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

Chapter 962: Visiting Taining
Zhu Xiongying took out the iron plate and put it aside, then took out the letters, read the envelopes one by one, and opened the one with his name on it.

He read the contents of the letter quickly, and then handed the letter to Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin, and suddenly realized, "So, Uncle Wu wants us to contact his subordinates in the north."

"With these people as our eyes and ears, we can travel freely in the northern border."

This iron plate of the palace was used to mobilize the forces left by the Zhou Palace in the northern border. Zhu Su, Zhu Di and others had participated in the battle of Jizhen in the northern border and were quite popular in the northern army. Therefore, there were many generals in the northern border army who were very close to them.

However, these generals could naturally be mobilized by virtue of Zhu Xiongying's grandson and Chang Mao's status as a duke. Zhu Su's iron plaque of the Zhou Palace was not used to mobilize those superficial things.

If you ask which power class is the most powerful in Mobei today, there is no doubt that the first class must be the generals and leaders who have soldiers under their command. In such a lawless place, only strength is the hard truth of everything.

The second class, without a doubt, is businessmen.

Merchants connected the grasslands with the Central Plains. After the wool trade flourished, merchants became a powerful tool for the Ming court to control the grasslands and win over the grassland tribes. Merchants connected with the leaders and the people. On the grasslands, they were omnipresent and there was nothing they didn't know. In terms of intelligence gathering capabilities, they were far superior to the first-tier military leaders.

Zhu Su happened to be a "God of Wealth" who was highly respected by merchants. The merchants under him were also very powerful in the northern border. Zhu Su also started to organize an intelligence network to collect information and monitor the situation in the northern border through merchants very early.

It can be said that compared to the Jinyiwei, who were omnipresent but focused most of their attention on monitoring the court and preventing internal friction, Zhu Su's merchant intelligence network in the northern border was even better than the Jinyiwei.

This iron plate was used to mobilize the northern border merchants who were loyal to Zhu Suzhou's palace and who also collected intelligence for the court.

Zhu Xiongying, who understood the purpose of the iron plate, immediately dispatched his personal guards, holding the iron plate and following the contact information left by Zhu Su, to contact the head of the merchants in the Zhou Palace who was responsible for this matter in the northern border.

"Your servant Yang Lu pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Unlike what Zhu Xiongying had expected, the person who came was a middle-aged man with a handsome appearance and figure. When he saw Zhu Xiongying, he called himself "your servant" instead of "commoner", and did not look like a businessman at all.

"Who are you and why do you call yourself a minister?" Zhu Xiongying asked curiously.

"Your servant Yang Lu was originally the commander of Suzhou Guard. Because I violated the laws of the court, I was transferred from the post of commander. However, although I am now a merchant in the northern border on the surface, I actually still hold the position of a military household. That's why I call myself a minister." Yang Lu said humbly with some flattery.

"I have a younger sister who has the honor of serving Your Majesty in the palace... If we consider her, Your Majesty and I are somewhat related!"

This Yang Lu was the commander who had been idle in Suzhou City and almost caused a disaster. If it weren't for Zhu Su and others who turned the tide, Suzhou City would have fallen into the hands of the remnants of King Cheng. Old Zhu was furious and wanted to skin Yang Lu alive. If it weren't for her good sister Concubine Yang's pleading, and Suzhou City was finally safe and sound, Yang Lu would have never escaped death.

Having fallen from a high position, Yang Lu had no choice but to start a merchant business. When Zhu Su ordered the Ming army to raise grain in Jizhen, he decisively sold his family and business in exchange for a shipload of grain and complied with Zhu Su's request for raising grain. He successfully became a merchant under Zhu Su's palace... Riding on Zhu Su's favorable wind, although Yang Lu failed in officialdom, he became more and more successful in business and was regarded as a wealthy businessman in Northern Xinjiang.

He was a man who had missed out once, and merchants were of low status after all, and they could not have the prestige of being a commander-in-chief in the past. Therefore, he tried to curry favor with Zhu Su, putting Zhu Su's orders above business, and carried out Zhu Su's orders to collect intelligence for the court conscientiously. At this time, he had become a know-it-all and a local tyrant in the northern border.

Zhu Xiongying ignored Yang Lu's claim of marriage. He also knew that there was indeed a concubine named Yang in the palace, but he was the grandson of Empress Ma, and he had nothing to do with Concubine Yang. Moreover, the young man was straightforward, so he didn't want to talk to Yang Lu, but asked directly: "Fifth uncle said in the letter that you can keep us safe in the various dangers of the grassland."

"I want to go to the grassland tribes that have surrendered to distribute military pay, but you two gentlemen are worried that I might be in danger... How can you help me?"

"Distribute military pay? Your Highness is so distinguished, why do you need to..." Yang Lu asked in confusion. However, before he said half of his words, he felt the stern gazes of Xie Jin and Fang Xiaoru beside Zhu Su, so he swallowed his saliva and dared not say more.

He replied: "Your Highness, I and the rest of you are just merchants, and it is difficult for us to guarantee that Your Highness will be completely safe on the grassland."

"But, we have already penetrated deep into the tribes of the grasslands. If there is any movement among the tribes, it will not be hidden from our people."

"I can help Your Highness to seek benefits and avoid harm... If any tribe has the intention of making a move, although we cannot follow Your Highness to fight head-on, we can inform Your Highness of the news in advance so that Your Highness can leave the dangerous place in advance."

Over the years, the merchants in the palace have already made in-depth acquaintances with the herdsmen, tribesmen, and even the personal guards of the chiefs of various tribes, and have a huge source of information. If someone intends to harm Zhu Xiongying while moving on the grassland, Yang Lu will definitely be the first to know.

Zhu Xiongying, Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin looked at each other, surprised that Zhu Su had arranged such a big move on the grassland. These grassland merchants were not only a great attempt by China to conquer the grassland, but also a powerful tool to monitor the grassland day and night... With Yang Lu who could give early warning, the two of them really had no other reason to oppose Zhu Xiongying's going to the grassland tribe.

So, a few days later, Zhu Xiongying left Daning City and, with the 3,000 people assigned to him by Chang Mao, began his journey to the grassland tribes to distribute salaries.

Coincidentally, the first tribe they chose was one of the largest grassland tribes in Daningdusi: Tainingwei.

In fact, this was an expected move. After all, in Zhu Xiongying's view, Azashili took the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Azashili once stabbed the Northern Yuan Prime Minister Tuohuchi in the back, and his reputation in the Golden Family was at the level of stinking dog shit.

If we were to ask who was least likely to cooperate with Bayanchur, Azhashiri would definitely be on the list. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty treated Taining Guard very well, wanting to train Taining Guard to become a model to attract other grassland tribes to surrender.

Therefore, choosing Tainingwei is the safest and best choice that can maximize your influence.

(End of this chapter)