Chapter 18 King Yan arrives at the mansion
What's the difference?
It’s different on land and sea.
The Ming Dynasty, no, it should be said to be China, has always been a land-based country. The feelings about land and overseas are different. Even though the so-called vassal kings overseas are not far from the Ming Dynasty, most people have no feeling about them.
The King of Yan was in the Western Regions, which was the land of China during the Han and Tang Dynasties. When the imperial court becomes prosperous in the future, will he be displeased?
As for the strength of the imperial court.
King Yan also had his own judgment.
Now King Yan has defeated Timur and has strong power in his hands. If you make up your mind. It is not impossible to pull out an army of hundreds of thousands and call it a million people.
But this does not make King Yan feel safe, and even King Yan feels that although he has become much stronger in recent years. But really speaking, before the war started, the strength between King Yan and the Beijing court was the closest.
Now the strength gap between the two sides has not only not narrowed due to the increase in King Yan's strength, but has widened even more.
King Yan felt that the strength he had now could probably deal with the three armies of the imperial court, which totaled nearly 100,000 people, but he probably couldn't deal with more.
The imperial court is organizing and training the new army. After the complete integration, the three armies will be less than one-tenth of the strength of the Ming imperial court.
As a general, King Yan always speaks with his strength. How could King Yan not worry about this disparity in strength?
It can be said that when he just left the Western Regions, King Yan still had the power of victory in his heart. I want to take this opportunity to have a good talk with the court. But the further east he went, the more King Yan found that this matter was difficult to handle.
Not because of anything else. It's because the strength gap between the two sides is too big.
When King Yan came to Nanjing via Beijing and along the Grand Canal, he felt even more uneasy.
Along the way, he also visited some battlefields. Although the war has been half a year ago. Many traces have been cleaned up, but for a general like King Yan, as long as the terrain remains unchanged. Compare the war records at that time. The situation on the battlefield at that time can be seen through at a glance.
He also made a special trip to Guangwu battlefield.
Pay homage to Fu Youde.
As a general, he felt that Fu Youde had already lost before the war started. The battle of Guangwu was nothing more than a death struggle. Even in a desperate struggle, King Yan didn't think the Yan army in his hands could withstand it.
This is a situation that makes King Yan very sad.
The war suddenly became unfamiliar.
In comparison, Timur is too easy to deal with.
After King Yan arrived in Nanjing, he had not packed up yet. I received an invitation from He Xi.
He Xi wanted to talk to King Yan before the meeting.
In fact, He Xi not only wanted to talk to King Yan first, but also wanted to talk to many people first. The general meeting only passes, and many things are decided in small meetings. However, the reason why King Yan ranked so high was naturally because Zhu Xiongying paid special attention to him from behind.
After all, King Yan is Zhu Xiongying's heart.
King Yan looked at the invitation in his hand and thought to himself, "That's fine, we'll have to talk about it sooner or later."
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After King Yan came to He Mansion, He Xi went out to greet him without mentioning it.
After the two of them had had enough wine and food, King Yan said, "It's been a long time since I've had such authentic Nanjing food."
Speaking of which, King Yan also grew up in Nanjing. It’s just that after traveling around for many years, I have less and less time to come to Nanjing. King Yan didn't even know when he would come to Nanjing next time after this time.
He Xi said: "If Your Highness is willing, I will just arrange for a few cooks to go to the Western Regions."
King Yan said: "There are actually Nanjing cooks in the government. I just don't know why. When they went to the Western Regions, the food they cooked didn't have that taste at all. They were just big chunks of meat and vulgar."
Xinjiang cuisine has this virtue. There is no way to compare it with Jiangnan cuisine.
Of course, there is definitely no Xinjiang cuisine in the Western Regions today. But the problem is, the local
Culture is closely related to local natural endowments. Sichuan is a humid place, so people who eat spicy food naturally tend to sweat easily. There are also reasons why Xinjiang cuisine is that style.
He Xi smiled and said, "The soil and water support the people."
King Yan said: "Brother He, is it okay for me to call you Brother He?"
He Xi said: "Fourth brother, you and I have been brothers for many years. Is there anything we can't talk about?"
At first, He Xi was still a little uneasy when he called King Yan fourth brother. Now that things have changed, King Yan is a little uneasy about calling He Xi his younger brother.
The status is really different.
King Yan said: "I can probably guess what is going on when I come to the capital this time. If you have something to say, just say it directly. Beating around the bush will not be good for anyone."
"Fourth brother, speak quickly. In fact, I don't mention this matter because it depends on what fourth brother thinks. To be honest, there are a lot of things to do today. When fourth brother was here, things in the Western Region were not important. , it actually doesn’t matter whether it’s settled or not. It’s left to future generations to deal with. It may not be a solution. However, since fourth brother has spoken, the two of us will make a charter. How about it?” He Xi said calmly.
King Yan couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing this. It really sounds like this.
From now on, the strength gap between Ming Dynasty and Yan State will only become wider and wider. If we cannot reach an agreement that is acceptable to both parties and is satisfactory to both parties. Things will be difficult to handle in the future.
Now why should I call King Yan "fourth brother", but I don't know who will come to power in the future. After King Yan, no one has such a relationship with the Ming Dynasty court.
Time is here with He Xi, not with King Yan.
King Yan said: "Okay. I don't know what brother He's regulations are."
He Xi said: "My articles of association have never changed. This is what I said in front of Taizu."
King Yan said: "Does my country of Yan have to show favor?"
He Xi said: "Tweet favor? I have never thought about this matter. My idea is very simple, that is, the Western Region cannot be a big country, at least there cannot be a big country in the northern and southern Xinjiang. Mobei does not matter. After all, Mobei The foundation is too shallow. We have to rely on Guan Nei for everything."
"Tending grace is naturally a way."
When King Yan heard this, he immediately discovered that there seemed to be some room for this matter.
What King Yan wants is a powerful Yan State. What He Xi wanted was the strategic security of the Ming Dynasty.
And how to ensure strategic security between two major countries. Naturally, it is necessary to establish a strategic buffer zone.
It's not like He Xi didn't think about occupying the Western Region. He Xi thought carefully about expanding the Ming Dynasty's territory to Central Asia and found that it was meaningless. He could not expand the territory for the sake of expanding the territory.
At this point in time, the future is at sea.
Rather than on land.
The return on every penny invested by He Xi at sea exceeds that in Central Asia. Not to mention, attacking King Yan is likely to destroy the internal and external checks and balances that He Xi has carefully established. The emperor of Xujun, the powerful first assistant, and the peripheral vassal kings defend the emperor. A check-and-balance relationship is formed in many aspects.
Moreover, looking at it from a broader perspective, doesn’t King Yan’s land belong to the Ming Dynasty?
I am afraid that King Yan himself will not admit this. The King of Yan is the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty, and the land of the King of Yan is also the land of the Ming Dynasty, but the way of governance is different.
King Yan found that his thoughts and He Xi's thoughts might be able to coexist.
King Yan would not want to refuse favors if possible. He can give his descendants great rights, but everything must be within the system of Yan State, not outside.
King Yan said: "Brother He, just tell me what you think. Stop playing riddles."
He Xi said, "Fourth brother, are you willing to be Bohu?"
King Yan was stunned and said, "Uncle?"
He Xi said: "Yes, I want to make a few kings in the Western Region. Of course, the place is in the southern border. Of course, I won't let you, Fourth Brother, suffer. First of all, Fourth Brother, you are the Xibo, and you are among the kings of the Western Region. The head of the king has the power to recruit the troops of the kings of the Western Regions."
"As for other
Regarding the matter, Fourth Brother can just send someone to discuss it with the court. "
"To the west of the Western Region, there is also Tianxia, enough to become an emperor."
This is He Xi's plan.
In fact, the general trend of King Yan has been achieved. If King Yan concentrates on heading west now, his military advantage will be no less than that of the Mongols in the Western Expedition. After all, King Yan had enough advantages in firearms and cavalry. Even though the Ming army was powerful, it could not have the entire army on horseback.
But King Yan can do it.
From this point of view, we can see how powerful Yan Jun is.
If King Yan can fight all the way to the Mediterranean, he can establish a powerful empire in West Asia, Central Asia, and even Eastern Europe. He Xi didn't think it was impossible. In terms of military use alone, Ye Chen, who is known as a famous general in the world, may not be above King Yan.
However, victory or defeat on the battlefield is not just a comparison of military tactics.
He Xi hopes to give more support to King Yan instead of dwelling on minor issues. Just like now.
King Yan was focused on competing for power with the imperial court, but he was using it in the wrong place. Timur could still establish a large nomadic empire, couldn't King Yan do it?
He Xi's entire plan was for this purpose. To reach southern Xinjiang, Yan State will be separated from Gansu. In this way, there is a natural dividing line between the Yan Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty. To the east is the Gobi Desert and to the west is the Tianshan Mountains.
In the southern Xinjiang region, several vassal kings were granted the title. These vassal kings must obey the orders of King Yan.
If this happens, King Yan will not feel threatened by his rear. And it is impossible for these vassal kings to be stupid enough to disobey the court's orders.
After all, the imperial court's strength is at its disposal. The King of Yan was extremely afraid. They, the vassal kings, could only live in one city and had no development potential at all. How could they not know who the big and small kings are?
In this way, a buffer zone between the two sides was formed.
He also arranged places for the emperor's uncles and younger brothers who had not been sealed out in the palace.
It can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.
He Xi has given his own plan, it depends on what King Yan thinks.
