Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 690 Reply

There are a total of 14,000 Heiyun troops staying in the Western Region Protectorate.

Qiuci has 10,000, Gaochang has 3,000, and Haitou has 1,000.

Those who are willing to stay will be divided into fields locally, and those who are unwilling to stay will return to Luoyang after three years.

Of course, the Western Region Protectorate can mobilize more than these troops. There is also a suppressing army composed of powerful tribes, which can also gather about 10,000 people.

In the event of a war, the tens of thousands of young slaves controlled by the Western Regions Protectorate can improvise, and the countries in the Western Regions are also obliged to send troops to assist. In addition, Liangzhou also has Weishan's 10,000 Black Cloud Army.

With these troops present, the south of the Tianshan Mountains is impregnable.

Murong Chui's five thousand men and horses could kill tens of thousands of Qiuci's troops, while Zhang Hao and Lu Guang's five thousand horses could cross the north of Tianshan Mountain.

Looking to the west, there is no chance for a country that is qualified to challenge the 14,000 black cloud elites.

With the presence of generals such as Murong Chui, Wei Shan, Liu Laozhi, and Zhuge Kan, Li Yue can return to Luoyang with confidence.

Encroaching on the entire Western Region is a long process, so there is no need to rush it.

Once the Western Region Protectorate is established, the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and the east and west of the Congling Mountains will be within the scope of the "Captain Protector".

Li Yue secretly praised the vastness and profoundness of Chinese culture. Daliang was not here to occupy the Western Regions, but to protect the countries in the Western Regions. He stood firm from the perspective of righteousness.

However, the Western Regions Protectorate in the Western Han Dynasty had a rank of 2,000 stone and an administrative level only equivalent to that of a county, so it was unable to control such a large situation.

The Western Region Chief Historian's Office in the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties was simply placed under the Liangzhou Governor's Office.

It can be seen that the Wei and Jin Dynasties actually did not think much of the Central and Western Regions.

Li Yue upgraded his administrative level to be under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court, and his status was slightly higher than that of the domestic states. Military power belonged to Murong Chui. It was his business how and where to fight. Political power, financial power, and appointment and dismissal rights belonged to the imperial court.

This allowed the Western Region Protectorate to have a certain degree of military autonomy without losing control of the imperial court.

Everything is still in the preliminary stage now. In the future, the Honglu Division and the School Affairs Bureau will be set up to fill in various officials.

Li Yue was absolutely assured of Murong Chui.

First, he is from the Murong tribe of Xianbei in Liaodong. He has no roots in the Western Region. There are many Xianbei in Liangzhou and there are so many tribes. They all just bear the name of Xianbei, and their internal recognition is not as good as that of the Xiongnu.

Secondly, precisely because he was born in Xianbei, Liaodong, he was able to maintain a certain distance from the powerful local gentry in Liangzhou.

Without the support of the powerful local nobles, even if they raise an army, it will be difficult to achieve anything.

Murong Chui is now around forty, and Li Yue plans to transfer him back to Luoyang in five or six years.

There are many famous generals in the Liang army. Although they are worse than Murong Chui, they are enough to deal with the countries in the Western Regions.

After giving an edict of encouragement to Qiuci, he officially embarked on the journey back to Guandong. Li Yue now knew why Liangzhou was named "Liang".

Although the ice and snow have melted, the wind is still as cold as a knife.

Li Yue thought, now that he has won the Western Region, he can plant cotton. In the future, he will send troops to Mobei, Haidong, and the west of Congling. It will definitely not work without warm crops.

Not everyone can afford leather goods.

These days only rich families can afford bedding made of catkins.

Keeping warm against the cold can become a topic in Taixue. Li Yue asked the question and they produced results.

If you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in food every year, you will always see some splashes.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, cotton had been introduced from Tianzhu to the Lingnan area and was only used for weaving cloth. There was no need in Lingnan to keep out the cold.

Cotton has appeared in the Western Regions, but there is not enough food in the Western Regions to eat, and the cultivated land is limited, making it impossible to plant it on a large scale.

In history, cotton was really promoted on a large scale only after Emperor Hongwu forced people to plant it. Since Zhu Hongwu could do it, Li Yue, the Hongxing Emperor, could do it too.

There is no technical difficulty in this thing. Selecting and breeding good seeds is just a matter of an edict.

Nowadays, the world is vast and sparsely populated, and the north of the Tianshan Mountains is the most suitable and ideal cotton planting land, with abundant sunshine, fertile water and soil. For cotton, Li Yue will also swallow the Seven Rivers Basin.

At this stage, only small-scale trials can be carried out in Guanzhong.

From now on, Taixue can no longer immerse itself in learning, but only care about it all day long. It must combine theory with practice, and devote its energy to practical technology, geographical discovery, search for new crops, etc., all to keep up with the expansion of the beams.

Otherwise, it will be like the Western Jin Dynasty, where the country's elite talks about metaphysics all day long, is arty, and is divorced from reality, so that they will be unable to restrain the chicken with the butcher's knife of the barbarians.

He rode eastward and returned to Guzang on the 89th. The pastoral supervisor had already prepared new horses.

The soldiers changed their horses, rested for a day, and ate two meals of meat. Then they set off again and entered the pass in a few days.

It was already April, and Guanzhong was full of spring, not as cold as Liangzhou.

The fields were crowded with slaves and farmers cultivating the fields.

However, it is not all peaceful. In the fields, there are servants carrying knives and bows, who are on full alert, and there are cavalry patrolling the streets from time to time.

Wang Meng used strong medicine to treat Guanzhong, and Guanzhong quickly regained its vitality.

However, the various ethnic groups are mixed and still wild and untamed, so precautions are necessary. Without one or two generations to pass, the hatred and estrangement between each other will be difficult to eliminate.

When they arrived at the border of Chang'an, Wang Meng and Zhou Qian led a group of Yongzhou officials to greet him.

Wang Meng was thin, with a layer of frosty white on his temples. Zhou Qian's complexion was swarthy, and he looked like an old farmer.

"Your Majesty conquered the Western Regions, which is comparable to the two Han Dynasties!" Wang Meng handed over his hand.

Zhou Qian also saluted.

"When did you, Wang Jinglue, learn to flatter?" Li Yue laughed and dismounted.

There is still some self-knowledge.

The Western Region has only eaten half of it, and the south of the Yangtze River has not yet been unified. The Tuoba Shiyijian in the north is jumping up and down.

The people in the key country have just escaped from hunger and cold and are barely able to eat, far from reaching the heights of the Han Dynasty.

Wang Meng also laughed.

However, Zhou Qian became sentimental, "After all these years, Your Majesty remains the same. It's gratifying to congratulate you, but I am getting old."

Wherever Daliang suffers from hunger and cold, he is always there. He always appears in the most difficult places. How can he not waste his energy?

However, although Zhou Qian's presence in the court was not strong, he had a very high reputation among the people. People in Huaihe and Liaodong all called him "father", "My parents are the ones who gave birth to me, and my father is the one who lives me."

"Who said you are old? In my opinion, you are in your prime!"

Zhou Qian has been working as a farmer all year round and has been exposed to the wind and sun, so his face looks old, but in fact he has a strong body and a good complexion.

Standing next to Wang Meng, one seemed to be weak and the other was as steady as a rock.

Li Yue held the hands of the two of them and sighed in his heart. They were both hard-working people who had no property in their families. Except for the legitimate son who took over the mantle, the other sons went their separate ways. Those who were talented were engaged in politics and the army, and those who were not talented were left alone. Farm at home and live an honest life.

Although the gentry gradually decayed, the scholars did not. In the long history, there will always be some people with noble character.

Wang Meng offended many people, so it would be a good thing for his descendants to keep a low profile so as not to become the target of criticism.

Zhou Qian, Heiyun Xunjiu, the more low-key he is, the longer he will go.

(End of this chapter)