Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Before the Mongols started to rebel, they had already sent people to the Ming Dynasty to seek cooperation.

They first came to the territory of the Wanggu tribe, then crossed the Daqing Mountains, entered Shaanxi via Xixia, and arrived in Kaifeng in the snow two days before New Year's Day.

Before meeting the Mongolian envoy in person, Zhu Guoxiang asked his son: "Do you have any impression of this Mongolian envoy Hutula?"

"More than just an impression, he is simply famous."

Ju Ming said with a smile: "In the history books of the Mongols, the sound of Sutu's stabbing sound is like thunder, which can resound through thousands of mountains and valleys. His hands are like bear's paws, so powerful that he can split a living person in half with one breath. You can eat a sheep and drink mare’s milk in buckets.”

"What the hell?" Zhu Guoxiang heard a black line on his forehead.

Ju Ming put away his smile and said seriously: "He is the fourth uncle of Genghis Khan and the next Great Khan of Mongolia."

Zhu Guoxiang was surprised when he heard this: "Has it reached the timeline of Genghis Khan?"

"What are you thinking about? Genghis Khan's father hasn't even been born yet." Ju Ming said.

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Why did this Mongolian suddenly rebel against gold?"

Ju Ming didn't do much research on Mongolian history, he only knew some well-known figures.

However, Ma Kuo's previous mission to Mobei brought back a lot of information, which could make up for Ju Ming's lack of knowledge about Mongolia.

"Do you know Yinshan?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang nodded: "I won't teach Hu Ma to cross the Yin Mountain."

Ju Ming dipped his fingers in tea and drew a line on the table: "The remaining vein extending eastward from Yinshan Mountain is called Daqingshan. The Wanggu tribe that went south in the past two years was also called the White Tatars. Last year, they were driven back to Daqingshan. North. The derogatory name 'Tatar' originated from the Tatar tribe."

"White Tatars are in the north of Daqing Mountain, and black Tatars are in the east of Mobei Grassland. Even Mongolia at this time was collectively called black Tatars. Of course, this was called indiscriminately by the Liao and Jin countries. "

"When Yelu Dashi was still there, all the tribes respected him. But it was only in name. In fact, few tribes really supported him."

"Yelü Dashi led his troops to the west and left Mobei, and a power vacuum immediately appeared. In recent years, the climate has become colder and colder, and it is even colder in Mobei. If they dare not go south to plunder, they will definitely attack and annex each other."

"Therefore, whenever Yelu Dashi marches westward, those tribes in Mobei will start a war."

"The Mongolian tribes are very powerful, and the Jin Kingdom supports other black Tatars to contain them. These black Tatars, also called the Tata tribe, used to be allies of the Mongols, but now they have become an obstacle to the expansion of the Mongols."

"The Mongols' attack on the Tata'er tribe was tantamount to a blatant backstabbing of the Jin Kingdom, because those people were protected by the Jin Kingdom."

Zhu Guoxiang suddenly realized: "That's it."

The Great Khan of Mongolia at this time, Genghis Khan's great-grandfather Hebul Khan, was also the first Great Khan of the Mongols.

Yelu Dashi led his troops to the westward expedition, and Hebul Khan began to expand. He unified all the Mongolian tribes in two years, and established himself as a "Khan" last year.

Historically, Hebul Khan's expansion coincided with intense internal strife in the Jin Dynasty and the defeat of the Southern Song Dynasty.

In desperation, Jin Guo could only win over and invite him to Harbin as a guest.

Hebuli Khan dared to go directly to the Kingdom of Jin and go to Beijing with only a few followers. After getting very drunk, he went to stroke the beard that Wu begged to buy.

At that time, the Jin Kingdom's main peace faction released him to the grassland, but the main war faction went against his promise and sent troops to attack.

Over the next ten years or so, the Jin State sent troops to conquer Mongolia five times.

In every war, the Mongolian army hid in the mountains, and the Jin soldiers had to withdraw after they ran out of food and grass. Then, the Mongolian army came out of the mountain to intercept and beat the Jin army to the point where they lost their armor.

In the end, the Jin Kingdom ceded territory and paid indemnities for peace, and conferred Hebu Lehan as the "King of the Mengwu".

The situation in this time and space was even more chaotic, because the Ming Dynasty contained the Jin Kingdom's military strength, and Yelu Dashi crippled the Tatar tribes.

Hebul Khan no longer has a marriage alliance with the Tatar tribe, but directly starts the mode of conquest and expansion. The Mongolian tribes are likely to rise in advance.

…

On the day before New Year's Day, Zhu Guoxiang received the Mongolian envoy.

Genghis Khan's fourth uncle, Hutula, is still very young. He is not as majestic as in the history books, but a short and stocky Mongolian young man with a big face.

"Suddenly following the orders of the Great Khan of all Mongols, I paid homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and to pay homage to His Highness the Prince of the Ming Dynasty!"

"The Great Khan of Mongolia asked me to say hello to you two and offer you the gifts of all Mongolians."

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and nodded: "Send hello to the Mongolian Khan on my behalf. Please give me a seat."

Hu Tula was overjoyed when he heard this, because Hebule had only proclaimed himself the Khan position last year. No one except the Mongolian tribes recognized it, but the Ming Emperor actually approved it verbally.

Hu Tula said: "My father Khan used to follow Yelu Dashi and regard Yelu Dashi as his master. But Yelu Dashi was too timid and was frightened by the Kingdom of Jin and left the grassland. In order to resist the Kingdom of Jin, my father Khan was willing to stand up and And asked the Ming Emperor to enthrone him. From now on, Mongolia will be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and we are willing to fight the Jin Kingdom together with the Ming Dynasty."

As a translator, Ma Kuo was naturally present at this moment. He asked: "How do you plan to fight?"

Hu Tula said: "The Tata'er tribe are dogs raised by the Jin Kingdom. We have already contacted the Wanggu tribe and joined forces to defeat the Tata'er tribe and completely cut off the Jin Kingdom's wings in Mobei. The Jin Kingdom will most likely send troops to attack us. I hope Ming Dynasty will take the opportunity to send troops by then."

Ma Kuo was not just a translator. He explained to the emperor in Chinese: "The Mongols and White Tatars (led by the Wanggu tribe) have united. They plan to carve up the central and eastern pastures of Mobei. They are also worried that they will not be able to defeat the Jin Kingdom. Soldiers and horses, so please ask me, the Ming Dynasty, to send troops to interfere with the Jin Kingdom. Once the Mongols and White Tatars succeed, Mobei will be in a situation where the two heroes stand side by side."

"No, it should be said that there are three heroes standing side by side. In the western grasslands of Mobei, many tribes are still loyal to Yelu Dashi. In the future of Mobei, Yelu Dashi will be in the west, the Wanggu tribe will be in the middle, and the Mongols will be in the east. If they want to continue to expand, The Mongols and the Wanggu tribe will fight first. Whoever can completely defeat the other party will be able to unify Mobei."

"And I, the Ming Dynasty, can sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers. I will always support the weaker side and let the Mongols and White Tatars keep fighting without giving them a chance to decide the winner."

Ju Ming shook his head and said: "If Mobei is allowed to fight for hundreds of years, and our Ming Dynasty declines in strength, then the Mobei unifiers raised by Gu will be very difficult to deal with no matter who they are. We must find an opportunity to defeat them, and then let Mobei North Korea is in a relatively stable situation.”

"Does it need to be canonized as the Great Khan of Mongolia?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

"It can be canonized." Ju Ming and Ma Kuo said at the same time.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Then after I abdicate, you can go and confer the title yourself."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Two kings can be canonized. A Mongolian king and a Tatar king. If the Naiman tribe breaks away from Yelu Dashi, a Naiman king can also be canonized. The triangle is the most stable, and it is best to let the three kings of Mobei stand side by side!"

Zhu Guoxiang said to Hutula: "The Ming Dynasty will confer the title of King of Mongolia, but I am about to abdicate. This is my son, and he will succeed to the throne soon. You have to wait in Kaifeng for two months."

Although Hutula was very confused about the transfer of the Ming throne, he still left his seat and knelt down: "Thank you to the Ming Emperor for the title. The Mongols are willing to respect the Ming Emperor as the Khan of Heaven!"

Ju Ming suddenly laughed: "Do you still know Tian Khan?"

Hu Tula said: "When I was passing through Shaanxi, I asked the officials in Shaanxi. They said that the greatest emperor in the Tang Dynasty was the Tian Khan who could rule the grasslands."

At this time, the Mongols really didn't have that much extravagant hope. Unifying the eastern region of Mobei was already a lofty goal for them.

Of course, ambition will gradually increase, and it is human nature to want to look forward to Shu.

After sending the Mongolian envoy away, Ju Ming asked: "Do you think that if Mongolia raises an army, the Jin Congress will send troops to Mobei to suppress it?"

Ma Kuo said: "The Kingdom of Jin will not send out large-scale troops. For the Kingdom of Jin, Mobei is beyond its reach, and every expedition consumes countless money and food. Once too much food and grass are lost, how can we fight with us? Even if they want to send troops, they can only send one. Partial division. Five or six thousand is more appropriate, no more than 10,000."

"Then the rise of Mongolia is a foregone conclusion. It depends on whether the White Tatars can contain them." Ju Ming said.

Ma Kuo shook his head: "It's difficult. The Wanggu tribe couldn't even unify the White Tatars, but the Borzhijin tribe unified Mongolia. The combined talents and great strategies are not comparable to the Wanggu tribe. When the time comes, we must support the Wanggu tribe. department."

Ju Ming rubbed his fists, it looked like he had to beat Genghis Khan's grandfather!

Ma Kuo added: "If we go to war with the Jin Kingdom and Mobei is also at war, Xixia will most likely take the opportunity to send troops and swallow up all the grasslands south of Daqing Mountain. And they have a good reason, they are helping the Ming Dynasty attack the Jin Kingdom. "

"Don't be afraid, destroy the Jin Kingdom first and then talk." Ju Ming said with a smile.

Ma Kuo suggested: "You can first canonize a few tribal leaders and make them all kings. First, when the Jin Kingdom ordered the tribes to send troops, there were a lot of kings under our command, and they did not dare to use them with confidence. Secondly, those tribal leaders Once you have the throne, you will be even more determined to betray the Jin Kingdom. If Xixia wants to seize the opportunity to annex it, all the kings canonized by the Ming Dynasty will be swallowed up."

Ju Ming clapped his hands and praised: "What a great idea!"

This diplomatic expert has a dirty heart and is full of conspiracy.

The suggestion of a strategy disgusted both the Jin Kingdom and Xixia, and also paved the way for the Ming Dynasty to annex the Monan Grassland.

Seeing Ma Kuo bowing and retreating, Zhu Guoxiang nodded and said, "This person is very good and deserves to be promoted and put into use."

Ju Ming said: "The Privy Council is the best fit for him, and he is expected to be promoted to Deputy Privy Councilor in the future. If there is a vacancy in the cabinet, he can also be included in the cabinet on behalf of the military."

It has almost become an unspoken rule that cabinet ministers are representatives of all forces.

The military must have a cabinet minister to help speak. It does not have to be a military background. It can also be a civilian official who often leads troops in war.

First it was Zongshi Dao, and now it is Zhang Shuye.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at the light snow falling outside the palace and said with emotion: "It's the Chinese New Year again, and it's finally time to retire. Do you want to follow me to the valley to see? When we build the villa, I will leave a courtyard for you."

"Go when you have time."

Ju Ming stood up and walked out of the hall, stretched out his hand to catch the snowflakes, and watched them melt in the palm of his hand.

A new era is about to truly begin.