"Simple cooperation, or depending on the situation, is no problem. As long as there are common interests, do I think it is necessary to rise to the level of alliance?" Zaisai was not so easy to get on board.
A covenant is not just a few words. It needs to be supported by words, seals and even substantive actions, otherwise it will not be convincing.
"That's different." Feng Ziying replied firmly, "Forging an alliance means obligations and compulsions. In some cases, even if it is not so urgent for one's own family or even does not involve one's own interests, one must still resolutely implement the behaviors agreed in the covenant. , this is why obligations are mandatory.”
Of course, Zaisai understood the hidden meaning of Feng Ziying's words, that is, when dealing with Jianzhou Jurchens, it may require the joint efforts of three parties, including the use of the army.
Zaisai fell into deep thought. He needed to evaluate it carefully. In fact, he had already considered this issue, but after considering it, when it came time to implement the covenant in black and white, it still made him hesitate.
The consequences of not performing the contract after forming an alliance will definitely be serious, but refusing now will also bring unacceptable results. Two hundred thousand taels of silver are far from enough to meet the losses of this southern invasion, and these hundreds of captives are not enough for the Inner Khalkha people. And meaningless.
"Lord Feng, if I agree to form an alliance, what else can the Great Zhou, or Liaodong, give us in Inner Khalkha besides the ransom involved this time?" Zasai finally asked in a deep voice.
"A lot." Feng Ziying said calmly: "In addition to the stable trade I mentioned before, including grain, salt tea, cloth, medicinal materials, iron materials and even weapons can be imported without limit. We are also willing to accept imports from Nei Kabul. Inner Khalkha's livestock, horses, furs, and even the training of officers and soldiers can be exchanged. It can be said that the strength of Inner Khalkha can be greatly improved in a short period of time, and we can even support Inner Khalkha in Eastern Mongolia and even Mongolia as a whole. To exert greater influence, the Chahar people are not born to become the leaders of Mongolia. Be it Dayan Khan, Anda Khan, or Ye Xian, times make heroes, right? Zai Mr. Sai?"
Feng Ziying's words were full of temptation. Zasai tried his best to resist this temptation, but he was still moved uncontrollably.
"But Master Feng, aren't you afraid that our Inner Khalkha will develop and grow and become another Chahar or Jianzhou Jurchen, or even me becoming another Genghis Khan?" Zasai stared at Feng Ziying.
"Whether you're afraid or not, that's a matter for the future. With the current situation of the Inner Khalkha people, even if you, Lord Zasai, are talented and resourceful, can you surpass the Chahar people in ten years? There are also Tumut and Ordos to the west. , there is Transkarkha to the north, and there are Horqin and Jianzhou Jurchen to the east, how can I be afraid of coming here?" Feng Ziying laughed loudly, "The world is so big and the times are different, how can you and I be able to do it together? Are you talking here? What we have to do first is to solve our own problems, right?"
Zaisai's eyes also flashed with brilliance, "Well said, Mr. Feng has explained the relationship between us thoroughly at a glance. Inner Khalkha really can't talk about other things, just Horqin and Outer Khalkha people." It’s enough to give us a headache, not to mention Chahar and Jianzhou Jurchen. Faced with these, there is indeed more need for both of us to work together.”
"Well, my understanding is, does Master Zaisai agree with my suggestion?" Feng Ziying was not worried that Zaisai would not agree.
The follow-up still needs to be discussed in detail. Zaisai is not an easy person to deal with. He is different from other Mongolians with rough temperaments. Many specific conditions must be compared with each other, but this is good, which shows that the other party really values this. It also means that once the other party agrees to form an alliance, it is more likely to abide by the covenant.
"I basically agree, but the specific conditions need to be discussed in detail." Zaisai nodded.
Once the general principles were determined, the specific matters became much simpler. Feng Ziying made it clear that Wu Yaoqing would be the one to negotiate, while his brother Bi Lingtu would be in charge of Zaisai.
In fact, the interested parties involved in this matter are Liaodong and the Yehe tribe. The Yehe tribe has no objections, or they are the biggest beneficiaries. In contrast, the Inner Khalkha and Liaodong sides need to do something. There are more specific agreed obligations, especially when it comes to military operations and commercial trade exchanges, but the territory of the Yehe tribe is right between Liaodong and Inner Khalkha, and it is also a necessary route for trade exchanges.
Just as the meeting was about to end, Wu Yaoqing came to report the news.
Zaisai noticed the change in Feng Ziying's expression and remained silent. Finally, it was Feng Ziying who took the initiative to tell Zaisai: "Master Zaisai, I just got the news that the Yongping New Army is in the Xishui River Bend and Horqin, forty miles north of Fengrun County. The cavalry group fought against each other and defeated Horqin's group, capturing more than 200 people..."
Zai Sai's expression remained unchanged: "Oh? This fellow Hong Guoer is indeed a thief. This is a good time. He can only steal a chicken but lose a lot of rice. What does Mr. Feng mean...?"
"It's nothing interesting. It's just an announcement. After all, Liaodong and Nekarkha will become allies. It's best to announce this news." Feng Ziying said with interest: "These prisoners..."
"Simple, let the Horqin people pay for the money. They will gain a lot from this batch of ransom money. Naturally, they can also use the money to redeem their people. It's okay." Zaisai raised his eyebrows, "Let the Horqin people eat some. It’s not a bad thing for children to suffer, it also helps them understand that their own confidence is not convincing.”
Feng Ziying laughed. It seemed that Zaisai had also been dissatisfied with the Horqin people for a long time, so this was just an opportunity to humiliate them.
*******
Returning to Lulong made Feng Ziying feel a little strange. Fortunately, the complicated affairs soon made him feel uncomfortable, and he quickly devoted himself to official duties.
Zhu Zhiren became more and more relaxed. He had received news from various channels. It was very likely that he would be promoted back to Beijing after the new year. He could almost lock in the promotion list for this round. Of course, the premise was that no major mistakes would be made during this period, so Zhu Zhiren took the initiative to call Feng Ziying together to discuss many matters and strive to be safe.
This is also a dream for Feng Ziying.
Although he has been in Yongping for more than half a year, to be honest, Feng Ziying's main energy is still limited to a few matters that he considers important. As for other matters in the government, according to the usual practice, he needs to assist the prefect in handling them, and he basically has not interfered much. No thought or energy to deal with it.
Now Zhu Zhiren is in a very good mood and is preparing to leave office, so he takes care of everything and almost teaches Feng Ziying step by step how to handle the official affairs of the government, which has benefited Feng Ziying a lot.
After all, Feng Ziying had no political experience. She almost went straight from being a noble official like Hanlin, a Jinshi, to a practical official like Tongzhi of a government. From not having a single official under her eyes, she suddenly became in charge of several officials in a government. Fang even has to assist the prefect in managing various affairs of the entire government with a population of one million, which can be said to have changed tremendously.
Even if a general Jinshi takes up a local post, he usually starts as a county magistrate and has several staffs under him. Although Feng Ziying has also recruited staff, his main focus is not on the affairs of Yongping Mansion, so many times Feng Ziying could only adapt and learn by herself.
Now with Zhu Zhiren's guidance and professors, he can also have an adaptation process. This is a very rare opportunity for him.
"Ziying, please read this official letter first." Zhu Zhiren frowned, picked up a document from his desk and handed it to Feng Ziying, "I'm from the Ministry of Household Affairs. I heard that Bo Xiaogong is about to take office. Ziying, are you here this time?" Jing, have you heard of it?"
"Bo Xiaogong is already seventy-five, isn't he? The emperor tried to persuade him to stay here several times. I'm afraid he won't be able to stay again this time, right?" Feng Ziying had heard about it.
The internal situation here is very complicated, involving the game between Jiangnan, Beidi, and Huguang scholars. With no Huguang scholar joining the cabinet, Zheng Jizhi is theoretically the leader of the Huguang scholars, but in fact Zheng Jizhi has not played any role. As for the role of the leaders of the Huguang scholars, they focused more on how to cover the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue itself so that the Zhou Dynasty's finances would not leak everywhere, so the Huguang scholars were not very satisfied.
However, the position of the Minister of Hubu is too important. Among the six ministers, he is second only to the Minister of Libu. He can be regarded as the seventh person among the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In addition to the five cabinet ministers and the Minister of Libu, he belongs to him. If Zheng Jizhi had not been too old, his chances of joining the cabinet would have been very high.
Now if Zheng Jizhi becomes an official, it is customary for a Jiangnan scholar to succeed him. However, as the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is still vacant, if the Minister of Hubu is succeeded by a scholar from Jiangnan, it will be difficult to choose the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Because of the established practice of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has always been appointed by scholars from the North and Jiangnan. The Minister of the Ministry of Hubu and the Ministry of War have always been appointed by scholars from the North, Jiangnan and Huguang. The predecessor of the Minister of the Ministry of Official Affairs was Qi Yongtai. He was a scholar from the north. After Qi Yongtai entered the cabinet, he served part-time for a period of time. Now that he is stepping down, it is customary for a scholar from the south of the Yangtze River to take over. However, Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe, Li Tingji and others have been arguing over who should take over as the Minister of Civil Affairs. No agreement was reached, so it has been postponed to this day.
Ye Xianggao and Li Tingji were the leaders of the Fujian-Jiangyou Scholars Alliance, while Fang Congzhe was the flag-bearer of the Southern Zhili-Zhejiang Scholars Alliance. Although they both belonged to Jiangnan scholars, they had the same general interests and small groups. They still have their own interests.
The Minister of Household Affairs was succeeded by a Jiangnan scholar, and now the Minister of Personnel will also be succeeded by a Jiangnan scholar. Moreover, now the Minister of Rites has been succeeded by Gu Bingqian, who is also a Jiangnan scholar. In addition, Zhang Jingqiu, the Minister of War, is actually a private party of Emperor Yonglong. , but his native place is also Nanzhili, which means that five of the six ministers will be controlled by Jiangnan scholars. How can this make the relationship between scholars from Beidi and Huguang so embarrassing?
