Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 748: Continue to Head West
"Woo~Kongzi, Kongzi~"
The emperor's special train sped along the Hexi Corridor. Zhu Youdong deliberately asked Wu Sangui to come to his carriage to listen to the captain of the escort team's report on the situation in Xinjiang.
Wu Sangui was only 31 years old that year, and he was gradually growing from immaturity to maturity. He looked very energetic. His long years of riding a horse not only made his facial skin rough, but also honed his unique temperament.
Zhu Youdong no longer had any so-called "complicated" feelings towards this notorious traitor in this historical plane. He was just listening to his subordinates' work reports with a normal heart.
"Your Majesty, the guards I lead have a total of 35,000 people, divided into three detachments: Gansu, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The main force is placed in Xinjiang, and the Xinjiang detachment has a total of 28,000 people. In terms of weapons and equipment, each member has an Apocalypse II rifle. However, compared with the army, the firepower is far inferior. For example, each squadron only has one submachine gun, and mortars and the like are only available in the battalion..."
"The enemy the army faces is different from the one you face. Why, do you think your escort team lacks firepower?"
"Your Majesty, which general would think that his troops have sufficient firepower? Although I am not leading a regular army, there are no large-scale battles, but small battles happen almost every day. Of course, I hope that the firepower of my troops is as strong as possible. To be honest, most of the battles here are in narrow areas such as streets and alleys. Rifles are often not as effective as pistols. Therefore, if Your Majesty allows, I still hope to have as many submachine guns as possible."
"Hahaha, you're right. Guys like Cao Wenzhao and Liu Zhaosun, their troops are almost all armed with submachine guns, and they keep complaining about insufficient firepower. They want Fangshan Academy of Sciences to develop cannons with large caliber, sufficient power, light weight, and easy to move. Listen, what's the logic behind this? Oh, right, you just said that there are small battles every day. Why? Are the horse bandits so rampant?"
"Your Majesty, if they were just horse bandits, I would have wiped them out in Xinjiang over the years. What worries me now are those lunatics whose heads are filled with something unknown. Although I am a military officer, I did not go to the Royal Military Academy for further studies, so I do not understand any great principles. But I also know that before my Ming Dynasty entered Xinjiang, the people in this area, who were ruled by the Yarkand Khanate, did not live a very good life.
After the Ming Dynasty came to Xinjiang, Xinjiang's beef, mutton, wool, jade, cotton, and all kinds of dried fruits all found markets. The court also introduced high-yield crops such as peppers and potatoes to them... When General Ding and Minister Gao were in office, they distributed the land of the Yarkand Khanate's nobles to ordinary people for farming and grazing. The tax level was only one-third of that of the Yarkand Khanate before. In addition, now that the Silk Road has been reopened, the trade along the way has made the locals rich... Even in this situation, I really don't understand why some guys are still making trouble.
Your Majesty, these guys always talk about breaking away from the Ming Dynasty and rebuilding the Khanate. When they fight, their equipment is not very good, and their tactical actions are extremely ugly. But they are fearless, and these guys often hold civilians hostage, so I often hesitate to act when facing them..."
"Hmm." After listening to Wu Sangui's complaints quietly, Zhu Youdong asked, "Are there any Ottoman supporters behind these people?"
"Your Majesty is wise. It is true as you said. There is an Ottoman shadow behind these guys. At least, some of the rifles and even submachine guns I seized have fully proved that the Ottomans are supporting them."
"Humph~ This Iprahin is making money from both us and Europe through the New Silk Road, and he is still so dishonest."
"Your Majesty intends to cut off the Silk Road?"
"How can we stop eating because of choking?" Zhu Youdong smiled helplessly, then spread his hands: "Before the resumption of maritime trade, this land Silk Road is a very important lifeline to alleviate the overproduction of our Ming Dynasty. No matter how many troubles there are, we must persist. That Yipulaxin saw this and dared to send people to stir up trouble in our Xinjiang. But what can I do? Can I become a small handful of scum and let the people of Xinjiang and the whole Ming Dynasty suffer? So, I have to make you work harder."
"Your Majesty, I am very sorry for what you said. Please rest assured, I will protect the safety of the Silk Road even at the cost of my life."
"I have been paying close attention to this place over the years, and I know you have done a good job. I will also tell you the truth. In three years at most, my Ming Dynasty will launch a counterattack against the Western bandits. Before that, I must grasp the specific situation of the whole country. Why did I go to the northwest first after leaving Beijing? It is because of many reasons such as climate and history. Except for the snowy areas, the people's livelihood in the northwest is poor. As long as the northwest is stable, the people's livelihood in the entire Ming Dynasty will naturally be safe. Then I can go to war against the Western bandits without any worries."
"Since the emperor has mentioned this." Wu Sangui, who had only half of his buttocks sitting down to make a reply, quickly half-knelt down and said, "I have an unwelcome request."
"Why? You want to join the army and fight?"
"That's right, Your Majesty, please grant me your blessing."
"Aren't you leading troops now? Don't worry, we will fight on the sea and on land. We will fight in India and in Central Asia. This will be a war that will ignite the world."
…
This train to the northwest was also stop-and-go all the way. Zhu Youdong got off the train in Wuwei, Zhangye, Yumenguan and other places along the way to visit the people. When he arrived at Yumen, he thought about whether he should take a detour to Dunhuang to get the cultural relics of Mogao Grottoes out in advance. But after careful consideration, he shook his head and gave up: With me here, how could the white people in the future go deep into the heart of China to steal and rob China's cultural relics? Besides, at this time when the whole nation is required to be martial and prepare for a global war, is it appropriate to excavate a large number of Buddhist cultural relics? Let them continue to sleep in the stone wall. After I have conquered the world, I will hand over this task to my son or grandson.
On October 23 of that year, his special train finally arrived at Shache, the current residence of the Xinjiang Governor.
"I, Qu Shisi, the governor of Xinjiang, pay my respects to His Majesty."
"Your Highness, I, Yuan Chonghuan, the Councillor of the Xinjiang Provincial Government, pay my respects to His Majesty."
"minister……"
Because he had met a large number of historical celebrities who changed their destiny in Lanzhou, Zhu Youdong did not react much when he heard Yuan Chonghuan's name. However, Wu Sangui, who accompanied Zhu Youdong all the way, immediately rolled his eyes when he saw Yuan Chonghuan.
Of course Zhu Youdong, who was standing in front of Wu Sangui, could not see all this, but Fang Zhenghua, who was standing next to him, saw it clearly.
But that was it. Fang Zhenghua told Zhu Youdong what he saw today. Zhu Youdong would just wave his hand and smile, and would not pursue anything. Because a guy like Yuan Chonghuan who is good at bragging has a place to use his skills here.
"No need to bow, everyone."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I have prepared a banquet at the Shache Provincial Government Office. Do you want to see it?"
"It's only now... eh? Oh, yes. I have crossed two or three time zones. Qu Qing, what time is it in Shache now?"
"Your Majesty, it is 6pm in Shache. Shache time is two hours later than Beijing time."
"No wonder I'm not hungry at all. It turns out that I'm using Beijing time on the train. It's only been more than three hours since lunch. Well, I won't worry about meals. Did you receive the telegram I asked He Tengjiao to send you in Lanzhou?"
"Your Majesty, I have received your message. According to your order, I have gathered more than 1,300 imams in Xinjiang the day before yesterday. They are now waiting for the emperor's palanquin at the largest Xingyue Temple in Shache."
" Then hurry over. I'll see them first and then eat."
"As you wish."
Zhu Youdong came out this time to see the sentiment of the people across the country and to estimate whether the people can maintain stability after the future war. And there is no doubt that stability in Xinjiang is relatively difficult to guarantee.
Before crossing over, he had come into contact with many Star-Moon Cultists. Generally speaking, as long as you don't talk about doctrine and interact with them in a secular way. As long as you respect some of their habits, it's actually not difficult to get along with them. It's probably a bit difficult to be their best friend, but it's completely fine to be a good friend.
However, this is only the majority of Star-Moon believers. There are always some special ones that make the rulers of various countries in ancient and modern times, including some Star-Moon rulers, feel uncomfortable.
Therefore, the imams must be summoned collectively.
…
"I summoned you today to express one thing to you: the peace and prosperity cannot be separated from the continuous investment and maintenance of the court. It also cannot be separated from your efforts. I hope you can convey my wishes to your followers in your respective Xingyue Temples.
I assure you here today that the Ming Dynasty respects all kinds of beliefs. In the inland areas of the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of beliefs are free. The beliefs here are also respected and protected, and there will be no discrimination. However, I want to tell you clearly. The so-called freedom of belief means that a person has the freedom to believe in religion or not. There is the freedom to believe in religion now and not to believe in religion in the future. There is also the freedom to believe in this religion first and then believe in that religion... Everything must fully respect the individual's will, and it is absolutely not allowed to use any coercive means to require others to believe in this or that. If someone uses coercive means to require others to convert, then it violates the civil and criminal laws of the Ming Dynasty and is not in line with Hu Da's intention. When the time comes, my soldiers will come to trouble these people. Do you understand?"
