Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1554
Surprisingly, the Turkic people actually know how to farm.

The vicinity of Atami is not all the pastures that Liu Mian imagined.On the contrary, at least in the eastern half of the lake area, there is a lot of farmland.

"They are not Turks." Seeing that Liu Mian couldn't stop looking around, Ba Saigan explained: "When the Silk Road was still open in the past, Atami was the only way to go, and many people stayed behind as they walked. , living in this beautiful landscape. No one does not think they are Turkic people, they are Turkic people, our relatives.”

Cao Ah Leo simply translated it.

Liu Mian nodded with a smile and continued to look at the villages.

There are wells and ditches in the village, and I don't know where I learned the technology.Central Plains?Persia?

But where there are no wells and ditches, a lot of farmland has also been opened up.It seems that the rain here is not too scarce, and there should be a lot of rivers.

"The eastern half of the lake area is relatively prosperous." This is not the first time Cao Alai has come, and he explained to Liu Mian in a low voice: "There are more than a hundred rivers in the entire lake area, and a lot of farmland has been opened up along the rivers, usually millet. The special people are planting. Don’t listen to what he said about Turkic people, there is nothing, they are all rough and don’t understand.”

"The western half of the lake area has less rain, mainly relying on wells and canals, and the melting ice and snow at the turn of spring and summer, which waters many wheat fields and orchards."

"This lake is very big, and the water is salty, so people can't drink it. But the lake near the shore is not so salty, and cattle and sheep often come to drink it. There are a lot of fish in the lake, but few people catch them. I suspect that those fish When it becomes a spirit, a flick of its tail can capsize a boat."

"There are a lot of pastures nearby, Turkic people shuttle between villages to graze, and some even go to the mountains to graze and hunt."

"If you go to Suiye City from Qiuci, Shule, Khotan, etc., it is most convenient to go to Rehai. When the Uyghurs did not move westward, many merchants passed by here. But the Uyghurs changed everything. They suppressed Su Special merchants, robbing business travel, trying to monopolize the East-West trade by themselves, and ended up ruining this line.”

"Ogulchak is an idiot. He used to control such a fertile territory, but he couldn't beat the Persians. Atami Turks followed him, and sooner or later they would be defeated."

"These Turks were originally vassals of the Great Uyghur Kingdom, but after King Pugu defeated the Uighurs in Anxi, these people took advantage of the wind and took refuge in King Pugu again. It has been 20 years."

"Gaochang's control over them is not very strong. Without the help of our Manichaeism, these Turkic people would have left long ago."

"Don't listen to people talking nonsense that they have 20 tents. It's nothing. Even if you count the Turks from the east of Suiye to Atami, and even the Turks in the Yili River area, there may not be a total of 20 tents. 100 tents, haha, There must be [-] million people, and with this capital, Pang Teqin and Pugujun had to surrender to them in turn."

Cao Aliao babbled a lot, which may have been mixed with a lot of subjective things, but generally it sounded very reliable.Liu Mian nodded and smiled, expressing his gratitude.

Pusaigan walked ahead, regardless of what they said.When they saw a courtyard with three fronts and backs, all the visitors were shocked.

This style is too "tang".

"I heard that it was the other courtyard where Han Sizhong watched the fish 200 years ago. I don't know how many times it has passed, and now it has fallen into the hands of Ba Saigan." Cao Alai said.

Liu Mian stood outside the door for a long time, watching the gate carefully.

After a long time, he shook his head and smiled wryly.Suiye City has been lost to others, so what is a house?
When the Tang army came to the Western Regions, it was true that they could defeat the enemy, but the Tang army could not stay for a long time, and sooner or later they had to go home.If the Western Regions continue to have only more than 2 soldiers left behind, these places still cannot be kept.

******
After entering the hall, Ba Saigan sent some candied fruits to entertain the guests, then sat opposite and asked, "Did you come from the North Court?"

"Yes." Cao Ah Liao replied while acting as an interpreter.

"Have you met Ge Luolu people?" Bosegan asked.

"I was beaten away." Cao Ah Liao briefly explained the reason.

In fact, what Xia Jun fought off were only some profit-hungry Ge Luolu horse bandits.The Ge Luolu people are not a whole, but a loose union composed of three major clans, the so-called Ge Luolu with three surnames.

Each part has a high degree of freedom. It is possible that some parts are friendly with you, others are indifferent to you, and some parts secretly rob your cattle and sheep. This is normal on the grassland.

Especially when Ogurchak lost consecutive battles and his prestige plummeted, the Ge Luolu people may not be very obedient.

This is the political ethics of the grassland, and you have to adapt to it.

After listening to Cao Ale's words, Bosegan suddenly stood up irritably.

Cao Ah Liao looked at him in surprise, while Liu Mian sat quietly.

"In the past, the Gaochang Uyghurs brought great victories, and a hundred thousand cavalry came to Rehai to threaten us to surrender." Ba Saigan's voice was a little annoyed, and he said: "We swallowed this breath and presented our horses. , cloth, cattle and sheep, Pugu Heavenly King is satisfied and departs.”

"Then Basil came and asked us to surrender. We asked Gao Chang for help, and we waited for several months, but there was nothing. If the Persians did not attack in the west and Basil was too busy to take care of himself, we would have to suffer another humiliation."

"We can't even protect our own subjects, so why do we submit to him? Are we cheap?"

"You—ah, just like your name, what other skills do you have besides making money? Is Manichaeism the state religion in Xia Kingdom? If it is not even a state religion, how will you influence the emperor of Xia Kingdom? time to help?"

Cao Ah Leo has been translating.

After listening for a while, Liu Mian suddenly said, "The Rehai Turks are the remnants of the Tuqi Shi Khanate?"

"What do you ask these for?" Bosegan asked.

"Tuqi Shi has repeatedly attached to the Tang Dynasty, and he has been a fan screen in the world, which shows that the monarchs of all dynasties have far-sightedness." Liu Mian said.

"What are you trying to say?" Bosegan asked.

"Does the chief know that Daxia has unified the Central Plains, defeated the tribes in the northern grasslands, and shocked the neighbors?" Liu Mian asked.

"I heard something."

"Then do you know that half a year ago, the Great Xiazi held a national meeting in the Uighur Yazhang, and all the chieftains shared the honorary title 'Innately Wise and Supreme Khan'?"

After Cao Ahliao finished translating, Bosegan was silent for a long time, and then asked with some disbelief: "How can a Han Chinese become a sweat in the grassland? Could it be that he moved his capital to Heichengzi?"

"Li Shimin was given the title of 'Tian Khan' by all the ministries. No one on the grassland can go against his will." Liu Mian said.

When Ba Saigan heard the word Li Shimin, the corners of his mouth twitched.

This is the man who ruined the great cause of the Turks!
After the collapse of the Turkic Khanate, the small Khanates that were established one after another were difficult to restore their past glory.Just like after the fall of the Uighur, whether it is Pu Gujun or Pang Teqin, they can only rule the roost, and they can never return to their heyday.

"I'm afraid the chief doesn't know yet that the Great Xia King's Division has already descended to Yanqi and Kucha, and a hundred thousand troops can come to Rehai at any time, just like King Pugu back then." Liu Mian said again.

"Qiuci and Yanqi are also occupied?" Bassegan was a little unconvinced.

"Whether it is true or not, the chief will send someone to inquire about it. The real one can't be fake, and the fake one can't be true." Liu Mian said: "Actually, the time for Master Wang to attack Kucha is not short. There should be a lot of Kucha people heading west. If you run away, you might end up in Atami."

This time, Basaigan was really anxious, even a little scared.

They don't want to fight with anyone, they just want to preserve themselves in this troubled world, and just sit back and watch success or failure—the current Yili River Valley, Suiye and even the vast area to the south is a troubled world where you come and go.

Whoever is strong, Atami Turks will take refuge in whomever, this is the iron law.

The Gaochang Uighurs were all wiped out by the Xia people, and Yanqi and Qiuci, which were close at hand, were also captured. Will they stop there?If you don't stop, who will you hit next?

It is a matter of life and death for the tribe, and no one can take these matters lightly.

Ba Saigan called two people, leaned close to their ears, and gave instructions in a low voice.

The two nodded frequently, and then left.

"You guys stay here first, I'll come back in a few days." Ba Saiqian said, and left in a hurry, ignoring the guests.

******
After Ba Saigan left, Cao Ah Liao was a little anxious.

He keenly felt that his so-called Manichaeism status could not be of much help in such a major matter, which made him a little frustrated.

However, Liu Mian kept comforting him, saying that without his recommendation, it would not be easy for them to get in touch with Atami Turkic.

Cao Ah listened and made peace.

The Turkic people did not neglect the distinguished guests, and there was no shortage of food and water every day, and they even had maidservants and musicians who did not know where to find them to serve them.

Sun Shuxian sent someone out every day to report Wang Chongwen's safety, but there was nothing else going on for a while.

When Liu Mian is free, he can't help thinking about the future.

Along the way, what left the deepest impression on him was the Yili River Valley, which is truly a land of abundant water and grass, much better than Gaochang and Beiting.

Atami is actually not too bad.

If enough wells and ditches are dug to irrigate the farmland, many people can be fed.Moreover, fishing can be done in the lake, and grazing can be done both up and down the mountain.The most important thing is that Rehai can communicate with Qiuci, Shule and even Yanqi and Khotan, and it is an important intermediate node of the ancient Silk Road.

With Yili River Valley and Rehai in hand, it is much easier to seek Suiye from Xitu.

Backed by a big country, and moving westward, and tidying up the scattered tribes and princes here, if you are lucky, you can have a solid foundation-luck is actually quite important.

Of course, the most important thing is the support of the saint.Without this, even if these foreigners are subdued for a while, they will rebel again in the future. This is an inevitable thing.

Three days later, when Cao Ah Leo and Liu Mian were playing chess to kill time, Pusaigan came in a hurry.

The leader of the Sunong clan came with him.

"I asked the people from Kucha who escaped from the disaster, and it's true." Bassegan looked very complicated.

Liu Mian put down the chess pieces and asked, "Has Chief Basaigan made a decision?"

"I'll go with you to Gaochang and meet Supreme Khan." Bosegan said.

In troubled times, one always has to choose a big power to join, otherwise it will be difficult to gain a foothold.It is not surprising that Atami Turks have this idea.

Cao Ah was overjoyed when he heard this.

Liu Mian thought of another thing: when dealing with Ogurchak in the future, Atami Turkic might also come in handy.

This is a force sandwiched between Persia, Uyghur and Daxia, the position is good.

If you meet a saint, as long as you are not too stupid, the ending should be good.

It's just that I have to "sick" first.

("Liu Mian" was changed to "Liu Mian". This was influenced by @顺富书友, he said that "Mian" is the same as "Mian", which successfully led me astray.)
(End of this chapter)