Chapter 029: Postscript to the Past and Postscript to the Postscript
What appeared in front of Yang Hao was a dense heavy infantry phalanx. The soldiers wore strange-style helmets and strange plate armor. They carried two javelins behind their backs, held daggers and large shields in their hands, and their arms
The bronze skin of the thighs is exposed, and what is particularly eye-catching is that each soldier's helmet has a fan-shaped feather made of white horsehair.
There are about 1,200 people in this team, and there are more than ten people in the team wearing fish-scale iron armor, horizontally decorated red feathers, and red cloaks. They look like this strange team.
's leader.
They gradually approached, and Yang Hao suddenly discovered from the twist of their armor as they moved that their distinctive plate armor was actually made of leather, probably coated with a layer of paint. From a distance, it looked like real white iron.
Plate armor's true colors are revealed as soon as you get close.
Even so, Yang Hao was still stunned. Maybe others didn't recognize this team, but he recognized it at a glance. This was clearly a Roman legion!
Judging from the fact that their plate armor is made of leather and cut corners, this is still a copycat version of the Roman legion.
Yang Hao was naturally a little confused when he suddenly found such an unexpected team in this place.
The Roman legion stopped just one arrow away. The distance of this arrow was calculated based on the traditional crossbow range in the Western Regions. Yang Hao's soldiers were equipped with the latest first-class bows. At this time, they could fire arrows at random, but because
Yang Hao was stunned and did not order the arrows to be fired, so the soldiers just unsheathed their swords, cocked their arrows, and stood ready.
After pausing for a moment, a Roman centurion with a red cloak and a horizontal red mane comb on his head looked like a proud rooster, with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. He strode forward with his head held high. Upon seeing this, Yang Hao quickly ordered: "
Don't shoot arrows, let him come closer and answer."
"Damn, who here understands Roman dialect..."
After the order was issued, Yang Hao thought of the communication difficulties, but what surprised him even more was that the Roman centurion walked to the city, raised his head and shouted to the city, and what he shouted was actually a sentence in Chinese: "We are...
The people of Mingquan Valley have heard that Lieutenant Yang Hao is recruiting troops. All the strong men in our village have come to join the army. I wonder which general can introduce them to us."
Yang Hao was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and hurriedly ordered: "Open the city gate and let him come in to talk."
Among Yang Hao's generals, someone suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! I recognize him. Isn't this Uncle Londes, the vegetable seller? Oh my god, why is he dressed like a rooster?"
What kind of dress is this!"
Taking advantage of his time in Shazhou, Yang Hao has reorganized his complicated army. The Yanqi, Tubo, Uighur, Dangxiang Qiang, Tuyuhun, and Han people were all broken up to form a new army.
, all the strongest soldiers in the Guiyi Army were incorporated into his main force, while the old and weak became the garrison force of Shagua Prefecture.
In this way, not all the defenders at Yangguan and Yumenguan were the original soldiers. The original defenders at Yumenguan and Yangguan were already limited. After Yang Hao reorganized the army and sent heavy troops to guard the two passes, Yang Hao
There were very few local soldiers in the garrison at Guan, so only then did a local soldier recognize the identity of the man outside the city.
Yang Hao had no time to ask more questions, so he asked someone to open the city gate and let the man in. When Rondes heard that Lieutenant Yang Hao was at Yangguan, he couldn't help being surprised and happy. He quickly stepped forward to see him. When Yang Hao saw this man, he turned out to be blond.
He has blue eyes, a rhinoplasty and concave eyes. He is an authentic European. Yang Hao was surprised to hear that he was a citizen of Nuanquanyu Town under the Shagua regime. After seeing the notice posted by the government, he surrendered his entire family to the army.
.
Yang Hao couldn't hold himself back and asked: "Your appearance is very different from other ethnic groups in this place. Your dress looks like the army of a country in the far west. What's going on?"
The vegetable seller dressed as a centurion, Londes, was very surprised and said with admiration: "Your Majesty Taiwei is really well-informed, and he actually recognized our clothes. Yes, our ancestors came from the far west."
A country of…”
The vegetable seller was very talkative and talked about their origins, and Yang Hao finally found out. It turned out that the Romans had already visited the East hundreds of years ago. It was in the early years of the Han Dynasty that one of the three giants of the Roman Empire
Crassus led the Roman First Legion to conquer the Parthian Kingdom eastward, which was also known as the Parthian Kingdom in the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty.
Crassus's first legion was ambushed by the Parthian cavalry. Unwilling to sit still and die, Crassus had no choice but to order his men to flee for their lives. He himself died in the battle, and his son led his men to fight a bloody road in order to avoid the Parthian army.
The Japanese had no choice but to continue to encircle the country, fled to the vicinity of Dunhuang, and became a mercenary for the local kingdom.
After that, the Han army marched westward to defeat the Zhizhi Chanyu who was an enemy of the Han Dynasty. They found that the Huns not only knew how to build a heavy wooden city outside the earth city to protect the main city, but their troops also used several defensive and offensive formations such as the fish scale formation.
For the Huns at that time, this was a technology that they could not master, so the Han army was greatly surprised.
However, despite the help of this mercenary army, the strength gap between the already defeated Northern Huns and the Han army was too great. Moreover, even if the Roman legions did not suffer heavy losses, they would face the same number with their weapons and tactics.
The Northern Han rangers equipped with crossbows were no match, so they became prisoners of the Han Dynasty.
These captives were placed in the Hexi Corridor area, where they thrived for hundreds of years. Due to the inconvenience of transportation and the natural barriers between tribes, these descendants of the Roman legions have maintained the civilization of their ancestors to a large extent.
, have not been impacted by other cultures, and their descendants still maintain their own fighting methods and lifestyles.
At first, their lives were relatively stable. However, after the Han Dynasty became too busy to take care of themselves, the Western Regions fell into war again, and the lives of the Romans were greatly affected. No matter which ethnic group became king and hegemony, as a minority among ethnic minorities, this group
The descendants of the Roman First Legion all belonged to the ruled class and were oppressed by other tribes. Their lives were extremely difficult.
The tribes in Hexi are constantly fighting, and they generally use their own warriors. Moreover, the warriors of this tribe are soldiers in wartime and civilians in peacetime. They have no military pay. This is a rare time when Yang Hao recruits troops in the Western Region on a large scale, regardless of race.
Everyone is treated equally, and there are quite high benefits for joining the army, so after seeing the notice from the Shazhou local government, the Romans in Aiquanyu were moved.
They feel that this is a rare opportunity to change the destiny of the tribe. If they want to change the difficult and difficult living environment of their tribe, they can only join the army. If they can achieve military exploits and have a few generals, then the situation of the entire tribe can be changed.
, so they took out their only savings and dressed themselves up as much as possible according to the military appearance of their ancestors, hoping to win the favor of Taiwei Yang and entrust them with important tasks.
Although they have long been transformed into soldiers, they have settled down in this turbulent place, and their skills in fighting and fighting will not be forgotten. In addition, their tribe often engages in long-distance running, javelin throwing and other sports, and the body of the tribe has been greatly affected.
The quality is still very good. The people of their entire tribe have always followed the military training passed down by their ancestors. When it comes to retreating after hearing the gold and advancing after hearing the drum, the military discipline and military quality are far better than those of Ai Yihai's horse thieves when they first conquered the country.
The team is much stronger.
When Yang Hao was hiring people, he naturally would not turn away such a unit that could go into battle with a little training. Once he found out the origins of these people, Yang Hao readily agreed and agreed to let them join his team.
And they will immediately distribute part of the military pay and rice grain so that their tribesmen will have no worries. Londes was also very excited to receive Yang Taiwei's personal acceptance. He immediately went out of the city to explain the situation to their tribesmen, and then formed a formation to enter the pass to accept Yang.
Hao's inspection.
Yang Hao only brought 300 light cavalry before leaving the city. When he returned to the city, he was followed by a Roman legion of more than a thousand people. Mu En was worried and sent additional soldiers to escort the Taiwei back to Dunhuang.
The local people in Shazhou are no strangers to blond Westerners, but they have never seen them dressed like big roosters and the spectacular scene of more than a thousand big roosters appearing at once. As soon as the Roman legions entered the city
, which aroused the curiosity of the residents of the city. Along the way, more and more people from Shacheng followed to watch the excitement. When the Roman soldiers saw so many people watching, they all held out their chests and belly, and put on a majestic appearance. The tall
Their figure and neat formation also won a round of applause.
Yang Hao was rushing towards the palace with this team of roosters. Suddenly another team came on the street in front of him. Behind him were the people of Shazhou who were also bustling and watching the excitement. Look at that group of people, including Europeans with blond hair and blue eyes.
The black men were as dark as ink, but they were dressed in various and irregular ways, and those surrounded by them had no weapons in their hands.
When the two teams met, everyone with big eyes and small eyes was a little stunned. Yang Hao was also wondering. At this time, he heard someone shouting: "Taiwei Yang, Taiwei Yang, hahaha, Taiwei Yang is so lucky.
It is really gratifying to have captured the ancient city of Shagua so quickly and unified the Hexi Ancient Road."
When Yang Hao heard the sound, he looked over and saw that it was Ibn Abi Talib, a businessman from the Dashi Kingdom. Yang Hao immediately understood and couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Mr. Talib, you are...this is..."
Talib smiled and said: "Yes, these are the serfs I brought from this country to Lord Taiwei." After speaking, he glanced at the men and horses behind Yang Hao, and asked in surprise: "Sir Taiwei, you
This team behind..."
Yang Hao smiled and said: "They, hehe, they are the local people of Shazhou. Hundreds of years ago, their ancestors went on an expedition to Anxi. After being defeated, they lived here. When they heard that I was recruiting troops, they came with their entire family to vote.
"
"So that's it." Talib saw that the appearance and equipment of these soldiers were somewhat similar to those of the Qin Empire soldiers. He was originally very surprised, but when he heard the reason, he didn't take it too seriously. He turned to the people he brought with him.
, proudly boasted: "Lieutenant, look at these people, all of them are healthy, strong, hard-working and hard-working. I brought you a total of 1,500 people this time. Oh my, I brought so many people along the way.
It costs a lot of money to pass through the city and communicate with each other. Taiwei, you can't let me lose my capital. Hehehe, time is short this time, so we just assigned our servants to serve as slaves in various places on the Donglai trade route.
If you are satisfied with the prisoners of war coming over, more will be transported next time."
Yang Hao smiled and said: "Don't worry about this. Coming down the Helan Mountain, I have opened up a large area of fertile land on both sides of the Yellow River. After the ancient roads in the Western Regions are settled, the grasslands will become quiet. Farming and animal husbandry require a lot of manpower.
After the trade routes became smooth and prosperous, inns and restaurants also needed a large number of manpower. To defend the territory and establish a government, a large number of local young men were needed. As a result, the labor force was very scarce and it was impossible to recruit them from the Central Plains. They
It’s hard to leave our homeland in the first place, not to mention that the northwest is much poorer than the Central Plains now, so I’ll take whatever you get..."
He looked at the people Talib had brought and said: "You can bring some women next time. The reproduction of the population cannot rely solely on men, growing cotton and spinning, making furs, making wine, doing business, and raising animals.
Women can do all these things, and some things can be done better than men."
Talib hesitated and said: "Is this...the price of female slaves is much lower than that of male slaves..."
Yang Hao smiled and said: "What's so difficult about this? Just pay the price difference from the Jieshuai Mansion. You can't suffer any loss."
Talib was overjoyed when he heard this. The two of them were walking. Talib was very happy. In the past, he was engaged in business. Every time he passed a city on the ancient road in the Western Regions, he would encounter a force. Every force would treat them as Hu merchants.
With heavy taxes, if you are unlucky and catch up with a war between various forces, you are more likely to lose both people and goods. Therefore, Talib did not dare to carry much property after a hard trip. Now that Yang Hao has unified the Hexi Corridor, he has since
Going east from Yumen Pass to Song and Liao, the tax cost will be greatly reduced. Talib knows how much profit can be increased, and of course he is very happy.
Along the way, many prisoners brought by Talib had strange expressions on their faces when they saw the Roman soldiers under Yang Hao's command. Although the styles of their military uniforms had changed considerably, they were naturally no strangers to their country's ancient uniforms.
During the journey, they plucked up the courage to question these soldiers tentatively. Some of these soldiers in Mianquanyu could speak simple native languages, and they learned that these soldiers were actually the same people they had left in the East hundreds of years ago, those serfs.
He was greatly shocked, and at the same time he also had the idea of joining the army. Being a soldier is naturally much better than being a slave.
When he was about to arrive at the palace, Talib said goodbye to Yang Hao. He went to the inn to settle down his subordinates and the property that had been brought to the east to be transported to the Song and Liao countries. After saying goodbye, Talib took a few steps, got on his horse, and
Inadvertently looking back, he suddenly reined in the reins again. Yang Hao and his personal guards stopped outside the door of his mansion. There were three people standing in front of the door of the mansion, a general, a scribe, and a monk.
Talib was surprised and quickly jumped off his horse and followed with several scimitar warriors.
The combination of monks, scribes, and generals is already very incredible, and what is even more bizarre is their attire. The monk is wearing a red cassock, a Vairocana hat, and a Zen staff in his hand, just like the three monks of the Tang Dynasty in the East and the West. The scribe wears a black futou, a white robe with a round collar, and a pair of horsehide Liuhe boots. It is both elegant and brave. The sleeves of the robe are also embroidered with flying cranes and auspicious clouds.
As for the military attache, he wore a helmet with a red tassel on top, the left and right ear protectors rolled out, the body armor protruding from the neck protector, the shoulders like a dragon's head, a heart-protecting mirror on the front and back of the breastplate, and the belly armor like fish scales. He wears a sagging knee-skirt, a hanging leg tied around his calf, and a pair of combat boots at his feet. He stands motionless with his sword in hand. The monk's attire has not changed much since ancient times, but both the civil and military aspects are the same as those of the Tang Dynasty.
Yang Hao was a little confused when he saw the three weirdos standing facing the palace. But today, even the Roman legions from hundreds of years ago have traveled through time in front of him. Even if a few more Tang futures pop up, it will be nothing. Okay. Yang Hao calmed down, stepped forward, and asked in a deep voice: "Who are you?"
The three people standing in front of the palace gate looked back and saw that although Yang Hao was young, his expression was extraordinary and he was followed by many guards wearing armor and swords. They knew that this man must have a high official position in Shazhou. The monk The white eyebrows drooped and he announced the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, the poor monks and others want to meet Yang Hao, the commander of the Longyou army in Hexi Province, and Yang Taiwei. I don't know what position the young benefactor holds in Yang Taiwei's army. Is he willing to introduce me to you on my behalf?"
Just as Yang Hao was about to answer, a voice shouted from inside the gate: "Your Majesty Taiwei is back!"
Linghu Shangshan, who had a jujube face and a burly figure, walked out quickly. Linghu Shangshan was now a member of Shazhou Biejia, with a high official position. Yang Hao frowned, pointed at the monk and asked, "Sir Linghu , who are they?”
Linghu Shangshan laughed and said: "Sir, please go back home, let's talk slowly." He couldn't help but pick up Yang Hao and leave. At this time, the three people clearly heard that the weak-headed man in green clothes with arrow sleeves was Yang Hao. Hao couldn't help but perked up, and immediately turned around, blocking Yang Hao in the middle. The guards behind Yang Hao stepped forward as soon as they saw it, only to hear the continuous sound of "choking, banging, banging", and more than a dozen swords were about to strike three People are holding on tight.
The three of them showed no fear on their faces. The scribe standing in the middle bowed to Yang Hao and said solemnly: "I am General Huangmen of the Kingdom of Khotan and Li Conglin, the young eunuch of the Kingdom of Khotan. I came to Shazhou on the orders of the Emperor Zhongxing of the Kingdom of Khotan. .”
Yang Hao didn't know that the great dynasty mentioned by Huangmen general Li Conglin refers to the Central Plains. Putting the great dynasty before Khotan always shows that Khotan is a vassal state of the Central Plains. Li Shengtian, the leader of Khotan, is a crazy Ha Tang His ethnicity, clothing, official system, architecture, and culture all imitated the Tang Dynasty. Even his name, in addition to his real name of Yuchi Sengwu Bo, he also took the Tang Dynasty surname Li Shengtian.
Yang Hao also thought that the great dynasty mentioned by Li Conglin called itself Khotan, although the Khotan Kingdom was indeed a big country in the Western Regions and had a long history. The Khotan Kingdom had already been established before Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms and became the First Emperor. , but calling himself a great dynasty was a bit arrogant. He only smiled, but did not get angry. He only asked: "Are you the envoys of the Lord of Khotan? Why do you want to see me?"
Linghu Shangshan said calmly: "Why did they come to see the Taiwei? What they wanted to see was Cao Yangong. Unfortunately, they came a step late. Cao Yangong did not know his own strength and made an enemy of the Taiwei. He was already in trouble. Sha Fengsui, hey! These Khotanese are so ill that they seek medical treatment indiscriminately, and they actually want to ask the Taiwei for help. Go away, the Taiwei should not pay attention to them."
Linghu Shangshan picked up Yang Hao and left. Yang Hao saw that Linghu Shangshan's behavior was very unusual, and he guessed that he had a reason, so he no longer refused. The three people were tightly held by swords and could not move. Seeing Yang Hao was about to enter the palace. In desperation, Li Conglin shouted loudly: "We in Khotan have always regarded the Central Plains as the orthodoxy of Shuo Shuo. Our governance system, official offices, cultural relics and education, and capital buildings are all based on the style of Dongsheng. He regarded himself as a vassal of the Central Plains. The Taiwei led troops into Shazhou and once said in public that he would uphold the legacy of General Zhang Yichao, help the world and far away, and protect the country and the people. Now I am in Khotan, in danger, and I seek help from the Taiwei's disciples, but the Taiwei has failed. By shutting us out, are you going to break your promise and get rich?"
Linghu Shangshan was furious. He turned around and said angrily: "How can it be unreasonable? What does my Taiwei have to do with you in Khotan? What does it have to do with you in Khotan to help the world and protect the country and the people? If you dare to talk nonsense again, you will be punished. You guys will go down there, beat them half to death, and drive them out of the country!"
Li Conglin said sadly: "Li came here with three hundred bodyguards. He was hunted down along the way. Three hundred warriors sacrificed their lives for the country. Only the three of us were spared. We rushed to Shazhou covered with stars and moon. If we couldn't complete our mission, why bother?" If Lord Linghu takes action, the three of us will have no shame in going back, we will just die here."
After Li Conglin finished speaking, he pulled out a dagger and put it against his heart. The general and the monk also calmly took out their short blades and put them against their own vital parts. It looked like that, as soon as Yang Hao stepped through the door, the three of them were about to commit suicide immediately.
Yang Hao's expression changed, and he immediately stopped Linghu Shangshan's actions, turned back and walked up to the three of them, and asked in a deep voice: "What are you asking for to see me?"
When Li Conglin saw him coming back, he quickly said: "A few days ago, the Kara Khanate launched an undeclared war and suddenly attacked Khotan. They advanced step by step, burned my Buddhist temples, killed my monks, robbed my people's property, and burned my houses. , bullied men and prostituted women, and committed all kinds of evil. We in Khotan missed the opportunity and were controlled at every step. We were in urgent need of foreign aid. Li Conglin and Master Huisheng came to Shazhou under the protection of General Sula, just to beg the Taiwei to send troops to relieve us in Khotan. Wai."
Yang Hao frowned immediately after hearing this. He himself still had the problems of Ganzhou and Linfu. He had no time to solve the problem for Khotan. Yang Hao said: "I have never met the leader of Khotan. If there is no friendship, why should I send troops to Khotan for you and harm my soldiers?"
Master Huisheng loudly announced the Buddha's name and said: "Amitabha, what Yang Taiwei said is wrong. When Taiwei sent troops to help me in Khotan, he not only helped others, but also helped himself. Those who help others do so for the sake of righteousness. Helping oneself does so for the sake of righteousness. There are thousands of common people on the ancient roads of the Western Regions, how can you say that this matter has nothing to do with the Taiwei?"
Yang Hao said calmly: "To help you in Khotan, I mean to help others and yourself, with righteousness first. Please give me a clear explanation, Master."
Master Huisheng spoke eloquently: "Taiwei, I have been at war with the Kara Khanate for more than ten years. At the beginning of the war, my three princes from Khotan went to Shazhou and Kaifeng to seek help. At that time, Shazhou generously sent troops to help, but because of the long distance between China and Tubo, Uighur, Dangxiang, Qiang and other tribes, it was difficult to send troops. His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty had to send 157 monks to the Western Regions. , to provide moral support. His Majesty, the Emperor of your country, also regrets that he was unable to send troops to help.
The Taiwei is the envoy of the Song Dynasty. Now that we have stationed troops in Shazhou, which is very close to Khotan, why can't we send troops to help? Since the Taiwei said that we should be kind to those far away, I, Khotan, have always regarded the Central Plains as Zhengshuo, regardless of the Tang, Liang, and Jin Dynasties.
In the Song Dynasty, Dan was in charge of the Central Plains. He was the orthodox Khotan official and the lone minister in the Western Regions. He was loyal. Now that the country is in crisis, isn't it the time for the Taiwei to be kind and powerful? Isn't this the way to support the emperor and the people?
*, is it time to show off military power?
Furthermore, the Kara Khanate can defeat us, but it cannot destroy us. Even if the Taiwei refuses to send troops to help, I, Khotan, will fight the enemy to the last drop. I reach Congling and Brahman in the southwest of Khotan.
It is three thousand miles away from each other. It borders Tubo in the south and Shule in the west for more than two thousand miles. It has a vast territory and a vast territory. Once the war breaks out, there will be smoke everywhere outside Yumen Pass, and there will no longer be a pure land. Hu merchants will find it difficult to come, and Han merchants will find it difficult to come.
, Even if the Taiwei unified Hexi, how could he win over Hu merchants and Han guests, pay Japanese money under the fortress, and restore the prosperity of the ancient road? Isn't this a breach of trust in the world?
Third, Buddhism is flourishing in Khotan, a country that worships Buddhism. The enemies of the Kara Khanate burned our temples, killed our monks, and burned our scriptures. Their appearance and appearance are unspeakable. I heard that the Taiwei is my Buddhist*
**, I revere the Buddha, translate and print scriptures, and my merits are immeasurable. I am deeply trusted by the living Buddhas and eminent monks in the Western Regions, and deeply supported by millions of Buddhist believers in the Western Regions. Now that the Khotan monks and believers are facing a great disaster, how can the Taiwei sit back and ignore it?"
What a sharp tongue!
Master Huisheng spoke loudly, and his tongue was as bright as a lotus flower. After hearing this, the people watching at the scene suddenly became commotion, and the whispers gathered into a buzzing sound. Yang Hao's face was neither happy nor sad, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking or looking in his eyes.
But it suddenly became sharper.
Talib's face turned ugly after hearing this. He is from the country of Dashi and has the same faith as the Karakhan people. The Karakhan Kingdom was originally a country that worshiped Buddhism. It has only been more than 30 years since he changed his faith.
It is an outstanding result of the expansion of the empire to the east through military conquest and economic penetration. Now, facing the war between Khotan and Karakhan, his position is obvious.
However, although Talib was very nervous, he also knew that as a businessman, he should not comment on such matters, so he just stared at Yang Hao cautiously to see how he would decide.
Yang Hao stared at Master Huisheng for a long time, then suddenly smiled lightly and said: "Lord Linghu, please temporarily settle the three envoys from Khotan in the post."
Linghu Shangshan was startled, and subconsciously glanced at the palace, and then responded: "Yes, I will arrange it right away."
When Li Conglin saw Yang Hao turning around to leave, he shouted urgently: "Lieutenant Yang!"
Yang Hao stopped, looked back and said: "How can we be rash about a major military matter? You three, please go to the post to rest and wait for me to see you."
After Yang Hao said that, he entered the palace gate. As soon as he stepped into the palace gate, his seemingly brisk steps suddenly became heavy. Talib saw this scene completely in his eyes. He frowned and his eyes shrank slightly, like needles. Suddenly
He turned around quickly, gestured to the guards, and quietly disappeared into the crowd...