It only took Xia Bangxing five or six days to travel between the Tatar camp and Luyuguan. During this period, the fortune teller was on pins and needles, but he had to pretend to have the overall situation under control, and kept trying. The ground responded to Li Tu's request to urge the troops. When the soldiers reported that Xia Bangxing had returned with an envoy from the Ming army, Bu Shitu immediately ordered to meet him at the main tent.
"Your Majesty, my subordinate is back. I have been delayed for a long time on the road. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Xia Bangxing first expressed his apology to Bu Shitu. He knew that Bu Shitu had been waiting for him, but he still stayed in Mingying for too long. The purpose of two days is to fully understand the situation on Su Hao's side.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xia." Bu Shitu waved his hand and did not blame Xia Bangxing. Going to Mingying as an envoy was a very complicated matter, and it was normal for Xia Bangxing to delay for a few more days.
Xia Bangxing thanked Bu Shitu for his forgiveness, and then said: "Your Majesty, my subordinates went here and met Su Hao, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Ming Army, and explained to him what the prince meant. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Su said that he had a deep affection for the prince. I have no intention of offending the prince, but I just want to jointly develop the grassland with the prince. In order to show sincerity to the prince, Deputy General Su specially sent the great scholar Mr. Li Zhi and his subordinates to personally explain the details to the prince."
"Mr. Li Zhi? Is he the great scholar you once told me about?" Bu Shitu couldn't help but stand up, and looked at Li Zhi with obvious reverence.
Mongolian princes are not all people who only know how to bend bows and shoot eagles. Even if they don't read much, they still know a lot about scholars. Bu Shitu is someone who intends to compete for the throne of King Shunyi of Mongolia. He has great knowledge about the civil and military affairs of the Central Plains. He was even more concerned about the matter. In addition, Xia Bangxing was Li Zhi's student and assistant. Over the years, he often talked about Li Zhi's knowledge in front of Bu Shitu, so Bu Shitu was a little moved when he heard the name Li Zhi.
Xia Bangxing briefly introduced Li Zhi's situation to Bu Shitu. As for the rumor that Li Zhi died at the hands of Jin Yiwei, Xia Bangxing did not disclose Su Hao's actions in it. He only said that Li Zhi was rescued by a knight-errant and later concealed his identity. Ming became a staff member in Su Hao's camp.
Bu Shitu bowed respectfully to Li Zhi, and then ordered everyone around to show Li Zhi his seat. After being polite, the conversation between the host and the guest got down to business.
"Mr. Li, you are a great scholar whom Xiao Wang respects. Xiao Wang should not say bad words to you. But Su Hao invaded my grassland first, laid mines to hurt people, and destroyed my food and grass later. Su Hao should do these things to me. An explanation is needed. Otherwise, I will not only raise troops to drive the Ming army out of the grassland, but also retaliate in kind and crush the Ningxia Guard to avenge this." Bu Shitu put away his previous gentle face and said to Li Zhi in a tough tone. .
Li Zhi smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. General Su's soldiers marched into the grassland only to hunt down me, the rebellious Ming Dynasty Kuaibai, and not against Your Majesty. As for the subsequent burning of grain and grass, it was just because Your Majesty was deceived and the army pressed on the border. We had no choice but to do it out of self-protection."
"Just doing this as a last resort can wipe out the deaths and injuries of thousands of my people?" Bu Shitu said.
Li Zhi said: "Swords and guns have no eyesight. Isn't it very common for soldiers to be killed and injured on this battlefield? More than half a year ago, the leader of Jilitu raised troops to attack our Pinglu Fort. He also injured many of us. If everyone talks about retribution, retribution will be repaid. , which ultimately benefits no one.”
"I can't control the grudge between Jilitu and you. My army also suffered losses this time. How does Su Hao plan to compensate me?" Bu Shitu said.
Li Zhi said: "Does the prince think it is enough to use the position of King Shunyi to compensate the prince?"
Hearing Li Zhi's words, Bu Shitu was a little distracted for a moment. After being stunned for a moment, he said in a less firm tone: "Su Hao has such a arrogant tone. How can he use his position as King of Shunyi to compensate me?...Besides, This king is the eldest grandson of King Shunyi. A hundred years after King Shunyi, this throne originally belonged to me. How can Su Hao use my king's things as a condition?"
"Haha, is the prince really so sure?" Li Zhi asked calmly.
"Why am I not sure..." Bu Shitu said nonchalantly. He couldn't show his anxiety about the throne in front of outsiders, but he was unwilling to close the door. After all, the condition Li Zhi offered him, It really moved him.
Li Zhi said: "The throne of the Mongolian Khan has always been occupied by the powerful. It is true that the prince is the eldest grandson of King Shunyi, but Prince Suxiang is also the eldest grandson of Mrs. Zhongshun. The prince feels that you are really sure that you can win the support of Mrs. Zhongshun and successfully sit on the throne of Shunyi. The king’s throne?”
One sentence made Bu Shitu completely wilted. He sat there like a deflated rubber ball. He had long lost the arrogance and arrogance that he had just shown.
The Lady Zhongshun mentioned by Li Zhi is the famous Mongolian Third Lady. She was originally the wife of Ada Khan, and later married Ada Khan's grandson Zalike, who was regarded as the grandma of Bu Shitu. The Ming court conferred Zalike as the King Shunyi, the third wife's title is Mrs. Zhongshun.
Sanniangzi is nominally the grandmother of Bu Shitu, but in fact she has no blood relationship with Bu Shitu. She has her own grandson named Su Xiang, who is also a very powerful prince on the grassland.
The power structure of the Mongols is very complicated. The third wife married Zalik, but she has her own armed force, which is even more powerful than Zalik. She is the real controller of the Mongolian royal power. Bu Shitu wants to inherit Zalik. The most serious threat to his throne is Su Xiang, the grandson of Sanniangzi. This is why Bu Shitu must seize the time to recruit Litu.
The fight between Bu Shitu and Su Xiang is not a secret in Mongolia, and the Ming Dynasty court is naturally aware of it. Li Zhi is a well-educated man. How can he not understand this kind of thing? At this time, he hit the nail on the head Pointing out the threats faced by the lost rabbit directly destroyed the arrogance of the lost rabbit.
"Mr. Li is saying that if I agree to Su... General Soldier's conditions, you can get the Ming Emperor to support me as King of Shunyi?" Bu Shitu asked helplessly. His trump card had been revealed by others. He It would be ridiculous to pretend any more. He was originally calling Su Hao, but now he couldn't help but change his title to an honorific.
Li Zhi said: "If the prince can sincerely cooperate with me, the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court will naturally support the prince. Is there any doubt about this? In addition, my deputy general soldier is a strange person in the world. He has the Midas touch. If the prince can cooperate with my deputy general soldier, , why worry about not increasing your strength? As long as you have strength, can make the herdsmen live a good life, and win the hearts and minds of the people on the grassland, no matter what Mrs. Zhongshun thinks, will the throne of Shunyi fall into the hands of the prince? "
"This..." Bu Shitu turned his attention to Xia Bangxing, waiting for Xia Bangxing to help him come up with an idea.
Xia Bangxing said: "Your Majesty, my subordinates believe that everything Mr. Li said is good advice. We have no enmity with the Ming people. If we go to fight to the death with the Ming army, we will only weaken our own power in the end." The strength allowed Suxiang and the others to take advantage. This time, my subordinates went to Helan Fort and several surrounding mining areas built by the Ming Dynasty to see. The fortresses there are strong, and the Ming army's firearms are very sharp. We want to win. I’m afraid I’ll have to suffer a lot of losses.”
"Is this what you saw?" Bu Shitu asked.
"Yes." Xia Bangxing replied. He introduced everything he saw and heard in Su Hao to Bu Shitu in the past few days, and he inevitably exaggerated the strength of the Ming army. He knew the strength of the Ming army quite well, and when explaining it, he would naturally talk about the means of restraint the Ming army had against the Tatar army. If these words were spoken by Li Zhi, Bu Shitu might not believe it, but they came from Xia Bangxing. There was no reason for Bu Shitu to be suspicious.
"This Jianlitu has done a lot of harm to me!" Bu Shitu said this inexplicably. In fact, he already expressed his inner thoughts. Even Xia Bangxing thought that the Ming army's defense was tight and he could not take advantage. Then It would be meaningless to continue fighting this battle.
"Mr. Li, please tell me. How does General Su plan to cooperate with me?" Bu Shitu is worthy of being a hero of his generation. He can make decisions immediately after he has figured things out. As for whether he will lose face by doing so, This is no longer something he has to consider. Compared with the throne, what is a little face?
Li Zhi came prepared. He immediately took out a map of Mongolia from his pocket and told Bu Shitu about Su Hao's idea:
The two sides turned war into friendship and carried out extensive economic and trade cooperation. First, the Ming Dynasty provided technology and funds to mine minerals on the grasslands and smelted them. Part of the products were sold to tribes in the grasslands, and the other part was sold to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. The proceeds were It will be distributed according to the agreed ratio.
Secondly, choose an area with leeward side and sunny side and abundant water resources to establish settlements of Ming people, carry out farming, grow grain, vegetables, etc., supply them to herdsmen at a lower price, or exchange them for beef, mutton, dairy products, etc. that are abundant on the grassland. , to achieve mutual exchange of needs and common development.
In order to ensure that Han settlements would not be harassed by Tatars, Han settlements were allowed to retain some of the private armed forces of the Ming army and merchants. At the same time, in order to eliminate the Tatars' doubts about the Ming army's armed forces, the stationed Ming army's cavalry Strength will be strictly limited, thus ensuring Tatar superiority in mobile warfare.
…
Each of these strategies was formed after repeated deliberation by Su Hao, Li Zhi, Xiao Ruxun, Ye Mengxiong and others. They not only took into account the interests of Ming Dynasty, but also fully guaranteed the interests of Mongolia. In the words of later generations, A win-win plan. Of course, what supports this plan is the strength of the Ming army. With the Ming army equipped with advanced firearms, if the Mongols want to betray their faith and attack Ming settlements on the grasslands, they must pay a hundred times. at the expense of its earnings.
The map of Mongolia used by Li Zhi was drawn by Su Hao based on the memory of later generations. The details may not be accurate, but the general direction is no problem. The maps of that year did not pay attention to too high accuracy, so a map like this is enough. The entire plan was explained clearly.
"Now I believe that Deputy General Su is indeed sincere in cooperating with me. At present, my power is limited to the area from Qinghai to Hetao. When I become King of Shunyi in the future, I will fight against the Ming Dynasty throughout Mongolia.
Cooperation." Bu Shitu promised Li Zhi confidently. From the blueprint drawn by Li Zhi, he had already seen his hope of successfully competing for the throne of King Shunyi.
What is strength? Isn't strength just money? According to the cooperation intention proposed by Su Hao, Bu Shitu can earn at least tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. With this money, it is not difficult to build the most powerful army.
It's enough to eclipse the elites in Sanniangzi's hands.
What's more, Li Zhi's words also revealed another meaning, that is, if Bu Shitu encounters any trouble when fighting for the throne, the Ming army will not sit idly by. At the very least, they will provide some new firearms at the critical moment.
It was enough to make Bu Shitu's strength suddenly rise a lot.
"Mr. Li, you are truly my king's nobleman!" Bu Shitu laughed loudly. He had long forgotten the soldiers, food and grass he had lost before. What he wanted to do now was to start the battle with Su Hao as soon as possible.
Cooperation allows you to reap the benefits from cooperation one day earlier.
"Since the prince has approved the proposal of our Deputy Commander-in-Chief Su, let us both sign an alliance as soon as possible and start working on things. I heard that King Shunyi is not in good health, and we have to hurry up on some things." Li Zhi said nakedly.
"That's right, we really don't have much time." Bu Shitu greatly agreed with Li Zhi's proposal, seeming to have forgotten that King Shalik of Shunyi was his grandfather.