The Ming Dynasty Gazette was circulated throughout the world for almost half a year.

In the eyes of other countries, the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire and the center of world civilization.

All news concerning the Ming Dynasty is extremely valuable.

The nobles and even the royal families of many countries specially sent people to pay attention to the news in the capital's gazette.

Of course, this information is basically only known to the top leaders of other countries. They will never spread such things to their subordinates. On the contrary, they are trying their best to block the news.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty and Timur were naturally very concerned about the Ming Dynasty.

A special channel was also set up to obtain intelligence about the Ming Dynasty.

As the Northern Yuan Dynasty continued to grow and develop, it gradually began to foster greed.

According to them, how can a pack of wolves on the grassland be raised?

Even if the Northern Yuan Emperor didn't want to, the tribes under him didn't think so.

It has only been a few years, and the tradition of plundering is still flowing in their bones. Everything is just a temporary lurk, just like a pack of wolves discovering their prey. They will never bite it at the first moment, but patiently wait for the prey to be most relaxed.

However, this fragile balance was broken by the Ming Dynasty's train.

In recent years, the development of Beiyuan has been getting better and better, and the treatment of those former noble families who once followed Beiyuan to the grassland has also become better, at least in terms of material basis, it is not as bad as before.

Many small tribes are satisfied with their current lives. After all, even before, the tribesmen rarely had enough to eat. Now, of course, their sense of happiness is constantly rising.

Some small tribes still remember the kindness of the Ming Dynasty in their hearts. When they see the Ming Dynasty's caravans, they will cheer enthusiastically and offer songs and dances.

However, this is not in the interests of these families.

What they longed for was the day when the Northern Yuan Dynasty would be able to rule the Central Plains again, so that they could return to their homeland as victors and go back to those happy days.

After all, the treatment given to them by the Northern Yuan Emperor was incomparable to any other dynasty in history.

They call this loyalty to the emperor.

Because they grew up eating the food of the Mongols, not the Ming Dynasty.

It was the Mongols who raised their clansmen and noble families and gave them high positions and generous salaries.

On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty was just a country established by a beggar and a group of peasants. What a thing it was.

On weekdays, these aristocratic families instigated the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the large and small tribes on the grassland to form hostility towards the Ming Dynasty.

During the years when the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were on good terms, they had been trying to spread the Ming Dynasty's conspiracy in order to confuse the warriors of the grassland.

The people of the grassland are constantly being absorbed by the Ming Dynasty. If this continues, the grassland will be completely swallowed up by the Ming Dynasty.

Under normal circumstances, it is soft transmission.

But this time, these former aristocratic families were really panicked.

In fact, on the grassland, including the Northern Yuan royal family, high-ranking generals, important ministers and other Mongolian nobles, had little idea about the so-called trains mentioned in the Ming Dynasty's official bulletins.

There were even Mongolian nobles who happily said that if trains were built to the grasslands, they would be able to buy more Ming Dynasty products, which would be a great thing.

The Ming Dynasty was the one that these aristocratic families were most hostile to. After hearing about the role of trains, they were immediately shocked. Then, in the Northern Yuan court, they began to talk extensively about the impact of trains on the grassland.

Especially in the military.

"If the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty board this train, it will only take a few days to suddenly pull hundreds of thousands of soldiers here. Then I would like to ask you, what can you do to resist?"

"They no longer have to worry about the consumption of food and fodder, as the trains will bring countless amounts of high-quality fodder to their war horses. Their soldiers no longer have to worry about not having food to eat, as the trains will bring them countless amounts of food."

"Having come here from thousands of miles away, they don't need to rest. They can start fighting right after arriving."

"Why do the cavalrymen of the grasslands scare the world? Because the warriors of the grasslands have grown up on horseback and can sleep on horseback. Even if they have been galloping for thousands of miles, they can still get some rest."

"The current Ming Dynasty has more powerful methods and faster speeds than the grassland warriors. Perhaps today, when the sun rises, it will be in the east, and when it sets, it will be in the west."

"And the Ming army's artillery. They will bring a large number of artillery, hundreds or even thousands."

"The Ming Dynasty is now too wealthy and rich. No one knows how many cannons they have built over the years. Perhaps there are tens of thousands of them."

"Please imagine what a tragic scene it would be when 10,000 artillery pieces opened fire on the warriors of the grasslands. No one would survive."

"Therefore, we must prevent the Ming Dynasty from building railways to the Nine Borders. If they dare to build them, we will prepare our army and attack the Ming Dynasty."

"Once they succeed in building it, they will go to the Nine Borders and there will be an endless supply of Ming soldiers. The warriors on the grassland will no longer have the opportunity to enter the Central Plains. The Ming army will treat the entire grassland as their backyard."

The talent of a noble family is first reflected in his eloquence.

As a third-rank imperial censor, Guan Weizhong spoke eloquently and displayed a Confucian demeanor in his every move.

At least that's what other Han officials of the Northern Yuan Dynasty saw.

These words made the entire Northern Yuan court deafened and terrified.

As they listened to the words of this noble family, a strong picture appeared in their minds: countless Ming troops, the entire sky was drowned by Ming artillery, and countless warriors died with miserable howls.

"Can the warriors on the grassland just sit and wait to die?"

"So what should we do?"

"Can we defeat the Ming Dynasty now?"

After a while, the entire Northern Yuan court was filled with discussions. After the clamor, everyone's attention naturally turned to Guan Weizhong again.

Guan Weizhong continued with satisfaction: "It would be very difficult for us, the Northern Yuan Dynasty, to win if we go to war with the Ming Dynasty directly now."

"However, we can put great pressure on the Ming Dynasty. To the west, Timurid cavalry in Samarkand are wreaking havoc in Tibet. The Ming Dynasty has borrowed 100,000 cavalry from us just to stop their attack."

"We used to be allies with the Ming Dynasty, so we could naturally help them. But now the Ming Dynasty is doing this. Faced with an external enemy, instead of thinking about how to win first, it wants to seize our Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"From Yu Daming's perspective, Timur is only a minor concern, while the Northern Yuan Dynasty and I are the major threat."

"It is said that we should make friends with those far away and attack those near. The former enemies can now become our allies. If we join forces with Timur to take down U-Tsang, it will definitely be a great deterrent to the Ming Dynasty."

"They can only agree to stop building the railway to the grasslands and sign an oath never to build railways to the nine borders."

"If you don't obey, then we will join forces with Timur and march into Ming."

"Now is the best time. The Ming Dynasty's railway has not been built yet. How can we stop them from attacking from both sides?"

A Mongolian minister asked: "We helped the Ming Dynasty to fight them before, will they agree to form an alliance with us?"

In response to this question, Guan Weizhong smiled and said, "There are no eternal enemies, nor eternal allies. They are eager to form an alliance with us, the Northern Yuan Dynasty, because only in this way can they further advance into the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty was so wealthy that, not to mention directly conquering the Central Plains, even if it was the current U-Tsang, it would still be a huge fortune."

"Food, armaments, firearms, money, everything."

"Only relying on themselves, they can only seize some insignificant food and grass in the barren land of Tubo. Maybe even the rations for the army are a problem. How can they be as rich as the U-Tsang Dusi City?"

Guan Weizhong's idea soon gained the support of a group of Mongolian nobles in the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Northern Yuan Emperor Elbek actually didn't really want to fight against the Ming Dynasty.

But now the whole court was in a state of excitement and he couldn't make a decision with just one word.

Therefore, the envoys of the Northern Yuan Dynasty rushed to Cabest to reach an agreement on an alliance.

Just as Guan Weizhong said, this is very much in the interests of Samarkand, and Cabest has no reason to refuse.

But if we form an alliance, there will naturally be some conditions.

The Northern Yuan envoys were somewhat troubled by Cabest's proposal to seize the Ming Dynasty's train.

Because the Northern Yuan Dynasty has now paid a lot of money to obtain the secret recipe of the train.

Yes, they use a secret recipe to describe the manufacture of trains.

In their view, trains are like cement, which can be made with a secret recipe.

After a slight hesitation, the envoy from the Northern Yuan Dynasty finally agreed.

Samarkand has already obtained the secret recipe for cement, so it doesn't matter if it also obtains the secret recipe for trains.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the secret recipe for the train can indeed be found.

Compared with Timur's army, the Northern Yuan Dynasty obviously had an advantage in intelligence. They had many spies secretly lurking in the Ming Dynasty, and some of these spies even held high positions in the Ming court.

No matter which dynasty fell, there will always be some literati who are loyal to the previous dynasty.

Not to mention the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, which was so magnanimous.

When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, there were very few literati officials under him, and the scholars were basically remnants of the Mongols and Yuan Dynasty, so he had to invite them to serve as officials.

Some of them died for the Mongols, and some defected for power. When they heard the news that their former masters of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were recruiting them, it was easy for them to defect.

Some of them were truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, while others still hoped for the return of the Mongols, even though they were eating the Ming Dynasty's official food.

…

Ming Dynasty, the capital.

Zhou Hailan is the head of the Ministry of Justice.

After leaving the office, he did not go home, but instead took off his official uniform and went to the outer city.

The outer city was bustling with people. He walked skillfully through the streets and alleys, and finally came to a local shop and a pastry shop.

"Objective, what do you want to see?"

"Three ounces of osmanthus cake, one ounce of mung bean cake, and three ounces of chestnut cake. I want them to be made fresh by your chef."

"Sir, we make everything fresh. Why don't you go inside and ask the chef?"

"Okay, I have to see it with my own eyes. You guys used the apprentice to trick me last time."

"Okay, you're welcome."

Zhou Hailan didn't look around, but walked straight in cursing.

The waiter looked calm and continued to shout: "Fresh cakes, fresh cakes."

In the distance, a plainclothes Jinyiwei wrote in a booklet: On the third day of September in the thirty-second year of Hongwu, Zhou Hailan, the head of the Ministry of Justice, bought some cakes at Sanxiangzhai after leaving office.

In the Ming Dynasty, officials above the fifth rank would have the Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly following them and recording their daily details.

The head of the Ministry of Justice is of the sixth rank, so theoretically there won't be any special Jinyiwei following him.

However, in recent years, the Northern Yuan Dynasty also established an intelligence agency, which was discovered when it was infiltrating the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, now whenever there is a slight possibility, the Jinyiwei will be dispatched to track it.

Zhou Hailan's father was originally a high-ranking official of the Yuan Dynasty, but later defected to the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Hailan himself entered the officialdom through family ties, so he was naturally under suspicion.

Zhou Hailan entered the pastry shop and became familiar with the kitchen.

Seeing the master chef making pastries, he frowned and said, "Why did you contact me so urgently? You should know how strict the Jinyiwei is now. If people find out, I will definitely lose my life."

The chef still had a rolling pin in his hand. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhou. I can't help it. The higher-ups are pushing us too hard."

"I heard that all the officials took the Ming Dynasty train. I think Chief Zhou also took it."

"The higher-ups have given us a message. We must do whatever it takes to get the secret formula for the train, no matter what the cost."

Zhou Hailan almost cried out in shock when he heard this, and then covered his mouth and whispered, "Are you crazy? The secrets of the train are all in the Research and Development Department, which is directly under the jurisdiction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I am only the head of the Ministry of Justice, and I do not have jurisdiction over the Ministry of Works."

"Forget about getting the secret recipe. I can't even get into the main door of the Research Department, let alone take it."

The chef said slowly, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhou. You are in the Ministry of Justice now, but what if you went to the Ministry of Works?"

Zhou Hailan frowned and said, "What do you mean? Can you still transfer me to the Ministry of Industry?"

The master chef continued, "In three days, the transfer document from the Ministry of Personnel will arrive, and then Director Zhou will be transferred to the Ministry of Works' Office of Repair and Cleaning, which is a good place to contact the Scientific Research Department."

"When the time comes, Director Zhou can go to the Research Department to get the secret recipe. It will be easy."

Zhou Hailan's eyes widened: "You guys actually have such great power in the Ministry of Personnel."

The master chef just smiled and said, "Master Zhou, please don't ask about these things. It won't be good for you to know too much."

Zhou Hailan felt a strong sense of mystery at this moment.

It was as if the other party's power had infiltrated various government offices of the Ming Dynasty court.

"How much money should we give this time? What if the truth is revealed?" Director Zhou's eyes flashed with hesitation, and then he asked in a deep voice.

The master chef said, "Five thousand taels of gold. If you are exposed, I will find a way to send you to the grassland, and I will keep the affairs of the Secretariat for you."

Zhou Hailan nodded slightly.

The Councillor of the Secretariat was a fourth-rank official in the Northern Yuan Dynasty. It might seem like he was only promoted two ranks, but the Councillor of the Secretariat was the one who held real power, which was completely different from his current position as the head of the Ministry of Justice or the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Five thousand taels, isn't that a little too much?"

"Hey, Master Zhou, please understand. The Ming Dynasty is under strict control now, and money is a bit tight. If you go to the Northern Yuan Dynasty, or wait until the day when you take over the Central Plains, Master Zhou will be extremely rich."

"Okay, five thousand taels is five thousand taels. I don't want the ready-made gold. Change it all into treasure notes for me."

"no problem."

After a conversation, Manager Zhou took the freshly baked cakes and left the cake shop.

The chef's mouth curled up.

The superiors gave 20,000 yuan in funding, plus the other expenses previously incurred, the total amount Zhou Hailan got was less than 10,000 yuan, so he got more than half of it directly.

The Jinyiwei outside saw Zhou Hailan carrying out pastries, but didn't take it too seriously.

He just casually said to his colleague: "He is quite particular."

The colleague replied nonchalantly: "The Ministry of Justice is always like this."