The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 369 Damn Survival Instinct
He nodded.

"Since you have such thoughts, then..."

If I don't give you this chance, people will say I'm heartless. Since that's the case, I'll leave this matter to you!

"I'll have my men keep an eye on you later. There shouldn't be any major problems with this, right?"

After hearing this, the group nodded and looked at Zhu Xiong Ying in front of them.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will handle this matter properly and nothing will go wrong!"

Zhu Xiong Ying stared intently at these people for a moment, then turned and left. After Zhu Xiong Ying left, the officials breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, Li Chongdao felt that his back was completely soaked with sweat.

I didn't expect His Highness the Crown Prince to arrive at this place so quickly. Fortunately, we had a plan in advance, otherwise we would have been doomed this time.

At this moment, an official said with a lot of complaints.

"That money is what we've painstakingly accumulated over the years. Are we just going to hand it all over like this?"

Li Chongdao snorted coldly after hearing this.

"This is a crucial moment. If we don't do this, what will happen to us? You should know!"

"I strongly advise you not to have any ulterior motives!"

"You should know just how powerful the Western Depot is, Your Highness the Crown Prince. If I'm not mistaken, the person next to Zhu Xiong Ying just now should be the fearsome head of the Western Depot, Yu Huatian!"

"With the intelligence of the Western Depot, it would be easy for them to find out the truth of this matter. They probably know better than we do how much money we have!"

"If any of you dare to do such a thing, don't you dare drag us down with you!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and left the place.

The others also sighed; they really didn't dare to lie about this.

Zhu Xiong Ying's reputation is well-established in this place.

Soon these officials provided a large amount of silver and grain to the local people as relief.

At first, the people were extremely surprised to hear this. After all, they had heard of the reputation of Li Chongdao and his son. Getting them to take out money was not a simple matter. The fact that this had happened was quite unbelievable to them.

It was later learned that Li Chongdao's son had offended the Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying, which led to this outcome. Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If this matter was related to His Highness the Crown Prince, then it would not be surprising.

Although these people oppress the local people, they would never dare to provoke His Highness the Crown Prince. This is probably His Highness the Crown Prince's punishment for them.

Upon realizing this place, they were extremely happy and accepted these things with equanimity.

While Zhu Xiong Ying was slowly entering Jiangnan, Yingtian Prefecture was already in complete chaos.

The Ming Dynasty's northward march across the grasslands reached as far as Buyur Lake, resulting in a power vacuum in the entire northern Yuan steppe.

Due to its vast territory, the southern grasslands could only be divided into several sections, while the management of the northern grasslands was extremely extensive.

This led the four khanates that had previously expanded westward to become eager to take action.

Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and a group of cabinet members gathered.

Of course, besides these people, there was also a monk dressed in black robes, who was none other than Yao Guangxiao. Zhu Xiong Ying had not yet set foot in Yingtian Prefecture, and Yu Huatian, Tie Xuan, and the others were also not in the capital.

Therefore, Yao Guangxiao, dressed in black, was temporarily put in charge.

Grand Secretary Liu Sanwu held a memorial in his hand.

"This is a military report from multiple monitoring stations in northern Mongolia. Troops of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate have been discovered in the former territories of the Oirat, Tatar, Uriyangkhai, and Arughtai tribes in the northern steppe!"

"The Chagatai Khanate's cavalry this time isn't very numerous; it looks like they're on reconnaissance!"

"However, with the power vacuum in the north, they probably won't let such an opportunity slip by!"

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned.

"Since the establishment of the Great Yuan Dynasty, there has been very little contact between the four khanates in the west and the Great Yuan. This time, the Chagatai Khanate will send troops. It is said that there is also the Timurid Khanate to the west of the Chagatai Khanate. Will they also send troops this time?"

Minister of Revenue Hu Zhen shook his head, seemingly somewhat worried about the situation.

Minister of Rites Ni Yuanlu took a deep breath.

"Perhaps this was not a coincidence for the Chagatai Khanate. It is said that a nobleman from the Northern Yuan escaped and traveled west to the Chagatai Khanate to seek help. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have bothered with this matter!"

"During the decisive battle in the northern desert, one of our detachments reached the area of ​​Khulan Khushiwen, where we encountered the Tatar Mahmud!"

"That old fox Mahmud is really difficult to deal with. It was only through the combined efforts of Marquis Jinchuan and Marquis Wuding that he was finally driven out. I heard that there are traces of this man on this grassland, which may also be related to him!"

Prince Zhu Bai of Xiang held another intelligence report in his hand.

"This is about the movements of the Haixi Jurchens in the northeast. After the Jianzhou Jurchens were defeated, their remaining forces began to move eastward to join the Haixi Jurchens, while the Wild Jurchens in the north also began to gradually move south. If these three forces combine, I'm afraid our days will be more troublesome!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao sighed.

"The situation in the north is extremely complicated. Even if this overlord is driven out, someone else will appear here to take his place!"

Everyone turned their attention to Yao Guangxiao.

Although Zhu Xiong Ying had repeatedly warned against letting Yao Guangxiao seize power, this man was shrewd and his strategies were no less than Jia Xu's, so it was best to let him make the decisions.

Seeing the gazes of the crowd, Yao Guangxiao could not refuse and then spoke.

"The herders on the northern grasslands are mainly nomadic, living by following the water and grass. It is extremely difficult for the orphan to bring them together and form a united force!"

Therefore, I have three strategies to clear the grasslands!

"The Chagatai Khanate in the west has been in power in the Central Plains for a long time. Although it is strong, it may not be a match for us. Now, Duke Feng Sheng of Song is stationed in the Hetao region and has a large army stationed in Shaanxi and Gansu, specifically to defend against the Duoduo Gandu Provincial Administration Commission in the south!"

“Now we’ll send a portion of our troops westward directly into the U-Tsang Province. The Dogan Province is garrisoned by the troops left behind by the Duke of Qian, Mu Ying, so there shouldn’t be any trouble. Instead, we should transfer this army to the northwest to eliminate the Chagatai Khanate cavalry that has appeared there!”

Everyone nodded, then turned their gaze to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath.

(End of this chapter)