Since Li Zicheng and Chai Shihua came together more than 20 years ago, or were driven to the Western Regions by Sun Chuanting's thieves, he has settled here and has no intention of counterattacking inside the pass.
I didn’t even go to Hami, because the environment in the Bosten Lake area is so good. I never thought that there is something better than the scenery in southern Shaanxi in the Western Region.
The most important thing is that the lake is also a freshwater lake. In the Western Region, having fresh water means having an oasis and not dying of thirst.
There are a large number of bighead fish (Flatnose fish) and pipefish (Tarimu Schizothorax) in the lake, so that the newly arrived army and their families can make tooth sacrifices every day, and everyone is overjoyed.
In view of the importance of the lake, in order to avoid disputes and share the benefits at the same time, Li Zicheng made a gentleman's agreement with Chai Shihua.
After deciding on their respective country names, Li Zicheng's Western Territory Tang Army occupied the northern part of the lake, and Chai Shihua's Western Territory Great Zhou Army was located in the south of the lake.
The two sides refrained from invading each other in peacetime and cooperated fully in wartime. Only with this arrangement could they survive the attack from the exposed Dog Officer Army and the local natives of the Western Regions.
This was originally the territory of the Yarkand Khanate, but the foundation of the Khanate was located in the Hashihar (Artush) area, and there were not many troops deployed in the Bosten Lake area.
Therefore, the Li-Chai coalition, which had many artillery and muskets, defeated the defenders here in a short period of time and took the lake and the surrounding territory for more than a hundred miles as their own.
The Yarkand Khanate's defenders here have less than two thousand troops. Although they are all cavalry, the new opponents have higher combat effectiveness than local snakes.
Chai Shihua's army was originally the official army of the Ming Dynasty. Although it was the Gansu frontier army ranked low in strength, it was a regular army after all, and there was no shortage of heavy weapons.
Li Zicheng's troops had escaped from death within the pass. No matter how difficult it was to defeat the local snakes in the Western Regions, they could not compare to the Qin army of the Sun Gou thieves who almost had their skin peeled off.
Originally, Li and Chai came to the Western Regions to seize territory and conquer the world. If they couldn't deal with the local snakes, then just wipe their necks.
Seeing that the local scenery is so good, the products are so rich, and the defenders are not only small in number, but also not very powerful, the two groups are naturally very happy, and their morale is at its peak.
It took less than half a month to capture the entire lakeside area, and within two months they controlled a radius of a hundred miles.
Mu Min and the livestock in the territory belong to the two of them. If Mu Min is not willing to cooperate, he can get out and keep the livestock.
Many of Li Zicheng's and Chai Shihua's men had been sheepherders and were familiar with this profession, so there was no problem with part-time herding.
When you come to the Western Regions, you can't use the same tricks as in the pass.
Because most of the people in the pass are Mingren, Li Zicheng can recruit them to join his team on the spot.
When we get to the Western Region, the locals don't buy it anymore. If you act recklessly, you will only have fewer and fewer subordinates.
So Li Zicheng had an idea and adopted a gentler pacification strategy.
As long as you marry a Tang army soldier, you will be exempted from paying taxes.
If there are no suitable female relatives in the family, providing cattle and horses for farming can also be tax-free.
The land near the lake was very fertile. After Li Zicheng took a look at it, he decided to dispatch manpower for farming.
If Sun Gou Thief hadn't chased him here, the annual consumption of tens of thousands of horses would have been astonishing.
Besides, there are still many family members, and it is necessary to arrange a self-sufficient job for them.
If so many people eat and drink for free, they will be exhausted in less than a year.
There is no need to grow anything else when farming, just the potatoes that Prince Gou advertises.
Not only is this product highly productive, but it is also easy to feed and does not require careful care, which is very much in line with Li Zicheng's wishes.
The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty planned to let his men cultivate at least 500,000 acres of fertile land along the lake.
In this way, even if the yield per mu is one stone, a total of five hundred thousand stone rations can be harvested.
It is enough to meet the needs of the army, and the excess can be stored for war preparation needs.
However, the idea is good, but the actual situation does not allow it.
Apart from anything else, potato seeds alone are not enough...
So after statistics, in the first year, 10,000 acres of sweet potatoes, 40,000 acres of potatoes, 90,000 acres of rice, 120,000 acres of highland barley, 270,000 acres of wheat, and no less than 400,000 acres of other fruits and vegetables were planted, totaling nearly one million Huge acres.
The highland barley seeds were obtained from the natives of Qinghai in exchange for utensils, the seeds of wheat and other crops were snatched from the pass, and the fruit and vegetable seeds were local. All in all, being able to plant them in the ground was half the success.
The reason why everyone is so motivated is because the land has become their own.
When Li Zicheng first came to the throne, he rewarded the meritorious ministers who followed him.
Naturally, the third wife Gao Guiying naturally became the queen.
Li Zicheng's first wife, Han Jin'er, was killed because of her flirting with Gai Hu.
His second wife, Mrs. Xing, was originally brave and smart, and was responsible for managing logistics, but she ended up having an affair with Gao Jie.
Li Zicheng didn't even come to kill him, so Mrs. Xing followed Gao Jie and defected to Baoming...
Gao Guiying became the empress of the Western Tang Dynasty, and her younger brother Gao Yigong naturally became the uncle of the country.
General Liu Zongmin did not become a general, but he was not dissatisfied because he became the King of Zhenxi of the Tang Empire.
Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo was the king of Zhennan (the least pressure in this direction), Li Zijing (Li Zicheng's third brother) was the king of Zhenbei, and Yuan Zongdi was the king of Zhendong.
Tian Hualong, Tan Shousu, Liu Xiyao, Liu Fangliang, and Liu Tichun were named the Five Tiger Generals, and Xin Sizhong, Liu Rukui, Niu Wancai, Li Laiheng (Li Guo's adopted son), and Liu Tiren were named the front, rear, left, right, and middle generals.
Due to the inherent deficiencies of the Western Land in the Tang Dynasty, the court was seriously biased. The prime minister was temporarily vacant, and there were not even ministers or ministers.
But Li Zicheng didn't mind this at all, even if he didn't have a poor and rotten scholar, so what?
The Western Land and the Tang Dynasty were brought down by the swords and shots of the soldiers, not by the talk of the poor and rotten scholars shaking their heads.
If there are really a lot of corrupt scholars, wouldn't it make the officers and soldiers very dissatisfied if they were rewarded with an official?
Rather than that, it's better to just leave it empty. It's much better not to have these wastes than to have them.
Each general received one hundred servants and five thousand acres of fertile land.
The general's salary is doubled, and the prince's salary is doubled on this basis.
Military academies at all levels below are rewarded, and their families can receive fertile land for free.
Each person, old and young, gets twenty acres, women of the right age get double that, and men get sixty acres.
In this way, the ministers and soldiers of Conglong benefited, and the Western Tang Empire stabilized.
It doesn't matter if the land is not divided enough, just keep expanding to the surroundings. Anyway, you can do whatever you want along Bosten Lake.
This fertile land can be used for fishing, farming, and grazing. It is really a rare place. Even Li Zicheng praised it dozens of times.
You can get military rations by fishing and farming, and you can get war horses by grazing, so you can prepare for the next step. It’s really a good strategy to kill two birds with one stone!
Before Li Zicheng could be happy for long, the Yarkand Khanate sent troops to invade.
For Li Zicheng and Chai Shihua, it was an invasion, while for the Yarkand Khanate, it was to regain their homeland.
For this purpose, the country sent 20,000 troops, all of which were cavalry capable of mobile combat.
However, unlike the Menggu tribes, each Khanate in the Western Regions would more or less equip their cavalry with a small number of muskets and artillery.
But fighting is about morale, tactics, weapons, and the general's ability to adapt to changes, assess the situation, etc.
The tactics used by the Yarkand Khanate cavalry are still to attack in the middle and outflank them on both wings.
If it really doesn't work, you can still fake defeat and then fight back halfway.
These two moves are what Li Zicheng has done long ago and can be seen through at a glance.
The other party's plan was very good. They took advantage of the autumn harvest to take back the harvest and the land.
But this place has become the foundation for Li Zicheng and Chai Shihua to settle down and make a living. If they lose, they will be homeless.
Therefore, facing the invading enemy, both groups resisted desperately, with no possibility of retreating.
The troops of the Yarkand Khanate were divided into two groups, each with ten thousand troops.
As a result, the two sides fought fiercely around Bosten for nearly a month. Ye's army lost nearly half of its troops and its morale dropped sharply. However, the Li-Chai coalition became more courageous and victorious as they fought.
In order to preserve his strength, Ye Jun had no choice but to retreat first.
Because in half a month, the snowstorm is coming.
If the remnants of the army cannot return to the camp by then, they will have to spend the New Year here...
For Li Zicheng and Chai Shihua, they won, but it was a miserable victory.
The two men's territories were severely damaged by each other, but fortunately the crops were not greatly affected.
In particular, potatoes and sweet potatoes are less susceptible to damage than wheat and highland barley.
Li Zicheng asked Chai Shihua about the loss in a circumstantial manner, but the other party naturally would not tell the truth.
The two of them are working together. It seems like we are good to each other now, but in fact they may turn against each other at any time.
Since Chai Shihua still needs to share the pressure, Li Zicheng did not act rashly.
The time is not yet ripe, so you have to wait for a while and then wait for the opportunity to come...
There are two ways to strengthen one's own troops, one is to annex the opponent, and the other is to rely on one's own efforts.
The former was not feasible for the time being, so Li Zicheng focused on the latter.
The method is very simple, that is to encourage the soldiers and their wives to have more children!
You can also get rewards for giving birth to a child, a sheep for a daughter, and a horse for a boy.
Injured war horses and draft horses captured from the battlefield and unable to continue to participate in military operations can be used in this way.
Although the Yarkand Khanate sent 20,000 troops, it dispatched more than 40,000 horses, at least two horses per person.
After the defeat, these horses that were forced to give up naturally became cheaper for Li Zicheng and Chai Shihua.
Li Zicheng not only encouraged his subordinates to have children, but also kept fighting himself.
Not only Queen Gao Guiying, but also ten new women from the Ming Dynasty and ten women from the Western Regions were admitted.
It was Li Zicheng's heartache to have no heirs of his own, otherwise he would have to let his younger brother or nephew inherit the throne a hundred years later.
Li Zicheng didn't believe that this problem was in him. He was as strong as an ox but still had no heirs?
How can it be?
It must be because there are not enough maidens!
Regardless of whether it was a woman from Guan Nei or a woman from the Western Regions, as long as he could give birth to a son, Li Zicheng would be satisfied.
However, Queen Gao Guiying's stomach remained silent, and her brother Gao Yigong was worried to no avail.
On the contrary, three women from the Western Regions were happy one after another. This was determined by the pulse diagnosis of the army doctor.
Does a woman from the Western Region really have to give birth to an heir for him?
Could this be God's will? ? ?
Without sufficient evidence, Li Zicheng could only assume that this was roughly the case.
Li Zicheng felt even more uncomfortable when he heard that Chai Shihua's wives and concubines had left him five children, especially two sons.
Fortunately, the concubines lived up to the divine grace and gave birth to a son and two daughters for Li Zicheng in the summer of the following year.
Li Zicheng was overjoyed because his son could still cry when he was born, so he was not a fool.
After much thought, Li Zicheng named this hard-won son Li Tianci.
Li Zicheng believes that this is just the beginning, and he will have more and more sons in the future.
After these three concubines became pregnant, Li Zicheng took in another twenty concubines.
Although the appearance and figure of women from the Ming Dynasty were far inferior to those from the Western Regions, Li Zicheng still hoped that he could have a son who was not of mixed race.
Even if he is a mixed-race son, Li Zicheng hopes that his offspring will be the child of a woman of Menggu descent, not a woman with brown hair and blue eyes.
The first son had black hair and black eyes. Except for his nose, he didn't have any characteristics of the Westerners.
The bridge of Li Zicheng's nose is just as high as it is. This is the legendary dragon statue. The higher the bridge of his nose, the greater his status and power.
Therefore, when his son is a little older, he has inherited his nose, and others will not doubt it.
By the second year, Queen Gao Guiying's stomach had not moved, and Li Zicheng lost patience.
It's not like he has ruined the queen who has been with him for many years. After all, a wife of wretchedness cannot be abandoned.
With so many subordinates watching, Li Zicheng couldn't help but miss the past relationship between husband and wife.
But the focus of the work is on the concubine, and we must implement the strategy of planting extensively and harvesting little!
In order to avoid recruiting too many concubines, it left an excuse for the soldiers who had not yet married wives.
Li Zicheng also specially made a stipulation that as long as he has been favored by him and has not become pregnant for three years, he will reward him to his subordinates.
In this way, it would be good for everyone, and Li Zicheng would not have to spend a lot of money to feed these hens that cannot lay eggs...
Even if you can't compare to the Dog Emperor Chongzhen and the Dog Prince Zhu Cihong, you can still compare to Chai Shihua, right?
Li Zicheng held his breath in his heart. The number of his heirs must exceed that of Chai Shihua!
With strong troops and strong horses, the entire Western Region will have the surname Li in the future. This is an inevitable trend!
He was in his prime, and even if it took another twenty years, he would still be able to fight on the battlefield.
By then, all the children under his command will have grown up, and he will have an army of no less than 100,000 people!
Give birth to an army?
That's right!
Li Zicheng thought so!
If there are not enough by then, then Chai Shihua’s troops will be eaten!
Including the surrounding natives recruited and captured, there should be 200,000 in number.
Looking at the entire Western Region, who dares to compete? ? ?
You loser who is not afraid of death, just come here!
After three years of managing the Western Region, Li Zicheng suddenly felt that his troops could have enough food and clothing here.
Eating roast mutton, drinking fish soup, and nibbling some fruits after dinner, the days were leisurely and joyful.
If he stayed here for the rest of his life, besides a palace or a large wooden house, he would be able to accept it.
Li Zicheng even thought about his foreign strategy. In addition to the Yarkang who had beaten him before, he could have friendly exchanges with other tribes!
