Hanhou

In the first year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, [-] BC, winter

Just after a heavy snowfall, the sky is still gloomy, and the cold wind whizzes past like a knife scraping a bone.

In Yunzhong City, every house is closed, and there are no pedestrians on the road.

On the city wall, the patrolling soldiers wore leather armor and held halberds. Even though their ears were red from the cold and their hands and feet were almost unconscious, they did not dare to slack off.

Not long ago, the Xiongnu cavalry went south to Dingxiang County, and Wuyao, Dingtao, Chengle and other counties were all plundered.Within three days, the Huns cavalry appeared again, and Yanmen and Dai counties were ransacked. More than [-] frontier soldiers and people were killed and injured, and there was no loss of food and livestock.

The evil neighbor showed his blade, and Bianjun couldn't bear it.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the folk customs favored martial arts. Doctors who are over half a century old can stab wild boars to death with a single sword. As the prefect of the border county, you must be able to fight!

The so-called dismounting from the horse to govern, and getting on the horse to cut people down means that both hands must be grasped and both hands must be hardened.The representative figure is the parachutist Li Guang, the cool official Zhidu.

Facing the menacing robbers, the prefect of Yanmen personally led troops to meet the enemy, and fought to wipe out the [-] frontier troops, died in the battle, and slowed down the speed of nearly ten thousand Huns going south.

The border towns stepped up their defenses and called the people into the city.The young and strong took up weapons one after another, and cooperated with the frontier army to resist the invading robbers, even at the expense of their lives.

Even if you die, you have to bite off a piece of meat from the robber!

While Dingxiang, Yanmen and other counties were under fire and smoke, Yunzhong County, which bordered Dingxiang, was relatively calm, and there was not even a shadow of the Huns cavalry.

Yunzhong County is located at an important point, and since the Warring States Period, it has been a strategic place to resist the Huns.The prefect Wei Shang was in charge of the frontier. During the Wen and Jing dynasties, he repelled the invasion of the Huns several times and gained a great reputation.

A few years ago, Wei Shang suffered from a sudden illness, and the doctors were helpless, and there was no way to recover.I don't want to come across a chance, not to mention the resurrection, but the more I live, the healthier I am, and I can obviously fight for another 20 years.

This time when the Xiongnu went south, they deliberately bypassed Yunzhong County. Firstly, it was because of Wei Shang’s prestige. Secondly, there were catapults specially set up for cavalry in the county, and there were even strange wooden tubes that could emit poisonous smoke.

Before, there was a Hun cavalry who didn't know how deep he was, and stepped into Yunzhong County.As a result, the entire army from the hundred commanders down was wiped out.

The big household who led the troops to the south this time strictly ordered to bypass Yunzhong County and not to ask for trouble!

However, the Xiongnu cavalry came from various ministries, and no matter how strict the orders of the big households were, it was hard to prevent the occurrence of obedience and violation.With the Xiongnu cavalry looting everywhere, the land in the clouds is no longer safe.

The officials in the county took turns to walk up to the top of the city, and the captain and Sima were even more ready to kill people with their knives at any time.Under such circumstances, not to mention young and strong men, it is not surprising that even women sleep with kitchen knives on their pillows.

In mid-December, a large number of troops were increased in the border counties, and it was snowing heavily for days, so the Xiongnu were forced to retreat.

Confirming the news, Wei Taishou resolutely sent troops to pursue, bit a Hun cavalry trapped in the wind and snow, beheaded nearly a hundred, and recaptured more than a thousand cattle, sheep and livestock.

The soldiers returned victorious, and the battle report was reported to Chang'an, and the atmosphere in the county was relaxed.

The people in the city no longer closed their doors and windows tightly, and the military market and horse market, which had been closed for nearly two months, finally raised the city flag.The caravan that had been blocked outside the city was finally released, and people from nearby Ting Township flocked to exchange animal skins and livestock for salt, agricultural tools, millet, wheat and soybeans.

As the flow of people increased, the quiet streets began to become noisy.

More than a hundred steps away from the city flag, it is an area where cattle, sheep and livestock are traded.

Nearly two meters of wooden stakes stand side by side, on which are tied cattle and sheep for sale.There are several rattan baskets beside the stake, which contain wild animals and wild birds hunted from the wild, as well as tanned animal skins and animal bones as thick as a human arm.

Among them, more than 20 fat and strong bullocks are the most attractive.

The imperial court intended to promote the method of ox farming, and these bullocks were transported to Chang'an, whether they were sold as farming cattle or slaughtered and served on the dining table, they could be sold at a good price.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy was standing beside the steer. He was tall and thin. He was wearing a short brown jacket made of wolf fur. He wore an animal fur cap on his head. Tight enough to cover most of your face.

If there are future generations present, they will definitely recognize it at a glance. This is the famous Lei Feng hat.

A businessman in his forties with two servants stopped to ask the price. The boy immediately pulled his hand from his sleeve and pushed his hat up, revealing a handsome face.When smiling, the eyes are slightly curved, which makes people feel kind.

"Not for money, but for millet and bean, according to the price above." While speaking, the young man handed out a bamboo slip that was still warm.

Seeing the bamboo slips, the businessman was very surprised.

Accustomed to seeing similar expressions, the young man continued: "Dare to tell the elders that this price was set by the county, which is quite fair."

"Decreed by the county?"

"Exactly." The boy felt cold and stomped his feet, "Is this the elder's first visit?"

The businessman nods.

"This is a rule in the city. There is a price for cattle and sheep, and wild animals hunted are not included." The boy explained.

The military is different from the horse market, the rules are set by Wei Taishou, and the taxes collected are used to reward the generals, even Chang'an has no control.

At first glance, this kind of behavior is incredible, but it is easy to understand when combined with the general environment at that time.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Huang Lao’s theory was followed, advocating governance by doing nothing, just like sowing seeds in the ground, as long as the bottom line is not exceeded-such as rebellion, you can grow it as you like.

The imperial court let go, salt and iron are not government-run, and even the private sector is allowed to mint money. In this way, the existence of a "military market" is simply drizzle, which is nothing more than normal.

When Wei Taishou is in a good mood, the rules will be relatively reasonable.When you are in a bad mood, the market price is set too high, and the merchant can only accept it, and there is no reason for it.Even so, transporting livestock and furs from Bianjun to Chang'an, Luoyang and other places is still quite profitable.

The businessman hesitated, not because he didn't want to make a deal, but because he wanted to push down the price again.

The rules are made by people, and this child is young, so it may not be impossible to make plans.If they bought all of these steers and added dozens of fat sheep, even if each head was reduced by half, it would save a lot.

If you like me, can you still arrest them?

When the businessman pretended to hesitate, another three or four people came forward to ask.

The young man was very forthright, handing out the bamboo slips face to face, repeating the rules.

Several businessmen looked at each other, and they generally understood each other's plans, and none of them spoke in a hurry.

At this moment, a tall, square-faced man with a dagger on his waist took two steps forward and said loudly: "I want all these cattle and sheep, and the price will be increased by [-]%!"

As soon as this remark came out, the surrounding immediately exploded.

The man sneered and said, "Seeing that this son is young, I can't stand the idea of ​​cooperating to bully him! I would like to increase the price and buy all the cattle and sheep. What can you say?"

I wanted to join hands to lower the price, but the calculations failed in a blink of an eye, how could the merchants be willing.However, the man made it clear that he wanted to stand in the way. The businessman didn't want to miss out on this deal, so he had to give up his previous plan.

But if the man opens his mouth, he will add [-]%, and if he wants to buy a steer, he must add more.

Thinking of this, the merchants couldn't help frowning, feeling a pain in the flesh.Although they can earn money, the lower the cost, the better.

The young man was calm, smiling all the time, and even waved to the two healthy servants standing not far away, signaling them to continue to take care of the wild birds and animal skins and not to step forward.

After about the time for a cup of tea, the crowd was so red-faced that they almost wanted to fight on the spot, the young man said: "You don't need to do this, if you sincerely want to buy bullocks, the military market will reopen in three days, you can come here again."

Hearing this, the merchants were taken aback for a moment, and then became suspicious.One of them said: "Each of us will buy at least twenty bullocks and dozens of fat sheep. The sum is not a small sum."

The young man was still unhurried, stamped his feet, wrapped his short jacket tighter, and said: "If the elder doesn't believe me, there is a master on duty in the city. I happen to know him, and I can go with the elder to make a contract."

"You know the county officials?" The man with the dagger on his waist asked in surprise.

"My lord was once a meritorious officer in Shaling County," said the young man.

Served?

Glancing at the short brown on the boy's body, the man didn't continue to ask, and ordered his servants to rush to the cart, and lifted the straw curtains on it, revealing the full load of corn and soybeans.

"It's all here, there are only a few more, and you can count them face to face."

The young man walked forward in two steps, inspected the corn, then cut open a bag of soybeans with a dagger, grabbed a handful and held it in his hand. After careful confirmation, he signaled the man to take away the cattle and sheep.

"I don't know something." The man said.

"please say."

"Why did you exchange so many millet beans?" the man asked.

Counting the quantity set with the merchant, it is enough to feed the people of a village.If it is not stored by oneself, is it for remarketing?According to the situation in Bianjun, Wei Taishou will never allow the price of grain to be too high.If you go back and forth, you may not be able to make money, and you may even get into trouble.

"This year, there is a heavy snow disaster, and most of the acres in the border fields have lost their harvest. When the Huns invaded again, many young and strong people went to the city. For the elders and elders of the village, Jiadang will do his best." The young man laughed.

Unraveling his doubts, the man immediately took off the dagger at his waist, handed it to the young man with both hands, and said solemnly: "Hedong Zhang Cigong, I would like to make friends with Mr. Lang."

Zhang Cigong?

The boy's expression moved slightly, obviously remembering something.He looked the man up and down, smiled again after a while, took the short knife with both hands, and took out a dagger from his arms to give back to the man.

Zhang Cigong laughed heartily, clapped his big palm-like hand on the young man's shoulder, and said with a smile, "I will go to Chang'an. As a gentleman, I will not live in the border area for a long time. We will meet in Chang'an in the future, and you and I will talk about it!"

When the words fall, get on the horse and gallop out of the city.

As a result, he didn't take two steps, and was suddenly swept off his horse by two halberds.

With a blunt sound, Zhang Cigong lay on his back, with the cold halberd pressed against his throat, daring to act rashly, 100% blood spattered on the spot.

The infantry in leather armor said coldly: "Riding horses in the city, three days in prison."

After the crime was read out, two long halberds and a halberd directly set up the strong man who was over 1.8 meters tall and weighed close to [-], all the way out of the military market.

Walking backward for a few meters, Zhang Cigong finally came to his senses, waving his arms and shouting loudly: "I will pay the fine, I am willing to pay the fine! Deer slave, get the money!"

The cry went all the way, and Zhang Cigong's servant hurriedly chased after him, and in a hurry, he almost forgot to take the cattle and sheep.

Looking at the drag marks left on the ground, Zhao Jiaha breathed out a sigh of relief.

It's rare to meet a person who went out with the Great General Wei and left his name in the history books, but it turned out to be such a bastard... Sure enough, the history books can't be trusted.