Ashina Ke was drinking a lot of liquor from the Central Plains in his royal tent, and his fat figure was sitting there, like a Buddha.
Since leading the army to attack Tochara, he never left his royal tent, so his body quickly gained weight.
The few merchants from the Western Regions who had just left the king's tent were able to enter his tent. They were all big businessmen with more than a dozen caravans, and their wealth was richer than some of the kings of the Western Regions.
From June to July, more merchants from the Western Regions came and went in Suiye River. The news coming from the east was very bad. The tribesmen in the east were gathering troops. Even in Suiye River, Ashina could not reach
It seems that I can also feel the chill spreading from the northeast.
According to the calendar of the Central Plains, it should have been ten years. There has been no large-scale war between the east and west Turks. At most, everyone is constantly wooing the Tiele tribe sandwiched in the middle to enrich their own strength.
The war ten years ago caused heavy casualties to both the Eastern and Western Turks, and the hatred sown over the decades has reached a point where it cannot be healed.
When Ashinako finally understood that war was coming, he had to make a decisive response.
He himself is no longer suitable to lead the warriors to fight the enemy, and can only give orders in the king's account.
But Ashina Koda has nothing to fear. The Western Turks' national strength has gradually recovered, even if their eastern counterparts do not come to attack the Western Regions.
In the next few years, he will also send troops to the grasslands of the Northeast to try to complete the great cause that the previous khans have never completed and let the Turks return to the golden wolf.
Moreover, no matter how good the people of the east were on good terms with the Tang State, he still did not believe that the Tang State would allow them to march westward without restraint. The Tang people were easier to talk to than the Sui people. Maybe it was because they had just established the country. Anyway, they had responded to the Western Turks in the past two years.
of goodwill.
This gave Ashinako the illusion that this new Central Plains dynasty was still adhering to the attitude of the previous dynasty. It would not let the Eastern and Western Turks become stronger, but also wanted to maintain the relationship with the Eastern and Western Turks even though they were relatively weak.
Turkic friendliness.
Yes, Ashina Koda believed that the Tang State was still very weak and could not compare with the powerful former Sui Dynasty. If it had not been for the fierce fighting between the East and West Turks, some places in the west of the Tang State should have been controlled by him.
It's up to Schnuck to make the decision.
Just as Li Po thought, the Western Turkic Kingdom was not very friendly to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's contact with the Tiele and Qiang people in the Hexi region made Ashina Koda very angry.
The last time he sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, the leader of the Qibi Tribe, Qibige, left his son in Chang'an. After returning to Suiye River, he was quickly criticized by Ashina Ke and had to lead his tribe to leave.
The Broken Leaf River.
As expected, the Chebi tribe was no longer worthy of Ashina Kota's trust. After leaving the shores of Atami, they moved directly eastward to the Dunhuang area without any stop.
Even though they did not declare that they had surrendered to the Tang people, in terms of behavior, they had already entered the territory under the jurisdiction of the Tang state. This could be regarded as a standard act of surrendering to the enemy in the Central Plains.
It's like the Heng'an Town Army went to the northern part of Yunzhong Grassland without authorization, and it is a natural thing to live in harmony with the Turkic tribes.
Ashina Kebi sent people to recall the Chebi tribe, but just as Chebi Ge died of illness, the Chebi tribe reacted very violently and almost killed the envoy Ash Nakoda sent.
The Tang Dynasty had already set up officials in Dunhuang to persuade the leaders of the Qibi tribe and let the envoys go back.
The Qibi tribe officially surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and the position of leader was succeeded by Qibi Ge's brother Qibi Ge Leng.
Although the Qibi tribe is not large in number, they are one of the Tiele tribes and a branch of the Gaoche people. They are a very good fighting tribe.
These disturbances occurred in the fifth year of Yuanzhen. At that time, the war in the East China Sea was not over yet, and the Tang Dynasty had no time to look west. Qibige Leng and others asked the Tang officials in Dunhuang to send a message to the court. They wanted to send troops to Gaochang to fight for the Tang Dynasty.
Captured some small countries in the Western Region.
This obviously stemmed from their own ambitions. It was also revenge for Tongyehu Khan's betrayal of faith and forcing them to leave. Also during their westward migration, they encountered difficulties from various countries along the way, which also made them angry.
Qibige Leng's message was not taken seriously, and the Tang Dynasty did not want to start a war with the Western Turks, so the Qibi tribe continued to move eastward to the West Sea, and asked them to take care of war horses and herd cattle and sheep for the Tang Dynasty.
The interlude is that Qibi Heli, who was in Chang'an Academy, heard the news that his father had died of illness, and immediately rushed to the West Sea, where their ancestors once grazed their cattle.
The Tiele tribe finally returned to its hometown. Qibi Heli went to the West Sea to meet the tribe. Not long after, he returned to Chang'an with his mother and some brothers, and was resettled by Honglu Temple.
This was the first Tiele tribe to submit to the Tang Dynasty and received a lot of preferential treatment.
In the seventh year of Yuanzhen, the situation suddenly changed, and the Turkic royal court's western expedition was imminent, and the Tang Dynasty also took advantage of the situation and made many responses.
One of them is to order Qibi Ge to lead his army to Zhangye and put it under the command of Zuo Xiaowei General Zhang Shigui. Once the Tang army sends troops, they will be the best guides.
…………
Therefore, there is no reason why Ashina Koda is wary and angry about the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty not only took in the Ashina Nishu brothers, but now also takes in the Qibi tribe. This is a provocation to the Western Turks.
But we haven't gone to the point of starting a war yet.
At this time, Ashina Koda was also very lucky that he did not have to entangle with Tang Guo on these matters, otherwise it would be very difficult to handle this situation.
He needed the Tang State to contain the Turkic royal court so that they could not attack the Western Regions with all their strength.
…………
The war was about to break out, and there was still no news from the Tang Dynasty. Ashina Koda no longer cared about what the Tang people thought, and started preparing for the war wholeheartedly.
The businessmen who just left his tent are part of the war. They need to contribute to the war, that is, part of the wealth they have accumulated will become the military supplies of the army.
In addition, this year, taxes from various countries in the Western Region will be collected in advance, and the taxes will be increased. All these will become nourishment for the army.
The two Yehu Khans who have arrived at Sanmi Mountain are gathering troops and horses. All small countries in the Western Regions and nomadic tribes that have received orders from Wang Zhang Khan will send their most elite warriors to Sanmi Mountain to obey the orders.
The army was led not by the two Yehu Khans, but by Ashina Koda's younger brother, Ashina Duhe.
The composition of the army in the Western Regions cannot be said. There are infantry and cavalry. It sounds similar to the Central Plains, but in fact it is very different. They do not have uniform clothing and ordnance, let alone consistent strategies and tactics, etc.
Soldiers from various ethnic groups gathered in one place, which was a bit more chaotic than the tribal coalition on the grassland.
Leading them to fight is a very strenuous task that also tests the generals' prestige and wisdom...