Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 387 The fourth child in Central Asia
"Fixed shot loading, heading towards Kelden City, distance is one mile and 430 steps, angle is self-adjusting, ready to... release!"

"Boom boom boom——"

On May 30th of the eighth year of Yongle, the Ming army stationed at the port of Horumos took the lead in launching a full-scale attack before Khalil issued a military order.

In this battle, Chen Xuan led 13,000 naval warriors, 200 artillery pieces, and 600 cavalry to attack Kelden and Shiraz.

In addition, Zheng He, as the envoy of the Pacific Fleet, also led 5,000 naval warriors and 50 treasure ships to attack Timur's Abadan and Basra in the Persian Gulf.

Chen Xuan's son Chen Zuo led an army of 2,000 troops to station in Khrumos. At the same time, he sent 2,000 troops, 30 warships and 50 horse ships to the south of Oman, Zufar, Lhasa, Adan and other countries. The advance team prepares for the fleet to continue its voyage to the Western Ocean.

Relying on thousands of draft horses and hundreds of camels captured in Horumos, the Ming army moved very quickly.

On the second day of June, Zheng He led his fleet into the Shatt al-Arab River and bombarded the two cities of Abadan Port and Basra. In the first round of fire strikes, he destroyed the crude fortifications on the docks of the two cities.

Taking advantage of the panic of Timur's army, the sand ships successfully sent four thousand soldiers to the dock, seized control of the two city ports, and then launched an attack on the city.

When the news spread, the generals of the two cities began to organize armies to resist. However, after entering the street fighting, the Ming army used 4,000 people to drive out tens of thousands of Timur's troops from the two cities in three days.

"I believe you." After saying that, Shaharu turned his attention to the corner, where several generals were standing.

For this reason, Kara Osman, the governor of the Diyarbakır region, also began a covert expansion to Baghdad in the south.

Even he couldn't believe that the Timur Empire's rule over the Transoxiana and Persian regions was actually so weak.

Shaharul's sudden rebellion caught Khalil off guard as he was gathering an army in Samarkand.

Faced with Shaharul's question, Liu Mian chuckled and said: "I heard that Khalil is gathering the army. This may be the biggest mistake he has ever made."

"The number of troops now in Khalil's hands is only 60,000, and he has not yet recovered the 40,000 troops in the Mahemah area."

After doing this, Zheng He also issued a military order to stop the march because he got a piece of terrible news.

Facing them, Shaharul narrowed his eyes: "Reorganize the army, I want to tell everyone in the river that Ma Heima's uncle will avenge him, and I will teach this disobedient nephew a lesson!"

While waiting for them to go south, Ursa learned the news of the fall of Shiraz. Milan in Azerbaijan did not even wait for the news of Ursa and died in the war with the Black Sheep Dynasty.

"His Highness's earlier intention was that it would be best to promote the unification of Shaharul. His rise to power will be of great help to us."

In early July, Kelden was captured by Chen Xuan, and Ursa fled to Isfahan with hundreds of cavalry. So far, except for the Mukrang and Baluchistan areas in the southern part of the Timur Kingdom, the rest of the offshore areas were not captured by the Ming army. All the cities were captured by the Ming army.

"In this case, we have no choice but to support you in ascending to the throne. After all, in the eyes of our Heavenly Kingdom, there is no doubt that you, the Governor, are more benevolent and more suitable to become the head of the Timur Kingdom."

"Please believe me. If it doesn't work, you can take me with you at any time." Liu Mian saluted. Upon seeing this, Shaharu also walked down the steps, helped Liu Mian up, and patted him on the shoulder.

For a time, the entire Persian region was in danger, and Ursa did not receive news from Khalil, because before Khalil's news was delivered, Kelden encountered fierce artillery fire from the Ming army.

For a time, the entire Transoxiana and Khorasan regions were in chaos, while the Black Sheep Dynasty of Western Persia and the Ming Army of Eastern Persia were advancing even more vigorously.

After Liu Mian finished speaking, he looked at Shaharu with burning eyes. Shaharu stood up and walked, and then looked at Liu Mian with his hands behind his back:
"I hope you can do everything you just said, so that I will meet your needs, but before that, I also need to know, how do I sit on the throne of Sultan?"

"Of course!" Shaharu replied confidently, but he was still worried that Liu Mian would break the contract: "What if I succeed in raising the army but you are unwilling to return the land in Persia?"

By the time Ursa received the news from Khalil, more than 1,000 Tamerlane troops stationed in Zakirden had been killed, and there were 8,000 Ming troops outside the city.

"However, I need to remind you that our army is not incapable of obtaining any benefits. Simply speaking, the wealth and wealth of these cities will be taken away."

"As long as there is a problem with Khalil's generals, you can take the opportunity to win over some of the old troops loyal to Mahema and launch an attack on Samarkand."

"You can march into the river and seize the throne of the Sultan in the name of avenging your nephew Mahema."

However, when news of the fighting in the south came, he discovered that the Ming army had fallen into Kakhnuj and other small towns with a population of less than 10,000 people, and the soldiers stopped Kelden.

"Your army's offensive is indeed fierce, but are you sure you will give this place to me? What good will this do to you?"

Even though there were still more than 17,000 people in his hands, Ursa did not dare to go out of the city to fight with the Ming army in the field, and his cowardice was spread to the ears of Shaharul in Herat.

Faced with Shaharul's inquiry, Liu Mian, who had already received information about Hu Ji from the carrier pigeon, also said calmly:
"My Ming Dynasty will never invade other countries' land. The reason why we sent troops to capture so much territory is just to make the Sultan surrender, apologize to the court and continue to be a vassal."

At first glance, those who didn't know better thought that Timur's empire was about to collapse.

"With your 30,000 troops in Khorassan, as long as you lead the army to attack, it will give people the illusion that the Timur state is about to collapse."

"However, Sultan does not think Sultan Xian did anything wrong, and he is not prepared to apologize to our country."

On June 10th, with the opening of Shaharul, the army in Khorasan began to gather, and on June 15th, they began to march to Samarkand in the north.

"With your talents, you shouldn't be afraid of these guys."

The Mamluks, who were still waiting and watching, also made great moves to join the war. The governors of various regions in the entire Timurid Empire had ulterior motives.

"It would be best if this happened, but it would be okay if it didn't happen." Liu Mian seemed to have anticipated Shaharul's thoughts, and he continued:
"Even if not, as long as you, the Governor, can manage the country well, stop at the Atami (Lake Issyk-Kul), and give us the Port of Horumos and the four islands on the sea as supply points for the voyage to the West, it will be enough for us to take advantage of it in the future. The vast Persian region below is left to you to take charge of."

At this time, news of the Ming army's attack on Basra had spread, which made Ursa mistakenly believe that the Ming army's main attack direction was the vast area of ​​​​Western Persia.

Troops from Isfahan, Yazd and other places in the north are rushing to help Kelden.

In the magnificent palace, Shaharu held the war situation in Persia in his hand, with a playful smile on his face. Standing in front of him was Liu Mian, the flag officer who stayed behind in Herat.

"Of course, the city, fields, and population will not be greatly affected. After all, our army never burns cities and massacres people."

"After the news spread, many generals in the river who supported Khalil turned to Shaharul. He also seized the opportunity to recruit many losers and prepared to suppress the troops who launched the rebellion."

After Liu Mian finished speaking his thoughts, Shaharul was silent for a moment and then said: "Even if I come to power, there is no guarantee that I will become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty."

In the bustling Governor's Palace of Abadan City, Zheng He was in a daze holding the letter in his hand.

"Khalil was detained by his troops."

"I estimate that in at most half a year, Shaharul will be able to destroy these vassal towns and reunify the Timurid Kingdom."

A Qianhu official standing in front of Zheng He spoke calmly, and Zheng He nodded after hearing this.

To be able to talk to Zheng He like this as a Qianhuguan, this person is obviously not an ordinary person. In the entire fleet, only the Qianhuguan from the West Factory can have such an identity.

"Xu Gong, write me a letter and send it back to Nanjing to inform His Highness of Timur's domestic situation."

Zheng He called out the man's name, and the man bowed in response, turned around and left in a hurry.

After he left, Zheng He said to a corridor of the Governor's Palace: "Come out."

As soon as he said this, footsteps sounded from the corridor, and a fourth-grade military attache with a similar appearance came out.

"You tell Ji Gang what's going on here, and let Ji Gang tell His Majesty."

Zheng He ordered this man. It was obvious that he was related to Jin Yiwei, but this was not surprising.

Zheng He himself was the middleman between the East Palace and Wuying Palace. Although he went to the West many times and did not live in the inner court for many years, both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu trusted him very much.

This trust also means that he bears the pressure to ease the relationship between father and son.

The military attache bowed in return, then turned and left like Xu Gong.

After they all left, Zheng He let out a breath and rubbed his swollen temples.

"We agreed to go to the West, but why do I feel like I'm a general who conquered the West..."

His tone was rather self-deprecating, but he could also hear a sense of pride, which was very complicated.

Perhaps he had never thought that he could actually lead an army of 20,000 people to the sea tens of thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty, and carry out a forceful attack on a huge empire that once clamored to conquer the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with his complexity, Chen Xuan is much simpler.

"Hahaha! Move it for me! Move it all!"

"Except for keeping some food and continuing to ensure the local people to cultivate land to supply the army, I will move the rest!"

In Kelden City, Chen Xuan stood on the street riding a tall Persian horse, smiling wildly.

If it were anyone else, I would probably be laughing more than crazy at this moment, because there are too many things in front of me.

Although Kelden City is not big, most of the supplies that Ursa mobilized are stored in it.

The food alone amounted to no less than 150,000 dan, the gold and silver coins were counted in hundreds of boxes, and there were thousands of horses and camels.

It can be said that the harvest from this battle alone is enough to cover the expenses of the Ming army in the past few months.

"The last time we destroyed the Ceylon Kingdom, we only captured something worth nearly half a million guan, which is far less than what we got this time."

"The value of the gold and silver coins alone is estimated to be no less than 300,000 yuan."

"As expected, this should be the pay for the army in Shiraz and Kelden."

Standing next to Chen Xuan, several commanders smiled and communicated, obviously very happy.

The operations of the Ming army overseas were the same as at home. 50% was handed over and 50% was distributed by the generals, including 10% for the commander-in-chief, 10% for the generals, and 30% for the grassroots soldiers.

All seizures are concentrated and evenly distributed according to regional battles. In other words, the seizures here are equally divided among more than 20,000 Ming troops.

In the same way, the captures of other Ming troops in other places must be shared equally with everyone.

The seizures obtained from the army were okay, but the main ones were the seizures from nobles and wealthy households. Although the Ming army prohibited the rape of women overseas, massacres of cities, and arson, etc., it did not prohibit looting. It just replaced looting with a nice word called "confiscation of illegal gains."

As for civilians, how much money do civilians have?
"Master Hou!"

The sound of horse hooves and shouts sounded. Everyone heard the sound and looked around, and sure enough they saw a Qianhu official riding his horse.

"How's it going? How many things were confiscated?"

Chen Xuan rubbed his hands, and the Qianhu official also grinned: "At least 500,000 yuan!"

"Okay!" After hearing this, Chen Xuan couldn't help but laugh: "This small place is so rich, Zheng Zhengzhi and others will probably get more."

"Master Marquis..." The commander next to him came closer and said, "Zheng Zheng is not here, why don't you let the brothers relax..."

"Get out!" Chen Xuan changed his face and cursed: "Do you think Zheng Zhengzhi is pedantic?"

"I might as well tell you that there are Jinyiwei and Xichang spies in the army. If you can't control your belt, be prepared to go back without promotion."

"This...that's not enough." Several commanders looked at each other, and they really didn't think it was a big deal to find some women to have fun with, especially outside the tens of thousands of miles of sea.

"Anyway, I'll put my words here. If you want to have fun, go find Hu Ji and the dancing girl. Don't give me a title that is not restrictive."

Chen Xuan snorted coldly, then turned his horse's head and prepared to return to the Governor's Mansion in Ursa. He was now resting in the temporary Pingjiang Marquis Mansion.

Naturally, he also knew that it was not a big deal to find a few women to make herself comfortable while leading the troops, but the problem was that the four major Hongwu cases were still fresh in his mind. No one knew what would happen to these things in the future after they were recorded and compiled by Xichang and Jinyiwei. It will be the reason to kill him.

Chen Xuan was very cautious, and it was precisely because of his caution that he was able to obtain the command of the Pacific Fleet this time.

He knew very well that he was not unique.

Even if there are no Yang Qiu and Yang Zhan, there are still Yang Wen, Cui Jun, Zheng Jun, Zheng He and others.

He knew very well how many people with strength and background were behind him, so he wanted to take advantage of this trip to gain credit, because he knew that after returning this time, it might not be him next time.

Even if there was still him, he would only exist as a deputy at most and would not have the chance to control the fleet.

After all, there are still talents from the Jiangshan generation, and at his age, he is already considered too old among the navy generals.

"It's important for people to know themselves. It seems that Chen Xuan at least knows this truth."

In an alley courtyard in Kelden City, after hearing from his subordinates what the Ming army had done when they entered the city, Hu Ji, who was sitting cross-legged on the silk carpet, picked up the wine and took a sip with a very satisfied look on his face.

After Kelden City was breached, Hu Ji found an opportunity to break away from Ursa's escape team.

For him, what he has to do is over. Judging from the intelligence in the north, Shaharul will be able to sit on the throne of Sultan in half a year at most, and by then the chaotic situation in Timur's country will be stabilized.

"After this time's work is completed, I think you will be promoted."

A small flag official next to Hu Ji bowed and complimented, but Hu Ji raised the corner of his mouth: "According to my father's news, once Shaharul succeeds in taking office, the Hundred Household Office in the River will be promoted to the Thousand Household Office, and I will He will be given the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Guards, responsible for intelligence in Hezhong and Persia."

"As for you..." Hu Ji glanced at the other five people in the room. The five people stood up straight nervously, and he smiled and said: "All promoted to level two."

After receiving a positive answer, the five people immediately relaxed and smiled on their faces.

Most of the people who worked in Xichang and Jinyiwei were not short of money, because Zhu Gaoxu had raised salaries for Xichang and Jinyiwei respectively in the 33rd year of Hongwu and the 5th year of Yongle.

The lowest level factory guard is called a strong man, with an annual salary of 30 guan, followed by the small flag officer 40 guan, the general flag officer 60 guan, the 100-household official 100 guan, the deputy 1000-household 200 guan, and the 1000-household 300 guan. Guan, the guard commander Qian Shi 500 guan, the guard commander Tongzhi 800 guan, the guard commander made one thousand guan.

The commanders of the capital, the magistrates of the capital, and the envoys of the capital received salary of 1,500 guan, 2,000 guan and 3,000 guan respectively.

At present, there are 17 thousand-household offices in Jinyiwei, with a total population of more than 17,600 people, and Xichang has more than 8,000 people, and the two together have a population of nearly 26,000.

Maintaining these two yamen requires millions of dollars every year, and even more when activity expenses are included.

But even so, compared to their expenses, their presence allows Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu to gain more.

"Let us tell His Highness and His Majesty what's going on here this morning."

Hu Ji put down the wine glass in his hand, and the five people in front of him also nodded.

As the five people nodded, news from the river sprung up and was sent to Dagu La.

When Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu in Nanjing learned the news, it was already the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th.

As one of the three major festivals for the people of the Ming Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival is supposed to be a day for climbing high to look at the moon, enjoying delicious food and being reunited, but it is particularly different when placed in the Forbidden City.

The hurried medical officers inside and outside the Qianqing Palace were destined to be a sleepless night.

Since early in the morning, Queen Xu's pus and blood had been flowing uncontrollably.

For a time, all the doctors and imperial doctors who were proficient in gynecology in Nanjing came to Qianqing Palace to diagnose and treat her.

"Your Majesty, the pus and blood have stopped, but the condition of the empress..."

Outside the Qianqing Palace, a forty-year-old doctor hesitated to speak, while Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi and others in front of him changed their expressions after hearing the words.

"Just say what you have and we can hold on."

Standing in front of several children, Zhu Di rarely showed his calm side as a father.

"I'm afraid, my dear, it will be difficult for me to survive this year."

The imperial doctor of Tai Hospital lowered his head and told Zhu Di and others the diagnosis results of dozens of gynecologists.

In just the blink of an eye, everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave and were speechless for a while.

"I understand, please step back."

After Zhu Di was silent for a long time, he spoke. Upon seeing this, the imperial doctor also left with many doctors.

After they left, Zhu Gaochi, Zhang, Guo Yan, Zhu Yuying and others bowed their heads and shed tears.

Zhu Gaojiu was agitated, and Zhu Gaojiu ran directly into the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing him running into the hall, everyone walked in one after another, except Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu.

The father and son stood there in silence. After a while, Zhu Di spoke in a hoarse voice: "Second brother..."

"I know this is unfair to you, but I will leave the affairs of the outer court to you during this period. Your mother can't live without me."

Zhu Di's words were filled with guilt, which was the helplessness of being an emperor.

At this moment, for him, Queen Xu was far more important than the government, while Zhu Gaoxu was weighing the pros and cons.

Perhaps he would only show such an attitude when facing the imminent death of a loved one.

He wanted to worry about government affairs, but he didn't want to miss Queen Xu's last few months.

Zhu Di said nothing more and walked straight into the Qianqing Palace, leaving Zhu Gaoxu standing there alone and struggling.

"Your Highness..."

Shortly after Zhu Di left, Yi Shiha found Zhu Gaoxu with several urgent memorials, but Zhu Gaoxu was very impatient.

He forced himself to calm down and opened the memorial. After seeing the memorials about Hezhong, Guizhou, Persia and other places, he said irritably: "Just watch and deal with these things..."

Before he finished speaking, he reacted, suppressed his temper and sat on the steps outside Qianqing Palace, trying his best to calmly handle government affairs.

It was just the trembling hands that betrayed his mood. Yishiha looked at this scene and then looked at the situation in the palace, and he probably understood everything.

"How about I stay in the middle and deal with it tomorrow?"

"Need not!"

Yishiha asked cautiously, but received a somewhat tempered retort from Zhu Gaoxu.

Seeing this, he said no more, but waited for Zhu Gaoxu to finish reading all the memorials and close them. He closed his eyes and covered his forehead with his hands, lowering his head.

At this moment, he no longer had his usual self-confidence, but was actually a bit depressed.

"Things in Hezhong and Persia continue. It has been two months since this news was sent. If we send it back, it will take a month and a half at the fastest."

"Tell Zheng He that all the goods and livestock that were plundered from the city will be plundered."

"If Shaharul can sit on the throne, then Basra, Abadan, Kelden and other areas will be handed over to him, but the prerequisite is that he pays tribute to the Ming Dynasty."

"In addition, the Port of Horumus does not need to be controlled alone. It can be controlled together with Shaharul, and the tax revenue will be divided 50-50."

"After Timur's affairs are settled, let him continue his voyage to the Western Ocean, although he will send an advance team to the two new continents of Dongzhou and Beizhou, and then the fleet will return."

After Zhu Gaoxu said all this, he nodded and said, "For giving up so much territory, I'm afraid there will be a lot of criticism in the temple."

"Let them talk if they like!" Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but raise his voice a little higher:

"Tell Hu Lun, Jigang, and Chen Ying that if they can't even control the public opinion in the temple, then where can their role be reflected in!"

(End of this chapter)