Chapter 183 Zhu's Donkey Lives Up to Trust
Because the rising star Zhu Wenzheng was determined to persuade the soon-to-be crown prince to leave, all the Mongol nobles opposed Zhu Wenzheng. The remaining Yuan Dynasty court ultimately decided to prepare for war and not migrate.
However, the Crown Prince placed Zhu Wenzhen and his men at the innermost line of defense guarding the royal court.
The Crown Prince said to Zhu Wenzheng, "Helan, your caution is essential. If the war goes in the wrong direction, escort the royal family away immediately."
Zhu Wenzheng said solemnly, "Yes! I will definitely live up to your highness's trust."
Zhu Wenzhen received the order and returned to his "tribe" base.
As soon as the tent was closed, Li Wenzhong rushed over and started fighting with Zhu Wenzhen.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Wenzhong and Zhu Wenzhen were evenly matched, and Li Wenzhong felt even more aggrieved.
Zhu Wenzheng said proudly: "The Mongols are too good at running. If we don't break into the interior, they will run away as soon as we arrive. Now that I have broken into the interior, I wonder how they can escape!"
Li Wenzhong looked at Zhu Wenzhen's shaved head and the braids hanging down at his temples, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Who knew that the first vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, Prince Yan, now has the most orthodox Mongolian hairstyle?
I wonder if my adoptive father would faint from anger if he found out.
The most traditional Mongolian hairstyle is to shave the top of the head, leaving a peach-shaped patch of hair on the forehead, and combing the hair on both sides into big braids and ring shapes.
This hairstyle is often used by little girls among the Han people. When it is worn by a man, we can only say that there is a difference in aesthetics.
Li Wenzhong did not shave his hair, but simply tied it into small braids all over his head and then combed it back into one big braid.
This hairstyle shows that Li Wenzhong is not an orthodox person and has Xianbei ancestry.
The Yuan Dynasty had a vast territory, encompassing most of the nomadic tribes in the north. It was common for a Mongol noble to have several subordinates from other ethnic groups.
In the end, Zhu Wenzhen's men all shaved their heads, and Li Wenzhong's men all wore their hair down or in braids, and like Li Wenzhong, they were unable to make up their minds.
The two combined together look more and more like a real tribal cavalry.
"You've sacrificed so much to prevent them from escaping... No, I'm not saying you're crazy about this!" Li Wenzhong scolded. "If you want to please the prince, then do so. Why do you always use me as a target?"
Zhu Wenzheng said seriously, "I said I was just using the Future Brightness to dispel his doubts. Do you believe me?"
Li Wenzhong also said seriously: "I don't believe it!"
Zhu Wenzheng's expression immediately returned to a nonchalant tone. "So, I just belittled you a few more times because you couldn't refute me and could only listen. Cool!"
Li Wenzhong: “…”
Although he wanted to fight Zhu Wenzheng again, a 50-50 fight was really boring. He decided to go back and complain to his adoptive father, mother and Biao'er.
Zhu Wenzheng, just wait! You're dead!
Li Wenzhong forced himself to change the subject: "I didn't expect you to find such an elegant name among Mongolian names. Helan, tsk."
"Helan" was originally a Xianbei surname, and many Han Chinese use it now. Of course, their ancestors may have been Hanized Xianbei people, but this is no longer important.
In Mongolian, there is also the pronunciation of "Helan" and it can be used as a name.
Zhu Wenzheng coughed dryly and said, "Don't you know that Helan means donkey in Mongolian?"
Li Wenzhong: "Ah?"
Although he could understand Mongolian, he would always translate familiar pronunciations into Chinese first. After Zhu Wenzheng reminded him, he finally remembered that "Helan" was indeed the Mongolian pronunciation of "wild donkey".
The original meaning of Helan Mountain is "Wild Donkey Mountain".
Li Wenzhong looked strange: "I almost forgot your nickname is Zhu Lu'er."
Zhu Wenzheng wasn't embarrassed at all: "Yes, that's right. What's the problem? Li Baoer?"
Li Wenzhong: “…” There’s really no way to deal with shameless people.
Li Wenzhong finally had to give up all small talk and just talk about business to avoid getting himself angry to death.
Due to Zhu Wenzhen's delay, the royal court stayed near Buyuer Lake and would not leave until the crown prince ascended the throne.
Although the Yuan Dynasty imperial family had abandoned most of the rituals, when he succeeded the Yuan Dynasty emperor, he would also succeed the Mongolian king. Only in this matter did the Mongols want to follow a little grand ritual.
Even tribes that had fought openly and secretly many times, such as the Oirat, sent envoys and presented a large number of expensive gifts.
These tribes are responsible for the defense of their own areas, and most of them are arranged at the outermost periphery.
If a real fight breaks out, the Yuan Dynasty Crown Prince will be thankful that they don't stab him in the back.
Deep down, the crown prince of the remnant Yuan Dynasty desperately wanted to escape. He was terrified by the Ming Dynasty. But he and his deceased father had already fled from south to north, all the way to the deep grasslands. If he had fled during his coronation ceremony, it would have been difficult for him to become a powerful Mongol king.
For the crown prince of the remnant Yuan Dynasty, this may be more painful than death.
Moreover, the Mongols were still very confident in their dominance on the grasslands. The crown prince of the Yuan Dynasty believed that even if the Ming Dynasty came to fight on their home turf, they would not necessarily win.
So the crown prince of the remnant Yuan Dynasty stayed.
But he was ready to escape again, and put the responsibility of escape on Zhu Helan, the only small tribal leader who kept persuading him to retreat.
Zhu Wenzheng easily obtained a map of the locations of the Mongolian tribes. The Ming Dynasty's baggage and logistics troops that finally arrived were already well prepared.
They had secretly set up their positions, and the Mongols were completely unaware of it.
Although Buir Lake is a lake, the area surrounding it has become desertified due to overgrazing. The Mongols, even while stationed there, also had to graze their livestock, so they only stayed in areas with pasture near Buir Lake. They didn't station troops in the desert further out.
They thought that the desert was in plain sight and it didn't matter if they didn't need to station troops.
But in fact, the desert is full of wind and sand, making camouflage easy. Zhu Biao had already prepared cloth of the same color as the desert and grassland for camouflage.
Seeing Biao'er's generous support for him, Zhu Wenzhen felt that if he didn't wipe out the remaining Yuan royal family in one fell swoop, he would be unworthy of the huge amount of money and grain that Biao'er had given him.
Because there was no trace of the Ming army, the crown prince of the remnant Yuan Dynasty, Ayushiridara, ascended the throne according to the established plan.
He was still wearing the clothes of the Yuan Dynasty emperor.
The Han officials who followed him north sang the ceremonial words for him, but their eyes were full of sadness.
This was likely the last Yuan Dynasty emperor to follow proper etiquette when ascending the throne. Even if Ayushiridara Borjigin had chosen to follow the proper ceremonials, they lacked a palace or an altar. The Mongol nobles who watched the ceremony also failed to observe proper etiquette. Some even observed the scene with unbridled curiosity, almost applauding and exclaiming, "Wow!"
A group of barbarians who have no knowledge of etiquette and morality.
The Han official despised him in his heart, and after this contempt, he became even more sorrowful.
These people were barbarians, so what was he, kneeling at their feet? He didn't dare to think about it, nor did he want to think about it.
The coronation ceremony was over. The day passed uneventfully.
That night, of course, one should follow Mongolian etiquette and eat and drink all night long, and not return home until drunk.
At this time, guards were also needed. Zhu Wenzheng, a minor noble who had been favored by Ayushiridara, was naturally excluded from the banquet and was not eligible to attend. He took on the responsibility of guarding the place with his own men.
"The time has come." Zhu Wenzheng spat out the green grass in his mouth and said with a cruel smile, "Everyone, you have been suppressed for too long, it's time to release it."
The "Mongols" who were sitting or lying beside him all stood up and stretched their muscles with a smile.
Before mounting his horse, Zhang Yu could not help but complain, "When I was the head of the Mongolian Privy Council, I didn't even shave my head!"
Zhu Wenzhen laughed out loud.
The sound of cannons rang out.
Then came the sounds of fighting.
The history of the remnant Yuan Dynasty royal court will officially end today.
On the distant Jeju Island, Zhu Biao suddenly felt something for some unknown reason and looked towards the northwest.
"Biao'er, are you worried about the Prince of Yan?" Liao Yongzhong said, "Don't worry, the Prince of Yan is very good at fighting."
Zhu Biao said, "No matter how powerful they are, Brother Zheng and Brother Zhong are still human, and humans can get hurt. Swords have no eyes on the battlefield, so I'm still worried."
Zhu Biao retracted his gaze and said, "Those captured Japanese pirates still refuse to speak?"
Liao Yongzhong sighed, "They pretended not to understand what we were saying and kept playing dumb."
Zhu Biao said: "Maybe he really doesn't understand."
Liao Yongzhong looked a little embarrassed.
Kyushu Island is very close to Jeju Island, and Jeju Island is attacked by Japanese pirates almost every few days.
The Ming army arrived very quickly and happened to encounter a large-scale attack by Japanese pirates. On one of the more ornate ships, a Japanese pirate was wearing a full set of ornate armor, an exaggerated helmet, and holding a fan that looked like a large banana leaf.
Zhu Biao could tell at a glance that this person must be a noble from the Japanese island.
The Ming army's artillery shells soon hit the Japanese nobles' boats, captured the Japanese nobles who tried to escape from the small boats, and interrogated them severely.
After several days of interrogation, there was no effect at all.
Liao Yongzhong was at a loss for words: "Biao'er, did you already know this? Then why did you let me interrogate him?"
Zhu Biao said, "We are worried because of the language barrier, and he is even more worried. After a few days of interrogation, if someone who can speak Japanese appears, he will tell us everything he knows."
Liao Yongzhong sighed and said, "Biao'er, you want to interrogate him in person? This kind of thing..."
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "This is what I should do. Okay, it's my turn. The Ming army has been torturing the nobles of the Japanese island for several days. Finally, a young merchant who speaks Japanese and is educated has come to talk to him. He will definitely tell me everything. Besides, what I'm asking is not something he needs to keep secret. Uncle Liao, you can go to Kyushu during this time and see if there are still Japanese pirates like this with big fans. Capture a few more of them."
The Japanese island is now in a state of chaos. Kyushu is a "lawless place" in the Japanese island. The defeated Japanese nobles have fled here. Anyone hit by a random bomb is considered a den of thieves. There are basically no "ordinary people". At most, they are slaves of the Japanese pirates.
Liao Yongzhong smiled and sighed, "Alright. Since the ammunition we prepared for Goryeo won't be used anymore, we'll use it on the Japanese pirates. We can explain this to His Majesty when we get back."
Liao Yongzhong personally arranged to go to Jiuzhou and fire a shot and run away. He wanted to satisfy his desire to be a pioneer while he was still young.
When Zhu Biao went to "interrogate", Yang Xian followed with great interest.
Interrogation, I am an expert!
Zhu Biao was helpless: "Uncle Yang, I heard that the emperor wants you to join the Secretariat, why do you stay here with me and not go back?"
He had agreed to be a messenger, but after Yang Xian delivered the letter, he was not responsible for returning it. He pushed the task onto others and happily stayed.
Yang Xian said, "Your uncle Yang is old now, and he won't be able to travel far for many years. Wait until he can no longer walk before going to the Secretariat."
Zhu Biao complained: "Wait a few years? After a few years, even if the Secretariat is not abolished, it will definitely be just a bunch of idle positions."
Yang Xian smiled and said, "Isn't that even better? I can just go in and retire there."
Zhu Biao sighed deeply: "Uncle Li must have a headache."
Yang Xian's smile faded a little, and he said, "Lord Li... He used to be a narrow-minded person who liked to form cliques. I didn't get along with him. But now he has changed. He has become eager to find talents to take over his responsibilities."
Zhu Biao said: "Then go and answer it."
Yang Xian shook his head. "My talent may be worthy of the position of Prime Minister, but my heart is not. I cannot be as selfless as Lord Li. So I'd better wait until I'm old and have seen through it all before I go."
Yang Xian knew that he was a person who loved power very much.
But he liked the current Ming Dynasty more and respected the emperor and the crown prince, so he couldn't restrain himself and exiled himself.
Zhu Biao scratched his head: "I don't understand. Never mind, let's stay here. Uncle Yang can do a lot. Let's go and meet the nobles of the Japanese island!"
Yang Xian smiled and said, "Okay."
When Zhu Biao was interrogating a Japanese noble, he first let the Japanese noble take a bath, apply medicine, and have a full meal before he went to see him.
After being detained and interrogated for many days, the Japanese nobles thought they would die in torture, but they did not expect that they would be able to eat a full meal and wear clean clothes before their death, which immediately made them relax a lot.
When he met Zhu Biao and found that Zhu Biao could communicate with him, he immediately answered all the questions he could in great detail, and expressed his willingness to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, become a pawn of the Ming Dynasty, and lead the Ming Dynasty to suppress bandits in Jiuzhou.
The speed of sliding to his knees is truly amazing.
Where is your noble spirit and samurai spirit? Perhaps if he didn't commit seppuku when he was caught, he didn't intend to die?
Zhu Biao did intend to use him and asked him to draw a map of the bandit's lair in Kyushu.
As soon as he finished painting, Zhu Biao would kill him.
The map of the Kyushu bandit lair he drew must have contained some intentional concealment, but it doesn't matter. Just capture a few more people to draw the map and compare them.
After seeing this, the Ming army would not go deep into Kyushu Island and engage in hand-to-hand combat. At most, when they had more supplies, they would set up camp in the southern part of Kyushu Island and slowly operate.
Seeing Zhu Biao's decisiveness, Yang Xian was surprised: "I thought Biao would keep him as a guide."
"The Japanese pirates can't be trusted. I trust the information I've gathered and the firepower of the Ming warships more." Zhu Biao said calmly, "They're a group of people who turned to banditry after failing in aristocratic struggles. Their despicable nature is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. The best way to deal with them is to kill them after we've used them."
Yang Xian said, "I appreciate your advice. Biao'er, what's the point of asking about the political situation on the Japanese island?"
Zhu Biao sighed, "Of course. Knowing the political situation, I knew who to help and who to fight against, and how to quickly reduce the Japanese threat."
With the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, it was unrealistic to conquer the entire Wa Island, and even if it was conquered, it would not be cost-effective. Therefore, Zhu Biao wanted to help the Wa Island nobles quickly "achieve peace" so that they could deal with the Wa Island issue in a more peaceful way.
Zhu Biao also obtained several Japanese noble prisoners of war and pieced together the current political situation on the Japanese island.
During the Muromachi period, Ashikaga Takauji supported Emperor Go-Murakami and established the Muromachi shogunate, known as the Northern Court. Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Yamato-Yoshino, establishing the Southern Court. The Northern and Southern Courts were locked in a fierce conflict. Many nobles were defeated and fled, and the internal situation in Japan was undergoing a major reshuffle.
After the old shogun died, a young shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, was brought to power. Like the emperor, he was a puppet of his retainers.
Now that this puppet has grown up and shown his wisdom, he is trying to seize power.
Based on the information revealed in the animations Zhu Biao had watched, he knew that the young general would be the ultimate victor. However, it would be useless for him to contact him now. The Kamakura shogunate was plagued by internal and external troubles and had no time to care about foreign relations.
Zhu Biao made a quick judgment.
If the Ming Dynasty wanted to take the initiative in future diplomatic relations, it would have to take advantage of the internal strife within the shogunate to maximize its advantage and put pressure on the Japanese islands. After the Japanese islands were briefly reunited, their shogun would personally come to apologize.
For the Japanese people, it is useless to use courtesy first and then force, they will only be arrogant; it is also useless to use force first and then courtesy, they will still be arrogant.
Only if you use force first and then become strong, will they obey you obediently.
Zhu Biao placed the chess pieces one by one on the chessboard. The chessboard was messy and did not look like a proper chess game. In fact, it was not. He was playing Gobang with himself. His mind kept simulating what might happen in the future.
"Uncle Yang, if you don't want to go back to Nanjing for the time being, would you mind staying here for a few years and helping the Ming navy build a base on Jeju Island?"
Yang Xian smiled and said, "If there's anything I can do for your Uncle Yang, just tell me."
Zhu Biao said: "To fight against Wodao and Goryeo, in addition to firepower, we need intelligence. This is where Uncle Yang excels. But Goryeo and Wodao are barbaric, and our intelligence personnel may be in danger."
Yang Xian said, "When the Emperor hasn't pacified the world, we are just as dangerous. Don't worry too much, we are already very experienced."
Zhu Biao sighed, then forced himself to smile. "That's true. I'll leave this matter to Uncle Yang. I'll write a memorial to His Majesty."
Yang Xian rubbed Zhu Biao's head and said, "Let me write it."
Rub it more. Biaoer has become the prince, so you can’t rub him anymore.
