Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 139 Health Center
Zhu Shenzui and his entourage were exhausted and returned directly to Pingyang after entering the Great Wall.

After arriving in Pingyang, Zhu Shenzhui immediately found Kang Youfu, Zhang Xijun and others, and stored the harvest first. At the same time, he instructed Kang Youfu and Zhang Xijun to arrange the subsequent collection of materials as soon as possible, and then send a caravan to the grassland.

Zhu Shenzui does not need to lead the team personally for the next transaction. According to the agreement with Ashitemur, this trade route will exist as a long-term and stable trade route in the future, and will be managed by Ma Shizhou, Wang Hai and others. Then a group of people will be mobilized from Hengtong Trading Company to form two or three caravans for regular round trips.

This way, the efficiency will be much higher than before, and there is no need to worry about the manpower problem. This time, Zhu Shenzhui returned with not only his own people, but also a dozen Mongolians. These Mongolians are Tana's subordinates, and can also be said to be Zhu Shenzhui's people.

Ordinary Mongols made the best cavalry and the best subordinates.

No matter what these Mongols were like before, they were absolutely loyal after they belonged to Zhu Shencui and Tana. In addition, Zhu Shencui brought them to the Ming Dynasty and gave them generous rewards. He also promised them that as long as they made contributions, Zhu Shencui would never treat them unfairly. Not only would he settle them down in the Ming Dynasty, but he would also help them get married and have children in the future.

Ordinary Mongolians are different from Mongolian nobles. These ordinary Mongolians are very simple and honest, and they don't have so many scheming minds in their hearts. What's more, the Ming Dynasty is much better than Mongolia. This is not a grassland. The colorful world of the Ming Dynasty is what all Mongolians yearn for. Now Zhu Shenzhu has given them such an opportunity. How can these Mongolians not be willing?
Apart from Tana's reasons, Zhu Shenzhui was now considered one of their own. Moreover, Wang Hai's example was in front of them. A former Mongolian young slave could be valued by Zhu Shenzhui, not to mention these Mongolian warriors.

There was no shortage of manpower, and money was not lacking for the time being. It was not difficult to collect the necessary materials. The merchant houses already had supply channels for food, grass, cloth and other materials. During Zhu Shenzhu's trip to the grassland, Kang Youfu had been preparing according to Zhu Shenzhu's instructions.

As for ironware, especially military equipment, it was more troublesome. The Ming Dynasty's rule was that ironware could not flow into the grasslands. This was set during the Hongwu period. But more than 200 years later, this rule had become a dead letter. It was impossible for caravans trading with the grasslands not to carry ironware, not to mention ordinary ironware, even military equipment was not uncommon.

Wang Rong is now the commander of Luzhou. The rank of a commander is not low, and he is very independent.

Luzhou Wei was a nominally sound military organization, which included not only subordinate military households and artisan households, but Wang Rong also had the full right to call upon the reserve materials in the ordnance workshops and warehouses under the Wei at any time.

In this case, it would be easy to get a large number of military equipment and supplies through the guard Zhu Shenzhui, and all he had to pay was some money. As long as he opened up the links and gave some benefits to the people below, and Wang Rong controlled the guard, these would not be a problem at all.

For the time being, a batch of military supplies will be mobilized from the garrison, such as arrowheads and gun tips. Zhu Shenzhui had already planned it on his way back. There are plenty of these things in the garrison warehouse. Some of them have been stored for many years. Due to the long time, they are so old that they have been rusted beyond recognition. This is a good opportunity to dispose of them directly, whether it is for scrapping or loss, as long as it costs very little money, he can get these.

After the goods are obtained, they are transported by caravans and sent to the grassland through the border. Although there are risks, the risks can be controlled, at least the risks are not great.

You have to know that not only is Wang Rong now the commander of the garrison, but Zhou Anmin is also the deputy captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. With the garrison and the Embroidered Uniform Guard working together, passage is not a problem at all. This is actually a step that Zhu Shenzhui had considered a long time ago.

After resting in Pingyang for a few days, Zhu Shencui did not hear any news about the war situation in Liaodong. He was a little anxious and could not sit still. After making arrangements for his family and the business, Zhu Shencui set off for Luzhou Wei.

Since there is no news in Pingyang, there should be some from Luzhou Guard. Besides, he is going to Luzhou Guard anyway, and he needs to meet with Wang Rong and Zhou Anmin to discuss the matter of supplies.

With a few people, Zhu Shenzui quickly arrived at Luzhou Wei.

This was Zhu Shencui's first visit to Luzhou Wei. When he was smuggling salt in the past, he didn't dare to go near the Wei. Wei was a military organization, which was a military sub-district in the future. Wouldn't it be troublesome for a smuggler to go in and out of the military sub-district? Therefore, Zhu Shencui's route for smuggling salt was to avoid places like Wei, prefectures and counties, and he chose places with few people.

But now it is different. Since Wang Rong and Zhou Anmin became the commander of the guard, and the other became the actual head of the Jinyiwei Qianhu, and Hengtong Commercial Bank has a formal salt permit as a cover, the private salt trade has now moved from underground to above ground. Under these banners, let alone other places, at least in Shanxi, especially in the jurisdiction of Luzhou Guard, there will be no problems.

After entering Luzhou Wei, Zhu Shenzui went directly to the commander's office.

"Sixth brother!" Upon hearing the news, Wang Jinwu rushed out like a gust of wind.

"You kid, I haven't seen you for a few days. You look different than before." Looking at Wang Jinwu, Zhu Shenzhui clenched his fist and punched him lightly on the chest. Wang Jinwu laughed non-stop and looked a little embarrassed. After more than two months, Wang Jinwu was indeed very different from before. When he was in Wangjia Village, Wang Jinwu was a silly boy, but now he was wearing a brand new hundred-householder costume, which matched his originally tall figure, with a sword across his waist. His childish face looked much more mature, and even a thin beard grew on his lips, looking majestic.

"Sixth Master!" On the side, Li You saluted Zhu Shenzhui respectfully. Although he was still a teenager, his clothes had been changed into those of a military lieutenant.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly at him and smiled back, and Li You also smiled. Since following Wang Jinwu to the guard post, Wang Jinwu served as a centurion, and he also got a lieutenant as Wang Jinwu's foundation, and now he is considered Wang Jinwu's personal soldier.

Without much greeting at the door, Wang Jinwu warmly invited Zhu Shenzhui in. They entered the commander's yamen, walked through the front hall, and came to the backyard. This was the area where Wang Rong's family lived. Compared with the previous yamen, this place looked much more exquisite.

After brewing a pot of tea and sitting down, Zhu Shenzhui asked why he didn't see Wang Rong. Wang Jinwu told Zhu Shenzhui that his father had gone out, but judging by the day, he would be back soon.

"You seem to be living well in the garrison. How is it? Is everything okay?" After serving tea, Li You went downstairs first, leaving the two brothers to talk in private.

"Haha, it's okay, but it's not without trouble." Wang Jinwu took off his hat and put it aside, then scratched his head and smiled.

"Oh, tell me, what's the trouble?"

"It's all about the mess in the garrison." Wang Jinwu laughed, "My father rose to prominence overnight, from a centurion to a commander. There are many people in Luzhou Garrison who don't like my father. Let alone the Tongzhi and Qianshi of the garrison, who doesn't envy him? What's more, my father is new here, and he always has selfish thoughts. When selfish thoughts come, there will naturally be a lot of trouble..."

Wang Jinwu told Zhu Shenzhui that when they first came to the garrison, everyone in the garrison seemed to be polite to Wang Rong, but in fact, few people looked up to him. After all, Wang Rong was just an insignificant centurion before, not to mention compared with the Tongzhi and Qianshi, even the rank of the garrison commander was much higher than his.

A centurion, who is not young at all and looks like an old farmer, has risen to the position of commander overnight. Who wouldn't be jealous?

In their opinion, Wang Rong was lucky enough to become the commander, and their previous identity made them look down on him. They thought that Wang Rong was no different from a peasant. They naturally felt uncomfortable that such a person became their superior.

They were polite on the surface but secretly despised him. Some of them even had already figured it out and were ready to teach Wang Rong a lesson so that he would be just a decoration in the garrison in the future.

In their view, Wang Rong, a peasant centurion, was easy to fool. If they knew what was good for them, they would just support him. As long as Wang Rong did not interfere in the affairs of the garrison and guaranteed their interests, and worked as a clay Buddha in peace and stability, it would be good for both us and everyone. It would not be impossible to give Wang Rong some benefits at that time.

If Wang Rong really didn't know what was going on, then don't blame them for being rude. These people were all veterans of the garrison, and the relationships between the upper and lower levels were complicated. Wouldn't it be easy for them to join hands to deal with a commander transferred from other places? Not to mention directly sidelining Wang Rong, to put it bluntly, if necessary, it would be easy to find an opportunity to make Wang Rong die unclearly.

But they never expected that although Wang Rong looked honest and looked no different from an old farmer, he was definitely not someone they could control.

You know, how can Wang Rong manage Wangjia Village like an ordinary person? If he didn't have any tricks, Wang Rong couldn't do it. Moreover, in these years of smuggling salt, in fact, the real head of the private salt group is Wang Rong, except for Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhu Shenzui discussed many things with Wang Rong. Without Wang Rong's help, Zhu Shenzui would not have been where he is today, let alone set up this smuggling salt team.

Even Zhu Shenzhui did not dare to look down on his uncle, so how could these guards dare to look down on him? Zhu Shenzhui did not need to think too much about the consequences of looking down on Wang Rong. He could figure it out with his toes.

Before taking office, Wang Rong had discussed with Zhu Shenzhui how to control the garrison and had a comprehensive plan in mind. After taking office, Wang Rong smiled and looked honest on the surface, but in fact, while he was aware of these people's thoughts, he secretly began to make arrangements.

(End of this chapter)