As early as after Zhu Youxiao led a large army to exterminate the Junggar tribe, the Ming Dynasty had begun to manage the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains and set up guards along the Irtysh River. 35xs Under the protection of these military strongholds, merchants from China, Tsarist Russia, Persia, and India flocked to transport goods from the Central Plains to the depths of the interior, and the ancient Silk Road was once again busy.

Unlike merchants, who valued profits, the imperial court was more concerned with how to radiate the Chinese cultural circle to the countries along the way, and maintain a large-scale military force in the Western Regions to accumulate strength for future expansion. To this end, the Ming Dynasty first split the original Shaanxi political envoys into Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, plus the newly incorporated Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, and southern Xinjiang, and unified them under the jurisdiction of the Western Theater headquartered in Lanzhou, and purposefully deepened the tentacles of the central government to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the hinterland of the Western Regions.

Looking at the Western Regions Protectorate, Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, and Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate set up during the Han and Tang dynasties, Zhu Youxiao found that the main threat to this Silk Road came from the cavalry of the two nomadic peoples, the Mongols and Tibetans. At present, the Ming Dynasty and the Mongolian steppe have the "Oirat Code" and the national alliance, and the Han and Mongolia have reached an agreement on communication and joint resistance to foreign invasion, so the only hidden danger is Tibet.

In the face of the frequent population migrations and military movements of the Ming Dynasty in Qinghai, Turpan, and southern Xinjiang, the Zangba Khan of Lhasa already felt the threat of the sword hanging over his head. Previously, the imperial court had taken back the military command of the Uszangdu Division and the Duogandu Division, and stationed a construction corps in Nyingchi. In the specific management, the proportion of mainland officials has also increased. Now the emperor has further abolished the Duogandu Division, which is under the jurisdiction of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan respectively, and at the same time builds military fortresses in the Lingzang and Guanjue generations, organizes immigrants to reclaim farmland, and lays wide gallop roads, which looks like it is going to be stationed for a long time.

Zangba Khan knew that the Ming Dynasty was boiling frogs in warm water, and every step was squeezing his strategic space, especially those rogue officials who actually organized serfs to fight local tyrants and divide the land, which was tantamount to asking for his own life. To this end, he summoned the Dharma King Dabao, the King of Interpretation, the King of Daci, and the King of Interpretation to Lhasa to discuss countermeasures and obstruct the daily activities of Ming officials; On the other hand, secret envoys were sent to the Mongolian steppe to prepare for the Ming Dynasty's military forces in the west.

The Mongol chieftains also had their own plans for the demagogy of the Zangba Khan, and they sent envoys to Beijing, asking to follow the Han people to migrate along the Silk Road, intending to share a piece of the inland trade. Zhu Youxiao accepted the Mongol tribes from the heart, but the ministers with strategic vision were keenly aware of the huge hidden dangers in this, because although there were many minority regimes in the Western Regions, powerful regimes such as the Eastern Chahatai Khanate were established by the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire was also Turkicized Mongols, and the Mughal Empire in the south.

As for how to open up the Silk Road, the imperial court was quickly divided into two factions. The reformists believed that the Western Regions and the Central Plains Dynasty had a long history of exchanges, and the two sides had deep cultural roots, and that they should follow the example of the Han and Tang dynasties to set up a capital protection palace there, which could ensure the safety of the Silk Road on the one hand, and strengthen the Ming Dynasty's rule in the region on the other. The conservatives of the Flash Dance believe that the Western Regions are mostly barren and barren land, sparsely populated and difficult to manage, and the tribes in the territory have deep grievances, and the imperial court should not go to troubled waters.

Whenever there is a disagreement at the core of power, Zhu Youxiao's decision-making level is particularly important, and he believes that the reopening of the Silk Road is beneficial to the Chinese nation, and that after entering the industrialization, the energy and water resources in these bitter cold places are more precious than gold. If Lake Baikal is still there, and the water is diverted to the northwest, who can guarantee that there will not be a second North Okura.

In order to convince everyone, Zhu Youxiao first ordered Cao Huachun and Ye Xianggao to publish a large number of "Itinerary of the Western Regions" as a first-hand information to understand the countries of the Western Regions, and then sorted out the biographies of Deng Yu, Mu Ying, Chen Cheng, Fu An and others, introducing their life deeds into textbooks and examinations, and guiding people to shift their attention to the Western Regions in disguise. With regard to Zhu Youxiao's decision, a one-sided situation soon appeared between the government and the opposition, and people could basically conclude that the Emperor of the Apocalypse wanted to take advantage of the fire and had to do those extraordinary things that he would rather know than do what he could not do, and soon the content of the court discussion was centered on how to guard against the dangers that might be encountered along the way, formulate effective ethnic policies, and consolidate the long-term management of the central authorities.

Zhu Youxiao didn't feel strange about their transformation, in the eyes of these people, opening up the Silk Road was just paving the way for their own interests, and they wouldn't rush to the front anyway. When the specific plan has been decided, Zhu Youxiao confided his heart to everyone

"The terrain of the Central Plains is high in the west and low in the east, and the nomadic cavalry has a tendency to build from a high house in the south, and the dynasties of all dynasties have suffered a lot of losses. At present, although the Ming Dynasty and the Mongolian tribes have sworn to reconcile, it is inevitable that no one will tear up the treaty after the national strength is weakened. In order to take a long-term view, we set up three provinces in the northwest, incorporated Qinghai, Turpan, and Hetao into the imperial territory, and set up the Western Theater in Lanzhou, with the aim of launching the strategy of developing the western region through this ancient Silk Road. From an economic point of view, a thriving trade will lead to the development of the state capitals along the route, which will provide a good life for the inhabitants of the country, and I am happy to see that happen.

However, I valued more on the military significance, and this route, like the Qilian Mountains, separated Mongolia and Qinghai-Tibet, and the imperial court could formulate different policies to divide and conquer, and each one was broken. In addition, during the Han and Tang dynasties, the Western Regions were full of Buddha's light, and now paganism is rampant, as rulers, we have the obligation to bring Chinese civilization back to the Western Regions for the benefit of the people there. ”

Although this remark is not shocking, it is enough to leave the listener stunned. It is understandable to say that the reopening of the Silk Road to make some money, but it is a bit whimsical to want to spread Chinese civilization. Ye Xianggao, who had been excluded from the center of power for a long time, finally seized the opportunity and said with thought he was smart

"Qi Shengshang, from Suzhou Wei to the west out of Yumen Pass, west thousands of miles to Hamiwei, along the way are deserts, Gobi, grasslands, hundreds of miles without fireworks, inaccessible. During the Han and Tang dynasties, although the capital protectorate was set up for jurisdiction, it cost a lot of money and grain of the imperial court in vain every year, and with the weakening of the national strength, it gradually became useless. I Dynasty Taizu and Chengzu Wenzhi martial arts, great contributions, but only in Hami set up a guard as the west, it can be seen that the Western Regions is just a wild land, it is really not suitable to be included in the territory. ”

Ye Xianggao said what everyone thought, and seeing that there were approving eyes all around, he was smug but was scolded by Zhu Youxiao in court

"At the beginning of my dynasty, the world has been suffering for a long time, the displaced people are everywhere, waiting to be fed, and the first emperor has not been able to further expand to the west is also a last resort, with their eloquence, who can understand such sadness and helplessness? More than 200 years have passed, the territory of the Ming Dynasty has been shrinking, and the threat of foreign races has become more and more dangerous every time. Originally, I just wanted to be a king, but did Lord Ye ask Nurhachi, Huang Taiji, Zhuros, Hao Chongming, King Zanshan, and Zangba Khan, or go to Japan, South Vietnam, and Malacca to ask those vassal vassals who are constantly provoking, or go to the consulate street along the Haihe River in Tianjin to ask the Europeans, will they agree? ”

Zhu Youxiao's wording was very radical, and Ye Xianggao was so ashamed that he was red all the way to his neck, and he couldn't wait to break through the brick cracks and drill down. He had always longed to be in the cabinet or in the military department, and now he finally realized why those important officials of the court were cautious and walked on thin ice every day. As a scholar, he also knows that the Ming generation has been the king of success since he became an ancestor, but which emperor has lived a peaceful life? The Tubarians in the northwest, the Tatars and Warat in the north, the Yehe and Jianzhou departments of the Jurchens in the northeast, the Wakou and Hongmaoyi in the sea, the Tusi, South Vietnam, and Burma in the south, these side branches need to be constantly eliminated.