Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 959 Undercurrent
"Grandson?" Azashili's eyes narrowed. "What use can a child who is still wet behind the ears have, even if his surname is Zhu?"

"King Liao doesn't know this." Alutai said. "This grandson of the Ming Emperor...is very different from the other descendants of the Zhu family!"

Next, Alutai told Azhashiri all the information about Zhu Xiongying, no matter how big or small. From how Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma loved him when he was young, and how Empress Ma took risks to take care of Zhu Xiongying who was suffering from smallpox; and after Zhu Xiongying grew up, Zhu Yuanzhang personally took care of him, taught him by words and deeds, and taught him in many ways by Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Prince Zhou Zhu Su. He was the only choice for the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he was the most expected person.

This information is not a secret. Nowadays, many merchants traveling to and from the grassland are from Jiangnan or even Yingtian Prefecture. When these people go out of the border, they like to tell some anecdotes about the capital to show off their sense of superiority as being from the Middle-earth.

Azashili was gloomy and would not pay attention to these insignificant gossips. However, Alutai was ambitious and had been collecting information about the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty. He was naturally well aware of the affairs of Zhu Xiongying, the grandson of the Ming Dynasty.

"Zhu Xiongying is so important, King Liao, guess, if we capture him, will Daning and the Xu family dare to stop us from escaping to the grassland?"

"In order to redeem this good grandson, Emperor Ming, are you willing to offer gold, silver, cattle and sheep as funds for us to restore Mongolia?"

Azashiri was very excited by Alutai's words. If Zhu Xiongying was really that important, then if he could be captured, the bright future that Alutai talked about might really happen.

"Tsk, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty has such an important position that he must be surrounded by heavy guards at all times. There is no chance for us to succeed." Azhashiri said.

"The Ming Dynasty's grandson is out of the border and is serving as a military supervisor in the Daning Metropolitan Command. Is there a better opportunity than this?" Alutai said to Azashili with narrowed eyes, like a fox tempting him to do evil. "This child is still young, but he is far away from Yingtian... This is the best opportunity!"

"The Han Chinese have a good saying: Fortune and honor are sought in danger. The King of Liao is a rare hero of our Mongol Empire. How could he act like a fool and sit back and watch such a good opportunity slip away?"

Azashili's expression was changing, and he was already very excited. However, thinking of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor behind Zhu Xiongying, he still felt a little sweat on his forehead.

Seeing that he was hesitant, Alutai simply stood up and said with a smile: "King Liao does not need to make a decision so hastily."

"If the Eternal Heaven protects me, there will be a chance." He said. "The Khan is still waiting for my news, so Alutai will take his leave first."

"You don't have to see me off, King Liao. I hope that one day, you and I can drink and chat happily in the imperial palace of the capital."

Azashili was still thinking, but he no longer had any hostility towards Alutai. He called Tuotuo over and secretly sent Alutai out of Tainingwei.

"Grand Master, have you persuaded Azashiri?" On a hilltop where Tainingwei could be seen from afar, the Tatar "Khan" Bayanchur, brought his troops to meet Arutai.

As the actual ruler of the Tatar tribe, it can be said that even the Great Khan Bayanchur is not as important as the Grand Tutor Arutai. Arutai will naturally not take risks without any precautions. Once Azashri intends to keep him, the Tatar cavalry will attack Tainingwei at night and rescue Arutai regardless of everything.

But at this time, it was not necessary. Alutai told the anxiously waiting Benyashiri about his experience in Tainingwei. Benyashiri was surprised and said, "If that's the case, then Azashiri is obviously tempted."

"Grandmaster, why don't you strike while the iron is hot so that we can take the Taining Guard into our hands completely?"

"A wolf that pounces on its prey too hastily will never catch the most delicious prey." Alutai said a proverb from the grassland. "Azashili is afraid of the power of the Ming Dynasty. If we force him blindly, it may backfire."

"The seeds of ambition have been planted. No matter what the situation is, he will never be so loyal to the Ming Dynasty again."

"We just need to wait for the opportunity like wolves following their prey." Alutai's mouth showed an inexplicable smile. "Azashiri's unwillingness will make him join us on his own initiative."

……

The area outside the Great Wall was so vast that even with a million troops, it would be difficult to find any trace of a defeated army in the grassland. No one could have imagined that the Tatar tribe, which was already seriously injured and had already suffered a lot, would not flee northward, but would choose to contact Taining Guard in the south. The merchants and herdsmen of Taining Guard did not realize that their governor, Azashili, had secretly reached a tacit understanding with the Tatar Grand Master Alutai.

Only the concubines who witnessed everything in the tent were hastily buried in the grassland and became the nutrients of the Taining Guard grassland. No one doubted this. The cruel Azashili had long been accustomed to killing concubines and slaves in Taining Guard...

Unlike the turbulent Taining Guard grazing area, the city of Daning was bustling and harmonious at this time.

Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin, two talented scholars, wrote several new plays, and the army's interest in operas, which had been somewhat sluggish, became enthusiastic again. Taking advantage of this enthusiasm, Zhu Xiongying followed the previous instructions of Zhu Biao and Zhu Su and further promoted the progress of other military supervisory reforms.

Gui Lichi and other opera troupes were considered the most basic "artistic soldiers" in the army, and Zhu Biao's second grip on the reform of the military supervision, the "Political Education Department", was also set up. The army opened a night school class, which was taught by Fang Jie and his accomplices, explaining various historical allusions and court policies to the soldiers. Occasionally, Zhu Xiongying would also come to the class. The class taught by this young His Highness the Grandson was even more popular with the soldiers than the two talented men Fang Jie. Whenever it was known that His Highness the Grandson was giving a lecture tonight, the empty space in the prisoner camp that temporarily served as the night school was always crowded.

After all, Fang and Jie were deeply influenced by Confucian education, and they always had a sense of superiority when teaching. On the other hand, Zhu Xiongying hated the teachers' jargon when he was studying in the main hall, so when it was his turn to be a "teacher", he spoke in a very plain and humorous way.

The purpose of the night schools in the army was not to train all the soldiers to become scholars who could pass imperial examinations, but to serve as a bridge connecting the upper echelons of the imperial court with the soldiers in the army. It would leave an impression of various policy principles and the founding stories of the Ming Dynasty in the minds of the soldiers, which would be enough to subtly change the overall atmosphere of the army.

(End of this chapter)