How do smugglers on the grassland make a lot of money?

The first thing is naturally to transport contraband. The goods purchased from the Ming Dynasty immediately have a premium of several times, or even ten times, when they arrive at the grassland.

The stricter the government's control, the higher the premium will naturally be.

The second thing is to purchase spoils from the tribes on the grassland, and then sell them in the market in the Central Plains.

Make huge profits from this back and forth.

What did Zhu Ying do originally? He was in the smuggling industry and he was a leader in the smuggling business. Of course, he knew all the tricks involved.

In fact, these things are very simple when you break them down, except that the civil service group kept them secret from the emperor.

Could the ten great imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty resist the imperial court even in the late Ming Dynasty?

No, they relied on deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth from their subordinates. They spent money to win over relevant officials and blocked all the news. Everyone knew about it except the emperor.

Coupled with the lack of pay at the border, many soldiers were miserable. Whoever provided pay was the boss, which naturally led to corruption throughout the late Ming Dynasty.

Even though the Ming Dynasty was already in tatters, as long as there was money, the Qing Dynasty could not just break into the border whenever it wanted.

There is a saying in later generations: If there is a 50% profit, it will take risks; if there is a 100% profit, it will dare to trample on all human laws; if there is a 300% profit, it will dare to commit any crime.

And the smuggling rate is far more than 300 percent.

If you are not careful, it will cause huge waves. Instead of letting others make money, it is better to make the money yourself.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Zhu Ying would continue to be a smuggler, as that would be digging into his own territory.

Just when the opportunity arises, use the current resources of the Ming Dynasty to manipulate the behavior of these grassland tribes.

For example, now, let the tribes of the grassland unite to fight against the increasingly powerful Timurid Empire.

Historically, Timur died during his eastern expedition, but Zhu Ying didn't want to take the chance.

The changes he has made now are too great. Who knows if Timur will be affected? Even if he is not afraid of Timur's eastward expedition at all, it would be a good idea to use some means to attack him now.

"I hope the Ming Dynasty will keep its promise." Mahamu said seriously. It was obvious that he agreed to send troops.

Yao Guangxiao showed a relaxed smile on his face: "The reputation of our Ming Dynasty is well-known, and this is not just a matter for the Khan, but involves the entire grassland. Please rest assured, Khan."

The Dzungar tribe was the leader of the many tribes of the Oirat. Basically, if Mahamu agreed, the other two tribes would not refuse unless their interests differed greatly.

For Mahamu, especially for all the tribes of Wala, they envied everything about the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Life in the Northern Yuan Dynasty became better. They could obtain large amounts of food, daily necessities, and even some precious goods from the Ming Dynasty without having to risk extortion.

Ordinary grassland people want to have enough food to eat, and the grassland nobles are even more obsessed with Ming Dynasty porcelain, silk, and all kinds of luxury goods. This can only rely on the Central Plains dynasty, as they themselves have no production capabilities.

In fact, recently, it has been very difficult for Mahamu, because many small marginal tribes have directly defected to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Not just any grassland dweller can join the Beiyuan Mercenary Association to take on tasks. One must have permission from a tribe that has been registered with Beiyuan.

In name, the Oirat tribes all belonged to the Northern Yuan Dynasty. These tribes had no psychological pressure at all to return to the jurisdiction of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, let alone betrayal. It should be said that it was more like a return.

Yao Guangxiao's arrival gave Mahamu the opportunity to unite the various tribes of the Oirat.

Nowadays, anyone who cooperates with the Ming Dynasty basically makes a lot of money, and Mahamu certainly wants to get on this boat.

To be honest, Zhu Ying didn't really understand these things, otherwise he wouldn't have asked Yao Guangxiao to come. Sending Yao Guangxiao to handle such a simple matter was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The rest of the story went smoothly. The next day, the Oirat Mongols had basically agreed to everything. Yao Guangxiao sent a message to the capital through the Northern Yuan Dynasty, telling Crown Prince Zhu Ying that everything had been handled properly.

…

"It seems that I underestimated myself after all."

After receiving the detailed contents of Yao Guangxiao's letter, Zhu Ying thought a little narcissistically.

Who would have thought that the border threat, which was once the Ming Dynasty's biggest worry, has now become the Ming Dynasty's younger brother.

It has only been twenty-nine years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Six years ago, Zhu Yuanzhang had vigorously appointed kings of frontier states, stockpiled a large number of troops to defend the grasslands, and even supported the three Uriankhai guards to fight back.

In contrast, now, not only has the trouble of the Northern Yuan Dynasty been solved, but the Oirat Mongols behind it have also started to fight against the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Ming Dynasty, it doesn't even need to pay any money, it just acts as a trading platform.

When it comes to property transactions on the grassland, there is no concept of loss, and you may even make some profit.

Of course, Daming is just trying to break even, making money is really secondary.

If the emperors of the Song Dynasty saw this, they would vomit three liters of blood.

They tried to marry their daughters to other princesses and paid tribute, but in the end they still couldn't keep their kingdom.

Now the Ming Dynasty does not marry princesses or pay tribute, and it wants to make money from the grassland people while expecting them to be obedient. This is simply a fantasy.

In fact, even five or six years ago, when officials heard about this, they thought it was a fabricated lie.

But now, it has become true.

"Is it really successful?"

The news was quickly reported to Zhu Yuanzhang. After hearing it, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little unreal.

The grassland troubles that he had been worried about were now becoming a sharp weapon in the hands of the Ming Dynasty?

"Grandpa, it worked."

"Not only the Oirat, but also the Northern Yuan Dynasty has sent a letter, expressing their willingness to jointly send troops to help the Eastern Chagatai Khanate."

"The Eastern Chagatai Khanate has now sent envoys to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to discuss the specific details, and also brought a large amount of money and goods to express their gratitude."

"Now that the three parties have joined forces, Timur's Eastern Expedition is probably coming to an end. He will feel the pressure from the grasslands."

There was a faint smile on Zhu Ying's lips.

The Timurid Empire was the only empire comparable to the Ming Dynasty. Under Timur's leadership and rule and his strong personal prestige, even if the entire political system had major loopholes, they were completely covered up.

The soldiers he led were as powerful and brutal as he was.

The consecutive victories in wars made the entire Timurid Empire prosperous, otherwise it would not have abandoned its relationship with the Ming Dynasty and declared war on almost the entire world.

The crazy Timur ordered his army to directly attack all the surrounding countries.

When other countries went to war, they were attacked from all sides, but Timur was different. He surrounded everyone by himself. This domineering attitude alone was enough to frighten soldiers from many countries.

The Ming Dynasty and Timur could not go to war directly, but this did not affect Zhu Ying's use of the current Ming Dynasty's influence to promote the integration of grassland forces to conquer Timur.

It feels so comfortable to be the mastermind behind the scenes.

Zhu Yuanzhang also feels this comfort now.

"On the grassland alone, we don't think we can put too much pressure on Timur. It's just like when the six kingdoms attacked Qin. It's hard to accomplish anything without unity. And the people on the grassland are much more complicated than those of the six kingdoms back then."

"It is made up of tribes, and there are a lot of conflicts between each large tribe. Some of the tribes between the Wala and the Northern Yuan are almost mortal enemies, and it is inevitable that they will hinder each other."

"Although we don't know much about the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, I think that being suppressed by Timur, the internal situation is naturally a mess. Maybe there is a sense of unity at the beginning, but in the end, the spoils will be divided unevenly."

"With so many tribes, no one is willing to submit to the other, and no one has the reputation to stand up and command the heroes. Haha, I'm afraid it's even more fragmented than the six kingdoms attacking Qin. At least the six kingdoms had a commander-in-chief."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile that he did not think these barbarians on the grassland could accomplish anything great.

Especially this kind of united approach.

Timur was known as the second Khan. Although it sounds unpleasant, we have to admit that Timur himself did have a personal charm that was almost the same as Genghis Khan.

Ever since Timur detained the Ming envoy, Zhu Yuanzhang began to pay attention to him and continued to send people to obtain intelligence.

After gradually understanding Timur's rise to power, Zhu Yuanzhang still had some admiration for him.

This is much worse than my own, but the experience is similar.

Timur also came from an uprising, but his choice was different from Zhu Yuanzhang's. After initially gaining control of the military power, Timur did not choose to resist to the end. Instead, he saw an opportunity to legally inherit the position of his uncle Haji.

Seeing this clearly, he promptly expressed his submission to the invader Tughluk Timur Khan.

Although he failed many times later, Timur overcame the initial difficult period and grew rapidly with his political skills and military talent.

Timur himself was not a descendant of Genghis Khan, and the Western Chagatai Khanate had to maintain the legitimacy of its rule, at least in form.

Timur then started to play the role of the emperor to control the princes.

Timur naturally no longer needs a puppet king now.

The most interesting thing is that Timur was originally opposed to the rule of the Mongols, but later he found that other ethnic groups posed a greater threat to his rule than the Mongols.

The dragon slayer became a dragon. Timur began to recruit and value the Mongolian army and formed a large number of Mongolian cavalry.

They even imitated Genghis Khan's war strategy and carried out a massacre in the city.

Including the current expedition to India, the same strategy of massacre is being adopted.

This was the slogan that called out the Khan the next day.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think that some tribal alliances on the grassland could fight against such a person.

The number of troops in a war is important, but command is even more important.

If one soldier is incompetent, the whole general will be incompetent.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not optimistic that the grassland alliance could put much pressure on Timur.

"That's a matter for later. No matter how they fight or what the outcome is, we just need to cheer them on from behind."

"It just so happens that the Gunpowder Department has just updated its muskets and artillery. It would be a waste to destroy the old weapons. When they start to mobilize, we will sell them all to them."

"When the envoys from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate come, we will sell them a batch first, so that we can get some money and invest it in the Gunpowder Department for research."

Zhu Ying said indifferently.

He had never thought about what would happen if the war between the grassland and Timur came to an end. For the Ming Dynasty, as long as there was a war on the grassland, it was a good thing.

With so much grain transported over, and the grassland tribes trying to have children, there has to be a place to consume it.

If the grassland continues to grow, it will pose a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Peace is built on strong power; a weak country has no diplomacy.

If the Ming Dynasty becomes weak one day, whether it is the Oirat or the Northern Yuan Dynasty, these tribes that have benefited from the Ming Dynasty will definitely take a bite of its flesh and blood without hesitation.

The problem is how to prevent the grassland from posing a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the solution is not too difficult from the perspective of future generations. It is to keep the grassland in war.

To expand it a little further, the whole world would be at war, with Ming Dynasty being the only country in a safe zone.

Apart from the Ming Dynasty, the three most powerful empires were Timurid, Ottoman, and Byzantine.

But the current geographical location of the Ming Dynasty is very unique, and it can be said to be far away from the war zones of the three major empires.

At this time, the grassland became the protective umbrella of the Ming Dynasty.

There was no way the Ottomans and Byzantines in Europe could fight the Ming Dynasty. The only one with whom a war could possibly start was Timur, but that would also be very difficult.

The situation between Timur and the Ming Dynasty was that whoever took action first would suffer.

The correct choice is to weaken Timur through soft power.

The Ming Dynasty only needed to make a fortune from the war.

After all, in the current sea areas, the Ming Dynasty is the undisputed number one power. No other empire can compare with it, and the gap is more than a little bit.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while and said, "As for the development of firearms, we have recently received a lot of news from the sea. Many other countries also have unique ideas on the development of firearms."

"After continuous expansion in recent years, our Ming navy now has nearly 400,000 soldiers. We have been thinking about sending the navy to patrol the South Seas and the West Sea."

"First, it can enhance the prestige of our Ming Dynasty in overseas countries and deter them. Second, it can also do some business in maritime trade."

As for expanding the influence of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had already realized that doing so on land was not only costly but also difficult, but in comparison it was much easier on the sea.

Especially in the South Seas, the navy’s route has been opened, so of course it wants to go to more distant places to have a look.

Zhu Yuanzhang had been listening to his eldest grandson talking about the countries outside. In fact, before that, the Ming Dynasty had only a vague understanding of the European region. Now that he was interested, he also wanted to send a fleet to sail there.

Since ancient times, which emperor did not want all nations to come to pay tribute? Zhu Yuanzhang was certainly no exception.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, the Central Plains Dynasty was the center of the entire world, and the whole world should submit to the Ming Dynasty, even if only in name.

The title of the Celestial Empire is not just a simple honorific but a symbol of real power.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the Ming Dynasty today was the pinnacle of many dynasties in history, surpassing even the powerful Han and Tang dynasties.

If this is the case, then more countries should surrender.