I have said before that if the Han Dynasty were to attack the grasslands northward, they would need to find an excuse to send troops.
And marching into the Western Regions is naturally the same.
The advantage of marching into the Western Regions compared to marching into the grasslands is that the Western Regions were once the orthodox territory of the Chinese Dynasty that extended from the Han Dynasty to Cao Wei. This was conquered bit by bit by countless Han soldiers during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although there were several wars in the middle.
Lost, but at least until the Cao Wei period, the Western Regions still submitted to the dispatches of the Central Plains.
As for the grasslands, they were indeed conquered during the Han Dynasty.
However, the Huns were only annexed, and the imperial court did not set up a protective palace on the grasslands like the Western Regions. Naturally, they did not really regard the grasslands where the Huns were entrenched as their own territory, only as a vassal tribe.
Historically, before the grasslands truly entered the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty, it was actually not until the Tang Dynasty that the Turks surrendered.
However, compared with the Western Regions, the grassland is closer to the Central Plains. Now that the imperial court has taken over Youzhou, Pingcheng and Hetao, the grassland is one step forward.
As for the Western Region, there is Hexi in the middle, and there is also the Yellow Sand Desert.
Even if the Han Dynasty captured Hexi, they would not directly touch the Western Region.
Therefore, Li Xingchen must have enough reasons to drive both inside and outside the court to agree on the strategic deployment of taking over the Western Regions. Otherwise, he can only do what Emperor Taizong did in history, letting Hou Junji lead his lone army directly across the desert, taking advantage of Gaochang's unpreparedness to launch a thunderbolt.
After Gaochang was captured and the Tang army gained a foothold in the Western Region, it was too late for the government and the public to oppose it. Everyone even had to think about how to eat more to make up for the losses of the previous lonely army.
Li Xingchen did not intend to do this, because historically Gaochang relied on the desert, occupied Tuyuhun to the south, the Turks to the north, and the Tang Dynasty to the east. It seemed that this small country in the Western Regions was quite powerful, but in fact, as we all know, this was only because of the three external factors.
The big bosses have formed a three-legged situation, and no one can do anything to the other, so they are not in the mood to deal with you. As a result, Gaochang doesn't know how he has the confidence, but he actually feels that the Tang Dynasty has dealt with Tuyuhun and the Turks, and he can't do anything to you.
, not even prepared.
In this era, Gaochang had already been beaten by the Tuyuhun army that came north from Qiemo and other places, and now it has become a vassal state of Tuyuhun. Even in this northwest battle, the Gaochang army came to serve as cannon fodder.
In other words, Gaochang should have at least realized the power of the Han Dynasty. Naturally, he either wanted to be a vassal and pay tribute, or he wanted to guard the key points outside the desert and prevent the Han army from easily entering the Western Regions. In any case, Gaochang was in the Western Regions.
He is also a real little overlord on three-thirds of the acre. If the big man comes, Gaochang will become the big man's dog unless something unexpected happens. There are even many countries competing to be the dog, and it is possible that Gaochang will not be able to turn.
Gaochang in history was defeated by arrogance, but Gaochang now will obviously be more difficult to deal with.
If Li Xingchen wanted to attack the Western Regions, he would naturally have to launch a large army.
However, launching an army requires sufficient reasons.
The discovery of rich mineral resources in the Western Regions is obviously a good reason.
The development of industry brought the Han Dynasty an economic boom and a great enrichment of material life. Many good things that were originally only available to wealthy people, or even even wealthy families were reluctant to take out, have now become commonplace.
People's homes.
This kind of material richness and substantial improvement in living standards is naturally very popular both inside and outside the government. Living a better life, is there anything more important than this?
One of the most important driving forces for industrial development is naturally minerals.
There is only yellow sand in the Western Region. Sorry, why bother to fight? You might as well fight Liaodong. Ever since the minerals of Liaodong entered the Central Plains through Youzhou, the voice of attacking Liaodong to seize the mineral resources has never stopped, but now it is temporarily
It was overshadowed by the limelight of the Northwest War.
And if there are mines in the Western Regions, and even precious metals such as gold, I am afraid that Li Xingchen will not even need to speak, and the government and the public will support the attack on the Western Regions.
Li Xingchen believed that the Ministry of Industry's many years of experience in prospecting would not let him down.
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Liu Zhuo had already finished bathing and changing clothes, and led Li Xingchen and others through the lobby and into the workshop.
Li Xingchen visited large factories in later generations. The assembly lines were rolling endlessly, and the huge machines were roaring and running, just like the beating heart and flowing blood of a country. The products on these production lines entered ordinary people in a blink of an eye.
Home makes everyone's life different from the original, so what's the problem with heart and blood?
Of course, the workshop in front of us cannot be compared with those of later generations.
After all, we have just got rid of the concept of "small family workshop".
Most machinery is driven by manpower. Whether it is a distant weaving workshop or a nearby smelting workshop, every movement of the looms and iron smelting furnaces requires manpower.
Of course, the ancients still had some wisdom. There was a waterwheel in the distance that drove the Wei River to the hillside, and then down the river to form a hydraulic drive, so that some heavy machinery could be driven by the straight downward water flow.
Simple conversion of kinetic energy and potential energy.
However, in order for the waterwheel to move, it must rely on human power.
In Li Xinchen's view, these are a bit childish. Moreover, he can also imagine what it is like here. The current workshops of Dahan are just replicas of the workshops that Li Xinchen personally presided over and designed in Nannan County.
As for Yuchizhen and Yan Pi, they were naturally surprised and surprised.
Even if these things in the workshop are simple, they are not something ordinary people can see casually.
After all, before the construction of workshops, the Chinese nation was in a state of slash-and-burn farming. Industries such as smelting and forging in the industrial age also existed in this era, but after all they were only a minority. The biggest thing an ordinary citizen can see in this life
The workshop may be a blacksmith shop, and the most commonly used iron tools may be hoes and kitchen knives.
Such large-scale, centralized industrial parks and industrial production covering all walks of life are unprecedented and unheard of.
Li Xingchen's focus was on the small machine in front of him.
There was a blazing flame in a small stove, causing the water on the stove to boil and evaporate, and the powerful water vapor impacted the operation of the machines above.
This is just a model.
But it is a symbol.
Everyone looked over.
This is the main purpose of Li Xingchen's visit.
A small steam engine.
This thing is too crude.
But Li Xingchen knew very well that the Ministry of Industry had obviously understood the principles and mastered the method of starting this machine, which meant that it could be scaled up to a certain proportion and used in industrial production.
The diversion hillside and hydraulic waterfall not far away are completely ready for decommissioning.
A new era has begun with the operation of this small machine.