Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 402: Savage Jurchen
Tian Fu was just a scholar with some knowledge, but when he looked at the map in front of him, he felt at a loss.

Pei Yuan attached great importance to the land tax, so he explained it to him slowly.

"What we see before us is the territory of our Ming Dynasty."

“This is the Yellow River.”

“This is the sea.”

“This is Shandong.”

"Here..." Pei Yuan paused and said to Tian Fu, "This is Liaodong."

Tian Fu looked at the map in front of him with great curiosity and asked with a little excitement, "Where is the student's hometown of Guangdong?"

Pei Yuan pointed out the location of Guangdong to him.

Tian Fu recalled his experience of traveling to Beijing for the imperial examination. He pointed his finger slowly toward the north and named each province along the way accurately.

After guessing that the long horizontal line was the Yangtze River, he also found the location of Yangzhou Prefecture on his own.

Pei Yuan knew that Tian Fu was excited to see the prey, so he gave him some time to adapt.

After Tian Fu intuitively compared the familiar place names on the map one by one, he finally realized that Pei Yuan showed him this because he must have something to tell him.

So he hurriedly said respectfully, "If there is anything you want to do, just tell me."

Pei Yuan pointed to a place.

Tian Fu remembered what Pei Yuan had just said and immediately replied, "This is Liaodong."

Pei Yuan said "hmm" and slowly moved his finger northward until he drew a long line. Then he said to Tian Fu, "Do you know what's here?"

Tian Fu looked confused and said quickly, "I don't know."

Pei Yuan said, "Jurchens!"

Tian Fu asked with some surprise and suspicion, "Shouldn't the Jurchens be near Jianzhouwei? As I recall, Jianzhouwei is not that far from our Liaodong territory."

Pei Yuan emphasized again, "The people living here are the wild Jurchens, who are slightly different from the Jianzhou Jurchens."

In fact, the Jianzhou Jurchens, Haixi Jurchens, and Yeren Jurchens were just later divisions.

In the eyes of the people of the Ming Dynasty, these were all savages.

In short, barbarians.

During the Liao Dynasty, the Khitans divided these savages into the Cooked Jurchens and the Raw Jurchens based on their degree of civilization.

The Jurchens were already able to accept some civilized information and were relatively civilized, so they were incorporated into the Liao nationality and became citizens under the rule of the Liao Kingdom.

Those Jurchens still lived a barbaric life mainly based on hunting.

But no matter how barbaric they are, their fighting power is really strong.

Later, the Wanyan tribe among the Jurchens gradually became stronger. While absorbing advanced culture, they mastered smelting and began planting.

Their leader Wanyan Aguda took advantage of the fact that the Jurchens were still wild and powerful, and defeated the Liao Kingdom in one fell swoop.

The situations of the "Jianzhou Jurchens" and "Wild Jurchens" were similar to those of the previous "Skilled Jurchens" and "Raw Jurchens".

As for the "Haixi Jurchens", their level of civilization and enlightenment was between the "Jianzhou Jurchens" and the "Wild Jurchens".

The Ming Dynasty thought that it had tamed the Jianzhou Jurchens and included them in its sphere of influence that it could rule.

However, the Ming Dynasty made a misjudgment in this matter. The Jianzhou Jurchens are now gradually getting rid of barbarism and entering civilization, but they are more like the Sheng Jurchens of the Wanyan Aguda era.

They have absorbed civilized knowledge without completely losing their fighting capacity.

That is why the Ming Dynasty suffered great losses at the hands of the Jianzhou Jurchens in the late Ming Dynasty.

Later, the "Jianzhou Jurchens" quickly passed through the gradual transition period of "both existing and also having" and quickly began to corrupt.

What enabled them to maintain their fighting power were the wild Jurchens who were gradually incorporated into their army.

These wild Jurchens not only have excellent fighting power, but if Pei Yuan manages to pull them away before the Jianzhou Jurchens set their sights on them, then the Jianzhou Jurchens, who are now slowly developing, will most likely suffer a great loss in the later stage.

As long as these fiercely combat-capable wild Jurchens can be lured out and then armed to form a certain level of combat effectiveness, this army will probably have unrivaled close combat capabilities in this era.

The only trouble was that the number of the wild Jurchens was very small, and in order to facilitate hunting, the tribes were scattered throughout the vast northern mountains and forests.

It would take a lot of time to extract these wild Jurchens bit by bit.

Pei Yuan was not worried that these wild Jurchens would lose control and cause any trouble.

Because the population of the Wild Jurchens is so small, a rough estimate is only a few thousand people.

It is estimated that the number of young and strong men that Pei Yuan could attract is only a few hundred.

But these hundreds of wild Jurchens are enough.

When the Japanese pirates attacked, the most difficult to deal with were the wild warriors among them.

These ronin have sophisticated killing skills, and are difficult for the rotten garrison soldiers to resist.

However, with these hundreds of powerful wild Jurchens on the battlefield, it would be enough to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese pirates and strike a blow to their arrogance.

After all these wild Jurchens are dead, Pei Yuan can follow suit and lure the relatively civilized Haixi Jurchens.

As for how to lure out the wild Jurchens, Pei Yuan thought about it for a long time and still felt that it should depend on Luo Jiao.

Cults themselves are a kind of ignorant thing.

Those who deceive and empathize are also the most ignorant group of people.

In this case, doesn't it seem appropriate to use Luojiao to deal with the wild Jurchens?
Moreover, Pei Yuan's Luo Sect is based on Journey to the West.

No matter what others think, it is easy for those ignorant people who are almost uncivilized to be attracted by the stories in it.

In real history, the Luojiao, with "The Monkey King Sun Wukong" as its main god, directly penetrated the bottom line of the old cults "White Lotus" and "Maitreya", and quickly opened up the sinking market of religious segments.

The "White Lotus Sect" and the "Maitreya Sect" were numbed by the young people's random punches, and were even forced to start a rebellion against the mountain strongholds. One believed in the "Mother of the Unborn" and the other believed in the "True Vacuum Hometown".

But, no matter what, do ordinary people believe in your boss, the Mother of No Birth, Maitreya Buddha, or their boss, Sun Wukong?
Of course I believe in Sun Wukong!

Ever since the Monkey King jumped out of the stone, the people have known everything about him.

He knows everything about me, who else could I trust if not him?
Pei Yuan immediately told Tian Fu about his idea slowly, which left Tian Fu dumbfounded.

After a long while, Tian Fu swallowed his saliva and asked in disbelief, "The commander wants us to let the Luo Sect deal with those wild Jurchens?"

Pei Yuan explained seriously, "It's not about dealing with others, it's about preaching to others!"

"In the future, we will establish a separate priest group within Luojiao. Ahem, no, we should establish an organization composed mainly of Taoist priests." "These Taoist priests do not need to participate in labor and will be supported by Luojiao itself. Their main task is to study the essence of Luojiao and discuss the means of preaching."

"In half a year at the latest, I will see the first batch of Taoist priests follow the caravan to Liaodong."

It took Tian Fu a while to digest Pei Yuan's idea.

He smiled bitterly and said, "I can only try my best."

Pei Yuan looked at Tian Fu seriously and said, "It's not trying my best, it's a must. Half a year later, no matter how well those Taoist priests are trained, I must send the first batch of Taoist priests to those vast mountains and forests."

"Besides, there will be a second batch and a third batch later!"

Pei Yuan said with extraordinary determination and cruelty, "Let them take money, food, weapons, and any supplies and head to the cold north."

"No matter how many priests die, you must find a way to help me bring those wild Jurchens out."

Tian Fu felt Pei Yuan's determination and could only nod his head with difficulty, "Student understands!"

Pei Yuan then said, "Then go down. Think about these things carefully these days."

He added, "You should try to focus most of your energy on forming the priests. Some complicated matters can be assigned to Chen Toutie. Although he is not very smart, he works hard."

Tian Fu said quickly, "I understand."

Pei Yuan then said, "Go ahead."

After Tian Fu left, Pei Yuan lowered his head and looked at the map again, then he drew his knife and cut off the map on the ground bit by bit.

He thought silently in his heart.

If we can use the wild Jurchens to kill the Japanese pirates and greatly weaken the war potential of the Jianzhou Jurchens at the same time, what does the death of a few Taoist priests matter?

Historical change always involves bloodshed.

If blood is to be shed, it must start with the Luo sect. No, it must start with the Luo sect believers.

After completely digging up the map, Pei Yuan sat there again, stunned for a long time.

When he came to his senses, Pei Yuan decided to think of something happy.

Apart from anything else, when those wild Jurchens who were protecting the law put on the golden hoops and walked out of the mountains and forests, Pei Yuan would have the emergency force he had always dreamed of.

At that time, Pei Yuan really had the confidence to challenge those powerful people.

Half a year is only the most ideal situation. When these Taoist priests arrive in Liaodong, they have to first learn the Jurchen language, and then overcome the harsh climate and geography to find those wild Jurchens in the wild forests.

And rely on bribery and goodwill to slowly influence them.

It would take at least more than a year for the wild Jurchens to come out and form combat effectiveness.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan remembered that this year's tribute from the Japanese pirates was just the fuse of the storm and did not completely tear apart the last bit of dignity.

This time, the dispute over tribute with Japan took place within Japan and merely ignited the fuse. What really involved the Ming Dynasty was the next dispute over tribute.

Pei Yuan certainly would not sit idly by and watch such a thing happen, so he had to intervene appropriately during the tribute in the seventh year of Zhengde.

According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty court, the Japanese were allowed to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty once every ten years, and it was clearly stated that they were only allowed to bring three ships, and the number of people on board could not exceed one hundred.

This tribute attracted the interest of many Japanese powers.

Because society is always similar, there are some groups among the Japanese who are enjoying the joy of getting rich quickly.

The leverage used to expand their wealth was called Yongle Tong Bao.

The Japanese exchanged their tribute for Yongle Tong Bao coins, and then used the precious Yongle Tong Bao coins to reap the wealth of various tribes in Japan.

Therefore, Japan, which is rich in gold and silver, depreciated the value of gold and silver and was obsessed with holding Yongle Tong Bao.

Don’t the Japanese know that gold and silver are much more valuable than Yongle Tongbao?

they know.

However, gold and silver were scattered among the daimyo in all directions, while the ability to obtain the Yongle Tong Bao coins was in the hands of a few people.

Then this society would inevitably inflate the value of Yongle Tong Bao, narrow its valuation to that of gold and silver, and then use the inflated Yongle Tong Bao to reap the gold and silver in Japan.

Then take this gold and silver to the Ming Dynasty to exchange for more Yongle Tong Bao.

Once you understand this principle, you will also understand what the dispute over tribute is all about.

What they were fighting for was not the power to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, but the upstream of the Yongle Tong Bao inflow and the wealth caliber caused by the changes in the valuation of Yongle Tong Bao.

So did the Ming Dynasty lose out in this matter?

What a loss.

Numbers will not deceive.

Let us, the people of later generations, take a look at how the tribute trade, which caused the Ming Dynasty to complain so much, was actually a profitable thing.

先来看看《大明会典》中记录的官方指导收购价：铁每斤大约3.75文；腰刀每把大约37.5文；番弓每张大约25文；胡椒每斤大约37.5文；乌木每斤大约3.75文；紫檀木每斤大约6.25文；象牙每斤大约6.25文。

Let’s take a look at what’s on sale.

Each Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain plate costs 6250 wen, each Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain bowl costs 3750 wen, each Ming Dynasty musk costs 18750 wen, and each Ming Dynasty iron pot costs 1875 wen...

Hey!
Daming: I’m at a loss. I’m so exhausted from the loss.

——555, save the Ming Dynasty.

Some people may find it strange.

Why are the prices different from what I saw?
Then you will see something like this:
"Waist swords, three guan each. Foreign bows, two guan each. Foreign arrows, one hundred wen each. Crane tops, one guan each. Tortoise shell boxes, one guan each. Tortoise shell bowls, one guan each. Coral branches, thirty guan per catty. Coral beads, two guan per liang. Large glass bottles and bowls, three guan each. Small glass bottles and bowls, two guan each. Glass lamps, two guan each. Corn beads, five guan per liang. Ivory, five hundred wen per catty. Iron, three hundred wen per catty. Siamese and Malacca sandalwood, all ten guan per catty. Siamese rattan yellow, fifteen guan per catty. Swords imported from Japan, three guan each."

Then have you noticed that crazy character “贯”?
These seemingly inflated prices are actually settled in Ming Dynasty treasure notes!
That’s right, it is the hard currency popular in the Greater China cultural circle, the gray Ming Dynasty treasure notes.

Referred to as "Graycoin".

When foreign envoys received gray coins, they could only spend them on the beautifully priced goods provided by the Ming Dynasty.

If they wanted to get the expensive Yongle Tong Bao, they could only do so through the emperor's reward or by privately selling the smuggled goods they carried.

So the question is, does this phenomenon occur because the Ming Dynasty is shameless?
No.

That’s because Daming can make more money by selling it himself than by having others come to him!
If the Ming Dynasty sets such a guiding price, won't the vassal states be dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty and make diplomatic complaints?
some.

The biggest accusation the vassal states made against the Ming Dynasty was that it did not follow the guidance price.

Because even at this price, they can still make some profit when they go back.

(End of this chapter)