"Win-win?"
Zhang Wuji had never considered the issue of win-win or no win-win, but Zhao Min's words did arouse his great interest.
"Min'er, what do you mean by win-win? Tell me in detail."
Zhao Min laughed and said, "To be honest, Timur and I are somewhat related. After all, we have the same ancestor. Although we are not related at all, we are still close in blood."
"Therefore, I want to meet Timur when the army sets out from the Western Regions. If possible, I will use Persia as a condition and send troops from both sides to jointly conquer Persia with Timur."
"After conquering Persia, we will get gold, silver and wealth and take Xiao Zhao back. As for the Persian territory, it is not adjacent to the Ming Dynasty and there are other countries around it. It is not of the same nature as Japan, so we cannot defend that place. Therefore, we use the Persian territory as a condition for Timur to send troops to attack Persia."
"As for what will happen between us and Timurid Khanate after we conquer Persia, we will talk about it later. If something goes wrong, the worst that can happen is we will just fight another war."
Zhou Zhiruo sneered: "Zhao Min, your idea seems a little different from what I think and what we discussed before."
"Why do I feel that you seem to have a good impression of the Timurid Khanate? Could it be because you have the same ancestor?"
After hearing this, Zhao Min was speechless: "Zhou Zhiruo, the expedition of hundreds of thousands of troops is not a joke. We are going to attack Persia, a country behind the Timurid Khanate, not the Timurid Khanate."
"Of course, if Zhang Wuji wants to deal with the Timurid Khanate at the same time, I have nothing to say. After all, when you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog. Since I am the empress of the Ming Dynasty and his, Zhang Wuji's woman, I have to side with my man no matter what."
"But, if we go to war with Timurid Khanate, how long will it take? Half a year, a year, or two years? After defeating Timurid Khanate, can we continue to advance westward in the short term? If we advance westward, how long will it take to fight Persia? A year, or two years? How many years will Xiaozhao have to stay in Persia?"
A series of rhetorical questions left Zhou Zhiruo speechless.
The final decision still lies in Zhang Wuji's hands.
After thinking it over again and again, Zhang Wuji said, "Xiao Zhao is my woman, so I have to take her back as soon as possible no matter what."
"As for what Min'er said just now, it does make sense. Persia is too far away from us. The center of our Ming Dynasty is in Beijing, which is thousands of miles away from the Western Regions. What's more, the Western Regions are not very peaceful now."
"In short, let's slowly gather the army towards the Western Regions and stabilize the situation there first. After we get there, we will find a way to meet Timur and see what he means. If he is willing to join me in sending troops to attack Persia, I will sign a contract with him. If he refuses and takes a tough stance, then we can only start a war. At worst, we will destroy the Timurid Khanate first and then Persia."
…
Zhang Wuji's words were a compromise. Fighting a war, especially an expedition thousands of miles away, was not easy. After all, the Ming army was not a nomadic army, and they needed strong logistics as a guarantee.
If it is within the national border, it may be better, but once it is out of the national border, the logistical consumption will be an astronomical figure, and it is possible that a war will drag down a country.
Take the expedition to Japan as an example. Fortunately, we won the battle and directly destroyed Japan. At the same time, we seized a huge amount of money. If we had lost, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
…
At night, Zhang Wuji came to Zhao Min's room. When Zhao Min saw Zhang Wuji, she was happy at first. After all, as a woman, she likes to have her man spend more time with her. However, the next moment, Zhao Min remembered something, that is, she was really inconvenienced these days.
Thinking of this, Zhao Min frowned.
"Hmph, you bastard, what are you doing here?"
Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Min'er, look at what you said. Isn't it okay for me to come and see my woman?"
As he spoke, Zhang Wuji placed his hand on Zhao Min's slender waist.
"Min'er, your figure is still as good as it was back then. You said you have given birth to three children. How do you maintain your figure? Look at your skin, it's still like that of a little girl."
Zhang Wuji's hands had begun to become dishonest.
Zhao Min was also helpless. Zhang Wuji's attitude towards her was beyond Zhao Min's understanding of other men. Because in Zhao Min's eyes, sometimes women are really cheap, because flowers do not last forever. For powerful men, even the most beautiful girl can rarely be favored for three to five years. But Zhang Wuji treated her the same as before. Every time he was with her, he was so impatient and looked so cheap.
Zhao Min sighed and thought to herself, "It's really inconvenient for me today, and it's a pity to waste such a beautiful time."
After thinking for a while, Zhao Min pretended to be reluctant: "Your enemy, I am a little tired today, please let me go, and go find Qianye. After all, she is about to go to the Western Regions to pave the way for you. Tonight, you go and accompany her well. If possible, you can also accompany Aoi and Longze."
After hearing this, Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Min'er, you are openly trying to drive me away. Your attitude is not like that of a wife. Aren't you afraid that one day you will no longer be favored by your wife?"
Zhao Min said disdainfully: "No longer favored? If you are willing to stop harming me, I don't want you at all."
Zhang Wuji felt helpless, but how could he leave easily: "Min'er, Qianye and the others can leave a few days later. Don't chase me away tonight. You said you were tired, so I will take care of you. You don't have to move, just rest. Leave the other things to me."
Zhao Min was speechless after hearing this: "Zhang Wuji, you are so shameless. How could I not move? Everyone has their own personality. Do you think I am Zhou Zhiruo?"
"Get out! I won't let you stay here tonight. I, Zhao Min, keep my word. Tonight, unless you don't care about my feelings, unless you really want to bully me, otherwise, I will never obey you no matter what."
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