novelSusiti Chapter 72 Reopening the Twin Cities
Chapter 72 Reopening the Twin Cities
Chapter 73 Reopening the Twin Cities
Chapter 072 Only now did the tribal leaders who had come to participate in the trade realize that the Black Stone Market was actually a dead end; it was easy to get in, but extremely difficult to get out.
Chen Ying had no cavalry under his command. Even if he could defeat the Engetu tribe, the Engetu cavalry could easily escape if they wanted to, provided they were in an open area.
After cleaning up the battlefield, the Dengzhou navy beheaded more than 300 enemy soldiers, captured more than 150 warhorses, and more than 100 wounded horses. Of course, the Dengzhou navy soldiers didn't care about the equipment of the Engetu tribe. They could exchange the captured equipment with Chen Ying for money and food.
Under the guidance of the commander, 4,000 men of the Dengzhou Navy, along with more than 300 soldiers of the Shahe Guard, marched in a grand procession toward Shuangcheng Guard overnight.
Shuangchengwei is located on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Suifen River and the west bank of the Fuerdan River. It consists of two cities, east and west, which are three or four miles apart. The east city is called "Fuerdan" and the west city is called "Zhuergen". Neither city is very large. At most, they are castles of the level of a thousand households in the interior. Fuerdan city is about a thousand mu, while the west city is smaller, equivalent to about eight hundred mu.
Even if the two cities were combined, their area would only be equivalent to that of Huagong City. If the Shuangchengwei had not been abandoned, it would not have been easy to conquer these two cities. However, since Nurhaci led the Jurchens to rise to power, the main tribe of the Haixi Jurchens, Jilijina, was severely damaged, and the Enge tribe had the opportunity to take over.
With Engtu and 573 cavalrymen annihilated at the Black Stone Market, only 300 to 400 men remained to defend the two cities, and they were all old, weak, sick, or disabled. Since there were no larger tribes threatening Engtu's tribe nearby, Engtu, for convenience, dismantled four gates from the walls of Fuldan and Jürgen.
They usually used wooden fences as walls. After a night of forced march, Chen Ying led his troops to Shuangchengwei at dawn. By then, it was already light, but it was the time when people were most exhausted.
Ten consecutive thunder cannons sprayed out volleys of bullets, shattering the simple palisades and watchtowers of the two cities. The Shahe Guard took the lead in launching a guerrilla assault, with flintlock muskets firing in volleys, creating lines of fire.
The city of Fuldan was thrown into chaos. As the bandits in Jürgen came to Fuldan's aid, the Dengzhou navy, along with sixteen cannons salvaged from warships, launched an attack on Jürgen.
Last night's ambush clearly showed that the Engetu bandits were no match for the Jurchens in terms of fighting strength. No wonder the Haixi Jurchens, who had an overwhelming numerical advantage, were routed by the Jianzhou Jurchens. Seeing that both the eastern and western cities had been captured simultaneously, the more than two hundred knights who rushed out of Zhuergen City immediately knelt down and surrendered.
As the Jurchens grew stronger in battle, the captured Haixi Jurchens were no longer willing to resist to the death. It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. The Haixi Jurchens now desperately hoped to be captured and trained as Jurchen warriors, so that at least they could live a good life with the Jurchens.
"Stop fighting, we surrender!"
From the start of the attack to the complete capture of Fuldan City, it took Chen Ying only half an hour. The soldiers of Shahe Guard rescued eighty-three guards and fifty-seven companions from Fuldan City, while the rest had been killed.
Just as Chen Ying was sorting through the spoils in Fuldan City, Xiang Hu, the First Commander of the Dalu Island Garrison of Shahe Guard, came to report: "Sir, Zhuergen City has been completely emptied by the Dengzhou Navy; not even a single intact piece of wood was left!"
"It's alright, they deserve it!"
"But some of our goods are also there!"
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Give it to them. We've eaten the meat, so we should let them have some soup too. If we're too calculating, will they still want to work with us in the future?"
The Dengzhou Navy was very poor, otherwise they wouldn't have followed them for almost free. Of course, Chen Ying could have easily avoided using the Dengzhou Navy for this attack on Shuangchengwei. He could have solved the problem by sending 1,500 or even 1,000 men from Dalu Island.
However, Chen Ying was worried that something might happen on Dalu Island. In this battle, he did not even bring Chen Daniu, but only Xiang Hu. Xiang Hu, the First Division Commander, was not actually Chen Ying's confidant, nor was he even a military household of the Right Thousand Household of Guide Guard. He was just a commoner from Liaodong, originally from Fushun Guard.
Of the more than 300 bandits in Fuldan City, more than 270 were killed and more than 30 were captured. On the side of Shahewei, only one person was killed and more than 17 were wounded.
Corpses littered the city grounds, and the stench of burning flesh filled the air. Chen Ying stood before the ruins, still emitting wisps of smoke, looking at the prisoners bound hand and foot.
Chen Ying waved his hand.
Dozens of soldiers from the Shahe Guard swung their swords at the prisoners. With a flash of their blades, the prisoners' heads, as big as balls, rolled to the ground.
"Snap!"
"Cured the heads with lime and take them back with these prisoners."
Chen Ying then ordered, "Send word to pile the corpses into a mound of corpses, erect it five li outside the city, and inscribe a stele: 'Those who robbed merchants and travelers of Shahewei, this is an example!'"
In the Ming Dynasty, military merits were based solely on the heads of soldiers. A single Jurchen head was worth fifty taels of silver. Chen Ying knew that the Ming court was short of funds, but these heads could still be reported to the Ministry of War.
That evening, Chen Ying held a meeting with more than forty leaders of the Haixi Jurchen tribes at the garrison headquarters in Fuldan City. These leaders gained a new understanding of Chen Ying.
Engetu was a local tyrant. Ever since Nurhaci led the Jianzhou Jurchens to expand their power by fighting against the Jurchens, the four major tribes of the Haixi Jurchens have basically been fragmented and are no longer a force to be reckoned with.
Nowadays, there are almost no tribes like the Engetu tribe among the Haixi Jurchens that can field soldiers with close-commands. The problem is that the powerful Engetu tribe was annihilated by Chen Ying in just two days, and hundreds of corpses were piled up into a mound of corpses. Especially in the battle, those Ming soldiers were even more barbaric than the Haixi Jurchens.
The leaders sat on makeshift wooden stools. Some shifted uncomfortably, while others stared intently at the steaming pot of mutton soup on the table in front of them, their Adam's apples bobbing.
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Fellow leaders, I am very satisfied with the trade over this period. The fine horses of the Xibe tribe, the ginseng of the Gualecha tribe, and the pearls of the Warka tribe are all top-quality goods. This trade has benefited both sides!"
Upon hearing this, Hamutai, the leader of the Xibe tribe, grinned and said, "Lord Chen is so generous! We mountain people are short of salt, iron, and cloth. Your snow salt is finer than green salt and whiter than honey. The old and young in our tribe are overjoyed after just one lick!"
'
The crowd burst into laughter, and the atmosphere eased slightly.
Chen Ying put down his teacup, glanced at everyone, and slowly said, "In that case, I have an idea: to reopen the Shuangcheng Trade Market here."
After Chen Ying's words were translated, the hall fell silent instantly.
The leaders looked at each other, their eyes flashing with complex emotions. Although they needed trade and goods from the Ming Dynasty, the problem was that the Jianzhou Jurchens had been fighting the Ming Dynasty for more than a decade, and they were afraid of being implicated.
Meng Gun, the older leader of the Gualecha tribe, pondered and said, "Lord Chen, Shuangchengwei has been abandoned for many years, with no soldiers or walls. Even if we open a trade market, we can't guarantee that it won't be targeted by some bandit group one day. Engetu is dead, but there are other wolves. Our tribe is small and cannot protect this source of income."
"Chief Meng Gun is right."
Chen Ying nodded and said, "Therefore, I have a second idea: to form a guard team for the two-city trade market. Each tribe can select warriors to join, specializing in patrolling, guarding, and suppressing bandits. We will protect the trade market ourselves."
Chen Ying had always been thinking of using a hen to lay eggs. He had also realized the key to the problem: Liaodong was now dominated by the Jurchens, but the problem was that, compared to the fertile Songliao Plain, Shuangchengwei was a harsh and cold place.
The Jurchen population is small, and they are now mostly concentrated in the Songliao Plain and Tongliao area. They have essentially abandoned Shuangchengwei; otherwise, the Qing Dynasty would not have so easily ceded Shuangchengwei.
This place has been abandoned by them for over a hundred years.
The leaders looked at each other again, this time with even greater doubts. Humans are creatures that seek profit and avoid harm; they didn't care that Chen Ying wanted to open a store in Shuangchengwei.
Because the Far East is a vast and sparsely populated region, land is not valuable. More importantly, these nomadic and hunting peoples do not value territoriality as much as agricultural peoples.
From royalty and nobility to commoners, the basic survival logic of the Han people is to not give up three things: their wives, their children, and their land. Anyone who dares to touch their wives, children, or land will be met with a fight to the death.
Hamutai scratched his head, looking troubled: "Lord Chen, this—our tribe's able-bodied men are already short-handed, needing to hunt in the spring, fish in the summer, gather ginseng in the autumn, and raise livestock in the winter. To draw more men to serve as guards—"
"Exactly!"
Another, younger leader said, "How many men are in the guard? If they stay in the city all day, who will herd the livestock? Who will gather ginseng?"
"Will the family starve?"
Chen Ying laughed: "You've misunderstood. This guard team isn't here for you to work for free."
"But----"
Chen Ying interrupted Hamutai and continued, "Those of you present, from forty-six tribes in total, ten people from each tribe, is that alright? Each tribe only needs to send ten people. These ten people will be provided with full clothing, food, weapons, and armor by me. In addition—each tribe will receive one hundred catties of snow salt per person per year. This one hundred catties of snow salt is given to them free of charge and will be considered as the guard's military pay!"
The room erupted in chaos instantly: 100 jin of snow salt!
The leaders present knew all too well what this meant. They had seen and tasted the quality of the snow salt themselves; it was a rare and superior product.
More importantly, 100 catties of snow salt is equivalent to the price of four strong oxen. If ten people are eating 1,000 catties of snow salt, wouldn't that be equivalent to the price of forty oxen?
Forty cows are indeed not attractive to a large tribe, but the problem is that the current leaders are all from small tribes. The strongest tribe, the Gualcha tribe, has only about 1,200 to 1,300 people and can barely muster 400 knights.
Not to mention, there are also weapons, armor, clothing, and food.
Meng Gun was the first to react, his voice trembling as he asked, "Lord Chen, is this true? Just ten people, and you'll get a thousand catties of salt?"
"I always keep my word."
Chen Ying said with a serious expression, "Of course, let me make this clear from the start: these ten men must be true warriors, not the old and weak who are just filling in. They must bring warhorses. Once they join the guard, they must abide by the rules. Anyone who dares to rob merchants or oppress the people will be dealt with according to military law. If bandits attack the market or rob caravans, they must fight to the death and not retreat without orders! If someone takes the salt and the men they send are useless, or secretly collude with bandits—Engetu's head is still hanging outside the city."
Chen Ying was not a nationalist. Of course, in fact, it is also absurd to regard the Haixi Jurchens as Jurchens. The Haixi Jurchens did not invade the Liaodong border wall, nor did they rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
The abolition of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission was a result of the decline of the Ming Empire's strength. More importantly, the national consciousness was very weak at that time. For example, Wu Sangui's family had more than 3,600 household soldiers, including a considerable number of Mongol cavalry.
Chen Ying currently has neither a navy nor a cavalry. The Liaodong War is imminent, and he will definitely get involved. There is not enough time to train cavalry now. Without cavalry, no matter how elite the infantry is, they can handle the Jurchen attacks, but it will be difficult to achieve results in attacking the Jurchens.
If they don't want to fight, you can't catch up.
The hall fell silent again, but this time, most of the doubts in everyone's eyes had faded, replaced by eager calculations. Although they had come from forty-six tribes, in fact, there were at least hundreds of tribes of all sizes in the Far East. They certainly wouldn't be willing to eat this thousand catties of snow salt, but snow salt was also a hard currency that could be sold to other tribes. In this way, it wouldn't be forty cows, but one hundred, or even more.
Ten warriors for a thousand catties of salt, plus weapons, armor, clothing, and food—this is an incredibly good deal.
Even if those ten people stay with the guard team and don't return to the tribe, the tribe will lose ten able-bodied men, but in exchange for a thousand catties of salt, how much can that be traded for?
Moreover, with the establishment of the trade market, there will be no need to risk exchanging salt, iron, and cloth elsewhere, and the tribe's strength will only increase.
Hamutai was the first to stand up, patting his chest and saying, "Lord Chen, the Xibe tribe has sent ten men. We'll choose the strongest, the best horsemen, and the best archers. When do we need them?"
"Deliver it to Shuangchengwei within three days."
Chen Ying continued, "Ideally, they should be able to speak Mandarin, or be intelligent and willing to learn!"
"The Gualcha tribe has also emerged!"
Meng Gun was not willing to fall behind.
"The Warkha tribe is also involved!"
"Our department too—"
In an instant, the leaders rushed to sign up, fearing that if they were late, their spots would be taken by someone else.
Chen Ying smiled. He was very happy. His plan had succeeded. He wanted to occupy Shuangchengwei under the guise of the trade market and gradually infiltrate the Far East.
Vladivostok is a natural ice-free port. He could occupy Vladivostok under the guise of docking caravans. It is only 100 kilometers from Vladivostok to Shuangchengwei. He has already established three trading posts along this 100-kilometer distance, which will become future military outposts.
Dalu Island is too small and has limited room for development. It can also gradually migrate people to Shuangchengwei and Vladivostok. The people of Liaodong are very adaptable to the Far Eastern climate and can be seamlessly integrated.
Reopening Shuangchengwei was like stabbing Nurhaci in the buttocks; by the time he realized it, this nail would be firmly driven into Shuangchengwei.
It wasn't that Chen Ying looked down on the Jurchens; the Jurchens' ability to attack fortified positions was too weak. More than sixty years later, they had only eight hundred musketeers, yet they mobilized tens of thousands of troops and fought for five years.
Now Chen Ying wanted to see if Nurhaci could take Shuangchengwei without the help of spies and the people of Ming.
Chen Ying raised his hand to quell the commotion and smiled, "Please don't be impatient, everyone. We'll discuss the guards later. There's one more thing right now—this is the East City, and this is the West City. There's more than four li between the two cities. From now on, we'll conduct our transactions between the two cities. It's large enough, and there's also room for our cattle, sheep, and horses. I need to build a city wall here so that we'll have a place to hide if bandits or the Jurchens attack."