Pulling in the reins, King Su looked at the grassland in the distance and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The endless grassland, the looming cattle and sheep, and the cloud-like yurts made him feel particularly comfortable.
After leaving the capital, the sense of depression subsided instantly.
As the forty-seventh prince, he is not very old. He is only twenty-six or seventeen years old now, which is more than ten years younger than his nephew Emperor Xuanwu.
The same is true. He has been pampered since he was a child. His father, brother, and nephew are all very lenient with him, and his discipline is not strict.
Like other princes, he stayed in the capital and did not want to join the vassal state. He even went so far as to report that he would rather stay in the capital than a vassal state.
It's a pity that not only the cabinet, but also Emperor Xuanwu couldn't stand the delay until now, and strictly ordered him to withdraw from the vassal this year.
As usual, he went to Chahar first to recruit troops.
What surprised him greatly was that after Chahar established its own province, the number of herders continued to decrease. The remaining herders were grazing and farming at the same time. Strong and arrogant Mongolian men were extremely scarce.
Of course, the main reason is that Chahar is too close to the capital. Dozens of vassal kings would come here to visit and take away many young people.
Not to mention that there are people who join temples and become lamas.
As of now, Chahar's population has not exceeded two million, and is still hovering around 1.56 million.
The population of Mongolia has remained at around half a million for nearly two decades.
"Your Highness!" Governor Chahar of Chifeng City said with a bitter face: "There is really no one left."
"In the past few years, from the prince's vassal to Chahar, farming and herding can be more touching than fame, wealth and wealth? One by one, the young men left, and after they became famous, they came back to pick up their wives..."
"Since the first year of Xuanwu, I, Chahar, have not won the first prize in the Naadam Competition for more than ten years-"
"If it weren't for the many people from Hebei who came here, there would have been no one in Chahar long ago."
King Su was choked.
"Look, I'm here even though I'm here..."
This time it was the governor's turn to be choked.
In the end, King Su recruited a hundred families to do farming and livestock farming. As for any craftsmen, there were not even a single craftsman in sight.
Fortunately, he had no hope and ran straight to the two general areas of Horqin and Hulunbuir.
The further north you go, the more Mongolian men there are and the more rugged they become.
"Why are there so few Sauron people?"
King Su frowned, looking at the hundreds of Sauron soldiers in front of him with their families and families, he felt quite helpless.
"Your Highness, the imperial court likes to use Sauron soldiers, and so do the vassal kings. Even if Sauron soldiers don't want to go south, the northwest vassals and the Hanhai vassal country also like to recruit them, so the number is not enough."
General Horqin hurriedly explained: "These hundreds of people are from the same tribe, and they work together more carefully. It is difficult for one to be ten, but it is possible to be five!"
Speaking of him, he raised his head proudly.
King Su agreed with this.
The Saurons were actually a collective name for several large tribes, and the imperial court was too lazy to distinguish them. They called them all the Saurons and recruited troops from them.
The hard-working and fierce Sauron people are at home in the forest, and with a musket, they are invincible.
Whether he is the vanguard or the finale, he is always a sharp sword.
In Horqin and Hulunbuir, this group of Sauron people were an excellent weapon to suppress the Mongols. They were famous for their repeated military exploits.
In the bitterly cold Hanhai region, is there any better choice than the Sauron people?
After walking around, King Su led 800 households of Mongolian soldiers and 100 households of Sauron soldiers to Datong Mansion.
Here, hundreds of households of craftsmen, scholars, and officials have gathered, as well as a thousand recruits who have been recruited and trained by the Beijing camp for half a year.
Of course, the core of what he really relied on was the three hundred cavalry mobilized by the imperial court.
They carry muskets on their backs and scimitars on their shoulders. They are well-trained and well-equipped, and they can be said to be extremely powerful.
Thousands of people took the train and arrived at the core of Mobei General's Mansion, Kulun City.
Further north is the Beihai Governor's Mansion, where all the materials allocated by the imperial court are contained.
Unfortunately, it gets colder as you go north, and there is no railway north of Cullen, so you can't take a train.
The group of people marched northward along the official road for half a month and finally arrived at Beihai City.
It's only August, but winter frost has already arrived here, bringing with it the chill, and the autumn tiger is nowhere to be seen.
Pedestrians wear leather jackets or cotton robes, and some wear single clothes, so they are not afraid of the cold.
Only then did King Su learn that compared to Kulun, Beihai City had cooler summers and warmer winters, making it suitable for living.
Therefore, after decades of establishment of the Governor's Palace, the size of Beihai City has exceeded 300,000, making it one of the largest cities north of the Great Wall.
"All the necessary supplies have been prepared. Your Highness, please come to us as soon as possible. Winter will begin in just one month!"
"It's only August, and the Mid-Autumn Festival hasn't even passed yet!"
King Su said in surprise.
The materials given by Beihai were not many, including tens of thousands of stones of grain, tens of thousands of stones of fodder, hundreds of suits of armor, thousands of cattle and sheep each, and hundreds of Dans of salt and tea.
It's worth about 100,000 yuan.
King Su didn't take it seriously either. Not to mention the vassal money allocated by the vassal minister, his own rice and farmland for so many years were not a small figure.
He also bought a large amount of ironware, books, silk and cloth, etc., and then left with a full load.
After crossing the North Sea by boat, the group walked northeast for dozens of miles before arriving at a small town.
It is fifteen miles long, three and a half feet high, has three gates, and the moat is only two or three feet wide, about nothing.
"This is my king's Su City?"
King Su was shocked. He expected that his kingdom would be small, but he did not expect it to be so small.
The royal capital is only the size of a northern county town, which is simply terrifying.
"Your Highness, you are finally here!"
The Prime Minister couldn't wait to say: "I have been ruling the country for eight years. I have been waiting for Your Highness for many years, and today I finally get to see you!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but wipe away tears.
King Su was deeply moved: "Your family has worked hard, and I will make your son the Duke of the county!"
"How dare I get a title for my merits!"
When the Prime Minister heard this, his expression changed drastically and he hurriedly tried to evade it.
As he spoke, he quickly introduced the civil and military officials.
All civil and military personnel, large and small, numbered only 200 people.
"Why are there still Rakshasa people?"
Looking at a dozen Rakshasa people with high noses and blue eyes, King Su said in surprise.
"Your Highness, they have settled in Suzhou since the 40th year of Shaowu's reign. They are loyal to the court. There is no need to worry about this..."
"By the way, I have something to do so I won't accompany Your Highness. I hope you'll forgive me!"
Seeing the Prime Minister escaping, King Su started to visit his palace.
This relieved him.
Although the city is small, the palace covers an area of more than thirty acres. Although it is small, it is well-equipped and not to say magnificent, but it is still above the standard.
After setting up the harem and the corresponding retinue, it was already dark.
King Su held a banquet and had fun with his subjects.
At this time, he suddenly found that the Prime Minister was not there: "Where has the Prime Minister gone?"
"Your Highness, the Prime Minister has left the city and gone home."
Several ministers looked around and then said: "The whole family has gone back."
"Oh! Are you in such a hurry?"
King Su sighed and drank a large glass of wine.
The next day, he got up to inspect his kingdom.
With Sioux City as the center, the land with a radius of 500 miles belongs to him.
There are more than 6,000 households, 100,000 acres of arable land, and more than 100 pastures. They are all woodland and mountainous areas, and the south is close to the Beihai.
They ate rye, drank river water, and burned firewood.
"Your Highness, Ju Chen knows that the Eight Kingdoms of the Vast Sea are all located in the area north of the North Sea. They are distributed from west to east along the North Sea. They share a lake and can cross the lake to go to Beihai City at any time..."
Looking at the map, only then did King Su have an impression in his mind.
From west to east, they are Hui State, Yu State, Zhao State, Li State, Su State, Zhou State, Lu State, and Britain.
Just like a peacock spreading its tail, extending outward, the country is almost in the shape of a fan.
Some vassal states are nearly seven or eight hundred miles long from north to south, but only two to three hundred miles from east to west.
It is said to have a radius of five hundred miles, but in fact it has expanded several times, equivalent to the area of two or three prefectures in the mainland.
Fortunately, the eight countries share the North Sea, making it extremely convenient to communicate and support each other.
Three days later, King Hui came to visit by boat.
Compared to King Su's dilly-dallying, King Hui was much more decisive. He came to the vassal state eight years ago. Now Hui is the most prosperous among the eight countries in Haibei, with the number of households in Dingkou reaching 30,000.
"Brother Forty-Third, how do you deal with so many people?"
King Su was extremely curious: "I have six thousand households, and it's hard for me to choose a palace maid that I like!"
"Hahaha!" King Hui said without hesitation: "Two words, lie and beat."
"To lie, just seduce those Rakshasa and Buryat people in Beihai. Promise them land and houses, and you can attract 1,800 households a year."
"As for fighting, it's much easier. The savages in the vast sea and the Rakshasa people who are pioneering the wasteland are all targets. Just snatch them away and teach them in a few years."
King Su was greatly moved by King Hui's generous donation.
Finally, King Hui said: "Forty-seventh brother, to tell you the truth, our eight vassals are just abandoned by the imperial court, thrown away like a burden."
"As soon as the emperor leaves, those civil servants and those in the palace won't want to see us anymore."
King Su nodded hurriedly, this was so empathetic.
Being thrown into a place where birds don't poop, he suffered a great crime.
"However, although this place is desolate, the Rakshasa people in the north are still evil-minded. They covet us and want to kill us!"
"Don't underestimate them. They have no shortage of firearms and they are very elusive."
"Ah?" King Su was shocked.
"It's okay!" King Hui comforted him: "What I mean is that if we help each other and form an alliance, we will have support when we face the Rakshasa people, right?"
King Su agreed: "I think so too. This Beihai is our inner lake."