Dunhuang City, General's Palace.

"My lord, the biggest local force in Hami is Jabbar, a descendant of the nobles of the former Turpan Khanate, with nearly 20,000 troops, and Tumol will definitely transfer a large number of troops from him this time."

Man Gui said to Li Hongyu with a serious expression, "As far as I know, Abdul-Jabbar and Tumor have always been at odds, if it weren't for Jabbar's too much power in Hami, Tumol would probably have killed him." ”

"The enemy of the enemy is the friend, and this Abdul-Jabbar can make a fuss."

Li Hongyu, who was sitting at the top of the place, smiled slightly when he heard this, and said to Man Gui, "Immediately arrange for someone to contact Jabbar, and tell him that the Ming Dynasty is bound to win the Western Regions this time, and the Yarkand Khanate will eventually be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, and if he wants to keep the inheritance left by his ancestors, then he will belong to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty will ensure that his property is safe and sound!" ”

"That's what you do."

Man Gui bowed slightly when he heard this, he had already wanted to do this matter but he was afraid of it, worried that he would be charged with collaborating with the enemy in the future, so he had to wait for Li Hongyu to come up with an idea.

"My lord, should we send someone to contact other local forces in Hami?" Then, Man Gui remembered something, and couldn't help asking, Hami has several other forces, although they are not as strong as Jabbar, but they are worth wooing.

"This is to be done in secret, and Tumol must not be alerted."

Li Hongyu waved his hand and said in an orderly manner, "Those forces in Hami must be headed by Jabal, a noble descendant of the Turpan Khanate, as long as we can take Jabal, then they will definitely follow the trend!" ”

"If Jabbar wants to retain military power, how should those sent by the lowly respond?" When Man Gui heard this, he felt that his words were reasonable, so he opened his mouth to ask for instructions.

Obviously, the reason why Jabbar was able to gain a foothold in Hami was naturally dependent on the military power in his hands, and I am afraid that this was not acceptable to Li Hongyu, who had never had a good impression of those local separatist forces, and considered them to be a hidden danger of local management, so I am afraid it would be difficult to agree to Jabbar's request.

However, the top priority is to deal with Tumor, and Man Gui feels that he can make a fool of Abdul-Jabbar first, and then deal with Abdul-Jabbar after defeating Tumer.

After all, Emperor Hongwu set up the Guanxi Qiwei to allow the local Mongolian nobles to be autonomous, and did not move the command power of the Guanxi Qiwei nobles.

"For the sake of the stability of Kansai, the military power must be returned to the Western Expeditionary Army, and we must give a clear signal to those local magnates in the Western Regions, lest they be lucky, as long as they hand over the military power, they will be protected by the Western Expeditionary Army and ensure their property rights and interests in the local area."

Sure enough, Li Hongyu refused without thinking about it, he naturally knew Man Gui's thoughts, but considering the clarity and coherence of the policy towards the countries of the Western Regions, he had to make his attitude clear.

"Man Gui, if we perfunctory Jabbar and send troops to destroy him after defeating Tumor, then how will those local forces in the Western Regions view us?"

After a deep sigh, Li Hongyu said meaningfully to Man Gui, "I'm afraid that no one will believe us at that time, which will be very detrimental to our actions in the future." ”

"My lord is far-sighted, and I am very impressed by my humble position!" Man Gui understood Li Hongyu's intentions at this time, and said with a smile after bowing his hand to Li Hongyu.

The local forces in the Western Regions were originally wary of the Ming Dynasty, and once they deceived Jabbar, it would inevitably exacerbate the distrust of those local forces towards the Ming Dynasty, and then bring a lot of trouble to the Western Expeditionary Army.

"Man Gui, do you dare to go to see Jabbar in person?"

Li Hongyu smiled slightly when he heard this, and then asked Man Gui solemnly, if Man Gui went, it would inevitably make Jabbar feel the sincerity of the Western Expeditionary Army, and then make Jabbar take refuge in Daming.

"Since the adults have come to Dunhuang, how can they not dare to go to Hami!"

Man Gui was slightly stunned at first and felt a little surprised, then patted his chest and said with a grin, he naturally knew that Li Hongyu's move was to promote Jabbar's annexation, so that he could defeat Tumor at the lowest cost.

"Tell Abdul-Jabbar that although he has lost his military power, his heirs will be able to serve in the Western Regions in the future as long as they pass training."

Li Hongyu's face showed a smile of relief, and he said to Man Gui in a deep voice, it is obvious that Man Gui is full of danger when he goes to Hami to see Jabbar this time, and he may be worried about his life.

But even so, Man Gui resolutely agreed, which made things much simpler, as long as Man Gui hesitated a little, Li Hongyu would give up this idea, if it wasn't for Jabbar being too important, he wouldn't have made this suggestion.

Of course, Li Hongyu didn't let Man Gui take the risk for no reason, this time Tumor gathered troops on a large scale, and Abdul-Jabbar's soldiers must have been recruited the most, and they would definitely be sent by Tumol to take the lead, which undoubtedly forced Abdul-Jabbar to a desperate situation, and at this time, the Western Expeditionary Army could extend an olive branch to him.

"My lord, did you inform Jabbar about your visit to Dunhuang?"

Man Gui nodded again and again after listening to Li Hongyu's words, Li Hongyu's conditions for Jabbar were already very generous, and then he remembered something and couldn't help but ask tentatively.

After all, although Man Gui was the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, he was only a general of the Ming Dynasty and could not be involved in government affairs, so it was difficult to convince Abdul-Jabbar.

But if Li Hongyu is mentioned, this is different, although Jabbar is far away in the Western Regions, he also has a certain understanding of the affairs of the Ming Dynasty from the merchants who come and go, and naturally knows that the most powerful official in the Ming Dynasty is Li Hongyu, so Li Hongyu's promise is far more trustworthy than that of Man Gui.

"It's good!" Li Hongyu thought about it after hearing this, and nodded to Man Gui, if he could use this to promote Jabbar to take refuge, then it would be worth it in his opinion.

As for security, the people in the Western Regions didn't even know what he looked like, so naturally they didn't have to worry about being assassinated.

Moreover, Dunhuang City was the base camp of the Western Expeditionary Army in Guanxi, and it was heavily guarded, so it was not easy to assassinate him.

"My lord, the Qin mission of the capital has arrived."

Li Hongyu was discussing the matter of Jabbar with Man Gui when a guard walked in quickly to report.

"Let's go, let's go and greet you." Li Hongyu smiled when he heard this, and beckoned Shangmangui to get up and leave, according to the distance, the Qincha of Jingcha should have arrived a long time ago.

"I've seen Li Taibao!" In the living room in the front yard of the General's Mansion, a white-faced middle-aged man dressed in eunuch clothes was sitting there sipping tea, and when he saw Li Hongyu coming, he hurriedly got up to greet him.

"Eunuch Zhao, if you don't come again, the official thinks that something has happened on your way, so he will send someone to check." Li Hongyu recognized the middle-aged man, surnamed Zhao, who was King Xin's chamberlain when he was in the Ten Princes' Mansion, and is now one of the eunuchs of the celebrant and the eunuch.

Li Hongyu not only reported the rectification of the military affairs of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division to Emperor Chongzhen a few years ago, but also played with Zhu Huiyuan's whereabouts, so as not to worry Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Dowager Li.

After Emperor Chongzhen heard the news, he asked Li Hongyu to take care of Zhu Huiyuan carefully, and then he would send someone to take Zhu Huiyuan back to the capital, after all, Guanxi is a bitter cold place where wars are frequent, how can he let Zhu Huiyuan stay there?

Moreover, Zhu Huiyuan will leave for the Western Academy in Shanghai County this year, which has been scheduled for a long time, and if she does not appear at that time, it will inevitably cause speculation and discussion from the outside world.

Of course, because Zhu Huiyuan went to Guanxi to act secretly, Emperor Chongzhen could not take him back with great fanfare, this time the eunuch Zhao came under the banner of rewarding the Western Expeditionary Army, and then secretly took Zhu Huiyuan away.

After Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, the primary enemy was Houjin in Liaodong, but the Ming Dynasty still had the battlefield in the Western Regions, and the Western Expeditionary Army had been fighting alone before, and had not received the slightest support from the imperial court, so how could he have it this time.

From the eunuch Zhao, Li Hongyu knew what had happened in the capital recently, with the fall of Wei Zhongxian, the Donglin Party rose again, and the officials of the Donglin Party were activated one after another, and the so-called "eunuch" officials in the imperial court were vigorously investigated, and many officials were implicated, and the entire Beijing officialdom was in turmoil, and the people were panicked.

"Alas!" Li Hongyu couldn't help but sigh secretly after learning about the situation in the capital, in just half a year, Emperor Chongzhen made a "earth-shaking" change in the officialdom of the capital, and compared with the Emperor of the Apocalypse, his city government was still too shallow.

I think that the Emperor of the Apocalypse could endure for several years before attacking the civil and official groups in the court, not only surrendering to the civil and military officials, but also stabilizing the court situation.

Most importantly, Emperor Chongzhen made the same big mistake as Emperor Taichang, that is, he wanted to rely on the Donglin Party to govern the country, instead of using the party struggle in the court to restrain his ministers like Emperor Wanli and Emperor Tianqi.

For Li Hongyu, the most regrettable thing is that Emperor Chongzhen killed Wei Zhongxian, and neither Cao Huachun nor Wang Chengen had the scheming and courage to suppress the civil official group.

Moreover, due to the influence of the Donglin Party, Emperor Chongzhen began to vigorously restrict the power of the inner court after ascending the throne, and Dongchang and Jinyiwei also lost the deterrence when Wei Zhongxian was in power, so how could they restrain the civil official group in the court?

There is a good saying, once the son of heaven is a courtier, Li Hongyu is the person of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, so naturally he will not make irresponsible remarks about the national policy formulated by Emperor Chongzhen, so as not to annoy people.

In mid-June, Mrs. Zhao sent Zhu Huiyuan back to Beijing, and Zhu Huiyuan reluctantly said goodbye to Li Hongyu, her eyes were red.

She is now in the mood for youth and sprouts, so she is naturally reluctant to leave Li Hongyu, but who made her the princess of Daming, her identity is not suitable to stay in Kansai, once the matter is leaked, then Li Hongyu will also be implicated and affected.

Li Hongyu personally sent Zhu Huiyuan into Jiayu Pass, and when the carriage he was riding drove away from Li Hongyu, who was standing in front of Jiayu Pass, Zhu Huiyuan could no longer suppress the sadness in her heart, and cried so much that the green children in the same car couldn't help but shed tears.

Zhu Huiyuan's departure made Li Hongyu secretly relieved, in case something happened to Zhu Huiyuan in Guanxi, he would not be able to explain to Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Dowager Li.

But at the same time, Li Hongyu's heart also felt inexplicably gloomy and sad, people can be ruthless if they are not grass and trees, and he is not hard-hearted, so he naturally knows Zhu Huiyuan's affection.

Shortly after Zhu Huiyuan left, in late June, after nearly two years of preparation, Tumol led an army of 70,000 to kill the Yumen Pass, preparing to defeat the Western Expeditionary Army in one fell swoop and drive the Western Expeditionary Army away from Guanxi, which made the situation in Guanxi suddenly become tense.

For this battle, Tumor requisitioned almost all the forces of the local forces in the Hami area, including 15,000 troops from Jabbar alone.

It is obvious that Tumor wants to end the war in Kansai as soon as possible, and in recent years he has mobilized a lot of supplies to support him in the war against Abdullah, whose main enemy is the Yarkand Khan royal family in the west.

Therefore, Abdullah didn't want to consume all the supplies in Kansai, otherwise once the royal family of Yarkand Khan led troops to attack, then it would be a big trouble.

Therefore, this is Tumer's last chance to recover Kansai, and if he is defeated this time, then Abdullah will have to abandon Kansai and defend Hami with all his might.

At night, in the backyard of the General's Palace.

"Your Excellency, this is Batur, the envoy of Jabal Khan, who has come to discuss with you the matter of attaching to the Ming Dynasty."

Man Gui pointed to a gorgeously dressed middle-aged Mongolian and introduced to Li Hongyu that he had just returned from Hami, and this time he went to Hami to discuss with Jabbar very smoothly.

Jabal never imagined that Man Gui, as the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, would come to see him in person, and at the same time, this also corroborated Li Hongyu's coming to Dunhuang City, otherwise Man Gui would be in danger alone.

Although Li Hongyu wanted to take over Jabbar's military power, to Mangui's surprise, although Jabbar was dissatisfied, he did not show much resistance.

After all, after the Western Expeditionary Army captured Kansai, it did not support the local forces as before, but vigorously suppressed the local forces to ensure the absolute control of the Western Expeditionary Army over the Guanxi.

Therefore, if Mangui promised to retain his military power, then Jabbar would be suspicious, and Mangui would have bluntly asked Jabbar to take his military power, which would make Jabbar believe in his sincerity even more.

Jabbar is now facing a dilemma, Tumol has been eyeing him, wanting to annex his territory, this time by attacking Kansai, he even pulled out 15,000 of his men at once, clearly trying to let the knife kill, let his soldiers serve as cannon fodder to weaken his strength, and the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army can be really fierce.

For Abdul-Jabbar, Tumol not only wants to annex him, but is also very greedy and will not leave him a penny, but Li Hongyu is different, he can ensure his property rights, and Daming is more reliable in comparison.

He didn't think that Tumol would be able to wipe out the Ming Western Expeditionary Army, which was not only far superior to the Yarkand Khanate, but also had the support of the Mongol tribes in Southern Mongolism, mainly the Mongolian Khalkha Department, and Hami would definitely fall into the hands of the Western Expeditionary Army in the long run.

Due to the urgency of time, Jabbar sent an envoy to follow Man Gui to Dunhuang City to meet Li Hongyu, wanting to reach an agreement with Li Hongyu, and he would only be relieved if Li Hongyu personally signed the agreement.

"I've seen Lord Taibao!"

Batur didn't expect that the Daming Taibao who appeared in front of him turned out to be a young man in his twenties, and he was quite surprised in his heart, and then pressed his right hand on his chest and bowed to Li Hongyu, speaking a stiff northwest dialect.

"You may be seated." Li Hongyu saw his thoughts from the change in Batur's expression, so he smiled slightly and motioned for him to sit down, as long as he could convince Batule, then Jabbar would definitely surrender.

(End of chapter)