Chapter 1042: Once Again Convinced

Pan Yun needed to first build the northern telegraph signal reception station and establish a complete intelligence system.

After deliberation by the Grand Secretariat and the Emperor, it was ultimately decided that the intelligence system would be managed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with the Eastern Depot providing auxiliary support.

Yu Qian and others were unwilling, but the Emperor insisted—the technology was Pan Yun's, including the requirement to cover the entire northern frontier, and within the short term, only Pan Yun could bring the telegraph machines there; thus, even if they disagreed, they could not override the two of them.

Pan Yun pulled out a map taken from the Imperial Study, spread it open, and drew several circles on it, saying to Tao Yan Bai: "We must go to all these places."

Tao Yan Bai curiously pointed to a dot in the west and asked: "Where is this?"

"Yining, the political center of the Yili Bali, where the imperial court has a team of intelligence agents—we must deliver a telegraph machine to them and teach them how to use it."

Tao Yan Bai's finger moved far northward and he widened his eyes: "And this?"

Pan Yun: "Tieliangguti, beside the Irtysh River—this is where the Oirats station their troops. Our northern army has scouts embedded here gathering intelligence; we must also send them a telegraph machine."

Tao Yan Bai: "Will they come under the Embroidered Uniform Guard too?"

Pan Yun shook her head: "They belong to the military, not the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

She said: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard can cooperate with all departments and agencies within the court, especially regarding external intelligence, which must be promptly updated to the Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of War, and the Bureau of Hospitality—but the military must still maintain its own independent intelligence apparatus."

Tao Yan Bai sensed his junior master's fondness for the military—she wanted the court to control the army, yet also wished for the army to retain a degree of independence, so that in critical moments it would not be restricted by civil officials.

Pan Yun gradually marked several small dots on the map, extending westward to Yangyi, beyond the borders of Yili Bali; Tao Yan Bai, using his meager geographical knowledge, hesitantly asked: "Junior Master, is this also Great Ming territory?"

Pan Yun glanced at him and said: "Not yet."

Tao Yan Bai's finger trembled and shifted rightward, speaking even softer: "I vaguely recall the Eastern Chagatai Khanate was a vassal state of Great Ming, but it seems they never stationed troops there."

"They never stationed troops," Pan Yun said. "Great Ming does not station troops in Yili Bali, does not interfere in its internal affairs, does not levy taxes—its only obligation is to pay tribute and acknowledge suzerainty, while Great Ming merely bestows titles and gifts in return."

Yili Bali is the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

"As long as they uphold the treaty, Great Ming will keep its promise—we shall remain sovereign and vassal for generations—but peace must not breed complacency; we must still maintain proper defenses—at the very least, we must establish a solid intelligence foundation."

Thus, an intelligence department is indispensable.

Pan Yun tapped a point at Kobdo, sighed regretfully, then withdrew her finger and tapped instead on Hami Garrison: "Yeshi is ambitious; the entire Oirat leadership—not just the Oirats, but the entire Mongol people—yearn for the former Yuan. Since Emperor Yongle, they have lain low for twenty years; now, they can no longer contain themselves."

The Mongols once flourished, having dominated the entire Central Plains, extending their western vassals into Central Asia, and controlling lands north of Lake Baikal.

After being overthrown by the Ming, they naturally refused to accept defeat.

But Li Wenzhong, the Marquis of Cao, had slaughtered them mercilessly, and Emperor Yongle's reign continuously waged war against the north, forcing them to submit to Great Ming.

Yet after Yongle, Emperors Ren and Xuan grew overconfident in border defenses, seeking to rest and recuperate the people, and thus neglected their defenses; border strategies grew lax, and later, with a child emperor ascending the throne, the Three Yangs further scaled back border strategies.

Ten years were enough for them to recover the last breath left from Yongle's era; another ten years were enough to grow their ambitions to full strength.