Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1092 Has Yang the Madman had a change of heart?

Suppressing his pent-up frustration and anger, Manlahafis bowed again, saying, "This humble subject will submit a petition of submission to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming tomorrow."

"From then on, the Timurid Khanate regarded the Ming Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty, and came to pay tribute every year."

"Timur Khan is willing to forever guard the Western Regions for the Ming Dynasty."

“Whenever a citizen of the Great Ming Dynasty enters the Khanate, his rank is equal to that of a Noyan.”

"The people of the Khanate come to the Great Ming, and are treated as ordinary people, willingly accepting the laws and regulations of the Great Ming."

"..."

Manlahafis knelt faster and with more standard posture than those short and stocky Japanese.

Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, then picked up the small dragon ball, took a sip, and smiled, "If that's the case, then we can be considered family?"

Before Manlahafis could say anything, Yang Shaofeng put down the small dragon ball and said, "Since we are family, I can speak frankly with you without holding back."

Manlahafis and Mosha trembled, but Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "I have long heard that the Timurid Khanate and the Ottomans are not on good terms."

“If the Khanate is not a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, then the affairs between the Khanate and the Ottomans are none of the Ming Dynasty’s business.”

"Now that the Khanate has submitted to the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute, becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the affairs between the Khanate and the Ottomans are now related to the Ming Dynasty."

A thought struck Manlahafis.

What the hell is this about submitting to the emperor?

What the hell is this "arrogant at first, obsequious at second" nonsense?

In fact, when Mosha and I first came to the Ming Dynasty, we carried two completely different letters of credence.

One was a letter from the State requesting the establishment of equal diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty.

One was a memorial directly acknowledging the Ming Dynasty's submission and paying tribute.

The terms "state letter" and "memorial" have completely different meanings.

To put it bluntly, establishing diplomatic relations on an equal footing is the best option. If it's impossible to establish equal relations, then one should directly submit to the Ming Dynasty in order to gain its support.

What does it support?

Of course, this involved support from all aspects, including ironware, grain, tea, silk, and porcelain.

Ironware, along with grain and tea, were crucial to the security of the Timurid Khanate.

Silk and porcelain were crucial to whether the Timurid Khanate could continue to profit from its position between China and Europe.

The current situation is that there is no hope of establishing equal diplomatic relations.

However, if the Khanate could gain the support of the Ming Dynasty by submitting to its rule, it would not lose out.

Especially the artillery I saw today.

The Ottomans faced a barrage of artillery fire; how could they possibly withstand it?

Just as Manlahafis was pondering this, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "The premise is that the Ming Dynasty cannot directly intervene in the conflict between the Khanate and the Ottomans."

Manlahafis and Mosha felt a chill run down their spines.

"However, the Ming Dynasty will not sit idly by and watch its vassal states be bullied."

"Especially the Timurid Khanate."

"After all, the Timurid Khanate originated from the Chagatai Khanate, which in turn originated from the Mongols, sharing the same origin as the Yuan Dynasty."

“Since the Ming Dynasty recognizes the Yuan Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty, the Mongol Khanates are also vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.”

Yang Shaofeng spoke eloquently, but Manlahafis and Mosiha felt as if they had swallowed a green-headed fly.

Your Ming Dynasty recognizes the Yuan Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty?

You, Yang the Madman, have the nerve to spout such nonsense—your Ming emperors keep calling the Great Yuan "Hu Yuan," and your officials and common people all call the Great Yuan "Hu Yuan." Your emperors even issued a decree to abolish all the rituals of the Great Yuan period, and he even issued a decree to prohibit people from taking Mongolian names and speaking Mongolian. Is this what you call recognizing the Great Yuan as the legitimate dynasty?

Furthermore, even if you truly acknowledge the Yuan Dynasty as the legitimate dynasty, how did the Chagatai Khanate become your vassal state?

Please get this straight: the Chagatai Khanate and Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty were equals, not subjects!

Ha, it's really tough on you Ming people, to be able to hone your ability to lie through your teeth to such an extent!

But thinking about this made Manlahafis feel a little discouraged.

What else can we do?

I know perfectly well that Yang the Madman is talking nonsense, and I know perfectly well that Yang the Madman is making unfounded arguments.

and then?

Just as he dared not turn against Yang the Madman, the Khanate also dared not directly turn against the Ming Dynasty.

To put it more bluntly, the Khanate was far from the Ming Dynasty, but very close to its vassal states.

What if the Ming emperor and crown prince, along with this madman Yang, really went mad and supported the Ming's vassal states to attack the Khanate? How should the Khanate respond?

If they could defeat the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, how could they possibly defeat the Ming Dynasty's cannons?

Yang Shaofeng glanced at Manlahafis and Mosha again and said, "What I mean is that the Khanate should feel free to deal with the Ottomans."

"If you need ironware, the Dengzhou border market can supply it in unlimited quantities."

“If you need silk, tea, or porcelain, the Dengzhou market can supply them in unlimited quantities.”

"I know that the Khanate is larger than Goryeo and Japan, and therefore requires more quotas."

"You don't need to worry about these things; I will take care of them myself."

"What you need to do..."

Yang Shaofeng put down his teacup, glanced at Manlahafis and Mosiha again, and said, "You only have three things to do."

"First, castrate all the Ottoman prisoners of war and send them to the Dengzhou border market as laborers."

"One laborer is worth five strings of cash."

"The more laborers you have, the more precious currency you can spend in the market."

"Second, send oil from the Khanate and the Ottoman Empire to the Ming Dynasty."

"For every thousand catties of oil, I will give you five strings of cash."

"Anyway, you Khanate and Ottomans have plenty of these things; you can dig up a lot of them just by digging around."

"You only need to transport the oil to the port I designate. I will let others handle the rest."

Manlahafis was almost driven mad with anger.

One laborer is worth five strings of cash. There's not much to say about that, because Park Sung-sung and the others have also said that this is the current price that Ming Dynasty pays for laborers.

The problem is that you only get five strings of cash for every thousand catties of oil. Are you serious, Yang the Madman?

Yes, there were indeed many places in the Khanate where oil could be extracted, and there was also a lot of oil in the Ottoman region.

The problem is that mining and transportation within the Khanate also incur costs!

Yang Shaofeng glanced at Manlahafis again and said sarcastically, "What, do you think this price is too low?"

Manlahafis was filled with resentment but dared not be angry or speak out.

Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "So, in the end, people still need to read more books."

"Five strings of cash for every thousand catties, which makes five coins per catty."

"Why don't you ask yourselves honestly, what in your Khanate is worth five coins per pound and happens to be what the Ming Dynasty needs?"

Malahafis was completely confused.

Indeed, there was nothing in their own Khanate that the Ming Dynasty needed, and there was nothing that could fetch the high price of five coins per pound.

Having spent so much time in the Ming capital, Manlahafis knew just how valuable Ming currency was.

So, did Yang Dianfeng really have a change of heart this time?