Di Ming

Chapter 220 Rebuilding the Great Tang Surrender City

In the third year of Emperor Lizong's Baoqing reign, Genghis Khan Temujin died at the hands of a Western Xia princess.

In retaliation, the Mongol army massacred the Western Xia, killing millions of Tangut people, almost wiping them out.

Temujin had two tombs: one was the secret tomb where his body was buried, and the other was a cenotaph where his clothing and belongings were buried, which was also the "White Palace" where Temujin lived during his lifetime.

The true tomb is kept secret, so grand ceremonies cannot be held there. Therefore, the cenotaph becomes the place of the shrine, and is worshipped with the highest level of ceremony in all four seasons, and is called the "supreme deity".

The Eight White Houses moved three times. More than a hundred years ago, they moved to the Hetao Grassland at the foot of Yinshan Mountain and along the Yellow River, where they were guarded by the Hetao Mongols.

This cenotaph is the famous "Eight White Houses" in Mongolia, also known as the White House.

The Eight White Chambers are eight ancient white tents. The central tent is the cenotaph of Temujin, also known as the "Genghis Khan Memorial Hall".

The Mongols believe that the spirit of Genghis Khan resides in the Eight White Houses, protecting the Mongols. This is a sacred place for the Mongols.

When Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang arrived at the Eight White Chamber, they found that it was protected by a huge wall, and the first thing they saw was a pair of stone statues.

Clearly, this is a product of the Mongols being influenced by Central Plains culture.

Upon entering the cemetery, we saw another tall ovoo, built of huge blue stones, surrounded by Tibetan prayer wheels.

This is again influenced by Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

After passing the ovoo, there are eight large tents. The tent in the middle is three zhang high and five zhang in diameter, like a palace.

This so-called "White House" was also the large tent where Genghis Khan lived during his lifetime.

Back when Temujin (Genghis Khan) was on his westward expedition, he used twenty-two oxen to pull his Khan's tent. That large tent pulled by twenty-two oxen should be this "White Palace".

More than three hundred years have passed, and the white tent made of wool has long since turned grayish-black, forming a thick patina.

It was fortunate that Temujin's golden tent was well-made, using felt more than an inch thick; otherwise, it would have become tattered long ago after more than three hundred years.

As Zhu Yin entered the White House, he was immediately struck by the heavy atmosphere of history. Inside, rows of eternal lamps were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

In the very center of the tent was a shrine more than ten feet tall, inside which was enshrined a white stone statue, which was the image of Temujin.

The Mongolian inscription on the tablet reads: "The Divine Tablet of Genghis Khan, the Supreme Ruler of the Mongols, King of Kings, Conqueror Under the Heavens, Creator of the Great Mongol Empire, Great Yuan Emperor."

Beside it were a few lines of smaller text that read: "The spirit of Genghis Khan is immortal; he is the sky, the sea, the grasslands, the sun, the moon, the stars, the infant, the grass, the snow, the storm, and the lightning. He is everywhere..."

Beneath the shrine was Temujin's tiger-skin throne, with his fur coat, robe, felt hat, armor, and belt hanging on the wooden frames on either side.

On another shelf hung items such as swords and bows and arrows.

There is also Genghis Khan's Suluding banner.

There was also a wooden box resembling a coffin, filled with all his personal belongings: a wine pot, a map, a knife, a cane, a gold seal, the Tao Te Ching, a Bagua compass, a thumb ring, and so on.

Looking at these artifacts that are over three hundred years old, Zhu Yin couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Temujin, this steppe man who was suspected to be a descendant of Liu Bang, had a life full of legends. But what the Mongols didn't know, and what the Han people didn't know, was that his paternal lineage might very well have come from Emperor Gaozu of Han.

“Temujin, Genghis Khan,” Zhu Yin said. “You wouldn’t believe it, would you? Han Chinese would come to your mourning hall to examine your clothes and belongings.”

The young man was graceful and elegant, with a clear and melodious voice, like an elf suddenly born from an ever-burning lamp, unlike any ordinary person.

"From this day forward, your Eight White Chambers will be under the control of the Ming Dynasty. Regardless of whether your ancestors were barbarians or Han Chinese, you will be situated on Han soil, whether you like it or not."

"The Mongols who submit will be subjects of the Ming Dynasty, while those who oppose the Ming Dynasty will be ruthlessly eliminated. If you truly have a spirit in heaven, then bless the Mongols... to submit to the will of Heaven!"

"Genghis Khan, the era of the Mongols dominating the grasslands is coming to an end. Singing and dancing will be their best destiny. This is the trend of history, and no one can change it, not even you."

Zhu Yin took a few steps, then suddenly turned back and said, "The Ming Dynasty will preserve your cenotaph. This is the magnanimity of the Ming Dynasty and a blessing for the Mongols."

Qi Jiguang looked at the statue of Temujin with a cold gaze.

He desperately wanted to burn down the entire Eight White Chamber. But in order to appease the surrendered Mongols, he knew he couldn't do that.

Qi Jiguang suddenly smiled slightly, his aged and deep voice echoing in the ancient tent:

"Temujin, you are a great hero of the Mongols. But you should know that it was also because you were lucky. You did not meet a true wise ruler and good minister of the Han people, otherwise your fate might not have been better than that of Khagan Jieli."

After saying this, Qi Jiguang left the tent.

Zhu Yin returned to the army and immediately ordered that the Eight White Houses not be damaged, keeping his promise to the Mongols.

Three days later, all the spoils of war were tallied.

In the Golden Horde alone, more than 38,000 elderly, women and children were captured, more than 150,000 head of livestock were seized, and more than 26,000 Han slaves were rescued from Bansheng Manor.

In addition, more than 84,000 taels of gold, 1.24 million taels of silver, and a large amount of grain, cloth and other valuables were seized.

Zhu Yin ordered a batch of grain to be allocated as provisions for the Ming army and as rations for Mongol prisoners. All other property was to be registered and recorded.

Although the spoils were substantial, they belonged to the imperial court, not to Zhu Yin.

Even Zhu Yin couldn't use these spoils to reward his soldiers without authorization. Rewarding soldiers required imperial approval and a court decree. It was, of course, a reward given in the name of the court and the emperor.

However, there is always room for flexibility. Zhu Yin, under the pretext of distributing military pay in advance, distributed three months' worth of wartime military pay, giving away 200,000 taels of silver at once.

On this day, Zhu Yin and the others discussed the spoils, and someone suggested that all the livestock and furs seized be sold to merchants in Ningxia and converted into silver to be handed over to the national treasury.

Otherwise, with so many cattle, sheep, horses, and camels needing to graze, they can only be grazed on the grasslands, and it's impossible to transport them all the way back to the capital. What should be done?
Zhu Yin said, “The Mongols live off their cattle and sheep. If we take away all their cattle and sheep, they will starve to death. As the royal army, we cannot do that. There are also many Mongol tribes watching us.”

"In my opinion, the cattle and sheep should be distributed equally among them, so that there will be no distinction between rich and poor in the Mongol tribes. However, since the pastures are rented by the merchants, and they use the merchants' pastures for grazing, they must sell their furs, meat, milk, horses, mules, and other goods to the merchants on the pastures at a fair price, and they must not sell them to merchants from other places."

"In this way, the Mongol prisoners will have a way to survive and can continue to graze their livestock. Merchants will be able to make a profit, and the court will be able to extract taxes from the pastures. It's a win-win-win situation."

Qi Jiguang laughed and said, "The method of pacifying the army is excellent, it takes all aspects into consideration, and I fully agree with it. The tens of thousands of Mongol prisoners should not be treated harshly, otherwise it will be difficult to handle in the future."

Even Hao Yunlai and Zheng Guowang couldn't find fault with it. Zhu Yin's method was indeed a prudent move. However, they didn't know that the merchant Zhu Yin was referring to was mainly Ning Caiwei.

Of course, Ning Caiwei wouldn't appear directly. She would remain behind the scenes, using agents to participate in the Hetao project.

They built a large ranch in the Hetao region, recruited guards as private soldiers, monopolized the commerce of Hetao, and then gradually took control of the garrison in Hetao, one step after another.

Within ten years, the Hetao region, nominally belonging to the imperial court, actually belonged to him and Ning Caiwei.

Zhu Yin then said, "In order to defend the Hetao region, the imperial court must build a city and station troops. Although the imperial edict has not yet been issued, we can start doing it now. In your opinion, General, how many troops should be stationed here?"

Qi Jiguang and Zhu Yin had already discussed this privately, and immediately said:

"The Hetao Plain, stretching for thousands of miles, requires at least 10,000 troops to be stationed there. Our army can build Haihe City on the north bank of the Yellow River, south of Wuliangsuhai Lake, and station 5,000 troops there. Then, at Langshan Pass, we can rebuild the Great Tang Surrender City."

Rebuild the Great Tang Surrender City? Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "What the General said resonates with me. Indeed, Haihe City, relying on Wuliangsuhai Lake and the Yellow River, shields us from the enemy coming from the east. The Tang Dynasty's surrender city is blocked at Langshan Pass, and with Helan Mountain to the east and Ningxia Town to the south, the entire Hetao region can be well defended."

Zhu Yin certainly knew about Shoujiang City.

The Tang Dynasty built three surrender cities north of the Yellow River and south of the Yin Mountains, which became strategic fulcrums for the Tang Dynasty to control the Hetao grasslands.

Dongshoujiang City is today's Guihua City, the royal city of the Mongol Shunyi King.

The city of Zhongshoujiang is Baotou, which is also Jiuyuan.

The Western Surrender City was of utmost importance, as it strategically controlled the Beihe Ferry and Langshan Pass, and was once home to 7,000 Tang troops.

From Zhu Yin's perspective as a time traveler, the strategic layout of the three surrender cities in the Tang Dynasty far surpassed the wasteful and labor-intensive border fortresses of the Ming Dynasty.

The surrender city of the Tang Dynasty was still defended during the An Lushan Rebellion, which allowed the Tang Dynasty to firmly control the southern grasslands. Although the internal region was divided by warlords, the Tang Dynasty still suppressed the Hu people in the north and south of the desert until its demise.

Li Rusong nodded and said, "In my humble opinion, if we have these two military cities and station 10,000 troops, it would be enough to guard the Hetao region. However, the construction of these two military cities is a large undertaking and will not be accomplished in a day."

Zhu Yin said, "As long as Ningxia wins a great victory and the rebels are quickly quelled, the Tartars will not dare to invade the Hetao region again for at least two years. With these two years, we can build two military cities. If we don't have enough laborers, we can have merchants recruit them. Didn't we rescue 20,000 to 30,000 Han slaves? They can be used to build the cities. They will have wages and food rations, and the court will not treat them unfairly."

Suddenly Qin Liangyu said, "I think that with a military city, 10,000 troops would be enough, but we don't have a military city yet, so 10,000 troops are too few. The Hetao region is so big, we need at least 20,000 troops to garrison it right now. Only when we have a military city can we reduce the number of troops stationed there."

Zhu Yin nodded and said, "General Liangyu is right. The military city has not yet been built, and 10,000 troops are really too few. Without 20,000 elite troops to guard it, I'm afraid we won't be able to suppress the other tribes. Which generals are willing to temporarily garrison this place? I will recommend those who are willing to garrison to the Ministry of War."

In fact, he had already discussed it with his adoptive father, and his adoptive father would be stationed in Hetao!
He doesn't trust anyone else!
The group looked at each other, and no one uttered a sound.

How many people are qualified to command 20,000 elite troops stationed in the Hetao region? Even if someone wanted to, they wouldn't dare to volunteer.

Li Rubai's face turned bright red. He really wanted to do it, but he knew his place was not his.

General Ma Lin of Datong was very interested, but he was not as senior as Li Rusong, let alone Qi Jiguang. Therefore, he did not dare to recommend himself.

Li Rusong opened his mouth, but said nothing. He also wanted to shoulder this heavy responsibility. However, with Qi Jiguang present, he couldn't very well volunteer.

Zhu Yin said, "I will petition the court to rotate the troops stationed in the Hetao region every three years. They can be transferred back after three years of service."

“Right now, our army still has 38,000 men capable of fighting, so we will draw 20,000 from various units. My idea is to keep the wagon corps, and also keep 9,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry. But the person in charge of this command must be a veteran general.”

Leaving 20,000 elite troops to garrison the area effectively made them the main force. The troops sent south to quell the rebellion became a secondary force.

The commander-in-chief stationed in the Hetao Grassland must be a great general.

At present, only Qi Jiguang and Li Rusong are qualified to do so.

Zhu Yin's goal, of course, was to have Qi Jiguang stay behind to guard the area. Since the Hetao region was a business development zone, Ning Caiwei needed to invest a lot of resources and develop it into her own territory, so she definitely needed her own people to guard it.

With her adoptive father in charge of the Ordos region, she could secretly plan many things. Although her adoptive father was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, he was very disappointed in the emperor and seemed to have guessed her true identity.

If that day ever comes, my godfather will most likely support me.

Sure enough, Li Rusong sighed and took the initiative to speak:

"No one is more suitable for such an important task than the General himself. The Hetao region is a vast area, and it is newly recovered territory. The Tartars are eyeing us covetously from the east, west, and north. Without a battle-hardened general to oversee it, I'm afraid we really can't keep them in check."

He dared not compete with Qi Jiguang, so he had no choice but to give up what he loved.

It's a pity. The Hetao region is destined to be a land of military exploits. If they had been stationed there, it would have looked much better in the history books.

Zhu Yin immediately nodded and said, "General Li is right. With the Grand General in charge of the newly recovered territory, I am most at ease. Now that the rebels' support has been eliminated and the Mongol leaders such as Boshuotuke have been captured, most of the 30,000 Mongol cavalrymen who went south will surrender obediently. The rebels are doomed, and there is no need for the Grand General to go south."

"With the General stationed in the Hetao region, he will intimidate all the tribes, and Ningxia will be pacified in no time."

Qi Jiguang stroked his beard and said, "In that case, I will personally guard the Hetao region and await the imperial decree."

Even though he was over sixty, he was very happy at this moment.

He's so old, yet he's still managing to guard the Hetao region. When he was dismissed from office to atone for his crimes, he never dreamed of such a thing.

If we could use the Hetao region as a base to lead an army westward to conquer and recover the Western Regions, that would be even better.

Once Qi Jiguang expressed his opinion, the matter was considered settled, and all that remained was for the imperial court to issue an edict appointing him.

From the perspective of the imperial court, there was no one more suitable than Qi Jiguang to guard the strategic location of the Hetao region.

Next, the merits and achievements of the soldiers will be recorded.

Generals reported their achievements afterward, but soldiers' military merits were determined directly by the generals. To boost morale on the battlefield, the best-performing soldiers were often rewarded immediately.

The generals presented their names one by one, all of whom were the soldiers who had beheaded the most and were the bravest in battle.

Zhu Yin opened it and looked at it for a while, and soon saw a familiar name.

"Cao Wenzhao, a soldier of the Left Battalion of Datong Town, was only sixteen years old when he killed three Mongol cavalrymen, one of whom was a Mongol centurion."

Cao Wenzhao!
(End of this chapter)