Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Thinking of Gollum, Zhang Shikang immediately thought of the poor little monster in The Lord of the Rings.

I thought the Mongolian names were really strange.

"Gulu is the son of Omubu, the leader of the Western Tumed tribe. The other two are Omubu's generals. The tall one is called Maohan, and the older one with a big beard is called Tobok." Lu Xiangsheng pointed at the other two people.

These names are naturally transliterations, but they have their own meanings in Mongolian.

As soon as Zhang Shikang came in, Guru stared at him curiously.

He keenly noticed that Lu Xiangsheng was very respectful to the young man who came in, which really surprised him.

You should know that the governor was a very high official position in the Ming Dynasty court.

But his curiosity did not last long. When Lu Xiangsheng and his companions came up to them, they introduced them to Guru and the others:

"Second Taiji, this is Zhang Shikang, the hereditary champion marquis and the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World, who was personally conferred by His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Our Emperor trusts you, the Marshal. You have raised any questions these days, and you can answer them." Lu Xiangsheng asked Zhang Shikang to sit in the main seat and said to the three Mongols.

Guru was shocked when he heard this. Of course he knew about this, but he had never thought that he would see the Grand Marshal of the Ming Dynasty here. He never expected that the Grand Marshal appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would be so young!

Ever since his father Khan handed over the matter of contacting the Ming Dynasty to him, he has met many Ming Dynasty officials, but most of them were over 40 years old, and he had never met anyone younger than him.

It is said that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty handed over the military power of the entire country to the Grand Marshal he personally appointed. He is so young... is he reliable?

Guru was shocked and thought to himself.

"Have you heard my story?" Zhang Shikang asked with a smile when he saw Guru stunned on the spot.

Guru finally reacted and immediately stood up and bowed to Zhang Shikang with his right hand on his chest in accordance with Mongolian etiquette.

"The title of the Grand Marshal is well-known. Guru admires him very much and is very happy. With the Grand Marshal here, Guru believes that many things can have a result.

Did the Grand Marshal come here specifically to discuss something with me?"

Guru's Daming language was not very fluent, and he spoke very slowly, pausing after every few words, as if he was choosing his words, and also as if out of respect.

You think too much. I have come here specially to talk to you about something. It must be a small matter that requires me to come here specially.

Although he thought so in his heart, Zhang Shikang did not say it out loud.

"Of course, when His Majesty learned of your situation, he asked me to come over to see if there was anything I could do to help you."

As soon as these words were spoken, the guru's eyes lit up. Didn't he come to the Ming Dynasty to seek help?

I've been talking to Governor Lu for several days without getting a single definite answer. This time I've finally found the right person.

"Grand Marshal, our people are experiencing unprecedented pressure, and all the other tribes around us have surrendered to Huang Taiji.

They have been eyeing our people's pastures covetously. Huang Taiji has already issued two imperial edicts, asking my father Khan to go to Shengjing for an audience.

My father Khan did not want to submit to Huang Taiji, but the situation was critical and we did not have much time to consider.

Compared to the Qing Dynasty, my father Khan prefers the Ming Dynasty, and we hope that the Ming Dynasty can help us."

Guru no longer stuttered when he spoke, and he explained his purpose at an incredibly fast speed.

Of course, these were the words he had thought of long ago. On the one hand, he talked about the current difficult situation of the Xitumed tribe, and on the other hand, he talked about the tremendous pressure they were under from other Mongolian tribes and the Qing Dynasty.

Then they said that they actually leaned more towards the Ming Dynasty, which was why they had been refusing to truly submit to the Qing Dynasty until now.

Zhang Shikang understood as soon as he heard it. The reason why he said that was, of course, to use this to gain more benefits from the Ming court.

No matter how nicely you speak, the implication is that as long as the Ming Dynasty does not help you, you will immediately turn to Huang Taiji.

There is not much affection to be had between tribes or between countries.

Zhang Shikang understood the other party's demands and ideas, and replied:

"My great Ming Dynasty is rich, and the treasury alone has more than 100 million taels of silver.

Helping a small tribe of tens of thousands of people like you is just a drop in the bucket. "

He did not refuse arrogantly, nor did he agree immediately. It was like fishing, one has to make a nest before casting the rod.

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the guru's face immediately lit up with joy.

"Generalissimo, we need more food and pig iron.

After the situation changed, most of the Han people in Guihua City fled, and the fields outside the city were left uncultivated. "

"How many people are there in your tribe now? How many soldiers are there? How many cattle, sheep and horses do you have?" Zhang Shikang asked.

These are relatively sensitive topics, but Guru saw that Zhang Shikang's words were gentle and he was very willing to help them, so he immediately replied:

“I heard from my father Khan that the entire tribe, including the old and weak, has more than 64,000 people, and the current military strength is more than 6,000.

But if a war breaks out, my father Khan can give an order and quickly expand the military force to more than 15,000. The herdsmen in our tribe are all brave warriors who can fight.

We have hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, and a herd of more than 40,000 horses.”

This is basically the situation for all Mongolian tribes. On weekdays, they do not have many standing troops because most of them have to go grazing.

But once a war breaks out, all herders who meet the recruitment criteria will bring their own horses and weapons to join the war.

Of course, the general spoils seized by the herdsmen in the war also belong to the herdsmen themselves.

A tribe of more than 60,000 people is only considered medium-sized in today's Mongolia.

"No problem. I can give you food and pig iron." Zhang Shikang agreed after only a brief thought.

There are only more than 60,000 people. Even if the Ming Dynasty is short of food, it can afford to feed them.

Moreover, ordinary people are different from soldiers in that they do not consume as much food as soldiers. Herdsmen have more meat such as cattle and sheep to supplement their diet. The amount of food they actually eat is not much, and nearly half of it is used to feed war horses. After all, war horses that only eat grass do not have enough physical strength to cope with combat.

Guru didn't expect Zhang Shikang to agree so readily, without even asking for the specific amount, so he tried to ask again:

"We also need cloth, cotton, linen, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. It would be best if the Ming court could directly send some craftsmen to Guihua City."

He didn’t feel it when the Han people were here, but now that the Han people in the city have run away, Guru realized how inconvenient life is.

Most Mongolians were unable to produce oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and even all the daily necessities themselves. Without the Han people, they would even have problems sewing furs.

"These are all fine. We can give them all to you." Zhang Shikang agreed readily again.

After hearing this, Guru was hooked into a black carp.

……