“Luzon is quite interesting.”

After spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at Yuquan Villa, in early September, when the sky was clear and the air was crisp, the emperor and the court returned to the capital.

The collection of autumn taxes has already begun.

The yellow and red maple leaves flutter down, taking advantage of the autumn wind, which is a beautiful sight.

Yan Chongxin looked up, his eyes full of emotion.

“Asking for equal treatment, isn’t this arguing with Shuntian Prefecture?”

At this time, Zhu Mou chuckled softly and said: "There are millions of people after all. They will probably pay 600,000 in taxes this year, so they are very brave."

"It's just that the governor of Shuntian City may not be happy."

This is not true. Originally, there were 165 scholarship quotas in the 19 counties of Shuntian Prefecture, but Lu Song squeezed in and occupied three of them.

Today's one is not enough, I want eight more.

These quotas must be provided by other counties. Who among the counties in Shuntian Prefecture is willing to do so?

Now the governor of Shuntian is Zhu Yiquan, and he has a very important position in the emperor's heart, so he may be entangled with him.

Du Yinxi took a sip of tea and said, neither salty nor bland: "There are hundreds of thousands of people in Luzon now. Although the literary style is not prosperous, it is still the land of the Ming Dynasty, so the number of scholars should naturally be more normal."

"Eight is probably not enough. We need at least thirty to win over people's hearts."

Feng Xianzong also agreed with this statement and even exaggerated it to 30 places.

Regarding this, Zhu Mou smiled and said: "Then Shuntian Mansion must not cause a quarrel."

"This is saying that we have to increase the quota for Shuntian Mansion."

As the first assistant, Yan Chongxin smiled slightly and said thoughtfully: "The number of people in Gyeonggi Province has skyrocketed, and the number of one hundred and sixty is not enough."

"Let's just increase it to two hundred!"

"This -" Du Yinxi felt that the increase was too much: "Will there be trouble in other places?"

"With the Luzon Prefecture here, it's understandable. Who dares to cause trouble?"

Yan Chongxin thought it was nothing. As the chief assistant, he still had this right.

In other words, even if there is a commotion, it will be suppressed.

Just enough to replace some important officials.

Zhu Mou smiled, seeming to agree.

But in my heart, I felt unhappy.

Yan Chongxin has been in the cabinet for seventeen years and served as the chief minister for three years. At the age of sixty, it is time for him to become an official.

Not only the civil and military officials of the court, but also the emperor thought so.

For 17 years as a cabinet minister, the personal connections he built were terrifying. If he continued, half of the imperial court would be related to him.

Naturally, Yan Chongxin did not dare to go against the emperor's will, so he thought that his power would be abolished when it expired. It was better to take the opportunity to appoint more people to pave the way for future generations.

If there is action in the officialdom, an opportunity is needed.

It is not a small crime to suppress someone in an unfavorable place.

Several other people also clearly felt the sharpness of Yan Chongxin's words and vaguely understood its meaning, but they all fell silent.

When someone is about to retreat, there is no need to make things too rigid.

At this time, the autumn wind came from the west and sent Jin Guogong Li Dingguo to the capital.

Guarding Anxi for several years has made this general mature, stable and cautious, and he is no longer as brave as he used to be.

When meeting the emperor, Li Dingguo was cautious, not as careless as in previous years.

This made the emperor very satisfied, and he started talking about Anxi affairs.

Li Dingguo was also unambiguous and said directly: "Although Anxi is large, it can be divided into two parts. The northern and southern territories are each one."

"The southern Xinjiang is mostly populated by the Yarkand people, also known as Semu people, who believe in the Peace religion; the northern Xinjiang is populated by Mongolians and migratory Han people, who live together with herding and farming, and have no worries about food and clothing."

Speaking of this, Li Dingguo said with a hint of resentment: "Your Majesty, the number of people who have moved to Anxi in recent years is less than 100,000, and 90% of them are from Gansu. If you want to completely control Anxi, this number of people is not enough."

"I heard that even in Jilin, there are still 3.5 million people in these years. It's too unfair for Anxi."

Zhu Yixi was noncommittal.

After passing through the difficult moments during the founding period of the People's Republic of China, today, although the population in the entire world has gradually increased, there is still more land.

As long as there is still something to eat in their hometown, no one will take the initiative to move.

Although the method of relocating the people with troops is effective, Anxi is too far away and the land is relatively barren. Who would do it in this case?

Shandong and Jilin are only separated by the Bohai Sea and Liaodong. They share the same language and are relatively close to each other, so everyone likes to go there.

The only province closest to Anxi is Gansu, but it is still a province with a small population, which is disadvantageous for Anxi.

"There is nothing the court can do about this matter."

The emperor sighed: "In the final analysis, Anxi is still too poor."

"Your Majesty, there are nearly three million people in Dingkou in Anxi today. Among them, there are about 200,000 Han civilians and soldiers. It is far from enough to guard Anxi."

In order to further convince the emperor, Li Dingguo said loudly: "This summer tax, southern Xinjiang will collect 2 million yuan, and northern Xinjiang will collect 600,000 yuan. The Silk Road has begun to continue to flourish, and Anxi is not too poor."

"Your Majesty, Anxi is vast and vast, and there are many foreign enemies, especially the Rakshasa people, who are eyeing us. We have never relaxed."

Speaking of this, Li Dingguo felt a little proud.

Two million and six hundred thousand yuan, divided into 37 cents, the imperial court can collect nearly one million yuan.

Among the twenty-five provinces of the imperial court, not many can surpass it, and Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, Ningxia, etc. are far behind.

As a newly acquired province, he is proud to have such good results.

"I can't force Dingkou."

The emperor shook his head slightly: "Moving to Anxi, for ordinary families, means that their families are broken up and their families are displaced. People can be killed along the way."

"Although the relocation benefited the court, it did more harm than good to the people."

Li Dingguo was desperate. He said dejectedly:

"The general also thinks that this is a bit excessive and not a benevolent policy. However, the situation in Anxi is here. If the Han people are not resettled as soon as possible to cultivate the land, it may be dangerous."

"There are also some opportunities."

The emperor clapped his hands and asked for the huge map that was sent to him.

Soon, the part about the Western Regions appeared in front of them.

The huge Anxi is divided into Northern Xinjiang and Southern Xinjiang, and on the periphery, the northernmost ones are the Rakshasa people.

To the west are the Kazakh Khanate, the Brakha Khanate, and the Mughal Empire in the south.

The emperor's eyes carefully considered these three places, and moved away from the Mughal Dynasty first.

There is no doubt that the Mughal Empire, with a population of hundreds of millions, is simply not something Anxi can provoke, and the imperial court does not have that much money and food to supply the expedition.

To be honest, even if it is defeated, it may not be possible to occupy it.

Needless to say, in the Kazakh Khanate, the three great vassals interfered with each other, which led to their disunity and inconsistent bases, which aroused the covetousness of the Rakshasa people.

The Blakha Khanate, also known as the Uzbek Khanate, also included parts of present-day Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as well as the north bank of the Syr Darya River, the city of Turkestan and its surrounding areas.

At this time, the Bukhara Khanate belonged to the Persian cultural circle, which was equivalent to Annan to China. It was a vassal state of Persia and later became independent.

The destination of Genghis Khan's first western expedition was his country's Samarkand.

The reason why it was called the Bukhara Khanate was because they moved their capital to Bukhara.

Of course, for the Chinese, the most famous thing is that in the 18th century, the Kokand Kingdom split from it (the center was in Fergana) and established the independent Kokand Khanate.

Then they were lured by the Russians and invaded Xinjiang.

Among the three countries, no matter how you say it, the Bukhara Khanate is the best choice.

"If Anxi uses troops, where will you choose?"

Faced with such questions, Li Dingguo was stunned for a moment, and then said decisively: "Bukhara Khanate."

"Its territory is the smallest, domestic disputes are serious, and national strength is insufficient. Persimmons still look for those who are weak."

"Hahaha, that's right." The emperor chuckled and said, "The Bukhara Khanate is currently the most suitable place to use troops."

As he spoke, he pointed to its location with his right hand and said loudly: "I intend to establish a vassal state here, and my first choice is Bukhara. General Li, are you confident that we can win it?"

Li Dingguo thought in his heart and said calmly: "If we use 30,000 troops, it will be enough to occupy Bukhara."

"Just on the ground, if you pull your whole body, the Mughal Empire in the south, the Kazakh Khanate in the north, and the Rakshasa people will not give up."

"It's easy to capture but difficult to hold on to."

Hearing this, the emperor was silent for a while, and then said resolutely: "It is precisely because of this that it is imperative to establish a vassal state."

Conquering territory and establishing provinces was absolutely unfeasible in a slave society like Central Asia.
To be continued...