Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"what?"

"Gold and silver seal!"

Lin Danhan was extremely angry because he had never thought about changing the seal.

In his heart, he always believed that his jade seal was exchanged for the jade seal, and he never thought that it would be replaced again.

Now that this possibility has been pointed out, he is filled with shock and anger. He feels that he has been deceived by the Ming Dynasty, and that the imperial seal, one of the three treasures, has been taken away by the Ming Dynasty.

For a moment, Lin Danhan was furious. He was just pretending to be angry, but now he really wanted to fight the Ming Dynasty.

However, Sharba Hutuktu's next words quickly dispelled his thoughts:
"It seems that the Ming court does not really want to punish the Khan!"

"It's just that the Khan didn't abide by the agreed rules this time, so he was punished according to the treaty."

"But as long as the jade seal is still there, the prince will eventually become a prince."

"The 30% reduction in the city reward will be restored sooner or later!"

"Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would not have sent a county lord to negotiate, and also established a trading location here as requested by the Khan."

This judgment of the Ming Dynasty court was a revelation to Lin Danhan and his taijis. They realized that the Ming Dynasty's punishment seemed severe, but in fact it left room for maneuver.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty sent another messenger, bringing private letters from Princess Wuliangha and others.

The princess's letter mentioned the Ming's initial courtesy and her anger after learning that the Chahan tribe had fled without a fight. Even the concubines of the Chahan tribe in the palace were ignored because they asked the Ming emperor to send troops.

However, the Ming Emperor still granted 500 mu of land to Prince Shunli and Prince Shunyong respectively according to the standards of princes and nobles. He also planned to build a temple for Sharba Hutuktu as the residence of the Mahayana Dharma King in the capital.

This undoubtedly made Sharba Hutuktu very happy and verified his guess.

Lin Danhan looked at the letter and said:
"The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was too stingy. He granted his subjects palaces that they had to build themselves."

"Tell the princess's people to raise money according to the letter and build the Shunyong mansion in the capital."

"As for the Khan's residence, we'll talk about it after I'm reinstated as the prince!"

Obviously, he had no plans to go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, nor did he think he would live in Prince Shunli's Palace.

So I found an excuse to delay construction and wait and see how the situation develops later.

However, even so, after hearing what Lin Danhan said, the dignitaries of the Chahan tribe also understood Lin Danhan's attitude towards the Ming Dynasty:

That is to remain friendly with the Ming Dynasty and partially recognize the titles bestowed by the Ming Dynasty.

Some of them had sent their daughters to the palace, and they also opened the letters to read them. There were mostly words of concern, and some concubines bought gifts with the emperor's rewards and would bring them over when Kong Zhenyun took office.

As for the demotion, they would do their best to negotiate in the palace. When the emperor calmed down, they could get their titles back by making some contributions.

This undoubtedly reassured the nobles of the Chahan tribe. However, many people still felt pained when they thought about the 30% reduction in the city reward, and said to Lin Danhan:
"Great Khan, my daughter said that as long as I perform some meritorious deeds, my title and city reward will be restored."

"Should we find a way to calm down the Ming Dynasty?"

Lin Danhan was angry, but he could not stand the large number of requests. He was also uncomfortable with the reduction of his title and reward. He could only reluctantly say:

"Tomorrow the Khan will make this request. Let's see what conditions the Ming Dynasty has."

"This Lord Jiangling is not easy to deal with. He is not as easy to talk to as Mr. Kong."

When Kong Zhenyun was sent to negotiate with the Chahan tribe, he was always polite and courteous. Even if there was a conflict due to interests, it was someone else who negotiated.

Now Zhang Tongchang came up and delivered the punishment to them with sarcasm, which made Lin Danhan, who was familiar with Kong Zhenyun's attitude, feel very uncomfortable.

Therefore, he was not very optimistic about tomorrow's negotiations and felt that he still had to wait a month or two for Kong Zhenyun to take office.
-
But on the second day, Zhang Tongchang's attitude suddenly changed. He was no longer as aggressive as he was yesterday. He even ordered people to bring a lot of food and said to everyone:
"I conveyed the order yesterday and did not entertain you properly."

"There is nothing important like that today. Let's talk while we eat."

He ordered people to set up a banquet and invited Lin Danhan and others to sit down.

Not knowing what the other party was up to, Lin Danhan couldn't refuse and thus declined the other party's kindness.

Zhang Tongchang took out a can and said:

"This is the canned food invented by the emperor. I guess you haven't eaten it before, right?"

"Try the canned salted fish from our Jiangling Principality. If you like, we can trade with you."

Canned food was only invented last year and was mainly supplied to the front lines. Of course, it has not spread to the grasslands.

When Lin Danhan saw Zhang Tongchang open the can directly and invite him to taste it, he was unwilling to eat something he had never seen before.

He even thought about Zhang Tongchang's attitude yesterday and was worried that this person would feed him or make him get a stomachache and become a laughing stock.

As if seeing his doubts, Zhang Tongchang laughed and said:
"Your Majesty, are you worried that it's not cooked yet?"

"Don't worry, these are all steamed at high temperature, so they are guaranteed to be soft and mushy."

"If you want to eat hot food, we have a way."

He ordered someone to light the stove and pour the salted fish out of the cans and cook them.

His attendant immediately took out a long-handled lighter that looked like a torch, turned the spring wheel to ignite the cotton wick inside, and then used the flame of the lighter to ignite the cotton wick of the kerosene stove.

Then I put a windproof cover on it to prevent it from being blown out by the wind. I put a small pot on the shelf and emptied the cans into it.

After a while, the canned salted fish was heated and made a sizzling sound.

Zhang Tongchang took the lead in cutting a piece with a knife, put it in his mouth to taste, and then invited Lin Danhan to say:
"Please, King Shunli!"

"Try the food of Jiangling Principality. Is it to your taste?"

At this time, Lin Danhan, like other dignitaries of the Chahan tribe, was already stunned.

They never imagined that a simple outdoor banquet would be turned into so many twists and turns.

Whether it was cans, lighters, or heated kerosene stoves, they were all things they had never seen or even heard of.

Seeing his attendants about to take the kerosene lamp down, Lin Danhan could not help but say:

"Wait a moment!"

"What kind of stove is this?"

"What else is on fire?"

Zhang Tongchang explained with a smile:
"This is a kerosene stove. The emperor saw someone using a torch, which is an enlarged lighter, to heat food, so he ordered the craftsmen to make it."

"It's really convenient to use this stove for heating food or keeping warm in the wild."

“After replacing kerosene with whale oil, even the bad smell disappeared.”

"If Your Majesty likes it, I will give you one."

He also invited Ligdan Khan to taste salted fish and wanted to sell canned food from Jiangling Principality.

Lin Danhan could not resist his cordial invitation, and because Zhang Tongchang had already eaten it, he also cut a small piece and put it in his mouth to taste it.

For a Khan like him, canned salted fish was not very delicious. But he had never eaten canned food before, so he still felt it was very novel. He praised Zhang Tongchang:

"This can tastes good, but it's a little salty."

"I will order someone to buy it, and Lord Jiangling can just ship it over."

Zhang Tongchang laughed loudly and said:

"That's a good feeling!"

"This can of salted fish is not subject to trade quota restrictions, just like pickled foods, because it uses a lot of salt."

"As long as you have money, you can buy as much as you want." This made the Chahan tribe members present brighten their eyes. Many people praised the canned food after tasting it, believing that this kind of food can not only fill the stomach, but also provide salt. Compared with pickles, it is even more practical.

However, Lin Danhan didn't care much about the canned food at this time. He pointed at the kerosene stove and said:

"Can I have a look at this stove and the lighter that lights it?"

Zhang Tongchang smiled and said:

"Why not?"

"But this thing is dangerous, Your Majesty must be careful."

He personally brought over the kerosene stove and handed over a beautiful little torch, which he used for his own use, very small and exquisite, and could be used as a lighter.

Lin Danhan tried it according to his instructions and succeeded in lighting the stove easily at one go.

Looking at the blazing kerosene stove and the small torch in his hand, Lin Danhan's face was uncertain and he asked Zhang Tongchang:

"This thing is so exquisite, it must be difficult to make, right?"

"And what about kerosene and whale oil? Are they equally rare?"

Zhang Tongchang laughed loudly and said:

“Whether the appearance is exquisite or not does not affect its use.”

"Rich families in Beijing now use lighters to light fires on a daily basis."

"As for kerosene, it is indeed a bit scarce now, but for my Jiangling Principality, whale oil is enough."

"There are countless giant whales in the eastern sea. Catching one can produce thousands or even tens of thousands of kilograms of oil."

"Your Highness, don't worry about the stove running out of oil. The worst that can happen is that we can just send more people to hunt whales!"

Even though the emperor did not encourage the whaling industry, it still inevitably developed due to the huge profits.

In particular, there are a large number of whales in the ocean east of Gangneung Principality, and Japan to the south has long started fishing and using whales.

The Han Kingdom left behind some Matsumae clan members who had started whaling early on. After the exchange with the Han Kingdom, Gangneung soon joined the whaling business as well.

Currently, a large part of Jiangling Principality's income depends on whales. Even the whale meat that is often discarded during whaling in the West is pickled or stored in ice to supplement the food shortage.

Whalebones and baleen are used to make collars, riding whips, toys, and as an alternative to plastic.

Whale teeth are used to make chess pieces and piano keys as a substitute for ivory…

It can be said that there are treasures everywhere on the whale's body, and they are utilized more deeply.

The whaling industry is also extremely important to the Principality of Jiangling, and even attracted many merchants from the south.

Zhang Tongchang already had the idea of ​​expanding the scale of whaling, and now when Lin Danhan asked about whale oil, he easily answered the question.

When Lin Danhan heard Zhang Tongchang's words, the torch in his hand shook and almost fell to the ground.

Because what he saw were not torches, but balls of flames lit by the Ming Dynasty on the grassland.

The most effective tactic of the Ming Dynasty against the grasslands was burning the wasteland and destroying the nests.

Nest-raiding means sending troops to attack after discovering the grassland tribe, and burning the wasteland means burning the grass on the grassland.

The impact of this on the grassland tribes is self-evident. The emergence of lighters and kerosene undoubtedly made burning the land more convenient.

Originally, Lin Danhan expected that lighters would be difficult to manufacture and that the amount of kerosene in the Ming Dynasty was not much, but after Zhang Tongchang pointed out that lighters were becoming more popular and that whale oil and other fuels could replace kerosene, he suddenly lost hope and knew that it would be more convenient for Ming Dynasty to burn wasteland on the grassland in the future.

Any small team can pour oil on the grassland and start a fire.

Zhang Tongchang's display also seemed like a silent threat to him:
If the Chahan tribe dared to fight the Ming Dynasty, even if the Ming Dynasty could not find its lair, it would still be able to burn the grassland.

Therefore, Lin Danhan had no appetite for this meal. He was not even in the mood to bring up the matter of restoring the city reward.
-
But he didn't bring it up, but someone else couldn't help but bring it up.

Sonom Taiji relied on the fact that he was Shunpin's father, the leader of Keshiketeng Otog, and a close confidant of Lindan Khan and his first wife Namu Zhong, and asked Zhang Tongchang:
"Thank you, Lord Jiangling, for delivering my daughter's letter."

"Does Lord Jiangling know how to restore our titles and city rewards?"

The taijis nearby couldn't help but prick up their ears to listen. Even Lin Danhan listened attentively.

Zhang Tongchang still smiled at this and pointed to the east and said:

"This is very simple. As long as you fight the Jianlu seriously, or conquer a few tribes that are dependent on the Jianlu, your titles and city rewards will be restored."

"There is an opportunity right now, and that is to attack Nenhorchin."

"Whether we expel Nen Korqin or completely conquer them, our title will be upgraded by one rank, and our city reward will be restored by 10%."

"I came here for this purpose, to coordinate the troops from all sides and conquer Nen Korchin."

This made the dignitaries of the Chahan tribe look at each other in surprise.

It’s not that they don’t want to fight Nenkorchin, nor is it that they are afraid of this tribe, but after last year’s expedition, they know that attacking Nenkorchin will attract Jianlu.

Since they did not dare or have the ability to fight against the Jianlu, they certainly did not want to attack Nenkorchin.

Otherwise, why did the Chahan tribe not retake their homeland but instead travel thousands of miles to fight in the northern desert?

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit awkward, Zhang Tongchang said to Lin Danhan:
"Now that Alukhorchin has been conquered, doesn't Your Majesty want to conquer Nenhorchin and bring the Horchin tribe back under your command?"

"The Ming Dynasty will provide all support for this, as long as Your Majesty is willing to contribute."

Lin Danhan said with little interest:
"After defeating Nen Korqin, will the Ming Dynasty replenish its armor?"

"In the battle last year, I suffered a lot of losses."

Last year, the Chahan tribe was defeated, so the Ming Dynasty naturally did not give much reward. In order to check and balance Ligdan Khan, they only provided armor to the dignitaries of the Chahan tribe.

When Lin Danhan thought of this, he became angry and of course did not want to attack Korchin again foolishly.

Zhang Tongchang was somewhat embarrassed by this, because this was a calculation within the Ming court. However, no one expected that Lin Danhan would be so clear-headed this time that he did not force the leader of the Chahan tribe to leave, but collected the armor held by these people.

At this point he could only say:

"The number of armored vehicles needs to be decided by the court."

"But if His Majesty needs it, the arsenal of Jiangling Principality can help His Majesty repair his weapons."

"The same goes for iron armor. We can make armor plates to fill in the gaps."

This undoubtedly made Lin Danhan's eyes light up, because it meant that his lost armor could be repaired.

Currently there are only more than 3,000 sets of armor left, which can be restored to a scale of more than 4,000 sets or even 5,000 sets.

This finally made him like Zhang Tongchang, and he laughed and raised his glass to show his appreciation.

The Ming Dynasty's attitude was undoubtedly to support the Chahan tribe and help it recover and even increase its strength.

With this understanding, the subsequent negotiations went smoothly. After Zhang Tongchang expressed his willingness to help repair weapons and even request the court to increase the number of armored personnel of the Chahan tribe by 5,000 in the future, all the nobles of the Chahan tribe believed that they should cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to conquer Nenkorqin.

The division of the territory of Al Horqin was also very smooth. The boundary was based on the areas controlled by both sides. The areas south and west of Kuoluan Lake and Buyuer Lake belonged to the Chahan tribe, and the areas north and east belonged to the Andong Protectorate.

The population of Alukhorchin depended on which side they were willing to submit to. The Ming Dynasty would let those who were willing to follow Ligdan Khan go, and those who were unwilling to submit to Ligdan Khan would be accepted by the Ming Dynasty. If there was a difference, the value would be calculated and the other party would be compensated with goods.

The same goes for other tribes. After they are conquered in the future, the population will be dealt with in this way. The Ming Dynasty will support Ligdan Khan in conquering the tribes in the northern desert, but the Ming Dynasty will send troops to conquer the Buryat tribes north of the Khalkha tribe. The two sides will temporarily use the Khalkha tribe as the boundary to divide their spheres of influence.

In general, the Ming Dynasty provided support to Ligdan Khan, hoping that he would break the situation in Mobei and gather more forces to fight against the Jianlu.

Lin Danhan hoped to conquer the tribes in the northern desert and then unify the western and southern deserts, becoming the Great Khan of all Mongolians and standing on equal footing with the Ming and Jin dynasties. (End of this chapter)