Turkic movements became obvious after the beginning of spring.
The Turkic Khanate is accumulating strength for the Western Expedition, and in the past two years they have been wooing the Tiele tribes in the west.
As an important part of the Turkic Khanate, the Tiele tribes have always been the staunchest allies of the Turks. Although they have not always gotten along so happily, after so many years, the two tribes have long been in a situation where you have me and you have me.
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Nowadays, the Ashina tribe and the Tiele tribe are like two brothers. After the Rouran people were exterminated, the eldest brother, the Ashina clan, became the head of the family, and the Tiele people followed him all the way.
Until the Turks split into two parts, the Eastern and Western tribes, the Tiele people also split. Their tribes were already widely scattered. The banks of the Tula River were just the ancestral land recognized by the Tiele tribes, just like the Ashina tribe had its own
Like a holy mountain.
If we compare the dynasties of the Central Plains, the Ashina clan is the royal family, and the Tiele tribes play the roles of relatives, supportive ministers, etc.
At that time, Shegui Khan's eastern expedition was due to Shibi Khan's two southern expeditions, which caused the Turkic royal court to decline from prosperity. Shegui Khan took the opportunity to win over most of the Tiele tribe, and his power quickly expanded and reunified the Turks.
Ambition follows.
Now that the Turkic royal court has been recuperating for many years, the balance of power between Eastern and Western Turks has changed again, so the Turkic Khan Ashina Yanghuan and the Turkic nobles surrounding her have once again ignited their desire for the Western Regions.
What has to be said is that the failure of Shibi Khan caused the Turks to completely lose interest in the south. In recent years, fewer and fewer people have clamored for revenge.
On the occasion of the alliance between the two countries in the fourth year of Yuanzhen, the Turks once again greeted the "southerners", which reawakened their memories of the Sui Dynasty.
In addition, the Khan advocated for peace and had closer ties with the Tang Dynasty. The greedy and violent Turkic nobles chose to follow the Khan and smiled at those who had caused them pain.
Ashina Yang Huan's efforts in recent years did not stop there. He opened trade routes with the Tang Dynasty, which brought some benefits to the nobles and Turkic herdsmen.
In the annual grassland alliance, Ashina Yang Huan has never been left behind, and many officials from local villages and other villages have been sent to various tribes to influence the succession of their leaders and nobles, help some weak tribes survive the winter, and restrict various tribes.
The exploitation of subordinate tribes by large tribes.
In this way, Ashina Yang Huan strengthened her control over the various Turkic tribes. Last year, she severely informed the Eastern Khan Ashina Duowen and restored the rule of the Turkic royal court over the western Liaoning region.
The embarrassed Ashina Duowen was confined to an area from Liao River to Yalu River.
More than a year ago, when the Tang Dynasty was in full swing with the East China Sea War, the Turkic Royal Court launched an offensive against its old enemy in the north.
With her support, Shibi Khan's son, Ashnash Boxin, led more than 30,000 warriors from various northern tribes to rush forward, defeating more than a hundred northern barbarian tribes, and capturing and killing more than ten barbarian leaders.
And in the chase, he finally killed Moka Yeweihan, a legendary hero who had been there for many years. It is said that when he was young, this guy hunted alone in the snowfield, killed four adult brown bears face to face, and obtained the honor of each tribe.
Respect.
Well, the smell of bragging is overwhelming, and it is almost the same nature as the Han Emperor Gaozu's uprising when he killed the White Snake.
There is nothing special about the tribes scattered in Siberia at this time, and their origins are also very complicated. There are Huns, Xianbei people, Rouran people, Gaoche people, and even some Turks with Ashina ancestry.
Tiele's escapees would also stay there.
Even a thousand years later, it was a bitter and cold land with a vast territory and sparsely populated areas. Under the hard life, the most wanted thing for the hodgepodge of savage tribes was to move south.
The winter there is too cold and is not suitable for the development of tribal races. In fact, it proves that no tribe can develop and grow in such an environment.
However, some powerful tribes always emerged on the grasslands in the south, first the Huns, then the Rourans, and then the Turks, who firmly blocked these tribes, which were more primitive than other tribes in the grasslands, from the north.
So the blood kept flowing down. From the moment the Turkic Khanate was born, the savage tribes in the north became their old enemies. They often rushed over howling and robbed the Turkic tribes in the north. Their methods were extremely cruel, compared to Rouran.
No one is too generous.
It can be said that every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite. The nomadic people in the north also have to deal with the plunder of others. Where can you explain this?
The Turks are still very proud, and unlike the Central Plains people who like to name those random tribes, in the Turkic language, all the savages in the north are collectively called Yakao, which means beast in the Turkic language.
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Therefore, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, when they launched conquests against neighboring countries, the Turks were not idle either. They were also striving for a better strategic environment and making various preparations for the grand strategy of returning to the Western Regions.
The alliance with the Tang Dynasty was one of these preparations. The Turks did not want the Central Plains Dynasty to hold them back when they launched an attack on the Western Regions like before.
Having good relations with the Tang Dynasty means that you no longer need to defend the long southern border, you only need to take certain precautions.
With this understanding, there is nothing unclear about the central issue of this alliance.
It was nothing more than the two sides taking the opportunity to fight for their own interests. If the Turks wanted to advance westward, then the Tang Dynasty could use this opportunity to make the Turks compromise on some previously unresolved issues.
For example, regarding the issue of the ownership of Yingzhou, the Turks have never fulfilled their original promise. In fact, during the last alliance, Ashina Yang Huan did not explicitly say that Yingzhou would be returned to the Tang Dynasty, but only reached a certain intention.
That's all.
Obviously, the Turks will definitely use this as a bargaining chip to exchange for something during this alliance.
There is also Dingxiang County, where Dali City is located, which was also the territory of the former Sui Dynasty. During the last alliance meeting, Li Po did not mention it. The final alliance reached by the two parties made Dingxiang County the location of the border exchange between the two countries. This
It is a result acceptable to both parties.
Nowadays, Li Po has no intention of taking back Dingxiang County. Although Dingxiang County was regarded as Sui territory in the past, it has always been a buffer zone between the two countries. Li Po is very clear about this. After all, he is in Dingxiang County.
I have lived in Xiangjun for so many years.
Now that the two countries have good relations, it would be too much to take back Dingxiang County, which would easily arouse the dissatisfaction of the Turks. It would be causing trouble for Ashina Yang Huan.
Based on the current situation, apart from making Ashina Yang Huan angry and increasing the gap between the two, doing so would not do any good to Datang.