The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 384 The Envoy
Windbreaks cannot be formed simply by planting more than 20 million fruit trees.

Given the current desert area in the Western Regions, this tree planting project will take at least several decades to complete.

Planting in batches over a long period is also based on cost considerations.

The crowd had no better opinions than to support this project, which seemed to be a madman moving mountains and planting trees.

after all.

It's still unknown how many generations will live in Kansai.

If the desert were truly transformed into an orchard, it would benefit future generations.

Gan Minglan: Very good! The fruit seedlings can be sold for more than 10,000 taels of silver a year, which can cover the expenses of the garrison's school, clinic, and other facilities.

She was happy.

But the aftereffects of this sandstorm have not disappeared.

The quartermaster gave everyone a breakdown of the costs:

"The lands of Hami Guard, Shazhou Guard, Chijin Guard, and Huozhou Guard were all affected by the disaster, which was equivalent to a complete loss of production. The total number of people in the four guard posts, including immigrants, exceeded 400,000."

However, only 200,000 mu of land were reclaimed in Ganluchuan, Andingwei, Aduanwei, and Quxianwei, and half of the land in the latter three areas was still saline-alkali land.

In previous years, during a good harvest, one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of cultivated land could only produce enough grain for two people to eat for a year. The maximum capacity of 200,000 mu of wasteland was to feed 400,000 people.

If the indigenous people are included, the total population of the nine Kansai Guards may exceed 800,000.

Don't the natives need to eat? Most of them are still nomadic. They don't cultivate the land; they only sell their livestock to buy grain!

Even if the weather remains favorable and there is a bumper harvest in the autumn, the food shortage in Kansai will still be half of what it was before.

half?
After a busy day, I'm going to go hungry again?
General Xiong was deeply troubled: "Tell me, how should we resolve these gaps?"

All generals:
"The Western Expedition!"

"If you don't have enough to eat at home, just borrow some from your neighbor!"

"General Gan single-handedly managed to take all the gold coins from the Hu people's treasury, and then exchanged them for so much grain to send back. I don't believe that our 80,000-strong army can go to the Hu people's capital and return empty-handed."

"That's right! Didn't General Gan say that the Hu people's capital is located on the most oasis in the desert? They have no shortage of food. If they set off before the autumn harvest, a little over a month will be enough for them to bring the grain to their granaries!"

Speaking of these things...

Everyone is no longer bothered by this small loss.

They couldn't wait to go back and prepare for battle.

Just then, a messenger from Huozhou Guard arrived at the General's Mansion on horseback with an urgent report.

"Report, General, the new ruler of the Kashgar Khanate, Hasibaren, has sent an envoy to Huozhou."

Tian Jiu and the others looked at each other in bewilderment: Why would the Hu people send an envoy at this hour?

Messenger:
"Several envoys brought fewer than fifty Hu soldiers, saying they had come to negotiate peace, to live in harmony with us, and to offer their sincerity."

Upon hearing that they were sincere, everyone changed their posture.

Before they could even ask.

The messenger angrily added, "It's not real gold or silver, it's a letter of state formally returning the Nine Guards of Guanzhong to the imperial court."

The meeting room fell silent after these words were spoken.

For a long time.

With a loud "bang," someone angrily slammed their hand on the table.

"Does this new Hu king not take our Guanzhong army seriously at all? Or have they already forgotten that they joined forces with the Russians to launch a sneak attack and used despicable means to exchange dozens of prisoners?"

"That's just how the Hu people are, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!" "Hmph! If General Gan could capture their current ruler once, he can capture him a second time!"

General Gan: "."

There are too many slots but no mouth.

However, since she was more familiar with the situation in the Hu people's country, the relevant information could only be obtained from her.

"Well, the Hu people are different from us. Their religious leaders can directly appoint the ruler. To put it bluntly, the competition for their throne is the result of religious factional struggles."

Among them, the White Hat faction has always been at a disadvantage because it dislikes war, while the Black Hat faction advocates expanding territory and annexing small countries.

The current king, Hasbaren, is one of the representatives of the Black Hat faction. His family rose to power through military achievements, and he himself has participated in over a hundred battles, large and small. The fact that a warmonger became king, yet sent envoys to negotiate peace, can only mean one thing.

"What's the matter?"

"The Kashgar Khanate has suffered two defeats and no longer has the strength to contend with us in the short term! Since they know they can't win, negotiation is their only option."

"They're so naive! When they have the power, they fight without hesitation, but when they don't, they kneel down and beg for mercy? And even their kneeling is so insincere!"

Yes.

That's what infuriates everyone the most.

General Xiong was filled with rage when he thought about how he had been careless and had traded himself for the current ruler of the Hu people.

So, the Hu people actually want to return the territory that the Guanzhong army seized to that damned imperial court?!
I don't know if they're genuinely smart or just pretending.

Actually, Hasbaren was somewhat wronged.

They were unaware of the news that Zhao Muyun and others had declared themselves kings, and thought that this letter ceding territory would make their general look good in court and earn them promotions and titles.

The flattery backfired.

Before the Hu people's envoy group was driven away, the second-in-command of Huozhou, who had received a reply from General Xiong, was very arrogant:

"Since ancient times, the only cession of territory has been the cession of unoccupied cities. There is no need to use official letters repeatedly for the territories that our Kansai army has already reclaimed. If your lord wants to express his sincerity, then let him send the official letter for the Iri Valley! If it is sent too late, and we take it ourselves, we will not only take this piece of land!"

The messengers were so frightened they didn't dare utter a sound and fled as fast as they could.

half a month later.

Zhao Muyun then received a letter of complaint from General Xiong.

In his letter, he recounted the process of the Hu people sending envoys to sue for peace, his tone filled with indignation.

During this time, he thoroughly analyzed the situation within the Hu people's country, with the central idea being that the Kashgar Khanate, once the hegemon of the Western Regions, was now in decline and nearing its end.

Finally, he passionately declared that the Kansai Army had the strength to fight a decisive battle against the Kashgar Khanate and was very confident that its westward expedition would destroy the country.

The country will be destroyed!
This is a momentous event that will go down in history!
How can we avoid making people feel excited?
However, the officials of the Northwest Prince's Palace had different opinions upon hearing this.

"Since the Kashgar Khanate is already a tiger with its teeth pulled, it can be harvested at any time, so there's no rush this year."

"That's right. Our prince's wings are not yet fully grown. If he were to take over the entire Western Regions, he might become a thorn in our side."

"No, no, conquering the Western Regions is easy, but governing them is very difficult!"

"."

The civil officials all believed that this year was not a good time to unify the Western Regions.

What could the military generals say?

Can I say that I also want to join the war?
If what General Xiong said is true, and the Hu people were beaten to their knees and begged for mercy, then this final war of annihilation, regardless of the final spoils, would be enough to sustain them for a lifetime.

It's incredibly difficult to get promoted and make a fortune while guarding this small piece of land on the border!
(End of this chapter)