Chapter 150 Princess Qing’s trip

Seeing that Huang Laosi got a big deal, Chen Laohu next to him suddenly became a little jealous. That was 1,500 taels of silver! When did such a big business be there in Weizhen Fort? This business can earn at least two or three hundred taels of silver. Two or three hundred taels of silver is not a small amount. He didn't care about his reserve and said restlessly: "Sir, repairing the Heishan Camp requires a lot of wood... You see...

Xu Xingxia nodded and said calmly: "Yes, repairing the Heishan Camp does require a lot of wood. What can you do with Mu Batian?"

Chen Laohu hurriedly said, "I will provide the best wood to the adults at a price of three taels of silver. How much does the adults want? How do you think about it?"

Xu Xingxia pondered and said, "How much wood can you provide by September?"

Chen Laohu hurriedly calculated roughly and said quickly: "Five hundred materials!"

Xu Xingxia shook her head and said, "Too little! Not enough at all! I need at least a thousand pieces of wood!"

Chen Laohu hurriedly said, "Okay, I'll find more people when I go back and work hard to cut down to ensure that I won't delay my affairs... Look at this deposit..."

Xu Xingxia also gave him 300 taels of silver as a deposit. Chen Laohu happily took the silver, ignored other people's eyes, took out a silver ingot, and chewed it hard to test the quality. Finally, he put the silver away with satisfaction.

Chen Denglong said tentatively: "Sir, let them go back first?"

Xu Xingxia nodded, waved her hand, and asked Huang Laosi and the others to leave first. He kept Chen Denglong and called Lin Hainiu to discuss the matter of rebuilding the Heishan Camp. Xu Xingxia did not think about rebuilding the Heishan Camp, but was a need for the development of the situation. Some work must be planned from now on.

Weizhen Fort is indeed a good base that can meet the initial development needs of the White-Clothed Army. However, as the number of White-Clothed Army continues to increase, Weizhen Fort cannot meet the needs. The number of White-Clothed Army requires larger military camps, larger training grounds, and more independent space. These cannot be provided by Weizhen Fort.

Not to mention Niujiao Dun, the only one that can meet the development needs of the White-Clothed Army was the Heishan Camp. When the imperial court was in the Heishan Camp, there were three thousand combat soldiers stationed in the Heishan Camp. Three thousand combat soldiers were a considerable military camp. In the next one or two years, the White-Clothed Army would be sufficient. The area around the Heishan Camp is also suitable for training a large number of cavalry, and there would be no situation where there were many people and narrow areas.

In terms of strategic position, it is also very necessary to repair the Heishan Camp. Weizhen Fort is still too far away from Zhenyuan Pass. Once something happens in Zhenyuan Pass, the daylily will be cold from Weizhen Fort to reinforce. On the contrary, Heishan Camp is very close to Zhenyuan Pass, and the cavalry can arrive in a moment. Basically, as long as you control the Heishan Camp, it is equivalent to controlling Zhenyuan Pass.

From another perspective, as long as the White-Clothed Army has established a firm foothold in the Heishan Camp, Niujiaodun, Weizhenbao and other places in the rear will be basically safe. The Tatars cannot cross the Heishan Camp to go south. This is too dangerous. Especially when Xu Xingxia was stationed in the Heishan Camp, he dared to promise that few Tatars dared to ignore him and go south blatantly.

What does this mean? This means that around Weizhen Fort and around Niujiao Dun, there is a large amount of arable land that can be replanted. These fields that have been abandoned for more than ten years or even decades can be repurposed. Xu Xingxia, who is too big, cannot guarantee that there are still about 10,000 acres of arable land. Ten thousand acres of arable land can completely solve the problem of insufficient food in Weizhen Fort, and even a large amount of grain output.

What was the most important resource in the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty? It was not weapons, not population, not money! It was food! Why did the Shaanxi uprising army rise up? It was because there was no food. Why did the Later Jin Tartars repeatedly leave the south? It was also because there was no food! Why did Emperor Chongzhen be at a loss and unable to mobilize more soldiers? It was still no food! In the late Chongzhen, the price of grain of one stone soared to ten taels of silver, but there was still no market!

How tight was the food in the imperial court? For example, it can be seen. In the second year of Chongzhen, the Tartars crossed the Great Wall on a large scale and approached the capital. The imperial court hurriedly issued an edict requiring the troops of the royal family to gather in the capital. However, because the imperial court did not have enough food to supply the troops of the royal family, the troops of the royal family who arrived at the capital had to loot and fetch food on the spot, resulting in sorrow everywhere and nine out of ten houses were empty.

In a rage, Emperor Chongzhen cut down the heads of Shanxi Governor Geng Ruqi and Shanxi General Zhang Honggong, and imprisoned the Minister of War and the Minister of Justice to serve as a warning to others. However, the problem of food shortage always plagued Chongzhen throughout his life. He never solved this problem. Even Qin Liangyu, a female general who made great contributions at that time, was deeply troubled by the problem of food shortage. The white-rod soldiers she commanded were all hungry to go to the battlefield.

In the northwest of the Ming Empire, the real grain-producing area was actually the Hetao Plain. To be precise, it was the Ningxia Plain. In other places, due to the arrival of the Little Ice Age, the climate has been declining, the drought has continued, and the grain production will fall to the lowest point in history. If Xu Xingxia wants to pass the Little Ice Age safely, he must make full use of the Ningxia Plain. The fields around the Heishan Camp are the beginning.

Of course, it is quite difficult to renovate the Black Mountain Camp. The Black Mountain Camp has been abandoned for decades, and most of the buildings are already in ruins and need to be pushed back and started again. Apart from the terrain that can be used, there is basically nothing else that can be used. The most conservative estimate is that it will cost 30,000 taels of silver to be rebuilt into the Black Mountain Camp.

Thinking of this, Xu Xingxia couldn't help but look at the direction of Helan Mountain. His greatest hope now is that there is indeed a golden leopard in Helan Mountain. If not, things will be more troublesome. However, the determination to rebuild the Heishan Camp has been made, and even if he goes to wash the Tartars, he will have to prepare sufficient funds.

In a blink of an eye, it was a great day when Liu Dachun went to Ningxia City to welcome the bride.

Early in the morning, Xu Xingxia and Chi Hu and others followed the wedding team to Ningxia City to welcome the bride. As the groom's official, Liu Dachun was wearing a big red brocade robe, a red gauze hat on his head, and a jade belt that was probably a counterfeit product around his waist. He also had a big red silk belt cross-body, and a big hydrangea tied to the belt, which looked like a human.

This is the first time Xu Xingxia has experienced such a thing, and it feels quite interesting. I wonder if she should dress like this when she gets married? I can't help but think of Zhu Hengzhi who has gone away. If she gets married, I don't know what kind of scene it will be? With her identity, I'm afraid that the world will be sensational and there will be no people in the streets?

Xu Xingxia naturally had to keep acquainted with Wang Qinian. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask Wang Qinian at any time. This guy has a rich knowledge, and there are few that he doesn’t know. It’s simply a mobile encyclopedia. Even if he doesn’t know, he can tell who is the expert. For example, the great scholar He Fengsheng of the Xiguozijian, Wang Qinian can even speak well.

The two of them walked and chatted, and before they knew it, Ningxia City was ahead. Standing outside to look at Ningxia City, it was really spectacular. Compared with Ningxia City, Weizhen Fort is just a small spot. Five hundred Weizhen Forts are not as good as Ningxia City. The walls of Ningxia City are seven feet tall and the highest place, even more than ten feet tall. No wonder the Tartars never dared to make up for Ningxia City. This is simply seeking death.

"Da Chun, you guys come in, I'll wait for you outside!"

Xu Xingxia is not going to enter Ningxia City. There are too many right and wrong inside. If there is any accident, it will be bad. Xu Xingxia is still very clear about the basic principles of not standing under the dangerous wall. Because of the two young masters, the two big men in Ningxia Town probably hated him to the core. If he rashly entered Ningxia City, he would have fallen into the trap! If someone chopped him up, he would probably not have time to take action in the Qing Palace.

After Liu Dachun went in to meet the bride, Xu Xingxia, Chi Hu and others walked outside and enjoyed the scenery around Ningxia City. Perhaps due to the harassment of the Tartars, there were not many pedestrians outside Ningxia City. Occasionally, people passed by, and they were also in a hurry and flashed. The pedestrians who came and went on were basically riding horses, and they could hardly see them on foot. The plug was indeed plugged in. If you don’t know how to ride a horse, it would be difficult to move forward.

Occasionally, caravans enter and exit the city gate, and they are in groups, with basically no less than one hundred people. Half of them are guards carrying various weapons. The public security around Ningxia City may be better and there is no big danger, but once they leave the scope of Ningxia City, they will probably be full of dangers and dangers.

In Ningxia Town, the caravans are unable to move forward without a large number of guards. However, hiring a large number of guards will inevitably increase the cost and push up the price of goods. Hiring people requires wages, which is naturally included in the cost of goods. A piece of cotton cloth in Jiangnan is only 600 to 700 cents. When you arrive in Ningxia Town, you will need more than two taels of silver, which is more than three times that of Jiangnan. The cost of commercial trade is so high, which is indeed touching!

Suddenly, a large number of cars and hundreds of cavalry came out from the east gate of Ningxia City. These cavalry did not seem to belong to the armed servants of any boss, but were like the guards of the Qing Palace. The reason for this was that the armor and equipment of the guards were quite good, and the horses under their crotch were also quite strong. In Ningxia City, only the wealthy Qing Palace had such glamorous cavalry.

In the middle of the cavalry, there was a large carriage with black appearance, a bit like the one that Mrs. Lin was riding on that day. The carriage was dragged with eight horses, which was indeed quite majestic. Next to the carriage, there were some palace maids accompanying them. Outside the palace maids, there were some eunuchs. Obviously, this was indeed from the Qing Palace.

Xu Xingxia asked curiously: "What is the Qing Palace doing?"

Wang Qinian whispered: "It's probably the princess is going to go."

Xu Xingxia suddenly remembered that she was still Su Xiaoxiao's guard! I wonder if she was in the black carriage? It was so strange that Su Xiaoxiao didn't stay in Prince Qing's Mansion and ran out of the city to do something? Aren't she worried about meeting Tartars?

Wang Qinian seemed to be able to feel Xu Xingxia's doubts and whispered: "The weather is getting hotter and the princess probably wants to go to Qingyang Palace to escape the heat. It is said that every summer, she has to live in Qingyang Palace for a short time and wait until the weather is cold before coming back."

It seems that he is also a slutty person, and when it comes to Su Xiaoxiao, there are more topics. He further explained that this Qingyang Palace is near Qingyangling in Helan Mountain, and is actually not too far from Weizhen Fort. The terrain is quite dangerous. But the surrounding scenery is very quiet and has a good hot spring, which is most suitable for women to escape the summer heat.

Xu Xingxia nodded and thought, the life of a big man is comfortable. You can go to Qingyangling to escape the summer heat in summer, and you can go to Hainan Island to spend the winter... Well, it is not Hainan Island, but Qiongzhou Prefecture. Su Xiaoxiao really knows how to enjoy it. She is simply imitating Yang Guifei of the past. It’s strange, why doesn’t the prince go?

Because of private gossip, some people dare to think about anything. Some people mysteriously say that the relationship between the prince and the princess is not good, and the two often quarrel. Some people mysteriously say that the prince and the princess have not had sex for a long time. Some people even say that the prince and the princess are actually strangers. Of course, these messy rumors are all fantasized by those who are interested, and only those who know what is true or not.

While he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw a pretty figure rushing out from the other side of the city gate, at a very fast speed. She was obviously a woman, full of redness, like a floating little pepper. The red horse under her crotch was not very big, but she ran very fast, which was somewhat similar to the master.

Xu Xingxia asked curiously: "Old Wang, is that the princess?"

Wang Qinian shook his head and said, "Of course not. The princess can't ride a horse. She always rides in a carriage when she goes in and out. That is her precious daughter, Princess Lingzhu. Princess Lingzhu is only one daughter, so she is naturally very precious. Hmm, in Ningxia City, whoever sees Princess Lingzhu is very troubled and uneducated child..."
Chapter completed!