I want to be emperor

Chapter 573 The Secret Letter from the Heshuo Special Department

In Jinling City, Luo Zhixue couldn't help but smile when he saw the emergency report sent back by Governor of Sichuan Cheng Yingzheng.

"It seems that Heshuo's special department wants to find a way out for himself." After Luo Zhixue finished reading the report, he handed the report to Xu Zhixian beside him.

Xu Zhixian also flipped through the report in his hand.

This report is an urgent report sent by Sichuan governor Cheng Yingzheng, and it is presented in a closed form. Although Xu Zhixian has already done it before, he can't open it first.

After opening it, I found out that Cheng Yingzheng, the governor of Sichuan, reported that the Heshuo Special Department dispatched secret envoys to travel over mountains and mountains, and arrived at Litang County, the actual control area of ​​the Great Chu Empire located in the westernmost line of the Kangxue area, and submitted the report to the Heshuo Special Department. The secret letter of the leader.

This secret letter is written in Chinese, and it is attached to the secret booklet of Cheng Yingzheng, Governor of Sichuan.

After Xu Zhixian read the contents of this secret letter, he also laughed: "They are in a hurry!"

He casually handed the letter to the Minister of Counseling, Song Zhang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and Education.

After reading the letter, Song Zhang said: "They fought with us in the south, and many chieftains in the plateau area did not surrender to them. They still need to continue to quell the civil strife, and the Zhungeer Ministry in the west puts too much pressure on them. Already!"

"Being able to survive the past few years is considered to be enough for them to survive. Looking at their appearance now, I'm afraid they have reached the end of the road."

Xu Zhixian said: "It's normal for them to be unable to hold on. We have completed the Dadu River iron bridge in the west of Sichuan, and several iron cable bridges across the river in the west have also been successfully erected. Now our troops and supplies are all the way from Chengdu to the west. Litang, I dare not say that the road is smooth, but it is much better than before, and the distance has been shortened by at least a thousand miles."

"A few of our mountain troops have also been tempered. Before fighting against the local chieftains in Sichuan and even fighting against the troops of the Heshuo Special Forces, we have won more than we lost."

"Although it is difficult to enter Tibet, and it is almost impossible to transport heavy artillery there, muskets and disassembled light artillery, such as two and a half catties mountain guns, nine catties light howitzers and even eighteen catties ultra-light howitzers, can still be sent up through pack transportation. .”

"We won't be able to transport too much in a while, but we can take our time and transport ammunition and food supplies to the front bit by bit. When we have enough supplies, we will go there in waves. Whether it is the local chieftain, it is impossible to stop our army."

"In this case, even if the Pegatron Special Department couldn't understand it at first, it should be understood now."

Luo Zhixue said at this time: "The Heshuo Special Department can fight for one or two. After all, this is also a big tribe in Moxi. Since they have the idea of ​​returning to the Western Regions, then contact them for one or two."

Then he turned his attention to Song Zhang: "When your Ministry of Ethics and Education talks to them later, as long as they are willing to give up the snow area and cooperate with us to control the area, then the conditions can be relaxed."

"Since they want the pastures of the Zhungeer Department, they should agree to them. Specifically, they can refer to the methods of those in Mobei."

After finishing speaking, Luo Zhixue turned his attention to the large map on the wall. The northwest region of the empire was full of beacon fire, and the Yarkand Khanate was almost unable to stop the invasion of the Zhungeer tribe.

And behind the Zhungeer Ministry, there is Tsarist Russia!
It is about to pose a threat to the security of the northwest and even the north of the empire.

And to eliminate these threats, in fact, for the Great Chu Empire, the biggest enemy is not Zhungeer or Tsarist Russia itself, but the distance...

As far as the Great Chu Empire is concerned, it is superior to these enemies in terms of military strength and weaponry, and it can even be said to beat them.

However, the distance is a flaw, and when the distance is far away, the transportation of weapons will be too troublesome.

The cost of transporting grain all the way from the Central Plains and other places to the west is too great. The grain for one person transported to the front line often consumes grain for ten people or more on the way.

One hundred catties of grain departs from the Central Plains, and it is only ten catties or even a few catties that can be delivered to the soldiers on the northwest front line...

This kind of loss is too great, even the Great Chu Empire, which has a large family and a great business, cannot sustain it.

This is also the reason why the Great Chu Empire vigorously garrisoned troops in the northwest frontier area, in order to solve food consumption as much as possible on the spot and reduce the amount of food transported from the Central Plains behind.

It is also difficult to transport weapons and ammunition. Even if an arsenal has been established in Xi'an, it is still a very long distance to transport from Xi'an to the west.

If the Chu army wants to launch a large-scale battle in the northwest region, the cost will definitely be greater than the cost of annihilating the Dongyao people...

Under such circumstances, since the Heshuo Special Department had the intention to be subdued and even offered to cooperate in the attack on Zhungeer, it was in line with Luo Zhixue's intention.

It doesn't matter what plans these people from Heshuo's special department have!

As long as they really give up the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and then cooperate with the Chu army to fight Zhungeer, reduce the logistical pressure of the Chu army, and allow the Great Chu Empire to recover the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and even the border area at a relatively small cost, then give them a piece of pasture in the Western Regions. how.

Not to mention, what they want is the pasture of the Zhungeer Ministry.

Luo Zhixue didn't have any pressure to do things like being generous to others.

As for whether the Heshuo Special Department will become the second Zhungeer in the future, and become a new border problem of the Great Chu Empire after its ambitions increase... There is no need to worry too much.

Just like the current Luo Zhixue, he didn't worry much about the actual threat that the expansion of the Zhungeer tribe would bring to the Great Chu Empire.

If the two cooperated and really killed Zhungeer, then the soldiers of the Great Chu Empire would reach the Yili area. At that time, let alone continue to attack, but the defense must be no problem.

Furthermore, the Great Chu Empire also controlled Monan...

The road to the Zhungeer territory in Moxi does not mean that it can only be passed through Gansu foolishly, but it can also be killed directly from Monan...

If the Great Chu Empire is really willing to pay a large amount of military expenditure, regardless of whether it is Zhungeer or the Heshuo Special Department, they will see each other and do it...

The problem is that in the next few years, the Great Chu Empire will not be able to spend huge military expenditures to fight a war that will not bring any economic benefits except to grab some territory...

Since the founding of the Great Chu Empire, until this year, the continuous high military expenditure has made the Great Chu Empire somewhat unable to support its family and business.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have just started downsizing their troops and reducing their military expenditures when they laid down on the captives.

It's because the finances are a bit unsustainable...

In the early years, there was a large amount of confiscated income obtained during the Unification War, more than [-] million taels of confiscated income, which supported the large-scale conquests of the Great Chu Empire in the past few years.

But now, these confiscated incomes have already been spent. If such huge military expenditures continue to be maintained, then the domestic economic development will not be necessary, and even the salaries of officials will not be paid...

Therefore, reducing military spending is a must!
And in the environment of reducing military expenditures, it is impossible for the military to engage in any Northwest War... no money!
Even if they wanted to fight, they would have to recruit a group of young men to fight, and the combat method could not be the same as in the unified war, where hundreds of cannons were casually recruited to play the advantage of firepower.

At that time, the mode of warfare may be more traditional, with cavalry mobile operations as the mainstay.

Under such circumstances, it would be a great thing if he could pull the Heshuo Special Forces into his chariot and turn them from enemies into cannon fodder.

As for the future risk issue, we will talk about it later...

Taking a ten thousand step back, in the next few decades, whether it is Mobei or Moxi, even if there is a collective rebellion, it will not be a small matter for the Great Chu Empire.

Because it took decades, Luo Zhixue reckoned that even if he couldn't make a tank, he would definitely be able to make a train, and he might be able to make a machine gun.

Even if there is nothing else, as long as there is a train, the Great Chu Empire is invincible!
By train, the Great Chu Empire can mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to the Western Regions and even Central Asia in minutes, as well as various ammunition, food, grass and other materials needed to maintain their operations.

Luo Zhixue could already foresee the future scene: Where the railway of the Great Chu Empire was built, that would be the territory of the Great Chu Empire!
As for resistance, no matter what kind of nomadic tribe or Tsarist Russia, or any other messy country or force, under the advanced guns and sufficient logistics, it is destined to become the dust of history.

Luo Zhixue instructed Song Zhang: "You can deal with them as soon as possible, and try to get them to send troops to Zhungeer. We can give them guns and ammunition support. Of course, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will be taken back. It's the bottom line!"

Immediately Luo Zhixue instructed Xu Zhixian who was on the side: "Regardless of whether the Heshuo Special Department can succeed or not, the military's preparations should not stop. Instead of stopping, they should intensify their efforts."

"Even if the Heshuo Special Department succumbs later, the local chieftains still have to clean up one by one. There is no need for serfs under the empire."

Xu Zhixian nodded slightly: "I understand that the army has been preparing for the entry into Tibet, and the operations in Sichuan have been continuing. Now our army has adopted many means such as continuous recruitment and acceptance of surrendered land to advance the front line. After arriving at Litang, west of the Yalong River, the next step is to continue westward to the upper and middle reaches of the Jinsha River.”

"The engineering troops are also continuing to build the road from Chengdu to the front line. The Dadu River Iron Chain Bridge across the Dadu River and many other iron chain bridges have been completed."

"Through this supply channel, coupled with the gathering and reclamation of troops in the local area, it has been able to initially supply the troops needed for combat in the Xikang area."

"In the Qinghai area in the north, our army has gone deep into the Qinghai area to fight against the local chieftain and the Heshuo Special Forces. At present, it has a great combat advantage in this area, and the successive defeats in the Qinghai area are also the pressure of the Heshuo Special Forces. It is an important reason to increase, and even force to submit to us!"

Luo Zhixue said: "You are doing well in Qinghai. If you continue like this, I look forward to the near future when the dragon flag of the empire will be planted on the Potala Palace!"

Xu Zhixian said: "The millions of soldiers in the empire will surely live up to His Majesty's expectations!"

Luo Zhixue waved his hand: "Go!"

After Xu Zhixian and Song Zhang retreated, Luo Zhixue looked at the large map on the wall, and then picked up the report of Sichuan Governor Cheng Yingzheng again.

At the back of this report, there is also Cheng Yingzheng's suggestion for the governance of the Kangba area. He said that if you want to go to Tibet, you must first be healthy.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Kangba area was outside the rule of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and if it survived, it would accept the so-called chieftain canonization, which caused the Ming Dynasty to lose its actual control over the Kangba area.

After losing the actual control of the Kham area, it naturally lost control of the snow area.

For this reason, Cheng Yingzheng, governor of Sichuan Province, suggested that under the general policy of establishing counties in the wasteland of Kangba area, further directly establish provinces in this area.

The purpose of setting up a province in the Kham area is very clear and pure, which is to continue to promote local reforms and cooperate with military operations.

The core work is to thoroughly and comprehensively cooperate with the military to eradicate the local chieftain forces, so as to uproot the chieftain forces without leaving any hidden dangers.

And this kind of cooperation work was previously in charge of the governor of Sichuan, but the governor of Sichuan is stationed in Chengdu, which is too far away, and the terrain is very complicated, and the exchange of letters between personnel is very troublesome, and it takes several months at every turn.

And when there is any emergency, the cucumber dishes will be cold for several months.

Logically speaking, these places should actually be set up as military jurisdictions, and it would be more convenient for the military to directly manage them. For example, the Xingdusi of the Ming Dynasty and the general jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty all have similar models.

However, in the Great Chu Empire, the separation of military and government is a major principle, so it is impossible to set up a purely military jurisdiction, allowing the military to directly handle all local affairs, and many things have to be coordinated by civilian officials.

On the other hand, if the civil servants' governor's residence is too far away, they will naturally not be able to cooperate.

It was because of these reasons that the Great Chu Empire established provinces directly in large areas in the north with vast land and sparsely populated areas, instead of allowing neighboring provinces to concurrently manage them, or directly setting up military-administered areas.

Liaobei Province, Heishui Province, and Monan Province are all products of special contemporary policies.

The establishment of a province in the Kangba area is also a product of the same policy. Its significance is to cooperate with the military to clean up the remnants of the local chieftains, and incidentally provide logistical support for the subsequent military's further entry into Tibet.

Regarding the issue of Anzang, Luo Zhixue would not make a random decision, but brought this issue to the council meeting for the officials to discuss.

Naturally, during the discussion, some people agreed, some opposed, and some people put forward more opinions, such as adding parts of northwestern Yunnan and Qinghai to form a larger province.

In short, there were all kinds of opinions, and Luo Zhixue had heard all of them, but he didn't express his opinion in person.

This kind of dispute is a matter of high price, and it is not a matter of principle. Luo Zhixue has always been very willing to delegate power, let the courtiers debate on their own, and he just approves it if there is a result.

After some debate among the courtiers, it was finally decided to set up the Kangba region as a province. The Chuanbian area in western Sichuan, the area under the actual control of the Great Chu Empire in some areas in northwestern Yunnan, and a large area that has not yet been actually controlled and is still under control The Kham area controlled by local chieftains and Heshuote people is set as Kham Province, and the governor's residence is Muya.

The newly established Kangba Province temporarily governs 33 counties in five prefectures...but a considerable part of it, especially the Kangxi area is still in the hands of Gush Khan of the Heshuo Tebu and many local chieftains.

But this is not important, not to mention that Kangba Province still has some actual control areas, even if it is a snow area that has no actual control area in Banmao, the Great Chu Empire has already set up Kangxi Province in advance, um, it means Kangxi Province Provinces in the area west of the Ba area...

It's just that Kangxi Province didn't appoint a full-time governor, but first let the Khamba governor concurrently...

It can also be seen from this that the Great Chu Empire is bound to win the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, not only the Khamba region, but also the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region. The Great Chu Empire must take it back and exercise actual control and rule.

Luo Zhixue never thought that, like the traditional central dynasty, only controlling this plateau area through the vassal state system would cause all kinds of troubles sooner or later.

It's better to just sweep over, sweep all the local chieftains, and other messy things into the historical garbage dump, and then set up administrative agencies at the provincial, government, and county levels according to tradition to educate the herdsmen.

By continuously changing their cultural language, clothing, living habits and even their thoughts, and through continuous intermarriage.

Let them completely become undisputed Han Chinese from culture to blood.

This is also the consistent policy of the Great Chu Empire's foreign border areas!
Let the local people integrate into the Huaxia family as much as possible.

A multi-ethnic country is inherently prone to a lot of bad things.

Especially in countries where the proportion of the population of the main ethnic group is too low, the ending is often very tragic, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire... all collapsed directly.

Even in countries where the main ethnic group dominates, there are often all kinds of bad things inside, especially after the awakening of nationalism, some non-subject ethnic groups will make various troubles, even seek independence, and engage in massacres and so on.

The notorious Rwandan genocide is a typical ethnic conflict.

And what's more interesting is that the two major ethnic groups in Rwanda are the two ethnic groups that the former colonists directly forcibly created with simple appearance and body shape for the convenience of management...

Even in the developed countries, these things are indispensable. Catalonia in Spain, Ireland in the United Kingdom, and even Scotland now want to play independence.

Luo Zhixue didn't want a so-called nation to suddenly appear in his empire decades later, and then seek so-called independence, that would be too nonsense.

So Luo Zhixue plays fusion like the ancestors in the past thousands of years...

We all belong to the same nation, so naturally there will be fewer troubles, and we can work together to build a beautiful homeland.

During this fusion process, most of the local people have no opinion. They only need to eat a bite to live a good life, and they don't care whether the emperor, chieftain, or sweat is on top.

I don't mind changing into Hanfu, using chopsticks, and speaking Chinese.

They were even quite happy to be able to live under the rule of a civilized country called Da Chu.

Under the rule of Dachu, let’s not talk about whether it is good or not, but no matter what, it is much better than the chieftains being serfs!

Those who really have opinions on the integration policy, and even take actions to actually oppose it, are those local upper-class dignitaries who actually control local power and are unwilling to give up their power, such as chieftains.

And these people were also the target groups that the Chu army focused on suppressing.

Even if all the opponents cannot be wiped out directly, it can still destroy the foundation of their survival. Even if they hide well, they can only live in hiding like mice for the rest of their lives. Sorry for the storm.

(End of this chapter)