Lhasa is located in the valley of the Brahmaputra River. It was a human settlement as early as the savage period. Later, it was a central city during the Tubo Dynasty, Zangba Khanate, and Khoshot Khanate.
King Yong's royal frame arrived in Lhasa again in May, when all things revived.
Last time he was an angel, but now he is just passing by.
The team behind him included more than 3,000 people, and more than 10,000 people took a break in Cannes to adapt to the plateau environment.
The real target is Yong State, which is the former Nepal.
The Prime Minister has governed for several years and stabilized the country. Now he needs to take over as Prime Minister and truly govern the people.
This year, King Yong was only twenty.
"It's really uncomfortable to leave Beijing and go to a remote and remote vassalage in the prime of life!"
King Yong was riding on his horse. The several months in Kangcheng had allowed him to adapt to the plateau climate. Except for his slightly reddish complexion, he looked the same.
Among these 3,000 people, there were 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 infantry. They were basically Khampa men and were the main force that followed him south to Nepal.
Most of the people who stayed in Cannes before setting off were family members, craftsmen, etc. Naturally, if your body is weak, you should rest more!
"Zhenheng, what do you think of the Yong Kingdom?" King Yong reined in his horse and looked at Lhasa in the distance and the dense crowds outside the city. He couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
"Your Highness, as far as I know, the Yong State has three million people, and there are more than 200,000 in Xianyang alone. Although it is not as good as the Qin State, it is slightly better than the Qi, Wei, Yue, Liao..."
The young man who replied was only in his twenties, a few years older than King Yong. He had a square face and thick lips. He was King Yong's close companion and the future leader of the imperial army, Yan Zhenheng.
And his identity is naturally unusual. He is the fourth concubine son of Duke Yong, Yan Guochao, and the son who has no title to inherit.
If he proceeds step by step and studies literature, he will go to the Imperial College to study, and as a supervisory student, he will be selected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and then he will climb up the ranks of the local assistant officials.
Or go to a martial arts hall or work as an officer in the army to make a career.
The last thing is to do business and gain wealth.
However, with the inheritance of the vassal system, many noble children were unwilling to follow the step by step, but chose to follow the vassal of the vassal king, thereby gaining titles and wealth.
The only worry is hardship.
Although Yan Zhenheng was a concubine, he was not good at literature or martial arts. His many years of wealthy life made him inseparable from the Duke's mansion, which only gave him a smart brain.
Naturally, he took the fourth path:
The vassal.
Get acquainted with King Yong and become friends, and then follow him as a vassal.
As we all know, the title of a vassal state is allowed to be hereditary without surrender. King Yong personally promised that after arriving in Xianyang, the capital, he would be conferred the title of prince immediately.
Thinking about his father's encouragement to him before leaving, and even sending more than ten soldiers as his servants, Yan Zhenheng felt quite emotional for a while.
This was one of the few moments when he felt his father's love.
"It would be great if Xianyang of Yong State is half as big as Lhasa!"
After hearing what King Yong said, Yan Zhenheng greeted him and said:
"Even if it is not as good as Lhasa, it will be just around the corner for Your Highness's vassal to surpass Lhasa."
"Hahaha!" King Yong smiled.
Together with the army, the two slowly arrived outside Lhasa.
Since the imperial court had previously conveyed the decree, the food and fodder for the military camp had been prepared, and you could move in directly.
Wang Yangxi, the governor of Xizang, looked like a warrior with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, but he was purely a scholar and only had the status of a supervisor.
But he was a distinguished minister of Zhongxing Fuguo, posthumously awarded Shaobao, Yongdingzi, posthumous name Wencheng, and the son of Wang Yingxiong.
Just the shadow of his father's generation is enough for him to survive for decades.
Of course, the governor is his roof, so it will be difficult to get into the center.
King Yong quickly dismounted his horse and said close to him: "How dare you bother the prince to greet him in person?"
"This is my duty!" Wang Yangxi bowed and said: "Your Highness, a banquet has been set up in the city!"
The group of people entered the city, and people were kneeling on both sides.
The atmosphere is so harmonious and makes people feel at home.
There was even rice prepared on the table.
"There are also rice fields on the plateau?" King Yong couldn't believe it, and then he looked happy again.
Since Lhasa can grow it, so can his Yong Kingdom.
"Your Highness, the Maquan River Valley is vast and there are paddy fields, but the yield is less. You can only harvest two bushels of rice from one bushel, which is far less than highland barley. Therefore, the Yamen only planted more than a thousand acres, specifically for eating with some Han officials!"
Wang Yangxi chuckled.
He didn't care at all about the production that was beyond his means, and even the costs that had to be subsidized. He was serving the officials, and that was what he should be doing.
"That's good!" King Yong breathed a sigh of relief: "I didn't see it when I came here a few years ago, but now I see it, it makes me happy."
“When you arrive in Yong Kingdom, you won’t starve to death!”
For a time, the whole place was filled with laughter.
After the banquet, King Yong and Governor Wang had a detailed discussion.
"Ten thousand stones of highland barley flour, two thousand mules, horses, and yaks, twenty thousand pieces of cloth, five thousand iron pots, three thousand pairs of armor, and more than a thousand civilians..."
"Ten blacksmiths, five carpenters, two goldsmiths..."
"Your Highness, you can kill me!"
Wang Yangxi couldn't laugh or cry: "Didn't the imperial court and His Majesty give you a large amount of gold and silver? Why is there still a shortage?"
"The imperial court still asked Xizang to support me?" King Yong asked casually: "Isn't this what you should have meant?"
Wang Yangxi shook his head: "It's hard to say anything else. We really don't have armor. Unless we take it away from the Jingying people, the remaining iron tools and so on are also lacking in Xizang!"
"The cloth is only five thousand, and the cattle and sheep can be compared with you. It's just that you can use the sheep as you like, but you have to return the yaks and horses, and the provincial government is not rich..."
After some negotiation, the deal was finally settled.
Only then did King Yong reveal a smile: "It's not easy!"
"Your Highness, Zang Province is really too poor!"
Wang Yangxi sighed: "On such a huge plateau, there are only one million people and only three million acres of cultivated land. The rest is pasture for grazing. Since ancient times, how many people have been rich in grazing?"
"The roads are rugged, and cattle, sheep and herbs have to be exchanged for tea and cloth. Even in such a large province, it is not as good as Guizhou!"
The complaints therein are so straightforward.
King Yong couldn't help laughing for a while.
A province's tax is extremely difficult for ordinary people to obtain, but for a prince like him, it is a piece of cake.
What's more, after observing politics in the Eight Departments, he naturally understood the details of Xizang:
The grain tax is one in ten, which is only about 300,000 dan.
Commercial taxes rely on the Tea Horse Road, which can collect around 200,000 yuan a year.
Including mining, logging, cattle and sheep, etc., you can also have 50,000.
A total of 550,000 per year.
Guizhou, on the other hand, has a population of 2 million and can get 4 million yuan a year, which is eight times as much.
Therefore, the taxes were almost used for their own use, and the imperial court had to transfer two to three million yuan from Sichuan every year, otherwise it would not even be able to support the garrison.
"Why is Xizang like this?"
King Yong narrowed his eyes and asked suddenly.
"Short of people!" Governor Wang said: "There are only one million people in such a big place. The cultivated land and population are only one inland city. Suzhou and Songjiang have three to four million..."
“There is plenty of land but no one to sow it, and many sheep but no one to feed them.”
"To tell you the truth, when the prince was in Lhasa, he limited the nobility to a maximum of 10,000 acres of land. Now the province has long since removed the limit. After all, land is not enough, you need someone!"
"You and I!" Suddenly, King Yong said decisively:
"There are two to three million natives in the Yong Kingdom. I can migrate some here, but I just need supplies in exchange!"
Looking at King Yong with bright eyes, Wang Yangxi narrowed his eyebrows.
He was thinking about the benefits.
It is undeniable that increasing Dingkou will inevitably increase taxes, which is extremely beneficial to his evaluation.
It can even make him rush upward!
Even if this hope is slim, it is still a hope!
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth: "I will report it to the court..."
"I will also report it to my father!" King Yong said directly, his eyes bright: "I will definitely agree to this matter."
"At the same time, I will relocate people from Xikang and Sichuan. I hope Zang Province will provide more support when the time comes!"
"Of course!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Migrating Nepalese indigenous people to the plateau is a situation that kills two birds with one stone.
Only by moving people away can the Han people, or Han people, obtain resources and occupy a favorable position.
He, King Yong, understands very well that wise people are his foundation.
This Ming people naturally includes Mongolians, Zang people, and even Yi people.
After wandering around Lhasa for several days and obtaining the necessary supplies, the army continued southward.
By the time we crossed the Himalayas, twenty days had passed.
As soon as he got off the plateau, King Yong immediately felt refreshed and the dullness in his chest was swept away.
"Zhenheng, Yongguo is really different. This brings me back to Kangcheng. No, it should feel like Chongqing!"
"Your Highness, this place is much better than expected!" The smile on Yan Zhenheng's face became much more sincere.
Although it is cooler here than in the mainland, it is not extremely hot, which means there are no diseases like malaria, which is a big plus!
"However, it is as barren as imagined!"
The tribal villages at the southern foot of the Himalayas are almost all practicing slash-and-burn farming, and the people can be said to be impoverished.
All the salt we eat has to be brought from Xizang.
So backward!
King Yong shook his head in his heart.
A hundred miles north of Xianyang (Kathmandu), a large army was already greeting them, and the Prime Minister was even more excited.
Of course, the soldiers who had been stationed in the Beijing camp for many years were in tears.
They did not feel welcome to King Yong, but someone came to replace them and they could go home.
Prime Minister Du Liuliang, who was a Jinshi in the first year of Shaowu, is now sixty years old and in good spirits. He has governed the country for King Yong for four years, planned the system, laid the foundation stone, and stabilized the public sentiment.
At least the Yong Kingdom today is not a war-torn place.
"Your Highness, the capital of the Yong Kingdom is in Xianyang. It is the Xianyang Valley with more than one million people. It is the heart of the Yong Kingdom..."
Du Liuliang meticulously described the situation of the Yong Kingdom: "Now the Yong Kingdom is divided into five places, Xianyang Prefecture in the capital, and four prefectures of Gaoling, Hongmen, Yueyang, Wucheng, and twelve counties."
These names naturally follow ancient names, which are the unspoken rules of the vassal state and are intended to replace local culture.
Nepal was preceded by the Malla dynasty. After the death of King Yakshi Malla two hundred years ago, several of his sons established themselves separately, forming the three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Badgaon and Patan.
These three countries belong to the Mara dynasty and belong to the yellow race, mostly from Zang.
In addition to the Three Kingdoms in the Xianyang Valley, there are also two feudal alliances in the west, the Jobis Alliance and the Baez Alliance.
These two alliances were princes and nobles who fled from northern India to the mountains and forests when the Mongols went south. They established small kingdoms in the mountains and continued to enjoy life.
So they are mostly Aryans, mostly yellow and white.
In later generations of Nepal, white people accounted for more than 40% of the population, while yellow people accounted for only about 30%. This shows how fast the Aryans reproduced!
Of course, this is also the reason why Yong Kingdom was enfeoffed.
This fragmented state also gave Ming an opportunity to take advantage of it.
More than ten thousand people rushed forward and directly destroyed the three most prosperous valley kingdoms and established the Yong Kingdom.
"Ten thousand of the troops were suppressed in Xianyang, and five thousand natives were recruited!"
Du Liuliang said optimistically: "Because they look similar, there is not much resistance. Maybe this group of people believe in Brahmanism!"
Only then did King Yong understand what the caste system was and the various gods.
"As long as Your Highness does not disturb the beliefs of this group of people, they will not resist. As for the two scattered alliances of feudal states, I can only rely on Your Highness!"
"I have tried my best to manage the valley, and I don't dare to have any more extravagant expectations..."
King Yong nodded.
He didn't care at all.
These two alliances simply gave him a good opportunity to gain military glory and prestige. He was naturally grateful to Du Liuliang for his good intentions:
"Mr. Du governs the country and brings peace to the country. I hope you will give me more guidance in the remaining year."
"I am willing to make you a prince and earn a salary of one thousand dan per year!"
"Thank you for the gift, Your Highness!" Du Liuliang said gratefully:
"I can't enjoy it anymore, so I can only leave one son to flourish in the Yong Kingdom..."
This is also what it should be.
Naturally, these prime ministers had to hand over their power and return to the country, so that the vassal king could truly grasp the real power of the vassal country and return to the capital to receive rewards.
The title was a token of gratitude from the feudal king, and was inherited by one of his sons and settled in the feudal kingdom.
"How many of you in Jingying want to stay?"
"Half of these ten thousand soldiers and horses are Kangzang people. Most of them are unwilling to stay. There are only a few thousand bachelors specially selected by the imperial court. They are divided into land, houses, women, and officials. They can stay!
"
King Yong nodded.
"Then, the first step now is to stabilize the Xianyang Valley."
King Yong was full of energy: "For the battle in the coming year——"
…
Unlike the complacent King Yong, the island of Ceylon at this time was already moving towards unification.
Several years ago, Zhu Ci, King of Ceylon, went south with tens of thousands of troops and after half a year of conquest, he completely captured the Kingdom of Kandy.
Nearly 70% of the entire island of Ceylon is under the rule of the Kingdom of Ceylon. The only missing piece is the Colombo area on the southwest coast.
It was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East India Company.
Unlike the Kingdom of Kandy, which is inland, Ceylon is coastal and needs a lot of trade to make profits and maintain a healthy finances.
"After losing Nanyang, the Dutch returned their attention to Colombo, Bangladesh, Myanmar and other countries."
In the palace, all the ministers looked serious.
Chu Ke, who was promoted to the position of Minister of Rites, had long lost the idea of returning home. The Ming Dynasty could not give him the opportunity to become a master.
"It is said that the Dutch have built three more trading stations on the east coast of India in recent years. There are as many as 2,000 troops stationed in Colombo, and they also have a large number of red artillery."