Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1550 Take him away

After capturing Yanqi, the Fan soldiers from various tribes in Yinshan also received orders to retreat one after another.

They are not professional warriors, and they have a lot of things to do at home.It's been seven or eight months, and the family is not sure what will happen—on this matter, don't put too much trust in the integrity of the chieftains.

Zangdu retained more than [-] forbidden troops to guard Yanqi, and led the main force back to Gaochang for food to reduce consumption.

On Gaochang's side, convoys and camel teams that had brought supplies returned east one after another, taking away all the spoils - most of which had been distributed to the soldiers.

Throughout the winter and spring seasons to come, Dunhuang will continue to vigorously transfer materials, grain and grass, and pile them up to Gaochang and even Yanqi.

There is no shortage of supplies now.In fact, after 30 years of immigration and reclamation, and a relatively stable environment, the wealth accumulated in Hexi and Longyou has been considerable.No matter how wars are raging in the Kanto region, they are really living in peace, and it has been more than one generation.

The problem is how to deliver materials to the front line, which is the bottleneck.

Shao Shude suddenly thought of Man Qing.

The Western Regions in the Ming and Qing dynasties were actually far inferior to those in the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties. There is no doubt that this pot should be deducted from the Mongols. Religious jihads may also get a share, but the big head is still on Mongolia.

This group of people is too much, not only harming the Western Regions, but also harming Central Asia, destroying prosperous cities one after another, causing the local population to drop sharply, civilization to regress, and history to appear faulty.

Is the so-called feudal dynasty formed by the loose tribal federations in modern Central Asia really as prosperous as the city-states of the Sui and Tang Dynasties?I'm afraid there is a question mark, at least productivity and civilization and art are far inferior.

When the Manchus and the Junggars fought fiercely and were preparing to march westward, there were almost no people in Turpan, so that the Manchurian government had to implement military settlements to raise food and grass.

The Xie and Lian families who came out of Gaochang and served as officials in the Yuan Dynasty have long since disappeared, because Turpan no longer has the Karez wells extending in all directions, prosperous cities, developed handicrafts, and Only the ignorant and illiterate, and the number has dropped sharply.

The rise of the Mongols is indeed a disaster, whether it is for the Han people or the people of various ethnic groups in the Western Regions and Central Asia.

The Manchu Qing government at that time should be very painful.If you want to march west, but you are faced with a large area of ​​sparsely populated areas, what can you do.

"Baa baa..." Groups of skinny sheep were driven into the pen, and the people of Gaochang worked tirelessly to cut large bundles of hay from the mountainside to serve as winter food for livestock.

Forage is sometimes a luxury in semi-arid regions.

The camels lie on the ground, chewing straw carelessly.Occasionally, when wind and sand hit, they just closed their eyes slightly, without any fear.

In this war, apart from the fighting of warriors, camels really contributed a lot.Enduring hunger and thirst, they crossed the desert and tried their best to transport supplies to Gaochang.

Later generations of camels transporting coal to Beijing in the late Qing Dynasty could transport 433.28 catties per peak, which is close to the weight of four dendrobiums ([-] catties) of millet and wheat, which is amazing.

From Tingzhou to Gaochang, Shao Shude drove all kinds of materials and files, and they were also carried by camels and horse-drawn carts. According to legend, every time Galdan moved, his collection of books would be carried by [-] camels. It has the smell of grassland sweat.

Thousands of camels were organized in Dunhuang to transfer materials, plus pack horses, donkey carts, mule horses, horse-drawn carts, etc. All kinds of tools were used. They were transported to the west, but their efforts could only support an army of 6 to [-] people, which was the soldiers and horses that Zang Dubao originally brought.

Although the local area of ​​Gaochang can provide some food and grass, if it is exhausted, it will only support [-] to [-] warriors who have not been engaged in production all the year round.

Therefore, some troops who only eat food but fight and stretch their hips have to withdraw as soon as possible to reduce consumption as much as possible.

Shao Shude even sent some troops to Tingzhou to use the cattle and sheep brought over last year to provide supplies—of course, the various tribes in Tingzhou can also collect some livestock and hay, and the farmland reclaimed along the foothills can also provide some corn and wheat.

Next year, with the exhaustion of the people in the Hexi states and the consumption of the accumulated materials in Yi, Xi, and Ting states, he will have to take advantage of the rotation of the Fan soldiers to further reduce consumption.The saved materials can also support a small number of immigrants going west.

"The dynasties of the Central Plains conquered the west and won the battle, but they couldn't garrison a large army for a long time. In the end, they could only rule by tyranny." Standing on the edge of a wasteland, Shao Shude said: "This year, the people of Hexi have really suffered to death. "

Yang Jue laughed, and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that exaggerated. In Qibei and Qinan grasslands, some cattle, sheep, horses, and camels can be collected next year, and transported to Beiting through the grasslands. At that time, it will be enough to raise fat, and there will be meat and milk." , the sergeants don’t have to eat so much rice noodles.”

"Cows and sheep don't grow in the ground. Livestock has been requisitioned for two consecutive years. Even if the government subsidizes money and food, the overall impact is still not good." Shao Shude said: "We will requisition next year, and stop the year after."

"Yes." Yang Jue wrote it down.

The two looked at the wasteland in front of them together.

Among the soldiers accompanying the army, some were slave guards from the four palaces of Changxia, Woyang, Yulin, and Hongyuan, about [-] people.

They herded and farmed at ordinary times, trained intensively in winter leisure, and participated in many battles intermittently, and it can even be said that they have run through Shao Shude's entire military career.

Shao Sheng still likes this army very much, not only because they are his own, but more importantly, they are obedient. For example, they are now digging wells and ditches and building a brand new Karez under the guidance of local officials.

Xizhou has no shortage of land.It can be said that there is as much arable land as there is, but what is lacking is water.The wells and ditches are the most important thing, anyway, idle is idle, taking advantage of the fact that there will be no war, dig as much as you can, maybe there will be more irrigated farmland when next year's spring planting.

Shao Shude was very satisfied when he saw them sweating profusely.

Where can I find soldiers who are willing to do dirty work and even farm the fields?

In the past, Le Yanzhen, an envoy of Weibo Jiedu, caused anger and resentment for repairing the outer city of Weizhou, and both father and son died.

Later, Youqian asked Wu Yongdu to dig a ditch to prepare for the construction of the city wall, which led to a large-scale rebellion.

From the point of view of warriors, they are soldiers, they can only kill people, and they can't do chores that masters can do. You let us do these things, don't you think about it?

Of course, there are no absolutes.At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Five Dynasties, the warriors did not accept this. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, some people were willing to do it, and in the Northern Song Dynasty, even more people were willing to do it.

The spirits of the warriors are worn away bit by bit.

"Your Majesty, King Khotan is here." Han Quanhui walked over and reported in a low voice.

Shao Shude returned under the canopy of the imperial umbrella, straightened his dragon robe, and said, "Let him come over."

Li Shengtian soon arrived, prostrated himself on the ground, and said: "Your Majesty, the King of Yutian, the great treasure, Li Shengtian, pays his respects."

Li Shengtian's father received the title of "King of Yutian, Great Treasure" from the imperial court a few years ago. Li Shengtian inherited this title as a servant of the Great Xia.

"Get up, sit down." Shao Shude brewed his emotions, and said in a gentle tone with a kind face.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Shengtian did not refuse, sat on the bed diagonally across from him, and raised his head.

Shao Shude looked at this man who was somewhat famous in history.

The first impression is that he is very young, and the second impression is that the brows are too rigid, and he should be a person who would rather bend than bend.

"What is the household registration in Khotan?" Shao Shude asked.

"With a household registration of 20, you can win [-] troops." Li Shengtian said as he sat there upright.

Shao Shude did not comment on whether what he said was true or not, but followed his words and praised: "Khotan's soldiers attacked Kucha, won two battles and two victories, and directly made the Uighurs flee in embarrassment. It is indeed possible to fight."

According to Zang Dubao, Khotan dispatched more than 2 cavalry to attack Kucha directly.There were not many Uighur soldiers, only a few thousand. The two sides fought outside the city.

Judging from these alone, Khotan should have a certain combat effectiveness, but it is not obvious how strong it is.But Shao Shude didn't think about taking other people's land, so it didn't matter.

"Wang Shi attacked in two directions, swept Yi, Xi, and Ting in a few months, and returned to Yanqi. This is the real sweep of thousands of troops." Li Shengtian replied.

Shao Shude smiled and said, "I'm very happy that Li Qing thinks so. Khotan is a vassal of the Great Xia, and the affairs of the Western Regions will have a lot to rely on in the future."

"It is the duty of a subject to share the concerns of the imperial court." Li Shengtian replied.

The two monarchs and ministers looked at each other and laughed happily.

Yang Jue smiled apologetically.After the laughter subsided, he cleared his throat and asked, "I wonder if the King of Khotan has heard of Satuk?"

"Ogulchak's nephew?" Li Shengtian frowned and said, "This is an ambitious man."

Shule is next door to Khotan, so of course Li Shengtian knew about it.

However, the establishment of Shule as the capital of the Great Uyghur Kingdom is actually a problem left over from history.After Ogurchak's old capital Talas was taken away by the Persians, he moved his capital to Shule.Even after marrying his sister-in-law and inheriting his brother's territory, he did not move the capital.Perhaps, he felt that Persia was too powerful and the west was too chaotic, so it would be more reassuring to put the capital on the east.

"How much do you know?" Shao Shude asked.

"This man Satuk built a Gulam guard. The two thousand soldiers were all under his command, and even his uncle could not command them. When Ogurchak was fighting in the west, Satuk Frequently leading the army, the Gulam army played the role of the final word, and its reputation is not small." Li Shengtian said: "Its strength is no worse than that of the Khotan monk army."

Hearing the word "Monk Army", Shao Shude was a little surprised, but felt it was reasonable.

Li Shengtian seems to be a devout Buddhist, and the fifty guards around him are all elites selected from major temples, who follow him all the year round.

Suddenly, Shao Shude felt a little ridiculous.

Maybe this is the true face of Buddhism?The gentle monks in Chinese history in later generations may be the result of being severely punished.

Buddhism, which has not been rectified, may be very mobile. It has its own manor economy and raised warriors. They make weapons, practice martial arts, lend usury, interfere in politics, and penetrate into every corner of society.

The so-called Buddhist country in the Western Regions may be understood directly in the literal sense as the country of the Buddha.

Shao Shude automatically substituted the scenes of bishops and nobles fighting for power and profit under the European feudal system in later generations, which I found very interesting.

"Can you divorce Uncle Ogurchak and Nephew?" Shao Shude asked.

"You can try it." Li Shengtian thought for a while and said.

But he was a little puzzled, why did he do this?

"How can you allow other people to snore on the side of the couch?" Shao Shude glanced at him, and said, "Do you know that Satuk is ambitious, secretly colluding with outsiders, intending to usurp uncle's position?"

"I heard about this a little bit. There was a disturbance in Shule that year." Li Shengtian said: "According to the grassland custom, Ogurchak married his elder brother's wife and inherited the Khan throne, so Satuke became his stepson. But Ogurchak also has his own son, and he didn't want to pass the throne to Satuk, so the relationship between the uncle and nephew was relatively estranged..."

According to Li Shengtian, Ogurchak is a person who adheres to the Uighur tradition.Even though many Uighurs had converted to Manichaeism, he still insisted on believing in shamanism.

Because he wanted his own son to succeed him, he has been sending people to monitor his nephew. This is no secret in Shule.

The uncle and nephew were on guard against each other.Anyone with a discerning eye can see that if this continues, sooner or later they will make trouble, and one of them must die.

"I want to crusade against this Uyghur country." Shao Shude said suddenly: "Some opportunities, once gone, will never come again. Li Qing must be very clear about what kind of person Ogulchak is. His ability is limited, and his ambition is limited." That way, there is no strong desire to expand the faith. Satuk is ambitious, and he has been trained in the Gulam Guard for many years, and he is brave and good at fighting. This person is very dangerous, so it is better to get rid of it as soon as possible."

Li Shengtian thought for a long time, then raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty wants to attack Shule?"

"Of course." Shao Shude didn't hide anything, and said bluntly: "I am old, but Satuk is like the rising sun. After my death, he can still do evil for a long time. If so, let me take him away before I die. let's go."

Hearing such cold words made Li Shengtian's hair stand on end.

He just thought that Satuk was dangerous, so he wanted to take him away, and his tone was firm without leaving any room for it, which made Li Shengtian's back subconsciously covered with white sweat.

"What does Your Majesty want to do?" Li Shengtian swallowed and asked.

"Some plans have actually already started." Shao Shude smiled and said, "Be prepared when you go back, and wait for my order. I will personally lead the army to Kucha next year."

"I obey the order." Li Shengtian responded immediately, paused, and said, "Since the Tang Dynasty, Qiuci has always been an important town in Anxi. This is the king's land. I dare not live in it. I would like to dedicate it to the court."

"Very well, it will benefit you." Shao Shude smiled gratifiedly.

(End of this chapter)