OBS Chapter 1222 Liu Dingbei, Marquis of Chongli and concurrently a member of the Imperial Guard (probat
Chapter 1222 Liu Dingbei, Marquis of Chongli and concurrently a member of the Imperial Guard (probat
Rumors in the capital of the Ming Dynasty intensified, while Liu Dingbei, who was ridiculed by Black Sesame Dumplings as "the biggest joker in the world," rushed to the Northern Desert Royal Court after receiving a notice from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"Let me make it clear beforehand, I have no intention of taking the throne of the Great Yuan Dynasty."
"Whether you choose to pass it on to your other sons or give it directly to Wang Baobao, it's up to you."
"As for the Prime Minister..."
Right at Ayushiridara's sickbed, after paying his respects to Ayushiridara, Liu Dingbei directly revealed his true feelings.
Liu Dingbei glanced at Wang Baobao and said, "Either you lead the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty on a westward expedition, or you lead a northward expedition. Don't even think about restoring the Yuan Dynasty."
Wang Baobao, barely suppressing the urge to kill Liu Dingbei with a single blow, spoke up, "Your Highness..."
Just as Wang Baobao opened his mouth, Liu Dingbei waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Please address me as Marquis Chongli."
"If I were to become the Crown Prince of the Great Yuan, the Great Yuan would surely perish, and the various tribes of the grasslands would be torn apart, either destroyed by the Great Ming or perished in mutual warfare."
"If I were to become the Marquis of Chongli of the Great Ming Dynasty, I would do my utmost to protect the grassland people who have returned to the Ming Dynasty."
Ayushiridara glared at Liu Dingbei and cursed, "You unfilial son! You unfilial son! You have ruined the foundation of our ancestors! How can I face our ancestors now!"
Liu Dingbei didn't take it seriously. Instead, he sat down next to Ayushiridara's bed and asked Wang Baobao, "Are there more and more Han Chinese cities on the grasslands?"
Wang Baobao had a dark and sour face and didn't want to speak, but Liu Dingbei said to himself, "The Han people dig soil to make bricks and dig stones to make cement. They can build a strong city in just a few days. Even if the Ming army uses its own cannons, it will take a lot of effort to break through the city."
"Besides cement, the Han people also invented the steam engine. A steam locomotive can carry tens of thousands of kilograms of grain and travel hundreds of miles a day. The key is that this thing can carry grain and fodder, and it can also be used to carry people, cannons, and swords. When the Ming army is well-fed and watered on the steam locomotive, they can get off and go straight into battle."
"No matter how the Prime Minister and Nahachu send troops to harass them, the Ming army will only continue to build cities and railways in an orderly manner."
"When the grasslands are covered with Han Chinese cities and railways, what will become of the Yuan Dynasty if the Han Chinese were to create a firearm capable of rapid fire?"
"Are we going to drag everyone on the grasslands down with us to the grave for the Yuan Dynasty?"
Ayushiridara stared blankly at the roof, his breath coming in more gas than he could exhale. Wang Baobao, however, said with a dark face, "The people of the world ultimately yearn for the Great Yuan, and all the vassal states hope that the Great Yuan will march south!"
Liu Dingbei scoffed and said, "Is the Prime Minister saying this because of what that Han Sangun from Goryeo said, 'The two dragons of Xuanguang and Hongwu fly high, while foreign ministers shed tears'?"
Wang Baobao's face darkened further, and he retorted, "Isn't this enough to show that the Goryeo king and his ministers are loyal to the Yuan Dynasty?"
Liu Dingbei's sarcasm deepened, and he retorted, "Does the Prime Minister know what King Jeon of Goryeo was like in the Ming Dynasty?"
"Does the Prime Minister know that Li Se, who wrote the line 'The Xuanguang and Hongwu Emperors flew high, while foreign ministers wept bitterly,' has already been shot to death by Wang Zhuan on charges of disrespect?"
"Goryeo dared not publicize this matter, fearing that they would be implicated by Yi Saek, but the Ming Dynasty had already received the news. The Goryeo envoy knelt on the Five Dragon Bridge outside the Meridian Gate of the palace to apologize, while the Ming Dynasty merchants who set up stalls on the Five Dragon Bridge watched him make a fool of himself."
Liu Dingbei's expression slowly turned serious again. He looked at Wang Baobao and said, "Don't be silly. As the Prince Consort said, where does loyalty come from between countries? Everyone talks a good game but is actually all about business."
"The Timurid Khanate destroyed the Chagatai Khanate, and Timur eagerly sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty."
"When Yang, the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty, said he wanted a few barbarians from Europe, the Timurid Khanate went to war with the Ottomans and captured the European envoys who were sent to the Ottomans."
"How loyal was Timur, that lame man, to the Ming Dynasty?"
"It's all because Prince Consort Yang controls the border markets, which allows the Timurid Khanate to buy ironware, salt, tea, and silk."
Liu Dingbei tucked the blanket around Ayushiridara, then wiped his eyes and said, “The Yuan Dynasty can’t defeat the Ming Dynasty. If we keep fighting, more Mongols will die. My mother died, my brothers and sisters died, and countless Mongols, whose names I know and whose names I don’t know, died in one war after another.”
"I'm not trying to persuade you to surrender, I just want you to face reality."
"The reality is that if the Prime Minister is willing to lead troops on a western expedition, the Yuan Dynasty may still have a glimmer of hope."
"Continuing to fight against the Ming Dynasty will only slowly wear down the last bit of vitality of the Yuan Dynasty."
"Perhaps ten years, or twenty years, the only difference is sooner or later."
As Liu Dingbei finished speaking, Ayushiridara's "bedroom" fell silent once again, with only Ayushiridara's panting sounds remaining.
After a long while, still unwilling to give up, Wang Baobao asked with a dark and sour face, "Can't His Highness lead the troops on the western expedition?"
Liu Dingbei shook his head and said, "If I were to submit to the Ming Dynasty after inheriting the throne, would the Prime Minister be willing to do so?"
"If I were to continue fighting with the Ming Dynasty after I ascended the throne, even if the Marquis of Chongli, personally appointed by the Ming Emperor, were to rebel, who in the Ming Dynasty would be willing to accept that?"
At this point, Liu Dingbei shook his head again.
"The Grand General's Office will definitely seize on this point and use it as a pretext to send troops."
"Especially that Prince Consort Yang, he's been eyeing the Fenglangjuxu for a long time. This man is crazy and has never treated anyone outside the Ming Dynasty as a human being. Even the Ming Emperor and all the civil and military officials are wary of him. If he really gets the chance, I'm afraid he'll dig up even the earthworms in the ground and cut them up vertically."
Wang Baobao's face grew increasingly grim, and after a long while he finally spoke: "Isn't there a third way? What if the Great Yuan were willing to establish a brotherhood with the Great Ming, recognizing the Great Ming as its elder brother..."
Before Wang Baobao could finish speaking, Liu Dingbei chuckled and asked, "Is the Prime Minister willing to accept this?"
"Even if the Prime Minister is willing, he should not forget that the Song Dynasty once made a pact with the Khitan as a brother state, and with the Jurchen as a brother, uncle, or nephew state. It also wanted to make a pact with the Mongols as an uncle-nephew state, but it could not be achieved."
"Even if the Ming emperor agrees to the Yuan and Ming dynasties becoming brother states, or even if the Yuan dynasty addresses the Yuan as nephew and the Ming as uncle, how could Prince Consort Yang be content with that?"
"The reason he didn't come to the grasslands himself was twofold: firstly, the Ming emperor kept a close watch on him and refused to let him lead troops into battle; secondly, he considered the grassland people to be descendants of Chunwei, descendants of Yan and Huang just like him."
"If it weren't for this, do you think he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to harm the grasslands?"
"Putting everything else aside, just look at the salt he was planning to sell to Europe a while ago—it was adulterated with lead powder!"
"And the oil he's planning to sell to Europe is mainly cottonseed oil, mixed with all sorts of other random oils and veterinary drugs. If you eat too much of it, you really won't be able to have children, and you might even die!"
Wang Baobao stared blankly at Liu Dingbei.
Liu Dingbei smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Let me tell you another identity of mine, Prime Minister—while I am the Marquis of Chongli of the Great Ming Dynasty, I am also a probationary centurion in the Trade Division of the Overseas Bureau of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Great Ming Dynasty, mainly responsible for these unscrupulous transactions."
"And this kind of unscrupulous business involved almost all the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, or those that were not vassal states of the Ming Dynasty."
"Only the grasslands and Ryukyu are two exceptions."
"Tell me, I know so many secrets, yet I've come back to inherit the throne of the Great Yuan. Can the Embroidered Uniform Guard leave me alone?"
Just as Wang Baobao was about to say, "This is the Great Yuan, not the Great Ming," Liu Dingbei sneered and said, "Nahachu is a descendant of Muqali, and he is also the Grand Commandant, Chancellor, Governor of Liaodong, and Commander of the Taiping Road of the Great Yuan. Shouldn't he be loyal to the Great Yuan?"
“In previous years, five thousand warhorses “frozen to death.” Nahachu found a Goryeo person to act as an intermediary and sold them to the Ming Dynasty for twelve taels of silver per horse. The Goryeo person took three taels as transportation fees and kickbacks.”
"Over the years, how many warhorses do you think Nahachu has frozen to death?"
"If Nahachu is like this, how many officers, captains, commanders, or even centurions and chiliarchs are there in the Great Yuan court?"