Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng knew that Altan Khan had already lost his patience at the Datong front. If he couldn't wait to start a fight, all his efforts would be wasted.
Therefore, as soon as the imperial edict was issued, without waiting for the Ministry of Rites to make preparations for the enthronement, the Cabinet immediately notified Datong via a royal letter, eight hundred miles away.
Wang Chonggu and Fang Fengshi had been waiting for so long that their mouths were covered with bubbles. Just as the two gentlemen expected, Altan Khan's army of more than 100,000 people had been left out for more than a month, and they had run out of food and grass, and were starving and cold, so they had to kill horses to fill their stomachs. Naturally, the various tribes were in an uproar. If it weren't for Governor Wang's boldness to send Shanxi merchants to secretly bypass Yungang and transport a batch of food and grass to stabilize them, the war would have started long ago.
When the two received the imperial letter, they immediately sent Green Light Knight to take a senator out of the city to the Mongolian camp to report the good news to Altan.
After hearing the news, Altan was also overjoyed. He strongly advocated for the surrender this time, but his brothers and sons were very opposed. If the surrender failed, it would not only affect the old Khan's reputation, but also seriously affect his prestige.
He immediately summoned the leaders of various tribes to his Khan's tent to listen to the angel read out the decree of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming.
When they heard that the Ming Emperor was going to enthrone the old Khan as the King of Shunyi, appoint his younger brother Lao Badu and eldest son Huang Taiji as governor-general, and appoint 61 leaders including Bintu Taiji as commanders, thousand-householders and other officials... in short, all the leaders, big and small, were given the identities of Ming officials... these guys were so happy that they died.
Altan's younger brother, Lao Badu, kept saying, "I never expected it. I never expected it. My elder brother is so wise."
"Oh haha, of course, otherwise why am I the big brother and you the little brother?" Altan laughed proudly. From now on, he would be on equal footing with those Shanxi princes!
He remembered how this fellow had scolded him for wanting to be a dog of the Ming Dynasty, so he teased him, "Why, don't you think being a dog of the Ming Dynasty is a disgrace to your ancestors?"
"Alas, being a dog means you can eat greasy food without moving. Who wants to be a hungry wolf looking for food in the snow?" The old man was not ashamed at all. His old face, which looked like the bark of a jujube tree, smiled and said, "It is the greatest fortune to have the opportunity to be a dog of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Hahaha, may God bless you..." Altan's sons also laughed, obviously agreeing.
Only Altan Khan's eldest son Huang Taiji was somewhat unhappy. He felt that his father, the King of Shunyi, would most likely be succeeded by Bahanaji in the future, and it would not be his turn to enjoy the pleasure of being a prince.
Since my father has been crowned the king, shouldn't I also be crowned the king?
He asked Chataiji Salmani to ask the angel, how high is the position of the Viceroy? Is it higher than the Governor-General of Xuanda?
In Huang Taiji's opinion, the Governor of Xuanda was the highest official under the emperor. The court would certainly not give him a higher position, which would give him an excuse to make a fuss.
Unfortunately, there was a traitor among the taijis. Cha Taiji had long been bribed by Wang Chonggu. He told Green Lantern about Huang Taiji's idea in Chinese.
Lü Guang smiled and told Huang Taiji that the vice governor was of the first rank, while Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, was only of the second rank, and in terms of rank, you were half a level higher than him.
"Oh, really? That's great!" Huang Taiji was so happy that he never mentioned being Xiao Wang again.
Seeing that the leaders had no more objections, Altan was completely relieved and ordered the slaughter of cattle and sheep to entertain the angels and celebrate the completion of the tribute.
After three rounds of drinking, Lu Guang told Altan that the formal enthronement ceremony would take time to prepare, and it would be too late before the New Year. "Why don't you set off to return to the grasslands and come back to receive the enthronement next spring when the flowers bloom?"
"It's freezing cold, I can't wait to break camp and go back." Altan couldn't wait to call himself the King of Shunyi, and said with a burp, "But the problem is, if we return empty-handed, I don't know how many of the hundreds of thousands of men, women, old and young in the tribes will starve to death."
"So that's what the prince is worried about?" Lu Guang laughed and said, "Governor Wang has already considered this. Since the prince has surrendered, your people are the people of the Ming Dynasty. The court will certainly not sit idly by."
"Governor Wang has ordered the Shanxi merchants to prepare enough food for you to survive the winter, as well as tea bricks, iron pots, cloth, medicinal materials and the like, which are all urgently needed by your tribe." Lu Guang said, looking at Salmani:
"Please ask the prince to send Qia Taiji to accompany me back to Datong to discuss the transaction. If everything goes well, the goods can be transported to the camp within three days."
"Oh, really? That's great!" Altan and his companions were overjoyed. They had been seeking trade for many years but failed, but now they finally got what they wanted. They began to calculate how much of the cattle, sheep and horses they brought with them could be used for trade.
"I will give the order right now to withdraw most of the troops and only leave some people here to trade."
"Governor Wang also said that starting next year, the court will set up several trading grounds on the grasslands. You won't have to travel so far to trade in Datong." Lu Guang laughed again and said, "In the future, no matter how many Ming Dynasty products you want to buy, you can find them in the trading grounds. You will live a happy life like the Ming Dynasty's princes and nobles!"
"Ahhh, Eternal Heaven, it's so happy to be a dog of the Ming Dynasty..." All the taijis howled excitedly, imagining a bright future in which they would wear silk robes, live in golden tents, and drink tea boiled in iron pots. They almost felt drunk just thinking about it.
Altan was also very happy, and in his excitement, he decided to send out the prepared gift in advance. He told one of his sons a few words, and soon a group of Mongolian warriors came into the tent with nine Han people tied up and gagged.
Lu Guang, an expert on Mongolia, recognized at a glance that the leader was the big traitor Zhao Quan, and there were also Zhang Wenyan, Liu Tianqi, Li Zixin, Zhao Si, Liu Long and other evil demons.
This group of guys originally followed the leader of the White Lotus Sect in Shanxi, Lü Zhenming, and used sorcery to deceive people and plot evil. Later, Lü was defeated and executed, and Zhao Quan and others fled to Fengzhou Beach with their confidants, recruited refugees, built a city to defend themselves, and named it Bansheng.
There were also criminals such as Zhang Wenyan, a centurion, and Liu Tianqi, a guerrilla servant, who led their people to seek refuge. Over the past ten years, the number of refugees gathered in Bansheng has reached more than 100,000, and it has become the first city on the frontier...
Lü Guang had been to Bansheng and knew that the city was shabby and the people were extremely poor. However, the mansions of Zhao Quan and others were built in a very luxurious manner, and they even set up government offices and called them "Kaihua Prefecture".
It would be fine if they were just messing around outside the Great Wall, but the abominable thing is that these guys acted as guides. They recognized Altan Khan as their leader and urged him to declare himself emperor, so that they could also become princes. Moreover, they used their Han Chinese identities to infiltrate Xuandashan and other places in the west to spy on Altan Khan's military intelligence and find targets to attack directly.
When Altan Khan invaded the border and plundered, this group of traitors would organize their own troops to follow him in the hope of sharing the spoils.
Therefore, every time the Tartar invaded, they could find loopholes in the Ming army's defense line and sneak in. This had a lot to do with this group of guides. Moreover, the second devils were much more ruthless to their compatriots than the real devils. Every time, the most ruthless ones were always this group of "Imperial Army"!
During this peace negotiation, Wang Chonggu asked Altan to hand over Zhao Quan and other wanted criminals so that he could give an explanation to the court.
Altan was eager to find someone to be a scapegoat for him, and he had been coveting Bansheng City for a long time. If he could capture Zhao Quan and his gang of leaders, he would be able to move his own royal court in.
So he and Qia Taiji devised a plan to trap a group of Bansheng people. The plan was simple, so simple that it insulted the word "plan" - just pretend to attack Datong, summon Zhao Quan and others to serve as a think tank, and then arrest them.
However, because Altan had always been straightforward and had a reputation for robbing his grandson's wife, Zhao Quan and others did not suspect anything. As soon as they received the order, they rushed to help in the battle, but they were tied up as soon as they entered the camp...
Then Altan continued to make up excuses to lure the leaders of Bansheng City to the camp one after another, and captured them all without any effort.
"The incident in Shizhou was instigated by Zhao Quan and his gang." Altan pointed at the mute Zhao Quan with an angry face and said, "We are honest and kind, but it was these traitors who instigated the turmoil! Hand them over to the Celestial Empire, and we will be its vassal for generations to come and never rebel again!"
To show that he was not just talking, he even broke an arrow as a pledge, saying: "If I and my descendants break my promise, I will be punished by this arrow!"
Lu Guang also broke his arrow and swore: "We are in agreement and will not break our promises!"
The banquet was over, and Lu Guang and others were about to escort Zhao Quan and other prisoners, preparing to return to Datong with Qia Taiji.
Altan personally escorted him out of the camp, and before leaving, he held Lu Guang's hand and whispered, "My dear hero, you must persuade my grandson to come back, otherwise I will not be able to explain to my wife."
"I'm afraid he has some concerns in his heart." Of course, Lu Guang would strive for a better situation for the die-hard pro-Ming faction among the Mongols in the future.
"Is that so? Mani, tell my grandson." Altan said loudly, "Tell him that grandpa is sorry and will never hurt him again. As long as he is willing to go back with me, I will return his father's tribe to him. After I die, he will be the next King of Shunyi!"
After a pause, Altan lowered his voice and said, "Tell him that Grandpa has prepared the most beautiful woman in the Western Region as compensation for him, and it is intact!"
"Yes, godfather." Qia Taiji couldn't help swallowing his saliva, not knowing whether he envied Bahanaji or coveted the body of the most beautiful woman in the Western Regions...
~~
Meanwhile, Wang Chonggu received a report that Altan had brought Zhao Quan and others here. He was overjoyed and immediately sent Ma Fang with two thousand elite cavalry out of the city to welcome them!
"This is a great gift!" After Ma Fang left, Governor Wang smiled and said to Governor Fang Fengshi, "Otherwise, we won't be able to have a good year."
"Why not parade them through the streets of Datong and Xuanfu first, and then send them to the capital to be presented as captives?" Fang Fengshi suggested in agreement.
"Well, we need to send heavy troops to protect them. First, to prevent trouble before it happens, and second, to create momentum so that the people will regard them as the main culprits." Wang Chonggu nodded.
The pressure on his shoulders was too great recently. The court had to hold two meetings before the tribute was barely approved. In other words, half of the people were fiercely opposed to it even if it offended Gao Gong.
Even in Xuanda, there were voices calling Wang Chonggu a traitor and a spineless person. Especially the families of the victims of the Shizhou disaster, who held banners and wrote blood letters outside the Governor's Mansion every day to protest, which made him very passive.
They hoped that through the grand parade ceremony, they could vent the public anger and make the people believe that the Ming Dynasty had won this time.