Start to be a martial arts hero from the famous people of Hengshan

Chapter 464 Northwest Affairs
In Jiayu Pass, Wang Yangming sat in the main seat and watched An Guo and Alechubolot escort Mansuer in together.

An Guo bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and joined forces with Alechu Bolot to capture the Khan of Turpan, Mansur!"

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Wang Yangming smiled and nodded. After looking at Man Suer, he said calmly, "When the other battles are over, I will report the truth to the court. The rewards for all the generals will not be small."

"Thank you, Lord Wang!" An Guo and others were delighted and bowed again to express their gratitude.

After everyone left, Wang Yangming stayed behind specifically to ask Xiang Da Nian about various matters on the battlefield.

After Xiang Danian answered all his questions, Wang Yangming said, "In view of the great victory of this battle, I have specially ordered you to return to the capital with the victory report to present it to the emperor and report the results of the battle to His Majesty. You should get ready and set out early tomorrow morning."

When Xiang Danian heard this, he realized that Wang Yangming was taking care of him, and he immediately half-knelt on the ground and said gratefully: "Thank you, Lord Wang!"

"Please give my regards to Lord Ou on my behalf." Wang Yangming smiled and said gently.

"Yes!"

On the second day, at daybreak, Xiang Danian led five hundred cavalrymen and escorted Man Suer towards the capital.

The journey was more than 3,000 miles. Xiang Danian and his party set out from Jiayuguan in mid-October. They followed the rule of traveling fast during the day and resting at night. They would never stop unless they encountered extremely bad weather. Even under such circumstances, it still took them more than a month to reach the capital.

Ou Zanghua knew that Xiang Danian was coming back several days in advance, so he led the Jinyiwei and arrived at the outskirts of the capital early. When he saw Xiang Danian and his party approaching under the escort of the Beijing Camp, he could not help but go to greet them.

"Senior Brother, I'm back!" Xiang Danian looked at his senior brother and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Good boy!" Ou Zanghua patted his fellow apprentice on the shoulder and said with a smile: "You did a good job and didn't bring shame to Master and Brother."

As he spoke, Ou Zanghua made way for him and encouraged him, "Go! Report the victory to the whole city."

"Yes!"

Xiang Da Nian responded and ordered his subordinates to hand Man Suer over to the Jinyiwei. Then he named two of his confidants. The three of them mounted their horses, held high the red cloth, and galloped towards Yongdingmen.

Xiang Danian took a deep breath, used his inner strength and shouted:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the great victory in the Northwest!"

"Gansu Governor Wang Shouren defeated Turpan, pursued the enemy for a thousand miles, and recovered Hamiwei and Yumenguan!"

"The Ming Dynasty is mighty! The Ming army is mighty!"

The commander of Yongding Gate received the news in advance and naturally did not stop them. He also organized the people entering and leaving the capital to move to both sides and make way for the road.

Xiang Danian rode his horse at full speed, shouting loudly as he crossed Zhengyangmen Street.

When the people on both sides of the street heard this, they all showed surprise. Many of them began to ask the scholars around them where Hami Wei was and whether Yumen Pass was the place where the Tang Dynasty poet wrote "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows, as the spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass?"

After receiving a positive answer, everyone laughed happily. Being able to recover the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties was a great achievement!

In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhengde, who was discussing state affairs with the cabinet, also received the news. He couldn't help but look at Fei Hong with a smile and asked, "Mr. Fei, how far do I lag behind Emperor Taizong?"

Fei Hong immediately cupped his hands and congratulated him, saying, "Your Majesty's martial arts are outstanding, slightly inferior to Emperor Taizong."

“Hahahaha.”

Emperor Zhengde laughed happily, then his expression froze, he stroked his chin and said, "Mr. Fei, what you mean is that my civil administration is still far from perfect, right?"

Fei Hong looked up at Emperor Zhengde and did not give a direct answer: "Emperor Taizong had the Prime Minister in black, the Three Yangs, and Xie Jin."

"Why should Fei Qing favor one over the other?" Emperor Zhengde said cheerfully, "I have Li Dongyang, Yang Qing, Fei Qing, Ou Qing, and Yang Shen, and now I have Wang Shouren. They are no weaker than Emperor Taizong's civil officials. It can even be said that they are slightly stronger." Fei Hong was slightly stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Emperor Zhengde actually valued him so much.

"However, Emperor Taizong also made seven voyages to the West and published the Yongle Encyclopedia, which I cannot match. However, I am in my prime and have a lot of time to prepare. It is not impossible for me to surpass Emperor Taizong in the future."

Emperor Zhengde said, looking at Fei Hong and continued: "Please help me, Mr. Fei!"

"I will do my best to share your majesty's worries." Fei Hong said with some emotion in his words.

"Very good! By the way."

Emperor Zhengde added: "News has come from Jiangxi. After investigation by Jiangxi Governor Sun Sui and Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Zhen, it was found that a group of bandits had indeed caused chaos in Raozhou and destroyed Fei Qing's house. Yesterday, I sent an order to Sun Sui to dispatch the Nanchang Guards to destroy them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing this, Fei Hong immediately bowed to express his gratitude.

Emperor Zhengde smiled. Just at this moment, an eunuch walked in with a report of victory in his hand and presented it respectfully. Zhang Yong stepped forward to take the report and confirmed that there was no danger before handing it over with both hands.

The emperor took the victory report and slowly read it carefully. Its content was consistent with the news previously conveyed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard through carrier pigeons, except that this victory report was more detailed, with many details clearly visible on the paper.

"Great! This is truly a battle that will decide everything!"

Emperor Zhengde handed the victory report to Fei Hong and said seriously: "Wang Shouren has defeated Turpan in this battle. I don't plan to confer the title of King Zhongshun of Hami. It will be directly governed by the Gansu Provincial Administration Office. Chijin City, Dunhuang City, and Yumen Pass will be rebuilt, and the northwest defense line will be pushed out a thousand miles! As for Handongwei, it will be renamed Guazhou City!"

After reading the good news, Fei Hong couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how lucky the country is. Not only did they have a genius like Ou Zanghua, but now they also had Wang Shouren.

After hearing what the emperor said, Fei Hong pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has great ambitions, and I am very excited. However, the current dynasty is committed to the construction of Liaodong, and the burden on the national treasury is already quite heavy. I am afraid it is difficult to take care of so many projects. Moreover, the northwest is not like Liaodong. It is farther away from the capital and the local population is not large. This matter still needs careful planning and careful planning."

Emperor Zhengde's expression darkened, and he could not help but sigh and ask, "Fei Qing, there used to be a Silk Road in the northwest, which was very prosperous during the Han and Tang dynasties. How come it has become deserted during my reign?"

Fei Hong suddenly became excited and immediately began to give lectures to Emperor Zhengde.

The formation of the Silk Road is inseparable from the support of local people. Only when the population increases can economic value be created.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the eight counties of Liangzhou located in the Hexi Corridor had a total population of over one million, of which Dunhuang County, the one with the smallest population, had over 30,000 people.

During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, Longyou Road, which mainly governed the Hexi Corridor, had a total population of more than 190,000. By the Kaiyuan period, the population had grown to more than 550,000.

But during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, when Feng Sheng and Fu Youde's western expeditionary army conquered the Hexi Corridor, they only found a population of 30,000 in the entire area, and in Ganzhou there were only more than 800 households left.

What the hell is this?

Not to mention logistics, even finding a translator is difficult.

Why was the population in Northwest China so small in the early Ming Dynasty?
Since the rise of Mongolia, its iron hooves have continued to march southward, fiercely attacking the Western Xia regime entrenched in the Hexi Corridor.

When destroying Western Xia, Mongolia almost wiped out all the Western Xia royal family. The capital Xingqing Prefecture was also massacred. The tragic scene is beyond words.

Later, in the Mongol campaign to conquer the Jin Dynasty, cities were repeatedly massacred wherever the Mongol cavalry went. The population and economy of Guanzhong and North China suffered unprecedented damage and were almost reduced to ruins.

Later, in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, the war between the two capitals broke out again, and the sky was raging. Northwest and North China were once again ravaged by war, with countless lives lost and people suffering everywhere.

Coupled with several natural disasters, a large number of people were relocated.

After two hundred years of turmoil, it is not easy to still have a population of tens of thousands left.

Later, in order to restore the population as quickly as possible, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty started the Hongwu Immigration. For example, the population composition of Shaanxi Province consisted of local recruited natives and soldiers who surrendered from the Yuan Dynasty, but more were Ming army officers and soldiers who followed the army to fight.

This policy not only effectively alleviated the problem of sparse population and barren land in some areas, but also eased the contradiction of dense population and limited land in other areas. It enabled the national strength of the early Ming Dynasty to recover rapidly, thus laying a solid foundation for Emperor Yongle's conquests in the south and the north.

(End of this chapter)