golden scales

"Is there so much military spending that there is no place to use it? Even a latrine is made of porcelain! It's a shame!" Zhao Liangdong looked at the "military funds" that had just been transported, and he was not angry at all.

Since the expansion of the Fourth Army, the assembly of firearms has only reached [-]%, and the number of pack horses is even smaller.The Metropolitan Governor's Mansion expressed helplessness about this, and the General Armament Department said that the current transportation capacity is tight, and there are guns and cannons that cannot be transported.The work of the General Logistics Department is doing very well. Clothes, quilts, building materials, latrines, everything has been brought up.

If the General Armament Department can have the work efficiency of the General Logistics Department, the Fourth Army can reach Wuliangsuhai now.

In fact, since the expansion of the Fourth Army, many Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall have come to Yulin as a whole.They already knew about the rise of Ming Dynasty again, and the successive years of drought on the grassland caused them heavy losses.They faced very few choices, except to migrate west and north to more bitter, cold and barren places, and they had no choice but to seek refuge in Daming.

From the tribes in the east, the Mongolian tribes such as Ordos and Utla knew that Ming Dynasty had changed emperor.The new emperor is still "friendly" to the Mongols, willing to trade with each other, and does not allow the Han and Mongols to cheat each other.What they hope most now is that Yulin can open the market like Zhangjiakou, so they don't have to worry about the pressure of survival.

These Mongolian populations were quickly digested by the developed mining and construction industries in Shanxi and Shaanxi, while sheep and horses became daily commodities for the Ming army and common people.They also brought news of the Mongolian grasslands and the location of the great tribes occupying the rich pastures.Many Mongolian youths joined the Ming army, learned Chinese, adopted Han names, and shaved their braids. Apart from their thick and short stature, they were not much different from Han people.

Strange to say, the more frequently fighting an area is, the easier it is to accept the enemy's troops.Like Horqin Mongolia far in the northeast.The former Duoyan Sanwei were unwilling to join the Ming army, and could only join the construction of the Ming Dynasty as captives.And the Ordos, Tumet, Utla and other tribes that have been enemies of the Ming Dynasty for 200 years have a large number of tribesmen who have become the Ming army.

Some can even become generals.

Mangui, who has made great military exploits, is a Mongolian, and he migrated to Xuanfu when he was a child.

"Stop talking nonsense! This is for building a military camp, find someone to learn how to pretend." Lin Tao kicked Zhao Liangdong behind him.Taking advantage of the situation, he lifted his foot and swept the sand on the boots.

During the Little Ice Age, the Mongolian steppe was also drought year after year.Behind the massive loss of population and livestock, lakes and rivers have dried up and grasslands have shrunk.As a result, the wind and sand brought directly to Beijing, forcing Beijingers to wear veils when they go out in spring.

"Brother, if we don't fight anymore, the army will really go straight to Wuliangsuhai." Zhao Liangdong has been promoted all the way, but he has never fought any tough battles. He always feels that he is a picked child.Finally, the imperial court confirmed the Northern Expedition.But the Mongols ran to the pass one after another, and the court didn't drive them away. Where else can they go to find military merits?

Lin Tao has already received the official letter from the Ministry of War, saying: "It is impossible to fight this year, and all armies are not allowed to move rashly. We will be able to send troops in the spring of next year, so we must prepare military resources."

Zhao Liangdong was rather unwilling, and said: "According to me, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion is unfair."

Lin Tao looked at his little brother coldly.

"Such a large area. Why do we only let cavalry divisions fight, and we have to build cities and houses?" Zhao Liangdong said, "We are worse than them?"

"The First Cavalry Army." Lin Tao corrected: "They are targeting the Mongolian cavalry. We are going to expand the territory, how can it matter?"

"According to me, the Mongols dare to rebel if the light army advances directly and hits the Onan River?" Zhao Liangdong kicked the sand under his feet: "It's not like we don't have cavalry."

Lin Tao's background determines that he is not as belligerent as Zhao Liangdong, and he is used to obeying orders.Although he also felt that the last large-scale force in Mongolia had disappeared with the fall of Lin Dan Khan.Now there are only a handful of large tribes that can send thousands of troops. I really don't know why they have to spend so much effort to prepare.

"Instead of complaining about here and there, it's better to find out all the campsites in the north as soon as possible, so as to avoid trouble in the future." Lin Tao said.

"I've looked for it a long time ago, and it's all drawn on the map." Zhao Liangdong said.

"Have you visited it yourself? How many troops can each water lake provide water for? Is there a camp around?" This is actually not something that the deputy army commander should be responsible for personally.But Lin Tao saw that Zhao Liangdong was in a panic when he was idle, so he simply threw his head over.

Zhao Liangdong climbed up by touching the pole, and simply led his guards and a cavalry battalion across the side wall, sweeping northwards all the way.

The Chinese armies of all dynasties faced the northern nomads the most headaches, because they ran away after grabbing things, and they couldn't catch up with them.Once chasing into the desert and grassland, it will be difficult for the Chinese army's logistical supplies to keep up.

The person who first thought of this was Li Mu, a famous general of Zhao State. He set a trap and spent more than ten years to paralyze the Huns. Finally, he surrounded and annihilated 15 Huns with chariots, almost exterminating the Huns.

Later, the Xiongnu learned to be smart. When Emperor Wu of the Han used this kind of trap tactic again, he found it difficult to work, so Huo Qubing came into being.

Huo Qubing didn't have Li Mu's patience, he only had one idea: since you can live well on the prairie, so can my Han army!So Huo Qubing, who advocated fighting to support war, finally created the reputation of the champion and completely solved the Huns' border troubles.

Zhao Liangdong heard about the prestige of Li Mu and Huo Qubing in the officer training class, and after comparing them, he found that he didn't like Li Mu, but he admired Huo Qubing very much.So he plundered the Mongolian tribes outside the pass with peace of mind, brought their young men and children back to Daming, and asked for military rations from Bansheng, where Han and Mongolia lived together.

The Metropolitan Government quickly received a report from Yulin, and finally determined that this was not an act of war.

Just reasonable border clashes.

Zhao Liangdong, who had received acquiescence, became more courageous and encouraged Lin Tao to drag the two divisions to Hongjiannao in the name of training together.

Hongjiannao is located in the transition zone between the Loess Plateau and the Ordos Basin. Because of the red alkali, the land is reddened, and Nao means lake.

"There is a legend here. It is said that when Zhaojun came here, he cried for seven days and seven nights, so he left this big lake behind." Zhao Liangdong resells the story he heard from the border merchants.

Lin Tao couldn't see the edge of the lake at a glance, he just felt that the wind from the lake was refreshing, but he didn't pay attention to what Zhao Liangdong said.

Zhao Liangdong thought to himself: "Going west from here, there is a prairie with lush water and grass. It used to be the pasture of the Tumote Department, but now there is no one there." Indeed, there is no one there now.The Tumed people who had been grazing on that grassland had gone through Zhao Liangdong's three "border conflicts". Half of them went to Yulin Town as coolies, and the other half fled to the north with their livestock and tents to the Ulan Mulun River area.

"A total of seven rivers flow into this lake, and the grasslands were not dry during the severe drought a few years ago." Zhao Liangdong continued.

Lin Tao nodded and said, "Build a military fort here first. If you build it near the water, you need a large warehouse. In the future, this will be the bridgehead for marching north."

Zhao Liangdong chuckled: "Brother, did you disobey the order of the Ministry of War? The Ministry of War said that wars are not allowed within the year."

"I didn't fight a war, so just picking a good place to build a house is considered a war?" Lin Tao glanced at Zhao Liangdong.

"Hahaha, that's how it is!" Zhao Liangdong laughed loudly: "Brother, give me a division, and I'll find you a better place. To be honest, although this place is good, it's still a bit suffocating to support our army of 3 people. bent."

"Don't go too far." Lin Tao said: "And a fort needs to be built here, otherwise a large amount of supplies cannot be transferred."

Zhao Liangdong didn't care about building the military fort. He took a division of Qin soldiers and went straight to Ordos in the north.

"Ordos" means "palace, mausoleum place" in Mongolian. It is a vast area with a length of 640 miles from east to west and a width of 80 miles from north to south.The so-called "Yellow River has a hundred harms, only one set of benefits", Ordos is the most prosperous place in the Hetao area.It borders on the Yellow River in the east, west and north, and the Yellow River irrigation area in the north. At least [-] mu of fertile land can be irrigated. If the canals are built, there can be millions of mu of fertile land.

The Ming Dynasty once set up Dongshengwei here, but with the fall of the Hetao area, it also became an occupied area by the Mongols.

Zhao Liangdong had chased the herdsmen to the Ulan Mulun River a long time ago, and he knew the reality of this place. If he led a division, the Mongols would definitely have to flee.

It turned out that Zhao Liangdong was wrong.

When the Mongols of the Ordos and Tumed tribes learned of the arrival of the Ming army, they did not cross the Yellow River and flee to the north of the Yinshan Mountains, or to Guihua City to the east.

They surrendered directly to the Ming army led by Zhao Liangdong, and even dug up the canonized documents of the Ming Dynasty handed down from the Altan Khan era to prove that everyone is a family.

Zhao Liangdong knew that the Tumed tribe was no longer as brave and good at fighting as it was in the Altan Khan era, but he didn't expect that the Ordos tribe, one of the six major households in Mongolia, would surrender.

The Ordos tribe is not a naturally formed clan and tribe, they are actually a kind of occupation, serving as guards for the palace tents of Genghis Khan and his close relatives.After Genghis Khan's death, his four major Ordos formed the guard tribe to guard the Eight White House, which was passed down from father to son, and finally formed the Ordos tribe.

Even such a tribe has surrendered, is there still a fight ahead?

Zhao Liangdong looked at the chiefs of the Mongolian tribes and the monks and lamas who followed them, his mood fluctuated, and he was more worried about his long-cherished wish to be famous in history.

Lin Tao felt a headache for the recovery of Dongshengwei.If it is a border conflict, you can simply report the number of casualties.However, the surrender of the Mongolian tribes now has something to do with Daming's handling of foreign feudal vassals, and this cannot be judged by the Metropolitan Government.

——Is this considered provocative?

Lin Tao struggled when writing the report. (To be continued..)

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