prosperous age

"Lord Wei, I can only say that Altan Khan is in good health, but I cannot tell you exactly how he is."

In response to Wei Guangde's question, Liu Shouyou spoke with some hesitation.

"How to say?"

Wei Guangde asked with a slight frown.

"It is reported that Altan Khan is over seventy years old and his health is not good.

But if you are not sure, he can still go to Yanghua Temple to see Sonam Gyatso. Calculating the time, he should have passed Gansu and arrived at Yanghua Temple by now. "

Yanghua Temple is a Gelugpa temple of Tibetan Buddhism located in Qinghai.

In the third year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, Altan Khan, the King of Shunyi of the Ming Dynasty, and Sonam Gyatso, the leader of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, cooperated to build a temple in Chabuqiyale, south of Qinghai Lake. The Ming court named it "Yanghua Temple", which was called Chabuqiyale Temple in Mongolian and Teqinqukelin in Tibetan.

Wei Guangde naturally knew all this, and he also knew that after the peace agreement with the Ming Dynasty was completed in the fifth year of Longqing, Altan Khan suddenly converted to Buddhism.

In the fifth year of the Longqing reign, the Gelugpa monk Axing Lama came to the right wing of Mongolia to preach. He used the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation to cater to Altan's desire to dominate the grassland and respectfully called Altan "Great Khan".

Axing Lama said that the reason why Altan became the most respected Khan in the world was the result of his practice in every life and that he was the reincarnation of the Khan in his previous life. As long as he promoted Buddhism and scriptures in this life, saved all living beings, accumulated merits and benefits, he would be able to conquer the world like the "Wheel-Turning King" and become famous throughout the world.

Altan had long heard of the relationship between Phagpa and Kublai Khan and was very interested in it, so he asked Axing Lama for advice on Buddhism.

While explaining the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha as well as the Eight Precepts, Ah Xing Lama asked Altan to abandon Shamanism.

So Altan began to convert to Tibetan Buddhism, and asked the Ming Dynasty for Buddhist scriptures and lama monks. The Ming Dynasty believed that this was a good opportunity to make Altan "lay down his butcher knife", so they fulfilled their requests one by one.

Under the guidance of Axing Lama and the urging of Qiejin Huang Taiji, Altan summoned 30,000 households of the right wing to jointly discuss and send envoys to Tibet to invite Sonam Gyatso.

At the same time, in order to invite Sonam Gyatso, Altan ordered his son Bingtu to build a temple in Chabuqiyale, Qinghai.

In the second year of the Wanli reign, Altan Khan sent Sida Longnangsu, Weijing Zaisang, Dayun Qia Taiji, Benbao Shanding and others as envoys, carrying Altan Khan's letters, offerings of gold, silver and other treasures, and a large amount of alms, to Tibet to worship Buddha and meet Sonam Gyatso.

After a long journey of more than ten months, they arrived in Lhasa, presented offerings to Sakyamuni Buddha, made generous donations, and then sincerely invited Sonam Gyatso to come to Mongolia.

At that time, Tibet was under the rule of the Kagyu sect's Tsangpa Khanate, and the Gelug sect was suppressed.

Sonam Gyatso tried to use Mongolian power to fight against the Tsangpa Khan, so he promised through Buddhist decrees and asked Altan to meet him at the Chabqiyale Temple in the year of the Ox.

In the fourth year of Wanli's reign, Chabuqiyale Temple was completed. At the request of Altan Khan, the Ming court named it "Yanghua Temple".

At this time, part of the passage between Mongolia and Qinghai was guarded by the Gansu Town of the Ming Dynasty, and part of it was the territory of the Oirat Mongols.

In order to go to Qinghai to meet Sonam Gyatso, Altan first led his troops to attack the Oirat, but was defeated. He had no choice but to write to the governor of Gansu of the Ming Dynasty, requesting to pass through Gansu to enter Qinghai.

Wei Guangde still remembers this matter because he was the one who agreed to it.

However, there was a period of criticism among the top officials of the Ming court, and finally the Ministry of War ordered the Ming troops along the way to be on high alert to prevent Mongolia from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

In fact, at the beginning of the year, Altan Khan led his troops through the Ming territory and entered Qinghai, and no fighting occurred. But even so, the Ming court still ordered the Northwest Ming army to pay close attention.

As soon as Liu Shouyi mentioned this, Wei Guangde immediately realized it and said with a smile, "So, our Shunyi King still has many years to live."

"Shandai, do you want to attack him in Yanghua Temple?"

When Tan Lun heard Wei Guangde's words, he immediately asked nervously.

“Although Altan Khan left his sphere of influence, he was still accompanied by thousands of elite guards.

Moreover, it is impossible for Altan Khan to go to Qinghai without leaving a backup plan in the country in advance, so we must not act rashly. "

Tan Lun reminded.

Wei Guangde shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Even if I really want to do this, the cabinet and the palace will not agree."

The two Empress Dowagers wanted peace in the world and a smooth transition of imperial power to the grown-up Emperor Wanli. They did not want another major war to break out between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia.

"I am concerned about his health because I plan to ask the court to make several of his sons who control the tribes kings after he dies."

Wei Guangde spoke frankly, and his true intentions were finally exposed.

He was made a king instead of a khan, and his sons were allowed to fight for it themselves.

In this way, their relationship with each other will not be good and will not become an iron wall.

As for the Ming Dynasty, as long as they take good care of each other, creating tension between the tribes but not allowing them to complete the annexation, they can only be hostile to them.

In this way, their eyes will only be on the tribesmen around them, and they will have no energy to consider what to do to the Ming Dynasty.

As long as the Mongolian tribes are prevented from unifying and another Altan Khan is prevented from appearing, the threat to the grassland will be infinitely reduced in the future.

However, Tan Lun had not yet reacted at this time and was still surprised that Wei Guangde wanted to grant several thrones to Mongolia.

"Shan Dai, you have to think this through carefully. Altan Khan is only the King of Shunyi, and you are planning to make all his sons kings. This..."

Tan Lun immediately reminded him.

Tan Lun was a little nervous. Liu Shouyou seemed to have thought of something. When he thought about the content of Wei Guangde's previous questions, he guessed Wei Guangde's plan first.

"Does Lord Wei want to cause discord between the brothers and cause them to be hostile to each other?"

Liu Shouyou suddenly interrupted and asked.

"Correct."

Wei Guangde nodded, glanced at Liu Shouyou, and then explained to Tan Lun: "According to the rules, if Altan Khan dies, his designated son must accept the throne of Shunyi King and become the new leader of Mongolia.

But after much thought, I feel that a unified Mongolia may not be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty.

Altan Khan was old, and not only was he unable to effectively control the Tuman tribes in Liaodong, he was even unable to deal with the Oirat in the northwest.

If the Ming Dynasty sends troops to conquer him, although the probability of success is very high, it is inevitable to engage in large-scale war. It is better to divide his sons into fiefs after his death and make them hostile to each other.

Although the two sides may not be able to maintain peace like they do now, the power of the scattered Mongolian tribes is limited, and the threat to our Ming Dynasty has also been reduced.

Even if there are rebellious tribes like Tuman and Taining, they will not pose a major threat to our Ming Dynasty.

But I thought that since the imperial court held the right to trade, they might not dare to follow the example of the Mongols in Liaodong and cause border trouble.

When Mongolia is divided into several parts, we may be able to gain more by controlling the trade."

Wei Guangde said.

"Two peaches kill three warriors?"

Tan Lun said in surprise.

Liu Shouyou was sure that his previous idea was Wei Guangde's. He immediately stood up and flattered Wei Guangde, saying, "I think what Wei Gelao said is very true. Dividing and disintegrating the Mongols can effectively reduce their threat to our Ming Dynasty. By controlling the mutual trade, we can really let the Mongols fight among themselves."

According to what the Jinyiwei has found out, the most likely successor to Altan Khan is Sengge."

At this point, Liu Shouyou noticed Tan Lun's surprised look and quickly added, "Minister Tan, Sengge is Xin Ai Huang Taiji."

After hearing Liu Shouyou's explanation, Tan Lun withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly.

Not to mention that the Minister of War didn't know the situation of the Ming Dynasty's greatest enemy, it was also because the internal clerks of the Ming Dynasty were accustomed to calling him Huang Taiji, so Tan Lun knew the official names of these people in the Ming Dynasty, but forgot their real names.

For example, Altan Khan was known to all the officials of the Ming Dynasty.

But once we mention Altan, I’m afraid few people will know him.

Liu Shouyou continued to introduce the situations of the Mongolian tribes, knowing them like the back of his hand, and he lived up to his title of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Buyan Taiji led the Bayute tribe, Bintu Taiji led the Weiwushen tribe, Balin Taiji led the Balin tribe, and Gelige Taiji led the Dalat tribe.

These were the children that Altan Khan liked the most, and he gave them to his own tribes.

In addition, there were the three sons of Bodasi, Gunchuk and Jamsu, but because they were either young or out of favor, Altan Khan did not give them their own tribes and they had no tribe to lead.

According to intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the relationships among Altan Khan's children were not very good.

Bodasiri, Gunchuk and Jamsu have a better relationship because they share the same fate.

Others are very dissatisfied with Sengge's control of Ordos and his future succession to Tumed and Xie Yongbu."

The Ordos, Tumed and Yongshebu mentioned by Liu Shouyou at the end were the 30,000 households on the right wing of Mongolia, and also the basis for Altan Khan to rule Mongolia. None of them were divided out, only one tribe was given to Sengge.

To this day, the two most powerful tribes are still directly managed by Altan Khan.

After hearing what Liu Shouyou said, Wei Guangde looked at him meaningfully and said, "The Jinyiwei are familiar with the internal situation of Mongolia, so we should pay great attention to this and find ways to divide and disintegrate their power.

For example, he could find a way to teach the three sons of Altan Khan who were not assigned tribes to please Altan Khan. If one or two of Tumed and Xie Yongbu could be separated, even if Huang Taiji inherited the throne of King Shunyi in the future, it would be difficult for him to suppress his brothers without sufficient fighting power.

At the same time, through this method, we can try to place Jinyiwei spies around those princes and teach them a lesson, which will also help the court's influence on Mongolia. "

"Lord Wei, the Jinyiwei has actually been working on this before, but with little success."

Liu Shouyou showed a trace of embarrassment on his face at this time.

Sending spies to those princes, do you think it's a joke? It's not that easy.

Although the Ming Dynasty believed that its fighting power was not weaker than that of Mongolia at that time, they had no self-awareness and thought that as long as the Mongols mounted their war horses, they could come and go in the Ming Dynasty like the wind and plunder at will, so they did not treat the Han people well.

Now that the Jinyiwei can extend their reach into the desert, they still rely more on the smugglers on the border. After all, the number of trade transactions is limited and the time is intermittent, so it is difficult to gain the trust of the people on the other side.

"This matter is not urgent. Isn't Altan Khan in good health?

However, if the Jinyiwei wants to plan for this purpose, the help they need should mainly be provided by the Nine Borders.

You will discuss this matter with the Ministry of War later, but if you need it, the Ministry of War will do its best to meet your needs, including trade."

The border trade of the Ming Dynasty was nominally under the charge of the governor and local government, but in reality the military leaders on the border had the greatest influence.

They controlled the passages, and any Mongols coming to trade had to be inspected by them before being allowed to pass, not to mention smuggling various commodities to the grasslands.

Yes, in front of Wei Guangde, the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty should not talk about guarding the borders like an iron barrel.

The fall of the Ming Dynasty in later generations was closely related to the smuggling of Shanxi merchants.

Although Wei Guangde did not crack down on smuggling activities on a large scale, and even allowed the Jinyiwei to enter the prairie through this line, he also had his own purposes.

In fact, his caravan was more or less involved in this kind of smuggling, otherwise how could they bring back so much wool from the grassland.

However, the bottom line cannot be broken.

Smuggling caravans can sell controlled materials such as iron pots, salt and tea to the grassland, but the quantity must be within the range he can accept.

If he did not take the initiative to participate in it, including the Jinyiwei using this line to make money, he would not be able to fully grasp the scale of smuggling to Mongolia.

If any smuggler who was not from his faction was too large and affected the overall interests, Wei Guangde would let the Embroidered Uniform Guard crack down on him.

This is what it feels like to be in power, to want to make money and play with it.

As for whether Wei Guangde is worried about the smuggling charges against the chambers of commerce under his command?

of course not.

The Jinyiwei spies relied on smuggling caravans to sneak into the grassland to gather intelligence. They were not in it for the money, but to help the court solve problems and allow the court to have a deeper understanding of the situation on the grassland. This was a good deed for the country and the people.

Besides, the Jinyiwei also has a share. If this source of income is cut off, where will the Jinyiwei get the money for their year-end dividends?

The share of the imperial court's trade was determined by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and other departments based on a comprehensive analysis of Mongolian intelligence, and the number of transactions was kept to the minimum.

If all these trade items were used on the Mongolian tribesmen, they could barely get by.

But the Mongols did not just use it for themselves. In fact, they also participated in the Silk Road and were a link in it.

Small countries in the Western Regions, such as the Oirat, needed tea and salt from Mongolia to survive, and the excess would be traded to Central Asia to make a profit.

In fact, no matter how the Ming Dynasty increased the transaction volume, it could not meet the needs of the Mongols.

"Lord Wei, I have something else to report. Lord Tan is here too, so I will tell you about the strategy that my Royal Guards have formulated to weaken Mongolia."

At this time, Liu Shouyou suddenly said again.

Originally, Wei Guangde had given the order and was about to let everyone go back to their respective offices to do their work.

Now that Liu Shouyou said so, he naturally had to listen to what strategies the Jinyiwei had formulated to weaken Mongolia.

"explain."

Wei Guangde nodded and said to Liu Shouyou, and Tan Lun also looked over with interest.

“Originally, the Mongolians on the grassland believed in Shamanism, but for some reason, Shamanism gradually died out during the process of inheritance.

In fact, during the pre-Yuan Dynasty, many Mongolians changed their religions. Some believed in Taoism, some believed in Buddhism, and they also introduced the Yellow Sect and Red Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Taoism and Buddhism have limited influence on the grassland, but Tibetan Buddhism has always been respected by the Mongolian Khans, not only during the reign of Kublai Khan, but even the current Altan Khan has converted to it.

This time, Yanghua Temple was actually built specifically for the Yellow Sect.

I have studied the Yellow Sect that Altan believed in. The teachings of this sect are quite interesting. Unlike other Buddhist sects, the Yellow Sect emphasizes strict adherence to the precepts. Lamas are not allowed to get married after receiving the great ordination of a monk, while other Buddhist sects allow this."

Liu Shouyou said with a hint of deep meaning. (End of this chapter)