Looking at the vast Eurasian continent on the map, His Highness King Yan fell into deep thought.
It is indeed very tempting!
Compared with the Ming Dynasty behind him, what is in front of him is a vaster land, several times larger than the Ming Dynasty, and the spheres of influence of each country are also marked on it, including the approximate population of these countries...
Of course this should be added.
Of course, he wasn't immediately impressed.
Yang Feng is a big-picture person. Anyway, if this guy touches his upper and lower lips, he will start talking!
But in practice...
Zhu Di looked at the 20,000 troops behind him.
This deception is extremely difficult!
Not to mention the difficulty of opening up this kind of territory, just letting his soldiers follow him can be said to be a hellish difficulty. After all, he does have great ambitions, but his soldiers have completed their tasks, and the actual fight here is already overkill.
Completed. However, one was inspired by the inscription of Yanran Mountain, and the other was the consistent principle of the Ming army to pursue and fight against the residual Yuan. Since the enemy ran to the Western Regions, then pursue them to the Western Regions and drive the enemy as far away as possible.
The safer your loved ones are.
These are all soldiers from Peiping, Pingdusi and Shanxixingdusi.
They are guardsmen.
Their homes are also in these places.
Once Mongolia moves south, the first wave will face these same places.
They want to deal with the threat in advance for their homeland and relatives. As long as Elbek, which can be said to be the last force of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, is destroyed, their homeland will no longer face war.
This is the support for the soldiers who have followed the expedition for more than 6,000 miles so far.
but……
It is another matter to continue to move forward for the ambition of King Yan, and even move his family to the Western Regions.
Let alone them, Zhu Di's three bodyguards may not even be willing to do it.
The third guard has been in Peiping for twenty years and has already lived and worked in peace and contentment. It is obviously difficult to accept that he abandoned the home he had established and continued to migrate thousands of miles for his ambition.
"I've already thought about this issue."
Yang Feng looked at Zhu Di's eyes turned to those soldiers and said as if he had a clear understanding.
"First, you have to gain enough wealth from this expedition and make a huge profit so that all the soldiers can go back rich. I will help you spread the word and describe the Western Region as a mountain of gold and silver, full of fertile fields.
, I’m not afraid of being praised as being better than Jiangnan. In fact, it’s completely okay. At that time, this land was an important grain-producing area, not only in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, but also in places like the middle of the river, especially the south of the river. It can really be described as a land of abundance.
.
So we are not lying."
Yang Feng said.
"You just didn't tell them about the difficulty of pioneering?"
Zhu Di said with a smile.
Everyone has long understood what Yang Feng is doing.
He had previously praised Huining as a paradise, talked about beating roe deer with a stick and scooping fish with a gourd, and finally coaxed a group of people who didn't know the details into signing a contract with him that was like a contract of betrayal. As a result, they were dumbfounded in the first year.
I’m afraid of being frozen when I go out to pee in winter!
If the big one comes, you have to have a stick ready, in case it doesn't go away, you have to knock it.
No one has a place to cry.
After all, compared with the huge penalty for going back, I can only grit my teeth and persist.
It is said that when the Ming army in Huining saw these fools being coaxed away, they all lamented that Ambassador Yang's ability to deceive people was amazing, and they were embarrassed to say that Ambassador Yang had a dark heart. Although he did not treat those who were reclaiming wasteland badly,
The trick he did could indeed turn Huining into a fertile field, but if he hadn't coaxed him away, people who knew the real situation would not have been fooled.
I just can't look back.
And he did fulfill his promise, so he had no choice but to accept his fate.
Now you want to play this again?
"Your Majesty, if we don't use some means, how can we make people overcome obstacles and open up foreign lands?
In the end, someone has to take the first step on the road.
As long as we can make these soldiers make a fortune because of this expedition, then I will go back and praise this place, and then we can jointly set up a company to develop the Western Regions, and then use this company to hire people who want to make a fortune. We
At that time, these were called mercenaries. In fact, many countries in later generations expanded their territories in this way. Among them, the British East India Company was able to rule the entire India, including invading our southeastern coast.
It's all them.
They have a navy fleet and an army, and they have conquered land in the east that is almost equivalent to the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty.
We can do this too.
When necessary, buy out the prisoners in the prison.
Then buy some slaves from those chieftains.
You ask His Majesty for an imperial edict. No matter how much land you conquer in the Western Regions, it will be considered your fiefdom. As long as you can maintain the expenses of this mercenary army in the process, not to mention you have three guards. Even if they are not all willing to follow, one guard
It’s always okay, right?
Besides, if it was an imperial edict, they would have to follow even if they didn't.
This is when you have to be ruthless.
With three guards and mercenaries, more than 50,000 troops can be obtained.
Don’t worry about logistics.
I can guarantee that I will build everything you need in the Western Region, including guns and ammunition, including farming areas. I can even produce salt and sugar. Moreover, the Western Region is the best cotton-producing area and can produce textiles.
stand up.
There are even places where you can raise silkworms and make silk.
There is absolutely no need to transport anything from the mainland.”
Yang Feng said.
Zhu Yuanzhang still doesn't know how long he can live. Once Zhu Yunxi succeeds to the throne, he will definitely not use the Ming Dynasty's financial resources to support his uncle's expedition to the Western Regions.
He paid for it, but his uncle took the benefits?
There is no such thing as a good thing.
But there is no problem in giving his uncle a license to explore the Western Regions. Anyway, his principle is to throw his uncles as far away as possible. It is a good thing that Zhu Di likes the Western Regions. At least for now, there is nothing further than the Western Regions. He
He would definitely agree to let Zhu Di become a fief after he was defeated.
but……
The troops will not be sent out.
At most, the three guards of Peking were forced to follow King Yan with an imperial edict.
So we have to think of other ways.
That is the mercenary model.
If you want to make a fortune, come to the Western Regions and use your sword to gain glory and wealth.
If that's not enough, there are also punishment camps.
It could be played in the Han Dynasty, and it can certainly be played now.
As long as they are willing to come, Yang Feng can guarantee that they will make huge profits. With the current technological advantages of the Ming Dynasty, is it not easy to go out and rob? What's more, they can also make a fortune through trade. Even if they don't go to war with Timur in a short time, they can just
Controlling overland trade lines is also good business.
Not to mention that you can also engage in development.
Then use the three guards as the basic base, and then expand it by purchasing a large number of slaves. At this time, slaves are easy to buy. North Korea, Japan, Annan, and even Yungui chieftains can buy them all. Give a few guards to each family, and the guards are responsible for fighting.
The slaves are responsible for farming. To put it simply, it is a knightly fief system. A guard is rewarded with a fief. Anyway, the most indispensable thing in the Western Region is land, including those that the mercenaries are willing to keep. They will also be given fiefs in the same way. There is no need to do anything else here.
Yes, the feudal fiefdom system is enough, which is also the most effective way to attract the population.
Here comes the little lord.
Then continue to expand forward, continue to occupy land and capture slaves, continue to seal more fiefs, and continue to move forward step by step in this way.
Backed by the huge population base of the Ming Dynasty, even if one out of a hundred young men is willing to go to the Western Regions for various reasons and fight to acquire fiefs and slaves for themselves, then there will be tens of thousands of soldiers. In the future, the population of the Ming Dynasty will continue to grow, and young people will
There are constantly people going to the Western Regions, and the source of troops can be said to be endless.
Although Zhu Di dominated the outside world, he could not escape from the Ming Dynasty.
After all, Ming Dynasty was the source of his troops.
He was still just a vassal king within the Ming clan system, but he only had a larger territory.
But his sources of troops, trade, and the legitimacy of his rule all came from the Ming Dynasty, and he was always tied to the Ming Dynasty. What's more, the relatives of his small lords also lived in the Ming Dynasty. Although they were lords in the Western Regions, they were still in the Ming Dynasty.
The root is in the Ming Dynasty! Don’t worry about the rest. No matter how they develop in the future, they will not be able to break away from this root. If this continues for decades or more, the territory of the Ming Dynasty will almost include the entire Eurasian continent. Even so large
The land does not necessarily belong to Zhu Di himself. His brothers can also join. For example, King Xiang, who has the best relationship with him, can also use this method to establish fiefdoms for himself.
At present, the only one left in the heart of the Ming Dynasty is King Xiang.
Of course, there are several smaller kings.
But most of them have not yet become vassals. The three kings of Qin, Shu and Xiang are really powerful. But the king of Shu is actually a frontier fortress, and his wife is Lan Yu's daughter. He is also honest. Zhu Yunxi is at least very relieved about him for now. King Qin has
Chang Sheng watched, and the distance was far away. The only one who really posed a certain threat to the capital was King Xiang.
Then let him take the lead and take the other vassal kings who have not yet become vassals, claim a territory each, and then play this mode to create a fiefdom for himself.
There are many around Daming.
There are still several small countries in Nanyang, and they can also develop into South Asia.
You can even go further.
If there is no better place on land, you can organize a fleet to go out and explore! When they reach new and good places on the ocean, the emperor will directly grant them to them. For example, they can go to places like Australia and East Africa. Whose fleet arrives first?
, that is whose fiefdom it is.
Then take the guards to explore.
The vassal king!
Even if they go to Australia, the Ming Emperor must at least provide them with a bodyguard. This rule cannot be abolished.
So there was initial immigration, and there was also systematic immigration with the army, craftsmen, agricultural population, and even schools and hospitals.
Of course, the premise is that Zhu Di can really play this strategy well.
But there is still a problem.
Black Death.
By this time, although the Black Death in Europe had passed its worst stage, it had not disappeared.
so……
No big deal.
Since Timur did not encounter a large-scale Black Death during his conquest of the Middle East and West Asia, it means that it was not serious during this period, at least in Central Asia, West Asia and the Middle East.
This thing has to be faced sooner or later. It is something that spreads around the world.
Get more cats.
The Ming Dynasty was originally a cat slave per capita.
Coupled with modern epidemic prevention ideas, even if it is really infected, it will be under control in the Western Region.
You can even use the Western Region as a buffer zone and release a large number of cats in this area, making the entire Western Region full of wild cats...
It seems that wild cats are everywhere in the Western Regions now, such as a certain kind of wild cat that is very popular.
The horn sounded suddenly.
Yang Feng and Zhu Di raised their heads and looked at the flags waving on the hot air balloon.
The flags there were telling them that a hundred-man cavalry force was coming.
"How dare a small group of cavalry come to die?"
Zhu Di sneered.
In fact, small groups of cavalry had already begun to appear around them, maybe for a sneak attack, or maybe just for harassment, but with hot air balloons in the sky, they would be spotted dozens of miles away. Zhu Di brought a total of six hot air balloons.
The balloons are all tied to the backs of camels. There are four camels in a group, and a two-person hot air balloon rises from it.
An observer, a signalman, and occasionally a high-altitude command post.
These hot air balloons are tied with raw silk ropes and rise to an altitude of nearly 100 meters.
And they were all telescopes given by Yang Feng.
If it is a clear day, you can see the dust caused by the cavalry from thirty miles away.
You can do a sneak attack at night.
But at night, the Ming army was shrinking into each camel city. After the previous battles, the Mongolian cavalry no longer dared to attack the camel city. The biggest advantage of this thing is that it can provide the Ming army with a mobile castle to avoid
Supplies were taken away by the enemy during the battle, or they were sneak-attacked at night.
Soon nearly a hundred Mongolian cavalry, under the custody of Zhang Fu's cavalry, appeared in their sights.
"It doesn't look like it. It should be an envoy, coming to negotiate or make a fight."
Yang Feng said.
This is indeed a fight.
As the Great Khan of Mongolia, Elbek invited His Highness King Yan of the Ming Dynasty to meet in Hetongnaoer in half a month.
"Go back and tell him that I, the king, will offer him as a prisoner!"
Zhu Di looked at the envoy in front of him and said.
The latter kowtowed carefully and returned with his companions.
"No, when did they become so civilized and polite?"
Yang Feng looked at the messenger's back and said.
"Is there any other route here that can come from the south of Jinshan?"
Zhu Di said.
"Yes, there should be another one here, and this was the most important one at that time. In fact, it's strange for me to take the Hetongbo route at this time. Ordinarily, this is the most suitable passage."
Yang Feng pointed to the location of Hongshanzui Port on the map and said.
He had always believed that this was the main transportation line, but in fact, when he went north from the Junggar Basin and crossed the Altai Mountains, he went further north and then passed through a valley. At this time, even the snow may not have completely melted.
It passes through the Altai Mountains, first to Hetongbo, and then from Hetongbo to Khovd. The only explanation should be that the route to Hongshanzui is further away, requiring hundreds of kilometers of detour, and the water source is not convenient. After all,
This line with Tongbo is a series of lakes.
The only drawback is that the Altai Mountains stretch across it.
But the Altai Mountains themselves are an excellent alpine pasture.
"Stabilize us with regular battles, and a surprise force attacks our rear. They want to swallow us whole."
Zhu Di sneered.
"What about us?"
Yang Feng asked.
"Don't worry about them. If we lose this battle, we don't need to go back. If we win this battle, what do they have to do with us? Send an order to all the troops to march towards Hetongbo. This battle will progress or not retreat."