I

When Liang Zhen led his army to attack the Fergana Basin, the main force of the Datong Army was dividing its forces to attack Urumqi and Barkol.

Both places are fertile soil that can be cultivated, but at this time they were all occupied by nomadic tribes, and the cities built in the Yuan Dynasty had long been abandoned.

The Datong army reached Urumqi, and the local tribes fled directly.

Among them, the Kubenoyat tribe fled northwest to join Junggar. Galdan Dorji's tribe fled to the northeast and joined Heshuote.

The Datong army did not pursue them, and directly placed five thousand civilians here, and rebuilt a new city on the ruins of Bali City in Yangji in the Yuan Dynasty. This is the bridgehead for the attack on northern Xinjiang. The Datong army and divisions are on an expedition and are unable to go northward in a short time. Controlling the Urumqi area is a plan for the future.

Another Datong army attacking Barkol also encountered little resistance.

Of the nine brothers who had fled from Qinghai, only four of them had died of old age and illness. They had long been scared out of their wits by the Datong Army. They abandoned the Barkol Basin and headed further north to avoid the front.

The Datong Army also did not pursue them and settled in Barkol to build a city as a bridgehead for future attacks on northern Xinjiang.

Seeing that the Datong Army was stopped in two places, Galdan, who was nestled in Buxail, took action. Barkol's Heshuote tribe moved north and inevitably competed with their northern brethren for pasture. As a result, the Heshuote tribe fell into civil strife, and Galdan immediately led his army to attack.

Galdan won three victories in three battles, and the Heshuote tribe was forced to surrender. After unifying northern Xinjiang, this guy actually claimed to establish the Junggar Khanate, blatantly ignoring the existence of the Nanjing court.

Northern Xinjiang has not yet been captured, nor has the Ili Valley, but the money, food and immigrants have been almost consumed.

Jiang Liang applied for the allocation of money and food, and at the same time applied for an additional 50,000 immigrants.

When the cabinet ministers received the news, they all felt that the Western Region was a bottomless pit. Throwing tens of millions of taels of silver into it would result in splashes - in addition to military expenses, immigration and city building were too expensive.

The imperial court was heavily in debt and owed huge loans from Datong Bank, much of which came from private storage.

Zhu Shunshui retired and returned to his hometown. Before leaving Nanjing, he privately advised in the palace: "Your Majesty, most of the Western Region has been recovered, and the rest can be taken care of slowly. The amount of debt owed by the imperial court today is huge, unheard of in the past. Do not... …To be militaristic!”

"It must be settled once and for all." Zhao Han replied.

Zhu Shunshui sighed secretly, it was not good to try to persuade him, because it would be useless.

He can't understand the current financial model. In the past, when the imperial court fought wars and had insufficient money, it would impose additional taxes or collect salt and iron to make a profit, and the civilians would also expropriate it without compensation. The current Datong court actually borrowed money from banks to fight the war without using money from the treasury, and even had to pay small wages to recruit civilian laborers.

However, people's livelihood in the country has not been greatly affected, except for a slight increase in food prices.

Zhu Shunshui retired and returned to his hometown, and Wu Yingji was also frail and sick. They both retired. Zuo Xiaoliang and Wang Tiaoding moved into the cabinet to assist in the administration.

The imperial court once again issued an order to encourage people from the southern provinces to immigrate. It also publicized it in newspapers, hailing the Ili Valley and the Fergana Basin as the Pearl of the Western Region and the Great Wall of Jiangnan. Immigrants used to divide their fields, graduates from elementary school could work as officials, and singles could be assigned wives of foreign races.

In the southern provinces, the contradiction between man and land has become somewhat apparent, and there are always people who are willing to immigrate.

Especially for singles who have too many brothers in the family, the land they were allocated in the past could only sustain food and clothing. After they immigrated, if they were able to leave a settlement fund and improve their family living conditions, they might not have the desire to venture into the Western Regions.

When immigration was encouraged, tens of thousands of people signed up one after another.

Five thousand of them immigrated to the Fergana Basin, which has been renamed Dawan Military and Civilian Mansion. The remaining few thousand are planned to be settled in Ili and attack the Ili Valley next year.

Although the war has not yet ended, the imperial court has officially established the Anxi Protectorate.

Among them, Dunhuang and other places were placed under Gansu Province.

In the Hami and Barkol areas, the Yihe Military and Civilian Prefecture was established, which was subordinate to the Anxi Protectorate Prefecture.

In the Turpan and Urumqi areas, Cheshi Military and Civilian Offices were established, which were subordinate to the Anxi Protectorate Office.

In Aksu, Hotan, Kashgar, Yarkand and other places, Yarkand Military and Civilian Prefectures were established, which were subordinate to the Anxi Protectorate Prefecture.

In the Congling and Dawan areas, the Dawan Military and Civilian Office was established, which was subordinate to the Anxi Protectorate.

In the Kyrgyz and Ili valleys, the Yili Military and Civilian Prefecture is to be established, which will be subordinate to the Anxi Protectorate Prefecture.

After taking over Northern Xinjiang and operating for another ten to twenty years, the Anxi Protectorate may be split into two. In the eastern part, Xinjiang Province was established. The western area will continue to be governed by the Duhufu, and then the establishment of a province will be considered.

Household registration offices in various provinces have been open to immigration services for a long time.

As long as you are willing to immigrate to the Western Regions, you can go to the county government to register. Each province, prefecture, and county will provide special immigration funds based on the number of immigrants each year. This policy will last for ten years.

It can not only enrich the population of the Western Regions, but also alleviate the contradiction between people and land in the country. Only the imperial court has been losing money and throwing away money.

There are three to five thousand immigrants every year, sometimes even tens of thousands. If they persist for ten years, even the Fergana Basin can support four Han cities.

What's more, there are businessmen who run over on their own initiative.

There was the Silk Road, and merchants were willing to go no matter how far they went in pursuit of profit. There are always some who want to stay in the Western Region, first open a trading post, and then engage in various store operations.

…

Shanghai.

A fleet sailed north, and Prince Zhao Kuanghuan was on board.

We chose a season with smooth winds and rivers, and we had to dock before summer to avoid the prince encountering a big storm.

The prince's northern tour was, firstly, to increase his knowledge, and secondly, to visit his mentor on behalf of the emperor.

Pang Chunlai has been ill for several years, with good and bad spells, and he probably won't last long.

"vomit!"

For two whole days, Zhao Kuanghuan lay on the boat and vomited, but his symptoms of seasickness were obviously alleviated.

The ministers were opposed to this trip and believed that the prince should not go and that other princes could be chosen instead. After all, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Prince Zhu Biao went to inspect Xi'an and died of illness soon after returning to Nanjing.

But Zhao Han insisted on letting the prince go. How could he do it without staying in Nanjing all day without seeing the outside world?

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

"It's okay. I'm not as dizzy as yesterday."

Although he was seasick, Zhao Kuanghuan was very happy. Who among young people wouldn’t want to take a long trip?

Another day later, Zhao Kuanghuan fully adapted and stood on the deck admiring the sea view. The vast expanse of the sea made Zhao Kuanghuan feel relaxed and happy, and he felt a sense of pride. He even wanted to visit the Mongolian grassland. He heard that the grassland scenery was also very magnificent.

Li Quan was also accompanying him. Zhao Han wanted the prince to contact Sihai Trading Company in advance. After all, it was a semi-royal company.

"I heard that you went on an expedition to Nanyang and returned home last winter?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Quan said: "Exactly."

Zhao Kuanghuan asked curiously: "Where have you been and what things have you encountered?"

Li Quan recounted: "First we went to a large island called New Guinea. The name was given by the Portuguese, and I boldly changed its name to Nanman Island."

"Why this name?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Quan said: "The natives of this island are all black, and they have the custom of headhunting. Whenever it is time for headhunting, the women and children go out for the men, and the men go to sneak attack the enemy tribes. They often attack at night and hunt the enemy's heads. Some tribes, The hunted human skulls are made into various decorative objects. Some tribes also practice cannibalism and eat the corpses of relatives, believing that they can carry the souls of their dead relatives."

Zhao Kuanghuan said in shock: "Headhunting and cannibalism are all common in the world."

"It is located in a remote area, mostly covered with hot and humid rainforest, and does not produce spices or food. Even Europeans are unwilling to colonize the island." Li Quan said.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "Apart from Nanman Island, where else did you go?"

Li Quan said: "Further south, there is a large island called New Holland. It can't even be called an island, but a continent. It took five months to sail along the coast. Only fresh water could be replenished along the way. The food was almost exhausted, so we relied on fishing and hunting to survive, and finally we had to return to Java."

New Netherland is Australia. The reason why the coastline has not been explored in five months is because we often land to explore the situation.

Several suitable habitats have been identified, mainly along Australia's east coast.

Zhao Kuanghuan smiled and said: "If I were not the prince, I would like to go out to sea with you to explore. By the way, what do you want to change the name of New Holland? Are there any indigenous people on the island?"

"I can't think of a good name, so I ask the prince to come up with one." Li Quan said with his hand.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Is it further south than Java Island?"

"Exactly." Li Quan said.

Zhao Kuanghuan thought for a while: "It's better to call it Changsheng Island or Changsheng Continent."

"What a name!" Li Quan immediately flattered him.

The name "Changsheng" comes from the Taoist "Antarctic Changsheng Emperor", who is also the so-called Antarctic Immortal and longevity old man. It is said that he lives in the extreme south.

Li Quan said: "There are also indigenous people on Changsheng Island. The people there are also very dark-skinned, but more reddish-brown. The people on Nanman Island (New Guinea) are already darker, only darker than those in Africa." The black people are better.”

"Do the natives of Changsheng Island have the custom of headhunting and cannibalism?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Quan shook his head and said: "I haven't encountered any cannibals yet, and the Changsheng Island is too big, and the indigenous tribes are very different. Some tribes can already build stone houses; some tribes still live in thatched huts and caves. Once, I was frightened by some indigenous tribe!"

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "But we want to attack outsiders?"

Li Quan explained: "No, they are very hospitable. At that time, we went ashore to look for fresh water and met a tribe that used stone tools. They seemed to be holding some kind of ceremony. The man used a stone knife to open the belly of the frog, and the woman took the giant frog and Bite. Except for the internal organs and frog skin, the rest was eaten alive by the woman."

"Ru Mao drinks blood." Zhao Kuanghuan sighed.

"Those women are begging for children," Li Quan said. "Frogs lay many eggs, and the local indigenous people worship them very much. They believe that women who eat giant frogs can have more children. We went up to ask about the water source, but we couldn't figure it out after trying for a long time. . The natives took us back to the tribe and invited us to eat. All the food they served were snakes, lizards, geckos and the like soaked in blood. There were also natives who came over with sharp spears, pointed at the pregnant women and squawked. We were all frightened. When we arrived, we thought we encountered cannibals and quickly fled back to the seaside.”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Aren't they cannibals?"

Li Quan shook his head and said: "No. Later we were looking for water sources and happened to see the women of this tribe fetching water. After communicating for several days, we probably figured out that the indigenous people were really inviting us to dinner. They were very kind and enthusiastic. , but I don’t know how to eat cooked food, and I don’t even know how to make a fire.”

Zhao Kuanghuan found it incredible that there were still people who couldn't even make a fire.

Li Quan said: "We lit a fire and roasted an animal. It looked like a big rat, as tall as a man, and had a bag on its belly. After it was roasted, we sprinkled salt on it and invited the natives to taste it. The natives were very happy after eating it. Learned to make fires from us and traded their furs for salt.”

Zhao Kuanghuan said: "The natives who can't make fire also know how to treat guests to dinner. It seems that not all natives are evil. In the future, when colonizing this island, we can educate them regularly, select good natives and tame them."