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

Chapter 327 Head
"Is this serious?"

In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Tianqi had a grim look on his face. On his desk were two things, one was a joint report from the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the other was a memorial that had just come from the Tengger Tribe.

"Your Majesty, I have made careful inquiries and there is not a single falsehood in the memorial. Moreover, among the people involved that day there were Mongolians who were captured alive. They were sent to the capital overnight and are now being held in the Jinyiwei prison." Wei Zhongxian replied.

"How dare you!" Emperor Tianqi snorted coldly, picked up the two documents again and looked through them, then asked, "Is there any news from Bu Shitu?"

"Your Majesty, there is no memorial from Bu Shitu's tribe. I think it would take some time for Bu Shitu to submit a memorial, after all, the distance from his tribe to the capital is not short, and..." Wei Zhongxian paused, and then said, "Perhaps in a few days, there will be a memorial sent to the capital."

"Haha, this is not because of the distance. It's obvious that Bu Shitu is guilty and doesn't know how to write this memorial. Even if a memorial is really submitted, it will probably only be an explanation and clarification." Emperor Tianqi sneered.

"Your Majesty is wise..." Wei Zhongxian said hurriedly and stood below with his hands hanging down.

Emperor Tianqi did not continue speaking. He sat there with his eyes slightly closed, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Wei Zhongxian did not disturb him. He knew that Emperor Tianqi was in a bad mood these days because the second prince born to the imperial concubine died a few days ago.

Last year, the second prince was born. Unlike the stillbirth given birth to by Queen Zhang Yan, the second prince was born very healthy. As the child grew up day by day, his appearance was quite similar to Emperor Tianqi, which made Emperor Tianqi love him even more.

Over the past six months, Emperor Tianqi would visit the harem whenever he had time to see the prince and talk to the imperial concubine. In the blink of an eye, the child was half a year old. He could already wave his arms and legs, and make babbling sounds. Looking at his son, Emperor Tianqi loved him even more.

But accidents happen all the time and misfortunes may happen at any time. Just a few days ago, the little prince suddenly suffered from convulsions. When Emperor Tianqi learned about it, he quickly asked the imperial physician to treat him. At first, his condition improved, but just when Emperor Tianqi and the imperial concubine breathed a sigh of relief, his condition suddenly worsened overnight. Before the imperial physician arrived, the little prince died.

The death of the little prince made Emperor Tianqi feel very bad. Although the little prince was only the second prince, he was actually his first son. He never thought that the little prince, who had always been healthy, would suddenly die. As the Son of Heaven, the supreme emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't even protect his own son? A feeling of powerlessness suddenly surged in his heart.

After the death of the little prince, Emperor Tianqi posthumously named him the Crown Prince of Mourning to show his longing for him. Under the persuasion of Wei Zhongxian and Keshi, Emperor Tianqi's mood had just improved a little in the past two days, but the border trade incident happened in the blink of an eye, which made Emperor Tianqi, who was already in a bad mood, even worse.

Because of the death of the little prince, Emperor Tianqi was even more angry about such a thing happening again. The border trade with the Tengger tribe was a decision made by Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian was the executor, and the Dongchang and Jinyiwei were specifically responsible.

Emperor Tianqi knew how much profit border trade had made these days. Not long ago, he was very pleased with this decision, thinking it was a wise one that could win over the Mongols and earn him some private money to enrich his inner treasury. But he had never expected such a thing to happen in the blink of an eye. How could Emperor Tianqi not be angry?
After reading the joint declaration of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and then reading the memorial sent by the Tenger Tribe, Emperor Tianqi understood the whole story, and he immediately figured out the real reason why Bu Shitu did this.

Emperor Tianqi had no control over the small actions or fights between the Mongols, nor did he want to control them. After all, the Mongols were a foreign race. No matter how fiercely the Mongols fought among themselves, the Ming Dynasty was happy to see it. The weakening of the Mongols' power was only a good thing, not a bad thing. It would be even better if the various Mongolian tribes could fight each other.

Since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the biggest opponent has been Mongolia. The two sides have been fighting for more than 200 years, and neither side has been able to completely defeat the other. The more chaotic Mongolia is, the more stable the Ming Dynasty will be, especially now that the Ming Dynasty has focused its main external energy on the Liaodong battlefield. In contrast, if there is civil unrest in the Mongolian grasslands, the Ming Dynasty can also draw more energy to estimate the Northeast and reduce the pressure on Mongolia.

But this time, Bu Shitu attacked the Tenger tribe and directly disrupted the border trade determined by Emperor Tianqi. As the border trade progressed, Emperor Tianqi earned a lot of wealth in these days. Although Emperor Tianqi hoped that Mongolia would be in turmoil, he did not want the border trade to be affected. More importantly, Bu Shitu was the Shunyi King canonized by the Ming Dynasty, and Tenger was the Dragon and Tiger General canonized by Tianqi himself, and this canonization had only been less than a year.

Not long after the enthronement ceremony was completed and trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Tengger tribe began, Bu Shitu secretly attacked the Tengger tribe and even planned to take advantage of the chaos to kill the people sent by the Ming Dynasty and thus throw the dirty water on the Tengger tribe.

What Bu Shitu did was a direct slap in the face of Emperor Tianqi. If Emperor Tianqi let it go, where would the dignity of the Ming Dynasty be? How could he explain it to the people of the world?

Emperor Tianqi did hope for civil strife in Mongolia, but he did not want the civil strife in Mongolia to affect his own interests, especially in the current situation. If he did not give an explanation to the Tenger tribe, wouldn't he, the emperor, become a decoration?
Thinking of this, Emperor Tianqi opened his eyes and said expressionlessly: "Pass on my will. Draft two imperial edicts. One is for the Tenger tribe to appease General Longhu Tenger and tell him that I already know about this matter. Let him stay calm and do his job well. Don't let the border trade fall behind. I will make the decision for the Tenger tribe."

"Give another one to Bu Shitu. Ask him what happened? Ask him to explain whether it is true that Elbegji Taiji's people said that this was Bu Shitu's instruction. I need him to give an explanation and compensate the Tenger tribe for its losses."

Wei Zhongxian was slightly stunned. He did not expect that the Emperor Tianqi would issue two decrees, but he soon realized the Emperor Tianqi's intention. In this way, the Emperor Tianqi could appease the Tenger tribe and give Bu Shitu a way out, and put all the responsibility on Elbegji Taiji. Anyway, this was done by Elbegji Taiji's people, and Elbegji Taiji could not get away with it anyway. Since the Emperor Tianqi had no actual intention to target Bu Shitu now, then Elbegji Taiji, as the executor, was the best scapegoat target.

Even though everyone knows that Bu Shitu is the person behind Elbegji Taiji, as long as Bu Shitu himself denies it, there is nothing that can be done to him without solid evidence.

Besides, the Ming Dynasty would not take action against Bu Shitu just because of this matter, it was not worth it. Even if Bu Shitu was the Shunyi King of the Ming Dynasty, this Shunyi King was only in name, and the Ming Dynasty did not actually have strong constraints on Bu Shitu.

In addition, the conflict between the Tengger tribe and Bushitu was a result that Emperor Tianqi was happy to see. The more hostile the grassland tribes were and the deeper the conflict between the two sides, the more beneficial it would be to the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Tianqi wanted to use this matter to control a balance. As long as Bu Shitu was not stupid, he would know what to do. In this way, this matter would be explained, border trade could continue, and at the same time, an irreparable rift would be created between the Mongols and the Mongols, which was beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

After thinking this through, Wei Zhongxian had to admire the Emperor Tianqi's plan and immediately called the Emperor wise.

"Let's just leave it at that." Emperor Tianqi waved his sleeves and concluded the matter.

Wei Zhongxian responded and then asked how to deal with the Mongolian prisoners in prison. How could the Emperor Tianqi care about a few Mongolian prisoners? He told Wei Zhongxian lightly that he could handle it himself and didn't need to bother himself with such a small matter.

Wei Zhongxian agreed, then left the Qianqing Palace and hurried to the Silijian to convey the imperial edict.

On that day, two imperial edicts drafted according to the Emperor Tianqi's intentions were read and confirmed by the Emperor, and then issued by Wei Zhongxian on behalf of the Imperial Household Department after being sealed.

As for the Mongols imprisoned in the prison, no one cared about them. They soon disappeared and no one knew where they were.

After the imperial edict was sent to the Tenger tribe via Weiyuan Guard, and then to Zhu Shenzhui, Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and sighed after reading it, and said to Tana: "The Elbegji Taiji tribe is finished."

"Will Bu Shitu really attack Elbegji Taiji's troops?" Tana said with a little surprise.

Tana had discussed with Zhu Shenzhui about the Ming Dynasty's reaction before, and now Zhu Shenzhui made such a judgment again. Although she was mentally prepared, Tana still didn't believe that Bu Shitu would really do that.

"It's obvious." Zhu Shenzhui sighed, "As long as Bu Shitu is not stupid, he will definitely attack Elbegji Taiji's tribe. Maybe in a few days, he will send Elbegji Taiji's head to the tribe."

"Elebegji Taiji..." Tana couldn't help but shook her head. Although she didn't want to admit it, this possibility was indeed very high. Based on her understanding of Bu Shitu, this old guy might really be able to do such a thing.

It's a pity that Elbegji Taiji was loyal to Bu Shitu, but ended up like this. Thinking of the time when Elbegji Taiji escorted Master Sangge to the tribe and everyone met and drank and talked happily, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

Zhu Shenzhui's judgment was absolutely correct. Just half a month after he received the imperial edict, Bu Shitu sent someone to deliver Elbegji Taiji's head to the tribe. When he opened the wooden box, the head inside with slightly open eyes and a defeated face was that Elbegji Taiji who had once drunk with him.
In addition to this head, there was also a letter sent by Bu Shitu, which stated that he had no idea about the Zhenlu Fort incident, and that it was all Elbegji Taiji who took the initiative without authorization. He not only concealed the truth about himself and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but also intended to stir up conflicts within the Tumed region and even threw dirty water on him. This man had a vicious mind and deserved to be put to death.

Having done such a thing, it was not a pity that Elbegji Taiji died. Now his head was offered as a token of sincerity. At the same time, Bu Shitu also sent a memorial to the Ming Dynasty to explain the matter in detail, asking the Tenger tribe not to be provoked by the villain. We are all from the Tumed tribe and we are family. We should trust each other. What's more, Bu Shitu was the nominal leader of the Tumed.

In addition, Bu Shitu also told the Tenger tribe that the Elbegji Taiji tribe had been severely punished, and that a group of people and cattle and sheep would be sent to the Tenger tribe as compensation for the losses in this matter.

After reading the letter, Zhu Shenzui sneered in his heart, his eyes fell on the head of Elbegji Taiji, who died with his eyes open. He reached out to close the lid of the box, and was too lazy to look at the dead head again.

(End of this chapter)