Emperor Ming Dynasty

During the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the prince rarely spent time in the capital, and the family was finally reunited.

The little emperor's grandson was trembling just after he was able to leave, causing the court to laugh and laugh.

Empress Sun Xueniang is holding her grandson, and the youngest son is sitting on her left hand. The smile on her face is getting thicker and thicker. She has a little Shaanxi accent:

"Qu'er, one grandson is not enough. The most important thing in the royal family is to reproduce offspring. In the Pingfan country, how many more grandchildren should I have? I haven't had enough!"

The prince could only smile wryly.

The princess smiled lightly, pursed her lips and remained silent.

After giving birth to the eldest grandson, she did not restrain the prince anymore.

In this way, in the harem, the election was carried out again, that is, the selection of maids and concubines, and by the way, the selection of wives for the princes, which is similar to the Manchu Qing Dynasty in later generations.

Of course, the maids in the harem also went out to marry in batches, which is benevolent government.

These court ladies were either married to military generals, or had been engaged long ago.

In addition to giving them salaries, the royal family also used fifty or one hundred silver dollars as a dowry to add to their heads according to their rank, from beginning to end.

Isn't this a kind of solicitation?
At this time, King Liao and his party traveled for three or four months, two to three thousand miles, and were about to leave Gansu.

Sun Shirui, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, said earnestly: "The new expansion of the Liao Kingdom should be quiet and not moving. It will not be too late to govern after a few years of stability."

"If something happens, don't be ashamed, go straight to Anxi, Daming will always be your backing."

These words made King Liao feel quite emotional, and his mood was inexplicably depressed.

He bowed long, turned around silently and left.

The large team left Gansu and entered Anxi.

The first big city, Anle City in Gaochang Mansion (Turpan), was moved away from Gansu not long ago.

Gaochang Mansion is now part of Anxi, and its main function is to enrich its population.

As compensation, Qinghai Prefecture was assigned to Gansu.

The Turpan Basin, like a flaming mountain, caused a lot of people to complain and suffer.

After traveling for about ten days, we arrived in Urumqi.

This is the first large masonry city in northern Xinjiang, enough to accommodate [-] people, and it is a first-class city even in the interior.

After Anxi was captured, the initial provincial capital was in Urumqi, because it was the sweat tent of the Heshuote tribe, rich in water and grass, suitable for farming and animal husbandry, so Urumqi was established.

But later, because of the attack on the Bukhara Khanate, the Yili River Valley became a logistics base and the second largest city in northern Xinjiang.

After all, Yili is also the sweat tent of the Junggar tribe.

With the passage of time, the provincial capital of Anxi gradually moved to the Yili River Valley. In addition to the favorable conditions here, the most important one is in the border area.

To the east of Anxi is Gansu, to the northeast is the Zhazakh Khan’s tent, to the north is Rakshasa, to the south is U-Tsang, and most importantly to the west is Kazakh and Raksha.

The danger is all in the west, so it is natural to move the political center to the west.

Strategically, Yili is close to Zhao and Liao, and can form a triangle to help each other.

It is because of this that there are also high voices in the court about the governor of Anxi becoming the minister of the Ministry of Rites, just to let him take charge of the diplomacy with Liao and Zhao, and by the way, to confront the Rakshasa and the Kazakh Khanate.

Of course, this is also due to Anxi's special circumstances.

Anxi is too big. In addition to one governor who controls the whole, there are two chief envoys who manage the government respectively, and two chief soldiers who supervise the army respectively.

The Uighurs in the southern Xinjiang believe in Peace Religion, while the Mongolians in the northern Xinjiang believe in Buddhism.

Ethnicities, beliefs, and politics are all different. If we don't divide and rule, we will be in a mess long ago.

Although there are deserts in northern Xinjiang, there are many basins and countless grasslands and mountains, which makes the Mongolian tribes feel happy.

However, the vast land and sparse population is the biggest drawback of Anxi.

Urumqi sent thousands of riders to escort them, and the leading officer sighed: "Now there are only eight big cities in northern Xinjiang, and twelve small cities. Including the Oirat Mongols, the total is only one and a half million."

"Sometimes walking for three days and three nights may not be able to stop in a city."

"Oh? How many Han people are there?"

King Liao was not embarrassed about this, and asked directly.

"Basically they are garrisons and refugees. I don't know about other places, but there are only 6 or [-] people in Urumqi."

The officer knew his identity, so naturally he had no reason to hide it, but he himself knew only half of it.

The king of Liao was noncommittal.

Calculated in this way, there are only about one hundred thousand Han people in the huge Anxi Ding, which is really too small.

There are not many Han people in Anxi, and it may be even more difficult for his Liao Kingdom to relocate.

Thinking of this, his heart sank.

The Han people cannot migrate for a long time. Wouldn't it be that they have entered the lotus pond and will be gone sooner or later.

When I arrived in Yili, it felt very different from Urumqi.

Urumqi is an economic and commercial city, while Yili is a military castle.

In the huge Ili River Valley, with Ili as the center, there are nine military castles standing tall and large, all of which are centered on Ili, firmly occupying this small basin.

To put it simply, it is a frontier fortress.

The governor of Anxi is Ni Jieshu, the number one scholar in the first year of Shaowu, a native of Southern Zhili, which is now Changzhou, Jiangsu.

He is only fifty years old, and his years in Anxi have left his temples gray and his skin as rough as an old farmer's, which can be described as hard work.

Regarding Anxi, Ni Jieshu could only smile wryly: "The old minister is the governor, and basically patrols the road every year. It is normal for the oases in southern Xinjiang to eat and sleep in the open."

"If I stay with this old bone for a few more years, I'm afraid it will be blown away by the wind and sand."

In this regard, King Liao could only sympathize.

When asked how many Han people there are in Anxi, the latter was silent for a moment, and then slowly said: "The Han people in Anxi are basically concentrated in the two cities of Ili and Urumqi. There are 8 people in Urumqi, and only 5 people in Ili."

"The total is about 15 reasonable."

"Our Anxi garrison is a frontier army, and there are also [-] people. Most of these Han people are their family members."

"What the imperial court means is to set up more private schools and naturalize those Mongols. If things go on like this, plus the exiled people, it will take about 20 years for Northern Xinjiang to roughly digest them."

"As for Southern Border, don't mention it!"

Ni Jieshu shook his head.

Southern Xinjiang is Uighur, and the appearance is very different from that of Han and Mongolian, not to mention the Peace Sect, it would be nice to be able to rule stably.

Thinking of the southern border, Ni Jieshu suddenly said: "Compared with the northern border, the southern border is more spacious, so it is quite xenophobic. I heard that the so-called holy descendants were invited during the Yarkand period, which further contributed to its problems. "

"Your Highness's Liao Kingdom is very close to the so-called Arabia, so please help take care of it."

In this regard, the king of Liao has nothing to do.

The team left Ili, went south to Kashgar, and then arrived in Andiyan in Zhao State.

The State of Zhao, that is, the Fergana Basin, includes cities such as Kokand, Andijan, Margiran, and Namangan, with hundreds of thousands of people.

The water and grass are lush here, just like the Yili River Valley, it is a good place.

After visiting this place, he was looking forward to the Liao Kingdom for a while.

Zhao Guoxiang Huang Zongxi went to see him in person.

Seeing the prosperity of all industries in Zhao State, King Liao couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Master Zhao has some means to govern the country."

"Your Highness is absurd." Huang Zongxi was somewhat self-confident.

He has governed the country for only two years, and his greatest role is to organize households and organize the people. He established the prefecture and county system after the Ming Dynasty, which is basically a copy.

But even so, in such a foreign country, it is also a skill.

The King of Liao and his party rested in Zhao Guohao for a few days. While wandering around, they sent someone to inform the Liao State to send someone to welcome them.

Haohan City is located in the center of the basin, so it is also the capital of Zhao State, but according to the previous rules, it will be named Handan.

However, Handan still exists in Daming, so the name Jinyang is appropriate.

"The foreign ministers can't do it either, so I can only hand it over to His Royal Highness Zhao Wang."

Huang Zongxi then asked him when King Zhao would become a vassal.

In this regard, King Liao said: "The eighth brother is only nineteen years old, so he is younger after all, let's talk about it in two years!"

"If there is any difficulty in the future, send someone to Liao Kingdom, and I will consider it as appropriate,"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After wandering around for a few times, the King of Liao had a little understanding of the State of Zhao.

The two cities of Kokand and Andijan are quite outstanding, each with 6 to 8000 people, and the remaining small towns have only [-] people, which is the same as the townships in the mainland.

In the huge country of Zhao, there are more than [-] people, but it is only a land of one mansion.

However, the exotic atmosphere is strong.

A few days later, Liao Prime Minister Jia Daihua personally led Wanqi and hundreds of civil and military officials to the border of the two countries to greet them, which can be described as extremely solemn.

"The ministers welcome His Highness back to the country—"

Thousands of people shouted in unison, and their voices reached the sky.

Eight tall Dawan horses pull the elephant chariot, and the curtain is lowered, showing the majesty of the king.

"Princess, let's get in the car!"

Holding the concubine by the hand and holding his son in his arms, the Prince of Liao stepped into the carriage with great arrogance and grandeur.

The mountain cries endlessly.

After traveling thousands of miles, ten days later, they arrived in the city of Samarkand.

This thousand-year-old city in Central Asia is much stronger than Yili, but it is only inferior to Beijing.

"How far is it from the capital?"

"About three to five hundred miles." Jia Daihua lowered his head slightly, with a puzzled expression on his face: "Your Highness, Bukhara is slightly inferior to Samarkand, but it is not bad, with a population of 10."

"Whether it is a palace or a market, it is not bad."

"But no matter what, Samarkand is the number one city."

The King of Liao laughed lightly and said, "I heard that Samarkand was once the center of Khwarazm, and it was also called the middle of the river."

"Such a mighty city, wouldn't it be a pity not to be a country?"

Jia Daihua wanted to persuade him again, but the King of Liao sighed: "This time, I will travel thousands of miles, no matter how far away, I am afraid that the kite will break the string, and I will forget my great Ming..."

Speaking of this, Jia Daihua naturally didn't dare to persuade him anymore, so he could only bite the bullet and agree, and then arranged for the relocation of the capital.

The king of Liao didn't like the name Samarkand either: "Baiyujing in the sky, twelfth floor and five cities. Immortals caress my top, and my hair is tied for longevity..."

"So, from today onwards, Samarkand will be renamed Yujing City!"

Jia Daihua's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Well, you are being too casual.

However, Jia Daihua still reported the situation in Liao according to the plan:
"The Liao Kingdom is 220 miles long from east to west, [-] miles from north to south, has eight prefectures, twenty counties, [-] million people, and [-] troops..."

"How much is the tax?"

"Calculated in silver dollars, it's about 150 million, of which the agricultural tax is only 60, and the rest is commercial tax."

Jia Daihua said casually: "Because of their power, many tribes pay cattle and sheep as taxes, so there is no conversion. There are about 20 head a year."

"Too little, too little—"

King Liao lingered, shaking his head.

Jia Daihua stood aside, not knowing whether he was talking about people or taxes, or maybe both.

……

At the same time, while the north has fallen into autumn, South Asia has ushered in the dry season.

Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Yanbao.

This is the third dry season for the Kingdom of Ceylon and their third year of development.

The kingdom of Ceylon has changed drastically.

Several conquests and operations have expanded the population of the Kingdom of Ceylon to more than [-] people and hundreds of tribes. It can be said that this island can already be called a country.

Conflict with the Kingdom of Jaffna is on the rise.

"Here comes the boat, here comes the boat—"

The harbor wharf has already begun to take shape, a trestle stretches out, and then a large ship slowly berths.

Portuguese ships from Goa,
Immediately, a short-bearded Han man in a short robe, carrying an account book, and a group of big men rushed over.

The captain was not surprised by this, and said directly: "Oh, my Zhang, I brought a lot of goods this time, as well as your favorite Han people."

"Fifty people, both men and women."

Sun Bai held the pen and smiled while holding the ledger: "It's still at the old price, you can choose pearls or ivory."

"Pearls, of course." The bearded captain smiled and said, "The group of Indians like to exchange gold for pearls the most."

"I heard that you are going to expand your army to fight a war?"

"Who said that?" Sun Bai frowned.

"It's spread all over Goa." The bearded man smiled and said, "You are going to fight the Kingdom of Jaffna, and they are supported by the Dutch. Do you have enough gunpowder? Do you need mercenaries?"

"Mercenaries?"

"The sailors on my ship are all good men. Thirty men, whether it is gold or pearls, can pay."

The bearded man showed his big yellow teeth with a smile: "Don't worry, they are good at dealing with those natives."

"I can't be the master." Sun Bai frowned and said, "Let's talk about it after the delivery of the goods!"

Immediately, a group of people unloaded a large amount of goods, and there were fifty Han people.

These so-called Han people are actually mostly of Han-soil mixed blood, speak a crappy dialect, and only have a Chinese name.

But even this was accepted by Ceylon.

After one or two years of absorption, the number of Han Chinese in Ceylon exceeded [-], and a ruling class was initially established.

Sun Bai stepped back to Yanbao.

At this time, Yanbao changed drastically and became a small square city, enough to accommodate 5000 people, with a moat and a towering city wall.

The once narrow castle has become a royal palace, where the Zhu family lived.

"Your Highness!" Sun Bai came in a hurry, lowering his head and talking about the mercenary incident just now.

"When the rain is light, people's hearts will be confused."

Zhu Ci sighed: "Mercenaries are unreliable, they will only expose our reality."

"Even the Portuguese don't have good intentions."

"They support us because they don't want the Dutch to control the Kingdom of Jaffna? How can Ceylon be willing to become a puppet?"

"The Dutch must guard against it, and the Portuguese must also guard against it. People who are not of my race must have a different heart!"