Chapter 282: Inside and Outside the Palace (6) Missing Anxi
"A group of homeless dogs still dare to bark at me. If I don't give them some color, how can I be regarded as the master of ZTE!"
In his previous life, Gao Pragmatic had personally witnessed the term "Qi of the King" falling from popularity to vulgarity, but no matter what it meant, at least at this moment, it seemed to really fit Zhu Yijun's demeanor at this time.
If we look back at the emperor's career as a monarch in the past thirty years, even the most critical critics will probably admit that he is indeed qualified to say these words.
Although these achievements he has achieved, without exception, are related to the loyal minister in front of him.
There is no doubt that the reason why Zhu Yijun was able to achieve such an achievement was largely due to the fact that he always trusted his childhood friend and former classmate. From this perspective, being highly pragmatic was the real reason why the Wanli Dynasty was able to revive the Ming Dynasty.
The white jade pillars hold up the sky, and the purple gold beams frame the sea."
"I have fully understood the Emperor's thunderous wrath, but today...I am afraid I will say some offensive words." Gao Pragmatic sighed and said, "I do not agree with using 'counterattack' as the goal right now."
Zhu Yijun was quite surprised by these words. He looked at Gao Pragmatic in surprise: "Are you opposed to counterattack? Why? This is not something you would say!"
"Oh? Then what kind of words does the emperor think I will say?" Gao Pragmatic smiled slightly and asked: "Does it mean that the emperor thinks that I will say 'How dare the general of the defeated army of Burihatu speak bravely', or 'Li Ting'
Sweeping holes, fighting here'?"
"Uh..." Zhu Yijun was a little confused by Gao Pingshi's question. He frowned and said, "I think you can really say that, why not?
As far as I know, since your expedition went quite smoothly this time, the money and food prepared by the Ministry of Revenue for the Korean War are still quite abundant. So, it shouldn't be a problem to send troops to attack Chahar again, right? After all,
Judging from the last battle of Fayuan, a large-scale cavalry duel like this can actually determine the winner very quickly."
Gao Pragmatic smiled and asked, "What then?"
"What then?" Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then felt something was wrong, and quickly added: "Oh, you said after that... After that, you will achieve what you want, and give these lost dogs a good lesson.
Do you want them to not dare to take a peek at Jiayuguan in the future?"
"The emperor really thinks that as long as he gives them a good beating, they will never dare to take a look at Jiayuguan again?" Gao Pragmatic raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Uh... Tartar thieves are hard to change. It may be too much to say that. However, as long as you beat them hard enough, you can always make them be honest for a while." Zhu Yijun said angrily.
He originally thought that saying this would get Gao Pragmatic's approval, but Gao Pragmatic's answer surprised him.
Gao pragmatic put away his previously indifferent and slightly joking smile, suddenly became extremely serious, and his tone suddenly took on the aura of military killing, and said solemnly: "In the Western Regions, if I don't send troops to the North, I will do it.
If you go out, you must aim at rebuilding the Anxi Protectorate. You must not send out troops easily and then withdraw them easily. This is what is called Tai'a unsheathing, and it is ominous to return empty."
As an emperor, Zhu Yijun was the most powerful person in the world, but after all, he had never experienced the military service. He was suddenly a little frightened when he suddenly saw Gao Pragmatic, who was not his usual gentle and gentle person, but showing such sharpness.
In particular, it was the first time he heard Gao Pingshi say such sinister words as "It's ominous if Tai'a takes out her sheath, it's ominous to return to the sky", and he even suddenly felt a chill on his back.
Fortunately, many years of trust still dominated, and he immediately realized that the evil spirit was not directed at him, but at the Chahar people, and he relaxed. But he still didn't understand why Gao Pragmatic reacted like this.
So big - even after the victory in the Battle of Fayuan, everyone in the capital was extremely excited, but wasn't he himself quite calm?
"Rixin, I remember that there shouldn't be any personal grudges between you and Buyan, or Buyan Hatu, right?"
For Gao Pragmatic, these words were too far-fetched, and the Marquis of Nanning was a little confused: "I have no personal grudges against any Mongolians, only national hatred and ethnic strife."
"That's good." I don't know if Zhu Yijun understands what Gao Pragmatic means by "the hatred of the country, the struggle between the nations". He just nodded and said: "Then you can tell me why we can't use troops in the Western Regions."
Just to teach you a lesson, but to destroy the country’s institutions at every turn?”
"According to the emperor's opinion, is the Western Region easy to fight?" Gao Pingshi asked rhetorically.
"You can tell by looking at the Kanyu map that it will definitely be difficult to fight." Zhu Yijun shook his head repeatedly. Because there was no Kanyu map in the side hall of Kunning Palace, he had to draw signs and said: "Crossing Longguan, leaving Hehuang, and arriving at Jiayu, there are many roads along the way.
It is a city within a hundred miles, and it is relatively convenient for large armies to move.
After leaving the pass, not only were the cities further apart, but the entire route was filled with Gobi desert hills. It would be difficult to even find a water source that could provide drinking water for the army.
Although I have never led an army, I have heard a lot from you. A situation like this... I guess it will be more troublesome than the expedition against Yuan Dynasty. After all, although there are no serious cities on the grassland, at least we still know where there are rivers.
Today, our heavenly soldiers have fought against Chahar more than once or twice. If we just talk about defeating them, I don’t think there will be much difficulty. But as you often said in the past, the most difficult thing is always when a large army goes out to fight.
logistics.
Shaanxi is thousands of miles away from the Western Regions on three sides, and even from Jiayuguan to the Western Regions it is two thousand miles away. As far as I know, the capital of Yarkand is Yarkand, and that place is from Jiayuguan... uh, how far is it?"
Gao pragmatically said: "The distance between Jiayuguan and Yarkand is at least 3,600 miles on the Kantu map. If we talk about the actual marching distance, I'm afraid there are hundreds more miles, which can probably be counted as 4,000 miles."
This is no joke. Yarkand is roughly what we will call Xinjiang in later generations. This place is too big, with an area of more than 1.66 million square kilometers, which is roughly equivalent to 16 Zhejiang provinces. And the capital of Yarkand is Shache.
It is in the western part of its territory, so the journey is naturally extremely astonishing.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Four thousand miles..." Zhu Yijun sighed with emotion: "I remember that the distance between the two capitals seems to be only two thousand miles, right?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head slightly and replied: "To be precise, the straight-line distance is about 1,800 miles. Of course, the actual distance is almost two thousand miles, which is exactly half of the distance from Jiayuguan to Yarkand."
"It's too far, this is too far." Zhu Yijun shook his head: "I think... unless you can persuade Tumut and Ordos to send troops for another 'Western Expedition' like they did thirty years ago, it will only
Replace Wala with Yarkand, otherwise we are not suitable to send troops to such a far place."
Seeing that Gao Pragmatic did not answer, Zhu Yijun paused and added: "Actually, this is why I don't understand why you just said that you wanted to rebuild the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty. In my opinion, a counterattack in Jiayuguan Pass will
It's enough to drive the Chahar people out of the pass, or pursue them for a short distance, and at most they won't go beyond Hami. This should be what we can do at the moment.
But you said rebuilding the Anxi Protectorate, then I think it is too difficult, and I am afraid it is beyond what the court can bear at the moment... Oh, by the way, how did the Tang Dynasty capture Anxi at that time?"
Gao pragmatically said: "The situation at that time was quite different from now. The beginning of the Tang Dynasty's governance of Anxi should be counted in the 14th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (640). In that year, Hou Jun gathered to pacify Gaochang and established the Xizhou Protectorate there.
, the administrative seat was in Xizhou. In September of the same year, the Anxi Protectorate was set up in Jiaohe City (today's Yargole, Turpan, Xinjiang) to target the Western Turks.
At that time, the first Protector of the Anxi Protectorate was Qiao Shiwang, who was later succeeded by Guo Xiaoke. At the beginning, there were only a few thousand troops. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Guo Xiaoke defeated the Kucha Kingdom and took over the Anxi Protectorate.
The government moved to Qiuci (now Kuqa County, Xinjiang).
In November of the second year of Xianqing (657), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Su Dingfang, a famous general of the Tang army, quelled Ashina Helu's rebellion at Suiye River, thereby pacifying the Western Turks, and then moved the Anxi Protectorate's headquarters back to his hometown of Gaochang.
In May of the third year of Xianqing's reign, the Anxi Protectorate was moved to Qiuci again, and the Anxi Protectorate was upgraded to the Great Protectorate.
In addition, Emperor Gaozong changed Taizong's practice of only emphasizing military affairs and neglecting administration. He established two protective palaces, namely Mengchi and Kunling, in the homeland of the Turks, and set up state capitals in the small affiliated countries. The western border reached Persia, all of which were subordinate to the capital of Anxi.
Protecting the government put this area under the direct rule of the Tang Dynasty."
Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "You said it a bit briefly, but at least one thing can be heard, that is, it took at least two generations for the Tang Dynasty to capture Anxi and establish a stable rule - from Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to Emperor Gaozong. Just what you just said
How many years are you talking about?"
Gao Pingshi calculated in his mind and said: "It should have taken eighteen years to go from the Xizhou Protectorate to the Great Protectorate."
Zhu Yijun was very satisfied after hearing this, and smiled and spread his hands: "You see, right? I said it was not easy! Think about it at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, when the military was at its peak, it took a lot of money to capture Anxi.
Eight years.
Although the Ming Dynasty has been revived, the distance between the two places is so great. If we want to conquer the Western Regions, not to mention eighteen years, but ten or eight years must be indispensable... But why did you just say something as if you wanted to decide the outcome in one battle?
of?"
Gao Pragmatic's answer was extremely simple: "Because today is different from the past."
"Oh?" Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows slightly: "How is it different?"
He paused and then added half-jokingly: "If you want to say that I am wiser and more powerful than Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, then there is no need."
Gao pragmatic laughed and said: "I originally planned to say it... Well, let's say something more direct."
Zhu Yijun hummed twice, as if "I knew it", but quickly nodded and said: "Tell me."
"In essence, Tang Li Anxi did not have a comprehensive plan from the beginning. In fact, it was more like taking one step at a time. But because the Tang army was really strong at the time, they advanced step by step and finally conquered Anxi.
In my opinion, if our Ming Dynasty wants to take over the Western Region, we cannot conquer one city this year and another next year..."
"Wait a minute." Zhu Yijun interrupted: "Why not? Isn't this more secure?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "It is safe to be safe, but in fact the cost is greater. The reason why such ultra-long-distance operations could only be carried out in the Tang Dynasty was because the environment in the Western Regions at that time was different from what it is now.
At that time, there were many small countries in the Western Regions. Even if the Tang Dynasty was powerful, it could not just kill them without warning. There had to be a reason to mobilize troops. Therefore, it used troops year by year and took steps step by step.
However, the situation in the Western Region is very different today. At least the Chahar people have captured the entire Yarkand. So if we only target Yarkand first, the expansion scale will be thousands of miles in radius.
The whole of Yarkand is now under the rule of Chahar. If we fight with him city by city, it will inevitably take a long time. In this way, he is the landlord, I am the guest army, and our army's logistics and supplies stretch thousands of miles. No matter what kind of family background,
I can't afford such consumption.
Therefore, we cannot use the Tang Dynasty's method of annihilating small countries in the Western Regions one by one. We can only concentrate our efforts, just like the battle of Yuan Dynasty, to completely defeat Chahar in one go and directly capture the entire Yarkand, otherwise we will be in big trouble.
Already."
Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and suddenly asked: "The Han Dynasty also controlled the Western Regions. How did they fight back then? How was it compared to the Tang Dynasty?"
"Not so much." Gao Pingshi shook his head and said: "Although the Han Dynasty's conquest of the Western Regions was the first time that we extended our power to the Central Plains, compared to the Tang Dynasty which relied entirely on its military power, the Han Dynasty was more... well, it can be said that it was luckier.
It can also be said to be some kind of trick."
"Oh, how do you say this?"
"The emperor must be well aware of the early war between the Han and the Xiongnu, so I won't say more." Gao pragmatically said: "I will only say that in the second year of Yuanshou (121 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu. At that time, the Han Dynasty
The national power of the dynasty was at its peak, and the Huns were naturally no match for them, so they were retreating steadily. Under such circumstances, the Han Dynasty recovered the Hexi Corridor and established the four counties of Hexi and other areas.
Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions to meet with the tribal leaders at that time and proposed the idea of letting them submit to the imperial court. At that time, many tribes around the Western Regions heard that the Han Dynasty was at its peak and wanted to use this to seek their own development.
But they were also worried about the big trouble of the Xiongnu.
However, as the Xiongnu retreated steadily, their worries disappeared, so many tribes submitted to the Han Dynasty. Under this situation, in order to strengthen the control of the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions in the Western Regions.
Protectorate."
Zhu Yijun frowned when he heard this, and said in deep thought: "If my prediction is correct, this Western Region Protectorate is probably not as powerful as the Anxi Protectorate, right?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor Shengming. When the Tang Dynasty governed Anxi, it could be said to be a real control; when the Han Dynasty governed Anxi, it was mostly a restraint." Gao pragmatically said: "The difference between them is self-evident."
In this case, Zhu Yijun was no longer interested in the Han Dynasty's tactics. Since the Battle of Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yijun had long thought that Ji Si was meaningless, and it was more reliable to directly control it.
Or, at least, it should be a method to control Tumut, which is still barely feasible. But now that Yarkand is a Chahar people, the method of targeting Tumut will not work——
It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to do this to the "Great Yuan Dynasty", otherwise there would be big problems in the legal system.
Zhu Yijun thought about it again, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt a headache, and finally he became impatient. He exhaled and asked: "In your opinion, if we want to have another battle against Yuan in the Western Region, how many troops will be needed?
How much material and financial resources will be needed? When will it be ready, and... how long will it take to fight?"
Gao pragmatic pondered for a moment and replied: "Eighty to one hundred thousand elite soldiers are needed, of which cavalry is the main force. It is best for both infantry and cavalry to be equipped with firearms, and the cavalry also carries sabers. In terms of material and financial resources, we need 20 million taels of silver, and we must raise about 20 million taels of military rations."
Three million stones, and at least 30,000 camels are needed... In addition, the above is based on the calculation of no more than one year before and after the war. If it exceeds, additional calculations will be required."
Zhu Yijun's eyes widened and he said in disbelief: "Rixin, are you kidding me? It costs 20 million taels of silver and 3 million shi of food a year?"
You yourself are the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and you know the annual income of the imperial court, not to mention the food... Nowadays, the food supplied to the capital by sea from the south is only about three million dan per year. Now you say you want to conquer the Western Regions, but it is only about three million dan per year.
You want three million stones?”
Gao pragmatic didn't seem to notice Zhu Yijun's shock, nodded and said: "Yes, Your Majesty."
"What a fart!" Zhu Yijun jumped up from his chair and glared at Gao pragmatically: "The Western Region is not North Korea. After North Korea takes it, it will have its own south-facing plains to produce grain. We don't have to go there at least.
Too much money was poured out.
But this Western Region... don't tell me that we will pour a lot of money into the Western Region every year! If this is the case, then what is the use of taking this Western Region?"
Gao pragmatically bowed his hands calmly and said, "Has your Majesty ever seen your ministers doing business at a loss?"
"Uh..." Zhu Yijun was immediately stopped by the question. He coughed slightly and said doubtfully, "You mean, although it costs a lot of money to conquer the Western Regions, you won't continue to lose money after conquering it?"
"Naturally." Gao Pragmatic nodded.
"Are you sure?" Zhu Yijun obviously still didn't believe it.
"I'm sure."
"It's not that I don't believe you, but... I just think it's unreasonable. That area in the Western Region is full of sand, and the food probably has to be transferred from within the pass. So, building an 'Anxi Protectorate' as you said would at least be a waste of time."
We have to garrison tens of thousands of troops, so how can we not lose money?"
"Grain can be grown in the Ili Valley. Winter wheat and various types of potatoes are suitable for planting there, including the sweet potatoes that were previously offered as tribute to the emperor."
Gao Pragmatic said calmly: "If we take the Western Region, we only need to station the army mainly in the Ili Valley and then implement farming. Not only will the food not be supplied from the customs, but we can even harvest from this place as some kind of auxiliary to control the Western Region."
means."
"Really?" Zhu Yijun said in surprise: "A mere river valley can produce a large amount of grain? How big is this river valley?"
"Your Majesty doesn't know. Although the name of the Yili River Valley is a river valley, it doesn't sound very big, but it is actually very big. It is about 700 miles long from east to west, and about 550 miles wide at its north-south point. It is about half of Zhejiang Province.
So big...
Oh, your Majesty can also understand it this way: Although the Yili Valley is located in the Western Region, its conditions are very good and its area is large. It is like encircling an area under the jurisdiction of Governor Yingtian in the middle of the Western Region."
"Is there such a thing as Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall?" Zhu Yijun was really surprised. He quickly rolled his eyes and said: "Then if I guess correctly, when you plan to fight for one year, do you mean that this year's
The main goal is to occupy the Ili Valley?"
"The emperor has clearly seen thousands of miles, and this is what the noble minister thinks."
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PS: The keyboard broke last night. I bought the keyboard this morning before typing, so the update of this chapter is late, but this does not affect the overall progress.