Under the leadership of Su Ran, Zhu Youzhen led the people to go north along the Rehe River, and saw a beautiful valley about 25 miles away from the camp at the fork of the Rehe River.

To the east of the valley is a north-south mountain range, with lush primeval forests above and at its feet, from which the wood needed to build castles and buildings at the fork of the Rehe came from. The stubby trees drift down the Rehe River at the foot of the mountain to the downstream fork, where they are picked up by workers for processing.

In the middle of the valley is a lake surrounded by reeds, separated by small islands, the vegetation of the island is verdant, and because it is inaccessible, the island and the reed area around the lake become a paradise for birds. When Zhu Youzhen and his entourage arrived at this lake, it was nearly dusk, and some of the guards in the team couldn't help but itch their hands, and they went deep into the lake area to hunt a lot of wild ducks and geese and came back, adding a game to everyone's dinner.

The next day, just after dawn, a Mongolian tribe living nearby, under the leadership of the leader, drove a group of fat sheep to Chongzhen in fear, expressing their loyalty to the emperor.

Zhu Youzhen asked Hailanzhu to come forward to reward these Mongolian herdsmen who had come to offer food, and summoned their leaders to share the food with him. During the meal, Zhu Youzhen asked the chief in detail about the nearby terrain and the living range of their tribe.

Beyond the lake, there is an extremely open plain to the north, and a mountain range to the north. There are many hot springs in the mountains, but one of the most convenient and enjoyable is one near the foot of the Tohoku Mountains.

Because the valley was surrounded by mountains, the winters were warmer than elsewhere and the summers were extremely cool, so the tribe settled in the plains north of the lake, and most of them lived here for a long time, except in the summer, when some of the tribe would go out to graze and disperse the livestock that the land could not carry.

The leader of the tribe also warned the Emperor that the southeast of the valley was a meadow of swamps and small rivers, and that it was easy for outsiders to encounter danger if they strayed into it, so it was better for the Emperor and his guards not to go deeper, and that he would be happy to send people who were familiar with the meadows to lead the way for the Emperor's guards if necessary.

Zhu Youzhen was very satisfied with this leader named Zahore, and not only gave him a double reward, but also rewarded him with the title of Rehe Taiji. The emperor's reward made Zahor grateful, and from the beginning of the Ming army to build a castle at the fork of the Rehe River, this originally deserted land began to be lively.

The valley was originally owned by the Zahor tribes, but with the arrival of the Ming people, they had to give up the land south of the lake. Looking at the way the Ming people were building at the fork in the lower reaches, many old people of the tribe thought that this place might not be able to stay anymore.

Although the Mongol tribes in this region were all loyal to the Ming Emperor, this nominal binding force did not really have much effect. The trade with the Ming was monopolized by the large tribes, and there was actually no political or economic connection between the small tribes and the Ming Kingdom. Nominally, each tribe was independently loyal to the Ming Emperor, but in fact the smaller tribes were only vassals of a large tribe, to whom they paid tribute, obeyed the conscription of the large tribe, and finally followed the direction of the large tribe's horsewhip.

After the Ming people appeared at the fork of the Rehe River, the large tribe that accepted the tribute of the Zahor tribe chose to cut off the connection with this small tribe. Because everyone knows very well that once the Han people begin to settle down, it will be difficult for grazing areas to appear within the Han people's sphere of influence, and they are suitable for grazing areas and for arable land.

After the Ming Emperor readjusted the policy outside the Guan, the land outside the Guan, which was close to the border of the Ming State, has now been divided by the Ming State one by one, that is to say, the grassland that was originally ownerless has now become the land with the owner.

If the Zahoer tribe was squeezed out of their traditional pasture land by the Ming, then the big tribe that sheltered the small tribe would have to reallocate a piece of land to them. However, the large tribe that had sheltered the Zahoer tribe was unwilling to give them their own land, nor was they willing to conflict with the Ming people over this small tribe, so they simply cut off the shelter relationship with them.

Without a backer to protect themselves, the Zahoer tribe was naturally panicked, and after hearing that the emperor had gone out on patrol to the other side of the lake area, Zahoer hurried to the door with gifts, hoping to get new shelter from the emperor. His wish was granted, and with the title given to him by the Emperor, the tribe of Zahor finally did not have to worry about others coming to take their place.

Thus Zahor became more submissive to the Emperor, and after the meal he sent his people back to his tribe, leaving only a few seasoned hunters, who were supposed to serve the Emperor during his stay.

For Zahore's interest, Zhu Youzhen liked it very much, and deliberately kept him by his side. After the team crossed the lake area, they looked at the green grass and colorful trees in late autumn, which was really an excellent grassland landscape painting.

At the foot of the mountain, near the hot springs, the water of the mountain springs converges into several lakes that resemble a string of pearls. Although it is the end of autumn, the lotus flowers in the lake are still slim and have no signs of decay. Zahor specially fetched some spring water and presented it to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please taste our spring water here, the taste is incomparable to that of other places." ”

Although some guards wanted to step forward to stop him, not wanting the untested food to be delivered to Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen didn't care about letting Hai Lanzhu bring up the spring water, took a few sips of it happily, and then praised: "It's really different, it's a little sweeter than the spring water in Yuquan Mountain, it's delicious." ”

Seeing the emperor drink the spring water he offered without suspicion, Zahel was very grateful and proud, and his loyalty to Chongzhen was a little more.

Zhu Youzhen rested here for five days, riding horses and climbing mountains every day, hunting, drinking and feasting, and soaking in hot springs by the way, but he evacuated the fatigue of the journey for more than half a month. The Zahor tribe tried their best to serve the emperor and his retinue, and they also looked at Chongzhen's eyes one by one.

The night before he returned, Zhu Youzhen summoned Zaheer and several tribal elders to his camp, and chatted with a few people over the stars and the blazing bonfire.

When Zhu Youzhen was slightly drunk and his cheeks were a little red, he suddenly said to Zaheer and the others: "... I have seen all your faithful service these days. Therefore I intend to reward you. ”

Zahor hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty has been here for the past few days, and there is a reward for summoning you every day. Compared with His Majesty's reward, the little thing we offer is simply vulgar and unsightly, and His Majesty's ability to accept our reward is already the best reward for his ministers. We haven't done anything for Your Majesty these days except to accept His Majesty's hospitality, so how dare we continue to accept His Majesty's reward with a cheeky face..."

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand drunkenly and said, "Why haven't you done anything for me?" You have offered me the fruits of this land, and you have offered me the water here. For me, this is the highest level of filial piety that my subjects have for a king, so I should reward loyal people like you.

The ancients said: Where the sun and the moon shine and the rivers go, they are all the concubines of the Han Dynasty. It can be seen that the inside and outside of the customs are all one, and the Mongols and Han people are both Chinese people. As the king of China, I am naturally not only the father of the Han people, but also the father of the Mongols. It's a pity that some Mongolian tribes don't understand this truth, and they don't yearn to return to China, but want to flatter and surrender to the savage tribes who were born in the mountains and forests of the northeast.

The emperor spoke at length for a long time, and Zahor and the others only understood a small part of the content, but they understood a little, what the emperor meant was that there was no difference between the Mongols and the Han Chinese, and they were both subjects under Chinese rule.

Although Zahel did not understand the difference between being loyal to China and being loyal to the emperor, under the hint of Hai Lanzhu, who served by the emperor's side, he immediately led the elders of the tribe out and shouted long live to Chongzhen, indicating that they would definitely obey the emperor's will.

After listening to the oath of allegiance of Zahr and the others, Zhu Youzhen got up with his wine glass and said, "Okay, I plan to build a separate courtyard here, and come to live for a period of time every summer in the future to escape the heat." Zahor, will you and your tribe defend this inheritance for me? ”

Zahor said without hesitation: "The minister is willing to serve His Majesty, and the ministers and the minister's clan will definitely protect this courtyard for Your Majesty, and will not let idle people enter and harass..."

Zhu Youzhen nodded at him and said, "Okay, in that case, I will pardon the other labor and tribute of your tribe, and only need to offer me 30 sheep, 5 horses, and 30 skins every year." In addition, I will give you 30 horses of silk, 300 horses of cotton cloth, and some iron articles every year, will you accept them? ”

The Zahor tribe had a total of eighty-three accounts and a population of about 300, and they naturally gladly accepted this favorable condition offered by the emperor. When Chongzhen left from here, in addition to leaving the name of Rehe Spring to the hot springs he had soaked, he took six young men from the tribe of Zahor and added them to his imperial guards.

When Chongzhen returned to the camp at the fork of the Rehe River, there were less than two days left before he had agreed to convene the Naadam Conference. However, Wednesday Wei and Su Ran had already leveled the venue of the conference and the camp of outsiders who participated in the conference, and dozens of tribes close to this place had already arrived outside the Rehe camp.

Standing at the top of a watchtower in the castle, Zhu Youzhen looked at the scenery outside the castle surrounded by water on three sides, and the Mongolian tents on the east side of the Luan River, and asked Zhou Wei and Su Ran behind him with a feeling for a while: "Have you chosen the name of this castle?" ”

Wednesday Wei and Su Ran glanced at each other, and then they both said to the emperor: "The ministers are stupid and haven't come up with a suitable name yet, but Your Majesty is here today, and I ask Your Majesty to give you a name, so that this place can be blessed." ”

Zhu Youzhen subconsciously replied, "Then call it Chengde." ”

Wednesday Wei just thought about it carefully, and then praised loudly: "Chengde, inherit Tiande, to educate the barbarians, Your Majesty's intentions are far-reaching, and the ministers can't reach it..."

Zhu Youzhen didn't think about it so much, he just knew that this was Chengde in the future, and he was too lazy to change his name. He just smiled at Wednesday's praise, pretended to be unpredictable, turned his back, and looked at the grassland in the distance.