Chapter 331: If the Medicine Doesn't Fit the Illness, Change the Prescription

Tan Lun was a radical in the imperial court; the Emperor and the ministers were perfectly clear on this. When the Emperor announced that Tan Sima Tan Lun would represent the Son of Heaven to go to Xuanfu to welcome the returnees, the court officials all chose to acquiesce rather than oppose, precisely because they had already anticipated that Tan Lun would inevitably take some radical actions.

The reason the court officials did not oppose was simple: it was what Wan Shihe always said—the barbarians were wolf-hearted and beastly, fearing might but not cherishing virtue.

It was inevitable that Tan Lun would perform some deterrent actions outside the Guangling Gate of Xuanfu. Tan Lun truly wanted to take action, but in the end, he held back. Tan Lun cared deeply about those distant frontier guards, cared deeply about the 190,000 displaced people settled in Xuanfu and Datong, and cared deeply about the soldiers of the Great Ming. He had never intended to take action from the very beginning, but deterrence was necessary.

The soldiers welcoming the returnees stayed in Xuanfu for three days, primarily to provide medical treatment to the distant frontier guards who had returned. Two of the distant frontier guards were disabled; they had fallen from their horses and broken their legs, and because they lacked proper treatment, they walked with a limp. Two others had injured their arms, but the grassland doctors were still able to set bones, so no lasting ailments were left behind.

All the captured distant frontier guards had lost their mounts and their mobility, leading to them being surrounded and captured by the enemy.

And more distant frontier guards had vanished forever on the vast, endless grasslands.

These seventeen distant frontier guards were somewhat nervous. They had stayed on the grasslands for too long. When returning home, they couldn't even speak the Han language fluently. Being close to home made them timid, and they were full of worries. The biggest worry among them was: in what capacity would they return?

Would it be like the Han traitors of the Jiajing era, such as Zhao Quan, dragged back to the capital to be beheaded? Or like released prisoners, returning home to live in idleness? Or perhaps like triumphant heroes, treated with great courtesy?

As the court's Grand Marshal personally boarded the prison cart and helped the Night Scouts down one by one, the hearts they had been holding in suspense finally settled. At the very least, they would end up living in idleness back home, and that was enough. After all, they hadn't died, they had been captured, and they had lived for so long; there was truly a suspicion of having surrendered to the Northern Barbarians and damaging the dignity of the state.

"Xuanfu and Datong are the vital strongholds of the Great Ming. To overthrow the Great Ming, one must break through these two strongholds to have any possibility. Even for Genghis Khan, after his great general Jebe captured the Juyong Pass, he still could not stay for long. Three years later, after Genghis Khan captured Xuanfu, the Jin Dynasty immediately moved its capital south to Kaifeng." Tan Lun stood on the city gate of Xuanfu with San Niangzi, speaking of the importance of Xuanfu.

The Heaven-Proud Genghis Khan, facing the defense line of Xuanfu, Juyong Pass, and Zijing Pass, could only sigh in vain; even after occupying Juyong Pass, he could only abandon it.

The strategic importance of Xuanfu can be imagined.

"This place is naturally important, the gateway to the capital." San Niangzi leaned on the railing, letting the cold northwest wind brush her face.

Tan Lun patted the railing and said helplessly: "If this place is lost, the Great Ming will not be far from destruction. Whether it is Yesan, the Little Prince, or Altan Khan, it is all the same; if they cannot occupy Xuanfu, they can only compete with the Great Ming on foundation. But the Great Ming's territory is vast, and this method of competing on foundation is unfavorable to the Northern Barbarians."

"Your Oirat Grand Preceptor Yesan won a great victory at Tumu Fortress and captured our Emperor Yingzong for a northern hunt. Yesan also knew the importance of Datong and Xuanfu. Holding Emperor Yingzong, he knocked on the gates of the capital at Xuanfu and Datong. Yesan was too impatient. Holding Emperor Yingzong, he should have first taken Xuanfu and Datong, then plotted for the capital. Once the capital's gateway, Xuanfu, was broken, it was equivalent to the main gate being kicked open, and the Great Ming would be in imminent danger."

San Niangzi was an Oirat. At Tumu Fortress, the Great Ming's capital battalion suffered a crushing defeat, and the Emperor was captured by Yesan. Yesan utilized Emperor Yingzong's attendant Xi Ning to break through Zijing Pass. When he hadn't broken through Datong and Xuanfu, he entered the capital from Zijing Pass, wanting to eliminate the Great Ming in one go and rule the Central Plains, but was repelled by the joint efforts of Emperor Jing, Zhu Qiyu, and Yu Qian.

If Yesan hadn't been so impatient and had planned carefully, he might not have lacked a chance of victory.

In the second month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Roaming King Li Zicheng broke through Xuanfu. In the third month, Li Zicheng entered the capital.

"What does the Grand Marshal mean by saying these things?" San Niangzi did not understand why Tan Lun was saying this.

Tan Lun revealed a smile. This smile gradually melted in the winter wind, even making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. Tan Lun said very gently: "This is the reason why we must take the Daning Guard. Because with the Daning Guard, it is like driving a nail into the center of the Tatar Altan Khan and the Eastern Barbarians. By occupying the mountain pass of the Greater Khingan Range, Altan Khan and the Eastern Barbarian Jurchens will no longer have the opportunity to merge."

"Once Altan Khan and the Eastern Barbarians merge, they can attack the passes of our Great Ming from any point along the long Yanshan defense line. The grasslands have many horses and powerful mobility, which means that any place along the long Yanshan defense line is a breakthrough point. Liaodong, Shanhai Pass, Xifengkou, Gubeikou, Juyong Pass, Xuanfu, and Datong are all under their military pressure."

"At this time, the Great Ming must enter a dilemma: should we defend the capital region, or defend Xuanfu and Datong? This is not a difficult choice; the focus of defense must be on the capital region. Then Xuanfu and Datong will become isolated and helpless, extremely dangerous."

"Plundering the capital region—the Great Ming won't fall in a moment, but if Xuanfu is lost, the Great Ming will truly be finished."

Tan Lun had always insisted on recovering the Ordos Loop and recovering the Daning Guard. Before, it couldn't be done, but now it had been done. Tan Lun naturally smiled brightly.

Tan Lun looked at San Niangzi and said very seriously: "Regarding the Ordos Loop issue, the Great Ming court still has some patience and is willing to resolve this issue at the negotiating table. I hope Altan Khan and Lady Zhongshun will not make any more moves that cause misunderstandings. Otherwise, the Great Ming will definitely recover the Ordos Loop, just like recovering the Daning Guard, Huining Guard, and Yingchang."

San Niangzi finally understood the meaning of Tan Lun's words and could only shake her head and say: "I am unwilling to fight a war. As for Altan Khan, no one can guarantee it; he cannot even guarantee it himself. When a person gets old, they become fickle, with a different idea every day."

"What can the Great Ming do by taking the Ordos Loop? If you don't subdue all the Tatar and Oirat tribes, you won't be able to hold the Ordos Loop."

Tan Lun was not angry at all. San Niangzi was telling the truth. The Great Ming could not hold the Ordos Loop; even if they took it, they couldn't hold it. The Yin Mountains are leaky everywhere. The Tatars, Oirats, and even the Tatars of the Western Regions, the Turkicized Mongols, could plunder the Ordos Loop from all directions. If the Great Ming couldn't subdue the Tatars, they couldn't hold the Ordos Loop.

This was determined by geography, and this was also one of the reasons why the Great Ming completely withdrew from the Ordos Loop during the Tianshun era.

It couldn't be held.

This fell into a strange cycle: if the Great Ming wanted to completely occupy the Ordos Loop, they had to completely subdue the Tatars so that the rear would not be chaotic, and the Great Ming could reopen the Western Regions. But to completely defeat the Tatars, they had to occupy the Ordos Loop to complete the encirclement and prevent the Tatars from fleeing west.

An unsolvable cycle, infinite military expenditure, no hope of victory in sight.

Tan Lun was very persistent about recovering the Ordos Loop, but at the same time, he had no good way to solve this strange cycle. It was not that his talent was limited; even heroes like Emperor Gao and Emperor Wen, during the Hongwu and Yongle eras, could not solve this strange cycle.

During the Yongle era, Emperor Chengzu Wen launched five northern expeditions. In the last three, the Northern Barbarians heard the news and fled a thousand miles away. Zhu Di drew his sword and looked around, feeling lost; the enemy couldn't even be seen for a single hair.

"My proposition, reconciliation, is a good idea, isn't it? Just like when Emperor Wu of Han fought the decisive battle in the northern desert, after the fighting, he still had to have a Han-Xiongnu reconciliation." San Niangzi looked at the vast grasslands and stretched out her hand, saying: "The Grand Marshal is inside the pass and has only heard of the bitter cold of the grasslands, but has never witnessed it with his own eyes. I can only see death and no hope."

"The grasslands cannot be farmed, otherwise the Great Ming would have occupied them long ago. The barrenness of the land determines that the grassland people are accustomed to killing and are cruel and fickle. Mutual conquest is like a daily meal. Etiquette and morality? When the granaries are full, one knows etiquette; when clothing and food are sufficient, one knows honor and shame. When even survival is the greatest contradiction, humans are no different from wild beasts."

"A thriving tribe, after a white-hair wind, disappears without a trace. The following year, the tribes that survived the cold winter can only find frozen corpses everywhere."

"Those corpses maintain their final appearance, frozen in place. People who freeze to death feel hot and will take off their clothes until they are very thin. People who freeze to death will smile. That kind of smile, as long as you see it once, you will never forget it for the rest of your life."

"The tribes that disappear in the white-hair wind are actually starving to death. Food is the best thing to resist the cold."

"Since the Great Ming began to collect wool, the grassland people have finally been able to catch their breath. Horses on the grasslands have no use other than killing. For the grassland people, raising more sheep is the greatest gift from Eternal Heaven. The grasslands still cannot build cities. Building cities is just asking to be beaten, isn't it?"

"There are more and more sheep on the grasslands, and the Great Ming can begin to civilize the grasslands."

San Niangzi once again solemnly stated her political proposition. She had a complete set of logic for the reconciliation between the Great Ming and the Tatars, not to compete for power with Altan Khan, nor to establish a contradictory proposition for the sake of opposition. Moreover, it had widespread support; even Altan Khan tended toward reconciliation, otherwise there would have been no Longqing Peace Talks or Altan's tribute. Altan Khan would rather bear the curse of being a traitor to the grasslands than not reconcile.

Because he really couldn't keep fighting.

"Being able to resolve it at the negotiating table is the best thing, but things often go against one's wishes." Tan Lun tightened his lined cloak, looked at the vast grasslands, and said with great emotion.

Eight or nine out of ten things in life are unsatisfactory, and there are no two or three that can be spoken to others.

"Actually, there is a good way. Whether it is me or Hailar, who was sent to the imperial palace, giving birth to a Great Ming imperial clan member and sealing them as a king on the grasslands would be the first step in this civilization. Enfeoffment, practice has proven that barbarian kings are only fickle." San Niangzi still held to her proposition: civilization begins with enfeoffment.

The Great Ming enfeoffing barbarian kings probably started in the sixth year of Yongle, when the leader of the Yesan tribe, Mahamu, sent envoys to the Ming court to offer horses and requested a seal and title, receiving the title of Golden Purple Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and Prince of Shun-Ning.

Mahamu's grandson was Yesan.

The Great Ming enfeoffing barbarians as kings outside the borders has been proven by practice to have poor results and is prone to fickleness. This medicine does not fit the illness, so the prescription should be changed.

San Niangzi pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, it doesn't have to be Hailar. The pearl of the grasslands is enough. Before Wang Zhaojun went beyond the frontier, she was just a palace maid. The Great Ming imperial clan can pick and choose, and picking one to falsely claim was born to Hailar is enough. Anyway, who can clearly explain the matter of bloodline?"

Everyone looks about the same. As long as it is an imperial clan member, whether it was born to Hailar or not is just a matter of the Emperor's word. The reason for emphasizing that it was born to Hailar is to make it easier for the grassland people to accept.

The next morning, the rested welcoming soldiers, distant frontier guards, and Tatar envoys set off again. Not long after setting off, before reaching Tumu Fortress, scouts reported that a thousand-man unit of barbarians was roaming around, waiting for an opportunity to act.

Tan Lun traveled to Tumu Fortress without stopping. He was not the "Fortress Emperor" who had to stay in a place without water to fight a decisive battle. The change at Tumu Fortress, the order for the capital battalion to station at Tumu Fortress, was given by Emperor Yingzong himself, intending to fight a decisive battle.

Tan Lun and Yang Wen led the main army to speed up their journey, rushing toward Juyong Pass. Fighting a decisive battle outside the city against grassland people who were all cavalry was an extremely stupid approach.

San Niangzi, leading over a hundred cavalry, found this thousand-man unit.

These were not horse bandits; horse bandits didn't have so many horses, and winter horse bandits were all hiding in the mountains for the winter. Obviously, these were Tatars.

Before the Great Ming army entered Juyong Pass, San Niangzi and her party returned to the main army. Tan Lun didn't ask, and San Niangzi didn't say much. Both sides acted as if this had never happened.

This thousand-man unit was sent by the unwilling Altan Khan, hoping to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. The restoration of relations between the Great Ming and Altan Khan meant a pincer attack for Altan Khan.

However, the Great Ming army was well-organized and did not give this thousand-man unit of Altan Khan any opportunity. Under San Niangzi's friendly persuasion, the thousand-man unit returned without success.

This was just a small interlude. When the army successfully entered Juyong Pass, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. These seventeen people were specific individuals, but also a symbol of the Great Ming dynasty, a centripetal force, a symbol guaranteeing the collective interests of the Great Ming, and a model of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism.

This errand could not afford any mistakes.

Li Yougong had long been waiting at Juyong Pass with a group of people. After entering the city, Li Yougong began to announce the imperial decree. The content was very simple: changing the mounts for the distant frontier guards.

Tan Lun saw the new mounts. Because their wheels were very strange, the bearings and hubs were cast iron, and there were tires on these wheels. The rubber from Lu Song, besides being used for sealing, was also used to manufacture tires—not inflatable, but solid rubber. And the bearing parts of the entire wheel were coated with shark oil; whale brain oil is a top-tier lubricant.

"Could this have been dismantled from His Majesty's Grand Imperial Carriage?" Tan Lun was greatly astonished. He had seen it when the Imperial Academy of Sciences first tinkered with this item; rubber was scarce, and the finished products were all on the Grand Imperial Carriage.

"Yes, it was indeed dismantled and changed to these four carriages." Li Yougong said with a full smile: "His Majesty specifically instructed that the Grand Marshal is weak and sickly, and this journey is arduous. This carriage was specifically prepared by His Majesty for the Grand Marshal."

"I thank His Majesty for his great grace." Tan Lun's face flushed red, and he muttered in a low voice: "I am not weak, and I am even less sickly."

It was all the fault of the accompanying imperial physicians, who spent all day portraying him as a porcelain vase that would shatter at a touch. This was just a trip to Xuanfu, only a few hundred miles, but Tan Lun could only thank him for his grace.

"Please." Li Yougong signaled for the Grand Marshal to board the carriage, and then the distant frontier guards also boarded together. They felt extremely magical about the carriage beneath their buttocks because it could sway; even if the road surface was extremely bumpy, they couldn't feel excessive bumps inside the carriage.

The convoy slowly moved forward again, arriving at the North Earth City, preparing to enter the capital the next day to see the Emperor. The Great Ming Emperor's imperial decree arrived again. This time it was a reward, and the person announcing the decree had changed to the "Second Ancestor" of the palace, Zhang Hong.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"Since the Zhengtong era, military preparedness has been lax, and barbarians have frequently appeared outside the passes, with barbarians invading as bandits many times. Now, the defense along the borders has the construction of camps and beacon towers, and the defense of patrols and ambushes, so that border people can hear news of barbarians and enter camps to prepare for the unexpected, allowing the people to multiply and live."

"The night scouts and soldiers guarding the beacon towers along the border, regardless of cold or heat, keep watch day and night. Their dangers and hardships are far greater than those of other troops. Every autumn, they send out scouts to burn the wild grass to prevent the barbarians from going south, penetrating deep into barbarian camps to listen for news, without distinction between day and night, fulfilling their duties, living and dying here, their achievements shining on the mountains and rivers, their virtue covering the country."

"Specially bestowed upon each distant frontier guard: 100 taels of silver, five bottles of imperial cellar wine, one set of finely spun cloaks, and four sets of ramie silk, to show favor and honor their loyalty."

"From today on, all distant frontier guards are granted the title of Loyal and Brave Captain, a seventh-rank military official title, to receive salary."

"Respect this."

The Loyal and Brave Captain is a seventh-rank military official title. This is an official status, the standard for issuing salary, but the military official title does not involve duties, meaning there is no authority, just eating the imperial grain.

This is truly eating imperial grain, because the salary increase for the 3,000-man establishment of the distant frontier guards is issued by the inner treasury, because the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the secret agents, the Red Helmet Generals, and the Great Han Generals responsible for guarding the palace are partly selected from the distant frontier guards. It is only natural for the Emperor to issue the pay.

"You are home." Zhang Hong helped the distant frontier guards up.

In the third month of the fifth year of Longqing, the Great Ming and Altan Khan completed peace talks, and Altan became the Great Ming's Prince of Shun-Yi. In the sixth month of the fifth year of Longqing, a strange wind began to spread, advocating that barbarians and Han are one family, why should brothers fight within the walls? Under this wind of public opinion, the beacon towers were all abolished, and scouts were no longer set up.

The distant frontier guards used the beacon towers of the Great Wall as strongholds, and the distant scouts were long-range scouts. Because they were night scouts, they were also called Night Scouts.

Under this strange wind of public opinion, the beacon towers were abandoned, and the distant frontier guards were gone, so they were no longer added. In the first year of Wanli, beacon towers were re-established, and night scouts were replenished. In the twelfth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng was counter-attacked, and the beacon towers were abandoned again.

It was not until the forty-second year of Wanli that the Shandong Circuit Censor Zhai Fengchong advocated for the repair of beacon towers and the establishment of night armies.

In the forty-third year of Wanli, in the first month, the Ministry of War replied to the Liaodong Governor Guo Guangfu: castles and beacon towers should have been repaired long ago, and soldiers should be set up to guard them.

The distant frontier guards and Night Scouts were officially restored. During the period from the twelfth year of Wanli to the forty-third year of Wanli, the establishment of distant frontier guards was canceled, and the Great Ming lacked the means to collect intelligence outside the borders.

The slogan Zhang Juzheng shouted was to enrich the country and strengthen the army. In his new policies, the main contents were measuring land and returning it to the people, official governance, rectifying school administration, and strengthening the military. The most criticized part of the new law, the Single Whip Law, only began to be fully implemented in the ninth year of Wanli, and Zhang Juzheng passed away from illness less than a year after its implementation.

Zhu Yijun's generous treatment of the distant frontier guards was entirely to make this special intelligence army belong to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, free from the influence of the wind of public opinion in the outer court, and to ensure the Great Ming's collection of intelligence outside the borders.

On the eighteenth day of the twelfth month of the sixth year of Wanli, the Great Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun held a grand court meeting again, and the holding of this grand court meeting was entirely for the sake of welcoming the return of the distant frontier guards.

"Grand Preceptor Wan is still capable. I actually didn't see anyone on the miscellaneous reports questioning how the Night Scouts who returned home survived outside the borders. Instead, they were all talking about the hardships of the distant frontier guards. Very good." Before the grand court meeting began and before the ministers entered the hall, Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao with a smile.

The captured distant frontier guards were returning to the capital, and Zhu Yijun was very happy. The pen-pushers in the capital didn't add trouble for Zhu Yijun, and no one questioned the loyalty of these Night Scouts.

Among the seventeen captured people, the longest time captured was up to twelve years, so a question would inevitably arise: how did they survive in the barbarian camps? What did they eat, what did they drink, what did they wear?

Food, clothing, and expenses were all from Altan Khan. Over these years, were these distant frontier guards Altan Khan's lackeys?

The question of loyalty: if loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely not loyal.

If the pen-pushers really asked this, they were actually asking: since these distant frontier guards were captured, why didn't they go die?!

If Zhu Yijun saw such miscellaneous reports, he would inevitably be furious, and his good mood would be completely destroyed. Since the pen-pushers were shameless, he couldn't blame Zhu Yijun, the tyrant, for being ruthless.

Fortunately, no pen-pushers challenged the Emperor's patience at this time.

"Censor Wang Qian took a sum of silver, held a banquet at Yanxing Tower, and entertained the writers of the poetry societies and miscellaneous reports in the capital, telling them not to cause trouble, as the consequences would be very serious." Feng Bao reported Wang Qian's merit in a very timely manner.

"Eh? Eh, how much money did he spend?" Zhu Yijun was stunned. Although it was unexpected, it was within reason. Wang "Buy-off" always exerted continuous effort in buying people's hearts. Wang "Buy-off" went to Lu Song to feed big crocodiles, but when Wang "Buy-off" was in the capital, he truly exerted his greatest effect.

Feng Bao tentatively said: "Ten thousand silver."

"Ten thousand silver, and all those pen-pushers in the capital shut their mouths? Why are they so cheap?" Zhu Yijun was greatly surprised. These cheap scholars were too cheap!

You have to know that in order to handle the "He-Yi-Zhong" group, Wang "Buy-off" spent 70,000 silver! To let Wan Wenqing take the lead as a supervisor, Wang "Buy-off" spent 30,000 silver!

So many pen-pushers in the capital, and it only took 10,000 silver to make them shut up. It was truly cheap.

"Isn't it because the knife is harder than the bone?" Feng Bao said happily. The cheap scholars were not expensive to begin with. The distant frontier guards were returning now, and if they spoke after the fact, that would be breaking the agreement.

Compared to angering His Majesty, it was more reliable to get the writing fee in hand.

Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief. This Wang "Buy-off" was extremely generous in his spending. Spending 10,000 silver to handle this matter was already very good. He waved his hand and said: "Does it include the writing fee? Forget it, reimburse him. According to the old system, count it into the investment of opening the sea at the Southern Yamen."

After the three lashes of the whip by the secret agent Zhao Mengyou, the court officials began to enter the hall. After all the ministers paid their respects, Feng Bao flicked his whisk again and announced the distant frontier guards to have an audience.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." The distant frontier guards entered the hall and performed the great ceremony, five bows and three kowtows, shouting "long live" three times.

"You have all worked hard. No need for ceremony, rise." Zhu Yijun signaled for them to stand up and speak. He scanned the circle and said: "On the third day of the sixth month of the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing, at the hour of the dragon, in the Old Gu Gou of Datong, there was a sudden ambush by thieves, about ten or more riders. You two, Hong Zu'er and Xue Xiang, who were on patrol, were unable to avoid it and were captured by the thieves. Where is Hong Zu'er?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Hong Zu'er is dead. He fell from his horse, broke his leg, and died on the fourth day after arriving at Bansheng." Xue Xiang hurriedly bowed his head and said. His comrade-in-arms Hong Zu'er did not surrender to the enemy; he died right in front of him. That night he had a high fever, his whole body was as hot as a soldering iron, and he passed away the next day.

"He couldn't return." Zhu Yijun said with great emotion.

Zhu Yijun looked at another person and asked: "On the fourth day of the twelfth month of the forty-second year of Jiajing, Yu Xian and five others, distant frontier guards of Dazhen Fortress, were divided into two groups to patrol outside the border. They encountered more than twenty Tatar thieves coming from the north. Each soldier could not run away. Zhou Yun, Yu Xian, and Chen Zhong did not return to the beacon tower. Zhou Yun, are you the only one left?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Yu Xian and Chen Zhong both froze to death. I am the only one who survived." Zhou Yun hurriedly stepped out and bowed his head: "I buried them at the eastern foot of Jiulong Mountain, under three twin-born locust trees beneath the Leaping Dragon Cliff. I implore Your Majesty to bring their remains back to the Great Ming."

"Granted!" Zhu Yijun looked at the Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Rites, Chen Xuehui, and said: "The Court of Ceremonial Rites should know. Inform Lady Zhongshun that the Great Ming will send scouts to bring the remains back to the Great Ming, so that fallen leaves may return to their roots."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Chen Xuehui stepped out to receive the order.

Zhu Yijun knew the experience of these seventeen people being captured perfectly well. Finally seeing them in person, he naturally greeted them one by one. Zhu Yijun appeared a bit talkative today, chatting with the distant frontier guards for a long time, without any of his usual decisiveness.

After a round of rewards, all the distant frontier guards went to Nanhai Zi in Daxing to stay temporarily, responsible for the settlement of the families of the distant frontier guards.

Before the New Year, Zhu Yijun finally put down a worry.

It was a pity that Wan Shihe didn't have any blind censors jumping out to talk nonsense for the sake of fame, otherwise Wan Shihe would definitely have taken out Emperor Yingzong, who was also captured and also sent back, to have a good talk with the court officials about the way of ritual and law.

The censors also knew how to observe the Emperor's expressions. Welcoming the return of the distant frontier guards was the last major event at the end of this year, and it was of great importance, involving the Ordos Loop, Altan Khan, peace talks, and so on. Altan Khan's willingness to send these people back was a step forward in reconciliation. Jumping out to disgust the Emperor at this time would really mean not being able to pass the New Year.

Zhu Yijun ended the grand court meeting, and then in the side hall of the Wenhua Hall, he received San Niangzi, who intended to spend the New Year in the capital.

"Paying respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well." San Niangzi entered the hall to pay respects.

"No need for ceremony."

San Niangzi stood straight and asked with great curiosity: "Has Your Majesty not had any children yet?"

Zhu Yijun had just taken a sip of tea and almost didn't catch his breath, spraying it out. Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, Hai Rui, Wan Shihe, and others all looked at each other. Sure enough, she was a woman from outside the borders, extremely bold.

Asking for monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 332 =====