There are only two Sub-officials in the Sibinshe; one is in charge of the ritual procedures for sacrifices and imperial assemblies, while the other is responsible for the reception, accommodation, translation affairs for foreign envoys and personnel from vassal states.
It could be said that, so far, no one can compete with him.
He must work hard; if he does a good job, he might even be promoted to a Registrar of the Court of State Ceremonial in the future.
This Sub-official of the Sibinshe was indeed formidable; within just three days, he had met with representatives from three different tribes, making every single one of them very happy, not in a superficial way.
Even though these three parties were staying in the same inn and had begun to show signs of competition, he had skillfully resolved the tension between them.
The business was, naturally, concluded, leaving both sides delighted.
The Great Ming's stockpile of weapons finally had a market, the three tribes also gained newfound confidence.
It would be just the right opportunity to go and compete with the Dzungar Mongols.
When the Sub-official of the Sibinshe was negotiating with these three tribes, he knew nothing about the situation regarding the Dzungar Mongols and hardly mentioned a single word about them; however, this caused the envoys from these three tribes to wonder.
The actions of the Imperial Court were also very rapid; after he had concluded negotiations with these tribes, the firearms were transported directly to Datong.
After all, from the very beginning, the Great Ming had been intent on reaching agreements with these three tribes. It didn't even matter if the price was a bit low; as long as they could prevent the Dzungar Mongols from siding with the Qing Dynasty and simultaneously cause a rift within the Mongol Alliance, they wouldn't even need to make a profit.
Li Chuangwang watched in near disbelief as this transaction was completed so rapidly.
Before long, news arrived that the Dzungar Mongols had broken into fighting.
However, unlike the two groups previously known, they were split into three groups this time: Sengge, Chechen, Batur Khunbul Khos each led their own force.
Zhu Ci looked at the intelligence and asked in surprise, "Isn't Batur Khunbul Khos with Chechen? Have they had a falling out?"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Forget it, since things have come to this, I'll just wish them great success in battle first. *Cat Clapping*. jpg
Next update at noon.
Chapter 228
It is not entirely certain at this moment," Fu guessed. "I believe Batur Khunbul Khos is very likely receiving some kind of assistance. Previously, because he was not as favored as Sengge and his influence was not as great as Chechen's, he attempted to attach himself to Chechen to gain more. If someone is helping him, then as a son of a Taiji, he naturally has the qualification to compete for the position of Taiji.
Zhu Ci felt that his Grand Secretary's speculation made a lot of sense. Leaning back against his throne, he thought for a long time before saying, "It seems the alliance between the Khoshut Mongols, the Durbet Mongols, the Torghut Mongols is still very tight; it must be that the three of them are supporting Batur Khunbul Khos together."
Among the three most capable princes of the Dzungar Mongols right now, Sengge inherited most of the Heduoheqin legacy, while Chechen has the secret support of the Qing Court; therefore, it is easy to guess who is behind Batur Khunbul Khos.
Your Majesty, there is one more thing," Fu said. "Galdan has disappeared.
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. "Galdan has disappeared? What do you mean by that?"
It meant exactly what it said: Galdan had vanished in Tibet.
To be precise, he disappeared within his own meditation room.
The people Fu arranged had been keeping a close eye on him, but previously his caravan had not had much contact with Tibet, especially the Xiaozhao Temple where Galdan resided; it was impossible to send people to infiltrate it in such a short amount of time.
Therefore, Fu could only arrange for people to keep watch along the path Galdan would have to take on his return to the Dzungar Mongols.
As it turned out, the matter was incredibly bizarre; Galdan had vanished into thin air at the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.
Fu lost his temper, which was rare, when he found out. The Little Emperor had repeatedly emphasized the need to keep a close eye on this person, yet an error had still occurred.
After hearing this, Zhu Ci keenly sensed that Grand Secretary Fu was in a bad mood, so he comforted him, saying, "This is normal. It is generally difficult to plant people within a religion, let alone when time is so tight. It is already good enough that we can accurately know Galdan's movements."
Fu did not dwell on it too much; after all, the event had already happened, no matter how much he rued it, it would change nothing.
He steadied his emotions and said, "This matter is truly strange. I have arranged for people to secretly investigate for a long time, but no one has seen him leave the monastery. Perhaps there is another exit in the monastery."
Although Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse is called a temple, Galdan actually lived in the Living Buddha's residence when he was there.
After all, he was believed to be the reincarnation of the Winsor Living Buddha and had entered Tibet to study. Since he was a reincarnation, he held the status of a high-ranking monk or a Living Buddha in Tibet, so his treatment was certainly excellent.
His residence was not small in area, but no matter how large it was, there were only a few doors, currently, no one had seen him emerge from any of them.
Zhu Ci immediately said, "It is also possible that he left after disguising himself."
Fu shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be, because from the last time the intelligence personnel saw him until his disappearance was confirmed, no one entered or left the monastery."
This is very strange. If that is the case, then it is indeed possible that there are underground passages within the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.
But why would Galdan go through the trouble of performing such a "golden cicada shedding its skin" trick?
Zhu Ci frowned and said, "That is strange. Could it be that Galdan has sensed that someone intends to do him harm?"
Fu deliberated and said, "He shouldn't be able to suspect me."
Zhu Ci naturally did not think he would guess the involvement of Great Ming. After all, no matter from what perspective one looked at it, he posed no threat to Great Ming; Great Ming was busy fighting the Tartars to the death, so how could it possibly spare any attention for him?
Zhu Ci remained silent for a long while before beginning to speculate on Galdan's intentions; one could never be careless even for a moment with a heroic figure who had distinguished himself since childhood.
Fu was also thinking. He suddenly asked, "Could it be Sengge?"
What? Are you saying he is evading Sengge?
“It's not about evading Sengge, but about helping him. Based on some information I received earlier, although Galdan is studying Buddhism in Tibet, he returns frequently. Every time he returns, he stays within Sengge's territory, meets with Sengge's subordinates, even provides strategic advice to Sengge. No, it's more than just advice; sometimes he can even disregard Sengge's opinions and make decisions on his behalf.”
For example, Sengge detested Russia, his attitude was very firm even when occasionally receiving envoys from Russia.
However, Galdan's attitude toward Russia was much softer, even showing an intention to negotiate peace; on many occasions, Galdan ignored Sengge's opinions and showed goodwill toward Russia.
After hearing this, Zhu Ci said, "If he is here to help Sengge, then it means the danger he has perceived must be coming from Chechen or Batur Khunbul Khos."
"I believe the possibility of it being Batur Khunbul Khos is greater," he said.
The power behind Chorsos Chechen is the Qing Court, the Qing Court's reach does not extend to Tibet for the time being, but the other tribes of the Mongol Alliance can do so.
Zhu Ci stretched his body, took a deep breath, said, "That's enough. There's no use for us to keep speculating here; now we just have to see where Galdan will appear.
He thought for a moment and added, "Keep leaving people in Tibet. It would be best if they could infiltrate the monastery, but it's fine if they can't."
Fu was slightly stunned after hearing this, then realized that the Little Emperor had also set his sights on Tibet.
He instantly felt a bit of pressure. Just how large was the map that the Little Emperor knew about? Why did he want every single part of it?
It was stressful, but since Zhu Ci wanted it, he would find a way to get it; after all, the Little Emperor wasn't asking for the moon.
When the missing Galdan reappeared half a month later, he was leading over a thousand cavalrymen to suppress the rebellion.
At this time, Sengge was not yet dead, the two brothers joined forces; Galdan, in particular, used his status as a Living Buddha to issue a call, which immediately drew a vast number of followers.
Fu looked at the message sent by Li Chuangwang and said with emotion, "His Majesty's concerns were indeed well-founded."
Zhu Ci thought to himself that it wasn't that he was right, but that history had told him so.
Regardless of whether Galdan appeared too early in this world, from what can be seen now, his learning and growth trajectory is the same.
Whether one prefers Buddhist scriptures or martial arts, their fundamental nature and personality remain unchanged.
Zhu Ci remarked with emotion, "Governing a country through religion is indeed terrifying."
Galdan is only twenty years old this year, previously he possessed no special abilities. However, as soon as he returned to the Dzungar Mongols and revealed his identity as a reincarnated Living Buddha, people immediately began to follow him; even the subordinates of Chechen and Chorsos Zhottebaatur were wavering.
In this regard, Galdan was already one step ahead; besides, his ability to lead troops was indeed extraordinary.
To be able to focus on dealing with Chorsos Chechen and Chorsos Zhottebaatur, Galdan even formed an alliance with Tsarist Russia.
Of course, calling it an alliance was one thing, but in reality, it was more like voluntarily becoming a vassal state; first, they proactively withdrew from the struggle for Siberia and recognized Russia's foothold in Siberia, second, they sent envoys to Moscow to present gifts.
And Russia also provided them with a certain amount of firearms support.
Zhu Ci couldn't help but click his tongue when he saw this news. Although Siberia would not belong to the territory in later generations, seeing Galdan proactively give it up still made him feel somewhat displeased.
Seeing his displeasure, Zhu Ci hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, Galdan has sent an envoy to seek peace with Great Ming."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I wouldn't be surprised by anything they do now. Cat stretching and yawning. jpg
Next update at 6 PM~
Chapter 229
After hearing this, Zhu Ci asked directly, "Does Galdan want firearms?"
Zhu Ci nodded. Although Galdan had firearms funded by Russia, once he actually used them, Galdan found that these firearms were far inferior to those of the Ming Kingdom.
Although Galdan did not quite understand why the Great Ming, which had nearly been destroyed, would suddenly possess such advanced firearms, it did not matter. His primary enemy right now was not the Great Ming; the Great Ming was too far from the Dzungar Mongols, he still had the great enemy of the Qing Army to contend with; they would not be his enemies in the short term.
Even if the Ming Kingdom defeats the Qing Kingdom in the future, they will inevitably be severely weakened; before that happens, he will have integrated the entire Mongol Alliance, which will be enough to contend with the Ming Kingdom.
Galdan's thoughts were different from those of his father and elder brother; his father and elder brother wanted to compete with Tsarist Russia for the pastures in Siberia, but in his view, Siberia was not good enough.
Is the Central Plains not good? If it truly were not good, why would the Qing Kingdom enter the Pass?
Of course, if there were an opportunity, he would not give up the Central Plains, nor would he give up Siberia.
All of this must be built upon the foundation of him having sufficient troops and firearms; for the time being, cooperating with the Ming Kingdom is naturally the best choice.
The envoy he sent could be said to be very sincere; the price offered was sufficient, he even sent valuable gifts.
Setting everything else aside, Galdan was quite straightforward in how he handled things.
However, the more it was like this, the more wary Zhu Ci became.
Zhu Ci had originally thought that after reporting this, the Emperor would certainly arrange for someone to contact the Dzungar envoys, but unexpectedly, the Emperor had begun to remain silent, appearing to find it difficult to make a decision.
He couldn't help but wonder if the Emperor no longer wished to continue providing aid to the Dzungar Mongols.
Zhu Ci hesitated, finally said, "First, arrange for people to properly host these envoys. I will arrange for someone to contact them as soon as possible."
Zhu Ci did not dare to ask more, keeping in mind that he was merely the Minister of Rites and should not interfere in military affairs.
The Emperor was very kind to these members of the imperial clan, especially to him; one could say he treated him with great favor, but he also had to be prudent and understand the current situation.
After Zhu Ci left, Zhu Ci looked at the map while hesitating as he placed the jade-carved kittens one by one.
This set of jade-carved kittens was also a gift from Fu. They came in various colors, including white jade, green jade, black jade, pink jade. Each was about the size of a thumb, exquisitely carved and lifelike.
Zhu Ci liked them very much, placing the entire set of eight little cats on his imperial desk and playing with them from time to time.
Now he placed the kitten that was pouncing on its prey toward the direction of Beijing, while placing the kitten about to strike toward the Mongols.
Unfortunately, the kitten had no way of telling him whether or not to cooperate with Galdan.