After the Inner Khalkha and other Mongolian tribes surrendered, the imperial court did not prohibit intermarriage between Han and Mongolians in order to show that they were treated equally, and there were no restrictions on soldiers either.

As military dependents, they could naturally live in the city and enjoy various preferential treatments. And those who took concubines, like Boss Wu, could also obtain permanent residence permits after reporting and reviewing.

Kong Youde initially led 3,000 elite cavalry to Tongliao, recruited manpower from various Mongolian tribes, built cities, and established settlements and cultivated land on the alluvial plain of the Xiliao River.

The road from Liaodong to Tongliao was also completed thanks to the efforts of the surrendered Mongol tribes. The post stations along the way were well-connected, allowing for both information transmission and material transportation, sufficient to support Kong Youde's troops stationed in Tongliao.

Then, five hundred Han Chinese families migrated from Liaodong, along with their military families, and Tongliao City became a prosperous place. The booming popularity and thriving trade made Tongliao flourish, and within a little over two years, it had begun to take on the air of a metropolis.

The number of troops under Kong Youde also expanded to 5,000, of which 2,000 were naturalized Mongolian cavalry. They no longer belonged to the Mongolian nobles or the Jasaks, but were the same as the Ming army.

If the troops of various Mongolian tribes were recruited, the cavalry would exceed 10,000. Adding the Ming army in Liaodong and the troops in Jilin Prefecture to the east, it would be more than enough to resist the eastward invasion of the Chahar tribe, and even have an absolute advantage.

Today's wars are no longer judged by the number of troops. As long as the gap is not too big, the weapons and equipment of the Ming army can play a decisive role.

At least Kong Youde was confident in curbing the eastward expansion of the Chahar tribe. The cornerstone of his confidence was the 5,000 flying cavalry under his command.

Even the Jiannu couldn't be their match if they pushed forward with a wall of cavalry, let alone the Chahar troops?

After inspecting the commercial district, Kong Youde led the cavalry back to the city and went straight to the barracks. Just as he sat down in the room and took out the cigar from the box, the staff officer came to report on his work.

"The general is back." The staff officer saluted and placed a pile of documents on the desk.

Kong Youde grinned and said, "You've only been away for a dozen days, and you already have so much official business? Just pick out the important ones and read them over. As for the unimportant ones, you and Lao Zhang will handle them."

"Okay." The staff officer took three documents from above, opened them and began to read.

"Any release of land, whether public or private, must be reported to the court by the jasak in writing to the local administrative chief for approval. The release will be made by the government as per regulations. Otherwise, it will be considered as private release. Anyone who privately releases wasteland will be punished according to the severity of the offense: 1. Demotion of rank; 2. Fine of salary; 3. Fine of livestock; Privately released wasteland will be returned to the government for separate disposal, and the price paid for the wasteland will be recovered..."

"If the land to be opened is Mongol or Manchu nomadic territory, the jasak must apply to the court for approval and at the same time, submit a report to the local chief for record. All wasteland areas must be handled by the nearby government. Half of the revenue collected will go to the state and half to the jasak. The revenue will be collected by the county office and the wasteland management bureau and distributed accordingly. A certain amount of rent will be paid to the national treasury, and a certain amount will be distributed to the league and banner..."

Kong Youde exhaled a puff of thick smoke and said, "The court has introduced this policy, which is just as it should be, to hold the right to open up new land for cultivation. However, the lack of population is a problem."

The staff officer smiled, picked up the document, and said, "We've recruited quite a few Koreans in Liaodong. One thousand of them have been assigned to Tongliao and will arrive soon."

Kong Youde thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Okay, as long as they can cultivate the land and pay taxes, that's fine. However, these people shouldn't be settled in the city. Let's just set up a new village outside!"

"Yes, I think so too," the staff officer said with a smile. "This is a foolproof plan, even though they can't cause any trouble."

"A thousand people want to make trouble. Just send out a cavalry squad to kill them all." Kong Youde curled his lips with disdain.

The staff officer nodded in agreement and said, "The three thousand muskets allocated by the court arrived yesterday. Lao Zhang is registering the people in the city and organizing them into formations, and is preparing to set aside time for training."

"Three thousand—enough for now." Kong Youde cheered up and said, "With these three thousand armed city residents, we don't have to worry about the city when we send out a large force."

After a pause, Kong Youde added, "In addition to musket training, we also need to add horsemanship. From now on, every family must have a horse or a carriage. This place is so vast, and it would be very inconvenient without a horse."

The staff officer agreed and did not argue with his superior. He said that it would take at least three to five years for every family to have a horse or carriage.

Fortunately, the upper reaches of the Liao River have a semi-arid climate, suitable for both farming and animal husbandry. Besides reclaiming wasteland for farming, they also plan to establish a horse ranch.

After reporting the business, the staff officer smiled and said, "The Zasak of the Left Front Banner of Khorchin sent two Mongolian beauties to the general..."

"Go back, go back." Kong Youde waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I have already made an engagement. I can't afford to marry a beautiful girl from Liaodong. I can't afford a Mongolian beauty."

"Why not stay at the mansion and be a servant girl?" the staff officer suggested. "The mansion is almost in good repair, and with so few servants, it seems quite empty."

Kong Youde thought about it carefully, then shook his head and said, "It's not right, it's not right! Although the Mongolian tribes have surrendered and are considered citizens of the Ming Dynasty, I am a general. Keeping a Mongolian woman here will easily lead to criticism."

It was not a big problem for ordinary soldiers to marry Mongolian women, and it was even less of a problem for naturalized Mongolian cavalrymen, but Kong Youde felt that he had a bright future and it was not worth being affected by such a small matter.

The generals were all clear about the court's intentions. A battle with Ligdan Khan would come sooner or later, and now they were just trying to contain and block him.

The purpose of stopping Ligdan Khan's attempt to expand eastward was to force the Chahar tribe to move westward and fight with the right-wing Mongolian tribes, allowing the Ming Dynasty to reap the benefits.

First of all, Lin Danhan had already been deserted by his friends and relatives in the left wing of Mongolia, and the Ming army was in high spirits, so he might not dare to go to war with the Ming army.

Secondly, Guangning, a trading base with the Ming, had been cut off by the surrendered Inner Khalkha tribes. If they attempted to break through, the Ming army would not only intervene but also directly cut off trade and rewards, thus making it even more difficult for Ligdan Khan to achieve his goal.

The right-wing Mongol tribes were weak and were no match for the Chahar tribe. By annexing the right-wing tribes, not only could the "market reward" given to the right wing by the Ming Dynasty be taken for himself, but the Mongol Khan's position as the overlord could also be restored.

The situation was already quite clear. If the Chahar tribe wanted to maintain trade and market rewards, it would be unlikely for them to have a head-on conflict with the Ming army, and they would also be unable to attack and annex the left-wing Mongolian tribes that had surrendered to the Ming.

Therefore, the number of Ming troops advancing north to Tongliao, Shuangliao, Siping and other places was not too large, and the possibility of actual combat was not great.

At least, in the short term, it was impossible for Ligdan Khan to go to war with the Ming army, and the Ming army was just watching the fight, waiting for the Mongolian tribes forced by Ligdan Khan to surrender.

When Ligdan Khan was deserted by his friends and relatives on both the left and right wings of Mongolia, it was time for the Ming army to show its strength and defeat the Chahar tribe in one fell swoop.

Kong Youde lay comfortably in his armchair, squinting his eyes at the large map on the wall. Now was the time to accumulate strength. When the battle began, the Tongliao garrison would be the spearhead of the Chahar tribe.