In the winter of 1683, Chen Ke moved his office to the western city of Yaksa, which was under the jurisdiction of the Blackwater Pioneer Brigade.

Just like the bowl of the Liao Emperor in Chinese history, Chen Ke, the captain of the Heishui Pioneer Team of the East Coast Republic, also moved from time to time in the vast jurisdiction, but unlike the Khitans, who were constantly moving throughout the year, basically changing regions every year, and taking turns between the major towns in the area under the jurisdiction of the Heishui Pioneer Team today, but it jumped out of several counties on Sakhalin Island, which was the most developed, probably because the center of gravity of the rule is now deeper and deeper into the mainland - but anyway, Sakhalin is still the most important industrial production base in the territory of the Blackwater Pioneer Team and even in the entire Far East, with the most advanced equipment, the strongest technology, and the more local investment it receives.

Since the city of Yaksa was seized by Liu Jianguo's troops, a separate regional administration has been set up, governing a series of lands bordering the Russian Empire, and the strategic location is quite important, so in recent years, it has taken a lot of effort to migrate some immigrants from other places here, including 905 immigrants from Ningshao area, 478 immigrants from Shandong, 225 Japanese ronin, 113 Koreans and more than 1,000 Qing Han prisoners (captured in the Battle of Shaoxingfu).

The arrival of these people greatly diluted the original population of Yaksa (90% Daur, Mongols, Oroqen, 10% Russians and their mestizo descendants), so that the rule of the people on the east coast over the city was no longer as deep as before. Just as Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated in the early Ming Dynasty that a large number of white people in China (i.e., the Semu people, most of whom are Muslims from the Middle East, who are the ancestors of the Hui people in today's China) "are not allowed to marry each other", Chen Ke also strictly ordered the natives of the Outer Northeast to marry their unmarried daughters to the new immigrants, on the one hand, so that these people could quickly settle down and integrate into the current social order, and on the other hand, in order to better rule the area and lay a solid foundation.

Now, this policy has been implemented for almost two years, and it is not clear how effective it will be, but Chen Ke believes that as long as this policy is persisted in time, there will be great results in the future, although it seems that a considerable part of the indigenous people of the Northeast have been forced to flee to the Qing or the Russian Empire.

Today (December 16, 1683) there is another heavy snowfall. However, the river outside Yaksa has not been "depressed" after being covered with heavy snow in winter, but continues to function as a transportation artery. Because most of the rain is concentrated in the summer, the summer land transportation in the Tohoku and the Outer Tohoku is simply an unspeakable disaster, and the roads are extremely muddy and prohibitive, and the only way to do so is through water transportation. In winter and spring, because of the freezing of the river and the heavy snowfall, the fields and rivers have become very good transportation channels. Countless dog plows and dog sleds are active on the snow or ice, transporting all kinds of supplies and people to various places.

In other words, the transportation season in the Northeast and the Outer Northeast only starts after the heavy snow freezes in winter, which is also a very strange thing, but if you think about it carefully, it is normal, who makes you not have the national highway system built by the East Coast itself with countless funds and manpower? And so it can only be, as the people of this land have done for thousands of years.

"The caravan to Nerchensk returned, bringing with them tea, farm implements, cotton cloth, woolen wool and other daily necessities, and a total profit of 7,300 roubles. We convert all of our payments and profits into livestock, which we use to support local agricultural production. By the way, some Mongols were also hired, and they all came to settle in our side with their families, because it seems that our side is more abundant in goods, which probably also requires a settlement fee. In the newly renovated Yaksa City Sentry Tower, the board of directors, who was transferred from Liaodong to serve as the garrison commander and commissioner of the regional administration, reported.

As the son of Dong Dalang, a famous fierce general in the East Coast Servant Army system, Dong Huizhong did not develop locally from the beginning, but was sent by his Lao Tzu to the new army system established by the East Coast people, starting as a big soldier, and then with good physical fitness and military quality, plus a little bit of connection—well, maybe it's more important—he quickly stood out and became an officer.

After many years of training in the First Division of the Liaodong New Army, the current board of directors has climbed to the position of captain of the army reserve, and can be regarded as a rising star in the Far Eastern New Army system. Although some people came out to talk about his father Dong Dalang, the implication was that the father and son should not be allowed to occupy two important positions, but Chen Ke, the captain of the Blackwater Pioneer Team, appreciated him very much, and was transferred to the Yaksa side after several cultivations, and jumped to the important position of the commander of the Yaksa Regional Garrison, and even because of the vacancy of the regional administrative commissioner, he also temporarily acted for this position.

After gaining the supreme power in Yaksa, an important town in the west, the board of directors also exerted all their resources to consolidate and develop the jurisdiction. First of all, he made good arrangements for the immigrants arranged by his superiors, distributing rations, livestock, and cold supplies according to the capitation, and at the same time organizing people to build shelters for these people to be able to survive the long and harsh winter. You must know that this is not an easy task, the money and supplies distributed by Gain's superiors are always very insufficient, and the treasury of Yaksa is not very abundant, which tests the ability of local officials to raise materials - in this regard, the board of directors has obviously done a good job, to the satisfaction of Captain Chen Kechen.

Second, the trade market set up by the two sides on the east bank and the Russians was slowly abandoned due to the poor location and the deterioration of the law and order situation—many Mongol or Tunguska bandits in the vicinity coveted it, and several raids, and the fact that the trade market could not be permanently garrisoned—and gradually faded away, and after repeated efforts in the board of directors, the two sides switched to regularly sending caravans into each other's border towns for trade. That is, the caravans of the two sides set out from Yaksa and Nerchensk respectively, carrying goods and gold and silver from their respective jurisdictions, and carried out bilateral trade, which greatly prospered the local economy - in this bilateral trade, the Russian side was limited by the lack of both the variety and quantity of goods, and had to export a lot of gold and silver to the east coast to balance the trade, which brought a lot of valuable funds to Yaksa, which was praised by Captain Chen.

In the end, although this guy was born as a martial artist, his investment in culture and education has never been broken. Since the opening of the Han-Mongol school in the city of Yaksa, the number of students has remained stable at more than 100, and the naturalization work depends on this - this is not a joke, perhaps the teachers of such schools are weak (because they lack enough money to hire high-quality teachers), and the student base is also poor, but the willingness of the surrounding Mongols and Tungusic people to send their children to school is itself an indication of a political attitude, that is, they are willing to accept the rule of the East Coast, and this is enough, and the East Bank government wants this kind of promise.

With such three merits, even if the "temperance envoy" in the board of directors, who is also a military and political officer, is qualified, Chen Ke will look at him more and more pleasing to the eye. When he heard the news of the smooth return of the caravan bound for the Russian-controlled trade, he turned around and said, "It's really a miraculous thing to talk about. You see, we are short of large livestock and horses (because of the large export of war horses to the south, the maintenance of horses on the east coast has declined rapidly, and we have to rely on imports to replenish them), and the Russians are short of tea, metal utensils and other goods, and we do not know how complementary the two sides are. And if everyone doesn't trade, and everyone guards their own goods, how can this life go up? And how can the government get tax revenue from it? Therefore, the matter of trade must be adhered to, and the prosperity of Yaksa and even the entire western region depends on this trade. ”

"What's more, trade has always been a great way to exert influence." "The Khalkha people who live in the steppes, the Buryats who live near Lake Baikal, and the many Tungusic tribesmen scattered across the vast plains, we can exert influence through trade," Chen continued. In these places before, who knew that we were on the Great East Coast? The reputation of the Russian Tsar and the Manchu Bogd Khan was much greater, but we were able to make a living through decades of business, through victories in wars, and through the influence of strong trade. This successful experience, of course, we must continue! You see, this caravan of ours brought back not only a lot of livestock from the Russians, but also a lot of people, which I think is more valuable than those livestock. It is normal for some people to leave for the Russians because they are dissatisfied with our policies, and naturally there are people who defect from the Russians because they admire our high standard of living. Our goal in the future is to make fewer and fewer Tungusic people leave our territory, and more and more Tungusic people leave Russian land. In the outer northeast, there is no food and everything is empty! ”

"Captain Chen, what you're saying is that no one can't do anything." "In the last year, some Buraku have gone, but many more have come, and many of them are Khalkha or Buryats, some have fled because they are dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Russians, and some have been driven away by the local Mongols," the board replied respectfully. In short, I have let these people gather up, and organize and organize them well, they are very crucial to the next step to complete Captain Chen's plan to go south. ”

To put it simply, after consolidating Yaksa and the surrounding areas, Chen Ke intended to take advantage of the strategic location here to hoard troops, grain and grass and other materials, and then use the collected Mongol tribes as the forerunner and the "leading party" to go south into the Hulunbuir grassland, which is still under the control of the Qing court, or through trade, or through bribery, or through war, etc., to control the local Mongol tribes, large and small, and extend the power of the people on the east coast to this vast steppe.

And once the people on the east coast successfully entered the Hulunbuir grassland and gained a firm foothold, then it was obvious that they could threaten the Qing State's Brain Wencheng Metropolitan from the flank. At that time, it is believed that under the joint attack of Harbin and Hulunbuir, the troubles of the Qing people will become infinite. The chairman felt that this Brain Wencheng was already at a disadvantage in the competition in Harbin Fort, Model Fort and other places, and had to take the initiative to sue for peace, and after receiving a flank blow from the direction of Hulunbuir, the so-called Brain Wencheng Metropolitan Area had to give up.

And once this is abandoned, then what foothold can the Manchus have in the entire North Manchurian region? What prestige is there? What will the local Mongols and Tungusic people think? I am afraid that the complete fall of the entire North Manchurian is not far off.

Of course, the Hulunbuir Grassland Manchu Qing Dynasty operated for many years, and established its rule here intermittently from the Huangtaiji era. The local Mongolian nobles also only recognized the Manchu Bogd Khan, and they did not mince words about the East Coast and the Russians, and they were good dogs. Therefore, it is conceivable that after the strategic implementation of the easterners going south into Hulunbuir - in fact, the first stage has already begun, and since the middle of this year, there have been several small and small teams that have infiltrated the south, and are still struggling to maintain it - the local Mongolian nobles are not fools, of course, they will rise up to resist and ask the Qing court for help, so this is a long-term process, a matter of competition for will and war potential, and Chen Ke intends to implement it as a long-term strategy.

"The matter of infiltrating the Hulunbuir grassland is a grand strategy, and it cannot be rushed. At present, Company Commander Wei's men are still holding on over there, right? Chen Ke wrapped in a fur coat and walked around the sentry tower, only to hear him say: "After this winter, when the weather warms up next year, it will be a big test." There are a lot of Mongols living there, and they are also very brave and good at fighting, and they have been controlled by Manchurian brains for many years, and they are our fierce enemies, and they must be taken seriously. You must also be prepared with both hands, as soon as something goes wrong, immediately send follow-up troops to cross the river to the south to respond, and you can't let Company Commander Wei and them all fold there. Of course, if possible, the bridgehead still has to be kept, and the Hulunbuir grassland is fought with the Manchus, and it is not possible to have a safe base. ”

"I understand. After the beginning of the spring, I will find a way to free up a batch of materials and personnel to form a reserve army to go south, pay attention to the situation in the south at any time, and maintain close contact with Company Commander Wei and them, and nothing will happen. Dong Huizhong replied: "Sooner or later, the Hulunbuir grassland will completely fall into our hands, and I am convinced of this." ”