It will be time for the willow catkins to fly in a little while; I really want to chop these willow trees down.
Zhu Ci was lost in thought when he suddenly felt a void in his mouth; coming back to his senses, he saw Fu standing by his side, saying softly, "Don't bite the pen."
Zhu Ci looked up at him and asked with an innocent expression, "Then where does His Highness the Prince of Yue want me to bite?"
Fu heard him emphasize the word and could not help but feel a flash in his eyes; finally, unable to endure it any longer, he reached out and covered Zhu Ci's eyes.
Lately, this little rascal's favorite thing to do was to put on the appearance of an innocent youth while saying things that were easily misunderstood.
Whenever Fu took the bait, Zhu Ci would ask back with a look of surprise, "How is your head filled with nothing but such things?"
It was truly exasperating and endearing at the same time, yet Fu still found him impossible to deal with; if it were at night, it would be fine—he could just take him straight to bed.
During the day.. although they occasionally engaged in lewd acts in broad daylight, it was usually in the Qianqing Palace or the Prince of Yue's Mansion; doing so in the Imperial Study was still somewhat pushing Fu's limits.
So he could only cover Zhu Ci's eyes to prevent him from looking, he did not answer his question, only asking, "What is troubling Your Majesty?"
As he asked this, he felt Zhu Ci's long eyelashes brush against his palm, for a moment, he also felt a sense of restlessness.
Zhu Ci let him cover his eyes, feeling a momentary inner conflict.
Working in the office didn't seem like a bad idea either.
Especially challenging Grand Secretary Fu's limits was quite interesting; Zhu Ci loved watching him try to restrain himself but failing to do so.
However.. on second thought, forget it. Everywhere else is fine, but the Imperial Study is simply too stimulating.
He said casually, "I was thinking about how to mass-produce cement."
Fu was somewhat puzzled: "The production of cement isn't actually that difficult either."
Zhu Ci grabbed his wrist, making him sit by his side, said, "The production isn't difficult, but mass production is. Without industrial machinery, even crushing and grinding are problems."
Perhaps using stone slabs and rammed earth would be somewhat easier than cement.
It was just that stone slabs were prone to breaking, while rammed earth easily created clouds of dust, rainfall would also cause a certain amount of damage to rammed earth roads.
No matter from which perspective one looks at it, Zhu Ci wanted to promote the production of cement.
Fu had some understanding of this and said casually, "If there are no machines, then just use manual labor."
Zhu Ci said helplessly, "That would require so much manpower."
Wouldn't those captives be perfect for these tasks?" Fu had already considered this: "When it's the agricultural off-season, just let them go and repair the roads.
No, prisoners are people too. If you use them like that, how many of them will be left alive by the time it's over?
But on second thought, since most of the people in the imperial court had previously wanted nothing more than to exterminate the Manchus, he could also understand why Fu did not hold these people in high regard.
At that time, if Zhu Ci had not stated that he intended to squeeze every last bit of their remaining value, he would have truly suspected that the scholar-officials and generals under him would have conspired to trap and kill all the Manchus.
He thought for a moment and finally only asked, "There are only this many prisoners; what happens after they are all consumed?"
Fu calmly looked at Zhu Ci: "Your Majesty has been focusing on the Ordos Mongols all along."
Oh, so you're counting the Oirats as people too?
Of course, the enmity between Great Ming and the Weilaite is not small either.
Wait, why does the Great Ming have so many enemies?
Zhu Ci couldn't help but reflect for a moment, feeling that every powerful ethnic group in the surrounding regions held a grudge against the Great Ming, none of those grudges were small.
He could only say, "Didn't you advise me just a few days ago not to focus on Russia? You even said it would be easy to become obsessed with military expansionism. Why are you focusing on the Weilaite now?"
“That's different.”
The views of the Great Ming, from top to bottom, regarding the Ordos Mongols and Russia were likely highly consistent.
If Zhu Ci were to fight the Ordos Mongols, everyone would simply applaud, but if the target were Russia, most people would likely have one question: why should we fight them?
Zhu Ci said, "It is not the time yet. Let them fight for now; it would be best if they both suffer heavy losses, so that we can achieve our goals without losing a single soldier."
"I'm afraid His Majesty's wish will be difficult to realize," Fu Weiwei said with a sigh.
Zhu Ci paused, withdrawing his hand that had been acting up on Fu's lap, asked seriously, "What has happened with the Ordos Mongols now?"
Galdan has asked Awang Lousang Jiacuo for help; Tsangba Khan is about to send troops to assist Galdan in seizing the throne.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Zhu Ci: When discussing serious matters, one really shouldn't tease honest people. Cat tail tip hooking around Fu's wrist. jpg
Next update at noon~
Chapter 289
Awang Lousang Jiacuo was the Fifth Dalai Lama, while Tsangba Khan was the leader of the Tsangba regime.
It was true that Galdan had previously practiced in Tibet due to his status as a reincarnated tulku, making his ties to this region even closer.
It was just that Galdan had never asked for help before; why did he suddenly seek help from Awang Lousang Jiacuo?
Fu guessed, "It should be that Galdan sensed something."
Zhu Ci's brow relaxed; on second thought, it made sense.
Galdan was such a shrewd man; he always held the upper hand, yet those three tribes across from him remained stubbornly resilient, occasionally showing signs of life when they seemed dead.
In such a situation, any normal person would be suspicious, let alone a natural-born leader like Galdan, who was prone to paranoia.
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin. "If Tsangba Khan sends people to provide aid, then the remaining three tribes will be in danger."
After fighting for so long, these three tribes were not a monolithic entity; in fact, they had long since begun fighting amongst themselves.
Back when they were banding together, they were no match for Galdan, relying entirely on the Great Ming to provide them with occasional support. Now that Tsangba is sending reinforcements, do they really stand a chance?
Fu said, "That is why I said we cannot let it be."
Zhu Ci looked at him: "Whether we can allow it or not depends on the situation. Currently, the Great Ming has no reason to intervene, or is it.."
Before he could finish his sentence, Fu silently pulled out a memorial and said, "I was just about to report to His Majesty. Recently, I have received many official documents stating that most of the merchant caravans traveling to Tibet have encountered looting, some have even been massacred."
Zhu Ci took the memorial and glanced at it, discovering that there were actually over a hundred victimized merchant caravans listed on it.
His mouth twitched as he looked at Fu and asked, "How come I didn't know so many people were traveling this trade route now?"
If he remembered correctly, the only merchant caravans that the Great Ming sent toward Tibet were the few scattered groups under Fu's command; after all, the distance from the south to Tibet was too great, not much of the goods from Tibet were things they needed.
Even if the world were unified today, it has only been a few months; how could there be such a sudden increase in the number of merchant caravans?
Grand Secretary Fu remained composed, his expression unchanged. "Perhaps there is profit to be found."
Zhu Ci: I don't believe a word you say!
He placed the memorial on the table and said, "Fine, I'll mention it briefly during the Grand Court Meeting when the time comes."
Mentioning it during the grand court assembly was primarily intended to conduct preliminary public opinion work.
It is said that military and civil administration are separate, but in reality, there are still many connections between the two sides.
One cannot say that the military can simply fight whenever they please; they must always keep the scholar-officials informed so that everyone can present a united front against external threats. Otherwise, while the soldiers are fighting, the literati will be pulling them back.. Even if the literati are only using their words to obstruct things for now, they still exert pressure on the Emperor.
Zhu Ci could handle this kind of pressure, but that didn't mean he liked losing his temper all the time.
It just so happened that, currently, the Great Ming, from top to bottom, was brimming with confidence; having experienced the previous low point, it was also at its most sensitive time.
Any action that might infringe upon the interests of Great Ming would trigger a stress response in them.
Just as Zhu Ci thought, the fact that a hundred caravans had been looted proved that Tsangba did not care about the Great Ming at all.
For a time, the court was in an uproar, but the two Vice Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, along with the newly appointed Group Assistant Suherbairu, did not say much.
Huang Daozhou and He Tengjiao felt that there was something suspicious about this matter.
Not only him, but many people in the Imperial Court were also doubting the authenticity of this matter.
As for Suherbairu, he was still adjusting to the Ming Court.
Seeing the passionate and impassioned appearance of the scholar-officials in the court at this moment, he felt a hint of trepidation.
Although Tsangba was far from their Tumet, he also knew that it was a very powerful regime, with influence extending beyond Tibet; Southern Mongolia was also under their influence, or rather, under the influence of Awang Lousang Jiacuo.
With such a massive power, would the Ming Kingdom actually just attack them?
Did his father agree to those Ming Kingdom conditions back then because he also saw the strength of the Ming Kingdom?
But hadn't they just experienced a great battle and needed to recover their strength?
Zhu Ci was also pondering this question. Mobilizing troops was not difficult, setting out on a campaign was not difficult; what was difficult was determining how many men to send? How much grain and fodder would be needed? And how would the transport of provisions be handled?
How should the battle be fought?
Should it be a blitzkrieg or a steady, methodical approach?
Zhu Ci was momentarily indecisive; he had never been to Tibet, or rather, he had never been to Tibet since his transmigration.
He didn't know what the situation was like over there now; the only thing he could be certain of was that the road would definitely be difficult to travel.
Back then, the Great Tang was so powerful that even they found it difficult to deal with Tibet, simply because of the terrain.
One cannot give up on that land simply because of the terrain; the more difficult it is, the more it must be brought under rule, otherwise it will eventually remain a threat.
However, Zhu Ci went through the existing generals, it seemed.. none were suitable for a western expedition.
Should he look for someone from the Tumet Mongols?
It was just that the Tumet had not shown any particularly talented generals before.
Just as Zhu Ci was hesitating, Li Zicheng returned.
This Li Chuangwang truly lives up to his name; he is far too much of a rebel.
Ever since he personally persuaded him to surrender all those years ago, it was truly absurd that Zhu Ci had not seen him again for so long.
Li Zicheng returned with Aobai's head, at the same time, hundreds of thousands of prisoners returned as well.
Excellent, the army of captives has grown by many more people, the mass production of cement can now be put on the agenda.
When Zhu Ci thought of this, he had a momentary lapse of focus; he seemed to have only intended to mass-produce cement at first, but after chatting with Fu.. it had been decided that he was going to attack Tibet.
How on earth did he get led astray like this?
He thought about it carefully and felt as if Fu had set a trap for him from the very beginning.