Chapter 101: He wants to climb on top of you.

Wala Hanzi sitting around the corner, sighing and eating artemisia noodles, finished eating knocking bowl to the boss said also, the corner of the table piled up a stack of empty noodle bowls.

Suyan, Jinghongchou and Altan sat at a table and chatted as they ate.

Altan said, “Yesterday we drove our horses to the Clearwater River pasture outside the east gate, and after they were all settled, it was already very late, so we didn’t go into the city and pitched our tents in place to sleep. Today, when it was almost noon, there came a few people wearing the official uniform of the Ming State and claiming to be horse levying officials ……”

The officials heard the city gate guards reported, know that came a team of Warat horse vendors, driving more than a hundred horses in the northern desert, such a scale is considered rare in recent years, so they can not wait to come, want to buy this batch of horses in the name of the Daming court.

Altan offered a hundred pounds of tea for a horse at market price.

The horse collector was only willing to offer fifty pounds of tea for one horse.

Altan was unwilling to sell, and the other party counter-offered to eighty pounds of tea, but on condition that they were to be given the equivalent of twenty pounds of tea in gold for each horse, as a rebate.

That is to say, on the books to do eighty pounds per horse, in fact, Altan can only receive sixty pounds, the difference all fell into the pockets of these officials.

Altan does not care about how the other side in the accounts, but sixty pounds of tea this actual price he can not accept in any case, this is the price of inferior horses, and he brought this time all the fat and strong top quality horses.

After the horse-recruiting officials were repeatedly refused by him, they changed their faces in a hugh manner and threatened to send out the garrison to arrest and execute them for the crime of being spies. The Waratahs became furious and took up arms on the spot to slaughter these officials.

Altan was more sensible than them, and used a stalling tactic, saying that he would have to think about it and finalize the deal when the horse market opened, which temporarily quelled this unwarranted disaster.

But this method can only be delayed for two days at most, if they still want to trade horses in Qing Shui camp, they can’t get rid of the pestering of the horse collecting officials. Moreover, their batch of horses had been targeted by the other side, and they were afraid that they would not easily let them leave the boundaries of Lingzhou, knowing that there were still thousands of garrison troops in the city.

Su Yan heard a slap on the desktop: “The court annually allocates silver to the Shaanxi Division and Ningxia Wei, used to buy horses, they even openly eat kickbacks, embezzlement of earmarked funds, forced to buy and sell. Minor officials, also dare to be so arrogant, there must be someone at the top to support.”

Say backing or light, in fact, he had expected: the entire Qingshui camp from the military camp generals to civil officials are afraid of forming a network of relations. As a community of interest, the top provides a protective umbrella for the bottom, while the bottom through the deduction of the people, overbearing trade and corruption of official silver, constantly upward transfer of interests.

The phenomenon of corruption, from ancient times to the present, every dynasty and every generation of rulers are trying their best to rectify, but there has never been a real break, even in Su Yan’s previous life of the peace and prosperity of the era, but it is also not uncommon. He could not think of a more effective way to eradicate, but hit the hands of corrupt officials, but where he has the ability and power to deal with, will certainly not be spared.

Altan nodded, “I guess so. I’ve heard that the Ming border is corrupt, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes this time, so it’s no wonder-“

No wonder what, he did not say again to save face. But Su Yan can also guess, he probably want to say, no wonder these years Daming will be repeatedly by the Tartars invade the border violation.

Rao Jing Hongchou was not interested in the affairs of state, and Su Yan still had a large portion of the modern mentality, and did not fully integrate into this era, when he heard these words, his heart still felt shame and indignation.

Isn’t it the meaning of my trip to stir up turbulence and clear the air? Su Yan quickly calmed down and asked Altan, “Two days will pass in a flash, how do you plan to deal with it?”

Altan sighed, “I accepted the training mission set by the elders of my clan and came to Ming Kingdom to sell horses, I originally thought it would be easy, but it seems that I still underestimated the complexity of the situation here. At the moment, I haven’t figured out a way to break the situation either, so I can only talk about it when the time comes and see if I can try to raise the price up.”

Su Yan temporarily did not think of the law, mainly or the imperial decree and the Shangfang sword, the two most important treasures are not in the hand, while the lack of shocking force around – even if only a few dozen of the Jinyiwei good, or vigorously break the trick, directly crushed, can be how cool.

It was imperative to contact Chu Yuan and the others as soon as possible.

He pressed down the anxiety floating in the bottom of his heart and said to Altan, “Even though I am holding out for you, my power is meager and I don’t think of any good methods for the time being. You said earlier that there was something you wanted to ask for my help, I wonder if I can help.”

Altan pulled out a box from his arms and handed it to him, “This is the sample tea left behind by those horse collectors, it looks good, but I always feel that there is something wrong, can you help me taste it?”

Su Yan took over to open, see is a few two eyebrow tea, tea leaves tightly knotted uniform, gray green frost, looking good quality, and sniffed, the aroma is strong.

-Can be a little too intense, too much, as if it’s covering something up.

He greeted the waiter and brought over a pot of boiling water, flicked up a pinch of tea leaves, brewed it in an empty bowl, and then took a small sip.

The tea broth lingered on his tongue for less than two seconds, and was spat out by him, with an unspeakable look on his face. Jing Hong chased after Su Yan’s expression, thinking that it was extremely hard to drink, he took the bowl and took a sip as well right where his lips touched it, and unexpectedly said: ”It’s alright, isn’t it? Although the aftertaste is a bit slightly bitter, the aroma is extraordinarily strong.”

Altan stared at the rim of the bowl the two men had been drinking from, a twinge of annoyance growing in his heart.

He has never paid so much attention to details, and the northern desert tribes are not as sophisticated as the people of the Central Plains, more than a dozen brothers drinking wine from the same water bag is also the norm. This time, but for some reason, looking at the bowl edge of the overlapping water stains slowly sliding down, simply like a fish in the throat, do not vomit.

“He’s your squire?” Altan asked Suyan coldly.

Su Yan was rinsing his mouth with water and let out a “hmm”.

“I see he wants to be more than just a squire,” Alertan said, grinning after Jing Hong with beastly teeth, and the scar on his brow bone flew up rough and wild, “he wants to climb on top of you.”

Su Yan lost his smile, “It’s right to say so, who doesn’t have some ambition, people go higher, want to fight for a higher position of power, it’s also human nature.”

Jing Hongchou’s face was cold, and his eyes almost shot out cold blades to zap the unsuspecting foreign man across the street. He coldly said, “I’ve been a retainer of my lord all my life, just as you’ve been a horse trader who is not of my race all your life.”

The barbarians are not of my kind, their hearts will be different, strong will be invading and stealing, weak and humble, without regard to justice, its nature.

Su Yan knew that Jing Hongchou was using Wei Zheng’s words to remind him that this Altan was a barbarian with a graceless nature and should not be listened to.

He was indeed wary of Altan, and would not easily be honest with him, but so far he had not found anything untoward in the other party’s heart, so he just smiled at the personal guards to show that he knew what was going on in his heart.

Altan regardless of Jing Hong chased the cold face and cold words, picked up the tea bowl also took a sip, said to Su Yan: “We drink tea rarely brewed, are added to milk and salt boiled into milk tea. Or add ghee, milk tofu, cheese, fried rice and beef jerky to the milk tea and boil it into pot tea, which is very flavorful, and I would like to ask you to try it.”

Su Yan laughed, “I will definitely try it when I have the chance. But because of this, you can’t drink the tea soup good or bad. And Ah Chui is used to drinking white water, and is not adept at the tea ceremony.”

He tapped the edge of the bowl with his finger, “This tea was stored for too long and moldy. Using a gentle fire to re-roast the mold, resulting in a somewhat bitter aftertaste, in order to cover up this moldy smell, it was also smoked with extremely strong spices, so the aroma was extraordinarily strong. This is to see your northern desert tea drinking habits, know that you can not find the strange.”

Alertan was furious and rose up, “It’s too much of a bully! Pressure price is just a matter of course, there is no business under the sky without bargaining, but such a blatant substandard, clearly look down on us, treating us as unenlightened livestock in general!”

He so attacked, buried in the face of the Wala Hanzi also jumped up, holding the waist knife whimpering and yelling. Frightened the noodle shop owner hid under the counter, diners also have to show fear, set up a chopsticks and fled.

Su Yan soothed, “Sit down, hey, you sit down first, have something to say slowly.”

Since they met on the road and traveled together, Altan’s impression of him has always been warm and bright, and his speech has rules and regulations, which seems to be quite educated by the civilization of the Central Plains. This is the first time to show the brutal attitude, with his inhuman stout body, simply like a beast of the flood era, as if the next second will open the mouth of blood and sharp teeth, will be in front of the person bitten into smithereens.

Jing Hongchou was already sensitive to unkind auras, and under this pressure, he couldn’t help but act as if he was facing a great enemy, unsheathing his sword and pointing the tip of the sword directly at Altan, and said grimly, “If you want to get mad, go ahead and send it to the person who started it, but don’t be so crazy in front of my son!”

Seeing that he was about to inspire a conflict, Su Yan hastily patted Jing Hongchou’s arm, “Calm your mind, put the sword down first.”

Said and walked around the corner of the table to Altan’s side, would have liked to also pat him, but inevitably a little scared, and worried that there is something on his robes that can not be touched by the taboo, and finally pulled the ribbon that he is still tied on his left wrist, “Altan you too, calm down, sit down and talk.”

The ribbon was so tightly wound that only two ends hung down, and the jade pieces in the shape of bamboo leaves were shaken by him so that they sounded cold, and mixed in with his voice as he spoke, it was as if an icy spring was flowing under the moon.

Alertan lowered his eyes to look at Su Yan’s upturned face, his gaze moved from his face to the ribbon between his wrists again, the anger under his eyes died down, his hand pressed the corner of the table to sit down slowly, and he said in a deep voice, “Sorry for the rudeness.”

Su Yan saw that he had regained his senses, and that savage beast-like aura had subsided, and was greatly relieved. Shun leg hooked the bar stool, sat down beside him, and persuaded in a warm voice: “I know that those people’s behavior is both despicable and self-righteous, and it is a great insult to you. We also have a saying in the Central Plains, called ‘Soldiers can be killed but not humiliated’, but if you explode or even fight with them for your life, you are equating your own value with theirs. Saying that it’s one life for one life, that also depends on whether the other party is worth it or not, if not, even if you exchange ten or a hundred lives, it’s still a loss-making deal, and inadvertently gives them a price boost, doesn’t it?”

If he said something like “people under the roof have to bow down” clouds, Alertan may not listen to it, and may also have a feeling of resentment. But “a hundred of their lives are not worth your life” this kind of persuasion, it seems to be particularly respectful and ironic, so that he is not angry at the same time, on Su Yan deeper good feeling.

Altan splashed the bowl of tea on the ground disdainfully and said to Su Yan, “Thanks for helping me distinguish. I will take my brothers back to the Clearwater River Grassland first to discuss countermeasures. This matter has nothing to do with you, so do what you need to do and don’t bother with me anymore. That guard of yours has a good saying, anyway, if you meet in plain water, you will forget it afterward, so it’s better not to bother with that.”

Before he was so enthusiastic that he was somewhat familiar with himself, this attitude turned cold, Su Yan knows that this is not willing to implicate himself, only to draw a line. He sighed slightly, and gently tugged the other wrist ribbon, said sincerely: “Indeed Ping Shui met, but the impression is profound, forget is not forgotten, can help the favor will try to help. I also go back to think of a way, the car to the mountain. When this matter is resolved, you invite me to eat pot of tea.”

Altan inclined his head, looking deeply at him, his right hand unconsciously stroked the ribbon, touching unintentionally with Su Yan’s retracted fingers, feeling numb and hot, both parties vaguely shivered.

Su Yan cursed: fuck, but also over the electricity …… original body although the main faggot, can be before it is not so much to encounter the fierce man on the riot, this time how to get with the pheromone paired up like? Could it be that there is a so-called high degree of pheromones, natural sexual attraction? Too fucking bullshit, I do not believe this evil!

Comrade Su Yan, who carries the soul of a straight man, thought that he could suppress this crooked wind from the dead calcium skin with his noble core values, so he resisted the impulse to move eight hundred meters away, keeping a righteous smile on his face.

Altan seemed a little lost in thought, but quickly stood up, thumped his right hand on his left breast and bowed slightly, performed the tribal ritual that signifies respect, and said something to his men in the Vaishnava language.

Su Yan saw one of them walking to the counter, seemingly about to settle the bill, he got up and said, “It’s agreed that I’ll treat you, no one is allowed to grab it, let me have it!”

Altan looked at the several stacks of noodle bowls high up on the other tabletop and was a little embarrassed, “They’re so good at eating.”

Su Yan smiled, “I can afford it. What I say is what I say, are you looking down on me?”

Now even those Warrant Han men smiled at him, and the one who walked up to the counter immediately turned away, saying in raw Han language as he walked, “A word is a word! It’s a friend!”

Altan smiled at Suyan and said nothing more, leaving the noodle shop with his head held high.

Jing Hong chased until his back completely disappeared before returning his sword to its sheath and said, “This person is by no means an ordinary horse trader, deliberately hiding his identity, I think he must have other plans, your honor listen to my advice, it is not advisable to get too close to him.”

Su Yan nodded, “You’re right about everything.”

The second half of the sentence means, but I won’t necessarily listen. Jing Hongchu looked at him helplessly, an evil fire welling up in his chest, “Your Excellency is so capricious, but you’ve eaten your subordinate will cover for your Excellency no matter what?”

Su Yan looked at him in fake surprise, “Wow, you don’t even give me a bottom? Could it be that you want to climb on top of me after being told by Altan?”

Jing Hong chased his heart and vomited blood and agitation, clenched his teeth together, and gave Lord Su a cold face for the first time in his life, and turned around and walked away.

This change Su Yan was stunned, quickly three steps and two steps to follow, and began to coax their own guards: “Aiya, I’m just kidding, and again, and did not let you climb. I’m not saying it, who has no ambition, even if you really climbed above me, I will not blame you …….”

Jing Hong chased the boarder forward, but his gait slowed noticeably and he sighed sadly.

Meanwhile, Chu Yuan and Gao Shuo, with the surviving Jin Yi Guards and 500 elite soldiers, traveled day and night to catch up, and were still two days away from Qing Shui Camp in Ling Zhou.