Chapter 887: Bargaining chips with Ye Mingsheng!
Facing his wife's question, Esiduoan shook his head and said:

“Ye Mingsheng hasn’t replied yet, but I know he won’t agree to my request…”

Esidoan's answer made Saya stunned, her eyes full of surprise. She had lived with Esidoan for nearly twenty years and was very familiar with his style of doing things.

Asdogan is a person with a strong sense of purpose. He always has his own purpose in doing something, and he will not do something that he knows is not feasible.

Just like the reforms that Asdog wanted to implement in the Golden Horde, although he wanted to make an unprecedented deep reform to the social culture of the Golden Horde.

However, when he realized that the conservative forces within the Golden Horde were too strong and that forcing reforms would have the opposite effect, Asdog temporarily gave up the reforms he had been dreaming of.

Now that he already knew that Ye Mingsheng would reject his request, why would Asdogan go to the trouble of writing a personal letter to Ye Mingsheng to make his request?

Saya knew very well that Esdogan was very interested in Ye Mingsheng, and had been ordering his subordinates to collect information about Ye Mingsheng and study the policies implemented by Ye Mingsheng in the Great Zhou!

As if sensing his wife's doubts, Asdoan took her hand and sat on the stone chair, then asked with a smile:
"Saya, how much do you know about Ye Mingsheng?"

Unlike the dynasties in the Central Plains that were averse to the harem interfering in government affairs, the Golden Horde on the grasslands did not have too many taboos about this...
So in response to her husband's question, Saya thought for a moment and then began to speak:
"I have heard some rumors about him from the merchants of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They say that this man is the biggest traitor in the three hundred years since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He is as ferocious as a wolf and as despicable and cunning as a fox!
At this point, Saya seemed to want to say something, but she hesitated a little due to some concerns. However, under the encouraging gaze of Estolian, she still plucked up the courage to speak:

"He, like you, the Khan, also likes to promote new reforms and come up with something new that has never been done before!"

Hearing his wife's answer, Asdogan laughed and then explained:
"Saya, those merchants from the Great Zhou that you have come into contact with all have the shadows of the powerful families of the Great Zhou behind them, and these powerful people of the Great Zhou have all been badly dealt with by Ye Mingsheng."

"The lands of these powerful families were distributed to the poor by Ye Mingsheng, and their silver and business shops were nationalized by Ye Mingsheng. Their control and blockade of upward channels were also destroyed by Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng shook their foundations in the Great Zhou society, so naturally they would not say a single good word about Ye Mingsheng!"

“In the eyes of these Great Zhou dignitaries, Ye Mingsheng and his Fengwu Army are the most heinous villains in the world…”

Saya, who was listening to her husband's story silently, was also thoughtful. She asked again:
"If that's the case, then is Ye Mingsheng kind to the poor?"

Asdoan thought about it for a while, nodded and said:
"On the surface, it is true. Ye Mingsheng gave them their own fields, kept the price of grain stable, and rectified the administration of the Great Zhou. The poor are indeed living better under his administration than before!"

"But this is just an appearance. Ye Mingsheng is a power-hungry beast. He is just using this method to win over the hearts of the people and attack the powerful families in Da Zhou. He cannot accept sharing the power in his heart with those powerful families. He wants to take all the power into his own hands!"

When it came to the key point, a gleam of light appeared in Esidoan's eyes, and his right hand clenched tightly involuntarily. He didn't know whether he was talking about Ye Mingsheng or himself.

Looking at her husband's expression, Saya showed a hint of worry in her eyes. As the wife of Eskoy and the queen of the Golden Horde, she was naturally not an ordinary person. Her family was also a great noble family of the Golden Horde, representing the conservative forces of the Golden Horde.

Knowing that her husband was obsessed with the culture and system of the Great Zhou and was determined to complete the transformation of the Golden Horde, Saya always supported her husband's ideas on the surface...
But deep down in Saya's heart, she was also influenced by her family. She didn't understand why her husband was making such a fuss, and why they, the Cumans, had to learn the cultural system of the Great Zhou. Even without the cultural system of the Great Zhou, they, the Cumans, could still be the overlords of the grassland!

In addition to not understanding, Saya was even more worried that the rift between Asdogan, who was determined to reform, and the conservative forces within the Cumans was getting bigger and bigger, which would lead to the instability of the Khanate and the Cumans falling into civil strife.

At this time, Asdogan did not notice the change in his wife's expression. He continued to talk to himself:
"For our grasslands, the national policy of the Great Zhou for hundreds of years has been to maintain checks and balances, and not allow any ethnic tribe to dominate alone!"

"Now that the Rouran are strong, they support the Luobi people. When the Luobi people are strong, they support us, the Cumans. Now that we, the Cumans, are strong, they start to support the Luobi people."

"No matter who is in power in the Great Zhou, they will not allow anyone to unify this grassland. They want us grassland people to kill each other, so that the grassland will always be filled with blood and war, and there will not be a moment of peace!"

“Ye Mingsheng is very similar to the Great Zhou Prime Minister Shangguan Hongyuan. If he hadn’t sent a large amount of firearms, food, and cotton clothes to the Luobi people last autumn and helped them, we would have had the opportunity to completely occupy the Erlunqin grassland and completely annihilate the damn Luobi people…”

At the end, recalling the situation last autumn, Esidogan couldn't help but get angry. If the wave last autumn could really defeat the Robe people completely, and turn the fertile Erlunqin grassland into their pasture, the Robe people would become history on the grassland.

Then, after completing the great task of unifying the steppe, he will establish unparalleled prestige within the Golden Horde, which will greatly benefit the cause of implementing reforms in the Golden Horde.

It allowed him to better consolidate the power within the Golden Horde into his own hands. However, this beautiful and dreamy scene was completely destroyed by Ye Mingsheng's military aid!

Whenever he thought of this, Esidogan wanted to cut Ye Mingsheng into pieces and let the hunting dogs on the grassland mercilessly eat Ye Mingsheng's body.

Although he wanted to do so, the reality was not subject to Esidogan's will. The only thing Esidogan could do was to face the reality before him!
Holding Saya in his arms and feeling the warmth of his wife's body, Esiduoan murmured to himself:

"Saya, do you understand? I need a bargaining chip now, a bargaining chip that can be used to negotiate with Ye Mingsheng!"

After listening to Esiduoan's words, Saya seemed to understand something, raised her head and asked Esiduoan:

"You want to trade the Astai region with Ye Mingsheng?"

Looking at his wife who had reacted, Asdogan smiled and said:
“If possible, I’m willing to do so, but Ye Mingsheng won’t agree. The Astai area is basically occupied by the Zhou people. They won’t accept me using their land to trade with them…”

After hearing this, Saya nodded with some relief. The Cumans were a nation that valued the use of force, so what they needed was a strong Khan.

As for the Astai region, the Cumans and the Great Zhou fought countless battles, and many people died. Therefore, if Asdogan gave up the Astai region in exchange for Ye Mingsheng's non-support for the Robe people, it would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction among the conservative forces within the Cumans. So Saya was very worried that Asdogan would make this deal with Ye Mingsheng.

Saya, feeling relieved, thought about it again and asked with some doubt:
"Great Khan, since you don't want to use the Astai region, what do you plan to use to trade with Ye Mingsheng?" Facing his wife's question, Asdogan smiled and said meaningfully:

"Saya, my dear wife, what do you think Ye Mingsheng is most worried about at this moment?"

Saya was also a very wise woman. After being enlightened by Estolian, she calmed down and thought for a while before blurting out:
"The Fengwu Army is now attacking the Luoan court, so Ye Mingsheng is most worried that we, the Qipchaks, will go south to aid the Luoan court!"

Listening to Saya's words, Esiduoan nodded with satisfaction and continued:

“Right now in the Yunbing battlefield of the Great Zhou, although the Fengwu Army has the initiative on the battlefield, the Luoan court is still actively resisting. The Fengwu Army cannot be said to have won the battle yet. If we go south to attack the Fengwu Army at this time, all the previous efforts of the Fengwu Army will be wasted, and it is even very likely to be defeated…”

Saya became excited when she heard this, but she soon realized a new problem. She hesitated for a moment and asked Estolan:

"Bahat, will Asu and the others agree to aid the Luoan court?"

Seeing that his wife had mentioned the key to the matter, Asdogan sighed and said:

"Bahat's two sons, Asu's son-in-law and nephew all died at the hands of the Luoan court. Asu's left eye was also blinded by the Luoan court's musket. Therefore, these two old guys who have a deep hatred for the Luoan court will never help the Luoan court. They like to see the Luoan court and the Fengwu army fight each other!"

"Even if I force them to aid the Luoan court, they will certainly make a series of demands such as asking the Luoan court to cede the Astai region and pay tribute, which the Luoan court will never accept. Therefore, it is difficult for us to move south on a large scale now!"

"Although the reality is like this, I think Ye Mingsheng is not aware of our internal situation. He is still very worried that we will go south to stop him from defeating the Luoan court!"

"And this is what I want to take advantage of. I want to use his concerns about our Cumans' southward migration to make this deal with Ye Mingsheng!"

"The purpose of the letter I wrote to Ye Mingsheng was to test Ye Mingsheng's attitude towards this. As long as Ye Mingsheng agrees to the deal and stops providing assistance to the Robe people, we will soon unify this grassland..."

Feeling Esidoan's confidence, Saya seemed to want to say something, but hesitated and dared not speak.

Seeing this, Asdogan understood what she wanted to say, and continued:

"For us Qipchaks, unifying the grassland is our most fundamental interest. The same is true for the Fengwu Army. Compared to checking and balancing us and preventing us from unifying the grassland, I believe Ye Mingsheng still wants to defeat the Luoan court and unify the entire Great Zhou!"

"So I believe Ye Mingsheng will eventually be willing to consider my proposal carefully and agree to the deal!"

Having said this, Asto paused and continued:
"Of course, I am also prepared for Ye Mingsheng to refuse. In that case, I have no choice but to send troops south to let Ye Mingsheng know that my threat is not a joke!"

"Although it is difficult to march south on a large scale without the support of those two old guys, Bahat and Asu, it is still no problem to send an Eagle Division into the cloud and harass the logistics supply lines of the Fengwu Army!"

"I have studied the tactics of the Fengwu Army. Although their firearms are powerful, they are very dependent on logistical support. As long as the logistical support cannot keep up, the power of their firearms will be greatly reduced. Now the battle between the Fengwu Army and the Luoan Imperial Court is at a critical moment. The firearms of the Fengwu Army are their trump card!"

“So as long as I can make Ye Mingsheng understand that I can make his proud trump card ineffective, then I believe Ye Mingsheng will eventually choose to surrender to me…”

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Yijing, Ye Mansion

Late at night, Ye Mingsheng and Pei Zhixiu hugged each other, feeling each other's breath and warmth.

Although it was late at night and the lights in the room were not on, and the room was pitch black, Ye Mingsheng could still feel the hesitation in Pei Zhixiu's expression.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng kissed Pei Zhixiu's forehead and said with a smile;

"But it doesn't matter!"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had seen through it, Pei Zhixiu said without hesitation:

"Husband, do you know everything?"

Facing Pei Zhixiu's gaze, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly.

Seeing Pei Zhixiu's expression become hesitant again, Ye Mingsheng took the initiative to say:

"Plead for the Gu family?"

Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Pei Zhixiu subconsciously stroked her lower abdomen with one hand, nodded gently and said:

"I know I shouldn't interfere in your affairs, my husband, but I think this is a hint from God to let me atone for my past sins..."

(I originally had no plan to write about the Golden Horde in detail, but since everyone wants to see the surrounding strategies after the unification, these two chapters serve as a prelude!)

(End of this chapter)