bullyxtreme Chapter 121 Sucking the marrow from the bone, turning the tables with a flick of the wrist
Chapter 121 Sucking the marrow from the bone, turning the tables with a flick of the wrist
Chapter 121 Sucking the marrow from the bone, turning the tables with a flick of the wrist
Chapter 120 A blizzard covered the entire Shuangchengwei. This blizzard also relieved Chen Ying, which meant that next year, the fifth year of Tianqi, would be a year of great harvest.
The north of the Ming Dynasty is often arid, but Shuangchengwei is often rainy and snowy. As the New Year's bells ring, it means that the fourth year of the Tianqi reign has passed and the fifth year of the Tianqi reign has begun.
There is no annual leave; there are only five days, starting from the 29th of the lunar year, then the 30th, then the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of the lunar year, and finally the 4th of the lunar year when work officially begins.
Countless soldiers were enduring the biting wind, wielding hoes and shovels, working tirelessly. The factory foundation needed to be dug as soon as possible, the irrigation ditches needed to be dredged, and the land that needed to be cultivated needed to be cleared of weeds. They really had no time to rest.
At the seaside of Yongning Port, animal-powered cement mixers are turning rapidly, pouring out buckets of cement slurry, which are then pushed to the construction site by carts. Despite the cold weather, they have adopted a dual construction method, both inside and outside. A larger house with a wooden frame has been built outside, and insulation measures have been taken to keep the indoor temperature at around 15 degrees Celsius, so as not to hinder the cement from solidifying.
Shipbuilding is of paramount importance. In the past, shipbuilding was not so particular; it was all done in the open air. Therefore, the quality of ships depended entirely on the skill of the craftsmen. Now, Chen Ying wants to build a more efficient shipyard to produce the highest quality warships.
According to his plan, he not only wanted to build shipyards, but also salt fields and seafood processing plants. In short, he would do whatever made money.
With so many projects and such high wages, the workers naturally had no time to rest. If it weren't for the extra piece of meat in their flatbreads and the fact that the foreman gave each of them a few pieces of candy after they received their flatbreads, they would have completely forgotten that it was Chinese New Year.
Nearly 20,000 new recruits are undergoing intensive training. The Ming Dynasty is indeed not short of high-quality soldiers. The Xingzhou Five Garrisons alone, which had been abandoned, had more than 30,000 soldiers, and they were all recruited in just five days. Among the recruited soldiers, in addition to more than 2,000 Liaodong military households from Dalu Island, the rest were young men selected from the Xingzhou Four Garrisons. They were not only physically strong, but also very organized and disciplined, which made training much easier.
Even such outstanding soldiers cannot escape being disciplined during training, because they have the fairest and most demanding chief instructor, the Shahe New Army soldiers. With over three thousand pairs of instructors watching over them, if they make even the slightest mistake, the stick will immediately strike them hard.
Although the life of the Da Ning New Army was extremely tough, the problem was that none of the more than 20,000 soldiers were willing to quit, even though quitting was as simple as submitting a report. They had no other way out but to serve in the army. As hereditary military households of the Ming Dynasty, it was extremely rare for them to encounter a commander who did not deduct their military pay or embezzle their military merits.
Anyone who quits is a fool, Shuangchengwei, Da Ning Commandery.
On the tenth day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, the festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet dissipated, and the red lanterns on the city walls swayed in the cold wind.
Chen Ying had no heart for the New Year. The entire government office was brightly lit, the map was marked with dense marching routes, and the sand table was filled with small flags representing each camp.
Zhou Bin walked in carrying the newly drafted strategy for sending troops. Just as he was about to speak, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
"General!"
The health department reported: "Cheng Yi of Cheng's Trading Company requested an audience, saying he had urgent business."
Chen Ying didn't even look up: "I won't see you."
"He said—he said if the commander-in-chief doesn't see him, he'll kneel at the door and won't get up."
"Make them kneel! These traitorous dogs, every one of them who dies kneeling is a blessing!"
"yes!"
However, Chen Ying did not realize that Cheng Ji had been driven to a dead end. It was not until Cheng Yi was unconscious on the ground and almost frozen solid that Chen Ying ordered him to come in.
A moment later, Cheng Yi staggered in, his face flushed: "Lord Chen! You promised not to send troops! We've already given you the money and provisions, how can you go back on your word?"
Chen Ying leaned back in his chair and slowly picked up his teacup: "When have I ever broken my word?"
"You promised not to send troops?"
"What about the money and provisions?"
"We've already given it!"
"As agreed, you should have paid a month ago; this is just a penalty for late payment!"
"Bang!"
Chen Ying slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You Huizhou merchants may treat agreements like farts, but can't I break my word? You dare to do the first day, so why can't I do the fifteenth?"
Cheng Yi opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. To be honest, he was in the wrong about this.
Chen Ying stood up, walked to the sand table, and pointed to the location of Shenyang: "Nurhaci is right here, catching his breath and recovering from his injuries. Once he recovers, the first person he'll attack is me. I won't wait for him; I'll go and attack him. Do you understand this logic?"
Cheng Yi certainly understood.
But he understood even better that once Chen Yingzhen captured Shenyang, the Jurchens would be finished, and the good days of the Huizhou merchants making money from both sides would be over.
"My lord," Cheng Yi softened his tone, "if you intend to attack Shenyang, you'll need to prepare provisions and ammunition, won't you? Our Cheng family is willing to provide another batch of provisions, we only ask that you postpone the attack—"
"slow?"
Chen Ying turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I've slowed down, but will Nurhaci slow down? Will you slow down?"
Cheng Yi was speechless.
Chen Ying sat down again, his tone calm: "I don't have time to waste with your words. Go back and tell Cheng Jiashan that I'm determined to send troops. If he knows what's good for him, he shouldn't try anything funny. If he doesn't—my troops will do more than just fight the Jurchens."
Cheng Yi's face turned pale, and he staggered out.
After Cheng Yi left, Su Mei emerged from behind the screen and whispered, "My lord, are you really going to drive the Huizhou merchants to their doom?"
Chen Ying shook his head: "Forcing them? I don't have the time or inclination for that. They're just asking for trouble."
Su Mei smiled and said, "Cheng Jiashan is probably regretting that he shouldn't have gone against the adults."
"regret?"
Chen Ying smiled and said, "A man like him won't regret it. What he's thinking about now is how to suppress this matter and how to explain it to those business owners in Jiangnan. So, I want him to know that going against me will come at a price."
Su Mei's heart skipped a beat: "Does Your Excellency mean—"
"Go and talk to Cheng Yi."
Chen Ying said calmly, "Tell them that I can postpone sending troops, not because they plead for leniency, but because I need time to prepare. The conditions are: first, send another one million shi of grain to Yongning; second, provide me with one shop each in Tianjin, Dengzhou, and the capital; third, Cheng's Group is forbidden from ever again engaging in the arms trade. Gunpowder, iron, armor—not a single thing. Violators will be executed without mercy."
Su Mei gasped.
These three measures were all more ruthless than the last: the grain policy forced the Huizhou merchants to bleed money, the shop policy cut off their sales channels in the north, and the refusal to handle military equipment directly severed any possibility of them secretly colluding with the Jurchens.
"Sir, will they agree?"
"meeting.
Chen Ying was confident. "Because they can't afford to gamble. As long as I attack Shenyang, whether I succeed or not, those landlords in Jiangnan will be the first to not let him off the hook. Tell Cheng Yi that I'll give him three days. If the goods don't arrive in three days, my troops will head north to Shenyang."
At that point, it won't be a matter of money and food alone.
Three days later, in the backyard of Chengji Trading Company, Yongning Port.
Cheng Jiashan leaned back in his armchair, looking as if he had aged ten years. On the table lay the conditions Chen Ying had set out; the paper felt light, yet like a mountain pressing down on his chest.
Cheng Yi stood to the side, not daring to breathe.
"One million shi of grain—"
Cheng Jiashan muttered, "Shops in Tianjin, Dengzhou, and the capital—and we're not allowed to touch the arms business—this Chen Boying is trying to uproot us."
Cheng Yi couldn't help but say, "Third Uncle, why don't we go back to Jiangnan and discuss this with the other families—"
"discuss?"
Cheng Jiashan sneered, "What are you going to discuss? Do you think they'd discuss this with us? We've messed up this matter; we should be thinking about how to explain it to Chen Boying!"
"Third Uncle, what do you mean?"
Cheng Jiashan closed his eyes, remained silent for a long time, and finally slowly said, "Agree to him."
"Third Uncle!"
"Say yes."
Cheng Jiashan smiled bitterly, "One million shi of grain will be transferred from various places. The shops will be given to him. As for the arms business—if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't want to. We've lost this round, and we have to accept it. We'll discuss it further when we return to Jiangnan."
Cheng Yi opened his mouth, but in the end he could only nod. He really wanted to ask Cheng Jiashan, "If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"
The problem is, that's what businessmen are all about. They're willing to try anything, no matter how small, because the potential profits are too great.
It's a real pity that Chen Ying never plays by the rules.
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