good things", Yang Huaiwu waved his hand to let the soldiers put it away, picked up the cup and said to Luo Shiming: "Old Luo, thank you very much, I salute you for this glass of wine to express my gratitude." ”

When the wine was drunk, Yang Huaiwu said: "Ben will be a straight man, Luo Lao may as well say it clearly, and Ben will never shirk if he can do it." ”

To talk about business, Han Yuanshi waved his hand to let the servants who were waiting to retreat, and Yang Huaiwu, under Han Liangqing's signal, asked the soldiers around him to also withdraw from the hall, and only Han Yuanshi's father and son, Yang Huaiwu and Luo Shiming were left in the house.

Luo Shiming said: "Since the young marshal wants to listen to the refreshing words, the old man will speak bluntly, I heard that the Anxi Protectorate is going to move to the town of Huazhou, and the old man intends to entrust the business of the mighty dart bureau to the name of the young marshal, and is willing to pay the young marshal a dividend of 10% every year, I don't know if the young marshal has any intentions?" ”

Han Liangqing sat beside Yang Huaiwu and introduced in a low voice: "The Mighty Dart Bureau is the premier dart company in the six northwestern states, mainly engaged in caravan escorts in the Western Regions, with an annual dividend of about 670,000 taels, young marshal, this business I introduced to you is good." ”

Yang Huaiwu looked motionless, and said lightly: "The prestige of the Mighty Dart Bureau has been heard of by the general, and he has been based in the Northwest Martial Arts for nearly fifty years, how can he entrust the business to the name of the general, what is the secret in this?" ”

Luo Shiming sighed: "Yes, the mighty dart bureau is a bit famous in the northwest, and the martial arts colleagues also give the old and thin noodles, and they can get by a few years ago." It's just that after Jiang Tingshi arrived in Renhuazhou, the Zhenwei Dart Bureau in his hometown of Texas took advantage of the situation to gain a foothold in Huazhou, with Jiang Thorn Shi behind his back, Zhenwei Dart Bureau stole a lot of business, and now it is the guard who intends to intervene in the Western Regions Trade Road. ”

Yang Huaiwu took a piece of beef jerky, turned it in his hand, and said noncommittally: "Luo Lao's martial arts are clever, I heard that several apprentices are also masters, how can they not compete with the new Zhenwei dart game?" ”

Luo Shiming smiled bitterly: "Normal business competition is not afraid of the Zhenwei Dart Bureau, but those caravans learned that the Zhenwei Dart Bureau and Jiang Thorn Shi are close, and they have handed over the escort business to the Zhenwei Dart Bureau, trying to please Jiang Thorn Shi, in the face of this situation, even if the old man is high in martial arts, he can't do anything." ”

"In this way, Luo Lao wants to use the prestige of the Anxi Protectorate to support you, so that those traders don't dare to change their minds easily." Yang Huaiwu said with a smile: "I can promise you about this matter, but I don't want any one percent of the dividend, a fixed price, 100,000 taels per year, I will protect you from the coercion of the Zhenwei Dart Bureau." ”

Yang Huaiwu is full of confidence, although the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate no longer interferes in local government affairs, but his father is the Metropolitan Governor of Anxi, a high-ranking official of the third grade, and the official rank of the six ministries and nine Qings is on par, Jiang Anyi is just a thorn in the history of the fourth grade, and the official rank and prestige are not as good as the saints, not to mention that with 160,000 heavy soldiers in hand, who dares not to obey the order in Huazhou, a family that suppresses bandits no matter how big you are, will disappear. As long as the mighty dart bureau spreads the rumors, those traders who see the wind and rudder will naturally know what to do.

"Okay, just according to the young marquis, 100,000 taels a year." Luo Shiming gritted his teeth and said.