"Originally, I thought the same thing, first take Qinghai-Tibet, and then deal with the Yarkand Khanate and the Oirat Mongols. However, the situation has changed somewhat, and when Ding Guodong, the general of Xining, inspected a group of Mongols who had gone to Tibet to make tea, he found that they were not the self-proclaimed Transkhalkha tribe, but the Oirat Mongolian department.

What is even more surprising is that one of them seems to have a very high status, and in order to protect his safety, the others dare not resist the provocation of the inspection soldiers. When Ding Guodong ordered everyone to be arrested, the subject of other Mongol protection had to voluntarily confess his identity.

He claimed to be a son. Tulubaihu, the leader of the Heshute tribe to which Oirat belongs, is also the leader of the four Oirath tribes. This time, I just wanted to enter Tibet to boil tea, and I had no other intentions. Ding Guodong didn't dare to deal with him without authorization, so he sent someone to escort him back to Lanzhou and send him to me.

With this man in our hands, it will be difficult for the Oirat IV to join forces with the Yarkand Khanate against us. So, I hope you can put all your thoughts on how to expand our power in the Western Regions. As for Qinghai-Tibet, I intend to let the Mongols open the way for my Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhu Youzhen replied to Mei Zhihuan unhurriedly, and Mei Zhihuan, who was sitting opposite him, was stunned at first, and then returned to his normal expression and said: "The minister has heard of some of Tulu Baihu's deeds, and it is rumored that this person is not only brave and good at fighting, but also a rare benevolent lord in the four Oirats, and even won the hearts of the people, so he is called: National Teacher Khan, but most people call him Gushi Khan."

Among the four Oirat tribes, the only person who can be compared with him is probably the leader of the Dzungar tribe, Batur Huntaiji. Such a character, leaving behind his tribal makeup and sneaking into my country, I'm afraid it's not just to go to Tibet to make tea, right? ”

Zhu Youzhen thought silently for a moment, and finally said with a smile: "No matter what he wanted to do, I'm afraid he can't do it now."

As long as he is in our hands, we have many choices for the Oirat Mongols to win over or divide, don't we? ”

Mei Zhihuan thought about it, what the emperor said is indeed true, no matter how much Tulu Baihu wins the hearts of the people, there will still be many changes after staying away from the people, especially there is a Batur Huntaiji whose prestige is no less than his in the four Oirat departments.

However, he quickly put down his thoughts about Tulu Baihu's current situation, and asked the emperor: "The minister is still a little puzzled in his heart, I don't know how Your Majesty plans to use the Mongols to seize the Qinghai-Tibet region for my Ming Dynasty?" ”

Zhu Youzhen immediately said confidently: "According to the reports of those businessmen who traveled to and from Qinghai and Tibet, the Zangba Khan in Shigatse and the Yellow Sect lamas in Lhasa are now in a situation where war is about to break out.

However, although the Yellow Lamas have many followers, they are not the opponents of Zangba Khan in terms of force, so they have always had to be supported by hardship. Without the intervention of an external force, the struggle would have ended in the defeat of the Yellow Lama.

Therefore, I intend to have Arslan escort the Living Buddha Zhangjia into Tibet and negotiate with the Fifth*. Tibet came under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and I canonized the V* as the leader of Tibet. Together, the two sides joined forces to eliminate Tsangpa Khan's rule over Tibet. ”

Mei Zhihuan looked at the emperor with some surprise and said: "But Your Majesty, not long ago, you also ordered your ministers to show goodwill to Zangba Khan and Baili Tusi Deng Yue Dorjee, and now you are going to support the Yellow Sect to rule Tibet, is this too capricious?" ”

Mei Zhihuan may still have some moral guilt, but Zhu Youzhen said disapprerovitically: "At the beginning, I asked you to show favor to Zangba Khan and Baili Tusi, first, to entrap Lin Dan Khan; Second, in order to prevent them from opposing our subjugation of the ethnic minorities in eastern Qinghai and the establishment of Xining and other cities; The third is to hope that they can feel the goodwill of the Ming Dynasty and return to the embrace of China.

But now, Lin Dan Khan has disappeared, and there are many followers of the Yellow Sect in the Mongolian tribes, and they are now my people, so I naturally have to take into account their feelings, and I can't let Zangba Khan and Baili Tusi continue to oppress the Yellow Lamas.

Xining City has already taken a rudimentary form, and all ethnic groups in eastern Qinghai have also accepted the jurisdiction of our Ming Dynasty, so the expansion of Baili Tusi in Kang District to Qinghai is a provocation to our Ming Dynasty.

My Ming Dynasty showed favor to Zangba Khan and Baili Tusi everywhere, in exchange for them not to move closer to my Ming Dynasty, but to make things difficult for my caravan to trade, isn't it hateful? It is reported that in the past seven or eight months, all the caravans passing through the Kang district have disappeared, and this act of plundering our merchants is a declaration of war against the Ming Dynasty.

Since friendship cannot be exchanged for friendship, then we should take out the stick, otherwise my Daming will not become a weak sheep in the eyes of the surrounding countries, if they everyone runs up and bites us, even if the bite does not hurt us, it is enough to make people disgusting. ”

Mei Zhihuan thought about it again and again, and still said with some hesitation: "But if this spreads to the surrounding countries, will it damage Your Majesty's reputation?" ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at the minister in front of him and said frankly: "In the face of national interests, whether it is yours or my honor, it is a meaningless existence..."

After listening to Chongzhen's answer, Mei Zhihuan finally knew why the ministers of the court and the central government loved and hated this emperor. Chongzhen, who can solve problems and has the courage to take responsibility, compared to his father and brother, finally let the elites of the Ming Dynasty see some hope for saving themselves.

However, Chongzhen, who put moral restraint aside and formulated policies entirely based on practical interests, is obviously too far from the image of a Ming monarch in the eyes of Confucianism. Working under such an emperor, no one can predict what their tomorrow will be.

For those bureaucrats who have become accustomed to analyzing the world in terms of the scriptures of the sages, Chongzhen is constantly shattering the rules they use to live in the world, dragging them into a chaotic world without rules.

Of course, the so-called chaos has no rules, and in fact it is just a reflection of the obsolescence of the old Confucian ethics and the fact that the new order has not yet been fully established.

Mei Zhihuan was also dumbfounded by this, but he did not intend to continue to persuade the emperor. Compared with his colleagues who pay lip service to the Ming Dynasty's maladministration but do not want to lose any of their own interests, Mei Zhihuan has always been a pro-reform activist.

To be honest, the words "putting the interests of the country first" can remove a lot of shackles that bind him, and this is really why not do it.

However, as the governor of Ganning, he still did not want the local affairs to get out of his control, so he said to the emperor: "Your Majesty chose Arslan to escort the living Buddha Zhangjia into Tibet, and the minister should not say anything. But this man was the eldest son of Choktu Khan, and could he really assist the Yellow Sect in fighting against Zangpa Khan and Baili Tusi?

And the Khan fled from Mobei to me, and his people were divided into three by His Majesty, can he still have such strength to conquer Tibet? ”

Zhu Youzhen did not feel impatient for Mei Zhihuan to question his plan, but patiently explained: "Arslan is still young, and he is not so persistent in religious beliefs, and he has not shown much disgust with the teachings of Huangjiao under the teaching of Zhang Jia Living Buddha recently.

So I plan to convert him to the Yellow Sect and send some officers to help him rebuild a credible army. After defeating Zangpa Khan and Baili Tusi, I will canonize him as Tibetan Khan, and I don't think he will be merciful.

It doesn't matter if he lacks strength, it is because of this that it is difficult for him to betray my Daming. In addition, Tulu Baihu will go with him to Tibet to persuade the Yellow Lamas, and when this is done, I will also canonize him as the deputy khan of Tibet.

He and Arslan can contain each other, and we can also prevent the situation in Tibet from getting completely out of our control.

You go and persuade Tulubaihu to accept my proposition, and then release his servants back, so that those Oirat people know that Tulubaihu has surrendered to my Ming, and then see what kind of changes will occur within Oirat, so that we can continue to divide the four Oirats division.

or co-opt the Heshute Department and suppress other ministries; or co-opt Heshute and other three to suppress the Dzungar one. In short, we can't let the four departments of Oirat unite, which is conducive to my Ming Dynasty's march into the Western Regions. ”

Chongzhen's strategy finally persuaded Mei Zhihuan that using the power of Mobei Mongolia to conquer Tibet was obviously the most cost-effective way, and it would not arouse the resentment of the Mongol tribes.

After all, Tibet has now become a source of faith for the Mongol tribes, and the Ming army's attack on Tibet can easily arouse the resentment of the Mongol tribes, and even lead to a compromise between the Tibetan Khan and the Yellow Lama.

The reason why this is the case is mainly because the strength of the Ming Dynasty is too strong, and once the Ming army is stationed in Tibet, Tibet has nothing to do with the Mongols. Since the collapse of the Mongol and Yuan Empire, the only thing that maintains the spiritual unity of the Mongolian tribes is the belief in Lamaism, and as long as the Mongols still have the ability to restore the Mongol Empire, they will not tolerate the Ming Dynasty directly touching the Tibetan region.

Of course, if a Mongolian tribe controls Tibet, it becomes an internal affair between the Mongolian tribes, which can be understood by the tribes, even if the tribe is standing behind the Ming Dynasty.

Mei Zhihuan weighed the status of Qinghai-Tibet and the Western Regions, and couldn't help but say to the emperor: "Your Majesty, at present, the Qinghai-Tibet region seems to be more important to my Ming Dynasty. Why do you want your ministers to focus on the Western Regions? Although the Western Regions are rich, they are still too far away for my Central Plains, even if it is slowly plotted, it will not be a big problem, right? ”

Chongzhen replied in agreement: "The land of Qinghai-Tibet, Tibet is not a place to raise people, only Qinghai can breed some people." If anyone occupies Qinghai, it is only a matter of time before they take control of Tibet.

After we subdued the ethnic groups in eastern Qinghai and the Huangshui River Valley, the road to Tibet was opened to the Ming Dynasty. For such a place, it is not how to conquer the place, but how to govern the place after the war. It is enough to govern the local government and let the officials below you deal with it.

The land of the Western Regions is different, a Tianshan Mountain divides the Western Regions into two places, north and south, and both places are suitable for cultivation and grazing. In addition, the Western Regions are also adjacent to the densely populated Central Asian region.

If you want to plot the Western Regions, you must not only be strategically correct, but also tactically must not make mistakes. Without time, people, and people, we would not have been able to defeat the Yarkand Khanate and the Oirat Four, which had occupied a favorable geographical position.

Now the monarch of the Yarkand Khanate, although quite talented, not only recovered the Turpan Basin, but also intended to unify the entire region south of the Tien Shan. If we give him time to consolidate the country, then after a few years, when his rule is stable, it will be even more difficult for my Ming to want to go west.

Use the Uyghurs who have fled to our borders, train them, and support them to return to their homeland to rebel against the monarch of the Yarkand Khanate, so as to disrupt the process of integration of forces within the Yarkand Khanate, and create a momentum for my Ming to intervene in the affairs of this region, which is the most important thing for you at the moment..."