Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"I, Lu Xiangsheng, greet the commander-in-chief." Lu Xiangsheng, who had been waiting at the gate of Guihua City for a long time, saluted.

Cao Bianjiao, Yang Guozhu and others behind him also hurried to salute.

This expedition recovered so much lost territory for the court, which was the first time in the entire Chongzhen period. According to past practice, the rewards would certainly not be bad, and everyone had a smile on their face.

However, Zhang Shikang, who had dismounted, said sarcastically:

“No need to be polite.

Now that the plate is bigger and there are more people under me, I don’t know how many people are sincerely welcoming me, and I don’t know if anyone will stab me in the back.

These words left Cao Bianjiao and other generals completely confused, except Lu Xiangsheng, whose expression changed.

"Anyone who dares to harm the Marshal must first get past me, Old Cao!" Cao Bianjiao immediately looked around fiercely and said.

Fortunately, Zhang Shikang did not intend to investigate further and just waved his hand to pass it over. Lu Xiangsheng seemed a little guilty.

Zhang Shikang didn't care, instead he pointed at Malza and others not far away and said with a smile:

“For example, what’s going on with those goods over there?

He's sneaking around, and his attire doesn't look like Han Chinese. Why does he look like an assassin?"

Zhang Shikang has been assassinated more than two hundred times in the past few years. Now he has become a famous assassination-resistant king in the Ming Dynasty, and he has also acquired rich experience in anti-assassination.

As soon as these words were spoken, Hong Xiucheng immediately ordered dozens of personal guards to surround those people, and Cao Bianjiao also drew his knife and rushed straight towards Malza.

Malza and his companions were frightened and started to explain in Mongolian.

It would have been better if there was no explanation. The guards did not understand but recognized that these people were indeed Tartars. Now that the situation is still unstable, they concluded that these Tartars had no good intentions.

Several bodyguards rushed over and kicked and stomped on them, knocking Malza and the others to the ground.

Lu Xiangsheng came back to his senses and immediately explained:

"Marshal, those are not assassins. They are special envoys from the Zarut, Balin, and Ordos tribes of Mongolia. They are here to participate in this peace negotiation."

"Oh, wrong number. Stop it then and find an interpreter."

Soon an interpreter came over and found out the purpose of the goods through questioning.

Liu Wenbing also came forward to report on the actual situation of the Zhalute and other units.

These tribes suffered the most from the Qing Dynasty's conscription of soldiers, and were attacked several times by surrounding tribes, resulting in a significant reduction in their strength.

Unlike several other large tribes, although those large tribes also sent special envoys, they may have just come to listen to the conditions offered by the court. As for whether they want to negotiate peace, it is still unknown.

These weak tribes obviously wanted to actively seek protection from the Ming Dynasty court.

Zhang Shikang thought for a moment and immediately smiled. After all, he came here in person not just to negotiate peace, but to recover, or in other words, to annex.

Therefore, having several small tribes voluntarily surrender is a good start. He said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face:

"I'm truly sorry. You all understand that I'm often stabbed, and I overreacted. I hope you don't take it to heart."

Mongolian men like Malza were very strong to begin with, and they could never have imagined that they would be the first to gain the favor of the Grand Marshal of the Ming Army in this way. They all greeted him with smiles, without any sign of anger at all.

"The Marshal is wise and brave. We are dressed in vulgar clothes and look shabby. How dare we blame the Marshal?" Malza spoke first.

Frege also quickly interrupted:

"There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'No friendship without fighting.' Those punches and kicks were a gift from the Eternal Heaven!"

Diliba was not to be outdone:

"Yes, yes, the Marshal is kind and honest... well, well..."

Diliba tried his best to praise Zhang Shikang, but he had no idea what to say, which frightened the interpreter beside him.

Where did this funny guy come from? Zhang Shikang just felt a headache, but he was not angry.

"I am very tired after this long journey. Please return home first. But don't worry, I understand your intentions."

Malza and others finally left with great satisfaction, feeling that the trip was worthwhile.

If a beating could bring protection to the entire clan, they would be willing to be beaten to death on the spot.

After a simple settlement, Zhang Shikang summoned Lu Xiangsheng.

There were several plates of food and wine on the table. While Zhang Shikang was eating, he invited Lu Xiangsheng to come and eat as well. Lu Xiangsheng just sat aside and didn't dare to pick up his chopsticks.

"Tell me, among the tribes currently participating in the peace talks, which ones are the more troublesome ones?"

Lu Xiangsheng replied:

"It must be the Naiman and Maoming'an tribes. These two tribes did not participate in the Battle of Guanshan. They are the strongest and are neighbors to each other. They may have secretly formed an alliance.

Their pastures are further west, and although they cannot resist us even if they form an alliance, they can move further west."

Zhang Shikang frowned slightly and said:

"That's a problem. Didn't you kill the chicken to scare the monkey?"

Zhang Shikang wanted to take Mongolia into his possession, but he didn't want to just get an empty grassland.

At this time, population was still very important, and the court needed more people to raise horses, and even cattle and sheep were needed.

If people only eat grains and no meat, their physical fitness will always be limited.

"Reporting to the commander, I have already wiped out the entire tribe of two tribes."

When Lu Xiangsheng said this, he was obviously a little reluctant. After all, this was contrary to the teachings of the saints, but he still did it.

That was why the other tribal leaders hated and feared him. Although they agreed to the peace talks, they requested that the imperial army marshal be the one to preside over them.

"Well, if anyone refuses a toast, then let him drink the wine."

After saying this, Zhang Shikang took a sip of wine and drank it with a grin on his face.

Mongolians have always admired strength and believed that the bigger the fist, the more powerful it is.

As for running away if you can't win, haha, where can you run to?

It won't be long before Li Zicheng leads his army on a westward expedition, and the Russian colonial forces are also a hurdle.

Unless these guys run all the way to the territory of that damn Holy Roman Empire, they will be punished sooner or later.

With the increasing popularity of firearms in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the end of nomadic peoples would also come.

But this seems to be a good idea. Let these guys suffer a little and then they will know that your father Daming is the most reliable one.

"Burp~ I have a general understanding of it. You inform them to come to discuss the matter before noon tomorrow. If there is nothing else, they can leave." Zhang Shikang said with a burp.

However, Lu Xiangsheng just stood up, bowed to Zhang Shikang with a serious expression, and then said in a deep voice:

"I shouldn't have criticized the commander in chief in my memorial. Please punish me!"

When Lu Xiangsheng said this, the veins on his forehead bulged. It was obvious that these two sentences took him a lot of effort.

In fact, up to now, Zhang Shikang has not really done anything warlike, especially when supplies were insufficient, he suddenly withdrew his troops from the Liaohe River instead of exhausting the resources.

Let Lu Xiangsheng understand that maybe he was really wrong.

Thinking of Zhang Shikang's sarcastic tone during the meeting just now, Lu Xiangsheng felt even more guilty, so he said it after holding it in for a long time.

Zhang Shikang was not surprised at all. He sighed and said:

"Alas, Commander Lu, Commander Lu.

If you can find a way to get His Majesty to agree to let me resign from my post as Marshal of the Army, I will be happier than you."

……