In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 853 People from the Grasslands, a Pie Falling from the Sky
Li Xian was brought here by Zhang Bin from the chaotic graveyard in the north of the city.

This is a secluded spot at the foot of a high mountain, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by dense forest, making it very hidden.

Many unclaimed corpses are dumped here.
Because of the presence of the corpse, weeds and trees grew extremely luxuriantly.

So much so that even in October, the trees were still unusually green.

As the group arrived, a foul, strange smell wafted towards them.

Li Xian hadn't smelled this scent in a long time, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Is he here?"

Zhang Bin nodded as he walked:
"When I discovered he was missing this morning, I sent people to look for him, and sure enough, they found a newly dug pit."
"Cut it open, and inside are the corpses of my trusted men."

Zhang Bin's expression was extremely solemn as he led Li Xian deep into the chaotic graveyard.

Soon, near the foot of the mountain,

They saw Gao Haoxuan, who was covering his mouth and nose, and a dozen soldiers carrying hoes and shovels.

In front of them, one by one, twisted and broken bodies were laid out neatly.

A foul stench emanated from above.

The eagles that had gathered were buzzing and cawing, which was quite unsettling.

That's all.

Zhang Bin pointed to the more than twenty corpses in front of him.

He then pointed to the flat land not far away with traces of tilling and said:

"There should be some in there too."

Li Xian examined the corpse before him, noticing its slightly worn armor and the fatal wounds.
Looking at the bodies, most had bloody holes as thick as an infant's arm, and some had knife marks.

He frowned and said:
"Judging from the marks on the wounds, they were caused by close-range crossbow fire, and these knife wounds must have been subsequent finishing blows."

The last shred of hope in Zhang Bin's heart vanished.

He was shrouded in gloom, and his mood was extremely low.

What did they do last night?

Li Xian glanced at him, knowing the matter was complicated, so he simply asked the question directly.

Zhang Bin's expression changed several times before he finally let out a heavy sigh:
"These trusted confidants are my backup plan. If things cannot be resolved properly, I will fight to the death."

I just didn't expect it.
Things were going so smoothly that we were planning to bring them back to camp today.

But who would have thought that Gao Haoxuan would be like this in the past?
The place where they had stood was now empty, with only traces of blood in the cracks between the floor tiles.

Li Xian frowned and gave a soft snort:
"Your cleverness can backfire; I told you that yesterday."

If someone is willing to admit their mistake, the truth will be pretty much confirmed.
Why resort to such methods? Who can they possibly fool?
More than eighty armored soldiers were stationed in the city of Daning, which was teeming with elite troops.
Besides providing laughs, what else can it do?

Li Xian spoke without any politeness.

Zhang Bin lowered his head and pursed his lips.

The identity of the murderer is self-evident.

There are only a handful of people inside and outside the city who can deploy heavy crossbows.

Those who act with such unbridled recklessness are even fewer.

"Lord Li, I..."

"Alright, it's over. Don't think about it anymore."

Li Xian raised his hand to interrupt him, trying to make his voice calm:

"Based on my experience serving in two dynasties..."
Since you've decided to surrender, then surrender completely.
Those who are timid and hesitant, always wavering between two options, end up in the worst situation.

This time, the commander is just giving you a warning.
Your every move is under the control of the Commander; it's laughable that you still want to fight to the death.

Zhang Bin remained silent, while Gao Haoxuan touched his bandaged hand, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

After a long while, Zhang Bin finally spoke, somewhat resentfully:
"Sir, are we just going to let this go like this?"

Li Xian shook his head:

"Of course we can't let it go like this. Tell Hu Chongyi and his associates who are cooperating with you..."

"If you want to live, you'll have to pay the government a sum of money to save your life; otherwise, this matter isn't over."

The hope that had just ignited in Zhang Bin's eyes was instantly extinguished.

However, he didn't say anything; he didn't care about the lives of some merchants.

"Alright, let's head back to the city."

Since one has entered the court as an official, one must behave like one; one cannot easily leave the city.
Let's avoid meeting in private from now on; it's taboo.

Li Xian left with a single sentence, a flick of his sleeve, and his entourage.

As the Minister of Works of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he came from a prominent family.

He understood all too well what some of his superiors were thinking.

Subordinate officials may be stupid or wicked, but they must never have any selfish motives to collude with each other.

The group left the mass grave and headed towards Daning City.

At the north gate of the city,
Li Xian could see the group of people waiting at the door from a great distance.

A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. He looked at Zhang Bin and pointed ahead:
Do you know those people?

Zhang Bin looked in the direction his finger was pointing.
A cavalry unit of more than ten men was seen standing at the gate, waiting for the city guards to inspect them.

What is noteworthy is that the armor they wore was not iron armor.
Instead, it was the brown leather armor worn by the grassland people.

The leader was a middle-aged man with the insignia of the White Pine tribe on his armor. He was chatting and laughing with the centurion guarding the city.

"People from the Baisong tribe?" Zhang Bin frowned slightly, somewhat suspicious.

Upon hearing this, Li Xian frowned.
"Come so fast?"

He then laughed:
"It seems that the Bai Song tribe is quite pragmatic."

Judging from the itinerary, they must have rushed here immediately after receiving the letter.

At the Military Commandery, Lu Yunyi walked hurriedly.
They arrived at the commander's reception room and met the envoy from Shiramatsu Province.

The envoy from Shiramatsu Province, who had been pacing in the reception room, quickly turned around when he saw the group enter.

He immediately spotted the young man at the head of the group and bowed deeply.
"Arutai Burhan pays his respects to Lord Lu."

Lu Yunyi looked him up and down, nodded slightly, and smiled as he pointed to the seat next to him:
"You've come from afar, please have a seat."

Burhan smiled and waited for Lu Yunyi to sit down first before sitting down himself.

Lu Yunyi said with a smile:

"How is your esteemed Bayartaiji?"

"Reporting to Lord Lu, the Taiji is in good health."

"I recently caught a cold and am unable to come in person, so I was sent to express my sincerity to the Commander."

"Oh? What kind of sincerity?"

Burhan's expression turned slightly grave. He took a letter from his pocket and handed it over, saying in a deep voice:

"Lord Lu, this is the sincerity of my Baisong tribe."

Upon receiving Lord Lu's order, Taiji immediately dispatched three thousand elite troops from his territory.

Go and wipe out the grassland bandits who are disrupting trade routes.

I believe we'll have a result soon.

The atmosphere in the reception room changed immediately upon hearing this!
Duan Zhengze, Li Xian, and Zhang Bin were all somewhat surprised.

They were surprised that Shiramatsu had yielded so quickly.

Based on their experience, most people on the grasslands are proud and arrogant.
Doing business with others requires pulling in both directions.

In order to successfully implement policies within the tribe, it is even necessary to make them feel pain.

The fact that Bai Songbu reacted so strongly to a single official letter speaks volumes about their determination.

Feng Yunfang stepped forward and took the document.
After carefully checking and confirming that everything was correct, he handed it to Lu Yunyi.

Upon opening the letter, Lu Yunyi saw the slightly immature and somewhat grotesque handwriting and suddenly laughed:

"Who wrote this letter? It's just as good as my handwriting."

Burhan also laughed:

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it was written by the Taiji himself."
"These days, Taiji has been studying the Ming language and reading Ming classics." "Haha, Bayar Taiji has the air of Usar Khan!"

When I was in the royal court, I saw that Usar Khan had beautiful handwriting.
Given time, Bayar can achieve the same!

Lu Yunyi smiled as he looked at the letter.

The atmosphere inside the room was somewhat strange.
Especially Li Xian, he'd heard the legend of Arisleng so many times he was sick of it.
He still can't believe that person, so full of wildness...
The young general, who was even more like a grassland dweller than the grassland people themselves, was actually a Ming dynasty person.

"Lord Lu, the Taiwanese guitarist yearns for the literary and artistic circles of the Ming Dynasty and has a fondness for poetry and songs."
But I prefer books like the Analects, Zuo Zhuan, and Spring and Autumn Annals.

Before this humble servant's arrival, the Taiji specifically instructed him to...
We must express goodwill to the Commander and Lord Lu.
"Our Baisong tribe has absolutely no intention of being enemies with the Ming Dynasty!"

At this point, Barhan took out a document from his pocket and respectfully handed it over:

"Lord Lu, these are thirteen mineral veins that my Baisong tribe discovered near Halamulin and Buyur Lake. We present them to you."

The breaths of the adults in the room caught in their throats!
Lu Yunyi's pupils also contracted slightly as he looked at the document in shock.

In this north, the most valuable thing is ore.

This is an extremely profitable business.

Otherwise, Liaodong wouldn't have been so fiercely contested by so many important figures in the imperial court.

Daming was sandwiched between Beiping and Liaodong.
There are mineral veins, but not many.

If all thirteen mines fall into the hands of Da Ning,

Without a doubt, Da Ning will have another major source of wealth.

Lu Yunyi calmed himself down slightly, the turmoil in his eyes subsided, and he raised his chin. Feng Yunfang stepped forward, took the document, and continued to examine it.

Taking advantage of this moment, Lu Yunyi smiled and said to Balhan:
"I appreciate the kindness of the Bai Song tribe; these mineral veins are the wealth of the land."
I wonder what kind of cooperation the Bai Song tribe wants to reach with Da Ning regarding the ore?

Balhan stood there, stunned.
He blinked, somewhat bewildered, wondering if he had misheard.

Cooperation?

He remembered clearly that Bayartaiji had told him as he left,
They simply didn't have the resources to mine these veins anyway.
Let's just give it to Da Ning, sell it well, and try to maintain the status quo in trade in the future.

Hearing Lu Yunyi say this, his mind went blank for a moment.
However, he reacted quickly and said:
"These mineral veins are beyond the capabilities of my Baisong tribe to mine."
Even if ore is mined, without smelting technology, it's useless to keep it.

Therefore.

Barhan was somewhat speechless, unsure of what to say.
Lu Yunyi smiled as he accepted the document from Feng Yunfang, and continued:

"So you're looking for cooperation? How about we mine together?"

"Yeah!"

Balhan nodded repeatedly, as if grasping at a straw.

The adults in the room wore extremely strange expressions.
Watching the two sing in harmony, my thoughts were stirred.

"Ang~"

Lu Yunyi finished reading the document in his hand and smiled:

"These ores are not close to Daning. Seven of them are on the edge of Buyur Lake, nearly two thousand miles away from Daning."

If it were to be mined in Dusi, the cost would be too high and transportation would be difficult.

"If the Baisong tribe is interested, they can mine it, and Da Ning will purchase it. What do you say?"

Barhan's heart pounded, and he was so overwhelmed by this incredible surprise that he couldn't speak. He stammered, "..."
"Lord Lu, I have a question."

"But it doesn't matter."

"With so much ore in Daning, Beiping, and Liaodong, why do we still have to buy it from our grasslands?"

Lu Yunyi laughed, picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and explained:
"The ore from Liaodong and Beiping is too expensive."

All the able-bodied men in Daning are currently working on roads, so no one is going to collect them.

If the Baisong tribe sells the ore cheap enough, Da Ning wouldn't mind buying some.

By the way, I was away from Daning for a while, and I heard that your grasslands don't have enough money for daily supplies?

Barhan suppressed his excitement and nodded repeatedly:

"We have no shortage of cowhide and sheepskin."
However, some merchants in Dusi do not accept this; they only accept cash.

As you know, Bai Songbu came from elsewhere, his family was not well-off, and he had very little money.

So sometimes, even if we want to increase our purchases, we don't have the money.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why the Dusi Workshop had remained at this size without any growth. It turns out you were short of money."

"In that case, if we can mine and exchange ore, it would be a win-win situation for both of us."

"Win-win?"

Although Balhan didn't understand what this meant, he wasn't stupid.

If one could earn silver by selling ore,
By purchasing items with silver, the clan's strength will undoubtedly continue to grow.

"Lord Lu, if the Commandery is willing to purchase ore..."
"Then my Baisong tribe is willing to unite with other major tribes to jointly mine this land."

Lu Yunyi smiled and nodded:

"It has to be cheap enough, otherwise the commander might as well buy it from Liaodong."

Barhan nodded repeatedly:
"Don't worry, sir. I will discuss it with Taiji when I get back."

"Well, before that, you must wipe out all these bandits and outlaws."

As I said before, you are not allowed to graze your livestock within 300 li of the Commandery. We will be responsible for suppressing and eliminating bandits and outlaws in that area.

Your Baisong tribe is responsible for the area between 300 and 1000 li.

If these bandits affect business, then it would be a losing proposition.

dont you agree? "

Hearing the subtle chill in his words,
Barhan's heart tightened, and he nodded repeatedly:

“What you say is true, sir. I have come here on behalf of the Taiji to offer my apologies.”

Some people acted on their own initiative and had ulterior motives.
We promise that from now on, no more bandits or brigands will disturb the caravan.

Lu Yunyi put down his teacup and nodded gently:

"Then it depends on your sincerity. Resolve the bandit and outlaw issue within a month."
"We'll discuss the mineral and trade matters further. You may leave now."

Barhan took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Lord Lu. I will return immediately to inform Taiji."

"Ah."

Lu Yunyi waved his hand, and Balhan quickly left.

The adults in the room watched his retreating figure thoughtfully.

Why would you refuse free ore and insist on buying it?
Everyone looked at Lu Yunyi and saw that he was smiling broadly, clearly in a good mood.

Duan Zhengze was the first to ask a question:
"My lord, is this... the matter with the northern tribes settled?"

Lu Yunyi looked at him with a puzzled expression:
"Since the Bai Song tribe has already begun to suppress the bandits and thieves, isn't that enough?"
If they continue their swindling and deception, and harbor thieves, then we'll settle accounts later.

"This"

Duan Zhengze was stunned, somewhat confused about the official's true intentions.
Could it really be to wipe out bandits?

Isn't this just an excuse to deal with the northern grasslands?

Li Xian paused for a moment, then asked with a smile:

"Lord Lu, there is something I don't understand about Xiaguan. Could you please enlighten me?"

"Lord Li, please speak frankly."

"My lord, my subordinates have also heard of Bai Song; he is a ruthless and newly powerful clan."

Now they are quite afraid of Lord Lu, who has so sincerely offered thirteen mines.

Why don't these mines be mined by the companies themselves?

Lu Yunyi handed the document in his hand to Feng Yunfang.
He gestured for it to be circulated among the adults, and said:
"Mining is a labor-intensive and time-consuming activity that requires a lot of manpower."
Daning is currently facing a severe manpower shortage; there aren't enough people even for road construction, so how can they spare the time to mine?

Let's leave this hard work to the Bai Song tribe; their lives aren't worth much anyway.

Furthermore, the fact that the steppe people have money is a good thing for the commander.
Dusi can open more workshops and sell more goods.

Since the money spent will all be returned anyway, why not?

Seeing that everyone looked a little confused, Lu Yunyi stood up with a smile and said cheerfully:

"The matter of the bandits is now settled. Gentlemen, you must focus on ensuring a bountiful sweet potato harvest. At this crucial juncture, let's ensure nothing goes wrong."
Whoever is responsible for something and a problem arises, I will hold them accountable!

"Yes!" The adults, filled with doubt, stood up and nodded in agreement.
(End of this chapter)