In Zhongdu, which is thousands of miles away, even if he knows the world three and a half centuries later, Zhu Mingzhong still can't imagine that there are already people "eyeing" his son in a foreign land tens of thousands of miles away, and they want to send the crown of a country to his son's head.

In the early autumn of the nineteenth year of Xingqian, in the sound of the whistle, Zhu Mingzhong took a Mercedes-Benz train and drove all the way to the west, towards Jiayuguan and towards Hami.

After a year of intense construction, the railway has been built into Hami and the Western Regions. Almost as soon as the railway was built, Zhu Mingzhong made the decision to tour the west. He had to say something about the Western Regions. And the most direct signal that can convey his fancy to the West is that he went to the Western Regions to inspect.

Compared with when Zhengde went down to the south of the Yangtze River, the opposition of hundreds of officials, as well as the resistance of the officials along the way. Henan and Shaanxi welcomed the emperor's western tour, and whenever the royal train passed by the railway, you could always see the people standing on the side of the road to the speeding train.

The respect of the vast majority of the people for the royal family in the Xingqian period came from the heart, despite the "harsh policies" such as "primogeniture" and "prohibition of begging", and these affected almost everyone in the world. However, many virtuous policies since the Xingqian period still benefited the people a lot, and still made the people grateful to the royal family. Especially after the train passed through Tongguan and entered Shaanxi, because there were a large number of military landlords along the way, those who received the Xuntian Honors and the honorable people, and brought their families on both sides of the railway to welcome the emperor's visit. After all, they were the direct beneficiaries of the emperor's policy.

Even if it's just a glance from afar, for those people, it's enough for them to show off for a lifetime.

There is a little bit of royal air, which is indeed something to be proud of. At least in the eyes of these people, this in itself is a glorious thing.

Clanging, clanging......

The train roared from far and near, Su Bingfang, who was dressed in a rankless military uniform and wore the "Yilu Medal" on his chest, led his family to stand respectfully on the roadbed.

"Hurry up, you guys, stand tall and line up......"

Again, Su Bingfang stared at his wives and children, and when he turned his head, he looked at his wives and children beside him, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

When he went west, he was alone, and all he thought at that time was just to be able to get a piece of land after retiring, and then live his own small life in peace. But he never imagined that his fate would change drastically.

I met my daughter-in-law in a hospital in Xi'an, and after retiring from the army, he settled here with her daughter-in-law, and he was given a large piece of land. He hugged a big fat boy back then, and later spent money to buy two lustful maids, and the two of them also gave birth to nine children for him, plus five children born to his daughter-in-law, a family of seventeen people. It's also leafy!

These days are indeed comfortable. I'm afraid his father never dreamed that his son would have such a day.

"Sir, your collar is neat."

Su Wang turned his head to put Su Bing's collar neatly, and then stood there like him, looking at the train that was getting closer and closer.

"Is the emperor really on a steamer?"

Xiao Yi, who was still holding her young son, a woman with a pair of gray eyes, looked at the train with her eyes blank and asked in stiff Chinese.

"Yes, it's in the car, this time His Majesty the Emperor went to the Western Regions, just to let those Russians know that the Western Regions belong to the Ming Dynasty, and they come and go!"

The Western Regions are the Ming Dynasty!

Although this sentence has been said for almost a year, everyone knows that the Western Regions are now under Russian control - on September 13 last year, the Manchus signed the Treaty of Moscow with Russia to cede the Western Regions to Russia, and a month later, the Cossacks appeared at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains, and the Manchu court began its journey to the west at that time.

For the Manchus, the cession of the Western Regions allowed them to enjoy the security they had not seen for a long time, and the 10,000 snow-capped mountains on the Pamir Plateau and the Western Regions under Russian control constituted their barriers.

They all felt that this was a very good deal, after all, they had just exchanged a piece of land for the security they had never had.

There are Russians standing in their way. Those Han people are dumbfounded, we can't sell the Russians and call again.

Indeed, it was exactly as they had first guessed. The introduction of third-party forces has directly led to a fundamental change in the situation.

In any case, it is impossible for the Ming to bypass the Western Regions under Russian control. Direct attack on the Manchus.

However, for the Ming Dynasty, the decision of the Qing Dynasty to cede the Western Regions to the Russians angered the Ming Dynasty, from the resignation of the cabinet assistants, to the acceleration of the construction of railways and diplomatic protests, until now, a large number of troops are gathered in Hami and other places to standby, and the Ming is telling Russia in its own way - the Ming will never accept their occupation of the Western Regions.

Even on different occasions, the daimyo have already expressed their attitude, and they will not hesitate to fight the Russians for the sake of the Western Regions.

And in Siberia you are even more aggressive, constantly inciting the Mongols and inciting them to revolt against the Russians.

"We have made it very clear that Russia has only two choices, either peace or war, the former, they withdraw from the Western Regions, they will win our friendship, and as for the latter, it is war......"

Sitting respectfully in front of His Majesty, Gu Zhi replied cautiously.

Last year, he traveled to Russia as the emperor's envoy to negotiate with the Russians in Moscow, but the negotiations ended unhappily, but despite this, the experience of that visit also allowed him to enter the general administration department, and he has always won the emperor's trust.

In Zhongdu, no one doubts that one day Gu will join the cabinet. It's just a matter of time, after all, his father Gu Yanwu has always won the trust of His Majesty, since Gu Yanwu became a Shishi, His Majesty has repeatedly promoted Gu Derivation, and the cabinet ministers, in addition to their talents, are themselves treated as "fortunate ministers".

But it is precisely because of this that he is more cautious, after all, he does not want any rash actions that will cause him to fall out of favor in front of the emperor. This is exactly Xingchen's helplessness. Some of everything comes from the favor of His Majesty the Emperor.

"The Russians will not give up the Western Regions just because of our warning, but if they don't give up, they can't help it."

Zhu Mingzhong never thought that the Russians would give up the Western Regions because of his warning, just as the Russians have not made concessions on the Siberian issue.

"When you went to Russia last year, what was it like?"

"Your Majesty, when the minister arrived in Russia last year, the new Tsar of Russia had just ascended the throne, and Ivan V and his half-brother Peter I were made tsars. Due to Peter's young age and Ivan's obtuseness, Russia is currently governed by Ivan's sister Sophia. ”

When he heard the name "Peter I", Zhu Mingzhong's eyebrows raised slightly, Peter I ...... In more than ten years, it will not be the Peter the Great in history.

Thinking of this, Zhu Mingzhong nodded slightly, and then said.

"Then, the timing is ripe now, if everything goes well, at the latest next year, the Western Regions will return to their homeland!"

"Your Majesty, it's already decided?"

Nodding silently, Zhu Mingzhong said calmly.

"It has long been decided that this time I will go to the Western Regions to warn the Russians one last time, to warn them that my will will will never change,"

What did the emperor's "Ninety-Five" go to Hami for?

It was through this western tour that told the Russians that the Ming Dynasty would not give up the Western Regions, and the Ming Dynasty would never make concessions on the issue of the Western Regions.

"Your Majesty, the minister found out last time in Moscow that on the issue of the Western Regions, the Russian nobles are divided into many factions, although they have different opinions, but they all know the intention of the Qing Dynasty to cede the Western Regions, so on this issue, they will have differences, although they have many differences, but there is no doubt that they are absolutely unwilling to go to war with our country because of the Western Regions, and they also clearly know the difference in strength between the two countries."

If there is any European country that knows the Ming Dynasty best, I am afraid it is Russia. After all, they are directly bordering the Ming Dynasty. Daming can be learned through various channels.

"They should know!"

Nodding slightly, Zhu Mingzhong continued.

"After all, in Siberia, we have dealt with each other more than once!"

The rivalry between China and Russia has never stopped in Siberia since the first year of Xingqian, and even now, the Ming Dynasty is still using its support for the local Buryats to expel Russian power in Siberia. Large quantities of flintlock guns were supplied to the Buryats, who constantly attacked Russian cities and strongholds. Whatever the end result is, it will be beneficial for Daming.

After all, the Buryats will die massively in the conflict, and as for the Russians, their power is constantly weakened. Sandpiper and clam compete with each other for the fisherman's profit, and Da Ming is the fisherman.

Over the past year, the Ming has further stepped up its support for the Buryats. Otherwise, it's not just about revenge for Russia's missteps in the Western Regions. It is also the established strategy of the Ming Dynasty.

"They are aware of the disparity in national strength, but the Russians ......"

Sneering, Zhu Mingzhong said.

"If they don't hit their heads and bleed, they won't be soft, in that case, then beat them to the scalp and bleed, anyway, on the issue of Siberia, sooner or later we will have to fight with them!"

The reason why this railway was built was not only to pacify the Western Regions, but also to solve the Siberian and Russian threats, and in any case, this battle was unavoidable.

"Your Majesty, when the minister was in Moscow, there was a proposal from the upper echelons of the Russian nobility that they wanted to negotiate with us on the Western Regions, and they expressed their willingness to make concessions on the Western Regions, but they wanted us to make concessions on the Siberian issue......"

Gu Yuan was extremely cautious when he spoke, he knew His Majesty's attitude towards the territory, but as a minister, he had to say these words.

"On the territorial issue, it is impossible for us to negotiate!"

Shaking his head, Zhu Mingzhong looked at Gu Derivation and said.

"Derivation, after you are an old minister, I naturally trust you very much, but you have to be clear, what are the core interests of my Ming Dynasty, and on what kind of issues, can not negotiate, why did the emperor rather lose the country than negotiate with the Qing prisoners, in exchange for a respite? In the final analysis, it is because it is impossible for us to negotiate and make concessions on the issue of national territory, and we must be clear that Siberia is the place where Huo Qu is sick and the wolf is dwelling, and when the iron cavalry of our Han people arrives there, those Russians are still picking fruits in the woods and fishing by the river, and they say that Siberia is theirs, and I want to say it...... Fart! ”

Coldly dropping a foul word, looking at Gu Sheng, who was a little panicked, Zhu Mingzhong said with a smile.

"Derivation, what you say today is to remind me that the Russians also know that on the issue of the Western Regions, they are taking millet from the fire of the Qing Dynasty, and they are naturally unwilling to do so, so they will not insist too much on the issue of the Western Regions, and even they have been speculative from the beginning, after all, they are aware of the difference in strength between the two countries, so they want to exchange the Western Regions for Siberia, well......"

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Mingzhong smiled.

"This is a good thing for us, since they want to speculate, maybe they don't want to fight us at all, so let's make a big fight."

"Your Majesty, are you saying that the Russians are bluffing?"

Gu Wei looked at His Majesty in surprise.

"That's right, over the years, they should know that there is a deep blood feud between us and the Qing captives, not to mention that there is a Russia in the middle, that is, across the sea, this blood feud must also be avenged, so nine times out of ten, they hope to use the Western Regions in exchange for our concessions in Siberia, Russians...... It's very cunning! However, this time, I'm afraid they are going to make a mistake! ”

The character of the Russians is inherently opportunistic. Now and centuries from now. They always approach problems with a speculative mentality, so as to gain a part of the benefits from them.

If you can eat it in your mouth, it is naturally great, and even if you can't eat it in your mouth, you will lose something.

In the face of Russia, Zhu Mingzhong has enough self-confidence, after all, the current Russia is a big European country if it sounds good, and it is difficult to say that except for a little bit of land, they can't talk about a big country at all, let alone a strong country. That is, to bully the uncivilized Buryats.

Not to mention facing European countries, even facing Poland, Sweden can only be beaten. Is it possible that this Russia will dare to fight for the Manchus?

Even if it's giving them two bear-hearted leopard galls. It is estimated that they will weigh it too.

"But we have to show them our strength and determination. After all, these people don't knock on their heads this time. None of them necessarily know the pain.

……………………

Today I know it hurts. Cold and fever, high fever for two days, muscle aches, joint pain......