Chapter 797 896 Asking for an Exorbitant Price

That night, the oil lamp in Anda Khan's tent stayed on until very late.

Anda Khan and Sanniangzi were together and discussed in detail the various conditions to be proposed to Daming.

Most people of later generations only thought that the "Longqing Peace Treaty" was the end of the war between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia. The two sides changed from war and plunder to the development of bilateral trade, mutual benefit and mutual benefit, and established a new relationship model in exchange for peace. But the truth is not that simple.

At Sanniangzi's suggestion, Anda Khan first had a rough idea of ​​the border demarcation between Ming and Mongolia, and then set clear restrictions on the opening and types of trade.

To be honest, among Wang Chonggu's strategies, the only one that really appealed to him was "mutual trading", and the others had no meaning at all.

Mongolia could exchange livestock, furs, medicinal materials and other items for Ming Dynasty food, salt, tea, cloth, utensils and other items, as well as rewards.

Rewards between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia took the form of canonization by the Ming Dynasty and tribute from Mongolia. The two sides could exchange rewards regularly. The Ming Dynasty gave Mongolia certain preferential rewards, such as increasing the quantity and quality of rewards. Change the method and content of rewards.

Mongolia could use a small number of high-quality war horses and some gold, silver, pearls, jade and other items as tribute in exchange for clothes, pommel horses, jewelry and other items from the Ming Dynasty. The two sides realized the respect and friendship of rewards.

Mongolian tributes had more symbolic meaning than practical significance, while the items awarded by the Ming Dynasty were based on the daily needs of the Mongolian nobles.

Well, if mutual trading is to solve the daily needs of ordinary herdsmen, then rewards are what the Mongolian nobles need, and they are the top luxuries of this era.

As for the return of prisoners, in fact, this was not within the scope of Anda Khan's consideration at all.

Although releasing those Han slaves would cause dissatisfaction among the tribes under them, the Mongols did not only have Han slaves. They could just catch them back to the west to replenish them.

However, the most careful handling of Zhao Quan, Li Zixin and others in Bansheng City must be done at once to prevent the White Lotus cultists there from rebelling on the grassland.

In the past few years, Anda Khan has also noticed that the White Lotus cultists in Bansheng City are only focused on studying how to rebel, but their vision and structure are too narrow and they cannot see through the general trend at all. This is why they have failed to rebel many times. reason.

In fact, during the Jiajing period, the best place to create rebellion in the Ming Dynasty was in the south, where the people were in dire straits and there was strong dissatisfaction because of the plundering by Japanese pirates and the increase in taxes and levies.

However, the White Lotus cultists' strength there was limited, they could not organize a powerful rebellion, and they had no intention of developing their power there.

They just focused on their traditional sphere of influence, which were places like Shandong and Shanxi.

But the Ming army in these places was extremely powerful, giving them no chance of successful rebellion.

The conversation throughout the night did not involve the need for Anda Khan to pay tribute to the Ming emperor, because the third lady knew what this meant.

Anda Khan's request for a title from the Ming emperor established the relationship between the Ming dynasty's suzerain and the Mongolian vassal.

Although such recognition and canonization are mutual, the Ming Dynasty gave Mongolia certain sovereignty benefits, such as recognizing the Mongolian Khanate and tribes, and canonizing Mongolian leaders and nobles. Mongolia also gave the Ming Dynasty certain sovereignty recognition, such as recognizing the Ming Dynasty. The throne and court of the Ming Dynasty, and the envoys and officials of the Ming Dynasty were canonized.

But no matter what, Anda Khan was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty emperor, and the relationship was no longer reciprocal.

It can only be said that there is no free lunch in the world, and everything you gain must be paid for.

Although the Longqing Peace Treaty brought peace between the Ming and Mongolia, it also required the Ming Dynasty to spend huge amounts of wealth to maintain it.

And because tribute occurs every year, the Ming court has to prepare a sum of money for this every year, because the Mongolians consume Ming goods every day, and there must be several large-scale mutual market transactions every year to ensure the Mongolian people's daily life. need.

"Tomorrow I will summon the envoy from the Ming Kingdom and tell him our conditions and ask him to take the message back to see the reaction from the Ming Kingdom."

Finally, An Dahan made his decision.

"Remember to send someone to follow him to check on the prince's condition. Although according to the habits of the Ming people, the prince should not face trouble in Datong, but you should feel more at ease when sending someone to check on him."

The third lady smiled.

"If Han Naji's life is not good, people in the Ming Dynasty should not dare to send envoys here."

Anda Khan thought of his grandson and felt a little depressed.

What happened this time was a big blow to him, although now it seems that the unintentional act may have contributed to the negotiation between Ming and Meng.

But many years of experience in dealing with the Ming Dynasty also told Anda Khan that the people of the Ming Dynasty were unreliable, and their credit was actually not high.

What scholars in the Ming Dynasty said was actually not feasible at the border. This can be seen from the fact that the envoys he sent out were repeatedly killed.

"Great Khan, these are the conditions I listed based on the previous discussion. Please see if there are any omissions."

Sanniangzi handed the newly written negotiation terms to An Dahan and said.

Were the officials of the Ming Dynasty mentally prepared for the negotiation conditions determined by Anda Khan?

That's natural. Wei Guangde doesn't think that just relying on the safety of Han Naji and mutual trade can make the rebellious and freedom-loving Mongolians bow to the Ming court.

It's just that he doesn't know how big the Mongolian appetite is.

This is actually not within the scope of his consideration for the time being. After all, this is Wang Chonggu's matter. The cabinet has actually authorized him to negotiate with Anda Khan on the specific terms of the peace talks.

What the final negotiation will look like is just a matter of reporting it. The right to agree or not remains with the court.

If the Mongolians' appetite is too big and exceeds their psychological expectations, then just say no, and just wait until Anda Khan dies of old age and the grassland falls into a power struggle before the Ming Dynasty intervenes.

But now, he was already kneeling in the lobby of his home, which had been temporarily decorated as a mourning hall.

At noon today, Wei Guangde received news from his family at the cabinet. Someone came from Jiujiang to report his mother's death.

Wei Guangde was not prepared before. Although his mother's health was mentioned in his family letter in the past two years, it was not said that her life was in danger. Moreover, in his eyes, his mother was actually not very old, and she should have ten years or more to live. Time to live.

But the funeral report would not be false. After he told Li Chunfang about the situation in the Yamen, he hurried back to the house to see the visitor. After confirming the news again and again, he knelt down in the mourning hall and cried bitterly.

He personally wrote Ding You's memorial and sent it to the palace, but he went directly to Huijimen instead of going to the general affairs department.

Zhang Ji ordered people to arrange the mourning hall after receiving the news. Wei Guangde could not leave the capital and return to Jiujiang immediately because he still needed the emperor's approval, and the premise was that the Ministry of Rites received documents from the Jiujiang government.

Just take a look at some plots in some film and television works about concealing funerals and preventing Ding You from losing his official position.

Local governments at all levels keep records of local officials who go out. Not only is it as simple as taking care of each other in daily life, but there are also funerals in the official's family. If they are the official's immediate family members, they must report to the court. In fact, this is also true. Just confirm the authenticity.

The emperor's comments were all based on reports from the Ministry of Rites.

Starting in the afternoon, there was an endless stream of courtiers and dignitaries coming to the Wei Mansion to express their condolences.

Although Wei Guangde had a lot of trouble with some people because of the Datong incident, it was a state matter after all.

When Wei Guangde's mother passed away, she was an official in the same dynasty, so the proper etiquette should still be observed.

As for Wei Guangde, has he ever thought about seizing love?

Overthinking, with Gao Gong at the court, the Ming Dynasty seemed to be able to function as usual without anyone, so Wei Guangde didn't think about it at all.

It's only been two years. He has been away from Jiujiang for many years, and it's time to go back and have a look. In any case, his father is still waiting eagerly in Jiujiang Mansion, waiting for his son to return.

In the evening, Chen Ju also came. Emperor Longqing had seen Wei Guangde's memorial, so he sent Chen Ju to express his condolences.

In the next few days, Wei Guangde did not go to the cabinet again. Instead, he played the role of a filial son and grandson at home, greeting guests and friends who came to the house.

A few days later, the official document from Jiujiang was delivered, and the Ministry of Rites immediately reported it to the palace.

This is not to say that the Ministry of Rites is eager to send Mr. Wei Ge home, but it is a rule that for an important official in the court like the cabinet minister, everything will naturally take a fast track.

Next, Wei Guangde will prepare to go south according to the planned itinerary.

At this time, the city gate of Datong Mansion was under martial law by the Ming army.

Wang Chonggu finally waited for the news from Mongolia. Fortunately, his second batch of messengers had just been selected. Before setting off, he received an urgent report from the border town that Bao Chongde had returned with several Mongolians.

In Datong, there were not many people qualified to participate in this matter. Except for the governor Fang Fengshi, Datong's chief military officer Ma Fang was barely qualified.

However, Wang Chonggu did not intend to call Ma Fang about the peace talks. After all, he felt that some things could be kept secret and he tried to keep them secret.

Although if the negotiation is successful, the court will announce it to the world, but there is no rush at this moment.

Therefore, after receiving the news, he immediately called Fang Fengshi to discuss the matter.

Before this, neither of them discussed the attitude of the Mongols and what conditions they would set for Ming Dynasty.

Just as Wei Guangde thought, the initiative lies in Ming's hands. Whether to talk or not to talk, and how the talks will be, they can advance or retreat.

If we can't reach an agreement, we won't talk. The worst is waiting for Anda Khan to die of old age and civil strife in the grassland.

"My Lord Governor, we'd better wait until the people arrive to see the attitude of the Mongols."

Fang Fengshi already knew the news of Bao Chongde's safe return, and also knew that the Mongolian side sent people to follow him. This shows that Anda Khan already knew what Ming Dynasty meant, otherwise no Mongolians would have followed him back.

At least, judging from the current situation, everything is still under their control.

"I'm worried now that the Mongols will open their mouths and come up with unrealistic ideas."

Wang Chonggu stroked his beard and expressed his worries.

There was no discussion before because they didn’t know whether Bao Chongde and his party would be able to see Ada Khan alive.

Now that the matter is done, it’s time to think about the next thing.

"They ask for prices all over the sky, and pay back the money on the spot. They ask whatever price they want, and we just have to stick to the bottom line."

Fang Fengshi smiled and said: "As long as they are willing to talk, our strategy will be half successful. In fact, what Fang was most worried about before was that they were unwilling to talk.

I will meet with the Mongolian envoy today to see what Anda Khan’s conditions are. We will discuss the minimum negotiation limit later.

I guess that the conditions offered by Anda Khan this time are definitely unacceptable to us. I don’t know how many times such negotiations will take place. Maybe the progress will be faster if we directly invite people somewhere and have face-to-face interviews.

It's always troublesome to come and go, and I'm afraid of long nights and many dreams.

Also, Bao Chongde did a good job this time. No matter what, he accomplished what he was told. We should give him what we promised when he comes back. "

Wang Chonggu nodded when he heard this, but he still said: "Don't bother two masters for one thing. The promised benefits must be fulfilled, but he still has to continue the contact with Mongolia."

Fang Fengshi certainly had no objection to this, but he said again: "Do you want to call Ma Fang over for this matter?"

"Let's talk about it first, and then discuss it with him if it is almost done."

Wang Chonggu said, and his disdain for military officers was fully reflected at this moment.

In the Ming Dynasty, the civil officials always made the decisions, and the military officers could only obey orders.

Although in terms of rank, Wang Chonggu and Ma Fang were both of the second rank, and Fang Fengshi was one rank lower, but in terms of power, they were far superior to Ma Fang.

At night, Wang Chonggu and Fang Fengshi got together again. They had learned the conditions given by the Mongols from Bao Chongde, and it was even said that the letter in their hands was handed to him by Altan Khan himself.

Before Fang Fengshi came, Wang Chonggu had read the contents of the letter. He could only say that he had some respect for Altan Khan. Whether he was just guessing or not, he had guessed the current predicament of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the conditions proposed were really asking for a sky-high price, and there was no intention of peace talks at all.

Not only did they want the Ming Dynasty to give up two border forts as a winter residence for the Mongols, but they also asked for a reward of one million taels of silver every year.

Instead of giving them so much money, it would be better to directly enrich the Ming Dynasty's military equipment and continue to fight them.

Moreover, the letter did not mention the intention of paying tribute at all, which was what Wang Chonggu valued the most.

If Altan Khan was unwilling to bow to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, this strategy would be completely useless.

"It seems that Altan Khan has the intention of peace talks."

However, Fang Fengshi smiled after reading Altan Khan's letter.

I'm not afraid that Altan Khan has a small appetite, I'm afraid that he has no interest.

Few of these conditions can be realized, but since they know it is impossible, they still put forward the conditions, which means they are trying to take advantage of it.

"The border division must maintain the current pattern, there is no room for negotiation. As for their winter residence, this is easy to say. They just need to inform us in advance every year when they go south for winter."

Fang Fengshi began to analyze them one by one, and also told Wang Chonggu his bottom line for reference.

This matter is not a small matter, and it is not something that he and Wang Chonggu can decide. Now they can only try to negotiate, and finally report to the capital for decision, so the conditions must not be relaxed, otherwise they will be scolded to death when they submit the memorial to the capital.

This may also be the reason why the cabinet asked them to do it without putting forward conditions.

While discussing the bottom line of the negotiation with the Mongols in Datong, Wei Guangde finally embarked on the journey home.