You have truly caused me great suffering!

"Yili is the throat of the Western Regions. It is necessary to control distant peoples without being an important town, and to secure the nearby people without real benefits."

Just as Wanyan Balisu and Yelü Dashi were facing off in the Talas River Valley, Meng Nuan arrived in Yili full of high spirits.

After reading the imperial edict, he announced the abolition of the Hu (non-Han) names such as Yilabali and Alimali.

From now on, it will be called Yili, and no other name will be allowed. Violators will be punished with caning.

The core area was designated as a military and political center and an agricultural reclamation area.

The Protectorate General's Office was constructed;
Three granaries were built, capable of storing 3 shi of grain to prepare for famine years;
In the fertile valley, they recruited refugees from the interior to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land. They announced the imperial court's policy of exempting them from taxes for three years. Those who came as a whole clan, or more than ten people, were granted 50 mu of land.
The first few years after the establishment of each dynasty, when things have stabilized, are indeed an excellent opportunity for ordinary people.

They introduced curved plows and waterwheels, and distributed winter wheat and alfalfa seeds.

Many fields are available for you to cultivate, as long as you are willing to work hard.

Even the Jurchen people of the Jin Dynasty initially encouraged land reclamation.

Of course, apart from the Manchus, they seized land and then enslaved people.

This advantage was taken to its extreme in Dajing. As long as you wanted, you could get land for free anywhere in the border areas, and there were also various tax-free policies.

This land isn't just temporarily given to you to cultivate; it's given to you directly once your household registration is here, with a land deed issued.

Even if you can't leave your hometown, you can still work in a workshop or do some small business.

Meng Nuan, as the deputy protector-general, wielded considerable power, and while Zhang Kejian was away, he truly indulged in the role of protector-general.

This might seem like overstepping one's authority and could displease superiors.

In fact, he was very clever. He knew that someone like Zhang Kejian wouldn't stay in Yili for long and that he would definitely return to Jinling and go to the imperial court.

However, as long as Meng Nuan performs well and demonstrates his abilities to His Majesty, he can be stationed here for an extended period.

While Zhang Kejian was on his way, Meng Nuan had already begun establishing a horse farm and breeding fine horses on the lush, high-altitude Zhaosu Grassland.

The grasslands were fenced off for 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers), prohibiting grazing by civilians; 20,000 military horses were raised annually for cavalry and postal services. Superior breeds were introduced, and Ili horses and Ferghana horses were crossbred to improve endurance; veterinary clinics were established to prevent and control diseases.

He handled all these things very well.

The foundation of Dajing's horse administration was laid by Jin Ling, who placed great emphasis on breeding fine horses back in Hengshan Ranch.

Horses have now become almost a symbol of the scenic area.

Both the military and civilians owned a large number of horses, which made population movement frequent and convenient.

Everyone knows that there's a huge difference between having a horse and not having one; the experience is completely different.

When Zhang Kejian arrived at the end of February, he was greeted by this thriving scene.

He himself was not jealous of talent, and immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor to commend Meng Nuan for his merits.

Then, outside the west gate of Yining City, a "West Market" was established, and a monument was erected to regulate transactions and taxation.

Previously, all caravans were government-run, and taxes were deducted directly from their profits.

Now that Guangyuantang is offering discounts to the people, merchants from all over the Central Plains, especially caravans from the northwestern fortresses, have begun to dominate this renowned Silk Road.

The tax rate here remains 10%, and one-tenth of the goods are collected and auctioned off by the Protectorate at market price.

It's like the taxes you pay; you can actually buy them back, transport them to the Central Plains, and resell them, still making a profit.

In less than six months, the foundation here has been basically laid, because all the conditions in the Northwest are already quite mature.

Furthermore, the Guangyuantang caravan's sincere transfer of ownership, without any detours, made the transition exceptionally smooth.

Next, we just need to continuously improve the facilities and wait for this place to prosper at an extremely fast pace.

The Ili River Valley is a paradise, with fertile farmland, high-quality pastures, thriving trade routes, and rugged terrain.

This place alone could support a powerful nation.

In Chen Shao's vision, this place was also a bridgehead for Dajing's westward expansion.

The accompanying officials, who had expected to come here to eat sand and suffer hardships, were all taken aback.
-
In Jinling, Chen Shao returned to the capital to prepare to personally preside over the upcoming palace examination.

Looking at the reports on the table, he fell into deep thought.

What kind of monster is this Jianyi?

According to current reports, the territory captured by the Jing army has reached an exaggerated level.

Moreover, these land claims were not fabricated.

They were all his own men, the most professional land survey team, the same group that had handled the hidden land case before, who went to do the surveying.

According to their statistics, the Jing army has already occupied more than 3,000 islands, and the land area is too numerous to count, but is estimated to exceed 100 million hectares.

The number of prisoners captured was countless.

But the most terrifying thing is that, despite such a victory, they still haven't reached the heart of Isamu's heart.

Not a single important figure was caught.

Chen Shao's understanding of the Southern Wilderness came from his geography knowledge in middle school, so he was not very clear about the current situation in the South China Sea.

So this admonition is incredibly powerful.

No wonder they looked down on us and dared to attack Jingkuang.

Fortunately, their combat strength was average; though large, they were easily defeated.

Keep fighting!
I refuse to believe we can't finish this fight!

In Chen Shao's mind, by the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, even if there were no states, there should at least be tribes similar to those in the deserts and jungles of Jiaozhi.

What he didn't know was that there were indeed a large number of primitive tribes on these islands in the South China Sea.

The territory that Jing Jun is now sweeping through is the Philippines, Indonesia, and Brunei in later generations.

The combined land area of ​​these regions is equivalent to one-fifth of the area of ​​China.

Yuwen Xuzhong also came over and glanced at the report on the table. He now seriously suspected that the front lines were exaggerating their battle achievements.

But he had no evidence.

Everything has evidence.

Unless the entire court follows the South China Sea Fleet in fabricating a story.

In the end, he, like Chen Shao, had to acknowledge the power of Jianyi.

The Great Jing is not at war with a weak country, but with a huge overseas empire.

They have tens of thousands of islands, their territory is endless, and their population is inexhaustible.

This greatly appealed to Yuwen Xuzhong.

If this labor force could be converted into a large-scale workforce, it could solve the current enormous problem.

Indeed, the population boom had only just begun after the founding of the Great Jing Dynasty. A severe shortage of young and able-bodied men was looming.
-
The calendar used in Jianyi was completely different from that in the Central Plains, and the climates on both sides were also very different.

The period from the New Year to spring is the cooler time in Jianyi Village, which they call the cool season.

The people of Zhenla, who are used to the hot and rainy climate, also like the cool season, because it is one of the few relatively comfortable seasons of the year.

During these short three or four months, the temperature was mild and pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold, and the rainfall was relatively minimal.

Although it often rains at this time, a typical rain shower is very short-lived. The ground gets wet and then dries up quickly, and the roads don't become muddy.

Outside of the cool season, Jianyi Village receives a lot of rain.

In fact, there weren't many Jing troops attacking Jianyi, because there were simply too many islands along the way.

They dared not let any island go, so they could only push it over.

Jianyi Village is the furthest from Dajing.

Even if Jingjun departed from Champa, it would still take him nearly a thousand kilometers to reach Jianyili, while from Jianyili to Australia it would only be three thousand kilometers.

If we attack from Srivijaya, it will be very close and convenient.

However, given the current situation in the Southern Wilderness, Sanfoqi dares not pass through, because in the eyes of the Southern Wilderness kingdoms, the Jing army has gone mad.

Since the declaration of war, the Jing Army has been sweeping through the surrounding islands and has not approached the main island of Java at all.

Now that the cool season is coming to an end, in the eyes of the ministers and officials of Jianyi, this is a waste of a good opportunity for the Jing army to attack.

Since the Jing army had cut off the shipping routes along the way, the people of Jianyi Village, who were unaware of the situation outside, guessed that the storm might have slowed down the Jing army's advance.

They were very satisfied with this, as if a storm had indeed come, the cool season would be running out of time.

Even if the Zhenla people failed to win on the battlefield, they would still keep the Jing army tied down in Zhenla during the entire Liang season.

Jingjun will be unable to continue its southward advance at least this year, and perhaps for several years at all, it will not be able to continue its southward invasion, because according to their experience, after such an intense war, the army can only return to replenish its strength.

And this is still the worst-case scenario.

The people of Jianyi Village, who were originally worried, suddenly regained their confidence.

The gods they worship day and night will protect them and send all the Jing people to the bottom of the sea.

General Samudela of the Jianyi Army stood on the deck, observing the scene ahead. His face was dark and shiny, gleaming in the sunlight.

Samudela's physique was similar to An Lushan's—fat and large. In a place like Jianyi, people generally don't have large frames, so it's easy to imagine how difficult it was to raise someone of his size.

He couldn't stand on the deck for long; soon someone brought him a chair.

The gentle morning sunlight did not cause him excessive discomfort.

The sea temperature is not high, and the sea breeze is cool. The stable temperature prevents the formation of hurricanes at sea, and the wind is very gentle, causing the sails to billow very full and look quite beautiful.

The monsoon here usually begins in December with northeasterly winds; this year, the northeasterly monsoon arrived even earlier. It was only late November when the northeasterly winds started blowing over the ocean.

He had originally planned these things very carefully, but they were completely useless in the end, but he did not regret it at all.

In fact, he was not completely ignorant of Jing Jun, and he was terrified of those people.

Back when Cai Xing went to Southeast Asia, he had dealt with the Jing people. Their weapons were terrifying, like the eyes of a demon, capable of spewing black fire and blasting everything in sight to pieces.

They'd better never come!
Those idiots in the city, just because Jing Jun arrived a few days late, are clamoring for a counterattack and wanting to seize their mines. They're just asking for death.

Every day he would personally come to the seaside, board the warship, and patrol the nearby waters to see if there were any Jing army ships.

If not, he was a diligent and conscientious general who tirelessly boarded the warship every day to protect Jianyi Village.

If he had, he would have been the first to surrender and lead the Jing army into the city.

He might end up doing even better than he does now.

Only the most foolish person would be loyal to Jayabaia, an arrogant and incompetent king.

There were no enemy ships on the sea today. Musadra himself was observing, and he also ordered other ships to keep watch.

Up until now, they haven't seen any enemy ships; everything is perfect.

He stared calmly at the sea, taking a deep breath into the wind. When he first set out to sea, he could smell a faint fishy odor in the sea breeze, but now he could smell it completely.

The entire sea was filled with boats, mostly small sampans, but there were many of them; there was only one large boat with a soft sail.

The distant ship silhouettes were small, with a large ship occasionally appearing among many smaller boats. From a distance, Musadrah perceived the scene as a vast swarm of ants, with a larger soldier ant occasionally appearing among the worker ants.

“Nothing happened today either.” Musadrah thought to himself after saying this: Today, I am still a loyal minister in the admonition.
-
In the fifth year of Jianwu, the imperial examinations were held in spring.

Chen Shao got up very early and made careful preparations.

Scientific expeditions were a major national event, and even Chen Shao attached great importance to them.

Those who are able to enter here are already carefully selected talents, and they will all become pillars of Dajing in the future.

Before the morning drums had ceased, the palace gates were wide open.

Three hundred and twenty-seven candidates entered through Xuande Gate in single file, dressed in blue robes and plain shoes, and were divided into two rows: the candidates for civil service examinations on the left and the candidates for artisan studies on the right.

This marks the first time since the founding of the Great Jing Dynasty that a dual-track system for selecting officials has been established—the literary system focuses on Confucian classics and strategic discussions to govern the country, while the technical system focuses on ingenuity and practical skills to benefit the world.

Sitting on the golden throne, Chen Shao watched them enter one by one, finally understanding Li Shimin's feelings back then: "All the heroes of the world are now within my grasp."

I am indeed very happy.

Inside the hall, the current prime minister, Li Tangchen, performed the ceremony, the Minister of Works, Xu Jin, supervised the artisan examination, and the scholar-official, Yuwen Xuzhong, presided over the literary examination.

To be honest, when your proctor is a prime minister, your future is already limitless.

Those who remain calm and perform flawlessly under pressure are truly exceptional individuals.

At the third quarter of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM), the scholars entered the palace, and the examination questions were personally written by Emperor Chen Shao on yellow hemp:

[Now that the southern desert has been newly pacified, Han and non-Han peoples live together. Some say that prefectures and counties should be established as in the interior, while others say that governance should be based on local customs. Which approach is more convenient? Please state your reasons.]

Li Tangchen and the others only learned about the test questions today, and they nodded secretly after seeing them.

His Majesty is always pragmatic, and this test question is very much in line with his character.

The students were somewhat surprised, but after thinking it over, they began to write furiously at their desks.

Those who were able to enter the examination hall today for the Imperial Examination for Craftsmen were all those who performed exceptionally well on all subjects during the provincial examination.

Today, we will not be doing exercises or using pen and ink, but instead showcasing our own works or discoveries.

Although there are many people, it has already been decided. His Majesty will communicate and discuss with each of them one by one, and then give them scores.

This is actually quite difficult, because craftsmanship encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and knowledge.

However, Chen Shao happens to know a little about everything, but isn't an expert in anything.

But he could distinguish which was important and which was truly useful. Moreover, he had a large group of professionals around him to help him analyze things. (End of Chapter)