"Respected Ancestor Shaman capable of conjuring gold! These bags of gold truly demonstrate the unimaginable power of the Chief Divine, representing wealth that neither I, Ali, nor any part of the entire Jurchen Tribes have ever seen! ... I believe that you must possess some great magical power! Since you can produce this one hundred jin of gold, whether it’s plundered, granted by the Divine Spirit, or obtained through witchcraft and sacrifice, that thousand jin of gold must also be obtainable!..."

Chief Ali of the Harman Tribe pursed his lips, struggling to let go of the heavy gold talisman in his hand, barely managing to stand up from the dazzling golden light. The appearance of this gold, much like the appearance of these tribes arriving on large ships, is shrouded in a mystique that only divine spirits can explain. Anyway, in the history passed down by the Harman Tribe, there was never any mention of the northern Wild Man Tribes carrying a large amount of gold and sailing southward on large ships. Furthermore, no gold mines were ever discovered along the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River...

"Ancestor Shaman, you may not fully understand the value of this Chief Divine-granted gold to the Southern Great Ming and to the Liaodong Border Army. If we were to carry one thousand jin of gold southward, it’s unlikely we would ever meet the Emperor of Ming; instead, we would meet our demise without a trace, with not a single survivor left behind!..."

"Oh? Ali, tell me more in detail!"

"Yes!"

At this point, Chief Ali walked in front of Zuwaro and kneeled respectfully, bowing his head. Kneeling and bowing are universal customs among the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes to express deep respect for superiors; however, it is not a common practice in the Han Land at this time. The Man Language colloquialism "je" at this moment still means "yes" or "as you command." At this moment, Ali assumed a posture of obedient reverence, his expression filled not only with awe but also with a hint of concern.

"Ancestor Shaman, downstream of the Great River, the tribes engage in mutual slaughter, and their trade is based on barter, with no recognition of gold or silver. This gold can only be taken to the southern Han Land to be exchanged for essentials for the tribes... whereas in the southern Han Land, gold and silver are ’currency’ that can buy anything. Be it food, drink, daily necessities, or even getting married and buying a house, everything requires money!... The value of this pile of gold is unimaginably immense, one that none of the Great Ming Border Army encountered could tolerate or let go!"

"The Southern Great Ming’s army numbers in the tens of thousands; unlike our tribal warriors, these blade-wielding ’soldiers’ require ’money’ to sustain themselves... For the ordinary border garrison soldiers, known as ’one soldier,’ after various deductions, they receive a monthly salary or ’monthly ration’ of only four to five cents. This small amount of money can be exchanged for half a stone of food, and with the addition of their own cultivation of border lands, it is just enough to make ends meet, often failing to fill their stomachs. Of course, to receive a larger share of ’monthly rations,’ empty quotas have always been abundant and are increasingly growing..."

"As for the capable combat soldiers in the border army, like those scouts and vanguards on the front lines, they are about ’one person counts as two soldiers.’ They can receive about eight cents a month, need not cultivate, and can fill their bellies by risking their lives. Among them, only a very few, the elite warriors, can count as ’one person counts as three or four soldiers,’ relying on their extraordinary bravery to become the confidants of various commanders and thousand commanders. Their salary is not deducted, and the officers they follow often provide rewards, usually about one to two taels of silver per month, ensuring they want for nothing..."

"Further up the hierarchy, like the ’Secretary commanders’ appointed by the Ming for various tribes, they have corresponding positions in the Liaodong Border Town. Their monthly stipend is ’five stones of rice,’ roughly three to four taels of silver. Of course, these stipends are just a small part, and cannot sustain their household servants and attendants. Their main income still comes from ’illegitimate payrolls’ and employing ’soldiers’ for labor..." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Generally speaking, a ’sentry’ appointment for ninety to one hundred people, with empty pay at least accounting for twenty percent, calculated at five cents per person, amounts to ten taels of silver! This ten taels of silver, thirty percent is distributed below, thirty percent kept personally, and forty percent delivered upwards, or might not be distributed at all..."

"Therefore, for a thousand commander in the Liaodong Border Army, even if they take the empty posts of two hundred people, and ’monthly rations’ of one hundred taels, what they can personally pocket is only thirty taels a month at best, and this in the best scenario, which is rarely meetable! Because the court never disburses full salary, and an eighty percent discount is customary. Receiving eighty percent of the monetary allocation, the officials seize another twenty percent vignette, and being left with sixty percent is already a sign of formidable backing..."

"And the Guardian Thousand Households at the border fortresses fare even worse; from the highest thousand household, to the lowest peasant soldiers, they live in abject poverty. The court disburses less than half of the salary or monthly ration, sometimes reduced to as low as twenty to thirty percent. These border fortresses can hardly feed themselves and must clandestinely engage in private trade with us Shushu Jurchen Tribes to get money. The ironware from Haixi Jurchen likely comes this way, certainly involving border military castles in the resale!"

At this moment, Commander Ali of the Harman, speaking of the complex grain salary system of the Liaodong Border Army, and the advanced ’illicit payroll experience,’ along with the inevitable private trade at the border forts, left Zuwaro with widened eyes, witnessing the world for the first time. In conclusion, Ali took another drag of Divine Smoke, pressed his hand upon his heart, pointing to the bag of gold on the ground, and gritted his teeth.

"Witness the Blood-eyed Chief Divine! The Chief Soldier of Liaodong Town, controlling tens of thousands to as many as a hundred thousand border soldiers, even by swindling the payroll of ten thousand troops for a whole year... it’s probably only equivalent to this one hundred jin of gold, this ten thousand taels of silver!"

"And that doesn’t even account for the huge share the various Inner Eunuch Chiefs demand, calculated accurately, the Liaodong Chief Soldier might only receive around five to six thousand taels a year..."

"By the Holy Emperor above! As for a thousand jin of gold, one hundred thousand taels of silver, that is the ’big money’ that the Liaodong Chief Soldier of Great Ming seldom ever sees! Taking hold of it once would equal twenty years of funds!... Ancestor Shaman, if you were to take a thousand jin of gold, and accompany us southward. Even if you smoothly pass through the various Jurchen Tribes along the way, and reach Kaiyuan Market, reporting to the Liaodong Chief Soldier..."

"I’m afraid by then, what awaits us won’t be any form of acceptance in tribute, but rather a massive extermination by the Ming Army, leaving not even chickens or dogs behind! Anyone aware of our tribute mission within the Kaiyuan Guard Market, be they from the Jurchen Tribes or the Han populace, none will be left alive!"

"Following this, Liaodong Town will even report it as a great victory! Claiming to wipe out the ’invading’ Kaiyuan Guard, massacring the market populace’s ’tribute-offending Barbarians,’ and exterminating them entirely. Using our ’Barbarian’ heads to proclaim military merit to the court, sending it to the Nine Borders, and seeking an extra court reward!"