Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 361 The So-Called Union
The Holy See is actually not a good thing, especially the Holy See in the Middle Ages.

However, the Holy See, an existence that represents light, becomes even more contrary to darkness when it becomes dark.

What's more, it is already quite dark in itself, and can even be said to be the darkest existence in Europe.

This is similar to Buddhism.

At the beginning of its birth, Buddhism's thoughts were actually good, positive and leading people to do good.

But later, with the use of interested people, Buddhism became a barrier to hide evil and evil, a fig leaf for power, money and desire.

The same is true for the Holy See, and compared to Buddhism, the Holy See is even worse.

At least, people in the Central Plains still know shame, know that these things are not tolerated by the world, and know how to hide them, but it is different in the West.

Except that it cannot be said clearly, almost everyone except civilians knows what the Holy See is like.

Zhu Zhanhe also knew it, but he didn't think about taking advantage of it, at least not yet.

In fact, the reason is very simple. It is like a Westerner going to the Central Plains and saying how good Confucianism is, how it deceives them, and how it becomes a tool for greed for power and wealth.

Generally speaking, people who heard what he said would just shake their faces and walk away, and those who had a bad temper might speak up with a big mouth.

To put it bluntly, it is true if one's own people say it is true. Although the credibility is not high at least, it is still there. But if outsiders say it, the first reaction of ordinary people is either that the person is sick or that there is a foreign enemy who wants to invade the Central Plains. This That's what they prepared in advance.

The same is true in the West. If a group of Han people say something bad about the Holy See, they won't believe it.

Maybe this method can be used in the future, but that will only happen after he has established a foothold in Europe and made the Kingdom of Naples his most loyal henchman.

Whether it's because there's meat to eat, or there's a stick to intimidate, at least it's when you can control it.

In comparison, what Zhu Zhanhe needs to solve most right now is the European unity issue.

If people like the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples only united, Zhu Zhanhe wouldn't care at all, because two mice together are no match for a cat.

But the Holy See is different.

It's not that Zhu Zhanhe is afraid of the Holy See, it's unnecessary, because the strength lies there.

Not to mention that Europe itself is a fragmented mess fighting on its own. Even if they unite, Zhu Zhanhe just can't attack hard. It is simple to kill them.

It won't even take a few years to wear them out.

but!

If a suitable solution can be thought of, the Holy See will not be an enemy...

It’s actually not appropriate to say that. If it’s handled properly, Zhu Zhanhe can directly eliminate people like the Pope, hold the Holy See in his hands, and become a sharp weapon for him to enter Europe.

The news sent to him by Duke Rene was timely and useful.

Jeanne II was a very smart woman, even smarter than people like the Pope and Frederick III, because she saw the situation clearly.

She knew that it was only a matter of time before Ming's advance, and the Crusaders who had already been eroded by desire did not have much combat effectiveness.

Not to mention the wolves and tigers of the Ming army, the current Crusaders, I am afraid that ordinary European troops can beat them, and the reason why the Crusaders are still on the altar is still thanks to the old crusaders A crusader fighting for the faith.

Therefore, Jeanne II knew very well that even if Frederick III united with the Pope, failure would happen sooner or later. If she did not show enough strength in front of her, she would not be easily shaken.

People like Jeanne II are actually very simple and pure. Just one thing: if you are strong and can bring benefits to me, then I will be on your side.

And now, based on the intelligence obtained by Jeanne II, it is very likely that the alliance between the Kingdom of Sicily and the Papal State will not improve, and in the end it is very likely that it will not be able to stop the advancement of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, on the surface, she was carrying out the plan of the Pope and Frederick III and asking Duke Rene to come over to numb Zhu Zhanhe's vigilance. But in fact, she revealed all these things and gave them to Duke Rene to bring to Zhu Zhan. gully.

Of course, Jeanne II did not leave no escape route.

Although Ming Dynasty has the advantage in terms of overall strength, the matter is not over yet, and no one knows what the result will be.

So she kept a hand, and by selling her body, half to please and half to seduce, the Pope agreed to the Kingdom of Naples' request not to send troops.

Of course, the Pope is also an old man who has matured with age. Just a broken shoe with millions of people under him cannot make him agree to such an excessive request.

As for what Jeanne II paid to get the Pope to agree to such an unreasonable request, only Jeanne II and the Pope know.

"Did your Majesty say you needed to bring something back to stabilize the situation?"

After conveying his words to the translator, Zhu Zhanhe looked at Duke Rene very calmly.

"Back to His Highness the Crown Prince, they said they need some defense maps of the Ming army. Of course, they don't have to be real, just give them fake ones. But when the time comes, they still need Ming's help to put on a show, at least the outermost cloth workshop. It must be the same as on the defense map.”

"At that time, they can communicate with the Papal State and the Kingdom of Sicily. At the same time, they will do their best to pass on the ideas of the Papal State and the Kingdom of Sicily to you to ensure the invincibility of the Ming Dynasty."

"That's no problem." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand.

"Tell him that I will have someone bring out a defense plan for him tonight. As for how long he needs to stay here to confuse the Papal State, that is his business, and I will cooperate."

"Ask him if he has any other questions?"

The translator translated all the words very competently, but what they received was a salute from Duke Rene, because this was enough for them.

By cooperating with Ming Dynasty, the greatest benefit that the Kingdom of Naples can get is after the war is over, not beforehand.

These are all empty. As long as the benefits are not obtained, any promises are empty words.

"Come here, arrange a place for him to stay and take him to rest." Zhu Zhanhe stood up and waved.

"Zhu Ling, send someone to follow him, not only to protect his safety but also to keep an eye on his every move."

"Yes!"

Zhu Zhanhe would never trust anyone easily. Jeanne II seemed very sincere, but in fact no one knew what his intentions were. They could only wait for the facts to prove it in the end.

"Zhu Ping, send someone to send a message to Jian Xiao."

With that said, Zhu Zhanhe bowed down at the table and wrote a short letter.

"Tell him to send someone to inquire about this matter and try his best. If it's really impossible, then give up."

"Yes!"

As Zhu Ping left, Zhu Zhanhe also raised his head and looked to the north.

He originally thought that this time was the simplest war. He used the rebellious Naples dynasty in Europe as bait, and finally captured the castle and became the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty to advance into Europe.

But unexpectedly, he met the Pope right then.

But this is good. The Pope is not a very difficult copy, but it is very likely to drop a weapon specially designed to deal with Europe: the Pope's Scepter.

Looking at the north, Zhu Zhanhe seemed to have seen the scene in which he used the Holy See as a puppet to expand in Europe, plunder all kinds of things, and carry out large-scale slave trade.

……

While Zhu Zhanhe was busy targeting Europe, Ming Dynasty was not idle either.

Previously, after Zhu Zhanhe took over the imperial court and the entire Ming Dynasty, the first thing he did was to purge the officials in the imperial court. At that time, he deliberately kept Yang Pu and used this abandoned son to throw a big pot away from Wala. .

In the end, Mahamu and Tupolo secretly joined forces to promote Taiping as the scapegoat. Although the behavior of abandoning the car to protect Shuai was cruel, it was very effective.

What Zhu Zhanhe wanted was to send troops to the grassland legitimately, not the murderous nature that people said.

He may not care about these messy reputations, but if he wants the descendants of the Zhu family not to be troubled by this, he still has to make some detours.

but!

This does not mean that Ming's troubles with Wala are over.

With the arrival of summer, the mutual trade between Ming Dynasty and Wala began, but similarly, the conspiracy also started with the mutual trade with Wala.

"Dad, is this really possible?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at his father with suspicion.

"What do you think I'm doing!? It's not my decision!" His son's suspicious gaze seemed to prick Zhu Gaoxu, who looked like a cat with exploded fur at this time.

"Go and find your elder brother! That was what he decided before he left, and he told me to follow the standard he left behind, and not to change it casually!"

"Oh..." Zhu Zhanhe made a voice full of understanding.

"Brother decided it, then it's okay..."

……

Zhu Gaoxu was speechless.

Although it was just a simple sentence, it could also be said to be a word of approval, but he heard something else from this sentence?
But at the end of the day, no objection is really no objection, but this does not mean that Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanluo no longer have doubts in their hearts.

On the contrary, although the father and son did not speak out, their hearts were full of doubts.

There was no other reason than that the conditions given by Zhu Zhanhe were too harsh.

In addition to the normal trading items, such as grain, meat, livestock and wool, this trading added a new thing.

The horse, and it cannot be a horse, must be a medium horse or above, or even a war horse level.

Logically speaking, you get what you pay for. There is no problem in asking for the goods, as long as you pay for them, but here's the problem.

The criterion for Zhu Zhanhe's stay was not not to give him money, because that was already a money grab.

The imperial court and a few tribes had an exchange of tea and horses. This had been going on for a long time. Yunnan, which was vassalized by the King of Wu back then, is still conducting an exchange of tea and horses with the tribes of the Seven Guards of Kansai and the Uzangdusi.

Because of the strength of Ming Dynasty, the price of the tea-horse market was finally set at sixty catties, forty catties and twenty catties of tea for good horses, medium horses and low-grade horses respectively.

The price has remained unchanged for so many years. It's not that Ming Dynasty didn't want to change, but the price is really too low. Compared with the 250 catties, 220 catties and [-] catties in the Northern Song Dynasty, it has fallen to the bottom.

But this time, in the mutual market with the grassland, the price of horses fell to a new height.

According to the standards left by Zhu Zhanhe, Wala could only trade good and medium horses, but in exchange, the Ming Dynasty gave very little food.

To put it into perspective, a good horse is worth forty pounds of tea, and a medium horse is worth twenty pounds of tea, but the tea is replaced by grain.

Isn't this money grabbing?
Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanluo were very skeptical about whether this standard was feasible. Would Wala just fall out?
Of course, they just thought about it this way. In fact, they also knew that Wala would not fall out because they most hoped that Wala would fall out.

After all, they are the enemy. What they want is what the enemy does not want, and what they do not want is what the enemy wants.

However, sometimes even enemies may think the same thing.

Wala, suddenly Lan suddenly loses temperature.

"What should I do?" Tupolo looked at Mahamu in front of him, his tone was a little low.

I have to say that without Taiping as a fool, the atmosphere of the conversation between them was much better. At least it was not as startling as when Taiping was still there.

If Taiping was still there, then Taiping at this time must have a questioning tone, either talking to Mahamu or to Tupolo.

But after Taiping disappeared, the conversations between him and Mahamu were usually very calm, at least there would be no sudden blushes.

"No way." Mahamu sighed heavily.

"Now the enemy is strong and we are weak. If we don't plan to die together, then we have no choice but to accept it."

"Well, Ming Dynasty is clearly trying to make us turn against us first and give them a chance to send troops."

Following Mahamu's point of view, Bald Polo, who was originally only a little low in tone, now even looked gloomy.

"However, how can we explain to those herdsmen about the mutual market at this price?"

In fact, like the Ming Dynasty, horse breeding in Oara is actually dispersed to various tribes, standards are set, and acceptance is inspected every year or every few years.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty was also like this. The task of raising horses was assigned to states and counties, and then the states and counties assigned it to the people.

This model is full of loopholes at first glance, because the space for operation is so huge that as long as the low-level officials want to, there will be plenty of opportunities to make money.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty was initiated by Emperor Yongle during the Yongle period. But now, because of Zhu Zhanhe, the Ming Dynasty not only owns the Loop as it did in history, but also owns the old Tatar lands.

In the end, this system was not implemented in the current Ming Dynasty.

But as the saying goes, the Ming Dynasty's increase in strength caused this system to be abandoned, but the Wala's weakening strength led to increased exploitation in all aspects.

Now, if Daming does this again, he will directly push Wala to the edge of the cliff.

It is conceivable that with Mahamu and Tupolo's methods, whether they are fooling or trying to shift the blame, this difficulty will definitely be overcome, but it will also be very difficult.

　Two chapters combined into one chapter, currently 1/3 of it is due.

　
(End of this chapter)