Dream of the Red Chamber: I can upgrade my entries!

Chapter 62 The Pain of the Central Plains Dynasty: The Hetao Region Has Been Belonged to the Han Dynasty Since Ancient Times!

"What do you uncles think the imperial court will do about Ping'an Prefecture?"

Jia Yan asked abruptly.

What do you mean, my dear nephew?

Niu Jizong and the other two were slightly taken aback, and didn't quite react.

"At the beginning of the founding of the dynasty, Emperor Taizu established four border prefectures and military governors, with the intention of using the power of the four princely mansions to maintain peace on the frontier."

"Now that Mongolia has been pacified, the existence of Ping'an Prefecture is meaningless."

"Just like Nan'an Prefecture, it was renamed Fuzhou Prefecture and became the temporary residence of the Fujian Governor. The Fujian Maritime Trade Office was established here to trade with Ryukyu, Japan, and the Dutch."

“Ping’an Prefecture was originally part of the Hetao region, with the Daqingshan Mountains as its northern barrier. It was also known as Qiantao, Dongtao, Chulechuan, and Tumochuan.”

"After the Qin Dynasty unified the country, it established Yunzhong County here, which was used by the Western Han Dynasty. Guihua City had a population of no less than several hundred thousand, who cultivated farmland and grazed cattle and sheep."

"From this point of view alone, there is not much difficulty in changing Ping'an Prefecture into a county and governing the local area."

"The Chahar tribe originally lived east of Langshan Mountain, west of Wula Mountain, and on the southwestern foothills of Yinshan Mountain. This area was part of the Western Loop and was also known as the Rear Loop."

"In the thirty-third year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, he dispatched 300,000 troops to attack the Hu in the north, and seized the land south of the Yellow River. He established the Jiuyuan Commandery, which covered the present-day Houtao and Xitao (Ningxia Plain). The Western Han Dynasty established the Wuyuan Commandery here, and further established the Shuofang Commandery in the center of the Qiantao and Houtao, south of the Wula Mountains."

"Hetao was formerly known as Henan. It was often said that the Yellow River brought a hundred harms but only benefited Hetao. This area has flat terrain and fertile soil, but the rainfall is scarce. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, our Han ancestors had already dug ditches here to draw water from the Yellow River for irrigation."

“Since Ping’an Prefecture can be changed from a prefecture to a county, why can’t we rebuild the water conservancy facilities in Houtao, reclaim the wasteland, and build a city to live in?”

'? ? ? '

Niu Jizong, Hou Xiaokang, and Liu Fang were all shocked by this proposal.

The reclamation of Houtao was something that no dynasty in the Central Plains had considered for over a thousand years, except for the Qin and Han dynasties.

“My three uncles should know the terrain of the northern frontier better than I do.”

As they were talking, Jia Yan placed a tall hat on the heads of the three of them.

"Does my nephew want to permanently eliminate the possibility of the Hetao region being occupied by the Mongols, thereby eliminating any further threat to the three towns of Ningxia, Shanxi, and Datong?"

Niu Jizong, as expected of the outstanding third generation of the founding line, immediately understood Jia Yan's plan.

'Whoosh!'

Hou Xiaokang and Liu Fang's eyes lit up simultaneously.

In fact, the nine border towns established by the Daqian Dynasty were very different from the nine border system of the Ming Dynasty. The latter was originally intended to defend against enemies from the grasslands, namely the various Mongol tribes, and later gradually evolved into a complete northern defense line.

The situation was different in the Great Qian Dynasty. The establishment of the nine border towns was aimed at specific enemies. Gansu Town faced the Dzungar Khanate from the west, while Guyuan Town, as a supplement to Gansu Town, also had the important task of monitoring Xining Prefecture and the Khoshut tribe in Qinghai.

Ningxia Town faced the Chahar, Ordos, and Jarud tribes from southern Mongolia. Yulin Town, as a supplement to Ningxia Town, together with Shanxi Town and Datong Town, formed a system to monitor Ping'an Prefecture.

Xuanfu Town was mainly responsible for dealing with the various Mongol tribes in eastern Mongolia, namely the Khorchin and Bairin tribes.

The Ji and Liao garrisons were established to deal with the threat from the Later Jin. The pressure from the Jurchen Tartars was indescribable, and the Beijing army even needed to support the two garrisons at any time.

Nowadays, the threat from the grasslands is almost gone. The three tribes of the northern desert, the Bairin tribe, and the Khorchin tribe have submitted, while the Chahar tribe, the Ordos tribe, and the Jarud tribe have been wiped out, leaving only tens of thousands of their people wandering outside, and 300,000 Mongols have been captured by them.

The direct threats that Ningxia Town, Yulin Town, Shanxi Town, and Datong Town need to deal with are gone, and the northern border region will remain stable for decades to come.

The true fertile land in northern China lies in the Hetao region. To the west of the Hetao region are the Helan Mountains, and to the north are the Yin Mountains. Whether west of the Helan Mountains or north of the Yin Mountains, the Gobi Desert, barren lands, and insignificant grasslands are all natural barriers.

Throughout history, nomadic groups from the grasslands have never migrated from west of the Helan Mountains or north of the Yin Mountains, unless they originally lived in those areas. Once the layout of the Qin and Han dynasties is restored, the western Hetao region will be Ningxia Town, the front Hetao region will be Ping'an Prefecture, and prefectures and counties will be re-established. The rear Hetao region will be cultivated and cities will be built. The entire Hetao region will then be part of the Han territory, and the Ordos and Jarud Mongols who have been wandering outside will gradually be attracted to the rear Hetao region.

The threat that the Central Plains dynasties had worried about for thousands of years would be gone, and the Hetao region would become a "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall," providing a continuous supply of grain and meat to the Northwest. This would be a great achievement!
“Select some capable people from among the hundreds of thousands of refugees to serve as officials.”

"In addition, recruit some strong men, let the recovered wounded soldiers serve as generals, and give them weapons and armor."

“We purchased a large number of farm tools and oxen from neighboring prefectures and counties, and sent these migrants to Houtao to cultivate farmland and build homes.”

“Among the 300,000 Mongolians, who are all burdened with families and are at the bottom of their tribes, suffering constant bullying, if we were to distribute cattle and sheep to them, group them by family, and allow them to be registered as citizens after completing their hard labor, they would surely become subjects of the nation willingly.”

"In this way, Wuyuan Prefecture City can be built in a short time, and it has a population of nearly 500,000."

Jia Yan arranged things methodically.

"Great kindness."

Niu Jizong and the other two exchanged glances and loudly agreed.

"If none of you uncles have any objections, please send someone to the back of the house first."

"I will write a draft and send it to the capital by fast horse."

Jia Yan then added.

"I will leave everything to my nephew."

The three of them replied in unison.

"it is good."

Jia Yan nodded and continued, "I will handle the Khorchin tribe myself."

"Ah."

Niu Jizong and the other two then left the central command tent.

"Shang Er".

After they left, Jia Yan called out softly.

A figure slowly emerged from the corner. The second spies from the Black Cloud Capital respectfully greeted, "Young Master."

"You should immediately arrange to find two people."

"One is Li Wei, a native of Tongshan in Jiangnan. In the fifty-sixth year of the Shunzhi reign, he donated money to become an official and entered the court as an official in the Ministry of War. He should be a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue now."

"Another one is Liu Tongxun, who was born in Qiangzhou, Shaanxi in the thirty-eighth year of the Shunkang reign. His father, Liu Qi, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) during the Shunkang reign and a former Sichuan Provincial Administration Commissioner. He passed the provincial examination in the fifty-sixth year of the Shunkang reign and the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Yongping reign. He was selected as a Shujishi (probationary official) by the Hanlin Academy and should be a compiler in the Hanlin Academy now."

Jia Yan gave his instructions.

"Yes."

Shang Er memorized the names and life stories of the two men, then turned and left.

"It's about time I went to meet my father-in-law and two brothers-in-law."

With a deep gaze, Jia Yan pondered to himself that he had known for a long time that Jia Jing had arranged a marriage for him.

(End of this chapter)