After lowering the curtain, Shunzhi finally just sighed, gathered his thoughts, and started asking questions.
Ning Wanwo, who was sitting across from him, had a slightly messy beard on his chin. A layer of fine hair had grown on the back of his originally smooth head. His braids were also much thicker, making him look slightly ugly.
But he showed a serious attitude.
In the past two months, Jilin City has been extremely noisy about the relocation. Coupled with the scarcity of barbers, many people have left behind unknowingly.
"Your Majesty, I traveled for more than half a month last year and came to the Mongolian tribes in Buryatia and met the Rakshasa people who conquered this place."
Ning Wanme explained sternly: "Although the city is called Barguzin, it is actually a wooden village with less than a few hundred soldiers. They rely on muskets to torture the Buryat people."
"There is a lake there. The water is not salty and can be drank directly. However, the locals regard it as the sea, so they call it Baikal."
"Lake Baikal is extremely vast. You can't see the edge at a glance. It's so deep that it's hard to see the bottom. There are countless giant fish in the water..."
"Especially the nearby flat land, which is fertilized by the lake water, is extremely suitable for farming or grazing."
"Besides, a large number of Buryats were enslaved due to their dispersion. Once we eliminate the Rakshasa people, it will be enough to establish a foundation here."
Ning Wanwo said enthusiastically: "The climate there is mild, the territory is vast, there is no shortage of water or land, and more importantly, it is far away from Liaodong. For the imperial court, it is enough to rest and recuperate in order to make a comeback——"
Arriving here first, Emperor Shunzhi was captivated for a moment, and he had a lot of ambition to rebuild the empire.
He glanced at Ning Wanwo, who was still enthusiastic, said a few words of comfort, and then fell into thinking.
After receiving the news that the Ming army was about to march north, the court was in an uproar and immediately split into two factions.
Contrary to imagination, the Eight Banners nobles seemed to want to return to Changbai Mountain to fish and hunt again, or surrender to the Ming army and refuse to migrate again.
But those Han civil servants resolutely requested to be relocated, not to Changbai Mountain, but to the shores of Lake Baikal.
What the Han people advocate is nothing more than farming.
If you return to Changbai Mountain, your life of fishing and hunting will be happy and carefree, but you will never grow up again.
When we arrived at Lake Baikal, we could build a city again to accommodate the people, allowing the Manchu and Qing court to move here intact.
In this way, the feudal system is well preserved, the former slavery can only be discontinued, and civil servants can continue to share power, instead of being stepped on and bullied at will by those Eight Banners nobles.
In order to keep his power stable and also aware of the benefits of sinicization, Shunzhi took advantage of the situation and supported the westward migration.
Going from Jilin to Lake Baikal, we pass through Horqin Grassland, Hulun Lake and other places. It can be said that the road is smooth and there are few mountains.
But the journey is far away, more than two thousand miles, which is a huge burden for ordinary people.
But it was precisely because of the distance that the imperial court was willing to move westward: the farther away from the Ming army, the better.
Ignoring the emperor's thoughts, Ning Wanwo hurriedly exited the ox cart, and then arrived at Fan Wencheng's carriage in a blink of an eye.
…
During this retreat, everything was arranged by Fan Wencheng. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he shouldered the heavy responsibility without hesitation.
"Is the emperor at ease?"
Fan Wencheng has deep bags under his eyes, but he keeps writing in his hand.
"I'm relieved." Ning Wanwo breathed a sigh of relief and sat down cross-legged: "After all, it's a completely unfamiliar place, so it's hard to put people at ease."
Suddenly, Fan Wencheng stopped writing. Seeing that Ning Wanwa was also exhausted, he said softly: "There is no way, the country's situation is like this."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little happy.
Among the migrating people, most families still own livestock, so the speed is fast enough and saves a lot of trouble.
"You haven't seen it. Those so-called Eight Banners warriors heard that they didn't have to go south to fight, but only had to protect the emperor. After they left Jilin, they all breathed a sigh of relief and their faces turned red, as if they didn't have to die..."
Ning Wan, I hate that iron cannot become steel: "The Eight Banners that used to dominate the world have reached such a state. It is sad and lamentable——"
Fan Wencheng shook his head and said with a wry smile: "From the time we entered the Pass in the first year of Shunzhi, to now, the Eight Banners have lost at least 30,000 to 40,000 people in the Pass."
"In addition, in the previous battle in Liaodong, the number of troops and generals was lost, and the Eight Banners of Manchuria were almost replaced. The Eight Banners of the Han Army suffered heavy losses. Now there are only two hundred Niulu left and there is a serious shortage..."
As for the Mongolian Eight Banners, only one-third of the base is left and cannot be replenished. They can only stand under the emperor's flagpole to receive their rations.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Fundamentally speaking, the Eight Banners system was born from military plunder, not from farming.
For example, in Jilin, among the millions of people who migrated, every household received military rations, very few farmed, and there were even fewer slaves.
There was no other way. During this period, the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty were forced to cultivate their fields in order to store grain and feed Jilin, but this was not a long-term solution.
Only by plundering hundreds of thousands of Buryats in Lake Baikal can the Eight Banners system be maintained.
It seems like there are two options, but there is actually only one.
"Do you think Hong Chengchou can do it?"
After Ning and I finished talking, I couldn't help but ask.
"No one can do it except him."
Fan Wencheng sighed and said nothing.
At this time, Hong Chengchou led more than ten thousand cavalry, with one person, three horses, or even four horses, across the vast grassland, and with the help of a guide, came to the east side of Lake Baikal.
As early as 1648, the Russians established Barguzin, located on the east side of Baikal. Later, they established the Yakutsk Warlord's Office and sent Cossacks to conquer large areas around the Lena River.
In 1652, this year, the Russians built the city of Inrkutsk to the west of Lake Baikal.
Since 1631, the Russians and the Buryats have been fighting, and the latter have been bullied and enslaved.
In the past twenty years, I have seen that the Russian rule in the Lake Baikal region has become more and more stable. Suddenly, the Manchu Qing Dynasty came, arriving with the spring breeze.
Carrying 10,000 cavalry, 3,000 muskets, most of the gunpowder, and even more than 30 lightweight squatting tiger cannons.
The Buryats rejoiced and continued to lead the way in uprisings. Many tribes continued to join the army, just to defeat the Russians.
Compared to the ghost-like Russians with their high noses and red hair, the Qing soldiers with the same faces looked particularly friendly.
"This place is pretty good."
Hauge dismounted and looked at the endless grassland and the herdsmen swarming in. He was filled with emotions for a while.
This is much better than Jilin, which is freezing to death.
Hong Chengchou climbed up the slope and looked at Barguzin in the distance.