The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 476: Troops Headed to Xizhou
At the end of the sixth year of Jianzhang, Zhu Gang once again ordered people to take inventory of his assets.

Hexi has a Han population of 680,000, which were migrated there by the imperial court through various means after he took office in Hexi.

It has a population of more than three million from other tribes, among which Tibetans, Mongols, Uighurs and others are the majority.

Most Tibetans fled here because they could not bear the rule of the aristocracy.

The Uighurs and other tribesmen from the Western Regions migrated here because of religious persecution from the Chagatai Khanate.

(Weiwuer is not a typo, it was indeed called this name back then.)
The Mongols were those left behind by the Seven Guards of Hexi, and some of them migrated here in recent years.

In recent years, more than 6 million mu of land have been reclaimed in Hexi and nearly 60 million mu of grassland have been built.

The largest of them, Shandan Horse Farm, covers an area of ​​more than 3 million acres and raises 50,000 horses.

It has become the largest horse farm in Ming Dynasty.

This is the result of the imperial court's requirement to carry out greening and restrict development in some areas. Otherwise, there would be more farmland and grassland.

It can be said that after seven or eight years of Zhu Gang’s management, Hexi has completely recovered its vitality.

Faced with this achievement, all participants feel sincerely proud.

Zhu Gang himself was very calm. In his opinion, what was the big deal about governing a mere area in Hexi?
His father, his brother, his eldest nephew, his brother-in-law... they manage the entire world in an orderly manner.

Compared to them, I have nothing to be proud of.

Even compared with the second-best student Zhu Chong, my results are not that impressive.

That would only make him stronger than the fourth one...

But the fourth brother is just a warrior. Wouldn't it be lowering one's status to compare with him?

Therefore, Zhu Gang looked at the world map again, his eyes focused on the Western Regions and Suiye River.

This is my real stage.

He had not been so anxious before, but he had fallen seriously ill at the beginning of the year. If he had not had the imperial physician by his side, he would have died.

This gave him a sense of urgency.

I am not young anymore... To be more precise, I am at my peak.

He is not old and is still quite strong.

Moreover, after several years of training in Hexi, their military and administrative capabilities have matured.

In a few years, experience may improve, but age and physical strength will not be able to keep up.

By that time, would he still be able to attack and defeat Ye Chuan with his old body?
This is still an ideal situation. If you are like my elder brother, you will be devastated by a serious illness and will be unable to do anything.

So, time waits for no one.

We must seize the Western Regions and Suiye River now.

If I can manage for another ten or eight years to stabilize the situation, I can die with peace of mind.

He had decided that he could no longer wait according to the second brother's plan.

It’s not that there was something wrong with Zhu Chong’s plan, but he felt it was too passive.

The weak complain about the situation; the strong adapt to it.

The one who takes the initiative to create the situation is the king.

Timur pretended to be sick and delayed the dispatch of troops, and Toghtomish was also accumulating strength and looking for opportunities.

No one dared to move and the situation reached a stalemate.

Then I will take the initiative to attack and disrupt the situation.

He was sure that as long as he sent troops to the Western Regions, Timur would not sit idly by.

But if Timur dared to move, he would reveal his flaws and be misled by Toghto.

By then, several factions would still be attacking Timur from both sides.

He told his plan to the court and received its approval.

Originally, he wanted to send troops before the New Year, take over Xizhou (Turpan) before winter, and then spend the winter there.

The Western Regions are cold in winter and water freezes into ice as soon as it drops.

Even if the Chagatai Khanate got the news, there was nothing they could do.

He can take advantage of this gap to stabilize the situation in Xizhou.

By the time the Chagatai Khanate sent troops in the spring of the following year, the situation in Xizhou had changed.

The reason why Zhu Gang had this confidence was that he had a large number of Uighurs under his command.

Islam has been introduced into the Western Regions for hundreds of years, but so far it has not completely eroded the Western Regions.

Many places are still resisting the expansion of Islam.

The most stubborn and fiercely resisting place was Xizhou (Turpan).

This is also the last fortress in the Western Regions that has not been conquered by Islam.

In the original history, Xizhou was completely conquered by Islam in the early years of Yongle.

This marked the complete occupation of the Western Regions by Islam.

The one who accomplished this was none other than the Great Khan of the Chagatai Khanate, Hederhuzer.

What Zhu Gang has to face now is none other than the Hei Er Huo person.

Over the years, the Heierhuozhe has continuously forced the Uighurs in Xizhou to convert to Islam, and has even sent troops to preach by force many times.

The Uighurs in Western Region were extremely hostile to the Chagatai Khanate, but they were too weak to resist.

It was in this context that a large number of Uighurs fled their homes and sought refuge in Hexi.

Well, I should mention here that these people all believe in Buddhism.

As early as a thousand years ago, Buddhism replaced local shamanism and became the main religion in the area.

The thousand-mile Buddhist country mentioned by Xuanzang in his journey to the West mainly refers to the countries in the Western Regions.

It was not until the 9th century AD that Islam entered the Western Regions, and it took hundreds of years for it to completely replace Buddhism.

At present, Xizhou still believes in Buddhism, and the Uighurs living here are also devout Buddhists.

During the Ming Dynasty's religious reform, Buddhism and Taoism were the only two religions officially permitted.

Chen Jingke even forced Buddhism and Taoism to actively spread their teachings abroad.

In order to avoid unnecessary competition, the two religions also reached a tacit understanding.

Taoism chose the south and the sea, while Buddhism chose the north and the west.

Many Buddhists took the initiative to establish contact with Buddhism in the Western Regions.

The Buddhists in Xizhou were worried about having no support, while Zhu Gang was worried about having no breakthrough point to enter the Western Regions.

It can be said that the two sides hit it off immediately.

During this period, Zhu Gang sent a large number of Buddhists into Xizhou to spread the ideas of the Ming Dynasty in the name of exchange.

It can be said that at present, the people of Xizhou identify more with the Ming Dynasty in their hearts than with the pagan Chagatai Khanate.

This is also the fundamental reason why Zhu Gang was confident that he could stabilize Xizhou within one winter.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes.

His elder brother Zhu Biao wanted to abdicate.

Naturally, he had no objection to his eldest nephew ascending the throne and was very supportive.

He would clear out the household registration book of anyone who dared to oppose.

But precisely because of his support, he was even more reluctant to go to war at this time.

The succession of the throne will inevitably lead to some political changes. Even if Zhu Xiongying had already been recognized by the government and the public, this situation could not be avoided.

What's more, not long ago, Zhu Yuanzhang went on a killing spree and suppressed the Kong family and Neo-Confucianism.

There may be some people who are determined to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble.

As the third uncle, he felt that he could not create unnecessary risks for his eldest nephew at this time.

Moreover, even if he took action after the New Year, he would still be confident that he could easily defeat the Chagatai Khanate.

However, in order to intimidate the local people and to prepare for next year's military operations, he did not return to attend Zhu Xiongying's coronation ceremony.

Even Zhu Di, Zhu Bo and others did not go back.

In fact, their worries were not unnecessary, as they heard that there was a change of throne in the Ming Dynasty.

There was indeed some unrest among the tribes on the border.

However, they did not want to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble, but they were afraid that if the emperor changed, the policies they had previously implemented to keep the people safe would be abolished.

During the Chinese New Year, Zhu Gang personally visited various tribes to appease them.

The effect was very significant. When everyone saw that Prince Jin was still there, they immediately felt relieved.

After all, compared to the court policies, everyone is more willing to believe in Zhu Gang as a person.

This is the norm in border areas; people are more reliable than policies.

Things are often accomplished because of people, but they are also ruined because of people.

There are countless such cases in history, the most typical one being Ban Chao.

The same situation applies to Zhu Gang, who is currently in Hexi.

People's trust in him personally far exceeds that in the imperial court.

As long as he is around, people will not be in chaos.
-
There is a saying that God helps those who help themselves. Just when Zhu Gang felt a little regretful about missing a good opportunity, the situation in Anxi changed suddenly.

Tokhtamysh introduced Lithuanian forces, first defeated his opponent Khugurut, and then launched an attack on Timur.

Timur was forced to fight.

It is easy to imagine how excited Zhu Gang was after waiting for this opportunity for so many years.

However, instead of assembling his army, he took the initiative to tell his subordinates.

The most important thing for the new emperor to ascend the throne is stability. He is not allowed to start a war lightly. He even punished several generals who took the initiative to attack the non-submissive tribes.

This time, not to mention outsiders, even many of our own people were deceived.

Heidehuozhe was also an capable monarch who had always been paying attention to the developments in Hexi.

I finally felt relieved when I heard the news.

He was already thinking about whether or not to take advantage of this opportunity to wipe out those pagans in Xizhou.

However, before he could make a decision, Timur's envoy arrived.

The empire is about to face a powerful enemy. As a vassal state, you, the Chagatai Khanate, cannot just sit back and watch, right?

Take out the troops and supplies.

The Hederhunters were unable to resist and could only send out 10,000 troops and divert a large amount of military supplies to Timur.

In other words, the Chagatai Khanate was not only isolated and helpless, but also weakened.

Seeing that the plan was effective, Zhu Gang was overjoyed and quietly assembled an army of 40,000.

Among them, 6,000 were the Prince of Jin's guard and 34,000 were the Ming Dynasty's Hexi Army.

Well...there are two teams in Hexi, one is the Prince Jin's Mansion, and the other is the Hexi Prefecture Yamen.

Although both were under the leadership of Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin's Mansion belonged to Zhu Gang's personal power, while the Hexi Mansion belonged to the central court of the Ming Dynasty.

The division between the two parties is still very clear.

The same is true for the military, including the Prince of Jin's personal guard and the Ming Dynasty's Hexi Army.

This attack on the Western Regions was a war for the imperial court, so the main force was the Ming Hexi Army.

Of course, Zhu Gang had to make much more preparations than these. For example, he sought out the Uighur Alimjiang.

Alimjiang was a representative sent to Hexi by the various tribes in Xizhou, and of course he was sent here secretly.

When he learned that the Ming Dynasty was going to send troops to the Western Regions, Alimjiang said excitedly:
"Your Majesty, Alimjiang assures you that the 130,000 soldiers and civilians of Xizhou will provide food and drink to welcome the royal army."

Zhu Gang said with a serious expression, "The Ming Dynasty called that place Xizhou. You should know what this means."

"Are your nobles willing to give up their people and become citizens of the Ming Dynasty?"

Xizhou was the name of the prefecture and county established here after the Tang Dynasty destroyed Gaochang.

The purpose of the Ming Dynasty using this name is self-evident.

Alimjiang said excitedly: "Rather than being killed by infidels, we would rather accept the rule of the Celestial Empire."

Zhu Gang smiled with satisfaction and said, "Very good. The Ming court will never mistreat loyal people."

"You can go back and tell the leaders of each tribe."

"After the Ming Dynasty occupies Xizhou, it will appoint two officials to govern the people, one Hu and one Khan."

"When the time comes, the officials who govern the people will be selected from among them."

Alimjiang was delighted: "Thank you, Your Majesty! This way, the tribes of Xizhou will surely support the rule of the Heavenly Dynasty even more."

Alimjiang immediately set out for Xizhou to contact various tribes and prepare to welcome the Ming army.

Zhu Gang began to make final personnel arrangements to prevent any chaos in Hexi after he left.

This matter sounds simple, but it is actually very complicated.

The reason has been mentioned before. There are two teams in Hexi.

One set is the Prince of Jin’s Palace, and the other set is the Ming Dynasty’s Hexi Palace.

When Zhu Gang was here, he was the leader, and everyone in the two teams had to listen to him. If he was not here, things would be difficult to handle.

If the people from Hexi Prefecture are in charge, the people from Prince Jin's Palace will definitely be dissatisfied.

It is not right or proper to let the people from Prince Jin's Mansion be the leaders.

If each of them takes charge, it will lead to a split between the two teams and will inevitably cause trouble.

Unless the imperial court directly appoints one person to take charge of the two teams in Hexi.

However, it is not known whether the court trusted him or neglected him, and no decree in this regard has been received.

He could only find a way to solve it himself.

Just when he was in a dilemma, help from the court arrived.

There is nothing strange about this, as the transportation of military supplies is a fixed routine throughout the four seasons of each year.

However, the person who came with him was completely beyond his expectations.

The eldest son of Prince of Jin, Zhu Jihui.

"The Holy Emperor, the Supreme Emperor, and the Emperor all thought you might need me, and I wanted to help you, so they asked me to come over."

Zhu Gang was overjoyed and said, "Haha... Good, you came at the right time."

"Brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. You came at the perfect time."

Then he added: "I have always wondered why the imperial court did not send anyone to take over Hexi when it knew that I was going to send troops to the Western Regions."

“Now I know that it wasn’t because they were negligent, but because they had a better plan.”

Zhu Jihui is the best person to take charge of Hexi.

First, he was the eldest son of Zhu Gang and could inherit Zhu Gang's network of relationships, so the various tribes would be more convinced of him.

Secondly, as the natural heir to the Prince of Jin’s Palace, Zhu Gang could not rule the Prince of Jin’s Palace legitimately in his absence.

Third, he was an imperial envoy sent by the imperial court, and Hexi Prefecture was also under his jurisdiction.

This candidate can be said to be quite perfect.

Afterwards, Zhu Gang and Zhu Jihui had a long talk.

Through communication, Zhu Gang gained a more detailed understanding of the situation in the court and subsequent policies.

"Your Majesty is very stable and will not make major changes in the first few years, focusing on consolidating the current reform achievements."

"Correspondingly, we will be slightly more proactive in military matters."

"In the next few years, there will be military operations in Liaodong, Yunnan and Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong and Guangxi, Jiaozhi and other places to strike at the tribes that refuse to submit."

Zhu Gang: ???
You call this steady? If he is not steady, I dare not even think about it.

This made him a little worried, fearing that his nephew was too radical and would cause war.

But... the old man is still here, and there is Chen Jingke. How could he allow him to act so recklessly?

"What about your grandfather and Chen Jingke? Do they support it too?"

Zhu Jihui naturally guessed his concerns and said:

"This is what Anping Hou advocated. He proposed a theory of limited war."

"It means that the Ming Dynasty must use its stronger comprehensive national strength to wage continuous but limited wars against the surrounding tribes that refuse to submit."

"Let those tribes live in the constant terror of war."

"This will not only intimidate the tribes that have already surrendered, but also continue to make the unsubmissive tribes bleed."

"In addition to military strikes, there is also a supporting ideological offensive."

"The Ming Dynasty will use various means to assimilate them ideologically and culturally."

"If we tire out those tribes, they will naturally submit to the Ming Dynasty."

For example, using Buddhism and Taoism to carry out religious infiltration.

For example, through the surrendered tribes, cultural infiltration was carried out on them.

Zhu Gang couldn't help but nod in agreement. After being on the border for so long, he understood better how to deal with these people.

Chen Jingke's measure was indeed very effective.

Some tribes surrendered after a fight and then obediently accepted the rule.

Some tribes simply won't surrender no matter how hard you try to beat them. If they can't beat you, they'll just run away and launch a sneak attack when you're least prepared.

It makes people feel very helpless.

Proactively launching a low-intensity limited war is indeed an effective approach.

Isn't it just a test of patience and endurance?

The thing that the Ming Dynasty fears least is consumption of its national strength.

I use a hundred resources to consume one of your resources, but in the end, you will still be the one who gets exhausted.

Moreover, through this method, the army can maintain its combat effectiveness.

It can be said that one stone kills two birds with one stone.

In fact, what Zhu Gang didn't know was that Chen Jingke had a deeper plan for doing this.

That is the military merit system.

If you don't give the army an enemy, they will fight among themselves.

As long as there is a war to fight, they will not rebel.

Moreover, continuous low-intensity wars can also promote the replacement of old and new military sequences and slow down the corruption of military merit groups.

Of course, there is a prerequisite for doing this, that is, the imperial court must have enough land.

Otherwise, there would be no way to reward military merits, and the military merit system would collapse.

But what the Ming Dynasty lacks the least right now is land.

It is normal that Zhu Gang did not have a clear understanding of these things since he was not in the central government.

Zhu Jihui knew about this, but the father and son had just met and it was not the right time to talk about these things.

After hearing his explanation, Zhu Gang finally felt relieved.

It seems that my nephew is still very steady and not in a hurry for success.

Then, the father and son talked about other things.

While chatting, Zhu Gang was observing his son.

He speaks neither hurriedly nor slowly, analyzes things logically and, most importantly, is very insightful.

He was also greatly inspired by her views on many things.

This made him very satisfied.

My son has been studying in Luoyang for so many years and he has really become a successful person.

Then he held a family dinner to welcome his son.

During the dinner, two very important characters appeared.

Zhu Jihui knew both of these people, but he was not very familiar with them.

The reason they knew each other was that they were both his relatives.

One is Fu Rang, the son of Fu Youde and also his fifth brother-in-law.

Another one is Xie Qing, his uncle.

The reason why he said he was not familiar with them was because he had lived and studied in Luoyang since he was a child and had little contact with these two people.

But no matter what, they are all relatives, and everyone is still very warm when they meet each other.

Fu Rang and Xie Qing were both very sensible. Although they were older in age and seniority, they always regarded themselves as subordinates.

Even though Zhu Gang was very unhappy and said that they were all relatives and shouldn't be so formal, the two still insisted on doing so.

In response to this, Zhu Gang nodded secretly in his heart and decided to keep these two people to assist Zhu Jihui.

What he did just now was naturally a test. If there really was no distinction between the two of them, and one regarded himself as the elder.

Then he would definitely not leave the two of them with Zhu Jihui.

The two of them are sensible and can become important helpers to Zhu Jihui.

In the next few days, Zhu Gang asked Zhu Jihui to visit various government offices and get to know the heads of each government office.

He also held a banquet and invited the leaders of various tribes to attend and introduce his sons to everyone.

Everyone is not stupid. The eldest son of Prince Jin is his heir.

Moreover, he came from Luoyang, carrying an imperial edict and with the support of the court.

Naturally, everyone knows how to treat him.

Zhu Jihui himself was also very competitive and performed very well in all aspects.

He did not interfere in government affairs, but allowed each department to continue with its previous policies.

Do whatever you have to do.

This makes everyone more satisfied.

But when it comes to things that are his responsibility, he always handles them properly.

It quickly gained everyone's recognition.

Zhu Gang was also completely relieved, as his son had truly become a great man.

This way he can send troops with confidence.

It's already April, and if we delay any further the weather will get hot.

The summer in the Western Regions is so hot that it can kill people.

Especially in Xizhou, the terrain is low-lying and windless, and with the existence of the Flaming Mountain, it can be said to be extremely hot.

The war in Xizhou must be ended before the weather enters midsummer.

So, after Zhu Jihui became familiar with Hexi, Zhu Gang summoned his confidants and announced the plan to send troops.

He also ordered Zhu Jihui to be in charge of Hexi affairs, with Fu Rang and Xie Qing as his assistants.

Everyone was prepared for this and no one raised any objections.

Afterwards, Zhu Gang led an army of 40,000 and marched towards Xizhou.

This time he did not hide his whereabouts, and he could not hide it.

But he was not afraid that the Dark One would know.

The capital of the Chagatai Khanate at that time was Alimali (Ilihuocheng), more than 1,600 miles away from Xizhou.

The distance from Dunhuang to Xizhou is about the same.

By the time the Hei De Er Huo Ze knew that he had sent troops to rescue, it would be too late.

Therefore, there is no need to hide your whereabouts.

After two months of marching, the army arrived near Liucheng (Shanshan) in early June.

Liucheng was an important stronghold of the Chagatai Khanate, with two thousand troops stationed here all year round.

Zhu Gang sent a cavalry of 3,000 men to attack Liucheng.

"The army will rest in Liucheng at night."

The vanguard rushed forward excitedly, and then saw an empty city.

It turned out that the local garrison commander knew that he could not fight against Zhu Gang's army and that his own reinforcements would not arrive in the short term, so he took the initiative to withdraw.

This made the soldiers very disappointed.

I finally got the chance to be a vanguard, but I didn't get to fight the enemy.

Bah, what Chagatai Khanate, is that all?
Zhu Gang didn't care. It was just an army of 2,000 people and he didn't take it seriously.

His gaze has already been cast towards the entire Western State.

The weather is already very hot, and we must take over Xizhou as soon as possible.

The next step is to either attack again, find the enemy's weakness and attack it, or take this opportunity to leave Xizhou, this big furnace.

Or you can stay in the local area to cultivate land, build this bridgehead, and then attack other places.

But for now, let’s take over Xizhou first.

The next day, he did not send troops directly to attack other places, but sent scouts to find out the enemy's situation.

At the same time, I am also waiting for someone to come.

The man didn't keep him waiting long and showed up that afternoon.

It was the Uighur Alimjiang.

He brought the news that the Chagatai Khanate had fortified its defenses and concentrated its forces in the two cities of Turpan and Huozhou.

Prepare to defend the city and fight a war of attrition with the Ming army.

At the same time, they also waited for reinforcements to arrive.

After speaking out this information, Alimjiang said with a heavy heart:
"We have hidden some supplies secretly, but they can only last the army for fifteen days..."

However, when Zhu Gang heard that the enemies had gathered together on their own initiative, he laughed.

(End of this chapter)