~~~~~~

Soldiers are valuable and quick.

This is especially important for nomadic peoples like Houjin.

They want to tear through Ming Dynasty's powerful Great Wall defense. Even though this system is very outdated, they still have to seize the opportunity.

Otherwise, once they are unable to get the upper hand and wait for the Ming army to gather their forces, even if they can defeat the Ming army, if they want to burn, kill, loot and take advantage of it, it will be extremely difficult.

Already.

After all, cutting grass is bound to scare snakes.

The common people have all run away and fled into the mountains, so they still want to grab a ball.

After all, although Hou Jin had been a country for several years at this time, he was still a robber and a beast in his heart.

What do robbers like to do most?

No wonder the big bullies the small and the strong beats the weak.

The beast~ is even more obvious in this regard.

Even if it is a tiger, when faced with a proud male wolf and a weaker female wolf, there is no doubt that the tiger will choose the latter.

It is absolutely impossible to want them to "gnaw hard bones" without any actual benefits.

Not to mention, the military system of Hou Jin at this time still had a strong shadow of slavery.

If these Mongolian and armored slaves had no great benefits, how could they possibly charge with all their lives for the stubborn boar skin?

It's like an old hunter who has been immersed in the mountains for ten years and specializes in hunting one kind of prey.

At this time, Li Yuanqing was already familiar with Hou Jin's state style, temperament, and methods. Even which royal family of Hou Jin liked most in sexual intercourse, Li Yuanqing was already familiar with it.

It's just that, since the Battle of North Korea, Li Yuanqing has not had a truly large-scale exchange of fire with the Jin army for several years.

In the previous defense battle of the capital, although Li Yuanqing learned about some of Huang Taiji's "new army" from various channels, Li Yuanqing knew very well that according to Huang Taiji's temperament, he would never be able to defeat him until the last critical moment.

I took it out from the treasure at the bottom of the box.

Even if the Hou Jin army did send troops later in the year, in this situation, Li Yuanqing could only watch from a distance, but could not play with it.

Just.

At this time, although the wind was so strong that his eyebrows were about to freeze, Li Yuanqing seemed not to feel much and his mind was extremely clear.

Born in sorrow, died in happiness.

Although Li Yuanqing has been going smoothly in these years, his business has grown bigger and bigger, he has made more money, and there are more and more beauties in the house, but Li Yuanqing is very clear that 'the revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work hard'.

If the final victory cannot be achieved, all of this is just a mirror, a wedding dress for others.

Especially the higher his status, he must be doubly cautious in every step he takes.

However, due to limited time and energy, Li Yuanqing could only use this bad weather to sharpen his mind and stimulate his nerves, so that he could always maintain a calm but quickly excited state, both mentally and physically.

In the evening, the team set up camp in an open space next to a small village more than 20 miles northwest of Tongzhou City.

At this time, although there were more than a thousand horses in the team, and two horses were more than enough for each man, the bad weather made it impossible to move quickly, so Li Yuanqing could only be patient.

Yang Lei asked several soldiers to go to the village with cash to buy some New Year goods with the people, while Li Yuanqing chatted with several villagers who were killing pigs by the small river at the entrance of the village.

These villagers were originally very afraid of Li Yuanqing's team, but Li Yuanqing gave them a few cigars each, and Yang Lei took out cash and bought many of their pigs at a high price. They gradually relaxed their vigilance and talked to Li Yuanqing with a cautious smile.

stand up.

"Old man, your craftsmanship seems to be old. How is it? How is the business this year?"

Li Yuanqing smiled at an old man who was deboning and skinning a dead fat pig.

A pig butcher is a butcher. In China, this is also a long-established type of work.

But don’t underestimate this type of work and think it is very lowly. In fact, from ancient times to the present, those who can be a butcher, even if they do not reach the middle class, are at least much better than ordinary people.

The old man took a hard sip of the cigar with his blood-stained hands. Unexpectedly, the smell of the cigar was so strong that he choked and coughed repeatedly.

Beside him, his very handsome little son helped him carefully and patted his back, "Dad, are you okay?"

The old man was choked to tears for a moment, but he smiled at Li Yuanqing and said: "Master, this thing of yours is a treasure. It tastes much better than my dry pipe. This thing is not cheap, right?

?”

Li Yuanqing laughed loudly: "It's not too expensive. If I like it, I can give you a box later."

"Hey. How can this happen?"

The old man smiled coquettishly, holding a cigar in his mouth while shaving the ribs skillfully, and said with a smile: "Master Jun, I'm telling you the truth. In recent years, my old man's business has become more and more difficult to do. Originally, my old man's business was becoming more and more difficult.

When it comes to business, it’s better to rush early than to wait late. But now, people are reluctant to kill pigs during the Chinese New Year. In order to catch up with the market tomorrow morning, I have no choice but to break the rules of my ancestors."

Li Yuanqing smiled and nodded.

In his later life, he was born in a rural area, and in this life, he was from the lowest level of the mud. He still knew a little bit about the butcher's crafts.

In fact, although many Chinese cultures have been invaded by many foreign cultures, including being stripped and cramped by the Manchu and Qing dynasties, some traditional crafts have been preserved.

It's like killing a pig.

To ordinary people, it seems very simple, just kill the pig with one knife.

But here, there are many ways of doing things.

Just like the simplest bloodletting, if there is no master to teach it, it will be extremely difficult for ordinary people to understand it.

And this thing has always been about arriving early, usually in the early morning, catering to some more mysterious traditions.

At this time, this old man actually killed a pig in the evening, which was obviously a taboo.

Of course, in the military, where Yang Qi is strong, there is no need to avoid so many taboos.

"My father, my ancestors also have unspeakable secrets. Who doesn't have three urgent needs? My ancestors will not blame you. By the way, my father, how many fat pigs have you killed in this village?"

Although Li Yuanqing's words don't seem to have much nutrition, they capture a core point extremely accurately.

This village looks like it only has over a hundred households. It is most appropriate to measure the economic level of this village by killing a few pigs at this time.

After all, killing pigs is not killing chickens. It is difficult for ordinary people to do it. Most of them will find craftsmen like this old man to do it.

The old man smiled bitterly when he heard this: "Master, old man, I would also like to kill a few more pigs. But this time, if Wang Ermazi, who had made a fortune in Beijing, hadn't just come over and asked me to kill pigs this morning, how could he kill pigs this year?

, I’m afraid there’s not a single one in this Xiaowang Village.”

Li Yuanqing said calmly: "I can't do it, my father-in-law. During the Chinese New Year, don't the common people kill the fat pigs and feast on them?"

"Master Jun, don't you think we, the common people, don't want to eat meat? Who doesn't want to eat fat meat during the New Year? I just hate those dog Tatars. They came to the capital at the beginning of the year and caused a lot of trouble. If they hadn't run so fast, I'd be afraid they wouldn't even be able to survive."

His life is gone. Where are the fat pigs? This is the one, and the pockmarked one from Wang Er has just been transported back from the capital."

Li Yuanqing nodded calmly and said with a smile: "My father-in-law, what about other villages? There must be many families who have made a fortune so close to the capital, right?"

"Hey, Master Jun, don't mention it. In previous years, there were quite a few people who worked for wealthy families and brought back a lot of goods. But this year~, haven't you heard? The imperial court has no money, and the officials' salaries and silver are all gone.

I can’t get it all. How can we, the common people, who are just working hard, still have it?”

People in the capital are naturally talkative, especially since my father-in-law is a craftsman who specializes in craftsmanship. Once the conversation starts, there is no stopping him.

In a short time, Li Yuanqing had already mastered seven or eight of these "hot news" in the surrounding areas, which family was getting rich, which family was in trouble, whose daughter went to work as a maid in a wealthy family, etc.

.

At this time, the old man's men were not idle yet. They had already cleaned up the fat pig and were ready to call it a day and leave.

Li Yuanqing smiled and said: "My father-in-law, I really admire your craftsmanship. When I have the chance, I will come to Xiaowang Village again and I will definitely take care of your business. Yang Lei, go and bring me a new box of cigars for me."

"yes."

Yang Lei hurriedly took out a box of cigars from the luggage of a soldier not far behind Li Yuanqing, and handed it to the old man with a smile.

The old man couldn't help but smile brightly, "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master."

Seeing the old man and his party enter the village, Li Yuanqing withdrew his gaze, slowly walked back to the camp, and said to Yang Lei beside him: "What do you think?"

Of course, Yang Lei understood what Li Yuanqing meant. He thought for a moment and whispered: "Commander, wherever we go along the way, the lives of ordinary people are not optimistic. We are still in the capital. If we go to Pinggu or Yutian, I'm afraid...

"

Li Yuanqing nodded slowly, "Do you think the Tatars will send troops early this year?"

"this……"

Yang Lei thought for a moment and said respectfully: "Commander, I don't know what to say at the moment. However, I have taken care of it. The Tatars only entered the capital at the beginning of the year and have almost looted the surrounding area. Even if they really want to send troops, I'm afraid~

, and he won’t attack the capital again.”

Li Yuanqing smiled: "Maybe. Let's go, brothers, we have worked hard for so long. Let's have a good meal tonight."

…………

The night in the countryside is extremely quiet.

The heavy snow had long since stopped, and although the wind was still strong, the entire night sky was extremely clear, with stars clearly visible.

It was already past ten o'clock, and except for the soldiers on duty, almost all the tents in the camp had their lights extinguished. Only in the open space not far away was a bonfire packed with snow, burning cracklingly against the cold wind.
To be continued...