Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 563 The Saint Arrives
"The Ming army has 30,000 soldiers, and the railway has been built to our doorstep."

“It is not wise to fight them in Turpan.”

"I know, but I have to try it anyway!"

On the second day of April, as the Ming army continued to increase its troops, Yesenbuhua and Yunusi of Turpan were discussing how to fight the enemy in Turpan City.

Yesenbuhua knew how powerful the Ming army was and did not want to fight them in Turpan because the city walls of Turpan could not withstand the Ming army's artillery, but Yunusi wanted to test the Ming army.

"You have already tested us enough. More than 400 of the 3,000 cavalrymen we sent out half a month ago died. Isn't that enough?"

Yesenbuhua suppressed his temper, but Yunusi had his own plans.

Standing in a corner of the palace, a minister of halal clothing in his forties looked at the two of them without saying a word.

His name was Timur Bukabek. He was a powerful official in the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He was responsible for examining the two men and choosing one of them to ascend the throne.

The two brothers are not much different in age, Yunusi is eighteen years old and Yesenbuhua is seventeen years old.

It was undoubtedly foolish for the two of them to deal with the huge Ming Dynasty at their age, but the current Eastern Chagatai Khanate had no choice.

"Our city is strong and we don't have to worry about the Ming army attacking."

Yunusi maintained his opinion and stamped his feet to indicate the solidity of the city beneath his feet.

The city they were in was the ancient city of Gaochang. The fact that this city had stood for more than 1,500 years was enough to show how solid it was.

Turpan City is divided into outer city, inner city and palace city. The outer city has a circumference of nine miles and covers an area of ​​more than 3,000 acres. The base of the city wall is four zhang wide, thirty zhang and eight chi high, and three zhang thick. The internal and external architectural types are very similar to the shape and layout structure of Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

The city walls were built of solid loess using a method known as "dry-rammed earth".

This method is to build a layer of about three inches each, sprinkle salt water on each layer, place saxaul and tamarisk, and then pound it with a wooden hammer, building it upwards little by little.

A city built in this way would take a long time of continuous bombing day and night before it could be destroyed even by the Huihui cannons of the former Mongolian Empire.

In addition, the city has a total of nine large iron gates, three in the south, two each in the east, west and north, each with a winding city wall built in it.

But in terms of city construction, this city is still a well-known fortified city in the Western Regions even in this era.

In addition to city construction, the location chosen is also particularly important.

Turpan City is surrounded by mountains on all sides and has a low-lying terrain. It is surrounded by city walls, arched gates, as well as urn cities, battlements, and corner towers.

There are rivers and pastures outside the city, enough for tens of thousands of herdsmen to graze and make a living.

It is because of this that tens of thousands of people live here, and this is also the reason why Yunusi does not want to give up this place.

If they wanted to give up, they could have done so before the beginning of autumn last year and relied on the cold and heavy snow to reach the oasis in southern Xinjiang, or to the Yilibali River Valley.

Since it has come to this, why should we run away?

"You are really crazy, have you never seen the artillery of the Ming army?"

Yesenbuhua looked at Yunusi in disbelief, but Yunusi snorted coldly: "Then let them use their artillery to defeat me!"

"You..." Yesenbuhua was about to say something when Bukabek, who had been watching for a long time, stood up.

"The Ming army rejected our request for peace and insisted on invading us, so we can only fight back."

"But before that, we need to relocate the population in Turpan City."

Due to the severe conflict between the two sons, the population of Turpan has not been relocated to this day.

"Transfer them to Tiemenguan (Bayinguoleng)!" Yesenbuhua wanted to transfer people to southern Xinjiang, which was closer to him.

"No, we should go to Lou Zengmu (Urumqi)!" Yunusi was fighting for it, but Yesenbuhua laughed at him:

"Lou Zengmu is only 600 miles away from here. If the Ming army can build a railway here, they can reach Lou Zengmu in two years."

"But Tiemenguan is different. The terrain there is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the oasis in the south is large enough to accommodate so many people."

"More importantly, it is more than 800 miles away from here, and it will take at least three years to reach there."

"Haha..." Yu Nusi sneered when he heard this:

"If we can't win, then there's no difference between moving to Lou Zengmu and Tiemenguan."

"If we move to Lou Zengmu, we can still seek refuge in Hezhong from the northern border, but if we go to the southern border, we will have no way to break through Shaharu's encirclement."

What Yunusi said was not wrong. The Timurid Khanate and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate had been at war for so many years. Kashgar was previously occupied by Timur, and it was not easy to take it back.

If they fled to southern Xinjiang and the Ming army continued to pursue them, they would have nowhere to escape and would be seeking their own death.

On the contrary, if they fled to the northern border, they could not only rely on the Jinshan Mountains to block the Ming army in Mobei, but also flee to the northwest to the northern part of Hezhong.

In addition, the Kazakhs were on good terms with them, and after going to the grasslands north of the river, they could join forces to deal with other tribes so that they would not die.

However, he only said this now, which made Yesenbuhua look unhappy.

If he really fled westwards as he said, what would happen to his troops in southern Xinjiang?
The conflict between the two escalated to a new level, and what Yunusi said afterwards was no longer listened to by Yesenbuhua.

A gap was created between the two men, and compared to them, the Ming army at this moment relied on the advancing railway and enjoyed the supplies transported from the rear.

Less than a hundred miles away from Turpan City, 30,000 Ming army regular soldiers, 40,000 auxiliary soldiers, and 30,000 civilian laborers who were building the railway were having a meal.

The temporary camps surrounded by chevaux de frise were scattered all over the place and divided into twelve camps of different sizes.

The civilians who were building the railway were in the center, with the auxiliary troops' camps on both sides of the railway, and more than ten miles in front of the railway was the territory of the regular troops.

At this moment, the regular soldiers in the barracks were wearing mandarin duck battle jackets, taking out the low stools from the tent and sitting on them, eating from large wooden bowls that were big enough for their faces and two inches deep.

The cooking was done in units of 100 households, and each household sent a small group of people to the rear to fetch supplies. After bringing the supplies back, they built stoves and started cooking.

Gao Heng was a new soldier who had been in the army for less than two years. He never thought that he would be able to fight on the battlefield in his lifetime.

It's not just him, most people in the military camp are like this.

Speaking of which, the Ming army has not fought in the north for many years. Although the soldiers of the Six Military Governor's Office have been rotated, only a few can fight in the north.

At this moment, Gao Heng was standing in line, holding his own bowl and chopsticks.

When it was finally his turn in the line, he drooled at the mere sight of it.

Lamb stewed with white radish, a dish of pork and cabbage stir-fry, and a big bucket of fragrant white rice, this is their lunch today.

“So rich!”

Gao Heng couldn't help but speak, and standing here serving rice and food to the soldiers were their centurions and general flag officers.

Seeing his soldiers saying this, the centurion officer in his thirties laughed and said:
"These sheep were transported from Suzhou. Each hundred households will receive three sheep. Half of them will be in the pot, and the other half will be kept in the tent. We will continue to eat mutton in the evening... Come!"

As the centurion spoke, he poured a large spoonful of mutton stewed with white radish into Gao Heng's bowl.

The cabbage introduced from the Mediterranean to the Ming Dynasty was fragrant after being mixed with pork and stir-fried with heavy oil and salt. This was the best meal Gao Heng had ever had in his two years of military service.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the food is bad on weekdays, but compared to usual, the food is very good.

Nowadays, the daily meals of the regular soldiers of the Ming Dynasty consist of steamed buns and eggs in the morning, one meat dish and one vegetable dish at noon, and two vegetarian dishes in the evening.

Even so, the army's annual food expenses reached more than two million strings of cash.

And this is because there are more land than people at present. If technology is not developed, then as the population of the Ming Dynasty continues to increase and grain production cannot be improved, the standards will definitely be lowered.

Of course, this is impossible, because the Ming Dynasty has their own Emperor Hongxi...

Holding his bowl and chopsticks, Gao Heng grinned and started eating with big mouthfuls.

If the food for the regular soldiers is like this, then the food for the auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers will naturally not be bad either.

Although the auxiliary soldiers did not have mutton to eat today, they still had fried eggs and cabbage.

As for the common people, a plate of fried cabbage and fragrant rice, with plenty of oil and salt, is enough to make them feel greasy all over.

This kind of treatment is already the best food that regular soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, and civilian laborers have been able to eat in the past few thousand years.

But this is just the beginning. The army and civilians of the Ming Dynasty will eat even better in the future.

"OK……"

With a sigh, Zhu Neng put down the telescope, and Chen Mao beside him handed him a wooden bowl.

The bowl contained most of white rice, stewed mutton with white radish, and pork with cabbage, the same as what the soldiers ate.

Zhu Neng did not despise it, but took it and sighed:
"Think about the past. Not too long ago, just ten years ago, how could we dare to say that we could eat white rice, fresh vegetables, pork and mutton on the front line?"

"Yes." Chen Mao also sighed: "They eat some military rations that have been repeatedly steamed and dried in the sun, and some dried vegetables soaked in hot water. There is no meat at all."

"Those generals can eat better, but they only eat some mutton and some wild vegetables fried with mutton fat."

"But what about us now?" Chen Mao smiled and said, "You don't even know. Just now I asked if I could make a Nanjing roast goose. Guess what the guy in charge of military supplies said?"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Neng was also curious. You know, geese were still a luxury even during the Hongxi period, and a goose was worth at least four hundred coins.

"The guy in charge of military supplies said that as long as there is someone in the army who can make roast goose, he can immediately pull a trainload of geese over from the back, as long as I am willing to approve it."

Chen Mao laughed heartily and said, "If I dare to approve the note, after the war, Wang Hui from the Ministry of Revenue will definitely come to me and glare at me!"

"That's right!" Zhu Neng also laughed. After all, a train of geese would cost at least four or five hundred strings of cash.

Four or five hundred strings of cash, based on the prices in Gansu during the Hongxi period, could buy at least 30,000 kilograms of mutton, enough for each soldier to have 300 to 400 kilograms.

"After the train is opened, the prices of meat, vegetables and grains will be cheaper, among other things."

While eating, Zhu Neng discussed with Chen Mao: "When I was in the capital before, local pork was 14 wen per jin, mutton was 13 wen per jin, foreign pork and beef were 12 wen per jin, and rice was 2 wen per jin."

"I came to Gansu for training. I thought Gansu wouldn't be that cheap. But the prices are only two or three cents more expensive per pound than in the capital. Rice is only three cents per pound."

"The wages are getting higher and higher, but the prices of rice, meat, wine and food are getting cheaper and cheaper. Tell me what's going on."

Zhu Neng asked with a smile, and Chen Mao shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

The two of them sighed at the improvement in the world, and felt that they had been in the army for too long, and they hardly recognized the place when they suddenly returned.

Things that ordinary people take for granted seem so incredible to them.

The two men finished their lunch with a smile, and when they returned to the barracks, they sent today's military information to Hami.

Although the distance was 400 miles, if you were well prepared, you could still send the message quickly. If you sent it slowly, it would take about nine hours to send it along with the goods.

If it is sent faster and only the locomotive is used to pull the coal and water cars, it can reach Hami, 400 miles away, in about three hours.

"It's still 40,000, but the number of Tangqi in the southeast has been reduced to three teams, with more than a hundred people in each team."

The next morning in the Hami Palace, Zhu Di took the military intelligence brought by Zhu Neng and others, and ordered Zhu Qiyue to move the wooden sculptures of various armies on the sand table placed in the main hall.

Zhu Di made a copy of the Western Regions geographical sand table that Zhu Gaoxu gave to Zhu Neng and others in the main hall of his own palace. This sand table clearly showed the entire Western Regions, including the terrain of the Central Plains, in front of the grandfather and grandson.

The Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and the Tianshan Mountains that divide the entire Western Region into three parts from north to south.

The Ili River Valley, which is rich in water and grass, extends outward, the river flows into the center, and in the center of the river is a dry desert.

Of course, the Pamir Plateau is the most noteworthy part of this sand table.

"It seems that as long as we take Turpan and Tiemenguan, southern Xinjiang will be trapped."

Zhu Qiyue listened to Zhu Di's words while his eyes kept moving back and forth on the sand table.

Although he was only fourteen years old, the years he spent studying with Zhu Di were not in vain.

Now it can be said that he has a fire in his chest, which is the fire of theoretical knowledge accumulated to the extreme and the eagerness to go to the battlefield to practice.

It’s a pity that Zhu Di didn’t say anything, so he could only continue to learn theoretical knowledge here.

"Grandpa, these Western barbarians will not be like the Northern barbarians. They will just run away when the war gets bad, right?"

Zhu Qiyue asked, but Zhu Di put his hands on his hips and chuckled, "Boy, fighting now is different from before. You can't follow the rules."

Zhu Di walked forward slowly, picked up the stick from the table and spoke directly:

"As long as the imperial court builds a railway directly to Lou Zengmu in the north, then goes all the way west to Pala (Bortala), and builds a railway northward around the Tianshan Mountains to the Yilibali River Valley in the south, it will be able to completely control the areas with abundant water and grass in the northern border."

"Your grandfather told me before that this distance is about 2,600 miles."

"As long as we control the Yilibali River Valley, the imperial court can support 50,000 troops in the Western Regions with water pumps and coal."

"By then, do you think they will dare to come back to the Western Regions..."

Zhu Di was full of confidence, and Zhu Qiyue also understood: "With the railway, the court's supplies can be transported to the front line, and nothing can stop the court's military presence."

"You are a teachable kid." Zhu Di nodded and said, "The 2,400-mile railway only reaches the river valley. Given the terrain of the Western Region, we need to build several railways to control it."

"Your grandfather has the ability to identify mineral deposits by looking at mountains. He will definitely not let go of any place with mineral deposits. He once said that he would build three railways in the Western Regions, one to the north, one to the south, and one to the west."

"I remember it was 1,800 miles to the north, to the northern foot of Jinshan Mountain. To the south, it was Shule during the Han and Tang Dynasties, and then to Khotan, which was at least 3,000 miles."

"This is going west. I remember it was built to the east of Talas, which is also about three thousand miles."

"Three railways, 7,800 miles..."

Zhu Di showed pride. Although he did not accomplish this, he was fortunate enough to see it.

"Once these three railways are completed, the territory of our Ming Dynasty in the northwest will truly surpass that of the Han and Tang dynasties."

"But great grandfather, if we destroy Yilibali, won't we be connected to Yuejibie and Timur?"

As soon as Zhu Di finished speaking, Zhu Qiyue asked, "Will this cause dissatisfaction among these countries?"

"Dissatisfied..." Zhu Di didn't care: "Boy, don't be afraid of their dissatisfaction. The barbarians fear power and cherish virtue. Only power can virtuous them."

"The imperial court has 30,000 troops stationed in the Yilibali River Valley. This is the greatest power, and it is the only way to make these barbarians feel honored."

"If they don't cause trouble and honestly serve as subjects of the Ming Dynasty, then there will naturally be peace."

"If they have thoughts that they shouldn't have, they must be dealt with severely."

"Remember, there is not a single spineless man in the Zhu family!"

After Zhu Di finished speaking, Zhu Qiyue immediately responded loudly: "I remember it!"

"Hey...you can keep your voice down." Zhu Di was worried that Xia Yuanji would come, but his worry was obviously unnecessary.

Not only did Xia Yuanji not come, he was not even in Hami city.

"Woo-"

Four miles north of Hami City, as train whistles sounded in batches, merchants outside the Hami Railway Station hurried over.

However, what was shipped to Hami in batches this time were not goods, but real soldiers with real guns and ammunition.

Carts of soldiers and horses arrived in Hami one after another from early morning and surrounded the Hami Station.

From that atmosphere, anyone who was not blind could feel that a big shot had come to Hami City.

Xia Yuanji sat in the waiting hall with red and swollen eyes, watching the soldiers walk out in groups and go to receive the military horses, his eyes never leaving the entrance.

Soon, the news here was sent to the palace.

"You said there are elite troops coming to Hami?"

Zhu Di was surprised when he saw the officer who came to report the news, and looked at Zhu Qiyue.

"I don't know either. Duke Chengguo didn't say that the court would continue to send reinforcements."

Zhu Qiyue stroked his numb scalp, and Zhu Di stroked his beard when he heard this: "Didn't you raise the flag?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, no." The officer reported respectfully. Zhu Di could only respond by saying, "Investigate again to see who is making such a big show."

"Yes!" After responding, the thousand-household official left the palace.

Time passed little by little, as more and more soldiers went down the battlefield, before the captain who came to investigate could leave, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"It has been decreed that this news must not be spread outside."

"who!"

The captain was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't even feel anyone approaching him.

In an instant, the captain and several soldiers beside him turned around and put their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Because they were frightened, they haven't reacted to what was just said.

At that moment, more than a dozen military officers wearing Western Factory robes appeared in front of them: "Western Factory Captain, I have an order. No one here is allowed to move without permission!"

He showed the token of the Western Factory, which made the thousand-household official of Yanshan Guard suddenly at a loss as to what to do.

"Beep--"

But before he could do anything, a shrill whistle suddenly sounded at Hami Station, and the soldiers around them were suddenly on martial law.

"No way……"

Seeing this situation, the officer broke out in a sweat, and Xia Yuanji, who was sitting in the waiting room, stood up tremblingly, leaning on his wooden stick.

"Woo-"

The shrill whistle sounded again, and this time a special-shaped train was approaching from the east.

As the train stopped, a tall figure walked down from the train, then walked out of the platform and into the waiting hall.

"His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

Xia Yuanji shouted as if he saw his relatives, but was soon drowned out by the voices of the Jilin Guard soldiers around him.

Zhu Gaoxu was wearing a plain green round-necked robe, and there was no jade belt tied around his waist, just an ordinary plain green thin rope.

Instead of wearing the Wingsun crown, he simply put his hair up and wore a silver crown.

He walked over step by step, followed by Hu Ji and Liu Mian.

"Thin……"

Standing in front of Xia Yuanji, Zhu Gaoxu looked down at Xia Yuanji and gave this slightly apologetic comment.

"I failed in my duty and caused the Emperor to be seriously ill for several months. Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Xia Yuanji let go of his cane, knelt down tremblingly and prepared to kowtow.

"Don't worry, you may not really be sick."

Zhu Gaoxu gradually calmed down on the way here, because he suddenly felt that Zhu Di could not be seriously ill, otherwise he would definitely send someone to send him the news as soon as possible.

Moreover, if he was really seriously ill, he would have summoned the imperial medical team in Beijing instead of waiting for Xia Yuanji to report on the matter before he knew about it.

After calming down, all that was left was resentment and anger rising to the sky.

After all, when he calmed down and thought it through, he had already arrived in Liangzhou, and going back was impossible.

It would be better to take this opportunity to bring these two ancestors, Zhu Di and Zhu Qiyue, back to Beijing.

"Hu Ji, ask clearly!"

Zhu Gaoxu spoke majestically, and Hu Ji immediately stepped forward, helped Xia Yuanji up, handed him the cane, and walked in front of the Qianhu official of Yanshan Guard with a cold face.

The captain of Yanshan Guard was so frightened at this time that he did not expect the emperor to appear here.

Emperor Hongxi, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the Mongolian Khan Bogda Chechen appeared before him, which made the Tatar official, a thousand-household official, sweat profusely.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."

The Qianhu official knelt down in sweat, but Hu Ji stepped forward and asked coldly, "What's going on with the Emperor?"

"The Emperor... The Emperor..."

The thousand-householder official stammered for a long time and couldn't utter a complete sentence. If someone else came to ask him, even if it was the Duke or the Prince's men, he would dare to make up a few nonsense words. But facing the tall figure standing behind Hu Ji, he dared not tell a single lie.

"The Emperor...is not ill..."

(End of this chapter)