Barrage is like rain, gunfire is like thunder, blood and fire are intertwined, forming the most magnificent epic picture.
Have the barren bandits in the northwest ever seen such power?
Although the ability of caravans and government workers to operate weapons is far inferior to that of the regular army, they are not able to compete.
In an instant, casualties were left everywhere, and the remaining bandits fled.
The smoke gradually dissipated between the empty sky and the earth, and a sudden battle came to an end.
High in the clear sky, many vultures came following the scent and kept circling.
They know that there will be a feast soon.
The blood all over the ground did not bother Xu Er Dou much.
"Search the battlefield, execute those who are seriously injured on the spot, and arrest those who are slightly injured for interrogation. We must know where the lair of these bandits is?"
In the initial stage of the empire, everyone from civil to military must be ferocious beasts among men.
Which official of the empire has not come out of the test of life and death?
Therefore, such a battle is just ordinary in their eyes.
The caravan was also very calm.
The men loaded their muskets with bayonets and searched all the way.
In a place like this, it is actually a kind of mercy to give the seriously injured person a touch-up.
After all, there is desolation for thousands of miles around, and there is no condition to rescue them. It would be the most benevolent thing to help them relieve their suffering as soon as possible.
Perhaps this battle had an effect, and the caravan did not encounter any harassment after setting off again.
After all, a team of nearly a thousand people with muskets and artillery is not something that the bandits in the northwest who don't even have shoes can covet.
Half a month later, the team finally arrived in Zhangye.
"Provincial affairs, this place is very important and must be vigorously constructed. As long as this place becomes prosperous, the Silk Road will be open again."
The new mayor of Zhangye, Qi Chongjin, followed Xu Erdou to the station. After just observing, he immediately made a decision.
This descendant of Qi Jiguang has extraordinary talents.
Most importantly, he was one of the first officials in the empire to experience regular military service.
Previously, the empire enacted laws that people who had not served in the army could not serve as officials.
This is also a consideration to combine the civil and military branches into one, to avoid the split between civil and military branches like that of the Ming Dynasty, where the civil and military forces had to be used to control the military, and ultimately ended up in the same place.
Qi Chongjin served in the army for three years and experienced many battles. After retiring, he passed the political school.
After entering the official career, he gradually began to show his prominence and rose rapidly. Although he was only twenty-nine years old, he was already able to serve as the mayor of a city.
Zhangye, in particular, is at the junction of the Silk Road and its strategic location is extremely important.
His military experience was officially considered and he was appointed mayor of Zhangye.
As the saying goes, gold is Zhangye and silver is Wuwei. These are the two most fertile places in Gansu.
Perhaps God couldn't bear to see the Western Regions isolated from the Central Plains, so it created Zhangye and Wuwei, two fertile places on the long Silk Road.
It is precisely because of the existence of Zhangye and Wuwei that the thousands-mile Hexi Corridor allows travelers to have a rest and replenishment base.
It can be said that without Zhangye and Wuwei, the entire Hexi Corridor would have become a dead place for humankind.
Together with Suzhouwei (Jiuquan) and Jiayuguan further ahead, the three points form a line, connecting the entire Hexi Corridor in series.
Zhangye is located in the middle, and is moistened by melted ice water from the Heihe River and Qilian Mountains, forming a vast and rich oasis in this area.
Qi Chongjin saw it very clearly.
As long as this place is managed well, the empire will have a bridgehead to march into and control the Western Regions.
Once he does it, it is his great achievement.
Xu Erdou jumped off his horse, reached out to push aside the grass on the ground, grabbed a handful of sand, and observed carefully.
The sand was so thin that as long as he opened his fingers slightly, it would slide down quickly.
Xu Erdou looked solemn.
"Although this place is rich and suitable for agricultural reclamation, the overall environment is very fragile. When you are operating, you must be careful not to turn this place into the second Loulan."
Qi Chongjin quickly woke up from his excitement.
As an official, he is certainly more aware of the empire's emphasis on environmental protection.
If Zhangye is really turned into a sight of yellow sand all over the sky for the sake of political achievements, then the future will be ruined.
"My subordinates will remember it."
The Heihe River is the largest river in the entire Hexi Corridor, and its other name is even more impressive.
That is weak water.
It is precisely because of the existence of this river that Zhangye is rich.
But Xu Erdou had received Zuo Menggen's words and deeds, and he knew very well that in a harsh environment like the northwest, the ecological environment could collapse at any time just by relying on such an inland river with a low runoff volume.
Compared with developing the economy, maintaining Zhangye's ecological environment is more important.
After all, if Zhangye is destroyed, the empire will have no choice but to look back on the Western Regions.
In the next few days, Xu Erdou worked tirelessly and dangerously to explore along the Heihe River, and finally even came to Juyanhai.
After taking such a trip, he realized how bad the situation here really was.
It can be said that if the Heihe River and Juyanhai hadn't cut out a passage like a sharp sword, the entire northern part of the Hexi Corridor would have been obscured by the endless desert and Gobi.
This place will become a completely barren land.
But precisely because of the existence of the Heihe River and the Juyan Sea, as long as they are utilized properly, they can become a passage for the empire to penetrate into the desert from this direction.
This will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the empire in ruling the Western Regions.
After returning to Lanzhou, Xu Erdou thought about it and spent seven days writing a thick plan.
He personally rushed to Xi'an with the plan, preparing to negotiate with Mao Yuanyi and obtain the support of the Western Capital Government.
What he didn't expect was that he would actually meet Shaanxi Administrator Wang Qionian in Xi'an.
If Gansu wants to change for the better, it needs the support of the state.
The resources sent by the country must pass through Xi'an and be distributed by Mao Yuanyi, the state affairs minister of the Western Capital.
Without the support of Mao Yuanyi, the development of Gansu would be impossible.
Like him, Wang Qiaonian was also exhausted from the journey.
"In the past few months, I have successively surveyed Yinchuan, Hetao, Yulin, Yan'an, and even went deep into the Maowusu Desert. I can only say that the situation here is very worrying, and our previous estimates were a bit too optimistic."
The three giants in the northwest came together and after exchanging information with each other, they all realized that the road ahead would be very difficult.
"No matter how hard it is, we have to do it. His Majesty and the Central Committee have handed over the northwest to us, which is their trust in us. We have overcome many hardships and hardships. Now that there is a country behind us, I don't believe that the northwest cannot be managed well."
After a brief moment of solemnity, Mao Yuanyi quickly became firm.
His commanding temperament, forged by years of battlefield training, has made him indomitable and ever more diligent.