The ancient Huangsha Road is filled with camel bells.
Outside Guancheng, which had been eroded by time, a caravan came.
Suo Yan, the envoy of Yangguan Town, was leading his troops to the west for inspection when he bumped into him in the field.
The people in the caravan were a little panicked, and the servants and guards all drew their weapons. The Shazhou soldiers also became nervous, dismounted one after another, took out their rifle bows, and stood around from a distance.
"Stay here." Suo Yan appeased the sergeants, then rode forward alone and asked, "Who are you? Where did you come from?" No one in the caravan answered, and they all looked at a monk.
Suo Yan's heart moved. It looked like this was not a serious caravan.
However, he is not too afraid. This is the border of Shazhou. In addition to local soldiers, there are also ten thousand silver spear troops sent by the imperial court to replace the defense. A caravan of several hundred people cannot make any big waves.
"The poor Taoist Huizhao has seen the general." The monk stepped forward slowly and said calmly: "We came from Khotan to communicate with the big countries." "Khotan?" Suo Yan was a little surprised: "
Is the Great Moraine Road open?"
As a warrior from the original Guiyi Army, Suo Yan had heard about Khotan.
There had been contact as early as the civil strife in Tubo and Zhang Taibao's uprising. It was also at that time that the Khotanese saw the weakness of Tubo and boldly raised troops to regain control of their country.
But later on the contact gradually became less and less.
After the rise of the Uighurs in Gaochang, the Guiyi Army was too busy taking care of themselves that they had no intention of paying attention to anything in the Western Regions, and they did not take the initiative to send people to contact them. Later, the Guiyi Army stopped the town, and Gua and Sha Prefectures were included in the Hexi Road, while the imperial court took a defensive stance overall in the west.
The focus is on unifying the Central Plains. Over the past few decades, little is known about the Western Regions.
As for Daqi Road, it was a post road opened during the Zhenguan period of the former Tang Dynasty.
In the first year of Zhenguan (627), Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent Youweicang Cao to join the army and Zhang Bi on an envoy to the Western Regions, which lasted six years and traveled 40,000 miles.
The number of thirty countries that Zhang Bi visited as envoys greatly exceeded what the Central Plains dynasty had known since the late Sui Dynasty, and many of these countries were visiting for the first time.
There is no doubt that this was a great mission comparable to Ban Chao. Zhang Bi traveled to thirty countries, covering the Tarim Basin and Sogdia and the Tocharian territory to the west of Congling.
In the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), the Eastern Turks were destroyed, and Yizhou Shi Wannian led seven cities to surrender. The Tang Dynasty established Western Yizhou, which was called Jisuzhou. In the sixth year of Zhenguan (632), Western Yizhou was promoted to Yizhou, and this was Zhengzhou.
The state marked the Tang court's interest in the Western Regions.
It was also during this period that the Tang court accepted the request of Longtu Qizhi, the leader of the Yanqi Kingdom, and built a direct post road between Dunhuang and Yanqi, namely the Daqi Road, to avoid Gaochang.
Yanqi obtained the privilege of monopolizing trade between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, supported the Tang Dynasty, and jointly attacked Gaochang. Also in this year (632), with the opening of the Daqi Road, Khotan paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty for the first time.
This road across the desert played a vital role in the Tang Dynasty's early Western Region policy.
But after all, more than 200 years have passed. The city-states and oases along the Daqi Road have changed beyond recognition. Recently, Gaochang Uighurs have repeatedly harassed southward and cut off the road. Even Hu merchants do not go here. The actual situation can be seen.
"The Daqi Road is intermittent, but it is walkable," Huizhao replied. "Then why don't you send envoys to the court?" Su Yan asked.
Huizhao asked in reply: "May I ask which Emperor of the Tang Dynasty he is now?"
Suo Yan narrowed his eyes, suspecting that the monk was asking the question knowingly. Is the news in Khotan so closed? It has been seven or eight years since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, but he actually asked this question, and his heart is to be punished.
However, he had no evidence, so he could only say tentatively: "Seven years ago, the Emperor of Tang knew that the heavenly fortune had changed and the divine weapon was suitable, so he abdicated and became Zen. Today is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month in the eighth year of the founding of the Xia Dynasty. Master, really don't know?"
Master Huizhao was obviously very surprised. He turned to several monks and said, "The destruction of the Dharma has come true." The monks' faces showed sadness and they all announced the name of the Buddha.
The so-called "annihilation of the Dharma" is actually a story passed down orally in Khotan. The general idea is that 1,500 years after the Buddha's nirvana (543 BC), people without righteous faith appeared in various places. The king of Khotan did not believe in the righteous Dharma, and the Khotan monk
He also did not abide by the precepts and acted as a layman. In Khotan, his living supplies were confiscated by ministers, and he had no way to make a living, so he went to Tibet, the place where Buddhism was first introduced.
At that time, the King of Tubo was a Bodhisattva and married a Han princess as his concubine. The Han princess invited monks to Tubo to make offerings to her. The monks in Anxi, Shule, Tocharo and other places were harmed by people without righteous faith and heard about the rise of Tubo.
Buddha, everyone went there. Later, the demons caused trouble, the princess died of smallpox, etc...
In short, it is a story about the death of the Dharma, which has been circulated for many years and is believed by everyone.
As for why it is related to the Tang Dynasty, we have to mention the "annihilation of law" during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty. After hearing this, the monks in Khotan all said that demons would appear in the Tang Dynasty and the Tang country would perish.
This story, by all accounts, probably originated from the irreconcilable contradiction between the secular dignitaries and the monks in Khotan and other Western countries. It was made up to scare people, but I didn’t expect it to be half right...
Suo Yan didn't know what the monks were up to, so he asked: "Now that the Holy Emperor of Great Xia is on the throne, the country is clear, the government is harmonious, and the master is going to Luoyang?"
At this point, the caravan stopped pretending. Master Huizhao sent someone to take out jade belts and other items and said, "We are about to go to the Central Plains to present them to the emperor of the great country." Suo Yan glanced at him and asked, "Don't you have a certificate of credence?"
"There is no credentials." The two of them were relatively silent.
Suo Yan sighed and said, "Please follow me to Dunhuang to stay temporarily."
****
Shao Siwu had been in Shazhou for a while and missed his wife and children very much.
However, there is nothing wrong with being in the old territory of the Guiyi Army. Although the influence of the wife clan has been weakened, it is not completely gone. It still provides him with a lot of help, so much so that he likes Sha and Gua Erzhou a little bit.
His current position is the recruitment envoy of the Shazhou camp. The target of the "recruitment" is the Gaochang Uighurs, but to be honest, it is more for defense.
The Gaochang Uighurs are still very arrogant. They were stabbed at the Uighur Royal Court back then, and several years of hard work were ruined. However, I heard that after the Xia army retreated, they sent people eastward and regained control of the royal court, and vassalized the West.
The Tatar tribe that moved there.
The pace of the thirty-year-old Tatars' westward migration has never stopped. Especially after the defeat of the Khitan, the speed suddenly accelerated. According to the Qibei Line Report, tens of thousands of people moved westward this year. In order to compete for pasture, people's brains were almost broken.
Dog brain, at the same time, there are many behaviors of going south to the border.
The reason why the Guanbei states were not alarmed was actually the Zhuanglang clan of Yuequan, the Hun clan of Keduncheng, and the Shuge Shu clan of Nuozhen who worked harder. These three tribes were nominally the Jizu tribe of Daxia, but actually acted as border guards.
His role saved the court a lot of money - accumulated over more than 20 years, the savings were really not a small amount. This may be an important reason why the saint married the princess.
In the past year, Hexi Dangxiang has also been a little restless. Shao Siwu and Han Xun have spent a lot of energy on this aspect, so much so that as the New Year is approaching, Shao Siwu is still checking archives and studying the actual situation of the tribes in Hexi until he retrieves
Yan came in to report to him about the Khotan mission.
"No credentials..." Hearing this, he also hesitated.
In fact, he was inclined to believe Suo Yan's judgment. The Khotan Kingdom should have known about the Dingge Revolution in the Central Plains. It had been eight years, and no matter how slowly the news spread, it was impossible for there to be no news at all.
"I remember that in some temples in Dunhuang, there were carpets and incense sold in Khotan?" Shao Siwu asked. "Your Highness has a good memory, and indeed there are some. He even bought them the year before last." Suo Yan replied.
Shao Siwu was even more sure and said: "Is Yutian just being petty? Is the leader of the country so eager to go forward to Tang Dynasty?"
"In the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the former Tang Dynasty, the lord of Khotan, Wei Chi Sheng, brought famous horses and beautiful jade to the court, and Xuanzong took her as his clan daughter's wife." Suo Yan said: "After Wei Chi Sheng returned to the country, he repeatedly sent troops to cooperate with Gao Xianzhi, and he was promoted to Guanglu with his merits
Qing: During the Anshi Rebellion, Yuchi Sheng ordered his younger brother Yuchi Yao to supervise the country. He led five thousand soldiers and horses to the Central Plains and died in Chang'an. The Khotan Kingdom has always regarded itself as a member of the Li Tang clan, and it is normal to have this tendency."
This is standard Jingtang.
Shao Siwu sighed and said: "The saint showed great power in Liaodong. The Khitan, Xiren, Bohai, and Jurchens were convinced. How could the Khotan Kingdom identify the former Tang Dynasty?"
Suo Yan was speechless.
In fact, everyone knows the reason: you have not exerted influence in the Western Regions. Although the saint's martial arts skills are world-famous and his reputation is widespread, the Central Plains warriors were defeated by the barbarians in Liaodong.
They know it's powerful, but the countries in the Western Region don't know it.
Thinking of the sage's promise to his mother, Shao Siwu's long-dormant heart moved a little, maybe the opportunity was here - he really didn't know how to face his second brother, he didn't want to, and he didn't dare.
"Let's report it first." Shao Siwu thought for a while and said.
This matter was not under Suo Yan's control, so he quickly withdrew. Shao Siwu thought about it and invited Liu Mian.
"Mr. Liu, how should we handle this matter properly?" After briefly describing the matter, Shao Siwu humbly asked for advice.
Liu Mian is now Shao Siwu's personal staff, and he is living a very comfortable life. Not only has he remarried his wife, but his influence is also increasing day by day, and he feels a little bit like he used to criticize Fang Dao.
After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Highness, after the saint pacified the Bohai Sea, the first priority is to attack Huainan and the two towns in Hunan. Before that, he may not use troops in the Western Regions."
"After pacifying the south?" Shao Siwu asked. Liu Mian was in a trance.
His perception of Shao Shude is very complicated.
Conquering Zhu Liang ruined all his ambitions. But he was so talented and strategic that he was invincible in the world. Looking at the current trend, if he lived for another ten or twenty years, he would be able to wipe out all the mistakes that had been made since the Anshi Rebellion.
2. This is a martial artist who is not afraid of trouble at all and has taken the right path. His vision is precise and profound, and he is rarely rivaled by anyone.
To be honest, if he had voted for Shao Shude at the beginning, he would probably have laughed out loud in his dreams. Because what Shao Sheng did was so in line with his image of a hero.
As for playing with women, being lustful and lustful, haha, he doesn't even bother to care about his wife's troubles, so how can he care? This is not a problem.
It's a pity that he was an aide to the old Liang King and had already reached a high-level core position, so no one dared to use him.
He didn't dare to reveal his identity in front of the saint and challenge the saint's mind to see if he dared to use a counselor of his own level. For the rest of his life, that was it. He kept his name anonymously and trained the younger generation, that's all.
"Your Highness, the saint has even taken care of the Bohai Sea and the Jurchens, what are you worried about?" Liu Mian said: "He thinks very highly of himself, and his inner ambitions are far beyond our imagination. The Western Regions will definitely be conquered, just wait patiently, saint
Maybe more anxious than you."
Shao Siwu's heart suddenly became enlightened, and he bowed respectfully and said, "Sir, what you said made me enlightened."
Liu Mian turned sideways and said, "It doesn't really matter whether you have credentials or not. Just report the memorial truthfully and send it to Zhongshu. Don't act on your own. Saints attach great importance to rules."
"Okay." Shao Siwu nodded and made a decision.
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