Bulu was a Jurchen.

Wild Jurchens.

The life of the tribes used to be nomadic, fishing and hunting.

I have never had a full stomach since I was born, and being hungry has become a common thing.

He originally had five brothers, but three of them starved to death while growing up.

He and his brother were left alone.

Originally, such days did not make any difference to Bru. After all, everyone was like this, and there would be no difference even among other tribes.

In the future, he will follow the customs of the tribe, find a woman to give birth to a baby for him, and then go hunting, fishing, or go to war with other tribes.

But one day, suddenly dozens of people riding tall horses and covered in metal came to their tribe.

It is said that it was the tribe next door.

Blue looked at their figures with some envy, thinking how great it would be if he could become like them.

He knew nothing, and couldn't even understand what they were saying, but after a brief communication, the patriarch loudly announced that from now on, they would submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Ming Dynasty.

The pronunciation of this Chinese character felt a little strange to him.

But since the patriarch has made the decision, let's do as he says.

As they migrated, they came to a new place. The tribe leader said that this was the cradle of warriors. Only after training here could the warriors of all tribes become true warriors.

Then.

The patriarch left.

Except for the young and strong ones, everyone else left.

He and more than seventy other people stayed here.

People began to teach them Chinese and Chinese characters.

Also started training them.

They no longer have to hunt or fish every day, they just need to exercise according to the instructor's instructions.

The most important thing is that here, they finally had a full meal.

Not just one meal, but three full meals every day.

It feels good to have something in my stomach.

Meat, which was not available before, is now available at every meal here. For Blue, perhaps this is the final place of belonging as the patriarch said.

The training is very hard, and if the movements are not correct, you will be punished by the coach.

What he feared most was not being beaten, but being punished by the coach by not being allowed to eat and having to stand at the door of the cafeteria and watch others eat.

It's that feeling, once you've experienced it once, you'll never want to experience it again.

Three months passed in a flash.

He, who was originally so skinny that his bones were visible, has turned into a strong warrior.

There used to be more than seventy brothers in the tribe, but now there are less than fifty left, and the others could not hold on.

On the graduation day, when he stepped onto the podium and was awarded bows and crossbows, war horses, long swords, and leather armor, he knew what glory was.

He will be proud of Ming Dynasty.

…

"Duke Liang, this Bulu is the strongest soldier in this new recruit training. I have assigned him to your side."

"The King of Yan wanted to take advantage of this achievement to directly conduct a selection, but I refused to agree."

In a private room in the cafeteria at the Grassland Military Base.

Liu Buyi held the wine glass and said to Lan Yu with a smile.

Hearing this, Lan Yu smiled and raised the cup with Liu Buyi from a distance, then drank it all in one gulp and said, "You and I both follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so we can be considered as one of his family."

"You must have known about the things between Prince Yan and the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince has not made any arrangements now, it is because His Majesty is still here."

"As long as His Majesty is here, His Royal Highness will definitely not do such things as fratricide. But if His Royal Highness takes the throne someday, some things will be hard to explain."

"It looks like there is a confrontation between three parties in this base, but in fact, our two families are one family. If King Yan wants to use his status, you and I should help each other."

Liu Buyi frowned slightly.

It is disrespectful to discuss those in higher positions.

He grew up reading books of sages and had received training at the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Military Academy. He was extremely particular about respecting superiors and subordinates.

He found it a little hard to accept the fact that Lan Yu spoke so bluntly.

But he knew in his heart that Lan Yu was just like that.

I just smiled awkwardly and it was over.

Then he said, "I wonder what the Duke of Liang has planned recently."

Naturally, Liu Buyi had his own thoughts on the conversation with Lan Yu today.

Now that spring has arrived and flowers are blooming, it is the perfect time to mobilize troops. The Prince of Yan seized the opportunity and directly destroyed the Taka tribe.

The Rantaka tribe was just a medium-sized tribe on the grassland.

In order to completely solve the problem of grassland, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not only withstood tremendous pressure and imposed an embargo on the entire grassland, but also established military bases and relocated the grassland population.

They even go so far as to give up animal husbandry and turn herders into farmers.

The goal is to reduce the follow-up capacity of the entire grassland as much as possible.

When it comes to fighting, the most famous person in the Ming Dynasty is naturally Lan Yu.

At this time, apart from normal patrols, Lan Yu had been keeping his troops on hold. Even the King of Yan said so, and he had no intention of mobilizing troops. Liu Buyi came today just to test the waters.

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu put down the wine glass in his hand.

After thinking for a while, he said, "I'm waiting for an opportunity."

"The situation on the grassland is extremely chaotic now. The ruling power of the Northern Yuan Dynasty is constantly declining, and the tribes under its command also have their own ideas."

"But it is undeniable that even so, we still have no way to defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop."

"It's not that the Northern Yuan Dynasty doesn't want to attack us at this moment, but they don't know who to let attack us. However, they can't let our military base continue like this."

"Perhaps in a month, or maybe two months, our military base will face the greatest challenge."

Bei Yuan is not a fool.

A famous military base was established, which continuously absorbed the population of the grassland. Of course, the Northern Yuan Dynasty wanted to destroy it directly.

The grassland military base does not have any strong walls, and the fortifications are unable to withstand the attack of the Northern Yuan army. A fierce battle is bound to break out here.

This possibility was confirmed from the beginning when the grassland military base was established.

The reason why they haven't come yet is that the ice and snow have just melted, and many tribes are relatively scattered. In addition, due to the previous blockade and war, they have not been able to recover all of a sudden.

At this juncture, the military base is given a lot of control time.

"Duke Liang means to take the initiative?"

After a slight hesitation, Liu Buyi asked tentatively.

Lan Yu nodded and said, "This is our only solution."

"Do you know how Genghis Khan's tribe gradually took control of the entire vast grassland?"

"It means to keep attacking, plundering, and expanding your own power."

"A large number of cavalrymen in our current base are Mongolians and Jurchens. They are natural cavalrymen, and after the training at the base, they are even more combat-ready."

"We are different from other tribes. We have no influence from the rear. The border is our strongest backing. At this time, we should become the sharpest spear and continue to annex other tribes like other grassland tribes."

"While training new soldiers, they will expand themselves and cause chaos throughout the grassland."

Lan Yu's words made Liu Buyi fall into deep thought.

He felt that some of his previous actions seemed a little too conservative.

But Lan Yu's ideas also seemed radical.

Lan Yu saw that Liu Buyi was thinking, so he didn't urge him.

There is nothing wrong with what he said, and it is more in line with the situation on the grassland.

But it is more in his interest.

Behind a huge military operation, there needs to be strong financial support, which means that enough food and even military pay must be transferred from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

There is also the issue of the migration of large numbers of herders.

Therefore, Lan Yu had to persuade Liu Buyi, and even asked Liu Buyi to join him in making a memorial to the Crown Prince.

Only in this way could Lan Yu stir up the entire grassland and then continue to gain credit and achievements.

A medium-sized tribe, not something Lan Yu would take seriously now.

In Lan Yu's heart, the words of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince kept echoing.

As long as his achievements are sufficient, there is a possibility that he will be crowned king of the grassland.

This is a living king of a different surname, unlike Xu Da, Mu Ying, and Chang Yuchun who were posthumously honored.

This is Lan Yu’s biggest motivation now.

At this moment, Liu Buyi's contemplation was about one key point, that is, how much burden would such an action bring to the Ming Dynasty, and whether it was worth it.

After a while, Lan Yu saw that Liu Buyi's mind was a little shaken, so he drank a glass of wine and continued: "For us now, if we just sit and wait for death, there are only two possibilities."

"First, we withstood the attack from the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and the grassland military base truly gained a foothold. Then, we continued to absorb cavalry from the surrounding areas to strengthen ourselves."

"Second, we will eventually be defeated by the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and the entire grassland military base will be destroyed. Even you and I will have to bear great guilt."

"But if we take the initiative, there is only one possibility."

"It's about whether we can plunder enough tribes and let them attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"Even if we fail, our grassland military base will not be threatened."

After hearing this, Liu Buyi finally made up his mind.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if Duke Liang has explained it so clearly, it will be meaningless if I still don't know what's good for me."

"I will report this to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince later, explain the pros and cons, and ask for His Royal Highness's approval."

Lan Yu immediately showed a look of satisfaction.

…

In Kunning Palace.

Zhu Ying looked at the information in his hand and frowned slightly.

Blocking and banning the grassland has already cost a huge price.

The embargo, which lasted less than half a year, has not had enough impact on the grassland, and it is itself a protracted battle.

The goal is to undermine the grasslands with national strength.

It is envisaged that the start-up time will be three years.

The content of Liu Buyi's memorial was to request strong support from the capital to launch a military operation against the entire Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Logistics is the most critical point here.

As for the current Ming Dynasty, it can certainly hold on, but this also means a risk.

That is whether it will drag the Ming Dynasty into the quagmire of the entire grassland.

As the saying goes, a cannon shot is worth a fortune.

The cost of nearly 40,000 cavalrymen in the current grassland military base, even if they are not given high salaries, the large number of war horses and rations are already equivalent to the expenses needed for nearly 200,000 combat soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

There is a calculation here, that is, the cost of a warhorse is almost equivalent to that of nearly two infantrymen.

It’s because of the different systems.

They were aggressive towards other tribes on the grassland. All their expenses were based on the blood of people from other tribes and they relied on a large number of slaves for supplies.

As a dynasty in the Central Plains, the Ming Dynasty naturally could not practice slavery, which was a step backward in civilization.

Once such a system is implemented, even if it is only on the grassland, it will become a huge hidden danger for the cavalry that controls the grassland.

The loyalty of the soldiers will also be shaken.

This is also why, for so many years, the Central Plains dynasties, despite being threatened by the grasslands for so many years, have never learned to grow as strong as the grasslands.

Or let the soldiers of the Central Plains dynasty learn the methods of the grassland tribes, continue to plunder, and establish a tribe as powerful as Genghis Khan.

Because the army established in that way no longer belongs to the Central Plains dynasty.

Therefore, we can only use logistics to supplement it.

The Ming Dynasty is indeed rich now, but the bigger the plate, the bigger the gap.

As the Ming Dynasty gradually entered a period of rapid development, the prosperity from maritime trade had not yet been fully developed.

Whether it is the Nanyang countries or Japan, it takes time to prepare.

If it was ten years later, no, even five years later, Zhu Ying would choose to agree and support without hesitation.

But it happens just now.

Zhu Ying was also aware of the threat that the Grassland Military Base would face now, and he had thought about it earlier, but he knew that even if it was defeated, the Grassland Military Base would not be completely destroyed.

After all, there is the border as a retreat.

Fortifications are not like building a city. They do not require too much effort, and even if you are defeated, you can retreat first.

Given the current situation in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, there is no way to organize other tribes into a long-term alliance.

The other tribes were also trying to contain the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Even if the Northern Yuan Dynasty had 100,000 cavalrymen, it would not dare to use them to fight a desperate battle with the grassland military base.

If the foundation is destroyed, how can the Northern Yuan Dynasty control other tribes?

From this point of view, it seems that it is more correct to reject Liu Buyi's proposal.

But from another perspective, this is also the best time to replace the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Ying knew very well that within a few years, the Northern Yuan Dynasty would collapse and Guilichi would ascend to the throne and become the new Khan.

Today, the Northern Yuan Dynasty will become the territory of the Tatar tribe.

Compared with the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the emerging Tatar tribe was undoubtedly stronger and more dominant.

Guilichi is now in continuous development, but due to the distance, Zhu Ying has no way to curb its development.

Liu Buyi's memorial was a good opportunity.

At this moment, even knowing the direction of history is no longer of much use. As the crown prince, every decision made by Zhu Ying will have a far-reaching impact.

He didn't know which direction was the right choice.

At this time, Zhu Ying truly realized the difficulties of being the ruler of a country.