stubborn thief

Chapter 249
The yamen of the Juerwan Baihusuo is covered with thick woolen blankets.

Sitting in the middle, Liu Chengzong communicated with the left and right generals about the route to the south.

Chen Shifo sat on the left with Monk Gama, and Chen Qindai sat on the right with Dai Qing and Bai Yantaiji.

In the middle, there are several cowhide or sheepskin maps, connecting Qinghai and Weizang.

The situation in the yamen was very interesting. Monk Xifan and Mongolian Nayan on the left and right looked at the Han generals whispering in the middle with extremely expectant eyes.

If Monk Gama just hoped that Liu Chengzong would take back his homeland for him, the Mongolian nobles seemed a little fanatical, and they hoped that Liu Chengzong could take them to a more distant place—Uzang.

This is very contradictory to Liu Shizi.

These maps are connected together to outline a route from Jingkang District in Qinghai to Uizang, but the characteristics of the three places are very obvious.

He judges people by himself, the rivers and valleys in Kham are criss-cross, and the snow-capped mountains in Weizang are bitter and cold. Only the Qinghai Lake under the Qilian Mountains has a large expanse of fertile pastures.

And the political center and religious power center of the snow region must be Lhasa, the capital of Tubo.

As the Khan on the grassland, his pastoral areas, soldiers and people are all in Qinghai.

Why are the Mongols so keen on entering Tibet?
When Liu Chengzong raised his question, he froze for a long time.

He first shook his head with straight eyes, looking not very smart.

It took a while before he came back to his senses, nodded firmly and said: "You must join the Tibetan Guardian School!"

Wei you big head ghost.

Based on Liu Shizi's understanding of Baiyan Taiji, this Mongolian aristocrat who nominally believes in the Yellow Sect actually believes in the Donkey Meat Huoshao Sect.

He respected the leader Cao Yao more than any Buddha statue. Since he led his troops to move to Haibei to station herdsmen, he preached in the tribe and attracted countless Mongolians to bring donkeys to the Lion Army to eat and drink.

With the expansion and development of the sect, there are even signs of religious reform. Recently, they have been wanting Cao Yao to try stewing haggis soup in a big iron pot.

To put it bluntly, Taiji is also very confused. No one has ever asked him why he wants to go to Tibet; he has never thought about why he wants to go to Tibet.

Suddenly expecting him to say one, two, three, four, five is unlikely, and he doesn't know how to explain it to Liu Chengzong.

Liu Chengzong waited for a long time before finally saying a few words: "We have to take care of the monk, otherwise we won't be able to live in Qinghai for a long time."

After thinking for a long time, Taiji's words finally became coherent: "If we join the Tibetan Guardianship, the monk will not ask others to join the Tibetan Guardianship."

Liu Chengzong understood, to put it bluntly, Taiji doesn't care what Wei's religion is, but it is very important for them to let the monks in Wei Zang stop their disputes, be honest, and stop coercing people into Tibet from outside.

He asked, "Then you will not suffer from altitude sickness when you enter Tibet?"

Yan Yan Taiji was teased by Liu Chengzong: "What are you thinking, Marshal, we will get sick, it won't be too much, and it will be over after a while."

Liu Chengzong keenly captured a word: "Nangqian?"

To put it bluntly, Taiji also understood that this Han general had never traveled south and did not know the geography of entering U-Tibet from Kham.

He explained to Liu Chengzong: "If you don't climb the mountain, Nangqian is the highest place in Kham and U-Tsang, a little higher than Haibei. If you walk fast, some people will get sick there."

"Maybe twenty or thirty out of a thousand people will get sick? It will be fine in a few days. After Nangqian, like Lhasa and Shigatse of Zangbahan, they are all about the same height as Haibei."

This time it was Liu Chengzong's turn to be confused.

He thought that Nangqian, where Yushu was located, was the lowest place in U-Tsang, so he had the idea of ​​an expedition.

Now you tell me, that's the highest place?

And he always thought that the Mongols came in and out of the snow area because of their high magic defense, and everyone was the same after a long time, relying on their blood.

He said to Bai Yantaiji: "Your thinking is wrong. The more you enter the Tibetan Guardian Church, the more powerful the monks will be. Raise a few nobles at will, and with a title, you can get help from Mongolia. You guys It is bound to become their puppet."

As Liu Chengzong said, he looked down at his hand. He had a list in his hand, and now there were four names.

Everyone above is the leader of Heshuo who is willing to obey Liu Chengzong's call and the coalition forces go south.

Their organizational structure is the alliance flag system established by Dayan Khan's wife Mandu Haihatun, which divides the land into pieces of pasture land, and each pasture land is a thousand households, called Etuoke.

On the pastoral land, every Mongolian must be a herdsman of this Etuoke. In wartime, all the herdsmen sent troops to form an armed group called Heshuo. In theory, each Etuoke needed to send thousands of troops.

A few Otoks form ten thousand households.

But in fact, Baiyan Taiji is the nominal head of ten thousand households, but he does not have ten thousand households, and his subordinates can only be organized into three thousand households.

The names on this are more like a family tree.

For example, Baiyan Taiji's own name is from the right-wing Duolun Tumote Department, the fourth son of Dayan Khan, I am the great-grandson of Huang Taiji, not only the grandson of Jier Taiji, the son of Huo Luochi, and Boer Jijin. .

Liu Shizi hated that iron could not be made into steel. With a very intimidating surname, why did he willingly degenerate and become a free thug for others?
Bai Yan shook his head firmly: "Then what can be done, they can give people the sweat that everyone believes in, and if they grasp the Dharma, they will be able to..."

Bai Yan originally wanted to say that holding the Dharma and owning the Khan name can expand the territory, but when it comes to this, he can't continue.

Because Liu Chengzong sneered and interrupted him: "No, you can't."

To put it bluntly, Taiji has long realized that the situation in Qinghai has changed. This Han army stationed at the source of Huangshui can bring ever-changing changes to Qinghai and even the northwest.

But for now, the deterrence brought by this army is not enough.

He looked at Monk Gama on the opposite side, maybe they have a more common language on this matter.

There is no shortage of rulers in this land, but each ruler has his own place to rule, and he cannot reach the farther places.

No one cares about the appearance of the Supreme Emperor. To some extent, the local emperors are all looking for a reliable Supreme Emperor for themselves.

But it's not just about strength, it's about determination and will.

For Yan Yan, the Ming Emperor in the Forbidden City thousands of miles away and the Hou Jin Tianming Khan who established the capital in Shenyang are both powerful, so what's the use?
"The Han people say, listen to what you say and watch what you do."

Bai Yan looked into Liu Chengzong's eyes and said: "Now it is easy to prove that the title of monk works, but it is very difficult to prove that the title of monk does not work, so it is still possible."

Liu Chengzong didn't say any more.

He learned new things.

In Shaanxi, he realized that the power of governance comes from the hope of life.

In Qinghai, he realized that the power of ruling may also come from the possibility of death.

Sending out troops to flatten Baili Wang Dunyue Duoji is more effective than talking in vain for seven days and seven nights.

Soon, the news that Liu Chengzong was about to form a coalition with Baiyan Taiji to march south, along with the herdsmen who came to Juerwan for trade, was brought back to the Mongolian tribes in all directions.

More and more Mongolian aristocrats led their troops here admiringly.

What people admire is not the name of Liu Chengzong, nor the name of Yan Taiji, but the name that the monks may give them after entering Tibet.

The long journey to the south is full of danger for most of the little nobles who only have dozens of herdsmen.

But if they gather together to form a coalition, the road to the south will be unimpeded.

Even Liu Chengzong did not expect that in the land of Qinghai, entering Tibet would have such a great appeal.

More and more herdsmen tribes gathered near Qinghai Lake, which made Liu Shizi very busy. Every day, he would meet with several new Mongolian chiefs, chat with them accompanied by Chen Qindai, inspect the composition of their troops, and send several gifts.

To be honest, Liu Shizi never thought that by giving away two iron pots, a few wooden boxes, a goose feather knife or a blanket, he could gain the favor of the entire tribe.

People said that Marshal Liu was a very wealthy man. Although he was a Han Chinese, he was very willing to fight with him, unlike the stingy emperor.

So much so that half a month has passed since such a day, and Liu Shizi has already summed up a set of rules for giving gifts. As long as this rule is followed, no one out of ten people will make a mistake.

Look at the leader's last name.

But for all the descendants of the Jin family whose surname is Boer, it is right to send two axes with inlaid steel. If you bring a polished Yanling knife without armor and scabbard, it will basically be as good as a brother. .

But if the surname is not Bo'er Jijin, but is the head of a small tribe in a remote place, then you will have to bleed a lot, and send two lacquered wooden boxes and a set of silver jewelry worth three or five taels of silver, so that you can get it from their faces. See a satisfied smile.

The rule is very simple, the more golden the family is, the poorer it is in terms of ironware, armor, and weapons, but there is no lack of exquisite ancestral artifacts.

As for the other small tribes, since they had not fought a big battle with Ming Dynasty and lost few ironware, they were basically able to maintain poor self-sufficiency. On the contrary, they had a great demand for decorations made by skilled craftsmen.

In fact, the latter is Liu Shizi's impression of Mongolian soldiers before entering Qinghai.

To put it bluntly, the Taiji people are well-nourished and all of them are okay in size, but the age span of equipment is very large. Most people stay in the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, and only a few elites have entered the Iron Age.

The situation in other tribes is just the opposite. For example, Liu Chengzong met Xie Erhu recently.

This Xie Erhu belonged to the Yongxiebu Department. His real name was Ba'erhu or something, and he was called Erhu by Liu Chengzong.

Xie Erhu used to be a herdsman in the Qaidam Basin. Someone in the tribe accidentally picked up gold while digging a cesspit, which attracted others to covet it. After losing a fight, he and his tribe ran over with more than 200 wives and children to seek shelter.

There are few people in this tribe, and the tribe doesn't think that's the case. There are 44 warriors, with an average height of 1.6 meters, and the per capita is malnourished and bow-legged.

But each of them was wearing hard leather armor, with iron beams and copper nails nailed to the leather armor. When they opened their quiver, they had all copper arrows.

Originally, Liu Shizi wanted to give a set of three taels of silverware, but Xie Erhu said that he hadn't eaten food for several years.

Isn't it hard to say that the lion is looking for food?This is easy to handle!
The army was preparing to go out, and the Chinese military battalion was busy preparing meals for the army. Ma Ke, a native of Xining, was in charge of this matter.

With a wave of the lion's hand, forty catties of Xining pickles selected by Ma Ke were delivered to Xie Erhu.

Xie Erhu was so happy, he said it was enjoyable.

In the Qaidam Basin, he mainly used rhodiola and wolfberry as snacks. Although they are quite healthy, they cannot be eaten as vegetables.

This place is not suitable for living people in the agricultural era.

Yongxiebu, the two big tribes in Qinghai, entered Qinghai earlier than Huoluochi, but like Huoluochi, he was disabled by the Ming army in Sanjieli in Huangzhong.

Later, Yongxiebu fought with Huoluochi and lost, so Huoluochi occupied the fertile area around the lake, and Yongxiebu had to retreat to Dazhuidan and Xiaotuidan to start a difficult journey of survival.

But each has its own advantages. The food in the east is not extravagant, but being neighbors with the Ming army can’t save your life, and weapons and armor can’t be heirlooms; the west is not suitable for human survival, but without the Ming army, you can gain a very tenacious spirit. .

By mid-April, the number of this team had exceeded Liu Chengzong's expectations.

To put it bluntly, Taiji, Razun, and Guru Huang Taiji each sent 2000 troops, and the exiles who came to Tibet also gathered 6000 troops, a total of 1 troops, driving livestock and spreading from the north to the south.

Each of these gangs has its own purpose, and no one can control these troops.

Although Liu Chengzong is the leader of the alliance, he can really control less than half of the leaders.

With so many Mongols, the generals of the Lion Army were very disturbed. In order to maintain the status of the leader, they could only further increase the number of troops sent.

In the end, the Lions decided to turn this war of regaining the territory for Nangqian into a process of showing off their might to the whole Qinghai.

Liu Chengzong selected generals Wang Wenxiu and Cao Yao from the three training battalions, Li Laozheng, Zhang Tianlin, Zhong Hu, Luo Rucai, Gao Yingdeng, and Huang Shengxiao, and selected [-] sergeants, organized them into two battalions on the left and right, and marched south .

The Liusan organized Yang Yao, Qianzong Yang Chengzu, Wei Qian'er, and Han Shiyou into a left-behind battalion, stationed in Haibei and Juerwan, and each other with Liu Chengzu's department in Xining to guard their hometown.

Liu Chengzong did not intend to take all the troops away. In fact, his purpose was to divide the troops and station them in key places.

On the lakeside directly facing the mountain pass on the south bank of Qinghai Lake, Zhong Hu was ordered to lead [-] troops to stay there, leaving behind the nails to occupy Chaka Salt Pond.

At this point, the entire area around the lake has been blocked and brought into its own sphere of influence. Once the warship is built, it can quickly support around Qinghai Lake.

They were not the earliest troops to set off, but they were the most obvious indicator of the [-] expeditionary force.

The Mongolian tribes were stationed wherever they went, and Liu Chengzong's troops all brought fried noodles, but they found that they didn't need to eat them.

The Mongolian tribes accompanying the army all recognized lion tickets, and each of the five generals brought 400 taels of tickets. They formulated a set of strict procurement procedures, allowing [-]% of their military rations to purchase cattle and sheep from the tribes stationed along the way.

But it is forbidden to find only one tribe, in case the cattle and sheep of other people are bought up.

But in fact, it proved that Liu Chengzong was thinking too much. All the tribes found business opportunities. Along the way, they used things like axes to buy cattle and sheep from the surrounding Fan tribes and Mongolian tribes, and then sold them to Liu Chengzong's troops.

So much so that they ate wherever they went, and when they marched, they exchanged one or two bills for four sheep, and both sides felt that they had made a lot of money.

Although I was tired, the road from Gannan to Guoluo was difficult, and several soldiers from various departments suffered from altitude sickness, but Liu Shizi had never traveled such an easy march in his life!
　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)