Zhu Gui didn't have much expectations for this disaster relief. After all, the Ming Dynasty was in a desperate situation and the money and food that could be spent was limited.
Not to mention that the disaster relief censor this time was still his former ‘enemy’. He just hoped that the other party would not cause trouble.
So the next day, he ignored Xu Shangqing. Instead, he found Zhang Mao, who was supposed to accompany him, and asked him to show him all the places in the four states and seven counties selected to promote the school.
Zhang Mao was worried in his heart. His busy work here would definitely make the disaster relief censor think bad about him.
However, in comparison, he was obviously more unwilling to offend the acting king, so he had to order other officials to accompany Sun Yushi.
And he himself took the map to Prince Dai's Mansion.
He originally thought that this incident was just a grudge match between the Dai Wang and the Sun Yushi, but he didn't expect that the young prince looked at the map for a long time and his brows became more and more frowning.
Seeing that the other party's expression was wrong, Zhang Mao's heart suddenly trembled.
Sure enough, Zhu Gui raised his head and said in a bad tone: "Governor Zhang, these are the places you selected to build the school?"
Zhang Mao quickly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have left this matter to the government officials. What is the actual situation? I just got the results this morning and haven't had time to verify it yet."
This is Zhang Mao's excuse. How dare he leave such an important matter to others?
But when he saw the displeasure on Dai Wang's face, if he said he did it, wouldn't he be causing trouble for himself?
So with the idea of choosing the lesser of two evils, he could only say this.
Zhu Gui naturally provided his thoughts, and he also knew that this was an inefficiency under the existing bureaucracy.
Of course, there must be other reasons involved, but he doesn't want to worry about those now.
So he said: "Since Sheriff Zhang is so busy, this matter will be handled by the Prince's Palace. It only takes one official from the Sheriff's Palace."
Hearing what King Dai said, Zhang Mao breathed a sigh of relief, but he was not happy at all.
In fact, there are a lot of stakes in this matter. Of course he knows where the school should be built, but many things cannot be done just by thinking about it.
So, he could only bite the bullet and continue: "Your Majesty, I know that Your Majesty cares about the people and does good deeds, but the stakes in many things cannot be easily smoothed out. I suggest that Your Majesty consider it."
A comprehensive view from all aspects.”
These words sounded like advice, but in fact they were more helpless and sad.
Zhu Gui was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Governor Zhang, the various suggestions you mentioned are nothing more than the interests of the local powerful forces, right? After so many things, haven't you seen what I am thinking?"
Zhang Mao heard this and immediately knelt down: "It's not that I can't see it, it's just that some things change too fast and can easily trigger civil unrest. I am also thinking about the prince, and my heart is also towards the prince."
"Okay, get up. I already know your thoughts. Your first priority now is to entertain the disaster relief censor. There is some grudge between him and me, but I don't want to waste energy and energy on him.
Time, if you can solve this matter, I can give you more opportunities."
Zhu Gui planned to leave Sun Shangqing's problem to Zhang Mao to solve.
If he can solve it, it is naturally the best, and it can be regarded as helping him. It also shows that Zhang Mao is somewhat capable and can be reused as appropriate in the future.
If he didn't solve it, it wouldn't matter. Zhu Gui didn't have much hope anyway.
When Zhang Mao heard this, his body trembled with excitement.
He originally entered the officialdom after passing the imperial examination. Since he had no backing or connections, he worked diligently for ten years before becoming the governor of Datong Prefecture.
There is an opportunity right in front of him. If he can seize it, he will be successful.
"In this humble position, I will do my best to complete this matter for the prince."
Zhu Gui nodded: "If you want money, just ask Mr. Wang. The amount is not a problem, but it must be accounted for."
"A humble position will definitely live up to the trust you have entrusted to you."
Zhang Mao left.
Zhu Gui drew several circles on the map of various states and counties, then called a soldier named Zhao Xiaoshun and handed the map to him.
"Xiao Shunzi, take ten soldiers with you and go to the county governor's house to find Zhang Mao. Show him the map, and then go with the officials from the county guard's house to inspect the place marked on the map."
"No matter who lives there, your task is to record all the information around there. Do you understand?"
Zhao Xiaoshun immediately half-knelt in front of Zhu Gui.
"With the great love of the prince, I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Zhao Xiaoshun left the Prince Dai's Mansion with his soldiers.
…
Mongolian grassland, in the golden tent of the Chifeng tribe.
Tian Khan Yekuotai closed his eyes and listened to the guard next to him reading several letters. They were all about the Ming Dynasty's frontier fortress city, Datong Mansion.
Recently, the Mongols suffered two losses in this place. Although it had little impact on the overall situation, it greatly affected morale and face.
"What does that boy Hei Muhan mean? He wants Ben Khan to send troops? How much property does he have to contribute?"
"Huitian Khan, Hei Muhan is willing to provide two thousand sheep, three hundred horses, and Datong Mansion." The guard said after looking at the content of the letter.
"Humph, Datong Mansion? Is the land of the Ming Dynasty really so easy to get? Otherwise, how could I, the Mongolian Emperor, be driven out of the Central Plains?"
"Why does the grassland nation want a city? How many warriors does it plan to borrow?"
Tian Khan asked with narrowed eyes.
"Twenty thousand cavalry."
"Twenty thousand? If it is shared by ten large tribes, it will not be much. Let's do it this way. The biannual grassland conference is about to be held. Let's use this as the topic this time and let those restless old guys help the gangs.
Muhan fights."
In this way, Hei Muhan's original plan to gather the power of the grassland to deal with Dai Wang turned into a conspiracy among the Mongolian tribes on the grassland.
And he didn't know anything about it yet.
During this period, in order to prepare for this battle, he had moved the tribe two hundred miles toward the grassland.
And he also knew that even if he won this battle, it would be difficult for the Blackwood tribe to survive this winter after losing a lot of property.
The only way to survive is to break through Datong Mansion and steal enough property to make up for the losses in this battle.
As for whether he would lose, he never thought about it.
Although Datong Prefecture is one of the important towns on the nine sides, there are only a few thousand troops stationed there. If it were not for the neighboring fiefdom of King Yan, I am afraid that it would have been conquered by the Mongols long ago.
In Heimuhan's opinion, Datong Mansion is simply unable to withstand 20,000 Mongolian cavalry.
As for the "generous" transfer of Datong Mansion to Tian Khan in his letter, it was precisely because of this reason.