Taking advantage of the heavy snowfall in the north, Abu Nai led the Chahar tribe of nearly 10,000 tents to the outside of the Great Wall and asked for help from the Ming Dynasty.
Businessmen are the best messengers and the most popular people on the grassland.
Compared with smooth businessmen, strict court officials are more likely to get into trouble.
"I'm telling you, Emperor Ming, I need 10,000 shi of food for the winter."
Abu Nai sat elegantly on the wolf-skin chair. At only sixteen years old, he had the maturity of a thirty-year-old, but he could not hide his youthful spirit.
Standing in front of him was a weather-beaten middle-aged man, wearing a white and gray jacket, a felt hat, and fur boots, which made Abu Nai feel jealous.
A businessman, his clothes are even better than mine.
"Great Khan, our Ming Dynasty has all kinds of food, but I wonder if you have anything in exchange for it?"
Qu Zishi smiled slightly, with a naive expression on his round face, and his bloated body bent with difficulty into a stooped shape.
Ten thousand shi of grain and 1.2 million catties of grain are completely enough for the Chahar tribe to survive the winter, or even more than enough.
This was life-saving food, but it was nothing to mention to the Ming Dynasty. The tributes given during the Chongzhen period had produced white-eyed wolves like Lin Danhan.
He was employed by the Huitong Company, which was established a few months ago by Zhang Qi, the emperor's father-in-law. Although he was doing bank business, he could not give up the border trade to and from the grassland.
He also knew that he was making money for the emperor, so he was very courageous.
"Fart, I am willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and attack the Manchu Qing Dynasty. As a superior country, how can I not give tribute and reward money?"
Abu Nai was furious, his eyes full of greed.
According to what the old man Nawo said, his father Lin Danhan not only received the market price of horse rewards, but also received silver gifts, etc., which exceeded 300,000 taels a year, which was a huge sum.
Once he has this money, he will definitely be able to arm the army and become a real Mongol Khan.
"That's a matter of the Chongzhen Dynasty."
Qu Zishi shook his head and said calmly: "Furthermore, today is different from the past. Against the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the court's offense is insufficient but its defense is more than enough."
"But now it is your Chahar tribe who needs our Ming Dynasty. Don't mention rewards or anything else. Otherwise, you will offend the court and the weapons will not be sold."
Abu Nai's eyes widened angrily: "It seems that you Ming Dynasty really don't teach you a lesson. If you don't give it to me, don't force us to get it ourselves."
"Hmph!" Qu Zishi's face turned cold and he said in a deep voice: "Even the Manchus were driven out of the Pass. Aren't you Mongolians even more powerful?"
"I think back then Lin Dan Khan was chased and beaten by the Qing Dynasty, and he still offended the Ming Dynasty, so he had to die in the northwest. Does the Great Khan have to do the same?"
Seeing the power of those armors, bows and arrows, especially muskets, and thinking about the Ming army with those, Abu Nai immediately stopped and said with a smile:
"I'm still young. I'm talking nonsense. Don't mind what you're talking about."
Seeing that the Ming Dynasty refused to eat, Abu Nai helplessly spread his hands and said: "If the Ming Dynasty does not provide some food, the Chahar tribe will really not be able to hold on. Then won't your work be in vain?"
"Khan, it can be exchanged."
Qu Zishi showed a friendly smile.
"There really aren't many war horses left!"
Abu Nai was still frightened by these words, and hurriedly waved his hands and said: "I want to expand the army, but I don't even have enough, so I really can't give it to you."
"Ordinary horses will do, just like before."
As he said that, Qu Zishi suddenly remembered something and said bluntly: "If there is wool, we will also collect it."
"Yang Yuan, you Ming people also want to make yurts?"
Abu Nai asked curiously: "I heard that you don't live in a house made of wood?"
"Dahan, there are many functions of wool. You don't need to understand them all."
Qu Zishi said warmly: "This is because the Ming Emperor thought that you would have more in and less out, so he paid special attention to you and allowed ten catties of wool to be exchanged for one catty of grain."
"real?"
Abu Nai was so happy that he slapped the chair, stood up violently, and kept jumping, his face turned red.
Although he does not understand what a trade deficit is, he does understand that if things go on like this, his tribe will become poorer and poorer.
The growth cycle of cattle and horses is long, and it is not cost-effective. It is only cost-effective to exchange some sheep, but sheep are also food for the grassland!
How can we not go hungry if we exchange food for weapons?
If you exchange cheap and inedible wool for food, this would be a better time.
"Of course!" Qu Zishi nodded.
"Can I exchange it for a musket? And how much gunpowder do you have? I don't have enough."
"Muskets and armor can only be replaced by war horses."
The businessman's attitude was extremely resolute, then his face softened, and he said bewitchingly:
"If there are not enough war horses, Khan, you can go grab them. The tribes on the grassland have as many as they want. You can come over and exchange what you grab."
"When the time comes, our Ming Dynasty will be willing to exchange even those prisoners."
After hearing this, Abu Nai felt something was wrong, but he still accepted it happily.
During the three or four days he stayed in Zhangjiakou, Qu Zishi harvested 100,000 kilograms of wool from the herdsmen, and more than 30 heavy carriages returned.
By the time he returned to Beijing, it was already the end of November in the second year of Shaowu's reign. Heavy snow had completely covered the entire north, and villages and cities were relatively isolated.
"Thanks a lot."
Zhang Qi patted his shoulder, removed the snow from the dusty Qu Zishi's shoulder, and then took him to a weaving field.
This is a warm place, and the snow on your body melts away instantly, making you feel like you have arrived in spring.
"This..." Qu Zishi was shocked.
Hundreds of looms were creaking, and the female workers were sweating on their foreheads. They kept tapping their feet on the weaving, and the wooden shuttles were flying. The scene seemed extremely lively.
"This is called floor heating."
Zhang Qi said proudly: "The ground is paved with wooden boards, and huge iron pipes are buried under the wooden boards. They are filled with sand and gravel, and hot water is heated from the outside and pours in. The cycle repeats, so that it is as warm as spring."
"Thanks to the coal, otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford it."
“Too extravagant!”
Qu Zishi couldn't help but shake his head, and began to calculate silently in his heart.
For such a large area, at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of jins of iron were used. Pig iron cost 20 jins, and at least 3,000 taels of silver were consumed here.
This is more expensive than the entire weaving field combined,
"Expensive? This is as it should be."
At this time, a young man suddenly walked out.
He is wearing a snow-white jacket, not stained at all, with a tall figure, sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a fair and clean face, and a short beard on his chin, making him look mature and steady.
The clothes are luxurious and the momentum is amazing. Even in front of Zhang Qi, he is full of confidence.
"Let me introduce to you, this is Qu Zishi..."
"I know, you went to Zhangjiakou? Did you bring the wool back?"