Jincheng County is a blessed land, and Yacheng is also sitting on Majiagang, but it is colder, the days pass quickly, and people are aging very quickly.

The previous war in the south seems to have nothing to do with them, and Majiagang was the best time when Jincheng County was fighting, and the rare warmth of the year returned here, and the land and sea trade in all directions prospered.

But this prosperity comes and goes quickly.

Towards October, when the four-month trade period ended, a sudden blizzard cut off the trade routes, and the snow began to fall without knowing when it would stop, day and night were no longer distinct, the howling cold wind took over everyone's ears, and every night there was the creaking of huge trees in the jungle crushed by the snow.

The people who live here have become accustomed to the sudden loud noises in this long silence.

A caravan of the Arnian people did not have time to leave with a full load of goods, so they sailed back to Majiagang overnight before the sea froze and asked for a stay.

In Majiagang, where the temperature difference is very great, people's buildings are very different from those of the Central Plains, and the snowstorm and ice edge have almost crushed all the houses built in the early years, and the new houses have been built again on the ruins of the houses that are constantly being destroyed.

Nowadays, the foundation of most of the houses in Majiagang is three feet higher than the ground, and the houses are three feet higher, and some of the old houses have huge T-shaped chimneys, which were made last year, and the new houses this year are more beautiful, and they have added two-story attics reinforced with beams and columns, and the attics have doors to the outside.

Most of the old houses repaired in the early years of the county were concentrated near the port, and some of the banner soldiers were reluctant to destroy them, so they were ordered by Ma Jin to repair large windows, if the door was sealed by ice and snow, at least they could get out through the windows.

The refuge of the local people and merchants were well taken care of, they were all registered citizens of Yacheng County, belonging to the tribal alliance of the Bull Demon King in the past and now Niu Jixiang, and a group of more than 30 people and seven reindeer and six white dogs were given a yard for them to shelter in winter.

Ma Jin brought them a lot of soju, frozen meat, thick quilts and blankets, and in order not to waste educational resources, he also sent a team of Jurchen soldiers to live with them and learn Chinese together.

Most of the Jurchen and Korean soldiers were assigned to the Majiagang Thousand Households and the Ten Islands Thousand Households under the Ma Jin Biao, because they were more tolerant of the cold and more accustomed to the fishing and hunting production methods here.

More Bannermen and Hunters are ready to set off on their journey, carrying enough food to begin their winter training, and while it's still cold, they're going to train for a month to March, including marching, surviving, and maintaining their ordnance in extreme conditions.

This was a requirement set by Ma Jin at the beginning of his tenure as the commander-in-chief of Yacheng, and he was preparing for an expedition to the East.

As for the large number of hunters, they should have set off a long time ago, drilling into the hunting house in the planned hunting ground, capturing minks, foxes and even larger beasts, but there was still one last process that had not been completed before the departure, that is, to see Zhao Yongxian of Zhixian County.

But Zhao Yongxian hasn't come back yet, so they can only wait until a month after the winter, even if the magistrate has not returned at that time, they must also set off, otherwise the snow has become ice, the coast has been frozen, and it will be difficult to enter the hunting house.

The Wanli Emperor saw Ma Jin Magui's letter and granted their request, and Datong still kept the mansion of the Ma family, but moved his two families to Majiagang.

In the wind and snow, Ma Jin, who was wrapped in a thick fox fur, often stood by the trestle with a war sword and a large ice edge, waiting for the return of the lucky boat accompanied by his sons Ma Chengzhi and Ma Chengen.

They wore gloves made of bison leather from the military uniform factory on their hands, and soap boots made of the same bison skin on their feet, but the craftsmanship was different.

The gloves and boots are nitrified cowhide, very soft, there is a layer of rabbit hair in the gloves and boots, which is very warm, and the sole of the boots is the tannin tanned leather made by Jincheng Leather Garden, and there is an iron nail plate interlayer in the leather for anti-slip, which is well-made and expensive.

Ma Jin waited for eight whole days, the mud along the coast connected to the sea water froze, and there was still no news of the ship's sailing, and he felt that his prefect might be dead.

As a result, there was the sound of reindeer bells outside the city, and I saw a group of aborigines wrapped in extremely thick fur coats or riding dog sleighs or deer sleds, and surrounded by a fat man wearing a green robe embroidered heron and a man, walking towards the Zhixian Yamen with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Ma Jin heard him say: "Dashuai asked Zhao to be the magistrate of this Yacheng, and didn't let Wu Zidao and Zou Erzhan do it, Ma Shuai knows why?" ”

The fat man patted the cyan official robe covered with a fur coat and bulging like a ball: "Because I am the fattest of the five magistrates, I can't freeze to death!" ”

Walking into the official hall, the flag army had already burned the fireplace, and several flag soldiers slapped Zhao Yongxian and his entourage, smashing the ice edges on the robe, and the official robe was taken off, so Zhao Yongxian introduced to Ma Jin: "This is the whaler of the northern coastal tribe, and their tribe is five hundred miles north than where you landed." ”

Zhao Yongxian's frostbite face was full of pride when he said these words, and he said, "They make a living by hunting whales and hunting white bears. This year, I went far away to explore the situation of the Chinese Literature Hall along the coast during the summer, and the young people of Yanian were already able to speak a few words in Chinese. ”

Ma Jin can ignore Zhao Yongxian's self-deprecation, but at this moment, he must criticize, and said: "The magistrate shouldn't go so far, even if he has to go, one must be punctual, and the other must be notified, the hunter is still waiting for the magistrate to send this year's prey." ”

"Well, I knew this, but when I came back, the ship was frozen on the road, and I had to go back to their tribe to borrow deer and dogs, as well as these guards, and then I came back. My boatman and boatman are still in their tribe, and they are kept teaching Chinese. ”

Zhao Yongxian said to himself: "In terms of vast land, the five counties are equal, but my Yacheng is the one who can control and distribute the most land in the five counties, and it is also the one with the most registered people, even if the counties add 80,000 immigrants, it is not as good as Yacheng, Ma Shuai knows why?" ”

"Because of the tradition, Ma Shuai communicates with them, let them learn our traditions, this time I went to the north to do this is also this, in the northernmost part there are hundreds of whaling and bear hunting tribes, as little as a dozen or more than hundreds of people, every year the sea thaws, they will go whale hunting, in order to thank the whales for keeping them alive, will do rituals for each whale, this year is different."

Zhao Yongxian squeezed out a smile on his frozen stiff face as he spoke, and stretched out his arms and said, "I teach them to worship heaven and earth and be grateful to the Son of Tomorrow." ”

Ma Jin frowned, people are grateful to the whales for letting them live, this is a good thing, you go and teach people to worship heaven and earth, what do you do to be grateful to the great tomorrow?

But he couldn't say that.

I saw Zhao Yongxian and said: "Since this year, every year in the future, there will be ships to the north in the summer to exchange for ambergris, walrus ivory, fish skin and animal skin, and in the future, they can also send clothes and quilts, so that they can live better." ”