A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 515 Opening the Magic Box

In addition to these businessmen clamoring for blood debts, there are many people whose eyes are flickering. Maybe they don't care about whether they will take revenge or whether they will publicize the national prestige, but the possible benefits this time make them very excited.

It was summer at this time, and it was a good time when the water and grass were luxuriant and the cattle and sheep were fat. And when they went out with the army, the cattle, sheep and horses of the various tribes of the Tartars would be all in one pot?There are also young and strong men in their tribe, and even women and children, all of whom have a lot of military exploits and wealth.

Most of the high-level strategic materials such as horses will be owned by the Jingbian army at that time. It is good for merchants to have a small part, but the cattle and sheep they have obtained will be sold by the Jingbian army on the spot at a low price. them.

Right now, there is a severe shortage of grain and goods in Daming, no matter grain or livestock, they are both very profitable industries.

All the merchants who set up livestock farms on the East Road or outside the Great Wall in recent years have made a fortune.They also drive a series of downstream industries, such as the meat porcelain canning industry, which processes a large amount of chicken, duck, mutton, and pork into cans near the livestock farm.

Because meat porcelain jars are not limited by seasons, they can be placed for a long time, and they are more convenient than bacon, so they are popular among the people, especially the army, and will be a lucrative industry in the foreseeable future.

The meat porcelain pot market needs a large number of porcelain pots, which has led to the emergence of related interest merchants.Near these livestock farms, there are also a large number of fur farms newly established, which is the excrement collected by the livestock farms every year, which is the object of competition among various farm merchants.

These venues require a large number of workers, and have led to the employment of many people, developing into the production-oriented businessmen that Wang Dou hopes.

But outside the Great Wall, tea, salt, and sugar are not self-sufficient, and they are still necessary daily necessities. The merchants are shrewd, just like the hinterland of Daming. Businesses, etc., have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

They quickly formed a series of business networks, forming a criss-crossed, interrelated trend, and flourished when many people did not expect it.And every time they grow, they drive more industry development, and then a new round of expansion.

In addition to these health industries, there are also some shady businesses that have developed secretly in recent years, that is, human trafficking.

At this time, Wang Dou had already subcontracted the mines to various merchants, and only reaped the profits of the fishermen, giving priority to buying the coal and iron they produced. The operation of the mines was still carried out by these merchants.

The mining industry is always dangerous, and there will be endless accidents in later generations, let alone the Ming Dynasty at this time?There are relevant laws on the East Road, and there are relevant detailed regulations on the wages and personal safety of the miners. As a result, the cost of hiring East Road workers is relatively high.

Businessmen are not profitable, so how can they be willing to do so?Therefore, the secret slave trade of some people on the East Road and beyond the Great Wall has flourished.

The population control of the East Road is relatively strict. Even when refugees enter, there are also a series of regulations. It does not mean that those who are arrested to work as miners will become miners.Therefore, many merchants set their sights on the outside of the Great Wall, and some slave hunting teams were formed one after another under various veils of warmth.

The tribes outside the Great Wall are in a place of bitter cold. Relatively speaking, women and children can endure hardships and have experience in grazing or making furs. Therefore, in the 13th year of Chongzhen, merchants who were greedy for profit secretly robbed women and children of some small tribes outside the Great Wall. They work in various sewing factories, quilt factories, and even livestock farms.

These people don't even need wages, just give them some food, and because they are full, these women and children don't even want to run away, so the cost of using them is extremely low.Therefore, in the past two years, more and more tribal people outside the Great Wall have been snatched from Donglu, especially the Mantaoer area.

In the past, it was a sneaky robbery, but now it is an aboveboard robbery. How can we not make these merchants happy?
What's more, going to war with the army, there are meritorious deeds. With meritorious deeds, there will be fiefdoms in the future. Lai Man's achievements are a living example. How can we not make all the merchants jealous?Not to mention gold mines, but what kind of minerals are found in each fiefdom, and those who get them will not be able to enjoy them in a few lifetimes.

Even if there are no minerals, those fertile fields and pastures are exciting for everyone, and they can leave a large fortune for their children and grandchildren.

In the past, everyone only thought that the outside of the Great Wall was desolate, but a poor and barren land. After real development and construction, they realized that it was different from what they had imagined. Beyond the Great Wall was really a treasure land.

Indeed, the land outside the Great Wall depends on who owns it. In the hands of the nomads outside the Great Wall, it is a barren land, but in the hands of the people of the Central Plains, it is a treasure land.

How barren was Xinjiang before liberation in history?After the Construction Corps settled in, they reclaimed tens of millions of acres of fertile land, turning the local area into a huge granary. At that time, it was difficult for the various ethnic groups there to support themselves.The same land, placed in the hands of different people, the effect is obviously different.

The frontier fortress strategy of the Central Plains in the past dynasties, whether it is reclamation or border colonization, is actually effective.The key lies in the fate of the rise and fall of the Central Plains dynasty. As long as it does not decline, the frontier business flourishes, and if it declines, it has to shrink, and the previous achievements will be in vain.

Therefore, the matter of the frontier fortress mainly depends on the Central Plains. If the Central Plains is strong, even if the tribes outside the Great Wall are as strong as the Huns and Turks, it is not enough.When the Ming Dynasty was strong, the Jurchens and Mongols had no choice but to be slaves honestly. However, if the Central Plains declined and the tribes outside the Great Wall became prosperous, it would be the beginning of tragedy.

However, at this time, the Ming Dynasty had a good opportunity for a turning point, which was the decline of the entire nomadic power in the global region.

In 13, the Tatars also burned down Moscow. Before that, the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate kept invading the center of Moscow, abducting strong men, women and children. During the attack, [-] prisoners were taken away.

They were transported to Asia Minor, Africa, and even some parts of Europe for sale, so that a Jewish merchant sitting at the entrance of the Perekop Isthmus, seeing so many people passing by, couldn't help asking: Are there more people left in Russia? ?
But after that, the power of the nomads declined on a large scale in Russia, and it was the turn of the Russians to sell the slaves of the Tartars.

When Wang Dou came to the Ming Dynasty, he was at such a critical time. From a global perspective, there would no longer be a historical cycle of the rise of nomadic peoples and the decline of farming peoples. From now on, farming peoples would rule the world.

And the harvest of modern Europeans also made him jealous. In fact, the frontier fortress is not poor, it mainly depends on how you manage it.

In history, the Russians conquered Siberia. In 20 alone, they collected fur tribute from the local natives. The treasury received 50 sable furs, [-] black fox furs, [-] squirrel skins and many beaver skins. and mink.

By the middle of the seventeenth century, it was estimated that the annual income obtained from Siberian furs accounted for [-]% of the country's total income. After paying the administrative expenses in Siberia, there was still a large surplus, and the harvest was very rich.

Not to mention the British colonists, who often traded an iron nail for a big fat pig with various aboriginal tribes.

Therefore, the key is to change the thinking, so that the soldiers and civilians can benefit from the development of the frontier fortresses. In fact, the merchants in the frontier fortresses in the Central Plains have always been quite pioneering. Extending its tentacles to the European market, some businessmen can even use Mongolian, Kazakh, Uyghur, Russian, etc. to communicate with the northern ethnic groups and Russians fluently.

Needless to say, their ability depends on how you use them. After all, businessmen are mothers if they have milk. They have no motherland, no morals, and no shame. If they follow you to make profits, they will closely unite with you and become loyal allies.

In this great era, why can't I make a fortune by myself?
So after a little energy, Wang Dou began to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of the merchants, supported them to build armed caravans, and acquiesced in their bloody and bad deeds when they went abroad. Capital needs to be accumulated. It is better to shed the blood of outsiders than the blood of one's own. .

When the magic box is opened, as long as it is outside, he will not interfere. After all, although he is benevolent, he also looks at the target.

This time the frontier army went out of the fortress, accompanied by armed caravans, which was part of Wang Dou's grand plan. Perhaps after they tasted the sweetness, they would stimulate those landlords and tyrants to turn their eyes outside and open up living space for their own nation.

……

Of course, although the merchants are greedy for profit, the cost between gain and loss is very clearly measured, and the business of losing money is not done. I heard that most of the tribes outside the Great Wall are old, weak, sick and disabled. The harvest along the way may be extremely huge, and everyone clamored immediately.

In a short while, there were still many people who came up with all kinds of excuses for their own battles, making them famous and confident.

Many people also said: "It is summer at this time, and the water and grass are luxuriant. It is the time when the Mongolians outside the Great Wall hold the Nadamu Convention as usual. This is the most solemn festival on the grassland. Many small tribes nearby will drive cattle Goats, bring special products, go to some big tribes to trade, and then they will be taken away!"

As soon as this man's words came out, there was a burst of wild laughter. He said that things of a kind flock together, and businessmen naturally don't behave like outsiders. Anyway, they went out to rob and kill people. No matter how naked you are with each other, you can say it.

Of course, some people still said: "Although there is no danger in this expedition, but the vastness of the outside of the Great Wall, I am afraid that those tribes will be difficult to find at that time, and the army may be in vain."

Immediately, all the businessmen looked at Wen Fangliang, Gao Shiyin and others who were at the top. Although they went out to do business in the Great Wall, they also collected information on various Mongolian tribes in the name of friendship and trade, but in general, they were still messy and loose. To form a broad and systematic understanding, on this point, we can only rely on the Jingbian Army.

Shen Shiqi snorted coldly in his heart: "These merchants don't know the intelligence capabilities of the Jingbian Army. Such a big battle, with the fighting style of the Jingbian Army, if it wasn't for getting to know the details of the intelligence of each tribe, there would be a lot of information on the marching area." Is it possible to fight rashly because of the terrain and water sources?"

Perhaps in the Central Plains for thousands of years, in terms of the importance attached to intelligence collection, the Jingbian army considers itself second, and no one dares to recognize it as the first.

(End of this chapter)