Chapter 1221: The Brother-Swindling Devil! (Please Subscribe)

"He will, Sengge will definitely agree! If he dares refuse, We will send the troops of the Chahar Kingdom and the Tumed Kingdom to rescue the Dzungars. Those two are the true bloodline of the Golden Family, after all!"

Zhu Cilang was certainly not going to let his good little brother Zhu Cijiong off the hook!

The capable should do more work! Among Zhu Cilang's many younger brothers, the most capable was Zhu Cijiong — if he didn't set him up, who else would he set up? Originally Zhu Cilang had wanted to send him to open up Luzon Island; in his view, the Luzon Island pit was one only Zhu Cijiong could fill!

Luzon Island was no Golden Oup Army, nor was it the Kingdom of Siam, and it could not compare with the twelve vassal states of the Malacca Strait. Those places all had large tracts of developed land to support them, and they lay on the South Seas trade routes, with no such great typhoons either. So the only difficulty the settlers had to overcome was malaria!

Go and struggle there, and as long as malaria doesn't kill you, you can make a fortune!

But Luzon Island had little developed land, and it was not on the South Seas trade routes — though it was barely close to the Pacific circular trade route. Yet merchant ships coming from the Americas did not have to call at Luzon to take on fresh water; they could perfectly well take on fresh water at Samar Island, which lay closer to the route, then sail straight north with the wind to Taiwan, and from there go on to Shanghai.

Originally it was because Spain held a monopoly and the Great Ming kept its borders closed that Manila had flourished. But now both of those favorable conditions were gone, and ships on the Pacific route usually made their long stopovers in Shanghai or Nagasaki rather than Manila — that place was hot and humid, threatened by malaria, and produced no important trade goods, so who would go there for no reason?

So developing Luzon Island was no small difficulty, and the returns were meager too — it was the sort of place where you could lose your life and still not make much money. It required a prince who could calculate every penny to make it work, and among all the princes of the imperial clan, only Zhu Cijiong, this "Third Prince Zhu," had that ability.

But Zhu Cijiong was too cunning — he refused to jump into the Luzon Island pit, and conveniently handed the pit over to Chongzhen — his own father! Tricking his father like that was simply unfilial and rebellious!

Emperor Zhu detested unfilial sons most of all, so he absolutely had to properly set up this younger brother.

"Second Brother, yesterday afternoon the envoy of the Dzungar Kingdom arrived in Yingtian, come to report an emergency and beg for aid!" Zhu Cilang paused, his expression already grave. "The Timurid Empire, the Persian Empire, the Khanate of Khiva, the Russian Empire, the Turkmen tribes, and the Kazakh tribes have joined forces to besiege the Dzungars! Sengge is hoping We will send troops to save him — how could he begrudge a few mountain tracts?"

"What does Imperial Brother want?"

"The mountain land adjoining the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army, part of the Tianshan range, centered on a valley of lakes."

"This..." Zhu Cijiong frowned deeply. "Does Imperial Brother intend to make a move against the Beiting Army?"

"What do you mean, make a move?" Zhu Cilang laughed. "Just moving them to a new nest! Once Sengge finishes this battle, his territory will expand considerably again. How many Mongols does he have under him? How could he possibly absorb it all? Better to let the Beiting Khoshut tribe join in as well — that way we gain several more myriarchies. Once the Beiting Khoshut tribe has moved, We will give the Beiting Protectorate to you as well, hereditary for three generations!"

Hereditary Beiting Army for three generations? You're just setting me up!

Zhu Cijiong was furious!

Datong was so good — already developed, populous, and full of those Green-Bordered Banner wretches to oppress — all of them convicts, and capable ones at that!

Zhu Cijiong was no benevolent prince either: he neither punished them for their crimes nor pardoned them, but kept most of them confined in Datong Prefecture, letting them rent and farm the lands of the Protectorate and the princely estate to redeem themselves. He also selected the clever and capable among them to join the Dai Prince Trading Company — some raised and traded horses for him, some managed his shops, some forged ironware for him. The Dai Prince estate's business did so well largely thanks to these people redeeming themselves!

And now the fine Datong Prefecture was to be swapped for that godforsaken Beiting Army place, plus those broken valleys in the Tianshan — there was no one under heaven who set up his own blood brother like you!

"Imperial Brother," Zhu Cijiong was no fool — he had to climb out of this pit fast. "The Dzungars are strong in soldiers and horses, with twelve myriarchies and no fewer than two hundred thousand armored men, and they are well supplied with grain and fully equipped with weapons. They do not fear any six-nation coalition. Sengge's plea for aid is merely to obtain a title, so he can act openly and grandly — he does not truly need us to send troops."

"No, no," Zhu Cilang waved his hand. "The Timurid state, the Persian state, and the Turkmen tribes are indeed nothing to fear; with Sengge's strength, dealing with them is more than enough. But the Khivan state, the Kazakh tribes, and Russia are not easy to handle! Especially now that Russia and the Kazakhs have joined hands. Sengge is in serious trouble now, so we must send troops!

And the only one who can handle a complex situation, deal with the combined Russian and Kazakh forces, and at the same time keep watch over the three Mongol vassal kingdoms of Dzungar, Tumed, and Chahar — is you."

The situation in the Dzungar Kingdom and its surroundings was extremely complex — complex not only militarily, but also politically, diplomatically, and economically. So whoever went to rescue the Dzungars and then take over the Beiting and Tianshan vassal kingdom's holdings had to be an all-rounder capable in military, political, economic, and diplomatic affairs. The generals under Emperor Zhu were mostly not up to it; only Wu Sangui and Zhu Cijiong could manage.

"Then let Wu Sangui go. He has long been in the northwest, knows the situation well, and has good relations with the Dzungar and Khoshut tribes." Zhu Cijiong said, "How about I go to Guanzhong to supervise the army, and let him go rescue the Dzungars? Would that do?"

"No, no." Zhu Cilang shook his head repeatedly. "He cannot handle the Russians. Besides, the Russians are also the enemies of the two vassal kingdoms of Tumed and Chahar! Does Wu Sangui have the ability to command the troops of the three vassal kingdoms of Dzungar, Tumed, and Chahar?"

Zhu Cijiong shook his head. Wu Sangui had good relations with the Dzungar tribe, but he was not close with Tumed and Chahar, nor did he understand the situation of those two vassal kingdoms.

Emperor Zhu continued: "Moreover, our relationship with Russia is extremely complex — it is not a fight to the death, but a case where neither side can do anything to the other. The struggle between the two sides is only to gain a bit more advantage in Siberia; once the struggle is over, we still have to live in harmony.

Because only when the two sides are at peace can the Western Regions and the lands north of the desert be profitable! Only when they are profitable can there be lasting peace and stability!"

Zhu Cijiong's brow furrowed. "Imperial Brother, these Russians are extremely fierce. Quite a few northern Mongol tribes have been slaughtered to the last man by them — truly brutal to the extreme! For us to live in harmony with Russia will be no easy matter!"

Zhu Cilang nodded and said: "The Russians are indeed fierce, but to seek profit in the Western Regions and north of the desert, one still has to open trade routes. Now that sea transport flourishes, shipping goods overland to Persia, the Ottoman Empire, India, Western Europe, and the Baltic and Mediterranean coasts is all unworkable — the cost is too high and there is no profit. The only feasible option is to trade with Russia. The volume may be small, but it is better than nothing."

At present Russia had not yet secured outlets to the Baltic Sea or the Black Sea, and its relations with Poland, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire were all poor, so its westward trade routes were also difficult. Under these circumstances, the eastern overland trade routes became profitable.

Emperor Zhu paused, then continued: "Furthermore, although we and Russia have disputes in Siberia and Moghulistan, in the long run the two countries are friends, not enemies. So after the struggle is over, we must still become friendly nations, and may even form an alliance. Do you think Wu Sangui could handle such a matter well?"

"An alliance with Russia?" Zhu Cijiong was taken aback. "Imperial Brother, why is that?"

Zhu Cilang's expression was grave as he said to Zhu Cijiong: "Russia is, after all, a great power of Europe, with vast territory and a large population. In the west, the only one that can stand against a rising France and the Ottoman Empire is Russia! And the only one who can turn an enemy into a friend for Us, and make Russia a key chess piece for us in the west, is you alone, Third Brother!

As long as Third Brother is willing to make this journey, ask for whatever you need — as long as the court can produce it, We will not say a single word against it!

As for Third Brother's holdings in Datong Prefecture, We will keep them for you. The post of Military Governor of Anbei can be taken over by Hebao — will that do?"

Zhu Hebao was Zhu Cijiong's heir, born in the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, just turned twenty this year, and newly graduated from the Nanjing Military Academy. But this heir was not the "heir" of the Anbei Military Governorship, but the heir to the princely title of Dai Prince of Kenan. Now that Zhu Cilang was letting Zhu Hebao take over the post of Military Governor of Anbei, it could be said he was making a very great concession.

If Zhu Cijiong still refused to go to the northwest to fill the pit, then he would be no good younger brother. He could choose not to be a good son of the Retired Emperor Chongzhen, but he absolutely could not fail to be a good younger brother of Zhu Cilang, the Hongxing Emperor!

(End of Chapter)