"What's the situation in the Western Region? Didn't it say that the Khitan was about to withdraw its troops? It's been nearly a year and there's still no news? There's no latest report from Hexi!" Emperor Liu continued to ask.
When asked, Li Chongju responded with his usual eloquence: "It is true that the Liao Kingdom wanted to withdraw its troops from the Western Regions and get out of the quagmire. There were many nobles and officials in the court who agreed with this matter. However, the Liao government assassinated
I learned from some news that the war between the Black Khanate and the Liao Kingdom has actually been suspended for a long time, and someone has proposed peace!"
"It seems that the Khitans are still reluctant to part with the fat meat in the Western Regions after all!" Emperor Liu muttered: "The Black Khan seems to have no successors! This is normal, otherwise just a small country in the Western Regions can compete with the Liao army
The contest has come to this point and we have repeatedly gained the upper hand. Even if we go on an expedition, it should not end here!"
In fact, Emperor Liu also had a vague contempt for the small countries in the Western Regions. He could think highly of and value the Liao Army. However, after learning about some battle conditions in the Western Regions and knowing that the Black Khan Army was evenly matched with the Liao Army,
While I was gloating about my misfortune, I also felt a sense of disgust.
The source of this disgust was that Emperor Liu was worried that if the Han army marched westward, would it be able to easily win in the distant Tianshan Mountains and eliminate those who were disobedient?
"What's the situation in the Black Khanate now?" Emperor Liu asked.
Faced with this problem, Li Chongju first looked embarrassed, and then handed over his hand to plead guilty: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I know very little about the Black Khanate, and Wude has few spies arranged in the Western Regions..."
In the end, he still didn't pay enough attention and didn't have that awareness. Of course, Emperor Liu himself also had responsibilities. Even if he only gave instructions, Li Chongju would actively do it.
After looking at him, Emperor Liu ordered: "We should pay more attention to this matter and send more spies. Not to mention grasping the slightest hint of the situation, but if there is a change, the court should get it in time and respond!"
"Yes!" Li Chongju did not mention the difficulties involved, but just responded: "I plan to join the clans of the Western Regions myself, recruit some people into the Wude Division, and open up the Western Regions for Your Majesty!"
Li Chongju's mind was obviously quite flexible. Emperor Liu nodded and did not give too many instructions. He believed that Li could do a good job. As soon as his mind changed, Emperor Liu mentioned someone: "I came here to invite you on behalf of the Xizhou Uighur Khan back then."
Where is the messenger of aid, Pule, now?"
"When he was unable to call for help, this man sneaked back to Yizhou and gathered a crowd to organize a resistance. After being defeated by the Liao army, he took refuge with the Han Dynasty. Since the destruction of the Uighurs in Xizhou, this man has been staying in Shazhou and now serves as a low-level officer in the Hexi frontier army.
...." Li Chongju responded.
The reason why Li Chongju's hair turned gray so quickly was because he had to worry about and record too many things. When the emperor asked, he had to respond. Even the former Uighur envoy who had long been out of date could respond.
memory.
Hearing this, Emperor Liu laughed: "Back then, I saw this man as tough and smart, so I wanted to give him an official position, but he refused, and wanted to go back to rescue. Now that the Uighurs have been destroyed, they have come full circle, and they are still in the Han Dynasty.
Effective!"
"Send someone to summon this man to Tokyo. I want to see him!" Emperor Liu ordered casually.
"yes!"
Obviously, Emperor Liu suddenly focused his attention on a small servant, and his intention was definitely not that. Perhaps, he deliberately interfered with the affairs of the Western Regions. Li Chongju secretly guessed in his heart, but did not show anything on his face.
The chaos in the Western Regions has been going on for six years, and now it has finally subsided. Although there is insufficient information, Emperor Liu's guess is still correct, and the Black Khan Dynasty is indeed weak.
Since the eastward march, the two sides fought fiercely in the Uighur homeland of Gaochang for more than three years. Although they relied on various advantages, they once gained the upper hand and captured the important town of Kucha in the fourth year of Kaibao.
But since then, the Black Khan army seemed to have exhausted all its strength and could no longer advance. The goal of the Black Khan dynasty was naturally to defeat the Liao army in one fell swoop, annex the Uighur homeland, and then unify the Western Regions.
However, after spending such a long time and paying a heavy price, only Kucha was captured in the end, and it was still a city that was plowed by wars time and time again. This is certainly a sacred land, but compared to Gaochang and Yizhou,
For places like Luntai, it's a bit insignificant.
Large numbers of people, close roads, and religious fanaticism are all the advantages of the Black Khan army, but they are not unlimited. In various battles with the Liao army, the Black Khan people lost more than 30,000 troops, but the results were difficult to achieve.
Frustrating people.
For the Black Khanate, which has a population of only a million people, this bloodshed is enough. Even with the support of important jihadists, it is not endless. In addition, there is Samania to the west.
How could the sworn enemy of the Dynasty fight to the death with the Liao army?
The Black Khan Dynasty had expanded westward once before and recovered the Talas. However, due to the strong power of the Samanid Dynasty, they actively restrained their desire for expansion and turned to farming for development. This time they seized the golden opportunity of advancing eastward, but the Khitan
People are obviously difficult to deal with, so if you calm down rationally, you won't have too many psychological obstacles.
On the Liao army side, there were also many difficulties. Due to the intimidation of the Han in the south, domestic support was always insufficient, and the energy had to be divided into two parts, one to deal with the Black Khans and the other to suppress the Uighurs.
Under such circumstances, it is understandable that in the past year and a half, the two sides have further weakened their fighting spirit, and at the same time reduced the number of big fights. The fierce battle has turned into a complete confrontation.
For the Liao Kingdom, they originally had the idea of giving up the Western Regions and getting out of trouble. If they could negotiate a peace, there was no reason not to agree. As for Qiuci, which was invaded by the Black Khan, it didn't matter.
As for the Western Expedition of the Liao Army, although it suffered many setbacks in the middle and later stages and invested a lot of effort, overall, it still made a profit. Not only did it gain a large amount of wealth and material trophies from the destruction of the Xizhou Uighurs, but it also shocked the people internally.
He killed many disloyal ministers and recruited many young people from the Mobei ethnic group to reduce their strength, weaken unstable factors, and strengthen their rule over the grassland.
At the same time, in the long years of war, through iron blood and swords, another elite force was trained. In this regard, the Han Dynasty was slightly lacking. After all, the Han army had not experienced any experience for almost ten years since the Northern Expedition.
There have been great battles and bloody battles.
The subsequent wars, whether it was Pingnan, Hexi, Annan, or Liuqiu, were too easy for the Han Dynasty. Not counting the unification war, they were all minor conflicts.
The army lacks the water of iron and blood, and it is difficult to achieve greatness by relying solely on training. Of course, this is only a relative trend and is a trend.
The reality is that the Han Dynasty still has an absolute advantage over the Liao Kingdom in terms of comprehensive strength. However, if we put aside some differences in equipment and pull out an army to fight head-on with the Liao Army in the Western Regions, the Han Army will also
You may not be able to win.
Now, Emperor Liu has entered his sixth year of ruling the world, and many situations have matured. Emperor Liu has begun to lose control and focus his attention on the north to deal with the great enemy of the Khitan Liao Kingdom.
This time, compared to the Northern Expedition, the war will obviously be more difficult. To deal with the Liao Kingdom, which almost occupies the entire Mobei and Northeast, adjustments need to be made in all aspects. It may be another protracted and fierce battle.
The results may not even be available within three or two years.
Therefore, with Emperor Liu's always cautious and prudent style, he was always prepared but would not act lightly.
As far as the current situation is concerned, whatever the Liao Kingdom wants to do, the Han Dynasty must stop it and set up obstacles. The Western Regions will not unexpectedly enter Emperor Liu's field of vision.
For so many years, the Liaoning and Heilongjiang countries have been fighting each other, and the Han Dynasty has seen enough. Now, they want to stop, slow down, seek peace and seek development, how can Emperor Liu allow it?
Whether the Western Region is in chaos or not, if Emperor Liu speaks, the effect will naturally be powerful.
"I heard that your husband is also getting married?" Emperor Liu suddenly changed the topic and asked Li Chongju after he recovered from the military and state affairs.
Li Chongju replied: "Yes, we are engaged for the first time and we plan to get married this year!"
"Which lady is she from?" Emperor Liu asked again.
Li Chongju responded: "It's just a small party clan in Luzhou, with a small family and a small family. It is difficult for him to catch your majesty's discerning eyes!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu smiled, thought about it for a while, and said: "After you get married and start a family, you should also arrange a job for your son to contribute to the court!"
Li Chongju's son, Li Jichang, is considered one of the more outstanding among the noble children. He is only in his early twenties now. Regarding this, Li Chongju immediately expressed: "Thank you for your kindness, but the dog is young and cannot bear the current affairs. He still needs to
If you study more and practice more, you will be easily appointed, otherwise you will miss your official duties!"
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu immediately said: "It's not like I want to give him a high-ranking official position. He has not been trained since he was young and shallow. He can't be Bailihou, but he can be a bookkeeper or a bookkeeper...