Chapter 437

Chapter 437

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Side Story: The Winds of the Western Regions (6)

On the plateau lies a great lake, its waters boundless like the sea, hence the name Qinghai. Compared to the West Sea, it is more fitting as the new name for this place.

If it were called the West Sea, it would imply territorial boundaries, but the lands west of that great lake could still be incorporated into the territory of Da Yong. Who knows if there might be another lake or sea to replace the name of the West Sea?

By then, the West Sea would become the Central Sea, and it would need to be renamed again. It would be better to name it Qinghai now.

Cao Cao could not fail to notice that when Qiao Yan proposed this name, there was likely a deeper intention of expansion behind it.

However, such ideas of external expansion were, at this moment, only reflected in the Protectorate of the Western Regions, which had long been part of the Han Dynasty, and not as explicitly expressed in the reinforcement of troops in Qinghai.

She continued, “The land of Qinghai can give birth to salt lakes, and the areas around the lake are rich in water and grass. Unfortunately, during Wang Mang’s usurpation, he was in a hurry to achieve success. After the Beihe Qiang offered their land, they were driven to the increasingly harsh lands west of the great lake. With fifty new laws to govern the country, those who violated the laws were relocated here, numbering in the tens of thousands, causing widespread resentment among the people, both Qiang and Han alike.”

“Since the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou, the harsh winters have become more severe, and this place no longer has any cities or farming. Most of the Qinghai Qiang people avoid the winter in Huangzhong, only grazing their livestock here during spring and autumn, causing the land to become increasingly desolate. I find it truly regrettable.”

“Now that the education of the Qiang people in Liangzhou is on the right track, the troops of Da Yong will ascend the highlands of Qinghai, not to drive them like slaves, but to bring farming and herding techniques, as well as warm clothing and good food, and to bring the people who guard Qinghai under our rule.”

At this time, Qinghai and Tibet were far from having any religious sprouts or the birth of a unified regime. The first historically recorded regime in Tibet was still more than four hundred years away, and even if we trace its birth back a hundred years, it is still a distant time from now.

If Cao Cao followed Qiao Yan’s orders to go to Qinghai, he would indeed face a scattered population of Qiang people, rather than engaging with any small state.

So it’s not hard to understand why Qiao Yan would assign this task to Cao Cao.

In the early years, when Lü Bu was overseeing the construction of Suiyuan City on the Baidao River, he also had to send Jia Xu there, aiming to implement cultural education alongside military suppression. If Cao Cao were to go to Qinghai, there would be no need to worry about the governance of this place repeating the mistakes of the new policies.

As for the candidates for military suppression, Pan Zhang and Wei Yan, who were selected to participate in the attack on Wei County in Henei, were both ambitious individuals. They had no chance to expand the borders in the Western Regions or Liaodong, and with Gan Ning already selecting his subordinates for maritime exploration, they would not miss this great opportunity to make a name for themselves in Qinghai.

The Baima Qiang, Canlang Qiang, Beihe Qiang, and even the Fa Qiang, located deeper in the Tibetan plateau, were all wild and untamed, in need of Da Yong’s well-equipped soldiers to teach them some discipline!

“Mengde, Qinghai is vast, but there are no cities, and every step is fraught with danger. The harmony between the people of Da Yong and the Qiang in Liangzhou may not extend to these lands. Whether Da Yong can add another county or even a province depends on your abilities.”

With Cao Cao’s abilities and temperament, he would never think that Qiao Yan assigning him to this barren land was a form of exile, nor would he think that his new title as the Prefect of Qinghai, in addition to his title as General of the Chariots and Cavalry, was on par with his eldest son Cao Ang’s position as Prefect of Hanzhong.

As Qiao Yan said, given the vastness of that land, it takes several days to travel from Huangzhong to the West Palace Salt Lake. Who knows if it will become an independent province in the future, rather than just a county.

And when the responsibilities of conquest, suppression, education, and governance all fall on one person, it is truly a trust that is hard to come by.

It would not be suitable to entrust this to anyone else, only Cao Cao!

He stood up and replied, “I will not fail Your Majesty’s trust.”

Qiao Yan watched his departing figure with a look of satisfaction on her face.

She was not afraid that placing Cao Cao in this land for a “western expedition” would give this ambitious hero an opportunity to operate independently.

The vast and sparsely populated Qinghai-Tibet Plateau made it extremely difficult to gather enough manpower, and entering Liangzhou required passing through Huangzhong, which was under Qiao Yan’s control.

Cao Cao’s subordinates, Wei Yan and Pan Zhang, were also individuals with their own ideas, not like the Cao and Xiahou families, who were completely bound by shared interests and brotherly unity. Moreover, Cao Ang and Cao Pi, who were already serving under Qiao Yan, served as hostages.

Besides, when the lands around Qinghai Lake were rebuilt during Cao Cao’s expedition, the evolution of the Central Plains would also proceed at a faster pace.

Friendship is one thing, politics is another.

This was indeed the most suitable direction for Cao Cao.

“I heard that Ling Ju also expressed a desire to join the battle this year? What does Your Majesty think about Liaodong?”

Although Fuyu and Goguryeo, due to the unification of the Central Plains and the strong garrison in Liaodong, chose to keep a low profile and had long since severed ties with Gongsun Du, as long as they were not formally incorporated into Da Yong’s territory, they would still be considered “neighboring countries.”

In Cai Zhaoji’s view, it seemed that the time Your Majesty would allow them to maintain this state would not be long.

But what she did not expect was that Qiao Yan chose to have Cao Cao initiate the conquest and construction of Qinghai first, while temporarily putting Liaodong on the back burner.

“After the autumn harvest, since last year, I have ordered Wen Yuan and Ling Ju to gradually send Central Plains classics to the northeast as gifts from the Celestial Dynasty. It would not be too late to continue this communication for another half a year before launching an attack.”

The simultaneous advance on the Western Regions and Qinghai-Tibet shared overlapping routes for grain allocation, with support from granaries in Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Sichuan. Despite the impact of last year’s drought on reduced yields, it was indeed sustainable.

But if we were to add Liaodong to the simultaneous advance, it would truly be an act of militarism.

This is not the action of a founding monarch.

“At the end of the first year of Yuanzhao, when I entrusted maritime affairs to Gan Xingba, he once gave me a response, saying that within two years, he would give me a navy that could roam freely between the north and south. By the time of this year’s autumn harvest, it will have been two years.”

Qiao Yan calculated the progress of various aspects and said, “At that time, let Xingba launch troops from the sea, and Wen Yuan and Ling Ju launch troops from the land. How much land they can swallow will depend on their abilities. The autumn harvests from Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Youzhou will be used for this military campaign.”

If even this maritime expedition cannot achieve the expected results, then what can be said about oceanic development?

This is both a long-awaited battle for the generals of Youzhou and the starting point of her maritime dominance!

“Zhaoji,” Qiao Yan looked at her and said seriously, “Among the Qiang people now residing in Liangzhou, they are already using…”








The exchange of writing in the Central Plains is a matter of honor, and the southern route of the Western Regions Protectorate is already within grasp. Promoting the language of Huaxia among them is indeed the trend of the times. How could the distant overseas lands be any different as they move forward step by step?

“I see you have a new task coming up soon.”

Educating students requires tailoring the approach to their abilities, and educating the people is no different.

For the people of these small countries with different cultural backgrounds and varying levels of civilization, the way to teach them the language, customs, and culture of Huaxia in the Central Plains depends on the content of the books that accompany the army.

And this is clearly the responsibility of Cai Zhaoji, who has been compiling the Leping Monthly Report for many years.

While the soldiers engaged in battles across the four directions bear heavy responsibilities and face various dangers in their campaigns, the spread of culture is also a long and arduous task.

It is a struggle even longer than warfare.

Cai Zhaoji is well aware of Qiao Yan’s hidden worries and aspirations. Ever since she followed Qiao Yan to Leping and took on the role of a scribe under her command, she has been determined not to fall behind His Majesty, and now is no exception.

Before the autumn harvest, she will deliver a satisfactory answer to Qiao Yan.

Before Yang Biao retired, he noticed Qiao Yan’s potential intention to reform the official positions. As a close minister of Qiao Yan and already holding the position of Minor Palace with a changed power structure, he would not miss this special signal.

At this moment, His Majesty has not proposed it yet, only because the results of the campaigns in all directions and the stabilization of the Central Plains need to reach a point where no one can argue against it.

Therefore, she must certainly help His Majesty take another step forward!

——————

Of course, those who intend to leave their mark in the Xuanyuan Pavilion and the annals of the Da Yong dynasty will not stop at this moment.

Ma Chao, who is crossing the Xuandu Mountain, cannot stop either.

The vastness of the snow-capped mountains felt when looking at the distant peaks is nothing compared to the difficulty of actually being in them.

Even though Ma Chao, Yan Xing, and others are from Liangzhou and know the hardships of the highlands, even Yu Fan, with his good stamina and endurance, could not help but feel an indescribable fatigue after ten days of travel, with nothing but snow and cliffs in sight.

But at this point, their journey over the mountains might only be one-third complete, leaving no room for them to stop.

If they break the action plan established in the first five days, they might be trapped in the deep snow-covered mountains, never to leave!

So they certainly cannot stop.

When negative voices arise among the soldiers, they must do everything to boost morale again.

But even so, after another five or six days of travel, when they were about to transition from ascending to descending, Ma Chao was stunned by the sight before him.

“The name Xuandu Mountain is truly fitting…”

Before him was a long slope over forty miles, almost entirely covered in ice and snow, and nearly vertical, appearing in a terrifying manner that made one hesitate. The name Xuandu, which implies the need for ropes to traverse, is aptly applied here!

And ahead, there are still towering snow-capped mountains, making it impossible to tell if they have truly reached the halfway point of their journey.

Ma Chao couldn’t help but feel particularly庆幸 that they did not bring horses here, as a misstep by a horse could drag a person into the abyss.

With only people, it is much better!

“Have the soldiers eat a hot meal, then distribute the ice claws and have them绑在鞋上.”

The soldiers’ soft-soled shoes are specially made for this march.

The oilcloth made in large quantities after planting flax in Liangzhou in earlier years is now used as material for their shoes. Beneath the layers of fur and animal glue forming the soles,纹路 are intentionally created to prevent slipping on the snow-covered mountains. But in such a place, where can there be enough grip? They can only hope for the ice claws绑在鞋上, relying on the extended spikes and the垂落的绳索 to stand firm on the ice and descend from the heights.

Even with such器械助力, it was only after Ma Chao took the lead in攀援而下 that the soldiers, who had been traveling for over ten days, regained their spirits.

What further motivated this远征队伍 to move down was Yu Fan, who held the position of “军师” in the team, also taking the lead and发起对这条长陡坡的挑战.

If even a theoretical civilian official is not afraid of such challenges and hardships, what reason do the others have to lag behind!

To leave later is to endure more freezing in the snow-covered mountains. It’s better to break through the包围 of the mountains early and reach the territory of the Kushan Empire to seize their horses and attack their cities!

—This was said by Yu Fan.

“You’re supposed to be a scholar, yet you speak like a bandit about seizing horses and attacking cities?” Ma Chao couldn’t help but mutter.

But Yu Fan could tell that Ma Chao’s words, while seemingly嫌弃, also carried a sense of认可.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Does the General think this talk is useful?”

Useful, of course it is.

The Da Yong soldiers, already lacking this蓄势之气, are unwilling to admit they are不如个扬州的文人. At this moment, they are filled with thoughts of how they will bring the震撼 of a strong nation’s elite soldiers to the Kushan people after crossing the mountains. Any fear of this terrain is already抛在了脑后.

Seeing this, Ma Chao couldn’t help but laugh: “I mean, your words are still too mild. We will also seize their grain, burn their觊觎之心, and迟早给他们的国都来上一场爆炸!”

“No need for迟早,” Yu Fan patted the box that never left his sight. “This time will do.”

Ma Chao: “…?”

Yu Fan’s expression clearly said he was not joking.

As long as they can cross this snow-covered mountain, they can achieve this goal—

To give those Kushan people a震撼 of explosives!

Author’s note:

Changed the cover, hehe, this is the last one.

I’ll summarize all the covers I’ve used tonight.

I think my taste in commissioning art is pretty good, haven’t really messed up.

It’s like raising a daughter, at this stage, it’s super fulfilling.

I told you, when I asked someone to排版 the cover, the designer made me laugh. I asked if we should move the text to the back layer, and she said, these two words are刚好在手的位置, doesn’t it feel like the world is in your hands?

Alright, I’m convinced.

See you at 9 PM~