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

Chapter 528

Clearing the grasslands was destined to be a long and tedious process. Before Lin Lu returned to Datong, Zhou Chu had to guard Datong for a period of time to prevent the Mongols from attacking Datong if they were pushed to the limit.

After all, not all Mongols were willing to choose between the two options. Some Mongols were unwilling to join the Ming Dynasty, nor did they want to be expelled, so they had no choice but to rise up in resistance.

Of course, such resistance was small-scale. Now the main fighting force of the Mongols had been wiped out by Zhou Chu. Although there were still many young Mongols, most of the remaining ones were doves rather than hawks and were not a threat.

The grasslands outside Datong City were being continuously recovered, and the happiest person was none other than Prince Zhu Junzhang of Dai. The Prince of Dai's mansion was in Datong, which was backed by the grasslands. If anyone was most interested in the wool business on the grasslands, it would be Zhu Junzhang.

The more grasslands the Ming Dynasty recovered, the larger their ranches would be.

Most of these wool products were exported overseas, generating substantial profits. However, a significant portion of these profits was also paid as sea tax to the imperial court. In this way, both the local princely residences and the imperial court achieved a win-win situation.

Of course, we're not earning much yet, partly because productivity hasn't picked up yet, and partly because of transportation costs.

The productivity problem was easy to solve. Zhou Chu had drawn the blueprints for the spinning jenny many years ago, but at that time there was no large pasture like the grassland. If he were to take this thing out rashly, it would take away the jobs of many people, which was not what Zhou Chu wanted to see.

The time is ripe. The deaths of Anda and these tens of thousands of Mongol cavalry indicate that it will be difficult for the Mongols on the grasslands to organize an effective resistance for at least the next one or two decades. After one or two decades, Zhou Chu is confident that he can completely Sinicize these Mongols on the grasslands.

No matter who they are, frankly speaking, they are all fighting for survival. The Mongols were no exception. During the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Five Barbarian Tribes invaded China. The Hu people were assimilated into Han culture, wanting to fully integrate into the Central Plains civilization and become a part of it. Everyone wants to live a stable life, not one of constant uncertainty.

Of course, at this stage, it is up to the Mongols themselves to better govern these Mongols.

"Sir, his name is Dada Buhua. He says he is a descendant of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. However, his ancestors wandered to the grasslands and gradually became Mongolians. He has always considered himself a Han Chinese."

The prefect of Datong, accompanied by a Mongolian man nearing forty, approached Zhou Chu and said respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu looked at Dada Buhua in front of him.

"Are you really a descendant of Emperor Gaozu of Han?"

Zhou Chu asked.

“It’s absolutely true, sir, we even have a family tree.”

Dada Buhua said respectfully.

"Bring me the family genealogy."

Zhou Chu needed to verify the truth of this person's words. If it was true, that would be even better. Such a person, who appeared to be a Mongol but was Han at heart, was very important to the Ming Dynasty's rule over the grasslands.

"My lord, please take a look."

Dada Buhua seemed to have been prepared, and took out a family genealogy book sewn from sheepskin from his bosom.

Zhou Chu took out the family genealogy and looked at it. At first, there were Chinese characters, but in the middle, they all turned into Mongolian characters, and at the end, there were bilingual annotations in Mongolian and Chinese characters.

"Why is the middle section all in Mongolian script?"

Zhou Chu asked, puzzled.

"My lord, you may not know this, but my ancestors all knew Chinese characters. However, the lineage was broken and they could no longer write Chinese characters, only Mongolian. Later, when the Yuan Dynasty ruled the Central Plains, we learned Chinese characters again and began to write in both Chinese and Mongolian."

Dada Buhua explained.

Zhou Chu nodded upon hearing this.

Zhou Chu had no doubts about Dada Buhua's words. The family tree was verifiable and could not be faked. Many descendants of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, had wandered to the grasslands. It was rumored that Genghis Khan, Temujin, had genes from Emperor Gaozu of Han after genetic sequencing.