Following the border of Yulin Town and Qingyang Prefecture, which is the edge of the Taibai Mountains, I walked four days later and entered Ningxia Town. When I entered Yulin Town, Wang Tong and his party left Yan'an Prefecture and passed a small village. However, a idle man volunteered to serve as a guide.

There is nothing strange about this guide, but he is just a idle man who wants to make some money and spend money in winter. Wang Tong gave him a horse, which is quite generous.

However, with this guide, I really saved a lot of time. At least I could go to Ningxia Town before New Year's Eve, so that everyone could get a better rest.

From Shanxi to Yan'an Prefecture, Wang Tong had already felt the poverty and desolation of northern Shaanxi. After the security guards, he headed west to Ningxia Town. What he saw along the way was even worse than that in Yan'an Prefecture.

I have seen the prosperity of the Beijing-Tianjin area, the beautiful and prosperous Jiangnan, and the magnificent and vast grasslands. Wang Tong and his team are not used to it. In this northwest, the loess is everywhere, and they can’t even see much plants. If you say that the idle man is leading the way, he is also aware of it. Walking along Taibai Mountain, it will at least look more comfortable.

There are also several small villages along the way, but these villages often discover their existence very early, and then you can hear the sound of gongs and whistles from afar.

When the horse team passed by the village, I could see that some people were often quiet and deserted. Walking in the village or by the village, you could feel someone staring at the horse team, but you would never come out.

If this is in Shanxi and Beizhili, such a horse team passed by the village, the village would come out to see if they could make some pocket money, and children would come out to watch the fun.

The northwest is completely different. What I just said was that the small villages "a small village with a small scale has a hope building." After seeing Wang Tong's team arrive, the village gate was immediately closed. Wang Tong and others passed by. They could see the young and strong holding swords and guns on the wall of the village, and even archers, who were cold and hostile.

"Master, don't be surprised. Our place is very messy. If you are not careful, you might be the horse thief who is killing in, and the whole family will suffer." Sometimes, in order to compete for water and land, the villages will have to fight for themselves!" The idle man was not surprised and said it lightly, but Wang Tong frowned and asked, "Is the horse thief a Han or a Tartar outside?"

"I won't even touch you if you pass through the border. You're all poor people. Some of them are out of the garrison. Some are gangsters from various families. I heard that some people make money by relying on this, but I wondered how can you make money?" Seeing the barrenness and desolation all the way, no one will feel good." After hearing this, Wang Tong felt even more depressed, but these things cannot be solved now, so he can only do it slowly.

"Master, our northwest places are not as good as the east and south. We were born here in our previous life. We had to worry about drinking water on weekdays. We have to thank God for seeing oil during the Chinese New Year. During the ordinary season, we will live with shoes whenever something happens. Life is hard!" The idle man sighed a lot. "This idle man is a person who has seen the world. It is said that he has been in Xi'an for a few years. Perhaps because of the crime, he returned to this poor place. However, everyone is too lazy to care about it.

After entering Ningxia Town, the situation was no different from what you saw after passing the security guard. It was just that it became even worse. Villages with slightly larger scale all looked like fortresses, otherwise they would rely on dangerous places. When passing by these villages, they would occasionally come out of the villages, and follow them for dozens of miles before returning.

"These people are sneaky, and they are the only horse thieves."

The idle man commented that after hearing this, Wang Tong said to Ma Sanbiao privately: "With such ability to fight for life and eat the knife, why don't you go to the grassland to rush, but you are in this place where birds don't poop."

"These people are covered with the sky, but they don't know how big the world is. But when they want to find people to roam around the villages, they can recruit a lot." Ma Sanbiao has followed Wang Tong over the years, and his knowledge is extraordinary, and his views coincide with Wang Tong.

After a few days of poverty and desolation, I went deep into Ningxia Town, but found that it was better than northern Shaanxi. After all, this place is the outer periphery of the Hetao area and the fields are quite good.

According to the report given by the Jinyiwei, the yield of fields cultivated by each ward was extremely low, because the irrigation system in Hetao was completely abandoned without repair, and only some of them were repaired privately by the people. These good fields are the results of restoring the irrigation canal.

However, these fields are good, but Ningxia Town has a big trouble compared to northern Shaanxi, that is, it has to bear the dual pressures of Altan Tumote tribe and Hetao tribes.

Since the 15th year of Jiajing, it was also the time when Emperor Zhengde's military influence was almost eliminated. Five percent of the various urgent and war reports received by the court were reported from Ningxia Town, from hundreds of sects entering Ningxia Town to burn and killing tens of thousands of cavalry, all the scenes were constantly in front of them.

The only advantage of being in such a place is that it is easy to accumulate military achievements. This is also because He Bai brought more than a dozen tribesmen to the border town, but in the end he was able to accumulate such a status and power. There was no tricky way. At the beginning, they were all fought with real swords and guns.

All ethnic groups are mixed and the people are brave. This is also due to the constant war and constant preparation. Since entering Ningxia Town, this smell can be seen in the name of any place where officials are set up.

Wuzhong Fort, Tianshui Fort, Xiajia Fort, Li Jun Fort..., etc., with the word "fort", there are ten counties, towns and cities along the way, eight of which must have the word "fort", and the rest are Qingshui Fort and Yuquan Fort, most of them are related to military towns, and the building regulations are mainly for military purposes.

It is now approaching New Year's Eve, but I can't see any festive atmosphere. There are guards everywhere, and the inspection is meticulous. Moreover, Wang Tong is fighting old wars, so he naturally understands the military relations. The soldiers in every place are full of vigilance and have no slackness.

"There is no way. The gods come here at this time. Who can care about the New Year? Everyone is very open to the public?"

The idle man naturally had an explanation, but Wang Tong and others knew that there was definitely something wrong here. After the Altan tribe was destroyed, the pressure in Ningxia, Yulin and Yansui was much less. They actually had an advantage in the various tribes on the grassland, so why were they still so ill as if they were facing a great enemy?

The idle man would not know about this detail. Ningxia Town is poor and Sanjiang Trading Company does not set up a semicolon here. Generally, where military generals are the main places, they always have a congenital disgust for the inner guards and the spymen. The errands of the Jinyiwei are also very difficult here, and it is not easy to get any news.

I can only go to Ningxia Town for everything. Compared with the tension in Ningxia, Ningxia Town itself has a very New Year atmosphere. When Wang Tong and his men entered the city, they could hear the sound of firecrackers and gongs and drums. There were many wealthy people coming in and out, all of whom were dressed in brand new clothes.

Unlike other places in the Ming Dynasty where Wang Tong went, this place was not all rich and noble Han people wearing silk robes. They often had white cloth heads wrapped around their heads or Western merchants with pointed felt hats. As for the poor, people of all ethnic groups dressed in the same way, which was nothing strange.

Unlike the strict inspections of various places along the way, Ningxia Town City Gate was very relaxed. The soldiers at the city gate took a few umbrellas and put them in.

It doesn't look like he is greedy for these few cents, and it seems that he is not attentive to pay attention to it. Moreover, Wang Tong and others also noticed that these soldiers guarding the city had scars on their faces and hands.

Bumping and bruising in the military camp is common, and it is not surprising to have injuries, but the scars of these soldiers were obviously left behind by fighting on the street, which is a bit strange. Wang Tong stared at the scars for a few more times, but the soldiers stared at him were a little angry and embarrassed, so he didn't want to cause trouble.

When I was spending security in northern Shaanxi, Wang Tong's caravan with hundreds of horses was targeted because he thought it was a very large caravan, but when he arrived at Ningxia Town, it was not uncommon.

There are many caravans and horse gangs from the Western Regions, from Shaanxi, and from the grasslands. However, Wang Tong also noticed that the four-** carriages with the style of Huwei Cart also have a certain proportion.

Ningxia Town is very similar to those in Guihua City, Datong and Xuanfu. Although it is a border town, it is all regional transportation hubs. Merchants from all sides gather, and are more prosperous than other places.

After the idle man came to Ningxia Town, he said goodbye to Wang Tong and his men. In addition to giving him the horse, Wang Tong had to give him five taels of silver along the way because of his capable guidance. The idle man was very grateful to him and went to have fun.

A group of people rode into the city gate and walked on the main street. Like other cities, the road connecting the city gate is one of the widest streets in a city, and the so-called main street is also.

The horse team had just entered the city, but they found a chaotic situation. Wang Tong and his men didn't know what, but a man on the street hurried out and shouted: "This guest official, let the horse team go to the road first. Master Xiao's team is coming, and his family cannot be collided!"

Wang Tong exchanged glances with the people around him. Wang Tong waved his hand, and the people behind him took their horses to the side of the road. Wang Tong smiled and nodded at the man, bowed and thanked him. The man replied with a smile and went home.

After all, the merchants who came to Ningxia Town on the 28th day of the 12th lunar month were a few. The people on the street were very conscious and they all flashed to both sides of the street.

Not long after, dozens of riders appeared on the street, all of whom were strong and powerful knights. They looked like Han and Mongolian tribes, chatting loudly as if no one was around, galloping on horseback, and passing by everyone with a swagger. They saw that they should go out of the city in this direction.
Chapter completed!