Chigutai arranged for the envoys of the Chahar and Khalkha tribes to go down to rest, and led the envoys of the Karaqin tribe to the inner hall and met with Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan saw that this person was polite and not as vulgar as several other envoys, and his status must not be low, so he asked in Chinese, "Your envoy's surname?" ”

The messenger also replied in Chinese, "Tuba, son of Qaraqin Khan Qibu. ”

Fang Yuan suddenly realized that the Karaqin Department had sent a son of the Great Khan, which showed his sincerity to this alliance.

In contrast, the other two tribes are just here to bargain.

Of course, Fang Yuan's purpose was to provoke infighting between the Mongols and the Manchus, and if these two tribes wanted to swallow the Horqin steppe, they had to launch an offensive against the Horqin tribe, a sworn friend of the Manchus, so as to greatly contain the support of the Horqin tribe to Liaodong.

Fang Yuan asked Tuba to take a seat, and said slowly, "What secret order does Karaqin Khan have for me?" ”

Tuba asked, "Regent, I'd like to ask you a question first. Before the Chahar Lin Dan Khan annexed my Karaqin Department, our department asked the Ming Dynasty for help several times, and the Ming Dynasty sat back and ignored our request for help in order to win over Lin Dan Khan, should the Ming Dynasty atone for its crimes?! ”

Fang Yuan was secretly amused when he heard this, it turned out that he was here to ask about the crime, but he said with a solemn face, "I think this is the current situation, there is no need to explain!" At that time, the biggest enemy of my Ming Dynasty was the Jurchens, and the stronger the Mongol Lin Dan Khan, the greater the deterrence against the Jurchens. The Ming Dynasty chose to support Lin Dan Khan and strengthen Lin Dan Khan's power, strategically speaking, there was no mistake. ”

He ruthlessly countered the idea of Tuba Xingshi's question, seeing that Tuba's face was full of anger, he said unhurriedly, "If you want to ask for guilt, I will ask you Karaqin for guilt, and over the years, I have followed the Jurchens to attack me Ningjin and enter the customs, and you Karaqin will not be missing!" Should you also atone for the murder of my people?! ”

Tuba listened to it, and the Karaqin tribe's support for the Manchus was second only to the Horqin tribe, and it was indeed stained with the blood of many Ming Dynasty people.

Fang Yuan saw that he was speechless, and said coldly, "This time and that time, now the Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. Without the help of the Mongols, I can also bulldoze Liaodong and wipe out the Jurchens! What you should be thinking about is not to look through the old accounts, but to look forward. There is the Ming Dynasty in the south, the Dzungar in the west, and the Chahar Department in the northeast. ”

Fang Yuan accurately captured Karaqin's embarrassing situation. In terms of strength, the Karaqin Department is inferior to Chahar and Dzungaria, not to mention the Ming Dynasty. The reason why the Karaqin tribe is still safe now is only because the Manchu court strictly forbade the Mongol tribes to annex each other. If the Manchus lost control of Mongolia, tribes like Karaqin would have only one fate, that is, they would be annexed and swallowed up by the Chahar and Dzungar tribes.

Therefore, this alliance is actually a precautionary plan for the Karaqin Department, and Tuba was ordered to come to find a backer and a thigh, and what they fancy is the Ming Dynasty, which needs to be re-divided into the hegemony of Liaodong when they go out of the customs again.

Tuba was hit by Fang Yuan's words, and his momentum weakened a little, "What does the regent think about the Mongolian steppe?" Should we adopt the conservative strategy of the previous Ming Dynasty to let itself go freely and hold the defense line of the Great Wall, or should we follow the example of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and take the initiative to attack and control it? ”

Fang Yuan had to admit that Tuba still had some knowledge, at least in a word. The Ming Dynasty was a defensive policy towards the Mongolian steppe, while the Manchu Qing were aggressive.

"Before the Ming Dynasty, a defensive strategy was implemented, and nine sides were set up along the Great Wall to prevent Mongol invasions. As a result, a large amount of military spending was spent on the border towns of the Nine Sides and the repair of the Great Wall. ”

Fang Yuan glanced up at Tuba and continued, "From now on, I will change the Ming Dynasty's strategy in northern Xinjiang, withdraw the border towns on the nine sides, and rebuild a powerful cavalry corps. Changing passive defense to active aggressiveness, the Ming army's troops will reach deep into the Mongolian steppes and destroy all invading enemies! ”

With a happy face, Tuba asked rhetorically, "Is that what the Lord Regent thinks?!" ”

Fang Yuan said in a deep voice, "Yes, I don't need to deceive you, whether it is Karaqin, Horqin, Chahar, Junggar, or Khalkha in Mobei, you must be ordered by my Ming Dynasty to respect my Ming Emperor as the Heavenly Khan!" ”

Tuba hurriedly knelt on the ground, covered his chest with his hands and said, "Regent, I brought the secret order of the Karaqin Khan on this trip, and the Karaqin Ministry is willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Fang Yuan asked rhetorically, "What is the so-called surrender of Karaqin Khan?!" ”

Tuba hurriedly explained, "The pastures, people, cattle and sheep of Karaqin are all under the Ming Dynasty, and the people of Karaqin are the people of the Ming Dynasty, and we hope that the regent will accept our surrender!" ”

As soon as Tuba explained this, his so-called surrender was not simply a subject state of the Ming Dynasty, but took the initiative to merge and become the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

The location of Karaqin, before the crossing, probably belonged to the central and eastern regions of Inner Mongolia, bordering the Great Wall in the south and the Chahar Department in the north, which can be said to be the natural barrier of the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty. If the Karaqin tribe gave up all the pastures and people, and the Ming completely digested this area. It is estimated that the role of the Great Wall is the same as before the crossing, and it can only be used for tourism.

Fang Yuan's heart was overjoyed, but his face was still not moved at all, and he asked, "Why did Karaqin Khan surrender to my Daming?" It's not good to be unrestrained on the grassland, so you have to come under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Tuba patiently explained, "As the Lord Regent said, we cannot survive if we are surrounded by strong enemies. If we lose to the Chahar and Dzungar tribes, according to the law of the steppe, none of our pastures, cattle and sheep can be saved, the men with high wheels will be executed, and all the women will be divided. Instead of being conquered by the grassland tribes, it is better to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, at least to retain a certain amount of power, as well as family property and women. ”

"We, Qalaqin Khan, have been paying attention to what the regent has done to foreign races in the Guannei, in addition to the massacre of the Manchus, we have truly achieved the unity of Han Yi, and our Qalaqin Khan is willing to accept the protection of the Ming Dynasty and the regent!"

Fang Yuan nodded, agreeing with what he said. In fact, the surrender of the Karaqin Department was the same as that of the Southern Xiongnu attached to the Han Dynasty, guarding the northern frontier for the Han Dynasty, and at the same time getting the protection of the Han Dynasty to keep the glory and wealth.

Fang Yuan asked, "If you are sincere in surrendering, I will station a large number of cavalry troops in your grasslands, will recruit your people into the army, and will appoint officials to manage the affairs of your tribe." Do you agree to all of these? ”

Tuba nodded again, "Yes, we have studied the Regent's policy in the southwestern provinces. We are willing to hand over military power and personnel power, our tribe's army is under the unified command of the Ming Dynasty, and the appointment and dismissal of our tribe's officials are decided by the officials stationed in the Ming Dynasty, and only the administrative power is reserved for us! ”

The conditions proposed by Tuba are that troops can be stationed and officials can be appointed and dismissed, which is not much different from the autonomous region before the crossing. This is also the most effective way to govern outside of national integration. As for the local administrative power, before a large number of Han people entered the grassland, or the Mongols sincerely recognized that they were the subjects of the Ming Dynasty, it was not so easy for the Ming Dynasty to interfere, so they could only choose to decentralize.

It was precisely because Tuba's conditions were too favorable that Fang Yuan felt that some pies fell from the sky were unreal, and asked rhetorically, "Do you Karaqin Khan have any conditions for Daming?" ”

Tuba hurriedly said, "Yes, we are willing to defend the border for Daming, raise horses, and train cavalry." Please also ask the Ming Dynasty to allocate us 250,000 pieces of silver, 5,000 pieces of silk, 10,000 pieces of cloth, and 1,000 pieces of porcelain every year. ”

Fang Yuan silently calculated in his heart, adding the things that Tuba asked for, it would be 100,000 taels of silver per year, and he was willing to raise horses and train cavalry for Daming in exchange. All in all, it doesn't take much advantage.

But for Daming, the millions of military expenses saved in the border towns of the nine borders, how to look at how cost-effective this deal is, is completely acceptable.

Fang Yuan laughed and got up, pulling Tuba's sturdy arm, "Tuba, on behalf of the Great Ming, I welcome the Karaqin Department to the Great Ming." From now on, regardless of each other, all of them are the people of the Ming Dynasty! ”

Tuba embraced him tightly with the etiquette of the Mongols.