Chapter 643: Western Regions Protectorate
Zhang Guoan nodded repeatedly, sighed and said that he had never expected the road to Tubo to be so difficult to travel, and many of his good brothers had fallen on the march.
He carefully untied the package on his back, took out a pair of exquisite porcelain dolls and handed them to Yangjin, saying: The third young master asked them to be given to the lady.
Yangjin's hands were shaking as she held the ceramic doll, and her eyes soon became moist. She turned around and asked him to take a group of brothers to meet up with Commander Wang, and she would take care of the rest.
Seeing that the mountain was about to be blocked by heavy snow, Guoan did not dare to delay and immediately said goodbye and headed straight for the front line of Wuduan with his personal guards.
Wang Youling went to find Yangjin to chat and saw the little woman playing with a pair of porcelain dolls in her hands. She was surprised and asked where they came from. The delicate porcelain base and such lifelike painting were really rare.
Yangjin said proudly that it was Zhao Yulin who asked General Guoan to send it to her.
Wang Youling envied the woman and said sourly that the third young master was really thoughtful by sending the girl a pair of fine porcelain dolls, which were the two of them.
Yangjin, with a happy face, put the mouths of the two porcelain dolls together and said with a smile, "Boobs, boobs."
Wang Youling blushed and said: "You are still the envoy of comfort, how shameless."
Yangjin smiled and kissed the male porcelain doll on the face, and after carefully putting the two treasures away, she said that she would talk about business and summoned the officials of the government office to go out and check. The little woman pointed to the pile of manure in front of the Potala Palace and said that she had just arrived and had not yet figured out what to do, so let's first clean up the environment of Lhasa.
She said: This manure mountain is so high, it was probably created after the Potala Palace was built. The manure and garbage piled up higher and higher, and it is facing the sacred mountain, which is a great disrespect to the gods.
Yangjin pointed at the Potala Palace as she explained and ordered the deputy envoy in charge of the monastery to discuss with the abbot and arrange for monks to work together. Officials from the government office and the garrison in the city should all come to work. They should dig up the manure mountain and spread it on the wasteland beside the Lhasa River. Then the best barley would grow next year.
The deacon in charge of farming understood her intention and immediately took people to survey the terrain and identify the land to be reclaimed.
After returning, Wang Youling said approvingly that they had been here for so long but they had never thought of digging the manure mountain. Her sister was really bold and resolute.
Yangjin told her: The task given to Commander Wang by the court is to stabilize the Tubo Road. Now Tubo has returned to the New Song Dynasty for some years. The people have seen it and know the situation well, so there will be no chaos.
That dung mountain, which has been piled up for many years, is higher than Yaowang Mountain. It is extremely smelly and seriously affects the appearance of Lhasa City. Let's start from there.
The deputy envoy went to find Basi to convey Yangjin's message. Basi hesitated for a moment and then immediately agreed.
The status of these monks living in the Potala Palace was much higher than that of ordinary monks, and they never touched dirty things like excrement. But Ba Si knew that the New Song Dynasty advocated equality for all, regardless of high or low status, and everyone had to participate in labor.
In this case, even monks of higher rank have to dig the manure mountain and clean up the garbage.
The next day, Basi personally led the monks of the Potala Palace out. Seeing Yangjin already working on the spot with the soldiers and civilians, they were surprised and praised Yangjin as the living Bodhisattva of Lhasa.
Many hands make light work. In less than ten days, the manure mountain was removed with the joint efforts of the people in the city. The people covered the original site with fine soil and compacted it, forming a wide and flat land.
Yangjin said to Basi with a smile: The master must be feeling refreshed living up there now.
Basi knew that she meant the absence of the stench of the manure mountain, and nodded with a somewhat awkward smile.
She said: From now on we will use high-quality bricks to pave the ground and build a large square for the people in the city to dance and gather together. We will turn this place into a place for the people to play, and the Buddha will definitely be happy.
Basi was happy. If that were true, the area in front of the Potala Palace would be entirely beautified, with a broad view and no obstructions, which would be great.
The girl thanked him repeatedly with joy.
Yangjin said that there is more to it than that. The master's Potala Palace is a great tourist resource and should not be wasted. After the Luzhi government office was no longer used for work, many rooms were vacated. The master should carefully plan with the master in charge of the construction a floor and route open to believers. We will open the Potala Palace to the public as an important Buddhist place for good men and women to worship.
She told Basi that the famous mountains and temples in the mainland, such as Qingcheng Mountain, Emei Mountain and Duolin Temple, were all open to the public. This time, the palace invited a large number of craftsmen from Chengdu. It was no problem to burn bricks, make tiles, and make earth and cement. There was also a transport team to deliver exquisite small pieces of colored glaze. We will dress the pagoda in brand new colored glaze. When the monks and believers see it, they will definitely be amazed as if it were a god descending from the earth.
In the future, when the Potala Palace has enough silver, we will paint gold to fulfill our vows to the Buddha. All sentient beings who come to the Potala Palace to worship the Buddha will definitely think that the temple managed by the master is the best temple in Tubo.
Basi was already extremely shocked.
Yangjin's last words hit his heart directly. He happily agreed and did as the Pacifier said.
In the past, Tubo practiced the integration of politics and religion, and temples were first-level government offices, so monks never had to worry about money.
The New Song Dynasty separated temples from political power, and temples were already stretched thin relying solely on offerings from believers. While studying hard under the butter lamp, Basi once wondered if she had made a mistake by following Zhao Yulin of the Divine Might Army.
Now, seeing that the new envoy cared so much about the temple and wanted to create a way for the Potala Palace to make money, he was of course happy, thinking that this was a sign of sincerity.
Yangjin and Wang Youling were drinking the wine they brought with them in the government office. Their faces were flushed after a few drinks. She told Wang Youling that the first fire had been lit, and it was a good start, so we should move on to the second thing.
Wang Youling asked her what she was doing and which temple she was repairing?
Yangjin burst out laughing.
Wang Youling asked her confusedly what she was laughing at. Didn't the envoy say that the Tibetan people have been worshipping Buddha since childhood and have gods in their hearts? Building temples is the best way to unite the people.
Yangjin nodded and said that of course the temple should be repaired, but the purpose of repairing the temple is to better build Tubo. We need to build a road to Langerke, and let Langerke Prefecture build a road to Wuduan, so that our commander Wang will not worry about military supplies at the front.
When Wang Youling heard this, she nodded happily. It turned out that this was Yangjin’s point.
She said: What we have done around the Potala Palace has made the monks happy and the people satisfied, and we have also created dozens of acres of fertile land.
Next, we will call on monks and common people to build the road together.
Wang Youling was very smart and immediately said that the temple must be supported. With eminent monks helping to publicize the call, the common people would go there without us asking them to do so. We just needed to make the arrangements.
Yangjin gave Wang Youling a thumbs up and said, "That's right, let's do it this way."
In Chengdu, Zhao Yulin is attending an emergency meeting of the Central Council.
Cao Yong, the Deputy Envoy of the Ministry of War and the Logistics Envoy, reported the situation of Gao Jin's army of the Shenwei Army attacking Yizhou and the corridor of Hanchen's army of the Tibetan King, while Ke attacked the rear of the Chagatai Khanate.
Wang Hanchen's Tibetan garrison marched into the Chagatai Khanate via the Sangzhu Ancient Road in the mountains, also known as the Packhorse Ancient Road. The road was sparsely populated and the environment was extremely harsh. The corpses of packhorses were everywhere along the road. In some sections, even the animals could not find food to fill their stomachs. The road was really dangerous.
The Ministry of War was worried that Hubili would concentrate his forces to deal with Wang Hanchen, and it would be dangerous if they could not get good supplies.
Zhao Feiyan asked everyone with a serious expression what to do?
Du Fan said worriedly, "Are we too hasty to resist Goryeo in the east and conquer Chagatai in the west?" As the saying goes, haste makes waste. He was worried that if the front was not well prepared and failed to deal with it, the men of the New Song Dynasty would be sacrificed in vain.
Everyone looked serious.
Cao Yong had been stationed on the border in Tubo for many years and knew that the climate there was dangerous. He hurriedly told them to think of a way quickly. Winter was approaching and the Sangzhu Ancient Road would be cut off after the heavy snow blocked the mountains. At that time, it would all depend on Commander Wang himself to find a way.
Yu Jie had commanded a military before and knew that the battle situation could change rapidly and that the lives of soldiers were at stake. He looked at Zhao Yulin anxiously and asked: How about we send more troops to Gansu Road to put pressure on Hubili so that he dare not act rashly.
Zhao Feiyan turned her head to look at Zhao Yulin, and everyone's eyes were on him.
Zhao Yulin took a sip of tea before saying: "No hurry, there is nothing we can do if we hurry." He believed that the Privy Council's decision at the beginning of the year to move the grassland empire westward was an attempt to leave the desert and rebuild the country.
At present, Hubili is fighting against Alibuge and occupying Alimali. He must want to swallow up the Chagatai Khanate. The Shenwei Army occupied Yizhou and stationed in Oduan and Keshihar, which clearly shows that they want to take over the eastern part of the Chagatai Khanate. Hubili should know that it is the New Song Dynasty that wants to swallow up half of the Chagatai Khanate.
He wouldn't go to war with us if he didn't have a chance of winning.
Hubili and Alibuge fought hard, and although Hubili defeated Alibuge, he must have suffered heavy losses. Alibuge's men were still there, and they were a direct threat to him.
Therefore, Zhao Yulin judged that Hubili did not dare to fight on two fronts.
However, we cannot be unprepared.
He ordered the Ministry of War to order Gao Jin to seize Beshbalik and even advance into Huozhou, and warned Hubili not to advance southward, as the Shenwei Army was going to establish the Western Regions Protectorate of the Han and Tang Dynasties. If the Mongolian Army was willing to continue advancing westward, the New Song Kingdom could sponsor a batch of military equipment and supplies.
The gentlemen immediately started discussing it.
What is this called? The Shenwei Army can support Hubili with food and supplies on the battlefield?
What kind of war is this?
Zhao Feiyan asked him to explain himself clearly with a look of doubt on her face, but everyone was puzzled.
He said: The quickest way to solve the emergency right now is to send out Gao Jin's army from Gansu. It should be no problem to take Huozhou before the ice and snow. In terms of logistics, all forces should be mobilized to transport supplies. Hubili is worried that we will attack directly, and he dare not send troops to guard the place when he dare not sleep for twelve hours a day.
Everyone laughed when they heard it.
Zhao Yulin said calmly: "Kill one thousand enemies and injure eight hundred of your own. Alibuge is no pushover. Hubili must have suffered a lot of losses. He is still licking his wounds. How can he have the energy to fight us in two directions, east and south? Isn't he worried that Alibuge will bite back and die faster under the three-sided attack?"
Everyone's anxious hearts slowly settled down.
