After entering the twelfth lunar month, everything is complicated, and many government offices are closed for holidays.
Shao Shude took the time to host a banquet in honor of Elbrus and Tam.
"After going back, I had a good time talking." Shao Shude said: "Persia is also a big country, and some princes took refuge in the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty. There were as many business trips between the two countries as crucian carp crossing the river. Even now, there are five or six Persian ships coming every year.
Guangzhou, this is good."
Elbrus and Tam were really convinced, and they didn't know what to say.
The Supreme Emperor spoke in an amiable and amiable manner, and in and out of his words he meant that he wanted to communicate and not to fight, but such a man brazenly launched a war that lasted for several years because of a trivial matter.
Of course, in the mouth of the Supreme Emperor, it is not called a war because the scale is not big enough.
The Supreme Emperor has his own logic: Because you planned the coup in Karasha, I will punish you.
Because you continue to preach and try to incorporate the Turks, Geluolu, Uighurs, and Yangmo tribes to convert them to the Creator and expand your sphere of influence, I want to punish you.
The purpose of punishment was to prevent the expansion of Persian power.
After the punishment is completed, we can still get along well and carry out a series of cultural, business, and technical exchanges.
Is this logic reliable? It sounds reasonable, but Elbrus and Tam don't believe it.
The words of the Supreme Emperor may be somewhat true, because he really did not expand his territory west of the Tianshan Mountains. He did more to support puppet forces. This is very different from the traditional rule of counties. Those
If the so-called puppet really wanted to betray the Xia Kingdom, it would be very easy.
In addition, during the war, land commercial exchanges were greatly affected. Most of the business was made by the Sogdians and Khazars, but it was not that there were no Persian merchants traveling eastward. The Xia Kingdom did not make things difficult for these Persian merchants, which is confirmed from the side.
The words of the Supreme Khan.
But - he definitely didn't say everything.
Yesterday, Elbrus mentioned the problem of the rapid increase in the population of Karasha. He believed that if they had not plundered Bakhna and obtained a large amount of grain, cattle and sheep, they would not have been able to immigrate so fast.
Furthermore, are the looted goods, gold and silverware, dirkhams, dinars and even slaves useless? Of course it is impossible.
They already know about the slave market in Chang'an. It opens every two or three months and sells male and female captives from Persia. No one knows how much money they make. But one thing is for sure, the money can hire more slaves.
When people go to work in places like Karasha, whether it is farming, grazing, or building reservoirs, they can play a big role.
The Supreme Emperor did not mention these benefits, but Elbrus and Tam knew them well.
"I really want to have a good relationship with Persia." Shao Shude said: "You have your advantages, and we have ours. There are some things that are not easy to produce and develop in our country, and we need to communicate with you to make progress. What are some of yours?
Things are not easy to progress. You can learn from us. Every word I say, you can tell your emir and grand vizier when you go back. The land of Persia is already very large, there is no need to expand. The glory of the Creator is also
That's enough. There is no need to herd more sheep. Peaceful coexistence is the most important. Let's study together, do business together, share what we have, pursue the truth, and live this life quietly. Isn't this not in line with the teachings of the Creator?
"
The two of them were still speechless.
After a long time, Elbrus said: "Your Majesty, now that we have finished talking, when will you give the order to your generals to cease hostilities?"
"After my request is met, it will stop soon." Shao Shude said.
The two looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Satisfy the requirements? It will take more than half a year after they bring the result of the negotiation back, and then the nobles and patriarchs will be called to review it. I don’t know how long they will have to quarrel. The whole process may be repeated.
Elbrus thought with his toes and knew that there would be some opposition, and there would be quite a lot of them. Especially those nobles whose territories were in Bakhna, Talos and places relatively close to these two places. They must have very strong opinions.
Fierce opposition.
On the contrary, those nobles living in the wealthy Khorasan region have an indifferent attitude towards this. In the view of these people, the capital is not suitable in Bukhara, so it is better to move it back to Nishapuran (Neshapur).
)——This is also a famous city, bigger, better and richer than Bukhara. It is the capital of the Tahir Dynasty and the Safar Dynasty.
Therefore, there is still a quarrel over this matter, which cannot be settled in a few months.
After the quarrel came to an end, people were sent to Luoyang. The Supreme Emperor finally recognized the agreement between the two parties and ordered a truce. It is likely that more than a year has passed.
More than a year is too long and there are too many variables.
Real peace between the two sides may only finally come when one party can't stand it anymore and can accept any conditions. And in this process, how many cities will be destroyed and how many people will die in war and famine?
Only the Creator knows.
"When will His Majesty send someone to escort us out?" Tam asked.
"The messenger does not need to be impatient." Shao Shude said enthusiastically: "It is already the middle of winter, heavy snow has fallen, and the road is not so easy to walk. It is better to stay in Luoyang for a while to see the scenery of the great summer, and then leave Beijing in February or March.
, it’s convenient for everyone.”
"This - okay." Tam didn't say anything, but Elbrus agreed.
"I will ask Honglu Temple to allocate some money, and then send officials and interpreters to accompany you. If you feel that you have seen enough of Luoyang, you can go east. You can go to Zhengzhou, Bianzhou, Weizhou and other places, but you don't need to
Being limited by time, you can leave later if you want." Shao Shude said: "Walking more, seeing more, talking to your country's kings and ministers when you go back, some decisions will be easier to make."
"Thank you very much for your Majesty's generosity." they said.
******
On New Year's Eve, Shao Shude was still at work, and Zhao Guangfeng, Xiao Zhen, and Wang Yong were not allowed to rest. They were pulled to the Guanfeng Hall for questioning. Judging from the number of times he was summoned, Wang Yong, who was the servant of the sect, was almost the same person.
The fact that the two ministers of Zhongshu are on equal footing already illustrates the problem, and it is destined to have considerable influence.
"The Anxi Prefecture, Yanqi Mansion is an important node." Shao Shude said: "There are many children of the Forbidden Army, but there are not enough craftsmen. The three of us will think of a way."
"I obey the decree." The three prime ministers responded in unison.
After a pause, Zhao Guangfeng asked: "Your Majesty just said that you do not want to lose Persia, so what is your strategy in the Western Regions?"
Shao Shude pondered for a while.
What Zhao Guangfeng means is that even if the war won't end for a while, the turning trend is already very obvious. You must have an overall strategy, right?
"It's not a good thing to work behind closed doors." Shao Shude said: "It's not that I can't destroy Persia, but I don't want to. If Persia is here, it can still control those ghosts and ghosts. If Persia dies, those tribes will have no restraint, which is not a good thing. Therefore, we can maintain a weak state.
Persia is the best result. As for the future, each generation has its own mission, and I can only reach this level in my life."
If we ignore the consequences and launch the war machine with all our strength, it is actually possible to destroy Persia, but what will we gain?
If the land cannot be occupied, it must be ruled by the locals themselves, or it may be taken over by nomadic tribes, such as the Oghuz, or the Persian nobles from the Khorasan area moving eastward, etc. There are many possibilities.
The states of Anxi Province have not yet been digested. There is no need to acquire too much land and bite off more than they can chew.
Each generation has its own mission. If the sons and grandsons have the lofty ideals to advance westward after digesting the Western Regions, that would be great, but it has nothing to do with Shao Shude.
Keeping a weak Samanid Persian dynasty makes sense at this stage.
Because Bukhara can restrain the fanatical believers of the Creator and prevent them from preaching eastward.
If there is no one to restrain you, it is really impossible to prevent it, because you don’t even have a partner to talk to. The decentralized missionary system is spreading everywhere, which is even more troublesome.
Don't overestimate the capabilities of the bureaucracy. It's possible that the church has been secretly spreading in a certain tribe for more than ten years, and they still don't know...
Bukhara can also trade with the Western Regions, infusing a large amount of gold and silver, promoting the development of the Western Regions, and attracting more people from the Central Plains to spontaneously immigrate there.
Trade requires a stable environment, that is, order. Saman Persia can restrain various tribes, provide a generally stable environment, promote trade, and become Daxia's cash machine.
Because of different cultures, systems and thinking patterns, the existence of Bukhara can also create a cultural collision with the Central Plains, generate more sparks, and promote the development of science. This is also very important.
Shao Shude is not sure whether the new dynasty's elegant politics will change in the future, so it is good to breathe in a little fresh air from time to time. For traditional Confucian scholars, Shao Shude feels that they may change and evolve themselves, but if they cannot do this,
He doesn't mind using foreigners.
To put it bluntly, it is competition.
The new academic factions in Daxia are not so hostile to Persia, and they even have a lot of common language. For example, the mathematicians naturally like to communicate with the mathematicians in Bukhara. The positive significance of this kind of communication is obvious.
Persian scholars may come to the Central Plains to settle, live, and do academic research. If they are outstanding, they may even be awarded official positions.
If Confucianism does not change, I will use talents from all over the world, not necessarily you. It’s as simple as that.
Shao Shude said briefly, and the three prime ministers were all a little happy.
From their point of view, they were of course opposed to continuing the Western Expedition. There were already masters in Longyou who had fled and gathered to rebel. Although they were easily suppressed by the state soldiers, this was a very bad sign.
The money collected by the imperial court from various places flowed into Longyou, Hexi, and Anxi, and was spent on distant journeys. These fiscal revenue could have been used to do more things, but ended up being used for war and immigration. Is it reasonable?
In addition, the warriors have continuously performed meritorious services through wars and are very "proud" in the court. Should they be suppressed? It is purely a matter of competition for resources, not the person.
From a gloomy perspective, it has been almost 20 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the Forbidden Army is still continuously participating in battles. In the past, there was the conquest of Shiwei and Abaoji, and then there was the five-year war with Persia. The saints continued to rotate among the ministries, and there were a large number of veterans of the Forbidden Army.
After retiring from the army, the new recruits gradually developed their skills and still maintained a very strong combat effectiveness. This is not a good thing...
The stronger the warrior's fighting ability, the more he wants to fight and make meritorious deeds.
If he can't fight, even if you ask him to go to war, he will be embarrassed because he doesn't want to be embarrassed and bear the responsibility for defeat.
Therefore, Zhengshitang definitely does not want to fight, there is no doubt about it.
"Do you understand?" Shao Shude glanced at the three of them and said, "It's good that you understand. The war won't end for a while, but we must be prepared for change. The Western Region needs people, everyone. I heard that the exile
There are still a few prisoners sent to Liaodong. Let's stop them and send them all to the Yili River Valley. In Henan and Hebei states, the household registration in some places has increased too fast, and more immigrants are migrating out. If you don't want to, let the state soldiers from various places supervise it. It's hard.
I will take the blame for the suffering of the people. A hundred years from now, they will be grateful to me."
"According to the order." The three prime ministers responded.
There is no doubt that the immigration of the Great Xia Dynasty was relatively "excessive". In some places, the population growth has been extremely slow or even reduced after 20 or 30 years of peace.
How many times had Wei Bo been in turmoil because of the immigration issue? The state soldiers and the imperial guards killed them until their swords were sharpened, and then they managed to suppress them.
How many people died on the way to immigrate? It is even harder to estimate.
This is the "elegant government of the new dynasty", which is both bitter and sweet, and one knows whether one is warm or cold.
