Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 273 Unifying the Snowy Plateau, an Unprecedented Map of China!
The following day, Zhao Shuo inspected Zhang Yong's crossbreeding farm.

When Temujin defeated Wang Khan and became the ruler of the eastern grasslands, he granted the Hulunbuir Grassland to Zhao Shuo. Zhao Shuo then established a special horse breeding farm there to cultivate superior warhorse breeds.

Now, thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhao Shuo has finally reached the harvest season.

There's no way around it; breeding superior horse breeds can't be rushed.

A horse takes eleven months to gestate and is raised to three years old before it can be bred. It takes four or five generations of continuous breeding to achieve stable genetic traits and form a distinct, superior breed. Add to that the time required to expand the warhorse herd, and even if everything goes smoothly, it will still take twenty years.

Moreover, Zhao Shuo has only had Zhang Yong, who is skilled in horse breeding, in charge of this crossbreeding farm for twenty-six years.

Arabian horses have only been involved in breeding for twenty-two years.

However, the results are very encouraging.

Last year, Zhao Shuo's military draft horse was finalized and named "Fushan".

The "Fushan" horse is a crossbreed of the Mongolian Baicha Ironhoof Horse, Liaodong Green Horse, Ross Forest Horse, Kipchak Horse, and Hungarian Horse. It has an average height of 4 feet 7 inches and an average weight of 1,400 jin.

Although it is still quite a bit inferior to the top draft horses of later generations, such as the Shire horse, which is over six feet tall and weighs two thousand kilograms.

However, in this era, it is truly astonishing.

Take, for example, the Baicha Iron-Hoofed Horse, one of the best warhorses in Mongolia. It was 4 feet 1 inches tall and weighed 700 pounds.

It's half the weight of a mountain horse!
Compared to the mountain-bearing horse, a hundred iron-hoofed horses are like little foals.

The pulling power of the mountain-bearing horse is even more terrifying. On ordinary dirt roads, it can pull a cart with a total weight of 2,400 jin (1,200 kg) and travel 100 li (50 km) a day.

Moreover, the Fushan horse inherited some genes from the Baicha iron-hoofed horse, and its hooves are hard and wear-resistant, which is beneficial for long-distance marches.

The transport capacity of this draft horse is almost equivalent to that of three horses in the past.

Zhao Shuo has issued an order to accelerate the expansion of the 'Fushan' horse herd, not only to meet military needs but also to begin selling them to the civilian population.

It is said that in later generations, when England became the British Empire, the number of Shire horses exceeded one million. These more than one million Shire horses became the core power source for land transportation in the British Empire before the invention of the train.

These mountain horses are far smaller than Shire horses. We'd need at least two or three million to meet the demand, right?
Of course, this is far from being achieved overnight, and Zhao Shuo's Hulunbuir Grassland and the horse farms of Fuchang and Huanzhou alone cannot support it.

However, it doesn't matter. From the Greater Khingan Mountains in the east to the lower reaches of the Danube River in the west, the 40,000-mile Eurasian steppe will all become Zhao Shuo's horse-breeding ground.

With Zhao Shuo's arrival today, the main warhorses in the army have reached the point of being finalized.

"Your Majesty, look, this is the finest warhorse bred in our horse farm. It is a cross between Mongolian horses, Arabian horses, Akhal-Teke horses from the Western Regions, and Persian Taco horses."

"They averaged five feet two inches tall and weighed around one thousand pounds, far exceeding ordinary Arabian horses in both height and weight. Their speed was no less than that of ordinary Arabian warhorses, and they were more resistant to roughage and hunger, making them a viable main breed of horse in the army."

Zhang Yong explained it to Zhao Shuo in detail.

The rulers of this era were slightly shorter than those of later times. Five feet two inches is roughly equivalent to 1.61 meters.

Zhao Shuo carefully examined the five hundred warhorses before him and estimated, "These warhorses are all over five feet three inches tall, aren't they? Did you carefully select them?"

"Yes, it was indeed carefully selected by your subject. However, I dare not deceive Your Majesty in the slightest regarding the specific measurements. On average, it is indeed about five feet two inches long."

"very good!"

Zhao Shuo said happily, "Back then, Han Shizhong, a general of the Song Dynasty, obtained a fine horse that was five feet and one inch tall. He saw that the horse was so magnificent that he said, 'It is five feet and one inch tall, and no subject dares to ride it,' and presented it to Zhao Gou. Now, all these warhorses are over five feet and three inches tall. If Han Shizhong were alive today, he would probably be astonished if he saw these horses."

Zhang Yong said, "Even if the Song Kingdom is short of horses, a general like Han Shizhong is not a shallow person. It can only be said that the king's thirty years of painstaking efforts have finally paid off, resulting in such magnificent warhorses in the army."

Zhao Shuo waved his hand and said, "No need to flatter me. As long as you take good care of my warhorses, that's better than anything else."

“Yesterday at the workshop, I spoke with Sun Wei about giving him the title of Vice Minister of Works, to bring honor to his ancestors. The same goes for you, Zhang Yong. You have worked hard for nearly thirty years, so give you the title of Vice Minister of Works as well. In addition, I will give you five thousand taels of gold and four beautiful women.”

"Your horse farm should also report two meritorious individuals. One with a fifth-rank official title, and the other with a seventh-rank official title; both will be rewarded with gold and beautiful women."

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I am willing to die for you!"

Zhang Yong paid his respects with great ceremony.

Back then, when he was an ordinary soldier of the Western Xia army and was captured by Zhao Shuo, he never imagined he would be in such a glorious state now.
His martial arts skills weren't particularly high, nor was he a skilled social man; his only specialty was horse breeding. It was previously unimaginable that he could earn the rank of Vice Minister solely through horse breeding, placing him among the high-ranking officials of the entire Zhao Shuo Khanate.

At this moment, Zhang Yong was truly filled with extraordinary excitement.

"No gift."

Zhao Shuo told Zhang Yong to stand up and then instructed him, "Your main task now is to select some horse breeds and send them to the horse farms in Fu, Chang, and Huan prefectures. From now on, these will be the main warhorses in our army."

"Yes."

"By the way, have you named this mainstay horse in the army?"

Zhang Yong said, "We originally named this warhorse 'Fierce Mane.' We are unsure if it is appropriate. Please advise, Your Majesty."

"Long Mane? Because these warhorses have exceptionally long and magnificent manes?"

Zhao Shuo thought for a moment and said, "Not quite right. Since this horse is the finest warhorse bred in the East, let's name it Dongfeng (East Wind). Dongfeng spreads westward, carrying our Chinese civilization to the West."

From the 13th to the 19th centuries, Chinese culture spread to Europe through the Silk Road and other channels, encompassing multiple fields such as art, architecture, and gardens, and playing a significant role in promoting the development of European aristocratic culture and art.

This was actually closely related to the strength and power of China at that time, reflecting Europe's admiration for Eastern culture.

This phenomenon was referred to by later historians as "the eastward spread of the wind."

However, what Zhao Shuo was thinking was, "Dongfeng Express, mission accomplished!"
The Pope's tiara fell to the dust,

Burgundy wine ferments with the blood of the Rhine.
The Teutonic Knights' oath became a joke.
The monastery's collection of books turned into a raging fire!

Zhao Shuo had already envisioned such a scene in 1215.

Now, more than 20 years later, his super warhorse "Dongfeng" has been successfully bred, and all that remains is to continue increasing its numbers.

The appearance of this scene is not far off!

……

……

In the days that followed, Zhao Shuo sometimes went hunting with Hua Zheng outside the city. Sometimes, he would stay in the workshop, guiding Guo Xun's research progress. Sometimes, he would venture deep into the grasslands to see the lives of the ordinary herders under his command.

Zhao Shuo lingered in Harkagui City for more than half a month before finally leaving and heading towards Zhongdu.
Zhao Shuo's first major move after arriving in Zhongdu was to adjust the garrison locations of the Eight Banners army.

The logic is quite simple: the original focus of Song's troop deployment was to guard against Zhao Shuo. Now that Zhao Shuo has selected the elite Song troops to form a new Eight Banners Army, it would be unreasonable to deploy troops in this way.

Before conquering the Song Dynasty, Zhao Shuo had fourteen Han Chinese Eight Banners Ten Thousand Households and one Navy Plain Red Banner Ten Thousand Household.

Meng Gong surrendered to Zhao Shuo, who then reorganized his army into three 10,000-household units.

Zhao Shuo reorganized the large armies of Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui in the Lianghuai region into two 10,000-household units.

Zhao Shuo also reorganized Yu Jie's army in Sichuan into two 10,000-household units.

In addition, Zhao Shuo also reorganized a 10,000-household unit each under Chen Wei in Jiangxi, Li Zhi in Hunan, and the Imperial Guard system in Lin'an, making a total of three 10,000-household units under the Eight Banners.

Zhao Shuo's Han army Eight Banners reached twenty-four ten-thousand-household units.

Originally, the navy only had one naval banner, but after taking the Xiangyang Navy and the Lianghuai Navy, Zhao Shuo added two more naval commanders.

In addition, the inland waterway naval forces that participated in the Battle of Xiangyang were also officially granted designations and two inland waterway naval commanders were formed.

In short, Zhao Shuo now commands a force of 290,000 men in the Han army.

The navy is easy to deal with; it's just a matter of stationing troops in ports around the world. The key is these twenty-four Han Chinese Eight Banners commanders.

Zhao Shuo established a 10,000-household unit in each of the southern provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Anhui.

Two commanders of ten thousand households were stationed in Zhejiang to oversee the Song court's implementation of the agreement. If the Song dynasty dared to cause any trouble, these two commanders could send troops to Fujian at any time.

In the north, the central region was of paramount importance, and three 10,000-household units were established there.

In Shandong and Henan, only one household of ten thousand was assigned.

Zhao Shuo abolished Hanzhong Province and incorporated it into Shaanxi Province, assigning two garrison commanders (万户) to it. He also assigned two garrison commanders to Shanxi Province.

In the former Western Xia region, the Gansu Province was established, and three 10,000-household units were assigned there.

In short, in inland provinces, one 10,000-household unit is sufficient. In Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, which are close to the grasslands, two 10,000-household units are stationed.

It can both prevent internal strife on the grasslands and facilitate the replacement of warhorses.

The reason three 10,000-household units were stationed in Gansu was because the region bordered the Khanate of Ögedei to the west and Qinghai and Tibet to the south. Sichuan was another region capable of invading Tibet. Zhao Shuo stationed a total of five 10,000-household units of Han troops there.

These five Han military commanders could attack Qinghai and Tibet to the west, and Dali to the south.

In other words, Tibet was already facing a direct military threat from Zhao Shuo's eight Han military commanders.
It's not just threats, it's actions.

Six months later, the relocation of the Eight Banners troops was completed.

Zhao Shuo's three Han military commanders stationed in Gansu, under the leadership of Zhang Rou, suddenly launched an attack on the Qinghai region. Although Qinghai is vast, it is barren and sparsely populated, with a total population of only over 200,000. There is no unified government, only some Tibetan, Tangut, and Uyghur tribes.

The three Han Chinese commanders swept through the Qinghai region like a whirlwind. All Tibetan and Uyghur tribes that refused to surrender were massacred; only young women and children shorter than a cartwheel survived.

As for the remnants of the Tangut people, whether they were willing to surrender or not, they suffered devastating blows from the Han army.

This served as a warning to the Tibetans, making an example of them.

Then, Zhao Shuo's envoy set off from Liangzhou and arrived in Lhasa.

The conditions Zhao Shuo offered to the Tibetans were also very simple.

Tibet must be incorporated into the territory of Zhao Shuo's Khanate, and Zhao Shuo will send 5,000 Han soldiers to be permanently stationed on the plateau. Zhao Shuo will allow major temples to freely preach on the plateau and guarantee the safety of their property. However, officials at all levels must be appointed by the imperial court. The succession of major religious leaders must also be approved by the imperial court. The equal-field system and the militia system must be implemented.

In other words, the people of the plateau belonged to the major temples in spirit, but were completely under Zhao Shuo's control in secular matters.

Lhasa, inside the Potala Palace.

More than seventy distinguished figures from various factions of Tibet gathered together, their flickering shadows cast by tallow torches on the walls.

"No! We can't surrender! No matter how brave Zhao Shuo's cavalry is, they'll become spineless on the plateau!"

"What happened to the powerful Tang Dynasty of China? It still couldn't do anything to Tibet. If Zhao Shuo doesn't send troops to attack Tibet, that's fine. But if he really dares to send troops, let them see the might of the Tibetan warriors!"

"The Tanggula Mountains are our best barrier!"

"Come on! Can we be as powerful as the Tibetan Empire back then? The Tibetan Empire could muster an army of 300,000. What about us?"

"Zhao Shuo conquers countless nations; the high-altitude climate may not be able to harm him. If we don't surrender, the fate of those tribes in Qinghai will be our future!"

"Actually, Zhao Shuo's conditions are not bad. As long as we can spread Buddhism on the plateau, nothing else matters."

……

Since the late Tang Dynasty, the various tribes of Tibet had split into more than a dozen large and small factions. Most of these factions were theocratic and controlled by local religious sects.

Zhao Shuo's envoy brought Zhao Shuo's terms, and important figures from various factions in Tibet went to the Potala Palace to discuss the matter of war and peace.

People were talking about it, and there were all sorts of opinions.

Of course, this does not mean that those who advocate war and those who advocate peace are evenly matched.

Because the two largest factions in Tibet were the Sakya school, which controlled the central and western parts of the Tibetan Plateau, and the Kagyu school, which controlled the southern and eastern parts of the plateau. The leaders of these two factions had remained silent.

"Zhigong Jianzan, why don't you say a few words?"

Sakya Pandita, the leader of the Sakya school, looked toward Drikung Gyaltsen, the leader of the Kagyu school.

“No, Sakya Pandita, you are much older than me, so you should speak! I am young and inexperienced, and I humbly await your guidance on such an important matter.”

In their struggle for supremacy over Tibet, the Sakya and Kagyu schools have clashed frequently over the past century, sometimes even resorting to armed conflict.

But now, at this crucial moment that will determine the fate of Tibet, the leaders of these two factions have surprisingly become amicable, with Zhigong Jianzan even directly addressing himself as a junior.

"Okay, then I'll say a few words."

Sakya Pandita stood up and said loudly, “I have listened carefully to your argument. In fact, in my opinion, there should not be any argument at all. Those who advocate fighting Zhao Shuo are more foolish than yaks on the plateau. In fact, we have no other choice but to surrender.”

"How is this possible? Are we really not even able to put up a fight against Zhao Shuo?" The leader of the Nyingma sect looked on incredulously.

Normally, he would never dare to speak to Sakya Pandita like that, even if he were beaten to death.

Sakya Pandita was not only one of the two most powerful leaders on the plateau, but also a Buddhist master whose understanding of Buddhism surpassed that of his peers, making him the most respected sage on the plateau.

However, the Nyingma leaders felt their hearts bleed as they thought about the various privileges they were about to lose, the serfs that were to be disbanded, and the future fate of their children.

Sakya Pandita, however, remained calm and said, "That's right, we don't even have the strength to fight Zhao Shuo. What high-altitude climate can we rely on? One of Zhao Shuo's territories, the Persian region, also has a high-altitude climate, and our saffron came from Persia."

"As for the Tanggula Mountains? The world is vast, and there are many places with treacherous terrain. Where else could possibly stop Zhao Shuo's army?"

"Many people compare the Tang Dynasty with the Zhao Shuo Khanate. Are they the same thing? Back then, Tibet could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops. What about us now? It's hard to say whether the entire Tibet, including men, women, and children, has even half a million people."

"Also... Sherpa!"

“Yes!” Sakya Pandita’s Sherpa brother answered loudly.

Sakya Pandita said, “Hang up those two maps so everyone can see them.”

"Yes."

Before long, two maps were hanging on the wall.

One of these maps is from the Tang Dynasty, and the other is a modern map.

"The Zhao Shuo Khanate is so big!"

"Even ten... fifteen Tibetans probably couldn't compare!"

"Their population density is much higher than ours! How many people must they have?"

"Fight? How do we fight? Who will fight? Whoever wants to go can go, I'm not going."

……

The Tibetan nobles were in an uproar, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

If, during the Tang Dynasty, Tibet was significantly smaller than the Tang Dynasty, but still had some fighting power, then the current disparity has left them in despair!
Sakya Pandita said, “This is a map of the Tang Dynasty, and this is a map of the current Zhao Shuo Khanate. Take a close look and see if they are the same thing. From Goryeo in the east to Egypt in the west, it is all territory of the Zhao Shuo Khanate, at least four times the size of the Tang Dynasty, while my Tibet is still the same Tibet!”

"No, to be more precise, we are not what we used to be. Back then, Tibet was united as one, but now we are divided into more than a dozen forces. Tibet could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops back then; even if we united now, with everyone of one mind, we couldn't muster an army of 100,000."

"And what about Zhao Shuo? The Han army plus the Semu army already exceeds 430,000! That's more than all the men on our plateau combined!"

"Zhao Shuo's forces number around 200 million. We only have about 500,000—that's a difference of 400 times!"

"Against Zhao Shuo, I see no other possibility but certain death. What do you think?"

Wow~~
As soon as Sakya Pandita finished speaking, the entire hall erupted in a clamor, as if a pot had been boiled over.

People knew Zhao Shuo was very powerful before, but they never had such a clear understanding of it!

Those who surrendered secretly rejoiced that their choice was absolutely correct.

Those who had vowed to resist to the death also quickly changed their stance.

After all, no matter how good wealth and status are, nothing is more important than one's own life. Besides, Zhao Shuo guaranteed their safety and property.

"Surrender! Surrender! We should surrender to King Zhao Shuo!"

"King Zhao Shuo has destroyed countless kingdoms; he is the King of Kings! Surrendering to the King of Kings is not shameful!"

"It is our good fortune to join such a great nation!"

"I don't care about others, but I'm determined to pledge allegiance to King Zhao Shuo!"

……

Once the noise subsided, Drikung Gyaltsen, the leader of the Kagyu school, stood up and declared loudly, "I believe that times have changed completely. We Tibetans can no longer remain aloof. Joining the Zhao Shuo Khanate is our best way out!"

"Although we have lost many privileges, our children—the intelligent ones can take the imperial examinations, and the brave ones can join the Eight Banners—may have a future even brighter than ours! Our people will not only gain the land they once dreamed of, but also obtain various resources from the Central Plains, solving their basic needs. Isn't this a tremendous blessing for the Tibetans?"

'I completely agree that the entire Tibetan Empire should join the Zhao Shuo Khanate!'

In fact, Zhigong Jianzan had long been aware of Zhao Shuo's power and was considering surrendering. Otherwise, why would he have been so humble towards Sakya Pandita just now?

What's there to argue about?
From now on, we will all be under the command of King Zhao Shuo, and as Tibetans, we should unite and look after each other.

In any case, Zhigong Jianzan's words have now settled the matter.

The Tibetan Plateau has been officially incorporated into the territory of China.

Zhao Shuo expanded the territory of China to an unprecedented extent!
(End of this chapter)