The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 823 Southern Border
Chuping.

The reason for using this year name is that in the first year of Chuping (190), when Sun Jian recovered Luoyang, Dong Zhuo's defeat could only be curled up in Guanzhong.

Han Sui and Ma Teng in Liangzhou had no time to look east. Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun, who rebelled in Youzhou, were beheaded, and Wuhuan, the three counties, returned to them.

Most of the large and small rebellions in various places were quelled, and the Han Dynasty at that time was in a state of revival.

So a group of courtiers deliberated and set the year name as "Chuping".

It's just that this short period of peace was the last peace. This peace only lasted for less than a few months, and the war in the Central Plains resumed.

The melee in the Central Plains lasted from the end of the first year of Chuping to the sixth year of Chuping, a full six years, and during this six-year period, there was almost no time to stop.

Disputes are endless in the Central Plains, and the lights of thousands of families are gradually fading.

Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, Jizhou, Sili, and Yangzhou are all battlefield locations. In six years, thousands of soldiers died on the battlefield, and millions of people were displaced and affected by the war.

Until May of the sixth year of Chuping (195), the Han army suddenly launched the Northern Expedition after being defeated in the Battle of Qingzhou.

The final decisive battle between the Han and Wei dynasties kicked off around Fanyang City. Both sides mobilized all their troops and threw all their chips on the gambling table, and a gamble with the world as the bet began.

However, in this gamble, none of the two parties who made the final bet was able to win the final victory.

The final victory is to walk into the casino's peaceful path with a weapon in hand.

The mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind.

Two dogs fight, play off.

The Ming army went out of the customs and ran for thousands of miles. They defeated the two armies of the Han and Wei armies, which were already at the end of their strength, and pacified the entire land of Hebei with a thunderous force.

Both the Han and Wei countries were losers, and the Wei state was destroyed, and all the territories it owned belonged to the Ming army.

No matter how difficult it is for the Han Empire to cheer up now, it has already lost the ability to make another northern expedition, but it is still somewhat defensive.

However, as a fisherman, Ming Ting had acquired a vast territory at once, so it was difficult to digest it in time, so he could only stop and take over slowly.

And precisely because of this, the world has gained rare peace.

Now it is the seventh year of Chuping, the third year of the Ming Dynasty (196), in February, eight months have passed since the Battle of Fanyang.

And during these eight months, not even a war broke out in various places, and even small-scale conflicts did not occur.

The two courts of the Han and Ming Dynasties took the Yellow River as the boundary, and ruled by drawing the river, and lived in peace.

The Han court dispatched troops and generals to continuously strengthen the defense of the city, build the Yellow River defense line, and at the same time organize new troops to guard against possible invasions by the Ming army.

The Ming court's public trial in Hebei made the powerful families in the five prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Han court feel scared. Not long after the year, there was a report from the imperial court, which recorded Hebei in detail. The public trial that took place in the land, and the law in the peace.

Not only must more than [-]% of the land be acquired, but all lakes, woodlands, and mines must be nationalized, and even family wealth cannot be kept too much. If the clan that dares to keep more than [-]% of the money is found out by the Eagle Wolf Guard , will be exiled to the North or the Western Regions.

In the land of Hebei, many powerful families that have been detected have been exiled. They were moved to the north following the first batch of immigrants recruited by the Ming court. It is said that those powerful families who were exiled will be exiled to the most border areas. That is, the northernmost province, the Northern Xinjiang Province bordering the Dingling Department, lived on herding animals in that bitterly cold place.

The Wuji Zhen family was found out by the Eagle Wolf Guard because of their hidden property, and the whole family was almost exiled to Wubian in the northern border. In the end, they donated a lot of property in the secret treasury to buy back a life.

And even for those who are called high-ranking officials of the Ming court, their clans handed over all the woodlands and mines, which is only slightly more money and land than ordinary aristocratic families can keep.

The Protectorate of the Western Regions and the three provinces of Northern Xinjiang are excluded from the jurisdiction of the Ming Court.

Youzhou, Liaozhou, Qingzhou, Jizhou, Zhongzhou, Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Yizhou, Haidong, the nine major provinces are all implementing new land tax laws.

The new land tax law stipulates that:
Those with more land pay more, those with little land pay less, and those without land don’t pay.

Divide all farmland into three grades according to the degree of fertility of the land. Upper fields are more expropriated, middle fields are expropriated as usual, and lower fields are less expropriated.

The fertility level of the field is determined by the Eagle Wolf Guard, the Ministry of Households, and the provincial government.

Those who dare to maliciously deceive the land, corrupt the law and violate the law will be punished. The crime is serious, and even the family and the clan.

The new land tax law has little impact on ordinary villagers, and those who rent land from the country and villagers pay taxes normally.

The real influence is those powerful families who still have a lot of land even after handing over the land. In fact, this is only targeted at the powerful families in Jizhou.

After Yizhou's original powerful family chose to join, they also got on the express train of the Silk Road like Liangzhou's powerful family. Although they also owned some fields, this was not their main output.

Moreover, with the implementation of military settlements, the increase of garrisons, and Xu An's policy of differentiation, the remaining powerful families in Yizhou are gradually losing control of the Nanman tribe.

Without the military support of the southern barbarian tribes, the powerful families in Yizhou no longer have a strong control over the five southern counties.

Since Zhang Yan took charge of Yizhou, he has been stabilizing the balance between Dongzhou people and Yizhou people, and at the same time promoting the Taiping Road and farming affairs.

Nowadays, all parts of Yizhou are dominated by farmland, especially in the five counties in the south, more than [-]% of them are mainly in the form of military villages, and the chief officials of the villages are all from the old Taiping Road.

After the control power rose, Zhang Yan began to carry out the order issued by Xu An earlier.

In order to ensure the stability of southern Xinjiang and the implementation of the decree, Zhang Yan ordered Bian Xi to lead Yizhou's [-] soldiers and sit in the county town of Yongchang County to preside over the exchanges with the southern barbarian tribes and the implementation of the decree.

Later, Zhang Yan moved tens of thousands of soldiers, Qingqiang, and tribal people from Nanzhong to the hinterland of Yizhou, and divided them into five divisions, named "Flying Army".

The promulgation of this decree is simply a draw from the bottom of the pot. It not only weakens the power of the Yizhou powerful family that can be used for rebellion, but also turns it into their own help and strengthens their own strength.

As soon as the decree was promulgated, there were naturally obstacles. Several Nanman tribes and some local Yizhou aristocratic families joined forces to resist the decree.

Since Zhang Yan wanted to push the executive order, it would obviously affect the influence of the powerful local families in Yizhou County, so how could he be unprepared.

The soldiers under Bian Xi's command are basically the elite of the Yizhou Army, and many of them are even veterans from the old Taiping Road, with rich experience in mountain warfare.

At the same time, the Ming army also had the help of the Eagle Wolf Guards, and they obtained important information early on. Many of the powerful families who served as internal agents were taken down by the Eagle Wolf Guards within a short period of time.

The battle in southern Xinjiang lasted for two months, and finally ended with the victory of the Ming army.

Among the rebellious tribes, only one tribe who was unwilling to surrender was wiped out, and the rest of the surrendered tribes were treated leniently to show their benevolence.

In the Battle of Southern Xinjiang, the mighty combat power of the Ming army caught the hearts of everyone. After this battle, no one dared to resist the Ming army.

What's more, after the arrival of the Ming army, they obtained silk that was extremely comfortable to wear and exquisite porcelain that was as white as jade. Their lives were better than when they met the powerful and powerful families in Yizhou.

The unimpeded trade routes allowed them to exchange gold and silver lacquer and wood for silk and porcelain, as well as various special products from the Central Plains, and even acquired important technologies such as farming.

Part of those rebel tribes opposed the relocation, and part of them chose to rebel because of their close relationship with those powerful families. Most of the tribes in southern Xinjiang actually supported Ming Ting, otherwise the rebellion would not have subsided so quickly.

After the opening of the southern trade route, all the barbarian leaders were named chieftains, and they were divided into corresponding levels according to the size of the tribe. In fact, the southern border is somewhat similar to the western region.

The barbarians in southern Xinjiang recognized Ming Ting's dominant position, bowed their heads and proclaimed themselves ministers, and paid tribute to southern specialties and some money every year according to the size of the tribe, and accepted Ming Ting's conscripts to fight.

Afterwards, Zhang Yan personally went south to Yongchang County, and in the south of Yunnan, the county seat of Yongchang County, made an alliance with various tribes in southern Xinjiang. They took the oath of Cangshui and blood as an alliance. Only with the approval of the Ming court can he officially succeed to the throne, and the Ming court will issue printed documents to show orthodoxy, otherwise it will be an improper succession, and all the ministries of the alliance need to jointly crusade.

This pledge was carried out without encountering any resistance.

The strength of the Ming army is obvious, and this oath is actually beneficial to them. After all, as long as it is legitimate from father to son, legal inheritance will be recognized, and if someone with ulterior motives usurps the power and seizes the throne, it is naturally illegal and will not get the seal and ribbon. This oath guaranteed their chieftain status.

In May of the second year of the Ming Dynasty (195), it was the time when the Great War broke out in the Central Plains.

All the barbarians surrendered, and the business route was normal, which also brought a news.

That is, there are two countries in the south and west of Yongchang County. The country in the west is called Panyue, and the country in the south is called Shan.

Just after the road was cleared, the envoys of the Shan Kingdom soon arrived in the south of Yunnan, the county seat of Yongchang County.

Not long after the meeting ended, Zhang Yan had not yet returned to Chengdu, and the Shan country's envoy happened to meet Zhang Yan.

The envoys from the Shan Kingdom came here to ask for attachment. They heard that the originally powerful Han Empire in the north had been replaced by a new country.

Its national strength is even stronger than the once powerful Han Empire. After all, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty was precisely because it defeated the Han Empire, so it replaced it.

The reason why the Shan State came to envoy is because there is another country in the south named Pyu State. There are constant conflicts between the two countries.

This time the Shan State came to the country, not only brought a lot of treasures, but also brought an extremely large acrobatic troupe, and contributed the Shan State's elephants to the Han Empire.

The dispute between Pyu and Shan can even be traced back to the period of Emperor Guangwu. The reason why Shan has been able to exist is because Shan has always relied on the protection of the Han Empire, so it has not been annexed.

When the Ming army attacked Yizhou, Yizhou fell into chaos and the traffic was cut off. Shan State also lost its connection with Yizhou in the north.

So after the trade route was opened up, the lord of the Shan Kingdom immediately sent envoys to meet him.

The current situation in Shan State is in a precarious situation. It is impossible to resist the powerful Pyu State by relying on the soldiers of the country alone, and the land is constantly falling.

This time, the lord of the Shan Kingdom directly chose to attach himself instead of seeking protection, because the feeling of being caught in the middle is really bad. Although he is the lord of a country, his life cannot be guaranteed.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Yan agreed to the request of the Shan State Lord to include it.

The normal practice is that if a country wants to include it, it must submit a letter to the central government, and it can only be accepted after obtaining permission.

But Zhang Yan thought of what Xu An had said, so he changed his mind and agreed to Shan Guofu's request on the spot.

At the beginning, Xu An pointed to the world map and told him that if he had the opportunity in the future, he would definitely organize a fleet to sail south to the Western Ocean, looking all the way westward along the South China Sea (Indian Ocean).

If there is an outlet in the South China Sea and a port of its own, it can be easily replenished and a lot of business profits can be reaped.

Although Shan Country does not have an outlet to the sea, it is not far from the South China Sea. It only needs to go west about two hundred miles to see the sea.

According to the envoy of the Shan State, there is no country on that section of the road, because it is a mountainous area, so only a few tribes exist.

Panyue and Piao didn't occupy this place, firstly because it was of little significance to occupy it, and secondly because it was left as a buffer zone between the two countries.

Panyue seems to have enemies in the west and north, so it has never attacked Shan and does not want to go to war with Pyu.

Soldiers from the old Yellow Turban Army are rarely used to fighting in the jungle. Unacclimatized and uncomfortable environment is nothing but a normal thing.

But the Wudang Flying Army is not the case. Zhang Yan's plan is very simple. With the chieftain soldiers of Yongchang County as the main force, the Wudang Flying Army will be dispatched as the main force to establish hegemony in the southwest, and then slowly consider opening the way to the sea.

Xu An gave Zhang Yan more authority, giving him a certain amount of military power and free judgment, and even handed over the power to start the war to Zhang Yan.

The reason why Zhang Yan acted in this way was not only because of the power that Xu An gave him, but also because of a matter that had always affected the Yellow Turban Army.

As a heavy-ranked general in the Taiping Road, it seems that the position of the heavy-ranked general does not seem to be comfortable unless several tribes are wiped out and several countries are wiped out.

Seeing Guo Tai expanding the territory in the Western Regions, Lu Bu admiring the situation in the northern Xinjiang, and Lu Sheng cutting through the waves in the East, Zhang Yan felt that he could not just continue farming and pioneering in Yizhou like this.

(End of this chapter)