Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 419: Settle Down, Grassland People

"Yehena gave birth to a prince, Haoshan was made a concubine, and Zhezhe has grown up a lot..."

The next morning, in the Khan's tent, the women from various tribes met with their fathers, brothers, etc., and Khan Changshengtian was smiling from ear to ear.

"According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, I shouldn't bring them to meet you again, but as the Khan of the Eternal Heaven, there is no need to do that." Zhu Changluo looked at them and said, "I am here to escape the summer heat, and I invited you to come with me so that we can move around more. The more we get to know each other, the closer we become."

In front of him were: Yuanshun King Lindan Batur, Shunyi King Bushitu, Ningshun King Buyanggu, Xing'an King Manggusi, and Bohai King Bohabu.

As for Fengzhou Beach and Ordos, Zhu Changluo did not call them over this time.

It seems like it's just about getting together with them.

There was nothing special in the schedule. Apart from a meeting with the emperor, there seemed to be only banquets, hunting in the enclosure, bonfires, and singing and dancing.

But Lindan Batur certainly doesn't think it's just for fun.

He looked at Buyanggu, who was bending over and joking with his "nephew", showing great intimacy and respect.

The Lingnan Jurchens occupied the positions of the four Lingnan tribes formerly occupied by the Chahar Wanhu. It is not surprising that they are now making profits by trading in the middle and are close to the Ming Dynasty.

Manggusi of Khorchin had a worried look on his face, as if he was worried about what it meant that the emperor had not yet given the younger Zhezhe a title. The one named Haoshan also seemed to be not favored.

The so-called ruler of the Bohai Jurchen Kingdom, Bohab, was the most humble. He kept talking about how hard he was working to continue to wipe out the remnants of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and how difficult it was to rebuild a city and open up wasteland on the shores of Lake Khanka.

When he saw Bu Shitu, he saw that the King of Shunyi was staring at him.

So Lindan Batur forced a smile.

But Bu Shitu suddenly stood up, put his hand on his chest and bent over: "Mighty Changsheng Tianhan, you said that the relationship is getting closer and closer, but we in the Tumed tribe are worried that the Chahar tribe will not obey your will."

Zhu Changluo looked at him and waved his hand: "Let's talk about it when we drink and eat meat tonight. I have heard about it."

The smile on Lindan Batur's face froze. He knew it was probably because of the friction last winter.

Zhu Changluo deliberately suppressed the problem first, so that his daytime schedule was not disturbed.

This is also a manifestation of the authority of Changshengtian Khan.

What did the Tumed tribe want to stir up? It was nothing more than to further clarify the status quo: since the Tumed tribe was canonized by the Ming Dynasty and was the same level of Wang Khan as the Wanhu of Chahar, the original Khan Court of Chahar no longer existed, and the so-called central Wanhu should also respect the interests of the Tumed tribe.

At night, when the bonfire was lit, Zhu Changluo and they still sat close to each other as they did in Tongliao the year before.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhu Changluo said, "Robbery always comes faster. If you keep fighting between big tribes and between small tribes within big tribes, all you will lose is your mutual strength and trust."

The leaders in front of them didn't say much, and Buyangu and Bohabu both had some anger on their faces.

After all, the Tumed, Lingnan Jurchens, and Bohai Jurchens have now become a buffer zone between the Chahar, Khorchin and other tribes and the Ming Dynasty, and there has been quite a bit of friction in the past two years.

Especially when the Ming Dynasty released far more supplies to the grassland than in the past.

"Internal strife is naturally your internal affairs. I have no right to interfere." Zhu Changluo looked at Lindan Batur and Manggusi, "I have heard about the looting of caravans since the beginning of winter last year. It shouldn't be arranged by you personally, right?"

"How could we personally arrange such a thing?" Lindan Batur said immediately, "The mountains were blocked by heavy snow, and the Chahar caravan could not reach Qingzhou. The Tumed tribe took the opportunity to raise the price a lot, and then lowered the price to make us exchange things. Some leaders were very angry. Although I scolded them, they wanted to trade from the Xilamulun River Valley to the Lingnan Jurchens, and finally there was a big dispute along the way."

"What about Khorchin? Why did they rob the Khalkha caravan and continue to instruct the Beishan Jurchens to plunder the Bohai Jurchens?" Zhu Changluo asked Manggusi again.

Bohab immediately said, "I'm afraid it's not just the Beishan Jurchens! Who knows if there are remnants of the Jianzhou tribe among them?"

"It's unfair!" Manggusi replied, "The Khalkha caravan encountered a snowstorm on their way back, and we wanted to rescue them. After we went there, they were almost frozen to death, so they came to us to avoid the cold. After the snow melted, those people were grateful for our life-saving grace and were willing to live in Khorchin from then on. As for the wealth, although they wanted to repay us, we also returned a lot to Hulunbuir. The Jurchens have nothing to do with us. The Bohai Jurchens want to subdue all the Jurchen tribes, and they just don't accept it. They also know that the Bohai Jurchens are weak now..."

So the campfire became a place where people were reporting on each other.

Zhu Changluo will be a listener for now and will be an arbitrator later.

Although the new order in the northern border was forcibly established by him, the conflicts over interests between and even within ethnic groups in the past would certainly not disappear.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty expanded its territory to the north, which essentially squeezed their interest space. Although new interests were released to the grassland through border trade, these new interests would naturally lead to new disputes.

Neither the Tumed nor the Lingnan Jurchens were able to establish a complete border defense system. Since the Chahar wanted to trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, their caravans and cavalry could certainly penetrate deep into their territory.

But for the Tumed and Lingnan Jurchens, it would be better if they could make more money by simply reselling the goods.

The key point is that Chahar is further back. Xiaji can still cross the Greater Khingan Range to Gyeongju and trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, but this will no longer be possible when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow.

Unfortunately, goods like cattle, sheep and horses need to be fattened up in autumn before they can be traded.

Furthermore, everyone knows that the tribes closer to the south and the Ming Dynasty have more wealth and more capable people. Who can tell whether there are upper-level organizations in Chahar and Khorchin to "plunder" them?
Only the Ming Dynasty remained safe and sound, even though Gyeongju, Tongliao, Fuzhou and other cities were deeply involved in the frontline.

"I have to say something unpleasant. If you continue like this, the Ming Dynasty will be able to sit on the mountain and watch you fight each other." Zhu Changluo spoke after listening to their quarrel. "This is not my original intention. I don't need to help anyone or suppress anyone, and play such a small trick."

After saying that, he sighed, "It was not so bad the year before last, but it was even worse last year. In my opinion, it was all caused by the white disaster. How much did each of your tribes lose?"

Lindan Batur and Manggusi were silent for a while and then spoke in an exaggerated manner.

In terms of pure military strength, the Ming Dynasty is certainly the best, but Chahar and Khorchin are stronger than Tumed, Lingnan Jurchen and the reorganized Bohai Jurchen. They certainly know that "grass-grass-grass-grass" exists.

There was no need for them to personally stop the arrangement. Under the pressure of survival, the small tribes would naturally take action. Although they were the chiefs of the tribes, it was impossible for them to forcefully stop such behavior.

After all, the border trade qualifications with the Ming Dynasty are already under their control.

Last year's snowstorm was indeed a triggering factor, causing everyone to worry that the tribe would not survive the winter and some things could not be taken care of.

After describing the disaster, Lindan Batur said, "My father, the cold weather in the northern desert is bitter. We have no intention of being enemies with your father, and we no longer consider ourselves the Khanate. But when the white disaster came, countless cattle and sheep froze to death. If your father could provide some relief..."

He looked miserable as he observed Zhu Changluo's reaction.

"I still remember talking to you about this in Tongliao two years ago. If there is a year of heavy snowstorms, and you want to move south to avoid it, I will definitely order the border towns to prepare food and winter clothes to help you through the winter." Zhu Changluo said, "I promised this myself, but there are two problems now. First, who knows how heavy the snowstorms will be next year? If the snowstorms are really severe, how difficult will it be to move south? Second, if you have to go to the border towns of Daming to get food and keep warm, Khorchin is fine, but if Chahar, Tumed, and Lingnan Jurchen continue to act like this, how can they let you go south with confidence?"

Bu Shitu and Bu Yanggu were startled.

Whether the Chahar tribes all go south to their territory together, or the Ming Dynasty goes directly to their territory to provide assistance to Chahar, it will make things difficult for them.

Lindan Batur lowered his head and said nothing.

With the Tumed and Lingnan Jurchens separated in the middle, it was unrealistic for the Ming border towns to prepare food, fodder and winter clothes to help them survive the winter.

Unless they give up some strategically important locations to the Ming Dynasty as enclaves and allow them to station heavy troops there.

The Ming Dynasty's own caravans transported supplies to these enclaves in advance, and the Tumed and Lingnan Jurchens certainly did not dare to stop them. But would the Tumed and Lingnan Jurchens be happy with this?

Moreover, it was impossible for Chahar to allow the Ming Dynasty to cross the Greater Khingan Range or the Xilamulun River again and threaten them at any time.

"If this problem is not solved, it will still be the same if there is another heavy snow year." Zhu Changluo looked at them, "Now that you are all here, let's have a good discussion together. Since you all respect me as the Eternal Khan, I must take good care of this family, so that you can all survive, reproduce and grow the tribe."

Several people looked at each other, unable to say anything.

There are too many concerns between each other.

Zhu Changluo looked at them for a while, then calmly raised his wine glass and invited them all to drink a glass. Then he waved his hand and said, "Come here. Ruoyu, bring a piece of paper, a pen and ink, and light a lamp."

Lindan Batur and the others all stood up with solemn expressions and walked over slowly.

The table in front of Zhu Changluo was quickly tidied up, leaving half of it open for a piece of paper.

After he picked up the pen, he started sketching casually.

After a few people looked at it in confusion for a while, their faces couldn't help but change color.

That was a map of the northern border that the emperor had casually drawn.

"It's just a rough look. Although it's not accurate, it's just a hint." Zhu Changluo still lowered his head. "You have the habit of living by the water and grass, but the Tumed tribe first built a city at Fengzhou Beach. Although the Yinshan Mountains can block the cold wind, and the Tumed is a little further south, as long as we are friendly with the Ming Dynasty and have continuous trade, it will be much easier to survive the winter by building a city, settling down, and storing supplies."

He randomly drew some circles on the paper: "I don't know where in your place is suitable, and it doesn't necessarily need to be as important as the city walls of the Ming Dynasty, but there is a fixed location, and some warehouses can be built, so that the Ming Dynasty caravans can pass through, and you can also save up what you need for the winter. With these supplies as the main focus, the small tribes below can naturally still live by the water and grass like before, but there is a fixed place where they can exchange supplies."

Zhu Changluo put down his pen and looked up at them: "What do you think?"

The crowd couldn't keep looking down at him, so after they understood what he was drawing, they stepped back and began to think about it.

Build a city, settle down...

Of course there is nothing wrong with what the emperor said. At present, the Ming Dynasty caravans mainly trade with them in the border markets established by the Ming Dynasty. Although some of them go deep into the grasslands to their settlements, they are not many. With a fixed town, the Ming Dynasty caravans may be willing to go there. At that time, it is nothing more than seeing the price and calculating the account.

Having a city to store a large amount of supplies can indeed prevent sudden shortages of supplies during the severe winter and can clamp down on small and medium-sized tribes. This is naturally beneficial for these big leaders to establish their prestige and rule the tribes.

But the biggest problem is that once you take this road, it is not easy to turn back, and such a key place, which is equivalent to a capital city, must be heavily guarded. Even if it is just a shopping mall, the Khan's tent needs to keep a large amount of supplies, and it is not so convenient to move these supplies back and forth.

To put it bluntly, leaving the Ming Dynasty behind will allow them to completely eliminate the flaws of their top leaders. There are gains and losses.

The advantage of coming and going like the wind has been greatly weakened.

Zhu Changluo looked at them and said, "It's not difficult for the Ming Dynasty to cripple you all, but why bother? Wildfires cannot be extinguished, spring breezes blow and new life comes. Finding a long-term solution is the right thing to do. The Tumed and Lingnan Jurchens should not think of taking all the benefits of border trade in the northern border. All tribes must eventually find a balance point. For the sake of the vitality of the people and the unity within your tribe, building cities, developing industry and commerce will have more benefits than disadvantages."

Then he mentioned Manggusi in particular: "I heard that Khorchin had originally planned to build a city to defend against the Ming attack, but later on, they saw the power of artillery and negotiated, so the matter was put on hold. In fact, there is no problem with building a city, it will be built sooner or later. Although it is easy to move in a felt tent, it is not as comfortable as a house to keep warm. The most important thing is that there was a great white disaster last year. What about the future? We can't go south to forage for grass and grain as we did in the past. How to spend the winter?"

Manggusi nodded.

They were indeed not opposed to building cities, but they were not good at it and it was not urgent for them to do so. The tribe as a whole still lived by following water and grass.

But last year's snowstorm and severe winter really made people dread it. Changsheng Tianhan also said something very reasonable: the Ming Dynasty is not as easy to bully as before...

There is no way to replenish supplies by harvesting grass and valleys, and after a tough winter, the tribe’s strength will be greatly reduced.

"If you want relief, the Ming Dynasty can provide it." Zhu Changluo looked at them. "If you think this approach is feasible, the Ming Dynasty can first organize manpower and teach you how to mine coal and iron, cut wood and leather, produce more wool, and how to build cities and farm. On the one hand, we can find ways to produce more food and goods, and on the other hand, we can fix the trade routes and set up post stations along the way. Whether it's materials or manpower, you can pay them back with goods in the future, and you won't have to pay interest."

Seeing that no one had spoken, Zhu Changluo leisurely picked up his wine glass and said, "As I said before, the Ming Dynasty wants to cripple you, it's a matter of a thought. As the Eternal Heavenly Khan, I have a responsibility to you and the people of all tribes to seek a long-term coexistence. Settling down and not just being nomadic is the way for you to survive and grow."

(End of this chapter)