Chapter 124: Friends Are Greeted with Fine Wine, Jackals Are Greeted with Hunting Rifles

As soon as Chen Yujie opened it, his jaw instantly dropped to the floor…

“Such imperial favor is truly unrivaled!”

he exclaimed in astonishment.

Yang Tongzhi would never smuggle. How could someone as law-abiding and loyal to the state as him engage in smuggling?

His export business was specially permitted by Emperor Wanli. Furthermore, Wanli had granted him a three-year tax exemption to subsidize his investment in digging the Machang Jian River. Ultimately, Wanli was not yet senile; he knew it was too much to ask Yang Xin to fund this entirely out of his own pocket. Digging such a river would cost at least two hundred thousand taels of silver to start with.

He wanted to use that place to tie Yang Xin down, to make him a troubleshooter, not to bankrupt him.

Compensation was necessary.

Since Yang Xin himself requested export trade rights, it was only right to grant them readily.

Plus, a three-year tax exemption.

The tariffs from the various passes in Liaodong weren’t much anyway!

At least from the figures the passes reported to Wanli over the years, the annual tax revenue from the passes along the Liaodong Frontier Wall was negligible. Although he knew the real profits were being skimmed off by officials at every level, that money wouldn’t have reached him anyway.

So it was better to do him a favor.

He gave Yang Xin special privileges. If Yang Xin had the ability to snatch more from these tigers, leopards, and jackals, that was his skill. If he didn’t, it was none of Wanli’s concern.

In short, Yang Xin had export trade rights.

And it was tax-exempt.

The Imperial Edict was right here. Not even a minor character like Zhu Shichang could stop it. Even if Xiong Tingbi came, he would have no authority to block it. But if that was the case…

“Why didn’t you just take it out directly?”

Chen Yujie asked, puzzled.

By now, their boat had already left the shore. The unfortunate Zhu Shichang had woken up and was howling like a madman, while several of his Personal Guards were still picking mud out of his ears. Poor Brigade General Zhu had become a complete joke. Both his own soldiers and the boatmen on the vessels were looking at him strangely—this member of one of Liaoyang’s top aristocratic families, a figure who could once make Liaodong tremble with a stomp of his foot. The humiliation was brutal. The image of Brigade General Zhu with his head shoved into the mud became an unforgettable memory for these people. What were decades-old local powers of Liaodong’s aristocratic families? Before Yang Tongzhi, they were all just scum under his feet!

“Because I wanted to watch a show. I wanted to see how far these great aristocratic families of Liaodong would go for silver. I wanted to see where the bottom line of their actions truly lies!”

Yang Xin said.

“You think he would use the Jiannu’s hand?”

Chen Yujie said, startled.

“But that’s entirely possible. The Zhu family are hereditary Commanders of Dingliao Forward Guard. From Emperor Taizu’s time to now, the Zhu family has been a core aristocratic family in Liaodong. To say he has connections with Wild Boar Skin isn’t just possible; it’s absolutely certain.”

he added immediately.

Of course, he didn’t know that in the original history, when Liaoyang fell, Zhu Shichang led his family to surrender to the Jiannu without hesitation.

That also earned him a place in the Records of Turncoat Officials.

“So, we’ll just wait and watch the show!”

Yang Xin said.

Thus, their fleet began its northward journey to Kaiyuan, accompanied by Brigade General Zhu’s hysterical howls from the Sancha River bank. Soon after passing Dongchang, they sailed between endless-seeming walls stretching outward on both banks, slowly leaving the area under actual Great Ming control and entering the vast grasslands belonging to Mongolian herders. Soon, wandering herders appeared along the shore. They silently watched the fleet sailing forward with the wind in the several-hundred-meter-wide river channel, then disappeared into the boundless green. On the evening of the next day, as the fleet moored by the shore and gathered closely to prepare for the night, a large group of Cavalry appeared on the bank. The lead rider headed straight for Yang Xin’s ship.

“In what capacity have you come?”

Yang Xin said, standing at the bow.

“What do you mean?”

Aobadaiqing said.

“If you come as a friend, then this Yang will receive you with fine wine. If you come as a jackal, then this Yang has only hunting rifles to greet you!”

Yang Xin said.

Immediately after, he planted his Green Dragon Crescent Blade into a specially made stand on the ship’s bow. Aobadaiqing sat upright on his horse, quietly watching him, and also watching this familiar Green Dragon Crescent Blade…

“I’ll come as a friend, then!”

he said.

“Then, please!”

Yang Xin made a gesture of invitation.

“Pass the order to the ships behind: bring some wine and sugar for our Mongolian brothers on the shore!”

he then said to the sailors.

Soon, he and Aobadaiqing, who had boarded, were seated at a table with wine.

“The significance of Kaiyuan City, I need not elaborate.”

Yang Xin said while pouring wine.

“What I want to tell you is simple: Wild Boar Skin has finished the war in Joseon. Not only did he seize large amounts of grain to sustain himself, but he also incorporated tens of thousands of Joseon bondservants and captured many Cannons. It won’t be long before he marches on Yehe City again. This time, Jin Taiji will likely have a hard time holding him off. Once he falls, you are next. We must protect Jin Taiji, and to protect Jin Taiji, we must rebuild Kaiyuan. But all the cities north of Shenyang have been abandoned. Military supplies to Kaiyuan must travel via the Liao River.

I have taken on this task.

These ships are all hired by me. If the cargo on these ships is lost, I will compensate.

But I cannot follow every time. And Military Commissioner Xiong cannot send troops to escort me. Therefore, I need someone to help me protect this cargo.

You will provide that protection.”

he continued.

“And what do we get?”

Aobadaiqing said.

“Everything you want: tea, silk, salt, ironware, grain. All supplies headed to Kaiyuan will include what you need. Xiong Tingbi pays me freight fees based on the number of ships that arrive. We will share that freight fee, half and half. I’ll simply convert my half into the things you need and give them to you. Additionally, your herders can come trade with us directly. Every evening when our fleet stops, your herders can purchase anything they need from our people.

We’re moving the border trade markets from the passes to this Liao River.

Not just you; other tribes can also trade directly with the fleet.

As for your payment, it will naturally still be horses, cattle, and sheep. Cattle are what I welcome most. If you pay with cattle, for each ox, I will give an extra bag of sugar. For each cow, I’ll add another bag. However, there are no special offers for sheep.”

Yang Xin said.

He needed plow oxen. Mongolian cattle could also plow fields.

Although he preferred water buffalo, he wasn’t only going to farm paddy fields. In short, he favored cattle over horses. Moreover, he wouldn’t limit himself to just the Tianjin reclamation area. In the end, if planting sweet potatoes or corn in the north, there was endless land waiting to be reclaimed. The greatest value of these two crops wasn’t just their yield, but their drought resistance, allowing previously unfarmable land in northern mountainous areas to be utilized.

That was their advantage.

Once the northern wilderness and hills became farmland, even areas like the Taihang Mountains or Yimeng Mountains could support countless people.

“Can you sell us firearms?”

Aobadaiqing asked tentatively.

“Of course. Nothing is off-limits. I said, as long as you are willing to be my friend, I will treat you as a true friend. Since we are friends, there’s nothing I can’t sell. Except Cannons, certainly not. It’s not that I don’t want to sell them to you, but the court really keeps a tight check on those.”

Yang Xin said.

Sengge Rinchen not only had Matchlock Guns, he also had Cannons. In the end, he was still cut down by a peasant. Mongolian herders having Matchlock Guns wasn’t terrifying. In fact, after acquiring firearms, the various Mongolian tribes eventually became the weaklings at Baliqiao, whose arrows were described by the Lobsterbacks as utterly harmless. Even their last glorious leader after acquiring firearms, Gao Erdan, became someone who couldn’t even defeat the Green Standard Army. At the Battle of Ulan Butong, the Qing troops who first broke into Gao Erdan’s camel fortress were from the Green Standard Army.

That was during Emperor Kangxi’s later years!

What was most fearsome about grassland herders was that they could still draw powerful bows.

When they grew accustomed to using Matchlock Guns and could no longer draw strong bows, they lost their threat. Because that fierce, resilient character was tied to their powerful bows. Agricultural peoples using firearms represented a step forward from agricultural to industrial civilization. Nomadic peoples using firearms represented a degeneration from fierce barbarians to weaklings. When they grew used to raising Matchlock Guns and killing prey with little effort, their character gradually changed. In the past, they needed to draw that strong bow, keeping their physique at its peak.

If they failed, they would be eliminated by the grasslands.

But Matchlock Guns didn’t require that.

Then they would realize they didn’t need to live so strenuously.

Then, day by day, they bid farewell to ferocity, to wildness. In the end, forget drawing bows to shoot eagles; they even lost their close combat ability because they no longer needed it. With Matchlock Guns, why bother? But they forgot they couldn’t make Matchlock Guns themselves, nor could they develop the technology. In the end, they lost their prized ferocity and couldn’t advance on this foreign path.

So they had no choice but to turn to singing and dancing.

Aobadaiqing didn’t know that this guy before him had already seen their future after acquiring firearms, so he truly didn’t care about such matters. He thought Yang Xin was showing great trust in him.

He looked at Yang Xin, somewhat moved.

This man truly regarded them as friends. He was a true brother.

“Additionally, I have an even greater gift for you.”

Yang Xin said.

Aobadaiqing waited.

“I will build a temple for you, in the Laomi Bay area. The eminent monk I met at your place last time commanded great respect from me. If he still lacks a place for Buddhist worship, I am willing to build a temple for him on Diaobi Mountain west of Laomi Bay, making it convenient for nearby Mongolian brothers to worship. If you are interested, please help me gather the Noyans of the other tribes. Let us hold a meeting at Qingyun Fort together with Jin Taiji and his nephew, and invite this eminent monk to preside over it.”

Yang Xin said.

Not only was Aobadaiqing stunned, but even Chen Yujie was dumbfounded this time.