In the second year of the Common Era, the emir Timur was born in Jieshi, south of Samarkand. His mother was a native of Bukhara, and his father, Emir Taragai, was a Turkic Mongol nobleman whose ancestors were ministers of Chagatai. After his father's death, he succeeded as the feudal lord of Jieshi. Timur was a Turkic Mongol who believed in green and green and accepted the influence of Persia, so he was ideologically inclined to Persian culture. ”

When Timur was 26 years old, he rebelled against the rule of the Mongol nobility in the vicinity of his homeland. During the battle, he was wounded and became lame, so the enemy was called Timur the Cripple. In order to consolidate the power, he adopted a marriage relationship, because he took the princess of the Khan of the Western Chagatai Khanate as his wife and concubine, and became the concubine of the Chagatai Khanate, so he was also called Timur, the concubine. ”

In the second year of Hongwu, he killed the brotherly Khan Hussein of Western Chagatai and established the state of Timur. However, the local area is the same as in the Spring and Autumn Period of China, we respect the Zhou Dynasty as the master, and they must respect the Mongols as the master. Neither Timur nor Hussein, nor any of the Turkic nobles of the Trans region, nor the monarchs of the Chagatai lineage, could rule Trans China. The legitimacy of Genghis Khan is undoubtedly to be preserved, at least in form. ”

After finding a puppet to be king, Timur then conquered Persia and Khorezm. Hongwu conquered the Ilkhanate and Afghanistan in 26 years, and then marched north to attack the Golden Horde. A foreign rebellion ensued in Sarabaka, Persia, which reversed the direction of the glorious march of the Turkic Empire and shifted its conquest from the Mongol khanates to the surrounding countries. ”

From then on, he followed Genghis Khan's strategy of slaughtering the city of Sarabaka, which he maintained in his subsequent expeditions to southern Tibet. The most famous battle was the battle with Tokhtamysh Khan of the White Horde in the Kundurtsa Valley, where he completely defeated the Golden Horde. ”

"At the beginning of the founding of the country, Timur was afraid of the Ming Dynasty like a tiger, from the 20th year of Hongwu, Timur had sent envoys to pay tribute many times, and was the first foreign vassal in the Western Regions to submit to the Ming Dynasty. But as his power grew, his attitude towards me began to change. ”

"In the 28th year of Hongwu, Timur seized envoys from various countries, including my Ming Dynasty and Ottoman envoys, and began the second phase of expansion, then occupied southern Tibet (northern India) and conquered Asia Minor (Turkey) in the following year."

"In Asia Minor, Timur defeated the Ottoman Empire and captured his Sultan Bayezid I, making his empire a great empire from the Pamirs to Asia Minor and Arabia."

Zhu Zhanji knew this very well, because in his previous life, Europeans except for Russia admired Timur very much. His defeat of the then expanding Ottoman Turkish Empire was equivalent to indirectly preserving Christian culture and the whole of Europe. Because the Ottoman Empire at that time was only about to destroy Macedonia.

Later, although the Ottoman Empire destroyed Macedonia, Europe had developed at that time, and with muskets and artillery, the Ottoman Empire was unable to advance westward.

As for the Russians, it was because they were killed too hard by Timur, and until later generations, the Russians were still very Timur.

The artists, craftsmen and scholars that Timur brought back from Asia Minor left countless priceless heirlooms to Samarkand, which became the center of gravity of Central Asian Green Religion culture.

In other words, it was Timur's robbery that allowed the Green Religion to develop into Central Asia.

"In the second year of Yongle, Timur tried in vain to attack my Ming Dynasty, and gathered an army of 200,000. But less than a thousand miles out of Samarkand, he died. Timur has fought for more than 40 years in his life and has never been defeated, which can be called a generation of heroes. ”

"When Timur died, his country was in crisis. Four sons, the eldest and the second, died young, and Timur did not officially choose an heir. The three sons also died shortly after Timur's death; Timur's two nephews fought each other for the throne. At this time, the brave and promising fourth son Shaharu quelled the infighting and succeeded to the throne. Shahru also reversed Timur's hostile policy towards the Ming Dynasty and changed to friendship with the Ming Dynasty, and paid tribute to our Ming Dynasty in the 11th year of Yongle. ”

Chen Cheng is indeed talented, and he has made a clear introduction to the situation in Central Asia in just one sentence.

Zhu Zhanji asked: "What is the relationship between the current Timurid country and the Yili Lili and other countries, I read the "Chronicles of the Western Regions" written by you, although it is written in more detail, but it is still confusing. ”

Chen Cheng shook his head and sighed: "The complexity of the countries in the Western Regions is far from being clear to ministers. They are not one nation with each other, and the various nations intermarry with each other, and there are their own conquests with the same nation. Moreover, today is reconciled, tomorrow there will be another war, and after the war is over, there is still some kinship between countries today, but there are different beliefs and different cultures, and it really cannot be judged by countries, more like tribes. ”

"What about the current Timurid Khan Shahruqi, and is there any threat to my Ming Dynasty in the current Timurid country? What about the Ottoman Empire today? ”

"Although Shaharu is both civil and military, he is not worried. Today's Timurid country is divided into four, and it is far from the Timurid country of more than ten years ago. ”

Having learned most of the situation from his book, and now listening to Chen Cheng explain in detail some conclusions that are difficult to write and difficult to determine, Zhu Zhanji has also gained a lot.

However, there are a lot of people in the mission today, and it is not a good time to propose to add private goods, so Zhu Zhanji said to Chen Cheng again: "I will have someone pick you up tomorrow afternoon and show you something, and I will have something to say to you at that time." Today, in order to catch the wind, you should drink and talk. ”

Everyone was envious, and being able to be invited privately by the grandson would be tantamount to falling into the eyes of the grandson. Seeing that Chen Cheng is fifty years old, this time, he finally came out.

Chen Cheng said in a sinister manner: "Your Highness has an order, and the ministers should obey it." It's just that today, Shuchen can't drink with everyone, Jin Shixian is gone, and the bones are not cold......"

Zhu Zhanji interrupted him and said, "I understand, don't think it's strange. Ladies and gentlemen, drink ...... together"

Although Chen Cheng said this, Zhu Zhanji admired him even more, such a capable minister with affection and righteousness is rare!

He also consulted some of Chen Cheng's information. He is a native of Jiangxi, Hongwu 26 years in the people, 27 years of tribute, the palace test three first, given the same Jinshi background.

In the twenty-ninth year of Hongwu, he sent an envoy to the Western Regions to withdraw from the Wuer (the northwest region of the Qaidam Basin in later generations), and built Andingwei, Quxianwei, and Aduanwei there to defend the frontier.

In the thirtieth year of Hongwu, he sent an edict to Annan, and was promoted to the Hanlin Academy for review, from the seven products. Jianwen was promoted to the left senator of the Guangdong political department in three years.

From the fourth year of Yongle to the ninth year of Yongle, he entered the Wenyuan Pavilion to repair the "Yongle Canon". Yongle ten years of promotion of the Ministry of Seals Wailang.

Judging from his qualifications, he doesn't seem to have much talent, he follows step by step, and he has never had the experience of being promoted to several levels.

But this mission to the Western Regions made Zhu Zhanji see this person's talent. The two books he wrote can be said to be the most transparent introduction to the Western Regions by the Ming Dynasty at present, and this ability alone can put him in a more important position.

What Zhu Zhanji didn't know was that Chen Cheng had made five missions to the Timurid Empire and Tatar in the Western Regions in history, and his contributions were as famous as those of the navigator Zheng He.

And he also has the advantage of living long enough. Although he is 50 years old this year, in history, he lived to be 93 years old, which means that he still has 43 years to live.

No matter how talented a person is, he can't live long. Only by living can we do more and contribute more.

On the afternoon of the second day, Chen Cheng was invited to Xingqing Palace, and was immediately taken by Zhu Zhanji to the huge world map.

He was inferior to Zheng He, seeing the huge map, and then comparing the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and comparing the huge globe, although it did not collapse, but it was a quarter of an hour.

Zhu Zhanji waited for him to come back to his senses before he smiled and asked, "What do you feel when you see this picture?" ”

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's voice, Chen Cheng came back to his senses and said, "Please forgive the ministers for being rude." ”

"Don't be polite, lonely is not a person who is polite." Zhu Zhanji sighed a little, in this era, the concept of hierarchy is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it is really difficult to correct. However, he himself has a vested interest, so although he slanders, he does not want to change.

"After reading this map, what do you think?"

"The world is big, not infinite, but it is not the world of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "The Ming Dynasty has no ambition to dominate the world, but the culture of China must dominate the world." Gu Guaner's "Chronicles of the Western Regions" and "Itinerary of the Western Regions" felt that my Chinese culture was unpopular in the Western Regions, which was a great pity. ”

Chen Cheng hesitated for a moment, and said in a long voice: "The minister is willing to be the envoy of the Ming culture and go to the Western Regions to spread my Ming culture." ”

Zhu Zhanji knew that he had misunderstood what he meant, so he smiled and said, "You misunderstood what I meant, and your talent is not limited to this. To spread Chinese culture, a random Confucian can do it, and you should have a greater role. ”

Chen Cheng originally thought that he was going to be sent to the Western Regions, but he didn't expect to misunderstand what Taisun meant. At this moment, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to guess at random.

Zhu Zhanji took out an article he had written about the growing conditions of cotton and handed it to Chen Cheng.

This statement was copied from the agricultural book, and then added a step of seedling cultivation in later generations. At the same time, he added to it the effect of the sun's exposure on the growth of cotton.

When Chen Cheng saw this article, he couldn't guess Zhu Zhanji's thoughts, he and agriculture can not be matched!

Zhu Zhanji smiled at this time: "Looking at the soil and climate of the Western Regions alone, I found that it is suitable for cotton cultivation. Therefore, I would like to borrow your pen and add this paragraph to your "Itinerary in the Western Regions", and I will print 20,000 copies, 10,000 copies will be distributed to officials at all levels, and the other 10,000 copies will be sold in the book market. Lone not only has a pen fee for you, but also makes your name known to the world. ”

Chen Cheng's eyes widened, looking at Zhu Zhanji, his lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.

As a literati, speaking is the ultimate dream of all scholars. Although these two books of his are just miscellaneous books, if these two books can be appreciated by the imperial court and published all over the world, he Chen Cheng will have no regrets even if he dies!