"I can't buy 15,000 war horses in seven months!" Zhou Kui confessed to Chongzhen after thinking it over.
The first batch of cavalry was short of 15,000 war horses.
After the Battle of Wenyu River, nearly 10,000 war horses were seized and divided into two by Chongzhen, one part was given to Li Xingzhong, and the rest was added to the Yongwei Camp.
Yan Yingyuan exchanged several thousand war horses in Xuanfu, and together with the war horses already under Li Xingzhong's command, the total number was about 15,000.
Thirty thousand minus fifteen thousand, the shortfall is still fifteen thousand.
Seeing that Chongzhen was somewhat unhappy, Zhou Kui hurriedly explained: "Two months ago, the Mongols in the northern desert saw that reinforcements from the bandits were coming, so they withdrew from Datong and returned to the northern desert. If you want to buy horses, you can only contact the Ordos and Chahar tribes in the southern desert."
"They obey the orders of the Jiannu. It's difficult to buy horses from them!"
"Not necessarily!" Chongzhen was confident: "After Yan Yingyuan eliminated those traitorous merchants in Xuanfu, the channels for the Mongols and Jiannu to obtain supplies from the Central Plains were basically cut off."
"The reason why Jiannu entered the pass to plunder is because Liaodong is short of supplies. Jiannu didn't have a good life, and the Mongols weren't much better off. So the father-in-law can try to send someone to make contact."
The Jiannu used two methods to win over the Mongols.
One is intermarriage, and the other is to provide supplies.
Intermarriage is used to win over the upper class, and material goods are used to win over the lower class people.
Without the supply of materials from the Jiannu, one can imagine how life would have been for the lower-class Mongols in the southern desert.
In Zhou Kui's skeptical eyes, Chongzhen added: "There are two more ways to buy horses."
"First, the horses in the hands of inland horse farmers may not be of high quality, but they are much better than mules and horses; second, in the areas of U-Tsang (Tibet) and Yunnan and Guizhou, the tea-horse trade there is prosperous, and you can buy top-quality war horses."
After hearing the words "Tea-Horse Trade", Zhou Kui almost gave up.
The farthest his caravan went was to the Huguang area, and after buying food they returned to the capital.
Not to mention U-Tsang, I haven’t even been to Yunnan and Guizhou.
Opening up trade routes is a very complicated matter and cannot be decided in just a few words.
"Your Majesty, my caravan has never been to such a far place, I'm afraid..."
Chongzhen's eyes became more and more sharp: "Father-in-law, the war horses that the tea merchants exchanged for tea from U-Tsang also need to be sold to get cash, so you can just buy them from them."
"Once they change hands, the price will be much higher..." Zhou Kui replied in a low voice.
"Oh, since the father-in-law doesn't make money, I have to hand over this business to someone else." After saying that, Chongzhen turned around and was about to leave.
"Don't worry!" Zhou Kui panicked, "Your Majesty, please stay. I am willing to take this business even if I don't make any money."
"Why?" Chongzhen turned around.
"I will relieve your worries!"
Chongzhen smiled slightly.
What a good way to relieve your worries.
Would Zhou Kui do business that would lose money?
Of course not.
He is very smart and said those words just to make himself miserable.
After Zhou Kui left, Chongzhen sent a letter to Ningyuan Earl Li Shizhong and Yingguo Duke Zhang Shize respectively.
The content of the letter is very simple.
Let them find ways to participate in the supply system of food, fodder and war horses for Li Xingzhong's troops.
Although the more people involved, the greater the risk of leakage.
But Chongzhen no longer cared about many things.
We can’t let Zhou Kui’s family dominate the market.
If Zhou Kui monopolizes the market, he will try every possible way to raise the price.
Even become the host.
Introducing other competitors would force Zhou Kui to provide better quality goods without raising prices.
What is this called?
Catfish effect!
In addition to monopoly, Chongzhen also considered the issue of risk.
If there is any problem with Zhou Kui's trade route, he can still ask other people to transport food and military supplies.
So as not to cut off the army’s supplies.
What is this called?
Avoid risks!
After solving this problem, Chongzhen slept soundly.
The next morning, Chongzhen came to the Huangji Hall wearing court robes.
Civil and military officials had already been waiting below.
After the salute, everyone's eyes fell on Meng Zhaoxiang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
The three judicial officials headed by him had just concluded the trial of the Cabinet Chief Minister Li Banghua.
Now it's time to announce the results.
Meng Zhaoxiang suddenly felt the pressure on him increase dramatically.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Meng Zhaoxiang stepped out and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the case of corruption, tax evasion, and occupation of civilian land caused by the lax governance of the cabinet's chief minister, Li Banghua, has now been investigated."
"Cheng De, the doctor of the Military Department, was indeed guilty of corruption, and Li Banghua was guilty of lax governance. As for Wang Hongzuo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who reported that Li Banghua evaded taxes and occupied the people's land, since there was no evidence, the three judicial departments discussed and confirmed that it was a false accusation."
Chongzhen's eyebrows moved slightly.
The three judicial departments had not yet convicted the person involved yesterday, but suddenly convicted him today.
Not only was the defendant convicted, but the plaintiff was also charged with false accusation.
Quite interesting.
Song Quan, the Left Censor-in-Chief, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something important to report."
"The cabinet chief, Li Banghua, was not strict in his administration, which led to corruption. Under normal circumstances, a reprimand would be enough, but not now."
"During the siege, the soldiers and civilians of the capital city used their blood and flesh to stop the bandits. For this reason, Your Majesty has repeatedly issued orders strictly prohibiting corruption in military pay and pensions."
"The Ministry of War is so good that they committed a crime in the face of public attention. This incident not only brings shame to the Ministry of War and the Cabinet, but also damages the reputation of Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, please make a wise decision."
Song Quan spoke in a coherent tone and with a resounding voice, and it was obvious that he was ready to defeat Li Banghua.
Without waiting for anyone to speak, Song Quan rushed to speak: "As far as I know, an old case was involved during Li Banghua's trial. Your Majesty, please hold Li Banghua accountable."
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