In the eighth year of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, July 23rd.
The grass is green on the Qiantao grassland.
To the north is Yinshan Mountain, on which is the ancient Great Wall; to the south is the Yellow River, on which ships travel; in the middle, Jiuyuan City is very lively, with houses built around the city, yurts on top, and business travelers gathering here.
Horses and camels can be seen everywhere.
This kind of scene of various ethnic groups living together can only be seen in this big city in the north of Saibei.
A business trip brings bad news.
"I heard that there is a new Khan in Mongolia and it is difficult to take the western trade route. Now merchants in Peiping and Datong are buying my goods from the south..."
When the merchants speaking Mongolian discussed this, a group of cavalry rode past.
One of them shouted loudly and said: "What the hell is Haidu? I, the Great Khan of the Tang Dynasty, am the only one!"
The merchants turned around to look, and many of them were so frightened that their expressions changed.
However, those cavalrymen had already left in the dust and no longer paid attention to them.
Only the rough singing is still heard, passing on the tradition of the grassland.
"There is only one sun in the sky, and there is only one sweat on the ground..."
The singing cavalry rushed into Jiuyuan City and went straight to the Commander's Mansion. However, they did not see Liu Yuanli, who was now in charge of the Hetao. Instead, they only saw Hu Legen, the regimental commander in charge of Ma Zheng.
"Deputy Commander."
"Hush, call me Young Minister." Hu Legen was sitting in the public room, reading a collection of poems in his hand. Hearing this, he brushed his beard and said, "Your Majesty has promoted me to the rank of Imperial Servant Young Minister, in charge of the stables of the world.
Is the governance of animal husbandry so elegant?"
He probably wanted to imitate the flowing way some other people stroke their beards, but his beard was hard and curly, so it couldn't really be flowing, it was more like scratching an itch.
Several cavalrymen didn't know how to respond and were scratching their heads.
Hu Legen looked away from the collection of poems and fell on their shaved scalps. He couldn't help but frown and said, "How ugly it is to shave hair accessories like this."
"Isn't the general afraid of insects?"
"Then comb more, wash more, and be clean even in the army... Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Deputy Marshal, no, Shao Qing. Marshal Yang of Ningxia sent people to ask for ponies, and he asked for 10,000 foals. In addition, Marshal Yang also sent his troops to escort a ship of weapons, and asked the Marshal or the Deputy Marshal to take inventory."
"You didn't tell me earlier if there was official business."
Hu Legen quickly stood up, hit the soldiers on the head with a collection of poems, and hurried to the Yellow River ferry.
Now that the Yellow River water conservancy has been restored and a water transport station has been built, material exchanges between Zhongxing Prefecture and Jiuyuan can now rely on the Yellow River.
When I arrived at the ferry, I saw a group of elite soldiers waiting beside a boat.
There was a civil official standing on the boat, but it was Li Piao, the deputy transshipment envoy of Ningxia.
"It turns out it's Xianggong Li. He came by chance. Marshal Liu went to Fengzhou to the east to build a city."
"It doesn't matter, it's the same thing if Deputy Commander Hu does the counting."
Li Piao met Hu Legen and led him to the ship to count the weapons.
"These are the new firearms produced by the armory this year. They can be specially equipped with three hundred soldiers."
"Only this much?"
"Let's equip the elite first to prevent rebellion in the border areas. Now that the workshop has been set up, there will only be more next year..."
After counting for two hours and demonstrating the use of the new firearms, Hu Legen ordered his subordinates to move the weapons to the armaments warehouse and distribute them when Liu Yuanli returns.
After finishing his official duties, Hu Legen chatted enthusiastically with Li Piao.
"Hey, I think Mr. Li looks familiar. Are you related to Mr. Li Zhongxian?"
Li Piao said: "It's my late father."
Hu Legen said "huh", and his attitude suddenly became much closer.
Because Li Zhongxian was referring to Li Zengbo.
"Xiangong Li, please come this way."
Hu Legen stretched out his hand to hook Li Piao's waist. He felt it was rude, but he led the other person to stay on the bed and kept talking nonstop.
"I had the honor to meet Li Xianggong twice and asked him to comment on his poems. I admire him the most for a hero who can fight, govern a country, and write poems. By the way, does Li Xianggong also write poems?"
"I can write a few crooked poems."
"Great! We can have a long talk tonight."
Hu Legen was indeed enthusiastic, but after only discussing a few lines of rhyme, Li Piao lost interest in talking about poetry with him.
The topic naturally turned to the world situation, and Hullgen also talked endlessly about it.
"What kind of cow dung is Haidu? I have never heard of him before. Nowadays, there are still people in Mobei who think he is the Great Khan, but we Mongolians in Monan only recognize him as the Great Khan of the Tang Dynasty."
"Even so." Although Li Piao was a Han official, he had been in Xingqing Mansion for a long time, so his judgment on the situation in the north was much more objective than Hu Legen's. He said: "After all, Haidu is a direct descendant of the Jin family.
, took advantage of the situation and got the support of Mobei."
"Hey, Mr. Li, you don't understand the herdsmen on the grassland!"
Hu Legen patted his thigh, brought the ugly face closer to Li Piao, and shook his head.
"Look, how old is the 'Great Mongolia'? How old is the Golden Family? Do the herdsmen on the grassland really care who is the grandson of Wo Kuotai? They are not one tribe after another. Wherever there is water and grass,
Where to move."
When Li Piao heard this, he thought to himself, sometimes even a dynasty that lasted hundreds or thousands of years would lose the support of the people.
Hu Legen smiled and continued: "For example, the Wanggu tribe in the north of Yinshan Mountain. The Wanggu tribe used to be a tribe of the Jin Kingdom, and later belonged to the Mongolia. The leader is Aibuhua. Aibuhua is for Qiu.
He married Kublai Khan’s daughter and went to Kaiping during our Northern Expedition.”
Speaking of this matter, Li Piao couldn't help but ask: "I heard Lieutenant Colonel Wang Mancang talk about what he saw in Peking. At that time, before Aibuhua had time to get married, Master Wang conquered Peking, right?"
"Whether he consummates the marriage or not, no one in the Wanggu tribe knows. Anyway, in name, Princess Yuelie is the Ketun of the Wanggu tribe. Over the years, we have controlled Princess Yuelie and used her name to govern the Wanggu tribe, but no herdsmen
They kept saying, 'Those decrees were not issued by Ke Dun himself', and what they talked about all day long was not just pastures, trade, snow disasters, and water sources."
Li Piao nodded and said, "Of course I know about this."
"Let me tell you something that Mr. Li doesn't know." Hu Legen said: "Now that the situation in the Wanggu tribe is stable, Your Majesty will accept Princess Yuelie as your concubine. This is the custom on the grassland. After defeating the enemy, you will seize it.
Property, ride on his steeds, and take in his wife and daughter. Then you see, the princesses of the Chagatai family and the Tolei family are all married to His Majesty. Of course, they surrender to Your Majesty on behalf of the Golden Family. Haidu claims to be the Great Khan, so he can only
It’s just a rebellion by the Wokuotai family…”
~~
Just half a month later, Liu Yuanli returned from Fengzhou City in the north. He just received the decree from Chang'an and immediately sent someone to escort Princess Yue Lie to Chang'an.
Hu Legen and Liu Yuanli led the team to escort Princess Yuelie's team to the Yellow River ferry. Looking into the distance, he saw the boats disappearing on the other side of the river and couldn't help but grin.
"Defeat the enemy, seize his property, ride his horse, and take in his wife and daughter. Your Majesty will become more and more like a Khan!"
Liu Yuanli did not change his serious and calm look, but asked: "Do you know why Your Majesty only accepted Princess Yuelie now?"
"Because the princess is not beautiful, His Majesty was originally unwilling to do so, but he was forced to do so in order to conquer Mobei." Hu Legen responded matter-of-factly, "Isn't my idiom used appropriately?"
Liu Yuanli shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter whether you are beautiful or not. Your Majesty did not accept it before because the situation in Mobei is changeable. The Tang Dynasty can also choose to support a Mongolian force to deal with Haidu."
"What's the meaning?"
"For example, you can choose to support Naiyan and send Princess Yuelie there so that she can fight with Haidu in the name of the Tuolei family and balance the situation in northern Xinjiang."
"But now His Majesty can't wait to accept Princess Yue Lie."
"Impatient is not the use of this." Liu Yuanli was silent for a while, turned to look north, and said: "It can be seen that your Majesty has made up his mind to send troops to Mobei to attack Haidu."
"Isn't that natural?"
Liu Yuanli shook his head and sighed: "Is Mobei so easy to conquer?"
He is not like Hu Legen who only raises horses and recruits Mongolian herdsmen. He is in charge of the Hetao and has a deep understanding of how difficult it is to achieve long-term peace and stability in the northern part of the Great Wall...
On this day, when he returned to Jiuyuan Government Office, Liu Yuanli summoned the officials of Hetao to discuss matters.
When the officials arrived, they saw a huge map spread in the lobby.
"We have been guarding the Hetao border for six years." Liu Yuanli pointed at the map and said: "To the west of us is Ningxia Road, to the south is Shaanxi Road, and to the southeast are Shanxi Road and Hebei Road. However, there are no roads in our garrison area.
Because there are few Han people and many Hu people here, the imperial court dare not act too hastily. In the past six years, we have promoted commerce, promoted farming, and made the Hetao more vibrant. Now His Majesty's decree has arrived, and Yunzhong Road has been established here."
All the officials in the hall were a little surprised.
Now that Hetao has just been recovered, many people want to set up the Governor's Office here first. His Majesty's move must be out of confidence in ruling Hetao.
Perhaps because of the intention of the Northern Expedition, he wanted to make Hetao a central place.
Liu Yuanli turned around, took out an imperial edict from the box, and unfolded it with his entourage.
All the officials quickly saluted.
"See making envoys."
Liu Yuanli remained calm, accepted the imperial edict, and said: "Since Yunzhong Road is set up, the administrative office should not be located in Jiuyuan City south of Yinshan Mountain."
He paused and squinted at the map.
Then an official asked: "Does the envoy want to set up his seat in Fengzhou?"
"No."
Liu Yuanli said: "I plan to tell your majesty to build another big city on the banks of the Blackwater River, where Wang Gu's tribe is stationed."
"Zhi Envoy." An official came out and said: "Your Majesty just agreed to Zhi Envoy to rebuild Fengzhou City. Now the foundation is still being laid. If Zhi Envoy wants to build the city again, it will be a waste of time for the people and money."
"Yes, Your Majesty has not even built a palace city, but Yunzhong Road wants to build two big cities at the same time?"
"It is necessary." Liu Yuanli raised his hand, interrupted his subordinate's persuasion, and said: "Once there is a war with Haidu in the future, if Haidu wants to send cavalry to attack our Tang Dynasty, where will he choose? He will not choose Yanshan as a screen.
For Hebei, we would not choose Gansu, which is located at the southern end of the desert, nor Ningxia, which is on the edge of the Helan Mountains, where Kublai Khan was defeated. Then there is only the Hetao, and if the Hetao is unstable, the world will be shaken."
Needless to say, the strategic significance of the Hetao is unnecessary.
When recovering the Central Plains, it is the key; when defending the Central Plains, it is even more critical.
Now on the Ningxia Road in the west, Yang Ben only trains cavalry because there is Helan Mountain and the desert as a barrier; while Li Xia uses Liu Yuanli to guard the Hetao, but what he likes is his calm and non-aggressive character.
…
More than a month later, Chang'an.
Li Xia received a memorial from Liu Yuanli requesting the construction of Yunzhong Road Fucheng.
When the dynasty was first established, the state supplies were insufficient, so it was certainly difficult to build a city on the grassland. However, the reconstruction of Fengzhou City actually came from Li Xia's will.
After Li Xia founded the country, he often wrote a booklet when he was alone to record the differences between this dynasty and the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
When trying to draw the territory of the Ming Dynasty from memory, it can be clearly seen that if the Loop is unstable, the enemy soldiers can easily penetrate into the hinterland of the Central Plains by just breaking through the Datong defense line.
In this case, it would be very dangerous if we still choose to move the capital to Peking.
So, Li Xia looked at the map carefully and chose to build Fengzhou City again.
The approximate location of Fengzhou was Hohhot in later generations.
He hoped that this big city would bring stability and prosperity to the local people, and gradually make Hetao the center of the dynasty, not just a restrained place like the Yunzhong Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty.
And Liu Yuanli was right when he said that Fengzhou City is located on the south side of Daqing Mountain, so a big city needs to be built further north.
Although the palace city had not yet been built, Li Xia picked up his pen and wrote the word "allow" on Liu Yuanli's memorial.
Later, he decided to give the new city a name.
Jingan City.
He knew that it would take a long time for the nationalities to integrate.
And all he can do is start with him...
~~
The fourteenth year of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the fourth day of the second lunar month.
Yunzhong Road, Jing'an Prefecture.
The location of Jing'an Fucheng is exactly where the Zhao Wangcheng that Ai Buhua planned to build in order to marry Princess Yue Lie.
At that time, Ai Buhua only planned the city site and built the city foundation, but encountered a war and delayed it.
After Liu Yuanli took charge of the Hetao, he carried out expansion on the basis of this city site.
After six years of construction, a large city outside the Great Wall was finally built.
Not long after this great city was built, the emperor made a westward tour, first to Gansu, then to Ningxia, and now he was finally coming to Yunzhong Road.
…
"This is the first city that didn't exist before but now exists."
Li Xia rode his horse to the bottom of the city, looked up, and suddenly felt emotional in his heart.
Liu Yuanli followed Li Xia, but he couldn't understand Li Xia's mood and only felt proud.
He always believed that it was better to consolidate the territory than to expand the territory.
"Your Majesty, please see, if you want to go south from Mobei, you can only follow this river. It is called Aibugai River in Mongolian, we call it Heishui River, and it is also called Jingan River today. This river originates from the mountains northeast of Jiuyuan City.
, flows from south to north. If you build a city here, although there is no danger to defend it, you can control the only water source."
"Yes, there was a reason why the Wang Gu tribe chose to station here."
"There are some mountainous areas in the west of the city. Although they are not high, they are convenient for setting up beacon towers."
"Wu Lang is still cautious. I met Yang Ben in Xingqing Mansion, and when he opened his mouth, he rushed to attack Hala and Lin."
"I dare you to ask, Your Majesty, has decided to go to war with Haidu?"
"There is only one battle."
With that said, the imperial driver slowly entered Jingan City.
Not far behind Li Xia was the accompanying concubine's chariot. Among them were two women dressed in Mongolian clothes and riding horses, none other than Duo Siman and Yue Lie.
Like a robber, Li Xia took away Ai Buhua's tribe, city, and wife.
From a distance, someone used a telescope to look at Princess Yuelie's face, but all they saw was that her face was calm, and it was impossible to tell whether she was filled with hatred.
~~
In this year, Jing'an City was the northernmost city in the New Tang Dynasty.
This means that once a war breaks out with Mobei, it will bear the brunt.
~~
There is still heavy snowfall in the northern grasslands in February.
In the snow, several herdsmen galloped on their horses all the way north, and finally arrived at a tribe called Mandula two hundred miles away in the evening of the next day.
I saw white tents blending into the snow, and someone lit a bonfire.
After Tan Ma returned to camp, discussions soon began to ring out in the big tent.
"The news is true. Lord Tang has really patrolled the border. He has arrived at Aolunsumu City. It seems that there are only two thousand cavalry guards."
"Don't worry, let me think about it... The news I received last autumn said that the Tang Dynasty will start patrolling the border in winter, and will go to Hexi first, from the old land of Xixia to Dadu via the Baoketu Grassland. It's not wrong."
"Only Princess Yue Lie knows so clearly and is willing to spread the news."
"Bring that businessman here again."
After a while, several Mongolian warriors entered the big tent carrying a Huihui merchant.
"Tell me! Who sent you to deliver the message?"
"Don't kill me... don't kill me... I really don't know. I was just transporting goods to Chang'an. I met some Mongolian women. They detained my son and asked me to deliver a message to Haiyali."
"Wanhu, I have asked this question many times. It must be Princess Yue Lie. She may be hoping that the Great Khan can rescue Kublai Khan."
"Master Tang really only brought two thousand riders?"
"I can see clearly, do you want to kill him?"
"First send a fast horse to deliver a message back to tell the Great Khan that Lord Tang is really here. Then tell the warriors to get ready. It's time to grab some property and come back to make up for the losses in this harsh winter!"
"Okay, Great Mongolia wants to restore the traditions of Genghis Khan..."
Even without this sneak attack plan that had been prepared for half a year, as the New Tang Dynasty became more and more prosperous in recent years, the Mongolian army was already eyeing it.
Their new Great Khan also urgently needed to consolidate his prestige by going south to plunder.
~~
The beacon suddenly rose.
Looking north from the tower, one can see the black torrent coming south against the Blackwater River.
"coming."
"How can Your Majesty be sure that the Mongolian army will come?"
"In the past two years, I have become more and more restless when watching the sea. I must be unable to restrain myself and want to go south to plunder. Instead of guarding against thieves for a thousand days, it is better to lure him here."
"Your Majesty has a wonderful plan. Please sit here and watch me destroy the prisoners."
Li Xia just nodded.
Now that he has been emperor for fourteen years, the Tang army is no longer what it was back then.
Lian Xixian advised him to destroy Haidu as soon as possible to avoid letting Haidu gain a foothold in Mobei... This sentence is the opposite.
In terms of national strength development, how could Haidu possibly be able to match him?
~~
"There are artillery in the city, don't get close to the city!"
The Mongolian generals who were galloping kept giving orders.
"We cut off the Tang army's support and logistics roads, surrounded them, and waited for reinforcements from the Great Khan!"
"Keep the horsepower behind to prevent Lord Tang from breaking through!"
"Hahaha, if Lord Tang dares to come out of the city, we can capture him directly..."
"The Tang army has left the city!"
The Mongolian army did not rein in its horses, but continued to run forward.
This is an endless grassland, and they can completely consume the Tang army with their riding and archery skills.
The Han people were not good at archery, and the range of their crossbows was too short to do anything to them.
The two sides are getting closer and closer.
"Get ready to shoot!"
The Mongolian soldiers held the horse's belly between their legs and picked up bows and arrows from their backs...
"boom!"
A startling sound echoed across the grassland.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."
"Hey!"
The war horse neighs sadly.
Still outside the range of bows and arrows, the Mongolian troops fell to the ground one by one.
The leather armor on their bodies had been punched with blood holes one after another, and they were bleeding.
"Ehxiute, what is that?!"
The frightened Mongolian army general shouted loudly and quickly turned his horse's head.
"Let's go!"
However, the horses of the Tang army were not slow. They were waiting for work and were familiar with the terrain. They had already caught up with them, and there was another burst of gunfire.
"boom……"
The war soon entered the stage of chasing death and chasing north.
Liu Yuanli ordered his soldiers to pursue him, but he reined in the reins and looked back at the city behind him.
He knew that perhaps there were generals in Liangzhou and Yinchuan preparing to go on an expedition, vowing to banish the wolf to Xu. But that was not his character. He just wanted to play it safe and secure the river.
…
"Follow me!"
"I trained the cavalry, so don't let the pirates escape!"
Amidst the loud shouts, it was Hullgen who rode up to catch up.
He had been training troops in Hetao for many years. He was very happy to win today. He chased along the Heishui River for a long time, and he couldn't help but become very poetic.
"The Emperor's troops are so brave and brave, and they build forts and fortify the territory forever... Tsk, now I am writing a poem about the Han people!"