Zhu Biao listened, nodded frequently, and said: "This is very reasonable. If grain and grass have to be transported from the capital to the Western Regions by then, just transporting grain and grass this far will be enough to bring down the Ming Dynasty."
Then, Zhu Biao raised his eyes and asked, "What can you do?"
Han Du continued: "If you want to reduce transportation costs, there is one most effective way, and that is to build roads."
Zhu Biao nodded slightly when he heard this. He knew the benefits of concrete avenues very clearly. "You mean to build a concrete highway from Gansu to the Western Regions?"
"Yes." Han Du nodded without hesitation, "The cement road does not need to be protected from wind and rain, and you can travel day and night. The efficiency is much higher than that of ordinary pipelines. As long as the road is built, even if the consumption ahead is larger, you can still barely supply supplies. superior."
"But it's still a bit reluctant..." Zhu Biao sighed. Although even after the cement road was built, the supply was still a bit difficult, but it was much better than at the beginning. No matter how you look at it, this concrete avenue must be repaired now.
"Is there more?" Zhu Biao continued to ask.
Han Du simply stood up and motioned to Zhu Biao to come to the wall where the map of all nations under heaven was hung. Pointing to the area outside Jiayu Pass, he said: "This is the Liuwei and Hami of Kansai. I paid special attention to it when I came back this time. I found that they are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and have great strength. If the Timurid Empire attacks one day , they will be a great help to the Ming Dynasty. I believe that from now on, we should treat the Six Guards of Kansai and Hami favorably, and ask them to step up their training of soldiers and horses to wait for the Ming Dynasty to recruit them. "
Zhu Biao immediately clapped his hands and praised: "Yes, yes! At that time, my father believed that to protect Hami, we should protect Gansu, and to protect Gansu, we should protect Shaanxi. Although my father did not use the Six Guards of Kansai and Hami he prepared, they were given to me. It left a lot of help..."
Speaking of Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao couldn't help but feel a little sad. Although he has been on the throne for two years, he is still extremely reluctant to leave Lao Zhu's death. Now seeing that his father's arrangement had once again solved a big problem for him, Zhu Biao felt that his father's sincere love for him was still by his side.
After calming down, Han Du said slowly: "But even so, I'm afraid they can only barely resist the Timurid Empire. After all, their troop deployment distance is much shorter than ours. This is a geographical advantage that cannot be eliminated. of."
Zhu Biao said with some disbelief: "Is Timur's empire so powerful?"
"Of course." Han Du nodded, "otherwise it wouldn't be able to sweep across the Western Regions and defeat several big countries that would be unable to lift their heads."
After a pause, Han Du continued: "I believe that to deal with the Timur Empire, the Ming Dynasty cannot just defend itself in the Western Regions."
"Do you have any good ideas for peace?" Zhu Biao was a little puzzled. The Western Region is where the Ming Dynasty is close to the Timurid Empire. Is there any other place besides here where the Ming Dynasty can start?
Han Du laughed and said, "Did the Emperor forget that the Ming Dynasty can reach Hurumos by sea?"
Pointing at the map, Handu continued: "Although the Timurid Empire is here, it is not far from Khrumos to the Timurid Empire. With what it has done here, it can be said to have made enemies. Countless. If the Ming Dynasty can support some dynasties here through Hurumos and let them go to the hinterland of the Timurid Empire to light a few fires, they must be very willing. Even the Ming Dynasty can directly send troops from Hurumos Moss attacks Timur. When the time comes, the Timur empire will be attacked from both sides and will definitely lose!"
If Khrumos attacks the Timur Empire, the advantages of both sides will be completely reversed, and the Ming Dynasty will have the advantage. As a result, the Ming Dynasty had governor's mansions in places such as Tianfang and Diu Ceylan Mountain Goa, which could provide enough food and slave soldiers for the army. The Ming Dynasty only needed to transport enough ordnance to Hurumos, and it could raise an army of hundreds of thousands in an instant. This was much simpler than transferring troops and food from the capital to the Western Regions.
The worries in Zhu Biao's heart suddenly became clear. He stared at the positions of Hurumos and Hami, looking over and over again.
"Okay, okay! It is indeed a brilliant plan. Why didn't I think of it? Now the Ming Dynasty can not only meet the enemy from the ground, but also attack from the sea! Then I will make two-pronged preparations to hold off the Timurid Empire in Hami soldiers and horses, and then give it a fatal blow at Horumos!"
"His Majesty!" Han Du smiled and held his hands, expressing his admiration for Zhu Biao.
This is true admiration. Although Hami and Horumos seem to be similar, the emphasis between them is related to victory or defeat. The Timurid Empire knew how powerful the Ming Dynasty was, and once they decided to march eastward, they would definitely do their best. As a result, the hinterland of Timur's empire must be empty.
If at this time, the Ming army would fight out from Khurumos and penetrate directly into Timur's hinterland. Timur is a landlocked country, and he would never have expected that another army would come from the sea. This is like a dagger, inserted directly into Timur's heart, enough to kill him!
Zhu Biao took Han Du and carefully discussed the strategy for Timur's empire based on the map, and then returned to the banquet with satisfaction.
Seeing that Zhu Biao was happy, Han Du pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, there is still something to do about the grassland. I thought we should make plans in advance."
"Hahaha, this time you defeated the Tatars and Oaras. At least within thirty years, the grasslands will no longer threaten the Ming Dynasty. I want to thank you very much!" Zhu Biao thought Han Du wanted to remind him not to forget his contribution. , and nodded in recognition of Han Du's achievements without any grudge.
Han Du shook his head and said, "Your Majesty misunderstood, I have no intention of claiming credit."
"Oh? What's that for?" Zhu Biao asked again.
Han Du smiled and said: "The emperor also said that if we just leave the grassland alone, we can at most gain thirty years of peace for the Ming Dynasty. But if the Ming Dynasty intervenes in the grassland from now on, we can create eternal peace for the Ming Dynasty."
When Zhu Biao heard this, he couldn't help but breathe heavily: "What do you want to do? Please tell me."
Han Du continued: "Since ancient times, when the Huns have left the grassland, Turks will appear again. When the Turks disappear, there will be Mongolians again. It seems endless. In the final analysis, this is actually because of the people on the grassland. Grass can feed cattle, sheep, horses and camels, and these things can feed countless shepherds. Therefore, as long as the grass on the grassland continues to grow every year, there will always be people on the grassland."
"But...there's nothing I can do to prevent the grass from growing on the grassland?" Zhu Biao said helplessly.
Han Du suddenly smiled when he heard this, "Of course we can't do this, but although we can't control the grass, we can control the people on the grassland. I don't know if the emperor has discovered that whenever the grassland is scattered in history, it is basically right. There is no threat to the Central Plains at all. Every time there is a threat to the Central Plains, it is only after the grasslands have been unified."
Zhu Biao nodded, "Yes, there are not many people on the grassland. If they cannot be unified, they will indeed not pose a threat to the Central Plains."
Han Du nodded slightly with satisfaction, and then said: "If we prevent the grassland from being unified again, wouldn't that eliminate this threat?"
Zhu Biao frowned when he heard this and said in confusion: "How can we prevent the grassland from being unified?"
Han Du continued: "This time I went deep into the grassland and met the large and small tribes. I found that they fought frequently with each other. The reason why the Tatar tribe and the Oara tribe were able to grow rapidly was because they took advantage of the blood of the Golden Family. .The bloodline of the Golden Family is extremely noble on the grassland and is regarded as the incarnation of the gray wolf and the white deer. Therefore, as long as the bloodline of the Golden Family raises its arms, it will inevitably get a response from the Mengyuan people, and they can easily gather a huge army. Tribe."
Swallowing his saliva, he continued: "But now that the Tatar and Oara tribes have been destroyed, the Golden Family bloodline has almost been cut off on the grassland. If the Ming Dynasty takes advantage of this opportunity, it can divide the grassland into small pastures one by one through canonization, and They are strictly prohibited from grazing privately on other people's pastures. In this way, they will turn against each other before long. After all, cattle and sheep are not human beings, so how can they be obedient and not eat anything that crosses the line?"
Zhu Biao suddenly realized and said: "Divide the grassland into individual guard stations? This is a way."
Then he raised his eyes and looked at Han Du, "Then how many guard posts do you think we should have in the entire grassland?"
Han Du smiled: "Of course, the more the better, I think it cannot be less than a thousand at least. The more divisions are made, the smaller the hope of reunification of the grassland, and the greater the resistance in the future. Also, I think The Ming Dynasty’s mutual trade on the grasslands should also be adjusted.”
After Zhu Biao heard this, a curious look suddenly appeared on his face, and he asked Han Du: "Really? How do you think it should be adjusted?"
Han Du said: "In the past, when the Ming Dynasty and the grassland were engaged in mutual trade, they tried every means to suppress the grassland to obtain supplies, especially salt, iron and grain. I think this is not necessary now. In fact, when the Mongolians went south to plunder, one of them The reason is that they don't have enough food to eat. Even if they die in battle when they raid south, it can save food for their tribe. And once they grab food, it will allow them to have a good year. It is precisely because of this that As a result, the Mongolian people have always had a strong interest in plundering the Central Plains.
But if we provide food to the Mongolian people through mutual trade, we can not only exchange for cattle, sheep, horses and camels, but also eliminate their desire to go south to plunder. People will die in war. The Meng Yuan people also know this. As long as they have food, they will not be willing to risk death in battle and go south to invade the Ming Dynasty. "
Zhu Biao nodded slightly and said: "It's okay to provide food. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty can't eat all the food now. A lot of old grain is used to make wine every year. But if we trade horses with Mongolia and Yuan, they may not be willing." .”
"There is no need to exchange horses, just exchange cattle and sheep." Han Du said with a smile.
"Why not horses?" Zhu Biao expressed confusion. No matter what time it was, horses were far more important than cattle and sheep. Because horses are the strategic resource of cavalry, and cattle and sheep are of little use if they are not eaten for meat.
