When Zheng Haizhu stepped into Lin Danhan's tent, he felt as if he had stepped into a container filled with colors so crowded that it was dizzying.
Regardless of the thick woolen blankets spread or hung, the screens, tables, chairs, high and low wooden cabinets, or even the murals surrounding the dome and tent walls, they are all filled with rich colors such as gold, vermilion, blue, green, and purple. .
These colors exude a unique luster, as if every inch is coated with animal fat. While visually impacting, it stimulates the nostrils of guests coming from afar.
Fortunately, the lingering smell was quickly suppressed by the aroma of black tea.
When Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin walked through the large and colorful carpet and arrived in front of Lin Dan Khan's throne, He Zhuo was guiding the Mongolian maid to filter out the boiled black tea juice, which was divided into two types: original solution and mare's milk, serving Lin Dan Khan and Su. Taifu Jin drinks.
Many Mongolians who did not go south to accept Han customs during the Yuan Dynasty still did not accept pure green tea.
After getting the fine green leaf tea from the mutual trade, these Mongolian nobles would order their servants to use the grassland Wuhua and green leaf tea to fumigate and dry them twice before drinking.
But black brick tea is very popular among princes and nobles.
The common exchange rule among tribes is that ten pieces of black brick tea can be exchanged for a fat sheep, and one hundred pieces of black brick tea can be exchanged for a camel.
Therefore, black tea, which has undergone the same fermentation process as black brick tea, was obviously very popular with the king of the Chahar tribe and his women.
You can see it from the look on Lin Danhan's face when he was talking to He Zhuo.
Lin Dan Khan, the "Supreme Supreme of the Northern Desert" who claimed to be equal to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was less than thirty years old. Soon after he ascended the throne, he went to war. The unique bravery and cunning of an emperor on the battlefield appeared at the same time in that small picture. A face with hooked eyes, nose and high cheekbones.
Ye Hefujin and Su Tai, who came to the grassland because of political marriage, looked about twenty years old, with pink lips, delicate but not pale skin, a pair of almond-shaped eyes with thick black eyelashes, and a look that looked forward to them. The shining pearl hat curtain is still shining.
Zheng Haizhu couldn't help but sigh, after all, she was a Jurchen beauty mentioned on the same level as the famous "Dong Ge" in history, and this statement was true.
However, Su Tai's brows and eyes still reveal an elegant temperament, unlike Nurhachi's Xiao Fujin, who even though his facial features are beautiful, his demeanor is either stupid or vulgar.
He Zhuo once said that Su Taifujin could compose Chinese poems and long songs in Mongolian. No wonder he had the poetry and calligraphy spirit in his belly.
At this moment, Su Tai's eyes came over, only glanced at Ma Xianglin, and then stopped at Zheng Haizhu's face.
The warm smile outweighed the coercion of Shen Yan.
Lin Danhan also put down his tea bowl, and while looking at the two Ming people who had already been carefully reported the whole story by He Zhuo, he waved his hands to "Bi Chachi" and the interpreter who were standing next to him.
Bichachi was an official in charge of etiquette, literature and history under the Mongolian Khan. The Genghis Khan family used their slave-type soldiers "Qixue" troops to conquer everywhere. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, these "Qixue" and their descendants received various official positions, and the official names all had the character "Chi" after them. The person who writes the imperial edict is called "Zhalichi", the official of the Ministry of Rites, Hanlin Academy or Honglu Temple is called "Bichachi", and the person responsible for the security of the royal capital is called "Kulahanchi".
Since a large number of Mongolian officials at the time of the founding of the country were directly transformed from domestic slaves, they would call themselves "slaves" to the emperor. Mongolian ministers who entered politics in other ways gradually also called themselves "servants and minions." The Manchurian Ministry of Construction and later ministers of the Qing Dynasty all claimed to be slaves, and their demeanor before the emperor was very humble. They often knelt down, which was very different from the traditional etiquette of monarchs and ministers in the Central Plains Empire.
Under Lin Danhan's instructions, Bichachi, who had a similar status as an official of Honglu Temple, stepped forward to take the Ming court document stamped with the seal of Governor Xuanda from Zheng Haizhu's hand. After checking it with the interpreter, he knelt down on Lin Danhan's boots with a bang. In front of me, I read it in Mongolian.
Lin Danhan stopped him without hearing a few words, and ordered his servants and maids to show Zheng and Ma their seats and serve them food.
"This is a pie fried with lamb meat. You two, try it."
Su Tai changed his sitting posture, leaned his upper body forward slightly, and spoke.
The tone is soft, and although the Chinese accent is the same as that of He Zhuo, the words are chosen carefully.
In the food box, on a beautifully patterned porcelain plate, there are persimmon-sized sauce-red meat patties stacked up. They are steaming hot and exude the strong smell of mutton and spices.
Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin thanked the Mongolian King of Han with their hands, broke up a small piece with chopsticks, and tasted it.
In Su Tai's dignified expression, a hint of fun suddenly flashed, and he said tactfully: "The Great Khan felt better after eating the pie today and drinking the tea you donated. This tea, accompanied by It’s really good to eat mutton.”
Zheng Haizhu couldn't get what he wanted, so he hurriedly picked up and blew the black tea merchant.
Technical aspects such as the rolling process will be omitted. I will only mention that it is far better than green leaf tea in helping to reduce fertilizer and fattening of animal meat, and the requirements for transportation conditions are not so stringent. The most important thing is that since the advent of this black tea, Overseas merchants have bought many from Taiwan, Zhangquan and Haojing in the Ming Dynasty, indicating that they are extremely popular. In this case, merchants who came overland from the west of the grassland would definitely be willing to buy them back in the mutual market in Chahanhot.
"Great Khan, Fujin, the merchants in your department exchanged horses and furs with our Ming merchants for black tea, and then exchanged the black tea with the west for silver and spices. The silver can buy grain and salt, and the spices can be exchanged for more black tea. Soon, the surrounding tribes, and maybe the Transkarkha Mongols, will also come to Chahanhot to trade. The Great Khan will receive generous tax money, and he can have more Chahar warriors."
During the whole process of Zheng Haizhu "drawing a pie" for Lin Danhan, Su Taifujin always translated in person. He would also ask He Zhuo about some Chinese words he didn't understand. After the master and servant discussed a few words, Su Taifujin Tell Lin Danhan again.
Lin Dan Khan, like most senior people, did not show any obvious emotions while listening.
In the end, Lin Danhan nodded lightly to his foreign wife, but without looking at Zheng Haizhu, he suddenly spoke to Ma Xianglin: "General of the Ming Dynasty, when you went to war with Jianbu this time, did you use a very powerful firearm?"
The four-pounder gun was exposed in front of the Mongols, so Lin Dan Khan will definitely raise this issue. On the way, Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin figured out how to answer Lin Danhan by holding him by the nose.
"King Khan," Ma Xianglin said with the same sullen expression as when he entered the tent, "Firearms, infantry, and knights are all important in defeating the enemy."
"The general is right. I heard that the Jianzhou Jurchens in the east also have firearms."
Ma Xianglin replied: "We didn't see the little flag owner who raised the blue flag this time."
Lin Danhan sneered: "We don't have iron and stone in Mongolia, but there are in Jianzhou. They can always make more and more. In addition to the annual reward of silver, can you, the Ming Dynasty, transport us some firearms?"
Ma Xianglin followed the route agreed upon in advance and looked at Zheng Haizhu as if speechless.
When away from home, status and authority are not only given by the court, but also rely on the continuous support of teammates.
When discussing any project with any opponent, there can only be one person who can make the final decision.
Zheng Haizhu leaned forward and said: "Great Khan, although the Jianzhou Jurchen's riding and shooting skills cannot compare with the warriors of Chahar, Nurhaci and his wolf cubs really want to learn how to make firearms from our Ming Dynasty. However, The casting and usage of different firearms are very different, and the compatibility of gunpowder is also different, not to mention the huge cost. The Jurchens in Jianzhou are now in a situation where they even have to grab their food rations. If they want to make large-scale firearms like our Ming Dynasty, I am afraid it will no."
"Ming Dynasty woman, don't talk in circles. I want you to go back and tell your emperor that we, Chahar, also want firearms."
Zheng Haizhu met Lin Danhan's solemn gaze: "Great Khan, if the trade route from Jizhou to Chahar is opened, and the warriors of your army can fight against the Ming army from Daning to Daling River together, The Jianzhou Jurchens who plundered the west, instead of receiving the annual silver reward every year, just stopped plundering the border residents of our Ming Dynasty. Then, our two countries can discuss whether the city of Chahanhot needs a few firearms to prevent If the Jianzhou Jurchens cannot break through the defense line in the south, they will go north to check Hanhot to vent their anger."
Lin Danhan's face sank after listening to Su Tai's translation.
After Su Tai added carefully, his face brightened slightly and he seemed a little surprised and said: "Your Ming Dynasty wants to rebuild Daning Town? Where will you station troops?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded and pointed at Ma Xianglin: "We have such a powerful general and the cavalry and infantry who can best restrain the Eight Banners Army's tactics. Why don't we come to guard the hometown of Daning?"
Lin Danhan fiddled with the Buddhist beads in his hand, thinking silently.
His wife, Su Tai, was right. If the Ming army could be stationed in the south, Chahar could devote more energy to subduing the disobedient tribes around him and continue to grow his own strength until he could suppress Horqin in the east.
Therefore, since the two countries want to make use of each other, I have to be more polite to the envoys of Ming Dynasty.
Lin Danhan then leaned on the tiger-skin throne, thought for a while, and said in a deep voice: "Then let's see if your emperor agrees to rebuild Daning Town, and whether it is allowed to reopen outside Jizhou Pass. Let's have some mutual trades. You know, the mutual trade in Xuanda was initiated by Ben Khan back then. Those ministers of your Ming Dynasty were so evil-minded that they blocked the mutual trade. In fact, it was for the sake of their own families that they could sell tea, porcelain and iron pots. It sells more expensively.”
After King Khan finished speaking, he took the initiative to signal He Zhuo to add black tea to Zheng and Ma.
Zheng Haizhu took out the small cloth bag he had prepared, put a few tangerine peels into the tea bowl, and handed a ceramic box containing various accessories such as plums, tangerine peels, osmanthus, roses, etc. to He Zhuo.
In the eyes of later generations of people who claim to be experienced tea drinkers, the way of drinking scented tea is not high-end and classy enough. However, in the current diplomacy, the real high-class thing is to do what one likes.
"Dahan and Fujin, you can also try adding some ingredients to our black tea, either to increase the sweetness or sourness, or to give it a unique fragrance, just like the Wuhua Qingye tea that Mongolian nobles love to drink."
Lin Danhan and Su Tai tried it. One liked the tangerine peel method, which can suppress the greasiness of mutton, while the other preferred the strong fragrance of osmanthus that cannot be smelled in the Northern Desert.
When the atmosphere in front of the throne relaxed, Lin Danhan suddenly remembered something, glanced at He Zhuo who was busy, turned to Su Tai and said: "He Zhuo's contribution this time is not small, I will also reward He Zhuo."
Zheng Haizhu, who was always staring at everyone's facial expressions, although he could not understand these few Mongolian sentences, could clearly see He Zhuo's expression changed when he bowed and bowed, turned around and walked towards the stove to put the teapot.
(End of chapter)
