For Pule, the Uighur envoy from Xizhou, the journey east was too fulfilling, and he was dazzled by what he saw along the way. From the envoys and merchants who passed by, he often heard about China's power and prosperity, but after all,
From the words of others.
I have not been able to witness it with my own eyes. There is a limit to personal imagination. No matter how fanciful the words are, it is difficult to have a deeper feeling. However, after coming to the east for the first time and experiencing it personally, Pule finally understood that the rumors did not deceive him.
Even those words that were originally thought to be exaggerated seemed pale and could not describe it.
Having truly seen the vast territory of the Han Dynasty, the high fortifications of the cities, the abundant population, the rich products, the excellent military armor, and the exquisite uniforms, Pule sighed, and at the same time, his heart was filled with a deep sense of awe.
There have been frequent wars in metropolitan China, and there has been no peace for hundreds of years. Even if it is unified, it has never expected that it has recovered to this point. The Gaochang Uighurs have been standing in the Western Regions for nearly a hundred years, and they have dominated the region. They originally had a lot of pride in their hearts, but now they are also
I feel ashamed for my ignorant thoughts. Of course, Pule's personal psychological activities are not known to others.
At the same time, seeing the powerful performance of the Han Dynasty, Pule could not help but have more expectations for requesting the Han army to send troops to the west.
After staying in the Concierge Courtyard for two days and enjoying the highest treatment and the best hospitality, the most exciting thing for Pule came. The supreme ruler of the Han Dynasty, His Majesty the Emperor, decided to receive him in person.
In fact, this visit was a private act and not formal enough. There was no envoy, no credentials, and no tribute. It was somewhat unexpected that he could still receive a certain standard of courtesy. It also shows that the imperial court
I am still very concerned about the situation in the Western Regions.
There are often officials in the court who feel that the current palaces of the Han Dynasty are old and old, and it is difficult to reflect the imperial and royal atmosphere. They should remove the old and build new ones. However, in the eyes of Pule, it is already extremely majestic, and the Gaochang Palace that the Uighur Khan was proud of is comparable to it.
Compared with this, it is simply a country house. Not only is it not grand enough, it is only decorated with gold and jade, and is piled with rare treasures. It lacks the culture, etiquette and richness that the palaces in the Central Plains have.
Emperor Liu received Pu Le in the Chongzheng Hall, and specially asked the prince, Minister of War Zhao Kuangyin and Privy Councilor Li Chuyun to accompany him, but the scene was naturally not as harmonious as when he entertained Cao Yuangong.
In front of the foreign barbarians, Emperor Liu had always been a majestic man, but he maintained his majesty and dressed them up with a superior attitude. And faced with such arrogance, he did not make anyone feel uncomfortable. Who can say that a big man is strong enough?
After the Han-Liao War that year, the Han's international status had been established.
Calling Zhao Kuangyin and Li Chuyun together, it was obviously more out of military considerations that Emperor Liu directly consulted him about the affairs of the Western Regions. In this regard, Pule did not dare to hide anything, and told Chai Rong about the war situation in the Western Regions exactly as they were.
I recounted it carefully, paying more attention to details for fear of missing anything.
"In other words, the Xizhou Uighurs are currently stationed at Qiuci, waiting for reinforcements?" Emperor Liu asked after listening to his story.
"Back to Your Majesty! Exactly!" After a long period of practice, Pule can speak Chinese quite well. Although his accent is still very heavy, he can at least communicate normally. It seems that this person still has some talent in language.
"The Uighur Khan sent envoys in all directions to rescue. Do you think there will be a response? Is anyone willing to rescue?" Emperor Liu asked.
"This..." Pule was stunned when he heard the question. He thought about how he had been repeatedly rejected for help along the way, and became a little depressed. However, he quickly reacted and replied: "Other forces and foreign ministers can't guarantee it.
But Khotan in the southwest will definitely send troops to rescue them. The two countries have always been on good terms, and the Khitan people's Western expedition, burning, killing, looting, and enslaving the tribesmen, everyone inside and outside is angry, and no one is willing to restrain their hands under the public anger.
, let them slaughter and humiliate.
In addition, if I return to Uighur and destroy the country, the next target of the Khitans will definitely be Khotan. The Han people have a word called lip-dead and tooth-cold. Even for their own safety, Khotan will come to the rescue and stop the Liao army from Kucha.
Dong, at least, should send troops to contain it!"
Listening to this servant talking eloquently, Emperor Liu couldn't help but look at him, thought for a while, and said: "What about the Kingdom of Black Khan?"
When mentioning the close neighbor to the west, Pule showed a little unnaturalness on his face, which was an emotion of disgust. After thinking about it, Pule said: "The foreign minister can't make a conclusion?"
"Why?"
So Pule began to explain some of the situation of the Black Khan Dynasty, which was also a Turkic multi-ethnic country. Up to now, it is the fifth generation of monarchs.
After early expansion, it occupied half of the Western Region. It was bounded by the Uighurs in Xizhou and Khotan, with the Tianshan Mountains and Kunlun Mountains as its boundaries. It basically maintained peace and harmony, and there was no shortage of people-to-people exchanges.
However, during the period of his fourth monarch, Sartuk Bogra Khan, he was considered a promising leader. During his reign, he actively reformed internally, developed national strength, expanded externally, and recovered the important town occupied by the Samanid Dynasty.
Ross.
The most important point is that in the long-term confrontation with the Samanid dynasty, the Black Khan was deeply influenced by the MSL, and Saduk's resumption of power from his uncle also relied on the support of the YSL jihadists in the river. It was also from him that the MSL
The country of Black Khan developed rapidly.
This trend naturally affected neighboring countries, such as Khotan and the Xizhou Uighurs, who all believed in Buddhism. In the thirteenth year of Qianyou, the contemporary Black Khan monarch Bayitash officially declared YSL religion as the state religion, and began
Comprehensive mslization.
I won’t go into details about matters involving religious beliefs...
In this process, Black Khan has revealed his ambitions for the territory to the east, but his desire for expansion is temporarily suppressed. The Samanid dynasty in the west is relatively strong and difficult to deal with. Once it takes action in the east, it will almost fight against the entire
Western Region Eastern World.
However, Black Khan has a major advantage, which is that he can recruit jihadists from Central Asia for the Eastern Expedition in the name of jihad... With such a background, it is no wonder that Pule showed such a complicated expression.
Already.
After hearing this, Emperor Liu couldn't help but be surprised. He had always had little knowledge of the affairs in the west. Listening to his description, it turned out that the Western Region's transformation and gradual eastward expansion probably started with the Black Khan Dynasty.
There was emotion in his heart. He had never thought that he was living in such a period. For Emperor Liu, this was a surprise.
At the same time, he also had a feeling of disgust in his heart. It was not about religion. Just like when he suppressed Buddhism before, he only considered pure national interests. As a powerful emperor, Liu Chengyou was opposed to any interference with secular power. , the religious religions that threaten the monarchy’s rule all react in this way.
"Are you afraid of attracting wolves into your house?" Emperor Liu revealed Pule's thoughts with one sentence.
Pule nodded and sighed: "However, the only strong reinforcement nearby is Hei Khan, who is in Khotan. Before the foreign ministers went eastward, they advised the Khan that he must not lead Hei Khan's army eastward unless necessary. Enter!"
As he said this, Pu Le fell to the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Liu: "The Uighurs have been on good terms with the Central Plains since ancient times. They also admire the strength of the Han Dynasty and the majesty of your majesty. I implore your majesty to be compassionate and send troops to the west to save the people of the western regions. If If we can do this, Xizhou will always be a vassal of the Han Dynasty, with constant exchanges and constant tributes year after year!"
After listening to his request, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked at this person. The expression on his face seemed to say, with just a few dry words, do you want him to send troops to the Western Regions to rescue the Uighurs?
Not to mention the difficulty of this matter, after so long, it is still unknown whether the Xizhou Uighurs still exist.
Perhaps sensing Emperor Liu's thoughts, Zhao Kuangyin spoke and asked: "I have something that I don't understand. Please ask the envoy to clarify it!"
Looking at Pu Le, Zhao Kuangyin said: "The Liao army is marching to the west. You have more troops and horses, and you are sitting in a fortified city, and there are dangers in the Tianshan Mountains. Under such circumstances, for only seven months, the cavalry will be the main force. The Liao army captured the capital. The messenger came from afar, but now seven months have passed. How can a Qiuci city resist the Liao army's advance?
Even if the Han Dynasty sends troops three thousand miles away, it will still take a month or two from preparation to dispatch, and by the time they reach the Western Regions, it will probably take half a year. Can your country still hold on for so long?"