Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 550

"Sorry..."

When the time entered the twelfth lunar month, a heavy snow began to cover the north of Daming.

Looking down from a high altitude, in the vast snow-covered plateau, what comes into view is a piece of pure white, occasionally revealing brown land, which makes people feel that they are living in the world.

In the season of minus [-] degrees, in people's inherent impression, this time is often the time when the north wind is howling, the snow is falling, and people are mostly warming up at home.

However, amidst the panting of the horses, a team in cloth face armor unexpectedly appeared in the snow.

They headed west along the frozen Onan River, and the fiery red mandarin duck war jackets on their bodies were like a flame in the snow field, burning continuously and moving slowly...

"Be careful under the horse's hooves. If you step on some mouse holes, and the horse and man fall down and freeze to death in the snow, no one else is to blame!"

The voice of Qianhu Guan rang out, which cheered up the young soldiers who were guarding the center of the cavalry.

"Li Dingguo! Keep an eye on your soldiers!"

"Yes!"

Officer Qianhu rode his horse past a young general and called out his name.

Faced with the reminder from the Qianhu official, Li Dingguo, who was wearing a cloth mask, also responded with an immature voice.

He rode out of the team and scanned his soldiers. Although his cheeks were cold, his heart was extremely hot.

This is the Anbei Mansion in Shanyu Province, and Li Dingguo and the others are currently going to Hulanhu, which was renamed Anbei County, as a replacement.

Although Mobei is cold in winter, there is rarely such a large amount of snow.

It can be said that Li Dingguo and the others came by accident. The heavy snow this time made their defense change extremely difficult.

Li Dingguo on horseback looked to the north, and the stretch of Burhan Mountain had been covered with white snow, and when he looked up, there was thick snow everywhere.

"Baihu, do you think Langjuxu Mountain is here?"

Li Dingguo's team is all freshmen who graduated from Yanshan Military Academy. As educated soldiers, everyone knows the story of Huo Qubing's sealing of the wolf to Xuxu. Everyone wants to know if Bu'erhan Mountain is the wolf living in Xushan.

In this regard, due to the long history, it is difficult to verify it, but Li Dingguo has heard his highness explain that the name of Langjuxu Mountain is different in each era, but if we really want to find out the real location of Langjuxu Mountain , then it should be hidden in Burhan Mountain.

"It should be here, but I don't know which mountain inside it is."

Li Dingguo responded to the little flag officer, and at the same time turned his horse's head to follow the soldiers and horses to the west.

Going west along the Onan River, they will soon arrive at Anbei County, the westernmost city of Daming in Mobei.

Shanyu Province, as the proof that Daming inherited Datang Shanyu Duhufu, the name of this province full of foreign names will not make people uncomfortable, but it will make them always remember that this place has been the place of Daming since ancient times. territory.

Leading the Xiao cavalry guards to switch defenses was Cao Bianjiao, who was about to set off without a break after arriving in the capital.

At this moment, his short beard is full of icy slag, but as a general, he doesn't care about the bitter cold weather.

After all, no matter how cold it is, it is much better than the plateau climate of Dogan.

Although the Mongolian Plateau is also a plateau, it is still insignificant compared to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so Cao Bianjiao has nothing to adapt to.

He led the Xiaoqiwei all the way to the west, and the team stretched long in the snow.

The silvery white front seems to imply that everyone's road has no end.

It's just that such a hint is very insignificant in front of the gradually conspicuous city.

The army is like a fiery red dragon, rushing towards the gray-brown city in the white world.

As they approached, the soldiers at the top of the city also found them. The city gate was opened, and the unfinished stone bridge was supported by wood. Below it was the frozen moat, as hard as iron plates.

It seemed that he hadn't seen anyone else for too long, the Tiance guards stationed here poured out from Anbei County, and embraced the soldiers of Xiaoqi Guards.

Some of them took over the weapons, some helped to pat the snow, and some helped to get the packages. In short, it was very lively outside Anbei County for a while, and the commanders of the two armies also met at this moment.

"Cao family boy, how are you? Have you tasted the bitter cold in Mobei?"

"Compared to Wu Sizang, this is nothing!"

Sun Shoufa rushed forward on his horse, and greeted Cao Bianjiao with a big smile. Cao Bianjiao also responded with a smile. After all, Sun Shoufa was from the same generation as his uncle.

"Let's go! Advance to the city and let you see the Anbei City I supervised!"

Sun Shoufa threw Cao Bianjiao a pot of hot wine for warming up, Cao Bianjiao was not pretentious, opened it and poured it in.

People in the Ming Dynasty did not like to drink the so-called baijiu in later generations. More people liked rice wine, rice wine, and fruit wine.

It is very uncomfortable to drink rice wine when it is cold, but as long as it is slightly heated, it will make people feel happy in the mouth, and they will unconsciously want to drink a second cup.

Cao Bianjiao breathed a sigh of relief, then got off his horse and shouted behind him: "Call Li Dingguo to accompany the team!"

After all, he and Sun Shoufa walked into the city with a smile.

Li Dingguo, who was arranging the troops of the headquarters, was summoned, and trotted all the way to keep up with the two of them in armor.

Due to the lack of resources in Mobei, Anbei City was built with cement and stones as a whole.

Although it is called Anbei City, it is the provincial government of Shanyu Province and the prefectural government of Anbei Prefecture. Therefore, the whole city is divided into inner and outer cities, with a circumference of twelve miles.

As the most important town in Mobei, Zhu Youjian personally designed the city. The city is four feet high, with 48 forts and eight towers. It has a large circle shape and a moat around the city.

There are eight urns on the four sides of the city, shaped like the shoulders and feet of a turtle, covering an area of ​​more than [-] mu. After completion, it can accommodate [-] people.

Because it is along the Onan River, there is a moat drawn from the Onan River around the city, which is about three feet wide and seven feet deep. It is also called Langcheng because it is located in the south of Langjuxu Mountain.

In the city, there is a street for government offices such as the General Military Mansion and the Chief Secretary, as well as two long streets from east to west for people to live and do business, and more than [-] squares and cities for residence.

The underground of the entire city not only has sewers, but also a running water system driven by steam engines, and a heating yard responsible for heating in winter.

Of course, these are all part of the future planning. At present, the time for taking down the city is too short, and many things have not been completed yet. Even the construction depends on soldiers and some residents.

"There are now [-] immigrant people in the city. There are four market towns and [-] villages in the surrounding area, just like those shown on the map."

On the city wall, Sun Shoufa introduced the situation of Shanyu Province and Anbei Mansion:

"In the four towns and sixteen villages around Anbei Prefecture, there are more than 3000 people who have migrated here."

"Most of them migrated here this year, so the entire Anbei Prefecture only has the cultivated land reclaimed by the northern captives before."

"The land of Mobei now has two prefectures and eight counties, more than 12 people, and more than 4000 mu of cultivated land, so there are not many soldiers and horses that can be raised."

"The Anbei Mansion where you changed defense only has more than 3000 mu of arable land. The tractors are temporarily given to Hanhai Mansion in the east. Their side is safer."

"After the spring of next year, the imperial court will send a thousand tractors to Anbei Mansion, but these matters will be handled by civil servants, so you don't have to worry about them."

"In addition, there are only 1 people in your Anbei Prefecture, of which 5000 are herders, and there are more than [-] farmers, and basically all the arable land is distributed to them."

"According to the situation in this ghost place, even if a thousand tractors are sent every year, it may take several years to be self-sufficient. Therefore, there is only one guard stationed in the army, and the food needs to be transferred from Modong Province."

"The northern captives in the west dare not invade, and have already moved westward to Kebuduo at the foot of the Jinshan Mountain, which is more than 800 miles away from here."

"In short, here is to train troops and guard the soil. Don't engage in any expeditions, and don't go to wasteland. There is not enough food, and the expeditionary army will easily run out of food."

Sun Shoufa told Cao Bianjiao about the situation in Shanyu Province and Anbei Mansion, and Cao Bianjiao listened all the time, and asked people to write down everything Sun Shoufa said.

After Sun Shoufa finished speaking, Cao Bianjiao also turned his head to look at Li Dingguo at the end of the team, and asked jokingly:

"Li Dingguo, do you think this place is suitable for stability?"

"Return to the general soldier..." Li Dingguo seemed to have expected that Cao Bianjiao would ask questions, so he was already prepared, so he bowed and replied:
"Looking at the power of the country, as long as the court needs it, it will be able to use this place as a base in the next year to launch tens of thousands of cavalry expeditions against Zhasak Tulu."

"The next year?"

"Is the kid joking?"

"Thinking about war is too childish..."

Li Dingguo's words made many generals shake their heads and joke, even Cao Bianjiao and Sun Shoufa felt that Li Dingguo's words were a little out of mouth.

Expedition Helin and Xiaohai (Lake Baikal) from Anbei City in Anbei Prefecture, and tens of thousands of cavalry will also be dispatched.

Just talking about the distance and the mobilization of soldiers and horses, this kind of battle requires at least [-] stones of food and grass, and no less than [-] civilians to drive and transport.

Taking Mobei's grain yield per mu as an example, one hundred thousand shi of grain requires at least [-] to [-] mu of arable land to harvest.

Looking at it this way, it seems not much, but the problem is that there are more than 14 soldiers and civilians in Shanyu Province, and the food they eat, including military horses, mules, and draft horses, must be at least 70 million shi.

At present, Modong Province cannot be self-sufficient, and the food outside the customs depends entirely on the supply inside the customs.

If you want to transport 70 million shi from Beizhili, which is more than 3000 miles away, you need to bring at least 400 million shi of grain when you start.

The basic needs of the military and civilians require 400 million shimimai expenditures, not to mention expeditions.

Therefore, [-] shi of food may not seem like much, but for the soldiers and civilians of Shanyu Province, it can be said to be an unbearable burden.

"As far as Guochao's tractor output is concerned, as long as His Highness is willing, tens of thousands of tractors can be transferred to Anbei Prefecture, so that 10,000+ mu of arable land can be reclaimed within a year."

"Counting these cultivated lands into Anbei Mansion's own cultivated land, not to mention sending [-] troops, even [-] are more than enough."

Li Dingguo said neither humble nor overbearing, which surprised many generals who did not understand the national power of the Ming Dynasty.

Although they know that tractors are of great help to agricultural production, they don't know the output of Daming tractors at all.

Now after what Li Dingguo said, they knew that Zhu Youjian didn't put too much energy on Shan Yusheng.

"According to what you said, as long as His Highness thinks, Guochao doesn't have to wait for the railway to be built in Anbei, and we can recover the two mansions of Yunzhong and Yanran?"

Sun Shoufa knew Li Dingguo the best, and knew that he knew a lot of information that he didn't know, so he couldn't help asking curiously.

Facing the inquiry, Li Dingguo did not speak, but only bowed in response.

After a year of discussion, Shanyu Province is now subdivided into four prefectures, namely Anbei, Yanran, Hanhai, and Yunzhong.

According to the administrative plan, only Anbei and Hanhai belong to the Ming army. Yanran Mansion in the west of Mobei, where the Zasaktu tribe is stationed, and Yunzhong Mansion in the north of Lake Baikal have not yet been recovered.

The reason for not being able to recover is very simple, that is, Daming can't mobilize so many resources to develop north and west.

Leaving aside the fact that Daming is currently experiencing a large-scale drought, the cost of fighting in the interior alone is too much for Ming to afford.

We must know that the cost of using troops inland is several times, or even ten times, that of using troops along the coast.

Although the Ming Dynasty only needed [-] cavalry to sweep Mobei, recover the two prefectures, conquer the Western Regions along the way, and recover Anxi, Beiting, Mengchi and other places in the Tang Dynasty, these are invalid expansions.

Only by immigrating to the border, leaving the Han culture in the local area, establishing a long-term rule, and the administrative team to collect taxes, can these places be stabilized.

Although the Ming Dynasty could imitate the Qing Dynasty and invest millions of taels each year to stabilize Mongolia and Xinjiang, but with the temperament of the Confucian scholars, if the local production cannot be produced, they will persuade Ming Xuanzong to throw away Jiaozhi. Later kings abandoned this vast territory.

Therefore, even if he had the strength to recover the remaining places in the Western Regions and Mobei, Zhu Youjian did not order troops for a long time, but was digesting some undigested territories.

"How is the construction of the Mobei Railway going?"

After all, Cao Bianjiao of this plane has also studied books such as "Yanshan Economics" and "Territory Culture" compiled by Zhu Youjian, so when he understood that Zhu Youjian had the strength not to do it, he immediately thought of it. Zhu Youjian said the words "effectively expand the soil" on his lips.

Knowing what Zhu Youjian was waiting for, he asked the Qianhu officer behind him, and the man responded quickly after hearing the words:

"The construction just started last month. Now it will be built from Zhangjiakou to Kaiping Prefecture, and then go north to Shiwei County in Hanhai Prefecture in Shanyu Province. Then it will be divided into two."

"One route goes eastward, along the Heishui River to connect with the Liaomo Railway in Hanhai City, Modong Province."

"One line goes west and reaches Anbei City in Anbei Prefecture. The total length of the railway is 15 miles. The Ministry of Industry reported that it will be open to traffic in [-] years. If there are enough workers, it can be brought forward ten years."

"Ten years?" Cao Bianjiao frowned after listening to the words of Qianhu Guan.

When will it be ten years later? It will be 26 years after the apocalypse. At that time, King Qi may have already been a vassal.

People say that "people die and the government rests", once King Qi leaves, can Daming still open up to the outside world?

Cao Bianjiao's face was cloudy and uncertain, and no one around him knew what he was thinking. Only Li Dingguo knew the "dirtyness" of the Yanshan School long ago.

So after thinking that Cao Bianjiao was also a student of Yanshan, in order to avoid Cao Bianjiao thinking too much, Li Dingguo had to stand up and say:

"His Royal Highness should launch the Western Expedition and the campaign to recover the entire territory of Mobei around the 20th year of the Apocalypse."

Li Dingguo's sudden opening made everyone focus on him.

Facing the attention of everyone, 16-year-old Li Dingguo was not timid, but explained generously:
"The train doesn't need to arrive at Anbei City, as long as it arrives at Hanhai City, and then take the waterway Onan River to transport supplies to Anbei Mansion."

"The terrain from Modong to Hanhai Mansion is flat, similar to a plain, and it should be able to be repaired in three years."

"As for the Western Regions, the opening time of the Jingjia Railway is also in the 20th year of Tianqi, so it can be matched before and after."

Li Dingguo's generous combing made the generals look at him with admiration, of course, this did not include Cao Bianjiao.

Cao Bianjiao didn't think it was Li Dingguo's vision, but felt that Li Dingguo had enough information to make an analysis.

Cao Bianjiao has a deep memory of a passage written in the "Yanshan Strategy Book" written by Zhu Youjian.

"Intelligence is the key to the success of all operations. For the decision-making of the country and the military, military intelligence, economic intelligence, and scientific and technological intelligence are all crucial."

This point was very bright in the battle between Daming and Jianlu.

In the early days of the war between the two sides, Nurhachi relied on the intelligence of the people in Liaodong to continuously defeat the Ming army, and learned of the weaknesses of the Ming army, and even caused Zhu Youjian a big loss in his youth, so that the battle of Liaodong was preempted by Nurhachi opportunity.

That is to say, Zhu Youjian gathered enough cavalry and artillery, beheaded more than half of the elites of Jianlu in World War I, and then filled in the customs and entered Liaodong. Both military and intelligence disintegrated the offensive of the Jin army. Otherwise, according to Nurhachi's military talent, the early Ming army It's hard to compete with that.

Cao Bianjiao remembered very clearly that King Qi said a word, that is:

"My opponent is the old slave militarily, and my opponent is Huang Taiji politically. The reason why I can defeat them is mainly by dismantling their intelligence, cultivating the country's own intelligence, and then using the intelligence to find opportunities to win."

Although Cao Bianjiao felt that these two people could not be judged by King Qi, what he said was quite correct.

When generals, troops, and national power are all on par, a piece of information is enough to change the entire battlefield situation.

Perhaps in the past, the proportion of intelligence to war was not too large, but with the beginning of the industrialization process of Ming Dynasty, especially the continuous change of weapons and equipment, the proportion of intelligence to war was very large.

Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in all battles... and the information in Li Dingguo's hands is beyond the reach of Cao Bianjiao.

Thinking of this, Cao Bianjiao probably had an idea of ​​Li Dingguo's arrangements in his mind, but before that, he had to test Li Dingguo.

"In your opinion, do you need to send thousands of troops to deal with the northern captives?"

When Cao Bianjiao asked Li Dingguo, all the generals also turned their attention to him, but Li Dingguo replied neither humble nor overbearing:

"If you only want to recover Mobei, you only need to send three thousand cavalry and one envoy to defeat others without fighting."

"If you want to add the recovery of the Western Regions, then you should send more than [-] cavalry, with Hexi and Shanyu as the north and south routes, going all the way to the southern border and all the way to the northern border, so that the Western Regions can be established."

"If Huduntu is to be encircled and wiped out, the south route will go first, and after the southern border is recovered, the northern route will be surrounded by Suiye, followed by the cavalry expedition in the north route, and the interception route in the south route."

Li Dingguo's method is to pack pockets, but the premise of this tactic is that the Western Regions must be divided, otherwise Lin Danhan would run away as soon as the South Route Army regained Hami and Turpan.

"What if Hutudun unified the Western Regions in the 20th year of Tianqi?" Cao Bianjiao asked, but Li Dingguo shook his head resolutely: "This is impossible!"

"Why?" Seeing Li Dingguo's determined appearance, Sun Shoufa became interested.

"The tiger and the rabbit have great ambitions and few talents. Although they are good at military service, they are short on strategy."

"Right now, the Western Captives have formed an alliance, and the North has Oirats stalking them. However, Hutudun is still promoting the Red Sect without knowing it.

"If our army goes out of the fortress in the future, we only need to issue a call to action, and no longer pursue the past of the Karaqin, Chechen and other ministries, and the two troops will definitely come to vote."

"Without these two soldiers and horses, the Tiger Rabbit Dun has only more than a hundred thousand troops, and thirty to forty thousand soldiers and horses. How can they resist the divine power of the heavenly soldiers?"

Although Li Dingguo is still young, he is already proficient in applying politics to military affairs.

In a religious dispute, he can seize the opportunity to divide Lin Dan Khan's tribe.

Unless in the next few years, Lin Danhan suddenly announced that he would no longer promote the Red Sect and return to the Yellow Sect, otherwise his shortcoming will always exist.

As far as this method is concerned, all the generals believe that Li Dingguo, who is still a hundred households, will at least be a general in the future, or even a commander of an army.

"I want to transfer you to Yanran City in the west, what do you think?"

As soon as Cao Bianjiao opened his mouth, he sent Li Dingguo to Yanran City, the westernmost city in Anbei Mansion.

It will be the government of Yanran Mansion in the future, but right now it is only a county of Anbei Mansion.

Although it is still more than [-] miles away from the Zhasaktu tribe's station, if the Mongols of the Zhasaktu tribe take risks and attack Daming for supplies, then Li Dingguo will be on the front line.

Let the 16-year-old boy Lang lead troops to garrison Yanran City. If the news is sent back to the capital, it may cause criticism.

"The last general will fulfill his mission!"

Li Dingguo agreed without hesitation, and Cao Bianjiao nodded slightly when he saw this:
"From today onwards, you are Daiqianhu of Yanran City, but even though you are Daiqianhu, you only have the right to defend the land, not to attack."

"Yes!" Li Dingguo bowed his head in response, and Cao Bianjiao stopped talking when he saw this, but continued to stroll around Anbei City with Sun Shoufa.

On the contrary, Li Dingguo, after agreeing, he took over the Xiaoqiwei Jiazi Qianhu who was supposed to be sent to Yanran City according to the military procedures.

Many hundreds of households were still dazed when they saw Li Dingguo leaping to Daiqianhu, but Li Dingguo had already begun to arrange troops and horses to set up camp in an orderly manner.

According to the plan, they need to stay in Anbei City for three days, and then rush to Yanran City to change defenses.

For Li Dingguo's sudden promotion to Daiqianhu, many hundreds of household officials who didn't know his details were a little dissatisfied, but for many Qianhu among the Xiaoqiwei, they knew Li Dingguo very well.

Not to mention that Li Dingguo became Daiqianhu, even if he became a regular tomorrow, they would not be surprised.

After all, this is a character brought up by King Qi...

　There is a meeting in the afternoon, and the update is estimated to be at six o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)