On the vast grassland, a winding black line is slowly rolling toward the north.
The grassland is not endlessly flat. The terrain is undulating, and the beginning and end of the black line cannot be seen.
On the empty grassland, there was no obstruction to the wind. It seemed that with just a gentle breath, all the flags that were erected could whistle and flutter.
On the other side of the black line, on the distant invisible border, winding under the Great Wall at the top of the mountains, groups of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers continued to advance along the path taken by the vanguard army.
Like black dragons, they had accumulated strength throughout the winter and finally began to encroach on the gradually green grassland.
The Ming Dynasty has begun to send troops outside the pass and into the grassland in an orderly manner according to the long-prepared plan.
The entire empire's administrative and military systems began to revolve around this incident at high speed.
A huge army and a larger army of people.
Millions of people use the Great Wall as a starting point to set foot in the depths of the grassland.
It is located under the ancient city of Fengzhou, about three hundred miles northwest of Datong City.
Zhu Yunxi and others watched the army move northward through the Daqing Mountains and into the hinterland of the grassland.
This is the western front army horse of the Ming army heading north.
The purpose is to cut off the entire grassland in the middle to prevent the Tatars from escaping westward.
The real attack on the Tatars was the army that set off from Datong and Xuanfu and entered the grassland directly.
The reason why Zhu Yunxi came to Fengcheng, where Hohhot would later be located, was because the Ming Dynasty needed to build the first fortified city outside the pass here to completely control the vast land northeast of the Hetao.
Fengcheng has a long history, dating back to the Dayao culture in ancient times.
As the birthplace of Hufu riding and shooting, the destination of Zhaojun's fortress in the Han Dynasty, the Longxing land of Xianbei Tuoba, and the frontier of the intersection of nomadic civilization and farming civilization.
As early as the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, Fengcheng was included in the jurisdiction of the Central Plains and Yunzhong County was established.
The Ming Dynasty's rule here can be said to be blank.
The nine sides formed by the Great Wall naturally use everything outside the Great Wall as a place for tension.
Among them, it also includes the Hetao River Basin in Fengcheng.
With the civil fort changes in later generations, the area around Fengcheng fell into a situation where no one was stationed, and was invaded by Tatars on a large scale.
They began to build a city here.
Because of the blue bricks used in the city wall, it looks green from a distance, so it is also called Qingcheng.
now.
The past history has passed, and the future history has been rewritten.
"Chu Jiazheng, a doctor in the Qing Dynasty Department of the Ministry of Industry, has already led his people to survey the landforms and select a place to build a city.
And we also need to be here to be responsible for transporting the food and grass needed by various armies and recruiting ordinary herders.
This place will become more and more lively, and there will be more and more people and things. Everything must be prepared and planned in advance. "
On a high slope at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain, Zhu Gaochi climbed up and looked at the endless Hetao Plain at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain.
Zhu Yunxi waved his hand and pointed.
"Tell the people from the Ministry of Industry not to look any further. Daqing City is built between the Dahei River and Daqing Mountain."
Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment and looked in the direction pointed by Zhu Yunxi.
“That side is the confluence of Xiaohei River, Donghe River and Zhadagai River.”
Zhu Yunxi nodded: "Surrounded by water on three sides, with Daqingshan Mountain on the back acting as a natural barrier, it is a good Feng Shui place."
"How big a city do you want to build?"
Zhu Gaochi asked, looking at the site where Zhu Yunxi had decided to build Daqing City, knowing that this was indeed a good place.
In fact, the court did not need to pay special attention to where the city was to be built.
All the imperial court needed was a strong city on the Hetao Plain at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain where the Ming army could be stationed to control this good place outside the Great Wall.
With a city, there is a need for defense.
After the city was built, this piece of land would be able to continuously provide the imperial court with war horses, as well as beef and mutton for human consumption.
Zhu Yunxi's purpose is obviously different.
I saw him casually saying: "The circumference of Daqing City is forty miles, and it is square in shape. The wall is three feet high, two and a half feet wide at the bottom, and two feet wide at the top. It is made of compacted earth and stone, wrapped in steel and refined cement, and covered with blue bricks."
As soon as Zhu Yunxi finished speaking, Zhu Gaochi jumped to his feet.
"Do you know how much food this will cost? Do you know that if this Daqing City is really built, there will be no other city in the Ming Dynasty that can compare with it except Yingtian City!"
Zhu Gaochi felt that Brother Xi was really crazy.
He was only a little crazy at first, but now he is completely crazy.
Even in Yingtian City, apart from the outer city, the inner capital wall is only about seventy miles long.
The only thing that reassures Zhu Gaochi is that Zhu Yunxi is not completely crazy yet, and he also knows that the height and width of the wall cannot exceed the regulations of Yingtian City.
However, even so, building this Daqing City requires countless investments of manpower and material resources.
Zhu Yunxi ignored Xiaopang's jumping and incomprehension, but shouted loudly: "Chu Jiazheng."
The voice fell.
Zhu Gaochi looked at Chu Jiazheng, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry's Camp Renovation and Cleaning Department, who was wearing a green robe with mud on his soles and came over with several subordinate officials.
"Your Majesty, Chu Jia Zheng is here to see His Royal Highness the Emperor Taisun."
Chu Jiazheng was a little dark and burly. If it weren't for the official robes on his body, no one would have known that he was a high-ranking fifth-rank doctor from the Ministry of Industry in the Ming Dynasty.
And he was not a craftsman like the current Minister of Industry, Zhang Ergong.
Chu Jiazheng was an official through the imperial examination, and went all the way to his current position.
In Chu Jiazheng's own words, the most important turning point in his life was not that he passed the imperial examination, but that he became a disciple of Shangshu Zhang Ergong.
If anyone in the Ministry of Works knows the properties of cement best, then only this doctor from the Renovation and Cleaning Department can be said to be well-deserved.
This is also the reason why Chu Jiazheng did not have any accompanying officials during Zhu Yunxi's northern patrol, but followed Tie Xuan to the border this time.
The cannibalization plan of the Ministry of Industry that was just a joke actually originated from Chu Jiazheng.
Zhu Yunxi looked at Chu Jiazheng who was walking in front of him, and said with a smile: "Tell Prince Yan about our Daqing City."
In the Ministry of Industry, no one can refuse to have a strong city in their own hands.
Nowadays, whenever the name of Da Qingcheng is mentioned, Chu Jiazheng's eyes will show excitement.
He nodded and cupped his hands, then turned to look at Prince Yan, who was still thinking about how much money the court would invest in food and manpower.
"Your Majesty, according to the calculations made by my ministers and the Ministry of Household Affairs, in order to build Daqing City, it will cost one million taels of money, no less than three hundred thousand dan of food and grass, and one hundred thousand more manpower."
Zhu Gaochi felt dizzy for a while.
This Daqing City with millions of dollars in money and food made him think these people were crazy.
Zhu Yunxi waved his hand and motioned for Chu Jiazheng to follow him.
And he pulled Xiaopang and walked down the mountain to the selected location in Daqing City.
Zhu Yunxi explained softly: "The Ming Dynasty wants to build an indestructible city outside the pass, and it wants to build a big city that belongs to the poor herdsmen."
"Built for the herdsmen on the grassland?!"
Zhu Gaochi became increasingly puzzled.
He didn't understand why so much money was spent to build the city, not for the Ming army to be stationed or for the Ming people to live, but for the herdsmen who only slept in tents on the grassland.
Zhu Yunxi nodded: "This is a very cost-effective investment. For the Ming Dynasty, this is a city that belongs to the herdsmen. They can live here with the Ming army and the Ming people."
"Then what can we get from these people?" Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly.
If this is an investment according to what Brother Xi said, then it will be an investment that loses everything.
"The Ming Dynasty will have the most powerful herders, the most sophisticated war horses, and endless amounts of beef and mutton. Will these be enough?" Zhu Yunxi tilted his head and glanced sideways at Xiaopang.
Before Xiaopang could answer, Zhu Yunxi continued: "What's more important is that as long as there is Daqing City, which belongs to the herdsmen, this is a city that will never be breached by the grassland."
Zhu Yunxi slowly walked down the mountain, took the reins from Zhang Hui who was leading the horse, and got on the horse.
He sat on the horse, held the whip lightly, and looked back at Zhu Gaochi, who was leading another horse but had not yet mounted it.
"The Ming Dynasty conquered all directions, and killing was only one of the methods. How to maintain long-term peace and stability and maximize the interests of the Ming Dynasty is the most important thing.
Outside the Han Dynasty, there are exotic customs.
Although I understand that people only know how to farm and fight, they can also sit in the fields and watch hundreds of tribes singing and dancing for me. "
Hundreds of ethnic groups, including Han and Ming people, sang and danced.
Having said that, Zhu Yunxi was already galloping unscrupulously on the grassland at the foot of Daqing Mountain.
Zhu Gaochi just fell into deep thought.
What kind of things did Ming need to do if he wanted to rule this land.
This question confused Zhu Gaochi again.
Until Zhang Hui led his horse and walked to Zhu Gaochi's side.
Zhang Hui looked at Prince Yan, who was often lost in thought and seemingly in a daze, with a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, it's time to let Da Qingcheng go."
Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment.
He raised his head and looked at Daqing City, which had no shadow yet but would definitely exist. Then Shi Shiran smiled and got on his horse.
Night falls.
Under Daqing Mountain, in Daqing City where even the foundations have not been excavated, fires were lit one after another.
Rushing here to supply food and grass for the frontline army, the officials and soldiers responsible for the construction of Daqing City used the carts of the baggage camp as a protective wall to surround the entire camp.
The war horses were gathered together and surrounded.
The fire was concentrated in the middle of the camp, with tents scattered around it.
The Hetao is the most fertile place in the entire north.
On the way here from Datong City, the army had hunted enough cattle and sheep.
The charcoal-grilled beef and mutton are kept at their freshest level and exude a delicious aroma after being grilled over fire.
Outside the camp.
The dark wilderness has become extraordinarily quiet due to the arrival of humans.
Countless beasts that originally lived here are far away from human hunting.
It was not summer yet, and the biting cold of winter still lingered outside the border at night.
Several figures wrapped in thick sheepskins walked through the wilderness while bending over, approaching the camp in Daqing City.
"who!"
Also in the darkness, in the originally empty meadow, several Ming army soldiers wearing soft armor suddenly stood up.
Abu stopped and straightened his waist.
"I am the King of Shun'an, Abu Zhi'an, and I want to see His Highness Taisun."
The officers and soldiers guarding outside the camp relaxed their vigilance slightly, leaving half of them in place, and the remaining people surrounded Ab Zhi'an and others in a crescent shape.
Abu knew the rules and took out his certificate from his arms.
"I have just returned from the north. I can smell the aroma of meat here from afar. I wonder if your highness has finished eating it?"
After the soldiers verified that everything was correct, they finally felt relieved and said softly: "Return to King Shun An, beef and mutton are useful in the camp today, and beef offal soup and mutton soup are useful."
With a smile on his face, Abu nodded and said, "That's good, that's good. I will go find your Highness to eat some meat."
After finishing speaking, Abu had just walked out a few steps, but suddenly stopped and turned to look at the soldier.
The soldier immediately nodded and said, "What else does King Shun'an have to do?"
Abu smiled and said, "Have you eaten?"
"My subordinates have dry food. When the time comes, they can return to camp and change defenses."
Abu nodded: "It's hard work. You share this with your brothers. It's not worth it."
Having said that, Abu had already taken off a cloth bag from his waist and threw it into the arms of the soldier.
I waited until Abu disappeared in the direction of the camp.
The soldier then opened the cloth bag from his arms.
As soon as the cloth bag was opened, even though the surrounding night was dim and dim.
However, the soldier's eyes showed a bright light.
The bag full of gems of various colors, although the quality is not transparent, can be exchanged for a large sum of money if brought back to the customs and sold to merchants.
And Abu, who casually rewarded me with a bag of gems, had already entered the camp.
Under the leadership of a general, they arrived in front of a red fire that was already burning in the middle of the camp.
Zhu Yunxi was chewing on a crispy bone with meat hanging on it.
This is one of his few hobbies, just like Luzhou old hen noodle soup.
Abu's arrival did not surprise Zhu Yunxi.
Ever since the righteous genocide personally killed Arutai in Taiyuan City, A Bu was accepted by Zhu Yunxi and sent back to the grassland.
Counting the days, after finishing the work of receiving the power of the Arutai tribe and taking the tribe people south to approach the Ming Dynasty, with so much time, Abu and I can almost finish the work.
Zhu Yunxi handed a bowl of mutton soup to Ab Zhi'an.
"Drink some soup to warm yourself up first."
After saying that, he placed his favorite roasted and crispy pork bone on a wooden plate, along with a few pieces of boiled roots, and placed them next to Abu'an.
Abu was holding mutton soup in both hands and kneeling on the ground.
"Your Highness's kindness towards me is like this bowl of mutton soup, which not only warms your body but also your heart."
………………
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