In February, the chiefs from various grassland tribes who came to the Central Plains to participate in the Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting and the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony returned one after another.
Although the connection between the grasslands and the Central Plains has gradually become closer since the Northern Dynasties, the Xia Dynasty reached a new height.
Grassland chiefs regularly come to the Central Plains to attend court meetings. Perhaps the leader himself does not need to come, but there must be representatives.
For the grassland ministries, this is an order from the Lifan Yuan and the Bei Yamen. Today is different from the past. Now the management is stricter and everything must be according to the rules. Every year, the Han prefectures have envoys to the court, and the account books are presented to the court at Zhengdan.
, official evaluation, and tribute were implemented for three hundred years in the former Tang Dynasty. As a result, the Xia Dynasty expanded to the grasslands.
In terms of distance, they are not necessarily farther than remote southern states and counties, and riding horses on the grasslands is fast, so there is no reason to be absent.
The grassland men formed a 20,000-strong Beiwei Army, which was stationed south for more than a year. This year, more than a thousand of the most brave and skilled warriors joined the Forbidden Army.
People who came out of the feudal separatist regime have a very clear understanding of the rise and decline of the Shence Army in the former Tang Dynasty.
This army emerged in the war years. By continuously annexing the elite soldiers from the feudal towns, it maintained the infusion of fresh blood and maintained its combat effectiveness for about seventy years. Its decline began precisely when it stopped recruiting elite soldiers from the feudal towns and instead recruited soldiers from Chang'an City.
people.
The Great Xia Forbidden Army is not far away from the war at present, and its combat effectiveness is still maintained quite well. However, if you don't think long-term, you will have to worry about the short-term. Some rules must be established from the beginning to avoid the trouble of changing them later.
This large-scale army must maintain a certain level of fresh blood injection, and cannot become a gangster army that is close to the party and replaces its father with his son.
A large number of descendants of the prairie nobles also bought houses and settled down in Luoyang.
Except for a few people who were given houses and houses by the imperial court, most people settled outside Luoyang City.
The imperial court had a plan for the population size of Luoyang City: it was similar to that of the former Tang Dynasty, and the number of people living within the city walls would not exceed 250,000.
But the houses outside the city are actually pretty good, the place may be more spacious, and the price is much cheaper.
It is a good thing that the children of the prairie nobles buy houses here, which shows their recognition of the new dynasty.
Through long-term contact with the Central Plains scholars and common people, they discovered that the men and women from the grasslands were just like that, carrying one head on two shoulders, using their mouths for drinking and eating, their hands for working, and their holes for use...
With the gradual spread of "Zhizhi Geography", people in the Central Plains have a deeper understanding of the grassland.
They realized more clearly that the grassland surrounded by the Tianshan Mountains and the Altai Mountains was like a sharp sword hanging high, pointing at the vast area west of the Tianshan Mountains.
The tribes living on this grassland naturally have the power to build a stronghold. Once they can break through to the west, nothing can stop them except the desert, and they can even rush all the way to the prairie north of Rome.
This is an endless road of conquest, where you can achieve unimaginable achievements, provided you move your home there too.
This is of course impossible for the scholars of the Central Plains. But it does not prevent them from broadening their horizons and knowing how big the outside world is, what kind of people there are, and what kind of political power there is.
The grasslands on the southern route connected various civilizations and brought the benefits of the Silk Road.
The grasslands on the northern route are an alternative to the southern route. They are currently relatively peaceful, but most of the time they are in the midst of vendettas and conquests.
This is their understanding.
In fact, it's quite good. The overall level of Daxia officials' understanding of external geography was already at the forefront in the classical era, which will also be helpful for their subsequent decision-making.
****
On February 20th, Shao Shude arrived in Guangchengze, Ruzhou.
Since the Han Dynasty, this has been the place where the emperor herds horses and taught martial arts, and this dynasty is no exception - no matter how tight the cultivated land in Ruzhou is, this area composed of forests, pastures, farmland, hot springs and palaces has not been given away, and it still remains.
It is a forbidden garden for the royal family.
Here, Shao Shude inspected Yin'anzhi, various units of the Forbidden Army, and the First Division of Weiwei Army with a total of more than 30,000 horse infantry sergeants. He also entertained visitors from afar.
The sound of horse hoofbeats suddenly sounded. At first, there were only dozens of messy horses. Soon, more horses' hoofbeats came in, hundreds, thousands...
The raging wave of cavalry galloped across the vast wilderness, rushing towards the neatly arrayed infantry soldiers.
The soldier held his rifle at an angle, with a relaxed attitude.
Others pulled out longke axes, wooden poles, and heavy swords, preparing to shoot down the approaching cavalry.
The strong crossbowmen stepped forward quickly. They had swords and heavy swords slanted on their backs. After firing their crossbows, they would charge head-on towards the cavalry and knock the enemy off their horses.
There were also two to three thousand infantrymen on each side of the left and right wings, preparing to outflank the enemy in a roundabout way.
The cavalry attacking the infantry is limited by many factors such as the battlefield process or terrain, and may not necessarily be able to maneuver in a wide range. At this time, it is impossible to maneuver and pursue on the battlefield. The infantry who outflank the cavalry should go home and farm as soon as possible - the infantry faces
A cavalry charge does not necessarily require formation.
Of course, the cavalry will not sit still and wait for death.
They gave full play to their mobility advantages and firmly held the initiative in their hands to fight or not to fight.
The former enemy general carefully observes the flaws in the enemy's deployment, trying to maneuver to the flanks or even behind to strike. If he encounters strong resistance, he immediately retreats.
The army cavalry behind the infantry formation keenly seized the fighting opportunity, took advantage of the enemy cavalry group's retreat, rode their tall horses, increased their speed to the extreme, held thick horse poles, shouted loudly, and tried to rush the enemy into chaos——
If the attacking cavalry is a grassland cavalry that is not highly organized, it will be defeated in just one move, and even retreating for dozens of miles may not be able to gather the defeated troops.
The two sides went back and forth, and the fight was very exciting--of course, everything is on point, and it won't be real.
"What does the envoy think of the scene?" On the high platform, Shao Shude sincerely "asked for advice".
Jacob woke up from a dream, bowed to Shao Shude, and said: "Such an army is rarely seen, it is very elite."
"How does it compare to Rome?" After listening to the interpreter, Shao Shude nodded and asked.
The messenger was suffocated, and after a long pause, he said: "It's hard to compare, they are all equally elite."
Shao Shude smiled and said nothing.
Of course he is not arrogant. Although the Tang people are called "tall" by the Arabs, they are all human beings after all. Even if the Tang people are taller and stronger than the Persians and Arabs, how much taller can they be?
But history also gave him unparalleled confidence.
From the Xiongnu and Rouran, to the Turks and Uighurs, to the Khitans and the Mongols, wave after wave of grassland cavalry followed the northern grassland, which was called the "Endless Road of Conquest" by later European scholars, and fought to the west.
The place was in turmoil.
Aristocratic serfdom is really a system very suitable for suppressing civil uprisings.
When the serfs rebelled with their dung forks, they were probably suppressed by the village's heavily armed knights and a group of lackeys before they even left the village.
But a stable life will inevitably bring about the decline of martial prowess. King Juan who emerged from the frequent wars in East Asia will be enough to make everyone tremble once he goes west.
The Great Xia Forbidden Army was well-equipped, experienced, and reasonably equipped with infantry and cavalry, and could beat the Khitans and Shiwei like dogs. He did not believe that anyone in the west could resist his invincible army.
The Khazars are nothing!
"If Your Majesty marches westward with this army, the Xigas and Ogus people will definitely flee." Achu, who came back from Linyuan City to report on his duties, said with a flattering smile.
More than ten tribal leaders who were also standing on the high platform nodded their heads.
Apart from the Iron Cavalry Army, the ones leading the attack were the Beiwei Army.
Most of the members of the Beiwei Army are warriors from various tribes in the grassland. They are considered the strongest combat force in the grassland. However, depending on the situation, they cannot shake the Great Xia Forbidden Army, which has a very good combination of foot and cavalry.
The morale of the grassland shepherds was like that. Once they were caught by the military cavalry and beaten several times, they would disperse immediately. Then there would be people who rebelled and surrendered, and they would lead the imperial army to hunt them down, leaving them basically without any resistance.
"Why is this so!" Shao Shude laughed loudly and said, "I'm not a murderer, so why should I drive everyone away and kill them all?"
After speaking, he looked at the envoy and said: "Joseph Khan of your country is obviously very wise to send you to Luoyang. I also like all the gifts he brought. I say hello to him on my behalf and wish him the best."
In good health."
Jacob was a man with a sharp mind. When he heard that Shao Shude's blessing was "good health" instead of something else, he immediately understood that he knew the grasslands in the west very well and even knew the common blessings there.
"Joseph Khan also wishes your Majesty a long life," Jacob said.
"Live a hundred years?" Shao Shude laughed again: "Then I really want to go on an expedition to the west."
Jacob's face turned pale and he used a smile to cover up his embarrassment.
"It's just a joke." Shao Shude waved his hand and said, "I heard that your country sent a mission to Baghdad more than fifty years ago to invite Baghdad's architects, imams and scholars?"
"Yes." Jacob was slightly surprised.
Shao Shude secretly thanked Tam.
This group of people wanted to leave, but Shao Shude persuaded them to stay in the name of waiting for news from Bukhara. Just a few days ago, he specially summoned this person and rewarded them with a lot of money.
meaning.
At Shao Shude's request, Tam compiled a report on the various tribes and khanates in the west, compiled it into a volume, and presented it to him.
After Shao Shude read it, he was very impressed because it was written in such detail.
The Khazars are a big concept. They originally believed in Tengri (shamanism) and are widely distributed.
Ethnically speaking, they are Turkic and a branch of the Western Turks.
When the Uighur Khanate was at its peak, it ruled many Khazars. After the Uighurs weakened, the Khazars dispersed. To this day, there are still a large number of Khazar Uighurs in the Altai Mountains.
Therefore, the Khazar Khanate can be said to be Turks or Uighurs. After all, since the Huns, the steppe empire has not only been one race, but has both yellow and white races.
The people of the Khazar Khanate moved westward very early. As early as the early years of the Tang Dynasty, they were very powerful. Their leader called himself Khan - his official official position was "Dagan", which was an official position for Turks or Uighurs, but privately
Li Chenghan - meeting with the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius.
The Khan Zabeer at that time lent the Roman emperor 40,000 cavalry to help them severely defeat Sasanian Persia.
With this relationship, Eastern Rome and the Khazar Khanate had many marriages.
Justinian II married the Khan's sister, Queen Theodora.
A few decades later, Justinian V married the Khan's daughter, Queen Irani.
The two countries have very close relations and are allies against the Arabs.
This alliance is of course beneficial. Although the Khazar Khanate is a nomadic people, it is the most civilized among the tribes in the west. They are good at trade and get rich through trade, and the Romans continue to send people to help them build cities and trading strongholds.
, causing its national power to continue to rise.
The religious situation in this country is relatively complex.
Seventy years ago, the Roman priest Saint Cyril established the first diocese in Khazar.
More than fifty years ago, the Arabs went to preach again, and many people converted to the Creator.
But Judaism is more popular in Khazar.
Just last year, the Roman emperor vigorously persecuted the Jews. Countless Jewish businessmen and people poured into the Khazar Khanate and were protected by the upper echelons of the Khanate.
Today, the Khazar Khanate is actually in decline.
"I heard that you are not on good terms with the Oghuz people?" Shao Shude suddenly asked.
Jacob did not remain silent and said directly: "Your Majesty, the Oghuz people are getting stronger day by day. They drove away the Pechenegs first, causing them to flee their ancestral land and migrate westward. The migrating Pecheneg Turks attacked
Our territory has driven away our vassals, the Magyars. I can’t go into details about all the cruel things. They are ferocious and powerful demons. And the Oghuz are even more powerful demons, and their desire for expansion has arisen.
It's happening, and it can't be stopped. I heard that Chinese missionaries were blackmailed for no reason when they crossed their borders. They are just such people, greedy."
Shao Shude nodded silently after hearing this.
It is not easy for the envoys of the Khazar Khanate to come, and they need to take a long detour.
Shao Shude was not very interested in the civil war among the Turks, but the Khazars warmly received Li Shouxin's envoy and sent people to send letters back, which made him very happy.
Of course, when you show courtesy to others, you must ask for something.
To the east of the Khazar Khanate is the territory of the Oghuz Turks, and to the southeast of the Oghuz is the pastureland of the male camel king of the Bactria vassal. Whether they are close or far, they are all neighbors.
They sent envoys eastward, probably hoping to find a helper to attack the Oghuz with them.
Shao Shude was even sure that Oghuz was not the only enemy of the Khazar Khanate, and they must be looking for helpers all over the world.
He is really not interested in these chaotic wars, and he is beyond his reach. He just wants to do business, and connect with the Eastern Roman Empire to exchange culture and science.
"The Ogus people have not done many disrespectful things for the time being, so I am not in a position to punish them." Shao Shude said: "However, I can send an envoy from Balashagon to the pastures of the Ogus people and ask them not to embarrass businessmen and travelers.
Trade between us is smoother."
Jacob was a little disappointed when he heard this, and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor, sooner or later the Oghuz will plunder your people, I can guarantee it."
Shao Shude shook his head and said: "Does the envoy really not know how far away it is? Even if I drive away the Ogus people, those pastures will be occupied by others sooner or later, and they will become a new threat to you. People, after all, will
On their own."
Jacob was about to say something when he saw the lieutenant general Wang Yanfan coming over and reporting in a low voice: "Your Majesty, there is news from Bukhara."
"Oh?" Shao Shude was overjoyed and said, "Send people to Luoyang to invite Elbrus and Tam."
"News" of course refers to the news about the construction of the palace mentioned earlier.
Shao Shude, the drunkard, was not interested in drinking, so of course he was very concerned about it.
"The envoys may wish to stay in Luoyang for a while. If they want to purchase goods, they can go to Changxia Trading Company. I will ask them to receive them alone. They can buy whatever they want." Shao Shude turned to look at Jacob and said.
After saying that, he left the martial arts arena.
There was a fierce battle in the field. After the rest, each unit started a new round of competition.
This time the infantry fought in formation, and the cavalry pursued and routed the enemy.
Jacob watched quietly, thinking silently.
As a great civilized and military power in the East, Xia's strength seemed to be even higher than that of Rome, a powerful power in the West.
It doesn’t matter if you didn’t succeed this time, you’ll find another chance next time.
Constantinople can't be counted on, and they sometimes even collude with the Russians, so it's better to look east.