unclear

Chapter 874: People who are clear don’t tell secret words
"...Sun Moon Khan said he was going to march west. Can you tell me who he was going to attack?"

Elek's face was stern and his eyes were sharp. His clenched fists were involuntarily placed on the table and kept rubbing. Fortunately, there was some time for translation, otherwise this conversation would have been very torturous.

Every word sounded like the truth, or in other words, it was consistent with reality, but it was not only awkward to listen to, but even more awkward to think about. It was as if a pair of invisible hands were tightly grasping my neck, and I wanted to resist but had no strength.

"The Han people call it the Western Regions, and you call it the Yarkand Khanate. I want to open up the Western Regions and go all the way to the Ilkhanate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to emulate Genghis Khan and plunder there, I just want to open up trade routes and sell the goods produced by the Ming Dynasty to more places.

It is the income from these goods that allows the people of the Ming Dynasty, including the herdsmen of various tribes in Inner Mongolia, to live a better life. If the Outer Khalkha tribes are willing to join, they will also have a share. "

Compared with the topic of assimilating ethnic groups and cultures, the goal of the Western Expedition was no secret in Hong Tao's eyes. Regardless of whether the Yarkand Khanate knew about the Ming Dynasty's Western Expedition, this battle would not be easy, so there was no need to hide it.

"...The Yarkand Khanate is huge, with a large population. Some tribes are very brave and good at fighting. The Ming Dynasty will encounter many troubles." Elke probably didn't expect that the Ming Emperor would be so ambitious. He was a little distracted for a moment, but after he recovered, he began to worry about the prospects of the Western Expedition.

The Outer Khalkha, Oirat and Yarkand Khanates have always had contact, which was also accompanied by friction, and they have a relatively good understanding of each other's strength.

If a limited border battle was only fought due to friction, with the strength of the Ming army seen in Bagua City, coupled with the artillery that had only been heard of but not seen, there should still be a chance of winning.

But if one wanted to completely defeat the Yarkand Khanate, or even occupy the entire territory and open up a trade route to the Ilkhanate, this would be too difficult, so difficult that it had never been thought of before.

"The Han Chinese have a proverb: Don't take on a job without the right tools. The Mongolians also have a proverb: There is no colt that cannot be caught by a lasso. I have had this plan for a long time and have been preparing for many years. Since I am about to start, it means I am confident enough.

You and I are meeting for the first time, and we may not know each other's temperament yet. Let's put it this way, I never say what I want first. When I say it, I am ready for the other party not to give it to me.

Now the fate of the Outer Khalkha tribes has been calculated by me for many years. There are only two choices: either become enemies and fight on the battlefield. Or become a family, contribute money and strength, and fight for more benefits together.

I have said a lot today, even more than my sincerity to the Inner Mongolia tribes. It is not because the Outer Khalkha tribes are more important than the Inner Mongolia tribes, nor do I want to impress anyone in this way. I just think that you have a clearer mind and it will be easier to get along with you in the future.

It is up to you to decide what to do in the end. There is still a month and a half before the army sets out. I hope to see the sincerity of the Outer Khalkha tribes by then."

Although Hong Tao likes giving lectures very much, doesn't mind talking too much, and even has a natural tendency to be a chatterbox, sometimes he is reluctant to say too much, and even less willing to explain a certain issue over and over again.

He believes that there is only one way to convince someone with words, and that is to lie. Besides, the smarter a person is, the less likely he will be swayed by others. If it involves the life and death of a group or a country, it is even more impossible to just listen to someone's one-sided words and throw yourself into someone's arms.

The explanation just now is just a necessary process of bargaining. It is enough to make your point clear and explain the price range. Whether or not to buy is the result of the other party's comprehensive consideration. There is no point in saying more.

In the first month of the nineteenth year of Jingyang (1623), the emperor, who had just completed the Ji Tian Ceremony at the Xiannongtan and prayed to God for a good harvest, once again convened a grand court meeting and announced his decision to lead the army in person in front of all the civil and military officials.

Compared with the previous two times, this time the movement was larger in scale, mobilizing the army of six guards, the Mongolian cavalry of two guards and the Jurchen Eight Banners Army of one guard, with a total force of more than 5. In addition to the new army and craftsmen responsible for logistics, transportation and road security, the total number exceeded 12.

The goal was also farther away. The plan for this western expedition was to start from Suzhou, first capture Hami and then occupy Turpan. These two cities were the gateways to the Western Regions, and whether going north or south of the Tianshan Mountains, they would be the bases.

The enemies to be dealt with were even more powerful. In addition to the Yarkand Khanate, the westward journey might also involve the interests of the Oirat Mongols and the Outer Khalkha Mongols.

Although these three forces are not subordinate to each other, their ancestors are all Mongolian nobles. If these three forces unite and fight against the enemy together, the Ming army will still be difficult to deal with even if it is very powerful.

However, the voices of opposition were very small. During the previous two times when the emperor led the army in person, most of the court officials were opposed, but this time the majority of the court officials were in favor.

Could it be that the ministers were openly supportive of the emperor but secretly hostile, all hoping that the emperor would go into danger so that they could get rid of him with the help of the enemy?
It cannot be said that there are no people who think this way, but they are definitely not the majority. People change, and officials are also people, so they will change as well. What changes with them? The environment, which can be natural or man-made, such as the political environment. In the past, officials opposed the emperor's way of governing, not entirely because of conflicts in governance concepts, but more because their own interests were infringed. As the ancients said, cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing his parents.

However, after nearly twenty years and under constant strong pressure, many officials have actively or passively adjusted themselves, kept up with the pace of the new policies, or integrated into the new concept of governance, and turned from victims into beneficiaries.

The New Deal broke the monopoly of traditional bureaucratic capital, causing many gentry and landlords to lose their privileges and even their families to be broken up. But the New Deal also created a large number of emerging business classes, including many officials.

Emperor Jingyang did not completely exclude bureaucratic groups when designing and implementing the new policies. As long as they were willing to follow the pace of the new policies, they would be welcomed.

As the saying goes, ducks know first when the river water warms in spring. Whenever the emperor has new economic measures, officials are the first to get in touch with them, at least not later than the common people.

The emperor took the lead in investment and encouraged officials to invest their idle funds, and most of them obtained good returns.

Over time, the emperor changed from a simple benefit distributor to a benefit creator. He did not leave the interest groups, but just redistributed the benefits, eliminated some old beneficiaries, added some new beneficiaries, and changed the way of making profits.

To put it simply, in the past everyone would work together to find ways to snatch money from the common people under various pretexts, and then give a portion of it to the emperor as protection money.

If anyone went too far, got out of control, didn't clean up his mess, or made too many moves in the process of grabbing money and harmed the interests of his colleagues, everyone would go to the emperor for justice.

If the case can be handled internally by paying some money, then do so. If it cannot be concealed, then the only option is to accuse the person of corruption and kill him with great fanfare to appease the public anger.

Now the emperor has changed the rules. He still has to rob money from the people, but he must be careful and follow the new rules. He is only allowed to rob a little, not too much, and he is not allowed to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Who gets how much is no longer decided by the emperor, but by the rules. Whoever invests more and manages better is more likely to make more profit, and vice versa.

The rules are clear, as long as you pay attention and keep your eyes open, you will definitely understand them. There are more opportunities, as long as you are not too unlucky, and don't do business like selling pig iron and coke from Luanzhou to Lanzhou, you can basically make money.

In the past, ten bureaucratic capitalist groups would gather around a hundred hens waiting for them to lay eggs. Whoever was quicker would get more. If they got impatient, they might even reach into the hens' butts and kill them.

Now, in addition to the increase in bureaucratic capital, there are also many private capitals that are qualified to grab eggs. It sounds like a loss, right? In fact, it is not, because the number of hens has increased to 200 or even more. As long as you are not too stupid, you are likely to grab more eggs than before.

In addition, if you want to enter the venue to grab eggs, you have to hold a basin of feed in your hand, and you must feed a handful of food for each egg you grab, so that the hens are full and cannot lay eggs on an empty stomach.

What is the emperor doing? This is when you can see how capable he is. As expected of an emperor, he not only picks up eggs very quickly, but also keeps his eyes on everyone's hands and the butts of every chicken. If anyone dares to reach out to pick up the chicken's butt again, he will be chopped off with a big knife!

In addition, the emperor had a very important and crucial job, which was to go to other villages to find hens that could lay eggs and lay a lot of eggs. After he saw one he liked, he would bargain with them and try to buy it back at a very low price.

If the price cannot be agreed upon, then find a way to steal the eggs back. If the other party is guarding the chickens closely and doesn’t allow you to steal, then come back and gather some people to grab the eggs! After you grab the eggs back, put them back in the chicken coop for everyone to pick up the eggs together.

According to the Minister of User Affairs, the Minister of Taxation and the Prime Minister of Sun Moon Bank, this is called protecting the chicken's fart and increasing the chicken's fart. In their mouths, the emperor is a chicken thief who is eyeing the chicken's butt, and is very vulgar and immoral from both image and function.

Now the emperor has discovered a hen that is very good at laying eggs in the Western Regions. Unfortunately, the other party is unwilling to sell it at a low price and keeps it in the quilt all day long to prevent it from being stolen. This is too hateful and someone must be sent to snatch it back.

If we talk about who in the Ming Empire is the most familiar with stealing chickens and dogs, it must be the emperor, so it is only natural for him to lead the army in person. And the emperor is not the only one who can enjoy the chickens. Everyone has the possibility of picking up more eggs, so why oppose it?
(End of this chapter)