MLMD -Chapter 53 The Dissatisfied Zaisang

“Young man, the head of the Li family and our Khorchin tribe have been acquainted for many years. We’ve dealt with each other for over a decade, but I’ve never seen him bring a stranger to do business in our tribe. Yet today, he has brought you along. Clearly, your relationship is unusual—but that isn’t what concerns me.”

At this, Zaisang paused slightly. Yue Yang, however, felt a sudden jolt in his heart. He looked again at this lean old man and thought, “This old fellow is not so simple!”

After the pause, Zaisang continued: “You know that on the Mongolian steppe, aside from cattle, sheep, and horses, we lack almost everything. Salt, tea bricks, cloth—even iron tools, clothing, and food—are all urgently needed. What you’ve brought this time is truly a boon to our tribe. Now tell me, what exactly do you want from me?”

Hearing this, Yue Yang’s earlier tension eased. It seemed that although Zaisang was shrewd, he still had the straightforwardness typical of Mongols. That made the negotiation easier.

Yue Yang smiled faintly and got straight to the point: “Respected Chief Zaisang, my purpose here is simple: I hope to trade the fifty carts of salt, fifty carts of grain, fifty carts of tea bricks, and a number of clothes and ironware that I’ve brought for your tribe’s warhorses.”

Zaisang’s brows slightly furrowed as he asked, “How many warhorses do you want to exchange for?”

“Of course, the more, the better!” Yue Yang replied without hesitation.

“So, you are someone sent by the Ming court!” Upon hearing this, Zaisang immediately stood up, his expression stern, and shouted at Yue Yang, “What audacity! You come to our tribe to buy horses—aren’t you afraid I’ll hand you over to the Later Jin?”

Yue Yang, however, showed no fear and even laughed: “Chief Zaisang, you are a descendant of Genghis Khan. Is your spirit really as shallow as a little stream? Think about it: if I were sent by the court, why would I come thousands of miles to the Khorchin tribe to buy horses? Aren’t there nearer tribes, like the Chakchin or Lutuhua, that have horses? You’re making a fuss over nothing.”

Seeing Yue Yang’s calm composure, Zaisang was momentarily speechless. Indeed, if the Ming really wanted to buy horses, there was no need to come all the way here. Many Mongol tribes had good relations with the Ming; there was simply no reason for such a detour.

“Alright, even if you aren’t sent by the court, why do you need so many warhorses?”

Yue Yang rolled his eyes: “Nonsense. Buying horses is naturally for forming cavalry—what, to plow fields? Honestly, I’ve organized a local militia in Shanxi, and lately, bandits have risen across Ming territory. To suppress them, we must have cavalry. I also heard that the head of the Li family is familiar with you, so I came to the Khorchin tribe to buy horses—otherwise, why would I suffer all the way out here to this godforsaken place?”

Yue Yang knew that in negotiations, controlling momentum and pace was key. By adopting a strong stance from the start, he took the initiative.

Meanwhile, Zaisang’s face shifted between blue and red. Anyone would feel offended if someone called their homeland a godforsaken place, let alone him, the leader of the Khorchin tribe. Thinking this, his expression darkened further.

Yue Yang clearly saw Zaisang’s expression and, knowing the dangers of excess, softened his tone: “Chief Zaisang, as you said, the steppe lacks everything except cattle, sheep, and horses. But what you need, we have. Salt, tea bricks, clothes, iron pots, spices, grains—we have them all. You can trade for whatever you need. To be honest, I brought a total of 200 carts of goods. If you give 2,000 warhorses, they are yours. What do you think?”

“Two thousand warhorses?” Zaisang murmured to himself, calculating in his mind. After a while, he said to Yue Yang: “Currently, a warhorse costs sixty taels of silver. Two thousand horses would be 120,000 taels. Do you think your 200 carts of goods are worth that?”

“Heh…” Yue Yang laughed and looked at Zaisang with a playful expression. “Chief Zaisang, do you think I’m a child doing business for the first time? Yes, warhorses cost sixty taels each—but that’s in the central regions, inside the passes. Applying that price here isn’t appropriate, is it? If steppe horses were really worth that much, you wouldn’t be worrying about surviving the winter.”

“Hmph, but you don’t have to bargain so harshly! Only 200 carts of goods for 2,000 horses—you think these horses just fall from the sky…” Zaisang retorted, bargaining.

After nearly an hour of discussion, a deal was struck: Yue Yang exchanged 200 carts of goods for 1,300 warhorses and agreed to return in two months for the next transaction.

After sending Yue Yang off, Zaisang returned to his tent with delight and began drinking mare’s milk wine. Soon, the tent flap opened, and an excited Udamu entered.

Without looking up, Zaisang asked, “Udamu, how’s it? Did you check all the goods?”

“Chief, I’ve seen them. The goods brought by that young man named Yue are all top quality. Especially the salt—I’ve checked; it’s all premium salt. Even in the Ming central regions, only the wealthy can afford it. I calculated: if sold individually, each jin would fetch at least two taels of silver. Fifty carts of salt alone is over 10,000 jin. And the tea bricks, iron pots, and grains—our tribe will have ample supplies for winter!”

Zaisang nodded and asked, “Udamu, do you think exchanging 1,300 horses for these goods is worth it?”

“Of course it’s worth it!” Udamu replied without hesitation. “1,300 horses aren’t much for our tribe. In winter, we sometimes lose more cattle, sheep, and horses than that!”

However, Udamu quickly raised a doubt: “Chief, something feels off. If this young man has such good goods, why sell them to us at such a low price? Aren’t Ming merchants known for being cunning? When have they ever done a loss-making deal?”

Udamu laughed: “That’s precisely his cleverness. He’s showing his sincerity. He also told me that this deal is just the beginning. He’ll buy more horses from us in the future. If so, we could cooperate with this young man long-term!”

“Chief… this… isn’t too good, right?” Zaisang said. Udamu hesitated: “Chief, if we get too close to Ming merchants, the Later Jin Khan might not be pleased.”

“What’s there to be displeased about!” Zaisang retorted angrily. “Huang Taiji of the Later Jin is close with the Shanxi merchants, isn’t he? Otherwise, where do they get their grain, iron, and intelligence? From those merchants, of course. So why can they trade with the Ming, but we can’t? Look at what Daisan came for this time—asking for horses is one thing, but he even wants to marry into our tribe! In Han terms, he wants both wealth and women!”

This thought made Zaisang uncomfortable. Although Huang Taiji pursued policies of allying and marrying into Mongol tribes, his power now meant he could be overbearing.

For example, Huang Taiji had already married into the Khorchin tribe twice. Zaisang’s sister, Borjigit Zeze, married Huang Taiji in 1614 and became Empress. In 1625, Huang Taiji, aged 33, married Zaisang’s 13-year-old daughter, Borjigit (the girl was very young). Bumbutai, later the famous Empress Xiaozhuang, became a consort. Now, in 1626, Huang Taiji sent Daisan to court Zaisang’s eldest daughter, Hailanzhu, as a consort. Zaisang was unhappy.

Damn it! I’ve already given you a sister and a daughter. Now you want my only and most cherished eldest daughter? Do you think you’re the only man in the world? And what’s worse, you give no bride price but still want to benefit from me. You truly want to take everything!

Thinking of this, Zaisang felt a tightness in his chest. Udamu, understanding Zaisang’s mood, thought: This man still has some temper. Huang Taiji sends people here, giving food and drink, and now he wants both women and wealth. Does he think the Khorchin tribe is his vegetable garden, picking whatever he likes?

Udamu couldn’t help but say angrily: “Yes! If we marry our young lady to that young merchant, maybe we’ll never worry about winter supplies again.”

“Hm… what did you say?” Zaisang snapped, lifting his head and glaring at him as Udamu spoke…