Chapter 100: The Storm Meets in Lanzhou
Zhao Zongshou came to the capital after a long journey. He was immediately received by He Xi.
If Zhao Zongshou hadn't gotten Mei Yin's hint, he wouldn't have been able to see He Xi immediately. After all, He Xi was busy with work and had no time to see him.
Even if nothing else happens. Even if he knew about Mei Yin, He Xi would not see Zhao Zongshou immediately.
After meeting Zhao Zongshou, He Xi first inquired about some of Mei Yin's thoughts. He Xi immediately asked Zhao Zongshou about the latest news that King Yan had conveyed, and said, "You have just come back from the northwest. What do you think King Yan thinks?"
Zhao Zongshou should not have been asked about this matter, but the land of Gansu is very important for national defense and security. But for the struggle for supremacy in the world, it is just leftovers. Not that important at all.
He Xi didn't pay much attention to this.
The conditions proposed by King Yan also have too many uncertainties.
Only then did He Xi need someone who knew the northwest, or at least someone who had come from the northwest, to ask.
This is also the preparation work before He Xi makes a decision. At least he must first listen to the judgment of the people on the front line.
Zhao Zongshou took a look at King Yan's conditions.
King Yan hoped that the two armies would meet in Gansu, so that he could mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry to attack Gansu from Hami. The Northern Army only needs to march westward, go to Ningxia, and join forces in Lanzhou.
This includes not only these things, but also some subsequent distribution of benefits. King Yan hoped to occupy Gansu for a period of time, and then give up Gansu after the world was settled.
In He Xi's eyes, Gansu was just leftovers, but in the eyes of King Yan, it was not.
After all, Gansu is a traditional Han land, with Han people settling there and garrison troops stationed there, with hundreds of thousands of Han people. It may not seem like much, but to King Yan, this is already a very important population. After occupying it for several years, it was able to recruit tens of thousands of Han people from Gansu Province into the army, which was of great significance to the Yan State.
After all, the ruling class of Yan State is Han Chinese. But the main ethnic group is Mongolian. The number of Han people directly determines the stability of Yan's rule.
Moreover, Gansu is a Han region, and for most places in the Ming Dynasty, the grain output makes those who hear it sad and those who see it shed tears. But no matter what, there is still stable food output. But the Western Region is different. It is not impossible to farm in the Western Regions. But the Mongols have no idea of building the Western Region at all. They do not have the habit of the Han people to go to a place to see if it can be cultivated.
Many places in the Western Region would be very suitable for farming if they were reclaimed.
But now it is deserted. Farming was simply impossible.
Whether it is population, food, or even trade routes, they are all needed by King Yan to manage the Western Regions. Which Beijing doesn't need.
For He Xi, if Guanzhong is captured, the mission to the northwest can be assured, so why bother attacking. But for King Yan, Timur was eyeing him and might march eastward at any time. One more day that Gansu's trade routes are opened up will be beneficial to King Yan. And if we can make a fortune from Gansu, that would be even better.
Therefore, after the Battle of Yulin, King Yan immediately sent someone to discuss this matter with He Xi.
As far as He Xi himself is concerned, he actually does not want to create extraneous problems. He will honestly follow his original plan, break through the elm forest and go to Yan'an and enter the Guanzhong Plain.
Why bother to fight in Lanzhou?
But He Xi had to consider the implication of King Yan's words.
That is, King Yan has already said it. Beijing does not agree. Then King Yan will take it upon himself. If the province of Gansu falls into the hands of King Yan, it will be much more troublesome to take it back in the future.
It even triggered a war between the imperial court and Yan State.
After all, as far as border defense is concerned, Gansu is absolutely indispensable. Without Gansu, the situation in northwest China would change drastically. The imperial court needed to maintain a very long line of defense, just like the Hengshan line of defense between Song and Xia. More importantly, the northwest entrance to Tibet was likely to be controlled by the Yan State. At that time, the Yan Kingdom will not only include Mobei, the Western Regions, but also Tibet.
Although it is said that the current strength of Yan State is still within the allowable range of He Xi. But He Xi's previous plans had gotten a little out of control.
When He Xi was discussing with Zhu Yuanzhang, there were several kings to be granted in the entire Western Region. They restrained each other, and a certain king led the other kings to march westward. In this way, the imperial court could rule indirectly, and could even establish certain prefectures and counties directly under the jurisdiction, such as the current model in Nanyang.
Just because of various reasons, the layout of the Western Region completely collapsed.
Fortunately, with the Industrial Revolution, the decline of the nomads has become a foregone conclusion, and it is difficult for large empires to emerge in Central Asia.
He Xi can still endure it, but the premise is that the power of Yan State is limited within a certain range, not what it is now. If the Yan State becomes the behemoth he imagined, it will threaten the Central Plains from all strategic directions. This made He Xi determined that he couldn't bear it.
In today's war between the north and the south, the battle in Lanzhou is superfluous.
But looking at the future, judging from the complete Ming Dynasty, the current scale of the Yan Kingdom has exceeded the limit. It is just that sanctions cannot be imposed due to various reasons, but King Yan cannot be tolerated to extend his hand to Gansu.
But this is just a principle.
How to deal with the specific situation depends on the front line.
Even if we give in now and leave it to the future, it is not an option.
After all, He Xi only asked for restrictions on overseas vassal kings and had no intention of uprooting them, and King Yan was also a smart man. Smart people can communicate and communicate. It won't make things irreversible.
Everything depends on the situation on the front line?
He Xi asked not only Zhao Zongshou, but also many other people who were from the Northwest or had previously done work related to the Northwest.
Zhao Zongshou's heart moved and he said: "Sir, this is a God-given opportunity. I have seen the troops in the northwest. There are only two places at the moment. One is in Yanbian, and the other is the front line confronting our army. And the troops in Yanbian are drawn out again. Smoking, it’s reached its extreme.”
"Go south to Yan'an and attack its strong walls. But march west to Ningxia, but you will mop up the remaining soldiers. More importantly, the morale of the army is low. Nanjing attaches great importance to Guanzhong, but neglects Ningxia and Gansu. Most of the soldiers in Guanzhong receive more favors from Nanjing. But those in Ningxia and Gansu Soldiers, but not the same. These people have been guarding the border for many years, and they are not even noticed by Nanjing."
"The decision can be made in a battle."
"What's more, Mei Consort is here. If Mei Consort helps, this matter will be easy."
Xiningwei is not far from Lanzhou. If Mei Yin suddenly launches an attack and raids Lanzhou, Lanzhou will be defeated. The other armies in the northwest also fell apart. After all, Lanzhou, as the later capital of Gansu Province, has a very important geographical location. It is the core of the northwest. Speaking of geographical factors alone, it is still above Guanzhong.
He Xi thought for a moment and said, "Can you persuade Mei Yin?"
Zhao Zongshou said: "My lord, what you said is wrong. It's not that I can persuade Mei Yin, but it depends on what kind of conditions your lord offers."
He Xi secretly thought: "With Mei Yin here, the Battle of Lanzhou cannot be fought." He had also asked Qu Neng and the General Staff about their thoughts before. Their thoughts were all military-friendly, except for two points. The first is time, and the second is consumption.
After all, Northwest Broken has said it before. Many places cannot be said to be deserted. But there were not many people, and a large army marching needed to bring many civilians from the rear to transport the baggage. Due to logistical reasons, it is impossible to reproduce Yulin's style of play.
If the siege lasts for a long time, time will become a problem.
In other words, the worst result, this winter, is just to pacify the northwest. After all, this battle will occupy logistical supplies and launch the Battle of Lanzhou, so there is no need to even think about attacking Guanzhong.
But if Mei Yin helps. Then maybe try it. It can cause a large number of defections, and maybe the Thirteenth Army can be organized in Gansu. And it will not affect this year's plan to attack Guanzhong.
But can Mei Yin do it? He Xi was not sure either.
He pondered for a moment and said: "You can go to Xining and talk to Mei Yin. If he can surrender Xining to the imperial court, he will be granted the title of Marquis of Xining. If they capture Lanzhou, they will be granted the title of Duke of Liang and let him take charge of organizing and training the surrendering army. , under the military control of the Thirteenth Army."
"Also tell him what King Yan thinks about Gansu. Let him know how difficult this Duke of Liang is."
Zhao Zongshou was overjoyed and said, "I understand."
