"Phew-"

In the vast grassland of May, a vast and vast, the goshawk hovers in the sky, overlooking the fiery red "long dragon" on the land, and does not dare to fall for a long time.

On the ground, thousands of flags were unfurled, and a team of more than 100,000 people slowly marched north.

The two sides and front and back of the procession were composed of Ming soldiers wearing fiery red mandarin duck battle jackets, holding the reins of horses in one hand and spears in the other, walking forward step by step.

Some of them led two horses, while others led three horses.

Depending on the number of horses, the treatment is similar.

The thicker horses were hung with heavy armor on their backs, two buckets of emergency rations, and rain-proof coats.

On the bright armor, the translucent almost reflects the light of the blue sky and white clouds.

These soldiers are stout, and even if they don't wear armor, they can give a sense of their great strength.

In the middle of the procession, tens of thousands of baggage trucks stretched for more than ten miles, and nearly 100,000 people drove horses, pulled artillery and baggage supplies, and followed the footsteps of the soldiers with hard work.

The earth trembled with the sound of its horses' hooves, and the wheels left deep marks on the grass.

There were a few wisps of white clouds floating in the sky, the sun reflected the grassland blindly, and the wind blew, with a faint fragrance of grass, lingering on the tip of people's noses.

The grasslands are boundless, and the constant wind seems to be howling wildly, laughing or tossing the land, as if to herald an even bigger storm brewing in the near future.

Under the boundless sky, people seem incomparably small and insignificant in this irresistible grassland.

The army gradually disappeared into the distance, and the grassland returned to calm and tranquility, only those deep traces still remained on the land, leaving the footprints of the brave champion and the three armies without fear of hardships and dangers.

"Appeal ......"

The sound of the horse came out, and Xu Zengshou, who was in the middle of the team, came from the front and waved to Zhu Di on horseback:

"Brother-in-law, I have all explored, and there is no trace of Hu Qi along the post road built by the thousands of households in Ruanli River, so you can march with confidence."

Xu Zengshou's words came, but Zhu Di stroked his beard, and he glanced at his own team before he spoke:

"We can't help but take precautions, let Qiu Fu lead 3,000 cavalry out of the post road first, and then spread the news that we will cross this post road in the Haravin Mountain."

"Yes!" Xu Zengshou responded, and then ran forward.

At the same time as he left, the generals beside Zhu Di also began to speak one after another.

The first to speak was undoubtedly Zhu Neng, who was relied on by Zhu Di.

"Zhang Yu told me that this Arutai was known for its caution back then, and the biggest obstacle to our army's westward expedition was the Haravan Mountains, and the biggest obstacle was to transport grain and grass to the western foot of the Haravan Mountains five hundred miles away."

"There are now 300,000 stone of grain hoarded on the side of the Thousand Households of Ruanli River, but if you want to transport all of them to the west, you still need to lose at least one or two percent, and it will take half a month."

"Will our army directly attack Arutai with military rations, or will we wait for 300,000 stones to arrive at the western foot before attacking?"

Zhu Neng asked Zhu Di for his opinion, and Zhu Di chose to compromise after hearing it: "I am going to let Wang Yi and Qiu Fu take 20,000 cavalry and 50,000 people to the west foot together, and then choose a place upstream of the river to camp and start making military rations." ”

"In this way, when we get there, they will make at least sixteen or seven thousand stone military rations."

"This batch of military rations is enough for more than 30,000 cavalry under our command to eat for half a year."

"After that, we only need to make military rations from the more than 200,000 stone of grain that arrived at the camp, and then arrange for 3,000 horse infantry to escort 100,000 people south, then we can go all the way west along the Trouble River, and each person and horse will carry six buckets of dried beans and two buckets of military rations, which is enough for us to go out for a month."

Thinking of this, Zhu Di looked at the Haravan Mountains in the distance.

This time, they walked the mountain road in the river valley where Uliangha was completely annihilated.

The difference is that last time Zhu Di left a thousand households here, coupled with the establishment of Hechengwei, the distribution of prisoners to the army, the mountain road that they could not comb was now widened into a post road by the Ming army.

If it weren't for the lack of cement, I'm afraid Zhu Di would have wanted to build a post road from the Ruanli River to Mobei.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di also began to recuperate, waiting for the pursuit battle in the next few months.

Yes, he never thought it was a tough battle to fight, but rather that Arutai would flee west after the first encounter was frustrated.

He had already sent an emissary to Maham of Warat, hoping that Maham would help him intercept Arutai.

If Mahamu can do it, then the Ming can canonize him as king.

Of course, Zhu Di also knew that if Arutai was destroyed, the Mahamu family would be dominant, so he also sent letters to the Taiping of Wara, Bald Polo and others, and promised to crown them king after defeating the Arutai tribe.

In this way, there are three kings inside Warat, and Mahamu will naturally be restrained by the Taiping and the Bald Polo.

Whoever is bigger in these three will deal with him himself, and he can't let the Tatar department get up anyway.

He wants to suppress the prestige of the Golden Family to the minimum, so that the Golden Family can only go away from the river and cannot participate in the affairs of Mobei.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di only felt that time was passing a little slowly.

Under this torment, Zhu Di, who had been marching for a day, finally entered the range of the Haravan Mountains and successfully entered the original river valley.

The difference is that this valley was once undeveloped and was only used as a hiding place by the Uliangha to hide from the Ming army.

Today, the river valley is lined with cement embankments, and beyond the walls built along the river are large tracts of cultivated land, which may seem like no less than 100,000 acres of cultivated land.

Almost every household in the fields drove two or three oxen and used an extended version of the plow.

"Chen Mengzhang (Wang Yi), see Your Majesty, Long Live Your Majesty, Long Live ......"

At the junction of the dirt road and the cement road of the Ruanli River, Meng Zhang and Wang Yi waited here with the generals early.

Seeing Zhu Di coming, the two led the generals to salute, Zhu Di also turned over and dismounted when he saw this, helped the two of them and turned back to Xu Zengshou and Zhu Neng and smiled heartily: "You guys are camping here, I'll go to Ruanli River to have a look, and see how they are doing." ”

The valley plain of the Nguyen Le River is very large, and although a lot of arable land has been reclaimed, much of the land is still empty, enough for tens of thousands of Ming troops and nearly 100,000 people to camp.

Under Zhu Di's explanation, Zhu Neng and Xu Zengshou began to arrange for the army to camp, while he took Wang Yan and other entourages to re-mount their horses, and walked on the concrete cement road under the leadership of Wang Yi and Meng Zhang, and marched towards Ruanli River City.

"Tell me about the situation in this Nguyen Li River."

Zhu Di stroked his beard and said with a smile, Wang Yi, as the commander of the Daning Division, naturally had an unshirkable responsibility.

He said to Zhu Di: "This city was jointly built by the ministers and His Royal Highness King Ning, and the cement road outside the city is three zhang wide, six miles long in the south and five miles long in the north. ”

"The city was built in the west of the river, and the circumference of the city was twelve miles, which could accommodate 50,000 people."

"At present, there are more than 6,000 military households and their relatives in the 1,000 households in Nguyen Lihe, 1,000 soldiers stationed there, and more than 4,000 relatives, totaling nearly 12,000 people."

"More than 96,000 acres of cultivated land have been reclaimed outside the city, and there is no shortage of horses and cattle in the city, and this year's grain production is probably no less than 50,000 stones, and beans are 20,000 stones."

The situation of Ruan Lihe Thousand Households was much better than Zhu Di's estimate, and the local annual grain output of 70,000 stone alone made him extremely happy, not to mention that 20,000 of them were still beans needed for war horses.

If these 50,000 stone grain and 20,000 stone beans are to be shipped from Bohai, at least 80,000 stone grains and 30,000 stone beans will be shipped.

If it is shipped from Shandong, I am afraid that it will be able to transport 120,000 stone grains and 50,000 stone beans.

Because of this, Zhu Di felt that the thousands of households in Ruan Lihe who could produce grain were valuable.

"This place has to be vigorously developed, and it will be promoted to the town guard, and the local officials of thousands of households will be promoted to the commander of the guard!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

As soon as Zhu Di spoke, a military attache took the initiative to make a move, obviously he was the local Qianhu official.

"You do a good job for me, if the court doesn't need to transfer additional food from other places in the future, then you will do a great job!"

"Minister's Order!" Thousands of officials responded, Zhu Di also smiled and stroked his beard, thinking of his seventeenth brother.

"By the way, what about the seventeenth brother?"

Zhu Di looked around, this time he deliberately transferred Zhu Quan as a striker, just to make up for Zhu Quan's full-time logistics last time, why can't he see anyone now.

"His Royal Highness King Ning led five hundred escort cavalry and followed the Duke of Qi as the vanguard to cross the post road."

Wang Yi explained, Zhu Di didn't say anything after hearing it, after all, Zhu Quan's five hundred escort cavalry were his own.

"If all this place is cultivated, how much arable land can be cultivated, have you counted?"

Zhu Di looked at the rich river valley area, and couldn't help but ask Wang Yi and others, Wang Yi replied when he heard this: "There are many river valleys along the Ruanli River all the way to the north of this town, and I have discussed with His Royal Highness King Ning, if there are more military households in the future, you can set up 100 households and 1,000 households along the Ruanli River all the way to the northwest, and the cultivated land that can be cultivated is probably not less than one million mu." ”

"So many?" Zhu Di had never gone deep into the Ruanli River, but after he knew that the valley plain of the Ruanli River could be cultivated so much, he immediately became happy.

The more arable land that can be cultivated by the Nguyen Le River, the more food it can produce.

As long as there are enough oxen and horses, and enough people can be relocated, the local output will be enough for the northern expedition.

"This river is really good......"

Zhu Di rubbed his hands, and only felt that the second child was really developing the right development.

If the Bohai Sea is not developed, then the imperial court will naturally not be able to develop Modong, let alone stay in the Ruanli River.

It's only been about fourteen years, and the second child of his own family and the group of people under his command have run Guanwai like this, if he is given twenty or thirty years......

Zhu Di suddenly felt relieved, relieved that he had a good son who was "like himself", which was something that many kings couldn't ask for.

"Alright, let's find me a place to rest."

After listening to what Wang Yi said, Zhu Di happily prepared to find a place to rest, and Wang Yi hurriedly led the way when he heard this.

Before Zhu Di went north, he and Zhu Quan had already begun to prepare for the palace.

Zhu Di's palace in Zhenyuwei covers an area of four acres, which is not too big and not shabby.

Soon after living in it, Zhu Di snored.

If nothing else, he needs to wait here for Zhu Quan and Qiu Fu's exploration, and only start to leave after getting the exact news.

These days are one of the few days in the next few months when he can rest peacefully.

But when he was drowsy and sleeping, Zheng He in the south also ushered in his own expedition.

"Bell... Clang... Bell ......"

Early in the morning, when the morning bell of Palembang City began to ring, Zheng He, who had prepared early, also decided to set sail after a three-month rest.

Zheng He, Chen Xuan, and Cui Jun walked out of the Yamen of the Old Port Propaganda Envoy, and stood in front of the carriage, Cui Jun waved at the two: "I won't send you away, anyway, I'm tired of being together every day." ”

"Good!" Chen Xuan smiled heartily: "You take a good look at Nanyang, and when we come back, we have to take a good look at how much this Palembang has changed." ”

"How can there be room for change...... Cui Jun couldn't cry or laugh, but behind his crying and laughing, there was a new old port city.

Due to the abundance of limestone on the island of Sumatra, a cement factory was built here before Zheng He's last return.

The craftsmen brought by Zheng He to the south this time made the cement factory's technology more refined and the output higher.

Over the course of three months, the walls of Palembang were cleared of greenery and covered with concrete.

The roads in the Old Port City have been widened, the houses have been rebuilt, and the city has more than doubled in size to accommodate more than 100,000 people.

In addition, three barracks and four bazaars were built outside the city, and the wharf was renovated to accommodate hundreds of large ships of 5,000 materials.

Government schools have also sprung up in Palembang, and 10 government schools are enough to meet the needs of local children.

Palembang is a weather vane, and seeing that the imperial court has invested so many resources in Palembang, other cities where overseas Chinese and Malays gather have also begun to work hard.

From the establishment of the Old Port Propaganda Department in the Ming Dynasty to the present, there have been Malay people and overseas Chinese from Nanyang countries gathering in the Old Port, because they have all seen the determination of the Ming Dynasty to base themselves on the South Seas.

The Nanyang countries are very sad, but they have to laugh, after all, Zheng He's fleet is not a decoration, so they can only accept this "father from heaven" head-on.

"Alright, let's get in the car and go."

Zheng He teased, said hello to Cui Jun and got into the car.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan also sat down, and after a short time, the carriage left the Yamen of the Old Port Propaganda Division.

Unlike three and a half months ago, the once congested and narrow roads have become wider, and the buildings of various cultures on both sides have been bulldozed and replaced by concrete Chinese courtyards with stone and wood structures.

"I really didn't expect that three months would change so much, I don't know if this place will become more prosperous when we come back."

Chen Xuan in the carriage sighed at the changes in Palembang, and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his heart.

Zheng He on the side was holding a thick book in his hand, and there were two books on his lap that couldn't stop smiling:

"I care more about this than this."

"Huh?" Chen Xuan turned around, looked at the things in Zheng He's hand, and immediately smiled: "This should indeed be more concerned." ”

"I thought that this old port was a wild land, but I didn't want to think that there were more than 400,000 people and more than 100,000 acres of cultivated land in the wild land."

"This place is fertile, there are flocks of fruits, and the output of two acres of land is enough to feed one person, which is really a good place......"

Chen Xuan said the situation of the Old Port Propaganda Division, and Zheng He was also happy to pick up the document representing taxation and said:

"The population and arable land are good for me, but it's the tax situation that makes me so amazed."

"In the past year, the two places of Manraka and Palembang have actually received more than 500 taels of gold, more than 6,000 taels of silver, and 120,000 pieces of money."

"If this is placed in the Central Plains, I'm afraid it will also be a great tax mansion, not to mention 220,000 stone tax grain."

"Not to mention paying the two guards of Nanyangwei and the old Gangwei, even Luzon's Yulu can be paid together."

Malacca wasn't busy at the moment, at least compared to what it was after the Great Voyage, but even so, the annual tax revenue was considerable.

You must know that this is still the only situation where the Nanyang Guard, a naval guard, allows merchants to pay taxes, and in the case of only one guard, many merchant ships have evaded taxes.

If the old Gangwei also formed a combat force, so that Nanyangwei was completely liberated from the land, then it is estimated that there will be more tax silver to be obtained here.

"After I go back to the West this time, I have to ask Your Majesty and His Highness to ask the imperial court to add two naval guards."

Zheng He sighed, and their carriage also arrived at the brand-new Palembang Pier.

The two got off the bus one after another, and Zheng He ordered people to send the "Yellow Book", "Fish Scale Atlas", and "Tax and Grain Book" of the old port back to Nanjing, and then began to organize a large army to board the ship.

The merchant gangs of various countries at home and abroad followed the Western Fleet in the old port for three months, and no one dared to take the lead out of the Manchurian Strait, because there were not many pirates in the Little Western Ocean, and they were alone and would be plundered if they went to the Little Western Ocean.

They didn't dare to urge Zheng He, for fear that Zheng He would turn his face and deny people.

Fortunately, the wait paid off, and after three months of docking, they finally set foot on the voyage to the Western Ocean.

"Woo-woo-"

After a busy morning, when the noon horn sounded, hundreds of ships sailed out of the port of Palembang and headed for the Strait of Manraka in the west.

In three days, they passed through the Manraka Islands and the Manraka Strait.

Here, they saw many forts and beacons on many islands and reefs, as well as many merchant ships from Arabia.

Most of the merchant ships of this group of Arabs are about 500 materials, which can be described as 'mini' compared to the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty.

In the face of the Western Fleet, they could only scramble to avoid it, and at the same time honestly accept the inspection of the Nanyangwei Navy warships and pay taxes.

The navy would issue them an iron plaque, which would prove their entry into the Straits of Manraka to pay their taxes.

When they left the Straits of Manraka at the end of the trade, they needed to hand over the iron plate in order to be released.

The place where the Ming army collected taxes was between the Manraka Islands and the Manraka Strait, a distance of more than 130 miles.

In the vast sea, it is still difficult for dozens of warships to take care of this place, after all, they are all sailboats, even if someone is found to have evaded taxes, once the other party escapes the range of shelling, they are helpless.

Zheng and the others saw with their own eyes some Arab merchant ships trying to evade taxes and break into the South Seas.

In the past, they may have been able to evade taxes in this way, but in the face of hundreds of warships and armed merchant ships that went to the West, the end of trying to evade taxes was to meet the shelling......

"Boom, boom—"

The dull sound of artillery accompanied the smoke, and hundreds of stone shells were fired, covering the Arab merchant ship that was trying to evade taxes.

Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of officials and merchant owners, the Arab merchant ship was beaten to tatters in an instant.

Before the ship sank, two ships of 3,000 fortunes came forward to take control of it, and then, under the guidance of artillery and muskets, the Arab merchants on board accepted the punishment with good sense, handed over all the goods on board, and wrote letters at the same time.

"What's the matter with these letters?"

Standing on the deck, Chen Xuan looked at the Arab businessman who was being carried to write a letter and asked Zheng He curiously.

"The result of tax evasion is the confiscation of all commodities and the writing of letters to the merchant, who will be sent to his hometown by other ships, and his family will come with fines to ransom them."

"Can it still be like this?" Chen Xuan's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but touch his short beard, and asked at the same time, "How much is the fine for that person?" ”

"Ten times, it's not much, after all, the goods are the big head."

Zheng He calmly explained to Chen Xuan, but Chen Xuan couldn't help but sigh a few times after hearing it.

Shiguan doesn't sound like much, but in Nanjing City, it is also a savings that can only be saved by a husband who does not eat or drink for more than a year.

The ship under his gaze had thirty or forty people, and that was three or four hundred.

This is not counting the confiscated goods, if the goods are counted, the shipowner's loss is probably no less than a thousand.

Chen Xuan was a little gloating, but he also had an idea of how the navy could help the imperial court collect money.

"We went to Xiaoxiyang, and when the time comes, we will set up an officialdom, so should we collect taxes on the coastal waterway?"

Chen Xuan had already set his sights on the vast small Western waterway, but Zheng He shook his head: "Your Highness said, it is enough to add one place to Mandra, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to recover the cost in other places." ”

"It's ......" Chen Xuan thought about the topography of the Manraka Strait and other places on the map, and just wanted to admit it, but said with a smile: "I think the country of Ceylon is quite suitable for collecting taxes." ”

"Hmm" Zheng He nodded, but said embarrassedly: "People don't have a conflict with us, we can't directly shell them." ”

"I understand, I understand......" Chen Xuan nodded with a smile, Zheng He thought he really understood when he saw this, so he bowed his head and said:

"I'll go back to the ship's room first, you call me if there's anything wrong."

"Okay, let's go rest." Chen Xuan waved his hand understandingly.

Zheng He didn't think much about it, turned around and went to the ship's room to rest.

But after he left, Chen Xuan touched his short beard and sighed:

"We've got to find a way to get them to do it to us......"

(End of chapter)