eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 839 Yang Yiqing’s Memorial

An artificial lake was dug in the summer palace, and a smooth stone road was paved along the edge of the lake, with various patterns carved on the stone slabs. There are forests of willows planted along the roadside, and lotus flowers are planted in the artificial lake. It can be said that the scenery is colorful and luxuriant, much better than the monotonous scenery of the Forbidden City.

Toward the center of the lake, a curved artificial wooden bridge was built. A two-story tower and four pavilions were built in the lake. It can be said to be a secluded and elegant place.

In addition to these, there is also a pier. If you have time, you can also go boating for fun, which is so comfortable.

Zhu Houzhao first summoned Jiang Yong, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Gui E, the Minister of War, under the willow tree by the lake.

After extending his hand to excuse their courtesy, Zhu Houzhao took out a memorial from his sleeve and said, "This is the memorial from Yang Yiqing, the governor of Xinjiang. Take a look at it first."

Now that the Ming Dynasty has arrived, whether it is the Mongolian Tatar tribe, the Oara tribe, or the Tumote tribe who live in Qinghai, they are basically beaten away by those who are beaten away, and conquered by those who are defeated.

Speaking of which, in the eleventh year of Zhengde, after Wang Yangming conquered Oara in the north, Zhu Houzhao had two basic thoughts on treating the Mongols.

First, he encouraged Ming Dynasty to switch from defense to offense, that is, to fight in the pastures of Mongolian tribes. During the Hongzhi period, this was called going deep alone, but the Zhengde Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia had already experienced several major battles, and they no longer had much strength.

Second, small and medium-sized and high-frequency dispatches.

It takes too much to organize a large army of 500,000 people at a time, and the desert is vast, so you may not be able to find them if you wander around, which would be a big loss. Therefore, the main method of combat of the Ming cavalry today is to dispatch three to five guard posts, that is, twenty to thirty thousand soldiers and horses.

This costs less and allows for fast in and out.

Even if no one can be found, my armed forces will circle here. If you want to graze here, there will be safety risks. Sometimes if you are lucky, you can rob some cattle and sheep.

Looking at it from a longer perspective, Zhu Houzhao was actually not beating these Mongols, but wasting them.

Because the Ming Dynasty had a systematic training system for generals, these generals had rich combat experience, strong soldiers and horses, and were supported by grain and grass from the hinterland of the Central Plains. The border troops were dispatched in turns, which also had the effect of training troops.

And what do the Mongolian tribes have?

They have to rely on robbing south to survive. Without plunder, maintaining basic survival needs is already the limit.

Therefore, within the sphere of influence that the traditional Han Dynasty could reach, the Ming Dynasty had no security threats.

However, looking at world history, leaving aside Siberia, which is a desert in the north, the west of Xinjiang is not a no-man's land.

In fact, except for the boundaries of Xinjiang, the north direction is now the Kazakh Khanate, and the south direction used to be the famous Timurid Empire. But in the 20th year of Zhengde, this empire was gone. It was Buha who destroyed it. La Khanate.

The Kazakh Khanate was actually a split from the early Golden Horde and existed for a long time. It had contact with this Khanate until the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty when the Junggars were annihilated.

The Bukhara Khanate was established in 1500 by a man named Shaibani. He claimed to be a descendant of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. To the Caspian Sea, to the Ming Dynasty and Xinjiang in the east.

In serious history, the Ming Dynasty had no connection with this Khanate.

But now, that's not the case.

The Ming Dynasty planted cotton in Xinjiang, processed it into cotton textiles, and sold them to Central Asia in large quantities.

This is an economic benefit.

Under this economic interest, there will be some problems that have to be faced.

It is said that in 1523, the eighteenth year of Zhengde, Hamus Khan of the Kazakh Khanate passed away.

This Hamusi Khan was actually quite good. He united all the forces in the Khanate and fought an arduous war with Shaibani Khan of the Bukhara Khanate, and even defeated Shaibani Khan.

At the same time, he focused on economic development, and he was indispensable for the relatively calm trade exchanges between Xinjiang and the Kazakh Khanate.

But after his death, the Kazakh Khanate fell into civil strife.

The new Taher Khan was the cousin of Hammus Khan. He succeeded to the throne by killing Hammus Khan's son Mamash.

And Taher Khan, who now rules the Kazakh Khanate...

Sometimes Zhu Houzhao couldn't figure out what was going on in his head. This man was cruel internally and attacked externally without distinguishing between friends and foes. As a result, the Kazakh Khanate was now on the verge of splitting.

Looking at the descriptions of Taher Khan reported in various threads, Zhu Houzhao felt as if he wanted to be the president of the earth. Is this Ze Sheng still alive?

During the war and chaos, very few Ming caravans entered the Kazakh Khanate, and there were even cases where caravans were robbed.

The memorial that Zhu Houzhao showed to these two ministers was Yang Yiqing's report on the civil strife in the Kazakh Khanate and the losses suffered by the Ming caravan.

The first meeting with the two ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War is about two things, the army and military expenditures.

While they were still thinking, Zhu Houzhao said: "This matter was a mistake of mine. Now my caravan of the Ming Dynasty reaches the ocean in the east and the end of the Western Region in the west. If we don't care about it, the losses will be the people of the Ming Dynasty themselves." Accept it. However, the civil strife in the Kazakh Khanate was indeed unexpected for us. I also asked Zhu Pi to send people to contact this Taher..."

Jiang Yong hurriedly said: "This is not your Majesty's fault, but the fault of the ministers. The emperor often teaches the ministers not to be weak and seek peace blindly when dealing with foreign countries. However, the ministers still have the intention of calming down troubles and are unwilling to act arbitrarily. The war made the situation in the Kazakh Khanate uncontrollable."

Zhu Houzhao crossed his arms and looked at the lake calmly, "It's me. I think it's too far there. It's not that it can't be conquered, but it won't take long to conquer that vast area. I haven't thought about attacking that area." Mobilize troops. Commerce is different from agriculture. Farmers farming is nothing more than guarding their own one-third of an acre. But commerce is different. If a trade route is blocked, it will be a fatal threat."

Gui E also frowned after reading this, "Your Majesty, I think we should agree with the proposal of Xinjiang Governor Yang Yiqing, and let him send 20,000 troops into the territory of the Kazakh Khanate to repay the losses! Force him to surrender!"

This is a matter of serious diplomacy, between countries, and it is also about the face of the Ming Dynasty. Jiang Yong is no longer tired of it, "The past few years have been good, and the Ministry of Household Affairs still has some money."

"Do you agree to send troops to fight?" the emperor asked.

Gui E and Jiang Yong looked at each other. When had the emperor ever hesitated about such a thing?

"Your Majesty, what do you mean...?" "When people interact with each other, it is important not to take advantage of the situation, but this is not the case between countries. This Tahir is perverse and absurd. He is originally going to kill his master to get to the top. Now we don't take action. , the Kazakh Khanate will also be torn apart by him. So... I feel that time is still short, and we should let it ferment for a while. The so-called general is incompetent and the three armies are exhausted. I am the commander of the Ming army. Even if they are brave and fearless and not afraid of sacrifice, But we still have to minimize casualties as much as possible. The poor bones by the Wuding River are like those in a spring boudoir dream."

A passage by Zhu Houzhao shows both cruelty and kindness.

To be cruel to outsiders is to watch them fight each other and shed blood, while to be kind to one's own people is to see one less person die if possible.

Gui E asked: "But the civil strife in the Kazakh Khanate has blocked Xinjiang's trade routes. If my prediction is correct, many people will flee and enter the country. How should these be dealt with?"

"With this situation, how can we still do business?" Zhu Houzhao knew in his heart, how much money can be made in a place like this? He put his finger on the tip of his nose and thought for a moment, "We should add another spark to their civil war."

There is a relatively cost-effective way to intervene.

"Let Yang Yiqing find out how many parties there are in this Kazakh Khanate. Select one or two of them who are willing to cooperate with Ming Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty will provide weapons and military pay to support their fight."

"Support them to fight?"

This is actually how the Russians dealt with the Kazakh Khanate.

In fact, the Han people are not very good at this. For us in remote areas like this, we only need to come to declare our vassal status.

But there is no benefit at all.

The Kazakh Khanate repeatedly violated Russian borders for some time. The Russians used the method of supporting another nation to fight against them.

In fact, it is a common trick used by Westerners in Zhu Houzhao's mind.

Although it's disgusting,

But I have to admit, damn, it works.

How many countries have fallen into this trap and have been unable to get out.

"But why does Ming support them?" Jiang Yong asked in confusion.

Zhu Houzhao said: "If you want to get the support of the Ming Dynasty, there must be conditions. For example, the Ming Dynasty will set up strongholds within their sphere of influence, or even build cities and connect the dots into lines. This is a trade route.

In addition, their people also have to protect our people. If others attack the Ming Dynasty's caravan, they will also send troops to assist in the expedition. In this way, the cost is low, the effect is the same, and it also prevents oneself from falling into the other party's civil war. Living in the middle, transcendent and flexible, who dares to offend me? "

This is actually the process of establishing a modern colonial empire. This is a higher-level and more lasting way than establishing a Mongol-style empire.

And when the cost is low, this model can be easily promoted.

This is why colonial empires can quickly carve up the world.

If Zhu Houzhao does this now, his descendants will also learn from it.

After all, it is impossible to truly occupy all seven continents and five oceans.

Gui E and Jiang Yong smacked the taste, but for a moment they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "The affairs of the Kazakh Khanate should be regarded as common sense at first, and the details will be discussed when the officials are summoned. As long as you two say that you have soldiers and money, I will have confidence."

Ok.

The two of them could find no fault for the time being, so they just said at the same time: "I will only act in accordance with His Majesty's will."

"Okay, you go."

"Yes."

Zhu Houzhao stretched himself.

In the other direction, the noble concubine came in all directions.

Now she is over thirty, but she has been pampered and cultivated for many years, so that she still has a kind of dust-free temperament, and it adds to the mature gentleness of a young woman. There is a kind of indescribable nobleness in her whole body, and it feels blasphemous to look at it too much. a feeling of.

"My concubine joins Your Majesty."

"Flat body."

The noble concubine did not stand up, but said softly: "I am here to confess to your majesty."

Zhu Houzhao was slightly surprised and his eyes flashed.

As her name suggests, the virtuous concubine has always been virtuous, and she naturally abides by the rules in the palace. Even her son Zai Yao is always treated with courtesy, and now he has come to accuse her.

"Get up and talk, what's going on?"