Horses were not allowed to ride in military markets or horse markets. Those who violated this rule would be imprisoned for three days or fined. This was an iron rule that no one could violate. Gavin Zhang happened to be caught in the crossfire. If he didn't want to be imprisoned, he could only pay the fine.
Fortunately, he had plenty of copper coins and silk for his trip to the border counties. Although he spent some of it, there was still more than enough left to atone for his sins.
In short, as long as he paid the fine, he would not have to be imprisoned in the An Prison for three days and could leave on the same day.
Not long after Gavin Zhang was dragged away, the merchants surrounded Evan Zhao and asked him how many cattle and sheep he could sell. In the midst of the commotion, a group of infantrymen happened to pass by, pushed through the crowd from behind, and came straight to Evan Zhao.
In the early Han Dynasty, the main focus was recuperation. Emperor Wen issued an edict to change the age of men to be registered from 17 to 20, and those who were less than 6 feet 2 inches tall could be exempted from military service. In other words, if you were not old enough or too short, the national army would not want you.
Therefore, it is not surprising that when the Han army was conquering the south and the north and its power was spread all over the world, foreign countries called the Han Empire the "Giant Country".
Each of these five infantrymen was tall and strong, and when you got close, you could even smell the bloody odor. They were obviously strong soldiers who were used to fighting on the battlefield.
The leader was wearing leather armor and was estimated to be at least 1.8 meters tall. The others were all wearing linen clothes inside and leather jackets outside. None of them had long spears, only short knives at their waists, which proved that they did not need to take turns, and should have been free and went to the market to buy what they needed.
Seeing the leader, Evan Zhao smiled and greeted him, saying, "I have found the wolf skins that Marcus Sergeant was looking for the other day. They are in that rattan basket. There are three of them."
"Really?" Marcus Sergeant's eyes lit up. He took out the wolf skin and unfolded it. He found it was very intact without any damage. He couldn't help but be overjoyed.
"There are also fur hats like this. I've asked someone to prepare some for you as well." Evan Zhao pushed the Lei Feng hat on his head and signaled the servants to bring the other two rattan baskets closer. "But there aren't enough wolf skins, so we've used sheep skins."
"Very good!"
Marcus Sergeant picked up a fur hat and put it on his head, distributing the rest to the soldiers following him. He found that there were several smaller ones below, so he took them in his hand and looked at Evan Zhao curiously.
Evan Zhao explained with a smile that this was prepared for the children in his family.
"My lord, you are so thoughtful." Marcus Sergeant did not refuse the kindness. He accepted the fur hat and did not treat Evan Zhao unfairly in terms of price. He even added 10% to the price agreed upon before.
The border counties are extremely cold in winter. Leather armor and weapons are distributed by the court, but the soldiers have to prepare their own leather coats and hats.
Although the price of the fur hat in Evan Zhao's hand was higher and the style was a bit strange, the warmth-keeping effect was excellent. All the soldiers in the border counties who had spare money were interested in buying one. Marcus Sergeant was lucky. He caught the first opening of the market in two months and he didn't need to guard the city wall, so he successfully bought a batch.
However, he did not buy the wolf skin for himself.
His daughter got married the year before last and gave birth to a son last year. She didn't want to be treated badly by her in-laws, so she didn't take good care of herself. As soon as winter came, her legs became swollen and painful, and she could hardly move.
Marcus Sergeant had four sons but only this one daughter, whom he loved very much since she was young. When he learned about his daughter's experience, he immediately became furious and beat her up with his sons. He chased his son-in-law with a knife for two blocks and took his daughter home directly.
The son-in-law came to pick him up, but was beaten up again. If it weren't for his daughter's plea, Marcus Sergeant would never let it go. According to him, there are so many good men in the border counties. If he gets rid of this one, he can find a better one later!
The early Han Dynasty continued the ancient customs, and the restrictions on women were far less than in later generations.
Not to mention the distant past, Liu Che's biological mother, the future Queen Mother, gave birth to a daughter before entering the palace. Liu Che's biological sister Princess Pingyang married three times. In such an environment, it was very common for women in the folk to remarry.
Evan Zhao happened to live on the same street as Marcus Sergeant. He witnessed the father-in-law chasing his son-in-law with a knife, four uncles kicking his brother-in-law, and the people around him applauding and cheering. It was truly an eye-opener.
To this day, Marcus Sergeant's daughter still lives at home and has no intention of returning to her husband's home. Marcus Sergeant was looking for wolf skins in the military market, intending to make a thick coat for his daughter.
There are many prairie wolves, and they often appear near border counties due to lack of food in winter. It is not difficult to hunt one or two, but it is very difficult to obtain a complete wolf skin.
Almost all the young men in the border counties can draw a bow and shoot arrows, but their shooting skills vary. If they can't shoot the wolf to death, they can only rush forward to finish it off, and in this way, damage is inevitable. If they encounter an impulsive person, they will cut the prey into pieces on the spot, and when they stop the knife, not only will there be no wolf skin, but even a complete wolf carcass.
The military market was closed for two months. When it opened on the first day of the new year, merchants flocked in. Many good goods were bought in a short time. Animal skins were one of the goods that these merchants urgently needed.
Marcus Sergeant Wuchang was overjoyed to get three complete wolf skins. He immediately took out two bamboo slips and handed them to Evan Zhao, saying with a smile: "I know you don't want money. I beheaded one of the Xiongnu the other day. I will be rewarded with five fat sheep and silk. Take these bamboo slips to the official temple to get your seal, and then go to the west of the city to collect them."
During the reign of Emperor Wen, Wei Shangde's guests suggested that the rewards for the frontier troops be engraved on bamboo slips and allowed to be traded in the military market. This would not only make it easier for the soldiers to buy what they needed, but also make it easier to calculate rent and taxes.
Of course, even without such measures, there are only a few who dare to pull teeth out of a tiger's mouth. With the style of the prefects of border counties, once a lawbreaker is found, imprisonment and fines are the lightest punishments, and beheading and hanging their heads on the city walls are not uncommon.
After taking the bamboo slips, Evan Zhao asked a strong servant to bring a rattan basket, lifted the straw curtain covering it, and took out two pheasants with their legs tied with straw ropes.
"Still alive?" Marcus Sergeant was very surprised.
Just as Evan Zhao was about to speak, a gust of cold wind blew past, and he couldn't help but sneeze, and his cheeks turned red from the cold.
Several soldiers laughed. Marcus Sergeant patted Evan Zhao on the back and said with a smile, "Young man, you are still a little thin. When Victor Zhao followed the Wei envoy to the border, he beheaded three people and even killed a Xiongnu Marcus Sergeant with one sword! Young man needs to practice martial arts!"
The corners of Evan Zhao's mouth twitched.
This is the characteristic of border counties during the Han Dynasty.
When the Xiongnu attacked, officials, regardless of whether they were civil or military, were either killing people or rushing to kill people. If they could not kill people, they were not qualified as frontier county officials, and were basically outside the circle and could not play with everyone.
It was a pity that his biological father died too early. Otherwise, if he had held on until the arrival of Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Wu of Han would have risen to power, he would have followed the army to go out of the border and kill people, and it would not have been difficult for him to be promoted to a rank of two thousand stones.
After paying the bill, Marcus Sergeant, wearing the wolfskin on his back, grabbed the pheasant, and walked towards the salt and sauce stalls with several soldiers. Before leaving, he glanced at the merchants around him, his eyes cold and full of warning.
"If you dare to take advantage of my youth, hey!" Soldier Marcus Sergeant sneered as he patted the short knife on his waist with his big hand, "If you feed the wolves at the frontier, don't blame me for not reminding you in person!"
The merchants looked at each other and no longer doubted what Evan Zhao had said before. When Marcus Sergeant was far away, they said that there was no need to go to the chief clerk to sign the contract, and agreed with Evan Zhao on the spot to trade a batch of cattle and sheep in three days.
"Sir, do you only accept millet and beans? Or silk?" asked a merchant.
Evan Zhao shook his head.
The number of bullocks to be sold this time was limited, and he had already made up his mind to only exchange them for grain and refuse all other offers. As for copper coins, they were not even within his consideration.
In the early Han Dynasty, people were allowed to mint coins, but the quality of copper coins varied greatly. If he had to accept coins, he would rather accept Qin coins than Evan Zhao Zhao coins. The former at least had weight and could be exchanged for melting when necessary, while the latter was light and fluttery, and was called a half-liang coin, which showed how deceptive it was.
Seeing that Evan Zhao refused to give in, the merchants said nothing more and left one after another. Those who had food continued to search for goods in the city, while those who had no food planned to find acquaintances to exchange for a batch of food for emergency use.
In a blink of an eye, it was already the afternoon when all the cattle and sheep Evan Zhao had brought were sold out, and the wicker baskets were almost empty. Evan Zhao called over his strong servants and ordered them to put the wicker baskets on the grain cart.
"Pay your taxes first."
Whether it was the military market or the horse market, most of the goods were bartered, and when paying taxes, they had to convert them into copper coins, which was very time-consuming. Anyway, his goods were sold out, so going early would save him from queuing.
"The earlier you go, the earlier you can return home." Evan Zhao patted the bag of soybeans and pushed down his fur hat.
There are no vegetables in winter, and under current conditions, there is no way to build a greenhouse, so he plans to try to grow some bean sprouts to improve his life. When he has more money, he will find someone to make a stone mill and work hard on soy milk and tofu.
He didn't want to get rich from these things, but he felt that food is the most important thing for people, and if they can't even eat well, what motivation would they have to talk about other things.
"There is no need to unload the truck when you get home. Wait until the new grain arrives and send it to the village. Go back and tell Uncle Hu and tell Old He in advance so they don't worry."
The strong servants all agreed, one of them walked to the cart loaded with corn, tied the hemp rope to the cart board, tied a knot around his shoulders and tightened it around his waist. Another walked to the cart loaded with soybeans and rattan baskets and followed suit.
The cart was left behind by Gavin Zhang, and was exchanged for Evan Zhao along with the grain. The horses pulling the cart were taken away. Evan Zhao drove the cattle and sheep to the market to trade. Now that all the oxen had been sold, the amount of grain he received in exchange exceeded his expectations. The horses he rode on were not enough, and the two extra carts could only be pulled by strong servants.
"My dear, please sit in the carriage and I will pull you. I think it will go faster."
Evan Zhao frowned subconsciously.
"I have plenty of strength, just sit on it!" A strong servant said with a smile. He clenched his fists and used both arms to exert force while speaking. Even through the winter clothes, one could see his bulging muscles.
Evan Zhao didn't say much and jumped onto the shaft of the cart. The two strong servants shouted and exerted force at the same time. The wheels rolled over the broken snow, leaving two deep ruts.
The snow was getting heavier. Evan Zhao was sitting in the car, the cold wind was blowing, and even though he was wrapped tightly in his wolfskin jacket, he still couldn't help shivering.
Jian Pu walked very fast and arrived at the city flag. Evan Zhao handed over the bamboo slips and found that the person on duty was not the chief clerk. He did not ask much. He paid the rent and taxes neatly, jumped into the cart, and ordered Jian Pu to go to the city gate.
As soon as we walked out of the city gate, we met a group of cavalry escorting several large carts coming towards us.
As they approached, the horse team suddenly stopped. The leader turned his horse around, walked to the front of the cart, pushed aside the hood that was blocking the snow, and revealed a handsome face.
Long eyebrows slanted down to the temples, eyes as dark as ink, straight nose, very pale lips, the whole person was like a snow sculpture, inexplicably making people feel cold. When his eyes met Evan Zhao, he suddenly smiled, like ice and snow just melting, and he was completely different from before.
"Hodor."
Hearing the other party calling him by his nickname, Evan Zhao rubbed his arms unconsciously, stood up from the car, and bowed to the young man.
"Evan Zhao Zhao has met the Third Young Master."
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