Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1129 Hanhai Plateau
The days are no longer than July, which is the busiest time in the wilderness.

The huge birch trees show off their best branches and leaves of the year, and the stacking of many tall birch trees is like an airtight barrier, making people breathless.

The squirrels jumped on the branches, looking for fruits everywhere, their gray bodies blending into the leaves; the brown elk buried its head under the birch tree, nibbling sweet berries, and occasionally raised its head to eat birch branches. Twigs.

Just its ears that move from time to time express its nervousness.

In this active birch forest, brown bears and wolves are the most fearsome hunters.

"call out--"

The sound of breaking through the air suddenly exploded.

The elk jumped in fear and ran several feet away in three and two steps.

Unfortunately, when it was running, an arrow had already been stuck in its butt. The feathers on the arrow tail were trembling continuously, and blood dripped from its thighs to the ground along its hair.

On the branches, the squirrels who wanted to taste the blood also hid in the depths shivering and did not dare to show their faces.

"Chase--"

While breathing, several men carrying bows and arrows came quickly.

The leader had a round face and thick eyebrows. He felt the blood on the ground with his hands and smiled: "Since it is injured, it can't run away."

After saying this, several men behind him nodded hurriedly.

The three of them hurriedly chased after him. The man with thick eyebrows led the hound and sniffed the blood on the ground. He barked from time to time and was extremely proactive.

Just like that, after chasing for nearly two miles, I saw an elk panting in a meadow.

The long-term blood flow, coupled with the rapid movement, caused its vitality to continue to dissipate, and it could only wait to die.

The thick-browed man was not surprised. Instead, he said solemnly: "It's too late to slaughter it. Quick, wrap it up and carry it away."

After that, he explained in a low voice: "Those blind bears can smell the smell of blood from three to five miles away. In this forest, no one can do anything to them."

The three of them hurriedly packed up and left quickly. After going around for a while, they finally reached a river.

"Woof woof -" the hound barked.

"Huri, look!" Le Shao breathed rapidly, pointing at the big brown bear eating fish heads by the river.

I saw that its fur was fluffy and its body was plump. After a summer of eating, it had become bigger and bigger.

The huge proboscis twitched, obviously smelling the smell of blood.

"Blessed by the God of Immortality!" Huri immediately took down the bent bow: "For the current plan, we can only eat it as an elk, so as to protect our safety."

"Put it down quietly, walk slowly, and don't turn your back to it!"

"No, how can you give it up to this blind bear so easily?" Le Shao raised his bow and arrow, showing nine fingers: "This is the result of our hard work for a day."

"A deerskin can be sold for at least five yuan!"

"Life matters!"

Hu Ri was mad. He had never seen such a greedy person.

At this time, Zhang Huan, who had been silent for a long time, took out the musket from his waist, poured the gunpowder slowly, and aimed at the brown bear:
"Put the deer down and let's take our time!"

Hu Ri quickly backed away, but Le Shao could only give it up and took three or five steps back.

The brown bear's temptation was still there, but its footsteps were approaching, only about twenty steps away.

The distance between one advance and one retreat is never too wide.

"shoot--"

The three of them retreated behind the birch tree, and Zhang Huan shouted calmly.

Two sharp arrows flew away, followed by projectiles that ignited large smoke.

"Bam—"

In the relatively quiet woods, the sound was particularly loud.

At such a close distance, the arrow seemed to have no effect on the brown bear. It just hung on its body, shaking constantly, and seemed to fall off at any time.

However, the flintlock bullet hit his abdomen, and blood flowed out quickly, gradually soaking his hair, which was extremely conspicuous.

Feeling the pain, the brown bear immediately put down the elk and pursued it fiercely.

The three of them were already afraid of climbing into the birch tree at the moment when the muskets burst out, reaching several feet in the blink of an eye.

The brown bear was not afraid and began to climb up.

"Shoot!" The three of them were fixed on the branches. When they saw the brown bear under Zhang Huan, they immediately raised their bows in panic.

Zhang Huan took his time, cleaning the barrel of the gun, then opened the paper magazine and loaded it. When the distance was close to three feet, he fired quickly and almost exactly.

This time, it immediately hit the brown bear's eye socket, and a bloody hole the size of a fist appeared.

The brown bear became more and more furious.

Huri and Leshao shot arrows in a hurry, and half of them were missed.

This time, the brown bear became more and more furious, but much slower.

In an instant, it calmed down a lot, felt the passage of life, and quickly got down from the tree, preparing to escape.

"Oh!"

Zhang Huan refused to give up and gave it another shot.

At this time, the brown bear completely lost its energy, panting heavily, and already there was more coming out and less coming in.

After a while, the three of them got off the tree and walked under the tree looking at the brown bears.

At this time, the hound barking from a distance dared to come over after being comforted by Hu Ri.

"This fur is quite complete." Le Shao recovered from his panic and touched the fur with a smile: "At least 20 yuan."

"Twenty?" Zhang Huan took a breath, changed his previous seriousness, and laughed: "At least a hundred."

"Bearskin coats have always been expensive but not marketable. There are no ones under three hundred in Beijing, and there are even ones over one thousand."

"And the bear meat and venison can also be sold at a good price!" Huri said hurriedly.

Now, the three of them laughed.

If you calculate it carefully, the per capita income is about [-] yuan, which is a big number.

If you were in the mainland, it would take you who knows how many years to earn it, but here, it only takes half a day.

"Wang!"

"There is someone!" Huri whispered.

Zhang Huan and Le Shao did not dare to delay. They immediately bent their bows, filled the medicine, and climbed up the birch tree again to wait.

After a while, two Rakshasa men carrying muskets came cautiously and stopped when they were a hundred steps away from the river.

Their eyes were focused on the brown bear beside the river.

"The smell of gunpowder!" The older Rakshasa man's nose twitched and he immediately said: "There must be someone here, hide behind the birch tree and be careful."

"Rakshasa people!" Zhang Huan frowned: "Two muskets."

"Huri, go and tell them that this prey belongs to us."

Huri nodded, came out from behind the tree, and started chirping.

Hundreds of steps away, even a sharpshooter couldn't hit him.

Sure enough, the two Rakshasa people reluctantly chose to give up.

The three breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them carefully peeled off deer and bear skins, then cut out expensive meat such as bear bile, bear paws, etc., and then peeled off a whole piece of birch bark as a tool.

The three of them took turns pulling each other in this way, and walked for more than an hour before leaving the woods and arriving at a camp.

The camp covers an area of ​​about a hundred acres, with a ring of huge wooden piles that are more than ten feet high. It is fully equipped with arrow towers, antlers, trenches, and even a few hounds standing guard at the door.

The flag was flying, and the huge bright characters were extremely conspicuous.

This is the front camp of Hanhai.

Before the Ming Dynasty, Hanhai generally referred to the large lake in the north, but after the Ming Dynasty, it referred to the Gobi Desert.

But after the North Sea was captured, the endless Siberian Plateau to the north came under scrutiny.

It can be said that the products here are rich, but the plants and animals are very rare. There are not many shrubs and grasslands, but there are many tundras.

But when winter comes, it's all white, like a white desert.Therefore, in the North Sea, just like the Siberian Plateau, they are collectively called the Hanhai Plateau.

The Hanhai Front Camp is the outpost for Beihai's attack on Hanhai, five hundred miles away from Beihai.

Hanhai, which has not been developed on a large scale for thousands of years, has become an adventure place for many people. Qianying has gathered more than a thousand adventurers.

The Beihai Governor's Mansion even set up a hundred offices here for direct management.

"Hey, Zhang Huan, you actually got the black blind man!"

The guard was shocked, his face was full of astonishment, and the jealousy in his eyes could not be extinguished.

In an instant, many men carrying bows, arrows and muskets came over and surrounded them.

Zhang Huan smiled and nodded, while Le Shao on the side introduced generously:
"This blind bear was very cruel. He took four arrows and two bullets before he fell down."

"You guys and I met another Rakshasa ghost on the way. It was quite a thrill..."

During Leshao's bragging, Bearskin and Deerskin were pulled into the wooden house of three people.

The wooden house is not big, with three beds, a stove and a barn.

If you need to go to the toilet, you can only go to the public hut.

"Tan the bearskin and deerskin well and sell them at a good price!" Zhang Huan said with a smile.

The price difference between tanned and untanned fur is several percent.

The nitrate and alkali consumed during this process are not worth mentioning.

As soon as the three of them lit the candles, someone came to ask for the price.

Such people who want to take advantage of loopholes will be rejected immediately.

However, when a businessman they knew came up with the right price, the three of them agreed.

She has a big belly, like a pregnant woman who has been pregnant for seven months. On this vast plateau, this body type is the warmest and safest.

A lot of fat means wealth.

Kong Teng is in his thirties. The flesh on his face is squeezed together, and he smiles with squinted eyes, like a Maitreya Buddha.

He was a Shanxi merchant and was naturally adventurous. He was also extremely passionate about border trade and fur business.

From northern Shanxi to Mobei, and now to Beihai and Hanhai, his footsteps are getting farther and farther.

Because he found that the further north you go, the easier it is to do business and the more you earn.

For example, a bear skin can be obtained for 400 yuan in Shanxi, less than [-] yuan in Beihai, and can be obtained for [-] yuan in the Hanhai Sea. The interest rate difference is shocking.

At this time, Kong Teng said with a smile: "Don't sell it, I tell you, this is the truth. Think about it, you may be able to catch a deer during the tanning time. Wouldn't it be a pity to delay it like this?"

"This bear skin is in good condition. If it is tanned, it will cost you at most 130 yuan. With bear paws, bear bile and some deer skin, I will give you 150 yuan. I will be at a huge loss!"

"In this vast sea, time is of the essence. Winter will come in less than two or three months..."

The three people looked greatly moved.

It’s 50 yuan per person, and I need this money.

The three of them reached a consensus and immediately sold everything.

After he left, the three of them begged for the rattling silver coins and laughed from ear to ear.

The next day, the three of them wandered around the camp and deposited their money along the way.

There are also banks in this small camp. Sanjin Bank and Tianxia Bank have been standing for a long time.

There are many people in the camp, and the three of them are worried about money. It would be better to live in a bank.

Then we started shopping in this small street.

There are only about twenty shops on the street, but they all sell important things.

There are grain shops, salt shops, blacksmith shops, cloth shops, leather goods shops, and even small shops selling hunting dogs.

It can be said that although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs.

"Go to the blacksmith shop!"

The few people walked straight towards the blacksmith shop without hesitation.

In the Hanhai area, due to the need to face huge beasts, as well as Rakshasa and Tatar attacks, there is no restriction on the use of muskets.

Therefore, the blacksmith shop not only sells weapons, but also muskets. It can be said that it has everything except artillery.

The barrels and other items were all made by the blacksmith himself, slightly inferior to military muskets.

Even so, the price is still heartbreaking.

An ordinary matchlock gun costs 50 yuan, while a flintlock gun costs as much as 100 yuan. Its high price deters many people.

Due to the extremely ferocious beasts and the cold climate of the vast sea, igniting a matchlock gun is extremely cumbersome, so many people would rather save money to buy a flintlock gun than a matchlock gun.

What's coming is the heat wave.

On the walls are a dazzling array of weapons.

There are knives, spears, swords, hammers, bows, etc., and at the top are matchlocks and flintlocks.

"Blacksmith Wang, take a look at my gun!"

Zhang Huan hurriedly handed over the gun.

"Oh?" Blacksmith Wang glanced at it and put it down: "There's nothing wrong with it. It can still be used. We just need to clean the barrel of the gun carefully."

"Take a pound of gunpowder and ten projectiles!"

"One pound of gunpowder is a pound, and two pellets are a millimeter. Forget it, just give me a dollar and a half!"

Blacksmith Wang directly quoted the price without any hesitation.

Huri and Leshao on the side felt their teeth hurt when they heard this.

Good guy, this gun is affordable to buy and difficult to keep.

Zhang Huan could only smile bitterly in his heart.

In the mainland, the price of gunpowder was two cents, but in the vast sea, the price was five times higher, leaving no room for bargaining.

Soon, the gunpowder wrapped in oil paper was carried out of the blacksmith shop by the seal ring.

There is no charge for this oil paper, which is considered a discount.

“Reward yourself with a good meal!”

Le Shao smiled hurriedly.

Although the street is small, there are only a few wine shops, so it is full every day.

It would be a dream to expect these foot-picking big men to cook.

Drinking strong wine and eating rare stir-fry dishes, the atmosphere was particularly lively.

The three of them sat down and ordered two pounds of venison, a jar of wine, a basket of steamed buns, and a plate of pickles.

Looking at the softly stewed venison, Sanyi immediately felt a huge appetite. She picked it up and ate it without caring about the image.

"Have you heard?"

At this time, a voice suddenly came from the next table.

"The imperial court saw that we have a lot of bachelors, so they wanted to find some women to come and marry us!"

"Really? Any girl would be willing to come to this damn place?"

"Bullshit!"

No one believed it.

Hanhai is only a few hundred miles away from Beihai. It snows for nearly half of the year, so no one would want to come.

Except for those of them who want to take risks for their livelihood.

"It's not a Tatar, is it?"

At this time, some smart people immediately thought of it and were surprised.

"Tatars are not bad, as long as they can have babies, pick whatever you want!"

(End of this chapter)