Just past Mingqianyi Station, we are on the official road leading to Taiyuan City.
A cavalry team with merchant flags clanking slowly approached Taiyuan City.
This caravan is no different from all the caravans traveling in the Ming Dynasty.
All the carriages were piled with heavy cargo, so that even the coachmen could only walk on the official road and hold the reins.
Every merchant hopes to transport more goods and earn a few taels of silver.
The people in the caravan clustered on both sides of the carriage. If they encountered a slope, they needed to push the carriage from behind to relieve some of the burden on the horses.
But at the end of the queue, there were still two carriages. They were not loaded with goods, but had fixed carriages. It could be seen from the curtains that moved in the wind that there were people sitting inside.
In a carriage in front of me.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Liu Zongsheng, who was sitting across from him with an extremely relaxed expression. In his peripheral vision, he saw the always cold cheek of King Han Ming.
Since the group entered Shanxi Road, everyone in the team has felt a lot more relaxed, no longer as nervous or worried as before.
This made Zhu Yunwen keenly aware of it, and he could infer from it that the White Lotus Sect or Liu Zongsheng had left many arrangements in Shanxi Dao.
Only with sufficient arrangements can he, a rebel, show such a relaxed reaction when he is plotting the so-called rebellion.
"What is Mr. Zhu thinking?"
In the carriage, questions rang out.
There was a puzzled look on Zhu Yunwen's face, because the person who spoke was not Liu Zongsheng, who had already regarded him as the White Lotus Sect's great rebel strategist, but King Han Ming, who thought he didn't speak much.
Looking at King Han Ming who was uncharacteristically taking the initiative to talk to him, a smile appeared on Zhu Yunwen's face.
In his sight, the corners of Liu Zongsheng's eyes twitched a few times at this moment.
Zhu Yunwen chuckled and said, "I didn't think about anything. I just thought that after entering Taiyuan City, I could finally have a good rest."
There was a smile on King Han Ming's face, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking in his mind at this moment.
King Han Ming said: "The journey all the way has made Master Zhu tired. This time when we enter Taiyuan City, we can let the merchants bring some thin horses that they keep at home for Master Zhu, so that Master Zhu can wash away his fatigue.
.”
A honey trap?
Zhu Yunwen's eyes couldn't help but glance at Liu Zongsheng, and he said: "A bitch can't bear to be angered. It's hard work for her to be imprisoned in Fengyang City with me these years."
King Han Ming smiled: "I never thought Mr. Zhu could be such an affectionate person."
Zhu Yunwen responded: "A friend in need is a friend indeed."
King Han Ming nodded, took a deep look at Zhu Yunzhen, and then turned to look at Liu Zongsheng: "This time we enter the city, all parties have to make arrangements, and the Taibao has to work hard."
Liu Zongsheng said with a smile on his face: "This is what we should do. When the great cause of the Holy Religion is successful, it can also comfort the spirit of the late Ming King in heaven."
What our fathers have never accomplished will definitely be accomplished by our own hands!
Liu Zongsheng couldn't help but have a thought in his heart.
Use the name of the Han family to promote a great cause, and then replace it.
This was Liu Zongsheng's idea, but it was also his father Liu Futong's idea many years ago.
King Han Ming smiled, slowly closed his eyes, leaned on the backrest behind him, and rested his mind with his eyes closed.
That's the kind of temper he has.
He always shuts up suddenly and says nothing.
Liu Zongsheng had long been accustomed to it. It didn't matter that King Han Ming had resentment against him. He just kept him and borrowed his name.
He turned to look at Zhu Yunwen, with a sincere smile on his face.
Compared to King Han Ming, he preferred Zhu Yunwen, whom he had just met in front of him.
If you know the rules, you will know more, and you will know how to advance and retreat.
At first, I hinted to him that as long as he succeeded in his great cause, he could be crowned king and prime minister, but he was immediately rejected. He even said that as long as he had a title that could bring peace and wealth.
Those who have no ambition but care are the most reassuring.
If there is no ambition and no care, it will also make people feel uneasy.
"This must be Mr. Zhu's first time coming to the north."
Liu Zongsheng had a smile on his face and spoke very relaxedly.
Zhu Yunwen nodded: "But I don't have the knowledge of Mr., so I can only know some worldly things from books."
Liu Zongsheng shook his head repeatedly and glanced at King Han Ming from the corner of his eye, who had his eyes closed and was concentrating: "Mr. Zhu's talent is something that even among his peers, even I always admire."
King Han Ming, who was closing his eyes to rest and meditate, moved his eyelids slightly.
Zhu Yunwen smiled implicitly and said: "Only Bole can know the nature of the horse, sir, so is Bole."
Liu Zongsheng burst out laughing immediately, looking very happy, waving his hands and saying: "We won't praise each other like this here. When we enter Taiyuan City, we will definitely introduce Mr. Zhu to everyone. Only then can we
When Mr. Zhu shows off his talents."
Zhu Yunwen still smiled implicitly.
Liu Zongsheng's arrangement was naturally the best. The people introduced through his arrangement must all have high status. They were probably either the core figures in the White Lotus Sect or those Shanxi merchants.
When these people get into trouble, all he has to do is spread the list and let Zhang Hui arrest them.
Think of Zhang Hui.
Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but turn around, lift up the car curtain behind him, and look out the window.
At this time, there was no scenery to see in Shanxi Road.
Looking around, the land is dry and yellow, the mountains are yellow, and the land is also yellow.
But Zhu Yunwen still said: "Shanxi Road is different from Jiangnan Road, but it is fascinating."
Liu Zongsheng leaned back and said leisurely: "I will stay on Shanxi Road for a long time. Mr. Zhu will have the opportunity to see more."
Zhu Yunwen turned around and looked at Liu Zongsheng: "The accident on the river on the Henan Road will be settled by Zhu Yunxi in a short time. Does Mr. Sir have another back-up plan in Henan Road? Chaos in the Central Plains will lead to chaos in the world.
As long as there is no chaos in the Central Plains, the world will be stable."
Liu Zongsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, put away the smile on his face, and whispered: "I am waiting for an opportunity. As long as the court is tired of dealing with it and has no energy to pay attention to me, then it will be the time for me to take action."
An opportunity that can make the court overwhelmed?
Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but frown.
It had been such a long time since he left Fengyang, but he had just discovered that the Liu Zongsheng in front of him was not the person he wanted to get along with.
Even though the other party kept claiming that he was Mr. Zhu and that he was the military advisor of the White Lotus Sect.
But Zhu Yunwen knew very well that Liu Zongsheng did not tell him all the plans.
It can even be said that there is no one truly trustworthy in Liu Zongsheng's heart. Perhaps only he knows best how he wants to act.
Because of the situation in the White Lotus Sect, it is very likely that everyone knows different things from each other.
This can be seen from the fact that Liu Zongsheng only discussed matters with one person alone every time.
"There are still ten miles away from Taiyuan City."
At this time, someone from the front of the team turned around and rushed to the back, whispering a reminder outside the carriage.
Liu Zongsheng looked at Zhu Yunwen and said: "Master Zhu, we will rest for a while before entering Taiyuan City. Master Zhu will rest for a while tonight and after settling down in a few days, we will convene a meeting to discuss the follow-up matters."
Zhu Yunwen nodded silently, just as King Han Ming slowly closed his eyes.
In my ears, I could hear the creaking sound of the carriage beneath me rolling down the official road.
Outside there was an endless stream of people on the official road.
Long, but continuous.
…
In the other direction of Taiyuan City.
Near Lingjingyi in the northwest, there is also a caravan heading towards Taiyuan City.
It's just that it's different from the caravan disguised by Liu Zongsheng and others. This caravan gives people the impression that they are just pedestrians on the official road. The team is out of place and no one wants to get close.
The biggest difference in this team is the clothes of the people in the team.
He has an obvious prairie style, with his sheepskin jacket casually tied around his waist, his stature is burly, and his appearance is very different from that of Ming people.
This is the entry point from the grassland.
The war between the Ming Dynasty and the grassland has never really stopped in these years. The Ming Dynasty spent countless money and food and stationed hundreds of thousands of troops on the nine sides to prevent the remnants of the former Yuan Dynasty from going south again on the grassland, and also to wait for opportunities to move out from time to time.
Guan Qing wiped out the remnants of the former Yuan Dynasty.
The war is ongoing, but contacts between the two sides are not completely prohibited.
The output on the grassland is not much, but there are also a lot of good things, and the Ming Dynasty also needs these things.
Things such as sheepskin, cowhide, and beef tendon were in great demand by the imperial court.
The grasslands also need tea and salt from the Central Plains.
The grassland people on the official road behave very arrogantly, always showing their teeth and claws when facing Ming people on the road.
And because people in the Ming Dynasty were afraid of the individual bravery of the grassland people, they often chose to give in or simply stay away from them and not deal with them.
Since the 21st year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty has appointed Lan Yu as its general, Tang Sheng and Guo Ying as its deputy generals, and Geng Zhong and Sun Ke as its left and right generals, commanding 150,000 Ming troops to go out for the Northern Expedition.
In this battle, the Yuan army collapsed, and the Ming army defeated the Yuan army.
The former Yuan Taiwei and thousands of barbarians were beheaded. The former Yuan Dynasty Togu Si Timur and the crown prince Tianbaonu only escaped with dozens of people. The second son Dibaonu, concubines, princesses and hundreds of others, together with the former Yuan Wu
Wang Duoer, on behalf of Wang Dalima and Pingzhang, indoctrinated more than 3,000 people, nearly 80,000 men and women, all of whom were captured by the Ming army. They also seized precious seals, gold medals, gold and silver seals and other items, as well as 150,000 cattle, sheep, horses and camels.
Remain.
Since then, the Yuan Dynasty has gone away.
Even two years later, in the 23rd year of Hongwu, Zhu Di, the king of Yan in the Ming Dynasty, led Fu Youde, the Duke of Ying State, in the Northern Expedition. Nai'erbuhua, the former Yuan Taiwei, had a fight with the prime minister when he surrendered. Two years later, the leader of Guilichi killed Kun Timur.
Khan, proclaimed himself Khan, and changed the name of the Yuan Dynasty.
From then on, the Yuan Dynasty was completely destroyed, and the Ming Dynasty called the remaining forces the Tatar tribe.
It was also from this time that the offensive and defensive situation of the Ming Dynasty and the grassland completely changed. The Ming army mostly left the country for the Northern Expedition, while the various units on the grassland often had to choose between defense or long-distance escape.
To the people of the Tatar tribe and the grassland tribes, the Ming people were abominable, and the Ming court who drove them out of the Central Plains was even more deserving of death.
Arutai was born in the late Yuan Dynasty BC. He had seen the magnificence of the Central Plains, and also enjoyed the feeling of being a Yuan citizen and living high in the land of the Central Plains.
This time he went south to the Central Plains again, which made him feel complicated.
"The Central Plains is better than the desert after all."
"This air, smelling it, is sweet and refreshing!"
Arutai was riding a powerful horse and looking around, he couldn't help but sigh.
Abu was riding a horse that was inferior to his father in the tribe, but he looked around curiously at everything about the Ming Dynasty.
He had seen the scenery of the Ming Dynasty since he went south and entered the pass, but as his father said, he couldn't see enough.
The air in Daming is so sweet that it makes people yearn for it.
"It is really a pity to lose the Central Plains..."
Abu muttered in a low voice, and couldn't help but imagine in his heart, how wonderful it would be if the Great Yuan Dynasty had not been destroyed, and the people of the Central Plains had not reshaped the mountains and rivers. The Central Plains was still the grazing land of the Great Yuan Dynasty.
I heard that there was no time when Jiangnan was desolate, and the women in Jiangnan were as delicate as if they were made of water.
Arutai raised his riding whip and whipped it in the air. The sound of the whip was so loud that the people on the official road looked sideways. Seeing this group of prairie people, they quickly lowered their heads and went on their way.
He smiled happily: "Abbu, did you see it?"
Abu nodded his head, with a hint of sarcasm between his brows: "The people of the Central Plains are weak, they are only well protected by a small group of people."
"Yes!" Arutai said loudly with a smile on his face: "The people of Ming Dynasty are weak, but there are always some people among them who are outstanding, brave and wise. I only regret that the Yuan Dynasty did not kill all the people in the Central Plains back then. If
Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible for the Central Plains people to have a chance to take back the Central Plains."
He spoke very loudly, but because the wise men in the official circles were far away, they were never heard.
Abu looked at me with a faint look and said in a low voice: "This time we enter the pass and go south. It won't be long before we can take the tribe south with us!"
Arutai shook his head: "Ab, although the Ming people are weak, they are quite cunning. They have too many winding intestines, so they can drive us out of the Central Plains."
"Father, do you mean that the White Lotus Sect and those merchants are deceiving us this time?"
Arutai hummed: "How could they be willing to see us Yuan people go south and enter the Pass again? It's just to use our strength to contain Mingting's attention and energy outside the Pass."
Abu opened his mouth: "Then why did Khan agree to cooperate with them?"
"Because we also need someone to create chaos for the Ming court in the Central Plains. Only in this way can we have a chance to defeat the Ming court's so-called Nine-sided Great Wall and allow our cavalry on the grasslands to rush into the Central Plains."
Arutai's eyes flickered as he looked towards Taiyuan City, which had already appeared in outline in his sight.
People from the Central Plains are cunning, but they have also learned to be smarter over the years.
Arutai looked at Taiyuan City from afar.
"How can such great mountains and rivers not be used for grazing!"