jdhmnovel Chapter 1075 The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins
Chapter 1075 The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins
Zhu Biao didn't want to get involved in the messy affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he didn't want to care about how the Embroidered Uniform Guard should be dismantled.
In comparison, Zhu Biao was more interested in the Timurid Khanate.
"Brother-in-law, you should think about the matter of splitting up the Embroidered Uniform Guard first. When you have time, write a memorial about the splitting up, and I will take it directly to the Qianqing Palace to get the seal."
"If all else fails, you can write down a few sentences, and let Mr. Shanchang and Marquis Chengyi complete the rest."
"Tell me first, what exactly is Timur planning by sending his envoy here?"
Zhu Biao said with a lot of suspicion, "The Timurid Khanate and our Ming Dynasty are not adjacent. They are not exactly sworn enemies, but they don't have any relationship. I really can't figure out Timur's thoughts in a short time."
Yang Shaofeng rolled his eyes.
Good heavens, just to satisfy your curiosity, you entrusted the task of dismantling the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen?
They're really treating those two like donkeys.
It's fortunate that it was you, Black Sesame Dumpling, who brought it up. If it had been anyone else, you could have just watched how Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen would have retaliated!
While mentally complaining, Yang Shaofeng said, "The Timurid Khanate probably has two purposes."
"One way is to make money through tribute."
"Another one is to intimidate the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then asked, "Making money through tribute is easy to understand, but what's with flying the Ming Dynasty's tiger flag?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and asked in return, "Does Your Highness still remember the geomantic map I drew before?"
Zhu Biao nodded, and Yang Shaofeng continued, "West of the Western Regions, there is more than just the Timurid Khanate. There are several other large and small countries around it. Although the Ottoman Empire is not as powerful as the Timurid Khanate, it is not too weak either."
"If all these countries, large and small, could unite, even the Timurid Khanate would have a headache."
Timur's plan was probably to first submit to the Ming Dynasty and pay tribute, in order to intimidate the surrounding small countries that also submitted to the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute, and then focus on dealing with the Ottomans.
"Furthermore, although the Timurid Khanate was not close to the Ming Dynasty, it was not too difficult for them to obtain intelligence about the Ming Dynasty."
"After all, there are so many maritime merchants, and the Timurid Khanate also has vassals of the Ming Dynasty around it."
"The news that the Dengzhou Fleet will be split into the South China Sea Fleet is not a secret."
"If the Ming Dynasty were to raise the banner of recovering the lost territories of the Yuan Dynasty, the Timurid Khanate would most likely face a situation of being attacked from both sides."
"After all, Timur's rule was illegitimate, and there were many rebellious forces within the Timur Khanate."
"In my opinion, Timur probably sent envoys here for these reasons."
There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
This is especially true for large countries like the Ming Dynasty and the Timurid Khanate.
Moreover, Timur the Lame was not a mediocre person who would willingly remain subservient to others.
This guy's biggest dream in his life was to restore the glory of the Great Mongol Empire—not the four Khanates or the Yuan Dynasty, but the Great Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan's time.
For Timur, the lame man, to voluntarily send envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, acknowledge the Ming as his elder brother, and then pay tribute every year, there must have been enormous interests behind it.
There's a joke circulating in later generations that goes, "Calling someone 'Grandpa' will get you ten thousand, and you can bankrupt even the world's richest man."
This analogy also applies to the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Timurid Empire—without sufficient benefits, would Timur care who the Ming Dynasty was? If there were enough benefits, he would pay tribute until the Ming Dynasty went bankrupt!
Of course, the tributary system itself was a huge pitfall. Before formal tribute began, even a fool could profit from it in the Ming Dynasty. But once formal tribute began, it became the Ming Dynasty that was sucking the blood off the tributary states.
Give the simplest example.
Zheng He, the famous eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, claimed to conduct fair trade and make money peacefully when he went on his voyages to the Western Ocean. In reality, he used paper money to buy things and gold and silver to sell things. Anyone who did not agree with this trading rule was basically beaten into accepting it by Zheng He.
What merchant ship would carry a large number of horse-drawn ships and warships?
The horse ships and warships in Zheng He's fleet were not only for ensuring the safety of the fleet, but more importantly, to win people over with virtue, and then to conduct fair trade and make money in harmony.
Zhu Biao had no idea what Yang Shaofeng was thinking. He simply lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Then, could we specifically support some of the vassal states surrounding Timur's Khanate, and then use these vassal states to support those who oppose Timur?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded at first, then shook his head and said, "We can provide support, but there's probably not much need for it in the short term."
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback, and Yang Shaofeng continued, "In my opinion, what we need to do now is to first turn Timur's envoy into a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and then use him to incite conflict between Timur and the Ottomans."
"The Timurid Khanate and the Ottoman Empire were both considered major powers."
As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured.
"As the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."
“As long as the two families start fighting, we can sit back and sell them weapons while also buying their prisoners of war at low prices.”
We're cooking the fish two ways.
After eating Timur, then eat Ottoman.
After collecting the money they used to buy weapons, they used that money to buy their prisoners of war.
If they fight for a few more years, the mere act of selling prisoners of war between the two sides will accumulate into a deep-seated feud, and will also significantly weaken the national strength of the Timurid Khanate and the Ottoman Empire.
Yang Shaofeng thought about it carefully and added, "That's not enough."
"I have heard that the lands of the Ottoman and Timurid Khanates are full of oil, so much so that you don't even need to drill wells; you can dig it out with a shovel."
"Moreover, the Ottoman and Timurid Khanates occupied the route from the Western Regions to Europe and collected taxes, which is equivalent to them groveling on our Ming Dynasty and making money off our Ming Dynasty."
"I think it would be better to support more small European countries that are close to the Ottomans, so that they can also fight against the Ottomans."
"We'll find a way to send someone to persuade the Ottomans and turn them into vassals of the Ming Dynasty."
"Wait until the Ottoman Empire is about to fall before sending troops to save the vassal states."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "Unfortunately, the reinforcements sent by the Ming Dynasty were a step too late. By then, the Ottoman Empire had already fallen, and the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to annex it and appoint a prince to govern it, thus saving the trouble of replacing the native chieftains with centrally appointed officials."
Yang Shaofeng also laughed and said, "That's right, it would be best to send troops when the Timurid Khanate and the Ottoman Empire are both defeated."