Chapter 255: Lion Notes

Ever since the start of spring in the fourth year of Chongzhen, news that Liu Chengzong, the Qinghai Pacification Commissioner from the Central Plains, had opened a market at Ju'er Bay had spread as if it had grown four legs, carried by the spring breeze across the entire Amdo region.

Countless tribal folk and herders came from all directions every day, though the vast majority were only there to gather information — their chieftains were still watching and waiting.

The very first order at the Ju'er Bay Grand Market came from the Seven Tribes of Sun Moon Mountain: Gongbu Duoji traded four hundred jin of gunpowder for fourteen heavy-lidded military water-boiling pots from the Lion Army.

Ordinary pots boiled water too early at this altitude; to solve this problem, Liu Chengzong commissioned craftsmen from Chieftain Chen to cast pots with thicker walls and heavier lids, achieving the effect of a simple pressure cooker so the water could actually get hot.

Liu the Lion was not particularly happy about this deal... there was basically no profit in it.

It was purely because Gongbu Duoji, upon hearing they were short on gunpowder, had managed to get several hundred jin for them, so he gave the Seven Tribes of Sun Moon Mountain two iron pots per chieftain at cost price.

The gunpowder was mixed quite well — Liu the Lion hoped Gongbu Duoji would not mix any more in the future.

Because of this matter, Liu Chengzong specifically had Chen Shifo revise the price list, replacing the gunpowder on it with saltpeter and sulfur.

The gunpowder formula used by the Seven Tribes of Sun Moon Mountain was the cannon-powder ratio devised by Liu Ji in the third year of Hongwu: one jin of saltpeter, two qian and four fen of sulfur, and four qian of charcoal.

The ratio was not much different from Qi Jiguang's gunpowder formula that had been standard across the Nine Garrisons since the Wanli era; the main problem was that the saltpeter purification process was slightly inferior, and the purity was insufficient.

So in theory, the saltpeter ratio would need to be raised to at least ninety percent, and the charge weight increased, just to achieve the potency of normal gunpowder.

If what they had delivered was saltpeter, even with insufficient purity, the Lion Army's powder-smiths would have had ways to deal with it; but what was delivered was already-mixed gunpowder, which was much harder to fix.

Cao Yao, however, had a solution.

He had Shi Chengwo turn this batch of gunpowder into charge bags for the Lion Cannons, to be used for firing blank rounds.

The blank round was a common tactic among Ming artillerymen: before the enemy entered firing range, they would fire blank rounds at them to trick the enemy into exploiting the reloading time to close in quickly, at which point they would fire live rounds and inflict heavy casualties.

With the opening of the Ju'er Bay market, the status of the Chen Chieftain in Xining also rose steadily.

The reason was simple: because Liu Chengzong's army smiths had no time to cast iron pots, and Chieftain Chen's territory was close to the ironworks, so at Chen Shifo's suggestion, the task of casting iron pots was outsourced to Chen Shiwen.

The Chen Chieftain of Xining was now cheerfully driving his yak train along the Huang River toward Ju'er Bay, delivering a new batch of iron pots.

Ju'er Bay had two markets, divided by the Hundred-Household Station.

The western market faced the Western Tribes and Mongols; the eastern market faced the Xining chieftains and Han people.

To deliver goods for Liu the Lion, Chieftain Chen and Chieftain A of Nianbo Station had mobilized every man they had.

The main column was led by two native Battalion Commanders, with four native Company Commanders bringing up the rear, escorting fifty mounted infantry, fifty yaks, one thousand two hundred iron pots, and six thousand axe heads, driving the carts forward at top speed.

Chen Shiwen went straight to the Ju'er Bay Hundred-Household Station. Upon seeing his second brother Chen Shifo there to greet him, he was in no hurry to hand over the pots; he simply pulled him aside to a place where no one was around and asked urgently, "Are you sure this batch of pots can be exchanged for six hundred taels? I borrowed one hundred and fifty taels from Chieftain Li just to rush the production of these iron pots."

Seeing his elder brother so anxious, Chen Shifo felt a secret, deep satisfaction.

He imitated the way his elder brother used to act, putting on the airs and posture of a native official, took two steps, then turned his head and asked, "How much do you have to repay?"

"Three percent per month, one-year term, no early repayment. Next year I'll owe two hundred and four taels."

To be honest, Chen Shiwen had never done anything like this before. All their lives they had believed in frugality and steady, slow accumulation; they would never slap their own face to make it look fat.

After all, they were chieftains who endured as long as heaven and earth — as long as the Great Ming existed, so would they, and as long as they knew which way the wind blew, they would still be there even after the Great Ming was gone.

One generation spends one generation's money; the next generation will always have the next generation's money to spend.

Only this time, with Liu the Lion entering Qinghai and his second brother constantly urging him, Chen Shiwen had been seized by the idea of taking a gamble.

This batch of iron pots was not something Chen Shiwen's family could have produced on their own; with their production capacity, they could only make a little over a hundred iron pots. For the rest, he had borrowed money from Chieftain Li and hired Chieftain Li's craftsmen to make the pots.

The many chieftains of Xining each made their own choices in this matter.

Some had the ability but did not want to get involved; others had no ability but desperately wanted to get involved — thus this strange situation had formed.

The minor chieftains could not wait to become suppliers to the Ju'er Bay market, while the major chieftains, worried that Liu Chengzong might use military force to extort them, took the opportunity to lend money to the minor chieftains so they could join this handicraft bonanza.

After all, even if Liu Chengzong did not pay the minor chieftains, the minor chieftains still could not default on their debts to them.

Chieftain A, who had come from Nianbo Station, was in a similar situation to Chen Shiwen; the only difference was that the Chen Chieftain supplied heavy cast-iron pots, while the A Chieftain supplied axes made of wrought iron with steel edges.

Chen Shifo calculated the principal and interest in his head, then waved his hand and said, "It's fine, more than enough. Brother, deliver the iron pots to the Hundred-Household Station. Third Master's men will inspect the goods there. After the inspection, don't ask for silver — ask for Lion Notes."

"Lion Notes?"

"Yes. The Grand Marshal had Third Master bring weavers to make the colored notes. They can be used as money in Ju'er Bay. They come in denominations of sixteen taels, eight taels, one tael, five qian, and one qian. They're equal in value to silver — one tael exchanges for one tael."

The "Third Master" Chen Shifo spoke of was none other than Liu Chengyun.

Chen Shiwen asked, puzzled, "If one tael exchanges for one tael, why bother exchanging them at all?"

"If you don't exchange them, you can't buy anything in the eastern market. Both the east and west markets only accept Lion Notes. What was the cost of this batch of iron pots?"

Chieftain Chen said, "Two qian of silver per pot."

"There you go. If you exchange them for silver and take it back, that's three hundred taels. You'd only make sixty taels, and after paying the interest, you'd net just six taels."

Chieftain Chen thought... wasn't that how it was supposed to be?

His chieftain yamen's annual income was only a few dozen taels. This one trip could earn him sixty taels. If he went back and kept making iron pots, one year would be worth ten years of the past.

He never expected his second brother to shake his head and say, "But if you exchange them for Lion Notes and use those to buy sheep in the eastern market to take back, you could buy over nine hundred head. In Xining, a sheep goes for five qian — that would be four hundred and fifty taels back home."

Chen Shiwen's eyes went perfectly round. So this one trip could earn over two hundred taels?

"But you have to move fast — buy while there are still sheep in the eastern market."

Hearing this, Chen Shiwen immediately ordered his tribal soldiers to lead the men and rush toward the Ju'er Bay Hundred-Household Station. He himself was about to bid his second brother farewell, but after taking just two steps, he could not suppress his curiosity. He turned back and asked, "Shifo, can you tell your big brother — how much does the Grand Marshal sell one iron pot for?"

Chen Shifo smiled. "Brother, I can't tell you that. Just hurry up and buy the sheep. And even if you make money yourself, don't tell anyone else... If you do, and the sheep market price in Xining collapses later, you won't make any profit either."

The way Chen Shifo spoke here with his own family made it seem as though he held high rank and great authority in the Lion Army.

But he himself knew perfectly well that he was nothing more than an interpreter.

So whatever Liu Chengzong told him to do, he did; whatever he was not told to do, he absolutely dared not do.

Besides, this was something he could not talk about anyway.

Gongbu Duoji of Sun Moon Mountain had traded four hundred jin of gunpowder for fourteen iron pots that could actually boil water. Although the delivered gunpowder was of slightly inferior quality, it was still something worth two taels and four qian per hundred jin.

The Grand Marshal said that was already the cost price of the iron pots — six qian and eight fen per pot... but the Chen brothers knew very well that the production cost of an iron pot was two qian, and the Grand Marshal's procurement cost for an iron pot was two qian and five fen.

Not to mention that in the west, one tael of Lion Notes bought five sheep, while in the east, one tael of Lion Notes bought three sheep.

He had basically opened a robbery shop — what was there even to say about it?

Chieftain Chen nodded to show he understood, then pressed on, "Can we sell pots directly in the western market?"

"Can't sell. Both the East and West Markets are run directly by Third Master. No one can sell there — you can only exchange goods for Lion Tickets."

Chen Shifo smiled and said nothing more to his elder brother.

This is why it's called the Qinghai Pacification Commissioner's Office — same as those tusi in Xining, it's a monopoly.

But what's monopolized here is all the smuggling business along the border, and it's done right out in the open.

From Gurban Bay to Xining Guard, it's all Lion Liu's people. From now on, there won't be any smuggling here.

Liu Chengzong was also at the market.

But he wasn't in the East Market — he was in the West Market, strolling around with Baiten Taiji and Daiqing.

Baiten Taiji was simply too likable. Browsing through the market, he wanted everything and kept praising Lion Liu.

"This saber, only one Lion Ticket? Fair, very fair!"

Daiqing, on the other hand, was a bit lacking. This chieftain who'd come from the northern desert wasn't as impoverished as Baiten Taiji, but then again, he also wasn't as rich in livestock as Baiten Taiji.

So Daiqing could hardly bear to buy anything in the market, and he looked at Baiten Taiji like he was looking at a complete fool.

Whatever Daiqing said, Chen Qindai, who'd brought him here, wouldn't translate for him.

Though actually, no translation was needed. Daiqing's biggest doubt was that Chen Qindai had said there were five hundred Han people… just west of Gurban Bay alone, he'd already seen several thousand Han soldiers on his way here.

Lion Liu asked, "What's that fellow muttering about?"

Before Chen Qindai could speak, Baiten Taiji curled his lip and said in the clumsy Han speech he'd picked up last winter: "Commander, ignore him. Nothing but grumbling… he's not even looking at what kind of place this is. Where else could you buy such fine things?"

Baiten certainly didn't think these goods were expensive — quite the opposite.

If the Lion Army's equipment production capacity hadn't ramped up yet, Baiten Taiji would have been more than willing to trade all his livestock to Lion Liu for a massive wave of gear, re-equip his tribesmen on the spot, and turn around and wipe out Daiqing.

Now that Liu Chengzong had already approved his request to pasture north of the lake, the only obstacle left standing in his way was Daiqing.

Both their followers were herders, and the pastureland north of the lake was only so large.

Baiten's tribe had more people; Daiqing's tribe had better equipment. So if Daiqing didn't go elsewhere, the two sides would sooner or later go to war over grazing land.

"You've seen the goods. The quality is what it is. Bows, arrows, waist sabers — all Guard-and-Battalion official-made weapons. Unplated cotton armor from the Guard, same price as a saber. Plated sleeveless cotton armor from the Guard costs eight taels in Lion Tickets."

Liu Chengzong smiled as he introduced the weapon and equipment prices to them one by one: "A full set of cotton armor is twenty taels. Take a look, then buy some daily necessities for your tribes. Don't buy weapons or armor."

Baiten Taiji was displeased the moment he heard this: "Commander, what do you mean? You won't sell to me? That's too unfriendly. I was even planning to tell Lhazang to come here and buy things too. Many people, all coming!"

"It's not that I won't sell." Liu Chengzong shook his head with a smile and raised one finger: "Come fight a battle with me. You provide the troops, bring your own grain. When you return, for every two armed and mounted men, I'll give one tael in Lion Tickets."

"Wounded — one tael per man. Killed in action — two taels to the family."

Baiten calculated in his head: dispatch two thousand troops, guaranteed minimum earnings of five hundred taels in Lion Tickets. That was equivalent to two thousand five hundred head of livestock.

If they all died, that would be two… At this thought, Baiten hastily stopped himself, shook his head repeatedly, and silently cursed himself for being utterly money-grubbing.

A good deal. Far too good a deal.

"Are we going to war with the imperial court?"

Baiten Taiji rubbed his fists and wiped his palms: "I've long wanted to fight our way into Xining!"

But to his surprise, Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "Not Xining. It's Beri. Do you know that place?"

"Markham?"

Baiten had a sudden realization. Though he still didn't know how Döndrup Dorje had provoked Liu Chengzong, he was very clear in his mind about Liu Chengzong taking his men to war.

The high plateau.

At this thought, Baiten chuckled softly and glanced at Daiqing: "Commander, don't bring this kid then. He's only got eight hundred men, and they've never been up to Ü-Tsang. They're no good… How many men do you need? I'll muster them for you!"

Seeing him agree so readily, even Liu Chengzong was taken aback for a moment.

He had considered that Baiten might be willing to send troops, but he hadn't expected recruiting to be this easy. He simply waved his hand and said: "Three thousand. But this isn't something just anyone can do. I have requirements."

Hearing that number, Baiten was even more delighted.

His tribe alone had three thousand herder-warriors. Wasn't this job tailor-made for him?

He immediately took it all upon himself: "Commander, leave these three thousand men to me! Whatever your requirements, just name them."

Liu Chengzong smiled: "No looting along the way. Can you manage that?"

At these words, Baiten's expression soured.

"No looting… Commander, I can get my tribesmen to go to war." Baiten said with difficulty: "But no looting is too hard. What would they eat?"

Liu Chengzong still wore a smile and said nothing.

He knew very well what the Mongol armies beside the Great Ming in this era were like.

They were all desperately poor. It was impossible for them to go to war without looting — in fact, looting was their greatest motivation for fighting.

Precisely because of this, what appeared on the surface to be poverty affecting only their living conditions in fact also affected their combat effectiveness.

Baiten suddenly said: "Commander, what if we don't loot along the way, but go plunder Döndrup Dorje once we get there? Would that work?"

Before Liu Chengzong could speak, Baiten pressed on: "If even plundering Döndrup Dorje isn't allowed, then after we finish with Döndrup Dorje, I'll have to go into Tibet and plunder the Tsangpa."

Liu Chengzong's gaze toward Baiten was somewhat complicated. He was envious.

Envious that for Baiten, the Qinghai-Tibet region seemed as effortless as walking on level ground.

For himself, with Xining as the center, leading an army south to Yushu or west to Hami was nearly the farthest he could imagine himself ever reaching.

Daiqing said something, and Chen Qindai translated: "Commander, Daiqing says if we go into Tibet, he'll go too."

"Lhazang will go too, haha! Commander, can we bring more people?"

The more Baiten thought about it, the happier he grew. If they organized a campaign into Tibet, Lhazang and Guru might reconcile in the course of the war: "Six thousand. Six thousand troops. Commander, you don't need to worry about the others — just give me the Lion Tickets for two thousand men."

"We brothers will help you deal with Döndrup Dorje, and Commander, you provide us support for entering Tibet."