"The great master is wrong in what he said!" Liu Cheng smiled and stroked his beard under his chin: "You know that its place is called Tumut River, but you don't know that this place is called Yunzhong during the Warring States Period, Yunzhong County during the Two Han Dynasty, and Yunzhong Town during the Northern Wei Dynasty. My Emperor Gao restored my Han family, and its land was also owned by my Ming Dynasty, and then my Yongle Emperor moved to Sanwei, with its territory as a reward, this place is owned by your ancestors. If it is according to who arrived first, it is also our Han people who arrived first! “

Gu Shi Khan was stammered by Liu Cheng's long speech, he has been bending his bow since he was a child, and he has spent a little idle time on the scriptures, where is it like Liu Cheng let his subordinates turn over the pile of old papers for a while before he came, and after a while, he smiled bitterly: "If you talk about ancient things, no one can compare to you Han people, but even if as you said, that place used to be your Han people, but your Yongle Emperor has not given it to us Mongolians, then it is naturally our Mongolians, do you want to take it back?" “

"Yes, this land was given to the Mongols, but it was not given to Bu Lost Rabbit alone, let alone a future disaster."

"What do you mean by the woe of the future?" Gushi Khan asked.

"Great Master, let me ask you, who is stronger, Lin Dan Khan or Bu Lost Rabbit?"

"These two people are naturally stronger than Lin Dan Khan!" Gushi Khan replied, "But what does it matter? ”

"That's it at that time, my Ming Yongle Tianzi gave this place to Duoyan Sanwei, not unconditionally, firstly, to reward him for his hard work; Second, I hope that it will be my Ming vassal domain, the barrier frontier, and the great master You also know that Lin Dan Khan moved west because he couldn't resist the onslaught of the Jurchens. Bu Lost Rabbit can't even beat Lin Dan Khan, if the Jurchens come over, can he block my Ming Frontier? ”

Facing Liu Cheng's questioning, Gu Shi Khan was suddenly dumbfounded, in fact, Liu Cheng's words were quite strong, after all, if Bu Lost Rabbit Khan was too powerful. Instead, it will become a threat to the Ming Kingdom. But Gushi Khan grew up on the grassland, and believed in the law of the jungle in his bones, and Liu Cheng's question just scratched his itch - Bu Lost Rabbit Khan was unable to keep this territory at all. After a long time, Gushi Khan asked, "Even if you are not willing to return this pasture land to him, why should you kill him?" “

"If he loses the rabbit and keeps his duty, we will naturally not kill him." Liu Cheng sneered: "But he is a fox and a tiger, and he uses the power of the great master to force the old department of the right wing, and he also seems to have all the land in the east set owned by his family." Not to mention that these subordinates were all captured by my Ming Dynasty from Lin Dan Khan's hands, even if they have to be returned. He is only the leader of one part of Tumut, so how can he claim the other two tribesmen? ”

When Gushi Khan heard this, he sighed and said: "Okay, Gushi Khan does have a place to die, but since he is dead, how do you plan to deal with this situation?" ”

When Liu Cheng heard Gu Shihan say this, he understood that the other party no longer pursued the killing of Bu Lost Rabbit, and he was secretly happy in his heart. He smiled: "I have come here to discuss this matter with the Great Khan. “

"Consult with me?" Gushi Khan smiled: "I will return to my hometown in two days. What's there to discuss? ”

"The great master is a hero of the world, how can the affairs of the northwest leave you alone?" Liu Cheng smiled and clapped his hands, and Hao Shaoqi, who was standing behind him, stepped forward and offered a long bamboo tube, Liu Cheng opened the bamboo tube and took out a painting scroll from it. spread it out on the ground and said with a smile: "Great Master, please look!" ”

Gu Shi Khan's eyes were attracted by the unfolded pattern, and he saw dozens of large and small black dots dotted on the map, and several thick red lines connected these dots in series, judging from the names of mountains, rivers, and cities marked on the drawings in Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan characters. This is supposed to be a map, but what do these red lines represent? Gu Shihan pondered for a while, and asked with great certainty: "Lord Liu, these lines on the map are not business." ”

"Yes, tea ceremony to be exact!" Liu Cheng smiled proudly: "If the great master is interested, he can participate in it." ”

"Participate in a share?" Gu Shi Khan's heart moved slightly, but there was no change on his face: "Lord Liu has a huge deal, why should Ben Khan participate in the shares?" ”

Liu Cheng smiled, stretched out his finger and explained along the lines on the map: "Great Teacher, please see, this tea ceremony can be divided into three routes, the East Road, the Middle Line and the West Route, this west route will pass through the pasture land of the Great Teacher, whether it is collecting taxes or trading with it, it is very profitable for you!" “

Gushi Khan finally relented and asked, "Then how are you going to trade, or do you do it like Ming Guo did in the past?" ”

"If that's the case, I'm afraid I'll be a disadvantage to the great master! I have made a few statutes, and the great teachers can see if they are fair. Liu Cheng said with a smile, in the past, there was also an official tea trade between the Ming and the Mongolian tribes, but the main purpose of the Ming State was to obtain valuable war horse resources, and use it as a political and economic means to combat potential hostile forces.

Liu Cheng saw that Gushi Khan did not object, so he smiled and said: "First, the merchants on both sides are free to buy and sell, and the price and quantity are all voluntary, and neither I nor the Great Khan can interfere. “

"Huh, really?"

"The husband has a word, and the horse is difficult to chase. If you don't believe it, you can ask Guru Chesang to record what I said! There is no evidence in empty words, and words are proof! ”

"Well, I'm tired of Master Chesang!" It is no wonder that Gushi Khan solemnly saluted Chesang, and it is no wonder that he is so, for thousands of years, in the trade between the steppe peoples and the Central Plains Dynasty, the steppe peoples of the unstable pastoral economy have always been on the disadvantageous side. The reason is very simple: the status of the two sides of the trade is unequal, and the urgency of the grassland people's demand for the products produced in the Central Plains is much higher than that of the Central Plains Dynasty. But the Central Plains peoples were much less urgent for horses, leather, wool, and sinew, not to mention that in most cases the grasslands were in a state of mutual hostility and division, and the Central Plains people could impose a trade blockade on a hostile or even disobedient regime, and trade from another relatively friendly regime to obtain the goods it needed. For the best results, for the vast majority of the time. Border trade is strictly controlled. The article proposed by Liu Cheng is actually to abandon the strategy of trade blockade and crackdown on the Ministry of Heshuot.

"Well said, well said!" Chesang picked up the brush sent by others, wrote down the Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan characters in handsome handwriting on parchment, and then recited the three languages respectively until Gushi Khan and Liu Cheng were satisfied, and Liu Cheng saw that his calligraphy was handsome. The meaning of the translation is accurate and smooth, and I can't help but secretly admire that this monk is indeed worthy of being a proud disciple of the Fourth Pan/Zen.

Gu Shi Khan suddenly asked, "Lord Liu, can the goods carried by these merchants include iron tools?" ”

Gushi Khan's question made the atmosphere in the tent tense all of a sudden, if salt and tea are just daily necessities, but iron is an extremely sensitive military resource, even with the backward smelting level of the nomads, it can easily turn an iron pot into dozens of iron arrows, which is often the difference between bone arrows and flint arrows is often between life and death. Liu Cheng obviously hesitated. Gu Shi Khan didn't urge, just looked into his eyes quietly.

"In this way, it is not allowed in the first year, and from the second year onwards, it will be limited to three hundred stone of iron per year, and it must be sold by a special merchant I have sent. If the number of great power divisions is to be increased, special negotiations can be conducted. ”

"Yes!" Gu Shi Khan nodded, and everyone in the tent felt that his attitude had become much friendlier.

"Second, the merchant who comes to trade will have the certificate I have issued. Once under the control of the Great Master, you must ensure the safety of the persons and goods of these merchants. If someone kills, robs, or forces our merchants to trade by coercion or deception, you must protect the legitimate interests of our merchants and do not take sides! ”

"There is no problem with the safety of people and goods." Gushi Khan asked: "Then it is difficult to explain clearly whether it is forced or deceitful, the customs of the two sides are different, and they both hold their own words, where can they say it clearly?" Let's talk about the legitimate interests you said, Lord Liu. What is justified and what is not? ”

"What the great master said is very true!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "I have a method, the great teacher can see whether it is successful or not: send a person who is familiar with the laws of the two countries to the great teacher, if there is a dispute between the two sides, the local people will send one." The Great Khan sent one of his envoys, and one of my envoys, and the three of them tried together, and after each trial was completed, he wrote down the circumstances of his case and kept it, and if there was a similar one next time, he could do it as usual. Is it good to see the great power teacher? ”

Gu Shi Khan thought for a while and said with a smile: "Well, this method is not bad, one person on each side, no one blames anyone for bullying whom." ”

"In this way, the great master agreed, but I have a saying in the front, no matter what my envoy does, the Great Khan will not only hurt him a hair, but also must not detain him."

Gu Shi Khan's two thick eyebrows furrowed, looking quite scary: "Why does Lord Liu say this, if he is guilty of murder?" ”

"Great Teacher, this envoy is in a foreign land, but he is an envoy on my behalf, how can he be killed and detained? If he commits a crime, you can expel him and explain the reason in your letter, and I will deal with him impartially! ”

Gu Shihan thought for a while and said with a smile: "What you said also makes some sense, okay, I also agreed to this article, but I also want to leave one person here with you, Lord Liu, and it is also a general treatment, right?" “

"That's nature!" Liu Cheng said with a smile, and the Chesang Lama on the side hurriedly recorded it.

"Thirdly, in the vicinity of the place of trade, the great masters must allocate to us a vacant land of not less than twenty acres free of charge for the construction of a merchant house by our envoys and their guards. We can build fortifications around the merchant hall and save the weapons necessary for defense. The number of guards must not exceed a hundred, and if they do, their prior consent must be sought. “

"Guards?"

"Yes, we must have a place to protect the merchants' accommodations, and this is also to reduce unnecessary trouble."

"If there are no more than a hundred people, I agree!"

"Fourth, if a merchant with our credentials trades with a third-party merchant in your controlled area, you must not stop it, Great Khan!"

"Yes!"

"We have the right to recruit mercenaries at the trading station!"

"Yes, but it must be done under the supervision of my subordinates."

"That's fine!"

In this way, Liu Cheng and Gushi Khan discussed, and Chesang recorded on the side, and it took more than two hours to draw up a total of fifteen agreements, which was the beginning of the famous "Golden Horde Chapter" in later times. Chesang copied two more copies, brushed them with gold water and cursed in front of the altar and swore an oath, Liu Cheng and Gushi Khan each kept one copy, and the remaining one will be enshrined in the large silver pagoda of Taal Monastery, where Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect, is said to have been born, which is of great significance to the Mongolian tribes who believe in the Gelug sect.

"Come, Lord Liu, Ben Khan will give you a drink!" At this time, Gu Shihan's face was already full of smiles, and it was almost like two people who were cold a few hours ago. It is no wonder that his attitude changed drastically, through the trade agreement signed with Liu Cheng, he could not only obtain a large number of much-needed goods, but also be able to obtain huge profits through resale trade, and more importantly, control this trade route from the Ming Kingdom, he also obtained a powerful weapon to defeat his enemies, which was not without benefit to his grand plan.

"Don't dare, it should be a cup of respect for the great master!" Liu Cheng smiled and raised his wine glass and touched it with the other party: "This time I am acting below, there are many offends to the great teacher, please Haihan!" “

"Hehehe!" Gu Shi Khan laughed: "General Liu, you are a hero, and the rabbit is beyond his strength, and if he hits your hand, he can only be regarded as unlucky." Lin Dan Khan is dead, I am not in vain this time, although Bu Lost Rabbit is dead, but with you as an ally, it can be regarded as a blessing in disguise! ”

Liu Cheng was a little puzzled when he heard this, and Chesang on the side hurriedly explained: It turned out that after Lin Dan Khan's westward expedition, in order to regain the throne of the Mongol Empire, he formed an anti-Gelug alliance with the Zangba Khan who believed in the Kagyu sect, the Khalkha Mongol Chotu Khan, and the Kham Baili Tuston Dan Dorjee who believed in the Bon religion. Since the final victor of this struggle in history was the Gelug sect, most of the intellectuals in Mongolia and Tibet believed in the Gelug sect, and later the image of these four people in the Mongolian and Tibetan history books was extremely bad, and they were called the "Four Evil Khans". Faintly, this alliance formed an encirclement of Gushi Khan with the call to defend the Gelug sect, and in addition to breaking this encirclement, he also had another purpose of supporting Bu Lost Rabbit Khan and adding an ally. Although the second goal was not achieved, the help brought by the new ally Liu Cheng far exceeded that of Bu Lost Rabbit, which was a surprise.

(To be continued.) )