Chen Cheng, who was born before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, is also fifty-six years old this year, he is a twenty-seven years tribute, the top three in the palace examination, and he was born as a jinshi.

But because he has traveled all over the world all year round, his body is much stronger than the average person, and at the age of 56 this year, he looks stronger than many people in their forties.

In the three years in the northwest, Zheng Heng was in the light, he was in the dark, Zheng Heng was above, and he was below. But his contribution is not inferior to Zheng Heng at all, and even in tandem and wooing all aspects, his contribution is greater than that of Zheng Heng.

Before the mission, he managed the Xiamaqiao Farm for Zhu Zhanji, and in a few years, the Daming Royal Hospital was run impressively, and the major research institutes could develop normally.

Even if there is no merit, there is hard work. This time he sent an envoy to the countries of the Western Regions to win over all ethnic groups to join the Ming Dynasty, which was both hard work and merit.

So when he came back this time, Zhu Zhanji was going to reuse him.

The position Zhu Zhanji also thought about for him, that is, the general political envoy.

The General Administration Department was only established in the Ming Dynasty to set up the internal and external chapters of the yamen and the sealed appeals of the subjects.

In the Song Dynasty, there was Tongjin Yintai Division (later changed to Chengjin Division), commonly known as "Yintai".

This department is a bit like a complex of the Intelligence Bureau and the Letters and Visits Office, but because the Ming Dynasty has Jinyiwei, there is the Criminal Investigation Department under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and there are the major Qing Officials Divisions of the Criminal Department. Zhu Zhanji also established the Internal Supervisor's Advisory Department, so the power of this yamen is not so great.

However, the level of the political envoy is still quite high, it is the third product, and it is one of the great nine secretaries of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Cheng was originally the Ministry of Langzhong of the Zhengwupin, and when he went to the Western Regions, he was named by Zhu Zhanji as the Zhengsipin Ying Tianfu Cheng. After three years of suffering in the northwest, the promotion to the third rank of the general political envoy is not a jump.

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's arrangement, Chen Cheng immediately bowed down and thanked him, but Zhu Zhanji could still see from his expression that he was a little lost.

Chen Cheng is a person who can't stay idle and likes to do things, and the political envoy is a noble position. Although the level has gone up, it is equivalent to being hung high and idle.

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Now the functions of the various ministries of the imperial court are chaotic, and after September Gu ascends the throne, the functions of the various ministries of the imperial court will be gradually integrated." In the future, the General Administration Department will take charge of the world supervision channels from the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to form one of the three major intelligence agencies of the imperial court. Therefore, Aiqing should not look at the General Administration Department from the perspective of the past. ”

Chen Cheng glanced at Zhu Zhanji with some doubts, he knew very well that Jinyiwei was the intelligence agency of the royal supervision of hundreds of officials, and the Advisory Department was run by Taisun, mainly responsible for supervising people's livelihood.

Therefore, Jinyiwei and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are not convinced by anyone, because the functions of the two are the same, and they often fight each other.

The Department of Information and Intelligence rarely inserts into it, and they are more like an intelligence network parasitic on the internal supervision and commercial system, focusing on understanding the people's livelihood and people's conditions.

On the side of the foreign court, it is nominally the General Administration Department who is responsible for intelligence and controls the channels for appeals, but the General Administration Department has no power in its hands.

The Criminal Department has its own Department of Officials for the investigation of cases, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate also has the power to supervise hundreds of officials, and it also crosses with the Criminal Department to supervise the prosecution departments in various places.

Zhu Zhanji smiled and said: "In Gu's plan, the General Administration Department will occupy a major position in the court in the future. In addition to all kinds of information in Daming, the General Administration Department will also establish perfect information channels around the world, that is to say, the General Administration Department will mainly be biased towards the outside of Daming in the future. ”

This time, Chen Cheng understood, he muttered for a while and said: "Yiren is shameless, self-motivated, only the temptation can make them obedient, if you want to establish such a perfect channel, you need a lot of gold and silver." ”

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Gold and silver are not a problem, even if it costs 500,000 or 1 million a year, it will not shorten your funds, as long as you can handle this matter." ”

Intelligence work is originally a matter of spending money, and if you want to establish a Ming CIA, you must not be stingy.

As for the funds, Zhu Zhanji had already thought about it, part of it would be appropriated by the imperial court, and the other part would be filled with the surplus of overseas trade.

Chen Cheng was originally an expert in this area, and when he heard Zhu Zhanji say this, he understood that this general political envoy was definitely much more powerful than the previous general political envoys.

His heart, which had been a little depressed, was now boiling again. This is his specialty, from the 29th year of Hongwu, the first envoy to the Western Regions to withdraw to the Wuer (now the northwest region of the Qaidam Basin)

In the past 28 years, only three years have Zhu Zhanji gone to sea, and he has been waiting in the capital steadily. For twenty-five years, he traveled all over the world.

In later generations, Chen Cheng's name was unknown, but in the Ming Dynasty, he was a diplomatic envoy on the same level as Zheng He.

Let him form the Ming version of the CIA, he is definitely making the best use of his talents.

Around the restructuring of the General Administration Department, the two of them talked in detail again, and Chen Chengcai said to Zhu Zhanji as if he had just remembered: "Your Highness, when you come back this time, Mrs. Lin and I went back to the capital together, and Your Highness promised to supply them with 500 muskets, and the couple didn't trust others, so they could only come back and escort them by themselves." ”

Zhu Zhanji paused for a moment, and then remembered that Mrs. Lin was referring to Tang Sai'er. He asked with great interest, "Is the development of Tanglin City good now?" ”

Chen Cheng stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Since the country of Timur was broken, now the ethnic groups in the Western Regions are naturally very responsible. Even those Slavic white-skinned pigs don't know how thick the sky is, and they are still dissatisfied with our heavenly kingdom. However, the Ulugh Beg retreated to the west, starting from Batu Sarai, and swept away the tribes of the White Horde like a plough, and now they were too busy to take care of themselves.

The development of Tanglin City had a respite, and for more than a year, the development was quite smooth, and peace agreements were reached with the surrounding tribes. With the support of my Daming, now all tribes dare not target Tanglin City.

However, as His Royal Highness predicted, Gao Yang'er and Hao Yunzhong had already gone their separate ways after receiving the promise of the minister. They expanded northward, establishing strongholds in the northeast and due north not far from Tanglin City, forming a triangular defensive network. ”

Zhu Zhanji already knew that Hao Yunzhong occupied the territory of Tyumen City, not far northeast of Yekaterinburg, while Gao Yang'er occupied the territory of Serov in later generations.

They all found gold there, and then they separated and occupied it.

After occupying there, Gao Yang'er named Serov Gaoming City, and Hao Yunzhong named the later Tyumen as Yunzhong City.

However, because they have not yet gained a firm foothold there, they have not yet reported to the imperial court, and Zhu Zhanji learned this information through his own channels.

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said, "Have the material supply channels over there been established?" ”

Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "The minister is ashamed...... It's just barely enough to build an intelligence channel. ”

Zhu Zhanji knew very well that it was not only thousands of miles away from Daming, but also four or five thousand miles away from the Hezhong region. If you want to establish a supply channel there, you can only wait for commerce to develop.

He asked, "Is there any new information from the Ulugh Beg?" ”

"He is now busy fighting the Grand Duke of Lithuania and has no momentum to return at the moment."

Ulugh Beg led 200,000 tribesmen to abandon Samarkand and flee westward, although they were defeated in front of the Ming Dynasty and were not opponents, but they were invincible in the face of the western tribes.

The capital of the Golden Horde was Batu Sarai, a city that had been abandoned in later generations, about south of Volgograd in Russia.

Today, the Mongols there have fallen into decline, and it is the Slavs who are in power, who are also the ancestors of the Ukrainians and Russians.

The Ulugh Beg couldn't defeat the Ming Dynasty, but it was easy to deal with them, and the White Horde didn't dare to come out.

Today, Ulugh Beg occupies a large area of the Don River basin in later generations, including Crimea, a large area of Krasnodar Krai, that is, a large territory on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

Today, Russia is still a small area, and even Ukraine is only the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. When Ulugh Beg fled between what would become Ukraine and Russia, he was first confronted not by the Russians, but by the Lithuanians.

Ulugh Beg, who was chased by Zhang Xin, fled frantically, and now he has a foothold there. Zhu Zhanji knew where they had settled, so he had already given up on killing them all.

Leaving them hostile to the Slavs far outweighed the benefits of destroying them.

The Ulughgh Beg's forces were dominated by Persians, Arabs, and Mongols, who had a natural hostile relationship with the Slavs, and leaving them to develop there could be a good way to contain the eastward expansion of the Slavs.

asked Liu Wan to move the globe, Zhu Zhanji looked at the map for a while, and said: "The situation in the northwest has stabilized, and there are no worries for the time being. You will rest for a while, and then next month, you will take over the Secretary for Administration and send personnel to Nanzhou. ”

"Yes."

Back in Daming, Chen Cheng got the news of Zhu Dichan's concession, he originally thought that it would trigger a series of struggles, but he didn't expect Ying Tianfu to be calm.

At this time, he knew that Zhu Zhanji had completely controlled the situation.

The person he took refuge in was about to ascend the throne, and as his closest minister, Chen Cheng's heart was naturally extremely excited.

Although there are still some worries about the future development of the General Administration, he has taken a big step from a fourth-grade official to a third-grade chief official.

At this time, Chen Cheng can be described as full of ambition.

When he was about to leave, Zhu Zhanji stopped him again and said, "You ask Mrs. Lin to hand over the fold to Honglu Temple, and meet her tomorrow." ”

Hearing this, Chen Cheng's heart was happier again. He felt that His Highness was a little different from the couple, so he spared no effort to help them resolve the crisis, and now, the harvest season has arrived.

If Zhu Zhanji knew, he might have to give him a kick, but he knew Tang Sai'er's threat, so he treated her differently, not because of messy things.

His women, each of whom is much more beautiful than Tang Sai'er, how can they be thinking about a married woman.

On the second day, in the palace, Zhu Zhanji met with Tang Sai'er, who had become much plump. Three years ago, she was a young woman with a letter, and now she has become a child.

However, this woman who can leave a great reputation in history must not be underestimated.

can set off a storm of rebellion as a woman, this woman is much more powerful than most men.

In Tang Sai'er's eyes, the twenty-five-year-old Zhu Zhanji is even more feared than three years ago, just sitting there, the compelling momentum is already breathless.

The two exchanged a few words of greeting, and Tang Sai'er couldn't wait to say: "Your Highness said that day, as long as my wife and I have a foothold in Tang Lin City, we are free to choose our future path. Now my husband and I have worked hard to gain a firm foothold in the extreme west, hoping that His Royal Highness can send troops as soon as possible. ”

Zheng Heng's care of Tang Lincheng was specially ordered by Zhu Zhanji, including the insatiable desire between Zheng Heng and his subordinates, which was also explained by Zhu Zhanji.

He just wanted to use this means to let Tang Sai'er and the others know that if they wanted to gain a foothold over there, it would be impossible without the support of the Ming army.

Only by letting them know the difficult situation will they voluntarily accept the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, otherwise, the imperial court will be a little beyond the reach of the whip.

Zheng Hengken helps them, but they cost a lot of money. The officers and soldiers in the river extorted the card, which made Tang Lincheng a heavy burden.

But they can't do without the help of these troops, after all, they still have too few people.

At such a time, they will naturally choose a plan that is more beneficial to themselves, that is, to invite the imperial court to garrison.

The garrison of the imperial court does not need too many, even if it is only two thousand, which means that this place has been incorporated into the border defense system of the imperial court.

When there is a foreign enemy, the role that these two thousand musketeers can play is far beyond their own strength.

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Think about the first time I saw three years ago, time flies, the original Holy Son, the Holy Mother, has now become the city lord and wife of Tanglin City on the side of the main town. Lone is looking forward to what Tanglin City will develop into in another ten years. ”

Tang Sai'er replied: "No matter what time it is, Tang Lin City will become the first line of defense in the Ming Territory. ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "When you go back to Daming, you will have a good rest for a while, and when Gu ascends the throne, you can go back to Tanglin City." When the time comes, there will be a guard with you to the extreme west. However, this guard will be divided into three areas of protection. ”

The imperial court only sent 5,000 people, and the maximum number of people who were distributed to Tanglin City was 2,000, but it required 30% of Tanglin City's income. Although Tang Sai'er felt that it was unfair, he didn't dare to bargain.

Without the garrison of the imperial court, Tanglin City would have nothing to rely on, and before Tanglin City developed, without the support of the imperial court, a tribe might be able to destroy them.

What's more, this time the court also promised to give them 500 muskets, and with these 500 muskets, Tang Sai'er was confident that he would be able to resist the counterattack of Bilmuslav.

Tang Sai'er left the palace, still feeling a little distracted. Three years ago, she thought she could still see the mind of this highness, but now, she didn't have the slightest idea of discernment in front of him.

It seems that this highness, what he said is justice.

He is only a year older than himself, and he is so unfathomable, is it really heaven's hope?

As a high-ranking religious person, she knows better than ordinary people that the so-called gods are all deceitful. The more you know, the more you lack true faith.

But this highness can't help but believe.

After Tang Sai'er left, the historian who sat behind Zhu Zhanji also recorded today's dialogue between the monarch and the minister in great detail.

Xie Jin read the recorded content and asked Zhu Zhanji: "Your Highness, this Tanglin City is just a small city on the side, and there was no place for this place the year before last, why does Your Highness attach so much importance to it?" ”

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Xie Shi looked at the map, now it doesn't cost me a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, just a little weapon, my Ming Dynasty will open up thousands of miles, is there a better business than this?" ”

Xie Jin shook his head and said, "Your Highness, as the prince of a country, how can you be like a businessman. Although this territory is large, it is an extremely cold region, and it is difficult to even produce food, so what is the use of it? What's more, now I have to transfer tens of millions of troops for this purpose, and the cost is very high, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and smiled: "What if there is a mine there?" Now that gold mines have been discovered around Tanglin City, who can know how much wealth is buried under that frozen soil! ”

It is a bit foolish to discuss these issues with a traditional literati, and in their hearts, there is little important in their minds except for the Spring and Autumn Righteousness.

He asked again, "Is Lone's succession edict ready?" ”

"The minister has already written, just waiting for the Ministry of Rites to determine the year name of His Highness."

Zhu Zhanji in history, the era name is Xuande. Compared with the era names of many emperors, this era name is not conspicuous, and can only be said to be decent. Compared with Zhu Di's Yongle year name, it is much worse.

But Zhu Zhanji didn't care about this, it didn't matter what era name he had, what mattered was what he could bring to the people and what changes he could bring to the country during his reign.

"As for the year name, let the Ministry of Rites report to the imperial grandfather to choose, and the opinion of the imperial grandfather shall prevail. Xuan ......" Zhu Zhanji looked at the list in front of him. "Xuan Yingzhou Hou Zhu Zhen came to see you."

With the sound of the order, a moment later, Zhu Zhen, who was waiting outside the hall, was introduced into the hall of the body.

Zhu Zhen bowed down to worship, "Your Highness, the minister received the holy decree, and his heart was panicked. This Dongzhou minister only hearsay, only a little understanding, but I am afraid that he will miss the important affairs of His Highness. ”

Zhu Zhen was named the Marquis of Yingzhou, and his fief was in Dongfan, which was Wanwan in later generations.

The Third Fleet was stationed in Ningbo and oversaw the sea area south of the Yangtze River estuary to Fujian. As a native of Fujian, Zhu Zhen has been vigorously developing Dongfan over the years.

This governor of Dongzhou is fat to others, but to him, he is chicken.

Although he went to Dongzhou to be on the side of the main town, he was now the chief officer of the Third Fleet, and he was already on the side of the main town.

Moreover, his hometown is Fujian, and his fiefdom is in Wanwan, so he naturally wants to stay in his hometown and contribute to the construction of his hometown.

Although going to Dongzhou can gain a lot, but if you miss the development of Dongfan for a few years, it can be said that the gains outweigh the losses.

But he also knew that he had no choice, and since His Highness asked him to go to Dongzhou, he had to go.

Zhu Zhanji said: "Dongzhou has a vast territory, much larger than my Ming Dynasty. Now there is a lot of waste waiting to be rebuilt, but there is no rush. As the first batch of immigrants, the navy needs a person of high moral standing to preside, and if you think about it, you still think that it is most suitable for you to go in the past. Sit down......"

"It's my duty to do it." Zhu Zhen sat on the left hand position, and then asked again: "Your Highness, the holy decree does not explain whether the governor, the minister, should bring his family to go, and whether he will stay in Dongzhou in the future." ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said: "You are already the Marquis of Yingzhou in my Ming Dynasty, and you have already divided a piece of territory for your Zhu family in Nanzhou, so naturally you don't need to immigrate to Dongzhou." That Dongzhou will not divide the clan, honorable. ”

Zhu Zhen breathed a long sigh of relief, when he came, what he was most worried about was to let him stay in Dongzhou and not come back.

Although it is good over there, it is too far away from Daming, and it will take several months to come back.

Some people want to open up the territory, but he is even more reluctant to let Daming be a comfortable nest.

If it was only for a few years in the past, this would not be difficult for him to accept.

He was about to speak, when Zhu Zhanji said again: "When you go to Dongzhou, although you want to survey the terrain of Dongzhou, appease the natives of the Quartet, and help them improve their living conditions. However, there is only one main task, and that is to establish a set of normative order.

The navy of the Ming Dynasty will be enclosed for the land, and their behavior in Nanzhou will directly affect the obedience of the local natives to my Ming Dynasty. In this regard, you must strictly enforce the law and strictly prevent officials from coercing the people against them. ”

"Yes!"

"The second is to pay attention to adjusting the enthusiasm of soldiers to serve, in the first year, our court will also issue them a salary, and it will not be issued again in the future. However, since the imperial court has already allocated dozens of miles of land to each person, and has also allocated indigenous servants to them, this is the best welfare.

The fate of everyone is linked to my Ming Dynasty, and they can't help but cheat and only care about the interests of their own territory. Everyone takes turns to serve and enforce the law, which is a national policy that cannot be loosened, and if there is non-compliance, all benefits will be deprived and degraded to a lowly household.

I have here a copy of the service system drawn up by the cabinet, and you can take it back and figure it out. This perfect evaluation system has been established in Dongzhou, and there is no room for sloppiness. If you want to come back, you have to put this system in the hearts of the people. ”

Dongzhou is different from the Ming Dynasty, not only does it not have a strict system there, but also because the Ming people are relatively high up to the natives, and an ordinary soldier can become a man in the past.

At this time, many people will definitely start to save their lives. If you fight a war, you won't be too careful in service.

However, if Zhu Zhanji wants to establish an environment in Dongzhou where troops are hidden from the people, and warlords are not tolerated, and a strong and powerful environment exists, it is necessary to have a set of strict systems.

Zhu Zhen, a general who loves his homeland and is unwilling to go out, but has a certain ability, is very suitable.

As long as he does a good job there and establishes a complete management system in a few years, then his task will be completed.

After coming back, whether he was promoted to duke or promoted to the throne, Zhu Zhanji would not be stingy.

When he returns, he will not leave a situation where he will not be able to shake off, and his sons will easily take over in the future.

After talking to Zhu Zhen about the importance of implementing the policy of superiority of Ming soldiers in Dongzhou, Zhu Zhanji sent him out and asked him to consult with Yang Rong, who formulated this system.

And Yang Rong will also be the deputy marshal who will go to Dongzhou this time, he is more proficient in policy, but he lacks influence in the army, so he still needs Zhu Zhen to go over to guard.

They are all literate and martial, coupled with the monitoring of the internal prison, Zhu Zhanji can rest assured.

This Dongzhou, which is important in Zhu Zhanji's heart, cannot afford to miss the slightest!