Chapter 405 The arrival of the saint

If you haven’t been to the Northwest, you won’t know how vast the world is. Only by experiencing it yourself can you appreciate its vastness and grandeur.

The leaves of the poplar trees in October have gradually turned yellow. Under the azure sky, in the barren northern desert, it is as bright and brilliant as the sun.

At the Suzhou official residence, the Three Border Governor-General Wang Qiong was still on the way, and the one who arrived before him was the newly appointed Gansu Governor, Wang Shouren.

Those who arrived in the northwest before Wang Shouren were the magistrates of Jiuquan County, Zhang Jinghua, Fulu County, Ma Li, Yumen County, Li Zhong, Liangzhou County, Ouyang Xuan, and Gulang County, Zhu Shang.

Among them, Liangzhou and Gulang were originally defense stations of thousands of households. After years of development, Ou Zanghua wrote a letter requesting the abolition of the stations and the change into counties.

Therefore, Ouyang Xuan and Zhu Shang can be said to be the first county magistrates of these two counties.

Since coming to the Northwest, the five of them have been working hard in their respective positions. Now that they meet again, they can't help laughing when they see that each of their classmates looks like they have aged ten years.

"Brother Bai Xi, when you were walking towards me with your whiskers, I almost thought we were being harassed by bandits. I wanted to draw my bow and arrow to defend myself." Ouyang Xuan looked at Zhang Jinghua who was sitting opposite him and couldn't help but teasing with a smile.

"Ziwen also said Brother Baixi, but he didn't know that the first time I saw you, your sword was already unsheathed." Li Zhong stroked his beard and spoke with a smile.

Zhang Jinghua sighed and shook his head, revealing a bitter smile, and slowly said: "Jiuquan is a place with unique terrain, and people's livelihood is as heavy as a mountain. In addition, bandits and horse thieves are rampant, which is really a big worry. Since I took office, although I have captured dozens of bandits, various things have disturbed me and I have no time to take care of my appearance. I am sorry to make you laugh."

Ma Li, the oldest among the five, looked at Li Zhong and Ouyang Xuan and asked calmly, "Ziyong, Ziwen, you two have been in the northwest for more than a month. Are you used to it?"

Ma Li was from Shaanxi, so he lived quite well in Fulu County. On the contrary, Li Zhong and Ouyang Xuan, one from Jiangxi and the other from Huguang, both from Jiangnan, found it very difficult to adapt to the climate of the Northwest.

"I won't hide it from Brother Bo Xun. I'm not used to it yet." Li Zhong sighed. Although he had some discomforts in his life as a county magistrate, he could still get by. On the contrary, it was the people under his rule who had a hard time.

So before coming to Suzhou City, Li Zhong also visited Yumen County to check the feng shui, observing where canals could be dug and where suitable for renovation.

Talking about this, Zhu Chang, who had been silent, couldn't help but ask for advice. There were more areas in his Gulang County that needed to be transformed.

Just as everyone was discussing, a report came from outside the door: "The governor has arrived!"

The five people stood up immediately, and then saw Wang Shouren, who looked slightly pale, walked in.

"Your subordinates greet the Governor!" The five of them bowed and greeted him.

"No need to formality, everyone please take a seat!" After Wang Shouren bowed in return, he took the lead and sat in the main seat. The five people also returned to their seats one by one.

This in-depth conversation lasted a whole day.

Wang Shouren learned about the various tasks and difficulties faced by the five new scholars since their arrival in the Northwest, and also gained a preliminary understanding of the complex situation in this area.

He thought for a while and asked the five people to go back and count the number of oxen in the county, which could be allocated to the people for farming according to their respective situations. Liangzhou and Gulang counties should dig canals and make plans for farming next year.

After sending the five men away, Wang Shouren began to reform the border troops without stopping. The first thing he did was to track down and replenish the tens of thousands of escaped soldiers. Then he went to the surrounding Mongolian tribes to buy horses, and began to maintain and replace the weapons of the soldiers. Thousands of iron spear heads alone were made.

Then he began to restore the soldiers' daily training in an orderly manner, striving to make every soldier and every cavalry as elite as before. At the same time, he did not forget to write a letter to Ou Zanghua, hoping that the court could provide the latest artillery and gunpowder.

Afterwards, he summoned King Zhongshun's younger brother, Amkebolla, and Hami Hui governor, Xieyihuxian.

After a long conversation, the two sides agreed to jointly guard Hami, Chijin and other guards, and to resist together if Turpan invaded.

At the same time, at the request of the two, Wang Shouren reopened Jiayuguan and resumed trade between the Ming Dynasty and various countries and tribes in the Western Regions.

Taking this opportunity, Wang Shouren asked about how Baiyalang abandoned the city and surrendered to Turpan.

Xie Yihuxian looked very lonely, thinking that he had failed to assist Baiyalang well, allowing him to be deceived by Mansuer and leave at night to go to Turpan.

Wang Shouren comforted Xie Yihuxian with a few words, asked him to work well for the court, and then let him go back.

However, as soon as Xie Yihuxian left, Wang Shouren arranged for someone to follow him, confusing his disciple Ji Ben. He couldn't help but ask, "Sir, isn't Xie Yihuxian loyal to the Ming Dynasty? Why are you still keeping an eye on him?"

Wang Shouren looked at the account book in his hand and said calmly, "When King Zhongshun was in power, he often suspected that his subordinates wanted to harm him. Let's look at what Xie Yihuxian said today. If he was really so loyal, why would King Zhongshun leave at night? This person must have hidden something important from us. Let's wait and see!" "Yes."

Under Wang Shouren's planning, positive changes took place in various parts of Gansu in just two or three months.

He rectified the administration of officials, eliminated corruption, brought about a new atmosphere in the officialdom, and enabled the people to live and work in peace.

At the same time, he visited the people to understand their sentiments and, based on the actual conditions in various places, introduced a number of people-friendly policies that were tailored to local conditions.

Whether it was domestic affairs or the economy, Wang Shouren was able to take action himself, go to the front line in person, and also open up channels for communication and listen carefully to the insights of professionals.

He never boasted of his official position, nor did he show any intimidation. Instead, he was humble and gathered wisdom from all sides to jointly plan for the development of Gansu.

Such broad-mindedness and magnanimity have won praise from everyone in Gansu, from officials to ordinary people.

Chen Jiuchou, An Guo, Rui Ning and other generals were even more convinced by Wang Shouren. Chen Jiuchou even sighed after drinking that with Governor Wang's talent, he should have come to Gansu long ago.
In December, in Hami city, Mansur, the 13th Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was writing a letter to his younger brother Sayyid.

His third brother founded a country called the Mongol Khanate on the former land of the Chagatai Khanate.

This spring, Sayyid summoned 5,000 of his former subordinates and attacked southern Xinjiang from Fergana. He defeated the 50,000-strong army led by Ababaek, the Emir of the Dugrat tribe, the ruler of southern Xinjiang, and pursued the enemy to Badakhshan. He finally killed Ababaek, occupied all six cities, and ascended the throne in June.

Mansur hoped that his third brother could work together with him to unite the two countries and restore the prestige of the Chagatai Khanate.

After writing the letter, Mansur ordered his followers to send it to Yarkand.

Then, he looked at Huozhe Sazher who had been standing by for a long time and asked, "Sazher, is this about the Ming court in the east?"

"Yes, Great Khan," Huozheshazher said after saluting, "The Ming court has just sent a new governor of Gansu to take up the post. He is indeed an official of outstanding talent, not an ordinary person."

"Oh? Did you find out any news?" Man Suer asked immediately.

Huozhe Sazheer replied, "This man's name is Wang Shouren. He was previously the Minister of the Honglu Temple. I think it is because of this position that he knows the Western Regions very well."

Man Suer thought for a while before saying, "Ask Xie Yihuxian about this, and also write a letter to Governor Wang to test him."

"Yes, Khan."

Time flies and it is the first month of the lunar calendar. While the Central Plains is celebrating the Spring Festival, the official residence in Suzhou Prefecture in the northwest is brightly lit.

Wang Shouren looked at the letter sent from Turpan, which contained arrogant words and demanded gold coins from the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Jiuchou, who was sitting below, looked at Wang Shouren with some concern, fearing that the governor would choose to compromise.

But Wang Shouren calmly put down the letter, looked at Ji Ben beside him and asked, "Write to Yihuxian, is there any news?"

Ji Ben bowed and said, "Sir, yesterday an insider sent back a message saying that Yihuxian and Mansuer have been in contact recently, but our insider could not find out the specific contents of the two parties' plan."

Chen Jiuchou's face darkened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Master Wang, do you suspect that Xie Yihuxian is colluding with Man Suer?"

Wang Shouren gave Chen Jiuchou a calm gesture, and then ordered: "Mingde, send people to Jiayuguan to buy cattle and sheep to give Suzhou Four Guards extra food."

"Yes!"

After Ji Ben left, Chen Jiuchou pondered and said, "Lord Wang, are you planning to send troops in this severe winter? It is the first month of the year, and the cold is overwhelming. Even in the daytime, it is so cold that we shiver. This is really not a good time to send troops!"

"Yes, I think so too." Wang Shouren nodded and said, "Isn't it New Year? Give the soldiers something good to eat. After Yu Xue returns, you can have the four guards expand their patrol range."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)