Chapter 431: Snow Spirit Palace of the Hu Tribe in the Snow Plain

Chongshan Town.

After Yu Qingyi returned, Yang Zhengshan took a break from his busy schedule and did not go to the yamen for two days. He stayed at home and spent two days with Yu Qingyi.

A short separation is better than a new marriage. After more than two months of separation, Yang Zhengshan missed his wife very much.

Although the two are now an old couple and their relationship has tended to be dull, love is not something that has to be passionate. But after separation, they will think about each other all the time, which will make them feel uncomfortable and as if something is missing around them.

When Yang Zhengshan went to war in the past, he didn’t have so many thoughts. After all, when he went to war, he didn’t have much energy to think about family matters.

On the contrary, it was Yu Qingyi's visit to Beijing this time that made Yang Zhengshan feel more deeply.

Perhaps it was because of the feeling of calmness, or perhaps it was because of the habit he had developed over the years, but Yang Zhengshan felt uncomfortable when Yu Qingyi was not at home.

After resting at home for two days, Yang Zhengshan quickly devoted his energy to his heavy official duties.

There are so many complicated things that he needs to deal with them one by one.

And there was unrest in various places in Dayong. Not to mention the faraway places, let’s just take Beiyuan Town as an example.

Since the destruction of the Wuliang army at Guanshankou, the conflict between Beiyuan Town and the Wulianghu tribe has become increasingly fierce. Beiyuan Town has even taken the initiative to go out of the pass several times and wiped out dozens of small tribes of the Wulianghu tribe.

This is normal. Although the Wuliang army was sent to Liaoxi by Ji Feiyu, Beiyuan Town cannot escape the involvement of anything related to the Wuliang Hu tribe.

What's more, the Wuliang army had caused chaos in western Liaoning, which put a lot of pressure on the civil and military officials in Beiyuan Town.

Especially since Yang Zhengshan wiped out an army of 70,000 to 80,000 Wuliang soldiers with a single fire at Guanshankou. If Beiyuan Town fails to produce some decent results, how will the court and the crown prince view them?
Therefore, in order to save face and to give an explanation to the court, Beiyuan Town has been actively fighting against the Wulianghu tribe during this period.

Although there is no unified strategy, generals from all walks of life are looking for opportunities to fight.

These are what Wang Bin wrote to Yang Zhengshan. Wang Bin seems to be unhappy in Beiyuan Town recently.

Yang Zhengshan was not very clear about the specific situation, but it should be related to Duan Qifeng, the general of Beiyuan Town.

Duan Qifeng is the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion. He has been in charge of Beiyuan Town for twenty years, making him the longest-serving general among the nine important border towns of Dayong.

It is very appropriate to describe Duan Qifeng in one sentence: he has no reputation for wisdom, bravery, or outstanding achievements, but he made Beiyuan Town like a solid wall and blocked the Wulianghu tribe from making any progress for twenty years.

It was normal for Wang Bin to have an unhappy life under the command of such a person. Although he was the deputy general, he certainly did not have much military power in Beiyuan Town.

In this regard, Yang Zhengshan could only write a letter to comfort Wang Bin, saying that sometimes there is no need to be too eager for quick success, and the most important thing is to sit in the current position steadily and safely.

In the study, Yang Zhengshan wrote a reply letter to Wang Bin, and then opened the official document on the table.

However, when he saw the first document, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

The Hu tribe in the snowfield!

This official document came from Fushan City, and was sent back by Yang Mingzhi.

The content is that some time ago, a group of believers who called themselves Xueling Palace ran to Fushan City and wanted to develop trade with Fushan City.

Yang Zhengshan had no idea what the Xueling Palace was, but Yang Mingzhi listed them as the Snowfield Hu tribe, which meant they came from the snowfield.

The Snowfield is Dayong's general term for the area north of the Hariwen Mountains, which also includes the Hariwen Mountains. All of them are included in the scope of the Snowfield.

In the past, there were some small tribes of the Donghai Hu people living under the Hariwen Mountains, but they were all on the southern foot of the Hariwen Mountains.

After the destruction of the Hu tribe in the East China Sea, many defeated soldiers fled into the snowy plains.

Now Fushan City has become Fuzhou City. The area south of the Hariwen Mountains is considered to be the territory of Chongshan Town. However, the actual control range of Fuzhou City is still four or five hundred miles away from the Hariwen Mountains.

Therefore, Fuzhou City has never had any contact with the Hu people in the snowy land.

The Snowfield Hu Tribe is also the general term used by Darong to refer to all humans living in the snowfields. In Darong's eyes, the people in the north are the Hu Tribe. No matter what forces they are in or what civilized customs they have, they are all collectively referred to as the Hu Tribe.

Yang Zhengshan knew that there were many human tribes and some forces in the snowfields, but he only had a superficial understanding and did not have a deep understanding.

"Xueling Palace!" Yang Zhengshan seemed to be thinking about something.

Want to trade!

There is naturally no problem with this. Yang Zhengshan doesn't mind doing business with anyone. As long as there is enough profit, he is even willing to do business with the devil.

Of course, the premise is that the other party cannot threaten oneself.

After thinking about it, Yang Zhengshan felt that it would be better to let the other party come to Chongshan Pass to meet him first. If it was just for trade, then it would be fine, but if there was any conspiracy, then don't blame him for being ruthless.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhengshan wrote a reply on the official document and had it sent to Fuzhou City.

A few days later, Yang Zhengshan still hadn't waited for anyone from Xueling Palace, but instead waited for Wang An from Kyoto.

"Greetings, Lord Marquis. This is the memorial that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked me to bring!"

Wang An's attitude towards Yang Zhengshan was extremely respectful and polite. After all, before coming here, the prince had repeatedly told him to follow Yang Zhengshan's arrangements after arriving at Chongshan Pass.

Yang Zhengshan took the memorial, turned to the last page and took a look.

"I understand. You should stay in Chongshan Pass first. I need five days to prepare!"

He said casually.

The prince asked Wang An to come because of the craftsmen in the glass workshop.

The market for glass ornaments and utensils is so huge that Yang Zhengshan planned to do this business with the prince from the beginning.

Why is it the prince, and not the court?

If it were the imperial court, Yang Zhengshan was afraid that he would not be able to survive even with a single hair on his body.

If he were the prince, he could at least keep the glass workshop in Chongshan Town.

Of course, he also has to pay a price.

He would give half of the skilled craftsmen in the glass workshop to the prince in Kyoto so that the prince could build a new glass workshop in Kyoto.

Making glass is not an easy task. It does not mean that you can make glass just by getting the technology. Without a group of skilled craftsmen, even if Yang Zhengshan gives the production technology to the prince, it will take the prince at least a year to make qualified glass products.

With skilled craftsmen, as long as they build a kiln and prepare the materials, they can make glass products in less than a month.

Yang Zhengshan naturally couldn't let the prince wait for a year. The prince could wait, but he couldn't.

He could drink the soup by himself, but he had to take the prince with him to eat the first bite of meat. So he wanted to let the prince see the benefits of glass as soon as possible, and for this he even gave half of his craftsmanship to the prince.

While Yang Zhengshan had people arrange accommodation for Wang An and his accompanying troops, he asked Zhu Dahai to select craftsmen.

After Zhu Dahai submitted the list, Yang Zhengshan gave these craftsmen a resettlement allowance and gave them three days off to let them go back and say goodbye to their families.

Later, Yang Zhengshan would send their family to Kyoto, and from then on they would become Kyoto residents.

As for whether they will be treated unfairly, unless the prince does not want to make money, he will definitely not treat them unfairly.

Five days passed in a flash, and early in the morning Yang Zhengshan sent Wang An and three hundred personal soldiers out of the city, including more than a hundred craftsmen.

Standing in front of the city gate, watching the long procession go away, Yang Zhengshan jumped on his horse and said, "Send someone to deliver the invitations we prepared earlier!"

Now that Yang Zhengshan has passed the hurdle of the prince, he has nothing to worry about and can start shipping on a large scale.

The glass ornaments that Luo Shang had taken away earlier have been shipped to Jiangnan, but they are not on sale yet.

As for several other merchants, Yang Zhengshan has not yet reached an agreement with them.

Now that the time is finally ripe, it's time for Yang Zhengshan to let go and do his best.

……

The day after Wang An left Chongshan Pass, people from Xueling Palace came to Chongshan Pass.

There were six people in total, led by an old man and a young man. The old man looked to be in his sixties. Although he looked a little old, his skin was very fair and his gray hair was combed meticulously. He didn't look like a barbaric Hu people, but more like a master of noble birth.

Standing in front of the old man was a young girl wearing a red cloak, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with deep eye sockets, a high nose bridge and brow bones, which made her have the purity of a girl and a kind of heart-beating beauty.

Yang Zhengshan had seen beautiful women before.

Yu Qingyi is the kind of beauty who is pleasing to the eye. None of the women in the Yang family are too ugly. Wang is just fat, not ugly. When she was young, she was also the beauty of Wangjia Village. It’s just that she is fat now, and her appearance has dropped a level.

However, the most beautiful woman Yang Zhengshan had ever seen was naturally Miss Yu Lu, now known as Wu Han.

At that time, Yang Zhengshan almost couldn't control himself when faced with that graceful dance.

The girl standing in front of him now has a face that is no less beautiful than Yu Lu, and her figure is also very beautiful!
Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and looked at the girl with a smile.

The breasts are very big!
Even wearing a thick skirt and a cloak, it is difficult to conceal her proud figure.

If I had a child, I would never let him/her go hungry!

"The common people of foreign lands come to pay their respects to Lord Jing'an, the Marquis of Great Rong!"

Although the girl was in front, it was the old man who spoke.

When Yang Zhengshan saw this, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

The four followers behind them all saluted, but the girl standing in the front did not salute. Instead, she looked at Yang Zhengshan with interest.

Those big eyes were extremely clean, even cleaner than the ice and snow in the north.

"Forget it, you are not Darong's people, you don't need to salute me!"

"Thank you, my lord!" Xue Zhongjin stood up.

"I don't know much about the forces in the snowfields. What is your Xueling Palace?" Yang Zhengshan asked directly.

Xue Zhongjin bowed slightly, "Gift from the Holy Spirit, my Xueling Palace is one of the three palaces under the Ling'en Holy Church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit of Ice and Snow. For thousands of years, my Xueling Palace has always lived on the Xueling Holy Mountain."

"Well, it's a high mountain in the northern part of the Hariwen Mountains. Go through the Ice Valley and look north. The highest peak is the Holy Snow Spirit Mountain!"

He probably knew that Yang Zhengshan didn't know much about the North, so he went out of his way to explain the location of the Snow Spirit Holy Mountain.

Yang Zhengshan actually knew about the Ice Valley. When the North Sea Hu tribe was wiped out, there was a tribe living outside the Ice Valley.

This Ice Valley is actually a lake. Because the snowfield is cold all year round, the lake is frozen for most of the year. If people enter it, they will think it is a valley rather than a lake, hence the name Ice Valley.

In the Ice Valley, you can walk on the lake in winter and take a boat trip in summer.

It is summer now, and this group of people should have come here by boat.

Xue Zhongjin continued, "My Xueling Palace commands thirty-six valleys and seventy-two tribes, and is the largest force in the Hariwen Mountains!"

"Uh, what's the population?"

Yang Zhengshan really had no accurate concept of the thirty-six valleys and seventy-two tribes.

It sounds like it's very powerful.

"My Xueling Palace has three thousand believers and eight hundred thousand followers." Xue Zhongjin said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. A population of 800,000 was considered a considerable force. The former Donghai Hu tribe had a population of only three to four million, and the largest tribe, the Gorqin clan, had a population of only over 300,000.

In comparison, the Xueling Palace is even larger than the Gorqin clan, so its strength should not be weak.

I just don't know how strong your martial arts are?
Yang Zhengshan glanced at Xue Zhongjin and judging from his appearance, he should have a high level of cultivation.

The ninth level of acquired realm, or half a step to innate realm?
Xue Zhongjin continued, "We used to trade with the Gorqin clan. We would exchange the unique medicinal herbs and furs in the snowy plains for their food, tea, ironware, porcelain, etc."

"But the Gorqin clan was destroyed six years ago, so we need to trade with you now. I hope you can allow me to do so!"

The growth of medicinal herbs is subject to geographical restrictions. For example, medicinal herbs grown in Liaodong are difficult to find in Jiangnan and will be very expensive.

Although the snowfield is cold all year round and it is not suitable for the growth of plants, it also contains many very precious herbs.

For example, Bingxin Coptis chinensis is not a precious medicine, but one plant is worth hundreds of taels of silver.

Ice Heart Yellow Lotus can occasionally be found near Black Cloud Mountain. Since Chongshan Town occupied Black Cloud Mountain, many warriors have gone to Black Cloud Mountain to look for Ice Heart Yellow Lotus.

The number of Ice Heart Coptis chinensis growing in Heiyun Mountain is definitely not as large as that in Hariwen Mountain Range.

As for fur, almost all animals in the snowfield have thick fur, and because of the environment, most of them are snow-white without a trace of other colors.

This kind of fur has a very good market in Dayong.

(End of this chapter)