Chapter 450 Knowing the intention to invade the east
Chen Di and others went to prepare before finishing breakfast, while Yunxi continued to eat breakfast while thinking: 'Those countries in Southeast Asia are not very important, and there is no need to prepare anything; the countries in the east, Ryukyu, and Korea
It's okay to pay tribute basically every year; the Fuso and Ainu affairs have already been settled, so there is no need to prepare any more. Only the affairs of Yilibali and Wala are still unclear.'
'Yili Bali paid tribute once in the 24th year of Hongwu, but there was no reply after that. Why did he suddenly send people to pay tribute again this year? The Ming Dynasty had not dealt with them before Wala. If it hadn't been for his descendants.
They probably don't even know the Mongolian tribe Oara. How did the two of them get together?'
Yunxi, who had no clue, remembered that Zhu Shangbing had previously submitted a memorial saying that Wala and Yili were coming to pay tribute, but the memorial did not say what these two forces were here to do. It can be seen that Zhu Shangbing did not know them at that time.
What exactly was he going to do? Even if he knew it now, the memorial would not reach the capital.
However, Gao Xiang, the right minister of the Qin vassal state, had already arrived in Beijing and must know something. Yunxi immediately ordered the eunuch to ask Gao Xiang to come to the palace to see him.
Not long after, Gao Xiang came to the Qianqing Palace to meet Yunxi. Yunxi put down the records on Mongolian human geography and said to Gao Xiang: "Gao Qing, sit down."
When Gao Xiang sat down, Yunxi asked: "Since Gao Qing came to Beijing, this is the first time I have summoned Gao Qing."
Gao Xiang said: "Your Majesty is busy with many things every day, so it is normal to have no free time."
Yunxi smiled and said: "Hey, let's not talk about this anymore. How have you been in Shazhou this year? How is the situation there?"
Gao Xiang replied: "Your Majesty, I have been assisting His Highness the King of Qin in Shazhou. Things have been complicated this year, but everything has gone smoothly. Although His Highness the King of Qin is not very old, he is very experienced in handling things, and both I and the left prime minister of Song Dynasty are very impressed."
"There is a lot of sand in the Shazhou area. There is very little cultivated land and not many Han people. Instead, there are many ethnic minorities, mostly Tibetans, Mongolians, White Hat Huihui, and a few Qiang people."
"Most of these Fan people are unruly and rebellious. Fortunately, they come from Hetao, and the food from Longyou can always be delivered in time. The local army can still control the Fan people, and His Highness the King of Qin has good methods to manage these Fan people.
"
Gao Xiang also introduced other local conditions, giving Yunxi a clearer understanding of the place west of Jiayuguan.
The area west of Jiayuguan and east of Hami has not been a good place since ancient times, and the situation has been worsened by successive years of war. There are very few oases in the area now, and if it weren't for the Bulongji River, it would have almost become a no-man's land.
There was nothing Yunxi could do about it, and he could not perform magic to turn the area into a fortress in the south of the Yangtze River, so he could only let Zhu Shangbing continue to endure.
Yunxi then asked the main topic of the day: "Why did Yili pay tribute to Li and Wala?"
Gao Xiang also became serious and said to Yunxi: "Your Majesty, the reason why Yili and Wala sent envoys to pay tribute is because they detected that the Timur Khanate to the west of them planned to send troops to conquer the Ming Dynasty eastward."
Gao Xiang originally thought he would see any changes in Yun Xi: Yun Xi's expression may not change as the city becomes deeper and deeper, but he will still show it in subtle ways after hearing unexpected things. But Gao Xiang did not see Yun Xi's changes.
There are no changes.
Gao Xiang was puzzled, but Yunxi himself knew very well: he had long known that Timur planned to invade eastward and become another person to conquer the world since Temujin, so of course he would not make any move at this time.
Yunxi just asked: "How did they know?"
Gao Xiang put aside his doubts and replied: "Your Majesty, according to the envoy Yili Bali, Timur has been attacking everywhere in the past few years and has defeated all the surrounding countries except the Ming Dynasty."
"The Golden Horde founded by Temujin's eldest son Jochi was defeated. It is rumored that there was a large country in the west named Osman, which was also defeated by Timur a few years ago."
"According to the envoy of Yilibali, Timur is now leading a large army to conquer the Ottoman Kingdom in the west again. After defeating the Ottoman Kingdom again, he plans to conquer the Ming Dynasty in the east."
If you were a traditional scholar who was ignorant of practical matters, you would have to say something like "Timur is arrogant" at this time. Even Gao Xiang before going to the northwest, although he didn't say it with his mouth, he might not think so in his heart.
But this will not be the case for Gao Xiang now. Less than a year's experience in the northwest has made him understand how weak the Ming Dynasty is in the northwest, and the Western Region has been a fertile land since ancient times, and many powerful forces have appeared.
powerful country.
If he were in the Central Plains, Gao Xiang would still dare to believe that the Ming Dynasty was not afraid of any country at this time, but in the northwest Gao Xiang really could not have such confidence.
Yunxi was thinking about another thing: 'Historically, Timur died of illness halfway through the Eastern Campaign, and the Ming Dynasty did not fight against Timur's army; but can the Ming Dynasty be so lucky in this time and space?'
Yunxi really didn't dare to place his hopes on this. So he decided to do his best to strengthen the strength of the northwest Qin king so that he would not be defeated by Timur when he had to fight. Then, he would try to defeat Timur.
'At least Timur cannot be allowed to cross Jiayuguan.' Yunxi thought.
At this time, Yunxi remembered something again and asked: "Yi Li and Wala informed the Ming Dynasty about this matter. It seems that they support my Ming Dynasty in this battle. I am just curious. They are all Mongolians.
Why not ask for help from Mongolia headquarters?"
Gao Xiang said: "Your Majesty, the Mongolian headquarters has been repeatedly attacked by the Ming Dynasty, and its current strength is less than one-tenth of what it was in the early years of Hongwu. It is impossible to be Timur's opponent. Although the envoy in Yili did not say it clearly in his words
, but that’s it.”
Yunxi said: "Then why do they support my Ming Dynasty?"
Gao Xiang said: "Your Majesty, I understand from many sources. It seems that one is because of religion and the other is because of ethnicity."
"Although Timur called himself Temujin and married a descendant of Temujin, he was a Turk and believed in the Tianfang religion. Most of the Mongolians in Yili and Oara did not believe in the religion or believed in it.
Lamaism.”
"The Ming Dynasty's eastward expedition from Samarkand must pass through the land of their two families. If the Ming Dynasty fails in the northwest, then their two families will inevitably be conquered by Timur. So of course they do not want the Ming Dynasty to fail."
Yunxi suddenly asked: "Who does Hami belong to now?"
Gao Xiang said: "Your Majesty, Hami is actually an independent country now, but it still belongs to Yilibali in name."
Yunxi didn't speak anymore, but he thought to himself: "Since the two families will be even worse off than Ming Dynasty if Ming Dynasty loses, then of course they must shed some blood. Ming Dynasty cannot fight a powerful country like Timur in vain.
