A few days ago in the Gobi region, everyone was camping near the periphery, the hardened sand was easier to camp than the turf, digging stoves and setting up tents, and when everyone was resting after dark, someone heard the howl of wolves. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

When several big businessmen walked out of the tent to look, they were all taken aback.

Although there were guards from the merchant army on the periphery, who had been ensuring the safety of the caravan, the army was not stationed with them at night, and when the wolves came, these merchants from the mainland were really shocked.

The wolves are generally a group of five or six, and then the larger ones are about a dozen, and the largest wolf pack is twenty or thirty to the top, but the wolves that night are estimated to be more than a dozen groups, separated from each other, and keep howling, the beasts in the spring are better hunted than in the winter, but they are still very thin, the wolves have survived from the winter, and the oil and water on their bodies have been boiled up, and it is difficult for the wolves to survive during this time, it may be that they smell the aroma of cooking meat in the camp, these wolves are uninvited, and the whole camp is surrounded.

Wang Datong, who had been howling with wolves all night, had a nervous breakdown, and later the merchants said that the merchant army that had asked them to escort them sent a squadron of dragoons over, and fired the torches on the horses to drive the wolves away.

However, in the second half of the night, the wolves returned, and this time everyone was embarrassed to invite the army again, after all, compared to the convoy of large groups of people, the threat of the wolves was very small, and the army guarded their safety only to deal with the real threatening situation, and it was not good to trouble people too much.

During the day, the caravan asked the army to go farther and try to fight some wolves during the day, and the dragoons ran a dozen miles to the west, killing a few wolves, roasting wolf meat at noon, and then at night there was a large green gaze.

Wang Datong couldn't stand it anymore, and everyone went to a car to discuss the method, and decided to recruit some guards from the Balhu people.

"This is also a good thing for Hutchison, and Lord Zhang will not be unhappy." Wang Da wiped the sweat from his neck with a general towel, and said in a deep voice: "Hutchison's policy is to make the northern captives be included in Hutchison's system, whether it is to continue to graze or do things for Hutchison, farming, doing miscellaneous work, becoming a miner, learning to do business, anyway, it has to have something to do with Hutchison...... I'm not afraid of the North Captives, but I'm afraid that the North Captives will hide and not get touched, so after a long time, the oil will not dissolve in water, and sooner or later there will still be a fight. As long as there is a relationship, you are not afraid...... Tea, salt, cloth, vegetables, rice, wheat, which one do they want? Without us, where would they buy these things? You say, is that the truth? ”

Ma Chaowen agreed, and said: "Merchants have the power of self-preservation, which is also what Master Zhang has always emphasized, we are looking for these northern captives to do things, not only as guards, but also to ask them to do chores, and go to the trading city to be our buddies, isn't it good?" ”

"So to speak." Xu Xiulai, a businessman in the capital, quipped: "It's better to recruit those Saurons, Oroqen people, and Evenki people, so that Lord Zhang will be even happier." ”

"That's right." Wang Datong squinted at everyone and said: "We are all honorary directors, we can't just be honorable and not directors, when everyone donates money, they really want to have preferential treatment, in fact, there are also, the guards and the supply stations and maintenance stations along the way are very cooperative with us, and it is also the lowest level to hand over the money to the trading city, but if you can do more, wouldn't it be a good thing?" Whether this business is successful or not will be related to our Shanxi businessmen in the next few decades, just like the opening of the horse market back then, how many people started because of the horse market? The business of this trading city is foolishly thought to be much more important than the horse market of the year. ”

Xu Xiulai praised: "Brother Wang understands the big things, and he is really the best among the people." ”

Wang Datong was even more proud, glared and said: "I plan to recruit fifty people, six cents of silver a day is only three taels a day, to put it mildly, it is not enough for the next day's meal." ”

Most of the merchants in the north are big wealthy businessmen, the food is the best ingredients purchased from Zhangjiakou and Jingshi, there are special cooks to cook all the way, the cost is of course very large, a meal in the eight treasures of the table is only two taels, these people's food expenses for a day are enough to open several tables of the eight treasures of the banquet.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Wang Datong took his staff and a few guards brought out from Zhangjiakou, and rode to the grassland a few miles away, where Chen Zhuang and a group of leaders also came over, Chen Zhuang and Wang Datong's staff had negotiated in advance, and took five taels of silver for the benefit fee, and after going back, he worked very hard, and the head people brought were indeed nobles of several tribes.

When I saw Wang Datong, I saw the luxurious clothes and ornaments, and some people said that he was a wealthy businessman, and many leaders saluted with their hands on their chests.

Wang Datong was dissatisfied, and said in Mongolian: "I'm still a director of Hutchison, why don't you say this." ”

As soon as he finished saying this, he saw many alien leaders, and they all knelt down with a sound.

The leader was the leader of a Bal Tiger, who knelt on the ground tremblingly, and spoke loudly and rapidly in a series of Mongolian languages, blinding Wang Datong.

"What's wrong with him?" Wang Datong asked Chen Zhuang on the side.

The expression on Chen Zhuang's face was particularly brilliant, and he said after half a sound: "Back to the council members, the leaders said that they didn't know that the adults were the directors of Hutchison, and they knelt down to ask the adults for their guilt, and promised that they would never harass He Yusheng's official ways, and asked the army not to shoot and fire when they see them again in the future." ”

"Hey!" Wang Datong didn't know what it was like in his heart, so he could only sigh first.

His wealth is placed outside, staff, entourage, guards, and luxurious clothing, these things did not impress these Mongols at all, but as soon as they said that they had the identity of the directors in Hutchison, the leaders of these alien races were all frightened, and they all knelt down on their legs, prostrate at their feet, respectful, even if they were cut by Wang Datong, they did not dare to resist.

"Tell them that I'll report it to the upper echelons of the military department." Wang Datong's director was bought for tens of thousands of silver, and it is impossible to say that he is not distressed at all, but at this moment, he is quite happy: the value of this silver is spent!

……

Zhang Han's motorcade has no peculiarities, just like his carriage, it is much more low-key and introverted than the cars of Wang Datong and other wealthy businessmen.

Although the interior furnishings are nice, the exterior really doesn't look unusual.

Even Sun Jingting's car is stained with two huge gold stars, which is an obvious sign that can only be used in a carriage at the level of the chief officer of the military department...... The two stars are the level of the chief officer of the military department, which is higher than the current military division level, after all, the division-level officers who are transferred back to the center can generally only serve as the deputy of the military department, and very few military personnel directly serve as the chief of the military department.

In fact, if Sun Jingting wants to, he can paint three gold stars, he is at the level of a political officer, half a level higher than Liang Xing, the highest level in the military now, Liang Xing is only a deputy political officer, a political officer of the marching department, and Mo Zongtong, Chang Wei and others are at the same level.

Political officials, only Li Shenming, Sun Jingting, and Kong Minxing are three, and the rest are deputy political officials, and their ranks are half a level lower.

Of course, when discussing military and political affairs, there is no need to distinguish between the principal and the second, whether it is Liang Xing, Mo Zongtong, Li Dongxue, and others, as well as Chang Wei and others who are far away in Taiwan, they all speak their minds freely on major military and political affairs, and of course there is no one with a higher status, that is, who speaks alone.

Generally speaking, Hutchison still retains a simple and martial and outspoken atmosphere, which is inseparable from Zhang Han's encouragement and leading by example.

Ahead is the city of Kulun, which is still only half-built, and it is estimated that it will take at least several decades to achieve the desired goal.

There were quite a few people waiting to greet them along the way, a large number of great khans and nobles of various tribes dressed in Mongolian robes, lamas in red robes, and the leaders of savage tribes who followed along the way.

Zhang Han is very concerned about those savage tribes, he knows that hundreds of years later, there are still some Oroqen people living and hunting in the forest, especially in Siberia, Russia, there are quite a lot of Evenki tribes who live a quite primitive life in the ice and snow, they also make a living by hunting deer, eating venison raw, and wearing deer skins, which is a hunt in the eyes of the civilized world, but these people who live here will definitely not have such a relaxed mentality.

These people are quite barbaric, many things are uncivilized and backward symbols in the eyes of the Ming people at this time, but it does not mean that they are stupid, these tribes have a very keen sense of strength, when the Ming Dynasty established the Nuer Gandu Division, the Ming army pushed all the way north along the rivers and Liaojin Ancient Road, repaired the road and established post stations all the way, and then surrendered these savage tribes, the heads of these tribes all chose to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty, a large number of post stations along the way, hundreds of guards, are the symbols of the existence of the Ming Dynasty. Even now, maybe these leaders still have the silver seal or edict given by the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago, but they did not use these conditions given by the Ming Dynasty to really develop like Jianzhou Wei, and wasted the great opportunity.

Now these people are together again...... This time, instead of revering Hutchison's force, they were attracted by the conditions of reality...... Serving as a guard and doing some miscellaneous work for six cents a day is not too easy compared to hunting in the snow and ice!

These guards also satisfied the merchants, and their skills in fighting wolves were much stronger than those of the merchant soldiers, and after a few days of following, there were no more wolves to harass them in the middle of the night.

Large caravans, guards of various ethnic groups, Mongols, lamas, they wear colorful costumes, standing on top of the green grass, forming a very beautiful picture.

Opposite these people, the Russians deliberately stood a little farther away, and of course they also came out to greet Zhang Han and his subordinates, but they had to deliberately make a more reserved posture.

Of course, they are also qualified to do so, compared with the Mongols and these savages, the Russians are more powerful and civilized, they have a cooperative relationship with Hutchison, and they can barely be said to be commercial allies, they are more confident because they are strong, and of course they will not be like these Mongols and savages, and they will not tremble against Hutchison's force, walking on thin ice, and they will not join the clan for the slightest benefit, and serve those Ming merchants.

The Russians, although weak among the Transkhalkha Mongols, were behind them a vast territory and fierce Cossacks......

It is because of such ideas and backgrounds that Petrin and the others are nervous in their hearts, but they are full of reserved smiles on the outside......