The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 520 Mineral Deposits
The leaders of the Dzungar tribe, both high and low, were beaten so badly they cried out in agony:
"Cannons? The Han people actually took down the cannons that were mounted on the city walls?"

"Those things weigh several thousand or even tens of thousands of kilograms. How can they be moved to the battlefield?"

"The range and lethality are also incomparable to before! One shot killed dozens of people!"

The leader of the Dzungar tribe spat out a mouthful of blood: "That bastard Achimu, he's done me a terrible disservice!"

He even married his most beloved daughter to this scoundrel.

The results of it?
Knowing full well that rushing to their aid was a dead end, how dare they drag their father-in-law, Hude Abu, down with them?
No matter how brave their tribe's warriors are, they are still just flesh and blood, how could they withstand such treatment?

They wanted to turn around and run away.

Unfortunately, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa didn't give them a chance to be so pragmatic; they wouldn't stop firing until they eliminated the last remaining Batel.
Just as the city of Kucha was using its firepower to draw reinforcements from the Dzungar tribe and cities hundreds of miles away, such as Aksu and Uqturpan, the city was about to be rescued.

General Gu led 300 Second-Class Cannons and 8,000 Divine Machine Battalion soldiers to sneak into the stronghold of the Dzungar Tatar tribe in the western desert.

Now that the Tatars have already taken concrete action to participate in the war, the Kansai Army no longer needs to hide anything.

Before going, the plan to strike at the heart of the enemy's territory had been simulated several times.

With a clear objective, ample firearms, and the advantage of surprise, General Gu and his men annihilated the entire Batel garrison left behind by the Junggar tribe in just one day and one night.
half a month later.

The first battle report from the Western Expeditionary Army was sent to Shangdu.

"The Grand General of the State presents this to the Ministry of War for your perusal:"
On April 18th, our army engaged in battle with the Hu barbarians at the foot of the city of Kucha.

In this battle, we killed over 30,000 enemy archers and cavalry, and annihilated the main force of the Hu army in Kucha and several surrounding cities. The chieftain of the Dzungar tribe in the western desert led 50,000 elite cavalry to our aid, but they were also defeated by our army. The chieftain was beheaded, and all the able-bodied men of his tribe perished.

The tens of thousands of Hu people in Kucha, along with the remnants of the Dzungar Khanate, have all surrendered.
In this battle, they captured 30,000 warhorses, countless cattle and sheep, and over 10,000 suits of armor and firearms, as well as a golden seal belonging to the leader of the Dzungar tribe.

The territories of Kucha, Aksu, Uqturpan, and the Western Tatars have been secured, and provisions are sufficient for six months.
[Appendix] Our casualties in this battle: 183 soldiers killed in action, and over 300 wounded.

The battle report was sent to the Ministry of War immediately, and Xiong Zhen, the head of the Ministry of War, clapped his hands and laughed:

"Excellent! This battle was brilliantly fought! The casualties should be generously compensated!"

Compared to the loss of several outpost cities by the Hu people and the annihilation of the elite troops of the Dzungar Tatar tribe in the western desert, the casualties of the western expeditionary force were almost negligible in his eyes!
Upon receiving the news, the generals exclaimed: "Waaah, another day of envying the Kansai Army!"
I wonder how many times the wealth of those generals in Guanzhong will increase after they finish conquering the Western Regions?

So sour!
Thinking of his own nephews and nieces who had been admitted to the Kansai First Military Academy, he couldn't help but feel happy for them.

The civil officials, however, reacted differently.

The new territory was taken so quickly.

Moreover, this territory is located at a crucial point on the Silk Road, and it is bound to prosper in the future.

They were eager to establish their influence in Kucha and the surrounding five cities.

In any case, the Western Regions are too vast for a single General to govern.

The barbarian people who surrendered are all subjects of my Yongtai Dynasty.

How can we allow the people of this Celestial Empire to be without officials above them to uphold justice?

This was a series of chain reactions that occurred after Shangdu received the first battle report from the Western Expeditionary Army.

What the officials, both civil and military, didn't know was that Xiao Jin not only delivered the battle report, but also brought a map of the known mineral distribution in Kucha City, drawn by Gan Minglan herself.

Emperor Qianwu was so excited when he looked at these distribution maps that he slapped his thigh repeatedly.

It's no wonder that even the increasingly powerful emperor couldn't help but show his delight; the mineral map was simply too detailed.

He looked at it again and again, and then sighed to the bearded man:
"A coal mine, a coal mine even larger than the one in Hami New City, a coal mine that can be mined for hundreds of years, is in Kucha! Kucha's open-pit iron ore reserves are enough to mine a million catties every year for two hundred years, plus copper and oil! Big Beard, don't you think Kucha is a treasure trove?"

"Your Majesty, it's more than just a treasure trove! Those barbarians who occupied Kucha for a thousand years didn't even have the ability to explore these mineral deposits. It's clear they're all unlucky; they're sitting right in front of a mountain of treasures and don't realize how valuable they are!"

"That's because the general has a mining master named Baili Sheng, and also a divine beast that is particularly good at digging holes. These mineral veins are either hidden under the Gobi Desert or in the mountains on the southern slopes of the snow-capped mountains. Even if an ordinary general took over Kucha City, he would not be able to collect detailed information about these mineral deposits in such a short time."

The bearded man naturally held the Great General of the Nation in the highest esteem, praising him highly:

"General Gan is a skilled and courageous general. Wherever she goes, she can turn stones into gold and waste into treasure. These combined abilities are unparalleled in the entire Yongtai Dynasty or even the whole world! What's most remarkable is that she doesn't keep these abilities to herself."

Both of them were well aware of how important these mineral deposits, which could be mined for hundreds of years, were to the Yongtai Dynasty.

The civil officials were all blinded by greed. In order to protect these mineral resources, how could Emperor Qianwu allow some forces to extend their reach into this newly acquired homeland?
Is the current strength of the Kansai Army of 150,000 insufficient?

Then expand the army!

With the abilities of a Grand General who protects the nation, managing an army of 300,000 is no problem at all.

He had considered the separation of military and political power.

But in the Western Regions, where different ethnic groups live together, without the support of military garrisons, what policies can be implemented?
Besides, the military control of the Kansai Ten Guards has been very effective in recent years.

Not only was it self-sufficient, but the taxes it paid to the imperial court were more than the combined taxes of the fifteen provincial administrations within the Great Wall.

If the power of civil officials gets involved, who knows how much tax revenue these places will be reduced in the future!

Emperor Qianwu said that he was not stupid.

What he and Big Beard didn't know was that Gan Minglan, this capable woman, while serving her country loyally, also didn't forget to siphon money into the pockets of the Guanzhong Army.

Warhorses, armor, cattle, and sheep were confiscated and returned to the public.

The spoils of war found on the Hu people and Tatar elites belonged to each individual.

The valuables that General Gu and his men obtained from the Junggar tribe have already been transported back to Guanzhong.

Gan Minglan hadn't had time to inquire about the specific amount.

In addition to the above, the raw material for glassmaking, quartz sand, which had been sought for many years before the Lunar New Year, was finally found in the Gobi Desert, a hundred miles north of Kucha City.

The vast, open-air quartz sandstone mines, with their high purity, are practically tailor-made for glass workshops.

Gan Minglan has issued a military order to establish a military-controlled area in the town of A'ai near the rock mine. He also sent a message via flying eagle to the Logistics and Entrepreneurship Center in Guanxi, requesting that the glass workshops and related Venetian glass artisans be moved to A'ai.

With the availability of local materials, the glass workshop has a good chance of producing glassware this year.

Glass is the most profitable industry in the Kansai region in the future.