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Despite the winds raging in the Mu Us Desert, the Hetao region further north is a different story. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoUnder the blue sky, the clear water of the Yellow River passes through the turquoise fields, and the air is filled with the fragrance of earth and grass. Looking far north, the Yinshan Mountain Range, which stretches for hundreds of miles from east to west, stands majestically, like a natural barrier against the southward invasion of the cold current from the Mongolian Plateau. It is precisely because of the care of Yinshan and the moisture of the Yellow River that the Hetao Plain has the gentleness and brightness that this latitude should not deserve, and it is really worthy of its name of "Saiwai Jiangnan".

On the north bank of the Yellow River, Bao Ketu is bathed in the warm sunshine at this time, presenting a leisurely and leisurely scene. Dozens of white yurts dot the grasslands, and merchants from all over the world spontaneously gather here to carry out the primitive trade of barter. In addition to people from other tribes in Mongolia, there were also many Han Chinese, most of whom were smugglers from Shanxi and Shanxi.

Mongolians are nomadic herdsmen, usually eat meat and drink milk, all meat and fishy things, so there is a great demand for tea that can cleanse the stomach. In addition, they were also fond of grain, iron, and porcelain, because these were either not produced here or the Mongols did not make them at all. And the goods they can provide are nothing more than horses, cattle, sheep, and at most primary products such as cowhide and wool.

The lure of profit caused many Han Chinese to trade with large quantities of materials urgently needed by the Mongols, despite the fact that the Ming and Mongolia were in a state of semi-hostility. The seemingly honest Mongols were in fact extremely treacherous businessmen, and the goods they offered were bad horses, old cattle, and sheep, but they had to be traded at the best prices. The Han accepted it, and if they were dissatisfied, the Mongols would turn their backs and threaten each other with their sabers in their hands, forcing them to comply. And these Han Chinese suffered a loss from the Mongols, and when they returned, they naturally had to get them back from their compatriots, which is one of the reasons why the price of horses in the interior is extremely expensive.

At this moment, in the largest yurt, a stout Mongolian man in his thirties had just drunk strong liquor, and was singing a small tune on the grassland with drunken eyes and a gong-like voice. There were also more than twenty disheveled young women, both Mongolian and Chinese, who served the Mongol man with trepidation, for fear that he would suddenly become angry and use wine to commit violence.

This man is Zhuo Ligetu, the eldest son of Timur, the "Qingshan Khan" of the Ordos Department. There were more than 2,000 households in the Dalat banner, and most of them went with Timur's nomadic herding at this time, and only he and less than 300 cavalry were left in Baoketu to protect Timur's family and supervise the perennial trade here.

As the saying goes, "there are no tigers in the mountains, and monkeys are kings", in the absence of his father, Zhuoligtu unceremoniously "borrowed" the women who had been snatched from elsewhere and were supposed to be exclusively for Timur alone. The blue sky, the white clouds, the grass, the wine, the beauties, all the beautiful things in the world that can be thought of, Zhuoligtu has all the good things in the world at this time, he really hopes that time will be frozen at this moment, and it is better for Timur to be nomadic outside for a while. If it is better to die of a sudden illness, then the Ordos Ministry is his, and he will also taste the taste of the "Great Khan" on the high.

In fact, according to Mongolian tradition, there can only be one real "Great Khan", and that is the supreme ruler of all Mongols. But since the expulsion of Meng Yuan and the decline of the Golden Family, the tribes on the grassland have returned to the fragmentation of hundreds of years ago, and the chief of any tribe can call himself "Khan" as long as he wants. The same is true of Timur, the "Qingshan Khan", in fact, his subordinates, even men, women, and children combined, are only thirty or forty thousand people.

Just when he was drunk and dying, a cavalryman in charge of the sentry came to report: "The eldest prince..."

"What great prince, call me the Great Khan!" Zhuo Ligetu said angrily with the strength of the wine.

"Yes, big... Sweat. The cavalryman said with some hesitation, "There are a lot of Han people in the distance, driving hundreds of carts, and it seems that there are a lot of goods." ”

"Oh?" Zhuo Ligetu jumped up excitedly, "Haha, fortunately the old guy is not here, all the tax money drawn this time belongs to me!" ”

It turned out that all Han Chinese who came to smuggle had to pay a large amount of tax silver before the Mongols allowed them to trade. Otherwise, if you directly confiscate things and drive people away, you will lose your life. This is the most important source of silver for the Ordos Ministry, so it's no wonder that Zhuo Ligetu is so interested.

When he came to the tent with the smell of wine, he saw that the Han convoy had already marched more than 100 paces away from the tent. But seeing that these Han people were all dusty and sweaty, it was obvious that they had traveled a long way to arrive in a hurry. Seeing that the vehicles looked extremely bulky and obviously fully loaded, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

But after all, he was a good Mongol warrior, and the alertness and cunning of the nomads had gone deep into the blood and marrow. Far away, he suddenly found that not only was the number of cars a little ridiculously large, but also that these Han people had a very different expression from the Han people he had seen before, and there was no flattering smile on their faces, but only as cold as frost. Especially the two leaders, their eyes are more focused like eagles, and they meet their gaze without fear.

Zhuo Ligetu suddenly became suspicious, and shouted: "Let them stop immediately and be examined!" ”

But it was too late. An earth-shattering shout suddenly erupted from the opposite side, and those Han people all ripped off the civilian clothes used to hide their identities, revealing the armor that shone with cold light inside!

Although he was surprised, he was also extremely fierce. He immediately flew on his horse, raised his snowy saber and shouted: "Although there are many enemies, there is no cavalry, and they will be crushed as soon as they rush." Warriors of Ordos, show your courage and kill all these Han people who came to die, and the glory will always belong to the descendants of the blue wolf! ”

The Mongols' title of "people on horseback" was not well deserved, and hundreds of cavalry mounted their horses in less than a minute and followed Zhuoligtu out of the camp. They were bowed on their backs and sabers in their hands, and their eyes shone with a ferocious and bloodthirsty light. In their eyes, there are no more people on the other side, but docile sheep, and they have only one thing to do: slaughter!

The distance between the two sides was only a little more than a hundred paces, and the cavalry charge was instantaneous. Zhuo Ligetu took the lead, and he was still a little proud in his heart, secretly thinking that the enemy on the opposite side was probably just a rabble, and even the border army of the Ming Dynasty could not catch up. At the very least, the border army had to fire a few arrows and two shots before they could break and escape, and the people on the opposite side didn't even let go of arrows, and it seemed that they were stupid by their bravery.

When he rushed to only thirty steps left, Zhuo Ligetu suddenly saw the general opposite with slightly gray temples smiling strangely, suddenly raised his right arm, waved it down fiercely, and shouted: "Release!" ”

Zhuo Ligetu knew that something was wrong, and quickly leaned down. But it was too late, and he was horrified to see that the Han people on the opposite side suddenly raised a black and suppressed bird's gun, which was like a dark cloud!

Then a thick smoke suddenly rose from the Han people's position, and then Zhuo Ligetu felt several huge pains on his body at the same time, and the person had been knocked out of the horse!