eldest son of Ming dynasty

The area under Ma Rong's feet was formerly called Gaochang. The so-called Gaochang means 'the terrain is high and open, and the people are prosperous'.

The Western Region is an area full of mountains, deserts and Gobi. Gaochang is located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. This rare oasis has been one of the most prosperous towns in the Western Region for thousands of years.

Especially in the Tang Dynasty, Xizhou was very rich in wheat, cotton and other materials, and it persisted for a long time even after the Tang Dynasty fell into civil strife.

It can be said to be a rare treasure.

"The Qiang and Hu people are occupying Xizhou, near the borderless city of Dian. Shandong collects taxes and rents to support me to defend against the enemy. When the Hu cavalry comes, the residents are often shocked." Ma Rong rode a horse, wearing a strong suit, but his arms were exposed due to the high temperature. He is nearly thirty years old and has a very thick beard. "You know? This is a poem written by Zhang Ji in the Tang Dynasty, and it is written here."

The sun was dazzling, and Zhu Feng beside him could not open his eyes either.

"You are making things difficult for me. How can I read these poems?"

After serving in the army for many years, the two of them became familiar with each other.

In fact, in terms of merit, the two of them are by no means just commanders, but they are not dissatisfied with this arrangement. The young soldiers are eager to establish achievements, and achievements can be found here.

Moreover, this place is too far away from the Central Plains. The Tang Dynasty only stationed [-] troops in Xizhou at first. The Ming Dynasty is now digging up the silver mountain to station [-] troops in Xizhou.Since the total number is so large, it is even more impossible for them to command an army of tens of thousands.

However, this is already the land of the Western Region, and there is never a shortage of war horses, so the left and right guards of Xizhou led by the two of them are complete cavalry, with bright military flags and high-quality battle armor. This has been the standard for Class A guards from the beginning. .

Ma Rong explained to him: "This poem talks about the troubled scene on the frontier. The Qiang and Hu occupied Xizhou. The meaning of the borderless city in Jindian is that the Qiang and Hu occupied Xizhou, which caused our Central Plains dynasty to have no control over the areas close to the border. A garrisoned border town.”

Zhu Feng understood it for a moment, and then he said, "That's not the case now anyway."

They smiled at each other and led hundreds of cavalry around the city.

Looking out from a horse, the earth seems to have no end. As far as the eye can see, the sky and the earth have become a line. The sunshine and white clouds are close to touch. There are cattle and sheep grazing on the deserted grassland. It is vast, quiet, free and vast.

To prevent the soldiers from getting bored, the military camp would be like the Mongolians, where they would gather in groups and compete with each other, where the sweat and blood of the men would be completely released.

In recent years, the status of military generals in the Ming Dynasty has gradually improved. The country has become stronger and expanded externally. Many people have won fame in various wars, which also stimulated later generations to pursue them crazily.

No matter what era you are in, it is not easy to turn your life around. Joining the army to win fame has become a good way in recent years.

After Zhu and Ma inspected, they also joined in with great interest.

It's a pity that gambling is not allowed in the army, otherwise we would have to open a market.

And the atmosphere is different today.

A soldier "complained" to Zhu Feng. He just called out "young master" but was stopped, "Where is the master, call me general!"

The man was scolded, but he was still unconvinced and continued: "General! This soldier from the left guard made rude remarks, saying that we people are full of squeamishness, raising our hands to command with high spirits, and holding a knife to kill people and make shit! Isn't this insulting? So today We must compete here! If you have the ability, you will see the real results in your fists and kicks. If I lose, I will let him be the one hundred households. If he loses, he will also take off his hundred households uniform and become a personal soldier for me. ! Please give permission, General!”

"Nonsense!" Zhu Feng pinched his waist and pretended to reprimand, "You guys are competing, General Ma and I have no objections, but military positions cannot be used as bets. Whether you can become a hundred households is not just about fists and feet, but also Look at your brain. Let’s change the comparison so that we can enjoy it. What do you think?”

"Good! Good!"

The hundred households frowned and thought hard, "Whoever loses will kowtow ten times to the other party!"

Ma Rong disagreed again, "A man has gold under his knees. I don't think it's appropriate to kneel down and kowtow if he loses a match. It's better to do this. If you two lose, you can wash the other's underwear for a month, okay?" "

All the soldiers laughed, "Hahaha, General Ma, this is a good idea!"

……

……

Yang Yiqing took Gu Renyi to inspect Xizhou City. This was his God of Wealth.

"This year, the emperor wanted to personally conquer Mongolia. Fortunately, the cabinet persuaded the emperor to avoid this thought. However, this year's national silver inventory will definitely exceed 1000 million taels, which is too much..."

Yang Yiqing thought it was strange, so he interrupted him, "The emperor was persuaded? Who persuaded you?" "Yang Tinghe." Gu Renyi paused word by word, "Mr. Yang Ge said that the imperial court sent troops to conquer, this is the first time. An urgent matter. Wang Bo'an doesn't know that the emperor is going. If he suddenly receives the imperial edict at this time, it will definitely disrupt his deployment, which will be detrimental to the war."

"Yes." Yang Yiqing nodded, "Wang Bo'an has two tiger generals, Qiu Yue and Han Twelve Lang. It will not be difficult to drive tens of thousands of cavalry to sweep the desert. However, the desert is far away from the middle-earth after all, so he should make detailed arrangements after careful consideration. It is safe. Your Majesty, this is for the sake of the overall situation."

Gu Renyi knew that Yang Yiqing was thinking about his failure to persuade the emperor, so he added one more sentence, "The emperor has a strategy in mind when he governs the country. If there is something that is not sure, the emperor will listen to it. Mr. Ying Ning wants to Just be more understanding.”

Yang Yiqing bowed and said, "I know, there's no need to mention the old things again."

"Oh, it's me who talks too much." Gu Renyi's expression changed, and she continued what she said before, "When the national bank reserves too much silver, firstly, it is not conducive to the prosperity of the people. Secondly, if the emperor can be persuaded this year, it may not be possible next year. "

There is nothing taboo about this. People like Gu Renyi are the emperor's favorites. Of course they will serve the emperor, but in essence they still hope that wars will not be so frequent.

"So, you just want to spend it."

"Yes."

"But it also requires the Emperor's nod, right?"

Gu Renyi opened his right hand, and in front of him was the city wall in full swing. "Build the city, build a big Xizhou City, how could your Majesty disagree? This time, the Young Mansion was ordered by the Emperor to allocate 180 million taels of silver. That's it." Come. According to the plan, Xizhou City will have an inner city and an outer city. The outer city will be two feet high and one foot wide. The entire city will be as large as half the capital. When the horse market opens, this will be the center of the Western Region! "

"Although it is to spend money, it is too big."

"In a border city, this is not a waste." Gu Renyi was still happy now, but Wu Wending had not returned to the mainland when he left the capital, so he didn't know about the silver mountain he had dug up.

Of course, what he said is correct. The border city should be made grander and grander. On the one hand, it shows the national prestige. On the other hand, it is also made to be easy to defend and difficult to attack. Money, of course, cannot be regarded as a waste.

So Zhu Houzhao agreed.

Mainly he agreed to all reasonable expenses.

Gu Renyi continued: "Mr. Ying Ning no longer has to worry about money."

Yang Yiqing frowned and said: "According to this idea, I will send envoys to various countries in the Western Region to find excellent war horses, and then discuss the purchase."

He has always attached great importance to horse administration, and although he is a civilian official, he is proficient in military affairs. Guarding in such a place of four battles, if he does not train an invincible cavalry, how can he spread his reputation to all countries in the Western Regions?
"The Emperor will definitely agree!"

After inspecting the casting of the city wall, they led relevant officials to inspect some grain and cotton planting matters outside Xizhou City.

This place is too far away from the Central Plains. Although we now have the national power to transport things here, it is not a long-term solution. To put it bluntly, if there is a strong wind or heavy rain along the way, the transportation team will be blocked. If they are delayed, are they just waiting to starve to death?

Moreover, Xizhou is one of the few oases that has the conditions for cultivation.

After Yang Yiqing arrived here, he rented out a lot of land originally occupied by the nobles of the Turpan Khanate to the people who stayed behind for farming. The government levied taxes according to a tax ratio of [-] out of [-]. In this way, production was quickly restored and the livelihood of ordinary people was ensured. It only takes a year or two to find the source of money and food for the government, and the situation will definitely be very different.

A few days later, his subordinates reported to him that the Yarkand Khanate had sent an envoy.

Yang Yiqing pondered and discussed with everyone, "The imperial court's national policy is not to use troops to conquer Yarkand this year, and I have to send an envoy. Since he is here, let's see what he means. If we can, we can temporarily stay with him." A truce."

"General, I think it's okay. We still have some 'household matters' that we haven't solved yet." Ma Rong pointed to the Seven Guards of Guanxi. He had been thinking about those guys. He didn't know if they were stationed in Suzhou all these years. , what happened allowed him to see through these foreigners who ostensibly submitted to the imperial court.

"What if the person who comes here is evil or has evil intentions? What should I do?"

Zhu Feng said: "Then bring the cannon out and let him see it!"

Everyone was excited when they heard it. When the country is strong, it can be so carefree and free. There is no need to worry about when others will call.

Yang Yiqing slapped the table, "Okay, that's it."

After reading this, the officials from Beijing were even more relieved. With Yang Yiqing and a group of brave generals in the northwest of Xinjiang, there must be no problem.