Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Why is Chapter 250 mentioned again? [Seeking monthly votes]

"Crooked melons and cracked dates..."

The servants behind him looked surprised and doubtful upon hearing this, and their tense emotions eased slightly.

He had been a servant in the Yan household for many years and had never seen Yan Shifan defile himself like this.

Back in the capital, when the master was still a second-rank official, there was no need to elaborate. Even after the master was demoted, no one would openly mock Yan Shifan's physical defect.

This was Yan Shifan's sore spot, which he would never mention directly. If anyone else brought it up, they would have to be prepared to become mortal enemies with the Yan family.

But now, Yan Shifan is so openly describing himself as "ugly and deformed," which is not just self-degradation, but self-abasement...

"Khan, before we start the war, I'll kill this one-eyed blind man as a sacrifice to the flag!"

Upon hearing this, the leader became even more enraged, his face flushed red as he drew his knife and prepared to kill.

"Wait!"

Anda finally spoke up at the opportune moment to stop him, saying with a half-smile,

"The person has already delivered himself to our doorstep, are you afraid he'll grow wings and run away?"

"It would be better to listen to what message Yan Maoqing sent us, and how he's courting death, before granting his wish later."

"Speak, what exactly does Yan Maoqing mean this time?"

Yan Shifan finally turned to face Anda, or rather, sized him up before slowly asking in return:

"If I remember correctly, wasn't it Anda Khan who made the three-day agreement in the message arrow?"

"General Yan said that Anda Khan always keeps his word, and this battle seems inevitable. However, General Yan is also a man of his word, so he had no choice but to come as scheduled."

"..."

Anda and the other Tatar leaders looked at each other in bewilderment.

The three-day agreement they made stipulated that if the Ming Dynasty did not open up the coal trade within three days, they would march south to plunder Shanxi and kill people in the capital and surrounding areas.

Instead of agreeing to start a war with Yan Maoqing three days later and having him lead his army to attack the Fengzhou Beach Royal Court, the priorities are completely different, okay?

I really don't know how Yan Maoqing's brain works, why he understands the problem in this way?

Yan Shifan gave them a little time to process what he had said before continuing:
"General Yan also said that if Anda Khan cares about the Tatar people and does not want to go to war with the Ming Dynasty, he should make a sincere offer and see if there is any room for negotiation."

"However, judging from the appearance of Anda Khan and the other leaders, they do not seem to take this battle seriously."

"This is tantamount to 'the buyer not knowing the goods and the seller not offering a low price.' If we don't wait until we inspect the goods, it will be difficult to reach a consensus, and the deal will not be done."

"Therefore, there is probably no need to continue the discussion now. It would be better to wait a little longer. In any case, General Yan is not far from here. It is not too late to discuss it after Anda Khan has inspected the goods. At that time, no one will suffer losses and no one will be fooled."

"However, I still have to say something unpleasant to you all first."

"Once this battle begins, both sides will inevitably suffer losses. Therefore, the price is one now, and the price will be another after the battle begins. If General Yan gains the upper hand in this battle, then the price will certainly be yet another."

"Therefore, I personally hope that Altan Khan will think twice before acting, after all, Altan Khan's ultimate goal is still to establish trade and tribute relations with the Ming Dynasty."

"In this respect, regardless of the outcome of this battle, the only one who will suffer losses is Anda Khan."

This was a strategy he devised on the spot based on the performance of Anda and the others. In short, he wanted to whet Anda's appetite first, so that at least his life could be saved temporarily.

Otherwise, if the other party is unaware of the gravity of the situation, and he makes an exorbitant demand, it would be problematic.

If the two sides' expectations are too different, the negotiations will break down from the start, and the possibility of him being killed by Anda as a sacrifice will increase dramatically.

Once he dies, no matter how brilliantly Yan Maoqing fought the battle, or how sincerely Anda offered his price, it wouldn't bring him back to life.

Of course, it would be even better if this war could be avoided.

After all, war inevitably leads to death, and death inevitably breeds hatred. And he, as an enemy envoy in the enemy camp, would certainly be the first to bear the brunt of this hatred.

Therefore, you should always try to bluff, just in case it works.
"Damn it, this traitor is pulling this trick again?!"

Before he finished speaking, another leader stood up and glared angrily at Yan Shifan.

"?"

Yan Shifan felt both nervous and puzzled.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid; he would never admit that his vest was completely soaked, and his outward composure was just a facade.

But why did this person say "again"?

Of course, he would never know that Yan Maoqing had demanded a bribe of 400,000 taels of silver from Anda in this way, with the amount increasing layer by layer, doubling from 100,000 taels of silver all the way up.

This is simply a coincidence. It's true that all the wicked people in the world have similar tricks up their sleeves. It's just a matter of who has the most ingenious schemes.

"Khan, this treacherous villain is absolutely untrustworthy. Last time he said he could 'both succeed and fail,' and he ended up taking our benefits. Now, isn't the tribute agreement facing numerous obstacles?" Another person, also looking grim, loudly echoed.

"Now this treacherous villain is using the phrase 'it can both succeed and fail' to blackmail us. Even his methods for demanding benefits are exactly the same. How can we gain people's trust?"

"I'm afraid that after this, when we're even more entangled, he might have even more cunning tricks up his sleeve!"

"That's right, I think he's the real obstacle to paying tribute!"

"In my opinion, it would be better to kill this envoy first, and after Yan Maoqing arrives with his army and defeats his troops in one fell swoop, kill him as a sacrifice to our ancestors. In this way, there will be no more endless tricks when we communicate with the Ming Dynasty in the future!"

For a moment, the group of leaders seemed to have a collective stress reaction, each of them spitting and cursing, some even with red eyes from anger.

This made Yan Shifan, who was already uncertain about the situation, even more anxious and fearful.
"What's going on? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I was just talking normally, why did I make them all so angry?"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with me. They're all scolding my uncle, so it's my uncle's problem!"

"It must be because my uncle-in-law extorted too much from them last time, to the point that it became a thorn in their side. So much so that they immediately get angry and embarrassed whenever the matter is mentioned... After all, that's 400,000 taels of silver. Ask the current emperor if he has to grit his teeth to take out so much silver from the imperial treasury."

"But...why didn't my uncle tell me beforehand? If I get killed by these people because of this, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

Yan Shifan felt the problem was serious the more he thought about it, so the leaders now looked at him with murderous intent.

Even the chill on Anda's face grew stronger, and one could feel it from a distance.

No!

I can't die like this, without knowing why. I have to say something. I have to save myself!

"Shut up!"

In a moment of desperation, Yan Shifan, not knowing where the courage came from, immediately shouted, instantly silencing the royal court.

Then, forcing himself to look down at the crowd, he loudly proclaimed:

"As I just said, General Yan is a man of his word; he will always do what he promises!"

"Let me tell you what General Yan did after he accepted your money in order to facilitate the commencement of tribute."

"Leaving aside the distant past, in the last half month, in order to help you clear the obstacles to tribute, he has not hesitated to make enemies of the entire Shanxi province. He has killed more than 400 officials, powerful figures and merchants in Taiyuan and Datong prefectures. He has not even spared the cabinet ministers and the Minister of War in the imperial court!"

"It seems you haven't received the news yet, but for such a big matter, you only need to send someone to investigate, and you'll naturally find out everything."

"The reason General Yan led his troops here this time is also because of this matter."

"General Yan also said that if Anda Khan leads his iron cavalry to raid the Jin region in the south, crosses the pass and goes straight to the capital, then he will be destroying the great situation he has already created and will also be an obstacle to the establishment of tribute relations."

"Anyone who dares to disrupt the tribute system will become General Yan's enemy, and General Yan will nip them in the bud with swift and decisive action."

"Although I do not know whether the southward march was Altan Khan's own idea, it is undeniable that whoever strongly advocates the southward march to plunder the pass is suspected of obstructing the tributary relationship."

"General Yan's trip is precisely to carry out the tribute mission to the end. He will deal with the treacherous officials of the Ming Dynasty, and he will also deal with the treacherous officials of Anda. He will keep his promises and will not be ambiguous. Whether today or in the future, he will ensure that the tribute mission is carried out smoothly and without any problems!"

"..."

After he finished speaking, the royal court became even quieter than before.

So it turns out that Yan Maoqing led his army to Fengzhou Beach to rectify the officialdom and clear out the treacherous officials within the Tatars who were hindering the tribute trade.
Several leaders who had been advocating for a southward raid upon hearing these words turned red and white involuntarily, feeling inexplicably guilty... wait a minute?
No, no, no!

How come they suddenly turned around and accused us of the wrongdoing?
"..."

However, Anda was deeply moved at that moment.

How can someone who isn't in charge know how difficult this scripture is to recite?
Do you think he could gain much by leading his army south to plunder the pass? In fact, he wouldn't gain anything at all. He was only doing this to appease these leaders.

Each time he returned from raiding the pass, he was responsible for the compensation of the wounded and the injured. In order to win the support of these leaders, he had to generously share the looted property, livestock and slaves with them first.

In the end, he often found himself unable to make ends meet and could only force his direct descendants to suffer in silence.

Even so, these leaders are difficult to control.

He could even imagine that even if the tribute mission went smoothly this time, these tribes would still do as they pleased.

Whenever he had free time, he would disregard the overall situation and secretly go south to plunder Ming Dynasty soldiers and civilians. This kind of thing happened more than once or twice, but in the end, the blame would be placed on him and on all the Tatars...

at this time.

"Report——!"

A messenger ran in and reported loudly.
"The Ming army is less than five li from the royal camp. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)