The Ming Dynasty newspaper circulated around the world for almost half the year.
In the eyes of other countries, Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Kingdom and the center of world civilization.
All news related to the Ming Dynasty is extremely precious.
The nobility and even the royal family of many countries specially send people to pay attention to the affairs of the capital.
Of course, this information is basically only known to the top officials of other countries. They will never spread such things to the public. On the contrary, they are still trying their best to block the information.
Naturally, Beiyuan and Timur were very concerned about the Ming Dynasty.
Special channels have also been set up to learn about Ming intelligence.
As Beiyuan itself continued to grow and develop, it began to gradually cultivate greed.
According to their words, how can the wolves on the grassland be raised?
Even though Emperor Beiyuan didn't want to do it, the tribes below didn't think so.
It has only been a few years, but the tradition of looting is still flowing in their bones. Everything is just a temporary lurking, just like a pack of wolves that discovers prey. They will never go up to bite them immediately, but patiently.
Wait for the prey to be most relaxed.
But this weak balance was broken by the Ming Dynasty's train.
In recent years, Beiyuan has been developing better and better, and those families who followed Beiyuan to the grassland have also been treated better. At least on a material basis, they are not as good as before.
Unbearable.
Many small tribes are satisfied with their current lives. After all, even before, tribesmen rarely had enough to eat. Now, of course, their happiness is constantly rising.
Some small tribes still firmly remember their kindness to the Ming Dynasty. When they see the Ming Dynasty's caravan, they will cheer enthusiastically and offer songs and dances.
However, this is not in the interests of these aristocratic families.
What they are thinking about is when Beiyuan can take over the Central Plains again, so that they can return to their ancestral land as victors and return to the extremely happy days of the past.
After all, the treatment given to them by Emperor Beiyuan was unmatched by any other dynasty or generation in history.
They call this loyalty to the king.
Because they grew up eating the food of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, not the Ming Dynasty.
It was Meng Yuan who raised their clansmen and aristocratic families, and gave them high officials and generous salaries.
On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty was just a country founded by beggars and a group of mud-legged people. What the hell is that?
On weekdays, these aristocratic families encouraged Beiyuan and the various tribes on the grassland to become hostile to the Ming Dynasty.
During the years when Beiyuan had been on good terms with Ming Dynasty, they had been working hard to spread Ming Dynasty's conspiracy to confuse the warriors of the grassland.
The people of the grassland are constantly being absorbed by the Ming Dynasty. If this continues, the grassland will be completely engulfed by the Ming Dynasty.
Under normal circumstances, it is soft propagation.
But this time, these former nobles from aristocratic families were really panicked.
In fact, the Mongolian nobles on the grassland, including the Northern Yuan royal family, high-level generals, and important ministers, did not have much idea about the so-called trains in the Ming Dynasty newspaper.
Some Mongolian nobles even said happily that if trains were built on the grasslands, they would be able to buy more Ming Dynasty products, which was a great thing.
The most hostile of these aristocratic families was the Ming Dynasty. After hearing about the role of the train, they were immediately shocked and then began to expound the impact of the train on the grassland at the court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Especially in the military.
"If the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty get on this train and can suddenly pull hundreds of thousands of soldiers over in just a few days, then I would like to ask you, how can you resist?"
"They no longer worry about the consumption of food and grass. The train will bring them countless high-quality feed for their horses. Their soldiers will not worry about running out of food. The train will bring them countless grain."
"Coming from thousands of miles away, they don't need to rest. They can start fighting immediately after arriving."
"Why are the cavalry in the prairie so feared by everyone in the world? It's because the warriors in the prairie grew up on horseback. They can sleep on horseback and get a rest even if they are running thousands of miles."
"Now the Ming Dynasty has more powerful methods and faster speeds than the prairie warriors. Maybe today when the sun rises, it will be in the east, and when the sun sets, it will have already reached the west."
"There are also artillery pieces from the Ming army. They will bring a large number of artillery pieces, hundreds or thousands of them."
"Today's Ming Dynasty is too wealthy and wealthy. No one knows how many cannons they have built over the years. There may be tens of thousands of them."
"Everyone, please think about it. When ten thousand artillery fires on the warriors on the grassland, what a tragic scene it will be. No one can survive."
"Therefore, we must prevent the Ming Dynasty from building the railway to Jiubian. If they dare to build it, then we will prepare a large army and conquer the Ming Dynasty."
"Once they successfully build it and go to Jiubian in the future, there will be a steady stream of Ming soldiers and warriors on the grassland. They will never have the opportunity to enter the Central Plains. The Ming army will treat the entire grassland as their back garden.
"
The talents of the aristocratic family are first reflected in their ability to speak well.
As a third-rank imperial censor, Guan Weizhong was very talkative and showed his Confucian style in every move he made.
At least that's how it seemed to other Hanchen officials of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
After saying this, the entire Northern Yuan court was deafened and frightened.
Following the words from this family, a strong image appeared in their minds. Countless Ming troops, the entire sky was flooded by Ming artillery, and countless warriors howled and died miserably.
"The warriors on the grassland can only sit back and wait for death."
"Then what should we do."
"Can we defeat the Ming Dynasty now?"
After a while, the entire Northern Yuan court was talking about it. After the commotion, everyone's attention was naturally focused on Guan Weizhong.
Guan Weizhong continued with satisfaction: "Now that we are directly at war with the Ming Dynasty, it is certainly difficult for us in Beiyuan to win."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "However, we can put huge pressure on the Ming Dynasty. In the west, the Timurid cavalry in Samarkand is raging in Tubo. The Ming court has borrowed 100,000 cavalry from us.
Just to block their attack."
"In the past, we were allies with the Ming Dynasty, so we could naturally help them. Now that the Ming Dynasty is doing this, it does not think about how to win in the face of foreign enemies. Instead, it wants to steal our Northern Yuan."
"In the eyes of Daming, Timur is just a minor worry, and we and Beiyuan are the big trouble."
"The so-called distant friendship and close attack, the former enemies can now become our allies. If we join forces with Timur to capture Uzang, it will definitely be a great shock to the Ming Dynasty."
"They can only agree to stop building the railway to the grassland and sign an oath never to build a railway to the nine sides."
"If you don't obey, then we will join forces with Timur and march towards the Ming Dynasty."
"Now is the best time. The Ming Dynasty's railway has not yet been built. How can we stop it under the attack of both of us?"
A Mongolian minister asked: "We helped the Ming Dynasty to fight against them. Will they still agree to form an alliance with us?"
Faced with this problem, Guan Weizhong said with a smile: "There are no permanent enemies, and there will be no permanent allies. They are eager to form an alliance with our Beiyuan, because only in this way can they further advance into the Ming Dynasty."
"The wealth of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the direct control of the Central Plains, even the current Uzang is a wealth that is overwhelming."
"Food, armaments, firearms, money, everything you need."
"Only by themselves, they can only seize some trivial food and grass in deserted places such as Tubo. Maybe even the rations of the army are a problem. How can there be as rich as the city of Uzzandu."
Guan Weizhong's idea quickly gained support from a line of Mongolian nobles in the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Emperor Elbek of the Northern Yuan Dynasty actually didn't really want to fight the Ming Dynasty.
But now the whole court is agitated, and he can't resolve it in one word.
Therefore, the envoys of the Northern Yuan Dynasty rushed to Cabeste to achieve the intention of forming an alliance.
As Guan Weizhong said, this is very much in Samarkand's interests, and Kabest has no reason to refuse.
Just forming an alliance, there will naturally be some conditions.
The Beiyuan envoy had some difficulties regarding Cabest's proposal to seize the Ming Dynasty train.
Because Beiyuan has now spent a lot of money to obtain the secret recipe of the train.
Yes, they use secret recipes to describe the making of trains.
In their view, trains are like cement and can be made if they have a secret recipe.
However, after a slight hesitation, the Beiyuan envoy agreed.
Samarkand has already got the secret recipe for cement, so it doesn't matter if they get the secret recipe for trains.
Of course, the premise is that the secret train recipe can be found.
Compared with Timur's army, the Northern Yuan Dynasty obviously had an advantage in intelligence. They had many secret agents lurking in the Ming Dynasty, and some of these agents even occupied high positions in the Ming Dynasty.
No matter which previous dynasty falls, there will always be some scholars who are loyal to the previous dynasty.
Not to mention such a liberal court as Meng Yuan.
When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, there were very few civilized officials, and the scholars were basically the legacy of the Meng Yuan Dynasty, so they could only be invited to serve as officials.
Some of them died for the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and some sought refuge in power. When they got the news that the old master of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was recruiting them, these people could easily turn traitor.
Some of them were truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and some of them were still looking forward to the return of Meng Yuan, even if they were eating official food from the Ming Dynasty.
...
Ming Dynasty, capital city.
Zhou Hailan is the head of the Criminal Department.
After retiring from the government, he did not go home. Instead, he took off his official uniform and went to the outer city.
There were a lot of people in the outer city, so he walked skillfully through the streets and alleys, and then came to a small shop and pastry shop.
"Objective, what do you want to see?"
"Three ounces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake, one ounce of mung bean cake, and three ounces of chestnut cake. I want them freshly made by your master."
"Sir, we are making all these freshly made. Why don't you please go inside and ask the master chef?"
"Okay, I have to see it with my own eyes. Last time you used the apprenticeship to fool me."
"Okay, please."
Zhou Hailan did not look around, but walked straight in cursing.
The waiter's expression remained normal and he continued to shout: "Fresh pastries, fresh pastries."
In the distance, a guard in plain clothes wrote on the book: On the third day of September in the 32nd year of Hongwu, Zhou Hailan, the head of the Criminal Department, retired from the Yamen and bought some pastries at Sanxiangzhai.
In the Ming Dynasty, every official of the fifth rank would be secretly followed and recorded every day by his guards.
The head of the Criminal Department is a member of the sixth rank, so theoretically there will be no special Jinyi guards to follow him.
However, in recent years, Beiyuan has also established an intelligence agency, which was discovered when it was infiltrating the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, whenever possible, Jin Yiwei will be sent to follow it.
Zhou Hailan's father was originally a high-ranking official in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, but later defected to the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Hailan himself came to the official position from the background of his family, so he was naturally within the scope of suspicion.
Zhou Hailan entered the pastry shop and got to know the kitchen.
Seeing the master chef who was making pastries, he frowned and said, "Why are you contacting me so urgently? You have to know how strict the guards are now. If anyone finds out, I will definitely lose my life."
The master chef still held the rolling pin in his hand. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Master Zhou, don't be anxious. I can't help it. The boss is urging me hard."
"On the Ming Dynasty train, I heard that all the officials have gone to take the train, and Mr. Zhou must have gone too."
"I have been told by the superiors that we must do everything we can to get the secret recipe of the train, no matter what the cost."
Zhou Hailan almost screamed when he heard this, then covered his mouth and whispered: "Are you crazy? All the secrets of the train are in the Scientific Research Department, which is directly under the jurisdiction of His Highness the Grand Sun. I am just the Criminal Department."
He is in charge and does not have jurisdiction over the affairs of the Ministry of Industry."
"Don't talk about getting the secret recipe. I can't even get through the door of the Scientific Research Department, so how can I get it?"
The master said slowly: "Master Zhou, don't be anxious. You are naturally in the Ministry of Punishment now, but what if you go to the Ministry of Works?"
Zhou Hailan frowned and said, "What do you mean by this? Can you still let me be transferred to the Ministry of Industry?"
The master continued: "In three days, the transfer documents from the Ministry of Civil Affairs will come. At that time, Director Zhou will be transferred to the Ministry of Works to maintain and repair the Civil Affairs Department. That is a good yamen to contact the Scientific Research Department."
"When the time comes, Director Zhou will go to the Scientific Research Department to get the secret recipe. It will be easy."
Zhou Hailan's eyes widened: "You actually have such powerful methods in the official department."
The master just smiled and said: "Master Zhou, don't ask about these things. Knowing too much will not do you any good."
Zhou Hailan felt a strong sense of mystery at this moment.
It seems that the other party's power has penetrated all the yamen of the Ming Dynasty.
"How much will you pay this time? What if it is exposed?" Director Zhou hesitated in his eyes, and then asked in a deep voice.
The master said: "There are five thousand taels of gold. If you are exposed, I will find a way to send you to the grassland. I will keep the writing for you during the consultation."
Zhou Hailan nodded slightly.
In the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Chief Secretary of the Council was the fourth rank. It seemed that he had only been promoted by two ranks, but the Secretary of the Council had real power, which was completely different from his current position as the head of the Criminal Department or the head of the Household Department.
"Five thousand taels, maybe it's a little short."
"Hey, Mr. Zhou is considerate. Now the Ming Dynasty is very controlling and money is a bit tight. If he goes to Beiyuan, or waits until he takes over the Central Plains, Mr. Zhou will be rich and powerful."
"Okay, five thousand taels is just five thousand taels. If you don't want ready-made gold, give it all to me in exchange for treasure notes."
"no problem."
After a conversation, Director Zhou took the freshly baked pastries and left the pastry shop.
The corners of the master's mouth turned up.
The higher-ups gave him 20,000 yuan, and together with other previous expenses, Zhou Hailan didn't even get 10,000 yuan, and got more than half of it.
The Jin Yiwei outside looked at Zhou Hailan coming out with cakes, but he didn't take it seriously.
He just casually said to his colleague: "He is quite particular."
The colleague replied nonchalantly: "People from the Ministry of Justice all have this kind of virtue."