Ma Gui agreed with Mei Guozhen's doubts.
"I think so too. That shouldn't be the case, but there's something wrong with what you've said. I've been tossing and turning for more than a month, but I still can't come up with a conclusion. I've sent people to scout for information, but I've found that I can't find anything.
Futai, did you notice that when you mentioned that the Mongolians might invade the south, those people didn't care at all?
If the Mongolians invade the south and we can't defend the border, how can these people stay out of trouble? Could it be that they've all gone mad? They'd rather watch us lose the border city than take out the grain? Are they so greedy that they don't care about their lives? "
"What you said makes sense!" Mei Guozhen seemed to be touched by Ma Gui's words. "Although it is said that humans die for wealth and birds die for food, it is very easy to decide whether one wants money or one's life when one's life is in danger. There must be something wrong. I was so angry that I didn't notice …"
As he said this, Mei Guozhen looked at Ma Gui, "Commander Ma, do you think it is possible that … those rich merchants have reached an agreement with the Mongolians outside the border. Even if the Mongolians invade the border, they won't attack them. They will protect their property!"
Ma Gui was shocked.
"This … this is a crime of betraying the country and deceiving the emperor! If this is leaked out, Futai, will the emperor forgive them? Will they do that? "
"Humph! What is there that they don't dare to do? Commander Ma, don't you have any doubts? In the past few years, the Mongols we fought with were basically using iron bows and crossbows. Only a small number of them were using bone arrowheads in the battle we fought two years ago in October.
Logically speaking, the reason why the Daming blockaded the Mongolians' ironware was because of the war and the trade with Tumed. The Mongolians lived in the wilderness. Where did they get so many ironware? The materials used to sell the iron pots couldn't be melted to make weapons. They should be using bone arrowheads.
Some tribes would send out tens of thousands of cavalrymen with steel blades and iron bows. But at the same time, some tribes were still using bone arrows. What did this mean? This means that the iron weapons produced by the Mongolians are definitely far from being enough for their military needs, but over the years, how many of the Mongolian cavaliers we fought against only used bone arrows? "
Ma Gui was stunned by Mei Guozhen's words.
Now that he thought about it, this was indeed the case. The Mongols were no longer at their peak. Temujin and Khubilai had conquered most of Asia, except for the Han.
Those places had civilization and craftsmen. That was why the Mongols had weapons and even cannons. At that time, the Mongols were on par with the Song Dynasty in terms of science and technology. In terms of economy and military, the Mongols were much stronger than the Song Dynasty.
At that time, the Mongol Yuan Empire already had a very mature political system. Otherwise, the Song Dynasty wouldn't have been defeated so quickly after losing their defensive line. They didn't even have many opportunities to fight back. The Southern Ming Empire was still struggling at death's door for twenty years!
But now, the Mongolian tribes were not having a good time at all. They were no longer at their peak a few hundred years ago. After losing their Han territory, they couldn't even be self-sufficient in food. Now that they were in this state, where did they get the weapons, horseshoes, bows, arrows, and even firearms to equip a hundred thousand cavalrymen?
Abducting Han craftsmen? Were there really that many?
Perhaps some were bought from other countries and tribes that knew how to smelt iron. But were there really so many? Were they all from the borders of Daming? Traveling tens of thousands of miles to other countries to buy weapons and then bring them here to attack Daming?
"Futai, are you saying that their weapons, horseshoes, and even firearms were all sold to them by us merchants from Daming? How could they be so arrogant? "
Mei Guozhen nodded.
"If he didn't see such a problem, why would Shang Yang suppress the trade? Could it be that Shang Yang couldn't see that agriculture is the foundation of a country, and commerce is the blood and veins of a country? Are all the famous ministers and virtuous people of the past dynasties fools? For the sake of money, there is nothing that merchants can't do. Morality? Loyalty? Righteousness of the country? How much is it worth? "
Ma Gui thought of the problem of smuggling weapons, but he would never think about the scale of the smuggling. He felt that it was only a small scale, or else the imperial court wouldn't just stand by and watch.
However, Mei Guozhen's words shattered his fantasies. He suddenly had the urge to take his own troops and exterminate all of these people's families.
Fortunately, he restrained himself in time.
"Futai, if they really reached an agreement, does that mean that the Tumers have decided to invade the south and invade the borders? Then Third Lady … "
"We will immediately send someone to find Third Lady and have her imprison King Shunyi immediately. We will impose martial law on the entire tribe and investigate those who are plotting to attack Daming's borders. Commander Ma, immediately reorganize your troops and prepare for battle. I will immediately write a letter to Ji Town and Taiyuan, asking them to send troops to assist. I hope that everything is not too late."
Ma Gui immediately cupped his fists and said, "Yes! I will do it immediately! "
After saying that, Ma Gui immediately mounted his horse and left. Mei Guozhen clenched his fists and turned to walk into the mansion. He had some very frightening conjectures, some incredible conjectures. He didn't know if there was enough time, but at least, he had to send these things out. Then, there might be a chance of survival.
At this moment, in Guihua City, outside the pass, Third Lady was leading her bodyguards to personally distribute porridge to the starving and cold tribesmen.
The bitter cold came too fiercely, and the people were almost unprepared. The crops failed, and the cattle and sheep froze to death. They didn't have time to store food for the winter and were already facing the threat of death. The cold wind blew against their almost unconscious bodies, and only a thin bowl of porridge could restore a little bit of heat.
All the food and edible things were gathered and distributed. Third Lady's bodyguards maintained order, and everything was still in order. When the Ming Army distributed the food, they also gave a lot of salt. With salt, they could continue for a while. But if the situation continued to worsen, what else could they do?
Third Lady was at her wit's end.
"Third Lady, the King is calling for you."
A bodyguard walked over and conveyed the order to summon Third Lady to the King of Shunyi, Talick.
Third Lady furrowed her brows.
After the death of her first husband, Third Lady, who was well-versed in the Han culture, was quite dissatisfied with the tradition of the stepmother marrying the stepmother after the father's death. She felt deeply humiliated, so she left with the 10,000 elite cavalrymen that I had left for her. If the Ming Dynasty had not sent someone to persuade Third Lady to look at the big picture, she would never have agreed.
She hoped to be faithful to her husband, and draw closer to the soul of a Han woman. But the situation didn't allow it, and she had no choice but to marry her second husband. But she didn't expect that her second husband would die soon.
Then, the grandson, Talick, ascended the throne. Third Lady, who was in her forties, didn't want to continue being his wife. The Ming Dynasty sent someone to persuade her, and the Goddess of Peace, Third Lady, married Talick again.
Compared to her previous two husbands, La Like was a wolfish and difficult husband to deal with. Third Lady had advised and restrained him many times, but she still couldn't control him well. Perhaps it was because of the age gap that made him have a rebellious mentality.
Plus, his concubines often caused trouble. When they were discovered by the Ming Dynasty, they were handed over to Third Lady to deal with. After Third Lady punished them strictly, Talick felt that he had lost face.
The conflict between husband and wife was constantly deepening, but Third Lady's decades of prestige made Talick not dare to do anything to her. He could only complain and make things difficult for her. Third Lady didn't care much. As long as he didn't cause trouble and guarded the borders for the Ming Dynasty, it was enough.
Given the current situation, it was already very rare that La Alik did not make trouble. However, Third Lady had also heard a lot of rumors that La Alik was plotting something big. Some people who were close to Third Lady often came to visit her. From their words, they often asked her to pay attention to La Alik.
Third Lady successfully stopped her first and second husbands from betraying the Ming Dynasty and maintained peace for more than ten years. Now that her third husband wanted to cause trouble again, she couldn't help but feel mentally and physically exhausted. But her yearning for the Han culture urged her to continue working hard and never let it go.
She sent a few trusted subordinates to participate in the guard duty by Talick's side. They paid attention to Talick's words and actions and learned a lot of Talick's complaints and resentment. She knew that Talick was dissatisfied with the current situation and wanted to break the shackles and return to the past. She was deeply worried about this.
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