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

Chapter 462 Capitalizing on the enemy
After listening to Fan Wencheng's words, Yuan Chonghuan did not speak for a long time, his brows furrowed, not knowing how to answer.

Fan Wencheng's idea did help Yuan Chonghuan solve his worries, as at least on the surface he was no longer charged with aiding the enemy.

Giving food and military equipment to Kharchin was equivalent to giving them directly into the hands of Huang Taiji. Everyone knew that Kharchin had already surrendered to Huang Taiji. The reason why Lin Danhan fled from Chahar was because Huang Taiji united various Mongolian tribes, and among these Mongolian tribes, Kharchin was one of them.

But after all, this matter is not a trivial matter, and it is of great importance. Yuan Chonghuan still needs to consider it and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. He immediately told Fan Wencheng that he would think about it and asked Fan Wencheng to give him some time. Fan Wencheng did not force him and immediately agreed. However, he told Yuan Chonghuan that he could wait, but Huang Taiji could not wait. He had been away from Shenyang for some time. If he did not go back early, no one knew what Huang Taiji would think, so he hoped that Yuan Chonghuan would give him a reply as soon as possible.

That night, after settling the guests, Yuan Chonghuan stayed up almost all night in the Governor-General's Mansion. The matter kept turning over in his mind, wondering whether he should agree to the other party or refuse.

Until the next morning, Yuan Chonghuan had not made up his mind. The next day, Yuan Chonghuan was still hesitating. At this time, his younger brother Yuan Chongyu came to him to discuss something. Seeing Yuan Chonghuan's depressed look, he couldn't help but ask what had happened.

Yuan Chonghuan naturally had nothing to hide from his brother. He immediately told him Fan Wencheng's request. Who would have thought that after listening to Yuan Chonghuan's story, Yuan Chongyu suddenly became excited and slapped his thigh and said, "This is a good thing! What can't be done? Just do it boldly. Why bother with it?"
Yuan Chongyu was a businessman, and businessmen were always profit-driven. In his eyes, was there anything more important than making money? How much silver would a million dan of grain be worth? If he could make this deal happen, it would be much better than working hard in smuggling trade.

Yuan Chongyu was blinded by money and immediately tried his best to persuade Yuan Chonghuan to agree to Fan Wencheng's request, telling him that he could sell grain. Not only grain, but also military equipment could be sold. As long as there was money to be made, what could not be sold? Even his parents could be sold.

As long as they made the deal, they would get the money. It was God who made them make money. Why should they hesitate? Besides, Fan Wencheng was right. He didn't ask Yuan Chonghuan to sell food and weapons directly to the Jiannu, but to the Mongols. Yuan Chonghuan had already reported the matter of winning over the Mongols to Emperor Chongzhen, who also agreed to his doing so. With the emperor's endorsement, what was there for him to fear?

Under the persuasion of his younger brother Yuan Chongyu, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but be tempted, but he still did not agree immediately, saying that he needed to think about it again.

Yuan Chongyu knew his brother's personality and temper too well, and knew that Yuan Chonghuan had already wanted to do this, but he just felt a little embarrassed and had some concerns in his heart. In this case, he decided to do it once and for all and let Yuan Chongyu give him a push.

Yuan Chongyu did not persuade him immediately, but asked Yuan Chonghuan to think about it carefully. But as soon as he left, Yuan Chongyu went straight to find Fan Wencheng, explained his identity to him, and told Fan Wencheng that his brother Yuan Chongyu was not in a position to deal with the food and military equipment, so he let him take full responsibility.

Who is Fan Wencheng? With just a few words, he found out Yuan Chongyu's background and intentions. He immediately pretended to believe Yuan Chongyu's words and discussed with him how to transport grain, how to trade, and the details of subsequent cooperation.

In order to deal with Yuan Chongyu, Fan Wencheng generously agreed to Yuan Chongyu's request, which was to set aside 30% as a "benefit" for Yuan Chongyu based on the actual transaction.

The weather has been abnormal and the drought has been severe in the past two years. The same is true for Liaodong. Especially this year, there is a widespread food shortage in Liaodong. In addition to food shortages, many places in the Ming Dynasty have also suffered from locust plagues. Food prices remain high and food is in great demand.

Yuan Chongyu was willing to sell grain at a fair price, but in fact he sold it to the Mongols at a 30% discount on the basis of the fair price, and the remaining 30% was given to Yuan Chongyu personally as a benefit so that he could profit from it.

For Fan Wencheng, no matter it was the same price or 30% off, he had no problem. In fact, Huang Taiji was very short of food, so he would take as much food as he could, even if the price was higher than the market price. The cost of buying food was nothing more than gold and silver, which were neither food nor clothing, so how could they be as important as food?
With his great talent and strategy, Huang Taiji was naturally willing to exchange gold and silver for food. Besides, these gold and silver were originally looted from the Ming Dynasty. Exchanging them for food to feed the Eight Banners was a blessing.

As for the gold and silver being taken away, what's the harm? At best, it is just temporarily stored in the Ming Dynasty. When we get food and get through the winter, we can directly turn against Yuan Chonghuan and send troops to take the gold and silver back. Isn't it still ours?
How could Yuan Chongyu know what Fan Wencheng was planning? When he heard that Fan Wencheng readily agreed to his terms and even gave him a gift in private as a reward, Yuan Chongyu smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.

After the deal was done, Yuan Chongyu, who was as excited as a chicken, went to see his brother Yuan Chonghuan. After meeting Yuan Chonghuan, he told him that he had already reached an agreement with Fan Wencheng, and even the price of the grain transaction had been agreed upon. Everything was ready, and he just needed his approval. When Yuan Chonghuan heard that his brother actually bought grain at a 70% discount on the market price and promised to sell 1.5 million dan of grain in one breath, he was shocked by his brother's boldness and cursed on the spot.

He scolded Yuan Chongyu for being so audacious. The other party clearly asked for only one million, but you actually sold it for 500,000 more, and sold it at such a low price? Did this grain fall from the sky?

You have to know that the entire Liaodong army only has 2.5 million shi of military rations a year. The food Yuan Chonghuan has now was obtained from Emperor Chongzhen by begging everyone for food, and the total amount is less than 2 million shi. Now three quarters of it is gone, leaving him with only 500,000 shi. This amount of food is only enough for the army to use for more than three months. What will he do if he runs out of food?
As for the low price? How can this be called selling grain? It's like selling half of it and giving it away half of it. You are so bold that you made a deal with Fan Wencheng privately without even agreeing to it. Do you still take his brother, the governor of Ji and Liao, seriously?
Facing Yuan Chonghuan's rage, Yuan Chongyu was not afraid at all. There were only two brothers in the Yuan family now. What could happen? As an elder brother, do you dare to chop off your younger brother's head? Pah! If he dared to do so, his parents in the underworld would be the first to trouble him.

Besides, how could it be considered bold to do such a thing? Yuan Chongyu was just doing a small business selling grain and making a little money. The Ming Dynasty was rich, and Yuan Chonghuan was now a favorite of Emperor Chongzhen. What did a few grains mean to him?
Yuan Chonghuan was now the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, the top leader of Liaodong, and in charge of military and political affairs. He could just sell some grain and then ask the court for more. Would the court watch the Liaodong army starve to death without food? Besides, Emperor Chongzhen had agreed to win over the Mongols. Selling grain to the Mongols was a united front strategy, and there was no problem with political correctness.

As for being audacious, Yuan Chongyu said he would never approve of it. What kind of audacity is this? Is there anyone in the world who is more audacious than you, Yuan Chongyu? You should know that the great general Mao Wenlong chopped off his head for you, Yuan Chonghuan, and did something that no one had ever done since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Compared to this, what I did was nothing!
Yuan Chongyu's rebuttal left Yuan Chonghuan speechless. He was so angry that his liver ached. He raised his finger and pointed at his brother, unable to speak.

"Brother, I have already made the deal. We have to do it whether we want to or not. If it doesn't work, Mr. Fan has said that he will go back tomorrow and report to his Khan, Huang Taiji. If there is no progress, Huang Taiji will send troops to fight."

"Fight if you want! Who's afraid of who?" Yuan Chonghuan slammed the table and cursed.

"Hehe, you're a hero! You're a good man! You're noble! You're amazing!" Yuan Chongyu gave Yuan Chonghuan a thumbs up with a playful smile. Yuan Chonghuan was even more angry at his rogue attitude.

"Get out! Get out!" Yuan Chonghuan pointed his hand outside and cursed. Yuan Chongyu was not angry. He still looked smiling. He stood up, patted his butt and walked away. After Yuan Chongyu left, Yuan Chonghuan was still angry. He grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it to the ground.

Yuan Chongyu did understand Yuan Chonghuan, otherwise he would not have such courage. Although Yuan Chonghuan got angry and drove him away, after he left, Yuan Chonghuan gradually calmed down and thought carefully for a long time, and finally sighed and acquiesced to the promise of his brother Yuan Chongyu and Fan Wencheng.

The next day, Yuan Chonghuan personally saw Fan Wencheng off. Before leaving, he held Fan Wencheng's hand and talked a lot to him as if they were old friends. As for the previous issues of food and military rank, Yuan Chonghuan did not mention it, but he specially asked his younger brother Yuan Chongyu to accompany him to see Fan Wencheng off. This action alone showed his attitude.

Not long after Fan Wencheng left, Yuan Chongyu contacted the Mongols. The Mongols were ostensibly from Kharchin, but in fact they were from Huang Taiji.

The two sides began to trade grain as agreed, which also included a lot of weapons and ironware. The transaction was led by Yuan Chongyu. A large amount of grain and supplies were transported out of the warehouse and then transported north to Kalaqin through the agreed trade route.

When they got there, the transaction was completed and the people from the Ming Dynasty went back home. The people who took over the supplies did not continue to go north, but turned east instead. A few days later, the supplies fell into the hands of Huang Taiji.

After learning that the first batch of traded grain and military equipment had arrived, Huang Taiji personally went to see the storage of supplies. Looking at the mountains of grain and fodder and a large number of Ming Dynasty standard weapons in the warehouse, Huang Taiji immediately laughed out loud, patted Fan Wencheng's shoulder who was accompanying him, and said three good words in a row.

(End of this chapter)