Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 72 Adding Money
"Delusion!"

This time, it was Anda who smashed the golden cup, glaring angrily at Yan Maoqing, who was standing nearby, like a ferocious tiger ready to devour someone.

"Sending a hostage to the Ming Dynasty is absolutely impossible!"

"If I have accomplished these three things, I am afraid I can easily facilitate the tribute exchange without your assistance. Why would I need to secretly collude with you?"

Yan Maoqing simply met Anda's gaze, slightly curving his lips, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"The Khan can give it a try."

"Are you threatening me?!"

Anda's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Yan Maoqing remained unfazed by praise or criticism, showing no fear as he replied:

"I wouldn't dare say that; I'm just stating the facts and discussing business as a matter of principle."

"Humph!"

Anda, who had been unwilling to lose face in front of his subordinates, now felt as if he had punched a pillow. He snorted coldly and said...
"No matter what I say, you still won't reveal the location of this coal mine. Could it be that you have something to hide?"

"If Anda Khan was trying to provoke me, then congratulations, Anda Khan, you have succeeded."

Yan Maoqing laughed, then turned to face the huge map and drew a circle with his finger in a region in the southern part of the northern desert.

"At this very place I'm pointing to, Anda Khan should have gunpowder that he looted from the Ming Dynasty. All we need to do is order someone to take the gunpowder and blast it."

If someone from later generations who has some knowledge of world maps saw the area Yan Maoqing pointed to, they should not have difficulty identifying where it was.

This territory was later incorporated into Outer Mongolia, belonging to the South Gobi Province of Outer Mongolia, and is less than 200 kilometers from the China-Mongolia border.

In this place lies the largest open-pit coal mine in Outer Mongolia, called the Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine. Later, it was discovered that the total coal reserves were approximately 64 billion tons, making it the world's largest.

Yan Maoqing naturally knew what kind of damage large-scale open-pit coal mining would cause to the local environment, what kind of negative consequences it would bring to the local people, and what kind of impact it would have on the Ming Dynasty.

The sandstorms that frequently swept across northern China in later generations mostly originated from Outer Mongolia.

Even though later generations of countries spent huge sums of money every year planting trees and afforestation to prevent sand and wind, they still could not solve this problem. There is only one reason for this.

Because that was Outer Mongolia, which in later generations preferred to be on friendly terms with South Korea and flirt with the United States, but always harbored hostility towards China, China could not and did not want to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and could only sit idly by and watch this neighboring country harm itself and others.

Yan Maoqing also knew that this region had always been the territory of the Celestial Empire during the Qing Dynasty.

However, this was merely because the Manchu imperial family consistently intermarried with the Tartars, ceding much political power; it was not an affirmation or integration with the Celestial Empire.

When the Qing Dynasty came to an end, Outer Mongolia immediately declared independence. In order to please other countries, it turned against them and recklessly damaged the interests of the Celestial Empire.

Therefore, when Yan Maoqing came up with this "ingenious plan", he felt no guilt whatsoever.

He simply draws lessons from history, insisting that any conquest requires a price, any recognition requires blood and tears, and any integration inevitably involves rejection.

Given the level of mining and transportation capabilities of that era, even if it were decades or centuries later, it would not have caused the same level of damage in a single year in subsequent generations.

Under the influence of this ingenious plan, if the steps of conquest, recognition, and integration can be completed in one step, then this region will become an inseparable part of the Celestial Empire since ancient times, with its bones always connected.

Perhaps only in this way can the environmental problems in the north truly become a matter for the nation itself, allowing for a nationwide effort to address the core issues and potentially eradicate them completely...

Sometimes Yan Maoqing himself felt that...

If someone like him had been born during the Three Kingdoms period, he might have become another Jia Xu.

"..."

Anda and the other Tatar leaders gleamed with shrewdness, their eyes following Yan Maoqing's finger as he pointed, instantly memorizing the location he indicated.

"You're quite sensible, but don't blame me for making this clear from the start: if my men go to the place and can't find the coal mine you mentioned, none of you will need to go back."

Anda was satisfied at this moment, but he still deliberately kept a straight face and maintained a high posture.
"Guards, take them away and order them to be kept under strict guard!"

Yan Maoqing grinned again:

“Since Anda Khan treats his guests in this way, then I will also say this in advance: from this moment on, the matter of paying tribute will no longer be a matter of two hundred thousand taels of silver.”

“Apart from the matter that requires the cooperation of the Tatar Khan, the price is fixed at 400,000 taels of silver, not a penny less.”

"When the silver arrives, the matter will be settled. Your Majesty, please make preparations as soon as possible."

After saying that he didn't need the Tatars to escort him, he walked out on his own.

He believed that after finding the coal mine, Anda would seriously consider this issue. Because later research showed that the feeling of simply seeing a bank account balance is completely different from seeing actual cash laid out in front of you…

"???"

Anda and the other Tatar leaders were taken aback upon hearing this.

What does this mean? This person is so arrogant that if we are not polite to him even slightly, the cost will double?
"..."

As Gao Gong and Shen Lian hurried to catch up, they looked at each other, both seeing a hint of astonishment in each other's eyes.

At this critical juncture, Yan Maoqing is still thinking about... more money?!

……

The capital city, the rear hall of Fengtian Hall.

"Guo Xun must have lost his mind to dare to try and fob me off like this?!"

Zhu Houcong tore up the memorial that Guo Xun had sent back from Datong with a "ripping" sound, threw it hard on the ground, and when that still did not quell his anger, he stepped forward and stomped on it.

"..."

Huang Jin knelt to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

He knew better than anyone how much pressure the Emperor had been under these days.

Some people were practically courting death in their efforts to push for the "re-establishment" of the system. Not only did they mobilize court officials to submit memorials in support of the proposal, but they also instructed numerous censors and officials to impeach ministers who raised opposing opinions.

In just the past few days, memorials impeaching Zhang Zan, the Minister of War, have piled up like mountains in the Qianqing Palace.

Most importantly, Zhang Zan was indeed a very corrupt person.

Now there are hundreds of memorials exposing his solicitation of bribes from border generals and his appointment of debt-ridden commanders, all of which are based on conclusive evidence and involve huge sums of money.

If it weren't for the fact that the emperor needed someone to oppose the "restoration of the Tao" in court at this critical juncture, and temporarily withheld these memorials, Zhang Zan would probably have been imprisoned and his property confiscated long ago.

The Emperor was naturally aware of what had happened.

These pieces of evidence against Zhang Zan were almost discovered long ago, but they were kept hidden until now, when they suddenly erupted, which means that someone was behind it.

Moreover, the person behind it has obviously succeeded. Now Zhang Zan not only dares not attend court, but has also submitted several memorials in the past few days claiming illness and requesting to retire. Thus, there is undoubtedly one less person to help the emperor withstand the pressure.

And it wasn't just in the imperial court; public opinion was also stirred up outside the court.

Nowadays, anyone who publicly opposes the restoration of the empire will immediately be branded as a traitor who betrays the country and is so humiliated by the insults that they dare not even leave their home.

This is tantamount to putting the emperor on the spot. If he doesn't personally step in and bear the infamy, it will be difficult to stop this farce of "repeated repetition".

The Emperor was not unaware of who this person behind the scenes was.

—Xia Yan.

Huang Jin really couldn't understand what Xia Yan was thinking. He seemed to have gone mad, daring to contradict the Emperor like this.

However, if Huang Jin were a time traveler like Yan Maoqing, he would know that Xia Yan in history did the same thing, and died because of it, taking Zeng Xian with him...

Huang Jin only knew that the first "re-establishment" court meeting was about to be held in the Fengtian Hall in front.

If the Emperor does not personally take a stand now, this farce of "re-establishing the trap" will likely escalate further.

Huang Jin also knew.

At this moment, the Emperor must be filled with hatred for Yan Maoqing, the instigator!
If Yan Maoqing still wants to live.

Even Guo Xun, Gao Gong, and Shen Lian wanted to survive.

It seems that their only options for survival are to seek refuge with the Tatars or flee to the far north of the Gobi Desert...

Just as I was thinking this.

"Huang Jin, summon Yan Song to see me immediately!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly kicked away the trampled memorial and shouted loudly.

　Thank you to [Sanshengyinnuo] for the generous donation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)