The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Xue Shao: "Humans have greed, and this is a hereditary trait. But what makes humans human is their ability to think and progress. There's a folk saying that everyone has a heart of flesh. If they live better and better lives after submitting to the Ming Dynasty, and their lives become more and more peaceful, why would they rebel?"

Hu Ying: "Naive, does Lord Xue really think that the Ming Dynasty's subsidies will ultimately benefit the herdsmen? I'm afraid that in the end, it will be those tribal nobles who will get rich. Human greed is endless. Once they have benefited, they will only want more. In the end, they will incite the herdsmen to rebel, just like Esen did."

Xue Shao: "Only by ensuring that the herdsmen benefit and that their interests are realized can they be loyal to our Great Ming. As for the tribal nobles, they are only a very small minority, and even if they rebel, they will not succeed."

Cao Nai: "Hmph, the herdsmen are all subject to the tribal nobles, they can't accomplish anything? Lord Xue is too confident."

Xue Shao: "Then let the herdsmen and tribal nobles become alienated and pledge allegiance to His Majesty and serve the Ming Dynasty."

Ministers:...

They exchanged a glance and surprisingly agreed that the idea was good, but... they felt a little uneasy.

Chen Xun: "How much must the court invest to ensure that everyone benefits and that the gains exceed those from plunder? Isn't this just aiding the enemy?"

Xue Shao: "It is inappropriate to unilaterally export money and grain. Whether it is the people of the grasslands, the Central Plains, Jiangnan, or Lingnan, they are all people of our Great Ming. They are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality. If this continues, people will be dissatisfied and it will easily lead to chaos."

Cao Nai frowned: "Just tell me what you want to do."

Xue Shao: "The Imperial Advisor once mentioned that there are abundant coal, iron, copper, fluorite, and rare earth elements in the vast areas north of the Great Wall and occupied by the Oirat Mongols. Especially coal, iron, and copper. Since the Ministry of Works improved coal smelting and coal briquette making technology, coal briquettes have been the main heating method in the capital region during winter. This winter, the number of people who have frozen to death due to the cold has decreased by 87% compared to previous years. It can be seen that as long as the safety of coal use is promoted, this method can be promoted in the north. North of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River, the winter is as cold as ice. If these areas all use coal briquettes for heating, how much coal will be used every year? Moreover, in addition to heating, coal can also be used to smelt iron, steel, and various metals, and it can also be used for cooking..."

"Coal is like this, not to mention copper and iron. The various items made by the Ministry of Works now consume countless amounts of copper and iron. Therefore, not only are we vital to the grasslands, providing them with food and tea, but the grasslands can also provide the court with a large amount of resources."

Chen Xun looked doubtful: "The grasslands have iron mines? Then why are they still smuggling ironware from our Great Ming? I've never heard of them mining iron mines."

Xue Shao said calmly, "They just can't find it, not that it doesn't exist. They can't refine it not because they don't want to, but because they lack the technology."

Everyone:...

The emperor said meaningfully, "So the grasslands have so many good things~~"

The officials exchanged glances, filled with boundless enthusiasm for the newly established tributary prefectures. They overturned many details and began to refine the governance plan.

The management methods for abundant resources are different from those for scarce resources.

This time, the imperial court decided to invest even more manpower and resources in the development of the grasslands.

After the small court assembly ended that day, officials from the Ministry of Works rushed to the grasslands, and at the same time, Yu Qian's orders were sent to the three armies via telegram.

He ordered his three armies to re-determine the border, establish garrisons, and send a message to the Oirat Mongols.

When the Oirat army, which had been pursued to the desert, heard that the imperial court had accepted their request for peace, they immediately stopped running.

The court wanted Esen's head, and without a second thought, they dragged out Esen's body, cut off his head, and sent it to the other side. A peace delegation also came with them.

After receiving Esen's head and the delegation, Kuang Ye reported to the capital by telegram and received permission before sending people to negotiate with them.

The delegation asked, "Is the peace talks taking place here? Aren't we going to the capital?" Kuang Ye, after paying homage to the capital from afar, replied, "Although Your Majesty is far away, you can feel as if you are there. I have the imperial court's order to negotiate on your behalf."

The delegation breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't want to go to the capital either, not because they were afraid of death—the Ming Dynasty always kept its word and wouldn't kill the envoys—but…

The capital is too far away. Even if they ride at full speed and travel without any obstacles, it will still take more than ten days. Their army has been driven to the desert and is short of food and supplies. With the round trip and the time for negotiations, if the Ming Dynasty intends to delay, it may take more than a month to decide what to do.
Will they starve to death?
If they didn't starve, they could only continue north or west, but both directions were too cold and supplies were scarce. Moreover, most herders' homes were still on the grasslands.

Population is very important. Whether it is to develop the grasslands or to mine minerals, a large number of people are needed. The imperial court does not want to lose so many excellent and strong laborers, nor does it want to force them to leave their homes.

Moreover, putting ourselves in their shoes, if they were to drive people away, each family remaining on the grasslands would lose one or even two or more family members, who would be able-bodied men. Wouldn't they resent the Ming Dynasty?
The cost of governance will rise sharply at that time.

Therefore, Yu Qian instructed Kuang Ye to represent the court in peace talks.

After informing Kuang Ye of the court's opinion and bottom line, he let Kuang Ye handle the negotiations.

Kuang Ye was astute and discerning, knowing that the court intended to turn this conquered land into real territory. Therefore, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the talks with the delegation.

On the surface, he was not in a hurry at all, and only talked a little bit each day. When the delegation began to get anxious, he estimated that their food supplies were also exhausted and they could not hold on for much longer. Only then did he reveal the matter of establishing a tributary state, with the court directly governing the entire territory of the Oirat and Tatars.

That's right. Kuang Ye is not limited to the area he has just conquered. If we're going to talk, then let's bring up all the territories controlled by the Oirats and Tatars.

Mission: ...

No, they were defeated, but how did the country perish? It was just one battle.

The mission flatly refused.

Then Chen Huai disobeyed Kuang Ye's orders and led the western army straight towards Tielianguti.

The Tatars, who had joined forces with the Oirats, were the first to object. The western army was located in Tatar territory, and if the fighting continued, their rear would be pulverized.

They were not convinced by the Ming Dynasty, but they were even less convinced by the Oirats. If Esen hadn't promised them that they would be allowed to plunder for three days after they reached the south of the Great Wall, they would never have agreed to join forces with the Oirats to do this.

Seeing that they are no match for the enemy, if they don't surrender now, when will they?
Isn't it just about establishing tributary states?
So be it. The Tatars don't mind. After all, once the tributary states are established, the tribes will still be under their own control. They can recuperate for a few years, and once the Ming Dynasty is lulled into complacency, they can launch a counterattack.

The most urgent thing is to survive, to survive!

We can't let Chen Huai continue fighting. They still have elderly, weak, women, and children in their homes, as well as cattle, sheep, horses, and treasures. They don't even know if the people and things are still safe...

The Tatars were the first to break away from the alliance and agreed to the establishment of a tributary state by Kuangye.

Kuang Ye seemed to be deep in thought, so is it still useful to fight?
As expected, the Grand Preceptor was right. If they were not convinced, we would have to beat them until they did.

He seemed lost in thought. (End of Chapter)