Chapter 482: Iron Bird Fliess Stratagem
Take a look at Chapter 477 of "The Great Ming in the Box": Li Daoxuan quietly peeked out over the wall.In the courtyard opposite, a group of guards... See what happens next!
Li Daoxuan quietly peeked out over the wall.In the courtyard opposite, a group of guards were chatting in Shanxi dialect.
Additionally, over ten others who looked much fiercer and taller than ordinary people sat silently, not speaking.
They were likely the Jurchen cavalry.
It was inconvenient for them to speak freely in the Central Plains, so they pretended to be mute.
They were clearly more watchful than those speaking Shanxi dialect, their eyes constantly scanning everywhere.
One of them suddenly uttered âeek,â his eyes fixing on Li Daoxuan; he patted his companion and pointed at Li Daoxuan.
Then, over a dozen men all gathered around.
Li Daoxuan instantly stopped all movement and stiffened atop the wall, motionless.
This was called the game where they were all wooden puppets, unable to speak or move.
The crowd glanced at Li Daoxuan, identified it as a half-height wooden puppet, paid it no more attention, then returned to a corner of the courtyard to sit down.
As for why a wooden puppet was on the wall, they couldnât understand it, thinking it was just some strange Han decoration.
Li Daoxuan secretly delighted in his heart, finding it amusing.
Soon, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
A guard who spoke Shanxi dialect opened the door and saw Iron Bird Flies standing at the entrance.
Cupping his fists, he said, âI am Iron Bird Flies, a salt merchant. I have long admired Master Huang Yunfa Huangâs reputation and came specifically to visit, to discuss some business matters.â
Hearing it was about business, the guard didnât dare neglect him, quickly went inside to report, and soon, Huang Yunfa came out.
Huang Yunfa recognized Iron Bird Flies at a glance.
After all, they had met in the main hall of the salt tax office not long ago, and he knew Iron Bird Flies was a minor salt smuggler, with only about twenty men under him, somewhat capable but not highly influential.
To such a minor figure, Huang Yunfa didnât need to be too polite.
He asked lightly, âSo itâs Iron Bird Flies. What business do you have with me?â
Iron Bird Flies adopted a mysterious look, glancing around as if to confirm no one else was nearby, then stepped forward and cupped his fists.
He said, âMaster Huang, I have come to seek refuge with you.â
âWhat?â Huang Yunfa was momentarily stunned.
The puppet deity, watching the show from atop the wall, also amusedly thought: Ah, so thatâs how it is; Iron Bird Fliesâs trick was quite clever.
Iron Bird Flies continued, âPreviously, I dealt with salt transportation business.â
âBut as you know, that business is getting harder to manage. Bandits are everywhere in Shanxi; the salt craftsmen have been beaten into hiding inside Hedong Road City.â
âThis time, I arrived here empty-handed, without buying even a catty of salt.â
Huang Yunfa was aware of this matter.
He had taken his salt license to the salt tax office to collect goods, so the office gave him everything they had originally intended to sell to salt smugglers.
Iron Bird Flies said, âI fear my salt transportation business canât continue; I urgently need to find a new venture.â
âIâve heard you handle the northern frontier well, running huge businesses.â
âI want to join you and learn the ropes.â
Huang Yunfa squinted and said, âYou want to follow me? But why should I take you? Business in the north isnât easy.â
âIf I randomly help you open those doors, youâll just ditch me later and hog all the profits for yourself.â
This was the key difficulty!
If this problem wasnât resolved, things wouldnât go well.
Iron Bird Flies lowered his voice and said, âI have connections; I can help you find a source to buy firearms.â
As soon as those words were spoken, Huang Yunfa half-closed his eyes.
He said, âFirearms? A small number would be disappointing.â
Iron Bird Flies chuckled and said, âDefinitely not a small numberâmany, hundreds! And they can keep churning them out constantly in the future.â
Huang Yunfaâs expression grew serious.
He said, âDo you know the consequences if you lie to me? No matter where you flee, I can behead a small salt smuggler like you.â
Iron Bird Flies put on a solemn face and said, âMaster Huang, Iâm sincerely asking to follow you; how could I deceive you?â
âTo be honest, I found a remote desolate village in Shanxi.â
âBlacksmiths who escaped from government workshops gathered there, hiding in the deep mountains to scrape by.â
âSince I supplied salt to them a few times, we became friends.â
âThey made many weapons for my men; look, this waist knife on me was crafted by them.â
âThey also knew how to make firearms and had already produced hundreds, seeking buyers on the black market.â
Huang Yunfa was half-convinced but still half-doubtful; this situation wasnât impossible.
Craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty suffered greatly; for years, there had been instances of them fleeing like refugees.
So, blacksmiths fleeing in large numbers to hide in a desolate village was plausible.
Moreover, once they escaped, they became refugees with no farmland to cultivate and were too afraid to move around, so their lives were harsh.
Under such conditions, bartering with salt smugglers to sell weapons illegally was also plausible.
Huang Yunfa had long secretly sold supplies to the Jurchens.
The Jurchens were highly interested in firearms and had mentioned to him several times that they wanted him to get some from Great Ming.
But this was difficult to pull off.
Great Ming itself didnât have many firearms.
The Ming Dynastyâs treasury was in ruins then, horribly poor; officials and soldiers couldnât even get their pay.
How could the government have any capacity for large-scale firearms production?
The few firearms they did have were all equipped to elite units like the Divine Machine Camp and the Guanning cavalry.
Huang Yunfa couldnât get firearms from corrupt officials.
As for ordinary people, if the government wasnât funding their production, how much could private workshops manage?
A scattered few were useless; they needed volume to be effective.
No matter how skillful the Shanxi merchants were, they couldnât get many firearms to sell to the Jurchens.
Iron Bird Fliesâs words made Huang Yunfaâs heartbeat quicken.
In all that talk, the only truly suspicious point was: where did those fugitive blacksmiths get so much iron to cast hundreds of firearms?
Just as he puzzled over this, Iron Bird Flies chuckled.
He said, âI not only sell salt; I sell iron too.â
âThose blacksmiths are now under my protection.â
âWith just one word from me, theyâll sell the firearms to you.â
âMy request isnât high.â
âTake me outside the frontier a few times and introduce me to trade with people out there; thatâs all.â
Huang Yunfaâs last traces of doubt disappeared.
Still, as someone of his nature, he couldnât trust others easily.
Even with his doubts cleared, he didnât fully believe Iron Bird Flies.
He needed one final confirmation.
He said, âYou say they have hundreds of firearms? Then show them to me.â
âIf I see the goods, Iâll believe your words.â
Iron Bird Flies said, âNo problem! Master Huang, donât rush north yet; stay in Hedong Road for a few days.â
âIâll get the firearms for you to inspect.â
Huang Yunfa again looked skeptical.
He said, âHundreds of firearms arenât light.â
âHow will you transport them for me to see with only around twenty men?â
Iron Bird Flies chuckled and said, âShip!â