The so-called horse gang are these people who have followed the ancient tea and horse road in history.

Just like those Caogangs who live on the Grand Canal of Beijing and Hangzhou.

Although it is called a gang, there is no specific leader or a rigorous organizational framework, and there is no fixed stronghold.

Anyone who lives on the ancient tea and horse road is called a horse gang.

But there are still many conventional things in the horse gang, such as the ones who go uphill should let those who go downhill not go back, etc.

At this time, the people coming from below quickly appeared in sight. Zhu Qi was stunned when he saw the visitor. It turned out to be a team of Han and Us Tibetans.

This team did not carry all kinds of goods, but brought a large number of mules and horses.

The horse gang people transported tea, silk, ceramics and other goods from Yunnan and Sichuan to the plateau, and then brought back horses from the plateau. This is the name of the ancient Tea-Horse Road.

They obviously came down from the plateau.

When Zhu Qi first saw these Han people, he was immediately excited, thinking that he had finally met someone from the Ming Dynasty.

But then I thought something was wrong. The Han people who walked on the ancient Tea-Horse Road were not necessarily from the Ming Dynasty.

After all, the ancient Tea-Horse Road is divided into two routes into Tibet: Yunnan-Tibet Line and Sichuan-Tibet Line.

They may also come from Yunnan, and Yunnan was still under the control of the Northern Yuan at this time. What if these Han people didn’t think about the Ming Dynasty, what if they were Zhongbei Yuan?

Even if they come from Bashu, when they meet someone on the way, they will most likely say that they come from Yunnan.

After all, the Ming Dynasty and Uszang are now hostile, and they claim to be from Bashu, so they are afraid that they can't even get in the city.

As for the danger along the way, it is the same if you say you are from Yunnan or from Bashu.

As the saying goes, "Walking on a boat and riding horses means life." I won't talk about jackals, tigers and leopards along the way. Which mountain does not have a group of bandits?

These bandits ate too much mountain spring and wild fruits, and they all day long they were counting on robbing a group of horses to help live a good life.

The horse gang that came ahead had no heavy goods and went downhill again, so they walked quite quickly.

They walked past Zhu Qi one by one and looked at the young man in front of him strangely.

The clothes are elegant and the materials are also extraordinary, which is quite different from those of ordinary horse gangs who walk on the ancient tea and horse road.

After all the people who came downhill left, the people in front beat the gong and the team set off again.

Zhu Qi looked at the horse gangs in the team, although they were all Us Tibetans, but they seemed to have no hostility towards themselves, as well as Bai Tang Yuer.

He talked and laughed along the way, and also spread the various rules of the horse gang with the two. It seemed as if he really wanted to absorb the two into the team.

Zhu Qi also learned a lot of knowledge he had never known before.

For example, this horse gang is divided into professional and partner gang members.

These Us Tibetans are professional and run the ancient Tea-horse road on the Yunnan-Tibet route all year round.

And those who just passed by were obviously the ones who fought.

Everyone went to the front to rest for a while and started crossing the river in the afternoon.

They crossed the Lancang River, which is also the intersection of the Sichuan-Tibet route and the Yunnan-Tibet route.

The ferry is not large in size, but in terms of the line of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, its prosperity is second only to the ferry of the Yangtze River.

Everyone waited for a while before they arrived at the ferry. After they all crossed the Lancang River, it was already evening.

The leaders of the horse gang habitually called Ma Guotou or Big Guotou. After crossing the Lancang River, Ma Guotou talked to everyone for a while.

Zhu Qi didn't understand a word, but the other party spoke Tubo.

Bai Tang Yuer saw Zhu Qi's confused look and acted as a translator next to her and said:

"He said it was late. After passing the town ahead, there was no place where no one gathered for a long time. We crossed the river and stopped leaving. We rested in the town tonight."

Zhu Qi nodded and then asked strangely:

"Miss Bai Tang can speak Tubo?"

In Zhu Qi's impression, Chengdu is so big that he can't even find a Tubo language. Fortunately, he brought Liu Bowen, a master of everything, and wrote the letter of conspiracy.

Bai Tang Yuer giggled and said:

"Of course, I live in a place that was very close to Tibetans when I was a child, and I learned from them.

Besides, if I don’t know how to speak Tubo, how could I get into the horse gang?"

While Bai Tang Yuer was talking, a woman from Us Tiger came over with something in her arms, smiled at Bai Tang Yuer, and spoke Tubo again. Bai Tang Yuer followed and said a few words, and then translated:

"She brought you bedding. Now in July, it's very cold on the plateau."

Zhu Qi suddenly realized and hurriedly thanked the woman. Then he remembered that this was a Ustig woman, and maybe he couldn't understand Chinese, so he asked Bai Tang Yuer to help translate.

Unexpectedly, the Ustig woman smiled and said in broken Chinese:

"What do you want to thank? You should go out, let alone you are Yu'er's friend."

Zhu Qizheng felt strange when the Uszang woman said it was kind, so he heard her continue to ask Bai Tang Yuer:

"Auntie is in good health? I have been with the horse racing for five years, and I haven't seen everyone in these years."

When Zhu Qi heard this, he looked at the woman in confusion, and then at Bai Tang Yuer.

When he saw Bai Tang Yuer sticking out his tongue and looking playful, the Ustig woman couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene.

Zhu Qi can’t hear it yet, they know each other!

Maybe Bai Tang Yuer said that the Tibetans who lived next to him when they were young were them!

No wonder these teams are all Us Tibetans who are willing to take in Bai Tang Yuer and her Han people in the team.

The woman put the bedding on the carriage and turned around and left.

Bai Tang Yuer said without waiting for Zhu Qifa’s question:

"I didn't lie to you, and you didn't ask me if I knew them."

Zhu Qi was stunned and realized that he only saw Bai Tang Yuer communicate smoothly with them along the way. He really didn't expect that they knew this before.

But Zhu Qi asked quickly:

"Aren't we going to the town to rest? Why are we sending me bedding?"

Bai Tang Yuer said:

"I said I was going to the town to rest, but I didn't say I wanted to stay in the inn. Do you know how much it costs to stay in the inn along the ancient Tea-Horse Road?

It is more than five times more expensive than Chengdu in one night, and the environment is not very good, and it is not even as good as a woodshed.

They have their own tents, so we sleep in the carriage.”

After Bai Tang Yuer finished speaking, Zhu Qi was stunned, hesitated and asked repeatedly:

"Let's sleep together?"

Bai Tang Yuer was also stunned for a moment, and then realized that this was inappropriate and quickly added:

"I also want you to sleep outside, but they don't have any extra tents. You are just recovering from poisoning. I'm afraid you will freeze to death outside.

But you don’t have to do more. Although we sleep in the same carriage, I sleep here on your side, so don’t cross the line.”

Zhu Qi said:

"Do you want to make another bowl of water in the middle?"

Bai Tang Yuer was stunned for a moment and asked:

"What does it mean?"

Zhu Qi didn't expect that Bai Tang Yuer didn't even know this classic song about Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. He knew that the people of the Ming Dynasty liked to watch Liang Zhu's operas.

Although I don’t really sleep for everyone to watch while singing, the lyrics of the opera also mention this bowl of water.

Zhu Qi said:

"You haven't heard of Liang Zhu's story?"

"Liang Zhu?"

Looking at Bai Tang Yu'er, he really didn't know that Zhu Qi became a popular science master, but he only said that when he disguised himself as a man, Zhu Yingtai, and stayed in a dilapidated temple with his good friend Liang Shanbo at night, and put a bowl of water in the middle.

Ma Guotou came and called them to go for dinner together.

I saw everyone carrying stools and sitting around, driving a pot in the middle, burning white things.

Bai Tang Yuer said:

"This is horse milk. If you drink it for the first time, you may not be used to it."

Looking at the already boiling horse milk, Zhu Qi had long heard of the great reputation of this horse milk.

However, when Chinese people drink horse milk, few people say that it is not good to drink, and they all say that it tastes strange and is not used to it.

This is the first time Zhu Qi has drunk it, but he wants to see what is strange about this horse milk.

He brought a bowl of horse milk, and the woman next to him brought another piece of naan bread and handed it to Zhu Qi with a smile.

Don’t be deceived by the scenes of grassland ethnic groups drinking big gulp every day in TV series.
To be continued...