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Chapter 911: Day Comes
"Don't comment on things you don't understand. It's not that they don't eat. You can ask Gulandam for the details. I still have things to do, so you can leave." After hearing that they hadn't eaten for a month and thinking about the current time, Hong Tao seemed to be thinking about something. He hastily sent Jinsuo away, lit a cigar and began to daydream.

Seeing this scene, Wang Chengen knew that the emperor was thinking about something, and quickly gave silent orders to the geckos around him with very concealed movements and expressions. Everyone understood and turned their heads away, carefully moving to a farther position.

According to the Islamic calendar, when the new moon appears in early September every year, all believers must fast and abstain from sex from dawn to sunset until the new moon comes again in early October. This is called Ramadan.

The day of lifting the ban is called Eid al-Fitr, also known as Rouzi Festival. It is one of the two major festivals of Islam along with Eid al-Adha, or Eid al-Adha.

The Islamic calendar, officially known as the Hajj calendar, is a purely lunar calendar that uses the changes of the moon as its calculation cycle. One waxing and waning of the moon is a month, and twelve months make up a year. The beginning of each day is not dawn, but the first appearance of the moon after sunset, so the night comes first and the day comes later.

The Chinese lunar calendar actually also includes the lunar calendar, or is borrowed from it, and this is thanks to Genghis Khan, who brought this calendar back to the East during the Mongol invasion of the West.

But the lunar calendar is not a pure lunar calendar, it is a mixed lunar and solar calendar. In addition to referring to the movement of the moon, it also adds the changes of the sun. In order to make up for the difference between the moon and the sun, there are leap months and leap years.

The Islamic calendar has no leap months, only leap years, so it has a discrepancy with the lunar calendar, about 19 months in 7 years.

In addition, the Islamic calendar cannot determine the four seasons. It is possible that April this year is spring, April a few years later will be winter, and April a few years later will be autumn again. But this does not affect their lives, because the climate in the Middle East does not have four seasons, at most there are two seasons of drought and rain.

This also reflects the production and living characteristics of different regions and ethnic groups. The birthplace of the Islamic calendar is definitely not a pure farming culture. Nomadic peoples accounted for a large proportion and did not need a particularly accurate calendar to assist farming.

China is completely different, it is a standard agricultural civilization. In order to facilitate farming, it is not enough to just use the calendar to determine the four seasons. In the long-term farming activities, the 24 solar terms were summarized and the farming process was partially digitized.

The end of April in the lunar calendar in the 1623th year of Jingyang, 4, coincided with the beginning of September in the Islamic calendar. When Hong Tao led the southern army to attack Khotan, Ramadan had just begun.

In five days, Ramadan will end, and all Muslims will celebrate the grand Eid al-Fitr, even if they are still facing war. This is a bit like the Chinese Spring Festival, no matter how hard it is, you have to show some respect on that day.

The Mat Festival that Gulandam mentioned was actually Eid al-Fitr. She meant that although the army led by Latif Khan did not have to observe the taboos of Ramadan, they still had to prepare for the upcoming major festival.

When Hong Tao learned the news, he immediately found Shadihezhuo to confirm it. After receiving a positive reply, he gave Shadihezhuo another task, asking him to find someone to negotiate with Latif Khan and express his attitude:

In order to fully respect the beliefs and customs of the local people and demonstrate the magnanimity of the Celestial Empire, it is recommended to cease fire for one week according to the Islamic calendar so that Muslims can celebrate the festival in peace.

The specific method is that the Ming army withdraws from Yarkand, so that it is convenient for Latif Khan and the believers in the Khanate army to enter the mosque to hold necessary religious activities. After seven days, the Khanate army will give up Yarkand, and whether to continue fighting or negotiate will be discussed at that time.

"Respected Sun Moon Khan, your generosity will be praised by all Muslims for generations. I will definitely find the right person to convey this kindness to Latif Khan! And after Eid al-Fitr, I will do everything I can to facilitate peace talks."

Shadi and Zhuo never expected that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as an invader, could show such great goodwill at such a critical moment. In addition to sincere admiration, they also took on the role of intermediary without hesitation and held more hope for the near future.

"Please tell Latif Khan that if he agrees to peace talks and ensures that the trade routes will be open in the future, the Khans sent to Ruoqiang will be sent back immediately. The Ming Empire has no demand for this land, but only a safe enough road to the west." After receiving Shadi Khoja's affirmation, Hong Tao seemed a little complacent and threw out another goodwill chip. His words were full of expectations for peace talks, but also showed his lack of confidence, which was in line with the mentality of a lone army going deep into the enemy's territory. The longer it dragged on, the harder it would be to maintain.

"Your Majesty, we can't retreat! The food in the city is enough to feed tens of thousands of troops for more than half a year, and there are also sufficient population. With these resources, Latif Khan may not return Yarkand City!"

When Hong Tao was talking with Shadihezhuo, Ding Shun and other staff officers and military officers were also present. When they heard the conditions offered by the emperor, their expressions changed drastically, but no one dared to speak up to stop them. It was not until Shadihezhuo left with a happy face that they quickly expressed their different opinions.

"Riyuehan, Chief of Staff Ding is right. Letting a tiger go back to the mountains is absolutely not advisable. I think that not only should we not let the enemy enter the city, but we should also send troops to raid them during the festival. The Eight Banners Army is willing to be the vanguard!"

The second person to jump out in opposition was Huang Taiji. He spoke even more bluntly than Ding Shun, and added expressions, his face full of confusion and indignation, he was just short of pointing at the emperor's nose and calling him a tyrant.

During the two months of fighting, the Eight Banners Army had been charging ahead, and even though the Ming Army had strong firepower, they still suffered hundreds of casualties. If they lost Yarkand City at this time, allowing the enemy to get sufficient supplies and reinforcements, then if they fought again, the casualties would probably be even greater.

"You were able to hold back your words just now, which is commendable. If you can control your facial expressions, you will be rewarded. I am not a tyrant seeking fame, nor am I a fool who talks big on paper. Don't you even have this little trust in me?"

Looking at the somewhat excited officers, Hong Tao was very pleased. After nearly twenty years of hard work, he finally reaped the rewards. The talents he cultivated were no longer blindly loyal and harmful, but wise men who put national interests on an equal footing.

Is blind loyalty bad? Is being loyal only to the emperor bad? It sounds good, but it has great hidden dangers. Because they have no concept of country and nation in their hearts, they only know who to be loyal to. It is good for personal relationships, but bad for public office.

As the number of people increases, there will be more college graduates in the future, and it is impossible for me to pay enough attention to everyone all the time. Once they are ignored, and someone else helps them, will I also be loyal to them blindly?

The answer is an absolute affirmative. Only those who understand what is righteousness and what is personal feelings, and who can separate public and private affairs, will persist in their hearts, work hard to achieve their goals, and be better able to resist the temptations and interference around them.

They even dared to question the emperor's decision because this order ran counter to their goal. If it were any other general, this order would most likely not be executed, and the staff would even deprive them of their command step by step according to the rules.

Let's think about it in another scenario. If someone uses their power to stage a military coup, how will they react? They will definitely disagree and firmly oppose it. As long as someone insists on this set of rules, it will succeed, and no one can escape from it.

At this time, think again: is it better to be blindly loyal or to be wise? Did the person who dared to oppose you save your life? And also saved the future of the country and the nation?

The officers present were a good start, a sign. As long as they kept on persevering, the seedlings would slowly grow up and provide a better environment and shelter for other smaller seedlings. When there were enough of them, the system structure would be formed, and it would be difficult for anyone to shake it easily, including himself.

But a seedling is a seedling after all, and it needs to be straightened up constantly as it grows. Perseverance alone is not enough, it also requires the cooperation of the brain, and it needs to be more cunning than traditional bureaucrats to overthrow the old system.

(End of this chapter)