Nanjing, the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Fengtian Palace, a great court meeting is underway, and civil and military officials are neatly arranged in the hall.

Zhu Cihong, who was sitting on the throne, was in a good mood, laughed proudly, and said loudly: "Everyone, Aiqing, I have just received the battle report from the front line of Yarkand, and Zhou Yuji, the general of the expedition to the west, has fulfilled his mission and led the army, and after more than half a year of campaigning, he has finally pacified Yarkand!" ”

In the battle to pacify the Yarkand War, the Ming army completely annihilated the armed forces of Yarkand, capturing nearly 1,000 children of the Yarkand royal family, relatives, princes and nobles, and more than 60,000 soldiers.

Yang Tinglin, the first assistant of the cabinet, came out and said: "Your Majesty, the crowd of Yaerqiang is only more than 100,000, how to resist the conquest of my Ming Xiongshi, my Ming army is powerful in the world, invincible, invincible, and dealing with that small barbarian country, it is really not a problem!" ”

Yang Shicong also came out and said: "Thanks to Your Majesty's blessings and proper use of people, I have such a brilliant record!" Your Majesty's Wise Assets......"

Zhu Cihong waved his hand, interrupting Yang Shicong's sycophant words like the water of the Yangtze River, and said, "Okay, today we are going to discuss how to deal with the aftermath of Yaerqiang. ”

Although Zhu Cihong already has a plan in his heart, at this time, the major affairs related to the country still have to be brought to the court meeting for discussion.

Zhang Guowei, the second assistant of the cabinet and the secretary of the household department, came out and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that since Yarkand Khan Abdullah has already apologized for his crimes, he should follow the example of the previous dynasty to canonize a khanate king, stabilize the frontier, and govern its territory, so as not to attract criticism!" ”

"No!"

Gongsun Yingyuan of the Qin State came out and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks it is inappropriate, since the Yarkand Khanate has been destroyed, there should be no more Khan King and restore the country!"

The minister suggested setting up a large capital to protect the mansion, setting up prefectures and counties, sending officials to govern, and sending a large army to be stationed for a long time, so that it would become the permanent territory of my Ming Dynasty, so as not to cause chaos in the future! ”

Zhu Cihong nodded slightly, it is precisely this intention, although supporting a spokesperson can temporarily stabilize the situation, but in terms of long-term solutions, it is not appropriate, God knows if the Khan King behind will do things again.

I only heard Zhang Guowei say: "Your Majesty, the Yarkand Khanate has been deeply rooted for more than 100 years, and if our dynasty sets up prefectures and counties in its territory, I am afraid that it will not be able to effectively govern it for a period of time, so that chaos will occur everywhere in its territory and repeat the mistakes of history." ”

Zhang Guowei's words immediately caused a response from some civilian officials, and the Ming Dynasty controlled Hami several times, but finally found that he could not control the situation and had to stop it.

"The minister seconded the proposal!"

Zhu Jizheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, said: "The territory of Yarkand is a cold land, the desert is endless, and it is difficult for people and animals to survive, just like chicken ribs, the food is tasteless, so barren land, what is the use of occupying it?" ”

Historically, the Central Plains Dynasty had entered the Western Regions several times, and these actions were often accompanied by confrontation with the northern grassland forces.

Many courtiers felt that now that the northern Ming Dynasty was stable, and the Mongols in Mobei were honest, there was really no need to spend a lot of money to engage in the Western Regions.

Moreover, if the Yarkand Khanate is included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it will make the surrounding small countries feel uneasy, and they will feel that the Ming Dynasty oppresses people with force, which is not in line with the policy of convergence formulated by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

They don't know that Emperor Tianwu, who is high in the palace, likes to oppress people with power, and he likes to expand his territory!

"The minister seconded the proposal, Zhu Ge Lao's words are very reasonable!"

Fang Kongzhao, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, said: "The minister thinks that it is still to canonize an obedient Khan king, which not only occupies morality, but also conforms to the interests of my Ming Dynasty!" ”

Cheng Guoxiang, the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, also came out and said: "Your Majesty, as long as I can ensure the passage of the Hexi Corridor, it is enough to control Hami and Turpan!" ”

Cao Bianjiao, the Duke of Xiangguo, didn't talk too much nonsense, and said bluntly: "The minister suggested going to his country, setting up the Western Metropolitan Protectorate, and directly sending officials to govern!" ”

Yang Tinglin, the first assistant to the cabinet, had a very pertinent opinion, he said: "The Ili River Valley and Yarkand City are two important places leading to Central Asia, and there are many rivers along them, which are suitable for building cities and living.

Such a good place, you can't give it up, if I send an army to guard these places, even if the Yarkand people recover their vitality, they will no longer have the strength to pose a threat to my Ming Dynasty! ”

Seeing the courtiers talking about it, Zhu Cihong had all the thoughts on his face, most of the ministers supported the canonization of a puppet Khan king in Yarkand, and the martial artists looked at this matter from the perspective of a soldier and supported the establishment of a metropolitan protectorate.

The deliberations in the hall continued, and Zhu Cihong, who already had a score in his heart, was not in a hurry to make a decision immediately, to be the emperor, he had to say something at the end.

If the Sacred Heart had been dictatorial earlier, no one would have been willing to speak at the next court meeting.

Some people will say, you've decided everything, what are you looking for us for? Interesting?

Then, a number of ministers expressed their different views.

Cabinet Minister Cheng Guoxiang coughed heavily, and said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, Isma Yel, the younger brother of King Yarkand Khan, this person is a cowardly person, and he took the initiative to invest in the city, it is better to canonize him as the new Khan King and grant him the title of my Ming Dynasty. ”

Li Tingbiao, Minister of Military Aircraft, immediately came out to oppose it, saying: "Your Majesty, according to the intelligence of the Western Regions, the Kazakh Khanate, which is close to Yarkand, has signs of imminent movement, and its forces have infiltrated Yarkand.

If we don't take control of Yarkand and effectively arrange for the Kazakh Khanate, and wait for them to be full-fledged, I am afraid that this western expedition will lose its meaning! ”

Then, Li Tingbiao analyzed the domestic power of Yarkand Khan in court.

The Yarkand Khanate believes in the *** religion, and the power of each Hezhuo is very large, and it has been divided into the White Mountain faction and the Black Mountain faction, and the two factions are fighting each other.

Yarkand Khan Abdullah believed in the Montenegrin faction, and his eldest son Yaolevas secretly believed in the White Mountain faction and opposed the Montenegrin faction.

Historically, the father and son eventually turned against each other, Abdullah was defeated in his later years, and was forced to leave Mecca in the name of "pilgrimage", and Yaolwass became the Great Khan of Yarkand, and vigorously suppressed the Montenegrin faction.

Although the father and son were killed by the Ming before they could turn against each other, the supporters of the Baishan faction were Kazakhs who had already infiltrated the Yarkand Khanate.

The current Kazakh Khanate was also in a period of strength, and repeatedly engaged in large-scale wars with the Oirat Mongols such as Dzungar, defeated the Oirat Mongols, and occupied the western part of the Dzungar Khanate.

When the Ming army attacked the Yarkand Khanate, the Kazakh Khanate, an old neighbor and old ally, wanted to send troops to help, or took the opportunity to occupy the Ili River Valley.

However, before their army arrived, they heard that the Ming army had taken the Ili River Valley, and they had to quickly withdraw their troops and wait and see what happened.

It can be said that as long as the Ming army withdrew from Yarkand, the Kazakh Khanate would definitely be the first to run over and occupy the territory.

Listening to Li Tingbiao's narration, Zhu Cihong felt a pang in his heart, although he thought about it a lot, he forgot about these guys in this Central Asian circle.

"Your Majesty, what is the use of that cold and barren land?"

One of the ministers said nonchalantly.

Zhu Cihong stood up and said in a cold tone: "I have decided, in addition to the Yarkand country, I will set up a Western Protectorate in Turpan, with prefectures and counties under it, and a permanent army!" ”

Zhu Cihong did not give the courtiers a chance to discuss again, and directly finalized the matter and announced the dissolution of the dynasty.

......

In terms of the selection of the site for the expedition to the Western Protectorate, Zhu Cihong chose to make a long selection, and there were three candidate locations, the first is Yarkand City, the second is the Ili River Valley, and the third is Turpan.

The distance between the three places is thousands of miles, among which Yarkand City is the farthest, also in the westernmost place, and the environment is also the worst.

Zhu Cihong finally referred to the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty and set up the Turpan Protectorate, which was not too far from the Ili River Valley, and most importantly, could hold the military arteries and trade routes to the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty.