When the Central Plains was turbulent, the far northwest was completely forgotten by people.
The defenders of Liangzhou Guard have been standing guard, even though they have not received any pay for twenty years.
If it weren't for the tattered Ming army uniforms on their bodies and the rusty Ming army standard weapons in their hands, no one would be able to associate them with soldiers.
Because of their frail bodies and old faces, they are even more pitiful than those hungry people fleeing famine in northern Shaanxi.
But they are also lucky.
It is precisely because this area is so poor that no hero is willing to come.
Even Liang Yue entered the Western Regions through Qinghai instead of the famous Hexi Corridor.
They spent twenty years hard and quietly, not even knowing what was happening in the outside world.
"When will the emperor pay us wages? We have planted some land ourselves, but we can't make ends meet!"
Growing crops in the windy desert is absolutely painful.
But these honest and loyal defenders survived for twenty long years relying on these pains.
The officers of the Ninth Division came after hearing the news. Looking at these immortal veterans, they couldn't help but shed tears.
"Brother, Ming Dynasty is gone."
The veteran paused, his face showing no emotion or joy.
After a long time, it turned into a sigh of relief.
"You should have known this a long time ago. You should have known it since Dusi Yamen stopped paying you."
Division commander Bai Xianyao hurriedly asked people to prepare meals and delivered them to the veterans.
Seeing rice, meat, and fresh vegetables, the veterans salivated, but they didn't do anything.
"General, can we take it back to our families?"
Zhang Sanming, the military commander, said quickly: "Don't worry, brother, there is a lot of food, and it will be prepared for you right away."
The veterans then picked up their bowls and chopsticks and stuffed food into their mouths desperately.
Otherwise, how could we suppress twenty years of suffering?
After having enough food and wine, the veterans seemed to be several years younger to the naked eye.
In fact, their appearance is basically caused by malnutrition.
"General, what is the name of the country now? Who is the emperor?"
Bai Xianyao was very patient and thought these veterans were very good.
"The current name of the country is China. The emperor knew that everyone was suffering, so he sent us here. From now on, brothers, you don't have to stick to it, and live a good life."
A veteran looked worried.
"There are many people with white cloths on their heads and black scarves on their faces in the west. They are very fierce. If you want to defend this place, you need to send more troops."
Bai Xianyao looked up at the vast world in the west, full of pride.
"We won't be able to keep it from now on."
Amid the shocked expressions of the veterans, his eyes were full of murderous intent.
"We have to go over and tell them who is the owner of this land."
Behind the Ninth Division, before the Seventh Division set off, a team intervened in the middle.
The team was very large, stretching for dozens of miles, and was not afraid of the wind and sand in the northwest.
This team is not here to fight.
This is a caravan.
The empire promoted and encouraged commerce and treated merchants very favorably. Because of this, businessmen are very courageous.
Upon hearing that the empire was planning to open up the Western Region, merchants with a keen sense of smell spontaneously united together, collected a large amount of goods, and followed the pace of the army to re-open the bloodline of the Silk Road.
The businessmen's approach received strong support from Mao Yuanyi.
Only when you arrive in Xi'an do you realize that without the Western Regions, Xi'an is actually nothing.
Xi'an, Xi'an, to the west.
If Xi'an loses its ability to communicate with the Western Regions, then the city will have no meaning in existence.
This is also the reason why all unified dynasties always strive to expand westward.
Except for tomorrow!
Starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors of the Zhu family have never gotten rid of their true nature as old farmers.
Not even sea trade is allowed, let alone land trade.
Wherever the army walks, it brings destruction. Wherever the caravan passed, it brought life.
Lanzhou, Huangzhong, and Liangzhou Wei all prospered rapidly.
The nearby nomadic people discovered that the newly arrived Han army was not bloodthirsty and just abided by the rules, so they immediately rushed to the market with herds of cattle and sheep.
Years of war have prevented the nearby nomads from obtaining commodities from the Central Plains for too long.
When it was discovered that in the new trade, porcelain, tea, silk, cotton, ironware, etc. were all of high quality and low price, and the transaction tax was negligibly low, the news spread like it had wings.
In addition to the exciting trade, there are also operas, songs and dances from the Central Plains that can be enjoyed at each market point.
People from the Central Plains are very fond of the passionate songs and dances of the Western Regions. Similarly, people from the Western Regions can also appreciate the beauty of the magnificent songs and dances of the Central Plains.
Seeing the people of the Western Regions indulge in such a show, the officials of the empire were all very happy.
In the course of the government school, they heard His Majesty the Emperor himself tell what cultural invasion was.
In the prosperous market, there are not only singing and dancing performances, but also eminent monks and Taoist priests from the Central Plains spreading teachings.
The local imam was very angry and expressed his dissatisfaction.
But there is no doubt that everyone who does this quietly disappears from the world.
Monks and Taoist priests from the Central Plains are far more generous than local imams. Not only are they kind, they also treat illnesses and donate medicines, and even connect people to help them make a living in the new environment.
Once any faith is separated from the satisfaction of food and clothing, there must be very few people who can stick to it.
Buddhism and Taoism in China, supported by huge resources, quickly took root in the northwest, and the number of believers who entered temples and Taoist temples to worship devoutly increased day by day.
The common people, who have accumulated a little wealth and improved their lives through labor, feel more sympathetic after hearing the words of monks and Taoist priests admonishing them to cherish the present.
The seventy-two virgins in the next life are too slim after all. Since the Buddha and Laojun guided the world to obtain rewards through labor more easily, it is better to believe in this.
The National Defense Forces were pleasantly surprised to find that the places they passed by were quickly stabilizing.
This also emboldened the generals.
In early May, the forwards of the Ninth Division drove to Yumen Pass.
This place has exceeded the traditional boundaries of the Ming Dynasty, and the exotic customs come with the rolling yellow sand pavement.
Qinghai is covered with long clouds and dark snow-capped mountains, and the lonely city looks out over Yumen Pass. Yellow sand can wear golden armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will never be returned until it is broken.
Looking at the dilapidated and uninhabited Yumen Pass, everyone in the Ninth Division was excited.
Seven hundred and forty-two years later, a Han army once again set foot on this land, announcing the return of the Central Plains Dynasty.
The bright red flag was planted at the top of Yumenguan City, and the west wind seemed to have a strong ancient charm escorting a group of soldiers with dusty faces as they came happily.
They were gray-haired and shaky, but the horizontal knives on their waists were still extremely sharp.
Facing the immortal sound of the Qiang flute, Bai Xianyao opened his arms to the Western Regions.
"Datang, we are back!"
(End of chapter)
