Chapter 75 Camp

Chapter 75 Camp

Chapter 75 Camp
"These are all I need." Burigude rubbed his hands and laughed. These days, he would come to eat every meal time, and Zhu Shenzhui was used to it. Besides, Zhu Shenzhui was eager for him to come. If he had the conditions, he would make some more delicious things for Burigude to further improve their friendship.

What was a meal worth? If he could use it to bring the two sides closer together and get the information he wanted from Burigude, it would be worth it no matter how much it cost.

Moreover, in the past few days, because of the meal, Burigude and Zhu Shencui have become good friends. According to his words, they are already brothers. Compared with the old fox Ersi, Zhu Shencui prefers to deal with the straightforward Burigude.

After getting to know Burigude, Zhu Shenzhui realized that this guy was not very old. Although he had a big beard and a rough appearance, he was actually only 23 years old. Zhu Shenzhui originally thought that he was at least 30 or 40 years old, but after all the fuss, he was not much older than himself.

Cooking takes time, and you have to wait patiently. Burigude was impatient, so he could only wait patiently for the meal to be ready. While chatting with Zhu Shenzhui, he would occasionally glance at the earthen stove not far away where the meal was being cooked.

Finally, the meal was ready. When Ma Shizhou came to tell Zhu Shenzhui that it was time to eat, Burigude grabbed a bowl without saying a word. He didn't even use chopsticks and started eating. He took two mouthfuls of rice and drank a sip of soup, and ate with a smile on his face. His subordinates in the distance looked at him with envy, but they could only lower their heads and continue to gnaw on their hard dried meat.

After eating enough for three people, Burigude touched his bulging belly with satisfaction. It would be great if he could eat such delicious food every day. He even wanted to ask Zhu Shenzhui to send him the person who could cook in their team, so that he could eat such delicious food every day. Unfortunately, he did mention this matter, but was rejected by Zhu Shenzhui.

"Brother Burigude, how far is it to the camp?" After dinner, Zhu Shenzhui boiled a pot of tea and chatted with Burigude while drinking tea to help digestion.

"It's almost there. It's not far from this direction." Pointing in a direction, Burigude said with a smile.

"Will it arrive tomorrow?"

"If everything goes well, we'll be there by noon tomorrow. What? Are you impatient? Hahaha! Don't worry, my brother. I will never go back on my promise to you. When we get to the camp, I'll take care of all your goods. I promise you'll return to Daming with a full load."

Burigude laughed heartily, and Zhu Shenzui also looked very happy and thanked him again. He also said a few words that if it weren't for meeting him, he would never have such an opportunity. He might have to wander around the grassland for many days before he could sell all the goods.

"It's just a small matter. We are brothers after all." Burigude said carelessly, picking his teeth with a straw stick in his hand.

In the past few days, he and Zhu Shencui have become familiar with each other. He also knows that Zhu Shencui is a merchant who has just come to the grassland to do business and does not know much about the situation in the grassland.

But it's good this way. If it weren't for this, how could Burigude have such luck? Generally speaking, there are not many small-scale merchants like Zhu Shenzhui in the Ming Dynasty. Most of them are large caravans, and these caravans have fixed customers, such as the Taiji of the big tribe, or Wanhu, princes, etc.

These merchants were large in scale and carried a lot of goods, but they usually traded directly with the big shots. Low-ranking Mongolian generals like Burigude had no chance to have direct contact with them, let alone gain much benefit from it.

That is Zhu Shencui and his men, plus the chance encounter on the way to gather troops, which brought Burigude such an opportunity. Burigude had already inquired about it and had made plans in his mind. When he arrived at the camp, he would find someone to chip in and buy all the goods brought by Zhu Shencui. In this way, he could make a lot of money from this deal.

Such good things don't happen often, and Burigude also has the idea of ​​long-term cooperation with Zhu Shenzhui. If the two sides can trade for a long time in the future, this will be a very good way to make money. With the help of Zhu Shenzhui's cargo channels, he will not only be able to make more money in the future, but also improve his status in the tribe in the future.

The Mongols are not stupid. If they were stupid, they would not have established the largest empire in human history. Burigude was straightforward, but he still had a clear account. Zhu Shenzhui had been deliberately befriending him these days, and Burigude knew that he was also treating Zhu Shenzhui well and making friends with him because he had such an intention.

Burigude understood it, and Zhu Shenzhui knew it as well.

He did not object to long-term cooperation with Burigude. Although Burigude's position in the Mongolian army was not high, he was of noble birth. Although he was not a direct member of the lofty Golden Family, he was also a member of the distinguished Mongolian senior nobles.

Burigude's great-grandfather was a tribal taiji under Zasaktu Khan. His grandfather, uncle, and father all served under Buyanchechen Khan and had served as a centurion, a thousand, and even a ten thousand. This is why Burigude knew Eris.

The tribe where Burigude was located was much larger than that of Ershi, with more than 4,000 people. Unfortunately, Burigude's father failed to inherit the tribal leader, and the current Taiji was his uncle. A few years ago, Burigude was sent by his family to serve as a personal soldier under the Khan's tent, and his merits gradually increased. This was the first time that Burigude led the army in person and came out to gather troops for the Khan. If nothing unexpected happened, as long as he made merits in the subsequent wars, Burigude would definitely be promoted in the Mongolian army.

It was not a bad thing for Zhu Shencui to make friends with such a promising young Mongolian general. With Burigude's care, his future business in Mongolia would be much smoother. Moreover, Zhu Shencui was very self-aware. It was impossible for a small merchant like him to curry favor with those Mongolian nobles and senior generals. Burigude, who happened to meet, was the most suitable candidate. Although both of them had the intention to cooperate and knew each other well, after all, the first cooperation had not been completed. Many things could only be discussed in detail after the transaction was completed after arriving at the camp. In this regard, both Zhu Shencui and Burigude had expectations, which was one of the reasons why their relationship became closer in the past few days.

After a night's rest, we set off again the next morning.

The rest of the journey was not far just as Burigude said. The Mongolians who were traveling with them seemed to know that they would soon reach the camp. The journey of the past few days was finally over, and everyone felt relieved.

Shortly after noon, there were signs of people gathering ahead and a moist scent was smelt in the air. Burigude told Zhu Shenzui that if they continued walking a short distance they would reach Qier Lake. The camp was located in the northern area of ​​Qier Lake, where several rivers flowed southward into Qier Lake.

Sure enough, after walking a little further, they ran into Mongolian cavalry heading towards the camp from another direction. Seeing this group of cavalry, Burigude rode forward, and the other side also rode towards them. After the two sides met, they chatted with each other for a few words, and then returned to their own teams, one on the left and one on the right, without merging together, and kept a certain distance between them, and continued to move towards the camp.

They were about to arrive at the camp, but Zhu Shenzhui did not feel nervous at all. Instead, he felt a little excited.

He looked at the other cavalry that was traveling with them but keeping a distance, but he did not ask Burigude why they did not gather together. Perhaps this was the Mongolian marching rules. In the following journey, this situation happened again. When they arrived at the camp, there were already three teams.

"Look! We're here!" Finally, the camp was right in front of them, and Burigude said happily, pointing ahead.

Zhu Shenzui sat up straight on his horse and looked forward. In front of him was a large area of ​​yurts that stretched as far as the eye could see. These yurts were scattered around a river like stars. They seemed messy but had a pattern. If his guess was correct, these yurts were divided according to tribes and forces, and the area in the center should be where the noble man was.

"Kids! Let's go! We're home!" Burigude turned around and shouted to his people. Everyone cheered and sped up, heading towards one of the yurts.

At this time, the other two teams did the same thing, but their directions were slightly different from Burigude's, which further proved Zhu Shenzhui's judgment just now.

Zhu Shenzhui turned around and called out to Ma Shizhou and his men, and everyone drove their carriages and quickened the pace to follow the team.

A quarter of an hour later, they finally arrived at the camp where Burigude belonged. When they arrived, someone from the camp came out to greet them. Seeing Burigude riding a horse and bringing people back, the person opened his arms with a smile on his face. Burigude rode his horse closer, dismounted quickly, and gave the person a warm hug.

"My brother, you are finally back!"

"All is well, dear brother."

The man who came looked somewhat similar to Burigude, and from their conversation it seemed that this man who was older than Burigude should be his brother. If Zhu Shenzhui guessed correctly, this was Hadanbaatar, the cousin that Burigude had mentioned to him on the way.

Hadanbaatar was a thousand-man commander and the future successor of Burigude's tribe. According to the Mongolian military organization, a thousand-man commander led a unit alone, which was an important military position in the Mongolian army and was already a senior officer.

If the centurion of Burigude was the company commander, then Hadanbaatar was equivalent to the level of battalion commander or regiment commander. The centurion's direct superior was the thousand-man commander, and above the thousand-man commander were senior Mongolian generals and nobles such as the Wanfu (also called Wanhu) and the Zongwang. Below the centurion commander were junior officers such as the decapitation commander.

This military system was established during the Genghis Khan era and continued to be used during the Yuan Dynasty, with only slight changes made to the original basis.

When Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to expel the Northern Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty, most of the Ming Dynasty's military system continued the Mongolian military organization. For example, the hundred households and thousand households in the Ming Dynasty's military households were the same concept as the Mongolian centurion and thousand-man leader.

(End of this chapter)