In the wax moon, with the heavy snow covering the north again, the entire Ming Dynasty was mobilized almost overnight.

Grain from Sichuan was sent to Hexi in truckloads, and boxes of bullets made in the capital were also sent over.

Whether it was grain or bullets, they were transported by rail and train to Gansu Town, the capital of Ganzhou, about 400 miles away from Jiayuguan.

This is the latest section of the Jingjia railway to be opened, and the remaining 400 miles of the railway will be completed in the next year.

The Northern Army and Shangzhi began to move, and this time it was Tiancewei of Shangzhi who was in charge of the operation, as well as the eight battalions of the Northern Army, including Gansu, Zhangye, Wuwei, Jiuquan, Ningxia, Dunhuang, Yanran, and Anbei.

More than 18,000 people from the six battalions of Hexi rode out of Jiayuguan and marched out of the south road to recover Guazhou, Dunhuang, Hami, Turpan, Yanqi, Qiuzi, Gumo, Shule, Khotan and other southern Xinjiang regions.

More than 6,000 horsemen including the Yanran Battalion and the Anbei Battalion rode the middle road to defeat the Zasaktu Division, and recovered Helin, Beshi Bali, Yili Jiangli, Haizhili, and Tokmok.

Further north, it was to transfer troops from Lingbei City, where Cao Wenzhao was currently stationed, so that Tian Cewei could lead troops from this to bypass the northern foot of Jinshan and go south, defeat the Dzungar entrenched Yemili, and recover the northern Xinjiang region all the way.

Although they were cavalry, they also had to carry artillery, otherwise they would not be able to attack the city.

However, judging from the environment and road conditions in the Western Regions, the Yanshan ten-jin cannon was already the largest caliber artillery they could carry.

Not only that, but after departure, these artillery and baggage had to rely on animal power to escort them.

Therefore, Sharma, which Zhu Youzhen had prepared for several years, came in handy.

"Sigh the law ......"

In the horse farm at the foot of Layueyan Mountain, in the stable, looking at the tall and strong Shire horses, Zhu Youzhen, who was patrolling with Sun Shoufa and Wang Chengen, had a smile on his face.

Nearly 100 shire horses rest in the stable, and this is just one of the results of Daming's seven years of breeding shire horses.

If you walk out of this stable, you will see that there are dozens of such stables, and this is just one of the thousands of horse farms in Daming.

As the world's largest breed of horse, the Shire horse normally weighs more than a ton and can pull up to five tons of cargo.

In Daming, its average weight is one and a half tons of Ming tonnage, and it can pull eight tons of goods.

But that's the original breed, not the current breed.

After all, they are the descendants of the introduced horse breed, and their bloodlines are not so pure, so they are often less than five feet tall at the shoulders and weigh only about 1,200 catties.

But even so, they are still able to pull cargo that is more than three times their own body weight.

Such a horse was named Da Bang Ma by Zhu Youzhen, which is not very good, but it is simple and direct, so that the people can understand it.

"How many horses are there in the dynasty?"

Zhu Youzhen walked in the stable, and asked Wang Chengen without looking back, and Wang Chengen also replied with a smile: "About 560,000 horses, distributed in Beizhili, Modong, Shanyu, Hexi, Shaanxi, and other places. ”

"The number of horses that can be used for carrying and cultivating at an adult age is about 320,000."

It is not difficult to see from Wang Chengen's answer that Zhu Youzhen has already begun to lay out the conquest of the Western Regions.

320,000 horses were enough to support the weight of the Ming Dynasty's first westward expedition.

"What is the number of Kaiping Prefectures in Hexi, Mobei, and Modong?"

Zhu Youzhen fed the horses a handful of beans, turned his head and asked, and Wang Chengen also responded:

"There are more than 60,000 horses in Hexi, more than 20,000 horses in Mobei, and more than 20,000 horses in Kaiping Mansion in Modong."

There are 100,000 horses in the three places, but even if they are 100,000, they are enough to afford the army.

Zhu Youzhen looked at Sun Shoufa when he heard this: "When the heavy snow passes, you and Cao Meng will take Tian Cewei and 20,000 horses from Kaiping Mansion, as well as 20,000 herdsmen to escort 300,000 stone rice, 200,000 stone beans, and 50 Yanshan ten-pound artillery to Lingbei City." ”

"According to the journey of three thousand miles, after arriving at Lingbei City, you should still have 100,000 stone beans and 260,000 stone meters."

"Leave 60,000 stone rice and 30,000 stone beans there to Cao Wenzhao, and the rest will be used to defeat Dzungaria and Hujiasi."

"The last general commands!" Sun Shoufa responded, grinning with a mouthful of big white teeth and smiling:

"Your Highness, more than 5,000 people, more than 40,000 military horses and horses, I have never fought such a rich battle in my life......"

"Don't be careless...... Zhu Youzhen was very helpless about Sun Shoufa's attitude, shook his head and said:

"It seems rich, but there is enough food for you to fight for two months at most."

"I calculated the time, you will probably leave in February and arrive in Lingbei City in April."

"This grain is only enough for you to fight for two months, and before the grain is eaten, you must defeat the Dzungars or surrender them, and then camp troops in Yemili, waiting for the heavy men and horses in Hexi to deliver grain and grass to you."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youzhen's expression was a little grim: "These grains and grasses seem to be a lot, but if you are not careful, you will run out of food." ”

"If Batur Huntaiji is willing to lead Dzungaria to surrender, the imperial court can grant him the title of Earl of Jinshan, and by the way, reward him with 10,000 households, 1,000 households, and 100 households."

"It's best if they can surrender, if they can't, or if they surrender, then you have to be cautious."

"If you can't defeat Dzungaria in two months, then don't force it, and immediately retreat to Beshibali, by then Cao Bianjiao should have recovered there and hoarded grain and grass there."

Zhu Youzhen said that the matter was so serious, which made Sun Shoufa inevitably feel a snack, and he nodded:

"Well, I know, I definitely won't let His Highness worry about it."

"It's not that I ...... worried" Zhu Youzhen smiled bitterly and patted him on the shoulder with his hand: "Come back safely." ”

After that, Zhu Youzhen took them out of the stable, and said to the officials of the Governor's Office of the Five Armies accompanying him:

"Jiayuguan in Hexi should have hoarded 2 million stone rice and more than 600,000 stone bean feed."

"But even so, don't stop, don't stop delivering food to the front without my orders."

"In addition, the grain in Yanran City is the same, although the snow cannot be transported now, the grain in Yanran City must reach 300,000 stone before the army can set off."

"The departure time of the three soldiers and horses is tentatively set as the first day of March in Jiayuguan Mangui and Li Zicheng."

"Zhang Xianzhong and Li Dingguo of Cao Bianjiao in Yanran City are on the first day of April all the way."

"Lingbei City Sun Shoufa, Cao Meng all the way, the tenth day of the fourth month."

"Let the troops hand in the marching map before February, and there shall be no mistakes."

Zhu Youzhen gave the death order, and the officials of the Governor's Mansion also hurriedly responded.

After talking about things, the group also continued to inspect the racecourse.

In addition to the horse farm, they also went to see the pig barn that Zhu Youzhen cared about.

The large white pigs bred by the introduction of Yorkshire pigs from the Ming Dynasty have reached nearly 10 million heads, and they are distributed in the territory of the Ming provinces.

Although the current proportion of the pork market is not particularly high, at the current rate, at most, it will occupy a major market position in Daming in ten years at most.

With its popularity, coupled with the continuous migration of population, and the continuous promotion of industry......

Zhu Youzhen estimated that as long as his brother and his eldest nephew Xiao Gui Cao followed, ten years later, the people of Daming would be able to live a life of eating meat every day.

It's just that even if it is Xiao Gui Cao, it is not so easy......

"What do you mean?"

When Zhu Youzhen led people to visit the officialdom in Yanshan, Zhu Ciran in the Chunhe Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing slammed the song Shu in front of the ministers.

In the hall, more than a dozen officials led by Fang Kezhuang and Qian Qianyi were kneeling on the ground, except for Qian Qianyi's melancholy face, the others were iron-clad on the surface, as if they were doing something terrible.

"Prison country, the people of Jiangnan have been suffering for a long time, please close the weaving bureau of the southern field of the imperial horse prison, and start with the people!"

Among the ministers kneeling on the ground, Fang Kezhuang spoke loudly, and other officials also shouted loudly.

When Zhu Ciran heard this, the fist hidden in his sleeve couldn't help but clench, and he forcibly suppressed his anger and looked at Qian Qianyi, who was a little melancholy in the crowd:

"Qian Shilang, I remember that you praised the Nanchang Manufacturing Bureau for feeding more than one million people in Jiangnan this year, why are you here now?!"

"Prison State...... The minister ...... "Qian Qianyi can't say that he is bitter in his heart, he is a fart in Nanchang that he only filmed in order to get promoted."

Originally, this was nothing, after all, although Nanchang did not support millions of people, there were still hundreds of thousands of workers and mulberry farmers.

At best, his negligence was said to be exaggerated, and he was just a horse.

Who would have thought that as soon as his recital came out, he was immediately beaten into the Qi Wang Party by the Donglin Party, and a group of people excluded him.

In order not to be excluded, he accepted the impeachment organized by Fang Kezhuang, but he didn't expect that Fang Kezhuang's impeachment was in such an important place as the Weaving Bureau.

Now that he understood everything, his bowels were full of remorse......

"Prison Country! Now we are talking about the Weaving Bureau, and in the opinion of Lao Chen, not only the Weaving Bureau, but the entire South Field should be closed! ”

Fang Kezhuang pulled Qian Qianyi into the water, just to use his reputation as a Jiangnan Wenkui to strengthen his momentum.

He knew very well in his heart that Qian Qianyi only had fame and literary talent, but had no ability to be an official.

Let Qian Qianyi and Zhu Ciran face off, I am afraid that no less than Sanhe will be defeated.

"Shut up!"

Zhu Ciran opened his mouth and scolded: "Lone is asking Qian Shilang, what are you doing?!" ”

Zhu Ciran is not Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youzhen, why not show joy and anger? He doesn't care about this, he scolds when he should scold, and never lets himself be angry.

On a trip to the south, Zhu Ciran had already seen through the essence of this group of civil officials, and being strict with him and forgiving himself was their true portrayal.

"What is the situation in the imperial court right now? What about Jiangnan? Fang Shilang, you haven't been back for a few years? How have you ever been to Jiangnan? ”

"You haven't been there, and you haven't even been back to Jiangnan for years."

"With such an experience, you are embarrassed to let Lone believe you?"

"Gu Qiansu has been to Jiangnan, what Jiangnan is like, Gu knows better than you."

"What's more, my father is still in Jiangnan right now, if the people of Jiangnan are really bitter about the emperor's shop and officialdom for a long time, how can my father not know?!"

"Ten years after the Apocalypse, Uncle Qi Wang has long said that those who dare to hear about the incident will be removed from their posts and exiled, do you think that you can be bullied when you are lonely?!"

Zhu Ci burned his tongue and spit out hundreds of words without panting, so that Fang Kezhuang couldn't interject.

"Prison ......"

"Get out!"

Zhu Ciran grabbed the inkstone on the table and was about to smash it, which frightened Fang Kezhuang to the point of losing color.

"Lu Yuangao! Fork them all out for me, and fight for thirty years! ”

"Command!"

Lu Yuangao had already waited with the Han general, and now he finally heard the order, and dragged them out of the Chunhe Palace despite the abuse of Fang Kezhuang and others.

"We're all old, hit lightly."

At the same time that the Han general forked the person down, Zhu Ciran did not forget to explain Lu Yuangao again.

Lu Yuangao naturally responded, and did what he said afterwards.

Therefore, after a while, the sound of Fang Kezhuang and others being beaten sounded one after another, even if Zhu Ciran confessed that the beating was lighter, these old bones still suffered a lot.

Thirty sticks of court fighting, although it will not bloom in the ass, but it is basically impossible to walk.

Lu Yuangao notified the subordinates of various prefectures to come to pick them up, and then threw a group of old ministers outside the Donghua Gate, and let them wail no matter how they were dragged away.

Zhu Ciran's killing blow came down, and the old-fashioned old ministers who were still ready to move immediately stopped fighting.

They all saw that Zhu Ciran was not pretending, obviously Zhu Ciran also had a deep affection for Zhu Youzhen, perhaps no less than Zhu Youxiao.

Therefore, many old ministers secretly scolded Zhu Youzhen, thinking that he was demagoguery.

Even they knew in their hearts that Zhu Youzhen didn't do that, but as long as they wanted to slander, Zhu Youzhen would be difficult to whitewash.

For example, the dozen or so old ministers who were beaten, although they were beaten, they also confirmed their names as direct ministers.

As soon as Zhu Youzhen leaves Daming, everyone will admire that they dare to jump out and sing the opposite tune when Zhu Youzhen is still there, and then they will naturally pursue them.

Despite the spanking blossoms, most of this group of people still arranged Zhu Youzhen after returning home.

It is not new to write small essays to slander Zhu Youzhen, and in some of their private handiwork, Zhu Youzhen is not cruel.

It's just that when Zhu Youzhen learned about such news when he returned to Beijing, he just smiled contemptuously and didn't bother to punish them.

The more the civil servants slandered him, the more they had no choice but to vent their hatred against him.

"Let's vent...... Your chances are running out. ”

Throwing the news of Jinyiwei on the table, Zhu Youzhen also buried his head and continued to deal with it.

Also when he was dealing with the sparseness, Xu Xiake, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, completed most of the matters explained by Zhu Youzhen.

After their arrival on the American continent in October, ships began to pick up their migrants.

In the same month, the Protestant League launched an attack on the Catholic League led by Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, and João of Portugal led the Portuguese in an uprising, unleashing the Portuguese Monarchical War.

In the early morning of October 20, João led the nobles who wanted to recover the Kingdom of Portugal and occupied the royal palace in Lisbon.

After capturing the royal palace, they executed the Minister of State sent by the Kingdom of Spain, forced the Spanish garrison in Portugal to surrender, and deposed King Felipe IV of Spain, who had become King of Portugal.

João was elected King of Portugal by the nobility, calling him João IV.

After João ascended the throne, Portugal mainland and all overseas territories except Ceuta declared allegiance to the new king, João IV.

At the same time, João also announced to the overseas colonies the sale of the New World colony in exchange for the arrival of the Ming Emperor's shop.

At the same time, he sent his minister Meneses to the New World to negotiate with Xu Xiake about Portugal's withdrawal from the New World.

On December 13, while Xu Xiake settled the North American Ming army to take over the East Coast, Menezes arrived on the East Coast of America.

On December 19, Huang Fei and Menezes also led the 30,000 Dominic army south.

On January 13, 1639, Meneses persuaded the Ming army to talk about the Portuguese colonists and troops stationed in Brazil and other places.

In skirmishes, most of the Portuguese colonists and troops were escorted back to Portugal by the Ming fleet, and the Qi state's lands in the three provinces of South America were recovered.

At the same time, Menezes also conveyed João IV's thoughts.

After seeing the Ming Dynasty's low-interest loan to the Protestant League, João IV, who was worried that he would not be able to succeed in diplomacy, wanted Xu Xiake to connect Portugal with the European countries, so as to establish diplomacy with European countries, and at the same time let all countries except the Protestant League recognize Portugal's independence.

Of course, in order to defend against Spain, João IV also proposed to borrow low-interest loans from the Ming Dynasty to buy enough arms and supplies to stabilize the prices of Portuguese goods and at the same time form a standing army that could resist the Spanish invaders.

This kind of thing, Xu Xiake naturally can't be the master, so he can only send the news to Daming through carrier pigeons.

The letter also included Spain's protest against Xu Xiake, as well as their determination to recover the land of the three South American provinces.

The letter arrived in the capital on the first day of the second lunar month, along with the marching map of the three soldiers and horses of the Western Expedition.

"Don't worry about Spain's threat, but as long as he dares to invade the Qi country, he will immediately cut off all the imperial trade in Spain."

In the face of the threat from Spain, Zhu Youzhen smiled contemptuously, and a light sentence could be regarded as a response.

His attention was mainly focused on the drought situation in the country and the matter of this expedition to the west.

Therefore, with the marching map of the three soldiers and horses, he entered the palace and went to the Chunhe Palace, where he met his eldest nephew Zhu Ciran, who was immersed in reviewing the music.

The uncle and nephew first greeted politely, and then chatted about business.

"I have already seen the march map of the three soldiers and horses of the Western Expedition, the southern army will march 5,000 miles, the middle army will march 5,600 miles, and the northern army will march 3,600 miles."

After sitting down, Zhu Youzhen showed Zhu Ciran the marching map of the three soldiers and horses, and sat down in his position and said to him:

"Your father is not here, and as a prisoner, this is the first time you have supervised the military in Beijing, so you have to understand this matter."

"There are still many battles to be fought in the future, and you can't be deceived by the courtiers, so you can see more and talk less this time."

Zhu Youzhen taught Zhu Ciran as an elder, Zhu Ciran nodded seriously when he heard this, and then said with a smile:

"If my uncle is willing to transfer Li Dingguo to me as a subordinate official, then I don't need to know so much, I just listen to him."

Obviously, Zhu Ciran is still a thief to Li Dingguo, and Zhu Youzhen also smiled when he heard this: "I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you." ”

"The Yanran battalion he led this time is one of the two battalions of the Middle Route Army, and after this battle, he needs to garrison troops in the area of Anxi Broken Leaf City for three years, waiting for the next western expedition."

"After the next western expedition, I will call him back to the capital and let him serve in the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies."

As he spoke, Zhu Youzhen picked up the tea made by Lu Yuangao, took a sip, and moistened his throat.

"Isn't that at least five years away?" Zhu Ciran was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted.

With Li Dingguo's character, Zhu Youzhen wants to go to Qi State, and he will definitely follow.

But if Zhu Youzhen leaves first, then Li Dingguo can only stay in Daming temporarily.

However, even so, Zhu Ciran felt that Li Dingguo would leave.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ciran hesitated and said, "Uncle, Li Dingguo ......"

"You can't stop him, it's his decision to leave or stay, but he always has some feelings for you, and I don't think he will leave at will until the situation is stable." Zhu Youzhen said softly:

"These things, he has already figured them out, even I can't let him stay in Daming all the time."

"You and his parents are his bonds, and he won't leave easily until the bonds are gone."

"Hmm......" Zhu Ciran thought of Li Dingguo's parents, with their age, I am afraid that no matter how long they live, it will only be more than twenty years.

For more than 20 years, I am afraid that things will be stable by then, and Li Dingguo can also go to Qi with peace of mind.

"Brother Yan and Brother Jiong are both your younger brothers, although they are not the same mother, they are always brothers."

"The vassal kingdom of the two of them, I have already chosen it for them, what you need to do is to let them govern with you first, and then let them go to participate in the second western expedition, and finally govern for two or three years, and then send them to the vassal state."

Zhu Youzhen said, and also took out a map.

Zhu Ciran hurriedly cleaned up the table with Lu Yuangao and spread out the map.

On the map, Yongguo and Dingguo were arranged by Zhu Youzhen in the lower plains between the Volga and Ural rivers, as well as the plains of the northern Caucasus Mountains, the Don River, and the southern Volga River.

In this way, the Ural Mountains and the Ural River are the westernmost points of the Ming Dynasty's territory, and the two countries will be the only two Ming vassal states on the Eastern European Plain.

"If you have a brother or an heir, then seek to take the land."

Zhu Youzhen drew a circle with his fingers in Persia and Ottoman, and also pointed with his hands at the place where the Suyinshi Canal was later written.

"This place must be directly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, take here, dig a canal, ignore the Levian waterway, and collect customs duties."

Zhu Youzhen is talking, and Zhu Ciran is listening.

After saying this, Zhu Youzhen drew a circle of the new continent where the Qi country was located with his hand:

"If you want to set up an overseer here, choose this place."

He pointed at Hawaii and Yin Sabella Island with his hand, but Zhu Ciran hurriedly shook his head: "If Uncle Qi had ambitions, he would have taken the throne a long time ago, so why should he send someone to supervise him?" ”

Zhu Ciran's words frightened a circle of people, Lu Yuangao, Zhang Xiu, Liu Shun and others broke out in a cold sweat, but Zhu Youzhen and Zhu Ciran didn't care.

When Zhu Youzhen heard his words, he couldn't help but be silent for a while.

He actually thought about winning the throne from the beginning, because when he first came to this world, his feelings for Zhu Youxiao were not so deep.

But later, I don't know if it was influenced by Chongzhen's memories or the experience of getting along day and night.

Or maybe as he has been in power for too many years, he has experienced too much power that belongs to the emperor.

Anyway, he gradually lost that feeling.

He is very tired now, and he just wants to go to Qi Country to have a good rest.

Therefore, in the face of Zhu Ciran's words, he squeezed out a smile and shook his head:

"This matter is in your father and son, not in my ......"

After that, he got up and walked outside the door, Zhu Ciran also hurriedly got up, and caught up with him without wearing shoes, wanting to send him out of the East Palace.

The uncle and nephew were speechless along the way, and it wasn't until Zhu Youzhen was about to go to the elephant that Zhu Ciran had the courage to ask:

"Uncle, is it possible that the Ming Dynasty is so big that it can't accommodate two people surnamed Zhu?"

His words made Wang Chengen, who was guarding the elephant's chariot, feel tight, and subconsciously looked at Zhu Youzhen, who was getting into the car.

Zhu Youzhen stopped getting into the car, paused, and then replied without looking back:

"Fit ...... But the cost is too great. ”

Leaving this sentence, he got in the car and left.

Watching the carriage leave, Zhu Ciran couldn't understand what his uncle meant.

Perhaps only Zhu Youzhen himself can understand the meaning of his sentence just now