Chapter 121 Truth Summer and autumn are the most pleasant times on the grassland. …
Summer and autumn are the most pleasant times on the grassland.
The sky was as clear as a piece of blue glass, without a single cloud.
The wind came first, pressing down the lush green grass, and then the ground shook slightly, and dozens of horsemen came one after another.
The Duke of Fuguo in the tent knew nothing about it and was drinking mare's milk and chatting with his servants.
"I hate ignorant women the most. They can't ride horses, shoot arrows, and they're not very beautiful!" His beard was stained with mare's milk, and his saliva flew everywhere. "She just relies on her status and position, and she really thinks everyone respects her. There were princesses who married to the grassland in the past, but they all lived peacefully and guarded their own princess mansions. Who is like her, obsessed with money! She mixed with a bunch of grassland merchants."
Someone started to make a fuss: "It has to be this person, what kind of person does the new Khan of the Tushetu Khanate love? Last time I heard that the old Khan's concubine wanted to give him a famous beauty from their tribe as a concubine, but he refused. What a fool who doesn't understand romance."
"Hehe, his great uncle is a living Buddha, maybe he is used to being a monk, hahahaha..."
While laughing, a hurried voice suddenly came from outside the tent: "Prince Fuguo, something bad has happened."
"What's wrong? No more wine?"
The Duke of Fuguo staggered and raised his wine bowl to take a sip of wine. Just as he was about to drink it, he heard the attendant say in a trembling voice, "A lot of people and horses have come, and the leader is carrying the fourth princess' phoenix flag."
The wine had not yet entered his throat when he suddenly choked. The Duke of Fuguo coughed for a while, and everyone present looked incredulous.
What are you trying to do with such a big commotion?
They got up in a hurry, some of them knocked over their wine bowls in their haste, and rushed out of the tent with a smell of alcohol all over their bodies. The glaring sunlight was so bright that it hurt their eyes. They saw many cavalrymen whistling on the grass not far away, about a hundred of them.
The Duke of Fuguo covered his eyebrows with his hands, squinted his eyes, and tried his best to distinguish.
The team at the front, carrying the four princesses' banners, all wore red robes, narrow tops and pants, unique and eye-catching. The man on the front actually wore a palace-style jacket, and it was obvious at a glance that he was a guard with a title.
The two columns at the back, one team was dressed as Eight Banners soldiers, the other was pure Mongolian cavalry. They were all strong and sturdy, with fierce eyes, obviously having seen blood.
With such a configuration, it would be no problem to take down a Mongol Taiji, but the question was, how did a mere Duke of the State like him get involved in this gang of trouble?
The Duke of Fuguo swayed, and the attendant beside him quickly supported him: "Hold on, what...what should I do?"
As they were talking, several groups of people were approaching.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out while he was at a loss. He trembled with fear and huddled on the ground, his legs weakened. The gunshot was so violent that it seemed as if it was aimed at his head.
The white smoke from the fire filled the air, and the pungent smell of gunpowder overwhelmed the smell of grass. An eagle fell straight down like a stone, landing on the grass not far from the Fuguogong, with blood stains on the grass and dark red rotten meat.
The gunshot just now was made by shooting the eagle.
The Duke of Fuguo looked at the bloody mass of dead eagle with huge bullet holes. His whole body became stiff and he just stared at it blankly, his teeth chattering.
A horse stopped in front of him. The guard in a mandarin jacket stayed on the horse without getting off or even bending down. His voice was cold.
"We are hunting for the princess and happened to come here. Does the Duke of Fuguo mind?"
After a moment's silence, the Duke of Fuguo shook his head desperately, like a lamb frightened by a wolf.
"I'm glad you don't mind." Tong Shoulu glanced at the dead eagle. "It was shot on your tent. I'll give it to you as a gift."
After a while, the Duke of Fuguo held the dead eagle in his arms and felt as if he was falling into an icy cave.
Not only him, but everyone else no longer had the smiles they had before, and they all fell into a dead silence. One thing was clearly engraved in their hearts: that person was definitely not someone who could be teased at will.
In the team not far away, there was a completely different scene.
Many guards hunted rabbits, foxes and other prey, and hung them on their horses happily, chatting and laughing and showing off.
Tong Shoulu shot and killed a deer with a musket, which was the largest prey of this hunting trip.
"As expected of the chief guard of the princess's mansion, your moves are extraordinary." The commander sent by the Eight Banners soldiers praised with a smile.
"It just depends on firearms." said Tong Shoulu.
Wang Xiangqing, who followed him, said with a smile: "Good things have to be used properly to be useful. Lord Tong is quick-witted and skilled. The shot he made just now to shoot the eagle, oh my, let alone those people, I was also shocked."
He was really frightened. Tong Shoulu suddenly raised his rifle and pulled the trigger in the direction of the Fuguogong. At that moment, Wang Xiangqing really thought that Tong Shoulu wanted to kill him.
Although it can always be settled through some means, beating a noble taiji to death is always a troublesome matter. Wang Xiangqing is a businessman, so beating him is fine, but as for killing him, he really doesn't agree. If the person is beaten to death, it will be inconvenient to do business.
Monk, who was riding on the other side, vaguely understood their words, such as "Fuguogong" and "shoot", so he said carelessly: "If he is killed, then he is killed. There is nothing to be surprised about."
Wang Xiangqing immediately changed his tone and praised: "I am so ignorant and embarrassed to have you make fun of me. Your aura is not even comparable to that of those scoundrels."
"Of course." Monk said conceitedly.
When the Khan received the message from the princess, he immediately asked him to come and hunt with the princess's guards. As Dorji's personal soldier, his actual status now is far higher than that of the Prince of the State, which really gave that man a lot of face.
However, he was happy to come here. He could also stay at the Princess's Mansion for a while, and Nanny Kang would definitely prepare delicious food and wine.
At sunset, everyone stopped at the post station.
At first, the merchants at the post station were shocked when they saw this group of people who were obviously cavalrymen, and they didn't know what was going on. Later, they saw that they were under the banner of the Fourth Princess and had a lot of prey, saying that they were out hunting, and there was no intention to drive them away or disturb them. Only then did they feel relieved and did what they had to do as usual.
Although it was a little late, the post station was still bustling with activity. A vendor was selling grilled lamb skewers. Fresh lamb legs were hung in front of the stall, ready to be cut as needed, skewered with red willow skewers, and placed over the charcoal fire. The lamb fat dripped down, sizzling, and the aroma was enticing.
Monk was overjoyed and immediately jumped off his horse to buy it.
"Give me ten skewers."
"Okay." The vendor smiled, but was in no hurry to cut the mutton. He just asked, "We are a small business, we accept copper coins and small change. How do you pay?"
“You still charge copper coins.”
"Yes, there are many merchants coming and going in this post station, and many of them carry money." The vendor said, "If there is no such place, I would not dare to set up a stall here. How can I charge for such a small thing? Oh, you can also exchange it for mutton, but it must be more than the mutton I sell."
Monk nodded: "I remember, I will bring copper coins next time. Well, I will give you silver, but you have to cut it."
"No problem, I have a scale with me."
The peddler took out a scale and cut off a dime.
Wang Xiangqing came over, took a glance, and said, "You have to look carefully at the scale. Did you cut too much?"
The vendor didn't expect that there was someone with such sharp eyes. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, it's late and I couldn't see clearly. I'll give you five more skewers to make up for it."
Monk realized later that he had been tricked, and glared at him, "How could you be like this?"
"I'm really sorry."
The peddler kept bending down to apologize and cut more mutton for him. He felt annoyed that he should not have done such a thing, but when he lowered the scale, his hands were faster than his brain because he was used to it.
Wang Xiangqing pulled Monk to eat mutton skewers and said with a smile: "Calm down, he didn't do anything too much, it's just that it's difficult to run a small business like this on the grassland."
Monk took a bite of the sizzling lamb kebab and gave up.
At night, Duke Fuguo, who had recovered from the fright, quietly brought his people to the post station.
He stood trembling in front of Tong Shoulu and others, with his back bent very low.
"Thank you for your hard work in hunting. I came here to give you something."
"Whether it's a gift or a return, make it clear." Tong Shoulu said.
"Some are returned, and some are given as gifts."
The Duke of Fuguo quickly signaled his men to carry a heavy wooden box: "Here are some gold and silver treasures. I also prepared a flock of sheep. You can take them with you when you pass by our tribe on your way back. And this——"
He took out a land deed from his sleeve, and wrote it in the style that merchants like to use. "This is a very good grassland. I am offering it to Your Highness the Princess as a gift. I hope Your Highness will forgive me for any inconsiderateness I may have shown you before. I was just being stupid."
Tong Shoulu smiled and said, "The princess said that truth can always convince people. It seems that Taiji knows the word 'reason'. That's all. For other matters, you can talk to the shopkeeper."
Wang Xiangqing immediately stepped forward to discuss the details with the Duke of Fuguo.
The man was really frightened, and he paid back all the money he owed, and maybe even borrowed some. Wang Xiangqing followed the principle of "giving a slap and giving a date", so he took the money and said a few words to comfort him.
The hunt was a great success and the group returned home.
Considering that the Khan would also come to naturalize in some time, Monk led his men to follow him directly to naturalize and pay respects to the princess.
"Thank you for your hard work this time."
Mu Xue received them in Jingyi Hall and gave each of them cloth, food boxes, etc. They were not valuable things, so it was not a big deal to accept them.
Several people thanked him and went down to attend the banquet.
Wang Xiangqing found an opportunity to report to her alone, telling her everything about the hunt.
Mu Xue opened the deed and took a look: "I see, it's good that you've learned your lesson. Is the post station busy now?"
"To answer the princess, the post station is very busy now. Not only merchants, but also many herdsmen come here every once in a while. It is said that there are markets on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, but it is still a bit troublesome to trade. There is also barter."
He told Muxue about how Monk almost got cheated when he used silver to buy something. Muxue listened and thought about it.
This is indeed a troublesome matter. Ordinary people on the grassland mostly trade cattle, sheep, or tea bricks. This kind of small business will be hindered. It is also troublesome to use copper coins, and you have to go a long way to get copper coins. She has been in the copper business before and knows how difficult it is.
Can paper money be promoted? she wondered.
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