Chapter 973 North Zhili, Great Wall, Gubeikou

（o973）

Today's first update is delivered!

North Zhili, the Great Wall, Gubeikou.

Zhang Zhun rode a war horse, stood at the gap of the Gubei Pass, and quietly stared north.

The weather in November is already quite cold. The plants around the gap have all withered. The dry and rotten grass, blown by the north wind, kept drifting up and falling towards the back of the gap. When the wind is strong, the dead grass is connected with dust, and it is sprinkled one after another, as if it is a sandstorm.

The north wind blew through one after another, blowing Zhang Zhun's cloak high and fluttering. Behind him, the uniforms of the soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army were blown tightly against his body. The soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army have a relatively strong ability to endure, and in the face of the cold, there is no big reaction, and a few civilian officials such as silence are a little unbearable.

There is a special reason for Zhang Zhun to come to Gubeikou to have a look. As the founder of the new empire in the future, of course, we must have a basic understanding of the topography of the country. In his previous life, Zhang Zhun had never been to Gubeikou, and his understanding of this place was basically blank. However, this place is very close to Jingshi, so he can't help but come and inspect it in person.

Historically, the strategic location of Gubeikou has been very important. In the past thousands of years, the nomads outside the Cypriot often entered the Cypriot from here. In later generations, the Northeast Field Army, some of which also entered the fortress from here. It can be seen that Gubeikou has been an important strategic artery between Saiwai and the Central Plains.

From here, it is the territory of the Mongolian Harasan tribe. Continuing to the northeast, you will find the location of the famous Chengde Mountain Resort. However, 400 years ago, the beautiful Chengde region was still under the control of the Mongols. And the Mongols don't see it as a tourist area at all, just as a daily pasture. Every day, large herds of horses, cattle and sheep appear here.

In fact, at that time, no one knew the term Chengde at all. In the mouths of ordinary people, this is the Hara Loop. Few people would think that such a beautiful place is always associated with war. In fact, the two Tartars' entries came from here. Before entering the Kou, the Tartars rested in the Hara Hetao, raised jīng, and then waited for the best time to enter in one fell swoop.

It can be said that Gubeikou, as well as Xifengkou in the east, are the two most serious passes that threaten the safety of the Jingshi. For the sake of the safety of the Beijing Division, the Tiger Ben Army needs to arrange defensive troops here. Zhang Zhun's initial plan was to deploy about 300 people at each pass.

Well, it's three hundred. In Zhang Zhun's opinion, 300 people are enough. Their purpose was only to monitor the movement of the Mongolian steppes, not to fight the Mongols. Zhang Zhun believed that at this time, even if the Mongols were given the courage of a whale, they would not dare to enter the Kou.

In fact, Zhang Zhun from later generations has always had a negative attitude towards defensive buildings such as the Great Wall. In fact, the Great Wall does not have much effect, it can only prevent some Xia-type attacks from attacking Xìng. If you want to guard against the invasion of a large number of nomads, you still need to start by improving the overall national strength and maintaining control over the outside of the country. If you wait until the nomads launch a major attack on the Great Wall, it will be too late.

With Zhang Zhun's xìng, he would never build the Great Wall, he would only send a large army to the Han Dynasty, repeatedly sweeping the Xiongnu, and constantly weakening the power of the nomads. In fact, as long as the power of the Central Plains regime is strong, it is not a problem to be a nomad.

On the contrary, if the regime in the Central Plains is itself dark, and there is no need for nomads to attack, it will make trouble in its own country first. It seems that at the end of the Han Dynasty and the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a stir in their own country first, and then there were nomads who went south. As long as there is no trouble in their own country, the nomads basically have no chance to go south, unless the nomads are already strong to the point of being as perverted as Genghis Khan in the past.

"My lord, there are Mongols coming."

Suddenly, Dugu Hunt hurried to report.

"Hmm."

Zhang Zhun nodded silently.

A moment later, several Mongols came to Zhang Zhun on foot. Obviously, the Mongols were a little nervous about Zhang Zhun's arrival. In front of Zhang Zhun, they didn't even dare to ride horses. After he arrived, he was also sincerely afraid, and he didn't even dare to say more.

The Mongols in these border areas have the clearest understanding of the changes in the situation in the Central Plains. What is the current situation of the Tiger Army, they know best. At this time, don't talk about them, even their Great Khan, Harashen's leader, Hadan Batel, don't dare to say a word to Zhang Zhun.

Zhang Zhun looked at the cavalry troops behind him and smiled knowingly in his heart. It seems that the Mongols misunderstood and thought that they were coming for their trouble. To be honest, Zhang Zhun likes that the Mongols have such a reaction. In front of the Tiger Army, they should be nervous. Even, they should tremble. Every new dynasty established in the Central Plains was a time when the nomads trembled. With the strength of the Tiger Army, it would be strange if the Mongols did not tremble.

"How's your winter supplies going?"

Zhang Zhun asked in a gentle tone.

He didn't really care about the situation of those Mongols, just out of polite greetings. Those Mongols obviously didn't know much about the world, and they didn't understand what Zhang Zhun meant at all. Hearing Zhang Zhun say this, he thought that Zhang Zhun really cared about them, and for a while, he went in in horror and complained about his bitterness one after another.

The supplies for the Mongols to survive the winter, of course, will not be very good. When they were in Nanluo, they did not get the slightest benefit, and they also lost a large number of men and horses. After returning to the prairie, I can only eat my old book. At the same time, they also hoarded supplies through all channels as much as possible. However, under the circumstances, the materials they could obtain were indeed too limited.

Later, the area controlled by the Tiger Ben Army became larger and larger, and the border area of Beizhili was basically controlled by the Tiger Ben Army, and the Mongols got even less materials. If they want to get supplies, they must have the approval of the Tiger Army. At that time, the Tiger Ben Army, which was bent on destroying the Tartars, naturally could not have much assistance to the Mongols.

However, compared with before, the Mongols still got more benefits from the Tiger Ben Army. Especially in tea and salt, Zhang Zhun is basically supplied openly, and the price is relatively fair. As long as you Mongolians are willing to pay for it, and the Tiger Ben Army has tea and salt, even if you ask for tens of thousands of catties at once, there is no problem.

It wasn't until he completely mastered the trade rights in the border area that Zhang Zhun realized that there was no more profitable business in the world than tea and salt. It is no wonder that the officials who presided over the border trade in the imperial court in the past were all big-headed and wealthy. Iron and silk, porcelain, and the like are completely incomparable. The profits of maritime trade are also not comparable.

Unfortunately, the nomadic population is a little smaller, and they can't digest too much tea and salt. Zhang Zhun couldn't help but fantasize that if the nomads of the world needed the tea and salt of the Tiger Army, it would be up to it. I wonder what the situation is in the Western Regions? The Indians of the Americas, don't know whether to drink tea or not?

Zhang Zhun was not worried about the Mongols making trouble. Now he doesn't take the Mongols seriously at all. As long as the Tiger Army itself is strong, there is no need for the nomads to take it to heart. In fact, with the possible advent of the industrial revolution and the rapid development of science and technology, the status of nomads will further decline.

"Silence."

Zhang Zhun shouted back.

As a meeting gift, Zhang Zhun gave those Mongolians 30 catties of salt and 30 catties of tea each. That's a good thing for nomads! With these things, they can exchange them for enough supplies to survive the winter.

……

Coming down from Gubeikou, Zhang Zhun passed by Changping again.

Changping is the location of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, except for Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum, the mausoleums of other emperors are here. This is the famous Ming Tombs in later generations...... Well, Emperor Chongzhen's mausoleum is not here, and I believe there is no chance to be buried here.

According to the report from the feedback below, when Chongzhen evacuated the Jingshi, he only removed the spiritual position of the ancestors and ancestors, and did not make too many changes to the cemetery. Legend has it that the tombs of those emperors were all raised, and once they were sealed, outsiders could no longer enter. Of course, this is for people in general.

"Silence."

Zhang Zhun suddenly shouted.

"What do you command?"

Mo Mo hurriedly came over and said cautiously.

"Take care to protect these mausoleums, and don't let the tomb robbers hollow them out."

Zhang Zhun said slowly.

"Understood."

Silent said in a low tone.

It can be seen that Silence also feels a little difficult for this task. The current Shuntian Mansion can be described as a blank sheet of paper, and there are indeed too many things he needs to do. It seems that the task of taking care of the Changping Mausoleum is difficult to complete. However, since Zhang Zhun mentioned it, no matter how difficult it is, it must be completed in a way.

In fact, Zhang Zhun also knows that his own requirements, the people below, may not be able to do it. The people buried here are all emperors. If you take out any of the funeral things, it is a rare treasure in the world. Stimulated by huge profits, it's no wonder that tomb robbers aren't crazy. The Ming Tombs of later generations don't know how many times the tomb thieves have patronized.

In order to protect the emperor's mausoleum from tomb robbers, the imperial court had a special guard army, called Xiaolingwei, which guarded these mausoleums. There are many legends about Xiaolingwei in later generations, and there are different opinions, and there are all kinds of things, but now, this Xiaolingwei has completely disappeared.

The only thing Zhang Zhun is sure of is that many of these filial piety guards who guarded the mausoleum later became professional tomb robbers. What they stole was the Emperor's Mausoleum, which they had previously cared for. The story about them is enough to write dozens of Xia said.

……

Heading west from Changping, Zhang Zhun soon arrived at Xuanfu.

Xuanfu is the support point of the northwest defense of the Beijing Division, and there is a Xuanfu Town in the nine-sided town. Because the geographical location here is indeed very important, in Zhangjiakou in later generations, there was also a group army stationed. However, the current Zhangjiakou is still a small military fortress. Under normal circumstances, only more than three hundred military households are stationed.

The main ruling body of the Xuanfu was originally the Wanquan Division. The people living around Xuanfu are basically military households. Later, the titles of Governor of Xuanfu and Governor of Xuanfu were added, which were held by high-ranking civil officials. In terms of the grade of civil officials, Xuanzhen and Liaodong are almost equal, but they are not as eye-catching as Liaodong.

When he entered the Beijing Division, Zhang Zhun had already ordered the abolition of Wanquan Dusi, Baoan Prefecture, Yanqing Prefecture, Xuanfu Military Town, and all its jurisdictions under the jurisdiction of Shuntianfu. The purpose of this is to facilitate the control of sandstorms and more effectively coordinate human, material and financial resources.

Before the arrival of the Tiger Army, a considerable number of military households in the Xuanfu area had migrated to Guanzhong with Emperor Chongzhen. However, there are also many people who remain. Those who fled with Emperor Chongzhen were naturally the high-level of the military town. Those who remain are the bottom of the military town.

The army of the Ming Dynasty was roughly divided into the Jing Army (i.e., the Beijing Battalion), the Border Army (i.e., the army of the Nine Sides), and the Duoji Army (i.e., the army of the General Guard). In general, the combat effectiveness of the border army is the strongest, and life is also the most cruel, and they have to face the threat of death every day. Due to the cruel environment, their endurance and vitality are also the strongest. As long as there is the slightest possibility, they will survive tenaciously.

According to incomplete statistics, in the area around Xuanfu, a total of about 30,000 military households remained. These 30,000 military households, plus their respective families, are about 100,000. Unlike the military households in the interior, the border troops were often harassed by the enemy and had to fight against the enemy frequently. If you don't have a heart, you may die in battle, or you may be crippled. Coupled with the perverted household registration system of the Ming Dynasty, ordinary NV people are not willing to marry in border areas.

The number of military households in Xuanfu Military Town, since the time of its establishment, has not been much. Coupled with the constant flight of people, the number is always decreasing. Every year, the imperial court had to send a large number of prisoners to Xuanfu and other places to replenish the number of fugitives. If it were in the interior, 30,000 military households, plus their respective families, would definitely be more than 200,000.

Due to the influence of the continuous entry of the Tartars, the living conditions in all parts of Xuanfu are very bad. The main manifestations are the scarcity of water resources, serious damage to water conservancy facilities, serious land drought, and most of the fields cannot be cultivated. Most of the people are panicked, and they don't have the heart to farm, for fear that another enemy will kill them.

"First, your military membership has been removed! From now on, you are free to come and go! ”

"Second, each person will be given five acres of land! No one will snatch yours! ”

"Thirdly, the border areas will be stable from now on, and you can cultivate with peace of mind!

Zhang Zhun solemnly promised.