The Yellow River bends southward from the Yin Mountains, passes through the hilly Loess Plateau, and cuts deep valleys through its tributaries. Entering the volcanic army, the river becomes gentle, twisting and turning, alluvial and alluvial a large river valley flat. The place where the big river flows out of the valley and flows from the south to the west is Dongjiazhai. Here is the throat of the river valley in the north, and the river becomes gentle to the west, which is the crossing of the Yellow River.

This is the center of the vast area of nearly 100 miles around the volcano military control, which is much larger than Xiongyong Village, and there are also households living outside the village.

Zhizhai Liang won the reward, welcomed out of the village early, and lined up to welcome the arrival of the new Zhijun.

When they arrived at the walled hall, Du Zhongxiao sat in the center, and Liang Sheng took his generals to see them one by one.

After the ceremony, Liang Sheng said: "It's not early, and the lower officials prepared a banquet in Qingshan Building outside the village to catch the wind for the army." The leaders of the Tibetan tribe who happened to be in the village around heard that the Xinzhi army was coming, and they were all overjoyed, and they all waited there to meet them. ”

Du Zhongxiao was about to take a look at the situation in this area, and nodded in agreement. Dongjiazhai is surrounded by big mountains, and there are ferries to cross the river, the road on the opposite side of the river leads directly to Tanglong Town, and there is a road to the north to lead to the border state of Khitan Ning, which is a vital place. In this area, the Han people live on the flat land, and in the mountains are the large and small Tibetan tribes, mainly the party people. The party members were widely distributed, all of them were familiar, and most of them relied on the Khitan and the Great Song Dynasty, and the new regime of Yuan Hao was not attractive to them.

The Great Song Dynasty is the country of the Han people, the Khitan is the country of the Khitan people, and the party items belong to the party items, but for the people in the border areas of the three countries, the division is not so clear. Most of them belong to three parties based on historical and practical interests. This area of Hedong Road is bounded by the Yellow River, west and north of the Yellow River, and the residents are mainly party members. For example, in the three states of Linfeng Mansion in Hexi, from the leader to the people below, most of them are party members. However, these party members were mortal enemies of Yuan Hao's new regime, and their resistance was resolute, and their loyalty to the Great Song Dynasty was stronger than that of many armies.

Dongjiazhai is a military village, there are no civilians in the village, and the people live outside the village. Only when foreign enemies invade will they enter the village to hide. It is the outside of the village, which is far more prosperous than the inside of the village. From the field to the ferry, there are hundreds of households.

Out of the village gate, along the Yellow River to the west not far away, is a fenced trade place, that is, the field. The gate is guarded by soldiers, and idle people are not allowed to enter. Merchants must apply for official documents to enter the country, indicating the identity of the goods, before they can enter the domestic trade. According to the goods traded, the tax in kind is collected by one out of ten. It is not a bazaar, it is not a place where ordinary people can wander casually, and only conduct bulk trade.

Leaving the field and going all the way to the west ferry, it is the commercial street in this area of Dongjiazhai. There are all kinds of shops on both sides of the road, from daily necessities to gold, silver and jade. Qingshan Tower was built here, overlooking the Yellow River.

When Du Zhongxiao arrived, there were already more than a dozen leaders of the Tibetan tribe waiting at the door. When they saw Du Zhongxiao coming, they all sang a promise. They all came to Dongjiazhai to do business, and they happened to meet the Zhijun on patrol, and they came to meet them one after another. The Tibetan tribes were of different sizes, rich and poor, and some of these little chieftains wore silk and satin, some wore coarse linen clothes, and they all looked like them.

When I entered the restaurant, I couldn't squeeze in the small pavilion because of the crowd, until I reached the hall on the second floor, and set up a wine feast near the window.

After three rounds of drinking, Du Zhongxiao said to the little leaders who looked at him with some curiosity: "You were all under Tanglong Town before?" Since the party entered the army, the population was plundered, and Tanglong Town was abandoned, what is the situation over there now? ”

A small leader got up, crossed his hands and said: "Back to the officials, since the thieves entered the Kou, our clansmen have fled except for those who were taken away by them." Now living on the other side of the Yellow River, there are 14 ethnic groups, each living in separate accounts. ”

Du Zhongxiao saw that this person was well-behaved and asked him, "Who are you?" How many people are there on the other side now? How do you make a living? ”

The man said: "The little famous incense cloth brought more than 100 people from the tribe to graze cattle in the mountains over there. Now on the other side of the Yellow River, we 14 tribes have about 24,500 accounts, all of which are in the mountains, grazing cattle, sheep and camels for a living. All the items are purchased here in Dongjiazhai. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Four or five thousand tents, and the population is quite a lot." Now that Tanglong Town has been abolished, there are still party thieves to loot? ”

Xiangbu shook his head: "In the first two years, the party fought with the Khitan, although it won in the end, it was also beaten badly, and it rarely came back. However, the Khitans occupied our eastern land, and when the Yellow River was sealed in winter, they crossed the river and came. We had to hide in all directions, and we were really robbed. ”

The territory of Tanglong Town is bounded by the Yellow River, divided into Dongfu and Xifu, and now Dongfu has been captured by the Khitan, and the remaining Tibetan tribes live in Xifu. The Yellow River in this area freezes in winter, and every winter the Khitan soldiers come on the ice to rob the cattle and sheep population, and these small Tibetan tribes can only hide in all directions.

Du Zhongxiao raised his glass: "In recent years, the Northwest War has started, and the war has been fought year after year, and the imperial court can't see the north of the Yellow River, so I've worked hard for you." Let's have a drink. ”

The Ministry of Tibet is based on accounts, and one account is equivalent to one Han household. On the other side of the Yellow River, there are four or five thousand accounts, and the population is more than that of the Volcano Army, and even if it is a remnant, it occupies several times the territory of the Volcano Army. However, the places where they live are broken hills, inaccessible and difficult to find. If it weren't for this geographical condition, the Khitan and the party would have annexed them long ago.

Once the Yellow River is crossed, it is full of ravines and hills, which are not suitable for the movement of large armies. Wars are fought in small groups of several hundred, or even a few dozen, and it is very difficult to support troops of more than 1,000 people. Of course, these small tribes are scattered and have no ability to protect themselves in the face of the Khitan army.

Compared with the Khitan and the Dangxiang, the Song Dynasty almost never robbed these small tribes, and most of them were oriented towards the Great Song Dynasty. It's just that the Song Dynasty was on the defensive on the border, and the army really couldn't take care of them, and they were only nominally subordinate.

Du Zhongxiao asked about the nearby trade, and Xiang Bu said: "This place is in the middle of nowhere, and cattle and sheep are not worth much. This year, because of the fur yard in Bingzhou, there are more merchants who collect sheepskins, which is better than in previous years. A few years ago, we only relied on the imperial court to exchange some silk tea. ”

Du Zhongxiao said strangely: "It turns out that you sell horses to the imperial court?" Why didn't I see it? ”

Xiangpu said: "The officials don't know, our horses are all sold to Fuzhou, and the Volcano Army is only occasionally bought and sold here, very few. ”

Fuzhou is the front line of the struggle against the party, and it has the same background as these small Tibetan tribes, and is closer to it. Moreover, in the past, these small tribes were nominally subordinate to the Fuzhou Zhejia, and the bulk trade was done with them, and the Volcano Army was small-scale trade. However, in recent years, the color of the feudal towns in the three states of Linfeng Mansion has become lighter and lighter, and the Yang family of Linzhou and the Wang family of Fengzhou have declined.

At this time, horses were an important strategic resource, and although the Hedong Luzhou Army also raised horses, it was far from enough to be used in the army. One of the major sources of horses in the Song Dynasty was the horses of Fuzhou City, but after the rebellion of the party, the number of these small horses was limited, and the horse market had gradually declined.

The court didn't care about hundreds of horses a year, but Du Zhongxiao was very interested, and asked the leaders in detail how many horses they could sell.

Xiangpu said: "Since the party has joined the clan and the tribes are scattered, we can only sell two or three hundred good horses a year. There are many tribes that raise horses under the rule of Fuzhou, and there is no shortage of our horses, and the middle Fengzhou has been dilapidated, and there have been only sporadic transactions in the past two years. Now the ministries have some good horses, and if the officials are interested, the small ones are willing to sell them here. It's just that the road is difficult to reach, the transshipment is difficult, and the price is only afraid to be more expensive. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "How expensive can it be?" ”

Xiangbu discussed with a few people around him and said, "Twenty times is always wanted." We are all good horses, and we should be more expensive. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao smiled and said: "It's twenty runs, how many of you have, how much can I buy!" ”

The good horses on Hedong Road are about twenty or thirty times, and if you go to the capital, it will be fifty times. For Fanbu, twenty guan is a sky-high price, and for Du Zhongxiao, twenty guan is a military horse, which is completely worthwhile.