Although Zhu Di was a prisoner in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he still enjoyed the treatment like a prince.

Even Zhu Neng, who had been captured before, was released immediately.

This also made Zhu Di happy.

At the Northern Yuan Dynasty's tent, after Zhu Di arrived, Elbek Khan, or the Northern Yuan Emperor, did not summon him immediately.

Maybe they were discussing what was to come.

In addition to Zhu Neng and Zhang Yu, Zhu Di was accompanied by five personal guards. There were strict soldiers guarding outside the tent, but there was nothing else important.

It probably means house arrest.

"Your Majesty, I feel that things are not that simple. We were suddenly discovered. Someone must be playing tricks in secret."

"With such a large grassland, they might just be so lucky that our scouts didn't get any news. If it weren't for the prince's vigilance, we wouldn't even know we were surrounded."

"Those scouts, they..."

Zhu Neng was extremely happy to see King Yan again. He had never expected that he would survive and be able to meet King Yan.

I had already made up my mind to die.

After being captured by the Mongolian cavalry, they were not treated badly like slaves. On the contrary, they were well fed and well entertained.

It was only during this period of time that Zhu Neng suddenly discovered something was wrong.

On this vast grassland, the army mainly relied on scouts to act as eyes, and they would conduct a patrol at a distance of at least twenty miles.

The movements of tens of thousands of troops can be clearly sensed even from ten miles away, not to mention the professionally trained scouts.

The other side will also send out scouts, usually at a distance of about twenty miles.

When encountering the enemy's scouts, our scouts will of course report the information instead of foolishly gathering intelligence on their own.

Fifty miles away, even on this flat grassland, if you get the news in advance, you can easily avoid it.

However, the King of Yan did not receive any news at all, and even the scouts who went out never came back.

It's not just one or two people, it's dozens of people.

In this case, things don't seem to be that simple.

After the greetings, Zhu Neng immediately told the prince what was in his mind.

But when he said the last sentence, Zhu Di raised his hand to interrupt him.

"I know what you said, but there is no point in guessing."

"Besides, the result has already been like this. Why bother to pursue these things? It's better to think about how to go back."

"Only by going back can we have a chance to find out who is behind this."

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Neng deeply and spoke.

Zhang Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he shook his head slightly at Zhu Neng who wanted to continue talking, indicating that he should stop talking.

Zhu Neng then replied somewhat dejectedly: "I understand, Your Majesty."

In fact, how could Zhu Di not have thought about these things?

I was captured so suddenly on this grassland. How could it be such a simple thing? Are the cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty just there to eat and do nothing?

If that were the case, it would have collapsed long ago.

However, Zhu Di knew that there was no way to expose this matter. Even if he did so later, he could only investigate it secretly.

Perhaps even an investigation is not necessary.

The specific situation will depend on how it develops in the future.

The initiative of the matter was no longer in Zhu Di's hands.

…

In the Northern Yuan Dynasty's great tent.

Civil and military ministers gathered together, and the most dazzling one was naturally the Minister of War, Haba.

The achievement of capturing the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty alive was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which had been suppressed by the Ming Dynasty, and it also gave it more hope.

However, there was no such joy in Haba's eyes, because he knew very well in his heart that the Ming Dynasty's current strength in all aspects had completely crushed the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Everyone was celebrating the capture of the Ming Dynasty Prince of Yan, but they all overlooked one problem, which was the casualties suffered by their own army when capturing Zhu Di.

A total of five thousand cavalry.

It doesn't sound like much. After all, Zhu Di had 7,000 cavalry at the time, and his side only lost 5,000 cavalry, which was considered a great victory.

However, in reality, cavalry confrontations are not calculated in this way.

Cavalry is different from infantry. When charging, it is more like a huge torrent. Under absolute suppression, it is difficult for small-scale cavalry to effectively kill large-scale cavalry.

For example, when Mongolia invaded other countries, the casualties were often extremely rare, and there were even horrific records of sending out tens of thousands of cavalry but suffering less than a hundred casualties.

The terrifying light cavalry on the battlefield on the plains was a dimensionality-reduction attack on the enemy.

Obviously others also have cavalry, but they are not on the same level as the Mongolian cavalry.

What’s more, there were 30,000 Mongolian cavalrymen fighting against Zhu Di’s 7,000 cavalrymen.

With such a huge difference in numbers, Zhu Di's army might collapse in one round.

However, the final result was that Haba forced a cavalry charge and abandoned mounted archery, which led to the defeat of Zhu Di.

Even so, five thousand cavalry were lost.

In fact, there were nearly three thousand cavalrymen among the captive Zhu Di.

This means that the casualties on Haba's side will be even higher.

No one cares about this. This is the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty. Even if it means losing an extra 10,000 cavalry, it is worth it.

"Your Majesty, please look, this is the latest firearm of the Ming Dynasty. I have learned from some friends that this new firearm is called a matchlock gun and was created by the Grandson of the Ming Dynasty."

"I have tried to use it just now. Compared with the previous musket, this matchlock gun is not only more accurate, but also more powerful."

"Simple leather armor can be easily penetrated within a distance of thirty steps, and can cause effective damage within fifty steps."

"Our bows and arrows are only thirty steps away."

In the Northern Yuan Dynasty, those who inherited the traditions of the Mongols and called themselves subjects were naturally the Han people.

And this minister of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was also of Han descent.

Naturally, it was for his own wealth and glory that he joined the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

There were quite a few Han ministers like this in the Northern Yuan court. In this big tent alone, they accounted for more than half of the total.

Pure Mongolians usually only call themselves slaves.

The words of the Han minister made the entire tent noisy.

Except for a small number of people who are trying to take advantage of the situation, most of those who are able to stay here are talented and capable. Naturally, they understand what the matchlock gun means to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty also paid great attention to the development of firearms, but due to the limitations of the current grassland environment, there was no space or ability for development.

When I learned that Ming Dynasty's firearms were so powerful, I started to get nervous.

This means a very simple problem. When the range of the Ming Dynasty's bows and arrows exceeds that of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the degree of being beaten will be very high.

Elbek sat on the dragon throne and felt very upset.

Recently, the Ming Dynasty has stationed hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, which has given the Northern Yuan Dynasty a great sense of oppression. The issue of detaining Zhu Di has not yet been resolved.

Now a matchlock gun pops up.

I am really confused.

"Don't take this too far. Now let's talk about the matter of the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty."

"As for the embargo, it is a condition that cannot be abandoned. Everyone knows the current situation here. The slaves under us can no longer make a living."

"The sooner the embargo is lifted, the better chance we will have in the future."

Elbek waved his hand, not wanting to bother with the matchlock gun.

He knew very well that the Ming Dynasty's current firearms would not destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Even a strong Ming Dynasty could not advance into the depths of the grassland, which would not be of any benefit to the Ming Dynasty.

It may even cause a great burden.

As for the Ming Dynasty's current population plundering, Elbek didn't care at all. Those tribes were not very obedient anyway, so he could just capture them and take them away.

The current Northern Yuan Dynasty's economy and food embargo have caused the combat effectiveness of its cavalry to decline on a large scale.

As long as the embargo is lifted, even if the Ming Dynasty attacks, the worst that can happen is that they can retreat a little. Can they continue to occupy the grassland?

With the current strength of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it is entirely possible to migrate and avoid the current Ming Dynasty.

In terms of the overall strength of the Oirat, it is much weaker than the current Northern Yuan Dynasty.

If they can’t defeat the Ming Dynasty, how can they defeat the Oirat Mongols?

As long as there is enough food, Elbek is the master of this grassland.

As for the Ming Dynasty.

The Central Plains dynasty will eventually become weak.

By that time, things will be much simpler.

Hasn't it been like this since ancient times?

After Elbek finished speaking, a man dressed as a prince stood up from below.

He is Elbek’s younger brother, Harguchuk Hongtaiji.

Hartaiji said: "Your Majesty, I think the matchlock gun is a very important thing. If we can master the manufacture of matchlock guns, even if we don't attack the Ming Dynasty, we can easily win against the Wala and other tribes."

"The Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty is the fourth son of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I have heard that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty loves the Prince of Yan the most. When the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty did not appear, he once proposed to make the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty the Crown Prince."

"If we ask such people to give us the manufacturing method of musket, they will definitely agree."

Hartaiji made Elbek frown slightly.

In fact, he didn't like his younger brother very much because he was too strong.

Being able to become the current emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he was slightly better than Hartaiji.

In Hartaiji's hands, he controlled nearly 20,000 cavalrymen of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which made Elbek somewhat worried.

After Hartaiji spoke, Haohaidayu stood up.

Haohaidayu was a member of the Oirat tribe and was now the Grand Commandant of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Of course, his target was the Prime Minister of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister system, but the Northern Yuan Dynasty naturally did not. However, on the road to the prime minister, Hartaiji had always been a roadblock.

Hartaiji advocated following the example of the Ming Dynasty and completely abolishing the prime minister system. Although this goal has not yet been achieved, the position of prime minister in the Northern Yuan Dynasty has remained vacant.

"I don't think so." Hao Haidayu said.

Elbek nodded. He was still very confident about his favorite minister and gestured for him to continue.

After Haohai Dayu walked a few steps to the middle, he glanced at Hartaiji and continued, "Matchlock guns are the key that the Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to now. During the negotiations, it must be very difficult."

"Even if the negotiations are successful, we will definitely have to make big concessions in other areas."

"But even if we have matchlock guns now, can we manufacture them quickly? In the current Northern Yuan Dynasty, I think the more important thing is food, the salt and tea of ​​the Ming Dynasty."

"We need to resume trade with the Ming Dynasty, or even open up more trade, so that we can continue to dominate the grasslands."

"The matchlock gun is powerful, but it is not invincible. It is impossible for every soldier in such a large Ming Dynasty to be equipped with a matchlock gun."

"The grassland is our grassland. As long as there is enough trade, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to defeat us. When the time is right, we can naturally move into the Central Plains again."

Haohaidayu was recognized by Elbek.

Solving the current troubles is the most important thing for the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Hartaiji wanted to stand up and oppose, but was held back by the Han ministers behind him.

When Elbek saw this scene, he suddenly felt even more dissatisfied.

Elbek no longer trusts the Han people today, but his younger brother Hartaiji always hangs out with those Han ministers.

He was even extremely humble to the Han people, completely lacking the temperament of a Mongolian, which made Elbek very uncomfortable.

The Han people are all despicable.

If the Northern Yuan Dynasty did not need to rely on the Han people for advice, Elbek really wanted to execute all the Han ministers who had defected to his brother.

After finalizing the negotiation proposals, the next thing to consider is the selection of negotiators.

This incident made many ministers stop talking.

Obviously, no one wants to go to the negotiation.

Especially now the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty are equivalent to the weak against the strong.

Apart from the card of the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty, the Northern Yuan Dynasty now has nothing else.

It would be fine if the talks go well, but if they don't, and we are directly killed by the Ming Dynasty, then the loss would outweigh the gain.

Although it is said that when two armies fight, they do not kill envoys, but who can say for sure?

The Ming Dynasty today is filled with anger.

At this time, Haohaidayu suddenly walked to Elbek and whispered a few words.

Elbek nodded slightly and said, "I think what the commander says is acceptable."

"Naturally, the Han people are the most familiar with negotiations."

"But in order to show our sincerity, my brother, you should go there in person this time."

After finishing his speech, Elbek also named several Han ministers.

These Han ministers were obviously Hartaiji's confidants.

If the negotiations fail, it would obviously be possible to put all the blame on them.

Hartaiji looked at Elbek deeply for a long while, and finally glared at Haohaidayu fiercely, and then replied: "I obey your command."