Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1125 [The Seljuk Prime Minister came to Ming Dynasty to serve as an official? ]

It was almost impossible to fight an annihilation war on the grassland, and a large number of Mongolian cavalry still managed to escape.

Kublai Khan was old and frail and could not withstand the torture. He fainted when he was captured alive. When he woke up again, he had reached the northeast shore of Lake Baikal.

Two months ago, Yue Fei was stationed in the Ugundile Military City built by the Liao Kingdom. However, it was too far from the mountainous area where the Mongols were hiding, and the city had fallen into disrepair over the years, so he moved his troops to the northeastern shore of Lake Buir and the northern shore of the Khalkha River.

The imperial court planned to build a city here. Once the city was built, it would be surrounded by rivers on three sides and face the lake on one side, with only a small land passage in the northwest corner.

In addition to fishing and grazing, farming is also possible in the riverside areas.

The most suitable crops are naturally wheat, soybeans and corn.

But rice can also be grown. In order to promote its popularity, local governments and businesses in later generations even named Hulunbuir rice "Ice Fragrant Rice".

The imperial court would relocate some Han people here, build farming areas around cities and rivers, and set up an infantry to guard the city. Three thousand Ming cavalry would also be retained here, and the large grasslands around Lake Beier would all be used as pastures for the cavalry.

These cities, farmlands, and pastures will be under the direct jurisdiction of Dingbei Protectorate in the future.

The remaining tribes, including the remnants of the Mongols, would be settled around the areas directly under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate.

Yes, the Ming court never thought of killing all the Mongolian tribes.

If we do not govern for a long time, but withdraw our troops after fighting, it will be better than killing everyone with a single blow. But for long-term governance, we must suppress when necessary and be gentle when necessary, otherwise all the grassland tribes will be saddened!
Moreover, too much killing in Mobei will lead to the emptiness of the grassland, and the forest people of the Balahu tribe will inevitably take the opportunity to move south.

"Are you the Protector Yue?" asked Kubula Khan.

Yue Fei smiled and said, "If you obeyed the imperial decree, you should have come to Linhuang to see me regularly. Then we would have known each other long ago, and the imperial court would not have sent troops to Mobei."

Hebula Khan glanced at his bandaged ankle and asked: "Are you going to take me to Luoyang?"

"Yes," Yue Fei said, "but before we take you to Luoyang, you need to follow me into the mountains and persuade the remnants of the Mongols hiding in the mountains to surrender."

Kublai Khan asked, "What are you going to do with them?"

Yue Fei said:

"The court will establish the Dingbei Protectorate here, and the Yanran Protectorate in the Liao Kingdom's Zhenzhou City (300 miles west of Ulaanbaatar)."

"All the people from the tribes you conquered and annexed will be selected and mixed into new tribes, and the court will appoint tribal chieftains."

"The remaining Mongolian remnants will be dispersed and resettled. One third will be relocated to the Yanran Protectorate, one third will be relocated to the Linhuang Protectorate, and one third will remain in your ancestral land. Some tribes from the two major protectorates south of the desert will also be relocated north to the Yanran and Dingbei Protectorates."

Hebula Khan thought carefully about Yue Fei's words and then sighed.

This means that all the tribes from the north and south of the desert will be mixed together and settled. By that time, the territories of various tribes will be intertwined, and there will be feuds between them.

"How many of my brothers and descendants escaped?" asked Kubula Khan.

Yue Fei said:

"Han Shizhong fought with An Bahai and killed your two cousins, three nephews, and two great-nephews in battle, and captured one of your nephews and one of your great-nephews."

"In the battle between you and I, I killed one of your brothers, two of your sons, one of your grandsons, and two of your great-nephews. I also captured one of your nephews, two of your sons, and two of your grandsons."

Hebula Khan felt a pang of pain in his heart when he heard this, and he seemed to lose all his strength in an instant.

Yue Fei added: "As long as you persuade the remnants of the Mongols hiding in the mountains to surrender, your brothers and descendants who are still alive, including your captured relatives, can all save their lives. However, they must move to the Anxi Protectorate, which was formerly the Gaochang Uighurs."

Hebula Khan did not agree immediately, but asked: "How come Yue Duhu already knew the battle report from Anbahai? And he even knew the exact number of people killed and captured?"

"There is something called telegraph, which can transmit military information instantly thousands of miles away." Yue Fei grinned.

Hebula Khan opened his mouth wide, seeming to want to say something but stopped himself.

He couldn't understand what the telegram meant, but if what Yue Fei said was true, then the Mongolian military operation was doomed to failure from the very beginning.

Yue Fei stood up and prepared to leave: "I'll give you two days to think about it. After two days, I will join forces with Han Shizhong and go into the mountains together to wipe out the remaining Mongolian forces."

"I agree!" Kublai Khan shouted quickly.

Yue Fei walked out of the tent with a smile and continued forward for more than a hundred steps. He saw Zhu Shizhong who was tied up and brought over.

Zhu Shizhong shouted in panic: "Protector General, please spare my life, Protector General, please spare my life..."

"Desisting from the battlefield will be punished by military law!" The smile on Yue Fei's face disappeared instantly, and he looked at this bastard with gritted teeth.

“Mercy! Mercy…”

Zhu Shizhong was immediately dragged away, and his cries for mercy became increasingly distant.

As for dismantling Zhu Shizhong's Tatar tribe, Yue Fei did not have sufficient authority for this matter and had to report it to the court and obtain approval.

……

Luoyang. Zhu Ming gently put down the battle report sent by Han and Yue.

Compared with the Mongols, Zhu Ming is now more concerned about the news of Western Liao.

The latest news sent back to Luoyang by the Anxi Protectorate was that Khwarezm tried to refuse to pay the tribute of 10,000 yuan, but was beaten up by the Western Liao army and forced to pay the money.

In this battle, the Western Liao used fifteen cannons and easily destroyed a fragile stone castle of Khwarezm!
Western Liao actually started using firearms.

Glancing at the clock, Zhu Ming said, "Let him in."

Soon, a foreign old man was brought into the hall. He was Mulek, the prime minister of the Seljuk Empire who had been sent as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty.

Historically, after Sultan Sanjar was captured by the rebels, Vizier Mulek successfully escaped back to the Seljuk capital.

However, because he advocated the centralization of power by the monarch, other officials just happened to support a puppet to take the throne. His confidants who stayed in the court had long been squeezed out by everyone, and now that he returned, he would naturally lose his power completely.

As a result, Mulek was driven out of the capital by the new court, and even his property was divided up. In his later years, he wandered around various Central Asian countries, hoping to gain the appreciation of the monarch, but eventually died in poverty.

In this time and space, Mulek did not choose to wander around blindly, but directly took a boat to seek refuge with the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, may you always be in good health." Mulek prostrated himself.

Ju Ming smiled and said, "Sit down."

Compared to the last time we met, Mulek seemed to have aged 20 or 30 years, with a head full of white hair and wrinkles, and he was already in his twilight years.

Zhu Ming asked about the current situation of the Seljuks, and Mulek answered carefully, and also analyzed the factions in the court and the local nobles.

After a conversation, Mulek suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I brought two sons and five grandsons with me this time. I have spent all my money long ago, and I still owe the ship owner a sum of money. I hope to be an official in the Ming Dynasty and be granted a house."

Zhu Ming was amused: "What can you do for me?"

Mulek said: "The whole family converted to Confucianism and pledged loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Ming didn't bother to correct that Confucianism didn't require conversion, and just said, "It's not enough."

Muleke added: "The Black Khitan (Western Liao) spread the news in Western countries, saying that the Ming army would kill all the desert believers, and called on the monarchs of various countries to unite to resist the invasion of the Ming."

"I know this news." Zhu Ming nodded.

Muleke took the opportunity to suggest: "In fact, there is no need to kill all the believers. I have a way to convert them to Confucianism."

Zhu Ming looked at Mulek carefully and felt that this world was more and more ridiculous.

The grandfather of the Mulek in front of us is called Nizam Mulek. In addition to being a famous Seljuk politician, he is also a famous Seljuk religious scholar who presided over the construction of countless religious schools.

The grandson of such a powerful figure came to teach the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty how to make the Central Asian believers apostatize?
As for a political family, that's understandable.

Nizam Mulek himself was an unscrupulous person. In order to promote his own political views, he praised Sultan Gojining highly in his book, describing a warmongering tyrant as a saintly king who loved his people.

This family is a staunch supporter of the monarchy. Their political philosophy has always been centralization of the monarchy, and religion and other things are all tools used to engage in politics.

"Tell me about it." Zhu Ming said.

Mulek said: "We can start with the Turkic nobles. Although the Turkic monarchs and nobles of various countries have been shouting about jihad, they are all false believers. They do not abide by the doctrine at all, drink openly and act recklessly. They have no regard for the caliph, and even do not obey those senior sultans. The doctrine is just a tool for them to expand their territory!"

"Oh." Zhu Ming finally became interested.

Mulek said: "The local nobles of the Black Khitan (Western Liao) are mainly Turks. The Ming Dynasty can first defeat the Black Khitan army, eliminate all clergy wherever they go, and then guarantee the secular power of the Turkic nobles and force them to convert. Those who do not convert can be conquered. After a few more conquests, all of them will convert."

"So simple?" Zhu Ming was a little skeptical.

Mulek shook his head and said, "It's not easy. It requires a very strong military force and the secular power of the converted nobles must be guaranteed. During the whole process, there will be rebellions one after another, and even spontaneous uprisings by some believers. I have a wealth of theological knowledge and can help Your Majesty appease the nobles and people there."

"interesting."

Zhu Ming said, "Confucianism does not require conversion. I will first arrange a house for your family, and then you can go to the Buddhist Monks and Taoists Department to study Buddhism. When you have time, you can communicate with the monks in Tianwang Temple. When the Ming Dynasty goes to war with the Western Liao Dynasty, you can take a few hundred monks with you to join the army."

"Let the Black Khitan nobles and commoners convert to Buddhism?" Mulek asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Yes, let them convert to Buddhism. They used to believe in Buddhism there."

Muleke stood up and bowed: "I will definitely familiarize myself with Buddhism as soon as possible and help His Majesty the Emperor to pacify the Black Khitan."

Zhu Ming said: "Your children and grandchildren should learn Chinese as soon as possible. Those who are capable will naturally be given important positions."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity and kindness." Mulek became more respectful.

From now on, his whole family are citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)