Father can be an enemy to the country

"If you work blindly, wouldn't we as brothers be freeloading every day?" Zhu Di smiled and sighed: "I really envy your achievements in the southwest..."

"What's there to envy? I've heard that the situation in the north has improved a lot, and Fourth Brother will soon be useful." Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "Compared with here, we are small in the southwest. It’s nothing to make a fuss about.”

"Oh, don't mention it..." Zhu Di's expression darkened when he heard this.

"What, are there any changes?" Zhu Zhen was stunned when he saw this.

"It's a long story. Let's not talk about these troublesome things since we just met." Zhu Di waved his hand.

"That's right." Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "Let's talk about family matters first. How is your father-in-law's health?"

"Oh, it's actually the same thing." Zhu Di smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it, let me start from the beginning."

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded and listened to Zhu Di's story:

"The matter has to start after your wedding."

"Is it so far away?" Zhu Zhen's head was pounding for a moment, and he thought to himself, "Why does Paralysis have to do with me?"

"It's not far, it's only been two and a half years." Zhu Di smiled and said, "The idea you gave to your father-in-law has been extremely effective."

"Oh, that's it." Zhu Zhen relaxed a little, then he shouldn't have much responsibility.

~~

Zhu Zhen naturally remembered that it was before his wedding, and Xu Da was very concerned that his daughter was not the only princess.

In order to make his father-in-law happy, Zhu Zhen offered him a clever plan, saying that he could help him find the Beiyuan royal court he dreamed of and end this long war of conquest.

In the past years, the Mongols have been at a disadvantage because the Han Dynasty was strong and the captives were weak. Especially after Wang Baobao's death, no one in Beiyuan had the courage to challenge Ming's invincible general Xu Da.

When the Mongols did not dare to go south to plunder, they only nomadic in Mobei, and they were careful to hide their whereabouts and change their locations during the four seasons. Even Xu Da had nothing to do with them.

Because Mobei is so big, even bigger than the Ming Dynasty, and there are many high mountains. Trying to find the Mongolian royal court, which numbered only a few hundred thousand people, was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

And even if the army is fully prepared and goes deep into the grassland, all the Mongolian herdsmen encountered during the long journey are likely to be the eyes and ears of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, the Beiyuan royal court always knew the whereabouts of the Ming army.

Once they had no intention of fighting and were focused on escaping, how could the Ming army catch them?

Zhu Zhen’s so-called ‘cool plan’ is to open a border trade!

In short, it was to set up a market on the border to allow the Mongols to trade with Ming Dynasty merchants. They exchanged their furs, livestock, horses, and herbs for various necessities of life and various luxuries for the enjoyment of the noble leaders.

For the Mongols who had been embargoed by the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years, this was no less than a long drought and sweet rain. You must know that ordinary herdsmen are so embarrassed that they have no iron pot to boil water for cooking, so they can only make do with animal skin pots.

For those noble leaders, they all dreamed of revisiting the silk, ceramics, gold, silver, and jade they enjoyed when they were young. It is conceivable how destructive the open border trade will be to all Mongolian ministries.

In this way, Xu Da has one more trump card that can defeat the Mongols. He can easily win over a group of Mongolian tribes by allowing collaborators to trade with each other, allocating trade shares, and denying recalcitrants access to the market, and induce the Mongols to continuously sell information to him.

Moreover, this move hit the key point of Beiyuan Royal Court.

When Emperor Yuan Shun fled north, he took away tens of thousands of craftsmen from Dadu. The things these people created in the desert where there was nothing they wanted were naturally not comparable to what they had done in the Central Plains, but they could barely make ends meet by supplying the royal court with daily needs. They could even squeeze out some daily necessities such as pots and pans, allowing Emperor Beiyuan to reward various ministries and win over people's hearts.

These rewards are not given for free. If the tribes want them, they have to pay a very high price. For example, if you pay tribute to five horses, you can get a broken iron pot as a reward... You have to kowtow to thank you, and you won't get it if you have a bad attitude.

It is precisely because of this hugely profitable monopoly trade that the Northern Yuan court, which is dominated by princes, nobles, warriors and servants, can maintain a minimum of dignity in the bitter cold land of Mobei and live a life that is far more generous than ordinary Mongolians.

Zhu Zhen's opening of border trading can be said to have cut off the lifeblood of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. When Mongolian ministries can buy better quality Ming goods at half or even one-third of the price, who will be exploited by the royal court?

It is said that the economic foundation determines the superstructure. When the economic foundation is shaken, the superstructure becomes a dilapidated building.

~~

There are still scattered snowflakes floating in the sky, and a sun is also hanging in the western sky, shining feebly and palely.

On the official road to Tongzhou, the two brothers were riding on horses and chatting while walking.

"Your method seems ordinary, but it is an unsolvable conspiracy." Zhu Di said with praise: "If the Northern Yuan court ignores it, their own financial path will be cut off, and sooner or later the tree will fall and the hozens will scatter. So they We can only spare no effort to obstruct mutual trade, suppress or even persecute those tribes that are allowed to enter the market.”

"Aren't all the ministries of Beiyuan in bulk? Do they have that ability?" Zhu Zhen asked with a smile.

"Don't underestimate the Royal Court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. It is the direct descendant of the Golden Family. It was the royal family of the Yuan Dynasty that once occupied the Central Plains and was the co-owner of all the Mongolian tribes." Zhu Di said seriously:

"No matter how poor or weak they are, there are still many ways to control the leaders of various tribes. For example, they are prohibited from participating in the sacrifices organized by the royal court, depriving them of the titles and fiefdoms passed down from generation to generation, declaring them traitors to Mongolia, and encouraging various tribes to attack in groups."

"Well, that is indeed quite cruel." Zhu Zhen nodded and said with deep understanding: "Once the name is not justified, no matter how strong the troops are, there is no guarantee that Xiao Qiang will be brought into trouble."

"That's what it means." Zhu Di nodded and said: "This will indeed make the Mongolian ministries have scruples when cooperating with the Ming Dynasty, but it will also make them hate the Wang Ting. When they were allowed to trade with each other, they were blocked by the Wang Ting and unable to enter the market. In the end, many tribes will continue to do nothing...I am no longer a member of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, I have abandoned the secret and turned to the bright side!"

"Haha, what a man who abandoned the dark and turned to the light! Indeed, if you don't keep me here, you have a place to keep me." Zhu Zhen put his hands on his hands and said with a smile: "Is it possible that only Qin Beiyuan Great Khan can grant titles, and I, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, can't grant titles? Moreover? When you become an official of the Ming Dynasty, you no longer have to worry about eating sand in the desert. There should be many people who will abandon the dark side and join the bright side. "

"That's right." Zhu Di nodded excitedly and said:

"Since last year, more and more tribes have come to surrender, and the ranks of tribal leaders have become higher and higher. There are even some 'big shots' such as princes and Pingzhang... Although the Northern Yuan Dynasty has been granted titles indiscriminately, the princes and the dukes are There are so many of them, but some people still bring valuable information!”