Chapter 482: Tie Niaofei's Scheme
Li Daoxuan quietly peeked over the wall. In the opposite courtyard, a group of guards were chatting, speaking with a Shanxi accent. Another group of a dozen or so men, noticeably fiercer and taller than ordinary people, sat silently to one side.
This group must be the Manchu cavalry. It wasn't convenient for them to speak openly in the Central Plains, so they all pretended to be mute.
They were clearly more alert than the men speaking Shanxi dialect, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. One of them let out a questioning sound, his gaze fixed on Li Daoxuan. He nudged his companion and pointed at Li Daoxuan.
In response, all dozen or so men gathered around.
Li Daoxuan immediately froze, unmoving on the wall. This, he thought, was the essence of being a puppet: unable to speak, unable to move.
The men scrutinized Li Daoxuan. Realizing it was merely a half-human-sized puppet, they dismissed it. They returned to their corner of the courtyard and sat down. As for why a puppet was perched on the wall, they couldn't fathom it, ultimately deeming it a peculiar Han decoration.
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly, amused.
Soon, a knock echoed at the courtyard gate. A Shanxi-speaking guard went to open it. He found Tie Niaofei standing at the entrance, who bowed with clasped fists and said: "I am Tie Niaofei, a salt merchant. I have long admired the reputation of Squire Huang Yunfa and have come specifically to pay my respects and discuss some business matters."
Hearing "business," the guard didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly went inside to report, and soon, Huang Yunfa emerged.
After all, they had met recently in the Salt Administration Bureau's hall. He knew Tie Niaofei was a salt smuggler, not a particularly influential one, with a dozen or twenty men under him—some power, but nothing formidable.
Toward such a minor figure, Huang Yunfa felt no need for excessive politeness. He asked coolly, "So, it's Tie Niaofei. What brings you to see me? What wisdom do you wish to impart?"
Tie Niaofei put on a secretive air, glancing left and right as if to ensure no one else was nearby. Then, he took a step forward, clasped his fists, and declared, "Squire Huang, I have come to pledge my allegiance to you."
"What?" Huang Yunfa blinked in surprise.
The Puppet Heavenly Lord, watching the drama unfold from the wall, was also amused. *So that's it,* he thought. *Tie Niaofei's move is quite clever.*
Tie Niaofei continued: "I used to dabble in the salt trade, but as you know, it's becoming increasingly difficult. The whole of Shanxi is overrun with bandits, and the salt artisans have been forced to hide in the Hedong Circuit cities. I came this time empty-handed; I couldn't even procure a single catty of salt."
Huang Yunfa was well aware of this situation.
He had brought his salt permits to the Salt Administration Bureau to collect his goods. The Bureau had then given him all the salt they originally intended to sell to private salt smugglers.
Tie Niaofei said, "My salt trade business, I'm afraid, is no longer viable. I urgently need to explore new avenues. I've heard that Squire Huang is quite adept in the northern frontiers and runs a vast enterprise. I wish to follow your lead, Squire Huang."
Huang Yunfa eyed him skeptically. "You want to join me? But why should I take you on? Business in the northern frontiers is not easy. If I open the path for you for nothing, you might just cast me aside and claim all the profits for yourself."
This was the crucial dilemma!
Without resolving this, things would be difficult.
Tie Niaofei lowered his voice. "I have connections. I can introduce you to a source for arquebuses."
At his words, Huang Yunfa's eyes narrowed. "Arquebuses? A small quantity would be pointless."
Tie Niaofei chuckled. "Of course not, there's plenty—hundreds of them! And they can continue to be produced steadily afterward."
Huang Yunfa's expression grew serious. "Do you understand the consequences of deceiving me? No matter where you flee, I will still hunt down and claim the head of a petty salt smuggler like you."
Tie Niaofei adopted a solemn expression. "Squire Huang, I am genuinely committed to joining you; how could I deceive you? Truth be told, I've discovered a remote, desolate village in Shanxi. The village is populated by a large number of blacksmiths who escaped from government workshops. They're barely surviving, hidden deep in the mountains. Having supplied them with salt a few times, I befriended them. They've forged many weapons for my men. Look, this saber on my hip, they made it... They also know how to forge arquebuses, and they've already made hundreds, which they are now looking to sell on the black market."
Huang Yunfa listened with a mix of belief and doubt. Such a situation wasn't entirely implausible. Artisans in the Great Ming suffered greatly, and there had been numerous instances of them fleeing government service over the years. The mass flight of blacksmiths, seeking refuge in a desolate village, was certainly a possibility.
Moreover, once artisans fled, they became displaced people. Without fields to cultivate and afraid to travel freely, their lives would undoubtedly be harsh. In such circumstances, striking a deal with a salt smuggler to secretly sell weapons was also a possibility.
Huang Yunfa had long secretly sold goods to the Manchu. And the Manchu were quite interested in arquebuses, having mentioned it to him several times, hoping he could procure some from the Great Ming.
However, this was a difficult matter to arrange.
Because the Great Ming itself didn't possess many arquebuses.
The Ming Dynasty's treasury had already collapsed by this point, leaving it utterly impoverished. Government soldiers couldn't even be paid their wages. How could the government possibly have the resources to mass-produce arquebuses? The few arquebuses available were exclusively deployed with elite units like the Divine Mechanism Camp and the Guanning Iron Cavalry.
Huang Yunfa couldn't acquire arquebuses from corrupt officials.
As for the common folk, it went without saying. If the government couldn't afford to forge them, how many could common people possibly produce on their own? A mere handful would be meaningless; volume was essential, as only with significant quantities would they be useful.
Even if the Jin merchants were incredibly resourceful, they couldn't procure many arquebuses to sell to the Manchu.
Tie Niaofei's words stirred Huang Yunfa's heart.
In this entire proposition, only one point truly warranted suspicion: where would these escaped blacksmiths get enough iron to forge hundreds of arquebuses?
Just as he was pondering this, Tie Niaofei chuckled. "I don't just sell salt; I also sell iron. Those blacksmiths are under my protection now. With a single word from me, they can sell all their arquebuses to Squire Huang. My demands aren't high: Squire Huang, you take me beyond the pass a few times and introduce me to people there for business. That's all."
Huang Yunfa's last shred of doubt dissipated. Of course, a man like him would never trust anyone easily. Even with his doubts assuaged, it didn't mean he implicitly believed Tie Niaofei. He still needed one final confirmation: "You say they have hundreds of arquebuses? Then bring them out for me to see. Once I've seen the goods, I'll believe your words."
Tie Niaofei declared, "A trifle! Squire Huang, don't rush north just yet. Stay here in the Hedong Circuit for a few days, and I'll arrange to bring those arquebuses for your inspection."
Huang Yunfa once again showed a suspicious look. "Hundreds of arquebuses are not light. With only a dozen or so men, how will you transport them here for me to see?"
Tie Niaofei grinned, "By boat!"
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