In the City Lord's Mansion, Yu Chi Saburo asked respectfully: "Jie Shuai, all the traitors who escaped by the festival have been recovered, I don't know what to do?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The affairs of Khotan, the king can make his own decisions, and he doesn't have to listen to other people's opinions. I and the generals sent the king back to Khotan just in case something happened. Now that everything is going well, the king can choose his own officials, set up his own system, and govern this side of the land. It's just one thing, Khotan is a country under the rule of the imperial court, and it is enough to have some soldiers to catch the thieves, and there is no need for a regular army. ”

Yu Chi Saburo arched his hand: "If the marshal says so, I understand." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In the territory of Khotan, the west to Ya'er, the east to the city of Yochang, the government affairs are all self-determined by the king." Anything related to military politics was discussed with the head of the imperial garrison. After I returned to Hequ Road, Zhang Qi was stationed in Gaochang City, and I could ask him if I had something, and he couldn't decide to ask for instructions. Religious matters were asked to Gen Yu Chi Ming, and he would take care of them. In the future, the king will be the lord of Khotan, and he hopes to choose the people who will assist him to protect the territory and the people. ”

Yu Chi Saburo said yes. Obviously, Du Zhongxiao didn't want to take care of Khotanese affairs, and he didn't talk much anymore and did things according to his own preferences.

After speaking, Du Zhongxiao said to Fu Bi beside him: "Deputy envoy, everything here is over, and we will return to Hequ tomorrow." If there is anything, you can explain it to King Yuchi. As soon as I left, I don't know what year and month I came back here. ”

Fu Bi said: "I don't want to say more about Khotanese affairs. However, I still hope that the king will think of the people, be diligent and love the people. This time, nearly 100,000 troops traveled thousands of miles and fought several times, and it was not easy to come by in Khotan. The king must not delay in political affairs and lose the good will of the court. ”

Wei Chi Saburo said: "Don't worry, the deputy envoy will definitely not." Xiao Wang is also a person who has been in the Central Plains for two years, and he knows many things in his heart, and he will definitely be diligent in political affairs and will not let the court worry. ”

After the instructions, Du Zhongxiao said: "The words are finished, let's come here today, and we will clean up too." In Khotanese affairs, there are documents looted from the fleeing army of Black Khan a few days ago, and the king can refer to them. ”

Yu Chi Saburo said: "When you leave, we will set up a banquet tonight to see you off." ”

After speaking, he took his local tyrants and left. This time back to Khotan, Yu Chi Saburo decided to rebuild the palace, and the city lord's mansion will be the residence of the city lord who governs it in the future. However, who will be the lord of the city here, he has not yet decided.

Looking at the back of Yu Chi Saburo leaving, Zhang Sheng said: "Jie Shuai, do you really care about Khotanese affairs in the future?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not that you don't care, but you don't care directly." If you have something, just look for King Wei Chi and don't contact the people directly. Remember, most of the people in Khotan are indigenous to the Western Regions, and they live scattered, so they are not so easy to manage. When the rest of the Western Regions is governed, then we will talk about it. The most important thing is that the army belongs to the imperial court, and there are no waves here. Ladies and gentlemen, you must understand in your heart that this place is different from the Central Plains, and the methods used to do many things in the Central Plains are not suitable here. Moreover, this is a Buddhist country, with its own language and writing, and most of the officials who are forcibly sent here are just superficial and cannot really govern. Leave everything to time, and it will slowly change after a long time. ”

Fu Bi said: "That's all it takes. In the days of Khotan, I also went out to walk, although there are many people who can speak Chinese, but the vast majority of people can't understand it, can't speak, it's really troublesome. It was located in Khotan, which was not only a way for the imperial court to delegate power to the local government, but also a way to block the entry of Khotanese people into the imperial court. The natives of the Western Regions can slowly move here, live together, and slowly change. The natives of the Western Regions under the rule of the imperial court, roughly estimated, numbered about 20,000 or 30,000 households, and Khotan was a vast area, and there was no problem in taking in these people. In other places, immigrants are slowly coming to cultivate, and if no one comes, they will be deserted first. ”

At this time, the population of the Song Dynasty was not large, and even Jingxi Road, which was closest to Fengfu, had a large number of idle fields, and not many people came out to reclaim the wasteland. When Bu Er fought with Hei Khan, Du Zhongxiao had already felt that Gaochang was actually the farthest place that could be occupied now, and Shule was already reluctant, let alone Khotan. Without the backing of the population, what is the use of occupying territory? In vain the financial resources of the imperial court. It is better to cooperate with other forces to maintain the business of peace. The greatest value of the Western Regions is that one is the east-west trade route, and the other is to cut off the development direction of the Mobei grassland.

The environment of the Mobei grassland is too harsh, and most of the areas are actually not suitable for human habitation. The places that are really valuable and pose a great threat to the Central Plains are actually the river meandering road and the two wings. On the west wing is the area north of the sky, where there are many nomadic tribes, and the north of the desert is strong, and can come to annex and develop. On the east wing is the Hulunbuir grassland, which is the territory of the Khitan. The layout of the imperial court in the Western Regions should be in the north of the mountain, and the south of the Tianshan Mountains should be enough as long as they occupy a few large cities at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.

After the occupation of Shule, due to various reasons, Du Zhongxiao wanted to move the natives there to Khotan and replace them with the Yingtianxiang army. The greatest significance is to cut off the connection with the black Khan and cut off the spread of religion. Since the Han Dynasty occupied the Western Regions, from Guanzhong along the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions, there were actually a large number of Han people. After the Tang Dynasty occupied the Western Regions, the Han people even accounted for the majority for a period of time. The Tang Dynasty moved a large number of foreign races on the periphery of Tibet to Dangxiang and Hequ Road, effectively cutting off the connection between these Han people and the Central Plains. After the Tibetan occupation of the Western Regions, the Han people in this area moved to other places, resulting in the current population not being the majority. Reoccupying the Western Regions, destroying the party, and restoring this road is the plan for long-term peace and stability.

Du Zhongxiao stood up and said, "Now that it occupies the Western Regions, it is actually the largest area that the imperial court can control. In the future, the war will be mainly against the party and the Khitan, so there is no need to spend too much effort here. It was built in the Khotanese country, and all the natives lived here, and it was governed by the king of Fan, which was the most labor-saving method for the imperial court now. There is no need for us to dwell on this road, go back to the meandering road, and prepare for war against the party. ”

Three years have passed, and the party item is no longer the party item of the year, and the war is not so easy to fight. In the first battle of Hue in that year, the party members had already understood that they could not fight against the Song army in the field, so they went back to fortify the city and learned from the Song army to make artillery. In a few years, several cities facing the Song Dynasty have been built with tall walls and artillery defenses, and it is much more difficult to fight than back then.

The next day, Du Zhongxiao left Khotan with Fu Bi, Zhang Sheng, Zhang Qi and others, and Yu Chi Saburo took people to send them out ten miles away.

Riding on the horse, Du Zhongxiao looked at the green grass and wild flowers on the side of the road, and said: "When I came last year, it was the turn of summer and autumn, and when I went back, it was already spring." The strong enemy is gone, the flowers are blooming, and we can slowly return. It has been three years since I rescued Tanglong Town back then, and the army has been crisscrossing thousands of miles and expanding countless lands. Today's martial arts are comparable to those of the Han and Tang Dynasties. In the next few years, the imperial court will inevitably pin its hopes on the party and the Khitan to destroy them and unify the world. At that time, the land in the Western Regions, which is thousands of miles away, will be truly useful. ”

Fu Bi said: "The military exploits of the festival commander have been unmatched for hundreds of years. Tuohe Qu, Pingxi Regions, did not taste a defeat, and the heroes of the world were all frightened when they heard it. After this war, the imperial court will inevitably be reused. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "The deputy envoy has been fighting in the Western Regions, and he should know that this military merit is actually nothing." The enemy is too weak, as long as he follows the steps, he should not be defeated. The most important thing is actually the railway behind to ensure that there is no shortage of materials. Now that the imperial court is forbidden to the army, the materials needed to fight a war are not comparable to the previous forbidden army. Without the railway, this battle would not have been fought. ”

Zhang Sheng said: "One is the railway, and the other is artillery, the two are combined, and there is actually no opponent within 10,000 miles." In the past, the imperial court and the Khitan were about a country of brothers, and they negotiated peace with the party, but they could not really defeat them. It's different now, and it's not hard to defeat it if you put your mind to it. In the first battle in the Western Regions, it can be seen that the results of the whole army's training in recent years are passable, and it is time to move to attack the party when he returns to the imperial court. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "The current forbidden army, in my opinion, is still much worse. In particular, middle- and lower-ranking officers lack the ability to fight tough and dangerous battles, and they do not know what will happen when they encounter difficulties. The training of middle and lower rank officers is insufficient, and the same is true of middle and upper ranks. However, now it seems that how could the imperial court encounter such a situation? can only take it slowly, the army has fought too much, and the court will definitely change its mind. ”

Du Zhongxiao compared it to the army in the previous life, and the current Song army is naturally very different. It's not just a little bit of difference, it's all aspects of the whole system. Especially at a disadvantage, the ability to turn the tables against the wind, the current forbidden army is too far behind.

There is no way, the special situation has a special appearance, the current Song army is enough, and the others can only be cultivated slowly.

When the Hequ Road was laid, Du Zhongxiao's military exploits were unparalleled, and this battle went down to the Western Regions, which was too great for the imperial court. Du Zhongxiao knew in his heart that after going back this time, he should not be able to unify the army. Even if the imperial court let itself command the army for various reasons, it would not accept it.

Since the training of the forbidden army, this army has been deeply marked with the shadow of Du Zhongxiao. The first battle in the Western Regions proved that the army after the training was still the army of natural enemies, and gave the ministers of the DPRK and China the confidence to use force abroad, Du Zhongxiao should retreat into the background and give the stage to others.

After the Battle of the Western Regions, the Song army had three offensive lines against the party. Hequ Road attacked Helan Mountain to the south, Qinfeng Road attacked Lingzhou to the north, and Yizhou attacked Shazhou to the east. All three roads were supported by railways, which allowed them to assemble large armies, and the party had little power to fight back.

Du Zhongxiao just didn't understand whether there were any talents in the imperial court who could really understand the new structure of the Song army and could command the war in a unified manner. If not, then it can only be a dumb battle and defeat the party with strength. It's just that for the Song Dynasty, this is also acceptable. Now the financial revenue of the Song Dynasty is several times that of Du Zhongxiao when he went to Yingtian in western Beijing, and he can afford to lose it.

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