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Chapter 886: Plateau March
In the third month of the lunar calendar, Qingming Festival has passed in the plains and Grain Rain is approaching, and summer is about to begin. However, the plateau is still ruled by severe cold, with the highest daytime temperature not exceeding ten degrees.

Under the scorching sun, it is not too cold to wear a single layer of clothing when there is no wind. As soon as the sun sets, the temperature quickly drops below zero. If the wind blows again, even a sheepskin coat is still not warm enough. Especially the face and hands exposed to the outside will be frostbitten without knowing it.

The most annoying thing is the wind. On average, there are seven winds in ten days. When it is the strongest, it is so strong that people cannot stand still. With the blowing dust in the face, you can't see anything. If the craftsmen had not chiseled wooden stakes along the way when building the military fort, one-third of the time would have been wasted just to avoid the wind and sand to prevent getting lost.

Fortunately, there were the Eight Banners Army, who, under the leadership of Huang Taiji, sent out several hundred-man teams to search southward every day, the farthest of which could reach a distance of a hundred miles. Moreover, most of them were able to find the right direction and return safely. It must be said that they were used to living in the mountains and forests, and their survival talents were very strong.

As long as we meet local herdsmen, we can bring back a few or dozens of yaks and fodder, and fill hundreds of bags of fresh water, which greatly alleviates the pressure on food.

With less loss of horses, the marching speed has also increased accordingly. Based on the current progress, we can reach the last supply station, Mangya Castle, by noon tomorrow.

"Woo, woo, woo...Pah, pah, pah!" The wind started to blow again, and without much warning. The cold wind came suddenly with sand, but it was calm a few miles away.

Hong Tao spat out the sand in his mouth and quickly put his head on the camel's hump. Even though the smell of the camel was not pleasant, he had to endure it.

"Sun and Moon Sweat, Sun and Moon Sweat..." Just at this moment, the wind brought a faint calling voice into my ears. I knew who it was without looking up, but I had to look up.

After more than 20 days of living together day and night, Huang Taiji had almost been fooled into a little fanboy. Whenever there was a little effort, he would immediately appear a few meters away, his eyes full of curiosity, and he would ask a variety of questions in increasingly proficient Chinese.

At the beginning, Wang Chengen and the honey badger would try to stop them and would never let them get too close, but gradually they relaxed their vigilance and allowed them to do whatever they wanted as long as they were searched, over a camel.

"Damn it!" But as soon as he raised his head, Hong Tao couldn't help but curse out loud.

Huang Taiji rode on the horse backwards, and covered his head with the hood of his fur coat, so that no matter how strong the wind was, it would not affect his speech. It was a pity that I didn't have this ability, so I could only envy and be jealous.

"Riyue Khan, why do you have to attack the Western Regions? Is it richer than the south of the Yangtze River?" Seeing the emperor looking up, Huang Taiji squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, moved closer by more than half a meter and began to ask questions.

"If you have to fart, just fart... don't beat around the bush... ugh, ugh!"

As soon as Hong Tao looked up, he saw another cloud of sand and fog. He lowered his head quickly, but it was too late. His mouth was creaking. If you ask what in the world can cure a chatterbox, it would probably be the sand and wind if he didn't go into the water. He had to make a long story short, and it would be better not to say anything.

"Even if Sun and Moon Khan conquered the Western Regions, how could he rule such a long distance? If the generals stationed here had rebellious intentions, it would be easy to isolate them from the news and keep the court unaware for several months.

When the news is received, the overall situation has been decided, and another large army will be sent for an expedition. Wang Chengen said that the Sun and Moon Khan always made a lot of money every time he went to war, but this time it seemed that he could not gain any advantage. "

Although Huang Taiji was interested in everything, including why there were stars in the sky and why there were mountains and oceans on the earth, he was most interested in national affairs and always liked to discuss how to govern the country. "...You answer him!" Hong Tao covered his mouth with his hand and raised his head slightly. He felt that it was not safe enough, so he simply gave the right to answer to the flat-headed brother.

The boy's favorite thing to do every day was to wrestle with the Jurchens after setting up camp, and learn how to find the way and hunt in the wild. In a few days, he became familiar with Huang Taiji. Since they were so close, he didn't need to be afraid of the sand.

"Your Majesty will pave this road with rails, and then have the army and merchants travel back and forth in horse-drawn rail cars, so that a trip can be made in less than ten days. There are military forts along the way for supplies, so the journey should not be too far."

The flat-headed brother did not seem to be afraid of the wind and sand. He grinned and told Huang Taiji about the wonderful uses of the track. He also counted the speed of the track car with his fingers, and finally came to a relatively optimistic conclusion.

"More than 2000 miles of railway tracks will be laid! This will probably require tens of thousands of people and tens of thousands of pounds of iron. How long will it take to make back the money just by relying on the trade of merchants?" However, Huang Taiji was not completely satisfied with this answer, and three more questions arose.

"Well... since His Majesty said it's possible, then of course we can earn it back, so don't worry about it!" Then he was confronted by the flat-headed guy. It was obvious that their relationship was not good enough to be questioned face to face and he couldn't answer.

"Do you want to go to school?" Otherwise, talking too much is a terminal disease. Hong Tao couldn't stand it after just two sentences. He risked having sand in his mouth and had to cover his mouth with his hands to speak.

"...Going to school is a child's thing, I am an adult!" Huang Taiji thought about it, shook his head and refused, saying that his age was not right.

"I spend ten years studying in a school, and then I don't need to ask others about these problems. I can figure them out by myself. Is that a loss?"

Through these days of contact, Hong Tao felt that Huang Taiji was a promising talent, or that any founding monarch had this inevitability. If he could be used properly, not only would he not be harmful, he might even be able to provide assistance.

The premise is that you must improve your knowledge reserves as quickly as possible, and you can't just rely on talent and instinct. In the system I have established, there is not much demand for genius. Whether you are a civil servant or a military officer, you need to have a certain understanding of the world, otherwise no matter how talented you are, it will be useless.

As for whether there is a risk of being too powerful to be eliminated or even treason and rebellion, there is definitely a risk, but it is very small. In fact, it is not only Huang Taiji who has this risk, but anyone can have it, so there is no need to worry too much.

Again, relying on people to play with them can only make them loyal temporarily, but it cannot maintain long-term stability. Only when everyone is included in the same set of rules can long-term stability be achieved.

With this system, anyone who wants to start over will be ruthlessly restricted by the system. The system is slowly taking shape, although it is not yet complete, but Huang Taiji will not be able to take power immediately. When he is fully grown, the system should be basically completed.

"Ten years... surely ten years will be enough?"

This temptation was very great for Huang Taiji, because he had never been convinced, and always felt that the Sun and Moon Khan had no outstanding qualities, so how could he defeat him so easily? However, as time went by, he felt that this emperor was indeed different from others, especially because he knew a lot and was a little unfathomable.

(End of this chapter)