"Mr. Fan, are we safe this time?"
The Ming official looked back at the border fort that gradually disappeared behind him.
The grassland is very unfamiliar to him. He has never been an official in the border areas, and this is his first time coming to the grassland.
Along the way, he often heard Fan Wencheng say that the grassland would be safe. Now that the caravan finally left the border fort and came to the grassland, his heart that had been hanging all the way could finally be settled.
"Don't be careless just yet." Fan Wencheng looked at the Ming officials who were accompanying him.
"Why? Didn't I say that it would be safe when I reached the grassland? Isn't this a grassland? Or did you lie to me all the way before?" The Ming Dynasty official looked unhappy.
Even if he had never been to the grassland himself, the scene in front of him made him understand that he had arrived on the grassland.
Fan Wencheng had a wicked eye, so he naturally noticed the displeasure on the faces of the accompanying Ming officials, and immediately explained: "Going forward from here is a small tribe of the Tumut tribe. The other tribes are all fine, except The Tumut tribe is controlled from top to bottom by the tiger thieves. It will be fine when we leave the Tumut tribe’s sphere of influence.”
"Is this Tumut tribe the same Mongolian tribe that the imperial court conferred upon King Shunyi?" the Ming official asked with a slight frown.
Fan Wencheng nodded and said, "Yes, he is the Shunyi King who was canonized by Emperor Mu Zong when he was in power."
"I used to hear that tiger thieves created a huge business on the grassland. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that it's true. Even King Shunyi convinced me." Ming officials frowned.
The imperial court had a special newspaper. Officials could learn about the current situation in the DPRK through the newspapers sent by the court to various places. In addition, there were usually news brought back by caravans returning from the north, and word of mouth from some officials. Now most of them Officials in the southern capital learned about the situation in the north through these channels.
Even after so many years, those Ming officials who had been serving as officials in the Southern Capital all year round still did not believe that the Tiger-Character Banner could subdue the Tumote Tribe, a grassland tribe that had given Ming Dynasty a huge headache.
Fan Wencheng looked forward along the road at his feet and said: "Tiger thieves are used to deceiving the people at the bottom of the herdsmen. Even in the Tumote tribe, there are many tribal leaders who refuse to obey the tiger thieves' control. It's just because of the tiger thieves' power. It’s too big to do anything with.”
"Oh? So many people in the Tumut department are not convinced by the tiger thief?" Ming officials became interested.
Fan Wencheng said: "The tiger thieves acted perversely in the Tumote tribe. Many tribal leaders could not understand their behavior. If it were not for the fact that the contemporary king of Shunyi and several leaders of large tribes were under house arrest in Qingcheng, I am afraid there would be tribes standing still today." Come out to resist the rule of tiger thieves."
"Is there still such a thing? Why don't the tiger thieves kill these people?" Ming officials were curious. These old leaders of the Tumut tribe had become prisoners and should be killed once and for all.
Fan Wencheng said: "It's not just to build a memorial arch for myself. If we really kill these leaders of the Tumut tribe directly, the herdsmen below will definitely make a fuss. It's a pity that the powerful leaders are under house arrest. The so-called snake can't do without a head. , those herdsmen can’t find anyone to take the lead in whatever they want to do.”
After hearing these words, the Ming Dynasty official nodded, turned to look at the accompanying Jin Yiwei, and said: "You Jin Yiwei should note this down, maybe you will have the opportunity to use it in the future."
"I'll take note of it, little one." The Jin Yiwei next to him bowed on his horse.
Officials of the Ming Dynasty thought they had caught the shortcomings of the tiger-character flag.
The imperial court can make an alliance with Dajin, and it can also make an alliance with the Mongols on the grassland.
There is the Jin Dynasty in the east of Liaodong, the Mongols in the north, and the Ming Dynasty is exerting force from the south. He feels that it is not difficult to deal with the Tiger Character Banner.
"Mr. Fan is very familiar with the grassland?" a Ming official asked Fan Wencheng.
The Tumote Department was no closer to Liaodong than Peiping was to Liaodong. As an envoy of Dai Jin, Fan Wencheng was so familiar with the affairs of the Tumote Department. He was not stupid, so he naturally guessed that Dai Jin must have known about it.
Fan Wencheng smiled and said: "It's not that we are very familiar with him. Dajin has contacts with many tribes on the grassland, so he knows a little about the affairs of the Tumote tribe."
"So the news about the tiger bandit's perverse behavior in the Tumut tribe has been widely spread?" Ming officials asked curiously.
Fan Wencheng said: "There are many large and small Taijis on the grassland. No one likes what the tiger thieves did to the Tumote tribe. If it weren't for the fact that the tiger thieves have caravans that often go to please these tribes on the grassland, the Mongols would have started to attack the tiger thieves a long time ago. And attack it."
"This is a good thing for the Ming Dynasty and your country." The Ming official said, "Mr. Fan, do you think we need to go to Qingcheng and contact the leaders of the Tumut tribe who live in Qingcheng, and King Shunyi."
Fan Wencheng was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Sir, you are going to be promoted to Ban Zhongsheng!"
"It can't be discussed, it can't be discussed. It's just that there is such an opportunity to make the tiger thief uncomfortable. I want to give it a try. I can't say that it will benefit both Ming and Dajin." The Ming official said humbly, But there is inevitably a look of pride on his face.
Who doesn’t want to be a classmate who will leave a lasting name in history?
In his opinion, if he could set the Tiger Flag's backyard on fire, even if he couldn't compare to Ban Chao, his achievements on the grassland might not have the chance to leave a mark in history after he returns to the Ming Dynasty.
Fan Wencheng said with a smile: "It is indeed a good idea to go to Qingcheng to persuade the King of Shunyi and the big leaders of the Tumote tribe to resist the tiger thieves, but the top priority now is that we should go to Dajin first to control the country." The books have been exchanged, and that’s the most important thing right now.”
"Aren't you going to Qingcheng?" Ming officials looked surprised.
Since he had never been to the grasslands, he thought that he needed to pass through Qingcheng to go to Liaodong.
Hearing this, Fan Wencheng knew that the other party had misunderstood, and explained with a smile: "General caravans must go to Qingcheng, but our purpose is to return to Liaodong, so naturally we don't need to go to Qingcheng to detour. Next, the caravan will go to Mantao Son, then we will insert the Han Loop, and we will be safe when we insert the Han Loop."
"Oh, oh, it turned out to be a complete set, but it's a pity. But it doesn't matter. Now that we know the situation of the tiger thieves in the Tumut Department, there will be many opportunities to deal with them in the future." The Mingguo official said in his mouth.
In fact, he had no idea where Mantaoer and Chanhanhetao were.
However, he was familiar with the word "Hetao" and knew that it was the upper reaches of the Yellow River, so in his opinion, the distance shouldn't be too far.
Fan Wencheng said: "We will go down this road in a while and go in another direction. We may not be able to find a place for the tribe to stay at night. I'm afraid I will have to work hard and camp in the wild."
"Isn't this road impossible?" The Ming official looked at the solid road under his feet and asked immediately, "Are there no carriage shops or inns nearby?"
Along the way, he saw many caravans coming to the grassland to do business. Such good roads were built on the grassland. In his opinion, opening inns and carriage shops would definitely make a lot of money.
How could a businessman give up such a good opportunity to make money in pursuit of profit?
