Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 116 Everyone is back
Tianqi thought about it and began to understand what Sun Chengzong meant.

"Sir, do you agree with what Zhu Tongmeng said and are not optimistic about Yuan Yingtai?"

"That's not entirely true." Sun Chengzong answered carefully, "Yuan Dalai is not a mediocre person. He has quite a few skills in governing. When he was in Henei, he was very smart and resolute in his work. He took good care of the people and had a very good reputation among local officials. Later, he served as the director of the Dushui Division of the Ministry of Works and the Langzhong of the Military Selection Division of the Ministry of War. He also worked very hard."

"When Yuan Dalai was the right councilor of Henan, he also went to Yongping to control floods as an inspector. At that time, the Jiannu repeatedly launched military attacks on the border. Yuan Dalai stepped up military training and repaired weapons in Yongping, and the food, fodder, gunpowder and other things needed outside the Great Wall were all supplied in a timely manner. His contributions are obvious to all..."

"Before going to Liaodong, Yuan Dalai was already the Minister of War, and he was not ignorant of military affairs. But after arriving in Liaodong, he acted too hastily and was too arrogant. The situation in Liaodong was different from that in the interior of the country, and he often took things for granted. Without mentioning other things, let's just say that he recruited tens of thousands of Mongolian refugees in Liaodong and recruited them into the army. Although this move has advantages, it also has disadvantages. After learning about it, I can't help but feel a little uneasy."

"Isn't it good to recruit Mongolian refugees?" Tianqi asked in surprise.

Yuan Yingtai recruited a large number of Mongolian refugees in Liaodong, including some Han people.

Now that Yuan Yingtai has recruited these refugees and incorporated them into the army, he has not only strengthened his own strength, but also weakened the power of the Jiannu. On the surface, isn't this a good thing that kills two birds with one stone?
"If the overall situation in Liaodong has been settled, there is nothing wrong with doing so. But now the Jiannu in Liaodong are still eyeing us covetously, and our Ming Dynasty is already on the defensive. At this time, it is better to be still than to move. It is better to take steady steps. As for those refugees, no one can guarantee whether they are truly loyal to our Ming Dynasty. If we recruit them, it will be difficult to identify them. The Jiannu are cunning. Once a war breaks out, how can we be sure whether there are Jiannu spies mixed in?"

"I think Yuan Dalai is too impatient. After all, the affairs of Liaodong are different from his previous work as a local official. Compared with Xiong Tingbi, Yuan Dalai is not good at military affairs, and what he is doing now is not well planned."

Sun Chengzong's words were very tactful, but Tianqi understood what he meant.

Sun Chengzong was not optimistic about Yuan Yingtai, and was more inclined to Xiong Tingbi's deployment in Liaodong. He was particularly worried about Yuan Yingtai's current actions in Liaodong, and was even more worried about the possible consequences of his massive recruitment of refugees.

Tianqi didn't know whether this view was right or wrong for a while. After all, when Xiong Tingbi was in Liaodong, Liaodong never made any great achievements. After Yuan Yingtai replaced Xiong Tingbi and went to Liaodong, Liaodong made a lot of moves and did many things well. The court was satisfied with Yuan Yingtai's arrangements.

"Sir, are you worrying too much?"

Sun Chengzong smiled and said, "Maybe. I'm old, and old people like to play it safe. Maybe Yuan Dalai is confident in doing this. After all, I'm in the capital now, and Liaodong is far away from the capital. Some things are just talk on paper."

"Hahaha, sir, you are too modest. But I am very pleased that you can tell me all this today." Tianqi also laughed when he heard it, and then changed the subject to talk about other things. The two talked for a while, and Sun Chengzong saw that the time was almost up, so he stood up and said goodbye.

After Sun Chengzong left, Tianqi looked at Zhu Tongmeng's memorial again, with a pensive expression on his face. After a long time, he sighed and shook his head.

Maybe Sun Chengzong was right, but Tianqi was powerless in this situation. Before, there were so many memorials impeaching Xiong Tingbi that Tianqi wanted to keep Xiong Tingbi, but he couldn't do it at all. In the end, he could only dismiss Xiong Tingbi according to the court's wishes.

At present, Yuan Yingtai is making a big splash in Liaodong and doing a great job. Under such circumstances, Tianqi can do nothing. Today, Sun Chengzong's words made Tianqi a little uneasy, but he could not be sure that Sun Chengzong's judgment was correct. Moreover, his relationship with Sun Chengzong was far from the level of absolute trust.

"Yuan Yingtai, ah Yuan Yingtai, please don't let me down..."

At this moment, Tianqi's heart was very complicated. After thinking for a long time, he said this to himself, then picked up the memorial and put it aside.

With the arrival of the end of the year, the impact of two consecutive national mournings has gradually disappeared, and people have returned to normal.

In Pingyang Prefecture, Zhu Shenzhui's life as a member of the royal family returned to its previous state. Except for some things he could not do, everything else was no longer restricted.

The caravan led by Ma Shizhou returned from the grassland a few days ago. This time, the time taken to travel back and forth to the grassland was slightly shorter than the last time, because they set out late. After October, the grassland would begin to enter winter. If they came back later, the roads on the grassland would be difficult to travel when heavy snow came.

In addition, the purpose of the caravan's trip to the grassland this time was very clear, which was mainly to trade directly with Burigude's tribe.

After arriving at the grassland, Ma Shizhou and his party found Burigude's tribe very smoothly. Because he had the token from Burigude to Zhu Shenzhui, he did not encounter any trouble along the way. In addition, he met Burigude who had just returned from the battlefield at the tribe. Seeing Ma Shizhou and others coming to his tribe, Burigude was very happy and received them warmly.

The grassland conditions are not very good this year. As Lin Danhan was defeated in the attack on Chaohua, all the tribes suffered losses.

Because Burigude ran fast, the casualties were not too great. However, most of the young and strong men in the tribe followed Ligdan Khan to fight, and the consumption of war supplies was far greater than usual. Moreover, they lost the war, and had to lose a lot of supplies while running. So life was not easy after they returned.

Ma Shizhou brought a caravan to the tribe, which made Burigude extremely happy, especially the supplies brought by the caravan, which were urgently needed in the tribe.

The purchase of these supplies would not only allow the tribe to survive the winter, but also make up for the losses in the war. Burigude warmly entertained Ma Shizhou and his party, and asked why Zhu Shencui did not come. Ma Shizhou made up a random excuse, saying that Zhu Shencui had something to do at home and could not come this time, so he asked him to apologize to Burigude, and at the same time took out the gift that Zhu Shencui asked him to bring and gave it to Burigude as an apology.

After receiving the gift, Burigude was even more delighted and asked Zhu Shenzhui whether he would come next time. After getting Ma Shizhou's confirmation, Burigude asked Ma Shizhou to tell Zhu Shenzhui to bring more good wine next time so that they could have a good drink when they met.

Because of Zhu Shenzui's instructions, the caravan's goods were much cheaper than those of other trading companies. After all, this was the first time they had direct trade with Burigude's tribe, and it was necessary to deepen the relationship between the two sides in this way.

Burigude was even happier about this. Although his status in the tribe was not low, he was not the one who had the final say in the tribe after all. Now Zhu Shenzui gave him such a big face, which allowed the tribe to get the urgently needed supplies at a lower price, which was extremely beneficial to improving his status in the tribe.

The transaction went very smoothly, and even though the selling price was relatively low, the profit was extremely substantial in comparison.

After completing the transaction, Ma Shizhou and his companions stayed in the tribe for two days before returning. This time, Burigude personally escorted the caravan for a while before bidding farewell. In this way, the caravan successfully completed the grassland business trip and returned to Pingyang City in a short time after entering the Great Wall.

Zhu Shenzui was relieved by the caravan's safe return. This time, the caravan's trip to the grassland almost cost Zhu Shenzui most of his money.

Although the profits of merchants on the grassland are huge, the risks are also great. If Zhu Shenzui had not met Burigude before, he would not have raised so many goods to go to the grassland this time.

Because the collection of a large amount of goods this time used up most of his funds, most of the remaining money was given to Zhou Anmin to manage. When the caravan set off, Zhu Shenzhui had little money left and could only ensure the daily operation of the salt shop. Even the pawnshop that had just opened could only be maintained by Zhu Shenzhui due to insufficient funds.

Although the private salt business was still going on, it was only relying on the inventory in hand. Once the caravan had problems, Zhu Shenzhui's hard work in the past few years would be in vain. So after Ma Shizhou and others left, Zhu Shenzhui was always concerned about the situation of the caravan, and he didn't let go of his worries until they returned safely.

This business trip was different from the last one. It completely opened up the trade route on the grassland. The first transaction with the Burigude tribe also gave Zhu Shenzhui a stable and reliable trade route. Moreover, Ma Shizhou sold all the goods he brought and brought back a large amount of furs and other supplies, which were worth a lot of silver.

The profit from this time alone is enough to make up for the more than three thousand taels paid to Zhou Anmin, and the actual profit is far more than this figure. This makes Zhu Shenzhu feel at ease.

After the caravan returned, they were busy with various trivial matters for several days.

After settling Ma Shizhou and others, Zhu Shenzhui finally had time to think about other things, the most important of which was the situation on Zhou Anmin's side.

Because of Zhu Shenzhui's status and the national mourning period, he had no way to leave Pingyang, and was not very clear about Zhou Anmin's progress. It was only known that Zhou Anmin went to Northern Zhili a few days after returning to Pingshun. He went there secretly alone. In addition to Zhu Shenzhui, only Zhu Xiuer knew about this trip to Northern Zhili.

Zhou Anmin was originally a member of the Jinyiwei, so it didn't matter whether he was there or not at the post station. The operation of the post station already had special procedures, and the few postmen under him were all old men, so there was no problem with him leaving for a few days.

In this way, Zhou Anmin quietly went from Pingshun to Beizhili. He was gone for two months, and there was no news at all during this period. In this era, communication was really inconvenient, and it was difficult to get news. How could it be as simple as in the future?
This is the reason why the saying "a letter from home during a month of war is worth a ton of gold" is true. After waiting for a long time without any news from Zhou Anmin, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but feel worried, not knowing how he was doing.

Who would have thought that one day, when Zhu Shenzhui was just about to go out to visit Hengtong, Zhou Anmin, who had not been heard from for more than two months, suddenly came to his door.

(End of this chapter)