"Your Majesty, if you want to stabilize the Western Regions, you must first completely solve the Manchu Dynasty!"

Li Dingguo's words were not loud, but in this quiet twilight, they still seemed extremely loud.

The words clearly reached Zhu Mingzhong's ears, but he did not speak immediately, but continued to rush towards Yulin City, occasionally looking up at the front.

The ruined walls of Yulin City can already be seen faintly in front of you. Yulin, which has become an empty city, is now completely deserted, without artificial maintenance, the city walls are full of weeds, and even dwarf trees, and in a few decades, perhaps, the city walls will be overgrown with trees, and at that time, I am afraid that no one will be able to recognize this place. The city will eventually be flooded with green.

Maybe in another two or three hundred years, some scholars and archaeologists of the Ming Dynasty will come here, looking for the old city in the depths of this dense forest, and perhaps, at that time, it will become a site of civilization and attract tourists from all over the world.

Who knows?

There may be no way to predict the future now, but that doesn't prevent him from imagining some possibilities.

After a long sigh, looking at the city in the sunset, thinking about Li Dingguo's words, Zhu Mingzhong nodded and said.

"It's time to get rid of them!"

There is no need to put it off any longer, there are some problems that always need to be solved and have been dragging on for too long.

"In the past 20 years, we have been accumulating strength, and we have also seen how brutal the Manchu Qing Dynasty was, and how there were no more people everywhere they passed, and there were no less than hundreds of thousands of people in Shaanxi at that time, but when we liberated Shaanxi, there were only more than 1,000 people left, and their men and women were slaughtered, and women were taken away as slaves and maids, and they gave birth to children. The same is true of the Western Regions, millions of natives were slaughtered, even if a small number of natives escaped, they were starved to death in the mountains, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was so tyrannical, even the Mengyuan Dynasty was just like this, the local people suffered from the Manchu Qing Dynasty for a long time, and looked forward to the king for a long time! ”

Are there still people in the area?

It seems that there are no more, except for the dead, the living women were either sold by the Manchus, or they were plundered as slaves and maids, and rewarded to meritorious officers and soldiers.

It seems that many local women have been sold to the Ming ......

Ah, merchant!

Even when the Ming Dynasty was at war with the Manchus, the merchants were still chasing profits, selling the women plundered by the Manchus to various parts of the country and becoming the wives of the unemployed second sons - the second son left home, and the father and brother had the responsibility to take a wife and concubine for him. But many people are reluctant to marry their daughters to their second son, who is unemployed, and even when there is a law requiring a woman to marry at the latest age of 18 or pay a heavy tax, there are still many who do not want their daughters to "suffer" with their second son.

It is precisely because of this that Zhu Mingzhong seems to understand why the population growth in Europe is limited, not because of anything else, but because it is not easy for the second son who has no property to marry, but compared with Europe, the solution of the Ming people is simple and crude.

If you can't marry, you can buy it, and the government doesn't allow you to buy Han people, but you can buy handmaidens from overseas foreign countries. Therefore, their fathers and brothers have bought foreign handmaidens for them, and the handmaidens are actually bought back, and the second son will accept her as a concubine, and then it is natural to leave home. This is also the reason for the prevalence of the trade of foreign slaves. The trade was stimulated by the demand for concubines by the second son and the maidservants of the rich families. This trade was undoubtedly immoral in the eyes of posterity, but it was far more noble than the slave trade.

Although many traditional scholars believe that the second son marries a large number of foreign slaves and maids as concubines, and has children, the Han people are mixed with blood. But Zhu Mingzhong has always welcomed this. After all, if there is a fan girl who marries into the Ming Dynasty, it means that the Fan people will have fewer people, and the Han people will have more people. This is beneficial to the population growth of the Ming Dynasty, and can even weaken the strength of the foreign land, so that the rate of population increase will be slowed down.

In recent years, not only a large number of women from Siam, Korea, Nanyang and other places have flowed into Daming, but also a large number of women from Europe, Central Asia, India, the Middle East and other places have come to Daming as maids. They are either as the maidservants of the wealthy families, serving the master's daily life, to meet the needs of the rich people of the Ming Dynasty for maidservants, or as concubines, becoming the concubines of the second son, the influx of a large number of maidservants, stimulated the population growth of the Ming Dynasty, making the population growth of the Ming Dynasty hit a new high in recent years.

However, in the past two years, there have been fewer and fewer servant girls from the Western Regions, which shows that the local natives have become increasingly scarce under the butcher's knife of the Qing army, and even many places have reached the point of being uninhabited for thousands of miles. Now that the knife is no longer useful, it's time to address the remaining issues.

"It's time to rescue them, and not to ignore their suffering because they are exotic......"

Although it is because the knife is useless, so the remaining problems must be solved, it does not prevent Zhu Mingzhong from using high-sounding words to explain why he is sending troops now.

"So, we have to send troops, send troops to rescue them, to save them from the dire situation."

Such righteous and stern words naturally made Li Dingguo compliment His Majesty's kindness again and again, although he also knew that there were no more local people in the local area, but the high-sounding words sounded really good, and everyone liked to listen to them. As for whether there are natives or not, the important thing is that after defeating the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Shaanxi villagers who immigrated to the Western Regions can get more land. After all, after the war, a large number of meritorious officers and soldiers will settle in the local area, and there will be many captured female dependents who need to have a place to settle.

While talking, the group has come to Yulin City, the broken city wall is overgrown with weeds, many places of the city wall have collapsed, and even the city gate hole is crumbling, and it looks like it may collapse at any time.

"Your Majesty, be careful."

When entering the city, he noticed the dilapidated hole in the city gate, and Li Dingguo hurriedly reminded him.

"It's fine!"

Riding a horse directly from the city gate hole into Yulin City, the city that has been deserted is quiet, without the slightest sound, as far as the eye can see, all you see are collapsed houses, this is a dead city that has no human population. The current Yulin City is in the Western Regions, and as for here, it will be swallowed by trees in a few decades. Even now, many former houses and courtyards are overgrown with weeds and low trees.

Walking on the streets overgrown with all kinds of trees and weeds, the desolate city is extraordinarily desolate, and being in a dead and silent city always makes people feel a little frightened.

"Your Majesty, there is no one here,"

Looking at the woods growing out of those collapsed houses, Li Dingguo's heart swelled with a strange feeling, looking at this city, he could imagine how lively it was back then, the people had lived here for generations, but now, with a paper order, all the people have been moved, whether they want to or not, they must pack their bags and go to a distant foreign land.

Although there, the place where they live is still called "Yulin", but there is only one place name as a memory, and the ancestral shrines and ancestral tombs of countless families still remain here, and will eventually be swallowed by the forest. And then disappear into nature.

Thinking of seeing some tombs that had disappeared into the forest on the road, Li Dingguo couldn't help but sigh, and his expression became a little painful and depressed.

"yes, everybody's gone."

Nodding, noticing the change in Li Dingguo's expression, Zhu Mingzhong said.

"I know that they don't want to leave their hometown, but sometimes, in order to achieve some goals, there is always a price to pay, and they are moving now to live a better life, King Jin thinks so?"

His Majesty's question made Li Dingguo nod, at this time, he was in a feeling of some loss, although this was not the first time he had come to such a city, when he was in the southwest, he had witnessed how one city after another became empty cities, and the ground in the city was full of dead skeletons, and people had been killed.

But here, Yulin is different from other places, this is his hometown!

He's from Yulin!

Only now, Yulin is no longer there.

Even though he left Yulin when he was very young, but now, looking at this abandoned hometown, his emotions are inevitably a little lost.

Following behind His Majesty, he came to the front of the yamen in the city, and looked at the yamen that also collapsed, Li Dingguo suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, the minister knows what to do!"

Now, Li Dingguo seems to understand why His Majesty brought himself here, I am afraid that it is not just to inspect northern Shaanxi, but to check the vegetation restoration here, in fact, how can His Majesty Labor come in person? Every year, scholars from the academy come here to investigate, and hundreds of papers are presented every year, and His Majesty does not need to come here in person.

But now, Li Dingguo finally understood. I understood His Majesty's mind. Thinking about it now, he even felt that he was a little late-aware, and he didn't understand until now.

"It's good to get it!"

Zhu Mingzhong didn't say even a word, some things don't need to be told directly to the minister, but things always need someone to do, just like this matter, someone has to do it.

"King Jin, there are some things, even if it is another fifty years, people will not forget, but in another three hundred years, perhaps, there will be people who will complain, and they will accuse the cruelty of today's people."

Walking to the yamen and looking at the stone lion covered with vines, Zhu Mingzhong said in a deep voice.

"So, I can't do this, and I can't order anyone to do it, but someone has to do it, someone has to do it."

"Your Majesty, this is the courtier's honor!"

Li Dingguo did not hesitate at all, he understood that there were some things that His Majesty really did not facilitate direct arrangements. His Majesty is the Son of Heaven and a Ming Monarch, not a tyrant.

"However, the minister has one thing to ask for."

"Say!"

"After the extermination of Jiannu, the minister hopes to rely on Lao Lianxiang."

"I promise you to build a palace in Yulin!"

Zhu Mingzhong replied directly.

"Your Majesty, what the minister wants to return is here......"

Looking at the empty city, Li Dingguo shook his head and sighed.

"The minister wants to go back to this Yulin City, not the one in the Western Regions, besides, the minister is not suitable to stay there, after all, after everything is over, there is no room for ministers there......"

After a moment of silence, Li Dingguo said.

"And here, no matter what, is the minister's hometown, and the minister hopes to be able to spend the rest of his life here. There are ministers here, at least for the people of Yulin in the future, they at least know that there are still people in the ancestral land, and there is still a thought, which can be regarded as the only thing that the minister can do for his fellow villagers. ”

Li Dingguo's request made Zhu Mingzhong fall into deep thought, and after a long time, he said.

"King Jin, there are no people here for a hundred miles now. Living here is always a little inconvenient. ”

"The minister knows."

Nodding, Li Dingguo looked at the dilapidated city and said.

"Your Majesty, you see, although this city is abandoned, but the foundation is still there, as long as it is slightly renovated, you can live in it, and the minister's palace is built here, as for the population or something, the minister doesn't care, the grain can be transported from outside......"

Listening to Li Dingguo's narration, Zhu Mingzhong did not refuse him, pondered for a moment, and then looked at him and said.

"The Prince of the Ming Dynasty is divided, it is the rule I have set, but the King of Jin is a king with a different surname, and he cannot seal the country, but the rules are dead, people are alive, although the country cannot be sealed in the soil, but now this is the official land, it is my private business, I promise you, until the Jiannu is wiped out, after the King of Jin triumphs, I will reward the old city of Elm and the land of ten miles outside the city to the King of Jin, and return to the Jin Domain forever."

Yes!

His Majesty's words made Li Dingguo's expression change slightly, and he looked at His Majesty in surprise, what does Your Majesty mean by this? Could it be that this is a land split? In the Ming Dynasty. He can even imagine what kind of sensation this news will cause after it spreads, and he also knows that there will be any resistance, and it must be the opposition of the ministers.

"Minister, minister......"

Just when Li Dingguo squeaked and didn't know how to respond, Zhu Mingzhong smiled.

"King Jin, don't get me wrong, the use I said is that the old city of Yulin and the land ten miles outside the city are all managed by you on my behalf, and the right to use it is yours, whether you build the palace here or cultivate the industry, I and my descendants will not ask, well, this is even a royal village!" However, this Emperor Zhuang is all handed over to the King of Jin, the King of Jin...... In the future, just give me a tael of silver every year! In this way, it is good to block the mouths of the world! ”

His Majesty's words were heard in Li Dingguo's ears, which only made him excited for a while, and he hurriedly said.

"Your Majesty treats you so kindly, the minister, the minister will swear to repay Your Majesty's kindness!"

"I don't need King Jin's death to repay!"

Shaking his head, Zhu Mingzhong looked into the distance and said.

"I'm asking for something very simple!"

Turning his head to look at Li Dingguo, Zhu Mingzhong said seriously.

"I only need to set the king to bring the head of Xuanye Xiao'er to me when he triumphs, and let me sacrifice it to the Taimiao."

"Please rest assured, after the minister returns to the Western Regions this time, he will immediately send troops to crusade against Jiannu, not only to cut off his head and present it to His Majesty, but also to cut off his father's head, in order to comfort the spirit of my first emperor in the sky!"