Chapter 159: Send a Trade Caravan to Gather Intelligence?

However, before giving, Zhu Yunwen needs to understand the situation of the entire Mongolian tribes.

Xu Huizu walked on the corridor leading to the palace. Hearing movement behind him, he stopped, lifted the cool awning, shaded his eyes from the scorching sun, and saw Song Sheng approaching with brisk steps.

“Song Sheng greets Duke of Wei.”

Song Sheng came close and saluted.

Xu Huizu smiled and nodded, saying, “On the way, I was pondering what urgent matter his Majesty summoned me for. With Assistant Song’s arrival, I can already guess a bit.”

Song Sheng asked, “If it’s not about the Three Great Camps or the New Army policy, it must be an important matter in the northern borderlands.”

Xu Huizu nodded solemnly.

The two entered the Wuying Hall for an audience. After paying respects and sitting down.

Zhu Yunwen fanned himself and said, “In the scorching summer sun, the heat is unbearable. I heard that more than three hundred people suffered from heatstroke during the recent training of the Three Great Camps. Should we consider changing the training hours?”

Xu Huizu, with folded hands, replied, “Your Majesty, when there is a war, regardless of the heat or cold, even if the sun is like fire and the water is like ice, we must charge forward. The training of the Three Great Camps should prioritize willpower and spirit and should not be delayed due to heatstroke.”

Zhu Yunwen furrowed his brow.

Indeed, Xu Huizu’s words were correct. During times of war, no one cares about how hot or cold it is. When it’s time to fight, you still have to fight. If you want to withstand the battlefield, you need to train regularly.

Train in the hottest days of summer, and the coldest days of winter.

Soldiers’ training is not like filming a TV drama with young actors styling their hair, applying makeup, shining shoes, and wearing pristine clothes with a two-tael iron lump tied around their waists.

In the Three Great Camps, regardless of the camp you belong to, the basic load is no less than twenty catties.

Armor needs to be worn, right? Going into battle with bare arms, you’re either a slave or a condemned prisoner, specifically sent to die as cannon fodder.

Real soldiers need armor. Even if you don’t have iron armor, you can make your own cotton armor into cotton pants, and if that’s not enough, you can make wooden armor.

Cavalry need weapons, right? You need a longbow, arrows, and a horse knife. If you have a dark mind and like the sound of a Langya club stabbing people, you can equip yourself with a Langya club.

Even if you are a cavalryman, if you like using a musket and killing someone with a shot, then using the musket as a stick afterward, no one will stop you.

In the army, as long as you can win, no one cares whether you use a forty-meter-long knife or an eighty-two-catty Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Just go up, If you can’t kill others, then you’ll be killed by others, you can decide how to do it yourself. No strict requirements.

But these weights are real. Cavalry training is not just spending ten hours a day on horseback; you need to consider what to do if the horse is lost in battle, and of course, you have to carry these weights.

Infantry also has its difficulties. They run slowly and die quickly. In order to survive, armor tends to be thickened. For example, they might add wooden armor as an undershirt.

You also need to train with weapons. Moreover, if there’s a long-distance march, you have to carry three days’ worth of rations…

The brothers of the Divine Engine Battalion also carry heavy loads. This thing called a musket is all iron lumps, weighing over twenty pounds at every move. Some muskets even reach thirty-four pounds.

Practicing aiming with a thing weighing twenty to thirty pounds every day is not easy. You should know that during World War II, many rifles did not exceed ten pounds…

Zhu Yunwen values the training of the Three Great Camps. He visits the large and small training grounds one or two times every month, understanding the hardships of the soldiers in training. However, although Zhu Yunwen is the Emperor, the training work of the Three Great Camps is jointly managed by the Ministry of War and the Five Army Commandery.

If Xu Huizu doesn’t loosen his grip, Zhu Yunwen can’t do anything.

“Ensure protection and let the Imperial Academy of Medicine send two people to the army to supervise. Although training is heavy, it shouldn’t ruin the fundamentals.”

Zhu Yunwen instructed.

Xu Huizu agreed.

Zhu Yunwen turned the conversation and asked, “What’s the current situation with the Oirats and Tatars? “

Xu Huizu shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, the intelligence on the Oirats and Tatars is rare, and there has been no further information so far.”

“Is there any way to find out their movements?”

Zhu Yunwen inquired.

Xu Huizu was somewhat surprised. Why did the Emperor suddenly care about the Oirats and Tatars? They should still be in internal strife. Why would care about them?

“Well, if someone is sent to the northern region to gather intelligence, it might take some time. And it may not be successful…”

Xu Huizu was somewhat worried.

Sending spies to gather information is a high-risk activity. There is no return after going, and it is common.

Even if he finds a Tatar to spy on information, he might be incite defected and be played around.

“If you want to know the intelligence of the Oirats and Tatars, I have a way.”

Song Sheng said.

Zhu Yunwen looked at Song Sheng and asked, “What way, let’s hear it.”

Song Sheng has been in Liangzhou for a long time and knows a lot about Oirats and Tatars. Seeing that Zhu Yunwen wants to understand the situation in various parts of northern Mongolia, he said, “Your Majesty, this method is a bit… against the laws of Ming, so…”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Song Sheng in puzzlement and asked, “What method is it that is related to the law? Speak up, I won’t blame you.”

Song Sheng said seriously, “Your Majesty, the best way to better understand the internal intelligence of Oirats and Tatars is to send some people deep into the north. If the court sends scouts to investigate, they can only reach its periphery, making it difficult to go deep. Even if Mongolian former members are sent to inquire, they may be concerned by others and find it difficult to explore more.”

“The person I am talking about can enter the territory of Oirats and Tatars without any hindrance and can go deep into various places, traveling south and north, gathering intelligence from all sides. If so, the Mongolian tribes will have no secrets.”

Su Muzhe heard it and looked somewhat puzzled.

Xu Huizu shook his head and said to Songseng, “Where in this world can you find such a person? The people of Wala and Dadao are not foolish; they would never allow people from Ming to move freely in their territory.”

Songseng looked up at Zhu Yunwen and slowly said, “Your Majesty, just send a trade caravan, and you can survey the entire situation of Oirats and Tatars.”

“A trade caravan?”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Songseng seriously.

Xu Huizu suddenly startled and said quickly to Song Sheng, “This matter absolutely can’t be done!”

Song Sheng looked at Xu Huizu, saying lightly, “Duke of Wei, this is the best way for us to understand Oirats and Tatars.”

Xu Huizu shook his head, looked at Zhu Yunwen, and said firmly, “Your Majesty, this matter is absolutely impossible. With the country’s wealth, we are providing assistance to Oirats and Tatars, which is a treasonous act.”

Treason!

Song Sheng’s eyes dimmed. This charge is serious, although not entirely true, but the trade caravan entering the northern region does have an element of aiding the enemy.

But for Oirats and Tatars, they only welcome merchants from Ming, and will never welcome spies and agents from Ming, and even officials from Ming.

Merchants, although not their friends, have the precious and important things they urgently need.

Oirats and Tatars people are very clear about the preciousness and importance of merchants, they will not kill or plunder any merchants who enter their territory, but will only trade fairly.

This is a rare civilization among nomadic tribes.

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