Chapter 89 Abolition of feudal vassals and establishment of counties
After September arrives, the weather gradually turns colder.
But in Gaochang, apart from morning and evening, the temperature at noon is still around 26-7 degrees.
Dozens of Tibetan people suddenly poured into the palace, making endless noises.
They were all the chiefs who accompanied the Supreme Khan on his western expedition. They were not necessarily members of the tribe. After all, there were only a few hundred strong men in each group, and it was enough to send a small tycoon to lead them.
The palace people brought plates of food.
Boiled meat, pancakes, dumplings, soup cakes, sesame oil with corn rice, wine, melon, dates, plums, etc. are not very rich, but they can fill the stomach, which is better than anything else for these rough men.
Shao Shude sat at the top, frequently raising his glasses. Next to him sat two noble ladies from the country, Lian and Yao, on the left and right. The former had a calm face, neither sadness nor joy, while the latter had a forced smile but a bitter heart.
After three rounds of drinking, Han Quanjie entered the palace and read out a gift list loudly, while someone next to him translated it in Hu.
Along with the expedition, all the chiefs and lords received rewards, mainly: a ball of jade, four iron swords, five horses, ten camels, a bag of frankincense, and a hundred pieces of flower core cloth (cotton cloth).
These are the trophies captured after the invasion of Gaochang City.
Especially the iron swords, the grassland people couldn't put them down. Many of them had been captured on the battlefield before, and everyone thought they were rare items.
During the Song Dynasty, the Uighur envoys from Gaochang came to Beijing and the iron swords they presented greatly astonished the people of the Song Dynasty, saying that "the iron is all finely patterned."
During the Yuan Dynasty, Gaochang iron swords were "rare in the world" and could not be made by craftsmen in the Central Plains. They were always important gifts given by the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty to his ministers.
Shao Shude didn't know how the Gaochang Uighurs could make such things. It might be the original technology of the local indigenous people. "Book of Wei" said it came from Persia, and some said it came from Jibin. Anyway, it was either Persia or India.
Then the people of Gaochang mastered the technology and continued to produce this product.
In addition to swords, cloth is also very practical and can be used as valuable items on the grassland. After all, others wear sheepskin furs, but you can wear cotton clothes, so scarcity makes things more valuable.
The above are rewards given to the chieftains. In terms of the market situation on the grassland, they are actually very good. Therefore, as soon as Han Quanhui finished speaking, everyone praised him.
"It's not a loss to follow me in the war, right?" Shao Shude was like a barbarian sweating profusely, with his right foot raised, his arms on his knees, holding the wine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Fighting with the Great Khan is a pleasure. I heard that girl playing in Tingzhou is still a pearl of the prairie, haha, it's so comfortable."
"What is the pearl of the prairie? She had an affair with another man before she got married and gave birth to three children."
"I got a few slaves this time. After I bring them home, I will discipline them so that there will be no shortage of manpower for herding sheep, milking, cutting grass and other chores."
"How can there be any comfort in robbing women and property? Cutting off the enemy's head and letting blood splash all over his head and face is the ultimate enjoyment."
"You are very ill..."
The chiefs were noisy and laughing.
Suddenly, Shao Shude discovered that they had a lot in common with the Forbidden Army warriors: bloodthirsty, cruelty, and greed.
Perhaps, only such Central Plains warriors can convince the prairie people.
"I am not at a loss either." He laughed and said, "I have snatched two beautiful women, and I will be happy day and night. Even the gods will not change them."
The laughter in the hall became even louder.
Mr. Hao turned his face slightly, feeling ashamed and angry.
Mrs. Lian raised her hips slightly, stepped forward and took the wine bowl from Shao Shude's hand. After filling it, she knelt on the ground and presented it with both hands.
Shao Shude was startled.
When the chiefs saw this, they cheered loudly and praised the Khan for his bravery. He not only conquered the men of Gaochang, but also the women.
Shi Shi glanced at the Queen Mother in shock, as if she couldn't believe it.
Shao Shude's vanity was greatly satisfied. He took the wine bowl from Lian's hand, drank it all in one gulp, and said: "This year you wait and take people back. Next year, a new group of people will come through the Hexi Corridor.
Come earlier. May at the latest, I want to see the warriors from each department."
Everyone bowed down one after another and was sincerely convinced.
Shao Shude looked at the kneeling chiefs and felt satisfied.
In fact, not only the leader, but also the soldiers who came to fight were also rewarded, such as scythes for cutting grass, guillotines for cutting grass, knives for repairing carriages, tents, scissors, awls and other items. Another person was given two pieces of cloth, and five people were rewarded.
An iron pot is an extremely practical thing.
When these people return to the tribe, they will definitely cause a huge sensation.
After eight or nine months of fighting with the Great Khan, he brought back a lot of things. Those who fought bravely were rewarded by the army and even brought back slaves.
There is no doubt that this is to promote the reputation of the Supreme Khan on the grassland.
No one can stop it, even the Yili Jins of various tribes, they can only watch the returning people walking around, bragging and chatting, making the reputation of the Supreme Khan above him, even if it is passed down by their clan.
Many generations of tribes.
Next year, a new group of people will be replaced and they will continue to accept the leadership of the Supreme Khan "Happiness". Wherever the riding whip points, all enemies will be wiped out.
The calligrapher and painter Zhang Suqing silently wrote down this scene, and after returning to the mansion after the banquet, he immediately started painting.
In the painting, Shao Shude is sitting behind the imperial eucalyptus, and the Queen Mother Lian of Gaochang is kneeling at his feet, holding a wine bowl in her hand, looking up at him. Queen Hao is also looking at him with her face sideways, looking pitiful.
In the main hall, the chiefs of various tribes prostrated themselves on the ground, respectfully.
It should be said that after the long talk about "seeking truth from facts" a few years ago, Daxia's portrait painting skills have improved by leaps and bounds. All the details have been grasped very well, and they are no longer so abstract or so Q-like.
For example, this painting vividly depicts Shao Shude's complacency, Lian's flattery, and Hao's sadness.
These two women and a large group of grassland chiefs together constitute the theme of "surrender".
After the painting was completed, the inscription read: "In September of the fourteenth year of Jianji, the emperor gave a banquet to a group of nobles. Guests from Beidi came to serve in Xirong. They cut off their braids and cut off their braids. They begged for surrender. They were cared for and cared for, just like a child. Under the command, especially
See loyalty and obedience. From now on, I will always show my kindness and trust. I will always be blessed with splendor, live in glory all over the world, and rule the world."
After writing, let it dry and put it away carefully.
The saint laughed and said that these were famous paintings handed down from generation to generation. Zhang Suqing was excited and felt that they must be properly preserved so that people a thousand years from now can still remember the Holy Emperor Huang Xia and him.
******
On September 18, news came from the front, Yan Qike.
Zang Dubao traveled westward along the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, that is, leaving Gaochang (to the north of Lukqin Town, Shanshan County, Turpan City, and south of the Astana Ancient Tombs), passing through Tianshan County (today's Toksun County), and then
Shiqi, Yinshan Qi (today's Kumushi Mountain, which produces silver), Panshi (Egelqi Mountain), Zhang Sancheng Shouchuo (near Ushtala Township in today's Heshuo County), to Yanqi Town (southwest of today's Yanqi)
.
This section of the road is about 650 miles in total, which is not very far, but it is not that simple as it passes through deserts and high mountains.
Zang Dubao's tens of thousands of horses, carrying only one and a half months' worth of food and grass, arrived near the town of Yanqi in mid-September.
Legend has it that the Khotan soldiers who wanted to attack Yanqi with them only had a few hundred horses, and they did not do business and specialized in plundering the people, which aroused resistance from many people. So much so that as soon as Zang Dubao's army arrived, some powerful clans came over to build relations.
Ask for asylum.
This large clan is also quite interesting. Their surname is Long, and their tribe is called the Long Family Tribe.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the king of Yanqi was surnamed Long, and was later defeated. The king of Yanqi at that time was named Longjiuxibina, and he gathered an army of 40,000 to 50,000 people, but was defeated.
To be able to mobilize so many troops and horses, it was probably a battle that overturned the country. All the men who could be recruited went into battle. Based on this calculation, the Yanqi Kingdom during the Northern Dynasties had a population of about 200,000.
During the pre-Tang Dynasty, life in the Yanqi Kingdom was not very easy.
As one of the four towns in Anxi, they often had to provide troops and supplies to assist the Tang army in fighting, and there would definitely be many casualties. The most embarrassing thing was that when the Tubo attacked the four towns in Anxi, they especially liked to use Yanqi as a breakthrough point.
For example, during the Yifeng period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, "Tubo attacked the west of Yanqi and destroyed all four towns."
During the Chui Gong period, "Tubo was so arrogant that it invaded the Western Regions. All the castles west of Yanqi were demolished, so they drove eastward and crossed the Gaochang Wall..."
After the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo was at the end of the war again and seized Yanqi.
During the Zhenyuan period, seeing that the Tang Dynasty had no hope of regaining the Western Regions, part of the Long family moved eastward. After years of disrepair, the Great Qi Road, which had been lost in the sea of sand, entered Hexi.
During the Huichang period of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, due to the westward migration of the Uighurs, Pang Teqin occupied Yanqi and Qiuci, and proclaimed the place Khan, known as the Anxi Uighur or Qiuchi Uighur. The Long family could not bear it and began a large-scale eastward migration. Eventually, most of them gathered
They are located in Suzhou, and some are scattered in Ganzhou, Liangzhou and Shazhou.
Of course, there are also those who have not left, namely those who are here to build relationships.
Zang Dubao knew how to unite the front, so he immediately won over Yanqi's Long family and asked them to provide food and supplies. He also contacted other small tribes to jointly attack the Uighurs and their vassals.
After solving his worries, Zang Dubao gathered a large army to attack Yanqi and captured it in three days.
The Long family had revenge, complaints and massacres. The tribes who had surrendered to Gaochang Uighurs were bleeding like rivers. If Zang Dubao hadn't stopped them in time, they would probably have killed every one of them.
The vendetta and holy war in the Western Regions are really too brutal!
On September 15th, Zang Dubao captured the last fort near Yanqi. After fighting for ten days, he beheaded more than 5,000 people and captured more than 30,000 men, women, and children. Yanqi Town, once one of the four towns in Anxi, was recovered.
On the 16th, Zang Dubao sent an envoy westward to Qiuci to ask the King of Khotan to go to Gaochang to meet the Holy Spirit.
Seeing this, Shao Shude stood up and walked around the hall.
The people in the palace knew his temper, so they kept their hands and feet lightly so as not to disturb the saint's train of thought.
After Shao Shude turned around several times, he stopped in front of the map. After a while, he said: "Draw up a decree to build Yanqi Mansion."
"Guard and capture Weixu County in Zhangsan City (near present-day Ushtala Township, Heshuo County)."
"Yanqi County was established in the town of Yanqi (today's southwest of Yanqi)."
"The Tiemen County (today's North Korla) was established in Tiemenguan."
"We established Weili County (today's Weili County) in Quli Governor's Mansion."
"The Yanqi Prefecture governs these four counties and governs Yanqi."
"Immediately check the household registration and compile a household register. If anyone refuses to comply, he will be killed immediately without reporting."
"The chief of the Longjia tribe, Long Si, was given the title of Tongmei Lu and asked to come to Gaochang for an audience."
"From the eight armies of Hengye, Pinglu, Luoyan, Guangjie, Ningyuan, Tianwei, Jinqiang, and Shenwu, with more than ten thousand people, we recruited 2,000 government soldiers who were willing to settle down in Yanqi. Each man was granted a hundred acres of land, and the whole family could move there.
Come and visit the prefectures and counties along the way. More than 30,000 miscellaneous Hu people were captured and distributed to the tribe."
The order was issued at a rolling price, showing Shao Shude's firm determination.
Yanqi is a prefecture, not a state, and its administrative status lies there.
This place is actually a crucial place, otherwise Tubo would not have made its plans from here every time it went north.
The town of Yanqi in the Tang Dynasty "The capital of Yanqi is three to ten miles away, surrounded by mountains and surrounded by sea water."
The city with a circumference of thirty miles is larger than Bianzhou.
The sea water is Bosten Lake, which is rich in various fish, and is Danshui Lake.
Iron Gate Gate controls a post road running along the Kongque River, with deep twists and turns. It is one of the thirteen central passes in the Kaiyuan Dynasty and has always been the transportation hub between northern and southern Xinjiang.
It was Shao Shude's plan to use Gaochang as a backup, set up a government in Yanqi, spend a certain amount of time, use local water resources to irrigate farmland, and settle immigrants for cultivation, as an important starting point to intervene in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.
The two thousand soldiers placed in the local area, and the state soldiers that may be gradually established in the future, will be the anchor of Yanqi Mansion.
Land is developed from generation to generation.
In the Tang Dynasty, a military town was set up in Yanqi, but the country of Yanqi still existed. However, after many years of rule, it became very submissive. This can be seen from the fact that they did not surrender when the Tubo invaded, but moved eastward in large numbers.
Nowadays, the Yanqi Kingdom has long been lost in the long river of history. It is just the right time to abolish the vassal vassal and establish counties, and return to the land.
The red-haired Long family are also citizens of Daxia. From now on, they will be treated equally and should be obedient citizens of the new dynasty.