Zhu Xiong Ying couldn't help but laugh as he received the secret letter from Wang Cheng En.

It's undeniable that Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely suspicious. And it's not unreasonable to say he was harsh and ungrateful.

Many people understand that Li Shanchang is now being prosecuted as a member of Hu Weiyong's faction. Li Shanchang may have done some bad things, but to say he committed treason is certainly not an exaggeration; it's a fabricated charge.

Although Li Shanchang had no military achievements on the battlefield, he was granted the title of Duke of Han, ranking first among the six founding dukes, which demonstrates his abilities. This talented man, who loved reading from a young age, possessed wisdom and strategy, and was well-versed in Legalist doctrines, had his biggest problem being that he offended Zhu Yuanzhang and disrupted some of Zhu's plans.

Now that Li Shanchang has been stripped of his title, the former Grand Tutor, Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, and Duke of Han is now a criminal. His entire household is guilty, except for Li Cunyi, whose entire family was executed. Old Zhu is making an example of him.

Li Shanchang's fate was entirely his own doing, likely because his achievements were so great that he became arrogant and fearless. When he was in power, Emperor Zhu was ill and unable to attend court for almost ten days, yet Li Shanchang did not come to inquire after his health. The Imperial Son-in-Law, Li Qi, also failed to attend court for six days.

Then there's Hu Weiyong. He was originally just the magistrate of Ningguo County, a minor official. But thanks to Li Shanchang's recommendation, he gradually rose through the ranks. Not only was he from the same hometown as Li Shanchang, but Li Shanchang's younger brother, Li Cunyi's son, Li You, was also Hu Weiyong's nephew-in-law.

Zhu Xiong Ying was somewhat expectant, muttering to herself, "This matter is interesting. If Li Shanchang can die peacefully, my grandfather's reputation for killing meritorious officials might be a little less. After all, my father is still alive, and I am still alive, so the military merit group won't be purged too harshly."

Historically, Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) had a great reputation for killing meritorious officials, a fact that Zhu Xiong Ying did not deny. He had already killed some meritorious officials, but some of them could be considered to have brought it upon themselves, and some had indeed committed some illegal crimes.

If Zhu Biao hadn't died, and if there hadn't been a need to pave the way for Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen wouldn't have gone on a killing spree.

Zhu Xiong Ying was relatively confident because he knew history could be changed, and he knew he had the ability to alter things. Take, for example, the case of Li Shanchang. If it weren't for Zhu Xiong Ying, Li Shanchang might have had his entire family executed.

Whether Li Shanchang could be used by me, Zhu Xiong Ying couldn't guarantee. Smart and talented people usually have their own ideas. Although Zhu Xiong Ying's status was different, he also knew very well that some talented people were not so easy to subdue, and not everyone was as outstanding as Zhu Xiong Ying.

"If I can win over Li Shanchang, I won't lack a qualified head steward." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed, still very confident. "I have a lot of things to do right now, and I need some experienced people to help me."

There are already many things to do, and Zhu Xiong Ying's team consists mostly of relatively inexperienced newcomers. Under these circumstances, it naturally means that Zhu Xiong Ying needs some experienced veterans to oversee things.

Now all we need to do is wait patiently for the disgraced official Li Shanchang to be escorted to Beiping.

Zhu Xiong Ying has a lot to do, and he needs a more outstanding team to get things done.

Zhu Xiong Ying was actually quite familiar with reviewing memorials to the emperor. This was mainly due to his family's scholarly tradition; when Zhu Xiong Ying was very young, he would snuggle up next to his parents, the elder Zhu, and watch them review the memorials.

Currently, reviewing memorials is essentially part of Zhu Xiong Ying's job duties. For example, the establishment of the capital and the construction of the Tianjin garrison are things that Zhu Xiong Ying needs to do well, and these are things that he cares about immensely right now.

Zhu Xiong Ying only needed to keep an eye on these matters. As for the trivial and specific affairs in Beiping, or the policies of the dynasty, personnel matters, etc., Zhu Xiong Ying basically only paid a little attention to them and did not intend to interfere much.

Xu Yungong arrived and reported the situation: "Your Highness, the Tatars in the northern desert are in chaos. Yesuder has strangled the false Yuan emperor with a bowstring and has now left the Great Yuan and is calling himself Mongol."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and took the report to read.

The present-day Northern Yuan, or Mongolia, can be said to be fragmented into several tribes.

The Oirat tribe, also known as the Wala, lived in the Eight Rivers region of the upper Yenisei River. Their main tribes included the Dzungars, Dorbets, and Torghuts. They posed a significant threat to the Western Regions and were collectively known as the 'Western Mongols'.

The Khorchin tribe, also known as the 'Southern Mongolia,' was relatively weak in the Liaodong and Inner Mongolia regions.

The Mongols of Outer Mongolia, also known as the Tatars, were mainly from the Mongol heartland and lived in what would later become Outer Mongolia. They wielded considerable power.

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, then asked, "Do you have a plan?"

Xu Yungong immediately said, "Now the Tatars are internally divided, with various tribes attacking each other. Our Great Ming army only needs to send out a small force, which will surely cause chaos among the Tatars, making them hesitant to act against them."

Zhu Xiong Ying seemed to understand a little, but asked jokingly, "You want to train cavalry?"

It's clear that Xu Yungong intends to use a flanking maneuver for surprise attacks and disruptions; he doesn't plan to lead a large army on a direct assault. Therefore, this time, Xu Yungong only wants to take a portion of his cavalry with him, making combat training the best strategy.

Seeing Xu Yungong nod, Zhu Xiong Ying did not object. "We must not engage in prolonged battles with the Tatar main force or large tribes. If we can fight, we will fight; if we cannot, we will retreat. Remember, what I want is to train troops. I only want to train a more capable cavalry to prepare for future major battles."

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