Chapter 91: Conspiracy

The fierce flames that rose from Sarhu Mountain, driven by the northwest wind, spread rapidly towards Hetu Ala.

As for whether they could reach it…

They most certainly could.

Given the firefighting capabilities of this era, unless a sudden heavy rain arrived, such a forest fire would not stop until there was nothing left to burn. Though Hetu Ala had city walls for protection, preventing major losses, the fire would still kill the animals in the forest and burn up the nuts, which would ultimately leave the Jiannu feeling utterly devastated. Even if the animals weren’t killed, the fire would drive them farther away, eventually increasing the difficulty for the Jiannu to find food.

In the end, hunger was the most effective weapon.

After taking a final moment to appreciate the beautiful scene of drifting snowflakes against the backdrop of towering flames, Xiong Tingbi and his group quickly set off on their return journey to Shenyang.

Of course, Yang Xin’s journey back was much longer.

After returning to Shenyang, he made preparations to depart the very next day. He was to return to the Capital City. As for Chen Yujie, he certainly couldn’t go back with him. Yang Xin was a commoner, while Chen Yujie was a proper official. Moreover, Xiong Tingbi had submitted a memorial to the Wanli Emperor requesting a promotion for Chen Yujie…

A direct promotion to the fifth rank.

“He wants to send me to Kaiyuan!” Chen Yujie lamented with a sorrowful expression.

Xiong Tingbi’s intention was clear: to rebuild Kaiyuan after spring arrived and then throw Chen Yujie there as the Military Defense Circuit. The lowest rank for this position was the fifth-rank Assistant Commissioner of the Provincial Surveillance Commission. In the Great Ming Dynasty, civil officials controlled the military. After Kaiyuan was rebuilt, they would have a Regional Military Commander. They would send Zhao Shuaijiao; it was normal for him to be promoted from Brigade General to Regional Military Commander. But the one who truly had the final say there had to be a civil official. If that was the case, then sending Chen Yujie would suffice.

As for a seventh-rank Court of Imperial Sacrifices Academician being directly promoted to a fifth-rank Assistant Commissioner, it was no big deal.

He had performed the most meritorious service in defending Shenyang.

At least for the civil officials, they would rather say that Chen Yujie, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Academician who was inspecting Shenyang’s defenses under the orders of the Liaodong Military Commissioner, calmly commanded the city’s soldiers and civilians in a bloody battle against Wild Boar Skin’s sudden attack, repelling the Jiannu and beheading over two thousand enemies. They didn’t want to say that Yang Xin was the one who saved Shenyang…

The latter could be mentioned in passing.

As for Li Ruzhen…

It was good enough that he didn’t make any further mistakes.

In short, the greatest merit for defending Shenyang had to go to a civil official, and the only civil official in Shenyang city was Chen Yujie. This was a garrison city; there was no County Magistrate or the like. Li Ruzhen, as the Regional Military Commander for Liaodong Support Garrisoning Shenyang, indeed should have had a civil official, such as a Military Defense Circuit official or an Army Supervisor, to watch over him. The problem was that no one had dared to come. Even when Xiong Tingbi appointed someone, no one dared to come. As a result, Chen Yujie was astonished to discover that the Great Ming Dynasty’s greatest victory since the war with the Jiannu began, the one with the most enemy heads taken, had actually been achieved under his own brilliant planning. Pitifully, just a few months after being exceptionally promoted from Government Student to Court of Imperial Sacrifices Academician, he was now being recommended for another promotion, all the way to the fifth-rank Assistant Commissioner.

It was pitiful that his uncle, after decades of service, had only been promoted to the fourth rank a month ago.

Xu Guangqi was now the Junior Supervisor of the Household of the Heir Apparent.

He had previously submitted a memorial to the Wanli Emperor, requesting the imperial court to organize and train a New Army. He received the emperor’s approval, and it was said he was already being prepared to take charge of training the New Army in Tongzhou as the Junior Supervisor of the Household of the Heir Apparent.

Yet even so, the speed of Chen Yujie’s promotion was astonishing…

“You can’t abandon me!” he said pitifully.

“You’re almost at the fifth rank. Isn’t that enough for you? Sun Chuanting, a Jinshi graduate, is still only a seventh-rank County Magistrate!” Yang Xin said in astonishment.

“I’d rather go to be a ninth-rank Patrol Officer under him. Xiong Tingbi is clearly under your influence. He wants to rebuild Kaiyuan City and then throw me there as the Military Defense Circuit. Next time Wild Boar Skin sends his troops out, the first thing he’ll definitely do is attack Kaiyuan again! Even if people like Zhao Shuaijiao, Huang Degong, and Zhou Yuji can really fight, they still couldn’t withstand Wild Boar Skin’s full force assault. The various armies at Shenyang didn’t rescue Ma Lin last time. Do you think they’ll rescue me next time? Xiong Tingbi can’t be relied upon. Even if he stays in Liaodong, those generals might not truly obey him. Besides, he might be transferred away any day. But I, the future Kaiyuan Military Defense Circuit official, definitely won’t be transferred. Giving me, a Government Student, a fifth-rank position is just buying my life, making sure I die in Kaiyuan,” Chen Yujie said, glaring at him.

“That would be a good thing!” Yang Xin said with a smile.

“I can guarantee you will not only hold Kaiyuan successfully, but also have a steady flow of wealth,” he added with a mysterious expression.

“First, tell me how to defend it. I’m not short of money!” Chen Yujie said.

“You know something about European bastions, right? Then I’ll give you a complete bastion system, and you go to Kaiyuan and build one. You know something about casting cannons, right? Then I’ll give you better cannon-casting techniques. You’ll have a bastion, cannons, and capable fighters. How could you fear not being able to hold Kaiyuan?” Yang Xin said.

“But how do we solve the logistics problem?” Chen Yujie asked without hesitation.

“What’s the most important thing in logistics?” Yang Xin said.

“Silver!” Chen Yujie said bluntly.

“Right, the most important thing in logistics is silver. As long as you have silver, even the Mongols will deliver cattle and sheep to you. Last time I went to Yehe City, do you know what I discovered on the way?” Yang Xin said with a smile.

“You didn’t discover a silver mountain, did you?” Chen Yujie said grumpily.

“You guessed right. I did discover a silver mountain, just west of Yehe City, less than twenty li away. There’s silver ore there. It can be confirmed there’s a real silver mine in the mountain. But Jin Taiji definitely doesn’t know how to smelt it. We do! You first go to Kaiyuan and get the city built. Wild Boar Skin won’t have the ability to come out of the mountains at least until next year. You control Kaiyuan; let the Yehe Tribe be responsible for mining and transporting the ore to Kaiyuan for smelting. Jin Taiji will agree. He doesn’t know how to smelt it anyway. Moreover, most silver mines have accompanying gold deposits. That means it’s not just a silver mountain but a gold mountain too. The two of you will be responsible for mining and smelting from now on. I’ll find a way to get the military supply transportation rights. I’ll ship whatever you want from inside the pass,” Yang Xin said.

This was the big business in his plan.

Of course, discovering silver ore on the road was purely a fabrication, but there really was a silver mine there. One of China’s most important silver mines, the Siping Shanmen Silver Mine, was right next to Yehe City…

Truly next to it.

Only about ten li from Yehe City.

The highest grade was two kilograms per ton, meaning the best ore could yield over fifty taels of silver per ton. He also knew its general location. The rest was just sending people to search. It was an open-pit mine, and on a mountain at that, meaning there definitely would be exposed ore. Even flash floods from the Yehe River could wash some out. The rest was just clearing the topsoil and mining. From the Yehe River to Kaiyuan, rafts could travel in summer. They just needed to select the best ore, transport it to Kaiyuan, and let Chen Yujie handle the smelting.

Up to fifty taels from one ton of ore!

Even on average, it would be over forty taels!

If Jin Taiji mined just a thousand tons of ore a year, that would still be tens of thousands of taels of silver!

The men of the Yehe Tribe wouldn’t need to do anything else!

They would mine, Chen Yujie would smelt, and the resulting silver would be used for purchasing from Yang Xin’s side. Jin Taiji could get whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, Wild Boar Skin next door would grow envious and constantly try to seize it. Jin Taiji would then use the silver to bribe Wild Boar Skin’s subordinates, and the war between the two sides would become endless. Moreover, Jin Taiji wouldn’t betray the Great Ming either, because you can’t eat silver. When his people all became miners, he would have to rely on Yang Xin to transport all the supplies he needed. What would betraying the Great Ming get him? No one else could provide these things. Neither Wild Boar Skin nor the Mongols could supply him with grain. If he betrayed the Great Ming, would he chew on silver?

He would be bound to the Great Ming’s war chariot.

He would have money.

But having money, he also needed a place to spend it.

Money with no place to spend it would at most bring a little satisfaction. Only by purchasing various luxuries from the Great Ming could he truly live as a rich man.

“But in that case, others might try to take it,” Chen Yujie said cautiously.

Who he meant by ‘others’ went without saying.

His position would then become coveted by everyone, no longer seen as a suicide mission.

“Then it depends on our ability!” Yang Xin said.

If anyone tried to take it, they would just fight!

If everything remained unchanged next year, Nine Thousand Years Old would come to power after the Tianqi Emperor ascended the throne. Similarly, he was now also trusted by Tianqi. As long as he could let Tianqi share in the profits, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to give this source of wealth to others. Moreover, those who coveted it would need the capability to take it. As long as he kept people like Zhao Shuaijiao under control, anyone trying to take it would face their refusal first. Such remote fortresses were the easiest places to breed arrogant soldiers and fierce generals. If a civil official wanted to send someone to take over this ripe fruit, they had better be careful not to get attacked by Jiannu arrows on the way to Kaiyuan.

“Thinking about it this way, it does indeed have great potential!” Chen Yujie said contentedly.

“In short, if Xiong Tingbi truly intends to rebuild Kaiyuan next spring and appoints you as the Kaiyuan Military Defense Circuit to garrison there, then you should go. Build a bastion there; the original bricks from Kaiyuan’s walls can be used. At the same time, cooperate with Jin Taiji to prospect for ore around the general location I mentioned. I’ll go back and find a way to secure the military supply transportation rights, establish a warehouse in Niuzhuang, recruit boatmen, and purchase ships suitable for sailing on the Liao River. I will lead the first batch of transport ships north, negotiate future relations with the Mongols, and the Aobadaiqing brothers wouldn’t dare to rob my ships. This way, the supply line can be established.

I estimate that before next autumn, we’ll have everything in order,” Yang Xin said.

As long as this plan was truly implemented, the focus of Wild Boar Skin’s expansion would shift to the Yehe Tribe.

A silver mountain!

Wild Boar Skin would rather not raid Liaoyang and Shenyang first, but seize control of this instead.

Silver was also his favorite.

Then, to protect his silver mountain, Jin Taiji would have no choice but to fight him to the end. Thus, the war between the Yehe Tribe and the Jianzhou Tribe could become a fight to the death. Moreover, this was no longer just a feud between the two of them. It would become an unavoidable war between the entire Yehe Tribe, living comfortably off the silver mountain, and the entire Jianzhou Tribe, starving and desperate in the famine.