At the end of August in the 19th year of Chongzhen, news came from Sichuan, Yunnan and the Mongolian grasslands respectively.
"The King of Shu said in the letter that now that the rebellion has been quelled, the court should repay the borrowed silver as agreed." Wang Chengen read after opening the letter.
Chongzhen said nothing, but waved his hand to signal him to read the other two letters.
"Except for the Khalkha tribe, all other Mongolian tribes have stated that they have submitted to Jiannu and will not pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty."
"In addition..." Wang Chengen said angrily, "Not only did the Chahar tribe have no intention of paying tribute, they also killed the envoy!"
Chongzhen was neither angry nor sad, but said calmly: "Read the Yunnan Tang report."
Wang Chengen put away his emotions, opened the envelope and slowly read: "The Duke of Qian has been in Yunnan for generations, and he enjoys great prestige in the eyes of the local people and chieftains."
"In the battle of Qujing, our troops were sent from heaven, and the people in central Yunnan were all terrified."
"When the chieftains in various parts of Yunnan heard that our army was approaching, they opened their cities and surrendered. Now, except for Ami Prefecture and Mengzi Prefecture, all of Yunnan has been recovered."
"Wen Anzhi, Li Dingguo, and Sun Kewang discussed and decided to go south to recover the lost territory."
"Approved," Chongzhen made the decision directly: "Let them quickly quell the rebellion in Yunnan, and then march north to the grasslands."
"Hmm..." Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment. "The report said that the road to the south is difficult and rugged, and the army will have difficulty in maintaining food and grass. In order to ensure that there is no problem with food and grass, they decided to use the civilians in Yunnan Prefecture."
"Each household provided one laborer, and each laborer received two dou of rice (about 32 jin). When the rice arrived in Lin'an, they had to hand over one dou and a half of rice, and the remaining five liters would be used as food for the laborers."
Chongzhen nodded slightly: "Mobilizing the people to transport grain is indeed a good idea."
Wang Chengen immediately said, "However... the court needs to pay each civilian five cents of silver per trip for the transportation of grain, and it is estimated that 500,000 taels of silver will be needed. Including food and other expenses, the cost of suppressing the rebellion will be at least one million taels of silver."
Chongzhen's head was buzzing when he heard this number.
Money again...money money money!
If we continue to spend at this rate, the money in the national treasury and the private purse will not be enough.
But wars are fought with money and food, which cannot be saved.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen nodded helplessly, "I am just spending money, but the soldiers are fighting hard. OK, all OK!"
After giving the instructions, Chongzhen had two ideas.
He whispered to himself, "After we put down the rebellion in Yunnan, we should be able to recover most of the money from Prince Mu's Mansion. Then we'll have to ask Mu Tianbo to pay for some of the military expenses."
"We are about to go to war with the Mongols, and the Jiannu will most likely join the war. By then, the rate at which we spend money will only increase, so we must come up with a new way to make money!"
While Chongzhen was thinking, Prince Zheng Jirgalang, who was far away in Liaodong, was also thinking.
He sat on the chair and said doubtfully, "Is Li Chuang thief really dead? Could it be that the Ming court deliberately spread false news?"
"What's real can't be fake, and what's fake can't be real!" Hauge said with a slightly arrogant tone.
"It shouldn't be false!" Prince Li Daishan said nonchalantly, "There is no need for the Ming court to spread such false news, because once it is exposed, it will be a fatal blow to the Ming court."
"That's right..." Jirgalang nodded.
He took a sip of the teacup in front of him and continued, "Zhu Youjian has a grandson, named Zhu Heyi. He sent someone to deliver the news to the Mongolian tribes, ordering them to send envoys to present tribute to express congratulations."
"Except for the Chahar tribe who killed the envoy, the rest of the tribes released the people. What do you think?"
"Prince Zheng," Prince Yu Duoduo said seriously, "I think the Ming court's move is not really to get the Mongolian tribes to send envoys to pay tribute, but to find an excuse to start a war."
"Oh?" Jirgalang narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did Prince Yu know this? Don't tell me this is your speculation!"
"It's not speculation!" Duoduo answered very seriously: "Prince Rui left me a few people before he went to Korea. They have spies in the Central Plains. According to the news sent by the spies, the Ming court is mobilizing troops to the north to Xuanfu and Datong, obviously preparing for war."
"Is the news accurate?" Jirgalang also showed a serious expression.
"I can't say it's 100% accurate, but it's at least 70% to 80% credible," Duoduo replied.
"Hiss..." Jirgalang took a breath of cold air: "Now is the time for horses to gain weight. If the Ming court enters the grassland to fight at this time, the horses' weight will be consumed regardless of victory or defeat. When winter comes, the horses without weight will not be able to withstand the cold, and the losses will be huge!"
"We need to quickly notify the Mongols to get ready."
Looking at the cautious Jirgalang, Duoduo smiled and said, "Prince Zheng, it's not enough to just inform them. We have to send troops to help the Mongols!"
"No!" Jirgalang refused directly: "Although we gained something from the last invasion, we also suffered heavy losses in the Eight Banners, especially the Plain White Banner. This is a battle between the Ming court and the Mongols, there is no need for us to intervene too early."
"Unless the Mongols are at a disadvantage or ask for help, we must not send troops."
"Besides, the Mongols are a nomadic tribe. Even if they are defeated, they can escape in time."
Duoduo slammed the table and stood up: "Prince Zheng, what you said is wrong! The Mongolian tribes had already chosen pastures before the fall. Once they are defeated, they will be forced to move. If they can't find a good pasture later, the entire tribe will suffer a devastating disaster."
"Your Majesty is a Mongolian man, and we have the obligation and responsibility to protect them from being bullied by the Ming army."
"Bullying!" Jirgalang was very dissatisfied with Duoduo's behavior of slamming the table. After cursing, he also slammed the table and said, "The grassland is the world of cavalry!"
"Besides the Guanning Cavalry, how many cavalry does the Ming Army have available?"
"Even if there are cavalry, how many elite ones are there?"
"Although the Mongolian army's fighting power has declined, it is more than enough to deal with the Ming cavalry!"
"No matter how hard it is, we cannot send out troops today!"
Duoduo was angry and pointed at Jirgalang's nose: "Watch your mouth when you speak."
"If you respect me, I will respect you." Jirgalang showed no sign of weakness.
Seeing that the two were about to fight, little Fulin, who had been silent the whole time, said in a childish voice: "My lords, please stop arguing. Let's listen to what Mr. Fan has to say."
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