It was a sunny day with the sun shining brightly in the sky.

On the vast grassland, there are tens of thousands of war horses in the north and four hundred thousand troops in the south.

From the perspective of war, it is equivalent to a spear and a shield.

The highly mobile cavalry and the hedgehog-like infantry could not do anything to each other.

The negotiation tent is located in the middle of the two camps.

According to the agreement, each side has 300 cavalry available to maintain the safety of both sides.

After all, in this big tent, the people with the highest power are the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Ying looked at Elbek, who was in his thirties, and thought to himself.

If I had not intervened, this guy would have been killed a few years later, and the entire Northern Yuan Dynasty would have collapsed abruptly, turning into the Tatar tribe, and all traces of civilization would have disappeared.

But for now, Elbek is more in line with the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, whether it will work or not depends on Elbek’s personal attitude.

Having lived in the Ming Dynasty for five years, no one knows whether he is close to or hates the Ming Dynasty.

I believe that through today's communication, it will be roughly clear.

What Zhu Ying didn't know was that Elbek felt even more sad when he looked at the Ming Crown Prince in front of him.

After taking a serious look at Zhu Ying's appearance, he spoke first:

"I lived in Daming for five years. To be honest, I have some connection with you."

"It was because of your birth that His Majesty was so happy that he was willing to let me return to the desert."

"You may find it hard to believe, but the time I miss the most in my life is when I lived in Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty is really prosperous. Whatever you want to eat or play, you can find it here. I was a little scared at first, but then His Majesty treated me very well, and I gradually stopped thinking too much about it."

"Perhaps you don't know that your father and I were once very good friends. In some ways, he was more like my elder brother and took good care of me in many ways."

"It's the fourth prince Zhu Di. I'm actually familiar with him, but we're in different countries now, and we can never go back to the days before."

Awesome, really amazing!

After Elbek finished his speech, Zhu Ying's subconscious reaction was that the old man was really strong.

From Elbek's words, it is easy to imagine that when he lived in the Ming Dynasty, the old man must have treated and pampered him like a prince.

He even asked Crown Prince Zhu Biao and other princes to make friends with him.

This layout is really very long-term.

No wonder the early Northern Yuan Dynasty had always been at peace with the Ming Dynasty. Even when Zhu Di later led an expedition to Mongolia in person, it was against the Tatar tribe after the fall of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

It’s just a pity that Elbek was not very durable and died too early.

Otherwise, Zhu Di might not have had to lead the expedition to Mongolia in person, and he would not have died of illness on the way so early.

Now Elbek obviously feels very close to Zhu Ying after seeing her.

Originally, Zhu Ying looked very similar to Crown Prince Zhu Biao, which immediately brought back memories that had been buried in Elbek's mind.

In fact, this is also a very normal thing.

From the second year to the seventh year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty was not as prosperous as it is now, but it was also a big city with a population of one million.

During the five years, as the capital of the Ming Dynasty and the center of power, it naturally had everything.

On the other hand, on the grassland, there is nothing but endless grassland.

There is no noise, only loneliness.

Perhaps at first, you will feel that the scenery is beautiful, but after living for a long time, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it will become ordinary.

Teenagers are the most playful age, and the grassland can't be compared with the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Even a county town in the south of the Yangtze River can be easily defeated.

After he ascended the throne, Elbek could not tell anyone and naturally missed his days in the capital even more.

When the news of Crown Prince Zhu Biao's death reached the grassland, Elbek was really sad for a long time.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao was a very friendly and Confucian-friendly person.

Not only did many princes respect him very much, but Elbek did the same.

Under Zhu's special care, Elbek really treated Crown Prince Zhu Biao as his own brother.

In fact, if Zhu Yuanzhang had followed his plan, if Crown Prince Zhu Biao had not died and Elbek had not been assassinated, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty would not have been so tense.

At least during the time when these two were in power, the Northern Yuan Dynasty would not pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, things did not develop as Lao Zhu had expected.

After Zhu Ying pondered it for a while, he immediately understood the whole story.

He immediately said, "When I came from the capital, His Majesty specifically instructed me..."

Elbek couldn't wait to speak, "Your Majesty, do you have any words for me?"

Zhu Ying was very sensitive to Elbek's choice of words. As the emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he always addressed the old man as "Your Majesty".

It may be a slip of the tongue once, but if it happens multiple times, it becomes complicated.

Zhu Ying quickly recalled the archival records about Elbek in the Jinyiwei.

He then said, "Grandpa said that your favorite place was Donkey Lane and Old Lin's donkey meat hotpot. It's a pity that Old Lin died early, and the shop was no longer open."

When Elbek was in the capital, there was a special group of Jinyiwei who kept statistics on his daily life, including food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Among them, Zhu Ying noticed that donkey meat hotpot was purchased most frequently, from which he inferred that the seller must like it very much.

So let's open the topic.

Sure enough, after listening to it, Elbek's eyes were filled with tears.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he still remembers it."

"My favorite at that time was Lao Lintou's donkey meat hotpot."

"The baked fire-baked bread is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The freshly baked fire-baked bread is topped with cooked donkey meat. I will never forget this taste."

"I didn't expect that His Majesty would remember it all along."

At this point, Elbek turned to look at Zhu Ying and said kindly, "Do you know why I always like to eat donkey meat hotpot?"

"When your father first met me, he brought me donkey meat bacon."

Zhu Ying sighed inwardly.

Although I have never seen this cheap father, accidents involving him always happen in various places.

This shows how popular the crown prince Zhu Biao was at that time.

Even the Emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was full of admiration.

Things have developed to this point, so naturally there is not much distance between the two sides.

Real negotiations don't require too much hassle. What's happening now is going according to Zhu Ying's idea, and it's just a matter of time before things come to fruition.

After some greetings, Zhu Ying and Elbek entered the tent.

Once you enter this big tent, your identity will be somewhat different. Relatively speaking, you are on the opposite side.

However, Zhu Ying already had more ideas.

In the big tent, Zhu Ying and Elbek were positioned very close to each other, almost touching each other, which was obviously intentional.

After everyone was seated, Elbek was the first to speak: "I heard earlier that the Crown Prince wanted to conduct a trade. How about you tell me in detail what the trade method is."

Elbek was obviously in a very calm state of mind, and he had no intention of asking for too much just because of Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

The previous ministers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty wanted to take advantage of the relationship with the captive Prince of Yan Zhu Di and get some free stuff from the Ming Dynasty.

I have absolutely no interest in the trade that Zhu Ying mentioned.

However, Elbek felt that since the trade was proposed during the negotiations, there must be certain benefits. Especially after the conversation just now, he felt that the Crown Prince would not try to cheat him.

Zhu Ying nodded slightly and said, "My Great Ming lacks horses and furs, and the grassland lacks food, medicinal materials, tea, porcelain and all the necessities of life."

"So in terms of trade, Ming naturally has a considerable advantage."

"In previous years' trade, the grasslands had to pay a considerable price to exchange for meager food, medicinal materials and other items. The main profits were actually earned by merchants at the border."

"Of course, they deserve to earn this much money. As you all know, I also worked in this business before, and I am very familiar with the tricks involved."

"The problem of inflated prices is mainly due to the business environment on the grassland. After all, most merchants have to take the risk of being robbed to do this business, and they may even risk losing their heads. Therefore, it is normal for the prices to be higher."

"For this trade, I personally think that the Ming Dynasty can purchase the grasslands according to the current domestic market prices. I believe that everyone here should also understand the current prices in the Ming Dynasty and how favorable the grasslands are."

"Moreover, in my opinion, this trade is not a one-time deal, but a long-term one."

"It depends on whether you are willing to settle this once and for all and have the Ming Dynasty give you some money and food, or whether you are willing to trade for a long-term deal."

After Zhu Ying finished speaking, the ministers from both the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty quickly started a discussion.

Including the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, no one was aware of the decision Zhu Ying had made. Qi Tai had not received any similar news before coming.

This was like a thunderclap, which instantly exploded throughout the entire negotiation site.

From ancient times to the present, there has indeed been a lot of trade between the grassland and the Central Plains, and there have been many increasing mutual trades, but there has naturally never been a single time when there has been such sincere cooperation as the one now.

It can be said that no one has ever put forward such an opinion.

Because this matter was so friendly to the grassland, it was equivalent to completely helping the grassland to rise. If the kings of other dynasties did this, they would definitely be criticized by the world.

Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince crazy?

There is no reason to support the enemy.

However, when such a ridiculous thing was said by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the people in the Ming Dynasty could only look at each other in bewilderment, guessing in their hearts that things must not be that simple.

Of course, things are not that simple.

If the situation on the black soil side had not occurred, Zhu Ying would not have said he would come here in person.

However, if we want to solve the hidden dangers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it is not just about this aspect.

Zhu Ying is now full of sincerity, which makes the Northern Yuan Dynasty a little bit unbelievable.

Elbek immediately said, "Grandson, we are in a serious negotiation here. This kind of thing can't be a joke."

"We can't have this discussion here and then the Ming Dynasty changes its mind a few days later. That would be disgraceful."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying really wanted to say to him: Weren't you the one who started the joke first?

Of course, this will inevitably lead to the collapse of the negotiations.

Elbek's worry was very direct. He was afraid that Zhu Ying would agree, but Zhu Yuanzhang would not agree, which would be very embarrassing.

Zhu Ying said bluntly: "Don't worry, this is not my own hard work, but the result of a discussion between me and Grandpa."

"If you don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do."

"I just want to see how much money and food you need before you are willing to release my fourth uncle."

"But I came here just for this matter. If we can't talk about it, then I will go back first."

Elbek said quickly, "Of course we believe it."

"We did not expect the sincerity of the Ming Dynasty, but judging from other aspects, it should not be a concern for the Prince of Yan."

"If there are any other conditions in the future, please tell us so that we can have a general idea."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Things like pie falling from the sky are impossible to happen between two big countries. Maybe it is possible for some strange small countries, but both sides are rooted in the Central Plains and influenced by the Central Plains culture, so it is not impossible that they cannot see clearly.

Especially the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Cao Yuan might not know about other things, but how could he not know about the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce?

When I thought of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, I suddenly felt very familiar.

The former Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce on the grassland also followed this routine. They were full of sincerity in all business transactions, leaving no room for refusal.

But after a long time, you will find that the one who benefits the most here is the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

Relying on the power of the grassland itself, it has risen rapidly.

Looking at the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty today, I feel the same way as I did back then.

You should know that before the Heroes Chamber of Commerce revealed that it was the property of the Ming Crown Prince, the deal had been done with Elbek.

For example, the clothes that Elbek is wearing now were specially customized by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

In comparison, the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce has done a lot of business on the grassland.

Anyone who is careful will find that the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce mainly does business with the nobles, such as food and medicinal materials, and transports very little of them, and mainly deals in luxury goods.

When Zhu Ying heard Elbek's question, he smiled and said, "It turns out that nothing can satisfy Elbek Khan."

"But don't think too much about it. I also have certain requirements regarding normal trade."

"As long as the price is fair, you will naturally protect the rights of our Ming merchants, such as the safety of life and goods. You must provide guarantees."

"Especially in the case of goods, if our caravan is robbed on your territory, you will be responsible for investigating the situation. If you cannot find out within the limited time, then the final compensation should be borne in full by you."

"Only a good and safe business environment can attract more businessmen to participate, and it will be enough to make the entire grassland prosperous."

Elbek frowned and said, "The grassland is so vast, even I can't guarantee that nothing will go wrong."

"Everyone knows the current situation on the grassland. If something really happens on the vast grassland, how can we trace it?"

"It's not as simple here as in the Ming Dynasty."