The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 306 Malice from Within the System
After agreeing on the terms of their joint smuggling operation, Deng Qi and Deng Yang began their preparations in earnest.

Deng Qi immediately summoned several reliable officers under his command and informed them of his plan to resolve the arrears in wages through smuggling.

Upon hearing this news, the officers present were overjoyed, realizing that their commander-in-chief had finally come to his senses.

Soon, Deng Qi's Sichuan troops sprang into action.

Led by officers at all levels, the soldiers split into several teams and plunged into the vast Qinling Mountains.

Their goal was clear: to collect some precious medicinal herbs and hunt various animal hides before winter arrived.

The Qinling Mountains have diverse climates and large altitude differences, which have nurtured extremely rich flora and fauna resources, earning them the reputation of a "natural medicine storehouse".

The soldiers need to find valuable medicinal herbs such as Gastrodia elata, Codonopsis pilosula, Eucommia ulmoides, and Polyporus umbellatus when they go into the mountains.

In addition, various animal hides were also a form of hard currency.

The Sichuan soldiers, operating in small squads, conducted a dragnet-like search in the dense forest.

Soldiers specializing in collecting medicinal herbs, armed with hoes and machetes, climbed steep slopes and cliffs, carefully examining every plant and tree beneath their feet.

Someone discovered patches of *Polyporus umbellatus* in a shady patch of humus soil. This plant has diuretic and moisture-reducing properties and is quite valuable.
Some people found perennial Codonopsis pilosula on a sunny hillside. Its roots were thick and shaped like a small person, which amazed the surrounding fellow practitioners.

Although the journey over mountains was extremely arduous, with thorns scratching their legs and the mountain air bitterly cold, everyone's faces were filled with a long-lost sense of energy and hope.

In order to make a living, they often went into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs.

The problem is that although they have collected a lot of valuable medicinal herbs, they can't find any sales channels at all.

Either no one will buy them, or the price will be driven down very low.

In a normal year, a good quality Gastrodia elata or Codonopsis pilosula might be worth three to five qian of silver.

But in these chaotic times of war, who among ordinary people has the spare money to seek medical treatment? If they die, they die.

With no one seeking medical care, pharmacies either closed down or were monopolized by wealthy families, driving down the prices of medicinal herbs to extremely low levels.

Often, the earnings from a hard day's work aren't even enough to buy a few coarse flour pancakes.

Now that they've heard the general has found a stable sales channel at a fair price, they're all naturally giving it their all.

Another group of soldiers formed a hunting party.

Unable to identify the medicinal herbs, they focused their efforts on hunting wild animals.

Larger groups are bolder and specifically target the big creatures in the Qinling Mountains, such as iron-eating beasts, leopards, and even occasionally, large insects.

The pelts of these wild beasts are extremely valuable, but hunting them is more complicated and requires the cooperation of many people.

Smaller teams focus on hunting small to medium-sized animals.

Some are experienced hunters who specialize in targeting red foxes.

Red fox fur is fine, soft, and brightly colored, making it an excellent material for making collars and hats for noblewomen and highly sought after by high-ranking officials and nobles.

But the red fox is extremely agile, and at the slightest disturbance, it will vanish without a trace.

A soldier named Liu Zhuang patiently chased after the enemy for most of the day, and finally seized an opportunity by a bush, shooting an arrow that hit the bullseye.

He rushed over and picked up the still convulsing fox, only to find that the arrow had struck the fox's body, leaving a sizable wound.

"Pity."

"If it could hit the eye, the leather would be perfect, and it could fetch at least 20-30% more."

As Liu Zhuang muttered to himself, he skillfully began to skin the animal. Being a hunter by trade, he was naturally very familiar with the task.

Unlike Liu Zhuang's meticulous work, there is another group of people who specialize in searching for raccoon dogs in the mountains.

There are many raccoon dogs in the Qinling Mountains, which are easier to hunt than red foxes.

Although raccoon fur is not as precious as fox or leopard fur, its thick texture and good warmth retention make it a common material for making winter clothing linings and fur rugs.

Its price is moderate, and the market demand is large, making it a "mass-market product" that sells in large quantities.

Thus, Deng Qi's Sichuan troops took turns going out and worked in the Qinling Mountains for nearly a month. Finally, before the heavy snow blocked the mountains, they collected a considerable amount of medicinal herbs and furs.

Looking at the mountains of mountain produce piled up in the camp, everyone was filled with anticipation.

Everything is ready; we're just waiting for Deng Yang to arrange the transaction.

Meanwhile, Deng Yang was also busy. His messengers traveled back and forth between the two places many times and finally finalized all the details of receiving the goods, making payments, and exchanging supplies.

Upon receiving Deng Qi's notification, he dispatched his deputy to Tonggou Temple to meet Deng Qi's caravan.

This caravan needed to pass through Dengyang's defense zone before it could embark on its journey into Sichuan.

Watching the convoy slowly disappear into the distance, Deng Qi felt extremely uneasy.

Whether he could maintain his position as deputy commander-in-chief and whether his two thousand-plus men could have enough to eat depended entirely on this smuggling operation.

The convoy traveled south, passing through Mian County and Ningqiang, before entering Jinniu Road.

Their destination was Guangyuan County in Baoning Prefecture.

Guangyuan County had already made preparations to receive them.

Dong Erzhu personally oversaw the coordination in Guangyuan County, and had already prepared all the necessary supplies for this special "caravan".

After more than ten days of traversing mountains and valleys, the convoy finally arrived at a post station outside Guangyuan County.

The Sichuan soldiers rushed into the post station with great enthusiasm, but they did not expect that the first thing they had to do upon entering the post station was to register.

A square table was set up outside the post station, and the steward stood expressionless at the door, questioning each of Deng Qi's soldiers who entered:

"Name, place of origin".

The leading soldier paused for a moment, scratched his head, and said:
"Shopkeeper, what do you mean?"

"I can't read, can you explain it to me?"

The steward glanced at him in surprise:
"What's your name? Where are you from?"

The soldier then realized what was happening and quickly replied:
"Oh, I'm the third child in my family, so everyone in the village calls me He Laosan (Third Brother He)."

"My hometown is Hejiagou, about 50 miles east of Guangyuan County."

The steward nodded, picked up his pen, and wrote down the words "He Laosan, Hejiagou, Guangyuan" in the booklet.

Then, without turning his head, he continued shouting:
"Alright, go inside. Put your things away."

"If you want to enter the city, you are not allowed to bring any knives, guns, clubs or other weapons."

"Next!"

The soldiers behind them stepped forward one by one and reported their names and hometowns.

"Zhang Yong, 30 li south of Guangyuan County, Xiaoyazi Village."

"Cao Cheng, forty li southwest of Guangyuan County, is Shuicaoping."

……

After all, it was their first transaction, so Deng Qi was cautious.

The soldiers he sent were mostly from the vicinity of Guangyuan County.

Although these people haven't been home for several years, they are locals after all, more familiar with Guangyuan County, and would be better able to cope with any unforeseen circumstances.
Sichuan has been occupied by bandits after all. If these local soldiers discover anything unusual, Deng Qi can prepare in advance.

But to his utter surprise, the other party simply set up a checkpoint and easily obtained information such as the names and hometowns of his soldiers.

At the same time, the convoy in the open space of the post station also began unloading goods.

The soldiers nervously surrounded their convoy, guarding the mountain goods on board closely, afraid that something might go wrong.

It was winter, and fine snowflakes were still falling from the sky; the air was bitterly cold.

These Sichuan soldiers were thinly dressed, their faces were blue from the cold, and they were shivering. They could only huddle together for warmth.

Even so, their eyes remained fixed on the leather goods on the cart, much like the charcoal seller who worried about the low price of charcoal and wished for colder weather.

This was the result of their month-long exploration of the forest, and they couldn't afford to be careless.

After careful inventory, the goods brought by Deng Qi's troops this time included:

Eight large animal skins, including leopard and tiger skins;
Thirty-two red fox pelts, and a total of three hundred and fifty-seven pelts including raccoon dog pelts, hare pelts, and weasel pelts.

In addition, there are more than 200 bundles of various medicinal materials such as Gastrodia elata and Codonopsis pilosula.

Four or five experienced workers were carefully inspecting the goods at the front, while two managers behind them carried abacuses and ledgers.

"A leopard skin, of excellent quality, with four arrow holes in its chest and abdomen."

"Gastrodia elata, fresh, weighing three catties and two ounces..."

As the shop assistants reported the condition and weight of each item, the managers behind them quickly moved their abacuses, making a clattering sound, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

To be honest, leather with four arrow holes isn't exactly top-quality, and various medicinal herbs also need to have a lot of moisture deducted and be priced as dry goods.

However, the clerk who inspected the goods and the manager who kept the accounts chose to turn a blind eye to this.

Before they arrived, they had been given clear instructions to price all the goods at a high level.

Although they had doubts, since it was the order from above, they dared not ask any more questions and simply followed it.

The final calculation showed that the furs were valued at 400 taels of silver, and the medicinal herbs at 80 taels.

This number thrilled the Sichuan soldiers present, who whispered among themselves, thinking that if they made a few more trips, their food problem could really be solved!
However, their initial excitement waned when they heard the price of the grain. The price quoted was four taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice!
This was, of course, a deliberate arrangement by Deng Yang.

In fact, at this time, grain prices in Sichuan were quite stable due to Jiang Han's vigorous reforms and agricultural policies.

The price of each dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice was only about two qian (a unit of weight) of silver.

The reason for deliberately raising grain prices was to prevent Deng Qi's troops from completely resolving the grain and salary issue through a few transactions.

Only through this method can they be made to rely on this smuggling channel in the long term, thus being firmly controlled.

At the same time, high grain prices can consume most of their profits, making it more difficult for them to accumulate capital and escape control.

Faced with grain prices that were far higher than expected, Deng Qi's deputy general, Lu Chen, felt the pinch but was helpless.

After all, this is a transaction on someone else's territory, and even at four liang per shi, it is still much cheaper than the current grain price of six qian per dou in Hanzhong Prefecture.

And so, Lu Chen gritted his teeth and exchanged all the proceeds from the sale for eighty shi of grain and six thousand jin of cooked salt.

There's almost no profit margin in grain production; even after accounting for transportation losses, you can barely break even.

Our main hope rests on these 6,000 catties of salt.

The post station manager informed Lu Chen that it would take another three to five days to gather this batch of grain and salt, and asked him to rest at the post station for a while.

Lu Chen didn't suspect anything. He took this opportunity to give his soldiers a break so they could go home and visit their families.

And so, these Sichuan soldiers, who had been away from home for seven years, embarked on their familiar journey home with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

But what they saw and heard along the way greatly surprised them.

Their hometown was not as devastated and ruined as they had imagined due to war; on the contrary, it was a place of orderly prosperity.

Winter has arrived, and in the fields, besides the villagers digging river mud, you can also see many newly built waterwheels, dug ditches, and so on.

What shocked him even more was that after the bandits entered Sichuan, they did not plunder and loot extensively, but instead divided up the land of wealthy families.

Before joining the army, there were many propertyless tenants in the village, but now they have all been allocated land.

Even the families of these "official soldiers" were allocated land as long as they met the requirements!

Upon returning home, the soldiers were naturally greeted with great fanfare by their families.

But after a round of warm greetings, the family members looked at the Ming army uniforms hidden inside and their expressions suddenly turned serious.

Their parents, wife, and children held their hands and asked anxiously:
"You're still working for the imperial court?"

"What if we get caught by the Han King's government for suddenly running back?"

"Will they take our land back? Will they arrest you?"

Some families even began to spontaneously persuade these soldiers who had returned home to visit relatives:
“When I followed the Ming Dynasty, I rarely saw any salary, but I suffered a lot.”

"How about... we don't go back to that damn government army, and just stay at home?"

"Now that the King of Han is under our rule, at least we have a way to survive, we have been allocated land, and we have hope for the future."

"If I go to the government office and confess, perhaps the King of Han will be merciful and give me a lighter sentence..."

Listening to the advice of their relatives, the soldiers felt a mix of emotions and were in a very bad mood.

They had been away from home for seven years, fighting across thousands of miles, believing they were killing traitors for the country, gaining fame and glory for their family.

But who knew that upon their bloody return, they would not be greeted with glory, but rather with the embarrassing scene of their relatives urging them to "join the bandits".

It has to be said, this is a tremendous irony.

Although the changes in their hometown and the persuasion of their relatives were quite tempting to these Sichuan soldiers, they had followed Deng Qi in battle for many years and still had a sense of loyalty and righteousness in their hearts.

In addition, this smuggling trip finally brought in food, solving the immediate crisis and preventing them from starving to death in the short term.

Therefore, apart from a small number of people who ultimately chose to stay, the others returned to the post station outside Guangyuan City within the stipulated time.

Deputy General Deng Qi and Lu Chen didn't care about this; it was just three or five people, nothing serious.

And so, once the grain and salt were ready, the convoy set off again, heading back towards Hanzhong.

Deng Qi, who had been anxiously waiting at Tonggou Temple, finally saw his family's convoy return.

When he saw the actual grain and snow-white salt on the truck, his anxiety finally subsided.

After listening to Lu Chen's report, Deng Qi finally dispelled his doubts and felt extremely grateful to Deng Yang.

"This deal was really worth it; it's no wonder it's the connection of my sworn brother!"

Deng Qi immediately ordered the soldiers in the camp to disguise themselves and secretly transport the 6,000 catties of salt in several batches to various prefectures and counties around the city for sale.

Sichuan well salt is low in cost and high in quality. It was originally purchased from Guangyuan County for one tael of silver and forty catties.

The price of this batch of salt was much higher when it was transported to Hanzhong, where it was about one tael of silver for thirty catties, leaving a considerable profit margin.

Deng Qi originally wanted Deng Yang to help with sales, but Deng Yang declined on the grounds of "avoiding confusion of property".

Deng Yang only made a small suggestion, telling Deng Qi to lower the price a little more and sell more at a lower profit margin, so that he could recover his funds more quickly and carry out the next smuggling operation.

On the surface, the suggestion seemed fine, and Deng Qi readily agreed, starting to sell smuggled salt at lower prices around Hanzhong Prefecture.

But he never expected that Deng Yang was just waiting for him to lower the price.

The salt smuggling industry has always been extremely profitable, especially now during times of war, when prices rise year after year.

How could such a highly profitable industry be left unmanaged?

The sudden influx of low-priced smuggled salt into the market instantly attracted the attention of several major players in Hanzhong.

These prominent families were none other than the Prince Rui's residence and a group of officials, including the prefect and assistant prefect of Hanzhong.

The Ming Dynasty implemented a salt certificate system, which resulted in extremely high profits from the salt monopoly.

As a privileged class, the princes often obtained a large number of salt permits from the emperor and directly participated in the distribution of salt profits.

Take Prince Rui, Zhu Changhao, for example. Although he did not directly manage the salt affairs, his palace amassed huge profits from salt by occupying salt deposits, reselling salt permits, and investing in salt merchants.

Local officials in Hanzhong, on the other hand, profited by approving salt permits, levying additional salt taxes, and secretly condoning or participating in smuggling.

They not only controlled the official salt trade, but were also the biggest owners of smuggled salt on the black market.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Although Deng Qi's 6,000 catties of smuggled salt was not much, it was of high quality and low price.

Therefore, once it appeared, it quickly squeezed the original official salt and private salt market, causing a sharp reduction in the gray income of officials in the Prince Rui's Mansion and Hanzhong Prefecture.

Just as Prince Rui, Zhu Changhao, and Prefect Wang Zaitai were furious about this and ordered a thorough investigation into the source of the smuggled salt,

Two anonymous letters of accusation, one from Mian County and the other from Nanzheng, "timely" appeared on their desks.

The letter clearly states that the person selling smuggled salt is none other than Deng Qi, the Sichuan deputy commander-in-chief who has repeatedly failed to provide provisions and pay, has previously allowed his troops to harass the people, and is currently stationed at Tonggou Temple!

Upon learning that it was Deng Qi, that brute, who was behind it all, Zhu Changhao and Wang Zaitai were furious:
"You scoundrel! The imperial court has repeatedly failed to pay its soldiers' wages, and instead of thinking about being diligent and thrifty and sharing the burden of the country, you dare to sell smuggled salt privately and line your own pockets!"

"What do you want to do?"

"Holding up money and provisions, buying off the soldiers' morale—are they perhaps planning to amass power and become independent?!"

Enraged, they immediately wrote a joint letter to Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, strongly demanding that he thoroughly investigate Deng Qi's crimes of smuggling salt and disrupting salt laws.

At this moment, Sun Chuanting was also furious.

He had previously given strict orders to the Ming army in Hanzhong to besiege Gao Yingxiang, but the three armies outwardly obeyed but inwardly disobeyed, ultimately allowing Gao Yingxiang to escape.

In particular, Deng Qi refused to send troops, citing "lack of food and pay, and fear that the soldiers would riot and cause trouble."

Sun Chuanting initially believed it to be true, understood his difficulties, and even planned to give him priority in allocating some grain and fodder when the land reclamation improved slightly the following year.

Unexpectedly, while Deng Qi was complaining about the lack of pay, he actually managed to smuggle a large amount of salt for profit!
This is blatant deception of superiors and utter contempt for the law!
Sun Chuanting was furious and immediately issued a strongly worded official document reprimanding Deng Qi.

They were ordered to immediately cease all private salt transactions and await investigation; otherwise, the matter would be reported to the court for severe punishment.
At the same time, officials at all levels in Hanzhong Prefecture also took action, under the pretext of "rectifying official taxes and arresting salt smugglers," ordering strict inspections of smuggled salt at various checkpoints and key roads.

For a time, the entire Hanzhong Prefecture was filled with a climate of fear and unease, with everyone feeling insecure.

Even more extreme, some sent official documents for the investigation directly to Deng Qi's military camp, the warning meaning of which was self-evident.

Pressure from all sides came crashing down on him, and Deng Qi, who had just been gloating over earning his pay, suddenly panicked.

He had no idea what was going on; he just wanted to earn some extra money to provide his men with enough food to live on.

How did he suddenly anger the entire Hanzhong Prefecture officialdom?

The questioning from superiors, the ostracism from colleagues, and even the accusations from the princes—these deep-seated malices coming from all directions made Deng Qi feel cold to the touch.

In particular, Sun Chuanting's strongly worded official letter made him vaguely see the imperial prison beckoning to him.

This fear of being targeted and abandoned by the entire system made him instinctively want to grasp at the nearest lifeline—his sworn brother Deng Yang.

For this reason, Deng Qi even ordered the camp to be moved to the vicinity of Mian County, right next to Deng Yang's residence.

It's as if being closer provides a greater sense of security.

This was precisely a crucial part of Deng Yang's plan: to completely shatter Deng Qi's illusions about the imperial court and government through external pressure, forcing him to align himself with Deng Yang.

Just when Deng Yang felt the time was right and was preparing to further win over the defector, an uninvited guest suddenly disrupted his plans.

(End of this chapter)