Zhu Gaoxu rode to the edge of a lava stone platform, and looked into the distance, a gray city appeared near the river beside the river.

Kaipingwei! This city was originally the Shangdu (Xilingol League) of the Yuan Dynasty. It was once a big city, but now it has declined to a distorted state. The city is now sitting alone on the earth.

From Xinghe Qianhu Institution (Zhangbei County, Zhangjiakou) to Kaipingwei, it is more than 800 miles north and south, with a wider depth from east to west, and there are only two post stations along the way. The imperial court's control over this place can only be considered better than nothing.

The Ming army walked for about twenty days for this 800-mile journey. There was no enemy situation along the way, and even the crowds were rarely seen. The soldiers suddenly saw the city and shouted loudly from afar.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his horse's head, took a detour back to the post road, and then followed the army and continued to march towards Kaiping Acropolis.

The city was already very old and dilapidated, and most of the soldiers who came to greet him were in ragged clothes. Zhu Gaoxu looked along the way and found that the only glamorous thing in the Acropolis was a brand new "Ming" army flag on the city tower, which was probably changed.

The troops arrived at the Acropolis one after another, and the army camped inside and outside the city.

According to officials, this city is the northernmost Tunwei in the area west of Nuergandus. Because of its remote location and inconvenient supply, it is often attacked by the Tatars and casualties. Therefore, no one is willing to come here, and the soldiers fleeing very seriously. Now many of the soldiers here are guilty and are exiled here.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, this acropolis has been reclaimed and the last time it was restored in the fourth year of Yongle; of course, the source of military households was mostly caused by invasions.

On the march road north of Aikou Pass (Zhangjiakou), Zhu Gaoxu sent people to set up four warehouses in advance. One was in Xinghe Shuyu Qianhu Station (Zhangbei County), and the other two were on the inn; and the most important warehouse was this place.

The transport of grain here is not convenient, the number of large soldiers is too large, and the amount of grain is needed is huge. The military rations transported to the Kaipingwei Warehouse were not enough. Zhu Gaoxu ordered Qi Tai to stockpile some of the military rations here for use on his return journey.

The military households of Kaiping Guard were ragged and their military appearance was not in order. Zhu Gaoxu was not relieved and left a thousand infantry assistance | defense warehouses...

"In order to save military rations, we will set off tomorrow and continue to go north!" Zhu Gaoxu simply issued a military order at the headquarters of the Central Army. He then left the lobby and walked straight into the hall. The civil and military officials behind him all bowed: "I will receive the order! I respectfully send you to the emperor."

There has been no military information recently, and the vanguard has not encountered anything, and there is nothing to discuss about military affairs. Instead, Kuaima sent a cabinet's administrative file from the capital. Zhu Gaoxu wanted to settle down today and read it quickly.

After leaving Kaipingwei, there would be no Ming Dynasty official post road in the north, and it would be extremely inconvenient to pass on official documents. The next time Zhu Gaoxu issued an order to the court, it would probably be the time to return.

When Zhu Gaoxu walked into the signing room, he suddenly saw that the ink had been ground and the things on the table were arranged very neatly.

He turned his head and looked at Duan Xueheng, who was standing next to him with a sword holding his arms. Duan Xueheng pursed his lips and said nothing.

After a while, the virtuous man came over. She was wearing a simple patterned high-waisted silk skirt, holding a teacup, and gently placed it on the table. Zhu Gaoxu immediately understood that all these things were done by the virtuous man.

Zhu Gaoxu had just opened the file in his hand and was about to get the brush on the inkstone when he found that the virtuous man had handed the pen to his hand. Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and saw that the two of them had touched her eyes. Her face turned red and she smiled embarrassedly, and a shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Duan Xueheng still stood by the wall without saying a word, observing the virtuous master expressionlessly. If he didn't pay attention, no one knew where she was standing.

Seeing that the virtuous man was so attentive, Zhu Gaoxu took the initiative to speak while reading the file: "The road to this trip is far, can you still bear it?"

"As long as the emperor is here, I think it's good everywhere. The scenery of Kaipingwei is so beautiful." said the virtuous man.

"Well..." Zhu Gaoxu habitually made a voice in response.

The virtuous man said again: "The territory of the Ming Dynasty is very vast, but it is a little bit deserted."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "That's what the border is."

The signing room was quiet for a long time, and the guards reported that the Secretary of Qi asked for a meeting. After Zhu Gaoxu nodded, Qi Tai walked in after a while. He stepped forward and bowed and said, "I am hereby order to meet you and pay homage to the Lord."

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu remembered that he told Qi Tai yesterday that he would talk when he had time.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I'll sit in Qibu Hall."

Qi Tai turned his head and looked at the virtuous man-master. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu said calmly: "As soon as I return to the capital, I will give the virtuous man-master to Concubine Zhuang."

Qi Tai's face showed a sudden look.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu asked: "I have recently thought of a possibility that Wasai (Si Mongolia) will join forces with the Tatars (East Mongolia) to attack us from the left wing?"

Qi Tai thought for a while and said, "The leader of the Tatars Benyalith Khan is a descendant of the Yuan Dynasty royal family. After he was supported by Arutai as the "Mongolian" Khan, he was nominally a great khan from all tribes such as Tatars and Wass. Moreover, the Tatars and Wasss are both Mongols, so the saint's worries are not impossible.

However, in recent years, Watshu has had a feud with the Tatars, so it is not easy to join forces. Moreover, there are some situations in the west that may drag Watshu. After taking office as Minister of War this year, I found from some official documents that Watshu and the country of Yilibali are breaking out.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered and said, "Yi Li, is the previous 'Don't miss Bali'?"

Qi Tai said: "Return to the emperor, that's right."

After Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he also read a lot of memorials about the files and memorials around the Ming Dynasty. Because of the different names, he was confused at first; but later he gradually understood that this "Yilibali" was roughly in the Xinjiang-Ili area, and the rulers had already believed in the Isles and Orchids.

The main area where Wats and Tsars are active is in northern Xinjiang and western Outer Mongolia. It is closer to Yilibali.

Qi Tai said: "At the beginning of Yongle, the Timur Khanate, which the court had been guarding against, fell apart immediately after Timur's death. This Yilibali, the Ming Dynasty did not recognize its khan's legality, but in the Western Regions, it was also called the "East Chagatai Khanate" and originally surrendered to the Timur Khanate; it broke away from Timur's vassal status and then began to expand its territory. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Yilibali (East Chagaha Khanate) began to fight with Wasai and Hami.

So in the past two years, Washu may have to compete with Yili, and there is no time to look east. Therefore, I think that the possibility of Washu sending troops is not high."

The Hami Kingdom mentioned by Qi Tai is in the Hami area east of Yili. The ruler was the Mongolian and ancient people, but during the Hongwu period, he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and accepted the title of king, allowing the Ming Dynasty court to set up official positions such as the chief of the Han people. It was a semi-independent state of support. The imperial army was out of reach and basically ignored the affairs there... However, when Song Sheng died of illness, he carried out several expeditions.

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu praised: "Qibutang is well aware of the situation thousands of miles away. I have not misunderstood you."

Qi Tai hurriedly said: "I am in my position and should do my own affairs."

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while: The East Chaga Khan Kingdom was sought after by Hami, and Hami had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty for many years and was ordered. He felt that the East Chaga Khan Kingdom might threaten the northwest border of the Ming Dynasty and was considered an enemy.

Wasai were enemies of the Dongchaga Khanate, and at the same time they attacked each other from time to time. No wonder during the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty court would allocate food, grass and weapons to support Wasai.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts were different from those of the previous emperors. He felt that he could not regard Watana as a friend.

"The enemy's enemy is not necessarily a friend." Zhu Gaoxu said casually. At this time, he saw Qi Tai still sitting on the stool, and waved his hand gently, "We'll talk about this today."

Qi Tai stood up and bowed and said he was leaving.

At this time, the virtuous man said softly: "I am in the Kingdom of Korea and often learn the words and classics of the Ming Dynasty. Why have I never heard of those strange names?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Because those places are still far from the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. Our Chinese and Chinese have been trying to explore throughout the years, so we have such a large territory. Only by pioneering and enterprising can we have hope."

When she heard this, her eyes showed a look of admiration and novelty.

As the night became darker, Zhu Gaoxu asked the virtuous man to go back to his room to rest. Duan Xueheng kept by Zhu Gaoxu's side, but he didn't say anything, but Zhu Gaoxu still asked her to sleep and stay by his side at night.

When he walked out of the signing room, Zhu Gaoxu asked Duan Xuehen: "Are Xueheng angry? Why don't he speak?"

Duan Xueheng said casually: "I don't know much."

Zhu Gaoxu felt a little distressed, and grabbed her hand and climbed up to a pavilion behind the patio. The wooden railing in front was old and broken, and seemed to have been painted, but it had already faded. On the contrary, the stars in the sky were very bright and gorgeous.

When he looked up at the starry sky, Duan Xuehen still spoke, making people feel that she was unhappy.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked her: "Xuehen felt that what are those stars?"

Duan Xuehen shook his head.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and pointed to a military camp far outside the city. Because it was far away, countless campfires in the military camp were flashing like stars.

He said to Duan Xuehen, "Did you see those bonfires? Why are they so small?"

Duan Xueheng looked at Zhu Gaoxu with a little confused, but still replied obediently: "Because you are far away."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Why did Xuehen feel that the stars in the sky are far away or the bonfire far away? In fact, even if we climbed a mountain that was thousands of feet (one 1 8 feet and nearly two meters), the stars we saw were still like this."

Duan Xueheng's eyes lit up, and her expressionless look changed a little. She raised her head and looked at the stars in the sky curiously.

Zhu Gaoxu whispered: "The little stars should be big things? We shouldn't be complacent."
Chapter completed!