Chapter 22: Gathering
Winter goes and spring comes, ice and snow melt slowly.
After the New Year, Di Zhe stayed in Jizi for a long time and only went to Shangu Old Camp once, handing over the liaison matters to Xiao Zhishan clearly.
The day when the merchant team returns to Zhangjiakou is not far away. The eight business households are very busy, and only Di Zhe is the most leisurely. He has no chance to intervene in business matters.
Apart from occasionally meeting with old friends like Gong Chen for a drink and a chat, Di Zhe spent every day at home reading books and practicing martial arts.
Di Zhe was waiting, and many people in the collection were also waiting. The tens of millions of Tartars and Chahar people on the grassland had been confronting each other for half a year, and this year, no matter what, they would have to decide on victory or defeat. For some people, this might be their last chance.
Starting from February, more and more Mongolians came to Zhangjiakou from various places on the grasslands. Without the Tumote people acting as middlemen, even the most remote Mongolian tribes had to send someone to Zhangjiakou to purchase goods.
On this day, on the road out of Zhangjiakou Pass, eight riders wore swords at their waists and carried bows on their backs, with quivers full of arrows.
Di Zhe was among them, his big black horse, Jin Jun, also attracting attention in the crowd.
Gong Chen walked at the front, stretching his waist on horseback and said: "One winter, my body felt like it was rusted."
Someone next to him chimed in and said, "Old Bow, you've even forgotten how to shoot a bow and arrow, haven't you?"
"You fart, you see how I beat you today!"
Someone else said: "Don't quarrel anymore. If what Xiao Zhi said is true, then all of you are useless." After saying that, he also glanced at Di Zhe.
Among them, five were border troops from Zhangjiakou Fortress, two were guards brought by Di Zhe, and everyone was familiar with each other. Today, it was Gong Chen's suggestion to get together and go hunting on the grasslands.
Upon hearing this, Gong Chen seemed to suddenly remember something and slowed down his horse's pace, falling in beside Di Zhe and asking softly: "Brother Xiao, where is he going? It's been a long time since I've seen him."
Some things Zhai Zhe didn't dare to tell Gong Chen, saying: "He has already left the Zhai family, maybe he's gone out of the pass!"
"Could it be that he's gone to become a bandit!" Bowen shook his head, saying so but also not believing himself.
The snow on the Zhangba grassland has disappeared, and the cold air outside the pass is refreshing. The group left Zhangjiakou and turned east, as the western side was where the Chahar army gathered, they didn't want to look for trouble.
Di Zhe urged the big black horse, galloping at full speed towards the top of a slope on Zhangba Grassland, letting the horse stretch its limbs. Suddenly, he seemed to see a line of black shadows moving on the distant horizon.
"Mongols! Mongols!" Zhai Zhe pointed into the distance and turned back to shout to his companions.
What's so strange about Mongolians? It's worth shouting and cheering to see a Mongolian on the grassland! The other seven people followed behind him, urging their horses to rush up.
"Chahar's great army!" Following Zhai Zhe's pointing direction, Ao Chen's face changed, and a black cavalry was silently moving on the distant horizon.
"There are at least three thousand people! I don't know where they're going!"
When the Chahar people moved west and fought against the Tumet people in Zhangjiakou Grassland, the border military of Ming Dynasty's Xuan Da Zhen was also very tense. At that time, even the business firms in Zhangjiakou retreated to inside the Great Wall. However, Lin Dan Khan did not send any troops to Zhangjiakou and maintained contact with the Governor of Liaodong of Ming Dynasty in Duo Yan Grassland. Gradually, Xuan Da Zhen relaxed its vigilance. When the Tumet people asked for help from Ming Dynasty, the imperial court also sent an envoy to mediate.
"Looking at the direction of the march, it should be towards Zhangjiakou! We must return immediately to report!"
Eight men immediately turned their horses' heads and galloped wildly towards the town.
Gong Chen and the other four went directly to Zhangjiakou. Zhai Zhe returned to Jizhen, feeling restless, and went straight up to the second floor of a wine building, ordering a pot of wine.
People on the street are in a hurry, no one knows the danger that is approaching.
About half a time, only the sound of horseshoes was heard from the direction of the entrance, and the sound was like thunder, getting closer and closer.
"We really arrived at Zhangjiakou!"
Di Zhe hastily ran downstairs and had just reached the stairway entrance when he heard someone shouting, "The Chahar people are coming!" The crowd on Jizilishi Street surged from north to south.
"The Mongols have come!" The cry echoed from all directions.
Di Zhe jumped to the entrance of the wine building, saw that the streets were crowded with people, running and shouting. The frightened mules were mixed in, colliding everywhere.
There are still over thirty miles to Xuan Town, and Di Zhe knows that if the Chahar cavalry comes, no one in this village can escape. Even if they reach Xuan Town, they won't be able to enter the pass, and they might even become the target of the Chahar cavalry's hunt, so he simply moved a chair over and sat down.
The Chahar cavalry was amazingly fast, two columns of cavalry galloped from both sides of the village and surrounded it completely. Only a few dozen horses escaped from the village, and the Chahar cavalry did not pursue them, but only surrounded the village like water without a gap.
A cavalry troop rushed in from the wide main street, circled around and loudly proclaimed: "The Khan has an order, everyone gather on the grass outside Zhangjiakou Fortress, those who disobey will be beheaded." Along the way, 7 or 8 people were knocked flying to the side of the road without time to dodge.
No matter whether they were the masters, the partners or even the Mongolians who came to buy goods, all of them honestly followed the instructions of Chahar cavalry and went towards Zhangjiakou Fortress, Zhai Zhe also mixed among them.
Chahar cavalry whipped behind them like evil spirits.
"Hurry up!" A cavalryman suddenly drew his curved blade and slashed at a wounded man who was lagging behind.
A shrill cry was heard, and someone shouted: "Murder! Murder!" Everyone's footsteps became even faster. Zhai Zhe suddenly saw Fan Yongdou's figure in the crowd, his face pale, and he didn't even know where his hat had gone, hurrying along with his head down under the protection of the guards.
The cavalry began to swing their whips and strike, screams erupted everywhere, the streets were narrow, the scene became even more chaotic, and Di Zhe gradually fell behind.
As soon as he went out, all around were the hoofbeats of cavalry horses. Di Zhe lowered his head and quickened his pace. Suddenly, he heard a crack of a whip, and his back felt a burning pain, having been whipped solidly once.
"Everyone kneel down! The great sweat has arrived!" A shout came from somewhere, and the people in the crowd surrounded by cavalry all knelt to the ground. Di Zhe also bent his knees and pressed onto the soft grass.
The whole field fell silent, the cavalry halted their movements and stood at attention in formation.
Di Zhe stealthily raised his head to look ahead, and saw a middle-aged man with a red face wrapped in fur, surrounded by 40 or 50 cavalrymen, coming to the front of the troops. He had a hooked nose, yellowish-gray hair standing on end like a porcupine.
Is this the Great Khan of Mongolia, Lindan Khan? Zhai Zhe lowered his head.
In the Zhangjiakou fortress, Huang Huai stood by the stone wall of the female wall, looking at the thousands of villagers being escorted by the Mongols below, his hands slightly trembling. The sudden attack by the Chahar people came without warning, and after receiving reports from Bowen and others, he had always thought that it was just a cavalry passing through Zhangjiakou.
A loud-voiced Mongolian rushed to the foot of the fortress and shouted loudly: "Listen, officials of the Great Ming! The one who has come is the Khan of the 40 million Mongols. The Tümed tribe, which had been issuing orders to the commanders without stopping, has already been conquered and no longer exists. The Khan demands that the Great Ming accept the rewards given to the Tümed people! If you do not comply, Zhangjiakou will be flattened!"
Huang Huai finally came to his senses after hearing this, and realized that the Chahar people were not there to raid the border, but to demand a reward! He hastily ordered someone to respond on the city wall: "We will certainly convey the Khan's request to the Emperor, and the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia will forever be bound together in friendship!"
Lin Dan whispered a few words on horseback and waved his hand down.
The forty or fifty Mongolian cavalrymen surrounding him suddenly drew their bows and shot arrows into the sky, and a moment later, a suppressed scream burst out from the crowded crowd.
That Mongol shouted loudly again: "Within a month, the city will be rewarded! Otherwise, the Khan will attack Xuanfu!"
After hearing these words, Lin Dan wiped the sweat and turned his horse's head, leading the way towards Zhangba Grassland, with a large team of cavalry following closely behind, leaving all the people in Jizili far behind.
Lin Dan is going to win the championship!
The Shangduan was an agreement reached decades ago when the Ming Dynasty negotiated a peace treaty with Altan Khan of the Tümed. To put it bluntly, it was an official procurement, held twice a year, where the Ming court would send representatives to directly negotiate and trade tea and horses with the Tümed tribe. However, after all these years, the current transaction volume of Shangduan is less than one-tenth of that of private merchants.
No wonder Lin Dan ignored Lu Xun, he had pinned his hopes on the imperial court's reward.
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