The Tatars' vitality has been severely weakened, and the Oara has been exhausted. In the next ten years, the Ming border will usher in a period of true peace.
The Ming army was temporarily stationed in Oara for rest and did not pursue the Tatars. Even if they pursued them, it would be difficult to kill them.
Without him, the grassland would be too vast.
What's more important is that there are more than just two tribes on the grassland, the Tatar and the Oara. The power of small and medium-sized tribes cannot be ignored either.
Li Qing once estimated that the total population on the grasslands is between 3.5 million and 5 million, including many armed tribes with more than 10,000 people.
Eliminating the Tatars is not the best option. If the Tatars are gone, there will be a second Tatar. The same goes for Wala.
The truly effective strategy is to keep these two tribes half-dead and retain their dominance of the grasslands. At the same time, by weakening the strength of the two tribes, the small and medium-sized tribes have the ability to resist them.
As a result, the battles on the grassland will never stop.
~
Cleaning the battlefield was all done by the Oara people, and the Ming army did not participate. The Oara provided the Ming army with abundant food, and in return, the Ming army did not take any of the battlefield supplies.
Firstly, Zhu Zhanji didn't like this thing, and secondly, it was too troublesome to take it back.
The heavily damaged Oala also needed to be replenished in order to continue the fight with the Tatars. Based on this, Zhu Zhanji was very generous.
…
Five days later, Zhu Di came belatedly.
They were flattered and had a grand celebration party.
At the banquet, Zhu Di accepted the worship of the chief generals of the Oara tribe, drew some big cakes, and then left the banquet early and returned to the Chinese Army Commander's Camp to rest.
Li Qing did not eat the meal and followed Zhu Di back to the military camp.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
"I don't feel uncomfortable at all, I'm just a little tired." Zhu Di seemed to like lying down. As soon as he entered the camp, he leaned on the bed and chuckled, "After this battle, they won't be able to cause trouble for a long time in the future."
"Yes!" Li Qing looked pleased.
Zhu Di sighed: "The external troubles have been subsided, and now comes the internal worries. I wonder if I can completely solve them before I die."
Li Qing was silent, the answer was obviously no.
Even if Zhu Di is given another ten or twenty years, it still cannot be solved.
Unless Zhu Di compromised and gave benefits to the officials and gentry, Zhu Di obviously would not do that.
"Li Qing, I have a hunch," a trace of worry appeared on Zhu Di's old face, "when we go back this time, there will definitely be trouble."
"Your Majesty, you think too much, what trouble could happen?" Li Qingxiao comforted, "You have a good rest, we will go back in a while, there won't be any trouble."
Although he said this, Li Qing didn't think so in his heart. He also had a strong intuition that there would be trouble when he returned this time.
Everything is because Zhu Di is old.
In the near future, Ming Dynasty will usher in a transfer of power. This is something that everyone can foresee. How can those individual spirits remain peaceful after being away from Beijing for several months?
As a matter of fact, we have already made plans and are waiting for the emperor to return to Beijing.
The water in the court is too deep, and there are elite individuals in the officialdom, and Li Qing is not sure what plots and tricks they will use.
However, he was not very worried, after all, he was still pinching their itchy spots.
Zhu Di glanced at Li Qing, as if he heard what was going on in his mind, and said bluntly: "That trick of yours won't work. Those people who don't know how to do it themselves will want to take advantage of it for the rest of their lives. It's simply wishful thinking."
After a pause, "You always say that I like to break the rules. This time, you went even further than me. Although you achieved your goal, it also made the relationship between the two parties more tense."
"They have absolutely no evidence to prove that I was the one who did it." Li Qing was full of confidence.
Zhu Di sneered: "No evidence is needed, smart people only look at the results."
Li Qing was silent.
"Li Qing, to be honest... I regret it." Zhu Di was a little helpless.
"What do you regret?"
"We really should have established a second child," Zhu Di said. "If we had established a second child, there wouldn't be so many things."
Li Qing shook his head: "Really establishing the King of Han is not a good thing for the country. The world needs great governance. As the number of wars decreases, the rise of civil servants is inevitable. Furthermore, if the army continues to grow, once it gets out of control, the consequences will be equally disastrous."
Zhu Di smiled and did not refute, but still insisted on his opinion.
It's just that it doesn't make sense to talk about this now.
"Actually, the emperor doesn't have to worry too much," Li Qing said with a smile, "Although the prince is not a martial artist, the grandson is."
"You are too naive." Zhu Di shook his head, "I ask you, who is the first in line to succeed?"
Li Qing choked and said, "Prince."
"That's it." Zhu Di smiled bitterly: "Even if the first pick is Zhan Ji, he may not be able to sit back and relax. Without him, Conglong's merits are greater than anything else."
Li Qing's heart suddenly tightened and he lost his voice: "You are saying that the general may be plotting rebellion."
"The possibility is extremely small," Zhu Di shook his head, "unless the civil service group imitates Qi Fanghuang of the Jianwen Dynasty;
However, given the lessons learned from past mistakes, they may not dare.”
"Yes." Li Qing relaxed slightly. Qi Fanghuang's fate was obvious to all. As long as they didn't show off their brains, they would never dare to imitate the three of them.
The system in the military is very strict, and it is extremely difficult for generals to rebel. This is why Lao Zhu and Zhu Di dare to continuously improve the status of generals.
"Your Majesty, the Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak..." Li Qing wanted to say a few words of comfort, but found that Zhu Di had fallen asleep, so he stopped talking.
He stepped forward and checked Zhu Di's body. There were no obvious symptoms, but his internal organs showed signs of decay. There were no major symptoms, but a lot of minor ones.
As age increases, organs age, and the immune system declines. These are inevitable, and there is nothing Li Qing can do about it.
While Zhu Di was asleep, he quietly gave him a burst of energy, and Li Qing left the camp.
The sky is blue, the grass is green, the wind is mixed with the smell of grass and dust, everything is so beautiful...
Li Qing looked up at the sky, stunned.
…
"What are you thinking about?"
A voice brought Li Qing back to reality from his trance. He turned around and saw Zhu Zhanji walking towards him with red cheeks, "Is Grandpa Huang asleep?"
"Sleeping." Li Qing nodded, "How much did you drink?"
"I can't help it. It's hard to refuse such hospitality. Grandpa Huang is not here. It's really unreasonable for me to put on airs." Zhu Zhanji spread his hands and came to Li Qing. He sat on the grass regardless of his appearance and said, "Go to the Tatar University."
The task of transporting the Tatar corpses to the camp was done by Vala. They hated the Tatars so much that they readily agreed."
After all, there were so many corpses and there was a risk of being infected by the plague, so Zhu Zhanji naturally did not want the Ming army to be involved in the risk.
"Yes, Crown Prince Sun Yingming."
"Didn't you tell me to call me Marshal?"
"Okay, great grandson."
"..." Zhu Zhanji looked depressed. Then he noticed that Li Qing looked different and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Li Qing said softly: "Things on the grassland have settled down. We will go back after a few days of rest."
"Are you worried about the affairs of the DPRK?" Zhu Zhanji was very attentive and realized the problem instantly.
Li Qing did not deny it, "A little bit."
Zhu Zhanji didn't take it seriously, "If nothing happens, they will only dare to make some small moves."
"I hope it's as you expected." Li Qing smiled, "By the way, what I told you before, have you conveyed your pleasure?"
"Said."
"What did he say?" Li Qing asked.
Zhu Zhanji smiled and said: "Tuohuan agreed, he wishes it was so."
"That's good." Li Qing also smiled.
…
Five days later.
The commander of the Ming army, Tuo Huan, personally led his subordinates to see him off.
When leaving, Tuohuan warned his son that when he went to Ming Dynasty, he should abide by the rules and not cause trouble.
Choros Boyan Timur nodded, full of longing and yearning for the Ming Dynasty.
The father and son chatted for a while, then said goodbye to Zhu Di.
After simple etiquette, the Ming army officially embarked on their return journey.
It was Li Qing's idea to bring Choros Boyan Timur back to the Ming Dynasty. His purpose was not to engage in proton tricks, but to influence the young man in a subtle way.
Cultivate a wise Wala leader and make plans for the future.
Tuo Huan also knew this, but he did not reject it. Today, he has completely understood that it is impossible to get involved in the Central Plains. It is wise to cling to the Ming Dynasty and dominate the grasslands.
Daming did this, which also proved Daming's determination to support Wala. He accepted this readily and even felt a little happy.
~
The Ming Dynasty sent troops this time, which can be regarded as a complete success. It not only weakened the Tatars, but also saved the Oara. Not only was the grassland not unified, but because the strength of the two groups declined seriously, it became even more chaotic.
At the same time, the future successor of Wala has been harvested, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.
Foreign aggression is basically nothing to worry about, at least for the next ten years. The next step is internal war.
Thinking of this, Li Qing's good mood gradually faded away, and he thought to himself: What will those people do this time?