Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"Our Lu family will purchase 50,000 strings of cash!"

An old man in his sixties stood up; he was none other than Lu, the richest man in Xixiang County. He laughed heartily and said:

“Back when the Emperor was not yet an official in the Former Song Dynasty, I already had business dealings with Daming Village.”

“I trust the two sages. In recent years, thanks to them, the Lu family’s business has expanded from Xixiang to Hanzhong, and then from Hanzhong to Jinghu and Huainan. Now, it’s time to repay the two sages!”

Lu Heng, the twelfth son of the Lu family, had already secretly come to follow Zhao Yuan before Zhao Yuan had even conquered Hanzhong, making him a true meritorious official who followed the emperor.

"The Min family has subscribed for 10,000 strings of cash!"

Zhao Yuan's Yundang paper mill was sold to the Min family to fund the military expenses for resisting the government troops' encirclement and suppression.

Over the years, the Min family has made a lot of money selling paper, and now they are also very successful in book printing.

"Our Sun family has purchased 20,000 strings of cash!"

Just then, an old man stood up and said, "I am a member of the royal family, and the Zheng family has purchased 100,000 strings of cash!"

Li Rui stared blankly at the group of merchants in front of him. He thought that the Ming Dynasty banknotes would be difficult to sell, but the situation seemed to be somewhat unexpected.

One million strings of cash are clearly not enough for the merchants to share!

In times like these, the reputation of the nation and individuals becomes crucial.

Even before Zhao Yuan rebelled, he had an excellent reputation in Hanzhong.

The various policies implemented after the uprising were never contradicted, and the issuance and redemption of bonds further convinced the people of the court's trust.

In less than twenty minutes, the quota of Baochao (traditional Chinese currency) in Hanzhong was fully subscribed.

It was indeed the wealthy merchants of Hanzhong who needed this thing, mainly because they needed it to pay taxes when doing business outside the region.

Whether they paid taxes with silk or directly deducted goods from the tax, it would increase their transportation costs.

If the Ming Dynasty's paper money could be used to pay taxes nationwide, wealthy merchants could profit from it!

"Could Director Li apply to the court to print another 200,000 strings of cash for Hanzhong? There are still more than ten of us who haven't bought any yet," a merchant suddenly asked.

"what?"

Li Rui was dumbfounded.

Even Huang Shu'ao was dumbfounded. When he served as a local official in the Song Dynasty, he personally witnessed merchants colluding to stage a collective strike to oppose Cai Jing's issuance of currency.

Why did the same thing become popular in the Ming Dynasty?

It's very simple. The banknotes issued by Cai Jing were not even recognized by the government itself, so they couldn't be used to pay taxes at all.

Watching the merchants depart, Huang Shu'ao remarked with emotion, "A new dynasty, a new atmosphere indeed! Even cunning merchants trust the court so much. With such popular support, how can a prosperous era not arrive?"

When the Ming Dynasty issued its paper money, Yelü Dashi was on a western expedition.

He only mentioned "going on a western expedition," without saying that he was going to run away or that he might come back if things got really bad.

The Mongol tribes and the White Tatars thus completely broke away from Yelü Dashi.

However, some other tribes in the northern desert still nominally submitted to him, and even gifted a small number of warriors and herdsmen to follow Yelü Dashi westward.

After crossing the Altai Mountains, the Naiman tribe provided strong support.

However, although the leaders of the Naiman tribe were willing to send troops to help and provide supplies and people, they did not want Yelü Dashi to stay here.

Because the grassland can't accommodate so many people!

Yelü Dashi had no choice but to lead his troops south, crossing the Tianshan Pass to Turpan, and then using the route through the Gaochang Uyghurs to attack the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

King Bilege of Gaochang was terrified, fearing that Yelü Dashi would usurp his throne.

He produced the imperial edict of investiture from the Ming emperor, claiming that the Gaochang Uyghurs were a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

They then hosted a banquet for Yelü Dashi for three days and presented him with 600 horses, 100 camels, and 3,000 sheep as gifts to wish Yelü Dashi success in his western expedition.

Then, Bilge secretly sent someone to the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate to inform them that Yelü Dashi's army would soon be attacking.

When they reached what is now Kyrgyz territory, the army of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate ambushed Yelü Dashi in the mountains.

Yelü Dashi suffered a crushing defeat and fled in disarray with his troops.

Fortunately, the women and children were temporarily housed in the Naiman tribe; otherwise, this ambush could have wiped out Yelü Dashi's entire fortune.

Yelü Dashi had begun to have doubts, feeling that he had been betrayed.

He led his remaining troops back along the same route, only to be ambushed by the Gaochang Uyghurs.

"My lads, now we have no choice but to fight to the death, or we will all die here!"

At the critical moment, Yelü Dashi personally led hundreds of cavalrymen in a charge, and ordinary cavalrymen also bravely advanced.

Chapter 3269 Betraying Whereabouts

Although the Gaochang Uyghurs had a larger number of armored cavalry and a greater overall number of troops, they had not fought a hard battle for many years.

Faced with the desperate fighting of the Western Liao army, the Gaochang Uyghurs were routed and chased all the way back to Beshbaliq.

Beshbalik has city walls and was once the seat of the Beiting Protectorate during the Tang Dynasty. Now it is the royal city of the Gaochang Uyghurs.

Yelü Dashi personally rushed to the city walls and questioned, "I was merely passing through Gaochang and did not plunder along the way. Why did you betray my whereabouts and send troops to ambush me on my return journey?"

Bilge panicked and protested, "I did not betray your ambush troops; they acted without authorization."

“I am willing to give you another fifty camels, five thousand sheep, and a thousand male and female slaves.”

Then, he made a very subtle threat: "If Gaochang were not already a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, I would definitely submit to Your Majesty with my entire nation!"

Yelü Dashi looked at the fortified city before him. If it weren't for the city walls, he wouldn't care whose vassal state it was; he would have crushed this place to avenge his hatred.

Unfortunately, he suffered a crushing defeat in the previous ambush, and although he won on the return journey, he also suffered considerable losses. Moreover, the Gaochang Uyghurs have the support of the Ming Dynasty and the fortified city in front of them as a stronghold. He must restrain his hatred!

After accepting the "gift" from Gaochang, Yelü Dashi headed to the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains.

Although the Gaochang army was not good at fighting, their armor was quite good. The Western Xia Iron Falcons were originally modeled after the Gaochang cavalry.

In this fierce battle, Yelü Dashi captured nearly a thousand suits of armor, enough to equip 1,300 armored cavalrymen, including his previous spoils.

Just when Yelü Dashi was at a loss, a small Khitan tribe came to seek refuge with him. Their chieftain said to Yelü Dashi:

“Go west along the northern side of the Tianshan Mountains, where the land of the Seven Rivers is lush with water and grass.”

"Many Khitans migrated here, but they were scattered and nomadic, and were often oppressed by the local tribes."

"There are Khitans in the west?" Yelü Dashi exclaimed in surprise.

The tribal chief said, "As long as the Great Khan leads his troops there, not only will the Khitans be willing to submit, but many other tribes will also submit."

"Because the nobles and priests of the Black Khanate forced us outsiders and small tribes to convert."

“Those who are unwilling to convert are often slaughtered. Even if they do convert, they are still exploited.”

The rich land of the Seven Rivers is certainly not something that can be easily taken.

Those scattered Khitan tribes were actually located on the edge of the Seven Rivers region, or even less on the edge—roughly in the area of ​​Tacheng, Karamay, and Bortala in Xinjiang.

Yelü Dashi immediately led his army there. Due to his status as a nobleman of the Liao Dynasty, the Khitan tribes there submitted to him and regarded him as their leader and savior.

With almost no fighting, just armed parades, Yelü Dashi subdued the nearby non-Khitan tribes.

He finally had a base of operations, a territory that was completely his own!

Even north of the Tianshan Mountains, many of the tribes that had originally submitted to Gaochang have joined Yelü Dashi's camp.

Including the tribesmen he brought from the northern desert, the Naiman tribe who were willing to submit to him, and the small tribes on the western edge of the northern desert, Yelü Dashi's territory already had 40,000 households.

Yelü Dashi's westernmost territory is roughly located on the China-Kazakhstan border in northern Xinjiang.

He has set a goal for next year: to conquer the grasslands around Lake Zaysan and Lake Ala.

Once you've taken care of these two places, the next stop is Lake Balkhash.

Standing on the banks of the Yemili River (Emin River), Yelü Dashi gazed at the not-so-rich grassland and felt a surge of expansive emotions, as if the sky were high enough for birds to fly and the sea wide enough for fish to leap.

"This is the true foundation for our enterprise!" Yelü Dashi laughed heartily.

General Xiao Wulila said, "This land, bestowed upon the Great Khan by Heaven, lies between the Black Khanate and Gaochang, and has been quietly awaiting the Great Khan for over a hundred years!"

"Hahahaha!" Yelü Dashi laughed even harder.

Actually, it was because this place was too desolate and impoverished, and too far from the core of the two countries' rule, that neither the Gaochang Uyghurs nor the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate considered it worthwhile.

They only occasionally send troops over to show off their military might and bully the small tribes here, and then use this area as a buffer zone between the two countries.

Only Yelü Dashi, a stray dog, would treat territory that others despise as a treasure.

Yelü Dashi, holding the whip, commented: "Although I was ambushed and defeated by the Black Khanate, I do not regard the Black Khanate as a formidable enemy."

"Despite such treacherous terrain and the ambush on three sides beforehand, we managed to escape, and not many of our warriors were left behind."

"If I were to ambush them, the enemy would be completely wiped out!"

"From this, we can deduce that the Black Khanate's army is nothing special, and I can easily defeat them head-on!"

Xiao Wulila said with admiration, "With the blessing of Heaven, the Great Khan is indomitable and brave in battle. He will surely restore the Liao Dynasty in the Western Regions!"

Yelü Dashi pointed his whip forward: "If we work together with one heart and one mind, we will surely be able to establish a dynasty that lasts for ten thousand generations."

Chapter 3270 Reconnaissance of Terrain

"drive!"

Dozens of armored cavalry followed Yelü Dashi at breakneck speed, heading to scout the terrain further west in preparation for their conquest the following year.

Looking back to the southeast, Yelü Dashi felt resentment and the bitterness of being betrayed were hard to dispel.

Once he has enough strength, he will surely return to Beshbaliq and conquer the Gaochang Uyghurs.

He didn't care whose vassal state Gaochang was!

...

Yelü Dashi gained a foothold, while the Jin Kingdom was engulfed in conflict.

The political system of the Jin Dynasty required constant warfare; problems would arise if there was any downtime.

Last year, they fought against Yelü Dashi, and this year they are fighting against the Huangtou Jurchen.

The Huangtou Jurchens lived along the Greater Khingan Mountains and the Heilongjiang River. They were formerly known as the Huangtou Shiwei and were conquered by the Jin Dynasty more than ten years ago.

A group of blonde-haired, blue-eyed ethnic minorities.

“Those with mostly yellow hair, yellow temples, and green eyes are called Yellow-headed Jurchens.” — Compilation of Treaties Between the Three Dynasties and the Northern Alliance

Despite being so far from the northern desert, the Yellow-Headed Jurchens actually surrendered and then rebelled again. Two years ago, they submitted to Yelü Dashi remotely and then marched south along the Nenjiang and Heilongjiang Rivers to plunder the Jin Dynasty.

The reason is simple: the Jin Dynasty increased the tribute quota for the Huangtou tribe, requiring the four Huangtou tribes to pay more tribute each year!

They have now restored their tribal name and changed it back to "Huangtou Shiwei".

Wanyan Zonghan personally led his troops to conquer the enemy, advancing north along the Nenjiang River and then north along the Heilongjiang River.

The Jin army won a series of victories, seizing a great deal of fish, pearls, and furs, and capturing many blond-haired, blue-eyed slaves.

But that's all; it's still not enough to cover the military rations needed for deploying troops!

Of the four major tribes of Huangtou Shiwei, two have submitted to the Jin Dynasty again, while the two tribes further north continue to resist.

When the Jin army came, they would hide in the Greater Khingan Mountains; when the Jin army left, they would come out again and then raid southwards at any time. In short, they were determined to fight the Jin Dynasty to the end.

Wanyan Zonghan was very unhappy about returning to Shangjing with prisoners and spoils of war.

This battle was somewhat unprofitable; those savages of Huangtou Shiwei were too poor!

Two birch bark boats sped towards Wanyan Zonghan's marching troops.

"Stop, stop!"

The soldiers began to fire arrows.

The people on the boat shouted, "I am Wendu Sizhong, please let me through!"

The arrows stopped immediately, and someone came to provide backup.

Wanyan Zonghan asked, "Has something important happened in the capital?"

Wendu Sizhong looked to his left and right, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.