Chapter 191, Part 191: Sarigul Abahai

Faka wasn't just making a verbal excuse; he genuinely felt he couldn't overstep the bounds.

Although Faka inherited Ebilun's title of First-Class Duke, as the emperor's son, he was entitled to the treatment of a prince according to regulations, regardless of his rank, status, or treatment. In terms of status, a prince was higher than a First-Class Duke.

Although Faka had a deep affection for his younger sister, the Imperial Concubine, and also extended that affection to his nephew, Yin'e, he knew that his sister was now an Imperial Concubine and his nephew was a prince. It was inappropriate for him to discuss personal matters with members of the royal family, as it would be suspected of abusing his favor.

Yin'e blinked, surprised that Faka was so cautious. He smiled and still insisted, "You are my uncle, it's okay for us to be closer in private."

Without giving Faka a chance to continue refusing, Yin'e directly changed the subject, bringing up serious business and disrupting Faka's rhythm: "Uncle, have you brought the people you found for me? Ninth Brother and I need to meet with them; there are some things we need to explain."

Faka's expression turned serious, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "I've brought them. I'll bring them to see you now."

Just as he was about to send a servant to bring the person in, Faka paused, looked around the lobby on the first floor of the silver shop, and hesitated before saying, "I'm afraid there's not much place to talk here."

Originally, Yin'e and Faka had arranged to meet at the Yuelai Teahouse, which was run by Niohuru on Qianmen Street. The teahouse had private rooms on the second floor, and the backyard was also Niohuru's territory, so there were plenty of places to talk.

But this was Yin'e's first time leaving the palace and his first time strolling along Qianmen Street in the outer city. There were so many shops here that Yin'e couldn't find the Yuelai Teahouse for a while, so he randomly picked a shop with the Niohuru clan's mark and waited for Faka to come looking for him.

Unfortunately, the shop that Yin'e and the Ninth Prince entered was a jewelry store. Although the store was a two-story building with a large area on both floors, it was filled with shelves displaying gold and silver jewelry, so there was really no place to talk.

Yin'e thought for a moment and then said to Faka, "Uncle, this is my first time leaving the palace. You are more familiar with Qianmen Street than I am, so please find a place nearby to talk."

Without a second thought, Faka nodded in agreement. Then, Yin'e pulled the lingering Ninth Prince away from the silver shop, saying, "Ninth Brother, stop looking. We have important business to attend to!"

Besides, those gold and silver won't magically appear and end up in the Ninth Prince's purse. Looking at plums to quench thirst is useless; instead of envying others' gold, it's better to find a way to make money and become wealthy yourself.

Although reluctant, the Ninth Prince did not resist at all. After being pulled out of the door by Yin'e, he took a deep breath and asked expectantly with his delicate and beautiful face, "Tenth Brother, when will we be able to earn money?"

Living in the palace, eating and drinking what Emperor Kangxi provided, there was no need to spend money, so one wouldn't normally feel poor. But when it came time to spend money, one would immediately realize how poor one was.

Otherwise, given the Ninth Prince's arrogant personality, he wouldn't have bothered to say a few nice words to the First Prince just for the fifty taels he received. There's no other way; poverty makes one lose heart. The Ninth Prince is practically penniless now. If saying a few nice words could bring him real money, he'd be willing to hold his nose and say a few nice words to the Third Prince.

“We’ll make money once our business gets going,” Yin’e said to the Ninth Prince with a smile. “Isn’t this the very reason we came out of the palace today?”

The Ninth Prince's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but rub his hands together in anticipation. He strode towards Fakaxuan's shop, his short, stocky figure exuding an imposing aura. The tall, imposing guards on either side of him couldn't withstand the Ninth Prince's powerful presence.

Faka followed with his attendants. Hearing the conversation between Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, his expression was conflicted and hesitant. He looked at Yin'e's back with a sense of unease, unsure whether to offer any words of advice.

In Faka's view, Yin'e was too young and there was no need to rush into acquiring property at this time. Even if Yin'e was interested in doing business, wouldn't it be easier for him to start with Niohuru and let her handle the specifics? Why bother hiring people outside and starting from scratch?

Faka didn't take Yin'e and the Ninth Prince far. They found a teahouse nearby that was closest to the silver shop and went inside. They booked several private rooms connected together on the second floor and asked the guards to go to their respective rooms to drink tea and rest. Only then did Faka, Yin'e, and the Ninth Prince enter the largest private room and call in the few people he had found.

Faka found a total of seven people, five men and two women. Except for the tallest and strongest man who came to Beijing from Mongolia to make a living, the other six were all native Manchus of Beijing, belonging to the Plain Red Banner. They all had relatives and friends in Beijing and were not alone, so they could abandon everything and run away at any time.

When searching for manpower, Faka also put a lot of thought into it. He knew that Yin'e had been assigned to the Plain Red Banner, so he specifically looked for people in the Plain Red Banner.

As a minor banner lord of the Plain Red Banner, Yin'e had jurisdiction over the banner people. Recruiting people from within the Plain Red Banner minimized the risk of employees betraying their master. After all, they could run away but not the banner lord; as long as they didn't want to implicate their relatives and friends, they wouldn't dare to betray Yin'e, their banner lord.

Even though Yin'e was still young and only received the title of minor banner lord because of his status as a prince after being assigned to the Plain Red Banner, he was still qualified to participate in the affairs of the Eight Banners and had considerable power. He had a great influence on the banner people of the Plain Red Banner, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he could decide the fate of ordinary banner people of the Plain Red Banner with a single word.

After glancing at the seven people, all around twenty years old and looking nervous, lined up in the private room, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance. Yin'e then spoke up, saying, "Please introduce yourselves. Tell us your names, backgrounds, special skills and abilities, and what you are good at."

The seven people standing in the hall looked at each other, all feeling somewhat afraid and apprehensive.

Although all seven of them had signed long-term contracts, if they did anything wrong and displeased their employer, they might be sent back. Signing a contract didn't guarantee anything. After all, their employer seemed to be a powerful figure, and even taking the contract to court might not be of any use.

Finally, the only Mongol among the seven men mustered his courage and stepped forward first: "Your Excellency, my name is Sarigul, I come from the Abahai tribe, and I have come to the capital to visit relatives..."

"Wait, the Abahai tribe? You're a herdsman from the Abahai tribe?" Yin'e interrupted Sarigule before he could finish speaking.

Sarigul was somewhat bewildered, unsure if there was something wrong with his background or if his origins in the Abahai tribe had offended the nobleman.

Fearing that telling the truth would displease the important person and cause him to miss the opportunity, but also not daring to lie, Sarigul nodded reluctantly: "Yes, I am from the Abahai tribe."

"What a coincidence." Yin'e muttered to himself, a look of surprise on his face. "I thought most of the Mongols who came to the capital were from the Southern Mongolian region, but I didn't expect that the only one I recruited was a Mongol from the Abahai tribe."

The Abahai tribe is located between Southern Mongolia and Northern Mongolia, connecting the two regions. Its geographical location is extremely important. In recent years, the imperial court has treated the Abahai tribe with many preferential treatments, firstly to appease them, and secondly in the hope that Abahai will suppress any unrest in Northern Mongolia.

Although the Taiji of the Abahai tribe only held the title of Prince in the Qing Dynasty, the Abahai tribe as a whole was quite powerful and influential on the grasslands. In terms of tribal strength, it was actually more powerful than the Khorchin tribe, whose title was Prince.

The Khorchin tribe holds a prestigious position in Southern Mongolia because it produced Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the current Empress Dowager. However, in terms of tribal strength, the Khorchin is not among the most powerful.

However, the Khorchin had a close relationship with the Qing Dynasty, with marriage alliances every year, including the marriage of Princess Heshuo Chunxi just earlier this year. Thanks to the Qing Dynasty's support, the Khorchin has always maintained its position as the eldest brother in Southern Mongolia, surpassing the more powerful Abahai tribe.

Yin'e went through the information about the Abahai tribe in his mind, but he wasn't really concerned about the tribe's strength. He was mainly curious whether the Abahai Prince had a daughter, how old she was, and whether there were any women of similar age who were of marriageable age to him...

However, although Yin'e was somewhat curious about the choice of his future wife, he did not ask.

Although Sarigule came from the Abahai tribe, the fact that he was recruited by Faka and signed a long-term contract, but did not serve in the prince's or royal family's mansion, showed that he came from an ordinary background and was just a common herdsman from the Abahai tribe. He probably did not know much about the situation of the Abahai Prince's family. Even when Yin'e asked Sarigule, he could not answer.

While Yin'e was pondering, Sarigule, who was standing in the middle of the private room, broke out in a cold sweat. He was extremely nervous, feeling as if each day was an eternity, and every second was unbearable. He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, both afraid that Yin'e would not speak and afraid that Yin'e would speak.

"Tenth Brother?" The Ninth Prince didn't have so many reservations. Seeing that Yin'e seemed to be lost in thought, he nudged him with his elbow. "What are you thinking about?"

Coming to his senses, Yin'e smiled apologetically at the Ninth Prince, then turned to look at Sarigul and nodded slightly, saying, "Continue."

Sarigul was stunned for a moment before stammering, "Yes... ah... okay, okay."

However, due to his nervousness, Sarigul momentarily forgot where he was in the conversation. Moreover, Sarigul was an ordinary herdsman who could only speak Mongolian before coming to the capital. He learned Manchu and Chinese after arriving in Beijing, but he was not proficient in them. He could only speak them but not write them, and he could only barely have a conversation with people.

At this moment, his mind went blank. Although Sarigul finally remembered where he was, his language system malfunctioned, and what came out of his mouth was his most instinctive mother tongue.

Unaware of this, Sarigul continued his self-introduction in Mongolian, stammering, "I can ride horses, and I'm pretty good at archery. I can also make cheese, roast meat, bake jerky, and bake milk powder—um, milk powder. When I'm at home, I'm in charge of herding the cattle..."

Three cows count as a herd, right?

Halfway through his sentence, Sarigul seemed to think that these skills were not up to par, and changed the subject, saying, "I am very familiar with the route from the Abahai tribe to the capital. I heard that you are going to do business in Mongolia, and I can be your guide!"

At this point, Sarigul's eyes lit up, and he thought of one of his advantages: "I speak Manchu and a little Chinese, so there's no need to hire a translator."

"Pfft..." The Ninth Prince couldn't help but laugh out loud. He rested his chin on his hand, tilted his head, and asked Sarigul with a grin, "Didn't you notice? You're speaking Mongolian. Do you think you can be a translator?"