The Volga River Basin is a nomadic place for the Torgut tribe. After the battle at Guihua City, the Ming army moved all the way west, especially the Heshuote Khanate of Gushi Khan, which immediately shocked Central Asia.
There was originally a nomadic country here called the Kazakh Khanate, which had been at war with the Heshuote Khanate, the Zhungar tribe, the Torgut tribe, and the Yarkand Khanate.
At this time, the Great Khan of the Kazakh Khanate was named Yangjier Khan. He was completely shocked when he heard that many powerful opponents were either destroyed by the Ming Empire or directly surrendered to the Ming Empire.
He couldn't even imagine how powerful that big country in the east must be to have such a result?
When the Ming Dynasty began to build Luntai and military forces began to gather here and prepare to continue westward, Yang Jierhan could not sit still. The strength of the Kazakh Khanate was simply not as good as those who surrendered or were destroyed
How can a tribe or country resist the forces of the Ming Empire when they head west?
In the end, Yang Jierhan chose the path of surrender to the Ming Dynasty.
In this way, the Ming Expeditionary Force easily reached the Volga River Basin, built a military base here, and prepared to use it as the starting point for the Western Expedition against the Russian Empire.
Zhang Huangyan, a young civil servant of the younger generation, was appointed governor of the Western Regions and took charge here, located in the Volga River Basin.
According to the imperial court's policy towards foreign countries, it was similar to the method of returning land to rivers to govern the Volga River Basin.
A cement factory was built first, and then cement was used to build houses, water conservancy projects, etc. Less than two years after Zhang Huangyan arrived in the Volga River Basin, the place changed drastically.
Therefore, when the Cossack Yinvan Bohon came to the Volga River Basin, he was stunned by what he saw and heard.
The original Torgut tribe was actually similar to the Cossacks. Most of them lived a nomadic life. Their strength was neither great nor small. They were able to occupy this place, but at the same time they were oppressed by Tsarist Russia.
But the scene Bohong saw now was that on the Volga River Basin, almost a city had risen from the ground, and it was the kind of house he had never seen before. It was obvious at first glance that it was very sturdy.
On the outskirts of the city, there are endless fields of farmland planted with crops. I don’t know how it is done. These fields are all in order. There are also water canals diverted from the Volga River, covering the fields.
Even if Bo Hong doesn't understand farming, just by looking at this, he knows that when the crops here mature, there will definitely be a bumper harvest.
One of the biggest disadvantages of nomadism is that it depends on the weather for food. You have to pray that the livestock will not suffer from plague. When winter comes, it will be a difficult period. If the snow disaster is too severe and there are too many livestock casualties, it will be another natural disaster.
But now, the Torgut tribe in the Volga River Basin actually has so much farmland. It is foreseeable that they no longer have to worry about food, and their ability to withstand natural disasters has been increased many times!
The Torgut people who accompanied Bohong to the governor's house also proudly introduced to him the changes in the Torgut tribe. In and out of their words, they were all proud of their status as Mingren.
"Look, this is a school. Do you hear the sound of reading inside? It's all free. Mr. Ming natives will teach our children how to read and learn, so that we can become a real Ming people faster!"
"These houses are all made of cement. They are very strong, fireproof and waterproof. As long as you are a commoner in the Ming Dynasty, you can be assigned a house to live in. If you have merit later, you can own it!"
"And those, have you seen them? The endless fields are planted with potatoes. There is nothing more delicious than this. If you can achieve military merit or other merits, you can get a piece of land."
"You don't know, the imperial court uses a kind of iron ox for farming, which is extremely efficient, and taxes on us Ming people are very low. Our lives are now many times better than before!"
"I really want to thank His Majesty the Emperor for letting us never have to live the same life again!"
"Have you seen the recruitment office over there? Those people queuing up want to join the army. The Ming Dynasty implements a compulsory military service system, and every Ming Dynasty citizen is obliged to perform military service!"
"What? Deserting the military service? Are you crazy? When you see people who are depressed, they are depressed because they can't join the army, not because they are doing military service!"
"How is that possible? I'm afraid you don't know. As long as you join the Ming Dynasty's army, not to mention the military pay will be generous. If you kill the enemy and make meritorious service, you will be allocated grain fields and houses. Everyone is rushing to join the army. How can you refuse to submit?
military service!"
"..."
Yinwan Bohong was even more shocked when he heard these words.
If he was just shocked when he saw the houses and farmland, it was when he heard about military service that he was truly shocked.
Because the Cossacks are actually not used to farming, they are more accustomed to fighting in the army. They are in the Polish-Lithuanian Federation, so naturally they have to fight for the nobles of the Polish-Lithuanian Federation. After being registered, they are qualified to lead the army and fight in the war.
One of the rights they fought for during this uprising was to have more people registered, so that they would have the right to receive military pay. If they were not registered, then the war would be in vain.
However, even so, the Polish-Lithuanian Federation still owed them military pay for at least five years and had not paid it. This was similar to the early years of Chongzhen. The final result of defaulting on military pay was rebellion.
In other words, what Cossacks are best at is fighting, not farming. When Bohong knew that joining the army was the most popular thing in the Ming Empire, not only did he get generous military pay, but he also received many rewards for military merit.
With the preferential treatment from other soldiers, how could he not be happy!
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from behind. Based on experience, he knew it was a group of cavalry approaching without even turning his head to look.
So, he subconsciously turned around and looked. Sure enough, he saw a group of cavalry coming this way.
At this time, he was closer and he could see clearly.
This cavalry team all have oriental faces. They are all tall and burly. They also wear red uniforms and a breastplate to reflect the sun's rays. They have muskets, shields, sabers, etc., all available.
Just by looking at it, Bohong could clearly feel that this was an elite cavalry. It was more elite and more powerful than the aristocratic cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian Alliance army.
While ducking aside, he asked the Turgut who was leading the way: "How many such elite cavalry are there in the Ming army?"
While speaking, he actually had some expectations in his heart. If the Cossacks could be recognized and supported by the Ming Empire and had such equipment, they would definitely not be worse than this passing Ming army!
In that case, if the Ming Empire wanted to conquer the Tsarist Empire, or even destroy the Tsarist Russian Empire, it would rely on the Cossack cavalry!
But who would have thought, this Turgut man replied: "All the Ming cavalry are like this!"
"What?" When Bo Hong heard this, he was shocked and asked with some disbelief, "How is it possible?"
He could tell at just one glance that the riding skills of these Ming cavalry were also quite superb.
After hearing this, the Turgut people looked at him and felt that he was making a fuss, so they said to him: "The Ming cavalry are all from the Mongolian grassland. Oh, by the way, I'm afraid you don't know that now the entire grassland,
All the grasslands in the southeast, northwest and northwest belong to the Ming Dynasty. All the original Mongols served the Ming Dynasty. Including our former Wasi tribe, the Kazakh Khanate, etc., do you think the Ming Dynasty will be short of cavalry?"
Another point he didn't mention was that the Han cavalry in the pass had been battle-hardened for a long time and in some aspects were better than the Mongolian cavalry.
Bo Hong was dumbfounded and a little disappointed. He thought to himself, it turns out that there is no shortage of cavalry in the Ming Empire!
Thinking of this, his mood was obviously affected. He didn't say much until he got to the governor's office.
However, he was relatively lucky. Zhang Huangyan was not at the governor's office, but went out to inspect the harvests in the fields. He happened to come back and was bumped into by him at the door.
For Zhang Huangyan, one of his important responsibilities is to make the Volga River Basin the most important base. If the food and grass here can be self-sufficient, then the food and grass needed by the army will not need to be sent from the Western Regions.
Just such a thing, I don't know how much manpower and material resources can be saved by the court.
Therefore, he is very concerned about the people's livelihood here.
He was also very satisfied with the inspection. With the sharp weapon of cement, the tireless artifact of the iron cow, and the very favorable planting environment in the Volga River Basin, he had already seen that in just the second year
There is hope for a good harvest.
When I came back from this inspection, I was in a good mood. I bumped into him at the door and said that a Cossack envoy came to see him.
So, he received him directly.
In the lobby, Zhang Huangyan knew the purpose of the Cossacks' coming, but he didn't think much about it. He directly said to Bo Hong: "If you join the Ming Dynasty and become a common citizen of the Ming Dynasty, then the imperial court will naturally have the responsibility to protect you and will definitely not let you."
No longer will I be oppressed by outsiders."
After a pause, he reminded again: "I might as well tell you that I am currently recruiting people. If you Cossacks come to vote, you will be allowed to become common people of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, if you want to become common people of the Ming Dynasty,
But it’s not easy. I, Da Ming, can’t accept everyone, do you understand?”
Hearing this, Bohon was immediately in a dilemma. Before he came, he got Khmelnytsky's explanation that he could make many conditions, but there was a bottom line, which was that the Cossacks wanted to establish an independent country in Ukraine.
However, this bottom line conflicts with the Ming Empire. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty also said that it is not easy to become a common citizen of the Ming Dynasty. After passing this village, there may not be that store!