The second reason is that the emptiness of the treasury, since the 11th year of the liberation, the imperial court has a financial deficit for the first time, if it is not for the unscrupulous move, in the form of issuing bonds, "looting" some private assets, I am afraid that the Ming army can only support at most until the destruction of the blockade, and there will be no power to go south.

It was precisely because of the "cheap sale" of the land of the Uighurs in Xizhou that the Ming army had enough food and ammunition to go south, but this was the end of it.

It is not that the people of the Ming Kingdom are unwilling to subscribe to bonds again, but after the previous "looting", the floating wealth of the people has almost been obtained, and even if the bonds are reissued, the effect is far from being as good as the last time.

Moreover, the truth of living with the people's livelihood is naturally understood by Baili Wuji.

The third reason is that the territory of Zhubu, Xizhou Uighurs, and Tubo needs to be integrated with each other, and the different customs and habits between the ethnic groups will give birth to endless disputes, which requires a large number of Ming officials to spend a lot of time and energy to dredge, and this qiē needs time, a long time.

The fourth reason is that the terrain of Dali is not suitable for cavalry and artillery combat, and the vertical and horizontal waterways of Qianmo cannot make the Ming army advance rapidly, which is different from the grasslands of the desert and Tubo, and the cavalry, especially the iron cavalry, is not suitable for fighting in its territory at all. To attack Dali, the only ones that can be relied on are infantry, such as crossbowmen, sword and shield soldiers, etc., and the Ming Kingdom has eliminated crossbowmen, so they can only rely on musketeers.

In view of these four reasons, Baili Wuji originally planned to put the date of attacking Dali on hold indefinitely for five years. to run in with the various ethnic groups of the Ming Kingdom.

At the same time, the national strength was accumulated again in order to take Dali in one fell swoop in the coming day.

But the plan can never keep up with the change, a sudden thing. Changed the concept of Baili Mowgli.

In the late first month of the thirteenth year of the liberation, two unexpected groups of envoys came to Jinling Mansion.

These two groups of envoys came from the same country - Dali.

The two teams of messengers were one bright and one dark.

A team of Ming represents the emperor of Dali, its lineup is huge, there are 100 times in a single vehicle, loaded with a large number of rare treasures, hundreds of people in the entourage, and the messenger carries the letter of state to Jinling. To the court of the Ming Kingdom, requesting a good pass.

And the dark team of messengers was only three, and they didn't carry a penny. However, it represents the Gao clan, a wealthy family that actually controls the power of the Dali court, and it only carries one thing - a map.

The prime minister of Dali and the Marquis of Yue Gaofang wrote a letter in person, and the letter meant that as long as the Ming State sent troops to help. Canonized him as the king of Dali. He is willing to unite with the 37th Department of Dali to force Duan Sicong to abdicate, and at that time, he will be demoted to the emperor and under the wing of the Ming State. However, the Ming State was not allowed to station troops in Dali, and the officials of Dali were appointed by it.

When Baili Wuji met with these two groups of envoys successively, he fell into a dilemma.

This is actually a good thing for the Ming Kingdom, which can solve the only independent force in the west of the Ming Kingdom without blood.

But because of this, a sudden good thing. made Baili Wuji a little caught off guard.

Either of these two forces was helped by the Ming State and had the Ming State as the backing. will be a sure winner. But there are pros and cons to both, if Baili Wuji chooses Duan Sicong, then the Ming State will get a loyal ally, and the Ming State will not be able to send troops to occupy it before the Duan Clan is overthrown, which is against morality.

If Baili Wuji chooses Gaofang, then the Ming State will get the ninth vassal state, but according to the requirements of the Gao side, the Ming State will not be able to send troops to station, in the final analysis, it is only a nominal vassal state, at most it is only an annual tribute, and there is no other appeal to mention.

Both of these are undesirable for Baili Wuji, but in the current situation where the Ming State is unable to conquer the west, it is also an expedient measure.

Baili Wuji therefore consulted Xu Shiming and others about their opinions.

In this regard, Xu Shiming's opinion is to choose Gao Fang, because Gao Fang is already in charge of more than seventy percent of Dali's strength at this time, as long as Ming Guo shows his attitude, or sends troops to store on the border between the two countries, he can effortlessly let Gao Fang force Duan Sicong to abdicate, so that Ming can almost be said to get a vassal country without paying any cost, why not?

But Sun Guangxian's meaning is diametrically opposite, this is related to his character, Sun Guangxian insists on the right name, he believes that only supporting Duan Sicong is in line with the interests of the Ming State, Duan Sicong is the Emperor of Dali, as long as the Ming State openly supports Duan Sicong, then the high side can not threaten his throne at all, therefore, the Ming State gets a hardcore loyal ally, compared with a nominal vassal state, it is more cost-effective.

The scheming Feng Dao is sloppy, which is also in line with his temperament, this person is used to doing things like icing on the cake or beating the water dog, what he means is that since the Ming Kingdom cannot go west in a short time, then neither of them will support it, let them eat the dog in Dali, and the Ming Kingdom will watch from the wall, and when they bite each other to death and live, the national strength will be consumed, and the Ming Kingdom may be able to pick up a ready-made cheap.

Listening to the completely different opinions of these three old ministers, Baili Wuji couldn't help sighing, these three people have completely different personalities, and they also have a sequence of following themselves, Baili Wuji does not doubt the loyalty of the three people, especially Xu Shiming has followed since Badong.

But the personalities and abilities of these three people undoubtedly have natural limitations, and in their minds, there are deep-rooted thoughts of Wang Zuo, loyal ministers, and only sweeping the snow in front of their own house regardless of the frost on the tiles of their house.

Baili Wuji specially summoned Wang Pu of Kaifeng Mansion to ask his opinion.

A few days later, Wang Pu rushed to Jinling Mansion.

After meeting Baili Wuji and understanding the general situation.

Wang Pu asked Baili Wuji rhetorically and said: "The emperor forgives the sin, the minister has something he wants to ask, dare to ask the emperor in his heart, has he ever had the intention of grabbing Dali?" ”

Baili Wuji was overjoyed in his heart, Wang Pu really understood his intentions.

What does Wen Bo mean by that? What is the relationship between whether I take Dali or not and the two Dali envoys at the moment? ”

Wang Pu said: "If the emperor has no intention of going west to seize Dali, the minister thinks that the Ming Kingdom should support Gao Fang." ”

Baili Wuji asked, "Why?" ”

Wang Pudao: "Duan Sicong's power has fallen, the Gao Fang clan has actually controlled most of Dali and supported Gao Fang, the Ming Kingdom is just a favor, and what he got is a vassal country, even if it is nominal, but without paying any price to get a vassal country, it is already a bargain." ”

Baili Wuji nodded and said, "Wen Bo is reasonable. So what if I want to take Dali into my pocket? ”

Wang Pu smiled slightly and said: "If the Holy Lord intends to go west, then secretly promise both at the same time, so that they both think that they have the support of the Ming Kingdom, so it will be impossible to make concessions to each other, and the two will become incompatible, until the sword and soldiers meet." (To be continued......)