"Impertinent?" Mao Weizhang sneered. "I came here to save you from the water and fire. If you are not grateful, then that's fine. Do you want me to be polite to you?"
The leading Mongolian general did not know the purpose of Mao Wei Zhang's visit, but he could tell from his tone that the matter was of great importance.
"Tie him up and bring him before the Khan."
Mao Weizhang frowned and looked cold: "I am an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, the face of the court. You can tie me up, but you can only tie my body to see Subati."
"You..." The Mongolian general swung his sword to chop, but in the end he did not dare to do so.
Mao Weizhang couldn't have come here to die for no reason. He must have something important to discuss.
If killing him would harm the interests of the Khalkha tribes, then he would be a sinner of the tribe.
After some gnashing of teeth, the Mongolian general reluctantly sent someone to report.
Subati couldn't sleep at all in the military tent!
He is the leader of the left and right wings of the Khalkha tribe. Although he is only the leader in name only, he is still responsible for the future of each tribe.
Especially his main tribe: the Zasaktu Khanate.
(There are three major tribes in Khalkha, namely the Zasaktu Khanate on the right, the Tushetu Khanate and the Chechen Khanate on the left. The three tribes are not subordinate to each other, but Subadi is the leader of the three tribes.)
The purpose of this entry was to find the food they urgently needed so that they could survive the winter smoothly.
However...
Faced with the Xuanfu Town with its strong city walls and powerful artillery, they had neither cannons to attack the city nor strong armor to protect themselves. Even if they built ladders, they could not take down the city by virtue of their numerical advantage.
The only way now is to surround and wait for the opportunity.
Sometimes he even thought: If he had not fallen out with the Ming court at that time, he would probably be returning to Mobei with food and waiting for the winter.
well!
"Report!" Just as Subati was daydreaming, the voice of the messenger sounded outside the tent.
Subati said with a hint of displeasure in his voice, "What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, the Ming court official Mao Weizhang requests an audience."
Subati's depressed mood suddenly became cheerful, thinking that the Ming court must have sent someone to negotiate peace.
Good! Good!
"Take it to the central army tent. I'll be there shortly."
"Yes, sir." The messenger outside the tent took the order and left.
After Subati simply tidied up his appearance, he walked into the central military tent with his guards in a menacing manner.
There was a lot of noise in the central military tent.
Many senior generals, including the Tushetu Khanate on the left, the Chechen Khanate, and the Subadi Khanate on the right, arrived at the scene.
This concerns their common interests and everyone takes it very seriously.
"Why don't you kneel down when you see the Khans?" a Mongolian general shouted.
"Kneel down!" The others drew their swords and glared at him.
If it were an ordinary person, he would have been scared to death, but Mao Weizhang was not afraid at all.
In history, Mao Weizhang was a very tough civil official.
(Li Zicheng besieged Beijing, and Chongzhen ordered him to inspect the city walls. He was captured on March 19th, sent to Liu Zongmin, and forced to surrender. Mao Weizhang cursed: "Although I am a small official, I have always been clear about the great righteousness. My head can be broken, but my will cannot be taken away." The thieves were very angry, and tortured him with tongs, injuring his feet and breaking his fingers, and he died.)
Mao Weizhang laughed loudly: "How ridiculous! You people who are facing great disasters actually have the leisure to make me kneel down. It's sad, really sad."
"How dare you! What nonsense are you talking about! The weather in Mobei is good, and the tribes have herds of cattle, sheep, mules and horses. How can a disaster befall us?"
"This is so arrogant. Leader, quickly order him to be executed, lest you anger me."
"Yes, leader, the Ming court sent him to anger us on purpose, so we might as well kill him to vent our hatred."
Subati sat where he was, taking in everyone's performance.
Especially Mao Weizhang, he never showed any fear from beginning to end, he is indeed a manly man.
Subati waved his hand and said, "When two armies are fighting, envoys should not be killed. I respect Mao Weizhang as a man, so don't mention killing again."
Although Mao Weizhang was not afraid of death, he was afraid of failing to complete the task assigned by the court.
Human death is a small matter, but national affairs are big matters.
If the deal fails because of his indifference and arrogance, then he is a sinner.
Thinking of this, Mao Wei Zhang's expression eased slightly, and he said calmly, "I am Mao Wei Zhang, the official of Chaoyanghewei of the Ming Dynasty. I am here to see you, leaders."
The people around him were immediately unhappy: "What do you mean, Chief? This is our Zasaktu Khan!"
"This is our Chechen Khan!"
"This is our Tushetu Khan!"
Mao Weizhang pretended not to hear and continued, "Everyone, can you be quiet for a moment and listen to me?"
Subati held out his hand to silence everyone, stared at Mao Weizhang with an unyielding gaze and said, "Tell me, what is the content of the peace negotiation sent by the Ming court?"
Mao Weizhang snorted coldly: "Negotiation? The Ming Dynasty never negotiates peace! It was the case in the past, it is the case now, and it will be the case in the future."
This time it was Subati's turn to sneer, "Haha, my troops are already at the gates of the city, and the fall of the city is just around the corner. Do you want to resist instead of negotiating peace?"
Mao Weizhang pointed in the direction of Liaodong and said, "Duoduo led 60,000 elite Jiannu soldiers, carrying more than a hundred heavy artillery pieces, and besieged Xuanfu Town for more than half a month. Not only did they fail to capture Xuanfu Town, but they also lost nearly 10,000 soldiers, and lost countless armor, bows and crossbows, and firearms."
"He didn't even take Xuanfu Town, so why do you think you can take Xuanfu Town?"
This question was so devastating that even a pin drop could be heard in the chaotic central army tent.
Yes, with just these people, how could they possibly capture Xuanfu Town?
What they have, Duoduo also has.
What they don't have, Duoduo still has.
Seeing that no one spoke, Mao Weizhang added: "Everyone, please answer my question!"
Subadi coughed lightly and said, "We are the masters of the grassland. We are good at riding and shooting but not good at attacking cities. We failed to capture Xuanfu Town because we did not find a good way to attack the city. Once we find a way, Xuanfu Town will be easily captured."
Mao Weizhang was afraid that angering them would be detrimental to reaching a deal, so he decided to go along with what Subati said.
"Everyone, Xuanfu Town is strong and has powerful artillery. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. By the time you find a way to attack the city, heavy snow will have already fallen all over Mobei."
"You all probably have an impression of how hard it has been to get through the cold winters in recent years, right?"
The central military tent fell into silence again.
Only they know how difficult the winter in Mobei is!
The cold wind and snowstorm froze to death in large numbers.
Sometimes, a snowfall can even cause a small tribe to disappear forever.
Subati stood up under the gaze of everyone, walked in front of Mao Weizhang, and asked seriously: "I want to hear the content of the transaction."
Chechen Khan Shuolei and Tushetu Khan Gunbu also stood up and listened carefully.
Mao Weizhang puffed out his chest proudly and said word by word: "We have more than 500,000 dan of grain in Xuanfu Town. I dare not say more, but it is enough for your tribes to survive the winter!"
(With the same number of people, the Mongols consumed food at a much slower rate than the people of the Central Plains because they had meat as a supplement.)
"As long as you are willing to do two things, I can sell you enough food at a low price on behalf of the court!"
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