"Please forgive Wen Jin for being shallow, but you must know that although the King of Han is a heroic lord, he is thousands of miles away. He sent me here just to make peace with King Liang and to go through hardships together... But Li Gongzhi values ..."
When Fan Wenjin said this, he shook his head, and his meaning was very clear. Is the name of the King of Han really that useful in the northwest? Let you, an internal historian, come here alone to plot with me late at night?
In fact, in other words, although Fan Wenjin guessed the purpose of Li Yun and others, he was still unable to accurately grasp their intentions, so confusion still existed.
If we don't understand this clearly, how can we talk about helping each other?
Li Yun smiled bitterly. He didn't want to see that the envoy sent by the King of Han was a fool, but he also didn't want him to be too smart. It sounded a bit contradictory, but there was nothing strange about it.
Talking about big things with a stupid person will definitely not work, but if the other person is too smart, he will definitely suffer a loss in the future. If An Xinggui left and Fan Wenjin came, that would not be a good thing, right?
But things were so helpless. He, an internal historian, had to explain the secrets of the Liang Kingdom to foreign envoys. In normal times, this would be considered treason.
At this time, Li Yun was also full of lawsuits. He felt that Cao Zhen and Guan Jin, who had always been sneaky and playful, were hateful, so he knew that bullying him, an honest man, had the advantage of not thinking about him. Once he was in trouble, he would think of his old man.
Li is here.
The envoy from the King of Han on the opposite side is also quite annoying. He is almost losing his head. He is still asking for more information. Do you know what it means to wait and see? Do you know...
Well, this guy's mouth is dry now, and his head is on fire, and he's fighting with Fan Wenjin.
However, he had to continue to patiently explain to Fan Wenjin, "The King of Han is so famous that all the heroes in the northwest admire him..."
Fan Wenjin listened quietly, but said in his heart that the King of Han's reputation was true, but to say that everyone in the northwest admired him was an exaggeration.
This is just like one's own family praising one's own family. No matter how much the praise is, it's not surprising. When one hears outsiders praising one's own family, it's a bit uncomfortable. Of course, now Li Yun and others have something to ask for, praising the King of Han for how great he is.
, which is also reasonable.
But what Li Yun said next proves that he really doesn’t mean to be polite to you.
The reputation of King Li Ding'an of Han Dynasty has an influence that people have to face up to in the northwest, whether it is Liang Shidu or Xiliang.
Compared with Li Yuan's virtuous reputation such as generosity and kindness, Li Po's reputation is completely different.
Contrary to what Fan Wenjin thought, the princes in the Central Plains all knew that Han King Li Ding'an was good at fighting. Whether it was Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, or Xiao Xian, they were all afraid of Li Ding'an in the Jin Dynasty, especially those who suffered greatly from it.
Li Tang had long regarded Li Po as his formidable enemy.
It can be said that Li Po, who defeated Li Tang one after another and took possession of the Jin Dynasty, was no longer an unknown person. When he fought with Li Tang, he already had the upper hand.
But having said that, the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains has its own rules. When you are hostile to each other, you always have to throw some dirty water on the other side, firstly to boost the morale of your own people, and secondly, you have to find ways to suppress the other side's reputation, etc.
In fact, these are common methods, so they can be called a routine or a rule. Just like Li Po would not appreciate Li Yuan's wisdom, Li Yuan would only call him a violent and bloodthirsty bastard.
But the northwest is different. Many ethnic groups live together here. Many people actually live a nomadic life. The rules are closer to those of the Turkic Khanate. The civilization of the Central Plains has profoundly affected this place, but it cannot fundamentally change people's way of life.
For example, starting from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Central Plains had gradually transitioned from slave-slavery tribes to feudal dynasties. By the time of the Han Dynasty, there were many explicit orders prohibiting slave ownership. Although it could not completely change the birth of slaves, it also gave slaves a certain degree of personal protection.
Until now, due to various factors, the slave industry still cannot be eradicated, and there is no hope of eradication. However, it is rare to see large-scale killings of slaves and burials with slaves as in ancient times.
, he is not a particularly cruel noble, nor does he take pleasure in killing his slaves.
Of course, this must also exclude the appalling atrocities committed during the war in the late Jin Dynasty. It was a special historical period. The barbarians were red-eyed for killing, and the Han people rose up to resist, and they would also show no mercy... Therefore, the Central Plains, especially
In the north, wild beasts run rampant and rivers of blood flow, so there is no longer any civilization or rules.
It's just that the civilization of the Central Plains may have retreated slightly, but there is a precedent, so it will not return to the original point, engage in large-scale slaveholding, create a tribe for itself, or something like that.
However, let's look at what the northwest looks like. It has a complete pyramid structure. The slave group has always been very large, forming the base of the pyramid, and it is much more than the civilians.
Let’s not talk about what happened before, let’s just say that now, the large-scale slave uprising has almost just failed, the scattered rebel army has been divided up, leaders like Liang Shidu, Xue Ju, and Li Gui have appeared, and then...
Then a large number of slaves appeared again. They mainly came from the Qiang tribes captured during the war. What is even more ridiculous is that some former slaves transformed themselves through the war and became junior nobles. In turn, they went on a rampage.
They kept slaves and lived like the people they hated most before.
This is actually no different from the rebels in the Central Plains. They do not imagine that everyone is equal. Their dream is actually to live a life like their opposite.
Therefore, after passing Qinzhou, Yanzhou and other places, it is like another world.
There is only one reason why the reputation of King Li Po of Han spreads here and arouses awe, that is, he once led the troops to resist the Turkic invasion, and then sent his troops north to the grasslands and dealt a heavy blow to the Turks.
Naturally, these stories were not brought over by people from the Jin region, but told by the Turks themselves, which is more convincing, isn't it?
Of course, this is what happened in the past two years. When Li Gui started his career, he first subdued some old officials of the Sui Dynasty, and then subdued the tribes headed by the Qiang people in the northwest. In addition, the Western Turkic rebel generals joined forces, and his power expanded rapidly, and finally occupied Hexi.
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At this time, Li Gui had no intention of asking the Turks for help. He felt that he was quite far away from the Turks, and with Liang Shidu and Li Yuan in between, he was quite safe.
Furthermore, there are already enough barbarians under his rule, so don't let the Turks get involved again. Otherwise, it is very likely that some guys will take their tribes to seek refuge with the Turks, and they may want to bring something else with them before leaving.
In the past, I was flattering the Turks.
I have to say that his idea is very unique, but I guess other than Master Liang who feels the same way, no one else will understand his idea.
But after becoming the emperor, he quickly understood that without the help of the Turks, he would not be able to gain a foothold in the northwest. Why?
It’s easy to explain. No matter how much whitewashing there is, it can’t hide the fact that the northwest is mostly a desolate and barren land. It can’t support so many soldiers. When the expansion period passed a little, a group of people with little political experience suddenly discovered that the largest
The problem is not whether there are enough men and horses, whether the territory is large enough, or what the enemy is like, but that food, grass, ordnance, war horses, etc. all need to be replenished.
In fact, he and Xue Ju encountered the same problem. Xue Ju's solution was very clear, relying on the Turks to rapidly expand their territory to maintain military and other waste.
The strategic thinking is very good, but Xue Ju was unlucky to meet two people named Li, Li Gui and Li Yuan.
Liangzhou's horses dominate the world. This is no joke. Xue Ju immediately touched his nose when Li Gui met him. He turned around and bared his teeth at Li Yuan, but was beaten to death with a stick.
Like Xue Ju, Li Gui was a rich man, and he was also unable to use his wealth to satisfy the appetites of his subordinates. This was actually the main reason why Li Gui had no movement in the northwest.
It's just that he is stronger than Xue Ju, has a large territory, and the troops under his command are relatively strong in combat, and with Liang Division on his side, Qu Tutong of Qinzhou has never dared to easily enter the army, and has to guard against him leading his troops eastward.
Therefore, it was inevitable for Li Gui to bow to the Turks. He would obtain cattle, sheep, and war horses from the Turks, and then rebuild the Liangzhou pasture that was destroyed by Bai Yusuo's rebel army. This was Li Gui's plan.
Although the Turks were also making trouble at home, they were willing to accept the Sui surrender from the south. Therefore, with the arrival of the Turks, they brought the name Li Ding'an to Li Gui.
Turks and Central Plains people are different. They hate their enemies who have hurt them and want to kill them quickly. However, they have a "good habit" of exaggerating the achievements of their enemies to show that they are not incompetent.
They cannot defeat the ferocious enemy, but because the enemy they face is a hero.
This obviously depends on the straightforward and rough character of the Turks, and of course there is also the factor of self-comfort in it. This kind of thing has always happened among the barbarians in the north. There are countless supporting evidences and no detailed list is needed.
And the northwest tribes who were originally in awe of the Turks were shocked when they heard that the Turks were exaggerating. Now, there are still people who dare to attack the powerful Turks?
Not only did he anger a Turkic Khan to death, he also overturned a king who was about to ascend the throne of the Turkic Khan to the ground, giving the Turkic Khanate a new mistress... This is simply... like an eagle being raped by a rabbit.
It's like being killed.
When the Turks proudly said that the man had surrendered to the majesty of the Turkic Khan and married the Khan's daughter, the name Li Ding'an actually took root in the minds of the people in the northwest, and by the way, he had a halo around his waist.
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This was the fundamental reason why Master Liang treated Fan Wenjin with courtesy. When they arrived in Guzang, the signs became obvious. There were more than just a few people who wanted to meet with the King of Han.
The latest news that Li Yun and others received was that Li Ding'an proclaimed himself the King of Han and married Princess Ashina Tianxiang, the daughter of the Turkic Khan Ashina Yang Huan, as his concubine. The dazzling light made it impossible to look directly at her.
As for consecutive defeats of Li Yuan's generals, that's secondary...