Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 653: If there is no barrier, then go find one

Of course, Zhang Shikang just casually mentioned the mineral resources in the Mongolian steppes. At that time, there was no advanced detection equipment like in later generations. If it was so easy to find gold and silver mines, the Chinese region would not have been short of gold and silver for thousands of years.

But he was not talking nonsense. Anyone who has seriously received nine years of compulsory education would have some impression of the approximate distribution areas of resources on the earth.

When he was taking geography class in middle school, Zhang Shikang remembered very clearly that the Mongolian region was very rich in mineral resources and there was indeed a large gold mine.

The reason why the Russians were able to survive well after being sanctioned for so many years was largely due to the resources in the Siberian region.

So no matter what, even if it meant risking the world's condemnation, Zhang Shikang was determined to take Siberia for future generations.

What's more, these days, Siberia is almost a no-man's land, and most small tribes have no concept of a country at all.

Even among the nomadic peoples in the grassland areas, only a few tribes such as the Golden Family had formally established a country, and the Golden Family had been in decline for many years.

Sure enough, upon hearing that so many minerals had been discovered on the grassland, Lu Xiangsheng and others immediately abandoned their contempt for such a barren area as the grassland.

Lu Xiangsheng said seriously:

"If that is the case, I will conquer Mongolia south of the desert for the imperial court, even if it costs my life."

"You don't have to fight to the death. Just do your best. When the Ming Dynasty is revived, people all over the world will remember you." Zhang Shikang raised his glass again.

After discussion, except for Wu Sangui's reinforcements, the rest of the Huben Army followed Lu Xiangsheng to the north to attack Mongolia south of the desert.

Zhang Shikang led the remaining 50,000 guards and 20,000 reinforcements to launch a counterattack in the northeast direction.

At the last moment, Zhang Shikang summoned Li Zicheng as well.

Generally speaking, generals of Li Zicheng's level were not qualified to attend meetings of court leaders such as Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Sun Weifan.

He was a quiet person to begin with, and when he arrived he just bowed to everyone, which made him seem a little out of place.

There is no way. More than a year ago, the two sides were mortal enemies, and each side had its subordinates killed by the other side. The transition between enemy and friend is not so fast.

"There is one more thing I want to tell you. This time the troops are divided into three routes instead of two.

The third group is General Li's Crime Camp, which will march westward. Zhang Shikang waved his hand and asked Li Zicheng to sit down on the ground as well. He also ordered his personal guards to pour wine for Li Zicheng.

Cao Bianjiao frowned and said:

"All the way west? Are there gold mines in western Mongolia?"

If it weren't for the temptation of gold mines, almost all the generals, including Cao Bianjiao, would not be interested in the barren grassland.

Zhang Shikang almost spit out the wine he had just drunk.

"Not just Western Mongolia, but all the way west to conquer the western part of Western Mongolia.

Governor Lu, General Li's Sin Camp suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Guihua City. Perhaps we need to return the Sin Camp personnel that were previously exchanged with the Huben Army to General Li."

The Original Sin Camp that followed Li Zicheng out of the pass had 30,000 people. In order to streamline the troops and facilitate combat methods on the grassland, Li Zicheng exchanged half of his subordinates for 10,000 war horses from the Huben Army.

The personnel in the Crime Camp that Zhang Shikang mentioned were these 15,000 people.

Lu Xiangsheng agreed after a brief hesitation.

In fact, this exchange was a loss for the Huben Army. After all, it was 10,000 war horses. If the 15,000 bandits were not equipped with equipment, Lu Xiangsheng would not have agreed.

After all, war horses were treasures to the Tiger Guards at that time.

But now it’s different. In the Battle of Guanshan alone, more than 60,000 high-quality Mongolian war horses were seized.

It can be said that in the next three to five years at least, the Huben Army will no longer be short of war horses. Lu Xiangsheng is even planning to expand the existing cavalry team of the Huben Army.

"But Marshal, what's west of Western Mongolia?

I heard that most of it is just wilderness and Gobi desert. What's the point of sending Li Zicheng westward to fight? "Cao Bianjiao was still a little confused, but fortunately he asked if he didn't understand.

"What Marquis Annan said is exactly what I am confused about. I hope the Marshal can clear up my confusion." Sun Chuanting also echoed.

Since ancient times, soldiers have been the most important weapon of a country, and the cost of sending a large army to war is very high. Even though the court's situation is better now, Sun Chuanting still does not approve of meaningless conquests.

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a moment and said:

"Master, do you know why, despite every dynasty having invaded the grasslands, they almost always retreated back to the interior?"

He finished this sentence without pausing, but asked and answered himself:

"It's because there's no strategic location to defend."

The grassland is flat and even big trees are rare. Often there is not a decent town within hundreds of miles.

Having no strategic location to defend means that the enemy can launch an attack at any time, and the defenders cannot remain on guard all the time. In short, the cost and benefit are completely disproportionate.

After Lu Xiangsheng finished speaking, most of the generals nodded. This was almost the consensus of all Han people and had been like this for two thousand years.

But Zhang Shikang disagreed. He took a sip of wine and said:

"Two thousand years ago, when the foundry industry was not well developed, people could only cast bronze objects because bronze has a low melting point and is easy to forge.

At that time, copper was a very precious commodity.

But later, as technology improved, people discovered that iron could be forged into steel to make swords, which were sharper than bronze, so iron ore became a precious thing again.

What's more, for more than a thousand years, salt and iron have been state-run as strategic resources.

So, I ask you, who can prove whether the grasslands and Gobi Desert, or the vast ice fields in the north, will contain resources that determine a country's strength in the future?

Zhang Shikang's question made everyone present fall into deep thought. Fortunately, Zhang Shikang did not wait too long. Just like Lu Xiangsheng, he asked and answered himself:

"Only time will tell."

Although he had received nine years of compulsory education, he was almost a stranger. He only knew that Siberia had very rich resources and that there were gold and silver mines on the grasslands.

As for where exactly it is, how much it contains, or whether it is easy to mine, he has no idea.

But none of this matters. What matters most is leaving it to future generations.

"As for the other question Governor Lu mentioned," Zhang Shikang was silent for a moment, staring at the people present and said seriously:

“Without defense, there is no barrier.

If there is no barrier, then go find one!"

……