Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

On the grassland, Kong Zhenyun came again, with a completely different mood.

When he came to the grassland last year, he was just a minor official in the Zhanshi Mansion. He was full of enthusiasm and tried to recruit the Chahan tribe for the emperor.

Now he came again, he had been in the court as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice for more than half a year. And after the setbacks in the trial of three cases some time ago, he became more calm.

After arriving at the grassland, Kong Zhenyun did not rush to see Ligdan Khan, but instead found Gui Yingqia and other ennobled nobles to ask about their losses.

Gui Yingqia refused to tell the truth, but still let it slip during the conversation, letting Kong Zhenyun know that the Chahan tribe was defeated by the Jianlu and their old territory in Xing'an Mountains was looted.

Gui Yingqia said even more bitterly:

"The most hateful thing is the Khorchin tribe, who colluded with the Jianlu to plunder together."

"And the leader of the Harashen tribe did not defend as agreed."

At this point, he also questioned Kong Zhenyun, asking him whether the previous alliance still counted. Is the alliance led by the Ming Dynasty to lead the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert to fight against the Jianlu still valid?
Kong Zhenyun naturally agreed to the proposal of the angry Chahan nobles. After promising to punish the tribes that did not respect the covenant, he also told them a good news:

"My Ming fleet has successfully arrived at Nurgan City, now known as Temple Street."

"Part of the fleet went up the Heilongjiang River and discovered the Khorchin tribe in the upper reaches."

"If your army needs it, the Ming Dynasty can launch an attack on Khorchin from the north."

"Your tribe can also send envoys to contact the tribes around Khorchin."

(There were two branches of the Khorchin tribe at that time. The Nen Khorchin was located in the Nenjiang River area and defected to the Later Jin in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign. The Alu Khorchin was located in the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River. The Ergun River was called Alu Nalian in the Ming Dynasty, hence the name. It defected to the Later Jin in the third year of the Chongzhen reign.)
This is the most exciting achievement of the Ming Dynasty's expansion into the north.

After discovering that they could go deep into the northeast along the Heilongjiang River and even discover the Khorchin tribe there, the importance of Heilongjiang and Miaojie increased sharply in the Ming Dynasty.

Now, the Ministry of War has planned to mobilize more troops to attack the Jianlu from the north. The Khorchin tribe, as an ally of the Jianlu, is also among them.

When Gui Yingqia and the others heard the good news, their faces looked a little better. At the same time, they were also shocked by the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

They thought that if the Ming wanted to interfere in the grasslands, they would need to send troops from the south. Unexpectedly, the Ming could reach Khorchin from the north with its fleet.

In this way, the Chahan tribe, which was previously at the southern foot of the Greater Khingan Range, could also be attacked by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty, with its full strength mobilized, was truly formidable.

However, now is not the time to be afraid of the Ming Dynasty. The former territory of Xing'an Mountains was looted by Jianlu and Khorchin tribe, which ignited the anger of all Chahan tribe members.

Although they were prepared to abandon their homeland when they moved westward, they were still upset when they were actually robbed.

Gui Yingqia said without hesitation:
"I will have the Khan inform the remaining tribes to contact the people of Ming Dynasty."

"I hope that the Ming Dynasty can also confer titles on them and allow them to trade with each other."

Kong Zhenyun agreed immediately, as he now had the authority to do so. After all, the entire area outside the Great Wall was under martial law, and he was authorized by the emperor.

He was fully aware of the mission of this trip. After learning that the Chahan tribe had no intention of continuing to migrate westward and seeking support from other tribes, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the thing the emperor was most worried about did not happen.

The emperor was most worried that the Chahan tribe would be unable to defeat the Jianlu and would move west to plunder other tribes, creating a power vacuum on the grasslands north of the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Jianlu to move freely.

Now, because the Chahan tribe has always been there, even if the Jianlu look down on them, they must allocate troops. The Jianlu plundered the Xing'an Mountains and had no more time to go south. After winter came in October, they returned to Shenyang.

That's why the people of Chahan tribe are so relieved now. After seeing Kong Zhenyun coming, they did not ask the Ming Dynasty to send troops to help, but instead asked for more rewards to make up for their losses.

After Kong Zhenyun promised to reward them according to their performance, these people were still not satisfied. The implicit meaning was to take out loans like last year to buy as many supplies as possible. If the Ming Dynasty did not agree, they would suffer heavy losses and have a hard time this winter. Maybe they would be forced to migrate next year.

Kong Zhenyun did not have the authorization in this regard, but fortunately he brought Wang Chaoyong, who was in charge of the Zhangjiakou Royal Store.

In response to these people's request for loans, Wang Chao said with a smile:
"Easy to say! Easy to say!"

"You all have made contributions to the country. His Majesty has instructed me to give you more favorable interest rates."

"The ones with the most military merits will be exempted from interest, which is equivalent to distributing the title salary in advance."

"The next highest rate is 0.5% per month, and the next highest rate is 1% per month."

"As for the furs from various families, they can all be sold this time and will not be counted in the trade quota."

"Your Majesty also allowed me to collect wool, so you will have another benefit in the future."

The nobles of the Chahan tribe were delighted and smiled from ear to ear, thinking that the emperor was really treating them well.

Especially the person who had made the most contributions, he puffed up his chest and looked at everyone with some pride.

After all, he had made the most contributions this time, and was not only commended by Ligdan Khan, but also rewarded by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and given various preferential treatments.

This made him feel quite proud and he felt that he was superior to others.

Wang Chaoyong looked at them and laughed in his heart. Although so many conditions were given, the Ming Dynasty did not suffer any loss in trade.

The large-scale purchase of furs was mainly due to the need to relocate disaster victims and to prepare clothes to keep some people warm.

Also, when burning wood ash cement, a better method of using wood ash solution to tan leather was discovered, which greatly reduced the cost of tanning leather while producing more high-quality products.

Selling these fine products to the south can cover the cost. Therefore, the fur industry in Beijing is in great demand now and needs to purchase more.

The reason for wool was that the emperor wanted to develop the wool textile industry and made early arrangements on the grassland.

As long as the Merino sheep from the West are transported back, the Ming Dynasty will quickly promote them on the grasslands, allowing the grasslands to rely on sheep farming for food and no longer be economically separated from the Central Plains.

As the implementer of these plans, Wang Chao already had a general idea of ​​them.

As the head of Wei Zhongxian's household, he knew that he would never be able to return to the palace to take power in his lifetime. What he hoped most now was to make great contributions in Zhangjiakou, hoping that the emperor would reward him with a title in the future for his diligence.

At the same time, he also told these people a good news on behalf of the emperor:

That was the beauty sent by the Chahan tribe, who was already pregnant in the palace.

The emperor was very happy and made her an imperial concubine. He also made her biological father a hereditary knight and allocated him a territory on the grassland.

This made the nobles quite envious, knowing that this family had turned their fortunes around thanks to their daughter.

At the same time, she also felt closer to the emperor and asked Wang Chao about the emperor's preferences and whether he could send a few more beauties to him.

Wang Chao had this in mind, hoping to gain the emperor's favor by offering beauties as gifts. So he selected several beauties from various noble families and planned to present them to the emperor after returning.

The relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Chahan tribe became closer. (End of this chapter)