lcionline Chapter 378 Matchlock Guns for Warhorses
Chapter 378 Matchlock Guns for Warhorses
Thinking of how all the generals were scrambling to find opportunities to gain military merit, Liu Ye couldn't help but ask, "Inspector Lin, do you think I should also try to gain an audience with the governor?"
Lin Tianming glared at him: "Strive for what? Strive to go and die during the siege?"
Liu Ye gave an awkward smile, "After all, I am also a military officer, and I also need to rely on military merits to earn promotions..."
"Foolish!" Lin Tianming hissed. "For the sake of Governor Mu and Wenjun, I'll remind you of a few points. Whether you listen or not is up to you. First, you've already achieved the great merit of killing Li Jiucheng. As long as you don't make any more mistakes, you should be promoted to deputy general based on this achievement. Second, regardless of whether the rebels are stronger than before, many people will die in a siege. Are you really willing to let your hard-trained elite troops become cannon fodder? Besides, a single achievement can't be too great, otherwise the court won't be able to reward you. Even if your achievement is outstanding this time, do you think you'll be granted a title?"
Liu Ye was deeply ashamed. After all, he was a seasoned official, and he had pinpointed the crux of the matter in just a few words. If one achievement is enough to make a living, why be greedy and strive for more?
"Inspector Lin is absolutely right. I almost made a mistake. In that case, I won't bother with such a thankless task as attacking a city, as I'll be competing with you generals for resources."
Lin Tianming's expression softened somewhat: "You are a promising young man. You have already made great contributions. As long as you get along better with the governor, you will be rewarded in the end."
Liu Ye thought that the best way to get closer to Zhu Dadian was to accept his offer of service and become his military force to stabilize the post-war situation. Only those on his own side could be truly close. However, there was no need to discuss these matters in detail with Lin Tianming in this setting, so he changed the subject to everyday matters: "We will be breaking camp in three days. Should we bring your daughter from Changdao Island before then?"
"You can arrange this. It's fine to bring her here. She can be temporarily placed in your camp. Once the situation stabilizes, I will send someone to take her home."
Liu Ye gave a wry smile. He would have to continue being a nanny, probably until Dengzhou was recovered.
After their conversation, the two returned to their camps separately to avoid suspicion. It was not good for anyone to see the imperial inspector in charge of provisions and military equipment having close contact with military generals from other places, especially if the Shandong generals saw it, who knows what unpleasant things they might say.
On his way back to camp, his uncle frequently encountered military officers from other camps, such as lieutenants, guerrillas, and captains. Without exception, they all greeted him warmly, a stark contrast to their initial indifference upon arriving at Shahe. Liu Ye knew perfectly well that among military men, only the strongest fist mattered; whoever was powerful earned respect. His reputation had been established in the battle where he joined forces with the Guan Ning Army to annihilate Li Jiucheng, and now the Qiongzhou Camp was a well-known and formidable force throughout the army.
Back at camp, Liu Ye summoned Lin San and ordered him to take the guards to Long Island to retrieve Lin Shiyue, along with Shimazu Chiyo and the Japanese samurai. This way, the two women could keep each other company in the camp, and it would also help avoid suspicion. Although Shimazu Chiyo had accompanied him on this expedition, Liu Ye had left her on Long Island, considering that such close protection wasn't necessary on the battlefield. Now that he needed to retrieve Lin Shiyue, he might as well bring them both.
Before Lin San left, Liu Ye repeatedly instructed him to protect Lin Shiyue's safety: "Now I have a good relationship with her father, Inspector Lin, and Inspector Lin can help us a lot. If something happens to his daughter, we will be in trouble, and this connection will be severed."
Lin San patted his chest and assured, "Please rest assured, General, there are no large groups of rebels around Laizhou anymore. Even if we encounter a few scattered routs or bandits, we'll make sure they don't return."
After seeing Lin San off, Liu Ye didn't have a moment's peace, because Wu Xiang and his son Wu Sangui came knocking on his door.
"They came so fast! I haven't even had time to figure out what to do!" Liu Ye thought to himself, but with a beaming smile, he welcomed the two of them through the door.
Wu Sangui didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the point: "General Liu, the battlefield is not the place to talk business. Now that we're back in the camp, let's have a good chat."
Liu Ye naturally knew his purpose, but instead of giving a direct answer, he could only respond while thinking, "Sure, sure..."
Wu Sangui held up three fingers: "Three thousand muskets and thirty small cannons, in exchange for three hundred warhorses, how about it?"
Liu Ye was stunned. He never expected that the future Prince of Pingxi would be even more unscrupulous in business than he was, completely lacking in integrity and bottom line! Putting aside whether he would be willing to sell guns and cannons to the Guan Ning Army, even if he were, the price wouldn't be this high!
He couldn't help but say, "General Wu, this joke is too much, it's not funny at all. May I ask if your warhorses are all made of gold?"
Wu Xiang cleared his throat and explained, "General Liu, you may not know this, but as early as the time of the Old Man, the Tartars had already formed marriage alliances with the Khorchin and Jarud tribes of the Mongols. The Tumed, Kharachin, and Uriyangkhai tribes also submitted to the Tartars. Now, Huang Taiji has personally led an expedition and decisively defeated the Chahar tribe. Ligdan Khan was forced to abandon Guihua City and flee to Qinghai. The entire Mongolian grasslands are now under the control of the Tartars. If we want to acquire warhorses now, we can only secretly trade with the Mongols, which is risky. Although Huang Taiji does not prohibit the various Mongol tribes from trading with the Ming Dynasty, he has ordered a ban on warhorses. As a result, the price of horses has naturally skyrocketed."
Liu Ye finally understood what he meant: Huang Taiji had defeated all the Mongol tribes and was now the leader of the Mongols. He wanted to control the flow of strategic resources like warhorses to his rivals. Buying horses from the Mongols was considered smuggling by the Ming Dynasty, and goods from irregular channels were much more expensive.
However, Liu Ye found such a price completely unacceptable. Even the most expensive smuggling operation couldn't possibly be this price. Based on his years of experience in the business world, this was nothing more than a tactic to drive down the price. If warhorses were truly that scarce, how did the Guan Ning Army's cavalry even come together? During the Chongzhen era, there were no horse farms left in the Ming Dynasty's interior. Providing them through domestic demand was impossible; they had to be bought from the Mongols.
Having figured out the key points, he saw no need to rush. So Liu Ye calmly held up one finger: "Let me state my terms: a musket in exchange for a warhorse!"
"What?!" Now it was the Wu family father and son's turn to jump up and down in anger. Wu Sangui couldn't help but complain, "General Liu, do you know what the cost of a matchlock musket is according to the Ministry of War? The price of wrought iron, the wages and food of the craftsmen, the cost of charcoal, all added up, is only five taels and five mace of silver! Less than six taels of silver, and you want to exchange it for a warhorse? Now the price of warhorses at the border has risen to sixty taels of silver a horse, and even at that price, there are no buyers..."