Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 715 Mental Purification Method
Jia Shi was more concerned about the battle report that Fang Ziqiang had sent, which detailed the course of the battle.

With strong fortifications in place, the enemy launched an attack in a line formation, only to be met with crossfire from machine guns, resulting in disastrous losses.

It is foreseeable that after this battle, the enemy will have no more opportunities to launch offensive operations. Therefore, the most important task for our army going forward is to make relevant preparations for field battles.

Although the rebels were scattered and nomadic, they were highly mobile, making it extremely difficult for our army to capture and annihilate them.

Although the rebels were defeated, deep-seated hatred was created, and a considerable number of tribes will fight our army to the end.

The local tribes have lived here for generations, and if any of them fight to the bitter end, they will become a major problem in the future.

This report is very clear: there will be no more large-scale frontal warfare for a long time unless there is external intervention.

The distance from Astana to Almaty is too far. If Astana is to be defended, the most important thing is the supply line.

The most urgent task is to take advantage of the enemy's retreat and transport food and supplies to prepare for a long-term garrison.

The newly formed division faced a very serious problem: whether or not to defend Astana. If they did, they would be facing a situation where there were potential enemies within a radius of twenty miles outside the city.

Even more challenging is the supply line, which stretches for over a thousand kilometers.

It's not that we can't establish military farms, but even if we could, it wouldn't be something that can be accomplished overnight.

This is the current situation. Without a large-scale annihilation of the local rebels, it will be difficult to hold Astana. This shows that the rebels' voluntary withdrawal was not entirely out of fear of war, but rather a deliberate withdrawal.

In conclusion, simply holding Astana is not a problem; the difficulty lies in the supply lines.

After spending a whole night thinking about the problem, Jia Shi finally decided to retreat!

By placing the frontline in Balkhash, the logistical lines were greatly shortened, and land reclamation could begin the following spring.

After the order was given, the entire army searched for any wagons they could find and took everything they could carry. Before leaving, the chief of staff suggested setting the wagons on fire, but Jia Shi did not accept the suggestion.

"Destruction is much easier than construction. After all, we are outsiders. We need to show the locals who the destroyers are and who the builders are. This is a long-term task, and we must make the reasons clear to the people below."

They arrived quickly, but their return journey was much slower, taking twenty days to get back to Balkhash. They encountered no harassment along the way, probably because they were too scared to continue fighting.

The scouts who stayed behind brought back news that the rebels did not return to Astana until three days after our army withdrew.

"The north wind sweeps across the land, breaking the white grass; in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, snow flies in the northern sky." Jia Shi recited a line from Cen Shen's poem, while outside the door, snowflakes drifted down. Winter comes early here; it starts snowing in early October.

The place where snow falls in August, as described by Cen Shen, actually refers to the shores of Lake Baikal, which is the North Sea where Su Wu herded sheep.

This was the territory at the height of the Tang Dynasty's power; how could later generations not feel heartbroken?

Of course, the vastness of the Tang Dynasty's territory was largely due to the relatively high global climate. After the Ming Dynasty entered the Little Ice Age, survival in those areas became extremely difficult.

If you think about it carefully, during the Tang Dynasty, many of what are now deserts were grasslands. Periods of great prosperity for agricultural societies often coincided with periods of global warming.

Before the Industrial Revolution, agrarian societies were so heavily influenced by climate that it was almost the decisive factor.

It's understandable that the Ming Dynasty abandoned its efforts to manage the north, but I just can't understand why it abandoned Annam. It just goes to show that agrarian civilization does indeed have significant limitations.

The large number of women and children brought back from the north were settled in Balkhash, where Jia Shi left a battalion of troops to garrison, while the rest of the main force withdrew to Almaty to rest and reorganize, waiting for the following spring.

Using the pretext of conquering Astana the following year, Jia Shi sent the two sons of the former King of Xining and their subordinates to Balkhash, instructing them to quickly establish settlements and cultivate land next year, as only with grain could they gain territory.

Despite their reluctance, the two brothers obediently went, after all, their future and destiny were in the hands of others. This is the terrible thing about defeat; the losers can only eke out a living temporarily.

Just like after the 6-0 scoreline, Bavaria became a reliable ally for the Middle Eastern elites, allowing them to indirectly curry favor with East Asian universities. Bavaria, on the other hand, could play both sides, swaying between different factions and reaping all the benefits.

This world is very realistic. If you fight and you win, everything will be different.

This is why Jia Shi insisted on going north to fight a battle: one was to test the quality of the newly formed divisions, and the other was to give the local tribes, large, medium and small, a profound lesson.

Before spring arrived the following year, during winter, many local small and medium-sized indigenous tribes began to gravitate towards Balkhash and voluntarily submit to its rule.

In response to this, Jia Shi relayed the information to Zhen Yaoyao to see what tricks she could come up with.

Zhen Yaoyao was truly a troublemaker. She set off with her entourage despite the heavy snow. To ensure her safety, Jia Shi even dispatched a cavalry battalion to protect her, or rather, to create a grand spectacle.

Zhen Yaoyao was truly ruthless. Upon arriving in Balkhash, she immediately began the forced conversion campaign: either convert to the White Lotus Religion or move away. There was no third option.

This woman was quite unethical, giving these tribes a deadline to make a decision before winter, so they could move away the following spring.

She appeared kind and compassionate, but was actually extremely cunning. She knew the local inhabitants all too well; due to the harsh natural conditions, they lived for the moment and followed the law of the jungle. Life and death were unimportant to them; they had no long-term goals, only focusing on the present. Their long-term goal was to find seventy-two virgins in heaven after death.

Zhen Yaoyao predicted that some of the indigenous tribes would definitely not want to change their surnames or tolerate the situation, and they would definitely find an opportunity to fight back.

After learning about Zhen Yaoyao's arrangements, Jia Shi was eager to see if her prediction was correct.

Through spies planted in advance, Zhen Yaoyao was actually monitoring the internal situation of the various tribes that came to submit.

After a heavy snowfall, several tribes gathered around Lake Balkhash faced dire survival conditions, and their leaders met to discuss whether to pull off a heist.

The agreement was to first borrow grain from the Central Empire. If they could borrow it, they would survive the winter and then leave. If they couldn't borrow it, they would pull off a heist, seize Balkhash, and then leave after surviving the winter.

Upon learning the truth, Jia Shi expressed his admiration for Zhen Yaoyao and ordered the Balkhash side to secretly prepare for a response, while also reflecting on his own actions.

Policies that work locally are useless in Anxi. Nomadic and agricultural mindsets are not aligned.

Looking back at history now, it's easy to see that Genghis Khan's strategy was indeed simple and effective. The request for grain was decisively rejected, and after Jia Shi once again confirmed Zhen Yaoyao's correctness, his attitude towards her underwent a significant change.

Zhen Yaoyao was led into Jia Lian's study. When she saw the tea table and tea set, her eyes lit up slightly.

Jia Shi personally brewed tea and handed her a cup, saying, "Have some tea. This is tea I brought from the capital. Try it and see how it tastes."

Zhen Yaoyao was trying to calm her inner turmoil. The study was a forbidden area; previously, only Jia Shi and his adjutant were allowed to enter. The fact that she could now come in for tea meant that her abilities had been recognized.

The tea was a bit bitter. After drinking a cup, Zhen Yaoyao smacked her lips and said, "It's a bit too strong. I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Jia Shi laughed and said, "I thought I wouldn't be able to get used to this since I'm used to the local milk tea."

Zhen Yaoyao smiled slightly and said, "My father is a member of the Zhen family. I grew up drinking inland tea when I was in Xinjiang."

"I'm thinking about a question: with so much blood on the outside, what methods will those natives use to attack Balkhash?"

When Jia Shi raised the question, Zhen Yaoyao's expression gradually turned serious. After a moment's thought, she replied, "An inside man!"

Jia Shi nodded: "That's the only possibility."

The earthen wall in Balkhash was not rebuilt. Instead, an agreement was reached with the locals that they would collect ice from the lake in exchange for food. They then used the ice to build an ice wall and poured water on it.

There is such an ice wall that it is difficult for the natives to enter or leave at will.

In the end, Jia Shi sighed and said, "I never expected that even after we adopted the strategy of exchanging ice for food, they would still rebel."

“The ice wall has been repaired, so they can’t exchange it for food. Cattle and sheep are their lifeline, and they can’t use them to exchange for food to get through the winter. This completely cuts off their lifeline. They are used to being free and undisciplined and are unwilling to accept constraints. In addition, given their religion, even if you save their lives, they will not thank you, but will thank their god for sending you to save them.”

These words left Jia Shigan speechless. Jia Shigan actually understood the meaning behind them, after all, he had a second uncle named Jia Lian. However, hearing about it and seeing it with one's own eyes and experiencing it firsthand are two different things.

If Jia Shi had previously felt it was somewhat inhumane to persuade locals to convert, he was now certain that Zhen Yaoyao's methods were more effective with the local natives.

For long-term stability, we must rely on people like Zhen Yaoyao to manage the spiritual world, while also establishing agricultural settlements to settle the local people.

In Balkhash, there was no moon in the first half of the night, but when the moon came out in the second half, a dense crowd appeared on the boundless snow-covered plains, quietly approaching the city gate.

Occasionally, a face can be seen in the moonlight, its eyes flashing with a cold, excited, and tyrannical light.

The city gates opened, and thousands of people filed in. Just when everything seemed within their grasp, countless torches were lit.

Machine guns high above instantly unleashed chains of death, the dense volleys of gunfire drowning out screams. Grenades rained down from the city walls, the roar of explosions carrying far into the night.

The intense gunfire gradually subsided, though sporadic shots still echoed. The snow near the city gate was stained red.

"Their own kind stole their grain and livestock, leaving them unable to survive the winter. We took them in for the winter, yet they turned out to be ungrateful." Jia Shi looked at the battle report and calmly spoke to Zhen Yaoyao in front of him. Zhen Yaoyao's alluring face revealed a ruthless expression as she said, "The wheels are useful now."

Jia Shi shook his head: "No, no, no, that's not how you use the wheels. Remember to make sure the wheels are level! Even wolf cubs can bite!"

This winter, a momentous event occurred on the shores of Lake Balkhash, altering local customs. The tribes remained the same, the people remained the same, but they were forced to change.

Change had to be spontaneous. Some young people from the tribe took action on their own, killed the elders who held power in the tribe, and took their heads to see Zhen Yaoyao.

Zhen Yaoyao looked arrogantly at the young tribal chief kneeling before her, her warm little mouth behind the veil uttering words more chilling than the cold wind: "What you're doing puts me in a very difficult position!"

The young tribal chief, who was at the head of the tribe, kowtowed forcefully: "Divine messenger, how can we save ourselves?"

Zhen Yaoyao said some strange things, the gist of which was... those who know, know.

After the start of spring, Jia Shi left Almaty and went to Bishkek to complete the handover.

From Commander Fang, even more devastating news came: Anxi Gong's army had swept across the Caspian Sea last autumn, and hundreds of thousands of people had vanished forever.

With the help of the White Lotus Sect leader, the Duke of Anxi adopted a more radical strategy. The only place where he didn't unleash a massacre was surprisingly the area around Dushanbe. The reason was simple: the local indigenous people also had an agricultural culture and felt a stronger sense of belonging to the central empire's rule. As for the issue of conversion, that was never a problem. The Prince of Xining had already thoroughly investigated it.

In Bishkek, the White Lotus sect's infiltration was not deep, so there weren't many changes. Local tribes, who considered themselves descendants of Li Ling, remained relatively stable under a more moderate policy.

Of course, that was in the past. After Jia Shi completed the handover, he did not rush to the next step, but first cleaned up the internal affairs and took stock of the company's assets.

This calculation revealed that there were 30,000 semi-immigrant families of mixed Han and non-Han ethnicities in Bishkek. For these 30,000 families, Jia Shi mandated their religious beliefs; they could choose not to believe, but were absolutely forbidden from being "greened" (i.e., adopted a religious faith).

As for Almaty, the matter was left to Zhen Yaoyao to handle. For immigrant families and individuals, the policy was similar to that in Bishkek, but with a stricter focus: whoever was green-clad would be doomed.

It can only be said that the mess here was left by the King of Xining back then. He focused his main efforts on Dushanbe and Khujand, and didn't invest much in Bishkek and Almaty.

This is why the Duke of Anxi was able to advance unimpeded and reach the Caspian Sea; there were few internal conflicts.

The spiritual purification campaign relying on the White Lotus Sect would take time, and Jia Shi still had to negotiate with the Anxi Duke, with both sides reaching a compromise. Under the Anxi Duke's rule, there was a high degree of autonomy, and in principle, military affairs had to be subordinate to the Anxi Military Region led by Jia Shi. In practice, it was divided into two divisions: the west under the Anxi Duke's integrated military and political power, and the east under Jia Shi's autocratic rule. Generally, both sides had to submit to the rule of His Majesty and the Cabinet.

Both sides are subjects of the imperial court. The fact that the court does not require Anxi to pay taxes now does not mean that taxes will not be paid in the future.

In the capital, a newly appointed provincial censor recently submitted a secret memorial, claiming that Jia Shi, who is in charge of Anxi, may have intentions of establishing his own independent regime.

Li Yuan read the memorial, sighed, and personally set it ablaze, turning it to ashes. Memorials of this kind had been pouring in for years, from Southeast Asia to Anxi.

All these similar secret reports pointed to one thing: the Jia clan, who were in charge of a region, harbored rebellious intentions.

Li Yuan believed these memorials stemmed from loyalty, but he also understood that Jia Lian's willingness to send his sons and nephews to distant lands rather than remain in the capital was less a testament to loyalty and more a tacit understanding with two emperors. What talk of absolute loyalty could a subject at Jia Lian's level possibly hold?

(End of this chapter)