Chapter 1009 The Great Wool Scramble
Guhuacheng (Hohhot).
The Wushen Tribe leader sat regally at the head of the table. Below him, two rows of tribal leaders from various regions were feasting boisterously, tearing at mutton legs with their hands.
This gathering was for the tribal leaders to report on their recent affairs.
The reporting process would fill a hundred million words, so this book will omit it.
Now that their reports were concluded, they were preparing to dine and disperse.
During the meal, the conversation grew lively, filled with boasts and banter.
The Otok Tribe leader grinned broadly and said, "Thanks to the Wushen Tribe's guidance, all the wool and hides from my tribe were bought by the Han people. The caravan sent by Young Leader Zhebu brought my tribe vast quantities of tea, salt, and grain. My tribe has truly enjoyed a most comfortable winter."
The Hangjin Tribe leader added, "It's the same on my side. Through Zhebu's good graces, my tribe also had a very pleasant winter, with no one freezing or starving to death. Zhebu's caravans brought us many iron woks, making cooking much more convenient now."
The Urad Tribe leader remarked, "In the past, the Han people prevented us from making weapons, only willing to sell us a small number of iron woks. But now, the Han people are so generous; it seems they aren't afraid at all that we might melt down the iron woks to forge swords and blades."
Several tribal leaders nodded in agreement.
It was true!
In the past, iron woks were a rare and hard currency on the steppes. Now, however, the Han people simply didn't care. They could buy as many iron woks as they pleased, given whatever they wanted, as long as they could pay in wool...
Young Leader Zhebu acted as an intermediary, facilitating thriving trade between the Han and Mongol peoples.
The tribal leaders couldn't help but praise Zhebu: "We owe much to Young Leader Zhebu."
"Young Leader Zhebu is truly young and accomplished, to have integrated with the Han people, opened factories there, and earned their wealth. It's truly impressive."
The Wushen Tribe leader laughed heartily: "Zhebu is my most promising child. Once he has learned enough from the Han people, he will return to inherit my position. By the way, my son mentioned that recently, the wool sweaters from his factory have been in short supply, selling too well, and he needs more wool."
The tribal leaders exclaimed, "Ah? The wool in our possession has already been collected. The next shearing won't be until summer, several months from now."
The Wushen Tribe leader looked displeased, "How could it all be gone? You must have been lazy, not raising enough sheep. In the future, you must raise more."
The tribal leaders quickly replied, "Yes, sir! We will organize our herdsmen upon our return and instruct them to raise even more sheep."
The Wushen Tribe leader sighed, "Alas! What can be done? Far water cannot quench a nearby thirst. How long must we wait for your newly raised lambs to grow? My son needs a large quantity of wool *now*."
The seated tribal leaders all threw up their hands, indicating their helplessness.
It was only spring in the ninth year of Chongzhen; summer was still months away. No one dared to shear their sheep now, as it would surely freeze them to death.
Just then, the Chahar Tribe leader suddenly raised his hand, "I might have a solution."
The tribal leaders were overjoyed, "Tell us!"
The Chahar Tribe leader declared, "While we have no more wool in our hands, the Mongol tribes conquered by the Jin still do. We can go and beat them, then seize the wool from them!"
At his words, everyone rejoiced, "That's right! The Khorchin tribe, they're allied with the Jin now and are at odds with us. Let's go beat them!"
"And the Hasum tribe."
"The Unegud tribe."
The tribal leaders quietly calculated, and what they found surprised them: there were still many Mongol tribes under the Jin's influence.
If they could thoroughly thrash these tribes and seize their wool, they could send it all to Zhebu and exchange it for those useful Han goods.
The Wushen Tribe leader sprang to his feet, "Prepare for battle! Let's go give those eastern Mongol tribes a severe lesson!"
"Great Khan," the Chahar Tribe leader interjected, "we cannot use 'we want your wool' as a pretext for attacking them. I suggest we ask Heavenly Khan E'zhe to issue a proclamation, stating that those tribes disrespect the descendants of Genghis Khan and disobey the directives of our Great Yuan court. That way, we'll have a legitimate reason to attack."
Naturally, the proposal was approved without a moment's hesitation.
A messenger swiftly rode to Gao Family Village, where he found Heavenly Khan E'zhe. However, E'zhe was still a child and understood nothing of such matters. Thus, his sworn brother, Liu Maopao, guided him in composing a punitive proclamation, and then requested Gao Yiye to produce the Great Yuan Dynasty's Imperial Seal, which she stamped with a decisive *thump*.
The messenger, clutching this "fighting permit" authorized by the Heavenly Khan, happily returned to Guhuacheng.
And then...
A "righteous war" began—ostensibly to uphold the dignity of the Yuan Dynasty's Heavenly Khan, but in reality, to seize wool.
Back in Gao Family Village itself.
Liu Maopao was delivering an impassioned speech at a shareholders' meeting.
He pointed a finger at Zhebu, "Second Brother! You can't procure any more wool from your side, can you?"
Zhebu shook his head, "We definitely can't shear sheep this year. We must wait until the weather turns warmer."
Liu Maopao then looked at E'zhe, "Third Brother, what about you?"
E'zhe shook his head, "The Chahar tribe has no more wool either."
Liu Maopao said dejectedly, "As expected, the wool supplied solely from the Mongol steppes is no longer enough. Our advertising has been too effective; all branch stores everywhere are sold out. Our village's wool reserves are dwindling. If this continues, we'll have to halt production."
"Halt production? That won't do!" exclaimed An Jile, Zhebu's mother. "If production stops, my female workers will lose their wages, and their lives will become difficult. The Heavenly Lord would be angry, saying we failed to care for our laborers."
An Jile hadn't known Chinese before, but now she spoke with increasing fluency.
Liu Maopao stated, "We must find more wool suppliers."
E'zhe replied, "The major tribes have already organized a joint army and are preparing to attack the eastern tribes. They will bring back wool."
Liu Maopao retorted, "They might not succeed. If they fail, do we just stop our factories and wait for them?"
"Uh..."
Everyone felt a headache coming on.
Just then, Zhebu suddenly raised his hand and said, "I know a place that also has many high-quality sheep."
Liu Maopao leaned forward, "Oh? Where?"
Zhebu replied, "Yinchuan."
Liu Maopao stroked his chin, "Oh? Yinchuan? That place is Ming territory, if I recall... Ah, yes, Uncle Shi Jian is currently serving as the Regional Commander of Yansui. If I seek his help, we should be able to establish a connection with the people of Yinchuan and see if we can urgently acquire a batch of wool from there."
Liu Maopao was a man of action; he immediately pursued whatever idea came to him. He promptly arranged for subordinates to travel to the border garrison of Yansui to find Shi Jian...
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