Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 404 Bethlehem

On July 17, 1639, just as dawn was breaking, the wooden gate of the fortress of Beliburg (now Khabarovsk) slowly opened with a creak.

A group of farmers dressed in coarse cloth and short jackets carried hoes as they walked out of the city gate toward the farmland near the village.

In the morning light, hundreds of acres of farmland stretch out along the south bank of the Heishui River. Oats ripple with green waves in the breeze, and scattered white flowers can already be seen in the potato fields.

"Old man, your soybean field is growing well!" a man with a full beard shouted across the field. "When it's harvested in a few days, it'll definitely yield a few more bushels than last year!"

"Hehe..." The farmer, known as Old Man, wiped his sweat and grinned. "It's all thanks to Lord Wang. If the soybeans have a good harvest this year, I might be able to exchange them for a few more bolts of fine Songjiang cloth to make a new dress for my wife and a floral jacket for the baby who's about to be born."

"Oh, your Korean wife is about to give birth, isn't she?"

"Doctor Sun came to see me, and said it should be around next month." The old man's grin widened even more. "Hey, at least we can leave a bloodline for the Tang family!"

"That's not necessarily true!" The bearded man couldn't help but feel jealous. "Maybe your wife will give birth to a girl."

"You son of a bitch, with that foul mouth!" Old Bangzi laughed and cursed. "But a girl is fine too, since she's all of the Tang family blood. At worst, I'll work a little harder and try to give birth to a boy next year!"

"Pshaw! She might still be a little girl next year!"

"Fuck your grandpa!" Old Bangzi's face changed. "Zhou Daniu, I curse you to never find a wife in your entire life!"

With that, he grabbed a hoe, turned around angrily, and walked towards the other side of the field.

"Hehe..." Zhou Daniu chuckled, "If I can't get a wife, can't I trade the oats I harvested this year for one from the local people? ...Getting a wife is no big deal!"

On the distant stockade wall, Wang Mingyuan, the chief steward of Bolibao, was inspecting the fields outside the city with his hands behind his back, with several guards carrying swords protecting him from behind.

Four years ago, this was a desolate riverbank. More than fifty pioneers traveled upstream by boat to this place and built the first wooden house.

Today, the more than ten-foot-high stockade wall stands majestically, and on the four corner forts, several cannons gleam coldly in the morning light.

The village is also filled with houses scattered throughout, streets crisscrossing, and a lively atmosphere.

The number of residents in the fortified village has increased from the initial fifty or so to more than three hundred and sixty. If the surrounding indigenous tribes that have submitted to the village are included, the population directly controlled exceeds seven hundred.

Three kilometers southwest of Bolibao, on the banks of the Ussuri River, the new Chinese also built a fortress—Anyuanbao—which, together with Bolibao, forms a triangular position, controlling the two rivers and radiating to the tribal natives within a radius of 100 kilometers.

However, unlike the mixed military and civilian settlements like Bolibao, Anyuanbao was a purely military fortress. Not only was its defense fortifications strong, but it was also guarded by more than seventy armed guards to demonstrate Xinhua's military power.

In the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, the former Fushanwei of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission of the Ming Dynasty (now Feisentun on the west bank of the Zhuoluo River, northwest of Pulsa) and Nurgan City, the seat of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission (now Terlin, Russia, about 200 kilometers from the mouth of the Heilongjiang River), were successively restored, with forts and strongholds built, becoming two important supply points along the river.

The establishment of these outposts effectively brought the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River entirely under the rule of the new Chinese.

I believe that in a few years, whether it is the Russians from the west or the Qing invaders from the north, they will surely suffer heavy losses in front of the fortress of the new Chinese.

"My lord!" A young clerk trotted over. "The Oroqen envoy has arrived, and he has brought ten fine sable pelts with him."

Wang Mingyuan nodded: "Please invite them to the council hall and prepare some tea and snacks."
-
Inside the council chamber, Kuruk, the leader of the Oroqen El tribe, sat awkwardly on a soft leather chair.

His rough fingers carefully stroked the smooth table in front of him, which had beautiful carvings on the side. This kind of craftsmanship had never been seen in their tribe before, and it exuded a sense of exquisiteness and elegance.

When Wang Mingyuan walked in, he and several other tribal leaders hurriedly stood up, almost knocking over their teacups.

"Sit down, no need for formalities." Wang Mingyuan waved his hand kindly and said slowly, word by word, "I heard your hunt this year has been quite successful?"

“Thanks to you, sir,” Kuruk said in broken Chinese, “since we started using the iron arrowheads and pitchforks you provided, we have hunted 30 to 50 percent more reindeer and roe deer than in previous years, and the number of sable foxes we have captured is twice as many as before.”

As he spoke, he gestured for his attendant to open the bundle he had brought and take out a smooth mink pelt: "These are the ten finest pelts we have selected. Please accept them, sir."

Wang Mingyuan smiled slightly, took the mink fur, and felt its smooth and soft texture.

“My lord, these furs were hunted only in the last few months, and they’re not even the best.” Kuruk was delighted to see how much the man loved them. “The furs that are hunted in winter are the truly top-quality ones. If you like them, my lord, I will certainly send ten more!”

"In that case, I thank the Great Chief in advance!"

"You're too kind, sir," Kuruk said with a smile. "It's thanks to the handy tools you provided, as well as the many fine items you brought, that we are able to live such a good life now."

"However, sir, we have a request... Could you please exchange some more swords and spears for us, and also... that thunderbolt?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Wang Mingyuan cautiously, fearing that the other party's expression would change.

In Brisbane, most trade was virtually unrestricted; as long as you could provide enough furs and collected gold dust, the new Chinese could provide it all.

However, weapons such as swords, spears, and armor are not included in this category, and the quantity traded is strictly controlled; you can't just exchange as many as you want.

A tribe of 100 to 200 people might have at most 20 to 30 steel knives, a dozen or so iron spears, and a fixed supply of iron arrowheads.

In short, the weapons acquired are enough for a tribe to barely defend itself, but it would be quite difficult to wage a fierce battle, carry out a large-scale feud, or even attempt to annex other tribes.

As for "thunderbolts," forget about it. The new Chinese community doesn't want to cultivate powerful adversaries in the area that could threaten their safety.

Unless they completely submit to the new Chinese, like the tribes near Buriburg, and become their subordinates, they will not receive full support and complete armament.

However, these large tribal groups, which have existed for hundreds of years, know that being close to the new Chinese will bring many benefits, but they are ultimately used to their freedom. Coupled with their existing traditions and customs, they can still make a living now, so they are not willing to submit to them.

Back then, when the old Khan of Jianzhou unified these Blackwater tribes, he did not impose any coercive control on them. As long as they kowtowed and paid tribute, everything remained the same, and they were allowed to do as they pleased.

Of course, the Khanate could also be quite brutal at times, sending out small, elite armies to conquer (capture) tribes in the mountains that did not submit to the "King's rule," destroying villages, killing and burning, and creating large areas of no man's land.

Comparing the two, the new Chinese person is more gentle and easier to get along with, which makes people feel a sense of closeness.

But while you may be close to someone, it's inappropriate to make unreasonable demands.

"What do you need so many swords and spears for?" Wang Mingyuan put down his teacup, his face darkening.

"My lord," Kuruk replied with a distressed expression, "the Sakhalin tribe in the upper reaches of the Black River has been frequently attacking our El tribe, stealing our prey and driving away our fishing boats. Moreover, they have repeatedly threatened to annihilate our entire tribe, using our failure to pay tribute to the Khan's city as an excuse. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to turn to you, my lord..."

“The Sakha Company…” Upon hearing this, Wang Mingyuan frowned immediately. “Have they made any major moves recently?”

"A big move?" Kuruk paused for a moment, then stepped forward. "Sir, the Saharan tribe seems to be recruiting and training tribal warriors recently. They're definitely planning to come and ambush us. Oh, and of course, they might also be looking to make a fortune and attack Buriburg to plunder the village's goods."

"My lord, you may not know this, but the Saharan tribe has been coveting the wealth of Boliburg for quite some time now. They often secretly send their warriors to inquire about your whereabouts."

"Oh, really?" Wang Mingyuan looked at him with a half-smile.

The Sakhalin troops numbered only a thousand or so, and Bryburg didn't really take them seriously. The cannons on the city walls would teach them a lesson in no time.

As the first tribe to submit to the Qing dynasty, in 1616, Nurhaci sent troops to subdue the Sahalian tribe in the middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River. Their tribal leader even married a princess of a certain Beile and became the son-in-law of the Later Jin. As a result, the tribe received a lot of military support and material supplies from the Later Jin, making it the most powerful and wealthy tribe in the entire Heilongjiang River basin.

However, this wealth was relative; it meant that they had a few more knives, a few more bags of iron arrowheads, and a few more brocade robes and cotton cloths bestowed upon them by the Qing invaders than other surrounding tribes.

As for an overwhelming advantage, that's not quite it.

After all, the Qing dynasty did not want a powerful local tribe to rise up behind them.

However, after the new Chinese settled in Buriburg, where the two rivers meet, they would transport immigrants by one or two small oar-drawn sailboats every summer and autumn, along with a large amount of daily necessities, to trade furs with the local tribes.

After several years of development, the tribes closer to Boliburg, taking advantage of their proximity, quickly became wealthy through frequent fur trade, and their living standards and material enjoyment far surpassed those of the Saharan tribe.

This made the once wealthy Sahalian tribe very unhappy. After all, they were the sons-in-law of the Qing Dynasty, so how could they live worse than the poor Oroqen tribe?

Whether out of jealousy or resentment, driven by economic interests, the Saharan tribe followed the Blackwater River down to Bolibao to engage in the fur trade in exchange for various necessities urgently needed by the tribe.

However, due to the great distance, the frequency and scale of their transactions were not as good as those of the tribes around Bryburg, and they suffered a slight loss in terms of benefits.

If that were the case, the tribes in the Blackwater River Basin wouldn't be so divided, and trading with Bryburg would ultimately be beneficial for them.

This is much more time-saving and labor-saving than traveling thousands of miles to Khan City for trade.

However, last year, the new Chinese community in Bryburg suddenly issued a trade restriction, which caused unease among many tribes.

That is, any tribe that submits to and accepts the investiture and imperial decree of the Qing Dynasty will be prohibited from trading furs with Boliburg.

In other words, after four years of development, the newly independent Chinese community, whose strength had gradually grown, began to demand that the surrounding tribes choose sides.

They could either sever ties with the Qing Dynasty and establish closer cooperative relations with the new Chinese, thus enjoying many preferential trade terms.

They could either continue to serve the Qing Dynasty and live their miserable lives.

After weighing the options, the more than twenty tribes around Bryburg were ultimately tempted by practical benefits and chose to cooperate with the new Chinese, thus ceasing their tribute and pilgrimage to the Qing Dynasty.

Going to Khan City and back would take two months, and you'd have to be mindful of the Jurchens' attitude.

In Bryburg, one could easily obtain salt, iron, cloth, and food for the winter.

This economic calculation is so clear that it doesn't even need to be done!
However, the Sahalian tribe was in a dilemma. As the son-in-law of the Jurchens, they dared not offend the Qing Dynasty, but they were also reluctant to give up the economic benefits that Boliburg could bring. They were truly conflicted.

Such a duplicitous tribe naturally faced economic sanctions from the new Chinese, who not only banned the Saharan tribe from trading in Bolibao, but also demanded that neighboring tribes refrain from interacting with them, attempting to completely isolate them.

Yes, those who follow the rules prosper, those who resist perish. I, Xinhua, will be the leader here.

The isolated and blockaded Saharan tribe was naturally quite dissatisfied with this, and began to frequently engage in petty actions, such as raiding neighboring tribes, robbing others of their property, and even hindering the new Chinese from venturing into the upper reaches of the Blackwater.

Xinhua has long wanted to deal with this kind of tribe that doesn't know what's good for them, but they haven't had the time to deal with it yet, so they can only let it run wild for the time being.

Today, many Oroqen people, led by the Eler tribe, are also dissatisfied with and even hostile to its aggressive attitude.

So, shouldn't we take this opportunity to give Sakha's company a sound thrashing, forcing them to face reality and make the wisest choice?
(End of this chapter)