Zhu Ao glanced at her angrily, how could this beautiful Duan Concubine always like selling Guanzi like that group of spies, pinched her little face, pretended to be unhappy and said: "Say it quickly, sell Guanzi to the widow again, and see if the widow doesn't clean you up." ”

Di Linaza said "ah", I don't know if Zhu Ao really pinched her, or if she deliberately screamed to arouse Zhu Ao's inner turmoil, smiled sweetly, and said coquettishly: "Your Majesty will bully the concubine, isn't the concubine just for Your Majesty to clean up?" Your Majesty doesn't need to get in touch with Mahamu in a hurry, since he can't pass his wife's level, then there is no need for us to waste our feelings with him. Your Majesty now needs to win over the other two tribes, and after they make money doing business with us, Mahamu will naturally beg to pay tribute to us. What's more, in this way, His Majesty can win over those two tribes, and they may be able to play a great role in the future when conquering Warat. Didn't Li Shimin use this trick when he destroyed the Eastern Turks? ”

"Well, you're right." Zhu Ao nodded while listening, this girl really had a bit of a brain, and she thought of it with the widow, she really didn't waste so much effort to save her, and said with a smile while stroking Di Linaza's smooth body: "What you said is right, the widow also has this intention, since you also agree, then this matter is so decided." First win over the two tribes of Taiping and Bald Polo, exchange tribute with them, encourage Mahamu, and wait until the time is ripe to solve the grassland problem in one fell swoop. ”

Seeing that her king agreed with her opinion, Di Linaza was indescribably happy in her heart, but at the same time, she was a little surprised, this kind of military affairs The king was settled with her in the boudoir? Is it a little hasty, blinked his eyes, and asked Zhu Ao in a tentative tone: "Your Majesty, should this matter be discussed with the ministers." ”

Zhu Ao snorted coldly, hugged his beloved concubine in his arms, and said very confidently: "No need, who is the most strategic person in Su Guo?" Except that the widow is you, that Guan Ziyu is similar, but I believe that he will agree with the widow's strategy, because this is the only correct choice. Without further ado, tomorrow the widow will let the cabinet draw up the decree and let the ministries follow this strategy. In less than five years, the widow will definitely clear the desert forever and completely solve the worries of my country. ”

Di Linaza was infected by Zhu Ao's pride and ambition, smiled busily, knelt down and said: "The concubine wishes Your Majesty in advance, sweeping away thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and opening up the foundation of eternity." ”

"Alright, it's time to wait for the widow to sleep." After the national events were decided, the next time was the time for the children's private affairs, Zhu Ao smiled evilly and pulled Di Lina into his arms, and spent a good night with her.

After the national policy of winning over the other two tribes in Warat except Mahamu was decided, as Zhu Ao expected, no one among the ministers objected, because people with brains knew that this was the most feasible and lowest-cost policy, and if anyone opposed it at this time, it would be a complete brain convulsion, and the king would definitely classify you directly into the mentally handicapped column in the future, and he would definitely not be entrusted with a heavy task in the future.

The efficiency of the feudal society was very fast, and after Zhu Hao's national policy was formulated, the various relevant departments immediately began to operate, and the Ministry of Rites quickly selected two eloquent envoys to send envoys to the Taiping Department and the Bald Polo Department of Warat respectively.

The envoy to the Taiping Ministry is named Zhao Shun, who is currently the official of the Ministry of Rites and the official position of the fifth grade; Another envoy was named Zhang Yaochen, who was also a five-grade official. From the specifications of the mission, it is enough to see that Zhu Ao's attention to Warat is far less than that of Hami at that time, first, Hami is in a strategic position, and if it is gained, it will open the door to westward expansion, and if it is lost, it will always be locked in a region in the northwest, at most another Western Xia, and it will not become a big climate.

The second is that Hami has tin mine, a strategic material that he dreams of, and his woman is there, so the degree of attention is naturally necessary.

At this time, Warat was still relatively weak, far from reaching the Yexian period, and its power "stretched from Central Asia in the west to Korea in the east." It is connected to the southern tip of Siberia and borders the Ming Dynasty to the south. So much so that "Mobei is thousands of miles from east to west, and no one dares to resist it." ”

First of all, because Wang Zhen saw through the trick of shoddy horses he contributed and falsely reported the number of horses, he refused to give them more rewards, and relied on many soldiers to provoke Guangguang, all the way to attack Liaodong, all the way to Zhangye, and the middle road as the main force to attack Xuanfu Datong, especially Datong was the most fierce attack, and the castle outside the Saiwai was trapped, and the generals of Datong were all killed.

Everyone knows what happened later, Zhu Qizhen couldn't resist Wang Zhen's demagoguery, and led the army to the end of the whole army, and he himself became a prisoner.

For the current weak Warat, there is no need for Zhu Ao to send a high-level mission, which will appear to be a discount for himself, which is not conducive to the prestige of the world.

From the above simple historical materials, it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of the Mongol forces, although he defeated the Yuan Dynasty and destroyed the Northern Yuan, but because the foundation laid by Temujin was too big, even if there was no Yuan Dynasty, it was a very strong existence, and they were in their own politics and could pose a certain threat to the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the time when there was a time when he first unified the desert with heroes like Altan Khan?

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang clearly knew that the local vassal kings had signs of sitting big, but he also had to rely on these Cypriot kings to lead the troops to guard the northern frontier, because in order to prevent the Mongols from going south, Zhu Yuanzhang put a large number of troops on the nine sides, the total number was between 800,000 and 1 million, and they were all elite field troops.

From the depths of his heart, he would rather have a son usurp the throne and seize the country in the future than someone with a foreign surname to take the country away.

Zhu Yuanzhang has always been known for loving the people like a son, and in the past books and film and television materials, he is most in awe of the people's hearts, and the reason given by those materials is that Zhu Yuanzhang started in the late Yuan Dynasty, and he knows that water can carry a boat and can also overturn a boat, so he attaches great importance to the people and is very in awe of the people's aspirations.

This is complete nonsense or assumption. It is true that Zhu Yuanzhang started from the peasant uprising, but as mentioned above, the main reason for the fall of the Yuan Dynasty was not to rule the darkness and suppress the Han people, and it was not dark to rule the darkness for a day or two, and the suppression of the Han people was also there from the beginning, why did it perish when Emperor Yuan Shun did?

The main reason for its demise is what Zhu Yuanzhang said - the lord is weak and the minister is strong, the local generals gradually sit on the throne and do not obey the emperor's command, and some people even engage in friction with the emperor, and they cannot form a joint force to deal with the rebel army.

This is why Zhu Yuanzhang has been committed to strengthening the central imperial power since he became the emperor, and he deeply knows that if Emperor Yuan Shun has a strong control over the imperial court and can do it to all armies, where to fight, then the chance of success of their uprising is not great.

As for the people's hearts, I think he is very contemptuous, after he defeated Zhang Shicheng, in order to repay the support of the people in Hangzhou and Hangzhou for Zhang Shicheng, he increased their taxes very heavily, without considering the influence of the people's hearts; His sons, King Qin, King of Jin, King of Qi, etc., killed people at every turn, and even took pleasure in killing, which was also a serious violation of the people's will, but he only reprimanded him. These are enough to see his contempt for the people, in his eyes, these people are just slaves working for his Zhu family, what is there to value?

He knows very well in his heart that the common people have always been scattered, even if you watch the neighboring village being killed by the emperor because of rebellion, you will not go up to rebel, but will be very obscene to endure humiliation and steal life, live your own small life, as long as the king has strong control and controls the country's resources in his own hands, then whoever rebels can destroy him in minutes.

Zhao Shun, the envoy of the Taiping Ministry, and Zhang Yaochen, the envoy of the Balpolo Ministry, did not dare to delay after receiving the order from their superiors, hurried home, hastily cleaned up, and then took their respective teams on the road.

The two walked to Hami together, and then to the north was the desert, because the two of them went to different tribes and took different directions, so they could only break up here.

"Master Zhang, let's leave it at that, take care." Zhao Shun and Zhang Yaochen were officials in the same dynasty, and their personal relationship was also very good on weekdays, and the two moved around a lot in private, and this time they were selected together to envoy Wara, which made their relationship a little closer.

Ahead is the vast desert, with endless sand and dust and countless risks, although the Wara Taiping and the Bald Polo have the intention to submit, but the hearts of the people are separated from the belly, and no one can predict the future, in case the conversation collapses on the table, it is still possible to be detained by the other party to herd sheep or directly killed.

Wasn't Guo Ji, the envoy sent by the emperor to the Timurid Empire, detained by Timur? When Guo Ji sent the Timurid Empire to pass through Dunhuang, it was still a few of them engaged in the reception work, and they were also happy at the wine table, forming a deep friendship of wine and meat, and now they heard that he had been detained by the visiting country, and they began to follow in the footsteps of Guo Ji, and the two of them couldn't stop sighing and sighing.

Fate is impermanent, I hope I can go home smoothly this time.

Zhang Yaochen took the wine glass and drank it all, took the hand of the difficult brother Zhao Shun, and sighed sincerely: "Brother Zhao, thousands of words are in the wine, Brother Zhao must cherish it, wait for us to return triumphantly, drink and talk about poetry together." ”

"A word is a certainty, the virtuous brother takes care, and the foolish brother goes first." Zhao Shun was also very heroic in picking up the wine glass in his hand and drinking it all, then fell to the ground with a "snap", hugged his fist at Zhang Yaochen, and then turned over on the horse, shouted "drive" with his legs and grabbed the horse's belly, and galloped away with his subordinates in the vast desert without looking back.

Looking at the chic and heroic back of this benevolent brother, Zhang Yaochen felt infinite emotion in his heart, I hope this journey can be safe, one of his little wives is about to give birth, he is afraid that he will not be able to catch up with the moment when the child is born, I hope he can come back safely and hug his newborn child.

"Let's go, brothers, cheer up." Zhang Yaochen retracted his gaze from afar, breathed a long sigh of relief, changed his previous melancholy expression, replaced it with a full face of spring breeze, full of spirit, he wanted to cheer up his subordinates, let them feel that the future of this mission is bright, with an optimistic and positive attitude, to complete the mission with all their might.

"Let's go, let's go. Follow the adults closely. "Bring everything with you." "Drive, drive."

The entourage began to shout and salute with their own, followed by Zhang Yaochen on horseback, and slowly advanced towards the depths of the desert.

Zhang Yaochen wanted to send an envoy to the Vulture Polo, the so-called knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, invincible in a hundred battles, for this person, Zhang Yaochen still made a certain understanding, knowing that he was a rough character, and a violent temperament, and he was very cruel to his subordinates and enemies, and he would kill people at every turn to vent his anger.

After knowing this information, Zhang Yaochen was still up and down in his heart, who doesn't cherish his life? What's more, he hasn't seen his unborn child yet, but the king's order is difficult to disobey, and the blame is that he is a newcomer, and the relationship with Licao Judgment is not particularly good, and Licao Judgment assigned him this more dangerous work.

What else can I do now? can only be stunned, fortunately, he still knows that this vultures Polo is a very greedy person, not only greedy for money, but also very lustful, when his father was alive, he had an affair with his father's concubine, and after his father's death, he was very unceremoniously took all his father's concubines for himself. In order to loot money, he often bullies the weak tribes around him, and his resentment in the local area is very high, and he can basically reach the realm of children stopping crying.

It seems that dealing with such a person can only be tempted to make a lot of profits, but fortunately, the king gave him a high authority, so that he can act cheaply on trade matters, and I believe that with the abundance of the Ming Dynasty's products, coupled with the huge benefits brought by the tribute market, the Vulture Polo will not refuse, so that he will not deliberately embarrass himself.

With the territory of Vulture Polo in the east, Zhang Yaochen and others finally came to the vicinity of his territory after more than ten days of trekking. The territory of the Vulture Polo was in the area of the Tabul River, which belonged to the eastern border of Warat, and further east was Horin, which was within the Tatar sphere of influence.

These ten days of long trek, Zhang Yaochen and his party are basically marching in the desert area, rarely see people, when they arrived at the area of the Tabul River, the herdsmen here gradually increased, not far in front of them, there are dozens of small tribes surrounded by tents, herds of cattle and sheep are grazing on the grassland, herdsmen riding on high horses, shouting various slogans, leisurely grazing.

Although the scenery of the desert is not as beautiful as that of the gentle township in the south of the Yangtze River, it also has a unique flavor.

"Hey, guests from afar, where are you going?" A person dressed as a herdsman shouted at Zhang Yaochen and the others.

When he came to other people's territory, he naturally could no longer put up the shelf of the official master, Zhang Yaochen sat on the horse, hugged his fists very kindly, and smiled slightly: "We are the envoys of the King of Daming Su, and we were ordered to come to envoy your department." Where is your Khan? ”

Ming envoys? The person dressed as a herdsman glanced at Zhang Yaochen and the others suspiciously, and couldn't help muttering in his heart, looking at them as if they were from the Ming Dynasty, but it was difficult to say whether they were envoys of the Ming Dynasty. No matter what, if you have any questions, look for the leader, and if you don't understand it, push it up, and the wise leader always has a way. It seems that both Han Chinese and Mongols are well aware of this truth.

The herdsman's face was filled with a flattering smile that was extremely incommensurate with his rough face, put his right hand on his chest, bent over at Zhang Yaochen and the others, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, and he was abrupt. Come with me, and I will introduce you to our centurions. ”

Zhang Yaochen and the others have been cultivated by officialdom for a long time, and they have been extremely sophisticated in human feelings, how can they not know what he means, glanced at each other, and said, "Then there is work." "No matter what age it is, it is long live understanding, so why should I embarrass a working herdsman?

"Please, distinguished guests." The herdsman flashed out of the way, pointed his hand in the direction of the tent, and motioned for Zhang Yaochen and the others to wait there.

"Please." Zhang Yaochen stretched out his hand to return the salute, and then followed the herdsman into the Mongolian tribe with his entourage.

Zhang Yaochen and others' Han family clothes and the banner in their hands immediately attracted the nearby Mongols to watch, everyone has curiosity, these Mongolian ordinary herdsmen are no exception, they have never seen the Han people in their lives, at this time they all poked their heads out, wanting to see the appearance of the Ming officials, the scene became noisy for a while.

"Uncle, uncle. Were they envoys of the Ming Dynasty? Is the stick they are holding the flag that people often say? A teenage child took the opportunity to run up to the herdsman just now, pulled his clothes, and asked curiously.

The herdsman was thinking about informing the centurion, but he didn't expect this kid to suddenly run out and make trouble, and said impatiently: "Go and go, while playing, don't delay Lao Tzu to do his business." ”

Then he shouted at the top of his voice: "Centurion, there is a group of Han people who claim to be envoys of the Ming Dynasty and want to ask to see our Khan. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a big man in his thirties came out of the largest tent and shouted curiously: "Abatai, what are you arguing about?" Where are the envoys of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Zhang Yaochen saw that it was the other party who was in charge, and immediately clenched his fists and said without humility or arrogance: "This official is the five-grade official of the Ming Dynasty, and he came to envoy your ministry on the order of my king, and I hope to introduce him." ”

The centurion shook his eyes up and down, looked at Zhang Yaochen, looked at his appearance, it should be the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, it seems that the rumors are true, the Khan wants to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and he did not dare to slack off at the moment, and replied very politely: "It turned out to be the envoy of the Ming Kingdom, the envoy has worked hard from afar, please come in." Then he said to the herdsman named Abatai: "Go and inform the commander." ”

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yaochen knew that it wouldn't be long before he could see Valat's Bald Polo, and his inner feelings were indescribable, he had a little expectation, thinking of completing the mission as soon as possible and going back to the errand, and a little worried, worried that this violent Vulat would detain himself if he made a mistake with any tendons, or even kill him directly, and squeezed out a smile at the centurion of Warat, and said, "Thank you." Then he took his men into the centurion's tent.

Zhang Yaochen stayed in the centurion's tent for a day and a night, and the next day, the official greeter sent by the vultures arrived, and after greeting Zhang Yaochen, he led him to the residence of the vulture.

In the evening, Zhang Yaochen and his entourage finally arrived at the residence of the bald Polo. The vulture Polo was hunting, and after hearing the arrival of the envoys of the Ming Dynasty, he immediately collected his troops and returned to the camp and held a banquet to receive him.

During the dinner, both the guests and hosts frequently raised their glasses to celebrate the conclusion of bilateral trade relations between the two sides, and wished the two sides to work together for a better future in the future cooperation.

At the meeting, it was decided that the two sides would establish a relationship of tribute and mutual market, and every year the Bald Polo Department would drive a large number of cattle, sheep, horses and other grassland products to Hami from time to time, exchange them with the merchants of the Su State in Hami, and then return to the grassland, and not go to other parts of the Su State to do business, otherwise the army of the Su State would be treated as an enemy attack.

It should be said that this meeting went very smoothly, because Bald Polo saw that doing business with the Ming Dynasty could bring huge benefits, and his innate greed prompted him to like Zhang Yaochen and others very much, and regarded them as his god of wealth, and he was very thoughtful in his hospitality and spoke very politely.

These actions made Zhang Yaochen and others finally put a hanging heart in their stomachs, looking at this harmonious and happy scene, their personal safety is estimated to be no problem.

After the banquet, Zhang Yaochen and the others went back to their tent to rest, since the agreement had been reached, they didn't want to stay in this place for longer, in case there were any variables in the middle, it would be troublesome to take Vulture Polo as a hostage.

They decided that tomorrow at dawn would be like leaving the Bald Polo, and then returning to the Ming Dynasty the way they came. But on the night they slept, something came, but luckily, this time something good came.

That night, Zhang Yaochen had just stripped off and gone to bed, and in a daze, he seemed to hear the news that someone had sneaked in. Being in a foreign desert, anything can happen, so when Zhang Yaochen sleeps, he is used to hiding a short knife under his pillow, after hearing the movement, although he didn't understand what was going on, his hand had already subconsciously touched the short knife.

"Don't be surprised, it's a subordinate." A man's voice came over, and it was very low. Zhang Yaochen knew this voice, it was his personal soldier captain Ma Rulong, he didn't know what Ma Rulong was looking for him in the middle of the night? Could it be that he discovered some conspiracy and wanted to persuade himself to flee with him?