Ashina Nishi's eagerness is not just for survival. He is a descendant of Datou Khan and a candidate who can inherit the throne of the Western Turks.
Ashina Ranqian received the protection of the Sui Dynasty and eventually became the master of the Turkic royal court.
Shekui Khan defeated Chuluo Khan with his promise to surrender to the Sui Dynasty.
These are all stories with precedents to follow, so he naturally hopes that he can be so lucky and be favored by the Khan of the Tang Dynasty. One day in the future, he can help him return to Sanmi Mountain and make all his enemies kneel.
She fell in front of him and gave him a flattering smile.
But Cheng Zhijie didn't want to bring this kind of trouble to himself. He chuckled and said, "Don't talk about it. We have to stay here for a while and look around before talking."
As he spoke, he was thinking, this sick man is actually the brother of Concubine Ashina? If it is true, they can have some dating in the future...
The atmosphere was good, and Cheng Zhijie didn't ask any more questions because he was in no hurry at this moment.
Even if time is tight, they must stay here for a few days to see the situation here with their own eyes. They cannot just believe what others say.
Returning to the east of Zhangye in August was enough time, and a year had just passed. It's no wonder that Hou Junji regretted it. He had suffered on the road for a whole year. How could a good life be wasted like this?
The big sheep was ripe, and the Turks immediately tore it into pieces and presented two sheep eyes, ears and back meat to Cheng Zhijie and Hou Junji. The Turks always treat guests with the best.
The food was left for the guests to enjoy. Although Cheng Zhijie and Hou Junji found it difficult to eat, they still devoured the sheep's eyes one by one.
In fact, they have adapted to the rough life in Hexi. The half-cooked mutton has a strong fishy smell, but these two still eat it very well, because along the way, there are not many opportunities to eat hot food, so
There is not so much emphasis on it.
Especially Cheng Zhijie, who has lived a lot of hard life. He has tasted grass roots, tree bark and two-legged sheep. He can eat everything, and his mouth is full of oil while eating, and he is showing off with the Turks.
"The war over there is over. The Khan of the Tang Dynasty whom you call is already the lord of the world. You came at the right time, otherwise everyone would fight to the death and not care about you.
The General Hou next to me defeated more than 100,000 Tuyuhun tribesmen with a few thousand men. If such a wise general was still at war, where would he come to Dunhuang?"
No matter how proud Hou Junji was, listening to his constant boasting made him have the urge to cover his face.
The war in the Central Plains had not ended when they set off. Based on their guess, it would take another year or two to pacify Dou Jiande and Du Fuwei. At this time, Cheng Dabeard said, "Good guy, the civil strife in the Central Plains has ended.
It's really bragging that you don't have to pay taxes.
But a few drunken Turks were all nodding their heads stupidly, and Ashina Nezha was still talking about how his great-grandfather Dartou Khan was defeated by the Tiele people, so he went to seek refuge with Tuyuhun, and finally died of illness.
Got there.
I didn't expect that someone could defeat more than 100,000 Tuyuhun tribesmen with thousands of people. It was really amazing, so I took advantage of the situation and drank a bowl with Hou Junji.
He was so sick that he drank bowl after bowl of mutton and fell drunk without eating a few mouthfuls of mutton. He was carried back to the ancient city, so Cheng Zhijie and Hou Junji had to talk to people in half-baked Turkic dialect, which was very difficult.
It's an inconvenience.
But overall, the bonfire party was a success, and both parties had a friendly exchange.
The Turks seem to regard them as friends who help them in times of need, and they also feel the friendliness and enthusiasm of the Turks. This is undoubtedly a good start.
In fact, as the weaker side among the Eastern and Western Turks, the Western Turks had always had close contacts with the former Sui Dynasty because they needed to unite with the Great Sui Dynasty to contain their fellow tribesmen. Similarly, the Great Sui Dynasty had the same intention.
Over the decades, the three families have constantly changed their positions on this matter, and the stories between them would probably take three days and three nights to tell.
Now the Sui Dynasty has been replaced by the Tang Dynasty, the owner of the Turkic royal court has become a woman, and the Western Turkic Khan has just ascended to the throne. The changes are not small, but the rules of the game have not changed at all. In this kind of country,
In the ten-year battle with the country, it is not surprising that no matter who wins the last laugh.
Therefore, there is no need to be too nervous about Cheng Zhijie and Hou Junji. The two sides have a long-standing relationship. The Western Turks' perception of the Central Plains is different from that of their people in the east, and they have always been mixed with some awe.
Otherwise, these Western Turkic nobles would not have fled here in the first place instead of choosing to defect to the Turkic Royal Court, because their predecessors had set a good example for them.
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The clear sky was dotted with stars, and a waning moon hung on the horizon. The Turkic songs gradually stopped, and the bonfire lost a little light.
Several Turkic nobles had become drunkards, and while muttering, they invited the two distinguished guests to rest in the ancient city. After receiving a polite refusal, they agreed to drink again tomorrow, and then left with the help of their attendants.
Of course, the enthusiastic Turks would never let the guest's tent get too deserted, so Hou Junji watched helplessly as Cheng Dabeard entered the tent with two women in his arms.
Hou Junji was a little itchy, but in the end he restrained his desire (for harmony), and started to inspect the camp with his people. There were more than a thousand people in the team, and there were so many goods. If he didn't take a look, he would
Won't sleep peacefully.
Especially those tribal subordinates who committed a lot of petty crimes. Their humbleness has penetrated into their bones. It seems that only the scolding and beatings of their masters will make them be honest for a while.
But Hou Junji, who had stayed in Liangzhou for a while and then led his team to the west, also knew how vicious and cruel these guys were when they changed their appearance.
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There was nothing to say all night. The next morning, when Cheng Dabeard stretched himself out of the tent, Hou Junji was already waiting outside the tent. Looking at Hou Junji who was neatly dressed, Cheng Zhijie chuckled. He knew this man.
He must be doing his duty faithfully, sleeping alone and deserted in his own nest.
Although the bearded man disapproved, he did not mean to ridicule him. He had seen a lot of people like Hou Junji. Although he was a little boring, he must be a good helper.
With such a person by his side, he could sleep peacefully in the tent. The two of them cooperated so well that there was no need to talk nonsense.
"Come on, let's go into the city today and take a look. I don't know whether what the Turks say is true or not. You can tell whether they are living well or not by looking at where they live."
Hou Junji nodded and didn't persuade him. He had already persuaded him enough along the way, but this man had great ideas and all his efforts to persuade him were in vain.
"It's time to have a good talk with them. What should we do next? Can we really take them back?"
Cheng Zhijie said obediently: "Brother Yixian means to take them all back? That can't be done, right? The Supreme Lord asked us to come over and bring one or two people back to the Hajj. The Supreme Being may praise us a few words, but if we
If everyone is taken away, it might be a crime.
We worked so hard, but in the end we lost all our hard work, isn't it a stupid thing?"
Discussing this issue so early in the morning made the two of them not in high spirits. The main reason was that their power was limited and they could not grasp the pulse of the matter, so they had a lot of entanglements.
The Turks made their intentions very clear yesterday, and if we talk about it today, there won't be much change. The Turks just want them to lead their tribes to move eastward.
At this time, Hou Junji said: "If there are really only six or seven thousand people, it's not that many..."
Cheng Dabeard smiled, he actually had an idea in mind, but according to the habit he developed in Henan, he had to leave a way out for himself in everything. If something goes wrong, is there any more suitable scapegoat than Hou Junji?
"What my dear brother said is true, but yesterday I heard those people talking about the countries in the Western Regions, with as few as a few thousand people, and as many as tens of thousands, making up a country. If you put it this way, six or seven thousand people are not the same.
If not, they stay in the Western Regions all year round. Once they repeat, they may have to establish a new country. How big a sin will the two of us have when that happens?"
Hou Junji rolled his eyes. Although he was proud, he was not stupid. He immediately smiled and said: "We are still dominated by the elder brother. Then you make the decision. We all listen to you, but the younger brother still has to say something.
, these people are poor and come to invest, if the story is false, our trip will be in vain, and it will be a hard work after we go back, right?"
Cheng Bearded glanced sideways at Hou Junji, and said something cunning in his heart, but said: "I'm not sure, so let's wait until I think about it clearly.
I’ll talk to you again today, and we’ll go to Yangguan tomorrow for a walk. We’ll stay here for ten days at most, and then we’ll have to return eastward.”
Hou Junji had no objection and nodded: "What my brother is saying is that the Turks like to use troops in late autumn. If that Tong Yehu sends people to chase us, we can't risk our lives for some Turk bastards."
Cheng Zhijie laughed heartily, thinking proudly that the Kansai boy had finally enlightened, and his painstaking teachings along the way were not in vain.
"Then tell me to go down and prepare carefully for departure. You don't have to follow me into the city. I'll take a few people in to take a look. Those people are all drunkards. You don't want to drink with them anyway."
Hou Junji beat his chest without hesitation and obeyed the order...
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Yangguan Ancient Village is located on a highland on the southwest edge of Dunhuang Oasis. Like Dunhuang Ancient City, it is said that it was built in the Han Dynasty. It is connected to Yumen Pass to the south and north, and straddles the throat of the Hexi River. It is an important pass for east-west transportation.
More than a thousand years later, this place was just a desert, but now, Yangguan has sufficient water resources and a large area of grassland around it, making it a rare and good place in the Hexi region.
Like other Hexi passes, this place was abandoned after the war in the late Sui Dynasty. After the Turks fled to Dunhuang, they stationed dozens of people here. In fact, it was not for defense, but only existed as an outpost.