Chapter 1716: The Great Ming Is Doomed — Master, Come Quickly

The outer city of Beijing, Xuannan Ward.

An utterly unremarkable mule cart rumbled along the bustling streets of Beijing's outer city, then turned into a hutong near the Mule and Horse Market Street.

This hutong was lined with shops selling mules, horses, cattle, and sheep — livestock brought in from beyond the passes. These days, because war raged beyond the passes and every market along the Great Wall had shut its gates, most of the shops here were closed. Even the ones still open looked bleak. With no good stock, naturally there were no customers. But as long as a shop was open, its clerks had to call out to passersby. So the moment this mule cart entered the hutong, clerks from several of the shops still doing business hurried over to greet it. They went over full of hope and came back disappointed. The passenger in the cart ignored them all and headed straight for the very end of the hutong, toward a firm with a signboard reading "Wang Dengku Mule, Horse, Cattle and Sheep Shop."

This Wang Dengku Mule, Horse, Cattle and Sheep Shop was a famous old establishment in the Mule and Horse Market Street area, because the old firm had a very reliable source of goods over at Zhangjiakou. So lately it still had a bit of stock on hand, and its business was somewhat better than the others'.

The mule cart now arriving at the Wang Dengku Mule, Horse, Cattle and Sheep Shop was clearly carrying a major customer. The moment it stopped by the shop front, a crowd of clerks and managers could be seen scurrying out from inside to greet it, and finally the owner of the Wang Dengku firm — the great Boss Wang, known in the merchant world by the trade name "Wang Dengku" — came striding out as well.

By now the sky was gradually darkening. The driver lifted the carriage curtain. Two people stepped out. The first was a merchant in brocade robes, all smiles — none other than Fan Yongdou, owner of the old Fan family firm of Zhangjiakou.

After Fan Yongdou got down from the mule cart, he did not immediately greet Wang Dengku. Instead he turned around and, like a filial son attending his own father, helped a big monk out of the cart.

This monk was none other than the Later Jin's foremost booi, Fan Wencheng — the great slave Fan.

Fan Wencheng really did have an affinity with the Buddha. Last time he had dressed up as a lama; this time he was playing a monk, with ordination scars burned onto his scalp. In every gesture and movement, he had acquired a bit of the air of an eminent monk.

Wang Dengku apparently already knew Fan Wencheng. The moment he saw him emerge from the mule cart, he pressed his palms together and bowed deeply — truly the picture of devotion!

Fan Wencheng's brows were knitted; one look told you he was in a bad mood. The reason for his bad mood was that he had no food to eat! Of course, it wasn't that the great monk Fan Wencheng himself had nothing to eat — he was a slave at Hong Taiji's side, so he could never go hungry. And he had been sent out on an assignment, disguised as a monk, to enter Ming territory and contact treacherous merchants like Fan Yongdou and Wang Dengku. Treacherous merchants were rich men; how could they fail to feed Fan Wencheng to his fill? But while Fan Wencheng the slave had eaten his fill, beyond the passes and beyond the Wall, thousands upon thousands of other slaves still had not.

It turned out that beyond the passes and beyond the Wall, drought and war (the Mongol tribes beyond the passes were in the midst of internecine fighting) had caused a poor grain harvest, and this spring a spring famine had broken out. In the original course of history, Yuan Chonghuan had sold grain to the thirty-six Kharchin tribes, helping the Mongols beyond the passes and the Manchus of Liaodong get through the crisis.

But this time the situation was different. In the third, fourth, and fifth months, Zhu Youjian had issued stern edicts in succession — no selling grain to the Mongols and Jianzhou, and no recruiting or appeasing the Kharchin Mongols and Inner Khalkha Mongols beyond the passes!

If they wanted to go over to Jianzhou, let them go. In any case, no grain was to be sold — Zhu Youjian knew perfectly well that no matter how much grain the Ming sold or gave to the Mongols, once they had eaten their fill they would still go over to the eastern barbarians, and would still lead the eastern barbarians through the passes to kill and burn! Because the Ming gave grain, while the eastern barbarians killed people!

The favor of giving grain could never, in the end, outweigh the terror of death!

Moreover, if the Kharchin Mongols and Inner Khalkha Mongols followed the eastern barbarians through the passes, they could also share in a great deal of plunder — why wouldn't they be glad to?

So this time Zhu Youjian was resolute in enforcing the embargo. To carry out the "grain ban" policy, he had also sent his trusted confidant Cao Huachun to Shanhai Pass and Ningyuan to supervise the closing of the border markets. He had also sent an edict to Yuan Keli, who was in charge of the grain route for the Pacify-Liao Army (the Dongjiang Army), ordering him to hold back Mao Wenlong's military grain. Not that he distrusted Mao Wenlong, but he did not trust Mao Wenlong's several dear adopted grandsons.

In short, this time Zhu Youjian was determined to starve Hong Taiji to death!

But Hong Taiji could not be starved to death. Not only did he not starve, he had not even grown thin. Moreover, not a single one of the Eight Banners soldiers and their families under Hong Taiji had starved to death. Those who starved were all booi slaves and the Mongols of the Kharchin, Inner Khalkha, and other tribes.

And Hong Taiji, the Tiancong Khan of the Later Jin, could not completely ignore the lives of his slaves. So he had Fan Wencheng burn a few ordination scars onto his scalp and sent him into the Great Ming to find a way to buy grain.

And so Fan Wencheng the slave went again to his own kinsman Fan Yongdou. Fan Yongdou was quite diligent, and brought him into Beijing to find connections — because over at Zhangjiakou, the neighboring Datong garrison was at war, so the border wall was under martial law! Although it was not so strict that Fan Wencheng could not get in, thousands of piculs of grain could not get out. Moreover, the new Supreme Commander of Xuanfu, Hou Shilu, was newly appointed, and his first three fires had not yet finished burning, so of course no connections could be worked there.

So Fan Yongdou had no choice but to bring Fan Wencheng into the capital to work connections, and he also sought out his good friend Wang Dengku. Today Fan Yongdou had accompanied Fan Wencheng to call on the back doors of several military-noble households, but somehow, every one of them had shut the door in their faces.

It wasn't that they refused to help — they hadn't even been able to see the men themselves!

What on earth was going on? Had those wastrel scions somehow gotten wind of something? Beijing was, after all, the very lair of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Full of worries, Fan Wencheng followed Fan Yongdou into Wang Dengku's shop. He did not sit down in the main hall by the shop front, but was escorted all the way into the inner hall. Once inside the inner hall, Fan Wencheng noticed something wrong. In the huge inner hall, there was not a single servant, and no one served tea. The clerks of Wang Dengku's shop had also vanished somewhere. In the hall there were only three people: Fan Wencheng, Fan Yongdou, and Wang Dengku.

What was going on? Fan Wencheng felt the atmosphere was off! Surely a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't come charging out any moment now?

Just as he was growing tense, Wang Dengku suddenly sidled up with a mysterious air and performed a grand bow of greeting. "Master, this humble one congratulates you!"

Congratulate him? Fan Wencheng was not quite sure. "Shopkeeper Wang, have you found a route to buy grain and get it out through the passes?"

"No, no," Wang Dengku said with a smile. "Something big has happened! That little emperor who took personal command of the army has been defeated at Datong and very likely captured by the Khutuktu Khan! The Great Ming is finished!"

"What? What did you say?" Fan Wencheng could scarcely believe his ears.

Wang Dengku had already produced an envelope and handed it to Fan Wencheng with both hands. "Master, see for yourself. This is a copy of a memorial jointly written to the court by the Prince of Dai in Datong and the eight Commandery Princes under the Prince of Dai's household."

So that memorial that had ruined the Prince of Dai and the eight Commandery Princes of Datong had reached Beijing!

Needless to say, this false news immediately caused a tremendous uproar among the upper ranks of Beijing — it was as if the sky were about to fall! The reason Fan Wencheng and Fan Yongdou had been turned away all day was precisely this matter.

Fan Wencheng hastily took the envelope, pulled out the letter inside, and began reading without delay. The more he read, the more excited he grew, until he was trembling with excitement.

"Is — is this news reliable?" Fan Wencheng asked.

"Reliable," Wang Dengku said with a smile. "This news was brought out of the palace by Widow Xu. It can't be wrong!"

"Who is Widow Xu?" Fan Wencheng asked.

"She is the eldest son's wife of the Bai family of the Huai salt merchants," Fan Yongdou said with a smile. "A woman whose hands reach the heavens. The Shanxi merchants in the capital all take her as their leader. If this copy of the memorial really came from her, then it is certain to be accurate! Master, it seems the Ming dynasty's fate is at an end, and our Great Jin will soon enter and take the Central Plain!"

Wang Dengku, standing nearby, added a reminder: "Widow Xu also said that the passes of Ji Garrison and Xuanfu will soon be sealed. When that happens, no one will be able to get out through the passes!"

Fan Wencheng thought it over: if the passes of Ji Garrison and Xuanfu really were sealed, that would prove that what this memorial copy said was true!

He immediately said to Fan Yongdou and Wang Dengku: "I must leave the passes at once and bring this news to the Tiancong Khan! Can you two help me get out through the passes?"

(End of Chapter)