Chapter 437 Extra 1 (6) (Update 1)
There is a big lake on the plateau, the water of the lake is as boundless as the sea, hence the name Qinghai. This is a more suitable new name for this place than the West Sea.
If it is the West Sea, it has some meaning of territorial boundary, but the land west of the big lake may be included in the territory of Dayong. Who knows whether there will be another lake or ocean to replace the name of the West Sea.
By then, the West Sea will become the Central Sea and will need to be renamed. It would be better to name it Qinghai at this time.
Cao Cao would not fail to hear that when Qiao Yan gave him this name, there was probably a further intention of advancement in it.
However, this idea of external expansion was only reflected in the Protectorate of the Western Regions, which had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, and was not so directly expressed in the increase of troops in Qinghai.
I heard her continue, "The land of Qinghai can produce a salt lake, and the land around the lake is rich in water and grass. Unfortunately, when Wang Mang usurped power, he was eager to achieve success. After the Beihe Qiang offered their land, they were driven to a place west of the lake where conditions were even worse. They also used the new law of fifty articles to supervise the country, and those who violated the law were relocated here, with a number of tens of thousands of people being relocated. This caused the people here to be angry, and both the Qiang and Han were angry."
"Since the rebellion of the Qiang people in Liangzhou, the winter has become more severe. There are no cities or farmlands in this area. Most of the Qiang people in Qinghai avoid the winter in Huangzhong, and only graze here during spring and autumn. This has made this area increasingly dilapidated. I really feel sorry for it."
"Now that the education of the Qiang people in Liangzhou is on the right track, our Great Yong troops have reached the Qinghai Plateau, not to drive them like slaves, but to bring them farming and animal husbandry methods, cotton clothes and delicious food, and bring the people who insist on defending Qinghai under our rule."
At this time, there was still no sign of the emergence of religion or the birth of a unified political regime in Qinghai and Tibet. The first political regime clearly recorded in Tibetan history was still more than 400 years ago. Even if its birth was traced back a hundred years, it would still be extremely far away from now.
If Cao Cao followed Qiao Yan's instructions and went to Qinghai, he would still be facing the scattered Qiang people, rather than a confrontation with any small country.
So it is not difficult to understand why Qiao Yan gave this task to Cao Cao.
In his early years, when Lu Bu was in charge of supervising the construction of Suiyuan City on Baidao River, he also sent Jia Xu there. He wanted to carry out cultural governance and education in addition to suppressing the rebellion by force. If Cao Cao went far away to Qinghai, there would be no need to worry that the governance of this place would repeat the mistakes of the New Deal.
As for the candidates for suppression by force, Pan Zhang and Wei Yan, who were selected to participate in the battle of Hanoi attacking Weijun at that time, were both enterprising people. It seemed that they would have no part in the expansion of the western border areas and Liaodong. Gan Ning from the Naval Aviation Department had also begun to select his subordinates, and they would never miss this great opportunity to show their talents in Qinghai.
The Baima Qiang, Canlang Qiang, Beihe Qiang, and even the Fa Qiang who live deeper in the Tibetan Plains are all wild and difficult to tame. They need the well-equipped soldiers of Dayong to teach them the rules first!
"Meng De, Qinghai is vast, but the city has not been built yet, and there are dangers at every step. The harmony between the people of Dayong and the Qiang people in Liangzhou may not be able to extend to these territories. Whether you can add another county or even a state to Dayong depends on your ability."
Given Cao Cao's ability and character, he would never think that Qiao Yan's arrangement of him to this barren land was an exile to him, nor would he think that the title of Qinghai County Governor, which he had added to the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, was on the same level as his eldest son Cao Ang's title of Hanzhong Governor.
Just as Qiao Yan said, with the vastness of that land, it would take several days to travel back and forth from Huangzhong to Xigong Salt Lake. Who knows whether it will become an independent state in the future instead of just being called a county.
And when the responsibilities of war, suppression, education, and governance are all placed on one person, this is truly a trust that others cannot obtain.
It would not be appropriate to hand it over to anyone else except Cao Cao!
He stood up and replied: "I will never fail your majesty's trust."
Qiao Yan watched him leave as he accepted the order, a look of satisfaction flashing across his face.
She was not afraid that sending Cao Cao to this area to "march west" would give this hero a chance to be independent.
The vast land and sparse population on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau made it extremely difficult to gather enough manpower here. To enter Liangzhou, one must pass through the Huangzhong area controlled by Qiao Yan.
Wei Yan and Pan Zhang, who were under Cao Cao, were also people with their own ideas. They were not like the Cao and Xiahou families, whose interests were completely tied to Cao Cao's and who were of the same mind as brothers. There were also Cao Ang, Cao Pi and others who had already served under Qiao Yan and were taken as hostages.
Moreover, when the area around Qinghai Lake was rebuilt during Cao Cao's expedition, the evolution of the Central Plains must have proceeded at a faster pace.
Friendship is friendship, and politics is politics.
This is indeed the most suitable destination for Cao Cao.
"I heard that Lingju also wants to fight this year? What does your majesty think about Liaodong?"
Although Buyeo and Goguryeo chose to keep a low profile due to the unification of the Central Plains and the strong garrison in Liaodong, and had long ago severed ties with Gongsun Du, they were still considered "neighboring countries" unless they were formally annexed by Dayong.
In Cai Zhaoji's opinion, His Majesty will not allow them to remain in this state for too long.
But what she didn't expect was that Qiao Yan actually chose to order Cao Cao to start the conquest and construction of Qinghai first, and put Liaodong behind for the time being.
"Wait until after the autumn harvest. Since last year, I have ordered Wenyuan and Lingju to send the Central Plains classics to the Northeast as a gift from the Heavenly Dynasty. It won't be too late to continue this communication for another half a year before launching the attack."
The two routes of advancing towards the Western Regions and Qinghai-Tibet overlapped in their grain allocation routes, and there was support from the three granaries in Guanzhong, Hanzhong and Shuzhong. Although last year's drought had affected production, the grain could still be sustained.
But if we add Liaodong's simultaneous progress, then it would be a really warlike act.
This is not the behavior of a founding monarch.
"At the end of the first year of Yuan Zhao, when I entrusted the affairs of the sea voyage to Gan Xingba, he gave me a response, saying that if I gave him two years, he would definitely give me a navy that could roam freely between the north and the south. After the autumn harvest this year, it will be two years."
Qiao Yan calculated the progress of all parties and said, "When the time comes, Ling Xingba will send troops from the sea, and Wen Yuan and Ling Ju will send troops from the land. How much land they can swallow up will depend on their abilities. The autumn harvest of Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Youzhou will be used for this military campaign."
If even this kind of sailing and fighting cannot achieve the expected results, then how can we talk about ocean-going development?
This is not only the battle that the Youzhou generals have been looking forward to for a long time, but also the starting point of her maritime hegemony!
"Zhao Ji," Qiao Yan looked at her and said seriously, "Now among the Qiang people living in Liangzhou, they already regard it as an honor to communicate in writing using the Central Plains characters. The Southern Route of the Western Regions Protectorate has also been fully under control. It is the trend of the times to promote the Chinese language. Isn't it the same for the overseas oceans as they move forward step by step?"
"I see you have a new mission lately."
When educating students, we must teach them in accordance with their aptitude, and the same applies to educating the people.
How these small countries' citizens, who have different cultural backgrounds and levels of civilization, are supposed to learn the language, customs and culture of the Central Plains China depends on the contents of the books that arrive with the army.
And all of this was obviously the responsibility of Cai Zhaoji, who compiled the Leping Monthly News for many years.
The soldiers who went on expeditions to all directions not only had heavy responsibilities on their shoulders, but also faced various crises between the expeditions. However, the spread of culture was also a long and arduous task.
It is also a struggle that lasts longer than fighting.
How could Cai Zhaoji not know Qiao Yan's concerns and prospects? But ever since she followed Qiao Yan to Leping and took on the responsibility of clerk under her, she had made up her mind that she would never fall behind Her Majesty, and now would be no exception.
Before the autumn harvest, she will give Qiao Yan a satisfactory answer.
Before he retired, Yang Biao was able to detect Qiao Yan's potential intention to reform official positions. As a close minister of Qiao Yan and the Shaofu whose power structure had changed, he would not miss this special signal.
Your Majesty has not raised it at the moment, but it is necessary to conquer all directions and establish the capital in the Central Plains to the point where the results of the war cannot be refuted.
Then, of course, she would help His Majesty to take another step forward!
——————
Of course, none of those who intended to leave their footprints in Xuanyuan Pavilion or in the history of Dayong would stop at this moment.
Ma Chao, who had crossed Xuandu Mountain, could not stop.
The vastness of the snow-capped mountains that I felt when I looked at them from afar was far less impressive than when I was actually there.
Even though Ma Chao, Yan Xing and others were born in Liangzhou, they knew how difficult the situation was on the plateau. Even though Yu Fan had good legs and a hard-working temperament, he still felt an indescribable feeling of fatigue on the tenth day of the journey because all he saw was snow and steep cliffs.
But having reached this point, they had probably only completed one-third of their journey over the mountains and across the hills, so there was no chance for them to stop.
Once the action plan they had established in the previous five days was disrupted, they would most likely be trapped in the deep mountains and snow-capped ridges, never to be able to leave!
So of course they can't stop.
When negative voices appeared among the soldiers, they had to try their best to restore morale.
But even so, after another five or six days of walking, when they were about to turn from the uphill road to the downhill road, Ma Chao was still stunned by the scene before him.
"The name of Xuandu Mountain is truly worthy of its reputation..."
What appeared before him was a long steep slope that was more than forty miles long.
A steep slope, almost covered with ice and snow and even vertically descending, appeared in front of them in a terrifying posture that was daunting. The so-called suspension slope that required walking on a rope was right here!
There were even snow-capped mountains standing in front of them, making it impossible to tell whether they were really halfway through the journey when they arrived here.
Ma Chao couldn't help but feel extremely fortunate that they did not bring the horses here, otherwise if the horses missed a step, they would drag the people into the abyss as well.
But if there were only people, it would be much better!
"Give the soldiers a hot meal, distribute crampons, and tie them to their shoes."
The soldiers' soft-soled shoes were specially designed for this march.
The oilcloth produced in large quantities after sesame was planted in Liangzhou in the early years was the material used to make shoes for them at this moment. Under the thousand-layer sole formed by fur and animal glue, layers of patterns were intentionally made in an attempt to avoid slipping when walking on the snowy ridges. However, in such a place, how could there be enough grip? They could only hope that the crampons tied to the shoes, with the help of the long thorns and the hanging ropes, would allow people to successfully stand on the ice and descend from a height.
Even with the help of such equipment, it was because Ma Chao climbed down first that these soldiers, who had been traveling for more than ten days, regained their spirits.
What made the expedition team move forward one after another was that Yu Fan, who served as the "military advisor" in the team, also led the way and challenged the long and steep slope.
Even a person who is theoretically a civil servant is not afraid of such challenges and hardships, so what reason do the rest of them have to fall behind!
If we move a step later, we will have to endure the cold among the snowy mountains for a while. It would be better to break through the encirclement of the mountains as soon as possible and enter the territory of the Kushan Empire to rob their horses and attack their cities!
——These words were said by Yu Fan.
"You are a scholar, and you are the one who should say what the bandits who stole horses and attacked the city said?" Ma Chao couldn't help but mutter a few words.
But Yu Fan would know that although Ma Chao's words seemed to show disdain, they also reflected his approval of Yu Fan.
He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does the general think this is useful?"
It is useful, of course it is useful.
The Dayong soldiers, who were already lacking in this momentum, were unwilling to admit that they were not as good as the literati in Yangzhou. At this moment, they were thinking about how they would shock the Kushans with the power of a powerful country and its elite soldiers after crossing the mountains. Any fear they had about this kind of terrain was thrown out of their minds.
Seeing this scene, Ma Chao couldn't help but laugh and said, "I mean, you're understating it. We're still going to rob them of their food and burn their coveted hearts. Sooner or later, we'll give their capital an explosion!"
"No need to be early or late." Yu Fan patted the box that never left his sight, "This time it will work."
Ma Chao: “……?”
Yu Fan's expression made it clear that he was not telling a joke.
As long as they can cross this snowy mountain range, they can achieve this goal—
Let them give those Kushans a shocking blow with explosives!
The author has something to say:
The cover has been changed. Hehe, this is the last cover.
In the evening I put together a list of all the covers I’ve used.
I feel that I have a pretty good eye for commissioned works, and basically none of them have failed.
It’s like raising a goose daughter. It’s come to this stage now, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Let me tell you, when I asked someone to typeset the cover, the artist made me laugh to death. I asked her if she should put the words on the back layer, and she said that these two words were just right for the position of the hand, which conveyed the idea that the world is in the palm of one's hand.
OK, I'm convinced.
See you at nine o'clock in the evening~
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