On the third day, on the school ground in the south of Chang'an City, many people gathered around to watch a dozen people kneeling on the stage.

Zhang Sheng went from Chang'an to Pingyang to secretly investigate, catch these people who forged Chinese banknotes, and used various means to squeeze out all the information. Now he can finally contribute the last bit.

A man stood at the head and shouted loudly, "Forging Chinese banknotes and liaising with eight major Shanxi merchants. This is a heinous crime. All of them will be beheaded in public, and the entire clan will be expelled as citizens and all assets will be confiscated."

The executioner's knife was more merciful than Zhang Sheng's hand. As the blade continued to swing down, dozens of heads rolled to the ground.

A hundred meters away, on the upper floor of the school grounds, Wan Jun turned his head in time and said, "It's time to deal with those moths."

Zhao Boyuan said from the side, "Northern Expedition?"

Wan Jun nodded, "Zhang Sheng went to Lucheng yesterday and won't be returning to Chang'an for a while. We'll leave one person in charge of Chang'an."

Zhao Boyuan said quickly, "You are the head of state, so of course it must be you. Our family has a big business now, so you can't always be so involved in dangerous places."

Wan Jun smiled and said, "Have we ever been afraid of death all the way to this day?"

Zhao Boyuan said, "One person will die when he dies, but it is different now. He is responsible for the safety of the world and the stability of the people. If something happens and the entire empire is in turmoil, wouldn't it mean that many people will die and be buried with him?"

What Zhao Boyuan said is true. Last year, Wanjun went to Annan, and then to Taiwan, where he stayed for more than ten months. Although Wen Anzhi handled many government affairs, many major events in the entire empire were almost at a standstill.

Wan Jun was unwilling to give up, "You are the deputy head of state, even if you are in charge of Chang'an, I really can't go?"

Zhao Boyuan said, "If the head of state wants to go, then he can convene the Seven Pillar Kingdoms for discussion, or convene a Hua Ming Conference."

Wan Jun raised his hand, "Yes, yes, no need to mobilize troops like this, I won't go, I won't go!"

Zhao Boyuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Excellent, very good, the head of state follows his advice very well, haha."

Wan Jun said, "Then the Northern Expedition will be all left to you. When do you plan to set off?"

Zhao Boyuan stopped laughing and said, "Three days later!"

Wan Jun said, "What are your plans here?"

Zhao Boyuan said, "I have already thought about it after the Battle of Xuzhou. Chen Xinmin marched north from Zhili. There was no need to leave a large army to confront Taiyuan. The troops went north from Yulin to seize the Kaiping area. In this way, Shanxi became a pocket formation, and the Hu people stayed there."

If you don't stay, you'll be waiting to die. If you don't stay, you can take Shanxi back without any bloodshed."

Wan Jun nodded and said, "Heroes see the same thing!"

Zhao Boyuan added, "After retaking Beijing, the barbarians in Liaodong are not a worry. From the south they are advancing from Liaoxi and Jinzhou North Korea at the same time, and from the west they are from Kaiping. In less than two years, they can plow the court and sweep the houses."

Wan Jun said, "What do you plan to do with the Mongols north of the Great Wall and the Manchus east of Shanhaiguan?"

Zhao Boyuan said, "Of course we will never cause any further trouble. We will kill as many men as we can catch and send the women to various provinces in the south."

Although this method is cruel, it is the best way to solve border troubles. Even in the later period, the Qing Dynasty was able to firmly control the entire Xinjiang. This has a lot to do with the method of pacifying the Junggar Khanate during the Qianlong period. The four major tribes of the Junggar were basically slaughtered.

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However, when the Ming Dynasty fought against Hou Jin in the late Ming Dynasty, the Mongols were also one of the important allies. As long as the strategy is appropriate, the Mongols are the natural allies of the Chinese.

Wan Jun said, "There is a time for money."

Waiting is more effective than guns. After you take Kaiping, don't massacre the Mongols. Treat people everywhere equally, open border trade, and trade them with the grain, iron pots, cloth, and salt they need."

Zhao Boyuan said, "The Mongols cannot be trusted."

Wan Jun said, "We don't need to believe them, we just need to set rules for them. All Mongols live in tribes and are not allowed to move at will. We only need to build more forts in places with abundant water and grass. One battalion of troops is enough.

To defend against Russia in the future, the Mongols will still be needed."

Zhao Boyuan said, "What about the Manchus?"

Wan Jun said, "Liaodong will only punish the chief culprits of Jianzhou, and all others will be treated equally as long as they surrender. We must control the south of Heilongjiang as quickly as possible, and then organize an expedition to expel the Russians north of Heilongjiang and west of Lake Baikal."

Zhao Boyuan said, "I don't know much about the northern geography mentioned by the head of state. Where are Heilongjiang and Lake Baikal?"

Wan Jun said, "Let's clear the customs first. The Portuguese sent surveyors and mappers. In the future, they will survey the mountains and rivers wherever the army goes. It will be much easier to do things with maps."

The two talked for a while, and Zhao Boyuan returned to prepare for departure. Wan Jun glanced out the window and saw that everyone on the school grounds had dispersed, but several decapitated corpses were still left in place for public display.

Wan Jun returned to the Headquarters Mansion, where various people were waiting again. He managed to cope until evening, and finally got out. Wan Jun was dissatisfied with Wen Anzhi and said, "Just pretend that I'm not in Chang'an. Don't come to me except for important matters."

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The Way of Wen'an: "What should the head of state do regardless of the government's situation?"

Wan Jun was too lazy to argue with Wen Anzhi. Maybe he was a soldier at heart and had no interest in political affairs. Chao Wen'an said, "Lao Wen has more to worry about political affairs."

On the way back to the apse, Wan Jun suddenly felt something. No wonder some emperors of the Ming Dynasty liked to be carpenters, and some liked to go to the battlefield. Not everyone was suitable to be an emperor.

Early on the third day, Zhao Boyuan got everything ready and came to Wan Jun to say goodbye.

In front of the Chengtian Hall, Zhao Boyuan was in high spirits and said to Wanjun, "We will expel the barbarians when we leave, so that the land within the pass can be restored!"

Wan Jun said, "Bo Yuan will come back soon."

Everyone escorted Zhao Boyuan to East Street. Wan Jun looked at Zhao Boyuan's walking back and felt a sense of loss in his heart. Riding his horse to fight was what he wanted in his heart. Zhao Boyuan had said it many times before, but he only felt this feeling now.

In Chang'an City, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhang Sheng came back from Lucheng County. In the back hall, Zhang Sheng told Wan Jun about the news about the Yongli Dynasty, "The Yongli Dynasty does not dare to offend the Chinese army, and its attitude towards Jiangnan is extremely cautious."

Wan Jun has never been hostile to the Yongli Dynasty. "The officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are now grasshoppers after the autumn. As long as the Yongli court does not interfere in Jiangnan, we will not take the initiative to start a war with the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Sheng said, "But the world will eventually be unified."

Wan Jun naturally knows that China has been divided and reunited since ancient times, but it has never been truly divided. Unification is the bottom line of China. "I know that the world must be unified, and the power of the Yongli Dynasty cannot compete with us."

Zhang Sheng asked in confusion, "Then why does the head of state seem to have an unspeakable affection for the Ming Dynasty? Is it because he became the uncle of the Zhu family?"

Wan Jun rolled his eyes at Zhang Sheng, "I don't want to be like the Ming Dynasty, fighting among myself and letting the barbarians take advantage."

Zhang Sheng said, "That's okay, Hu Ren

After the Battle of Pingyang, there is no chance anymore, Zhao Boyuan can just go to the north and decide."

Wan Junqi asked, "Did you get any news?"

Zhang Sheng nodded, "After the Battle of Xuzhou, Hu Chief Dorgon made a move to withdraw from the Pass. Later, our army stopped at the Yellow River line, and Dorgon reluctantly stayed in Beijing, but privately began to transport goods to Shenyang Supplies, if our troops move now, they will definitely flee back to Liaodong in panic."

Wan Jun said, "What a misstep. Before Zhao Boyuan set out, we should have taken the sea route to transport troops and horses, and headed north along the Liao River to Shenyang, and raided the home base of the Hu people."

Zhang Sheng advised, "Our sea-going ships do not have such large transport capacity, and the fewer troops we send, we cannot stand in Liaodong. Instead, we will lose the lives of soldiers in vain."

Wan Jun said, "Now that the troops and horses have been dispatched, nothing can be done."

The two of them cooked wine and talked about world affairs. With Zhang Sheng accompanying them, Wan Jun was not as bored as before.

In April, Li Dingguo sent news back from Zhangye that the vanguard had recovered Yumen. However, as the army advanced further west, its customs were completely different from those in the Central Plains, and supplies were also very difficult.

It is a pity that the Anshi Rebellion broke out in the winter of 755 AD. In order to quell the rebellion, the Tang Dynasty sent elite soldiers and horses from the Anxi Protectorate back to the battlefield in the Central Plains.

After the Tang Dynasty's military power in the Western Regions was weakened, Tubo took advantage of the situation and occupied Longyou in Hexi Province. The Tang army in the Western Regions was isolated from the Central Plains. Although the soldiers and horses of the Anxi Protectorate were few, they still defended the Western Regions. Until 53 years later, the Anxi Army Corps had all It is Baifa. In 808 AD, the Tubo army captured Kucha City, the entire Anxi army was killed, and the entire Western Region fell.

Forty-three years after the fall of the Western Regions, in 851 AD, the Han people Zhang Yichao raised troops to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Tibet and established the Guiyi Army regime, which lasted until the reign of Song Renzong in 1036 AD.

The Han people who once stood firm in the Western Regions and waited for help have long since disappeared. They have been separated for thousands of years. The Western Regions are no longer the same ones!

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, they fought all the way to Longxi, but did not enter the Western Regions. They only established the Seven Guards of Guanxi in the Hexi Corridor. Considering the combat power of the early Ming Dynasty, there was only one reason why they stopped.

That is the dilemma Li Dingguo faces now. Over the past millennium, Hexi has completed a blood change. The cost of conquering the Western Regions and implementing rule is extremely high.

The most critical factor in determining the ownership of a region is population. Just like the Guiyi Army regime, if you want to completely control the Western Regions, enough Han people from the Central Plains must enter.

Zhang Sheng advised, "The Western Regions have been lost for a long time. The Ming Dynasty has only stopped at Guanxi for three hundred years. We are still fighting against the barbarians. We should defend Longxi and then plan for it slowly."

Wanjun thought about it for a while. Junggar in the north of the Tianshan Mountains has not yet risen, and the Hoshuote Khanate in the south is still falling apart. There is no better opportunity to enter the Western Region than now. He shook his head and said, "The Western Region has been separated for too long, and we can't delay it any longer. , not even for a year!”

Zhang Sheng said, "The locals regard me as a bandit. What should I do?"

Wan Jun sighed, "I think there were millions of Han people in Liaodong back then. Now even if we defeat Shanhaiguan, how many Han people will be left there? The population that has thrived for hundreds of years will be wiped out in a single war."

After thinking for a while, Wan Jun continued, "Managing the Western Region is the same as conquering Mongolia in Liaodong. Relying on migrating people is not the way. It is best to guide them with benefits and let them learn Chinese and Han rituals and become part of China."
Chapter completed!