Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 437: Chasing is Not Difficult
After arranging the resettlement of the captured Han people, Li Rubai asked Batu Buhe to gather together a dozen men who were in charge of the entire camp, as well as some prestigious elders from several larger tribes under the Tumed tribe.
"I will make it clear to you first. The fundamental reason why the Tumed leaders had so much time to prepare and flee was because our emperor did not come here to annihilate the tribe or plunder. He came here for the permanent peace of the grassland and the future well-being of the Mongols. I, the Ming Dynasty, have already conveyed these words to you through the Han merchants traveling on the grassland a few months ago."
After Li Rubai finished speaking, the Mongolians looked at each other for a long time before Batubuhe stood up and said cautiously, "Yes , Master Li is right. Although the Han merchants cannot convey these words to all tribes and herdsmen, all the Taijis, including those of us who are still useful on the grassland, know about it. However, the Han and Mongolian peoples have been fighting each other for hundreds of years. The kindness of the Ming Emperor is definitely not something that these Han merchants can convince the Taijis to believe by passing on a message."
"That's true." Li Rubai sat in the main seat with a big horse and a golden sword, and took a sip of mare's milk wine. "Well, this time I brought a set of machines, you can go and have a look. Anyway, I have to settle this group of Han people recently, and I can't leave for a while. After you have seen the machine, come and talk to me, and you will know that what I said is true."
In fact, within a few days, on the second day, when the group of Mongolians watched the wool go through the steps of washing, degreasing, combing, drawing, winding, etc., and then turned into wool yarn, and then how it was quickly turned into pieces of clothing or blankets in the hands of skilled craftsmen, they were all excited and swarmed to Li Rubai's tent to request an audience.
"Master Li, this is truly a miracle!"
"Yes, the Han people are smart! Wool is everywhere on our grasslands, but it is of little use. If we can turn wool into clothes, then the lives of people on our grasslands will definitely be much better than before!"
"Yes, at least we won't have to throw the elderly and children out to freeze to death during the white disaster (when the snow falls too heavily for too long)."
"Master Li, why don't you let those Han merchants go into various tribes to teach us this method in advance?"
"Hahaha..." Looking at the group of Mongols with red eyes below, Li Rubai laughed heartily for a while: "Everyone, what kind of people are you Mongols' Taijis? Don't you know it yourself? If we directly import this technology to you Mongols, then think about it, who will benefit in the end? And the so-called Hutuktu Khan, who is always ambitious and wants to restore the prestige of the Mongol Empire, will he drive you south again after he has accumulated enough funds with wool yarn with this technology?"
After these words were spoken, the Mongolians below instinctively wanted to refute, but everyone felt that they lacked the confidence - after all, the men on the grassland were still simple and honest, and they really couldn't do such a thing as wiping their eyes and telling lies.
Seeing the Mongols below blushing but not saying anything, Li Rubai slowly continued, "My emperor means that your extremely ambitious Hutuktu Khan must be defeated. The difference is that he will either be killed by the warriors of my Ming Dynasty or surrender and live in Beijing. Otherwise, with such a person on the grassland, not only will my emperor not be able to sleep well, but ordinary people like you will also not be able to live a good life. Well, after we bring this ambitious man down, especially after your Mongolian taijis have seen the military power of my Ming Dynasty and put away those thoughts that should not have been there, Peace will come to the grassland. At that time, our Ming Dynasty will not only buy wool and yarn from you, but also buy your cattle, sheep, horses, cheese, yogurt, etc. Then, after you get the money, you can buy rice, flour, vegetables, tea, cloth, silk, and even porcelain and furniture from the Han people of our Ming Dynasty. If the tribes on the grassland simply accept the canonization of our Ming Emperor, then everyone will be a family. In the future, when you encounter a white disaster and ask us for relief, with the compassion of our emperor, won’t you grant it ? You don’t have to abandon the elderly and children!"
At this point, Li Rubai spread his hands and said, "Isn't this great?"
Although the Mongolians below looked at each other without saying anything, Li Rubai knew that these guys were completely moved.
From the perspective of later generations, Mongolia is a little colder and drier than other places. Apart from other things, the nearby Baotou alone has almost all the resources needed to complete the first industrial revolution - and the quantity is huge and the quality is excellent!
However, this was the 17th century. The Mongols at that time could not effectively use the underground treasures here. On the contrary, after more than 200 years of economic blockade by the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols were really poor and only had cattle and sheep left.
Apart from other things, for a nation that mainly eats meat, tea is something that they don’t know about. Once used, it becomes a necessity. In the past, the Ming Dynasty could completely drain the Mongols’ limited funds just for tea.
But what can the men on the grassland do? They don’t have any products that can be sold stably for a long time! They can sell cattle and sheep, but compared with the tea they drink every day, the cattle and sheep that take more than a year to be put on the market grow too slowly.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the men of the grasslands like to rob by nature: if there is a choice, who would be willing to risk their lives to become a robber? After all, being a robber may be killed by the Ming army. If a man on the grassland dies, his wife and children will often become the property of others. Even if he is lucky enough not to be killed by the Ming army. Under the current system, most of the things that everyone fights to the death to rob have to be handed over to nobles at all levels? Aren't ordinary herdsmen just as poor?
Now, if we have wool, not only half of the Mongolians, but also the women, can fully display their value. The whole of Mongolia will have a product that can be exported continuously and stably. This is something that can completely improve the living conditions of the entire nation!
Seeing the Mongols below so excited, Li Rubai felt very proud.
Humph, these Beijing civil officials have always looked down on our military officers. It is only in recent years that the emperor has supported us military men, and these guys have become a little better on the surface. However, I know that this is only for the sake of appearance. In their hearts, they still think that our military officers are vulgar and look down on us.
For example, when the emperor did not send civil officials to supervise the army during this expedition, the censors filed reports one after another. They said that the priority of this expedition to Mongolia was to conquer the hearts of the people rather than the cities. If civil officials were not sent, the military commanders would probably ruin the emperor's intentions. Bah! Putting aside the Western Army, which had to be fought hard, let's talk about the three commanders here. There is no need to talk about General Cao, the emperor's favorite general, who is both civil and military! Although Du Laiqing of the Eastern Army is a reckless man who only knows how to fight, you can't help but have a guy like Xiao Bozhi who is good at dealing with people. As for me? After all, I and Brother Rusong were both disciples of Mr. Wenchang! Although Mr. Wenchang was only a juren all his life, he single-handedly supported Hu Zongxian in pacifying the Japanese pirates who had been plundering the southeast coast for decades! Isn't he much better than you juren who write flowery articles but are at a loss when faced with practical matters?
After a few minutes of silence in the big tent, Li Rubai saw that the Mongolians below had made up their minds, and spoke directly: "Everyone, although you have been abandoned by the Tumed tribe, you are also considered to have some status among the Mongolians. Especially these old people, I heard that when you were young, you were also very influential in your respective tribes. So, you should understand that on the grassland, the most important thing is fists. Therefore, if we in the Ming Dynasty don't use fists to defeat your Khans and Taijis, how can we do this wool business?"
Seeing the Mongols nodding their heads, Li Rubai laughed heartily: "Okay, let's stop here. Everyone, please teach me how to quickly and accurately capture the Tumed people's northward migration team. Don't worry, this time, the Ming Dynasty will not judge the merits by the number of heads. Instead, the first merit will be based on which Mongolian tribe is responsible for the first to start a stable wool business. Therefore, this battle must be fought, and there will definitely be casualties. However, as long as we can quickly defeat the group of stupid taijis in the upper echelons of your Tumed who are determined to follow Hu Dun Tu Han and dream of restoring the Yuan Empire, peace and good days will soon come."
After finishing his speech, Li Rubai leaned back to the chair behind him and said, "Everyone, I'm going to finish my words, it's your turn."
After the Mongols below exchanged glances for a while, a white-haired old man stood up tremblingly: "Master Li, we Mongols cannot live without cattle and sheep, and cattle and sheep cannot live without pasture, and pasture cannot live without river water. So, although the Tumed tribe has been migrating north for almost a month, it is not difficult to catch up with them."
"Yes, Mr. Li." An old man stood up and said, "Last winter, there was only one snowfall on the grassland. Although too much snowfall would be a white disaster, too little snowfall would mean that the grass seeds would not grow well without enough snow water. The cattle, sheep and horses that had been hungry for a whole winter, eating sparse grass, were forced to cross the desert and migrate north without gaining weight. On the way, I don't know how many cattle, sheep and horses would die on the road. It's always right to chase them now, follow the water source, follow the vultures!"
"Hahaha~ This is what it means to have an old person in the family, like a treasure! In the words of our emperor, we Han people all respect the elderly and love the young, because children are the future, and the elderly are the treasure trove of life experience! Those stupid Tumed Tabunangs actually abandoned you, the wisest people on the grassland. They deserve to be caught up by me and quickly defeated!"
