Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 790 Merchants and Loot
Because of the retreat of the Jianlu, the battle outside the Xuanda Great Wall was somewhat anticlimactic.

Even though many Ming army generals led their servants in pursuit, they still rescued some Mongolian herdsmen from time to time.

Huang Taiji no longer cared about this threat, knowing that these scattered soldiers could not threaten the main army at all.

What he is most worried about now is Man Gui in front of him.

This man is capable of fighting in the field with the elite troops of the Eight Banners and is very familiar with the grassland.

The Ming Dynasty conferred Man Gui the title of Dongping Bo and supported him in establishing the Dongping Bo Kingdom and taking root on the grassland. This made Man Gui's power expand rapidly, and it was very likely that he would establish a large tribe on the grassland.

If this large tribe named Dongping Boguo was established, the connection between Liaodong and the grasslands might be cut off in the future, just like the Chahan tribe before, blocking them.

At this moment, Huang Taiji frowned, thinking about how to deal with Man Gui:

"The Ming army that harassed us could not be completely killed, and our movements were always under their control."

"Mangui knows which road we are taking, and he will definitely intercept us ahead."

With this judgment, Ajige, who was the forward, said:

"Great Khan, do not encourage others to be more ambitious and destroy your own prestige."

"Man Gui relied on the city walls to fight in Jinzhou, and there was no one on the grassland to help him."

"This time, I will make sure he never returns and take his head."

Abatai and others also volunteered to fight with Mangui.

Obviously, they were not convinced of the defeat in Jinzhou and did not think that the army led by Man Gui could compare with the Eight Banners warriors.

Huang Taiji was extremely happy to see that the army's morale was good, and he also had plans to avenge his humiliation.

Just thinking of the prismatic camp that Xuanda’s army had quickly built, a shadow fell over his heart, and he said:

"Man Gui is very brave, so be careful when you meet him."

"The most important thing here is to clear the way and not get entangled with him."

"If Man Gui has already built the camp, then we can just send someone to watch him and find another way back."

Obviously, he knew that the most important task at the moment was to bring back the captured materials and personnel and digest them into his own strength.

But Ajige and others didn't think so. They were forced to retreat by Xuanda's army and were already very angry. At this time, they continued:
"Great Khan, we are not afraid of building a camp. We will lure him out."

"Man Gui has only 5,000 men under his command, and many of the Harashen tribes that are affiliated with him are still connected to us."

"We can find a way to lure him out and annihilate him on the grassland."

Huang Taiji frowned when he heard this and was very unhappy with Ajige's rudeness.

He realized that although he could not be said to have lost the previous battle, he was forced to abandon some personnel and supplies, which still caused some damage to his prestige.

Otherwise, no one would dare to question his decision. He could deal with someone as rude as Ajige directly.

Just as he was thinking this, Dorgon said:
"If Mangui takes root on the main road leading to the grassland, it will be another Dalinghe Fort."

"I think we should concentrate our efforts on destroying Mangui and completely conquering Harashen."

This statement touched Huang Taiji's heart.

After the Ming army established Dalinghhe Fort last year, he felt like something was stuck in his throat and immediately sent troops to attack and demolish it.

However, the casualties in the attack on Dalinghe Fort were beyond his expectations. In addition, the problems in North Korea made him give up the attack on Dalinghe Fort.

At this moment, he thought of that battle and couldn't help but regret it. Because of this expedition to the grassland, he realized more clearly how important the Daling River passage was. If they couldn't pass through the Daling River, they could only take a detour of thousands of miles from the northern mountainous area.

(The Daling River area is the key to the connection between Liaodong and the Central Plains. The Gubei Road, Lulong Road, Wuzhong Road, and Banghai Road all pass through the Daling River. Otherwise, it would be very inconvenient to take a detour of thousands of miles.)

If the Liaohe River area is also controlled by the Ming army, they will never be able to contact the grasslands in the future. Man Gui's Dongping Earl Kingdom will become the new Chahan tribe and block their westward advance.

So, he looked at Ajige, Abatai and others who were determined to fight, and decided:

"Just hold Man Gui back, and then you can annihilate him when you get a chance."

"But remember not to take risks. The most important thing now is to bring back the harvest."

Ajige, Abatai and others excitedly received the order and immediately mobilized their troops to look for Mangui.

They were not worried at all about not being able to defeat the Ming army, but they were afraid that Man Gui would hide after knowing of their arrival.

As long as Man Gui is eliminated, there will be no danger on the way back and you can bring back all the harvest.
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At this time, Man Gui had already received the news from Xuan Da, and more than one copy.

This was one of the changes Zhu Youjian made to the Ming army after he ascended the throne.

As a person who came from the information age, he valued the transmission of information the most. After the battle of Xuanda Outer Grassland ended, the results of the battle and subsequent developments were reported to all parties concerned, and were also transmitted to the Privy Council as soon as possible.

After the Privy Council analyzed the battle situation, it quickly transmitted the information to Miyun using the complete arm-board communication system within the Great Wall.

Then Miyun sent out carrier pigeons and fast horses to pass the message to Mangui.

Therefore, Man Gui knew clearly that the Jianlu were leaving the Xuanda army and returning eastward. His mission was to harass the Jianlu, try to take the spoils of the Jianlu, and weaken the Jianlu's strength.

This was also the biggest achievement of the Xuanda Army this time. They took advantage of the Jianlu's eagerness to return home and forced them to abandon the materials and personnel that were difficult to transport and escape to the east.

The Shanxi merchants who were responsible for providing logistics also made a lot of money because according to the court's policy, those who provided logistics and equipment could get half of the spoils.

This time, the imperial court divided the ownership of the spoils into 25% and gave 20% to the Shanxi merchants who provided logistics.

Most of the other captured materials were also handed over to them to sell and exchange for money to reward the soldiers.

With the means of Shanxi merchants, they can sell the seized cattle and sheep at a price much higher than on the grassland.

After many businessmen did the math, they found that not only would they not suffer a loss by donating money to provide logistics, but they would even make a profit.

If the donated titles were counted as gains, they would also gain status and territory. This was a completely profitable thing, and their enthusiasm for providing military funds suddenly increased.

Many people want to donate more in order to obtain higher titles and more spoils.

Some people even used the relationship with Xuanda’s army to meet Man Gui, offering to provide him with food and equipment and share more spoils.

Man Gui was born in Xuanfu and had contacts with Shanxi merchants, so he was very concerned about this. Because he was already in debt of 150,000 taels, he issued Dongping Boguo bonds in the capital.

These 150,000 taels of silver played an important role in the establishment of the Marquisate of Dongping, but they were not enough to last, and Man Gui urgently needed more money.

Therefore, he had long wanted to make a big move and even considered taking over the various tribes of the Halashen.

It was just that the imperial court had asked him to stabilize the grasslands north of the Great Wall, not to plunder at will. So he could only suppress the idea and only wipe out the tribes that were dependent on Jianlu, especially cutting off the trade route to Liaodong.

There were not many major wars in the Dongping Marquisate this year, but small wars continued.

The Dongping Marquisate troops under Man Gui were also fully familiar with the new muskets, and used them to sweep across the grasslands around Daning.

He was confident that this army's combat effectiveness was no less than that of the Jianlu, and that it was even capable of defeating one or two flags.

The only thing to worry about is military equipment. Firearms consume more supplies, and the Dongping Marquisate alone cannot support a major war.

He originally wanted to seek help from the imperial court, but the emergence of Shanxi merchants allowed him to find a better partner:
"You mean, you are willing to provide me with military funds, and the only requirement is to dispose of the spoils of war?" Zhang Chengjun said:

"That's right. We are willing to provide the military funds the general needs, share the spoils with him, and obtain the right to dispose of the other half."

"As long as the general agrees, the horse teams and camel teams of each family will do their best to transport the food, fodder, clothing and other supplies that the general needs, and the general does not need to pay a penny."

"I wonder what the general thinks, are you willing to agree to this condition?"

Man Gui laughed and said:

"With such good conditions, how could I not agree?"

"But if the spoils of war are not enough to cover military expenses, don't complain!"

Zhang Chengjun smiled and said:

"How dare I blame the general!"

"If the spoils are not enough, then consider it as a gift to the general."

"I only hope that the general will continue to choose us as merchants accompanying the army next time he goes to war."

Obviously, they are no longer focused on this occasion, but also have long-term plans.

As one of the best military generals in the Ming Dynasty, Man Gui is well worth their investment.

Man Gui felt a little flattered by how popular he was.

But he also knew that all this was based on his ability to win battles. If he lost a few battles in a row, these businessmen would probably abandon him without hesitation.

Therefore, he immediately made a request:
"Since you have money, buy me a hundred thousand worth of firearms first."

"These are the firearms that Dongping State has lost in the past year, and the bullets that are needed."

He asked someone to hand him a list of things he had wanted to buy for a long time.

After nearly a year of fighting, many of the new firearms of the Dongping State were damaged. Especially after the soldiers became familiar with the new firearms, the consumption of bullets increased sharply. So much so that Man Gui could not bear the pressure and repeatedly asked his soldiers to use reloaded sub-guns to reduce bullet consumption.

But now that he was facing a great war with the Jianlu, he dared not save money on this point. He planned to use all the accumulated bullets and intercept the Jianlu's spoils at all costs.

Therefore, his first request was for Shanxi merchants to buy bullets and help him transport the weapons over.

Zhang Chengjun had heard of the new firearms and knew that the Yongwei Battalion used this type of firearm to capture merchants in Shanxi. Those Shanxi merchant families who dared to resist were easily wiped out by them.

But he really didn't know how to use this weapon and what its advantages and disadvantages were. He could only guess that the bullets Man Gui needed were gunpowder and lead based on the fire guns used in Xuan Da Town.

So he said to Mangui:

"We don't need to go through the court. Each of our families has some gunpowder for making firecrackers, and we can buy lead as well."

"But isn't 100,000 taels too much? General Man won't need that much in one battle."

Hearing that he had no idea about the new musket, Man Gui said:
"It's not gunpowder and lead, it's the newly made metal fixed bullets made by the court."

"It's either a reusable sub-gun or a disposable one."

"The current price of each bullet is more than 20 wen, and the equipment department sets the price at 2 cents."

"One hundred thousand yuan can only buy five million rounds of bullets, which is just enough for five thousand people to fight a war."

"You have to buy it in the name of the Duke of Dongping, otherwise the Equipment Department will not sell it to you."

Each musket was equipped with a thousand rounds of bullets, which was the court's preparation for the war next year.

The bullets Man Gui has accumulated now are only enough to launch one major battle, but continuous fighting will require more reserves.

He was worried that the Jianlu would not give up after suffering a loss, and hoped that these Shanxi merchants would help him buy back the bullets as soon as possible.

After listening to the explanation, Zhang Chengjun was taken by Mangui to the teaching field to watch for a while before he understood what Mangui was talking about.

Looking at those musketeers shooting at the enemy hundreds of meters away, and thinking that the imperial camp under the emperor was also using this new firearm, he tentatively asked Man Gui:

"General Man, can we use this kind of firearm?"

"Can you sell some to us?"

Upon hearing this, Man Gui snorted coldly and looked at Zhang Chengjun with a serious look.

Zhang Chengjun immediately felt what the most powerful general of the Ming Dynasty was. The murderous aura emanating from Man Gui frightened him so much that he almost fell to his knees.

He quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and explained:
"It's fine if we can't sell it, General Man, please don't be angry."

"We will give 100,000 taels to help General Man buy back the bullets."

Man Gui then put away his momentum and looked at the soldiers in the training ground and said:
"Your Zhang family is the prime minister's family, and it is well known that you are rich and powerful."

"But you have to know that some things can't be bought at all."

"Without a title and fiefdom, you can't buy the corresponding firearms."

"It is forbidden to resell military equipment between vassal states."

"Remember, don't violate the "Etiquette of Enfeoffment", otherwise even Prime Minister Han will not be able to protect you."

Zhang Chengjun then realized that what he had just said had violated the rules of the feudal etiquette.

This set of etiquette is not as famous as the Convention of Etiquette and Law, but the nobles of the Ming Dynasty are obviously more concerned about it.

The behaviors clearly prohibited therein were so serious that even a count like Man Gui did not dare to violate them.

However, thinking about the title he had won for his ancestors through donations, Zhang Chengjun smiled and said:

"General Man reminded me that I was rash in my words."

"Our Zhang family can also be conferred the title of Viscount based on merit, and we will choose a territory on the grassland after the Guihua Protectorate is opened up."

"We will then purchase firearms from the court, and I hope the general can send people to help with training."

Man Gui nodded and said:
"You can help with the training, as long as you pay to hire someone."

"We in the Dongping State also have an insurance company that can provide security for the caravan."

"I will send them to escort the weapons this time."

"You should prepare as soon as possible and don't delay the war."

He ordered people to sign a contract with Zhang Chengjun, stating that the 100,000 taels of military funds were an investment, and that the Duke of Dongping authorized them to be merchants accompanying the army and help transport military equipment.

Then, upon learning that the Jianlu vanguard was about to arrive, Man Gui immediately summoned 5,000 troops under his command to go to war. He did not even summon the allied forces of the tribes, but led his army to meet them.

He felt sad when he thought about distributing the spoils to the grassland coalition forces last year.

This time, he would rely on the 5,000 troops under his command to monopolize the spoils that the Jianlu had plundered from the grassland.

(End of this chapter)