Facing the enthusiastic invitation from Mahamu Khan of the Dzungar tribe, Yao Guangxiao looked very happy, but he was actually frowning in his heart.

Rows of roasted lamb were brought over. Yao Guangxiao did not refuse and just picked it up and ate it.

Including the two disciples Yuanzhen and Yuanguang, they also ate with their mouths full of oil.

There was no taboo at all when it came to drinks.

On the grassland, there is no concept of being a vegetarian, otherwise you will starve to death.

"I heard that the master is also the national teacher of Goryeo." Mahamu Khan asked curiously.

Mahamu looked very strong. If converted into later generations, his height would be about 1.9 meters. His muscular body was frightening just by looking at it.

Such a Mongolian man riding on a tall horse is extremely intimidating just by looking at him.

Yao Guangxiao and the other two really felt like children next to him.

"I am honored by the kindness of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, who has specially appointed me to take charge of the internal affairs of Goryeo." Yao Guangxiao bit off a piece of mutton and said while chewing.

Mahamu Khan could not help but ask: "Can the Ming Dynasty's grandson interfere in the affairs of other countries?"

Zhu Ying's name was very famous. Even in the remote Wala area, he was well-known due to the spread of the Ming Dynasty's court reports.

Especially with the changes in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in the past two years, the entire grassland is very curious about the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty. What kind of person could make such a powerful country as the Northern Yuan Dynasty become what it is today?

"Goryeo is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Your Highness can certainly arrange and command it. Not only Goryeo, but also Annan and Champa in Southeast Asia should obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty."

"Japanese pirates are rampant along the coast of Ming Dynasty. The Japanese king is even more disrespectful to Ming Dynasty, so he sent 500,000 troops across the sea. Now Japan has ceded nearly half of its territory directly to Ming Dynasty as a vassal state of Ming Dynasty's vassal king."

Yao Guangxiao spoke lightly about the affairs of the Ming Dynasty, as if they were insignificant.

This made Mahamu feel suffocated.

You should know that the total population of all the tribes of the Oirat is probably only about 500,000, while the army sent by the Ming Dynasty to attack Japan is 500,000.

Of course, the steppes are not afraid of infantry.

Many times, thousands of cavalry can easily chase and strangle tens of thousands of infantry.

But this huge population sounds like a terrifying number.

"My father was a minister in the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He once told me how powerful the Ming Dynasty was. I didn't believe it at first, but now I know how powerful it is after hearing what the master said."

Mahamu said seriously.

His father is Haohaidayu, the current minister of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

It may sound a bit confusing, but in fact the current Oirat is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

During the previous Yuan Dynasty, the Oirat was also a fiefdom of Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty. However, due to its remote location, it did not enjoy much of the Yuan Dynasty's favor, but in terms of heritage, it belonged to the Yuan Dynasty.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the Northern Yuan regime was established, and the grassland was actually divided into three parts.

The Oirat was equivalent to a local government. Although the territory under its jurisdiction was not small, it was sparsely populated due to its poverty.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty was richer and had more tribes.

The Chahar, Tumed, Khorchin, Yongshebu, Ordos, Asu and other tribes were all tribes formed by the Northern Yuan Dynasty and were under the direct leadership of Elbek of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Another part was the Uriankhai who had previously surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

There were three garrisons established by the Ming Dynasty with the support of the Mongols, namely Doyan Guard, Taining Guard and Fuyu Guard, which were the Doyan Three Guards that were very famous in the Jingnan Campaign in history.

Mahamu is not very famous, but his grandson Yesen has a great reputation in history.

It was Mahamu's grandson Yexian who captured Emperor Yingzong of Ming in the Battle of Tumu.

Yao Guangxiao took this opportunity to talk about the purpose of this trip.

"There is a Khan in the west named Timur who seized the power of the Western Chagatai Khanate and claimed to be the second Khan. The Khan should know about this."

Mahamu took a sip of kumis and said, "Timur? I know that cripple. He is very arrogant now."

Mahamu's face flashed with envy: "My ancestors' fiefdom was in this impoverished Wala. If it was in the wealthy Western Chagatai, there would be no place for that cripple."

"Those countries in the west cannot compare with the Ming Dynasty. They are all very weak. Our Mongolian cavalry is the absolute king there. Nothing can resist."

The tribe and population of the Oirat are not large, but as the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people, and their fighting power is very strong.

Even though the population of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was several times larger than that of the Oirat Mongols, it did not want to compete with the Oirat Mongols.

Throughout history, the nomadic peoples of the grasslands, except for the Yuan Dynasty which ruled the Central Plains, did not gain much benefit from the Central Plains dynasties.

More often than not, they were suppressed by the Central Plains dynasty.

Compared to the hellish difficulty of the Central Plains conquest, the westward migration of nomadic peoples becomes a normal mode.

The same was true of Genghis Khan, the Heavenly Khan. He failed to conquer the Song Dynasty, but the territory of the Mongol Empire was already three or four times as large as that of the Song Dynasty.

Even today, the territory left by Genghis Khan is roughly equal to the territory occupied by two Ming dynasties.

After all, even Timur is a descendant of Genghis Khan.

Yao Guangxiao didn't feel good when he heard this.

Because from the meaning of this statement, Mahamu regarded Timur as a fellow Mongol.

In this case, he would not be willing to send troops to help the Eastern Chagatai Khanate attack Timur.

"The Khan has lived in the Oirat for a long time and has never fought with the world, but he doesn't know that Timur has not only completely annexed the Western Chagatai Khanate, but has also occupied large tracts of territory from the Delhi Sultanate and the Golden Horde."

"The Eastern Chagatai Khanate and the Delhi Sultanate supported each other and united against Timur, which did not bring him much benefit. However, the Golden Horde in the north was not so lucky."

"The Golden Horde is now on the brink of collapse. Yuejibe is now a vassal of Timur. In my opinion, in less than two or three years, the entire Golden Horde will become Timur's territory."

"And this is just Timur's battle. Timur's army is now advancing westward, and the territory it has acquired is comparable to the entire Ming Dynasty."

There are no post stations on the grassland now, and because there are so many tribes, the information is very backward.

Timur's current situation was a completely vague concept to the Oirat. They only occasionally heard rumors about it from others, but they didn't know any specific details.

Mahamu was a little stunned, and subconsciously asked: "Is Timur so powerful?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded affirmatively: "Timur now has more than a million soldiers capable of fighting under his command, including hundreds of thousands of cavalry, dominating the West."

"He claims to be the second Heavenly Khan and is determined to recover all the territories that once belonged to Genghis Khan. Although the Oirat is located in a remote area, it is also a fiefdom left by Genghis Khan. Naturally, it is also in Timur's plan. It is only a matter of time."

"If we don't unite now, are we going to wait for Timur to defeat us one by one?"

This news was shocking to Mahamu.

In his impression, Timur was probably slightly better than the Oirat, but now it can be compared with the Ming Dynasty.

After a brief silence, Mahamu asked, "Since the Ming Dynasty wants us to unite, it should at least give us some benefits. Even if we don't have weapons and artillery, we can't be short of food."

Yao Guangxiao smiled.

He didn't expect that Mahamu would say this at this time.

He said directly, "There is no assistance. His Royal Highness the Ming Dynasty's Grandson asked me to come here this time, not to unite you."

"Khan, you have to understand one thing. Timur is not next to our Ming Dynasty. If he wants to attack the Ming Dynasty, he can only fight all the way here, whether it is through the grassland or the Western Regions."

"My Great Ming has many strong cities and strong defenses. Timur came thousands of miles to fight my Great Ming. What a joke! Do you think it's possible? Even if it's true, can he really break into my Great Ming? He will be exhausted to death."

"Today I came to persuade the Khan not for the safety of Ming, but because the Crown Prince thinks that there should be a stable environment around Ming and does not want the war to spread here. If the Khan is stubborn and insists on waiting for Timur to come to him, then of course I have nothing to say."

Mahamu smiled and said, "Master, it's easy for you to say that, but these days, it's impossible to make a horse run without giving it good grass to eat."

"They say that the Wala tribe is sitting there waiting to be killed. Isn't that the same with the Ming Dynasty? If Timur rules the entire grassland, the worst that can happen is that the Dzungar tribe will be incorporated into it."

"Master, you can see that Wala is a place with nothing good in it. So what can Timur do even if he comes?"

"The Ming Dynasty is rich, with endless food, endless good wine, and endless gold. This is where Timur wants to go. I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty is much more anxious than I am."

Mahamu is a tall and strong man, seemingly with strong limbs, but in fact he is also quite intelligent.

He was able to lead the Dzungar tribe to become the best developed tribe among the Oirat, which naturally showed his wisdom.

Now that the Ming Crown Prince has sent people, it means that the Ming is more anxious than him. Even if they want to fight, it doesn't mean that the attack will come to him. Mahamu understands this clearly.

The place of Wala has nothing, it is poor and has bad water and mountains. Who knows, Timur may not even want to attack it by then.

Yao Guangxiao was not in a hurry after hearing this, and said calmly: "The Khan is right. Judging from the situation, Wala doesn't seem to have to worry at all, and Timur is also very likely not to come."

"But the Khan must first understand one thing, that is, the ones who are more urgent than the Ming Dynasty should be the Golden Horde, the Yuejibe Tribe, and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate that is currently at war."

"The Northern Yuan Dynasty now has a very good relationship with the Ming Dynasty, so they will naturally agree to send troops to help the Eastern Chagatai Khanate fight Timur."

"The three Wuliangha guards have always followed the Ming Dynasty. Whether to send troops or not is just a matter of a word from the crown prince."

"Khan, think about it carefully. Under such circumstances, the entire grassland went to fight against Timur, but only Khan and his tribes did not move. Are they trying to reap the benefits?"

"Will the soldiers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty go to the front line to fight with peace of mind? What if the tribes like the Oirat attack them secretly?"

"If the Oirat Mongols don't move, they will be like a nail stuck here. The Northern Yuan will not be able to send troops with peace of mind, and this joint military action will become a joke."

"There is no reason for Timur to stop. What will everyone do when that time comes?"

Mahamu's expression suddenly turned ugly: "Master, are you threatening me?"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said, "How could I threaten the Khan? But some choices are open to the public. If the Khan insists, I think this scene is very likely to happen."

Yao Guangxiao's words left Mahamu speechless and he didn't know how to respond.

If that time really comes and the Northern Yuan Wuliangha send troops, my share will definitely not be left out.

Otherwise, this joint army would probably have to come to Wala first.

At this time, Mahamu was still unwilling to give up and asked, "Master, you should know that our Wala is located in a desolate place and is in short supply in all aspects. It is not a big problem to send troops, but the journey is thousands of miles."

"If the logistics can't keep up, how can the soldiers fight bravely against the enemy?"

"Even if the Ming Dynasty doesn't contribute, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate will have to contribute something. We can't do it for nothing."

This is not about taking money from others or anything like that, this is a real fight.

There would be no benefit at all from this battle, and the already impoverished Wala would be even worse off.

What Mahamu said was true. Sending troops would cost a lot and would also delay fishing, hunting, and sheep herding in the tribe.

Finally I went to help others.

If this is true, Mahamu thinks it would be better to wait until the Eastern Chagatai Khanate is almost unable to hold on before going there, and he can even get some benefits by the way.

When Yao Guangxiao heard this, he knew that a joint military expedition would be possible.

He said directly, "Regarding the logistics issues along the way, our Ming Dynasty will lend you a portion of the money without interest."

"Since we are sending troops together, it is not just for defense, but of course we want to invade Timur's territory."

"At that time, the Ming Dynasty will accept all the captured goods at 80% of the market price, and can even be directly exchanged for food, silver, or other goods."

After listening to this, Mahamu was obviously moved.

He still understands very well what 80% of the market price means.

Those unscrupulous merchants on the grassland always convert prices based on 30% or even 20% of the Ming Dynasty market price. If they are exchanged for necessities such as food and medicinal materials, the price will be even lower.

The men fought hard, while the unscrupulous businessmen made money without doing anything.

Now the Ming government has opened this loophole and charges 80% of the market price, which can be said to be an unprofitable way of doing things.

After a slight hesitation, Mahamu asked again: "How is the transportation fee calculated?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "Khan only needs to send troops to fight. The transportation costs will be covered by the Ming Dynasty. We will settle the bill directly at the current price."