Zhu Youtang celebrated the most meaningful Longevity Festival since he ascended the throne.
Not to mention coming from all over the world, even Huo Si, who was once the arrogant man on the grassland and competed with the little Tatar prince Batu Meng for supremacy, bowed his head and obeyed. At the same time, he also received Wei Ning Hai, a patrol from Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren. News about worshiping heaven in Weininghai.
So much so that there began to be a saying around the capital that Zhu Youtang was the most accomplished king in martial arts after Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty.
If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Youtang could not surpass the two emperors who had great military prowess in the founding of the country, maybe some people would directly say that Zhu Youtang was comparable to the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty. This would be considered relatively restrained.
Of course, Zhu Youtang has to pay a price for being the leader of the world.
Those vassal states that came to Beijing to congratulate were all seeking benefits from the Ming Dynasty, especially those from the Fire Sieve... In addition to the more than 10,000 prisoners that the Fire Sieve asked the Ming to capture, there were also nearly 100,000 cattle and sheep. In addition to returning them all, he also proposed to build a city in the Hetao with the Ming Dynasty, and from now on the land of the Hetao would be awarded to him, as well as a large number of silks, tea, ironware, etc.
In fact, he also wanted Ming's artillery technology... Of course, he also knew that he could not gain Ming's complete trust now.
I kept this request in my stomach for now.
On this matter, Zhu Youtang was quite calm.
You have already pretended, even if you want to spread some benefits to those vassal countries, there is no need to bleed a lot, just give them some meaning.
Finally, Tang Yin went to the fire sieve to convey the Ming Dynasty's message: "...the land of the Hetao was temporarily given to you as a shelter by the Holy Spirit because of the plight of your Mengoljin tribe with nowhere to graze. The land must belong to the Ming Dynasty. , the city must be built by the people of your tribe themselves, and the city must be built with three tributes in three years."
"If your tribe is invaded, the Ming Dynasty will judge the situation and decide whether to send troops to help. When the Ming Dynasty encounters border invaders, you must also send troops in time. Otherwise, it will be regarded as betrayal. The next time the Ming Dynasty sends troops, your tribe will be completely destroyed. "
"As for your captive tribesmen, part of them will be given back every year in the next five years. They will be given to the old and weak first, and they will be raised by you to fulfill their filial piety, and then they will be given to women and children. As for cattle, horses, camels, etc., that will all be given to you. It’s a spoil of war from the Ming Dynasty, except for a small part that will be given to you, don’t even think about the rest!”
Huo Si originally thought that he could go back in glory after getting a lot of rewards from Daming.
After listening to Tang Yin's words, he realized that Ming Dynasty couldn't even call it borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha. It was simply robbing us of things and giving us a little to show the grace and power of Ming Dynasty.
Compared to the people, animals and property that I took back...how many were stolen?
If you can't give it back to me, then why should I be embarrassed and come to Ming Dynasty to be an obedient citizen? Are you going to fight with your Ming Dynasty directly?
Tang Yin finally expressed his sympathy for Huo Si's experience. He said: "The Holy One has been extremely kind to you, but after all, he did not let you move to Guannan. He still gave you enough land and pasture, and promised to send troops as appropriate to protect your safety. , This is a great favor from the Emperor. Go back early after accepting it."
Just say that our Ming Dynasty did not tie them down or kill you all. It is necessary to keep some hostages.
If you want to rebel again...that's up to you.
But next time you may not have to bear the burden of Wang Boan or Zhu Zhijie. If Zhang Banxian comes in person, I will ask you if you are afraid of the fire sieve?
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Huo Si received the necessary rewards from Daming and returned to the northwest.
As for the North Korean side, they also got what they wanted, which was to confer the eldest son of Lord Yanshan as the crown prince. This is equivalent to saying that the son of Lord Yanshan has been recognized by the Ming Dynasty. Of course, so far, Li's position as king has also been recognized. The Ming Dynasty recognized him, and he was even regarded as the master of the Ming Dynasty in North Korea.
North Korea also had another important purpose, which was to cooperate with Li's "Western Expedition."
In May of the twelfth year of Hongzhi, the Jianzhou Jurchens invaded North Korea and kidnapped a large number of people. Li followed the advice of the hardline minister Li Kejun and decided to personally conquer the Jianzhou Jurchens. He appointed Cheng Jun as the capital marshal and Li Kejun as the deputy marshal. The troops also began The preparations were due to drought in the territory and the decline in national strength, so the expedition was postponed until the thirteenth year of Hongzhi.
And in the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, Li ordered the cancellation of the Western Expedition.
Later, the Korean monarchs and ministers discussed building the Great Wall on Ping'an Road to protect against Jurchens, but failed due to various difficulties.
This time Jin Shoutong came to the Ming Dynasty as an envoy to win the Ming Dynasty's legal support for North Korea's western expedition. After all, Jianzhou Jurchen was also a vassal of the Ming Dynasty in name.
In this regard, Daming's opinion is... don't ask.
This was also the Ming Dynasty's consistent approach to treating the northern Diyi in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It was not about favoring anyone, but when the two sides did not help each other, it was best to watch your dogs bite dogs and both sides would suffer. Unless there was an invasion by foreign enemies, such as during the Wanli period, the two Ming Dynasties He sent troops to North Korea in the name of the suzerain country for the first time and helped North Korea defeat the Japanese invading troops twice. This is all a story later.
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August has arrived in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Zhou lived a happy life in the northwest. Basically, the Ming Dynasty border army was able to complete daily patrols within a hundred miles north of the border pass. It didn't even reach 100 miles, but now it can reach 200 to 400 to 500 miles.
The Tatar interior seemed to have calmed down for a while.
Dayan Khan once tried to submit a memorial requesting continued tribute and trade with the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Youtang clearly refused.
As for Zhang Zhou's mining in the northwest, the progress is also very fast. In addition to the coal mines in Shanxi that have begun production, the iron mines north of Zhangjiakou Fort have also begun to be mined. In addition to farming, all the northwest areas of the Ming Dynasty are focused on production and smelting. From the capital of Ming Dynasty to Xishan, to Zhangjiakou in Xuanfu, and then to Datong, Shanxi... an industrial chain was formed along the way.
It's just that Zhang Zhou is still not satisfied with the quality of the northwest iron mines. He has already informed Zhu Youtang that he is preparing to open up a new iron mine around Tangshan in later generations, which is now around Yongping Prefecture in Beizhili.
And in the capital.
Zhu Youtang seems to be in poor health recently...
I didn't go to court for several days.
It's not that he was really sick, but that he gradually began to slack off in court affairs. Sometimes he would not go to court if he felt slightly unwell. This was also Zhu Youtang's lazy mentality in the middle and late periods of his reign. Historically, He started around the 14th year of Hongzhi and often did not attend court meetings.
But because Zhang Zhou was here, he felt as if he didn't need to do anything personally, which was why he had this mentality.
The ministers felt that this was because of an awesome "birthday party" that made the emperor's heart empty. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty thought that he was the inevitable result of flattering too much when the Mingjun and the Holy Master were still alive.
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But it was at this time that a "preface" from the north made Zhu Youtang regain his composure. However, because he told outsiders that he was sick, he did not hold a court meeting. He just took advantage of noon to ask a few people from the court to The important ministers went to the Qianqing Palace together and held an inner court meeting in the Qianqing Palace.
In addition to the three ministers in the cabinet, the summoned ministers also included the six ministers, the censor of Zuodu, and Wang Hao, the academician of the Hanlin Academy.
Wu Xun summoned no one. Obviously, this matter involved the decision-making level.
The four eunuchs in charge of rituals are all there.
After several ministers arrived, and after a brief greeting, Zhu Youtang had someone give them a seat. At the same time, he distributed a "memorial" transcribed in multiple copies to each attending minister.
After the minister saw it, he realized that the situation was a bit unusual.
"Ahem." Zhu Youtang coughed twice, setting the tone for this inner court meeting. "The three guards of Duoyan, said to be the little Tatar prince Batu Mengke, led 200,000 troops to the north of Jiliao to annex They. So they petitioned the country to send troops. Ahem."
The emperor still looked very weak.
Whether he was really sick or not, the ministers present didn't care. Anyway, it seemed that the emperor was in good spirits and spoke with great energy.
Li Dongyang said: "This is a good thing, it is because the effect of the fire sieving Yi Que appears."
Several people present were surprised.
The emperor's heart has become empty at this time. You, Li Dongyang, are actually helping the emperor to flatter him? Or are you going to take a big breath, and after saying your words of praise, you should say something depressing and pour a basin of cold water on the emperor's head, right?
Unexpectedly... Li Dongyang finished what he said without saying anything further.
This made the ministers present feel even more incredible.
According to their thinking, the current attitude of the cabinet should be... Your Majesty, this is the consequence of the fire filtering into the capital to see the emperor. Look, all their grassland tribes have taken advantage of the Ming Dynasty! If there is any trouble, let Ming send troops!
"Yes." Zhu Youtang was very satisfied with Li Dongyang's statement. He nodded and said, "Dear ministers, do you think the Ming Dynasty should send troops at this time?"
The ministers present were embarrassed.
This kind of problem...
Last year, when Zhang Zhou was not in the government, the emperor probably didn't need to ask. Of course, the Duoyan and other tribes at that time would not have come shamelessly to ask the Ming Dynasty to send troops... Because it was agreed that your grassland tribes would kill each other, and our Ming Dynasty would not be affected. What's up?
It would be best if you all die together and Ming Dynasty sends troops to help you clean up the mess.
but now……
The ministers present felt that the emperor was addicted to thinking that he was the leader of the world. Obviously, the affairs of Duoyan and the three guards had nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty, but the emperor actually bothered to discuss whether to send troops?
Xie Qian asked: "Your Majesty, I wonder if anyone in the northwest is aware of this matter? Is there any intention to send troops from the northwest?"
Everyone couldn't help but ponder Xie Qian's words.
This means... is it a hint that Zhang Zhou should take the initiative to send troops to the grassland again? Last time, they took advantage of the Dayan tribe and Huoshai's gang to raid Huoshai's lair. This time, Zhang Zhou wouldn't be asked to raid Dayan tribe's lair, right?
Zhu Youtang said calmly: "I know what you mean by Xie Qing's family. Although Bingkuan has not yet been consulted on this matter, he mentioned to me earlier that the tribesmen of the little Tartar prince are mostly in the mountains. To the north, the whereabouts are uncertain, and even if there is a annexation of the Shangge Tribe on the grassland in the future, the tribal population will definitely be brought within fifty or sixty miles of the former soldiers."
"If you want to harass it from later on, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find the previous opportunity!"
The emperor is very rational.
If you know the trick of sneak attack, you only need to do it once. If you want to do it again, you will have to treat the Tatars as fools.
We all know that you, Ming Dynasty, have a magic stick who can plot and calculate, and even knows where our tribe’s men and horses are. We can be found wherever we hide, so we might as well go with our whole family when we go to war in the future.
Don’t feel like a drag, either.
Anyway, other tribes also have the same idea. In the future, before starting a group fight, they will all take care of their families first?
A sneak attack on Weininghai planned by Zhang Zhou changed the strategy of sending troops to the grassland for more than ten years. These ministers still thought it was ridiculous when they thought about it.
I think Wang Yue also made a sneak attack on Weininghai and destroyed Yisi Mayin's lair at that time, but later the Tatars did not wake up because of this... Maybe it was because Zhang Zhou's appearance was too buggy, even if Zhang Zhou sometimes If he doesn't have that ability, others will imagine that he has it.
This is what gives the grassland tribes and the officials of the Ming Dynasty a headache.
"Everyone, I'm just asking you if you want to send troops to assist the three guards of Duoyan. You don't have to make insinuations and test others. Ahem." Zhu Youtang was coughing again after saying this, but this time he seemed to be anxious.
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These ministers present can be regarded as the top civil servants of the Ming Dynasty.
But at this time, they didn't know how to characterize this matter.
Logically speaking... there shouldn't be any discussion, just reject the request from Duoyan Sanwei. You must know that Duoyan Sanwei said that Batu Munch had mobilized 200,000 troops... Don't think it was Duoyan Sanwei or Batu. Munch was bluffing.
Batu Munch was able to unify the grasslands in a short period of time not by relying on words, nor by relying on repeated surprise victories, nor by relying on his reputation as a great khan.
What's more, Batu Mengke has accumulated a large number of people and livestock in the past few generations, and he has the qualifications to unify other kings with different surnames.
Why was Huoshai so brave and good at fighting, and finally united with the Yibula, Mandu Lai Agulhu and other tribes, but still lost in the end?
In terms of individual combat capabilities, the gap between the tribes on the grassland is not very big. The key is that Batu Mengke’s Chahar tribe has a large number of people, and at least hundreds of thousands of troops can be sent out at one time. This is not the case with those tribes. Small and medium-sized tribes can handle it.
Now the emperor has also said that Dayan Khan is now afraid that Zhang Zhou will send troops to take over his hometown. Since he is going to send troops to Eastern Mongolia, he must bring his family with him.
Is it an exaggeration to say that they have 200,000 troops?
Liu Jian saw that everyone was silent, so he had to come out and express his attitude: "Your Majesty, you should not send troops and waste people and money for this."
Xu Qiong on the side immediately objected: "What's the point of summoning Huo Si earlier?"
They didn't speak before, but when they spoke, the two of them spoke together.
Immediately, two distinct viewpoints were formed: sending troops and not sending troops, each with its representative figures.
But for them to distinguish who supports sending troops and who does not support sending troops... It is really not as clear as when they debated with Zhang Zhou before, because this time it was originally a conflict among their civil servants.
They don't even know what Zhu Youtang's intentions are.
According to their conjecture, the emperor might be inclined to send troops to maintain his image as the leader of the world, but that was 200,000 Tatar soldiers and horses, and the three Duoyan guards could rebel at any time. How many troops would the Ming Dynasty have to send? Is it possible to fight it?
Wouldn't it become...a whole-nation war?
We had previously agreed to prepare for war in the northwest for a few years, but now because the Three Guards of Duoyan petitioned the Ming Dynasty to send troops, the Ming Dynasty has given up on its previously established national policy?
Therefore, it is difficult for them to judge the emperor's attitude.
It's probably the kind of situation where... you want to send troops, but you know it won't work, so you have to hold on for the sake of face.
Xie Qian was bright-eyed and asked for instructions: "I wonder if your Majesty thinks that we should send troops?"
If we, the civil servants, cannot come to an agreement, we will first ask your opinion.
Zhu Youtang sighed: "I actually don't want to stand by and watch, but I also know that the three guards of Duoyan are also ambitious. They only thought of sending troops from the Ming Dynasty when they encountered the tribe's crisis. Even if the Ming Dynasty really wants to send troops in the end, they can't do it now. Just go out, but wait until they both lose."
Xie Qian said: "If we send out troops to intimidate the little Tatar prince and make him withdraw, then the best result would be to surrender without fighting."
oops.
Everyone couldn't help but look at Xie Qian.
Or are you, thanks to Yu Qiao's brilliant mind, able to find a third way out of this black-and-white position?
Send troops...to scare the enemy away?
How come you, Xie Yuqiao, are like that Zhang Bingkuan? Why don't you go to heaven?
Xu Qiong said: “Mr.
Xie Qian said with a smile: "I'm just picking on the weak, because I think the three guards of Duoyan are easier to defeat, and they are more unprincipled than Yibula and Huosi, right?"
Xu Qiong didn't reply.
I feel like I can't talk to Xie Qian. Xie Qian is the kind of person who is good at sophistry.
Naturally, Xu Qiong would not be fooled and follow Xie Qian's lead in arguing.
Zhu Youtang raised his hand and said: "Dear gentlemen, I actually understand what you mean. The Ming Dynasty's national prestige needs to be demonstrated. Then why not... let's not discuss sending troops to the grassland for now. Let's just let this matter go."
Neither agree nor deny.
Put the issue on hold?
Emperor, is this the fourth option?
Zhu Youtang immediately added: "Bingkuan's affairs in the northwest have basically been completed. I have decided to send someone to call him back to the capital in the next two days. After he returns to the capital as soon as possible, we will discuss with him whether to send troops. What do you think? how?"
Depend on!
I originally thought that the emperor had changed his gender and only listened to the opinions of our ministers and not to Zhang Zhou.
Now I know that the purpose of the emperor shelving the issue was to listen to Zhang Zhou's opinion? !
You might as well just not listen to us and make your own decision!
Liu Jiandao: "The fire at the city gate affects the fish in the pond. Even if the war in the northern grassland has nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty south of the border, it will still affect the interests of the people at the border."
Zhu Youtang asked curiously: "Mr. Liu Ge, didn't you support sending troops before?"
"The old minister's intention is to strengthen the defense of the border areas and give them appropriate hope so that the three guards of Duoyan will not surrender." Liu Jian explained his words.
Zhu Youtang shook his head and said: "Ignoring it is the best way I can think of at the moment, but it cannot destroy the principles of Ming Border Town. Even if you are not sure about the matter in your mind, why not wait until you go back and consider it carefully. When Bingkuan comes back, how about making a decision?"
(End of chapter)
