Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

"Your Highness."

Mu Ying, Nai'er Buhua, and other Ming generals appeared before Zhu Di covered in blood.

In a single battle, Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, annihilated 100,000 enemy troops, once again creating a terrifying record!

"Send people to transport all the supplies from Yangshibali and Gutaba back to Zhangbali."

"Not a single brick or tile should be left for the Mughals."

Without saying a word, Zhu Di issued the military order.

Yangshibali alone had 120 million shi of grain, 60 shi of fodder, more than 10 pack animals, and tens of thousands of pieces of armor, not to mention Gutaba. Indeed, killing and arson brought wealth, and this battle directly made the Ming army rich.

With these things, the Ming army could establish a firm foothold in Beiting, manage the eastern border, and guard the western gate for the Ming Dynasty.

"Yes."

Mu Ying gave a look to the Ming generals behind him, and the generals left one after another.

Immediately afterwards, the Ming soldiers left the battlefield and rode mules and camels to Gutaba and Yangshibali.

"I have heard that Huda has brought his men."

"Thirty thousand Yarkand cavalry, that's quite generous."

"hehe."

Zhu Di sneered and said coldly, "Nai'er Buhua, you personally lead a group to Tarbugur."

"Tell Huda that his uncle is here. It would be extremely impolite for a nephew not to even see him."

"If Huda cannot come, then the Ming army of our Great Ming Dynasty will surely punish Yarkand in the name of disrespecting His Majesty."

"Yes."

Nai'er Buhua happily agreed.

He was the Grand Commandant of the Northern Yuan, the commander of ten thousand men under King Kökö Temür of Qi, and he had long been displeased with these Khanate tyrants. He was overjoyed to do this, and led his ten thousand cavalrymen galloping towards Talbugur.

"Big brother."

After everyone who was in the way had left, Zhu Di looked at Mu Ying and said kindly.

"Your Highness."

Mu Ying remained dutiful to his duties as a subject, daring not to overstep his bounds in the slightest.

Facing the young Prince of Yan, he felt far more pressure than when facing Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

After all, the Crown Prince did not personally lead the troops into battle. Prince Yan, Zhu Di, relied on 800 cavalrymen to raid 1600 li in the northern desert, capture Karakorum, and destroy the Northern Yuan. He then subdued the Northern Yuan Qi King, Kökö Temür, and his Yuan cavalrymen. The Mongols in the northern desert regarded him as the messenger of the Eternal Heaven.

Now, he has crossed the Altai Mountains from the sea, traversing eight hundred miles, and captured Yangshibali. Together with him, he annihilated the 100,000-strong army of Mughalistan and captured Hamadin. Such illustrious achievements are unprecedented and unparalleled.

"With this battle over, the various tribes of the Western Regions, intimidated by the might of our Great Ming, will not dare to invade our borders for at least several decades."

"What do you think we should do next?"

Zhu Di faced Mu Ying directly and asked a crucial question.

"Your Highness."

Mu Ying stated with a composed expression, "The Western Regions are vast, in no way inferior to the Central Plains."

"The Tianshan Mountains divide the region into Northern Xinjiang, Southern Xinjiang, and Eastern Xinjiang."

"The northern frontier is the most prosperous, with a large ethnic group and a population of no less than 100,000 households. Most of them live by following the water and grass, and it is called Mughalstein."

"Southern Xinjiang is mostly desert and Gobi, with only a few oasis cities, a population of 24000 households, known as Yarkand."

"Eastern Xinjiang has a population of 60,000 households, which is somewhere in between. It is rich in mineral resources, has developed agriculture, grows mulberry, hemp, and grapes, and has a thriving handicraft industry."

"The territory under the jurisdiction of the Yuan Dynasty's Northern Military Command was divided into Beshbaliq in the west, Huozhou in the south, and Hamili in the east."

"Beshbali was the location of the Cheshi Kingdom during the Han Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, Tingzhou was established here, and the Beiting Protectorate was set up."

"Huozhou, also known as Hala Huozhou, was the Gaochang Kingdom during the Sui Dynasty. It was located along the northern route of the southern Tianshan Road and was a vital transportation hub between the east and west. The people of Gaochang believed in Buddhism and there were many Buddhist temples, making it a Buddhist holy site in the Western Regions."

"Hamili was the fiefdom of Anker Temur, the Prince of Su during the Yuan Dynasty. It was called Yiwu Prefecture during the Eastern Han Dynasty and Yizhou during the Tang Dynasty. It was a vital passage from the north of the Tianshan Mountains to the Hexi Corridor."

"This humble general believes that Beiting can serve as the starting point for our Great Ming's management of the Western Regions, and also as a barrier for Hexi."

"If Beiting exists, Hexi will be safe. Our Great Ming can send Han Chinese men to the Northwest in an endless stream and restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties."

"it is good."

Zhu Di exclaimed in admiration, "Brother, you have already mastered military strategy to perfection."

In just a few months, Mu Ying gained such a thorough understanding of the territory under the jurisdiction of the Northern Commander-in-Chief's Office, and his ideas on managing the Western Regions coincided with those of Zhu Di, which is enough to prove that this Marquis of Xiping was indeed the best candidate to be stationed in the Northern Command.

"Your Highness flatters me."

Mu Ying humbly replied, "Please forgive my bold speculation, but Your Highness has already ordered the Central Route Army and the Eastern Route Army to garrison and cultivate land in the northern desert."

"It must be the Western Route Army, along with the elite Yuan cavalry under Kökö Töregen's command and the ten thousand Mongol cavalry brought by Karakorum."

"These people should be key to Your Highness's defense of Beiting."

"good."

With a slight smile, Zhu Di said frankly, "The officials in the court, including my father, all believe that the northern deserts and the western regions are barbarian lands, and that stationing troops there would only waste the country's resources and would not be worth the loss."

"They have never seen the vastness of the northern deserts and the western regions with their own eyes, let alone know how big the world is."

"It is not that I am ambitious and fond of grand achievements, but rather that the Ming Dynasty is newly established, and if we do not establish rules now, we will leave them for future generations."

"How could future generations innovate, expand outwards, and leave a wider expanse of land for their descendants?"

"The Mobei ethnic group is large, with a population of no less than 500,000."

"Ming troops were stationed in the area, married Mongolian women, and had children."

"One generation, two generations, and within five generations, the grasslands will be filled with the blood of the Chinese people."

"If this continues, the splendor of our Han people will surely dominate the northern desert, and this vast grassland will continuously produce cattle, sheep, mules, and horses for the Ming Dynasty."

"The same applies to the Western Regions!"

"The Timurid Empire rose in Central Asia, the Ottoman Empire dominated West Asia, and the Byzantine Empire was on the verge of collapse."

"Europe is a continent with many countries, and the development of firearms is progressing rapidly."

"In this era of great contention, if our Great Ming only focuses on the small territory of the Central Plains, we will surely fall behind others."

"Beiting is the gateway to the Western Regions, and also the window through which our Great Ming Dynasty can peer into Central Asia, West Asia, and even Europe."

"I hope to develop this place into a Jiangnan region beyond the Great Wall, laying a solid foundation for the future westward expansion of the Ming Dynasty."

"brush!!!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Ying's eyes lit up.

When he finally set foot on this land, he realized how vast the world was, and he understood the grand ambitions of Prince Yan, Zhu Di, better than anyone else.

These words are a truth that the officials and nobles of Yingtian Prefecture could not understand, and perhaps even Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang could not comprehend them.

"Brother, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

Zhu Di extended an olive branch to Mu Ying, which was different from Tang He's stationing in the northern desert; it was a meeting of minds between young people.

"That is indeed my wish, but I dare not ask!"

Mu Ying responded with burning eyes.

At the age of 8, he was adopted by Zhu Yuanzhang as his son. At the age of 12, he followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his campaigns. At the age of 18, he was appointed as a captain in charge of the army and served as a guard in Zhenjiang. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), he was appointed as a general in charge of the state and served as a vice commissioner of the Grand General's Office. The following year (1371), he was promoted to vice commissioner of the Grand General's Office.

Almost everyone forgot that he was only 28 years old, so how could he be content to deal with those complicated military affairs in the Grand Commander's Mansion? He wanted to lead troops into battle and be in charge of a region.

Zhu Yuanzhang overlooked this point, and Crown Prince Zhu Biao was equally indifferent. Only Zhu Di saw his ambition and gave him room to maneuver.

A scholar will die for one who understands him; this is the essence of it all!