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

Chapter 853 Lou Lao Er's Secret Letter

But the situation would be different if they had the Ming Dynasty as their backing. The Ming Dynasty's equipment was stronger than that of the Jurchens. If Dular Bomubogor could obtain sophisticated weapons and armor from the Ming Dynasty, he would have absolute confidence in being able to stop the Jurchens and teach them a lesson.

This was also the reason why Zhou Anmin's people showed great friendliness after coming into contact with the Solon tribe, especially after meeting Dular Bomubogor. They took the initiative to propose that as long as the Ming Dynasty could support the Solon tribe, the Solon tribe would definitely respect the Ming Dynasty as their leader.

After reading the two letters, Zhu Shenzhui was very happy. The attitude shown by the Solon tribe was exactly what he wanted. Winning over the Solon tribe for his own use would not only weaken the power of the Jurchens, but also allow him to use the Solon tribe to control the Nurgan area, allowing the Ming Dynasty to once again control this vast northeastern territory.

And the Solon tribe is actually not an outsider. The Solon tribe has a deep connection with the Central Plains. Although the Solon tribe now uses names such as Ewenki, Daur, and Oroqen, in fact, the Solon tribe has another name that is more familiar to the world, that is, Khitan.

That’s right, it’s the Khitan who established the Liao Dynasty in history.

After the Liao Dynasty was destroyed by the Northern Song Dynasty and the rising Jin Dynasty at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, which had ruled most of China and was once powerful, came to an end. The Khitan, the main ethnic group that made up the Liao Dynasty, was also divided into pieces due to the demise of the dynasty. Some of them followed Yelu Dashi to the west to establish the later Western Liao Dynasty, some went south and merged with the Song people to become Han people, and some became subjects of the Jin Dynasty with the demise of the dynasty, becoming Jurchens and northern Han people. Some others went to their homeland in Liaodong and gradually evolved into today's Solon tribe.

It can be seen that the Suolun tribe is the descendant of the Khitan people, but they have lived in the bitter cold of Liaodong for too long, and their culture and technology have degenerated, which is why they have become what they are now. The Liao Dynasty established by the Khitan people is one of the orthodox dynasties in the Central Plains, and it was recognized by historians at that time and in later generations. As the descendants of the Khitan people, it is not difficult to make the Suolun people work for the Ming Dynasty as long as they are given certain respect and benefits, and with the necessary publicity.

Zhu Shenzhui thought carefully, and after a moment he asked, "Have all the people you sent returned?"

"Half of them came back, and the other half stayed in Nurgan. This was arranged before I sent people there." Zhou Anmin replied.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly. Zhou Anmin's arrangement was good. It was necessary to keep people from Nurgan, not only now but also in the future.

"Now that the route has been discovered, how long will it take to go there next time?"

"Your Majesty, if everything goes smoothly, it will take about a month to get from Pi Island to Nurgan, or at most one and a half months. However, the weather in the north has cooled down, and it is inconvenient to go north now. Once the sea is frozen, not only will the ship be unable to sail, but there will also be the risk of getting stuck in it. Therefore, it will take at least until the beginning of next spring to get to Nurgan. The sea route is not available in winter."

Zhu Shenzhui understood this. Nurgan was too far north. Going further north would lead to the Arctic Circle. It was impossible to travel there in winter. It would only be accessible after the spring of next year. Calculating the time, it was just the beginning of autumn, and there was still half a year before the beginning of spring next year. Such a long time was really troublesome.

But no matter how troublesome it is, there is no way to deal with it. The weather is not subject to human will. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty cannot pass through Nurgan, and the same is true for Huang Taiji. In the middle of winter, it is icy and snowy. Even if Huang Taiji wants to use troops against the Solon tribe, it is impossible. By the time he solves the internal problems and prepares to attack the Solon tribe, it will be at least next spring.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui frowned slightly. He was not worried about anything else but that Huang Taiji would get ahead of him. Once Huang Taiji sent out troops first and defeated the Solon tribe first, then all the arrangements for contacting the Solon tribe would be in vain. So no matter what, he had to hurry up and deliver the weapons and equipment that the Solon tribe urgently needed to them. As long as the Solon tribe obtained these supplies, with the strengthening of their equipment, it would not be so easy for Huang Taiji to completely defeat the Solon tribe.

Zhu Shenzhui immediately asked Zhou Anmin to make preparations. He would ask the Ministry of Industry to allocate a batch of military equipment and supplies. Xu Xiancheng would be in charge of the Ministry of Industry. After all, Xu Xiancheng came from the Ministry of Industry, and he had been in charge of military equipment before, so he was particularly familiar with these.

Once the supplies are ready, they will be shipped to Pi Island for storage, and will be ready to be shipped north in the early spring of next year, so as to deliver the weapons to the Solon tribe as soon as possible before Huang Taiji sends troops against them.

As long as the Solon tribe has these weapons, the combat effectiveness of the Solon tribe will be further improved. At that time, it will not be so easy for Huang Taiji to defeat the Solon tribe as easily as before. Moreover, it is not only about supplies. If possible, Zhu Shenzui even wants to send an army to the Solon tribe to assist them in the fight. Once the Solon tribe wins the war with the Jurchens, Huang Taiji's plan to annex the Solon tribe will not only fail, but he will also establish a powerful opponent in the north of the Jurchens, which will be extremely beneficial to the follow-up of the Ming Dynasty's war against Liaodong.

Although these weapons are important and valuable, they are very useful and worth the effort. Moreover, the population of the Solon tribe is not large. The total population of the entire Solon tribe is only 100,000. In addition, they have suffered losses in several wars with the Jurchens. Now the total number of Solon warriors who can fight in the battlefield is only about 10,000. If we prepare weapons according to the amount of 10,000, these expenses are nothing for the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, although the Ming Dynasty is short of money, it has never lacked weapons. The warehouse of the Ministry of Industry is full of armor, swords, bows and arrows, and they are almost piled up into mountains. Even if many of them are not of good quality, they are still much better than the stone and bone things in the hands of the Solon tribe.

Giving these things to the Solon tribe will not only win their gratitude, but also help win them over to fight against the Jurchens. Isn't that the best of both worlds?
After hearing this, Zhou Anmin agreed without hesitation and said that he would do his best to handle the matter and send the weapons to Nurgan and hand them over to the Solon tribe as soon as next spring.

He gave Zhou Anmin some details and told him to make sure someone appeased Dular Bomubogor and never let the Solon tribe be taken over by the Jurchens.

Just as he finished talking about this, and before Zhu Shenzhui could secretly ponder whether to give Dulal Bomubogor a Ming Dynasty identity, such as making him a prince, or the co-director or even the commander of the Nurgandusi, the eunuch Du Xun who was serving outside walked in cautiously.

"What's the matter?" Seeing Du Xun standing at the door, Zhu Shenzui frowned slightly, but he knew that Du Xun was not a man without rules. Not to mention that he is the emperor now, when he was the regent, the rules in the palace were very strict, even for a eunuch of Du Xun's status.

"Your Majesty, a secret letter has just been delivered from the south..." Du Xun glanced at Zhou Anmin and replied hesitantly.

"Your Majesty, I'd like to take my leave first. I will report to Your Majesty after I have discussed and arranged the Nurgan matter with Lord Xu." When Zhou Anmin heard the word "secret memorial", he quickly stood up and said to Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and asked him to sit down: "It's okay, you are the commander of the Jinyiwei, just keep it for now, and I haven't finished talking about Nurgan yet."

As he spoke, Zhu Shenzhui looked towards Du Xun. Du Xun hurriedly stepped forward, handed over the secret box in his hand, and then stepped back and left.

Zhu Shenzhu first carefully examined the box containing the secret memorial. The entire box was flat and not very large, only slightly larger than a normal memorial, and could fit a memorial inside. The outside of the box was sealed with a lacquer seal, which was stamped with a fire seal. The appearance was intact, and the fire seal was clearly visible, indicating that no one had opened the secret memorial since it was delivered.

Originally, Zhu Shenzui thought that this secret memorial was sent by Lu Xiangsheng or Hong Chengchou. After the bandits in the Central Plains were wiped out, the former Governor-General of Five Provinces, Chen Qiuyu, was recalled to the capital to serve as the Minister of War. Hong Chengchou's post as Governor-General of the Three Borders of Shaanxi was also removed and he was transferred to the post of Governor-General of Huguang.

There was no post of Governor-General of Huguang in the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Shenzhui specially issued an edict to set up this position not long ago. On the one hand, the purpose was because the local provinces were severely damaged by the previous bandits. The Governor-General of Huguang governs Hunan and Hubei provinces. The most important thing for these two provinces right now is to appease the local areas and restore production. In later generations, there was a saying that Huguang is "the most mature in the world", but in the Ming Dynasty, Huguang is not yet a major grain-producing area. Hong Chengchou has done a good job in the northwest. In recent years, Shaanxi has recovered well. Hong Chengchou is a man of both civil and military abilities and has excellent abilities. Putting him in Huguang to govern the two provinces is the most suitable person.

In addition to Hong Chengchou's post as Governor-General of Huguang, Zhu Shenzui also set up the post of Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, which was held by Sun Chuanting, the former Governor of Shaanxi. The two of them are currently the only two governors-general in the Ming Dynasty who hold actual office. Moreover, this governor-general is not a military position responsible for fighting like the previous ones, but a governor-general in charge of local military, political and civil affairs. This shows the current policy direction of Zhu Shenzui.

As for Lu Xiangsheng, he is currently the governor of Henan and the left governor, in charge of the entire province of Henan. The imperial decree was issued after Zhu Shenzhu ascended the throne, and now they have taken office. But Zhu Shenzhu did not expect that when he carefully looked at the wax seal on the secret letter box, he found that the secret letter was neither from Lu Xiangsheng nor Hong Chengchou, but from Lou Laoer, who had just returned to his hometown not long ago. Seeing this, Zhu Shenzhu could not help but be stunned.

It's strange. Why would an old military leader like Lou Lao Er write a secret letter to me? And didn't he go back to Yiwu to retire? Why did he think of sending me a secret letter?

Zhu Shenzhu felt strange, although he met with Lou Laoer when he left and gave him many rewards. After all, Lou Laoer was one of the founders of the new army and had been with him for a long time. Without Lou Laoer and the other three, his new king would not have been able to be trained. Although the three of them had no actual military achievements, this merit alone was enough, so Zhu Shenzhu not only gave them the title of Viscount when he conferred them titles, but when Lou Laoer asked to return home, Zhu Shenzhu not only met him in person, but also gave him the right to report to him directly if he had any problems after returning home.

(End of this chapter)