Chapter 290

San Niangzi discovered that the Ming Emperor's style was completely different from that of the Ming court officials of past generations. When he spoke, there were no convoluted detours. In the past, when the lords spoke, they would make you "savor" it; if you couldn't savor it, it meant you lacked talent. If the conversation didn't click, half a sentence was too much. For example, during the Longqing Peace Talks, the Ming monarch and his subjects never spoke clearly.

The Longqing Emperor himself didn't like to express his opinions and attitudes, while the court officials each had their own agendas. The only ones who could be counted as clearly supporting the peace talks were Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong. Even the Jin Party, such as Wang Chonggu and Yang Bo, spoke in a muddled, foggy way, with no clear stance at all.

This made the efficiency of their communication extremely low. It was already difficult to communicate, and this low efficiency meant that during the peace talks, San Niangzi couldn't make promises to her supporters. She had to take it one step at a time, sighing in vain.

But the Ming Emperor, likely having studied under Zhang Juzheng, spoke very directly. The conditions were laid out clearly and plainly. Even the matter of "selling you out" was stated straightforwardly and crisply. This was the worst-case scenario, and the Emperor stated it clearly to save them from having burdens later on.

This actually made the negotiations easier to conduct, which took San Niangzi by surprise. Even after the grand wedding and taking personal control of the government, the main style of the Great Ming remained unchanged, which played a decisive role in long-term stability.

Long-term stability—the greatest luxury on the grasslands.

"Your Majesty, if the Great Ming and the grasslands reconcile from here on, will this woman truly be a sinner? It is merely a case of seeking benevolence and obtaining it," San Niangzi said, appearing sincere.

Zhu Yijun sneered and said, "Nonsense."

San Niangzi thought for a moment and said even more directly, "I believe that my words still carry weight on the grasslands. I believe that the shrewd Ming Emperor and the Ming court will not stop eating for fear of choking, because the loss outweighs the gain."

If the cost of ruling through San Niangzi was low, and ruling without her cost more than mutual warfare, then for the Ming court, it was better to keep fighting.

"Hmm, that makes sense. But who can say for sure about future events? Perhaps starting tomorrow, I might become slack; that's not impossible." Zhu Yijun nodded upon hearing this. San Niangzi had value; without value, she wouldn't be worth the Great Ming Emperor granting her a personal audience.

Zhu Yijun looked at San Niangzi and said, "I have never believed in so-called political alliances, nor do I believe they are unbreakable. Even relationships like father and son, or husband and wife, are not stable enough. When tomb robbers go to rob a tomb, the father must go out first; otherwise, the son might bury the father alive inside once the treasure is out of the tomb. Brothers fight over three fen of land and two li of silver, and it's a common sight. Husbands and wives are birds from the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways."

Qi Jiguang was a stark example. In the tenth year of Wanli, after Zhang Juzheng died, Qi Jiguang was transferred to Guangzhou and dismissed in the thirteenth year of Wanli. Lady Wang left after that. It might have been that Qi Jiguang feared implicating his wife and children and gave all his family wealth to Lady Wang; the separation was to protect the Wang family. It might also have been that Lady Wang needed to protect herself. But the result was that when Qi Jiguang was too sick to afford medical care, Lady Wang was not by his side.

Husbands and wives are birds from the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.

Zhu Yijun felt it was not worth it for Qi Jiguang and felt deep sympathy for his plight. Historically, Qi Jiguang didn't even have a countship, wasn't even the commander of the capital's garrison, and ended up in such a state.

Zhang Juzheng sought glory and obtained disgrace; wasn't it the same for Qi Jiguang?

"What does Your Majesty mean?" San Niangzi asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "The most stable relationship in this world is actually two words: interest."

"Your Majesty is wise." San Niangzi highly agreed with the Emperor's summary. She and Anda Khan were still husband and wife, yet she was standing before the Ming Emperor wanting to kill the barbarian king.

Husband and wife, family affection—these things were fundamentally unstable.

She was married to Anda Khan at nine; Anda Khan never asked if she agreed or not. Now that she had become a political figure whose political leanings were contrary to Anda Khan's, they were naturally just a superficial couple.

In this world, the most stable relationship is nothing more than interest.

Zhu Yijun reached out his hand and asked with some doubt, "What can the Great Ming give, and what can the Northern Tatars return? Only in this way, with give and take, can the relationship be stabilized. The Great Ming can provide iron pots, salt, and tea, so what can the grasslands bring to the Great Ming? Heavy governance costs? Then why shouldn't I follow the ancestral laws?"

The ancestral laws of the Great Ming were conquest—conquest until the enemy fled at the mere sound of their approach, conquest until the enemy fled thousands of miles away, conquest until they went to the grasslands in the spring to wipe out the population, conquest until they went to the grasslands in the autumn to burn the wilderness, conquest until the Northern Tatars moved west.

Leave the land, but roll away the people.

"Today is different from those times. Both the Great Ming and the grasslands have changed," San Niangzi said, biting the bullet.

The fundamental reason for the multiple northern expeditions by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di was to thoroughly destroy the legacy of the Yuan Dynasty. After achieving this goal, the Great Ming never again launched large-scale attacks on the grasslands. Since the Yongle era, the largest expedition was Qi Jiguang's campaign beyond the Great Wall in the ninth month of the fifth year of Wanli, involving a total scale of over one hundred thousand capital garrison troops.

When the Ming Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen, led a personal expedition, the Battle of Tumu Fortress took place within the borders of the Great Ming, not far from Xuanfu. It was not an attack; it was a defense.

"A stable northern frontier," San Niangzi said tentatively.

Zhu Yijun immediately said, "If the Great Ming becomes weak, won't the iron hooves still head south, causing misery for the people?"

"Anda Khan truly deserves to die," San Niangzi sighed heavily. The Longqing Peace Talks were the foundation of all reconciliation, and Anda Khan's deployment of troops this time had brazenly destroyed this foundation. If the Great Ming failed in its exploration of reconciliation, it would likely return to the old path of ancestral laws.

The Great Ming actually couldn't do anything to the Northern Tatars, and the Central Plains couldn't do anything to the grasslands. Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, couldn't; Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't; Zhu Di didn't achieve it; and the Emperor before her would also find it very difficult.

Pacifying the vast desert was something the Central Plains had always pursued but could never achieve.

The Northern Tatars couldn't do anything to the Great Ming, and the grasslands couldn't do anything to the Central Plains. Genghis Khan, Temujin, couldn't; Yuan Shizu, Kublai, couldn't; Esen couldn't; and the current Anda Khan couldn't either.

The conflict between the Great Ming and the Northern Tatars was extremely complex, entangled in religion, economy, geography, military, politics, culture, and many other aspects. For three hundred years, they had waxed and waned, rising and falling, accumulating deeper and deeper like an impossible knot. Finally, after the Longqing Peace Talks, they saw a glimmer of hope. After two invasions, the Great Ming finally set aside its airs as the Heavenly Dynasty, and the Northern Tatars finally realized that continuing to fight would only result in mutual destruction.

If the Great Ming failed in its exploration of peace, it would resort to force. Without any compromise, moderate, or acceptable solution for both sides, military expulsion would become the final means.

The Great Ming would head toward an extreme.

"As far as I know, the Great Ming is turning its gaze toward the boundless ocean in the southeast. Tens of millions of silver are pouring into the Southern Yamen for the sake of opening the seas and building a foundation. If more attention is turned toward the grasslands, it will inevitably affect the Great Ming's opening of the seas," San Niangzi said very calmly. "Anda Khan's shortsightedness actually doesn't affect the inclination of the Great Ming's Golden State. I hope Your Majesty knows that two ten-thousand-man units were sent, but they retreated without a fight, showing no desire to battle."

"For the Great Ming to resort to force is an extremely dangerous thing; it is disadvantageous to the Great Ming."

"The repetition of the Northern Tatars that Your Majesty worries about is also extremely unlikely to happen in the future. The number of lambs this year far exceeds previous years, while the number of horses is gradually decreasing. The grasslands need the Great Ming more than in the previous three hundred years. This is the fundamental reason why the Northern Tatars cannot repeat their actions. How can grassland people without horses, like gyrfalcons without wings, harass the Great Ming?"

"There is still a foundation for reconciliation between the Central Plains and the grasslands. If it can be avoided, it is better not to resort to arms."

San Niangzi was fully prepared. The Emperor's summons allowed San Niangzi to see the glimmer of hope again. Her act of riding into the capital alone to congratulate the Ming Emperor on his wedding had ultimately received a shred of recognition from the Emperor. It was this shred of recognition that allowed San Niangzi to say what the court officials found inconvenient or did not want to say.

The Ming court officials had no stance to say these things; even Wang Chonggu, who had received an imperial decree to secretly connect with the barbarians, could not say these things.

San Niangzi grasped this critical opportunity and spoke these words.

If the Great Ming resorted entirely to force, first, it would interrupt the opening of the seas, as any military conflict would inevitably require absolute allocation of resources. Second, it would affect the Great Ming's decision to measure land and return it to the farmers. If the opening of the seas were completely handed over to those gentry in the Southern Yamen to manage, then these gentry would inevitably shift from seeking economic interests to seeking political interests, and the Great Ming's new policies would face many uncertainties and resistance. Third, the various tribes of the Great Ming's Golden State actually did not want to be enemies with the Great Ming.

Was Qi Jiguang formidable or not? Tuman Khan had the most say; he had already tested it himself. Tuman Khan's six ten-thousand-man units couldn't beat Qi Jiguang's ten-thousand-man unit, couldn't beat Qi Jiguang's one hundred thousand capital garrison troops. Could Anda Khan's six ten-thousand-man units plus these beat them?

War was never a mathematical game where one plus one equals two; it was often a reality where one plus one is less than one.

"Then what does Anda Khan mean?" Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table twice and asked.

"Probing. Previously, the Great Ming refused Anda Khan's entry into Xining from the Hexi Corridor and refused to give Anda Khan the golden seal to allow him unimpeded passage. He was a bit angry, which is why he was so muddled. Anda Khan is old and has begun to become stubborn and act arbitrarily. Even though the ten-thousand-man commanders were unwilling to go, he still gave the order," San Niangzi answered immediately.

Anda Khan's engagement with the Ming army stationed in Song Yingchang was a probe of the Great Ming's reaction and also an act of revenge—revenge for the Great Ming not letting him pass through the Hexi Corridor. He had to take a detour of fifteen days to reach Xining, which made Anda Khan very dissatisfied. Even though the ten-thousand-man commanders opposed it, he still ordered the expedition.

The Great Ming absolutely had the ability to complete a military expulsion; this was the Great Ming's ancestral law. Anda Khan's deployment of troops was completely unreasonable. The Great Ming did not use troops against Anda Khan, but against Tuman Khan. What did it have to do with Anda Khan, a traitor to the grasslands?

Anda Khan now believed in Buddhism, not the Eternal Heaven!

Anda Khan's brazen tearing up of the Longqing Peace Treaty this time was a provocation against the Great Ming!

How much abuse did Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng endure back then just to force the court's censors to complete the peace talks?

And the Great Ming now was in its best financial state since the Yongle era, and it was a new policy of enriching the country and strengthening the military. Last year, when leaving Song Yingchang, San Niangzi told the ten-thousand-man commanders that the current Ming army was the most like the Ming army—with ample military pay, high loyalty, and a military spirit of reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people, just like the Ming army of the Hongwu era that shouted "Drive out the Tatars and restore China."

The Great Ming absolutely had the strength to complete a military expulsion.

"Your Majesty, an overly radical national policy for the grasslands costs nothing more than the head of a slave chieftain, an Otog, a ten-thousand-man commander, a Jinong, or a barbarian king. But for a Heavenly Dynasty like the Great Ming, an overly radical national policy would lead them down the path of the Asura, never looking back. When all things resort to force, any hesitation, doubt, retreat, or even slowing down becomes unacceptable; one can only walk down that path to the end."

"It is hard for a large ship to turn around."

San Niangzi said with great concern, "This might not be the worst result for the Great Ming, but for the grasslands, it is the worst result."

San Niangzi always stood on the side of the grassland people and spoke for their interests.

The core logic of the Great Ming's promoting culture and suppressing martial arts was the uncontrollability of the military as a precise killing machine. The chaos of the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the underworld politics of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were the darkest moments of the Central Plains—this was San Niangzi's set of rhetoric.

Zhu Yijun's fingers kept tapping on the table. He thought for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "Anda Khan has taken a good wife—eloquent and sharp-tongued."

This was not the first time Zhu Yijun had sighed like this. As a political figure, San Niangzi could always make uncontrollable situations slightly more controllable at critical moments.

After the Ming Emperor spoke, San Niangzi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The grasslands, which needed the Central Plains to supply even iron pots, had no desire to fight when the Great Ming began to enrich the country and strengthen the military, when the Great Ming turned its blade inward, and when the imperial court could provide full pay to the border troops. How could they have the heart to fight when facing the Great Ming's muskets and cannons with their own flesh and blood?

The one most afraid of the Great Ming becoming an Asura was the grasslands.

Reconciliation benefits both; division harms both.

"Madam, return first; allow me to think it over." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling that San Niangzi could withdraw. This was a state affair, a major matter that had to go through court deliberation.

"This sinful woman withdraws." San Niangzi had finished speaking. The Ming Emperor was not someone easy to fool. She had said everything she wanted to say; saying more would be counterproductive.

Zhu Yijun looked at Tan Sima Tan Lun, who was about to lead Ming scholars to Rehe, Huining Guard, and Song Yingchang. He thought for a moment and said, "What does the Grand Marshal think should be done about this?"

Zhu Yijun asked the radical Tan Lun, not the more peace-inclined Wang Chonggu. This inclination was already very obvious.

"Your subject is dull. Your subject believes there is no need to escalate this matter to the point of total conflict. After all, the direction of Anda Khan's attack was not Datong, Xuanfu, Shaanxi, or the capital region, but Song Yingchang. Choosing the battlefield in Song Yingchang, rather than when the Great Ming was advancing on Huining Guard, and coordinating with Tuman Khan in the east and west to hinder the Great Ming's advance..." Even a radical like Tan Lun was unwilling to destroy the results brought by the Longqing Peace Talks.

"What does the Grand Marshal mean?" Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said.

Tan Lun thought for a moment and said more clearly, "The Great Ming has eaten its fill this time and cannot eat more in the short term. That is what your subject means. When recovering the Ordos Loop, that will be the day of total conflict. To pursue it excessively now would instead force Tuman Khan and Anda Khan to unite under pressure, which I fear would not be good."

"It will still take some time to overthrow Tuman Khan. It is better to wait—wait until the Great Ming has digested this, wait until Tuman Khan has perished, and then tear off the mask."

"Hmm, now that you put it that way, I understand." Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly. Tan Lun's words were actually no different from what San Niangzi said, both were urging peace, but Zhu Yijun loved hearing Tan Lun's words.

There is a difference between close and distant.

The time to tear off the mask had not yet come. The Great Ming had just eaten a large piece and its stomach was stretched tight. Pressing further would only cause the Eastern and Western Tatars to truly unite, which was not a good thing for the Great Ming. Just like this, let Tuman Khan perish between the Great Ming and Anda Khan, and let the Great Ming digest it cleanly first.

Anda Khan's decision to unite his troops with Tuman Khan to attack Song Yingchang this time was a decision made under high pressure. The Great Ming's occupation of Song Yingchang posed a substantial threat to Anda Khan.

"What do you all think?" Zhu Yijun asked the other court officials.

Lu Diaoyang expressed his opinion, believing that from the Great Ming's interests and stance, there was no need to make a big fuss this time; the situation had not deteriorated to the point of requiring military expulsion. Wang Chonggu believed they could wait until the wool business grew larger; the larger the wool business, the fewer horses the grassland people would have, and a quiet border was beneficial to the Great Ming.

What surprised Zhu Yijun was that the attitudes of Grand Secretary Wang Guoguang, Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan, Minister of Works Guo Chao-bin, and Yu Dayou, the libationer of the Great Ming Lecture Hall, were very distinct: the Great Ming's national treasury was now very sufficient, and the Emperor need not worry too much about the financial pressure of fighting on two fronts. This was not the Great Ming of the Jiajing era; with the Japanese pirate scourge in the southeast and the barbarian scourge in the northwest, the Great Ming did not have such a large deficit. If the Emperor was dissatisfied with Anda Khan's going back on his word, then they should fight on two fronts.

The Great Ming's investment in opening the seas in the southeast and the expedition to the northwest, combining sea and land, was something the Great Ming could afford. The silver for opening the seas in the southeast was money the Emperor had saved by living frugally and would not affect the national treasury's expenditures.

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan's words meant only one thing: Your Majesty, our Great Ming now has money, and investment in the military can continue to increase. Even though the annual expenditure for the capital garrison had already increased by 2.2 million silver, and the Great Ming's military expenditure had reached nearly 10 million silver annually, it could still continue to increase.

The core of the new policy was to enrich the country and strengthen the military.

The conservative faction felt that the radical faction was too conservative. This was what surprised Zhu Yijun. Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan were the second and third most stingy people in the Great Ming, the kind of people who calculated every account clearly—the conservatives among conservatives.

As for who the first most stingy person was, that was the Great Ming's top secret.

"Your Majesty, the border people have only had peace for a few years." Hai Rui's attitude also leaned toward maintaining the current peaceful status quo rather than tearing off the mask with Anda Khan. He also considered it from the Great Ming's stance. After the Longqing Peace Talks, the people of Datong and Xuanfu finally began to restore production, and the hundred-plus thousand refugees finally had a chance to breathe. If the scourge of war rose again, for the people, it would be the sky collapsing and the earth shattering.

Zhu Yijun finally adopted Lu Diaoyang's opinion, not pursuing them excessively, but waiting for a while.

Qi Jiguang had told Zhu Yijun about the intermittency of war. War was not always continuous attacks but had intervals. There were many reasons for these intervals, but generally, it was because the army needed to rest. Even the most precise killing machine needed maintenance, or it would break down.

For example, after long-term campaigning, maintaining military discipline became increasingly difficult as the duration of the campaign grew. For example, continuous campaigning would put logistics and supplies in extreme danger; logistics and supplies running through the entire newly occupied area would increase logistical costs and risks. For example, continuous attacks required increasing rewards and improving food to maintain morale, which would put greater pressure on the imperial court.

The factors affecting an army's combat effectiveness had an impact where one plus one is greater than two. After the superposition of comprehensive factors, it would cause serious damage to the army's combat effectiveness.

The time for rest was the interval.

The Great Ming's troops had just achieved great victories at Huining Guard and Song Yingchang, so they should rest for a while. The cost of continuing the advance was extremely heavy; military discipline would be corrupted, faith would collapse, the risks of war would intensify, and any defeat could lead to disaster.

Zhu Yijun did not know military affairs; his military talent was almost zero. He had gained a martial prowess not inferior to famous generals through hard work. He felt that Qi Jiguang was right; in this era, Qi Jiguang was the most shining star among generals.

If one connected the content of Qi Jiguang's daily lectures to the Song Yingchang battlefield, one would know how terrifying Qi Jiguang's two victories at Song Yingchang were.

"If Anda Khan pushes his luck again, then he cannot blame me." Zhu Yijun gave his imperial approval to Lu Diaoyang's floating slip, which formed a resolution.

Wan Shihe reported on the progress of several matters the Emperor had entrusted to him before the wedding, detailing the progress and methods of criticizing Wang Shizhen, a typical example. When he introduced the "Three Peaches Kill Two Scholars" strategy, all the court officials frowned.

Wan Shihe's methods were truly too vicious! Vicious to the point that even the court officials, who were all scholars, felt it was vicious.

Moreover, the methods of this Grand Minister Wan and the methods of the Emperor on the platform looked more and more alike. Could it be the Emperor's instruction?

The Emperor was busy with his wedding; where would he have the time?

"An old method; the lowly scholars love this kind of thing, it's just returning a peach for a plum." Wan Shihe explained the source of his inspiration with a chuckle. This was truly the work of the lowly scholars; it wasn't that Wan Shihe didn't care about feelings. The Emperor, who had gradually realized the importance of public opinion, gave Wan Shihe full support. This scholar, Wan Shihe, showed his flexible bottom line—which was that he had no bottom line.

Tan Sima Tan Lun was about to leave the capital for Song Yingchang. This was a battlefield tour; unable to kill the enemy on the battlefield himself, smelling the lingering scent of gunpowder became Tan Lun's only luxury. This time, heading to Song Yingchang, he would bring over three hundred junior compilers, Hanlin scholars, and students from the Imperial Academy, all of whom went voluntarily. This was a screening.

And Minister of Justice Wang Chonggu began to report on further strikes against the "He-Yi" crowd. After Luo Bingliang staged the Ascension Assembly, the Ministry of Justice would continue to hunt down all the priests of the He-Yi crowd, conducting a comprehensive cleanup and eliminating their social influence. This process was extremely long.

"A new round of home raids has begun. The 'Wang Immortal Aunt' has confessed the account books, involving twenty-four families of powerful gentry." Wang Chonggu made the final summary statement. The home raids were still the same method: starve them, starve them until they confess the last ounce of silver, and then stop.

Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan also reported on the resettlement of displaced powerful households in the Western Earth City. The most recent gentry to arrive was former Minister of Rites Lu Shusheng—the very Lu Shusheng who was recommended by Zhang Juzheng but later stabbed Zhang Juzheng in the back several times, only to end up being forced into retirement. Lu Shusheng left the Wenhua Hall with Yang Bo. The Emperor even spoke a few words to Yang Bo, giving him enough respect, but for Lu Shusheng, he didn't give him a single good look.

Prince Lu, Zhu Yiliu, who was listening to the government affairs, suddenly yawned. Before he could finish yawning, he froze in place because everyone's eyes were on him.

"Me, me, me, Brother! I just yawned!" Zhu Yiliu was on the verge of tears. He was really about to cry. He wasn't slacking off; he was listening to the government affairs properly. Yawning wasn't his intention. The court officials' gazes were like looking at a freak.

Zhu Yijun laughed and yawned, saying, "It's fine, I yawned too. Look, you listen to the government affairs properly. Lords, continue."

His imperial brother was not the kind of person who would beat people indiscriminately and believed that talent came from the stick. Zhu Yiliu had already tried very hard.

The court deliberation continued. Zhu Yiliu finally understood why his father would remain silent during court meetings and deliberations. The gazes of these court officials were truly terrifying. The disappointment in their eyes could not be faked. People are social animals, the sum of social relationships, and one cannot live without caring about the gazes of others.

When Zhu Yiliu was stared at, the pressure was truly too great. In that instant, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He had only yawned and hadn't expressed any opinion!

After the court deliberation was the lecture session. After the lecture session, Zhu Yijun was to head to the Northern Camp to inspect the troops and horses. Zhang Hong was very respectful; he didn't prepare horses but prepared a carriage, with the excuse that the horses had caught a cold!

This excuse was very good. If the horses were sick, he couldn't ride them. Then, the fact that the Emperor had almost been "hollowed out" wouldn't be known by so many people.

San Niangzi had been waiting, waiting in such anxiety that she couldn't eat or sleep. It wasn't until the Great Ming's Second Grand Secretary Wang Chonggu, Minister of Personnel Wan Shihe, and Court of Diplomatic Reception Minister Chen Xuehui appeared together that the heart San Niangzi had been holding in her throat finally dropped back down. The result of the court deliberation was beneficial to the Great Ming and even more beneficial to the grasslands.

"When will Anda Khan die?" Wang Chonggu asked straightforwardly. San Niangzi had promised that Anda Khan would die; since she had promised, she had to fulfill it.

"Three years later," San Niangzi said with great certainty.

Wang Chonggu said with great dissatisfaction, "Too long."

"Then when will the Great Ming's eldest imperial son be born?" San Niangzi asked a strange question. She said very calmly, "I need a token to ensure that the Ming Emperor will not push me out as a sinner afterward, and the Great Ming also needs a token to ensure that San Niangzi will not betray the Great Ming."

"After thinking it over, I think a child is best. Enfeoffing a prince on the grasslands is the best method of reconciliation I can think of. Of course, if the Ming Emperor feels I am old and withered, I can find some 'Hailar' to offer."

Wang Chonggu, Wan Shihe, and Chen Xuehui suddenly widened their eyes, looking at San Niangzi in disbelief. The three of them were stunned for a long time before looking at each other.

"No, wait for me to catch my breath." Wang Chonggu waved his hand. He hadn't expected this matter to unfold in such a way at all.

San Niangzi actually intended to offer herself. This was truly "the mother of absurdity opening the door to absurdity"—absurd to the extreme. And yet, behind this absurdity, there was a shred of rationality.

A child—a child with the blood of both the Central Plains and the grasslands—even if he couldn't do anything, would become an extremely important token in the process of reconciliation.

At San Niangzi's age, she was actually in her prime, but San Niangzi felt she was old—an old cow eating tender grass—and she wasn't that shameless yet. After thinking it over, offering a "Hailar" was more reliable. "Hailar" was the pearl of the grasslands, a beautiful woman.

As long as there was some grassland blood, this grassland prince would be widely accepted by the grasslands, which would be enough to allow reconciliation to truly proceed.

The Qian State Duke's mansion in Yunnan was the Mu Prince's mansion; this was a successful experience. The enfeoffment system and the commandery-county system were not always in conflict.

San Niangzi was a politician, and a very smart one at that.

Begging for monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)