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

Chapter 398 Food
All Zhu Shenzui can do now is to accumulate strength, even in Mongolia.

However, he knew very well that once Lindan Khan was defeated by Huang Taiji in Chahar, Lindan Khan would have no choice but to go west, and his first target would be the Tumed grassland.

The Tumed Grassland was originally the location of the Mongolian headquarters. It was only after Ligdan Khan succeeded to the throne as the Great Khan that the headquarters was moved to Chahar.

If he could no longer stay in Chahar, there was Khorchin in the northeast, Outer Khalkha in the north, Huang Taiji in the east and Ming in the south respectively. Algdan Khan would definitely not go to these places, and Tumed was his only choice.

But once Lindan Khan retreated to Tumed, the originally peaceful Tumed would also be in chaos. Putting aside the grudge between Lindan Khan and Bu Shitu, the two would inevitably compete for control of Tumed. If nothing unexpected happened, Bu Shitu would not be Lindan Khan's opponent, even if Lindan Khan was forced to move from Chahar to Tumed, as the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. With Lindan Khan's strength and status, it is absolutely impossible for Bu Shitu not to hand over Tumed.

Would Bu Shitu be willing to hand over Tumed to Ligdan Khan? The answer is naturally no. In addition, Ligdan Khan had previously planned to use the Tenger tribe to deal with Bu Shitu. If Ligdan Khan came to Tumed in person, he would definitely go to war with Bu Shitu.

If this battle breaks out, it will be absolutely impossible for the Tengger tribe to stay out of it. Whether they like it or not, they will definitely be involved in the war.

It would have been fine if it was just a war between Ligdan Khan and Bu Shitu, but there was also Huang Taiji who was eyeing them covetously in the east.

Since Huang Taiji had taken action, he would never give Lindan Khan a chance to catch his breath, let alone watch Lindan Khan recover in Tumed and have a chance to make a comeback. In order to strike while the iron is hot or beat the dog when it is down, Huang Taiji would definitely continue to pursue Lindan Khan and put him to death. By that time, the three forces would be entangled in Tumed. What choice would the Tengger tribe make?
The more Zhu Shenzui thought about it, the more troubled he became. He absolutely could not give up the Tengger tribe, but how to make a choice in the upcoming complex situation and preserve the Tengger tribe was a difficult problem before him.

After thinking it over, Zhu Shenzui couldn't come up with a better solution. He could only take one step at a time and at the same time made preparations to return to the Tengger tribe. He didn't know when he would come back from the Tengger tribe this time, nor did he know how long he would stay in the grassland. Maybe he would come back after the Tumed incident was settled. After leaving the Ming Dynasty for such a long time, he could only temporarily let his wife and children down at home.

Before leaving, Zhu Shenzhui made proper arrangements. He didn't need to worry about the family situation, as there were people to help take care of it. However, the children were growing up, and he was reluctant to be separated for such a long time. Especially for his wife Xu Jingqiu, Zhu Shenzhui felt guilty. Since they got married, he had been traveling back and forth between Mongolia and Ming Dynasty, and he could only accompany his wife for half a year. In addition, he also had Tana and two children in the Tenger tribe, which seemed a bit unfair to Xu Jingqiu.

However, Xu Jinqiu never complained, and it was her kindness and understanding that made Zhu Shenzhui feel sorry for her. But even so, Zhu Shenzhui still wanted to go to Mongolia, because in Mongolia he also had a home and a tribe that needed to be protected, which was equally important to Zhu Shenzhui.

Before leaving, Zhu Shenzhui made all the arrangements and also met with Zhu Minfeng, Zhu Minqi and Zhu Qiuqi, his uncle and nephew.

Over the years, the relationship between the three of them and Zhu Shenzhui has become extremely close, far beyond the scope of ordinary relatives. To some extent, the interests of the three of them have been tied together with Zhu Shenzhui, and the three of them also know more or less about some of Zhu Shenzhui's affairs, or some of the arrangements he has made.

Even so, the three of them never had any other thoughts. Instead, they followed Zhu Shenzhui even more closely. In their words, if it were not for Zhu Shenzhui's support and help, they would not have the good life they have now.

Although the title of a royal family sounds good, only the royal family members themselves know how they live. Before, among the three of them, only Zhu Qiuqi had a better life. The brothers Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu both had families to support, and their lives were extremely difficult.

Zhu Minyu especially had a hard time. The old and the young in his family often had no food to eat. Fortunately, his brothers and nephews often helped him, otherwise he would have starved to death.

Now, the three of them have considerable industries and are living a good life with the help of Zhu Shenzhu. People should not forget their roots, nor should they repay kindness with enmity. Even if some of the things Zhu Shenzhu did were not in line with the court rules, in their eyes, the court rules meant nothing. This world belongs to their Zhu family. Why can the descendants of the Prince of Yan live a carefree life while their family has such a hard life?

In terms of origin, the Jin Wang family is much stronger than the Yan Wang family. The Jin Wang is the legitimate son of the ancestor. If the first Jin Wang had not died early, what would Yan Wang Zhu Di be? Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare to do anything like the Jingnan Rebellion, let alone sit on the throne of the emperor.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Jin Wang family had many complaints against the court. There were many people who made trouble and opposed the court. There was even a case where the Shanxi royal family intended to unite with the Mongols to rebel. Compared with these daring predecessors, what Zhu Shenzhu did was nothing. Besides, Zhu Shenzhu did this just to make life easier for everyone. If Zhu Shenzhu was gone, wouldn't they go back to the days of hunger and fullness? They had had enough of this hard life and didn't want to live it again.

"Uncle, you can go ahead. My two uncles and I will take care of the household affairs. There will be absolutely no problem." In front of Zhu Shenzhui, Zhu Qiuqi patted his chest and assured that he was no longer the same person as before. He had earned a considerable fortune following Zhu Shenzhui over the years, married wives and concubines, and had several children. He was already a young figure in the royal family.

The same thing went for the brothers Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minqi, who said similar words unwillingly. Looking at their sincere expressions, Zhu Shenzhui felt very gratified that he had helped them back then. Over the years, the performance of the three of them satisfied him, and he gradually handed more things over to them, letting them do some work for him.

"In that case, I'll leave it to you."

"Sixth Uncle (Uncle), you are too polite. This is what we should do." The three of them quickly stood up to return the greeting. Seeing this, Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and asked them to sit down. They were all family members and there was no need to be like this. Moreover, he had not come to see them for just this matter.

Previously, the bilateral trade between the Tengger tribe and the Ming Dynasty was directly presided over by Zhou Anmin, and Hengtong Trading Company was the middleman for operation. Through trade, Zhu Shenzui integrated the trade routes of Shanxi and surrounding provinces, and part of it was handed over to the three of them.

The three of them benefited a lot from this opportunity. In addition, Zhu Shencui also assigned them some other tasks, including the private purchase and stockpiling of grain. The three of them had been doing a good job, which gave Zhu Shencui a big surprise.

However, as Zhou Anmin handed over bilateral trade and Hengtong Commercial Bank gradually withdrew from the core of trade, Zhu Shenzhui also began to adjust many commercial arrangements. In addition, the people sent by Tian Ergeng were nepotistic and greedy, and the profits in bilateral trade began to decline sharply.

In addition, there were various news coming from the capital. Zhu Shenzui keenly realized that the days of bilateral trade might not last long, so last month, Zhu Shenzui asked Kang Youfu to gradually transfer the resources under his control in exchange for some benefits he needed, and he planned to completely separate Hengtong from bilateral trade within these two months and put an end to this matter once and for all.

I called them here today to tell them about this. I thought they would ask me some questions or be reluctant about this decision. But I didn't expect them to show such expressions. Instead, they smiled and agreed immediately.

According to them, it was Zhu Shencui who led them to make money in the beginning, and it didn't matter if they stopped doing this business now. The money they earned in the past two years was beyond their imagination before, and they were very satisfied with such a profit.

Moreover, as members of the royal family, they are much more knowledgeable than ordinary people and merchants, and are also well-informed. Since Zhou Anmin handed over the leadership of bilateral trade and Hengtong was gradually marginalized, the three of them knew that this business might not last long. According to the style of those greedy officials in the court, this is a matter of time. Such a piece of fat meat has long been coveted. It is not easy for them to live so comfortably in the past two years. It is not a pity to lose it now.

But in addition to this, Zhu Shenzhui also told them that although the buying and selling had stopped, the purchase of grain had to continue. In the past two years, there have been more and more natural disasters, droughts have occurred in the northwest region, and the situation in Shanxi is not much better. The output of grain crops has become less and less, and grain prices have continued to rise.

Prepare for a rainy day. There may be more disasters in the future. Stockpiling food in advance is to prepare for the future. So we must not relax on this matter. We must try our best to find ways to buy food from the Central Plains or Jiangnan. The more food we buy, the better. And we must not make a big fuss about this matter. We must do it carefully and never let anyone catch us.

As for the purchased grain, one part will be stored for personal use, and the other part can be directly handed over to Wang Rong and Wang Jinwu, who will make proper arrangements. Zhu Shenzhu was supposed to personally monitor this matter, but he was about to go to Mongolia, and it was not enough for the Ming Dynasty to rely solely on Kang Youfu and his men, so he had to let the three of them do it.

Listening to Zhu Shenzhui's explanation, the three of them nodded repeatedly to show that they understood. The climate change in Daming in recent years has been very abnormal. They have all been hungry before, so they naturally know that food is life. Once there is a real famine, without food, it will definitely cause a big disaster.

This was no small matter. Since Zhu Shencui was so concerned about it, out of trust in Zhu Shencui, the three of them took this matter to heart at the first moment and decided to handle it properly, so as to live up to Zhu Shencui's trust.

(End of this chapter)