Zhu Gaoxu galloped to the edge of a lava stone platform, and looked into the distance, a gray city appeared near the river bay.

Kaipingwei! This city was originally the Shangdu of the Yuan Dynasty (Xilin Gol League), which used to be a big city, but now it has declined to the point of not being in shape. The city was now sitting alone on the earth.

From Xinghe Qianhusuo (Zhangjiakou Zhangbei County) to Kaipingwei, the distance of more than 800 miles from north to south, the depth of east and west is wider, and there are only two post stations along the way. The imperial court's control over this place can only be regarded as better than nothing.

This journey of more than 800 miles, the Ming army walked for about 20 days. There were no hostile encounters along the way, and even people were rarely seen. The soldiers suddenly saw the city, and let out a burst of excited shouts from far and near.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his horse's head, made a detour back to the post road, and then followed the army and horses and continued to march in the direction of the Kaiping Acropolis.

The city was very old and dilapidated, and most of the soldiers who came to greet him were in rags. Zhu Gaoxu looked all the way and found that the only bright thing in the Acropolis was a brand-new military flag with the word "Ming" on the city tower, which was probably replaced.

The various divisions arrived at the acropolis one after another, and the army camped inside and outside the city.

According to the officials, the city was the northernmost garrison in the area west of Nuergandusi, and because of its remoteness and inconvenient supplies, it was more often harassed by Tatars and suffered casualties; So no one wanted to come here, and the sergeant's escape was extremely serious. Now many of the soldiers here are sinful people who have been exiled here.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, this acropolis has been abandoned from time to time, and the most recent time the garrison was restored was in Yongle for four years; Of course, most of the sources of military households are exiles.

On the marching road north of Pass Pass (Zhangjiakou), Zhu Gaoxu sent people to set up four warehouses in advance. One is in Xinghe Shouyu Thousand Households (Zhangbei County), and the other two are on the post station; And one of the most important warehouses is here.

It was not very convenient to transport grain here, the number of troops was too large, the amount of grain needed was huge, and the military rations that had been transported to the Kaipingwei warehouse were not enough. Zhu Gaoxu also ordered Qi Tai to store a part of the military rations in the warehouse here for use on the return trip.

The military households of Kaipingwei were ragged and untidy. Zhu Gaoxu was not very relieved, and left another 1,000 infantry to assist in the defense warehouse......

"In order to save the consumption of military rations, we will set off tomorrow and continue to the north!" Zhu Gaoxu simply issued military orders in the Chinese army. He then left the hall and walked straight through the hall to enter, and the civil and military officers behind him bowed one after another: "Wait for the order!" Congratulations to the Holy One. ”

There hasn't been any military situation lately, and the strikers haven't encountered anything, so there's nothing to discuss in military affairs. On the contrary, a cabinet file was sent from Jingshi and Kuaima, and Zhu Gaoxu wanted to take advantage of today's settlement and read it quickly.

After leaving Kaipingwei, there was no official post road of the Ming Dynasty in the north, and it was extremely inconvenient to pass official documents. The next time Zhu Gaoxu gives orders to the imperial court, it is likely to be the time to return.

When Zhu Gaoxu walked into the signing room, he suddenly saw that the ink had been polished, and the things on the table were very neatly arranged.

He turned his head to look at Duan Xue Hat, who was standing next to him holding a sword in both arms. Duan Xue pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

After a while, the virtuous lord came over, wearing a high-waisted Luo skirt with a simple pattern, holding a teacup and gently placing it on the table. Zhu Gaoxu immediately understood that these things were all done by the virtuous master.

Zhu Gaoxu had just opened the file in his hand and was about to get the brush on the inkstone, when he found that the virtuous master had already handed the pen to him. Zhu Gaoxu turned her head to look, and as soon as the eyes of the two of them touched, her face flushed, and she smiled embarrassedly, and shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.

And Duan Xue Hate still stood by the wall without saying a word, observing the virtuous lord with an expressionless face. If you don't pay attention, no one will know where she is standing.

Seeing that the virtuous lord was so attentive, Zhu Gaoxu took the initiative to speak while reading the dossier: "This trip is far away, can you still stand it?" ”

"As long as the Holy One is here, I think everything is fine. The landscape of Kaipingwei is really beautiful. The virtuous lord said softly.

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu habitually made a voice in response.

The virtuous lord said: "The territory of the Ming Dynasty is very vast, but it is a little barren. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "The border land is like this. ”

The signing room was quiet for a long time, and the guards reported that Qi Shangshu asked to see him. After Zhu Gaoxu nodded, Qi Tai walked in after a while, and he stepped forward and bowed: "The ministers are ordered to meet the saint." ”

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu remembered that he told Qi Tai yesterday that he would talk about it when he had time.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Qi Butang sit down." ”

Qi Tai turned his head and glanced at the virtuous lord. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu said quietly: "As soon as I return to Beijing, I will crown the virtuous and virtuous lord as Concubine Zhuang." ”

Qi Tai's face showed a sudden expression.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu asked: "I have recently thought of a possibility, will the Watt Thorn (Western Mongolia) join forces with the Tatar (Eastern Mongolia) and sneak attack us from the left flank?" ”

Qi Tai thought for a while and said: "The Tatar leader Benyali Khan is a descendant of the Yuan Dynasty's clan, and after he was embraced by Arutai as the 'Mongol' Khan, he was nominally the Great Khan of all the tribes such as Tatar and Wasang. What's more, both the Tatars and the Watts are Mongols, so it is not impossible for the saint to worry.

However, in recent years, the Tile Thorns have attacked each other with the Tatars, and there is an old feud, and it is not easy to join forces. What's more, there are also some situations in the west that may drag down the Tile Spur. After the minister took office as the secretary of the military department this year, it was found from some official documents that a war broke out between the tile spur and the 'Yili Jiangli' country. ”

Zhu Gaoxu muttered: "Yili is the previous 'Don't Lose Eight Miles'? ”

Qi Tai said: "Back to the saint, exactly." ”

After Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he also read a lot of dossiers about the Ming Dynasty. Because the name is different, he was confused at first; But then I gradually figured it out. Like this, the "Yili Lili" is roughly in the Xinjiangyili region, and the rulers have embraced the Yisi Lanism.

The main areas of activity are in the northern part of Xinjiang and the western part of Outer Mongolia. It is relatively close to the location of Yili Lane.

Qi Tai said: "At the beginning of Yongle, the Timurid Khanate, which the imperial court had been guarding against, fell apart immediately after Timur's death. In this Yili Sholi, the Ming did not recognize the legitimacy of its khanate, but in the Western Regions, it was also called the 'Eastern Chagatai Khanate', which originally submitted to the Timurid Khanate, and then broke away from Timur's vassal status, and then began to expand its territory. During the reign of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, Yili Jiangli (Eastern Chaga Khanate) began to fight with the Washorn and Hami States.

Therefore, in the past two years, Tile Spur may have to compete with Yili Sholi, and there is no time to look east. Therefore, the minister thought that it was not very likely that the tile thorn would send troops. ”

The Hami country mentioned by Qitai is in the Hami region east of Ili. The ruler was the Mongolian ancients, but he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu period, and accepted the title of king and allowed the Ming court to set up official positions such as the long history of the Han people; It is a semi-independent vassal state. The imperial army is beyond the reach of the whip, and basically doesn't care about what happens over there in peacetime...... However, when Song Sheng did not die of illness, he carried out several expeditions.

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu praised: "Qi Butang also knows the situation thousands of miles away, and I didn't misunderstand you." ”

Qi Tai hurriedly said: "The minister is in his position, and he should plan his government." ”

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while: the Eastern Chaga Khanate wanted to see the Hami State, and the Hami State had submitted to the Ming Dynasty for many years and was edicted. He intuitively felt that this Eastern Chaga Khanate might threaten the northwest frontier of the Ming Dynasty, and it could be regarded as an enemy.

The Varspur was an enemy of the Eastern Chakha Khanate, and at the same time attacked each other from time to time with the Tatar Mongols. It is no wonder that during the Jianwen and Yongle periods, the Ming court would allocate grain, grass and weapons to fund the tile thorns.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts were different from those of the previous emperors, and he felt that he could not treat the tile thorn as a friend.

"The enemy of the enemy is not necessarily a friend." Zhu Gaoxu said casually. Only then did he see that Qi Tai was still sitting on the stool, so he waved his hand lightly and said, "Let's talk about this today." ”

Qi Tai stood up and saluted and said goodbye.

At this time, the virtuous lord said softly: "The concubine is in the Xian Kingdom, and she often learns the words and classics of the Ming Dynasty, why have you never heard of those strange names?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Because those places are still far away from the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. In China, all dynasties have been trying to open up, which is why we have such a large territory. Only by forging ahead can there be hope. ”

When she heard this, her eyes lit up with adoration and novelty.

As the night deepened, Zhu Gaoxu asked the virtuous lord to go back to his room to rest. Duan Xue hated to stay by Zhu Gaoxu's side all the time, but she didn't speak, but Zhu Gaoxu still asked her to sleep and stay by his side at night.

When he walked out of the signing room, Zhu Gaoxu asked Duan Xuehate: "Is Xuege angry, why don't you speak?" ”

Duan Xue said casually: "Not very well." ”

Zhu Gaoxu was suddenly a little distressed, took her hand, and climbed up to a pavilion behind the patio. The wooden railing in front was old and broken, and seemed to have been painted but faded. On the contrary, the stars in the sky are very bright and gorgeous.

When he looked up at the starry sky, Duan Xue still spoke, making people feel that she was not very happy.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked her: "Xue Hate thinks, what are those stars?" ”

Duan Xue hated and shook his head.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and pointed to a military camp in the distance outside the city. Because of the distance, countless campfires in the barracks twinkled like stars.

He hated Duan Xue and said, "Do you see those bonfires?" Why is it so small? ”

Duan Xue glanced at Zhu Gaoxu a little confused, but still replied obediently: "Because it's far away." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "Then Xue Hate thinks that the stars in the sky are far away, or the bonfire is far away?" In fact, even if we climb thousands of feet (one thousand feet and eight feet nearly two meters) of mountain peaks, the stars we see are still like this. ”

Duan Xue's eyes lit up, and her plain expressionless appearance changed a little, and she raised her head and looked at the stars in the sky curiously.

Zhu Gaoxu said softly: "A small star, it should have been a big and big thing, right?" We shouldn't rest on our laurels. ”

Duan Xue hated no response, but her beautiful and deep eyes shone with starlight. She seemed to have escaped from the trivial matter in front of her at this moment, and her expression became a little more abrupt.