I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 891 The Ming Dynasty is changing too fast

Everyone looked in the direction Wang Yongji pointed and discovered that a fortress-like building was being built on the side of the road with thousands of people working hard.

They were all young men, their faces and arms were tanned, they wore cotton clothes, and their heads were covered with a turban, which was soaked with sweat.

Some were pushing wheelbarrows filled with mud, sand, bricks and stones.

Some are divided into groups of four to six, each pulling a rope with a huge stone disc in the middle of the rope.

At the leader's slogan, everyone worked together, pulled the rope, and threw the large stone disc into the air.

When they reached the highest point, they let go together, and the large stone disc fell down with a plop, hitting the ground heavily and solidifying the foundation.

Some were carrying stones, which were probably mined from nearby mountains. Each stone was a long strip of stone, one meter long, half a meter wide and high.

These stones are the most common sandstone in the Tianshan area, and each stone weighs about half a ton.

They were loaded onto sturdy carts in groups of four and pulled by oxen and horses, transported from the foot of a distant mountain. Then they were hoisted into a deep pit dug in the ground using a simple hanger and pulley system, mixed with cement, and stacked one by one to form the foundation of the fortress.

Some were transporting bricks, some were laying bricks, some were preparing wood, and some were mixing cement. Thousands of people were divided into different groups, with several people in each group, and were busy in an orderly manner.

"Colonel Wang, what are you repairing here?"

"Are you building a post station here?"

"Post station? This looks like a fortress castle, is it a post station?"

"Yes. The imperial court is building a straight road from Lanzhou through the Hexi Corridor to Yiwu (Hami), and then split into two routes. The northern route goes through Luntai (Urumqi) at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain, Yehe (Wusu), Yining City in Yili County, and directly reaches Suiye City in the east of Mengchi County.

The southern route goes through Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuci, Gumo (Aksu), Shule (Kashgar) at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, then passes through the Pearl River Valley, goes out to Dayuan City, and directly reaches Kangju and Kushan City. "

Hearing these place names, Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji, who were well-read in history books, naturally knew that the emperor and the court restored all the place names in the Western Regions to their names before the Han and Tang Dynasties.

“This post station is located in the center of the Pearl River Valley. It is very important, so it is built according to the scale of a first-class post station. After it is completed, it can become a town covering an area of ​​100 miles.

The name has also been chosen, it is called Xiuxunyi. "

"Who are these people working here?"

"They are all captives from the Hami Khanate, the Yarkand Khanate, the Yilibali Khanate, the Bukhara Khanate, and the Khiva Khanate. When we destroyed these foreign vassal states, we captured 470,000 people, all of whom were young and strong men from various tribes.

During these years, about 200,000 people were naturalized.”

"Naturalization?"

"Yes, give up Islam, convert to Shingon Buddhism or Tantric Buddhism, and be willing to live a peaceful and stable life.

These 200,000 people were released and returned home, and their families were organized into households, incorporated into agricultural and pastoral groups or agricultural reclamation groups, and given pastures or farmland, cattle and horses, and farm tools.

Wang Yongji was somewhat puzzled, "Are they really giving up?"

Shen Wanxiang waved his hand and said disapprovingly: "These people are not born to believe in Islam. Mingshou, Huchen, you see, the poorer and drier the place, the easier it is to believe in religion.

why?
In the face of the brutal nature, people are too fragile, and they must have faith in their hearts to persist in the harsh environment. Therefore, more and more people believe in religion in the Kipchak, Mengchi, Yili, the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and the Mesopotamian region.

Now that they have better beliefs, why can't they change?

It is said in the Emperor's collection of imperial writings that human needs are hierarchical from low to high, including survival, security, belonging and love, respect and trust, and self-realization, with survival being the most basic level.

In the past, religion could help them survive, and it became the most basic and urgent need.

After naturalizing in the Ming Dynasty, you will have no worries about food and clothing, survival will not be a problem, and safety will not be a problem. Faith will naturally move to the third level of belonging and love. Moreover, by joining the Ming Dynasty, you will have a greater sense of belonging, and faith will become less important. "

Wang Yongji and Wang Fengmeng couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "Qianhe is really amazing, he has mastered the sacred words and imperial literature very thoroughly."

Wang Fengmeng continued, "There are still 200,000 people who are still undergoing labor reform. Among them, less than 10,000 people made mistakes after naturalization and are still undergoing reform.

You see, these 200,000 people who have been reformed have been reformed in a proper way over the past five or six years. They abide by the discipline and know the power of God. In addition to their daily labor and food and clothing, they also have medical teams and missionary teams.
Since the 43rd year of Jiajing's reign when the Ming Dynasty took control of the Luan River, we have begun to carry out labor reform and ideological reshaping for the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert, and we are very familiar with this area."

Wang Yongji calculated in his mind and felt that the numbers were wrong. "Hu Chen, you captured 470,000 people, naturalized 200,000 people, and continued to reform through labor for 200,000 people. Among them, less than 10,000 people were replaced. There is a difference of 80,000 people. Where did the other 80,000 people go?"

Wang Fengmeng glanced at him.

Jiamen, why are you so old-fashioned?
Do I need to explain this so clearly?
Not so good.

Shen Wanxiang was clear in his mind, and he said tactfully: "Those who are stubborn and refuse to obey the king's will naturally be driven out of the country. Should we keep them in the territory of the Ming Dynasty and allow them to do evil?

And since the transformation is not good, there is no need to force them to stay and continue the transformation, which would waste food. Every grain of food is grown by the people of the Ming Dynasty with great effort, and it cannot be wasted on them. They must be driven out."

Shen Wanxiang glanced at Wang Fengmeng and said, "We have seen the situation south of the Yuezhi River. There is chaos and war, the strong prey on the weak, bones all over the ground, and a thousand miles of barren land!
Tens of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people, just disappeared at random. Isn't that the truth? Hu Chen. "

Wang Fengmeng smiled naively, "Qianhe is right. In recent years, we first conquered Yarkand, Hami, Bukhara and Khiva Khanate, and suffered countless casualties in the melee.

Later, the remnants of the rebellion in various places rebelled one after another, and many were killed and injured in the suppression of the rebellion. According to preliminary statistics, our army has collected and buried about 600,000 bodies in these years.

When the country perishes, the people suffer; when the country prospers, the people suffer!
Although I feel sad in my heart, I must respect other people’s choices!

Since many people are unwilling to submit to fate and insist on resisting to the end, all we can do is to give them the last bit of dignity after their death and help them rest in peace."

Wang Fengmeng's words were already very straightforward, so Wang Yongji didn't want to ask any further questions.

From ancient times to the present, countless people have disappeared silently in the dust of history.

He also had no intention of feeling sorry for these millions of foreign barbarians.

Wang Yongji only knew that the iron rule set by the emperor was that Islam and Christianity must be strictly guarded against. Because these two religions were not like Buddhism, their origins had long been lost, and their entire belief system had long been shattered and completely integrated into Chinese civilization.

These two religions have their own origins and very complete belief systems, and it is difficult for them to truly integrate into Chinese civilization. Therefore, a small number of them can be allowed to obey the king, but a large scale is definitely not allowed.

Shen Wanxiang, Wang Yongji and Wang Fengmeng all knew what kind of person their own emperor, Emperor Wanli, was. When he got ruthless, he even killed his own clansmen, the royal family. How could foreigners be so gentle? The strategy given was to welcome those who could naturalize, and "courtesy them out of the country" if they could not. Those who did not want to naturalize but did not want to leave would be treated as foreign invaders.

Let’s stop chatting. Talking too much can lead to trouble.

Shen Wanxiang, Wang Yongji and Wang Fengmeng changed the subject tacitly.

Shen Wanxiang noticed at a glance that the cowhide holster on Wang Fengmeng's waist was different from the short gun holster he had worn before.

"Colonel Wang, have you got new guns?" He asked, pointing at Wang Fengmeng's waist.

Wang Fengmeng pushed aside the holster and took out a pistol.

It was indeed a new gun, square like a box, with a wooden handle at the back and a short barrel sticking out from the front of the box. The black surface exuded a metallic luster.

"This is a new pistol produced by the Lulong Arsenal in the seventh year of the Wanli reign. Its official number is the Type 07 automatic pistol. We also call it a box gun, a fast-and-slow machine gun, or a Mauser pistol.

It uses standard 9mm pistol bullets, and the magazines come in 10-round and 20-round versions."

"A rapid-fire machine, is it the same as the automatic pistol you just mentioned?"

“Yes, this gun can be fired in semi-automatic mode or fully automatic mode.

Just adjust the speed selector on the handle. Cavalry likes this thing the most, it is light, easy to use, and has strong firepower.

He rode his horse closer, aimed at the enemy and pulled the trigger. He fired a full 20 bullets in one volley, and it was accurate and fast within 50 meters. Even if Lu Bu were alive and Xiang Yu was reborn, they would still be defeated. "

"No need to reload bullets one by one?"

"No need for that. I heard that the Ordnance Department has just released a new automatic rifle, called a heavy machine gun. It's really powerful. As long as the bullets are effective and there's enough water, you can keep firing."

“Why do we need to ensure there is water?”

"I don't understand this. It is said that in addition to the first batch of equipment for the Beijing Camp Guard Division, another batch will be given priority to the border troops of the Xuanqian Dusi."

"Where is Xuanqian Dusi?"

We have been on diplomatic missions for four or five years, how come we don’t know so many things?

The Ming Dynasty is changing with each passing day and developing too fast!
"Xuanqian and Qianzhou were the former Siberian Khanate. After being incorporated into the Ming Dynasty, the western part was renamed Xuanzhou, named after the Xuan River (Irtysh River*). The eastern part was renamed Qianzhou, named after the Qian River (Yenisei River). The two were collectively called Xuanqiandusi."

Shen Wanxiang nodded and turned his attention to the pistol in Wang Fengmeng's hand.

Young people, who doesn't like to masturbate?
What's more, Shen Wanxiang had been a college student for three years and had received three months of formal military training, and had used both long guns and short guns with live ammunition.

Wang Fengmeng turned on the safety of the revolver and handed it to Shen Wanxiang.

Shen Wanxiang took it carefully, and it felt heavy in his hand. Looking at the shiny blue pistol, it exuded the violent aesthetics of metal. Smelling the engine oil, it seemed as if he could smell gunpowder.

Beautiful!
After playing with it for a while, Shen Wanxiang handed the pistol to Wang Yongji, who was waiting impatiently, and turned to ask Wang Fengmeng.

"Our weapons are developing rapidly."

"That's right. I heard from a friend in the Ordnance Bureau that the key is that the geniuses in the School of Chemistry completed the invention of three acids and one base a few years ago, which broke through many bottlenecks."

"I've heard of three acids and one base. Is it so important?"

"It is very important. After the three acids and one base were developed, the level of chemistry in the Ming Dynasty advanced by leaps and bounds. First, in the field of smelting, catalysts, alloys, high-carbon steel, and many new materials were developed.

Then high-precision and high-wear-resistant gears became available. A small steam engine drove the gear transmission box, the power output was very stable, and the machine tool precision was improved.

Alloy tools have improved cutting capabilities. The materials of our gun barrels have improved, and the rifling of boring machines has become more refined.

In the past, it was just a showpiece that didn't last much. Now it's like carving a carrot flower, with high accuracy and very durable.

Anyway, the level of mechanical processing has advanced by leaps and bounds, and many high-precision and high-wear-resistant metal devices can be processed.

The Gunpowder Bureau used the research results of the Chemistry College to develop yellow explosives and smokeless gunpowder."

"I've heard of yellow explosives. In Gaolang Port, I heard that the troops of the Yunnan-Guizhou Chieftain used yellow explosives when they were clearing out the Yunnan rebels who were linked to the Toungoo Kingdom. One or two hundred kilograms of yellow explosives blew up a chieftain's city."

Wang Fengmeng chuckled, "This is a bit exaggerated. However, the Longchuan earthen city where the traitor Yue father and son were entrenched was indeed breached by the task force using yellow explosives and then captured.

This small-scale offensive battle commanded by Gao Guochun has been listed as a classic battle example of Xishan Military Academy."

Shen Wanxiang understood the secret, "Since the School of Chemistry has developed smokeless gunpowder, your guns and ammunition have made great progress."

"Yes, there is also the primer, which is also a secret among secrets. The biggest problem now is not the lethality of the weapon, but the low production of chemical raw materials for smokeless gunpowder and primer.

The School of Chemistry is still working day and night to improve the process and make continuous breakthroughs. Maybe the situation will improve overall in the next two years.”

Wang Yongji reluctantly returned the Mauser pistol to Wang Fengmeng, "Brother Huchen, can you let us fire a few shots to satisfy our desire?"

"I'm sorry, there are military regulations that this type of new gun cannot be lent to others for use."

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji shook their heads together, "What a pity."

Wang Fengmeng's eyes turned and he called the guard.

He was wearing a field gray military uniform, a cross belt, a row of leather magazine pouches in front of him, and a large leather holster on his right waist, exactly the same as Wang Fengmeng's.

"Take Mr. Shen and Mr. Wang to hunt two rabbits. Be careful not to cause any accidental injuries.

Remember, you are only allowed to fire ten rounds."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)