How do the smugglers on the grassland make big money?

The first step is to transport contraband. The goods bought from the Ming Dynasty will be sold at a premium several times, or even ten times, when they arrive on the grassland.

The more severe the government controls, the higher the premium will naturally be.

The second step is to purchase trophies from the tribes on the grassland side, and then sell them in the market on the Central Plains side.

Earn huge profits from it over and over again.

Zhu Ying's first career was in the smuggling industry, and he was also the leader of smuggling. Of course he was very aware of the tricks involved.

In fact, it is very simple to break these things apart. Only the civil servants kept it secret from the emperor.

Could the top ten imperial merchants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, be able to fight against the imperial court?

No, what they relied on was to deceive the superiors and conceal the information, spend money to win over relevant officials, and block all the information. Everyone knew it, but the emperor did not.

Coupled with the lack of pay at the border, many border soldiers were miserable. Whoever paid them was the father, which naturally led to the corruption of the entire late Ming Dynasty.

Even though the Ming Dynasty was already riddled with holes, as long as there were wages, the border gates were not something that the Qing Dynasty could just enter if they wanted to.

There is a saying from later generations: If there is a 50% profit, it will take desperate risks; if there is a 100% profit, it will dare to trample all laws in the world; if there is a 300% profit, it will dare to commit any crime

.

And smuggling has far exceeded 300%.

If you are not careful, you will cause huge waves. Instead of letting others make money, it is better to make the money yourself.

Of course, it doesn't mean that Zhu Ying will become a smuggler. Wouldn't that be poaching himself?

Just use Ming's current resources to control the behavior of these grassland tribes when the opportunity comes.

For example, now, let the tribes in the grasslands unite to fight against the increasingly powerful Timur Empire.

Historically, Tamerlane died during his Eastern Expedition, but Zhu Ying didn't want to gamble.

He has changed too much now. Who knows whether Timur will be affected. Even if he is not afraid of Timur's Eastern Expedition at all, it would be good to use some means to combat it now.

"I hope Ming Dynasty will keep its promise." Mahamu said seriously. It was obvious that he agreed to send troops.

A relaxed smile appeared on Yao Guangxiao's face: "My Ming Dynasty's reputation is well-known, and this is not a matter of Khan's family, it involves the entire grassland, so please don't worry Khan."

The Junggar tribe is the leader of many tribes in the Oara. Basically, if Mahamu agrees to something, the other two tribes will not refuse unless their interests are too different.

For Mahamu, especially all the tribes in Oara, they are envious of everything in Beiyuan.

Life in the Northern Yuan Dynasty became better, and they could obtain a large amount of food, daily necessities, and even some precious goods from the Ming Dynasty without risking the autumn wind.

Ordinary grassland people want to have enough to eat, and the grassland aristocrats are obsessed with Ming Dynasty porcelain, silk, and all kinds of luxury goods. They can only rely on the Central Plains dynasty, which has no industry of their own.

out ability.

In fact, recently, it has been very difficult for Mahamu to do so, because many small and marginal tribes have directly defected to Beiyuan.

If you want to join the Beiyuan Employment Association and take on tasks, you don't just need to be a grassland citizen. You must have the permission of a tribe that has been registered in Beiyuan.

Nominally, the Wala belong to the Northern Yuan Dynasty. There is absolutely no psychological pressure for these tribes to return to the jurisdiction of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. There is no such thing as betrayal. It should be said that the return is closer.

The arrival of Yao Guangxiao just gave Mahamu the opportunity to unite the various tribes in Oara.

These days, anyone who cooperates with Daming is basically making money. Of course, Mahamu will also get on this boat.

To be honest, Zhu Ying actually didn't know much about these things, otherwise he wouldn't have let Yao Guangxiao come over. Using Yao Guangxiao for such a simple matter was really just killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.

The rest of the matter fell into place. Wala basically agreed to everything the next day, and Yao Guangxiao sent a message to the capital through Beiyuan, telling Taisun Zhu Ying that everything had been taken care of.

.......

"It seems that I have underestimated myself after all."

After Zhu Ying received the details in Yao Guangxiao's letter, she thought a little narcissistically.

Who would think that what was once the most worrying border threat to Ming Dynasty has now become the younger brother of Ming Dynasty.

It has only been twenty-nine years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Six years ago, Zhu Yuanzhang also vigorously conferred the title of King of Frontier Fortress, hoarded a large number of troops to defend the grasslands, and even supported the three guards of Wuliangha to fight against him.

Looking back now, not only the trouble of Beiyuan has been solved, but also the Wala behind it can be regarded as following the Ming Dynasty.

As for Daming, there is no need to pay any money, it just acts as a trading platform.

Regarding property transactions on the grassland, not only is there no concept of loss, but there may also be some profit.

Of course, Daming is just a capital-guaranteed operation, and making money is really the next best thing.

If the emperors of the Song Dynasty had seen this, they would have vomited three liters of blood.

They tried to make a marriage and pay tribute, but in the end they couldn't keep it.

Now that the Ming Dynasty does not make peace or pay tribute, it is simply a fantasy to make the grassland people obedient and at the same time make money from them.

In fact, even five or six years ago, it seems that some officials thought it was fabricated and deceptive when they heard about it.

But now, it has become true.

"Is it really a success?"

The news was quickly reported to Zhu Yuanzhang. After hearing it, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little unreal.

The grassland worry that he had been thinking about was now going to become a sharp blade in the hands of Ming Dynasty?

"Grandpa, it worked."

"Not only Oara, but also Beiyuan also sent a letter, willing to jointly send troops to help the Eastern Chagatai Khanate."

"The Eastern Chagatai Khanate has now sent envoys to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to discuss the specific details. At the same time, they also brought a large amount of property to express their gratitude."

"Now that the three parties have joined forces, Timur's eastern expedition is probably coming to an end, and he will feel the pressure from the grasslands."

Zhu Ying had a faint smile on her lips.

The Timur Empire was the only empire comparable to the Ming Dynasty. Under Timur's leadership and strong personal prestige, even though the entire political system had big loopholes, they were completely covered up.

The soldiers he led were just as powerful and brutal as he was.

The continuous war victories can be said to have brought the entire Timur Empire to its peak, otherwise it would not have given up its relationship with the Ming Dynasty and started war with almost the whole world.

The crazy Timur asked his army to directly attack all surrounding countries.

When other countries fight, they say they are attacked from both sides, but Timur is different. He surrounds everyone by himself. This domineering power alone is enough to make a large number of national soldiers fearful.

The Ming Dynasty and Timur could not go to war directly, but this did not prevent Zhu Ying from using the influence of the Ming Dynasty to integrate the power of the grassland to conquer Timur.

The feeling of being the mastermind behind the scenes is really so comfortable.

Zhu Yuanzhang also feels such comfort now.

"On the grassland alone, we can't see how much pressure it can put on Timur. It's like when the Six Kingdoms conquered the Qin Dynasty. It's difficult to achieve great things if they are not united. Moreover, the people of this grassland are much more complicated than those of the Six Kingdoms.

"

"They are made up of tribes one after another, and each big tribe has a lot of accumulated conflicts. Some tribes between Wala and Beiyuan are almost feuding with each other, and it is inevitable to hold them back and cause stumbling blocks."

"Although we don't know much about the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, it seems that being suppressed and beaten by Timur like this, the interior was naturally a mess. Maybe there was a sense of unity at the beginning, but later on, it was roughly

The spoils will be divided unevenly."

"There are so many tribes, no one obeys anyone, and no one has the reputation to stand up and command the heroes. Ha, I'm afraid it will be even more fragmented than the Six Kingdoms attacking Qin. At least the Six Kingdoms have a commander in chief."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, he was not optimistic about what great things these barbarians on the grassland could accomplish.

Especially this kind of joint approach.

Timur is known as the Khan of the Second Day. Although it sounds very unpleasant, we have to admit that Timur himself does have a personal charm almost similar to that of Genghis Khan.

Ever since Timur detained the Ming envoys, Zhu Yuanzhang paid great attention to them and continued to send people to obtain intelligence.

After gradually understanding Timur's family history, Zhu Yuanzhang still admired him somewhat.

This is much worse than myself, but the experience is similar.

Timur was also born in the uprising, but unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, Timur did not choose to resist to the end after initially taking control of the military. Instead, he saw the opportunity to legally inherit the position of his uncle Haji.

Seeing this, he promptly expressed his submission to the invader Tughluq Timur Khan.

Although he failed many times later, with his political skills and military talent, Timur survived the initial difficult period and grew rapidly.

Timur itself is not a descendant of Genghis Khan, and the Western Chagatai Khanate must maintain the legitimacy of its rule, at least in form.

Timur began to play the role of a narrow emperor to order the princes.

Now Timur naturally no longer needs a puppet king.

The most interesting thing is that Timur originally opposed the Mongolian rule, but later found that other ethnic groups posed a greater threat to his rule than the Mongols.

The dragon-slaying warriors became evil dragons, and Timur began to recruit and focus on the Mongolian army, and formed a large number of Mongolian cavalry.

He even imitated Genghis Khan's war strategy and massacred the city.

Including the current expedition to India, the same strategy of massacre is adopted.

This is the slogan that shouts Khan the next day.
To be continued...