Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 482 Wolf Ambition
"Old monk! Old monk!"

In the scorching heat of May, amidst Zhu Di's anxious calls, the black-robed figure sitting cross-legged on the futon swayed slightly, but could not get up.

Zhu Di found this figure, walked quickly to him and held his arms: "Old monk, you can't die."

"Your Majesty, everyone in this world is destined to die, so why bother to persist..."

Yao Guangxiao's voice was weak and he was obviously on his deathbed.

Zhu Di wanted to help him back to the bed and lie down, but Yao Guangxiao gently shook his head, indicating that it was not necessary.

"It is a blessing from God for a poor monk to live seventy-eighty years. Your Majesty does not need to do this."

Yao Guangxiao said with a smile on his face: "When the poor monk traveled in his early years, the fortune teller Yuan Gong said that the poor monk was as sick as a tiger, and his nature was inevitable, and he was destined to like killing."

"Now it seems that what he said is not accurate. At least the poor monk did not commit too many crimes."

After the words fell, Yao Guangxiao reluctantly raised his head and looked at Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, this poor monk will go down to plan for you first, and there is no need to be sad."

After all, in their eyes, Yao Guangxiao seemed to be just a monk in the Yan Mansion. Only Wang Yi, Zhu Neng and other veterans who had been in contact with him went to the Daming Palace to help Zhu Di handle Yao Guangxiao's affairs.

With the support of the Ming Dynasty, they did not have to worry about iron farm tools and could naturally cultivate farmland.

The entire team was led by Wang Rong. Although there were only 3,000 people, if there was a real fight, the more than 20,000 people in Alitai might not be able to get an advantage.

But the question now is whether the Ming Dynasty railway will be built to reach the Tatar grazing land, whether Alitai will easily give way.

In his heart, the only one he could seek was Zhu Di, not himself.

Soon, some herdsmen came forward to ask about the movements of the Ming army. They were not worried that the Ming army would take action against them. After all, they had been living in peace for more than ten years.

The entire journey is about 1,200 miles, of which 300 miles are located in the northern part of the Haravan Mountains. Fortunately, there are valleys and plains along the way, and the elevation and drop are not large, so the construction of this railway is still very possible. sexual.

Although most people in the army did not know his identity, Wang Rong knew his identity very well.

The team advanced slowly and soon entered the Tatar pasture.

While they were busy, Zhu Zhanhe, who had just adapted to the climate of Mobei in Hailar, also received his first mission in a month since he came to the military camp.

Therefore, the task of their team this time is to persuade Alitai to accept the Ming Dynasty's policy, and as King Chang Ning, continue to control the less than 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command in Mobei, but the relatives of the 30,000 soldiers and horses have to return to the future. It was managed by officials sent by the Ming Dynasty.

"These cultivated lands are at least 30,000 acres."

Although Zhu Di may not be able to see it at that time, Zhu Di will definitely be able to carry out the third northern expedition before the repairs are completed, and this railway running through Mobei will also be used to commemorate the results of his northern expedition.

Regarding Yao Guangxiao's death, Zhu Gaoxu didn't seem to have any other feelings other than sighing secretly.

In the team, Zhu Zhanhe looked at the group of civil servants from time to time, but felt a little shocked in his heart.

Two days passed little by little, and on the third day they arrived at Yanran City under the leadership of herdsmen.

However, these cultivated lands do not belong to ordinary Mongols, but to Altai and his descendants.

When they learned that the visitor was Wang Rong, the governor of the Dudu Mansion, the herdsmen quickly led them to the north of Kuoluanhaizi, where the former King of Qi City was now Yanran City.

If they cannot accept it, then their grazing land must move westward to the Hulanhu hypothermia area and hand over the three hundred miles of grassland near Kuoluanhaizi to the Ming Dynasty.

"Pity……"

His hands gradually lost strength, and in the end he could only watch Yao Guangxiao sitting cross-legged with a smile, hunched over and slowly falling forward.

Perhaps in order to ease the difficulty of the Northern Expedition three years later, in mid-April, Zhu Gaoxu issued an order to the Ministry of Works to begin a segmented inspection of the Tatar pastoral areas in the north from Hecheng Weixiu to Kuoluanhaizi (Hulun Lake). road conditions in preparation for railway construction.

Although Yao Guangxiao said that if he was given instructions, he would definitely complete them, but in fact this also showed that he was not loyal and would not take the initiative to make suggestions for himself.

Not long after, the news was passed back to the palace, and Zhu Gaoxu, who was reviewing the memorial, also paused.

Among the team, more than a dozen civil servants in regular uniforms were walking around on horseback, taking out something similar to a Luoyang shovel to dig holes in the ground from time to time.

But if he cannot accept both, then the goal of the Northern Expedition may change from conquering Mahamu to conquering Alitai.

The Hulunbuir prairie in May is already full of green. In such an environment, a cavalry unit of 3,000 people is slowly advancing along the river.

If Alitai can be completely destroyed by then, the Ming Dynasty will be able to repair the train until it suddenly loses temperature.

The monks on the left and right supported his body, while Zhu Di was in a trance.

This condition was very harsh, and many military attachés in the team did not think Alitai could accept it.

And the longer Zhu Zhanhe stayed in the army, the more people knew his identity.

You know, once the Ming Dynasty built the railway to Kuoluanhaizi, then the Ming Dynasty would not have restraint on Alitai, but would actually control it.

The next day, news of Yao Guangxiao's death spread.

After all, compared to Bohai's old subordinates, Yao Guangxiao did not help himself. Instead, he continued to downplay himself in seclusion after the establishment of the Yongle Dynasty.

As for the matter of the mausoleum and the Shinto monument, that should be left to the old man himself.

Looking at the 30,000 acres of cultivated land, Wang Rong on horseback communicated with several Qianhu officials beside him, and Zhu Zhanhe, the chief flag officer, was in the middle of the team, hundreds of steps away from them.

"Old monk, I forbid you..." Before Zhu Di could finish his words, he saw Yao Guangxiao gradually stopped moving with a smile on his face.

Whether in newspapers or in temples, many people were not as shocked by his death as they imagined.

After getting over the few memories he had with Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Gaoxu took care of his posthumous gifts in a few words.

Yanran City is located in the north of Kuoluanhaizi. It was expanded on the basis of King Qi City and was built with stones. It is surrounded by many fields cultivated by the Tatar Mongols.

"It is decreed that the young master be buried according to the rituals of the monks. The young master is posthumously given the posthumous title of "Tian Cheng Fu Guo Xuan Li Wen Chen, Te Jin Rong Lu Da Fu, Shang Zhu Guo, Rong Guo Gong". He is given the posthumous title "Gongjing" and buried in Fangshan. In the northeast of the county, his adopted son Yao Ji was given the post of Shaoqing Shangbao."

Because of this, a one-year internship period is the best protection for his identity.

"drive!"

In the distance, hundreds of cavalry rushed out of Yanran City and galloped towards the Ming army.

Not long after, they reined in their horses in front of the Ming army. The leader was Alitai, who was in his fifties.

Wearing the armor given to him by the Ming Dynasty, he turned over and dismounted, and at the same time bowed and said: "Wang Tongzhi came suddenly. I didn't have much preparation. I was a little slow in greeting. Please forgive me."

"You can't say that. This time we came uninvited. Besides, the reason why we came this time was because of His Majesty's order." Wang Rong didn't play any emotional cards and just talked about the matter.

Sure enough, knowing that Wang Rong had come according to the imperial decree, Alitai, no matter how stupid he was, knew that it must be a big deal.

"Why don't we go to the city to discuss it in detail?"

He turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation, but Wang Rong shook his head and said:
"There is no need to hide the decree given to me by the imperial court. I will tell you the truth."

Wang Rong's attitude was very high, but Alitai did not dare to have any objections.

Since he was severely wounded in the sneak attack on Mahamu and fled back to Modong, he has fewer than 15,000 cavalrymen equipped with armor, and only about 30,000 men including other leather armored men.

With his strength, if Wang Rong had any idea, the 10,000 cavalrymen in Hailar City could destroy him at any time.

"The imperial court has decreed to build a railway from Hechengwei to Hulanhuwenwen. The first section is to reach Kuoluanhaizi, which is now Yanran City."

"If you agree, then the 20,000 troops and horses under your command will still be under your control, and the salary of the military attache will still be paid."

"However, the relatives of the soldiers and horses will be under the jurisdiction of the officials sent later, and Yanran City will also be changed to Yanran County under the jurisdiction of Yanran Dusi."

"Your more than 100,000 ordinary people can herd cattle and help the imperial court build railways. The wages are 20 cents per person."

"After the railway is completed, tens of thousands of pieces of white cloth, millions of stones of grain, hundreds of thousands of kilograms of brown sugar and white sugar, tea, and millions of kilograms of coal will be transported to Yanran City every year."

"The people of Yanran City no longer need to worry about white disasters. All they have to do is live and work in peace and contentment and pay taxes."

"The imperial court will spend money to buy herds from nobles like you, and then distribute them to the herdsmen. The herdsmen need to pay a tax of one cow or one horse per household every year."

"Your fields will be purchased by the imperial court at a price of five guan per acre. If you are willing to go to the pass to enjoy it, the imperial court will reward you with a few grades and will not restrict you from purchasing houses and fields."

"Think about it for yourself. In short, the sincerity given by the court is here."

Wang Rong was not only speaking himself, but also signaling to the Mongolian interpreters in the army.

Under his explanation, only a few dozen Tatar nobles among the hundreds of cavalry who came with Alitai looked ugly, but most of the ordinary soldiers could not hide their joy.

After more than ten years of getting along, the Ming army did not cause any attacks on the Tatar herdsmen. Both parties had normal transactions, so the hatred between the two parties gradually faded away.

Moreover, for the Ming army, the Mongols still feared them first, and hated them secondarily.

The Tatar cavalry had served as the vanguard of the Ming army in conquering Oara several times before, and they had long known the strength of the Ming army.

The 10,000 Ming Army cavalry in Hailar City are enough to destroy the current Tatar tribe, so for ordinary Mongolians, they are not willing to become enemies of the Ming Army. After all, they have no interests to be violated.

The Ming Dynasty was willing to buy cattle and sheep from the nobles and distribute them to themselves, and they could also work in exchange for twenty cash wages.

Although they didn't know what twenty coins could buy, this did not prevent them from greatly increasing their attitude towards the Ming army.

The change in attitude of the tribe was noticed by Alitai. In fact, as early as two years ago, his brother Alutai wrote to him, asking him to pay attention to the movements of the Ming army.

Although Arutai cannot leave Shuntianfu at will, Beijing East Railway Station can be seen without leaving Shuntianfu.

The first time he saw the railway and train, he guessed that Ming Dynasty would probably build a railway to Mobei in the future.

In the letter, Alutai told Alitai that once the Ming army's Northeast Railway is completed, the materials they can invest in Mobei will increase exponentially, as will the troops and horses they invest, so he should prepare early. Alitai didn't listen at that time because he didn't believe that there would be a car that could run without horses, let alone one that could pull hundreds of cattle and sheep.

It's just that the current situation cannot help him not believing it, and he must express his position in front of Wang Rong.

"Of course we are willing to..."

Alitai forced out a smile. Wang Rong nodded and said:

"If that's the case, then I will send people here to survey the route suitable for building a railway."

"Wang Tongzhi, please excuse me." Alitai smiled and followed Wang Rong's team to escort the more than ten civil servants from the Ministry of Industry.

Half a day later, after a rough survey, more than a dozen civil servants from the Ministry of Industry determined the route to Yanran City and put away the hand-drawn drawings.

Upon seeing this, Wang Rong led three thousand cavalry out of the confines of Yanran City and headed back to Hailar City.

Seeing Wang Rong and the others walking away, some Mongolian nobles also gathered around Alitai: "Do you really want to agree to them?"

"Of course not!" Alitai replied decisively, with an angry look on his face.

"They can send me to help conquer Oara, but if they want to take control of Mobei, I will naturally not agree."

"Not only me, but Taiping and Ba Tupolo will not agree."

"If I hadn't been afraid of his three thousand cavalry, I would have killed him just now!"

"But..." After hearing Alitai's words, hesitation appeared on the faces of the Tatar nobles, and they were obviously very afraid of the Ming army.

"It will take a long time for them to build the railway. We can take this time to recuperate and contact Taiping, Batu Polo and Mahamu at the same time."

Although Alitai hated Wala very much, he still put down his face when Mobei was taken over by the Han people and tried to unite Taiping and Baotupolo and others.

If Oara and the Tatars join forces, they can pull out at least 100,000 cavalry.

As long as the stalemate lasts for a few years, the strength of the Tatar tribe will be restored. At that time, he will join forces with Taiping and Batu Polo, and Mahamu will invade Mobei to do something.

Once the Ming army marches north again, they will be able to encircle and annihilate the Ming army and obtain the firearms that the Ming army values ​​highly.

A disastrous defeat was enough for the Ming army to lick their wounds for several years, and they could also take the opportunity to put forward the condition that the Ming army should not invade Mobei.

Thinking of this, Alitai began to arrange envoys to go to Taiping and convey to Tupolo, Mahamu and other tribes the news that the Ming army was preparing to take over the Ming Dynasty.

While he was delivering the news, Wang Rong, who led his troops back to Hailar City, also wrote a memorial about Alitai's attitude and sent it to Beijing.

A month later, Zhu Gaoxu in the Wuying Hall received this memorial. Wang Rong believed that Alitai was unlikely to agree so honestly.

Based on his understanding of Alitai, if Alitai really wanted to agree, he would definitely raise the price instead of agreeing so readily. Therefore, Wang Rong hoped to send more troops and horses to Hailar City to prevent the Tartars from attacking. Tatar sneak attack.

"Although Wang Rong is not as good as Wang Yi, he still has many good insights. He is right. Alitai will definitely not hand over half of the Mobei grassland so honestly."

In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Gaoxu took Wang Rong's memorial and communicated with Yi Shiha. Yi Shiha nodded and said:

"The prince is still in Hailar City. If Hailar City is in danger, should he be transferred to another place?"

"No need," Zhu Gaoxu vetoed, "Not to mention that Alitai's strength has not yet recovered, so it is impossible for him to attack Haila'er City immediately. Just saying that he does it alone seems to be alone, which is obviously impossible."

"If he really wants to take action, he will definitely join forces with Taiping, Ba Tupolo, and even Mahamu."

"The transmission of news in Mobei is too slow. It is estimated that we will receive some news in two months."

"As for Zhan He, I really don't trust him to leave him in Hailar City, but Hailar City is the place he chose to guard the border. Since he has decided to go, he will guard the border there for a full year."

"Even if a war does break out, he must go up and kill the enemy for me, instead of just staying behind in fear."

Even though Zhu Gaoxu said this, if war really broke out in Hailaer, he would definitely send additional reinforcements and Xichang manpower to protect Zhu Zhanhe.

"Alitai wants to buy time, and the court also needs time."

"The distance to build a railway from Hechengwei to Hailar City is 660 miles, but part of it is a river valley. We have to wait for the Ministry of Industry to submit documents to know how long it will take."

"But before that, you send an order to Huang Fu and ask him to immediately start building the railway from Hecheng to Zhenluwei."

"This section of railway is only over 200 miles long and covers plains. It can be built in a year and a half at most."

"After this section of road is built, the remaining 300-mile Third Road and the more than 100-mile Mobei Plain will be repaired and built."

"If there are not enough workers, we can recruit them from Liaodong and Bohai at high wages. Anyway, I want to see this railway open to traffic by the end of next year."

Zhu Gaoxu was resolutely prepared to build this railway, and he had no doubts about whether the Ministry of Industry could build this railway.

If he remembered correctly, the railway from Hecheng to Kuoluanhaizi was a certain section of the China Eastern Railway. Construction of this section of railway began in the late Qing Dynasty, and it only took six years to complete the 2,400-kilometer stretch.

Today, the Ming Dynasty only built 660 miles of it. Although the technology is not as good as that of later Russians, these 600 miles of railway will not consume too much time.

It took five years to complete the entire line, which was the time set by Zhu Gaoxu. This was nearly three years longer than the time it took later Russians to build this section.

"Your Majesty, do you want to tell the Emperor about this?"

Yishiha asked Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu thought for a moment after hearing the words. After thinking about it, he nodded and said: "Tell the news to the Supreme Emperor and tell him that the Northern Expedition will start in five years at most, and let him take good care of himself."

"The slave takes the order" Yi Shiha heard the words and agreed, and immediately sent people to the Daming Palace to reveal all the possible collusion between the Northern Expedition and the Tatars and Oara.

Zhu Di was naturally happy after hearing this. He was not worried about the alliance between Oara and Tatar. He even hoped that the alliance would be stable enough so that he could complete his victory in one battle.

Similarly, Zhu Di was also very excited when facing the upcoming construction of the Mobei Railway.

If the railway from Hecheng to Hailar City is built, plus the two railways from Beijing to Songyuan and from Nanjing to Beijing, the loss of material transportation from Central Plains to Mobei will be astonishingly low.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di excitedly started hunting in the hunting grounds of Daming Palace.

While he was excited, Taiping and Batu Polo in Mobei received news from Alitai's envoy.

Although they did not believe in the existence of railways, they still expressed their hope that the Ming army would not build the city until it suddenly became cold.

After all, if the Ming army really built the city until the temperature dropped, they would only need to place 20,000 cavalry in the city, and they would have to make a living under the eyes of the Ming army. This was not the life they wanted.

In a place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, doing business with the Ming Dynasty by virtue of their mutual trade qualifications, and then continuously developing and strengthening their own strength, this is the life they want.

Taiping and Batu Polo thought so, let alone Mahamu.

In mid-June, Alitai's envoy passed through the mountains in the northern part of Mobei and met the herdsmen of Choros tribe here.

With the introduction of the herdsmen, they successfully crossed the hills and came to the forestland of Penlanzhou.

Penlanzhou, this is the boundary known as Lingbei by the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The Jian River (Yenisei River) and the Sayan River (Abakan River) meet here. Although there are thousands of miles of plains in the area, it is covered by forests.

Even in June, the local temperature is slightly chilly.

It has been several years since the Mahamu fled here. They took root here, cut down a large amount of wood, and turned these forestlands into pastures.

There are dense swamps here, and there are not many places suitable for survival. It also has to face the intrusion of heavy snow every year.

Therefore, after the Chorus tribe came here, some of the weak, old and weak people died of illness there.

The Chorus tribe, which lacked grain, struggled to cultivate more than a thousand acres of land here. However, due to the cold climate, the yield per mu of local land was extremely low. One thousand acres of land could only satisfy the appetites of a hundred nobles. , ordinary herdsmen can only continue to eat sour dairy products.

"Is what you say true?"

In the big tent, Mahamu's face looked much older, and Tuo Huan beside him was also taller and had a goatee.

"It is indeed true. The Ming army had a vehicle that could travel without horses. This vehicle could carry hundreds of cattle from Penlanzhou to Chenghai in one day."

"It is precisely because of this that they are planning to build a road for cars to travel from the upper reaches of the Wenwen River. Kuoluanhaizi is just the beginning. Their real purpose is to build a road that reaches Hulanhuwenwen, and even the former Helin ”

The Tatar envoy respectfully told the information he had and continued:
"Taiping and Batu Polo have agreed to join us, and are even willing to invite your tribe to live in Waila."

"The reason why they can't let you go back to your original place is that they are worried that the Ming army will notice and ruin the final plan."

After the messenger finished what he said, Mahamu said: "Why should I trust you? You must know that you were still the hunting dogs of the Han people last year."

"Because we are all eagles on the grassland, descendants of Genghis Khan!" the Tatar envoy responded, but Mahamu sneered at the latter sentence.

If he hadn't considered that Penlanzhou was indeed not a place for humans, he would have even considered killing this guy.

"You go down first, we need to discuss it."

Mahamu signaled the envoy to step back. The envoy also knew that such matters should not be rushed, so he bowed and left the tent.

After he left, Mahamu glanced at the nobles, and finally focused on his son's body:

"Tuhuan, do you think we should go?"

"You can send people to the south to station herds first. If no one attacks us, we can then move south." Tuohuan said without thinking:
"Penlanzhou is not suitable for survival. This is a good opportunity for us to return to Mobei."

"If Alitai's words are true, then we must unite and crush the Ming army's ideas first, otherwise we will never be able to return to Mobei!"

Having sex can suppress his temper and hatred, which is what Mahamu is most satisfied with. After all, even he can't completely let go of his hatred.

Seeing everyone saying this, Mahamu also glanced at the other nobles.

"First return to Mobei and defeat the Ming army. Then we will settle accounts with Taiping, Tupolo and Alitai!"

(End of this chapter)