Qinghai has the Heshuo Special Division, the Baotou area of the Qiantao is the nomadic land of the Tumut Department, and the Hui Department occupies part of the Qiantao, if the Ming army is only bounded by the Great Wall, it can still be peaceful. But once you cross the Great Wall and head north, conflict is inevitable.

Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, is not as optimistic and confident as Gao Wengui, after all, he stands taller and sees more comprehensively. Although he knew that the emperor was very strong and had a strong heart for expansion, he also knew that the emperor was calm and composed, and knew that the emperor was from a higher angle and looked at the problem more comprehensively. Moreover, he had correspondence with Zhu Yongxing, and together with the report from the Ministry of War, he was very clear about the scale of action that could be taken in the northwest at present.

"Although it is imperative to regain the Hetao area, how to act needs to be carefully considered." Li Dingguo said slowly: "First according to the Great Wall, close the pass, and then move according to the situation, this is also the meaning of long live." In addition to the military, economic means will also be developed, or the effect of victory without a war will be obtained. In other words, military operations should be limited to a certain range, and the number of troops used should also be limited to an order of magnitude. ”

"How many people are suitable?" Gao Wengui asked: "If it is a pure cavalry, it is okay to take the number of thousand and five as a unit." ”

"It's better for the cavalry not to go it alone." Li Dingguo sat up straight, thought about it and said: "My idea is to mix and form a combat unit of more than 5,000 people with 1,000 cavalry, 3,000 infantry, and more than 1,000 artillery soldiers to be stationed in key locations. The scale of the battle is limited to a maximum of three combat units. If exceeded, or cancelled, or please decide. ”

Gao Wengui thought about it, nodded with some regret, and agreed. The number of men and horses to dispatch is not determined by patting the head, but must be calculated according to the reserves of grain and grass materials, for the time being. The northwest and northeast are rockers, which must be inclined and not parallel.

"It shouldn't last long." Li Dingguo smiled and comforted: "At most, in one year, the financial situation of the imperial court will be greatly eased. Now the biggest drag is still the withering of the Northland. The saint is benevolent, and he can't bear to wait for the people to be fed. The 100,000-strong army was transferred south to eat. It's also a helpless move! ”

"Long live is a rare saint-wise monarch in five hundred years." Gao Wengui said with emotion: "Not to mention the martial arts, just Zhongxing Daming and repeating Huaxia will be unmatched." Well, even Emperor Gao can't compare to the Holy Lord. What His Royal Highness Jin said is extremely true, at most, we will wait for a year, and we will have the confidence to sweep through the East and recover the lost land of the Han family. Maybe half a year is about the same, and the two provinces of Mei and Hehe are three or four ripe a year. Jiangnan is also two or three crops a year, and with grain, everything else is easy to say. Or, when the weather is warm, the 100,000 army will move north again, and one drum can destroy the Tartars and restore Liaodong! ”

"It's unlikely." Li Dingguo shook his head, guessed and said, "It costs too much to come and go. Recruit the soldiers of the Northland and carry out the Northland campaign. The meaning of the Holy One is already clear. ”

"It's a pity that the army of the southern transfer is going to be idle." Gao Wengui has recently only focused on recruiting cavalry to fill the vacancies, and has not carefully analyzed and studied the actions of the imperial court.

"It's impossible to be idle." Li Dingguo smiled and said, "What did you do when the Guangzhou Military Region was established?" With the good examples of the two provinces of Mae and He, how could the Holy One not continue to expand his territory? Like you said. Three or four crops a year, planting one acre of land is equal to planting three or four acres! From the south to the north, this line of thinking cannot be changed. ”

"The Zheng clan of Annam, or the Champa state." Gao Wengui guessed, and then smiled. "Nine times out of ten, it's going to be over. Well, I heard that for the sake of Zong Shouyi's entry into the cabinet, the court officials and the saint argued. If Zong Shouyi can have the merit of destroying the country, maybe the Holy One will give him this opportunity! ”

"The Holy Church is very knowledgeable, so it has a large number of people who can accommodate thousands of people. Whether it is argument or opposition, the Holy One is not embarrassed by His Majesty. Li Dingguo pondered for a while and said: "But there is one point, that is, there is no room for personal gain in front of the Holy Lord of the Ming Monarch, if there is selfishness, it is also said that in the open, the Holy One can still forgive, if it is behind the back, it is an unforgivable sin!" ”

"The Holy One is too kind." Gao Wengui shook his head again and again, "Those civil officials who have powerful mouths should have cleaned up a long time ago." ”

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Dingguo frowned and reprimanded, "It is the luck of the ministers that the saint is effective in the light of the martial arts, how can there be any hope that the saint will not be punished and killed?" ”

"Ah, yes, yes, gaffe." After this reminder, Gao Wengui also remembered his origin, and hurriedly nodded again, "Benevolence is good, Benevolence Holy Lord!" ”

"Hurry up and recruit for training!" Li Dingguo waved his hand a little helplessly, "There are many athletes in the northwest, and the border people are good at riding, this shouldn't be very difficult." By the way, there is also Juntun, not to mention anything else, that alfalfa should be varied, people can eat it, and it is forage, so it will not be lacking in the future! ”

"Understood." Gao Wengui stood up, arched his hand, and said with a smile: "Then the general will retire." Hehe, go and tame the big ocean horse first, and ride early and be majestic. ”

"Go, go!" Li Dingguo waved his hand again and again, and his heart was a little itchy, the high-headed horse was indeed eye-catching, if the cavalry of the Ming army could be equipped with this horse, 10,000 would be enough to sweep the east.

……………

The strategic center of gravity in the northeast is certainly due to the shape, but the temporary slowdown in the northwest is also the result of repeated discussions and studies.

When it comes to the total strength of the Mongol tribes, it is very powerful. But in the minds of the Mongols, it is more of a tribal concept, and they will not be soft at all because of the same language and tribe when they conquer and plunder each other. At this time, Zhu Yongxing's Junggar tribe, which Zhu Yongxing regarded as a strong enemy, had just risen up, and Geerdan had not yet become the leader, and his land was far away in the Tianshan Mountains and Ili, so it was very difficult to defeat him. On the other hand, Zhu Yongxing found that it seemed to be advantageous to let the Junggar tribe be strong and let it attack and annex the northern Mongolian tribes of the Moxi Desert.

In this way, it not only saved the Ming army the trouble of defeating and subduing the Mongol tribes one by one, but also made the Dzungar tribe make many enemies, and even many Mongol tribes turned to the Ming Dynasty to seek refuge, and provided help when the Ming Dynasty used troops against Dzungar in the future.

For example, the Heshute tribe in the Qinghai-Tibet region will be an obstacle to Geerdan's eastward advance, and will also be the most likely to attach to the Ming Mongol tribes under pressure. If the historical trajectory is followed, it will be extremely convenient for the Ming army to collect green and enter Tibet, and the difficulties will be greatly reduced.

Moreover, in order to conquer or control the Mongol tribes, military pressure was very important, and political and economic means were also indispensable. At that time, the cotton wool and cotton thread used by the Mongolian herdsmen, as well as the silk and silk embroidery used by Taiji and Zaisang, all needed to be purchased from the Central Plains, and the Mongolian nobles admired the luxury goods produced in the Central Plains very much.

In this regard, there is a vivid description in Liang Fen's "The Biography of Gardan" in "Qinbian Jiluo": "It is also embroidered with a golden python and a standing python. Galdan is listed and embroidered outside, leading to each Taiji and each Yi to see it. Zhu Yi is salty and enviable, and he can't go to the clouds when he wanders. ”

Therefore, trade is another opportunity to buy and win over, and it is a good way to divide and conquer. This is similar to the Han regime in previous dynasties using tea as a weapon to control the nomads.

Gan and Shaanxi have it, and the horses are not worried. Whether it is the seizure of self-production in the Hetao area, or the exchange of various commodities through guò, the source is no longer limited to the tea and horse exchange between Yunnan and Tibet. This means that the number of cavalry of the Ming army will increase by leaps and bounds, of course, the hussars are strict and the number will be limited. At the same time, the supply of grain and grass will be hindered. But, no matter what, it only takes time, and the strength of the Ming army is unquestionable. Moreover, compared with the development and growth of the Junggar Department, the strength of the Ming army is definitely growing much faster.

Therefore, it is also quite a good strategy to let Geldan go east and west, sweep away the Mongolian tribes for the Ming army, disrupt the political state in the northwest region, defeat him with several decisive battles, and take advantage of the situation to march into the Tianshan Mountains and recover Xinjiang.

Of course, this strategy is not set in stone and has to be adjusted according to the changes in the shape. For example, the collusion between Geldan and Tsarist Russia, the assistance to the Khalkha Ministry and Tushetu Khan in their fight against Tsarist Russia, and the contradiction between Geldan of the Dzungar Department and the fallen son of Alabtan, etc., were precisely used and resolved by diplomatic means.

Obviously, the shape of the northwest is more complex than that of the northeast, and it is more challenging to deal with it with wise and flexible political means. Whether Tibet, Xinjiang, and Huijiang can be recovered smoothly and whether they can maintain long-term stability is indeed not something that can be solved unilaterally by the military.

And the decisive battle in Zhu Yongxing's mind is not only to repel the eastward advance of Geldan in the future, but to fight and completely solve it, after Geerdan, there is still a rebellion against Alabutan, and the rebellion of Lobzang Tenzin, strive to solve it together, and push the troops under the nose of Tsarist Russia in the northwest.

Compared to polar bears, the likes of Geldan are really nothing; And the competition with polar bears will also be long and arduous. At this time, I am afraid that no one knew that there was a great enemy of Tsarist Russia further north, nor did they realize that after the expulsion of the Tatars, China's foreign war had just begun.

Life is too short! Zhu Yongxing put his hands behind his back and looked at the large map hanging on the wall, Luzon, Western Regions, Southeast Asia, India, Siberia, Borneo, Java...... There is also Australia, which is only a small number of natives, and he does not know whether he will be able to realize the dream of such a vast and boundless empire in his lifetime.

Maybe you don't have to be too demanding, and leave some work for future generations to do, it's okay! As long as the country becomes strong in their own hands and establishes a political structure that can be stable for a long time, perhaps these places will not be enough for future generations to grab in the future!

"Hooray." A female official of the palace came in and bowed and said, "The new female jinshi has arrived at the main hall, please go and preside over the golden palace." ”

Zhu Yongxing nodded, straightened his clothes slightly, and stepped out. Yingying Yanyan gathered in the Golden Palace, it was really a unique scene, Zhu Yongxing thought, and a smile appeared on his face. (To be continued......)