Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 358 Mao Wenlong

"Hong Xiu? Fang Feng?"

Yuan Chonghuan was slightly stunned. These two names sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard them before.

Seeing his elder brother's expression, Yuan Chongyu quickly explained and told Yuan Chonghuan that Hong Xiu and Fang Feng were his subordinates, the two guys who helped him manage his business. Yuan Chongyu brought them to Ningyuan to meet Yuan Chonghuan once before, but that was last year, and it had been a while.

After listening to Yuan Chongyu's explanation, Yuan Chonghuan then remembered this matter. There were indeed such two people in his memory. These two people were born as businessmen. Because Yuan Chongyu relied on his connections to do business in Liaodong, these two people were very smart and clever and came to join him. Later, they became Yuan Chongyu's people and were the shopkeepers under him.

Although he had figured out who these two people were, Yuan Chonghuan was still a little puzzled. How could these two people have a relationship with Mao Wenlong? Mao Wenlong was the lord of Pi Island, the general of Dongjiang Town, the left governor of the Left Army Governor's Office, a first-rank military general, and a famous general.

As early as the 33rd year of the Wanli reign, Mao Wenlong led troops in Liaodong. During the Battle of Sarhu, Mao Wenlong was stationed in Shenyang and assisted the Shenyang guerrilla Bai Shijue in repelling the Later Jin army and made great contributions. This was one of the few bright spots in the Ming army's disastrous defeat in this battle.

When Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, Mao Wenlong was promoted to the rank of Dusi due to his merits. Later, he personally led the troops to repel the invading enemy at Xingshan Stronghold and even killed one man in the battle with his own hands.

Later, Mao Wenlong was promoted to guerrilla commander for his merits under Yuan Yingtai, the former governor of Liaodong. After Yuan Yingtai died for his country, Mao Wenlong was disheartened and prepared to return home. Unexpectedly, Wang Huazhen, the newly appointed governor of Liaodong, was eager to recruit talents and asked someone to find Mao Wenlong.

At this point, Wang Huazhen entrusted Mao Wenlong with an important task. According to Wang Huazhen's order, he led less than 200 people deep into the enemy's rear. He gained a foothold in just two months, took in more than 1,400 Liaodong people, reorganized them into an army and launched successive attacks. He successively captured hundreds of Later Jin generals and Eight Banners soldiers, and even personally led troops across the river to launch a surprise attack, directly capturing Later Jin general Tong Yangzhen and his son and their subordinates, a total of more than 60 people, and made outstanding military achievements.

Afterwards, Mao Wenlong stationed his troops in Pi Island and continued to recruit more than 40,000 Liao people and train tens of thousands of soldiers. Using Pi Island as a base, he conducted many mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare in the rear of the Later Jin Jiannu and in Korea and other places, which dealt a heavy blow to and pinned down the Later Jin army and relieved the pressure on the Liaodong front battlefield.

In the first year of the Tianqi reign, Mao Wenlong was the deputy general. In the second year of the Tianqi reign, because of Mao Wenlong's military achievements, the emperor granted him special permission to govern Dongjiang. He was promoted to the general of Dongjiang Town and became a senior general in the Ming army.

In the past two years, Mao Wenlong has been extremely active behind the Later Jin. Not only has he tied down the Later Jin's military strength, he has also sent troops to launch surprise attacks many times and achieved many victories, which has greatly dealt a heavy blow to the Later Jin's arrogance.

Especially after Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen lost all the defense lines east of Shanhaiguan, the reason why the Later Jin Dynasty failed to continue the attack was not because of its insufficient strength, but because Mao Wenlong's troops behind the scenes directly threatened the Later Jin Dynasty's heartland. In order to ensure the stability of the rear, they had no choice but to turn around and deal with Mao Wenlong.

Mao Wenlong was very flexible in fighting and used various tactics. Every time he started a war, he hit the most vulnerable part of the Later Jin Dynasty. Moreover, he chose the time to start a war very well. As long as the Later Jin Dynasty's Jiannu army made any move to advance westward, Mao Wenlong in Pi Island would come out to make trouble and lead his troops into the heartland of the Later Jin Dynasty to burn, kill, loot and weaken the Later Jin Dynasty's strength.

As time went by, the people of the Later Jin hated Mao Wenlong, but they could do nothing about him. Mao Wenlong was also valued by Tianqi for his brilliant military achievements and the great role played by Dongjiang Town. His official position was promoted again and again, and now he is a first-rank official, reaching the pinnacle of military generals.

Mao Wenlong's official position and status are far from what Yuan Chonghuan can compare with now. Although the Ming Dynasty values ​​civil officials over military officials, it depends on who you compare with. If he was just a lieutenant general, Yuan Chonghuan would not take him seriously at all, but Mao Wenlong is not only the general of Dongjiang Town, but also the left governor, a first-class military officer. In addition, Emperor Tianqi thinks highly of Mao Wenlong and gave him the imperial sword. With his prominent position and military power, even Sun Chengzong, the governor of Ji and Liao, has to give him some face.

What puzzled Yuan Chonghuan was how his brother's men could have fallen into Mao Wenlong's hands? And how could such a thing happen? Pi Island was in the east, far away from Ningyuan, and there was also a sea between them. There was no contact between them. How did Hong Xiu and Fang Feng offend Mao Wenlong?

When Yuan Chonghuan asked this question, Yuan Chongyu's expression became a little embarrassed and he spoke hesitantly.

Seeing him like this, Yuan Chonghuan frowned. He knew very well what kind of person his brother was. He immediately asked Yuan Chongyu to explain the situation clearly, otherwise he would never help him.

"This... this... is actually not a big deal. It's just that a batch of goods I had passed through Pi Island was seized by Mao Wenlong." Yuan Chongyu answered with a stiff face.

"Goods? What goods? How did they go to Pi Island? Why were they detained?" Yuan Chonghuan was not so easily fooled and continued to ask. Under his questioning, Yuan Chongyu had to tell the truth. He told Yuan Chonghuan that most of his goods were grain, and some were salt, tea, and even military equipment such as ironware. He originally planned to send these goods to Andong (now Dandong area) via Pi Island to trade with the Later Jin and North Korea.

Liaodong is a cold and bitter place, but it also has its own products, which were later described as the three treasures of the Northeast. Ginseng, sable fur, and Ula grass (or deer antler) are Liaodong's specialties. The same is true for Korea. Korean ginseng and other products have a good market in the inland Ming Dynasty and can be sold at a good price, but are worth nothing locally and can be bought with a small amount of silver.

Moreover, in recent years, the military and economic blockade of the Later Jin Jiannu by the Ming Dynasty made life very difficult for the Later Jin Jiannu. Sun Chengzong's strategic deployment had already taken effect. As the blockade gradually intensified, the Later Jin Jiannu could not even get enough food. In addition, the Later Jin Jiannu, like the Mongols, were not good at smelting and it was difficult for them to forge ironware by themselves, which was a necessary material for both military and civilian use.

In addition, there are all kinds of materials such as salt, tea, silk, and medicinal materials, which are all in urgent need. The same is true in Korea. With the rise of the Later Jin in Liaodong, the war has been fought for many years. The normal trade routes between Korea and Ming Dynasty have long been cut off. If Korea wants to do business with Ming Dynasty, the only trade route now is to transit through Pi Island. This is why Yuan Chongyu sent people to transport the supplies to Pi Island.

"You are so brave!"

After listening to Yuan Chongyu's explanation, Yuan Chonghuan slammed the table and his nose was crooked with anger. He didn't expect that his brother was so bold that he dared to do such a thing in private.

It is true that Yuan Chonghuan knew that his brother Yuan Chongyu was doing business, and he tacitly allowed him to do this business and gave him many conveniences. But Yuan Chonghuan had always thought that Yuan Chongyu was just doing ordinary smuggling, at best collecting some local specialties from the soldiers and civilians in Liaodong, and then transporting them to the interior of the Ming Dynasty for sale.

But Yuan Chongyu's trade partners were not only Korea, but also the Later Jin Jiannu. He even directly transported a large amount of food and other supplies, including military supplies such as ironware. The Ming Dynasty had always imposed a military and economic blockade on the Later Jin Jiannu, but Yuan Chongyu dared to do so? Isn't this aiding the enemy? It was simply audacious.

In a fit of rage, Yuan Chonghuan suddenly thought of a question: where did his brother get the food and ironware? He immediately asked, and under his questioning, Yuan Chongyu stammered and told Yuan Chonghuan the source of these things. When he learned that these things actually came from his hands, in other words, these were actually the strategic material reserves of the Ming army, Yuan Chonghuan was furious and wanted to draw a knife to kill his brother.

"Asshole! Do you want to die? Who told you to do this? Do you know what the consequences will be if the news leaks out? Even I can't save you, and you can even kill me!"

"Brother!" Yuan Chongyu felt very aggrieved after being scolded by Yuan Chonghuan. He could not help but said, "I am not the only one who sells materials privately. There are many people who do this, but you just don't know it. Besides, no business can make money faster than this. Do you know how much money the grain in Liaodong is worth when it is sold to the Later Jin Dynasty, and how much money it can be exchanged for?"

"Also, don't you think about it? If I hadn't found a way to do business, how could you have such a lot of money? Didn't you spend most of the money you earned? How much of it would actually fall into my hands?"

"Isn't it all for you that I take this risk? Without this income, how can you win over the generals in Liaodong? How can you make them obey you? Now, you want the money, but you have to take the risk alone? Where in the world can such a good thing come from? Do we still have to separate ourselves as brothers? Isn't it all for you that I do this?"

As he spoke, Yuan Chongyu seemed extremely aggrieved, and his eyes turned red.

Looking at his brother's appearance and hearing what Yuan Chongyu said, Yuan Chonghuan didn't know what to say for a moment.

What Yuan Chongyu said was not wrong. He had tacitly agreed to the business, and Yuan Chonghuan himself took the bulk of the profits from the business. Only a small part of the money earned went into his pocket. Most of it was either used to manage relationships in the court and give gifts, or to win over the generals in Liaodong.

Without these incomes, how could it be possible with Yuan Chonghuan's salary? You should know that the salaries of Ming Dynasty officials were the lowest in all dynasties. With these salaries, it is difficult to get enough food, let alone work. "People become officials just for money" is a golden saying in officialdom.

Moreover, as the commander-in-chief stationed in Ningyuan, Yuan Chonghuan was very clear about the current situation of the Later Jin, and knew how much profit would be gained if these materials were sold to the Later Jin. This was not a small amount, but a huge sum of money. With such a large sum of money in hand, what could he not accomplish?
Furthermore, Yuan Chongyu was not the only one who was smuggling. There were many people doing this, and it was impossible to stop it. Even Mao Wenlong in Dongjiang Town was the same. It was simply a fantasy for Mao Wenlong to support so many soldiers and civilians with just Pi Island. If Mao Wenlong had not relied on the geographical convenience of Pi Island to smuggle and even set up checkpoints to collect taxes, how could he have supported so many people?
Thinking of this, Yuan Chonghuan's expression gradually eased. To be honest, his brother was not too much of a scapegoat. Although selling to the Later Jin was a little inappropriate, the small amount of supplies would not cause much impact. Besides, this was his own brother. He could not just watch his brother suffer, right? Moreover, this involved his own direct interests, so Yuan Chonghuan could not really stand by and watch.

(End of this chapter)