The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 531

Zhou Chu looked at the secret edict in his hand. The main content of the edict was to inform Zhou Chu of the court's views on his advance into Tibet, and to ask Jiajing why he wanted to attack Tibet now.

Zhou Chu thought about it and realized that his thinking was very different from that of the officials in the Ming Dynasty court. Even Yang Shen felt that attacking Ü-Tsang would be a losing proposition and that it would be too difficult to govern.

Zhou Chu wanted to attack Tibet for a simple reason: he wanted to bring Tibet into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. However, Zhou Chu had already considered these issues, so he was naturally adept at dealing with the Jiajing Emperor's problems.

The situation in Tibet is completely different from that in other parts of the Ming Dynasty, and even different from that in the southern grasslands of Yue. Since the Tubo Kingdom, Tibet has been a closed society, and it has now basically become a slave society.

The ruling class in Tibet did not treat the common people as human beings at all, killing and beating them at will. The common people were treated like cattle and horses, while the upper class used Tibetan Buddhism to promote the idea of ​​cultivating the next life to the common people, making them endlessly tolerate the exploitation by the landlord class.

After the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty inherited a political legacy far exceeding that of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. During the Yongle reign, three Dharma Kings and five local kings were appointed in Tibet.

However, after the Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty's control over Tibet gradually weakened. Now, the Ming Dynasty had no control over Tibet at all, and it could be said that it was nominal but not real. Tibet was nominally the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but it was already distant from the Ming Dynasty. In fact, the ruling class of Tibet had not paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty for many years.

In the tenth year of the Zhengde reign, the eunuch Liu Yun was ordered by the emperor to go to Tibet to invite the Eighth Dalai Lama to the capital. However, after Liu Yun arrived in Tibet, the Eighth Dalai Lama was unwilling to leave Tibet or go to the capital. Liu Yun and his men forcibly abducted him and planned to escort him to the capital. However, they were attacked by local Tibetan soldiers at night, and most of them were killed or wounded. Liu Yun fled in panic.

From then on, relations between Tibet and the Ming Dynasty deteriorated further, and the Ming Dynasty could be said to have completely lost its rule over Tibet.

Zhou Chu's proposal to reclaim Ü-Tsang was not simply about incorporating Tibet into the Ming Dynasty's territory, but about completely disrupting Tibet's existing social structure, giving hope to the common people, and making them the masters of Tibet.

Only in this way will the people of Tibet be grateful to the Ming Dynasty and belong to the Ming Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts.

Only in this way could the cost of the Ming Dynasty's rule over Tibet be minimized.

Of course, the fundamental reason why the Ming Dynasty always maintained a policy of "unification without rule" over Tibet was that the northwest of the Ming Dynasty was always threatened by the Mongols. With the Mongols eyeing the region covetously, the Ming Dynasty naturally could not afford to strain its relationship with Tibet, hence the policy.

Compared to the Ming Dynasty, neither the Yuan Dynasty nor the Qing Dynasty had the threat of the Mongols on the border, and both dynasties truly achieved unified rule over Tibet.

The reason Zhou Chu wanted to attack Tibet was because the Mongols in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty had been completely defeated. If things developed properly, the Ming Dynasty would no longer have any northern threats in the future. Therefore, it was natural to turn its attention to Tibet.

However, there are many things Zhou Chu will not say. For example, if he were to say that he wants to completely dismantle the social structure of Ü-Tsang, almost all the officials in the court would oppose the attack on Ü-Tsang.

Because they represent the landlord and gentry class, the current beneficiaries of the existing class structure, they will not allow anyone to undermine the existing class structure, not even in the slightest sign of it.

Although Zhou Chu only intended to do this in Tibet, no one dared to guarantee that what Zhou Chu did in Tibet would not spread to the Ming Dynasty. They would not allow such a thing to even have a hint of it.

Zhou Chu then listed the advantages of Tibet, such as its water reserves, which were crucial to the Ming Dynasty, and its various mineral resources, including gold mines.

At the same time, Zhou Chu made it clear that now that the Ming Dynasty no longer had the threat of the Mongols, if it wanted to completely rule the Western Regions Protectorate, it had to conquer Ü-Tsang and form a pincer movement with the Western Regions Protectorate.

In his memorial to the throne, Zhou Chu emphasized the strategic significance of Tibet to the Ming Dynasty and its protective role.

At the same time, Zhou Chu specifically stated in his memorial that the cost of ruling Ü-Tsang was not actually that high, whether it was the former Yuan Dynasty or the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, and that he had ways to further reduce the cost of ruling Ü-Tsang.

With this shift in power dynamics, Zhou Chu's memorial highlighted Tibet's immense importance to the Ming Dynasty, while the Ming's cost of ruling Tibet was relatively low. Consequently, Zhou Chu no longer believed that the officials in the court had any reason to oppose it.

Zhou Chu's memorial was very detailed and cautious, because some things could be mentioned while others could not. Once he mentioned them, Zhou Chu knew very well that he would have no chance of entering Tibet again.

Datong is 600 li away from the capital. Even without the 800-li express courier service, Zhou Chu's memorial would have reached the capital in two or three days.

In the imperial study, Jiajing had been waiting for Zhou Chu's memorial. He took it from Huang Jin and hurriedly opened it.

"Hirazoce."

Jiajing looked at the first three characters of Zhou Chu's name and was overjoyed.

As emperor, he hoped that Zhou Chu would completely pacify Tibet. In this way, his achievements would be further enhanced, and the territory of the Ming Dynasty would reach an unprecedented size. This territory would be a territory under actual control, which would be completely different from nominal rule without actual governance.

"Now that the northern threat has been quelled, Your Majesty has no more worries. In the tenth year of Zhengde's reign, the Eighth Dharma King dared to kill our Ming envoy. If this grudge is not avenged, where will the dignity of the Ming Dynasty be?"

In the imperial court, Jiajing read these few sentences aloud with emphasis, then looked at the court officials below, seemingly wanting to see their reactions.

“Your Majesty, I believe Zhou Hengqi’s words are quite true. Our Great Ming is not short of money. The Tibetans have long harbored rebellious intentions towards our Great Ming. However, in the past, our Great Ming had the Mongol threat in the north, so it was not appropriate to lower ourselves to their level. Now that the northern threat has been quelled, this debt must be settled properly.”

Yang Yiqing said this with absolute certainty.

"Your Majesty, what I said before was biased. Zhou Hengqi had a better vision and a more comprehensive understanding."

Yang Shen said.

With Yang Yiqing and Yang Shen taking the lead, the attitudes of the other officials in the court naturally sided with them, all filled with righteous indignation, expressing that the prestige of our Great Ming Dynasty should be promoted.

"In that case, it's settled then. Zhou Hengqi shall lead his troops into Tibet to pacify Ü-Tsang. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue shall be responsible for all logistical support."

Jiajing said loudly.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Civil and military officials all echoed this.

"Your Majesty, I have been feeling increasingly blurry-eyed lately. Yesterday, I even fell asleep while eating. My health is truly no longer suitable for serving in the court. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to retire and return to my hometown."

Xie Qian stepped forward again.

"Why are you saying such things again, Grand Secretary Xie? I have some pills here made by Daoist Feixiazi, which have the effect of prolonging life. Take them and try them first, and see if your health improves."

Jiajing seemed to have anticipated Xie Qian's words. He glanced at Huang Jin, who immediately brought a brocade box to Xie Qian.

"I added many precious medicinal herbs to this elixir, all of which are top-grade tonics. It should also be effective for Grand Secretary Xie."

Jiajing said.

Upon hearing this, Xie Qian's eyes were filled with emotion, and tears were about to well up in his eyes.

"Your Majesty's kindness towards this old minister is deeply appreciated, and I do not know how to repay it."

At this moment, Xie Qian's acting skills reached their peak.

"What's the point of repaying me? Just help me and the court."

Jiajing laughed.