Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 570: Political Discussions on the City Wall
"Great victory in Anxi!"

"Great victory in Anxi!"

On April 20th, when several Tang riders who had hurriedly got off the train jumped on their horses and carried urgent supplies, they entered the capital from Andingmen in the north. They held the reins tightly in one hand and held a fluttering flag with the word "朙" in the other and ran and shouted towards Andingmen Street.

"Anxi?"

"Where is Anxi?"

"I told you to study hard in class but you didn't listen, Anxi didn't even know!"

"Where's Anxi?"

"Anxi is the west..."

"nonsense!"

Since it was morning, students were all studying in school, and many people who left school early had forgotten what they learned in school. Therefore, even though the Tangqi shouted loudly, the people were confused by the word Anxi.

"Anxi doesn't know anymore..."

Some people who still remembered the knowledge from textbooks looked at the people around them with disdain: "Anxi is the Western Regions, the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty, isn't it mentioned in the textbooks?"

"Anxi Protectorate?" After being reminded, some people gradually remembered.

"I remember, I remember..."

"Then the victory at Anxi is not a great victory in the Western Regions? Did we fight our way to the Western Regions?"

"More than that, according to Tangqi, the Western Regions will probably be taken over!"

"Okay, okay!!"

After a period of time of public opinion fermentation in the streets and alleys, the people gradually understood where the so-called Anxi Victory took place.

At the same time, Zhu Zhanhe, who learned of the great victory in Anxi, also hurriedly summoned officials of the fourth rank and above to the Wuying Palace to discuss state affairs.

As the officials rushed to Wuying Palace, they all knew about the Anxi victory, but they were not particularly clear about how it happened.

The officials hurried to the Wuying Palace. When more than 500 officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing arrived at the Wuying Palace, two full hours had passed since the Tangqi entered Beijing.

It was noon, and Zhu Zhanhe, who was sitting in a high position, glanced at everyone with an unstoppable look of joy and pride on his face.

"I think you all know the reason why I summoned you to the court meeting."

Zhu Zhanhe was wearing a scarlet robe, a Yishan hat on his head, and had two upturned moustaches.

Just by putting his hands behind his back and raising his head to speak, he gives people a feeling of confidence, generosity and majesty.

Without waiting for the ministers to ask, he stood up and walked slowly back and forth, scanning the ministers.

"Your Majesty and the Emperor Retired personally led an expedition to Yilibali. Ten days ago, they besieged the Yilibali princes Yesenbuhua and Yunusi at the entrance of Mohecheng Gorge. More than 20,000 of the 40,000 Hu cavalry were killed, and the remaining 20,000 were all captured."

"Your Majesty has conferred the title of Marquis of Anxi on Yesenbuhua and the title of Marquis of Beiting on Yunusi. When you report the victory, have the Tangqi pass the message to me and set up three divisions in the Western Regions!"

As Zhu Zhanhe finished speaking, a map descended behind him.

This map was left behind by Zhu Gaoxu before he went to Hami, and it successfully divided southern Xinjiang, northern Xinjiang, and the Ili River Valley into three parts.

Since the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Mongolian regime in the northern desert, the entire Western Regions is much larger than that during the Han and Tang dynasties.

The entire Western Region, from the West Siberian Plain in the north to U-Tsang in the south.

The entire Ili River Valley plus the vast Gobi Desert extending to the east of Talas were all territories that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to take.

In terms of area alone, it probably exceeded two million square kilometers, which is more than 400,000 square kilometers larger than Xinjiang in later generations.

In addition, the current means of communication are relatively primitive, so there is no problem in dividing the Western Region into three parts for temporary management.

If Zhu Gaoxu only sought strong control, then it would be enough to directly set up the Three Offices of the Western Regions. If he sought actual control over the local area, it would be enough to set up Anxi and Beiting.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's pursuit was not just this. Anxi and Beiting were places for rest and recuperation, while the Hezhong Regional Command represented by the Ili River Valley would be the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty to conquer Hezhong in the future.

Zhu Zhanhe had talked with Zhu Gaoxu about the Western Regions, so he knew his father's thoughts very well. Therefore, after the ministers had read their opinions, he spoke directly:

"The area north of the Tianshan Mountains is the Northern Xinjiang, with the Beiting Military Region as its headquarters. The area south of the Tianshan Mountains is the Southern Xinjiang, with the Anxi Military Region as its headquarters."

"The Hezhong Dusi was set up in the Yilibali River Valley and the Yibohai to the Gobi Desert east of Talas City. The six ministries issued migration notices, and newspapers also published migration news."

"If anyone is willing to move his family to the Western Regions and settle down, he will be given 100 acres of farmland, which cannot be bought or sold."

"If it is for grazing, there will be a hundred acres of pasture and a hundred sheep!"

Zhu Zhanhe announced Zhu Gaoxu's immigration policy and said, "The six ministries should study it and change the local place names to my Chinese names."

"In addition, Your Majesty will use the railway to relocate hundreds of thousands of herdsmen from the Western Regions to Daning, and the six ministries must also be prepared for this."

After Zhu Zhanhe started talking, Wang Hui took the initiative to step forward and bowed, saying:
"Your Highness, I have something to report."

"Approved!" Zhu Zhanhe nodded, and Wang Hui continued:

"If this is the standard for migration, then the people who respond must be mainly herders, and most herders are Mongolians, so migration should be restricted to Han people."

Wang Hui was clear about the emperor's intentions. Just from the small Hezhongdusi on the map, he understood Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts.

It is for this reason that he suggested migrating mainly to Hankou because Hankou was the most stable place.

"allow!"

Zhu Zhanhe nodded. He naturally knew the benefits of doing so, but he could not say it actively. He had to say it as a subject.

"Your Highness, do the three governors of the Western Regions need to set up their own offices, waiting for the establishment of a provincial government and a judicial commissioner's office in the future?"

Lu Yu, the Minister of Personnel, stepped forward to salute, and Zhu Zhanhe also nodded:
"The six ministries will first dispatch 5,000 officials to the Western Regions to assist the army in relocating herders, and then choose places to establish prefectures and counties based on local conditions and whether they are suitable for agriculture."

"Your Highness." After hearing Zhu Zhanhe's arrangement, Lu Yu bowed and said:
"There are no idle officials in the court, and even among the common people, there are only about 700 candidates."

"If we need to deploy them, I'm afraid we can't gather 5,000 officials to go to the Western Regions right now. It will take at least three months..."

After Lu Yu finished speaking, Zhu Zhanhe frowned and said, "How come there aren't enough officials?"

"Your Highness, the country is promoting economic reforms, and nearly 10,000 officials and more than 120,000 clerks have been transferred. All the officials have been transferred."

After Lu Yu answered, Wang Hui came out and bowed, saying:
"Your Highness, many local factories have been mostly completed, and some officials can be transferred out."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanhe looked at the Minister of Works Huang Fu, who bowed and said, "Your Highness, we can transfer about 400 officials and 3,000 clerks."

"First, he will be transferred to the Western Regions. At the same time, the local newspapers and the six ministries will publish a notice that in August this year, the three departments in the Western Regions will hold a civil servant examination, and the location will be chosen in Turpan."

Zhu Zhanhe gave instructions to the six ministries and then announced the adjournment of the court.

While the court meeting was being held in Wuying Hall, the Ming army in the Western Regions began to take action.

On April 12, Zhu Yong led 3,000 cavalry and 2,000 cavalry and infantry to capture the two cities of Louzengmu and Changjijiao.

On April 15, with the arrival of 40,000 auxiliary troops and 110,000 civilian laborers escorting artillery and supplies from the rear, the Ming army divided into three routes and began to recover the Western Regions.

In the northern army, Zhu Neng led 8,000 cavalry, 10,000 auxiliary troops, and 30,000 civilians to attack Pala and Cape.

In addition, Zhu Yong led 3,000 cavalry, 10,000 auxiliary soldiers, and 10,000 civilian laborers to Yesul and Buluntohai, where the Wala troops were stationed in the past, to build a city to prevent Yueji and others from invading the grassland.

In the southern army, Chen Mao led 8,000 cavalry, 4,000 cavalry and infantry, 20,000 auxiliary troops, and 50,000 civilians to march towards Chalishi, Tiemenguan, and Kashgar.

The central army, led by Mao Zhong, led 5,000 cavalry and infantry and 20,000 civilians to cross the gorge and attack the Yilibali River Valley.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di recuperated in Lou Zengmu, waiting to capture the city ahead before moving westward.

Responsible for protecting them were the Yanshan and Jilin guards, totaling less than 7,000 people, as well as 2,000 Jinyiwei and Xichang strongmen.

While the army was advancing, Zhu Gaoxu took Zhu Di through Lou Zengmu City.

The shape of the Lou Zengmu Ancient City is similar to a rectangle, about one mile long from north to south, about three hundred steps wide from east to west, and about three miles and two hundred steps in circumference.

The city wall was built with rammed earth, two zhang high and three zhang thick. There were battlements on all four sides of the wall, with a spacing of about thirty steps.

The city is divided into three parts by three rammed earth walls, forming three sub-cities in the northeast, northwest and south, and there is a moat outside the city site.

The city had gates on the east, south and north sides, and had an urn built on them. Some of the sub-cities also had urn and corner towers.

The style of the entire city is more Islamic, with more than 1,200 houses of various sizes, but there are no residents in the city at the moment.

The people here were all dispatched by Zhu Gaoxu from Yanshan Guard and Jilin Guard, together with the herdsmen from Turpan, to the Hetao area to graze.

If it weren't for those herdsmen who gathered together, the population of the three cities of Turpan, Louzengmu and Changjijiao alone would probably not even reach 40,000.

Even if the herders are included, the population only barely reaches 70,000.

This situation is enough to illustrate how bad the environment in the Western Regions was at that time.

Zhu Gaoxu had been to the Western Regions in his previous life. He had taken a car from Hami to Lou Zengmu in his previous life.

This stretch of road has become desolate in later generations, but at least there are still many artificial forests to block the wind and sand.

However, in this era, the local environment was more desolate than in later generations, and there was a lot of sandstorms.

As time came to late April, rolling yellow sand swept down from the north.

At this moment, the sandstorm had just passed. Zhu Gaoxu took Zhu Di to the top of Lou Zengmu's city wall. Looking at the green land outside the city, he couldn't help sighing.

"Tens of thousands of people gathered for a few days and ate the grasslands here into white land. If there were no river passing through, I'm afraid this place would become a desert in a few years."

Zhu Gaoxu was quite touched, while Zhu Di stroked his beard and said, "I read in a book that Luntai was not a place with abundant water and grass during the Han and Tang dynasties. I didn't expect that Tingzhou, which was once lush with water and grass, has become a desert, while this place has been preserved."

"The Western Regions are indeed desolate enough. I wonder if the Yilibali Valley will be the same." Zhu Di was a little unsure. Not only him, but even Zhu Gaoxu, who had seen the Ili River Valley in later generations, couldn't help but worry.

"We'll know then. It shouldn't be damaged too badly."

Relying on the Ili River and being surrounded by mountains on three sides, I think it shouldn't be too bad.

As Zhu Gaoxu was thinking this, he saw several soldiers busy at the city gate tower.

As he and Zhu Di approached, several soldiers hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor..."

"Press your body, what are you doing?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked curiously, and they explained: "We are going to remove the name of the city of Lou Zengmu and replace it with Luntai County, the seat of Tingzhou."

"Okay, you guys go ahead and get busy." Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu felt mixed emotions.

Urumqi, which evolved from the place name Louzengmu, will disappear, and other place names such as Ili River Valley, Turpan, Hami, Chalishi, and Kashgar will also disappear.

They were replaced by ancient or new place names such as Tingzhou, Hezhong, Xizhou, Yizhou, Yanqi, and Shule.

What Zhu Gaoxu needed to do was to eliminate the traces left by other ethnic groups over the past 600 years.

In addition, the entire Western Region must change in terms of race and culture.

There will no longer be any Semites, Turks or Mongols, only Han people, or Huaxia.

This sounds difficult, but as long as the Ming Dynasty can carry out cultural transformation for dozens or hundreds of years, any ethnic group can be integrated into the Han people and the Chinese.

Of course, forget about the group in Kunlun Continent. Not to mention that Zhu Gaoxu himself was unhappy, even if he was happy, the people of the Ming Dynasty would not be happy.

What's more, the people in Kunlun Continent are in a situation where they cannot move westward and can only move southward.

Coupled with the operations of Japan, Korea, and Siam, Zhu Gaoxu could not guarantee what this place would become in the future.

But he had no choice but to find a way to solve the problem. The war among the vassal states could not happen around the Ming Dynasty. If it really had to happen, it had to happen with the permission of the Ming Dynasty.

At other times, they could solve the problem in Kunlun Continent. Zhu Gaoxu would not care even if they wiped out the population.

While thinking this, footsteps suddenly sounded on the road behind.

Zhu Di looked sideways and saw Hu Ji coming over with a military report and bowing: "Your Majesty, Supreme Emperor, the military report from the south has been delivered. Chalishi has been captured. The southern army and the central army are divided and marching towards Tiemenguan and Yilibali respectively."

"The speed is quite fast."

Zhu Di stroked his beard, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "The name of Tiemenguan will be retained, and Chalishi will be changed to Yanqi."

"Yes..." Hu Ji bowed in response, while Zhu Gaoxu looked at the scenery outside the city, wondering what he was thinking.

"By the second day of June, the railway will be able to reach Gaochang (Turpan). The six ministries should have sent people to survey the terrain and build the railway."

"It is estimated that a lot of manpower will be mobilized at the entrance of Mohecheng Gorge. After they arrive in Turpan, they will survey and build the road to the destination at the same time."

Zhu Gaoxu explained the railway matters, while Hu Ji stood beside him and listened carefully.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Di said, "We should just wait in Luntai until Zhu Neng conquers Pala before heading west?"

"Not really." Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said, "Once the six ministries send people to survey the railway route from Gaochang to Luntai, we can set off."

"It should be more than 300 miles, and it should be completed in a year." Zhu Di said, stroking his beard and saying:

"You are using the railway to deal with Yilibali. Once the news spreads, it will be much more difficult for the court to build a railway to Hezhong."

"Even if we repair it, Timur and the Cumans will probably be well prepared. It won't be as easy to deal with them next time."

"I never thought of using one method to solve all problems." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and said:

"There's news from the Imperial Academy that there's been some progress in gunpowder research. It's several times more powerful than the previous black powder, but it's still unstable at the moment."

"If it stabilizes, its power will probably be further increased."

"With this kind of gunpowder, whether it's building roads or equipping weapons, the power of the imperial court will be greatly improved."

Zhu Gaoxu didn’t know what kind of gunpowder the Imperial Academy had produced, but they said it was several times more powerful than black gunpowder.

We'll have to wait until he goes back to find out the details.

"New gunpowder?" Zhu Di's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up: "Can machine guns and tanks come out?"

"No..." Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly, and Zhu Di's eyes suddenly lost their luster.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help feeling a little regretful when he saw his appearance.

But I not only feel sorry for Zhu Di, I also feel sorry for myself.

He is already fifty-four years old, and being able to see a train in this lifetime is probably the highest level of technology that he and Daming can touch.

In the future, the Ming Dynasty could continue to make progress, but he did not live long enough to see the future.

If he could live to be a hundred years old with a clear mind, he would be confident that he could lead the Ming Dynasty through the first industrial revolution and into the second industrial revolution.

However, he could not live to be a hundred years old, because during this tour to the west, he had already felt that his body functions were declining.

The reason why he delegated power to Zhu Zhanhe was not only because he was busy writing books, but also because of some physical reasons.

Although he has maintained a light diet for a long time and his lifestyle has become more regular after the age of 40, some minor ailments have appeared as he gets older.

Sometimes he gets a headache when he doesn't get enough sleep, but it's not a very severe pain, but a chronic pain.

When the attack occurred, he felt as if his brain was placed in a glass jar, which kept colliding and causing dull pain as he shook his head.

It was not fatal, but it made Zhu Gaoxu irritable.

Although it was just a minor illness, Zhu Gaoxu was still worried about his health.

Historically, the eldest and the third child never lived past the age of fifty. Three of his five sisters were over fifty, but the other two were under forty.

There must be something wrong with the Xu family. Zhu Gaoxu was very sure of this because he received news from the Duke of Wei's Mansion before he set out.

Xu Zengshou's son Xu Jingchang fell ill and asked the imperial physician to treat him. Although the imperial physician did not find anything, he said that Xu Jingchang's pulse was weak and he was ill.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what to say.

"what are you thinking?"

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, Zhu Di curiously asked what Zhu Gaoxu was thinking.

Because he always had a lot of strange ideas, Zhu Di was often very curious.

In other words, the technology did not allow it, otherwise Zhu Di would have wanted to see what was in Zhu Gaoxu's head.

"I am wondering if my descendants have the ability to govern such a huge Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Gaoxu sighed, and Zhu Di was speechless and didn't know what to say.

He did have a good second son, but Zhu Gaoxu only had one good grandson.

Zhu Zhanhe is capable of maintaining the status quo, and with the assistance of Zhu Qiyue, there shouldn't be any problems.

But the problem is that history is good at playing jokes. If Zhu Zhanhe becomes confused in the future, the Ming Dynasty will be full of uncertainty.

Zhu Di sighed, put one hand on his waist and the other on the parapet, looking at the Tianshan Mountains in the distance.

"Why think so much? You've done a good job. At least when I go down to the world and see your grandfather, I can stand up straight and tell him about our achievements."

"Hmm?" Zhu Gaoxu looked at him when he heard that. It was unknown what he was thinking about, but a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"If you had gone down first, would anyone dare to say this to Grandpa?"

"..." Zhu Di was silent, feeling slightly embarrassed.

He looked at Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu also looked at him, and the two of them looked at each other.

The tacit understanding between father and son requires no words, just a glance and they can understand each other.

Zhu Di showed a bit of helplessness on his face, while Zhu Gaoxu chuckled.

After a few breaths, Zhu Di coughed and said, "Ahem, there is too much sand and wind on the city wall. Let's go back and rest first."

"Okay..." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled, shook his head and followed. Hu Ji stood where he was, looking at the backs of the father and son.

The wind and sand made the sunlight dim. It was clearly noon, but it felt like the sun was setting.

Gradually, the figures of the father and son disappeared in the dim environment, but Hu Ji was still looking in that direction.

Not long after, two figures appeared from that direction and walked towards this side. Hu Ji thought they were turning back, but he didn't expect to see two strong men from the Western Factory.

For some reason, Hu Ji felt a little lost.

He liked to follow the emperor and listen to his teachings, because he felt that what the emperor said had many profound meanings.

"Commander, what are you looking at here?"

The two strongmen who came forward looked around. Hu Ji smiled when he heard this, then shook his head: "Nothing."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked towards the direction where Zhu Di and his son disappeared, and gradually disappeared in the dim environment...

(End of this chapter)