In the 19th year of Shaowu's reign, on February 2, the dragon raised its head.
The warm wind is blowing, the willows are clinging to their arms, everything is beginning to revive, and it’s time to renew the year again.
All the snow outside Beijing has melted, and the slightly dry land has become slightly moist, preparing for a good harvest in the coming year.
It was spring plowing, and as the emperor, Zhu Yixi had to put on a show, whip the mud cows, and pray for a good harvest.
A large number of civil and military officials stood aside and watched the excitement.
Afterwards, in order to be more realistic, the emperor took the initiative to carry out weeding activities with a hoe.
Several adult princes stood behind them, either digging the ground with hoes or pulling weeds, making it very lively.
After tilling half of the land, the emperor looked back and felt angry.
Good guys, some used the wheat as grass to hoe, and some almost dug up their own feet. There are all kinds of weird things.
Seven or eight people were fighting in a scuffle and almost started to fight.
Among the princes, the King of Qin and the King of Qi had not returned from the vassal state, so Prince Zhu Cunqu took the lead.
The marriage camp: Crown Prince Zhu Cunqu, the fourth son of the emperor Zhu Cunhuan, the king of Liao, and the fifth son of the emperor Zhu Cunwei, the king of Yue.
Those who are around fifteen or sixteen years old, who have just left school and started to study politics:
The sixth son of the emperor, King Zhu Cuntang of Wei, the seventh son of the emperor Zhu Cunmei, the king of blessing, the eighth son of the emperor Zhu Cunbai, the king of Zhao, and the ninth son of the emperor Zhu Cunfeng, the king of Xiang.
There are seven princes in total. According to their status, the distance from the emperor is close and far, and there is order in the chaos.
"Master! Have a drink of water!"
Liu Afu, who was standing by, saw that the emperor looked tired and immediately offered him a cup of warm tea.
"Um!"
Zhu Yixi walked down the slope without any pretense and continued.
Although there is only half of the land, farming is really tiring.
From the bed to the soil, combined with the two, he cultivated a large area, and he was relatively diligent.
The sharp eyes of several princes caught a glimpse of the emperor taking a rest, and they immediately prepared to sit down.
But how could the emperor let them go: "Fourth brother, you are the one who cheats and plays tricks. You used to be able to stay up late watching a show, but now you can't do it when you are plowing the fields."
"Give me a good farmland and show it to your brothers."
"Yes!" King Liao responded feebly with a bitter look on his face.
Of course, the emperor did not treat the civil and military ministers who were basking in the sun equally.
Because he regards this farming as a joint activity between father and son, cultivating the relationship between father, son and brothers.
Look at the King of Liao, he was so moved that he almost cried.
Furthermore, a group of old men in their fifties and sixties cannot carry it on their shoulders or lift it in their hands. If one accidentally catches a cold, they can directly go to see the King of Hell.
"Lao Ba, Lao Ninth come here."
I drank three cups of tea in a row to quench my thirst.
Zhu Yixi sat under the shade of a tree and looked at her sons working hard, feeling quite comfortable for a while.
Then, he seemed to have thought of something and called his two youngest sons.
Upon hearing the call, the eighth son of the emperor Zhu Cunbai, the king of Zhao, and the ninth son of the emperor Zhu Cunfeng, the king of Xiang, were stunned for a moment, and then hurried over.
"Father——"
"It's the New Year, so it's seventeen!"
"Yes."
"The marriage has to be arranged." The emperor glanced at the two of them and said softly.
To be honest, I really can’t stand it when I have so many sons.
What he took seriously was that the king of Qin, the king of Qi, the prince, and the king of Liao were all old enough to join the vassal.
The kings of Zhao and Xiang dropped out of school, but the gentlemen commented on them.
King Zhao had a mediocre personality, good knowledge, and a middle-class appearance.
The king of Xiang was good at music and martial arts, and his knowledge was mediocre and average.
The martial arts here are basically horse riding and archery. Six out of ten shots are missed, which is considered to be above average.
As long as they are above the average level, Zhu Yixi wants these sons to go to Fan even if they are wandering nearby.
If force failed, he sent generals to help.
If he is not good at civil affairs, as long as he is not withdrawn and arrogant and does not listen to others' advice, he will also send civil servants to help.
The King of Zhao and the King of Xiang have both reached adulthood, and it is time to send fiefdoms to prepare them for vassalage.
The old Wuyue King is in Hokkaido, and the old Liuwei King is in Cambodia.
The old Seven Lucky Kings are going to be placed in Chechnya, build a city for him, seal him ten thousand or twenty thousand herders, and then establish a small vassal state.
And where can Lao Ba and Lao Jiu be?
Zhu Yixi looked thoughtful.
The two princes stood in front of the emperor, their mouths were thirsty, but they did not dare to speak for fear of disturbing the emperor's thinking.
"Siam is not good. It is a country with millions of people, and unlike Annan, which has not been influenced by Han culture, it needs to be conquered in a down-to-earth manner."
"What's harder is governance."
"Besides, the distance is too far. It would be helpful to wait until King Wei takes Cambodia, but it is not suitable now..."
Indochina is the most suitable place.
But Burma is occupied by Sun Kewang, Siam is too difficult, and Laos is all virgin forest, so it will most likely be dangerous if you go there.
Therefore, we can only focus on the Nanyang Islands.
Zhu Yixi remembered that when the mission passed by Borneo, they reported to the Kingdom of Wenlai.
It has a population of one million, an area smaller than half of Borneo, and tens of thousands of Han people living there, who can help manage it.
It's really a good place there.
Although there are primeval deep forests in the middle, there are also many coastal plains, which can accommodate at least two or three vassal states.
Unfortunately, the map is not there.
Zhu Yixi sighed and looked at the old King Jiuxiang: "I heard that you missed six out of ten?"
"My child is ashamed." King Xiang said, but a proud smile appeared on his face: "I am not as good as those masters."
"You are still young and your strength is still growing. In the next three to five years, you will be no less than those masters."
The emperor praised you and then said: "You are getting older and you will get married this summer. I will choose a vassal state for you in advance."
"My son thanks my father." King Xiang knelt down quickly, the smile on his face coming from the bottom of his heart.
Which general doesn't want to fight in the north and south?
Seeing this, the emperor glanced at his strong body and said: "Borneo, the Wenlai Kingdom, is yours."
"Wen Lai?" King Xiang was stunned. He had never heard of this country at all.
"It's right next to your second brother. You can ask for help when the time comes and help each other."
"The Wenlai Kingdom is a kingdom that lasts for hundreds of years. It was called the Boni Kingdom in the pre-Ming Dynasty."
"Yes!" King Xiang responded.
Since the second brother can survive, it can be lived in.
At this time, the emperor looked at King Zhao aside.
This son is not good at fighting, but rather mediocre, so he can only choose a peaceful place.
After a moment of turmoil in his mind, the emperor said: "Lao Ba."
"My son is here." King Zhao responded quickly.
"Your Zhao country, I have thought about it and found a safe place."
"The Kokand area is a basin, close to Anxi, with two to three hundred thousand soldiers. In order to defeat the Bukhara Khanate, Li Dingguo took this place and used it as a forward position."
"Let this place serve as your vassal state!"
King Zhao was overjoyed.
Although the land is small, it can be picked up ready-made. There is no need to work hard to conquer the world or open up farming. Don't be too comfortable.
But there was a look of embarrassment on his face again: "The Haokand area is the fourth brother's place. It would be bad if I take it over!"
"That's where I was meant to separate."
The emperor waved his hand: "You don't know that the Bukhara Khanate is as big as two Hebei provinces. The Kokand area is too far away from it, and its people are different. The entire country will be established for you."
"yes!"
After hearing the emperor's explanation, King Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.
This way he no longer felt guilty.
"The place is a bit small, and there isn't much room for expansion, but it's still suitable. It's backed by Anxi, so at least it's stable."
Zhu Yixi said casually.
The kings of Zhao and Xiang were agitated and stood there thinking about everything.
Who wouldn't be excited to become the master of a country in a blink of an eye?
"Go and plow the fields."
Unexpectedly, the emperor refused to spare them at this time and drove them away directly: "If you don't have time, don't even think about being lazy."
The two kings returned to the wheat field with a sad face.
At this time, the princes smiled: "This is true sharing of joys and sorrows! No one can run away."
"What?" King Liao was the smartest. He moved over and said, "What did your father tell you?"
"It's about sealing the country!" King Xiang said without hesitation.
Ji Wang showed the same expression as before, but his face was full of curiosity.
But no one continued to ask, because they knew that the King of Liao would ask for them.
Even the prince's pace was slower.
King Liao glanced at everyone and saw that no one continued to ask, so he could only ask again: "Where is it?"
"Is it a good place?"
King Xiang said softly: "My vassal state is near my second brother's Qi state. I heard it is called Wenlai, also called Boni state. There are nearly one million people. We need to fight over it!"
"Where's the eighth brother?"
King Liao turned his head and looked at the restrained King Zhao.
"It's in the Kokand area." King Zhao said embarrassedly: "When Jin Guogong attacked the Bukhara Khanate, the springboard he captured in advance was a basin with only 200,000 to 300,000 people."
As he spoke, he carefully peeked at King Liao's face, fearing that he would be dissatisfied.
After all, this was demarcating a territory in his Liao Kingdom.
The King of Liao said "Oh", but he was not annoyed, but suddenly said: "That place is for you."
"That's good. Although it's not big, it's stable. It's not suitable for grazing, but it's suitable for farming!"
"Fourth brother, are you not annoyed?" King Zhao asked.
"Why are you upset?" King Liao said casually: "I'm afraid you don't know how big the Liao country is. My brother-in-law said that it is as big as Suiyuan and Chahar, and there are grasslands everywhere."
"It's a thousand miles from Bukhara, the capital of the country, to Kokand."
"You can divide some of the two to three million Tatars, which will save me a lot of trouble."
"The fourth child has a good temperament."
At this time, the prince, who was immersed in farming, looked back and showed a happy smile: "In a foreign country, brothers and sisters should help each other and not care about the odds and ends."
"The former Mongol Khanate was divided into five khanates in just two generations. When the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed, there were not many people who could help."
"vassal states are adjacent to each other, so they should help each other."
"Brother Prince, that's right!" King Liao and King Zhao immediately bowed down.
The King of Liao thought to himself that the Crown Princess was pregnant, and the smile on the Crown Prince's face could not be stopped. He might break his teeth if he continued to smile.
After working for nearly an hour, Zhu Yixi came over and took a look. Half an acre of wheat field looked like it was being gnawed by dogs.
He was speechless.
Looking at his sons who were watching their noses and hearts, he didn't scold him, he just said: "Go back and eat!"
"Continue to work in the afternoon."
For a moment, the smiles on the princes' faces froze.
…
Anxi Province, Qingsang City.
This is the northernmost part of Anxi. The Irtysh River flows from Siberia and then forms a huge lake on the land.
Its name is Qingmulg Lake.
This was originally the wintering place for Dulbert's tribe, one of the four Mongolian tribes in Oirat.
After the establishment of Anxi Province, in addition to the city in Urumqi, cities of various sizes were built in places with rich water and grass in Mongolia and Mongolia in the desert to manage those tribes.
Because the area of Qingmulg Lake is no less than that of Taihu Lake, with hundreds of miles of reed swamps teeming with fish and grass, it is extremely suitable for living.
Therefore, Anxi Province established Qingsang City here and reclaimed farmland near the lake.
In order to take care of the environment in the south and north of Anshan, one province and two governance are implemented.
In Northern Xinjiang, the homeland of Oirat Mongolia, farmers from the country migrated, built large and small cities, and developed farming.
With the city as the center, herder tribes covering hundreds of miles in radius were all under its jurisdiction.
The southern Xinjiang is centered on the oasis, where officials are transferred and the garrison is equal.
In the vast northern border, the territory is huge and there are many tribes. Naturally, it is difficult to control these tribes for a long time with a temporary reputation.
Therefore, these cities are often commercial centers.
In Qingsang City, green salt, iron, silk cloth, tea, iron pots, etc. from Gansu are all sold in the city.
Those tribes may not care about anything else, but they cannot live without salt and tea.
Naturally, they had to succumb to Qingmulg City.
At this time, in the eyes of the soldiers guarding the city, a group of cavalry, no less than a thousand people, suddenly came galloping from the distance.
The dust on the floor molded his face.
Pedestrians on the road were panicked and hid on both sides. The merchants and pedestrians at the city gate were even more anxious to run into the city, for fear of being a step too late.
Unexpectedly, the city gate was not only not closed, but opened.
A group of more than a hundred riders filed out and lined up at the city gate to greet him.
After a while, the group of people showed their true faces.
Wearing cotton armor and a red triangle scarf around his neck, this is a typical Ming Dynasty military robe.
"Xiaguan Qingsang City Guards Xia Henian, pays homage to Shangguan."
"Get up!"
The visitor took off his armor and revealed a tired face, but his original formidable appearance was still impressive.
Bearded, round eyes, thick lips.
He is Zhang Ronghu, Wu Beidao, Anbei Xinjiang.
Compared with the mainland, Anxi has one province and two administrations, with two chief envoys.
Southern Xinjiang is basically full of oases, large and small, like pearls falling on the ground. As long as you control those large oases, it will be difficult to gather resistance.
Northern Xinjiang is different, with endless grasslands and more tribes than stars in the sky.
Therefore, the main direction of the governor is in northern Xinjiang:
Open up wasteland, build cities, and supervise tribes.
The huge northern territory was divided into six parts. Each part sent an armed envoy with two to three thousand cavalry to conduct daily inspections and control the tribes.
It is located above the prefect and is equivalent to the Taoist priest.
"Qingmulang City is pretty good."
Zhang Ronghu looked at Qingsang City, which was nearly ten miles in circumference, and couldn't help but praise it.
"Only because of Qingmulg Lake, the small town has a firm footing." Xia He smiled young and welcomed him into the city.
"The grass carp I have here is really good, you can try it."