The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 381 Squid Slaughter Order

Timur's Infantry Corps, which had already lost all morale, decisively chose to surrender after learning that their superiors had abandoned them.

Just when Zhu Chong gave the order to count the surrendered soldiers, the white-robed princes from Asia Minor showed up happily.

The war happened on this land, and they received the news first.

They were naturally very happy about this result. This time they finally found the right boss and their safety was guaranteed. From now on they could just sit back and enjoy their lives.

In his joy, he immediately gathered an army of more than 10,000 people.

One is to show loyalty, and the other is to see if they can get some spoils.

Then Zhu Chong handed over the 60,000 prisoners to them for custody.

He also instructed them to guard Timur's subordinates and the people of the Aries separately.

After resting for a day, he led his army to the Aries Kingdom again.

King Osman the Aquarius still wanted to fight to the death, but he had lost all his elite troops and could not mobilize much manpower.

In addition, with the help of the Persians from inside and outside, they did not cause much hindrance to the Qin army.

A large area of ​​territory was occupied and the Aries Kingdom was on the verge of destruction.

The result of the battle between Zhu Chong and Timur has also spread.

The entire Western world was shocked and thought it was a joke from the gods.

Timur was invincible in Anxi and was the undisputed regional overlord.

Despite their absolute superiority in military force, they were actually crushed by an outsider.

It's really a crushing defeat.

The hundred thousand strong army was completely wiped out, and only five hundred personal guards escaped with him.

The total number of troops lost by Qin was less than 4,000.

After the battle, there was still enough energy to destroy the Aries Kingdom.

This ability is truly awe-inspiring.

Then everyone thought of the Ming Dynasty behind him.

If a prince has such powerful strength, how strong is the overall strength of the Ming Dynasty?

A huge empire with a population of more than 60 million and most of the world's wealth.

It's really terrifying.

The surrounding forces all put away their little thoughts.

Even if you get a small advantage by chance, what can you do? Who can resist the revenge of the Ming Dynasty?

Besides, there is no guarantee that he can gain the upper hand over Zhu Chong.

Since we can't be enemies, let's find a way to make friends.

As a result, various forces sent envoys to meet Zhu Chong and express their willingness to live in friendship.

Zhu Chong was not stupid, he gave such verbal assurances without paying any money.

The Qin State's annexation of the Aries State was like a snake swallowing an elephant.

It takes a long time to digest, and during this time there is no ability to expand around.

Since everyone wants to live in peace, it just happens to suit his wishes.

What, you want to sign a peace agreement with me?

I'm sorry, I am a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Such a big thing needs the approval of the Ming Dynasty court.

The surrounding forces knew that he was deliberately shirking responsibility, but they could do nothing about it.

Different from the lively scene on the Qin side, the atmosphere on Timur's side seemed solemn and grim.

The Timurid Empire was large in area and had a large population.

But many tribes were forcibly annexed by him and did not truly submit.

When he was strong, those people were intimidated by his prestige and dared not rebel.

Now that he had returned in defeat and his personal prestige had been shaken, those tribes naturally began to stir.

But this was not the most deadly threat. The real threat came from the Golden Horde in the north.

It took him five years to oust the hostile Khan of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh, and replace him with a puppet who was close to him.

However, when he was fighting against Zhu Chong, Toghto Mishi took the opportunity to restore the throne and was determined to take revenge.

Before anyone knew it, the once powerful Timurid Empire was faced with internal and external troubles.

Timur had originally thought of sending troops to support King Aries, but now he had to give up this plan.

In order to fight against foreign aggression, one must first stabilize the internal situation. He had to clean up the internal situation first and then deal with Toghto Mishike's attack.

As for King Aries... he's on his own.

He naturally knew that if he allowed the Qin State to gain a foothold, it would be much more difficult to destroy it in the future.

But now I can’t care about that much anymore.

The Qin State swallowed the larger one with its small size, and it would take several years to digest it. Qin had to take advantage of this time to eliminate enemies from other directions.

Then he concentrated his strength and fought a decisive battle with Zhu Chong.

The plan was set, and he did not hesitate. He immediately ordered the troops on the western battlefield to withdraw and focus on defense.

Heavy troops were deployed on the northern border to prevent Tuotuo from getting lost.

After doing all this, he began to clean up the inside.

To prepare for the next northern expedition to the Golden Horde.
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Zhu Chong was also not idle. It only took him two months to reach the capital of the Aries Kingdom.

The reason why it was so successful was also thanks to the help of the Arabs and Persians.

Although the Arabs are not very capable in fighting, they have no problem maintaining public order.

After the Qin army captured the city, they temporarily handed it over to them for safekeeping.

Of course, it was not for nothing. Zhu Chong promised them a lot of shares in the resale of Ming Dynasty products.

If these goods are taken to the West and resold, the profit can be ten times that.

They were naturally happy to help.

As for the Persians, they naturally had to make great efforts to restore their country.

As mentioned earlier, although they did not have their own country, they had always played the role of administrators and religious scholars in Anxi.

The status is quite high.

His network of relationships is also complicated and he can talk to anyone.

They pacified the tribes in Aries and the effect was very good.

They also persuaded a large number of Turkmen nobles and civilians to surrender.

For example, the tens of thousands of Aries soldiers who were captured before were quickly transformed into security forces under the persuasion of the Persians.

Help Qin stabilize the local situation.

In this land, it is not just the Arabs who have no concept of nation, most ethnic groups do not have either.

They only have the most basic beliefs and live by following the tribal leader.

It doesn’t matter to them who becomes the leader, as long as they can ensure the safety of their own property.

The strength of Qin State can actually protect them better.

Of course, Zhu Chong would not easily turn his back to a group of strangers.

Another reason for asking the Arabs for help was to keep the Persians in check.

This was also his original plan.

And things turned out exactly as he had imagined, the Arabs and Persians really got tired of each other.

It's not because of historical reasons or beliefs, but because of interests.

In the eyes of the Arabs, the sudden surrender of the Persians was an attempt to win favor.

You little bitches, bah, shameless.

In the eyes of the Persians, the Arabs came to plunder money.

Zhu Chong handed over part of the city to the Arabs for custody, and they would naturally plunder it.

The Persians will definitely not be happy because all you have stolen is the money that originally belonged to us.

The two sides have been arguing over this matter.

However, both sides were relatively restrained and did not let the conflict delay Zhu Chong's important affairs.

It was with their help that Qin became invincible in military affairs and quickly turned its civil affairs from chaos into order.

It only took two months to capture most of the territory of the Aries Kingdom.

The next target is Tabriz, the capital of the Aries Kingdom.

King Osman of Aries knew that he was no match for Zhu Chong, so he led his troops to abandon the city before the Qin army arrived.

Instead of heading east to join Timur, he headed north, aiming for northern Armenia and the Caucasus Mountains.

Although the conditions there are difficult, there is room for independent development.

If you go to Timur, the only outcome will be annexation.

As the saying goes, if you keep the green mountains, you will never be short of firewood. He can still distinguish between what is important and what is not.

Because of his voluntary surrender, Zhu Chong easily captured Tabriz, which also meant that the Aries Kingdom officially became a thing of the past.

Zhu Chong did not stop there, and continued his efforts to take over all the remaining land of the Aries Kingdom.

At this time, it was already the 4088th year in the lunar calendar, which was also the third year of Jianzhang.

Zhu Chong formally established the State of Qin, whose territory included Jile Island, Basil Island and the former territory of the Aries State.

Li Fang was appointed as prime minister, Xu Yingxu as general, Liu Yunniang as commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the rest were rewarded.

Liu Yunniang is Xinghong. Because of her great contributions, she felt she could hold her head high and finally restored her original name.

The so-called Xiuyiwei was just Jinyiwei with a different name. They held high positions and great power in the Qin State.

However, Zhu Chong did not establish a capital, but only set up Tabriz as a temporary capital.

This is also done to appease the Persians. I have no intention of occupying this place for a long time.

In the future, we will follow the agreement and hand this place over to you to build your country.

He also allocated a piece of land to the Persians in Armenia and Azerbaijan and granted them autonomy.

As expected, the Persians, who had been somewhat nervous, immediately calmed down.

Then he called on the Persians who had settled in various countries to come back and build their home together.

Seeing that there was hope for the restoration of their country, many Persians gathered together.

However, not all Persians are willing to come here.

As mentioned before, people here have little concept of national ethnicity and are more focused on following their interests and beliefs.

Some Persians are the same and don't really care about whether they are Persian or not.

Their family has lived there for dozens or hundreds of years and has long been integrated into the local community. How could they possibly give it up?

Then there is the aspect of faith.

The factions within Islam are very complex, with Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam being just the two largest.

Within the two major factions, there are many small factions.

Azasa was influenced by Chen Jingke and knew that in order to maintain the independence of his ethnic group, he had to distinguish himself from other ethnic groups in terms of faith. Therefore, after the establishment of the Persian Autonomous Region, he made Zaydi the mainstream faith of the local Persians.

Zaydi is a branch of Shia Islam, but its teachings are more moderate and tend to be Sunni.

It is a very small branch within Shia Islam with very few followers, which is very suitable for their needs.

But the consequence of his doing so was that many Persians were excluded.

Sometimes heretics are more hateful than pagans. How can they live together if they have different beliefs?

Compared to the Persians' entanglement, the Arabs were very comfortable.

After the establishment of the Aries Kingdom, they prepared to return to their territory with the looted property.

Then Zhu Chong invited some of them to stay and serve as middle-level officials to help govern the Aries Kingdom.

There is no other way. The Qin people are too few and they have to rely on external forces.

The Persians are still the main force he relies on, but he cannot rely entirely on the Persians.

It is most appropriate to introduce a competition mechanism.

The Arabs were very happy. It turned out that father Zhu Chong trusted me the most.

So they happily left a group of people to help.

This move further deepened the conflict between the Arabs and the Persians.

This laid the groundwork for future discord between the two countries.

In short, through a series of measures, Zhu Chong quickly exercised effective rule over the territory of the former Baiyang Kingdom.

The Qin State officially stepped onto the historical stage of Anxi.

Of course, Zhu Chong did not forget to write to the Ming Dynasty to ask for support.

You don’t need anything else, just find a way to get more people here.

There is a real shortage of people here.

At the same time, he also wrote down the situation in Anxi in detail and made bold predictions.

For the next few years, Timur will be unable to take care of other things.

It was the best time for the Ming Dynasty to eliminate the Chagatai Khanate and annex the Western Regions.

It is suggested that the third brother take action against the Chagatai Khanate as soon as possible.

If we miss this opportunity, we will face pressure from Timur.

Although he defeated Timur head-on, Zhu Chong did not underestimate the opponent at all.

Timur had real ability to be the overlord of Anxi for so many years.

The reason why he lost this battle was largely because he underestimated the enemy.

I believe that after this incident, he will pay more attention to the Ming Dynasty.

Although the Ming Dynasty is not afraid of him, there is no need to create difficulties for itself, right?

As for the national policy of recuperation...it is now the third year, and the country has recovered a certain amount of vitality.

Besides, it won’t take much effort to defeat those small scums in the Western Regions.

The Ming Dynasty could easily support this war.

By the time Zhu Gang completely occupied the Western Regions, his rule over the Qin State should have been consolidated.

When the time comes, the two brothers will attack from both sides, and no matter how powerful Timur is, he will only be slaughtered.

If the fourth brother can successfully take over India, it will be even better if the three brothers act together.

Then he also wrote a letter to Chen Jingke to discuss how to govern this place.

And write down some of your ideas and ask if they are feasible.

In terms of state governance, he also trusted Chen Jingke very much.

After sorting out these materials, which were more than an inch thick, he ordered someone to take them to the Ming Dynasty.

In case of any accidents on the way, he sent two copies separately to ensure that nothing went wrong.

After finishing these, he began to govern the country.

Although with the help of the Arabs and Persians, he achieved basic governance of the land.

However, there are many problems in the details.

First of all, this is a multi-tribal country.

There are Persians, Turkmen, Mongols, Turks, Kurds...

When there are many ethnic groups, management becomes difficult.

Each ethnic group has its own interests, and there are constant conflicts and disputes among them.

If these problems are not handled properly, the new Qin State will not be able to go far.

Faced with this problem, Zhu Chong’s approach was very direct and overbearing: expulsion.

He issued a decree that Qin would implement its own laws one month later.

At that time, no matter who you are or what your previous identity was, you must abide by this set of laws.

If you don't want to be restricted, move out of Qin within one month.

One month later, the Qin State will conduct an identity census and grant civilian status.

From then on, you are a Qin citizen when you live and a Qin ghost when you die.

Anyone who moves without permission again will be put to death.

Similarly, after the census, it would become very difficult for outsiders to join the Qin State and obtain identity.

People who are not Qin people will be treated differently in Qin.

It is not preferential treatment, but restriction of rights.

However, the last point was ignored by everyone. What are the benefits of having a Qin identity?

I couldn't tell at all.

On the contrary, it is you who restrict our migration that is the big problem.

As a result, many tribes living here stood up to oppose this matter.

Then, they were blocked by the Qin army.

All the high-ranking members of the tribe were killed, and the people were dispersed and settled in various settlements.

At this point, all opposition voices stopped.

Those who can accept this regulation have started to live an honest life.

Those who could not accept this change began to migrate.

They were originally worried that their migration would be obstructed or their property would be confiscated.

Unexpectedly, the Qin officials not only did not obstruct and persecute them, but even took the initiative to provide help.

They were allowed to take away everything they could.

The Qin State did not want a single penny from them.

This made many people feel uncomfortable.

What? Do you really want us to leave?
In fact, Zhu Chong really wanted them to leave.

"Those leaving now are from the stronger tribes."

"Their leaders prefer self-government and do not like the court to interfere in their internal affairs."

"Their presence will affect the central authority, so it's better if they leave."

"Those who are willing to stay are basically small tribes that are unable to fight against the central government. This is conducive to our management and implementation of our own laws."

"Besides, if they don't leave, where will the people who move here from Ming Dynasty live?"

The last sentence completely convinced all the officials of the Qin State.

Yeah, there are only so many good places to live here.

Once the place was occupied by foreigners, there was no way to accommodate the Ming people.

Forced resettlement will turn into a land grab and even lead to bloodshed.

Now that they are gone, the rest of the things are easier.

When the Ming people migrated here, they lived together with the remaining indigenous people.

It won't take many years to complete assimilation.

In response to Azasa's question, Zhu Chong gave a similar answer:

"More Persians will migrate here in the future. If they don't leave, where will the new immigrants be settled?"

In one sentence, Azasa and the Persians became supporters of this policy.

A month later, all the tribes that needed to move had left, and large tracts of fertile land became vacant.

This is very normal, as those who migrated are basically the larger tribes.

They are strong, so the places they live in are naturally more fertile.

Now they have all become blank areas, left to the Qin central government to arrange.

Zhu Chong sent people to check the household registration, and now there are still 470,000 people left.

Including the Han people brought from the Ming Dynasty, the total number was 540,000.

Afterwards, he established a three-level administrative system of prefecture, county, and township, and sent officials to govern.

When he came to Anxi, he brought a large number of scholars, enough to fill all the main positions.

This move greatly weakened the power of the tribal leaders.

However, those who did not move had already prepared themselves mentally, and although they had a lot of complaints, they did not object.

Then came various detailed legal measures.

For example, slavery was abolished and all civilians were equal.

For example, abolish miscellaneous taxes and poll taxes, and unify the collection of land taxes, commercial taxes, property taxes, etc.

As soon as the new tax law was promulgated, it aroused cheers from the people of Qin.

Ordinary people, who originally didn't care who ruled them, immediately became supporters of the Qin State.

After all, in this land, there are no fixed rules for collecting taxes, and it always depends on the wishes of the masters.

If a master marries his 100th concubine, it can be used as a reason for taxation.

The Qin State had clearly defined tax laws, so there was no need to worry about the masters causing trouble.

Although the payment ratio is not low, the overall taxation is still unprecedentedly light.

How could they not be happy?

Many forces that were originally waiting to see Qin make a fool of itself changed their faces after seeing the new tax law.

This is really a matter of life and death.

Then he immediately issued an order that no discussion of Qin's tax laws was allowed, otherwise it would be regarded as treason.

After arranging all these things, Zhu Chong did something that no one expected.

He acted on his own will and issued the "squid slaughter order".

(End of this chapter)