On the broad avenue, rows of troops marched in formation.

Even though he was wearing heavy armor, his steps were not at all disorderly.

The weather has become a little cold. It is now November and the cold wind seems quite biting.

The surrounding grass and trees are no longer green, and it looks a bit desolate.

Looking from above, the long army looked like a long winding dragon.

This was exactly the army led by Zhu Yuanzhang and his grandson Zhu Yingtai on their southern tour.

"It's rare to see my grandson being so diligent."

Zhu Yuanzhang had a smile on his lips. The cold wind outside had nothing to do with the dragon chariot. There was a charcoal basin inside that was enough for heating, and there was also hot tea next to it.

The dragon chariot was not moving very fast, and there was no strong sense of bumps inside.

"In another eight months, we will reach Annan. Although the overall situation in Annan is good, the situation in various regions is not very optimistic."

"I originally wanted to let Gao Chi conduct the education, but judging from the information I have received so far, it is not as good as I thought."

"We must take advantage of this southern tour to deal with the situation in Annan. Only by thoroughly incorporating Annan into the rule of the Ming Dynasty can we use Annan as a springboard and gradually control the entire Southeast Asia."

"If we can't even control Annan, other places will be even more troublesome. I don't want to take that last step."

Zhu Ying looked through some detailed information about Annan and said to the old man.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly: "Sometimes, it's enough to just listen to what the Imperial Observatory said. It's not that mysterious."

"It seems that Da Sun took everything Liu Rixin said seriously. In fact, from my point of view, if such a day really comes, it will not be something you and I can control."

Zhu Ying stopped reading, his eyes flickering slightly.

The old man just mentioned Liu Rixin, but in fact he was the one who secretly told Liu Rixin to say it.

That's the prediction of the Little Ice Age.

Because Zhu Ying now needs the old man to support his plan to expand Nanyang with all his strength.

Educating Annan is not an easy task.

There are too many chieftain ethnic groups involved.

According to statistics of Annan, there are more than 40 Tusi ethnic groups, each with its own customs and culture.

Education means letting them get rid of their own culture and bad habits and learn the cultural knowledge advanced by the Ming Dynasty.

But for many people, especially the elderly, if they are asked to abandon all their knowledge, what is the difference between that and killing them.

Even if they die, they will maintain the inheritance of their national chieftain culture.

Maybe this is called stubbornness, but the elderly often insist on this.

This situation is not only found in Han culture, but is also the case among other ethnic groups.

It takes time to change.

Education is never aimed at the older generation, but the new generation.

But it is obviously impossible to ask all newborns in Annan to learn Chinese culture. This is unrealistic.

If we really have this ability, we might as well just popularize Ming Dynasty education.

Obviously, even now, even though Ming Dynasty's education is constantly expanding, most people are still at the illiterate stage.

Compulsory education only allows more people to learn to read and write, and in-depth education is not something that can be changed in the Ming Dynasty today.

If the Ming Dynasty was like this, what about Annan?

Of course, Zhu Ying did not necessarily want to achieve this. He just wanted more ethnic groups in Annan to be assimilated into the Ming Dynasty, so that at least they would not rebel, but would honestly farm and provide the Ming Dynasty with enough food reserves to deal with future crises.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe Liu Rixin or not. If we rule the entire Southeast Asia, then the Ming Dynasty will have more food than it can eat."

"This alone is enough to be a great achievement that will be recorded in history, so my grandson thinks it can be implemented."

"And if there really is a huge crisis as Liu Rixin said, even if our descendants are mediocre, they can still rely on the food supply from Southeast Asia to survive the long darkness."

Zhu Ying's tone was insistent and serious.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.

In fact, he had no intention of interfering too much in this matter. As time went by, the eldest grandson was the future of the Ming Dynasty. No matter what he did, it didn't matter much.

Completely ruling over Nanyang is obviously a huge project. This is not to say that it is difficult to occupy it by force. According to the current military strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is not a big problem to withdraw 500,000 troops to capture Nanyang.

But after taking over Nanyang in this way, the entire Nanyang became a complete mess.

It is possible that in the next few decades, Nanyang will be in the midst of uprisings and chaos, with lives being lost everywhere and food being grown everywhere.

Such a Nanyang is not only of no benefit to the Ming Dynasty, but is a greater burden.

This will consume a large amount of the Ming Dynasty's treasury and military force over a long period of time.

The Nanyang that Da Sun mentioned is almost equivalent to most of the Ming Dynasty today.

Expanding the territory of the Ming Dynasty by another one third is something that even a general who is eager for merit would not dare to imagine.

But the eldest grandson is working towards this goal.

"Let's take a look at the situation in Annan. If it's too troublesome, we might as well follow our previous method. Even though some people will die, it's not a big problem."

When Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, there was a hint of indifference in his eyes.

Zhu Ying smiled bitterly.

Of course he knew what the old man was talking about, and this was also the last step of his preparation.

If this trip to Annan doesn't produce much results, we can only do as the old man says.

The main concern is that Annan is different from the North. After all, it is not settled in the Central Plains, and the support from the grassroots people may not be that strong.

Moreover, the transition to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and the enslavement of the people created expectations for the former Han dynasty in the Central Plains, which was the key reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did not encounter much resistance.

In comparison, in the eyes of the Annan people, the Ming Dynasty was an outsider.

If the stimulation is too harsh, it will easily rebound and cause greater unrest.

But according to Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, no matter how big the storm would be.

Even if the entire Annan rebels again, so what? The worst that can happen is that we can just put it down again.

If they don’t obey, I will keep killing them until only the obedient ones are left.

To be honest, with such domineering words, even if Zhu Ying himself is considered cruel, it is still very difficult to reach the level of the old man.

Violence may not solve the problem, but it can solve the problem for the people who have the problem.

In this regard, Zhu Yuanzhang really reached his peak.

"Okay, if that doesn't work, just follow Grandpa's method."

Zhu Ying nodded in reply.

Maybe it's no big deal if it's simple and crude.

The army moved forward slowly, and not far ahead was Guilin Prefecture in Guangxi.

…

Sultan of Delhi.

Now the situation here has become a mess.

Under the continuous invasion of Timur's army, nearly half of the territory of the Delhi Sultanate had been occupied.

In the confrontation between the soldiers, the Delhi Sultan was always at a disadvantage.

According to the course of history, the current Delhi Sultanate would have been conquered by Timur, the rule of the Tughlaq Dynasty was completely destroyed, and all members of the royal family were escorted to Samarkand.

However, due to the involvement of the Ming Dynasty, there is still a possibility of confrontation.

Originally, Zhu Ying arranged people to come here just to divide up some wealth, but he didn't expect that they would actually stop the offensive of Timur's army.

He had no idea how outstanding the students would be as a result of the extensive experience gained from future military confrontations.

Wang Jinyi, a student who graduated from the Ming Military Academy with excellent grades, was able to become the deputy commander of Wusi in just over a year, even though he was leading an army of 50,000 with a large number of Tibetan miscellaneous soldiers, Mongolian cavalry, and a few Han officers.

In the confrontation with Timur's army, they gained a great advantage.

Timur's grandson, Khalil, the son of Milansha, was not at the same level as Wang Jinyi.

What's more, it is a battle to defend a city, a confrontation in which one already has an advantage.

"We've been attacking for nearly a month. I think the other side has basically lost their will."

"What a pity! The Ottoman Empire is so weak that it can't even hold out for a year. It just let Timur capture you so easily. Even its own emperor was captured."

"Otherwise, we can still counterattack."

Standing on the city wall, looking at the densely packed tents below, Wang Jinyi had nothing to worry about.

The enemy has attacked the city more than ten times this month, but failed to take it every time.

There were even a few times when Wang Jinyi opened the city gates when the enemy's momentum was declining, allowing the Mongolian cavalry to ride out and shoot two rounds before entering the city.

The other side suffered heavy losses and there was nothing they could do.

However, intelligence came that after capturing the Ottoman emperor, Timur gave up on conquering Ottoman territory and instead led a large army to personally attack the Delhi Sultan.

When Wang Jinyi heard the news, he knew that he could no longer stay in this city.

"General, do we really want to abandon this city completely? If we abandon it, most of the Delhi Sultanate will fall into Timur's hands."

"Although Timur's reputation is great, we are not without advantages. As long as another batch of troops arrives, our garrison will reach 100,000. With the logistical support, even if Timur comes, it won't be a big problem until the beginning of next spring."

The person who spoke was Wang Jinyi's deputy general Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng also graduated from the Ming Military Academy, but his abilities in all aspects were obviously much inferior to Wang Jinyi's.

Wang Jinyi shook his head slightly: "Zhou Cheng, you are right. Even if Timur comes, we may be able to hold out until the beginning of next spring."

"But you have to understand how much it will cost."

"As the most famous sultan now, Timur's strength cannot be underestimated. He is almost as powerful as your majesty."

"The army he personally brought with him was definitely the most elite army. Even the Ottoman Empire, with its vast territory, would be easily defeated."

"Don't underestimate him. Such an army will cause us great losses. We don't know how many of the 50,000 troops will be left."

"This is not the Ming Dynasty. There is no need to defend it to the death. Don't forget the purpose of our coming here."

Zhou Cheng heard this and hung his head in frustration: "Okay, I'll listen to the general."

It was obvious that Zhou Cheng really wanted to have a go at the rumored Sultan Timur.

Wang Jinyi patted Zhou Cheng's shoulder gently.

"There will be a chance. When Timur besieges the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, we will be able to fight him."

"We don't have much time left. We must hurry and transport all the food in the city. We can't leave any supplies for Timur."

"Only in this way can we consume Timur and hold on longer in the Delhi Sultanate."

Zhou Cheng nodded and said, "Don't worry, General. Leave the rearguard work to me."

Wang Jinyi frowned slightly, but looking at Zhou Cheng's insistence, he nodded in agreement.

Covering the rear is also very important, because it involves transporting food into the city, so naturally the action is not that fast, so in addition to allowing enough time, you must not be discovered by Timur's army.

Otherwise, if the tail is bitten, a lot of supplies will be lost.

Without the protection of the city, Timur's army had a huge advantage in the war on the plains.

Wang Jinyi never thought of confronting Timur's army head-on on the plains.

The 50,000-strong army consisting of Tibetan and Mongolian soldiers, as well as a small number of Han people, was the capital for Wang Jinyi's future promotion.

Even though this team was put together temporarily and Wang Jinyi was only a temporary commander, if enough victories and wealth were achieved, theoretically Wang Jinyi could retain a considerable portion of the army.

The Ming court actually did not care that much about this, especially in the U-Tsang region. As long as they did not ask the Ming government to pay the military salaries, it would be easy to get the support of the Crown Prince by making such a fuss.

Wang Jinyi graduated from the Ming Military Academy and had many contacts with the Crown Prince. This situation was within the scope of the Crown Prince's tacit approval.

He was not willing to just be the deputy commander of U-Tsang.

As a top-class graduate of the Ming Military Academy, Wang Jinyi could have chosen a wealthy place to serve as a centurion.

He finally chose to come to the distant U-Tsang to serve as a thousand households, just for the sake of a better future.

Deputy Commander of U-Tsang, this is the bottleneck he can reach at present. Even if he works hard for another ten or twenty years, he may not be able to serve as the Commander of U-Tsang.

Although the difference seems small, in fact, the gap is as different as heaven and earth.

It is no longer possible to get to the top just by relying on ability. Without any background, a lot of merits are needed.

At present, the U-Tsang region has nominally surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, so it is naturally impossible to start a major war.

The current Delhi Sultan is Wang Jinyi's only chance.

Wang Jinyi played a huge role in the integration of these 50,000 mixed troops.

After becoming the commander-in-chief, a crazy idea gradually took shape in Wang Jinyi's mind.

Now he needs to wait for the opportunity.

After Zhou Cheng turned around to arrange things, Wang Jinyi turned around and looked at the city he was guarding.

After months of devastation, the people here have been miserable, the city is in great disrepair, and there are traces of artillery bombardment everywhere.

But what does this have to do with him?

This is not the Ming Dynasty, and these people are not Han people.