Yongle twenty-one years, the sixth day of the third month.

Mashhad.

In Jian Xiao's original thoughts, it was very unwise to brave the heavy snow to advance, because the heavy snow would not only slow down the march, but also increase the attrition.

These are still secondary, the most important thing is people.

This kind of temperature, this kind of weather, even a well-trained prince guard may not be able to withstand it, not to mention that Zhu Zhan Yan also brought a group of people who have recently come to Barihei and don't know what is under the Void Land.

However, the reality is exactly the opposite of what Jane Laugh expected.

A few years ago, Zhu Zhan Yan ordered to set off, traveled southwest from Barihe, followed the soles of the Ichiro Plateau, made a short detour, and came to Mashhad.

Along the way, there were only low temperatures, no wind and snow, and no difficulties.

Because, to the north of Mashhad and to the west of Balihe, is the famous Karakum Desert in later generations.

There may be many people who don't know about the Karakum Desert, but if you change the name and add a famous attraction in this desert, then many people will know.

The gates of hell in the black desert.

That's right, it was the same one that was drilled into a natural gas crater in 1971, and scientists decided to attack it with fire for fear of containing toxic gases, resulting in the gates of hell that have been burning for 50 years.

This year's weather is unusual, and it snows in the Karakum Desert, but the desert is a desert because evaporation is much greater than precipitation.

……

Because of the failure of the harvest, coupled with Zhu Zhanqi's previous move to accommodate the victims in Barihei, this Mashhad was already a ruined city.

Because of the Karakum Desert, Mashhad became the only way for the victims to get to Barihe, which led to the complete ruin of the city, which was not for farming, but mainly for commerce.

Shaharu never turned a blind eye to what Zhu Zhan Yan was doing, and in addition to mobilizing troops, he also prevented the victims from reaching Barihei in every way, including the city of Mashhad, which was located on a pass.

However, the angry victims stormed the city, leaving it completely empty.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Jian Xiao and Zhu Sanfeng stood behind Zhu Zhanyan, their faces full of worry.

Originally, they didn't agree with Zhu Zhan's decision to relocate, but whether they agreed or not, obeying Zhu Zhan's orders has always been their first criterion.

When they came here, their worries were even greater.

"Isn't it because it wasn't seized, not rather." Zhu Zhanyan waved his hand, with a smile on his face.

During the occupation of Barihe, Zhu Zhan Yan seized a large amount of grain from the generals defending the city, including relief food prepared by the Timurid Empire.

This is why Zhu Zhan dared to advance into Barihei and then wait for the supply line to be built.

No one except Zhu Zhan knew that the capital of the Timurid Empire was originally not Samarkand, but Barihe.

As the former royal capital and the current companion capital, coupled with the fact that the land is close to the Amu Darya River, Barihei is naturally extremely rich.

But Mashhad is different.

Ashhad is bordered by the Karakum Desert to the north and the Ichiro Plateau to the south, which means that Mashhad is not a farming city, but rather a commercial city due to its important geographical location.

As a commercial city, there may be a lot of money here, but there is generally not a shortage of food, especially in this environment of poor harvests.

However, the change was the victims, which led to the washing of Mashhad.

However, Zhu Zhan Yan has never been a reckless person.

"Take a look." Zhu Zhanyan threw a secret letter into Jian Xiao's hand, still looking at the ruined city with a smile on his face.

"This ......"

In just a few lines, Jian Xiao quickly finished reading it, and when he handed the letter to Zhu Sanfeng on the side, the shocked look on his face was also seen by Zhu Zhanyan and Zhu Sanfeng.

"Burn it." Zhu Zhanyan waved his hand.

When Zhu Sanfeng heard this, he threw the letter in his hand into the brazier.

There is one thing written in the secret letter: the ocean-going treasure fleet entered the Euphrates River and went straight to Ba (Ge) Da.

This is the information that Zhu Zhanyan got in Barihe before leaving.

This is Zheng He's sixth trip to the West, starting in the first month of the 19th year of Yongle, and should have returned to Yingtian in August last year.

Historically, this was Zheng He's last trip to the West during the Yongle period, and the next and last time he had to wait for eight years.

Why didn't Zheng He return as scheduled, and he also learned that he was attacking the Timurid Empire? Zhu Zhanyan didn't know, but he guessed that Zheng He should have learned about it from the victims or locals in places such as Thornsa, Adan, Zufar, and Kurumus.

After all, the matter of the harvest is too big, and last year also happened to be the time when Zhu Zhan's soldiers sent the Timurid Empire.

Does Zheng He have other ideas? Or do you simply want to do your part for the Ming Dynasty to expand its territory?

Zhu Zhan Yan didn't know, but he didn't abandon Zheng He, but let him turn from Kurumus into the Euphrates River, and after entering Bajada, he turned overland, all the way north to the Caspian Sea, completely isolating Shahru.

"That'...... Your Highness, is it time for us to do something? ”

Originally, Jian Xiao was just uneasy, but after learning about Zheng He, Jian Xiao couldn't sit still at all.

"We can't ......"

The words stopped abruptly, and the reason was that Zhu Sanfeng pulled the corner of Jian Xiao's clothes behind his back.

"It's okay, there's no need to be taboo." Zhu Zhanyan glanced at Jian Xiao in surprise, and also saw Zhu Sanfeng's small movements.

"Don't you just want Zheng He to take the credit away, I know, but you don't have to worry."

As he spoke, Zhu Zhanyan took out another piece of paper from his sleeve pocket, but this time it was not a letter, but a map.

"Jane Xiao, I have already marked the route of the march and the places to pick up supplies along the way, and your final destination is Qazvin."

Qazvin, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, is two thousand miles from Mashhad, and although there are well-established trade routes, it is not easy to get there.

However, Jian Xiao took it without hesitation.

"Your Highness, rest assured! Jian Xiao didn't dare to say anything else, but in this matter, Jian Xiao will definitely help you do it properly! ”

Jian Xiao had always been steady, but this time, there was a bit of excitement on his face.

Not only Jian Xiao, but even Zhu Sanfeng next to him couldn't hold back, looking eager to try.

"Sanfeng, you better live in peace." Zhu Zhanyan guessed Zhu Sanfeng's thoughts and said with a smile.

"I know you want to go too, but it's enough for Jane Xiao alone, and I'll let him bring Kun Tashi, so you'll have to stay here."

"After all, ahead, I'm afraid there is no one more familiar with you and Jian Xiao."

Zhu Sanfeng and Jian Xiao both looked at each other in unison, and they both saw the expectation of revenge in each other's eyes.

In that year, when they returned to the Ming Dynasty, they disembarked smoothly at Kurumus and arrived north on the Black Sea coast by virtue of their identity as envoys of the Ming Dynasty.

Depart from the Black Sea, enter the Mediterranean, go to South America, and back.

At that time, they knew that it was impossible to wait for Zheng He's fleet at Khurumus, so they landed on the Black Sea, followed the Qazvin-Mulu-Samarkand line, and finally entered the Delhi Sultan from Ghazni and returned to Daming.

After Mashhad, it was the road they had walked back then, and this road was not only extremely familiar to them, but also ......

Avenge.

——

Timurid Empire, Dabu (not) Liz.

Zheng He looked at the seahorse-shaped Urumiya Lake in front of him, but his mood was extremely heavy.

He learned from the mouth of the victims in Kurumus that Zhu Zhan, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was helping the victims in Bari, and immediately guessed Zhu Zhan's purpose.

After all, Zhu Zhanyan has always been a restless person.

In the eyes of the world, Zhu Zhan is either fighting or on the way to war, not only the killing god of the Ming Dynasty, but also a warmonger who is looking for provocations everywhere.

It's ironic to think that when Zhu Zhan Yan conquered the grassland, the south to fight Jiaozhi, and the east to conquer the Japanese country, people regarded Zhu Zhan Yan as the savior and the person who lived the most transparent life in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Because since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, no one has been able to be like Zhu Zhanyan, who has truly been punished even if he is far away.

But with the passage of time, and as Zhu Zhan's expedition was far away from the Ming Dynasty, people's impression of Zhu Zhan Yan changed from a savior of ordinary people to a tyrant who only knew how to fight.

It may seem like this shift is incredible, but in reality, it's quite normal.

In the past, people supported Zhu Zhanyan because Zhu Zhanyan beat people who had bullied them.

The grassland, Jiaozhi, and the Wa Kingdom are all people who have invaded the Ming Dynasty.

But later, Siam, Nanzhang, Khmer, Delhi Sultan, and now the Timurid Empire were so far away for ordinary people that they didn't even know the names of some countries.

Under such circumstances, people would not be grateful to Zhu Zhanyan, but felt that the successive wars had consumed too much population, food, and all kinds of baggage, and they regarded Zhu Zhanyan's practice as a burden.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanyan never expected anyone to understand him.

Even if, when he conquered Siam and other countries, he used the people of the Usizangdu Division.

Even if his grain and grass baggage are never transferred from Daming, they are all transferred from Yunnan and the Indochina Peninsula, and he has nothing to do with those people.

Even if he entered the Delhi Sultan with almost no soldiers, he did not lose anything.

But people still don't understand and don't understand him.

Moreover, even if they knew that Zhu Zhanyan had never used them for a single point, they might not be able to understand Zhu Zhanyan.

For example, Zheng He.

He knew that Zhu Zhan Yan had hardly used any supplies from the imperial court except for the grasslands and the Wa Kingdom, and he also knew that Zhu Zhan Yan had no losses when he took the Delhi Sultan.

However, he still didn't understand Zhu Zhanyan.

The reason is Zhu Zhanyan's seven-year planning.

Zheng He swore that he had never seen such a tragic scene.

In today's Timurid Empire, this is the most common scene, and there are even more difficult to accept.

Zheng He didn't understand, and even felt that Zhu Zhanyan was a little scary, if he could call the shots, he felt that he should not choose to support Zhu Zhanyan.

But there is no way, Zhu Zhan Yan is the grandson of the Ming Dynasty and the future King of Wu of the Ming Dynasty, if he doesn't know, it's fine, but he knows.

If he didn't support, he could face his heart, but after he went back, he couldn't face Zhu Gaochi.

Because he knew that if Zhu Gaochi knew about this matter, he would definitely let him support, at least he would meet Zhu Zhanchi first, and then persuade Zhu Zhanchi to return to Daming.

At the very least, return to Delhi Sultan.

But what Zheng He didn't expect was that his reluctant behavior cut off a person's hope and made the two people choose completely different paths.

(End of chapter)