Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1090
Just as the situation in the imperial court was undercurrent and unpredictable, He Tengjiao was working in full swing in the southwest.

After being named King of the Two Characters, coupled with the special geographical location in the southwest, the imperial court entrusted him with full authority to handle the major affairs of the three provinces in the southwest.

In order to run the southwest well, at the beginning of the year, he asked the imperial court for 300 million yuan to support the reconstruction of Sichuan. Then, he took out 60 taels of the tax money intercepted by the three southwest provinces to make farm tools, buy livestock, deliver them to refugees, and rebuild their homes. .

The terrain in Sichuan is complicated. Because of the war, many people hid in the mountains and built villages to protect themselves, and many of them became bandits.

Under the appeasement of the government and the raids of the officers and soldiers, the people in the mountains packed up their bags and prepared to return to their hometowns. Some chieftains also responded to the call and went down the mountain to farm when they saw that the government gave them fields, cattle, and farm tools.

The soldiers and civilians in Sichuan overcame all obstacles and set off an upsurge of reconstruction in the war-torn hometown.

After Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, the chaotic situation in Shu land finally came to an end. The people of Shu thought that since then they could live and work in peace and contentment without being invaded by the flames of war.

After He Tengjiao became king, his enthusiasm soared, looking forward to leaving a strong mark in the history books.

Therefore, it can be said that he is more attentive to governing Sichuan.

If future generations want to judge the three heroes of ZTE, his son-in-law is the first, and he is firmly in the second place. As for who is the third, he really doesn't see it, it is just so arrogant.

Although the Ming army's plan to enter Uzang was abandoned halfway, the tea-horse trade was going on like a raging fire.

After U-Tsang prevented the entry of the Ming army, the Living Buddha and the Tibetan officials of the capital were still a little worried. After all, the Tubo Empire had disappeared, and now in U-Tsang, anyone could come over and make a big fuss.

In March, the Living Buddha and the people from Uszangdusi sent envoys with two hundred war horses and gifts to visit He Tengjiao. Tea in return.

So far, the two sides still maintain a close affiliation, the tension on the border has eased, businessmen from both sides have gathered, and transactions in the border market are going on.

Businessmen with a background of the Chu school, who use the thirteen big firms in Chu and Guangdong as their watches, have gained a lot of convenience.

They transport goods such as porcelain, cloth, especially tea, and often earn several times the huge profits.Seeing this, He Tengjiao ordered the officials in various border markets to strengthen control and strictly prevent tax evasion. He also ordered the frontier army to strictly investigate smuggling. Punishment, exile in Nanyang.

He Tengjiao's strategy for managing Sichuan is almost a replica of Wang Yan and Du Yinxi's strategy for managing Hunan.

Light corvee, low agricultural tax, give people seeds and farm tools, cultivate and resume production, and then encourage business and collect business tax to supplement the money in the treasury.

Business comes in quickly, but few people are engaged in it. Agriculture comes in slowly, but many people are engaged in it. Once such a policy was implemented, it won the hearts of most people in Sichuan and praised Liping Wang Rende.

The whole territory of Sichuan was recovered, the common people recuperated for a year, and the tea horse trade in Uzang went smoothly. He Tengjiao turned his attention to the re-established Duogandu Division.

There are a large number of Tibetans living in the Qinghai area. After Heshuote Mongolia entered Qinghai, many Mongolians nomadic here.

If the Ming Dynasty could control this place, it would not only obtain war horses, but also obtain the source of troops for the horse army, forming a semi-encircled state of Jin State strategically.

In June, the Ming army that entered Qinghai had controlled the southeast of Qinghai for half a year. After harvesting rice in Sichuan, He Tengjiao, together with Zhang Tongchang and others, made a special trip to Duogandusi for inspection.

The area controlled by the Ming army is in the southeast of Qinghai, probably the two autonomous regions of Yushu and Guoluo in later generations. The people living here are mainly Tibetans and Mongolians, and there are about [-] people.

They do not cultivate the land, but nomadic on the plateau.

When He Tengjiao and his party traveled across mountains and rivers to the southeast of Qinghai, what they saw was completely different from the Central Plains.

When they came to the vicinity of Gande City, they saw piles of tents, cattle and sheep everywhere, majestic men on horses grazing, dark-skinned, red-cheeked women, wearing long-sleeved gowns, singing loudly.

"My lord, there are more than 3000 herdsmen grazing near Gande, and there are more than 2 herdsmen in the southeast of Qinghai, which is close to 10. After the Kingdom of Jin defeated the Heshuote tribe, there were no large tribes in Qinghai, so After we came in, it was easy to control the southeast of Qinghai. If the court manages this area carefully, the herdsmen here can not only provide the court with cattle, sheep and horses, but also provide more than ten thousand horses." Li Dingguo was wearing armor, with a sword in his waist , said after He Tengjiao.

He Tengjiao and the others stationed in Gaopo, overlooking the pastures, the scorching sun on the plateau made his head dizzy, but the Tibetans and Mongolians living here are used to it and are busy with their own affairs.

"After the Kingdom of Jin defeated Heshuote Mongolia, there were no big tribes in Qinghai, which is of great benefit to us!" He Tengjiao looked at the pasture and found a small tribe with hundreds of tents below. He nodded and confessed: "Dingguo When operating here, we must keep in mind that we cannot let any tribe grow bigger. Once it grows bigger, it will become a threat to us. For a big tribe, if we want to disintegrate, it is best to register the herdsmen and divide them into households like the Central Plains. "

"Remember the humble position." Li Dingguo clasped his fists immediately, "However, the current imperial court is here, and its strength is still a little insufficient. Doing so will offend the leaders of the various ministries, and they may lead their troops to flee to the area controlled by the Kingdom of Jin."

He Tengjiao thought about it and found it reasonable, so he changed his mind and said: "Then there is no rush for this matter for now! Let's figure it out slowly in the future!"

He Tengjiao wants to turn the tribes in the grassland into households that directly obey the orders of the imperial court. This will definitely damage the interests of the tribe leaders. The Ming army is not stable now, so it is definitely not possible to do so.

Everyone watched for a while, feeling a little uncomfortable being exposed to the plateau sun, thirsty and hungry, Zhang Tongchang, who was traveling with him, said, "Vice Governor Li, it's getting late, everyone hasn't eaten, are you going back to Gander now?" ?”

Li Dingguo smiled slightly, "The strong are respected on the grasslands. We are the strongest here, and the surrounding tribes will all worship you. The king and everyone here are here to inspect, and the local leaders will naturally welcome them. You see, they have already begun preparations."

Speaking of which, Li Dingguo pointed at his horsewhip, and said to He Tengjiao: "Your Majesty, let's go and drink a bowl of water!"

At that moment, hundreds of cavalry galloped down the high slope, passing by groups of cattle and sheep, attracting the attention of the herdsmen.

After a while, they arrived in front of the fence of the tribe. At this time, many people gathered in the tribe. On the left and right were men with machetes. , then greeted with drinks.

As soon as He Tengjiao arrived in front of the stockade, he played drums and drums, and women danced and sang loudly, making it very festive.

In the hearts of a group of people, they have a very bad impression of nomads, thinking that they are fierce and impolite, and they are a group of barbarians.

Everyone reined in their horses in front of the camp, only to see dozens of women, singing and dancing along with the sound of drums, shaking their long sleeves.The voices of the women were high-pitched. Although He Tengjiao couldn't understand what they were singing, he could roughly understand what they were expressing from the melodious and cheerful singing.

Seeing this scene, He Tengjiao couldn't help being slightly taken aback, he had only heard that they committed crimes every year, burned, killed and looted, and their appearance was hideous, but he really didn't know they were so enthusiastic, so good at singing and dancing.

"Your Majesty, they are welcoming you!" Li Dingguo laughed immediately.

At this moment, a group of women on the prairie suddenly surrounded them and continued to sing and dance beside them. He Tengjiao couldn't help being amazed when he had never seen such a formation before.

The women danced for a while, before they suddenly dragged their long sleeves to the floor, leaned over and backed away slowly, and at this moment a sturdy middle-aged man wrapped in a nice robe came forward holding a pure white khata.

The culture of the Central Plains is somewhat different from that of Tibetans and Mongolians.Li Dingguo has been here for a while and knows some of their rules, so he hurriedly said to He Tengjiao: "My lord, he is going to offer you a khata."

He Tengjiao didn't understand, Li Dingguo even told him some reasons and morals, and also talked about etiquette.He Tengjiao was a little unhappy when he heard that the white cloth strip was going to be carried on his body. Li Dingguo explained repeatedly that it was dedicated to respected people and meant to pay homage, so He Tengjiao got off his horse and accepted the khata.

After the khata was finished, Li Dingguo introduced to He Tengjiao: "My lord, this is Dari Arian, the leader of the trousers. His tribe has been nomadic here for more than ten years. This year, he has sent us [-] khatas through the border market exchange. A fine horse."

Seeing that this tribe is not big, He Tengjiao actually helped the imperial court to deliver [-] healthy horses, and immediately nodded happily, but Nadari Arian suddenly took two steps back, bowed to the ground, and said a few words loudly, because It should be something like greeting the king.

At the moment, He Tengjiao and his party received warm hospitality in the tribe, and they rode back to Gander City in the afternoon.

After several months of rushing to build, the outline of Gander City has come out, and all four gates have been installed. The only thing that needs to be completed is the horse face, enemy towers, wall stacks and other fortifications on the city.

Seeing this, He Tengjiao nodded, and was quite satisfied with the speed of casting the city. They rode to the gate of the city, but an official came out from the city suddenly.

"My lord, an urgent letter from His Royal Highness Chu!"

He Tengjiao was riding on the horse, he was stunned when he heard the words, unexpectedly Wang Yan's letter came here, he hurriedly bent down to take it, opened it, his face became serious immediately.

"Your Majesty, what's the matter?" Li Dingguo at the side saw He Tengjiao's serious face, with a murderous look on his face.

He Tengjiao immediately closed the letter without showing it to anyone else, "A big event will happen recently, and the Kingdom of Jin may take this opportunity to attack us. You must improve the defense of Gander City as soon as possible, and the imperial court may not be able to give us support!"

As he spoke, he changed the subject, "Dingguo, go and call Wang Deren here!"

(End of this chapter)