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Chapter 872: Seeing is better than hearing a hundred times

However, as they moved further and further south, Elke's view of the Ming Dynasty changed as he saw it with his own eyes.

About a hundred miles north of Guihua City, he saw the legendary invincible Ming army, which was surrounded by more than a hundred cavalrymen and a group of prairie wolves.

In terms of riding skills, even the young men in the tribe were better than the Ming army. But in terms of killing power, even if the best men in the tribe were gathered together, even if their numbers were doubled, they would still be far behind.

As long as the Ming army chased the wolves to a distance of about 200 meters, they could shoot at the wolves running at high speed with muskets on horseback, with a hit rate of over 50%. At this distance, the Mongolian riders had no killing power at all.

If the wolves were replaced by the Outer Khalkha cavalry, the outcome would be predictable. They would have lost a large number of men before they even got close enough for the bows to work, and their hit rate would only be higher, after all, the riders and horses were much larger than the prairie wolves.

Even if they rushed to a relatively close distance, the Ming army still had sufficient combat effectiveness. Each of them had two very short and thick muskets hanging on their waists, with three barrels, which could be fired three times without reloading.

When the Ming army chased the lone prairie wolf on horseback, they would often run very close and shoot with short guns from more than ten steps away, with a terrifyingly high hit rate, almost one shot per kill. The extremely vigorous prairie wolves would roll over several times after being knocked down, and few would be able to stand up and run again.

At this time, Subahai of the five Inner Khalkha tribes and Oba of Khorchin introduced that the most powerful weapon of the Ming army was not the musket, but the artillery, which could be carried on horseback during the march.

The range of the cannon is several times that of the musket. It can be loaded with fist-sized iron balls, bean-sized iron sand, and hollow bullets that explode and catch fire.

In either case, if the men and horses were hit, they would at least be crippled, and at the same time, horses that had not received rigorous training would be frightened by the sound of the cannon fire, seriously affecting the momentum of the charge.

They were all Mongolian brothers, and they spoke frankly. The leaders of the ethnic groups that had submitted to the Ming Dynasty had calculated together many times how many troops they would need and under what circumstances they could defeat the Ming army.

It was because the conditions were too harsh and there was almost no possibility of victory that they had no choice but to choose to submit. Being a marquis appointed by the Ming Dynasty, still leading his own tribe and having a larger territory, was better than being chased by the Ming army and running for his life.

Moreover, it was not easy to escape. With the completion of the three fortified cities of Tumed, Kharchin and Horqin, seven cities had been built in the southern part of the desert, dividing the grassland into several parts.

The Ming army was stationed there and could launch raids at any time in any direction within a distance of at least 100 miles. At that time, the herdsmen would become the targets of harassment, and they would always be worried, not knowing when they would see the guy wearing toad skin.

"Erleke, that is Bagua City, which is garrisoned by at least 1000 Ming troops and 20 cannons all year round. The walls and towers are built of stone, as thick as two horses connected head to tail. There are wells in the city, and the food stored underground is enough to last for a year.

You may be cursing the Kharchin tribe for being cowards in your heart, but you can calculate for yourself how many corpses of Mongolian warriors are needed to capture this city, and how many herdsmen from our Kharchin tribe will be killed by the Ming army like they would kill a pack of wolves.

Things have changed. Since the Ming army had muskets and artillery, and had leaders like Riyue Khan, the grasslands and deserts no longer belonged to the Mongols alone. Whether they like it or not, they must make the right choice for the lives of their people. "As half-masters, Bushitu and Bai Hong lowered their status and personally led their cavalry north for a hundred miles to welcome the guests from afar with the most solemn etiquette, but after meeting, they could clearly feel a certain contempt in Elek's eyes.

At this time, Bai Hong finally couldn't help it. He pointed to Bagua City a few miles away and spoke in the straightforward way unique to herdsmen about the difficulties of the Kharchin tribe and the life and death choice that the Tushetu tribe would soon face.

He was not speaking for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but was speaking from his heart. If nomadic people were used to freedom, who would be willing to put another hat on their heads and be controlled by others unless they had no choice? But for the survival of the tribe, they had to bow their heads when they met strong and ruthless people.

"Are those herdsmen going to pay tribute to the Ming Emperor?"

Erleke is about the same age as Baihong, but his temper seems to be even younger. Although he clearly heard the dissatisfaction in the other's tone, he did not rush to explain himself. Instead, he pointed at the herdsmen driving horse-drawn carts heading south in the distance and asked questions.

"It's not tribute, it's goods. They would go to the southern market to exchange leather, wool, camel hair, minerals and herbs with the Han people for winter food, cloth and felt. If they had abundant cattle, sheep and horses at home, or found good gems, they could also exchange them for sugar, iron pots, iron stoves and beautiful clothes.

There were markets not only here, but also outside the cities of Horqin and Tumed. The Han people were very happy to exchange goods, and some would follow the herders to the winter pastures, living in felt tents throughout the winter, looking for valuable goods like foxes.

With the goods from the Han people, the winter is much better. Now some herders simply stop grazing and learn from the Han people to cultivate land near the river and grow corn.

That thing is amazing. It can grow taller than a person and bear a lot of fruit without much effort. Both humans and livestock can eat it. After harvesting, the leaves and stems can also be used as winter feed. Cattle and sheep like it very much. "

Seeing that Bai Hong was not in a good mood, Oba quickly took over the conversation and introduced the current survival status of each tribe. Generally speaking, it was much better than before. The white and black disasters that used to be feared were now able to be resisted, and all these changes came from the intervention of the Han people.

Elek did not believe all of these words, nor did he disbelieve them, after all, he had seen some of them with his own eyes, such as the market not far from the Ming Dynasty's border wall, and the herdsmen busy exchanging goods at the market.

Although most of them argued with the Han people at the top of their lungs and with glaring eyes, judging from their tone and results, they were not really going to quarrel. Often after the argument, both sides would show a satisfied smile.

"We also bought shares in the factory with Sun Moon Khan, and we get a lot of benefits every year, enough to share with everyone to buy some good things. On the way to the capital, you will see a factory where the machines can actually move by themselves, turning wool into felt and yarn. It's really amazing!"

Bu Shitu had something to say about the benefits of surrendering to the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the market, he valued the income from the woolen mill and the leather factory more, because that was the real money that went into his pocket.

With this income, there is no need to extort money from the herdsmen's homes, and the leaders below can quickly become wealthy. This is more important than anything else. If you want to control the power of the tribe, you must protect the interests of the nobles. If they are satisfied, the position of the chief can be stable.

(End of this chapter)