Chapter 588: The Alliance Conference

As the tea entered his mouth, Wukeshan savored a distinctly different sensation.

The tea's fragrance was not very rich, not like the spice-laden teas of the grasslands.

The aftertaste was very lingering, the first sip refreshing, without the slightest hint of cloying stickiness.

Wukeshan understood that this was indeed fine tea. He closed his eyes, savoring the cup slowly.

Zhu Youxiao sat there, also drinking tea, a look of enjoyment on his face.

After a long moment, seeming to have had his fill of tea, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan and asked with a smile: "I wonder what business brings you here today?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I still wished to speak with Your Majesty about matters on the grasslands." Wukeshan said with a smile.

"Oh, is that so?" Zhu Youxiao nodded, asking with a somewhat puzzled look: "And what matters are there on the grasslands?"

Upon hearing this, Wukeshan let out a helpless sigh, a sorrowful expression spreading across his face, and then he said: "Your Majesty should know that I am, in truth, a man who yearns for peace. On these grasslands, there is fighting and killing day after day, and those who die and are wounded are all herdsmen of the steppe."

"Originally there was no choice—the fighting and killing were also for the sake of survival. Disasters both natural and man-made strike the grasslands without end; for people like us, merely surviving on the steppe is no easy matter."

"Now that we have the wise and mighty Your Majesty opening a trade market at Daming City, after these years of commerce, we have indeed gained many benefits. Especially this wool—it has allowed everyone to support themselves. And beyond merely supporting themselves, they can even enjoy many good days."

"Then came the change of names and titles, Your Majesty's enfeoffment, and the establishment of schools—the good days are clearly getting even better, with everyone prospering day by day. The gratitude I feel in my heart toward Your Majesty can be described as looking up to a towering mountain."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan.

Looking up to a towering mountain, why not say like the Yellow River in flood, unstoppable once it begins?

But Zhu Youxiao did not mock Wukeshan's words; he had more or less understood Wukeshan's meaning and what he was about to say.

This was not an approach Zhu Youxiao had anticipated, but it was a very comfortable one.

Wukeshan watched Zhu Youxiao's expression—the Emperor of the Great Ming seemed quite pleased.

Wukeshan breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Things had indeed not gone beyond his expectations; this truly could satisfy the heart of the Great Ming Emperor, and his own thinking had not been wrong.

Wukeshan continued: "But the grasslands are not peaceful either. Everyone on the steppe knows that the one who originally ruled was Ligdan Khan—that fellow claims to be the rightful sovereign of the grasslands, calling himself a descendant of the Yuan Mongols, wanting to unify the steppe, launch a counterattack against the Great Ming, and restore the Yuan dynasty by overthrowing the Ming."

Wukeshan wore a look of grief and indignation, as if he felt it all personally.

But Zhu Youxiao knew that no one believed this nonsense—forget restoring the Yuan by overthrowing the Ming, even the matter of Ligdan Khan unifying the grasslands was something no one thought he could accomplish, whether among the Great Ming or the Mongols alike.

The Mongols had been divided for so many years—how easy could unification possibly be?

In the original history, Ligdan Khan hadn't accomplished it either; instead, Nurhaci and Hong Taiji had reaped the benefits, and in the end, they unified the Mongol grasslands.

As for Hong Taiji and his people eventually entering the Central Plains and establishing the Qing dynasty, much of that was the Great Ming's own problem.

This era was one of competing to see who was worse—the Great Ming, over two hundred years old, was rotten to the bone, and the Mongols, also over two hundred years old, were equally rotten to the bone.

By contrast, the newly rising Nurhaci wasn't quite so rotten, so in the end, he won.

But now Hong Taiji was already gone, leaving only Ligdan Khan. Zhu Youxiao did not think Ligdan Khan could become any better, nor did he want him making trouble up north.

From now on, he would devote more energy to the south.

In domestic affairs, there were still some loose ends to tie up; once those were done, it would be overseas, it would be the south.

He would not invest more energy into the north—after all, the glacial period was coming soon, and there was no development to be had up there. Blizzards blanketing everything, temperatures of forty or fifty degrees below zero—it would soon be nearly unfit for human habitation.

Zhu Youxiao had never used the temperatures of the later-era Northeast to measure the present.

In his previous life, Guo Degang often said "in the old, old days"—but that was merely the late Qing and Republican era, which had long since passed the glacial period, leaving only its tail. Afterward came global warming, and those temperatures were no longer worth mentioning.

Zhu Youxiao clearly remembered that when he was a child, snowfall in his hometown could reach knee-deep, but by the time he grew up, it rarely snowed at all in winter.

And in the Great Ming, north of the Yangtze River, heavy snow fell everywhere—not the kind that stopped after falling, but the kind of goose-feather snow. Just imagine how cold the Northeast must be at this time, how cold the grasslands must be.

The farther north, the colder—there was no development to be had in the north. As long as he could stabilize Ligdan Khan and let him freeze on the grasslands, he would come crawling up on his own soon enough.

Wukeshan, unaware of what Zhu Youxiao was thinking, continued: "Now he also eyes us with hostility. I am truly afraid that after the Great Ming withdraws from Liaodong, Ligdan Khan will come east. At that time, our eastern grasslands will be a sheet of loose sand, and I fear we will not be able to withstand Ligdan Khan."

Having said this, Wukeshan immediately rose to his feet, then prostrated himself directly on the ground, saying: "I beg Your Majesty to have pity on us!"

"Then what do you want to do?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan and asked.

"We hope that Your Majesty could preside over a gathering of all the Mongols of the eastern grasslands, swearing a blood oath to jointly resist Ligdan Khan. Once the time is ripe, we will all march together to punish Ligdan Khan." Wukeshan raised his head, his tone somewhat agitated.

"Once they join the alliance, the Great Ming will be responsible for overseeing them. If anyone dares to betray the covenant, all shall join in killing them!"

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan.

This fellow truly possessed great political wisdom.

In Wukeshan's framing, this matter was that everyone had established this covenant for the common purpose of resisting Ligdan Khan. And since everyone was a subject of the Great Ming, having accepted the Great Ming's enfeoffment, then this matter should naturally be presided over by the Great Ming.

This directly placed himself in the position of an organizer, and moreover, in the position of a manager. The one who proposed it was taken by him—one could say he took the blame upon himself, while all the credit went to the Great Ming.

That was quite a remarkable maneuver. Of course, in this matter, he was not without benefits to reap either.

Once this covenant was concluded, the Great Ming would back him up, and the one who first proposed the initiative would become the organizer. After all, the Great Ming could not be present on the grasslands at every moment, and the Khorchin could use this to seize a great deal of power, even grasping the entire eastern grassland alliance in their hands. By that time, he would be the lord of the eastern grasslands.

Whether Ligdan Khan came to attack him, or he went to attack Ligdan Khan, a new king would emerge on the grasslands. That was not what the Great Ming wanted to see.

But Zhu Youxiao was not worried at all; he felt Wukeshan was thinking too simply.

If the Great Ming truly organized this alliance, then it would not be something where you could just take power whenever you wanted.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan kneeling on the ground, rose directly from the dragon throne, walked to Wukeshan's side, and personally helped him up, saying in a gentle tone: "There is no need for this. Since you have recognized the Great Ming as your lord, the Great Ming will naturally act as your lord."

"I have already decided to convene the alliance conference in Shenyang, inviting the lords of all the tribes on the grasslands to Shenyang City to partake in this grand occasion. At this conference, I will personally enfeoff the various Mongol kings, bestowing upon them princely mansions and princely seals. And I will take your two younger sisters into the harem, proclaiming it to all under heaven."

These words could be said to be full of grandeur.

In any case, with a justification in hand, there was no more need for pretense—cards on the table. With Wukeshan's words, they could be used as the reason.

Originally, Zhu Youxiao had wanted the small tribes to do it, but since they wouldn't, then this was how it would be done.

Did the Emperor of the Great Ming need to say anything else?

Come, and live; don't come, and die!

Though such words were not spoken openly, that was exactly what it meant—those who follow me shall prosper, those who oppose me shall perish!

The Great Ming now had this confidence.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wukeshan and said: "This alliance conference shall be presided over by you."

Wukeshan grew even more excited—had this wish really come true?

Zhu Youxiao wasn't worried in the least that Wukeshan might truly unify the grasslands. Even if the grasslands were unified, so what?

Cut off from the Great Ming, the grasslands simply couldn't survive—and the longer this went on, the truer that became. Moreover, with the Great Ming's current military equipment, the grasslands thinking they could raid the Great Ming was nothing short of wishful thinking.

By the time I've placed machine guns and cannons on the Great Wall, you people still think you can break through the Great Wall's defenses?

You're overthinking it. A fortress with fifteen men, two machine guns, and a few mountain guns—you still think you can storm the fortress?

Then use cement to build two pillboxes, put the machine gun muzzles inside, stock them with grain and water, and have the men hide inside the pillboxes. Once you come charging over, I'll go rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat. Let's see what you can do against modern pillboxes.

Dig them out with your bare hands? What can you possibly do?

There's only one path—death.

Zhu Youxiao could now speak with confidence: those who follow me prosper, those who defy me perish.

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your servant will not disappoint Your Majesty's trust!" Wukeshan hastily gave his solemn assurance.

Regardless of anything else, this time he would scoop up every benefit he could. His father had been enfeoffed as a prince—by then, he would be the legitimate heir to a Great Ming princedom.

His two younger sisters would marry the Great Ming Emperor with full propriety. He was about to soar to greatness.

The eastern grasslands would be dominated by the Khorchin—something the Khorchin had awaited for so long. When the day came that his strength was sufficient, he would march west and destroy Ligdan Khan, becoming the master of the entire grasslands.

Pulling the excited Wukeshan to his feet, Zhu Youxiao said, "Alright, go back and get it done."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wukeshan acknowledged, climbed up from the ground, and hurriedly walked out.

His steps were firm and his pace quick—it was plain to see he was extremely excited.

And indeed, this time was more than enough to excite him.

Zhu Youxiao watched Wukeshan's retreating figure, stretched his body, then turned to Wei Chao beside him and said, "Have all the troops returned? As for the matter of provisions, isn't it about time you reported on it? Give them a push."