Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1111 White Calamity
All civil and military officials in the capital, regardless of their rank, must participate in the Winter Solstice North Korea Meeting.

At the same time, all relatives and vassals, such as the ministers of Qin, Yue, Wei, Liao, Zhao and other countries stationed in Beijing, also had to participate in this great meeting.

It was an internal vassal, and its relationship was very different from that of Korea and Japan.

And for such a court meeting, the leaders of the major tribes in the grassland must also attend diligently.

For example, the princes of Chahar and Beihai, as well as major nobles from Horqin and Mobei, such as Taiji, came to Beijing one after another.

Although traveling in the winter was tiring, this group of Mongolian nobles had to surrender.

The team of Beihai Commandery King Budali has more than [-] people and thousands of chariots and horses. It can be said to be huge in scale and ranks first among all Mongolian tribes.

Second only to him was Abul, the king of Chahar, whose thousands of mules and horses and luxurious carriages were extremely enviable by all the nobles.

The two princes of Chahar controlled thousands of herdsmen and were important assistants to the imperial court in ruling Chahar. They were treated extremely favorably.

The soldiers along the road did not dare to show any neglect and could only wear cotton-padded clothes to protect them in the cold winter.

At this time, the king of Beihai County drove into the car, and Abul, the king of Chahar County, was inside as a guest.

The carriage was pulled by five horses, and it was spacious enough to accommodate two beds. Two graceful girls were waiting on the side, and all kinds of snacks and snacks were available.

Underfoot is a wool blanket, embroidered with exquisite patterns, so soft that it feels like stepping on clouds.

A candlestick was placed at each of the four corners of the carriage. The thick-armed whale candle was blended with spices and exuded a refreshing fragrance after being lit.

In order to prevent fire, it was covered with glass.

Everything is so extravagant.

Abel is used to it.

As the king of Chahar, the tribes and herdsmen below him would pay taxes, and the slaves would work in vain. As the king of the county conferred by the imperial court, he would also have an annual salary of 3000 yuan in silver.

It can be said that with the development of the grassland, a large amount of sheepskin, wool, war horses and other resources were imported to Beijing. The herdsmen had a chance to breathe, and he, a great nobleman, naturally became rich.

It's easy to make two to thirty thousand silver dollars a year.

Without fighting or receiving rewards, the money is simply enjoyable.

Not to mention that the two daughters of the Prince of Beihai are married to the King of Qin, and his younger sister is married to the Emperor. It can be said that they have continuous wealth.

"What?" Budari was very gentle towards his nephew, without any intention of tit-for-tat.

Even though most of the herdsmen under him were drawn from under his command.

“Chahar’s reform and return to exile has become even more powerful.”

Abel raised his head with a sad look on his face: "What should I do?"

For small and medium-sized nobles, hundreds of herdsmen are nothing, and they are not as satisfying as iron sheep money.

But for a big noble like him, thousands of herdsmen, tens of thousands of hectares of grassland, the output is extremely huge, how could he give it up?

"The imperial court gives one silver yuan per account, and four thousand accounts are only 4000 yuan. How much more do we get than 4000 yuan a year?"

"Don't worry!" Budali raised his hand and said comfortingly: "Even if they change their land and return to their hometown, they are just herdsmen under their command. Our own land and slaves have not changed."

"Losing a few thousand yuan is nothing."

Due to his deep bond with Ming Dynasty, Budali had to lean towards Ming Dynasty in front of outsiders no matter how dissatisfied he was in his heart.

Abel's face softened: "But in the final analysis, I still lost a lot of money."

"My uncle is on good terms with the emperor, so why don't we try to persuade him. I won't be afraid of Gaitu. After all, we usually live in Chifeng City and can't go back more than a few times a year."

"So, can this iron sheep money be increased a little? After all, we are sweating!"

After Emperor Shaowu's alliance, the aristocratic system of the grassland was determined.

The lowest level is Tabu Nang, which is basically one hundred households or one thousand households.

The one in the middle is Taiji, which is divided into three levels: deputy thousand households and thousand households.

The highest one is the Khan, that is, the county king. Now there are only three in the Ming Dynasty, namely Beihai Khan, Chahar Khan, and Natu Shetu Khan.

The Chechen Khans and Zasaktu Khans of the past have disappeared.

Hearing this, Budali agreed: "You are right. Khans like us are different from ordinary tabunangs."

After entering the inner city of Beijing, they each have their own mansion.

This is also the preferential treatment given to them by the imperial court.

In this way, as soon as he entered the palace, Budali entered the palace covered with dust.

The emperor knew his character and summoned him immediately to show his close relationship.

Winning over the big nobles and dividing and assimilating the small nobles was the policy of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, low cost accounted for a large part of it.

According to calculations by the Ministry of Revenue, the amount of money allocated to Mongolian nobles this year exceeded 10 yuan, reaching as much as 18 yuan.

This is almost half of the nobles and clans.

This is equivalent to raising some nobles.

If you include Iron Sheep Money, it would be even more impressive. A conservative estimate would be 20 yuan a year.

The money seemed like a lot, but compared to the war, it seemed small.

A small surprise battle involving a thousand people would cost more than one hundred thousand, and if there were more than ten thousand people, the base would be one million.

Compared with the cold weapon era, the cost of hot weapons is more expensive, and gunpowder is the major factor.

"Chahar is calm, and the big guys don't think about rebelling anymore. They mostly enjoy listening to books, music, horse racing, and wrestling. It's a lot of fun..."

"That's good!" Zhu Yixi smiled and said: "Although Chahar is a bit colder now, you can also enjoy the wealth of the Central Plains. Isn't this better than what you worked so hard to grab before?"

"It's so comfortable to sit on the kang in winter."

Budali also laughed in agreement, and he was somewhat certain of the emperor's words.

Although he was not as good as the emperor, his enjoyment as a great khan was almost the same as that of the great nobles.

Even in Guannei and Liaodong, he owns farms. Who doesn't know how to make money and buy land?

Tea, silk, women, wine, everything.

This was unimaginable in the past.

He would rather stay intoxicated with such a happy life.

After chatting about some miscellaneous matters, Budali finally talked about the Iron Sheep Money: "I fully approve of the Iron Sheep Money. After all, it is the national policy of the imperial court, but that money is too little..."

Budali said seriously: "For ordinary nobles, one yuan per household is not bad, and it is hard for good and bad ministers. For three thousand households of herdsmen, even if they get three thousand sheepskins a year, it will cost more than 3000 yuan. This is too low." Already..."

Hearing this, Zhu Yixi laughed. It turned out that he disliked Qian Shao.

He was not annoyed at all and said with a smile: "How many accounts does Erhan have under his command?"

"Originally, there were three thousand tents. Now, after 13 years, there are [-] tents."

Budali immediately said honestly: "The king of Chahar County has about [-] tents, which is only slightly less than the minister."

Four thousand herdsmen, if they don't care about gains and losses, can instantly mobilize eight thousand cavalry. This is not a small number.

But Zhu Yixi did not panic, because in Chahar, there were [-] troops alone and nearly [-] Khan tribes. The combined strength of the two could not be withdrawn even if the nobles were sucked dry.

Not to mention the herdsmen under the imperial government.

"Khan is different from Tabu Nang after all."

Zhu Yixi nodded in agreement: "In this way, to the outside world, you still have one account per account, but in reality, it is three yuan per account, [-] accounts, forever."

"The prince of Chahar County pays two yuan for one account."

For the sake of the overall situation, Zhu Yixi didn't care about spending the extra [-] yuan. But there was a difference between closeness and distance. How could the closeness be highlighted otherwise?Win people's hearts?

Sure enough, Budali was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed down.Compared to his actual income, this is thousands of dollars more, so it's worth it.

Entering the palace in a happy mood, he was about to meet his sister Qiqi Ge.

A winter solstice morning party came to a successful conclusion.

At this point, the imperial court began to close the government office. No matter how many things happened, we could only wait until next year to deal with it. This period of time is a vacation.

The entire Ming Dynasty also entered the 22nd year of Shaowu, which was 1668.

The emperor has also entered the age of 45, and he still looks energetic, which is the golden age of politics.

However, not long after the Spring Festival, the Mongolian nobles spent the winter in Beijing and enjoyed the comfort, but chaos broke out all over the grasslands.

The rebels in Suiyuan were raging, and the border troops continued to attack. The governor of Suiyuan even summoned nobles from various ministries and herdsmen under his command, and recruited [-] herdsmen into the army to clear the border together.

In Mobei, Chahar, Horqin and other places, white disasters are waiting.

The so-called white disaster is a blizzard disaster caused by large-scale snowfall.

On the grasslands, a large-scale white disaster occurs almost every three to five years, which can be described as uncomfortable.

These disasters will drive large tribes to devour small tribes, thereby growing stronger and throwing the entire grassland into turmoil.

Not to mention the harm caused by blizzards to humans, it is even more harmful to livestock.

If the snow is too thick and lasts for a long time, it will bury the pasture and prevent livestock from eating normally, leading to natural disasters such as fat loss and death of a large number of livestock in pastoral areas.

On the grassland in winter, livestock also have to come out to forage.

Even though the imperial court popularized silage on a large scale, the family strength of each tribe and herdsmen was different, so the silage was naturally different.

(Silage is fermented grass stored in cellars to survive the winter better)

Just like how well the ditches and embankments are built, they cannot prevent drought.

The imperial court naturally has a long-standing practice in this regard: disaster relief.

As mentioned before, if you sit back and watch, the order on the grassland will disappear. The big fish will eat the small fish, and the small fish will eat the shrimp. No matter which tribe grows, the court does not want to see it.

Because this will destroy the order that Ming Dynasty has created over the years.

If a group of people who are not afraid of death go south, the harm caused will be even greater.

"How much food does Cullen have?"

"About 20 dan!"

Du Yinxi said casually.

As the chief assistant, he once again took charge of the household, civil and financial departments, and he had a clear understanding of the money and food in each place.

"enough?"

Zhu Yixi asked.

"I don't know what the situation in Mobei is yet, but judging from Chahar, I think it's already serious."

Du Yinxi sighed: "There are about [-] tribes under the control of Mobei General's Mansion. If they are just people, that's it. The key is to have livestock."

"Yeah, the key is livestock!"

Zhu Yixi had a headache: "We can only try our best to transfer food from northern Shanxi."

"Also, how is the situation in the North Sea? If there is spare capacity, we can also go south to provide support."

Compared with Mobei, the Beihai region has more arable land due to Lake Baikal, and naturally has more food reserves.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Du Yinxi responded: "Chahar is close to the capital and has a lot of cultivated land, so there should be nothing to worry about. The Horqin area is bounded by Jilin..."

The biggest function of building a city on the grassland is to prevent snow disasters and store food at the same time.

At such an important moment, it immediately showed its effect.

In the vast Mobei region, there is only one Kulun, while Chahar has seven or eight cities. It is very easy to provide relief to the herdsmen.

Therefore, it is necessary to build a city on the grassland.

……

"Get up!"

In Datong, a team of a thousand people was loaded with goods, and the shoulders of the animals began to tremble under the weight.

Snowflakes fell slowly, one after another, and the horse's hooves fell, reaching half an inch deep when they touched the ground.

"Head, where are we going?"

Everyone was wrapped in cotton-padded jackets and felt hats, walking under the wind and snow.

"Mobei, Cullen!" The weathered man raised his head with a deep gaze.

The man beside him sighed: "That far?"

He looked back and saw that the team was almost invisible in the wind and snow: "A lot of people will die on this trip!"

"I really don't understand why we need to help those Tatars. Our Datong Prefecture was also affected by the disaster this time."

"Tatars!" The man pulled off his felt hat and revealed his face: "I still have a scar here. This was caused by the Tatars. Did you say anything?"

"Shit!" At this time, a thin-faced man from behind came over: "You were injured by a stray arrow, who knows, it was a Tatar or something."

“This is a fucking Tatar.”

The man was serious and immediately sighed: "In our Ming Dynasty, Tatars and Han people are the same."

The thin-faced man said: "You know what the hell, we are sending food over there to fill the bellies of those big guys, otherwise they will have to go south again."

"How many years of peaceful life have passed, and you want to go to war?"

“It’s better to give food than life!”

As he spoke, the thin-faced man whispered: "It's the food for the imperial court anyway..."

At this time, several people laughed softly.

As the team moved forward, instead of sleeping in the snow as expected, there was a house.

"This is a post station built by the imperial court to transport grain. Now it is a place where merchants stay..."

Everyone was overjoyed.

Now, at least I won't have to worry about being snatched away by wolves at night.

Eat and drink enough and continue on the road.

Almost every thirty miles, there will be a huge inn, and the former granaries have been turned into rooms, enough to accommodate thousands of people.

Therefore, although such corvee work was a bit bitter, no one dared to complain.

At this time in Culun City, Xiong Yingjie was inspecting the granary.

For Cullen at this time, nothing was more important than food.

In addition to food, the most important thing is fodder.

On the grassland, fodder is food.

Silage fodder is comparable to grain in winter, but it is not in short supply on weekdays, so the cost and selling price have increased several times.

He didn't care about ordinary herdsmen, he would kill them if they rebelled, but the army needed a lot of pasture to supply their horses.

"Is there enough fodder?"

"Remember my words, be sure to keep enough fodder for the army for half a year, and then consider relief."

(End of this chapter)