Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

In midsummer, the weather in the capital was already so hot that it felt somewhat oppressive.

At this time, the Ministry of Revenue was bustling with activity.

In the Right Vice Minister's office, natural ice blocks obtained from the Imperial Household Department were placed in the four corners of a bronze ice jar.

A cool breeze completely shut out the summer heat outside.

Gu Yannian, dressed in a scarlet official robe, sat upright behind a sandalwood desk.

He picked up a purple-tipped brush and steadily began to write on the attendance book.

[Ding! Today's attendance complete. Attribute point gained +1.]

"Add to the spirit."

Gu Yannian's thoughts raced.

A refreshing aura, as pure as the perpetual snow and ice atop the Kunlun Mountains, poured down from the mind, instantly coursing through the limbs and bones.

He put down the purple brush, took out the smooth and shiny sandalwood abacus from his sleeve, and casually placed it on the table.

On the small red clay stove beside it, the spring water was just beginning to boil, bubbling and gurgling.

He pinched a small amount of Dongting Biluochun tea and dropped it into the white porcelain cup.

When steeped in boiling water, the tea leaves unfurl and release a fragrant aroma.

"Minister Gu, the aroma of this tea is indeed refreshing and invigorating."

The heavy cotton curtain was lifted, and Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, strode in.

The old minister was sweating profusely today, and even took off his official hat and held it in his hand.

The hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat and stuck to his scalp.

Gu Yannian gently offered her a seat and poured her a cup of cool tea.

"What brings Minister Xia in such a hurry? In this sweltering summer, be careful not to let the heat harm your health."

Xia Yuanji picked up his teacup, drank it all in one gulp, and let out a long sigh of relief.

He then settled himself in a guest chair and lowered his voice, saying:

"I just went to the cabinet. People from the north have arrived."

Gu Yannian paused slightly in his tea-serving hand, his expression serene.

"Could it be an envoy from the Oirat?"

"Exactly."

Xia Yuanji's brows were furrowed, and his beard trembled slightly.

"Although Mahmud, the leader of the Oirat, is dead, his son Toghon is an ambitious man. When the late emperor was alive, he defeated the Oirat. For many years, Toghon had been a vassal, paying tribute and remaining obedient. But now that the late emperor has passed away, the new emperor has stopped the northern expedition and allowed the people to rest."

"Tuhuan became arrogant and sent his fierce general Arubao as the chief envoy, under the guise of paying tribute, but in reality, he came to test the strength of our Great Ming."

Gu Yannian nodded slightly.

The hungry wolves on the grasslands have always feared power but not virtue.

Once the Central Plains dynasties put away their weapons, they would see an opportunity to take advantage of them.

"What do they want?"

Gu Yannian spoke in a calm tone, as if he were asking about the prices of vegetables at today's market.

Xia Yuanji snorted coldly and slammed the tablet in his hand heavily onto the coffee table.

"They're asking for an exorbitant amount! The gift list they presented contained nothing more than inferior horses and a few tattered sheepskins, yet they dared to demand rewards from the imperial court."

"They demand 100,000 bolts of cloth, 30,000 catties of pig iron, and 200,000 shi of grain annually! This isn't tribute; it's clearly an attempt to plunder!"

In the early Ming Dynasty, the tribute trade was characterized by generous gifts and meager returns.

Foreign envoys could easily exchange a few local specialties for rewards several times or even ten times the amount.

Zhu Gaochi was kind-hearted by nature, and the Oirat envoys took advantage of the new emperor's reluctance to start a war.

That's why they dare to be so unscrupulous.

"How will the Emperor and the Cabinet decide?"

Gu Yannian picked up a salted peanut from the table and put it in his mouth.

"The old Minister of War and that brat Yu Qian were so angry in front of the Emperor that they almost drew their swords, and strongly advocated driving the envoy out of the capital and preparing the army for war."

Xia Yuanji sighed.

"But His Majesty is far-sighted. The firearms in Xuanfu and Datong have just been replaced, and the border walls are still under repair. If we were to turn against the Oirats now, we might just be playing into the hands of Arughtai of the Tatars."

"His Majesty's intention is to use peace talks to stabilize Tuohuan first, delaying the situation for one or two years, until the defense of the nine border regions is completely secure."

Gu Yannian brushed the peanut shells into the wastepaper basket and took a damp cloth from the side to wipe his hands.

He knew perfectly well that Zhu Gaochi was trying to buy time with money and grain.

"So, the cabinet wants the Ministry of Revenue to provide this sum of money to fill the bottomless pit of the Oirat people?"

Gu Yannian asked casually.

Xia Yuanji looked troubled, but nodded.

"Lord Yang Shiqi means that the granaries are now full, and the silver from Jiangnan and the income from the voyages to the West are both good. Giving them some old grain and cloth in exchange for peace on the border would be a worthwhile deal. But I'm really frustrated!"

"Why should the grain that the people of our Great Ming Dynasty work so hard to grow be given away to those barbarians for nothing!"

Gu Yannian stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the branches and leaves in the courtyard that were somewhat wilted by the scorching sun.

"Minister Xia, the silver and grain in the granary are for enriching the country, strengthening the army, and providing relief to disaster victims."

"Go and fill the bellies of jackals; the fuller they are, the stronger they will bite."

Gu Yannian turned around, his deep eyes revealing an undeniable composure.

"Yesterday, Your Majesty and I discussed the tea-horse trade policy in the Western Garden. Now that the Oirat envoys have arrived, we should use them as a starting point to establish the rules for this trade."

Xia Yuanji was taken aback, then smiled wryly:

"Minister Gu, that Alubao is a notorious barbarian general, arrogant and unreasonable. Yesterday, the Minister of Rites went to the meeting hall to sound him out, and was met with a barrage of sarcastic remarks, saying that if our Great Ming is unwilling to reward us, then the Oirat warriors will ride south to get it themselves."

"How could such a scoundrel obediently abide by the rules of the trade you set?"

Gu Yannian smiled slightly and sat down back at the desk.

He pushed the sandalwood abacus towards the center of the table.

"Barbarians only recognize knives and interests. The officials of the Ministry of Rites are full of benevolence and morality, which is like casting pearls before swine."

Gu Yannian picked up his teacup.

"Since this is a matter of money and grain transactions, the Ministry of Revenue should be the one to handle it. Minister Xia, please rest assured, for every grain they ask for, I will ask them to exchange it for a fine horse."

"Trying to get something for nothing? The account books of the Ming Dynasty never contain such a losing equation."

Just after noon, the imperial edict from the inner court reached the Ministry of Revenue.

Emperor Hongxi, Zhu Gaochi, issued an edict appointing Gu Yannian, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, as the Deputy Imperial Envoy, to work alongside Yu Qian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

At Shenshi (3-5 PM), he went to the meeting hall to formally discuss the "annual tribute" with Alubao, the envoy of the Oirat Mongols.

The moment this decree was issued, the entire court and the public were secretly amazed.

Historically, the tribute missions of foreign countries were handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonies.

Now the Emperor has actually sent the Vice Minister of Revenue in charge of money and the Director of War in charge of war to go there.

The deeper meaning behind this is self-evident.

At the beginning of the Shen hour (3-5 PM), the sun was setting in the west, and the heat subsided slightly.

The Huitong Hall, located inside Zhengyang Gate in the capital, was an important place specifically for receiving envoys from various vassal kings.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the main hall of the meeting hall was tense and ready to fight.

The Oirat envoy, Alubao, was a burly man with a full beard, as imposing as an iron tower.

He sat at the head of the guest seats, dressed in rough leather armor and wielding a large, imposing sword.

Behind him stood four burly Oirat warriors, each with an arrogant gaze and their hands on the curved swords at their waists.

In the main seat of the hall, Yu Qian was dressed in the blue official robes of a fifth-rank official.

His back was ramrod straight, and his face was as cold as frost.

He hated these barbarians who raided and plundered the borders the most in his life.

If it weren't for the imperial decree, he would have left long ago.

"Did your emperor grant official positions in the Ming Dynasty or not?"

Arubo, speaking broken Mandarin, impatiently slapped the coffee table.

The vibrations made the teacups clink and rattle.

"Our Oirat cavalry are training at the foot of the Yin Mountains, and both men and horses are exhausted. If we don't have 100,000 bolts of cloth and 200,000 shi of grain to get through the winter, I'm afraid Chief Tuohuan will not be able to control his warriors!"