In early April, Beijing is a vibrant green city with lush grass and birdsong.

Near Beijing West Railway Station, rows of fully armed Kuomintang soldiers stood in neat rows in the open field.

The leading unit was the 6th Infantry Division of the Northern Military Region, with the 4th Cavalry Division of the Northern Army alongside them.

Two divisions, more than 20,000 people, marched in a mighty and magnificent manner!

This force has assembled here for the purpose of launching a northern expedition against the grassland bandits!

After the decision to launch a northern expedition against the grassland bandits was made at the operational conference, all military regions began their operations.

The Northern Military Region, located in Beijing, was naturally not idle either.

After a period of preparation, the 6th Infantry Division and the 4th Cavalry Division, the vanguard of the Northern Military Region, are ready.

In the morning, a swearing-in ceremony was held, presided over by Mu Yunyan, commander of the Northern Military Region, and Zhao Bingzhang, director of the General Political Department.

After the ceremony, Wang Qinggu, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, and Zhang Le, commander of the 4th Cavalry Division, led their troops northward.

The capital city, on the city wall.

Looking at the mighty army marching north, Li Xin said confidently, "After this northern expedition, the external environment of our Daqian Kingdom will be even more stable! There will be no enemy troops to harass our borders. We can then concentrate on developing the economy and building our homeland, so that all the people under heaven can live a happy and peaceful life!"

"Your Majesty's dedication to the country and its people is truly a blessing for the nation and a boon for the country!"

The Grand Secretary Yu Maocai, standing beside him, clasped his hands in praise.

Hearing Yu Maocai's words, Li Xin smiled and shook his head, saying, "You, what's the use of saying so many flowery words? You'd be better off doing more practical things!"

"Your Majesty's teachings are correct!"

Yu Maocai bowed and said, "Your Majesty, our Daqian Kingdom has begun its northern expedition against the grassland bandits, and the security of the border will be secured in the future. However, how to settle the border areas after the grassland bandits are defeated is a problem."

"Recently, the cabinet has drawn on a pattern from the wars fought against the northern grasslands in previous dynasties."

"law?"

Li Xin's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile, "What's the pattern? Tell me about it."

"His Majesty,"

Yu Maocai explained, "At the beginning of any dynasty's existence and during its most prosperous period, it can exert absolute control over the northern grasslands and occupy a dominant position. However, after pacifying the northern grasslands, they are mostly left to their own devices. As time goes by, when the dynasty declines, the northern grasslands will seize the opportunity to rise up and once again become a scourge to the Central Plains!"

"This cycle repeats itself endlessly, and it has been the same in every dynasty!"

"If we don't reform these methods after pacifying the northern grasslands, we might follow the same path as the previous dynasty, and the northern grasslands will rebel again, causing hardship and waste of resources. Therefore, we need to consider in advance how to govern the northern grasslands after they are pacified."

How to manage it?

Li Xin looked at Yu Maocai with a sense of admiration.

This person is quite skilled!

They have a long-term vision, considering this matter before coming here.

However, since Yu Maocai has raised this question, he must have his own ideas about it.

Thinking it over, Li Xin smiled and asked, "What suggestions do you have for how to govern this?"

"His Majesty,"

Yu Maocai replied, "During this period, after the cabinet raised this issue, it also drafted several ideas. After some discussion, it was still felt that our Great Gan Kingdom should personally appoint officials to govern it, and in addition, we should also carry out matters such as immigration to strengthen the border and land reclamation for farming, so as to ensure the long-term safety of the northern grasslands."

"oh?"

Li Xin couldn't help but laugh, "Has a detailed plan been developed?"

"Your Majesty, the detailed plan is being drafted."

Yu Maocai began by saying, "However, the general measures have been basically discussed and agreed upon."

"first,"

Yu Maocai began, “We need to change the existing ruling structure of the northern grasslands. After the grassland bandits are wiped out or surrender, we must promptly eliminate the existing rulers and divide the land according to regions. Our Great Gan Kingdom will send officials to manage these areas. Initially, the troops of each military region can implement military management. After the situation stabilizes, we will send civil officials to govern.”

Secondly,

Yu Maocai continued, “The northern grasslands are mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes, and there are very few people from our Great Gan Kingdom. This is not conducive to governance. Therefore, the cabinet has decided, following the examples of Dongning and Liaodong, to recruit people to go to the border regions to cultivate and defend the frontier, and to settle people in the border areas. Only when there are more people from our Great Gan Kingdom in these regions can we guarantee that these places will forever belong to our Great Gan Kingdom!”

"third,"

Yu Maocai held up three fingers and continued, "Establishing officials to govern and relocating people to populate the border is only the initial stage. The third step is to implement new management measures for the surrendered grassland bandits."

"During this period, the Cabinet, after reviewing examples of past dynasties' conquests of the border regions, discovered that the governance measures differed for each territory permanently occupied by our Great Gan Kingdom. For instance, in Lingnan, since the initial unification of the six kingdoms and its subsequent return to our Great Gan Kingdom, the court encouraged intermarriage between the locals and our people. Our Great Gan Kingdom's customs and traditions also spread to various parts of Lingnan, with the standardization of writing, cart axles, and other practices. Although customs in Lingnan still differ from those in the interior, they are now inextricably linked!"

"Such measures should also be extended to the northern grasslands!"

"The policies of standardizing writing, cart tracks, and pronunciation, as well as promoting intermarriage, implemented in the southwestern border regions some time ago, can be extended to the northern grasslands."

"Only by thoroughly transforming the customs and traditions of the northern grasslands and integrating them into the cultural system of our Great Gan Kingdom can we ensure that the northern grasslands will no longer become a cause of turmoil on the northern border of the Great Gan Kingdom!"

Yu Maocai concluded, "These three points are the preliminary strategies we have developed after discussions within our cabinet. As for the specific details and implementation rules, they still need to be refined. Your Majesty, what do you think?"

"Hmm."

Li Xin smiled and nodded, saying, "Your cabinet has done a very thorough job, excellent! These measures are not only applicable to Silla and the southwestern border, but can also be extended to the northern grasslands. Furthermore, if our Great Gan Kingdom continues to expand its territory, they will be equally applicable to other regions!"

"but,"

Li Xin changed the subject and continued, "These aspects are not comprehensive. Let me add one more point, which is military settlement! In addition to immigration to strengthen the border, the three major settlement armies established after the recent military reforms of our Great Gan Kingdom can also be included."

"When the northern grasslands are pacified, Wei Dahai's Northeast Reclamation Army will inevitably enter the northern grasslands to carry out reclamation work near important nodes and towns. At that time, the reclamation army will also play an indispensable role!"

"Yu Maocai, add this point as well, and further refine this plan!"

Yu Maocai quickly replied, "Your subject obeys the decree!"