Elena Wei's Silent Vigil and Shadows Over the Border Chapter 195

Mayi was built during the Qin Dynasty. It was originally a place where Qin general Meng Tian enclosed land and raised horses when he attacked the Hu outside the Great Wall. After the Qin Dynasty fell in the war and the Han Dynasty was established, Mayi was established as a county with its seat in Yanmen County.

From Emperor Gaozu of Han to Emperor Wen of Han, the imperial court gradually moved people to Mayi, appointed horse officials, and raised horses in the county.

In addition, before the Yunzhong and Dai County trade routes were opened, caravans heading north to the grasslands and south to the Han area often had to pass through Mayi. There is an ancient road left over from the Warring States Period in the county, which was an important trade route connecting the north and the south a hundred years ago.

In the late period of Emperor Jing's reign, livestock farms sprang up in Yunzhong County, where cattle, sheep and poultry were raised on enclosed land, and workshops were built around the farms. The meat and grain produced were in great demand, and wool and poultry down products were in short supply, bringing in huge profits.

In order to get the goods as quickly as possible, the well-connected Han merchants would go directly to the livestock farms, and sometimes there would be fights. The Hu merchants were not treated so well, and could only wait in the military market and the Hu market to buy goods at several times the price.