Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 571: King in the River
"Who said the Western Regions are covered in yellow sand? Look at this!"

At the end of April, when the horses that had been running for a long time were finally released and stood in front of a huge lake as wide as the sea, Zhu Qiyue opened his arms and howled loudly.

In front of him, Guo Deng squatted by the lake and washed his hands, which attracted a lot of fish.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Qiyue immediately laughed and said, "The King of Yanqi is as far as Yuanqu City, and as far south as Yuli for a hundred miles, there are many fish in the waters near the coast... The Book of Han really doesn't lie to me!"

"Is this the sea near Yanqi Kingdom?" Guo Deng realized it belatedly and stood up. When he looked behind him, he saw only endless grassland.

Relying on the river water and groundwater flowing down from the Tianshan Mountains, the Yanqi Basin is rich in water and grass, while the nearby sea (Lake Bosteng), which is fed by countless rivers, is a huge lake that has been recorded as existing since the Han Dynasty.

"In the Yanqi Basin alone, I'm afraid we can cultivate millions of acres of arable land and support tens of thousands of soldiers!"

Zhu Qiyue looked at the Tianshan Mountains in the distance and the grassland in front of him. He couldn't help but say with a sad heart:
"I heard that hundreds of years ago, this place was full of green trees, but now it has been destroyed by the Western Tartars and turned into a grassland..."

"The Western Tartars live on grasslands, so it's not surprising that they were transformed into grasslands." Guo Deng stretched out his hand and wiped himself, smiling:
"Now that we are here, these grasslands will also be converted into farmland, but we will not drain the pond for fish, but plant trees to enrich the area."

"Haha, that's right!" Zhu Qiyue laughed loudly, and then ran happily after the herd of horses.

Guo Deng looked at his back and thought that this action was a bit silly, but for some reason, he actually joined in the noise.

A commander in the distance couldn't help but sigh when he saw this: "What happened to your highness and Guo Deng? After walking in the desert for more than ten days, they suddenly saw the grassland. Are you stupid?"

"Don't be so rude..." Chen Mao next to him scolded, but not harshly.

He placed his hands on the belt of his armor and sighed, "It would be great if Yizhou, Xizhou and other places could have such a large grassland."

Obviously, even people like Chen Mao couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous creation of such a beautiful land.

Such sighs not only happened to them, but also to the Northern Army and the Central Army.

The Northern Army marched westward. At the foot of the Tianshan Mountains there were grasslands waiting to grow, while the towering snow-capped mountains in the distance formed a sharp contrast with the dark brown mountains and the azure blue sky.

The Western Regions were not as bitter and cold as those officials in the temple said. Instead, there were large areas suitable for living waiting to be developed.

The environment here is far more suitable for development than Bohai Sea and the Southwest.

There is no shortage of water sources along the way westward along the Tianshan Mountains, with countless rivers and streams flowing down from the Tianshan Mountains.

Places far away from the Tianshan Mountains are indeed desolate, but places close to the Tianshan Mountains are full of greenery in this season.

In addition to the contrast between reality and books, the army also experienced the fierce winds in the Western Regions.

The strong wind blew from north to south, almost blowing all the troops off course. Especially in the first few days when the Northern Army set out, they encountered sandstorms. The hardships made many generals lament that the Western Regions was a tough place.

Only as they went deeper into the west did they see patches of lush green grasslands.

Since the population of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate was only a few hundred thousand, even though the rainfall in the Western Regions during this era was lower than in later generations, the water consumption was not as great as in later generations.

At this time, Lop Nur was still a huge lake that far exceeded Qinghai Lake in size, and this was even more true for lakes in other places.

Because of this, as the army advanced, many places where there were no towns of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate were marked by the generals as places where cities or towns could be built.

Zhu Gaoxu was stationed in Tingzhou and commanded several thousand of his men to flatten and clean up Luntai County.

The local houses were too simple, and a new city had to be rebuilt to allow the migrating people to feel the benefits of the Western Regions.

Tingzhou was the seat of Beiting, while the seat of Anxi was temporarily placed by Zhu Gaoxu in Aksu in later generations, and is now about to be changed back to Gumo.

In fact, it is not a good place to put it because it is too far away from Yizhou and Xizhou in the east.

However, if it is not placed in Gumo, it will be too far away from Shule (Kashgar) in the west.

If a war breaks out in Shule, it will be difficult to get timely assistance if the government is located in Yanqi or Qiuci.

Of course, if communication technology is advanced in a few decades and the Timurid Empire is conquered, then we can consider moving the capital to Kucha or Yanqi.

Time passed little by little, and as it came to early June, large numbers of people arrived in Xizhou.

Zhu Gaoxu set up Gaochang County, Shanshan County and Tianshan County in Xizhou. The three counties formed a Xizhou Prefecture in the Turpan Basin.

Zhu Gaoxu originally thought that Hami was Xizhou, but after reading the Book of Tang, he found that Xizhou referred to the Turpan Basin, and Hami was Yizhou.

Even someone like him who came from later generations could be confused about such things, not to mention many officials of this era.

The purpose of changing the place names was to make the Western Regions in Tang poetry popular among the people. Even though it was troublesome, Zhu Gaoxu still wanted to do it.

Turpan is no longer Turpan, but Xizhou where "the Protector General has not yet arrived and was in Xizhou when he came."

Hami is no longer Hami, but Yizhou where "How can I dispel my old sorrows as I grow old? I will teach Xiaoyu to sing Yizhou."

Kashgar is no longer Kashgar, but Shule, where "the moon over the mountains that year shines on the city of Shule today."

From place names to population migration, only when a large number of Han people came to the Western Regions could the Chinese culture continue to spread...

"More than 3,000 new officials have arrived, which should be enough to manage Xizhou, Tingzhou, and Yanqi."

In Luntai County, Tingzhou Prefecture, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di sat in a temporary palace and discussed the governance of the Western Regions.

It has to be said that compared to later Lego, mortise and tenon buildings that do not require nails to build are more like a large toy.

With the help of concrete and early preparations, a Chinese-style palace was built in just a few days.

Of course, although it is called a palace, it is actually just a main house covering an area of ​​about one mu.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di slept on the left and right sides respectively, and the main hall in the middle was where the two of them held meetings.

Once the door is opened, a dozen steps outside is a temporary cement wall about ten feet high that is used to block the wind and sand.

As for the thieves, almost the entire Luntai County was razed to the ground under the command of Zhu Gaoxu. Although these rammed earth houses were also strong, they were still inferior to the cast iron and concrete houses built later.

Within the Imperial College, there is a special School of Architecture that tests the resistance of buildings to natural disasters.

The strength of today's concrete houses in the Ming Dynasty combined with their mortise and tenon structures makes it easy for them to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 5 or 6.

However, it is better to be safe than sorry. Zhu Gaoxu remembered that a major earthquake broke out in the Guanzhong Plain in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

One hundred and one counties and cities across the country suffered damage from the earthquake, distributed in five regions: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi and Henan.

According to county and state records, the death toll from the earthquake was approximately 830,000.

Zhu Gaoxu remembered that this incident happened during the Jiajing period, which was almost a hundred years later.

The fact that a disaster could cause so many casualties in this era shows how powerful it is.

"To govern the entire Western Region, the number of officials needed may be no less than 50,000."

Zhu Di leaned back in his chair and watched Zhu Gaoxu issue orders to the three prefectures. He continued:

"It's easy to govern the three counties in Xizhou, but the rest of the country has to wait until the railway is built."

"You can just put down some of the burden. There's no need to carry it on yourself for more than a decade."

Zhu Di saw how hard Zhu Gaoxu had worked these days.

As an emperor, being able to do things so personally is a good thing for the court and the people. However, due to Zhu Gaochi's affairs, Zhu Di was always worried about Zhu Gaoxu's health, so he couldn't help but care about him.

Facing this concern, Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and said, "To be honest, these days are actually the least tiring for me."

"Here, I can recall some of the feelings I had in Jilin City back then."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he and Zhu Di laughed out loud.

After the laughter stopped, Zhu Di said, "I am very satisfied with your governance of the country. Although your Jilin City is so prosperous because of the support of the court, it is also inseparable from your policies."

"You know much more about the world than I do. I don't need to say anything, but you still have to take care of your health."

Zhu Di sighed and said, "I don't want to continue to experience the experience of an old man sending off a young man. Please pay more attention."

"I understand." Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and Zhu Di also spoke:

"Zhu Neng is expected to attack Pala. I have read the Tang Dynasty history and found that place is called Xilin, Kunling, and Shuanghe."

"After he hits there, we can go over there too."

"Well, we will be able to set off in a few days." Zhu Gaoxu nodded, then said:

"That place was called Kunling Prefecture, and three counties were set up there, so they were named after these three places."

"I have already named other places. I will relocate the people there once they have recaptured them."

"Although the people in Yanqi and other places are Hu people, they can slowly migrate as the railway is built."

"Otherwise, if we move them away at once, the supply of the army will also be a big problem."

Zhu Gaoxu picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. Zhu Di was satisfied when he heard this and said, "It's good to think so. These Hu people believe in Hui Islam, which is a bit difficult to deal with."

"Scatter them in Daning and follow your grandfather's instructions. Then there won't be any problems."

"I thought so too." Zhu Gaoxu put down the teacup and began to discuss other things with Zhu Di.

During the time he was in the Western Regions, he basically stayed with Zhu Di all the time, because he was always worried that Zhu Di would leave in his sleep one day.

Although he appeared very energetic during the day, the first thing Zhu Gaoxu did when he woke up every day was to ask Hu Ji and others about Zhu Di's situation.

Zhu Di was a little annoyed by him. Many times when he opened his eyes, he saw Zhu Gaoxu standing in front of him, which almost scared him so much that he went to see Zhu Gaoxu in advance.

Of course, Zhu Di also knew that this was Zhu Gaoxu's concern for him, but he still didn't want to live such a life of constant surprise.

Going to Hezhong early to see the beauty of the northwest is what Zhu Di wanted to do most.

Time passed quickly, and a few days later, news came from the west that Zhu Neng, along with Yunusi and others, had recruited more than 30,000 Mongols in the city of Pala.

Perhaps it was because the Ming army was too famous, and their backbones had been captured, so now, except for the prince supported by the nobles in Yilibali, most other places surrendered.

More than a hundred years of farming and grazing life have long wiped out the pure herding bravery of Yilibali.

The nobles just wanted to negotiate conditions, and Zhu Gaoxu could meet all of them, provided that they left the Western Regions and went to Daning and Hetao.

Of course, there were also people who were unwilling to leave, but what they faced was the artillery and bullets of the Ming army. In mid-June, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di took a carriage to Pala City, which was renamed Shuanghe City in Kunling Prefecture.

The journey of more than 900 miles made Zhu Gaoxu very worried about Zhu Di's health.

However, Zhu Di was very happy along the way. He didn't even take a carriage. He rode on horseback to hunt along the road every day.

As time went by, Zhu Gaoxu felt that he was worrying too much, so he let him go.

As time went by, good news from all over the country reached Zhu Gaoxu one after another.

On June 18, Chen Mao successively captured Tiemenguan, Tarbugul (Kucha), Kuxian and other cities, and marched towards Asu and Wuchi.

On June 24, Mao Zhong led his troops to launch a surprise attack on Naratu in the eastern part of the Ili River Valley.

Although they carried no artillery, they relied on the tactic of surprise and the hostage Bukabek to capture Naratu and open the door to the eastern part of the Ili Valley.

On the first day of July, Zhu Gaoxu and his entourage arrived at the city of Pala, which is adjacent to Huangcaopo (Lake Aibi), the largest saltwater lake in the Western Regions.

"There are many salt lakes in the Western Regions. I saw quite a few along the way."

Standing on the bank of Huangcaobo, Zhu Di looked at the lake salt under his feet and couldn't help but sigh: "With this lake salt, I guess we can solve the problem of salt goods from the migrating population in the future."

"It needs to be processed before it can be eaten." Zhu Gaoxu walked up and grabbed a handful of lake salt on the ground.

Compared with salt, it contains more sand and gravel and is not suitable for direct consumption.

The local Mongolians dig a bucket of lake salt, then pour a bucket of water on it, and then pour the water into another bucket. After waiting for it to dry, they repeatedly water and pour water until they finally get the dried lake salt to eat.

This method is still a bit crude, but it can solve their salt problem.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu looked to the west.

To the west of Huangcaopo is the city of Pala, which is one mile long from east to west and 350 steps wide from north to south.

There are only about 3,000 people living in the city, but outside the city there are wooden houses and yurts of all sizes, stretching as far as the eye can see.

The nobles of Pala City were surrenderists. After the Ming army arrived, they surrendered and were sent to Daning.

After going to Daning, they will get thousands of hectares of grassland and thousands of sheep. In addition, the court also rewarded them with the fifth rank of Sanxiang. Even if the hereditary rank is downgraded, it can be passed down for six generations.

At this moment, there are no nobles left living here except for 30,000 herdsmen.

"Second brother..."

Zhu Di suddenly called out to Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu looked and saw a line of egrets soaring into the sky in the distance, forming a contrast with the setting sun and the yellow grass.

“It’s a beautiful sight.”

Zhu Gaoxu gave his comments, but Zhu Di laughed and said, "I thought you could write a poem, but you turned out to be no different from me."

"Haha..." Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly and shook his head. Zhu Di also patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Well, the pastures here are nice. Let's play here for a few days and then head to the river. Zhu Neng is about to take over Cape Force anyway."

"Well, you can go there for a few days, but instead of going to Haijiaoli, you can go to Jinghai (Sailim Lake) and then go directly to Alimali."

Zhu Gaoxu interrupted Zhu Di's thoughts. Zhu Di was stunned when he heard it: "Go on horseback?"

"It will take Zhu Neng at least a month to reach Alimato, and Mao Zhong will need at least one or two months to completely conquer the entire Yilibali Valley."

"If we go over now, I'm afraid we'll be blocked by the city of the Western Tartars, right?"

Zhu Di did not think about it in detail, but Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and said, "I was worried about your health before, so I didn't let you go to the front line. Now that you have come here on horseback, why don't you take the small path over the Western Tianshan Mountains, pass through Jinghai to Alimali, and surround Yilibali with Mao Zhong."

Before Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, Zhu Di's eyes sparkled and he asked, "Who will lead the troops?"

"If you don't want, your son..."

"Who said that!" Zhu Di interrupted Zhu Gaoxu anxiously before he finished speaking, pulled his arm and walked towards Pala City.

"The military situation is urgent, we will set off tomorrow!"

Speaking of war, Zhu Di suddenly became energetic.

He hurried back to Pala and ordered Hu Ji, Liu Mian and others to inform the generals below to make preparations. They would cross the Tianshan Mountains and head to Alimali early the next morning.

Perhaps it was because he had not led troops to fight in a long time. Even though there were only more than 3,000 troops, Zhu Di was still so excited that he fell asleep at midnight.

The next morning, Zhu Gaoxu, who was an early sleeper, had not yet woken up when he saw Zhu Di hurriedly waking him up. The army marched along the hills in the south all the way towards Jinghai on the top of the high mountain range.

The road from Pala to Jinghai is not difficult. Although it is uphill all the way, the terrain is relatively flat and it is not too narrow.

After two days of traveling, the army arrived at the Pure Sea, which was later called the Last Tear of the Atlantic Ocean.

Compared with Sailimu Lake, the word "Pure Sea" seems to better express its cleanliness and clarity.

The tops of the mountains surrounding Jinghai are covered with long-lasting white snow, and Jinghai, which is almost the same color as the sky, constantly breaks through with waves that reach the surface.

It's more like a sea than a lake.

It's not because of its size that you can't see the end of it at a glance, but because the lake is so clean and clear that it reflects the sky, giving people a feeling of being cleansed in the soul.

"Jinghai is truly worthy of its name..."

Sitting on horseback, Zhu Di marveled at the cleanliness and clarity of Jinghai Lake. Seeing this scene, some soldiers couldn't help but touch the clean water with their hands.

"Tell the brothers down there not to drink directly from the lake."

Zhu Gaoxu had been to Jinghai in his previous life, and although he still felt shocked, what he should do was to pay attention to the soldiers.

"This road isn't difficult to travel, why don't you let Zhu Neng lead the troops through this route?"

Zhu Di reacted and looked at Zhu Gaoxu, who chuckled and said, "You will know tomorrow."

"Huh?" Zhu Di looked suspicious. He originally thought that Zhu Gaoxu was fooling him. However, as the army moved out of camp the next day, Zhu Di soon realized how steep the Tianshan Mountains were.

In this era, there were not enough 100-meter-high viaducts for the army to move smoothly down the mountain. All that was left for Zhu Di and his men were the steep mountains and narrow roads that led down the mountain.

The ancient road left by our predecessors was only about ten feet wide, and three thousand people were stretched for nearly ten miles on this ancient road.

Even a veteran general like Zhu Di did not dare to be careless when facing the Tianshan Ancient Road. Instead, he dismounted and walked through some dangerous areas.

The army took three days to travel the 150-li distance. By then, Mao Zhong had already captured the city of Telehala, which had attempted to resist, and was marching towards the city of Yilibali.

The nobles in Yilibali were frightened and quickly transferred Alimali's troops to Yilibali in an attempt to defend the city and repel Mao Zhong.

It was because Zhu Gaoxu had anticipated this that he dared to take Zhu Di along this dangerous ancient Tianshan Road.

On the tenth day of July, three thousand tired troops walked out of the ancient Tianshan Road and headed towards Alimali (Huocheng).

"I will never go down this path again in my life!"

Even a famous person like Zhu Di couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat after leaving the Tianshan Ancient Road.

After wiping the cold sweat off his face, he turned his gaze to Alimali, more than 20 miles away.

Although there had been no war for many years, Zhu Di still skillfully dispatched the Tangqi to gather intelligence, and at the same time ordered people to prepare horse-drawn carriages and cut down trees to make siege equipment.

However, the Ming army did not need any siege equipment. They only needed to make a chariot, put a lid on it, wrap it with thick animal skins, and pour enough water on it.

It is enough to push the car to the foot of the city and then use the explosive pack to blow up the rammed earth wall.

Of course, all this was Zhu Di's expectation, but the reality is that his expectation did not come true.

When Zhu Di shouted and commanded 3,000 soldiers to charge towards Alimali, the defender of Alimali unsurprisingly opened the city gate and chose to surrender directly.

After realizing what was happening, Zhu Di rode his horse to find Zhu Gaoxu with a look of resentment on his face.

"Second brother, you are not kind..."

"Haha, who asked you to let me bring you here?"

Zhu Gaoxu still had the nerve to laugh. It was quite fun to tease his old father occasionally.

After laughing for a while, he put away his smile and asked, "Well, what did the guard say?"

"The guys in Yilibali have transferred soldiers from all over the surrounding areas to Yilibali, and also recruited 30,000 men to defend the city. The number of soldiers is at least 50,000."

Zhu Di stroked his beard and showed a bit of pride on his face. Obviously, he did not think that Mao Zhong could capture Yilibali so quickly.

Since Mao Zhong is not capable, the old man will have to fight this battle himself.

"In that case, I'll leave Yilibali to you."

Zhu Gaoxu raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.

Zhu Di looked at his smile and couldn't help wondering: "Second Brother, do you have any other tricks?"

Zhu Di was worried that he was being fooled by Zhu Gaoxu again, but Zhu Gaoxu stroked his moustache and said: "You are very smart, Alimali just didn't expect me to do this."

"If we attack Yilibali now, there are at least 50,000 men guarding the city. Is there any way I can kill all of them?"

Although Zhu Gaoxu said so, Zhu Di was still suspicious: "Really?"

"It's really gone this time." Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

"Boy, if you lie to me again..."

"Then you can just take me away."

Zhu Gaoxu's words made Zhu Di not know how to respond, and he was reluctant to take Zhu Gaoxu away.

"You have to behave yourself this time, your father can't stand being teased a few times."

Shaking the reins, Zhu Di left Zhu Gaoxu's side.

Zhu Gaoxu watched Zhu Di's departing back, shook his horse's reins, and shouted with a smile:
"Father, please wait for me..."

(End of this chapter)