The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 650: Fenglangjuxu
At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, the entire Hailar Grassland seemed to come alive.

The Ming army's vast camp was filled with the sounds of commands. All the soldiers quickly dressed and lined up outside the tents, ready to be ordered.

Soon, thick plumes of smoke rose from the camp, the smoke visible from over ten miles away.

At this moment, a long whistle suddenly sounded from more than ten miles away, and a dark train sped out of Xing'a Forest and headed straight for the station near the camp.

The imperial entourage has arrived.

Upon hearing the news, Qi Jiguang and Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, immediately summoned a group of generals and guards, leading over a hundred warhorses straight to the station.

At this time, the station was actually just an open space of more than ten miles in circumference, with only a ring of railway tracks erected on it.

As soon as the train stopped, the Imperial Guards in both carriages jumped down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, and Wanli also ordered the railings to be removed before leaping down himself.

After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, he asked, "Yuan Jing, has the main tent here been set up?"

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, the tent has been set up for you long ago."

Let's go to the main tent then. They're standing here, and the garrison soldiers unloading the cargo don't seem to dare to come over.

This could cause problems, because at this point the railway was essentially a closed loop, with all trains constantly cycling between the stations of Alunhewei and Hailar Grassland.

In other words, all the trains run on a closed loop of tracks, and the distance between them is just enough for loading and unloading time.

If they stand here talking for too long, it will affect the soldiers of the garrison from unloading the goods, and by the time the next train arrives, the goods here will still be unloaded, which could lead to a major incident.

Wanli nodded hastily, then waved his hand and said, "Mount up, let's go to the main tent to talk."

After saying that, he took the reins, mounted his horse, and followed Qi Jiguang and his party straight to the camp.

Now he has more than one large tent for personal use, but two. One of them is a spare, so he ordered the soldiers of the Shenji Vanguard Camp to bring it over and set it up in advance.

Before long, the group arrived at the large tent where the maps were displayed.

He examined the map on the table carefully and then asked, "General Ma, have you scouted out the route for building the railway ahead?"

Ma Gui nodded repeatedly, then raised his hand and slid it across the map, saying, "Your Majesty, although the Hailar Grassland is relatively flat, we still cannot build a railway straight westward."

Because to the west lies the nearly two-hundred-mile-wide Kuolian Lake, we have to go southwest around it and then build along the Yinma River Valley westward.

Yinma River?
Why is there a river for drinking horses here too?

Wanli looked at the map again and then asked, "Zhenzhi, have you seen the Yinma River? Is the valley wide?"

Li Zhizao nodded repeatedly and said, "I have been to Yinma River Valley. When we first entered, it was quite wide, probably seventy or eighty li wide."

However, the valley is a funnel-shaped opening; about four hundred miles inward, the riverbanks turn into low mountains.

"I didn't go any further in, because there are no roads in those mountains, and our cavalry haven't gone in to scout ahead yet."

Is there more mountainous terrain ahead?
Upon hearing this, Wanli frowned slightly and said, "Zhenzhi, do you know how long the Yinma River is?"

Also, are you familiar with the general terrain beyond Yinma River?

We must build a railway that runs from east to west; if all that lies ahead are towering mountains, then we'll be in trouble.

Have you considered how we should repair the railway to get there?

Li Zhizao nodded slightly upon hearing this, then pointed to the map and explained in detail: "Your Majesty, I have consulted relevant ancient maps and classics for all of these."

The Yinma River was actually called that during the Song Dynasty; during the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it was called the Qielülian River. This is the hometown of Genghis Khan.

The Yinma River is about two thousand miles long. Further west is Langjuxu Mountain, the place where Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion, sealed the Langjuxu Mountain.

Langjuxu Mountain runs north-south and is said to be quite high, so it's unlikely we could cross it.

According to Han Dynasty maps, the area south of Langjuxu Mountain was the Xiongnu royal court, which was a vast grassland. We should be able to bypass Langjuxu Mountain from the south without any problem.

However, to the west of the Xiongnu royal court lies the massive Khangai Mountains, which we certainly cannot cross.

We can only extend the railway northward along the Mulun River to the southern shore of Beihai, near the hometown of the poet Li Bai, Suyab, and then extend it westward through the Xuelingge River Valley.

The Xuelingge River Valley used to be the Great Lake Grassland on the eastern foothills of the Altai Mountains. We can reach Gansu Town by following the Great Lake Grassland southwards into the Altai Mountains.

Genghis Khan?

Li Bai, the Poet Immortal?

Marquis Huo Qubing, the champion!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli was filled with longing. He stared at the map for a long time before muttering, "I'm afraid I won't be able to go to Fenglangjuxu."

"Yuan Jing, this is the highest honor for a military general throughout history. You will go in my stead."

To seal the wolf's lair and dwell in the Xu!

Qi Jiguang, quite excited, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Wanli examined the map carefully again and then decisively said, "Chang Geng, let's start building the Hailar Railway today."

"You go with General Ma and lead the garrison soldiers to dig the roadbed and lay stones. Once the tracks and sleepers arrive, you can simply lay them on top."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Ma Gui cautiously said, "Your Majesty, there are two more rivers south of Kuolian Lake. We'll need to build bridges to get around them." This wasn't a major problem.

Emperor Wanli nodded slowly and said, "The Summer Palace has prepared a lot of materials for building the steel bridge. We can just have the officials from the Ministry of Works bring them over for construction."

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Yuanjing, what were the casualties and the results of this battle?"

Qi Jiguang quickly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, although this grassland is vast, the main force of the Er'e tribe is not here."

Their main force seems to be in the area of ​​the former Xiongnu royal court. There are only about 5,000 troops here in total, and even if you include all the herdsmen, it's less than 50,000.

Their strength was no match for our 500,000 cavalry, and they didn't put up much resistance, so we suffered no casualties.

As for the results of the battle, besides these fewer than 50,000 people, the total number of cattle, sheep, and horses we captured was less than a million.

Is this all the cattle, sheep and horses you have?
The Hailar Grassland is over 700 li long and over 600 li wide, which is more than 300 kilometers in both length and width. Multiplying them together, it is over 100,000 square kilometers, which is more than 150 million mu.

Although he had never raised cattle, sheep, or horses, he still had some basic knowledge about herding.

Under normal circumstances, 10,000 mu of grassland can support at least 10,000 sheep, and thousands of cattle and horses can be grazed.

Because cattle and horses are difficult to breed, herders mainly raise sheep. Generally speaking, on grasslands of hundreds of millions of acres, there should be at least three to four million sheep, if not tens of millions.

Why are there so few cattle, sheep and horses on the Hailar Grassland?

He understood after a little thought.

The winters here are too cold, and the herders can only build simple warm sheds. Nine out of ten calves born during the winter cannot withstand the severe cold, making it difficult for cattle, sheep, and horses to reproduce.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Yes, it seems we need to hurry up and build houses for the winter."

The pastures here are quite lush, but the winters are too cold, making it difficult for cattle, sheep, and horses to breed. We need to build not only houses for people to live in, but also more stables, cattle sheds, and sheep pens, and provide heating for all of them.

As for the captured herdsmen, the train back was empty, so let's take them to the garrison at Arun River Guard and keep them under their care, so as not to waste the grain that we had worked so hard to transport.

There are also military merit rewards; remember them, I will distribute them all after this battle."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli pondered again, "Chang Geng, with trains pulling rails, sleepers, and gravel, would 500,000 people be enough to dig the roadbed and lay the tracks?"

Half a million people seems a bit too many.

Song Yingxing estimated: "Your Majesty, we can only build about a hundred li of railway per day at most, and a hundred li is 15,000 zhang. If we squeeze twenty people into each zhang, it will be a bit too crowded."

In other words, just digging the roadbed and laying the tracks would require at most 300,000 people.

Excellent, that's perfect, leaving most of the garrison troops here will save us from wasting transport capacity later.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Alright, you and General Ma will lead 300,000 garrison soldiers to dig the roadbed and lay the tracks."

Those who are breaking up the stones can continue breaking them here.

After deducting the 100,000 from the Arun River Guard, we're left with 600,000. Of these, 100,000 will be used here for loading and unloading goods, and the remaining 500,000 will be used to build city walls and houses.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After thinking for a moment, Wanli instructed, "Yiyuan, you should still lead the border cavalry to help the garrison soldiers transport grain."

Dong Yiyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Do you have any other questions?

Wanli thought about it carefully and suddenly realized, "Right, Chang Geng, don't forget to have a good discussion with General Ma and Yi Yuan about the protection issues along the railway line."

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Yuanjing, is there any other question?"

Qi Jiguang cautiously said, "Your Majesty, why don't I lead the Shenwu Battalion soldiers to set up camp in Yinma River Valley first?"

Anyway, the journey isn't far, and the road is through vast grasslands. I can order all the soldiers to carry a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain on their warhorses and slowly make their way there.

"Once the railway reaches that point, I can lead my troops directly to Mount Langjuxu."

Are you in a hurry to seal the wolf's lair and reside in the capital?

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Alright, you can handle the matter of leading the army to conquer. I will take care of the rear base here for you."

The way this is being said makes it sound like I'm in charge.

Qi Jiguang humbly replied, "His Majesty personally led the expedition and made strategic plans; I was merely a vanguard."

Yes, not bad, never boastful or arrogant.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can all go about your own business."

Everyone hurriedly bowed and took their leave.

(End of this chapter)