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

Chapter 963 Azashiri's Decision

Zhu Xiongying's going to Taining Guard was justified because Taining Guard was under the jurisdiction of Daning Dusi in the organization of the Ming army.

Since Azashili turned against his own side, beheaded the Northern Yuan Prime Minister Tuohuochi, and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, the Shanyang Wanhu under his command were divided into three. Initially, these three guards were all under the command of Xu Da, Duke of Wei, to conquer the rebellious grasslands and lay a solid foundation for the Xu family to gain a foothold on the grasslands.

But when the Xu family gained a foothold in Kharakhorum City and recruited enough Han armed forces to control the grassland, Xu Da, who had a strong political sense, returned the command of the Three Doyan Guards to the Ming court, thus avoiding slander against the Xu family by a certain group of people in the court.

However, considering that it was not easy for the Xu family to operate on the grassland, Zhu Yuanzhang left the Doyanwei cavalry to the Xu family, and only took over the Tainingwei and Fuyuwei guards which were closer to the Great Wall, and assigned them to the Daningdusi.

It can not only avoid the worry about the Xu family monopolizing the grassland, but also legitimately divide the influence of Azashili. It can be regarded as a precaution against Azashili, a former Yuan general.

Yes, although it is not believed that Azashiri would surrender and then rebel again and turn to the grassland forces...but the court is still wary of Azashiri.

The court was not completely unaware of Azashiri's occasional complaints.

Taining Guard was nominally a legitimate guard post of the Ming Dynasty, so it was only natural for Zhu Xiongying, the military supervisor of Daning, to go to Taining Guard to distribute military pay. Zhu Xiongying hoped that he could win over the hearts of the Taining Guard soldiers through his means and urge the Taining Guard, who were also from the grassland tribe, to take the initiative to fight and capture Bayan Shili.

If the Taining Guard from the Northern Yuan Dynasty could be made to fight the Tatars wholeheartedly, it would be sufficient to prove that the Taining Guard had been changed by the military supervision system, and this "merit of education" would be enough to gain the support of most court officials.

The brothers Chang Mao and Chang Sheng were actually quite worried about Zhu Xiongying's intentions. Daning Dusi was not a safe place. Except for the areas surrounded by walls and heavily stationed in Daning City, Kuancheng, and Quanning Market, most of the other places were endless deserts and grasslands. These places were often full of fierce bandits and horse thieves, and some were even the Mongolian tribes themselves.

If Zhu Xiongying was in the city, the brothers would be sure to keep him safe. But if he was out of the city, it would be a lawless place, a place that even the Ming emperor could not control for the time being. But Zhu Xiongying's temperament was somewhat like his grandfather's stubbornness. He pestered the Chang brothers and tried every means to persuade them, but he was determined not to change his mind.

After all, the Chang brothers could not prevail against their eldest nephew. In addition, with Yang Lu, the "local tyrant", collecting information for Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Xiongying would not be attacked, so they had no choice but to let him do what he wanted.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiongying's 3,000 men were numerous, and generally speaking, no bandit group dared to provoke this group. Moreover, Yang Lu had been doing business in the local area for many years, and had already opened up the channels to the surrounding major tribal forces. His well-informed information made Zhu Xiongying's journey unimpeded. Even if there were one or two ignorant scoundrels who wanted to see if there was any advantage to be taken, they were often detected by Yang Lu in advance.

The three thousand men wiped out several gangs of horse bandits along the way, and had accumulated several military merits before reaching Taining Guard.

The news that Zhu Xiongying, the military supervisor of the Daning Military Command and the crown prince, was coming to the grazing ground of Taining Guard to distribute military pay and entertain the troops was naturally known to Azashili. Zhu Xiongying would not hide his whereabouts when doing such a dignified thing.

When the military messenger came to Taining Guard and reported the news to Azashiri, the commander-in-chief of Taining Guard, Azashiri's heart began to beat rapidly.

Although he had rejected Alutai's surrender before, he had been in secret contact with Alutai and Bayanchur's Tatars in recent days. He secretly provided the Tatars with food, fodder, gold, silver and other supplies. Although he wanted to have the best of both worlds, he also had the idea of ​​leaning towards the Mongolian forces.

When he served the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he had status but no wealth, and now he served the Ming Dynasty, he had wealth but no status. Both situations made him equally dissatisfied. After Aluta's instigation, he urgently hoped that he could achieve his "long-cherished wish" of "having both" by defecting again.

I originally thought that with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it would be difficult for me to find an opportunity to defect.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiongying, the young grandson of the Ming Dynasty, actually left the heavily guarded tortoise shell of Daning City and came to the door on his own initiative.

After a little hesitation, Azhashiri decided to defect again. He intended to capture Zhu Xiongying directly when he arrived at Tainingwei, and then join forces with Benyashiri's headquarters and head north.

With the Ming Dynasty's grandson in hand, the Ming Dynasty's army would be afraid to act rashly and would certainly not dare to stop him from leading his wealth and tribe to migrate to the grassland. Even after achieving his goal, he could use Zhu Xiongying's good price to extort money from the Ming Dynasty emperor.

By then, he would not only be able to possess great wealth, but also the honorable title of "King of Yan". In the future, maybe he could even become the Great Khan of Mongolia, gaining both fame and fortune. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

As for the 3,000 men guarding Zhu Xiongying... Azashili was not worried at all. As long as the crown prince came to the Taining Guard's garrison and he launched an attack suddenly, with enemies on all sides, how could a young boy like him be able to turn the tide?
……

There was quite a distance from Daning City to the pasture of Taining Guard. In the past few days, the Ming army had not encountered any danger. Several disturbances were detected in advance by Yang Lu and the scouts. The journey was safe and sound, and even Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin, who had been on high alert and on guard against the remnants of the Tatars, could not help but relax their vigilance.

It seems that the remnants of the Tatars really fled to the north and dared not appear in the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence again.

"The sky is high and the clouds are vast, the wind blows the grass low. Who says that this land of Mobei is a desolate place where food is tasteless and might as well be abandoned? In my opinion, it is clearly an excellent treasure land." Fang Xiaoru said.

"That's right." Xie Jin also agreed. "The grasslands are rich in products. War horses, cattle, sheep, and medicinal herbs are all in short supply in China. In the past, it was just because the nomads were fierce and it was difficult for the Central Plains dynasty to stay in the grasslands for a long time, so we regarded it as a hopeless place."

"In fact, there is no useless land in this world. Your Majesty's policy of expanding the territory is truly more ambitious than any other great ruler in the history of the world."

"If we can really win the hearts of the Taining Guards, it will be enough to prove that the grassland tribes can also be fully utilized by our Ming Dynasty... This is truly a matter of great benefit to generations to come."

"The people of the grasslands are also human beings. If they can have enough food and clothing, why would they invade the Central Plains? As the saying goes, when the granaries are full, people will learn etiquette. The wool trade has made it possible for the people of Tainingwei to no longer be short of food and clothing. Now is the time to educate them."

"In my opinion, this move of ours will surely accomplish complete success." Xie Jin said, stroking his short beard.

The peace along the way and the proximity to Taining Guard made them more optimistic. After all, in their expectation, Azashili of Taining Guard was just a grassland leader with no ambition and no other way out, who could only rely on the Ming Dynasty. He would never dare to do anything to hinder Zhu Xiongying, the grandson of the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)