Chapter 230: Tricking Lin Danhan

Although he was unhappy, after witnessing the cruelty of Ligdan Khan, Wang An dared not refuse to give it.

But when he was out, the tribes on the grassland all used barter, and he didn't have much silver on him, so he said honestly: "Your Majesty, Khan, you should know that people on the grassland all use barter, so I don't have much silver on me."

"If you trust me, could you please bring the silver next time you come to the grassland?"

To Wang An's surprise, Lin Danhan did not look unhappy at all. Instead, he said in a very easy-going manner: "This Khan has been dealing with you Southern Dynasty merchants for a long time. Of course, I understand your difficulties."

"Just don't bring silver next time you come to the grassland. I'll write a note and you can bring supplies directly according to the contents of the note."

Wang An breathed a sigh of relief, as long as Ligdan Khan didn't force him to hand over the money immediately.

Even if it can be directly exchanged for supplies, it would still be a good thing for Wang An.

Because there is a profit difference between the selling price and the purchase price of materials, and doing business on the grassland is a highly profitable business.

If twenty thousand taels were exchanged for supplies, it would probably be worth just over ten thousand.

It's just a wasted trip, which makes people feel a little depressed.

Feeling somewhat comforted, Wang An casually asked, "What does His Majesty the Khan need most?"

Lin Danhan grinned and said, "Ordinary items, just some armor and armor-piercing arrowheads."

Wang An almost choked himself to death as soon as he poured a glass of wine into his throat, but it still inevitably caused him to cough violently.

"Ahem... Armor, armor-piercing arrows?"

"Your Majesty, you are kidding me!"

Lin Danhan's face darkened, and he stared at Wang An coldly for a long time, then he sneered and said, "Why, Shopkeeper Wang, don't you want to deny your debt?"

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense.

Wang An’s brain started spinning rapidly. Should he agree or not?
The problem facing Wang An now is that even if Wang An wants to agree, there is no source of supply.

In the era of cold weapons, except for the Yuan Dynasty which implemented real-name registration for kitchen knives, most dynasties did not prohibit civilians from owning weapons and bows and arrows.

But there are two things that, from kings and ministers to ordinary people, once discovered, everyone will be punished for treason, and there is no room for negotiation.

That is armor and crossbow.

In ancient times, heavy armored soldiers were truly one against a hundred when compared to unarmored or lightly armored infantry.

The crossbow, on the other hand, is easy to use and requires very low quality of the user. As long as the user is not cross-eyed or an idiot, even an ordinary person with a crossbow can be comparable to a strong and well-trained marksman.

It is precisely because of the special nature of armor and crossbows that they have been favored by rebels of all generations, and they can quietly equip an extremely powerful army.

When Zhu Di rebelled against his nephew, he secretly hid underground and made armor. At the critical moment, he would suddenly send out an armored army and catch his brother Jianwen off guard.

Qin Shi Huang's crossbowmen swept across the six kingdoms and unified the world!
Although Lin Danhan did not ask for a crossbow, if he wanted armor-piercing arrowheads, he might as well ask Wang An for a crossbow! If it was just an ordinary arrowhead, it would be fine, but what is an armor-piercing arrowhead?
As the name suggests, it is designed for breaking armor!
Not to mention that the material and forging requirements of special armor-piercing arrowheads are much higher than those of ordinary arrowheads. Even in the Ming Dynasty, only a few regions have the technical ability to forge armor-piercing arrows, and the price is high.

The price is high, but the problem is that you can’t buy it!
Although some of them benefited from the corrupt bureaucracy of the Ming Dynasty, it was not impossible to get them if they had a strong background and were willing to pay to corrupt them, but once they were caught by the court, they would be speechless with the question "Why do you want armor-piercing arrows?"

Since there is no explanation, we can only deal with it as an attempt to rebel.

Ordinary hunters can just use ordinary arrows for hunting. After all, wild animals don’t wear armor!

Add to that the armor, isn't this a perfect two-piece suit for confiscating a house?

Not to mention that Lin Danhan was not planning to give money, even if he really gave money, Wang An would not do such a thing that would cost him his life.

Right now, things are going well and life is getting better day by day. Only a fool would do such a thing.

Wang An turned his head slightly to avoid Lin Danhan's increasingly cold gaze, his brain working at full speed, looking for words to evade the question.

Suddenly, Wang An had an idea and said, "Your Majesty the Khan needs armor and armor-piercing arrows. I guess he wants to fight a big battle!"

Lin Danhan's expression changed slightly, his eyes became colder, but he suddenly smiled and said, "It's said that you Southern Dynasty people are smart, and Southern Dynasty merchants are even smarter. This is indeed true!"

Wang An immediately felt relieved. This meant that Lin Danhan’s request for armor and armor-piercing arrows was indeed in preparation for war.

As a prairie dog, Lindan Khan was fighting all the time, which was nothing surprising.

But Lin Danhan never took on any tough tasks.

Just like with the Jiannu, they have always been avoiding direct conflict and only dared to hide in the corner and bark angrily.

Most general battles are about the majority bullying the minority, or the strong bullying the weak. There is no need to make special efforts on equipment for this purpose. The enemy that is worth Lin Danhan's preparation of armaments in advance must be a strong one!
So who is Lindan Khan’s enemy, or who deserves Lindan Khan’s attention?
Jiannu?

It's impossible. Not to mention that in history, Lindan Khan had always avoided direct conflict with the Jiannu. Lindan Khan simply didn't have the courage to fight the Jiannu. Even if he did, the Jiannu was in Liaodong and Lindan Khan was on the right wing of Mongolia. The two were separated by thousands of miles and could not fight at all.

Could it be the Ming Dynasty?
This is even more impossible.

Although Lindan Khan had always looked down upon the fighting capacity of the Ming Dynasty, he must have known in his heart that a lean camel was bigger than a horse. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty and Lindan Khan currently agreed on Mongolia's goals and there was no direct conflict. Mongolia was still hoping to make some money from the Ming Dynasty, so there was no reason for them to go to war.

If it was just a general border raid, there would be no need to increase the number of armored soldiers and purchase armor-piercing arrows. This is clearly a preparation for a life-and-death fight.

So who is Lin Danhan’s enemy?
Considering the time point and Lin Danhan's location, Wang An's eyes suddenly widened.

Lin Danhan wants to be the King of Shunyi!

In the original historical trajectory, Lindan Khan left the left wing of Mongolia and moved westward. One reason was that he had been deserted by his friends and relatives. The two great Okto tribes, Naiman and Aohan, betrayed Lindan and defected to the Jiannu, and Khorchin was also conquered by the Jiannu.

In order to avoid the attack of the Jiannu, Lin Danhan had to leave his hometown of Chahar.

After moving westward to the right wing, Ligdan Khan still regarded himself as the Great Khan of Mongolia.

(End of this chapter)