Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1663
"Xia people use slaves everywhere..." After leaving Yanqi, Elbrus looked at the shacks like "rabbit holes" on the side of the road, a little surprised.

Really down the rabbit hole!Maybe a little bigger, but no essential difference.

The entrance of the cave is very narrow, allowing only one person to enter and exit.The outside is dirty, and it is covered with branches and leaves. I don't know if it is to block the wind and sand or the sun.

It was dark inside the cave, and some daily necessities could be vaguely seen.A layer of reed thatch is spread at the bottom, which is not only moisture-proof, but also seems to be used as a bed for people to lie down and sleep.

Not far from the rabbit hole, groups of "slaves" were laughing and laughing, sharpening knives, and preparing carriages.Look at the golden yellow wheat in the field, which is ready to be harvested.

"After harvesting the wheat, there is still time to plant a crop of miscellaneous grains." Tam leaned over and said in a low voice.

Elbrus didn't seem to hear, and was still in a state of hell: the Xia slaves were too—happier!
As far as their living conditions are concerned, there are not many places like this in Persia.

Seeing that Elbrus didn't speak, Tam didn't care.He saw another fact from it: the scale of reclamation by the Xia people in the border area may be larger than anyone imagined.

He looked through the archives of 200 years ago and learned that the people of Tang mainly obtained sufficient food in Karasa, Solimi, Bieshabali and other places through military reclamation, and then supported them to fight everywhere.

The Xia people seem to have inherited this method, but it is more professional - slaves farming, soldiers fighting.

This may consume more, but it undoubtedly guarantees the combat effectiveness of the border army. This can be seen from the several confrontations in the past few years: there are many veterans with rich war experience, and the recruits have not been wasted in military reclamation. Instead, they trained, marched, and fought normally under the leadership of veterans. After fighting for two years, they gradually matured.

It's just - these slaves are indeed too obedient.Looking at the wheat field again, it doesn't look like it's being fooled casually.Some plots have already started to be harvested, and they are so careful that they even pick up the ears of wheat left on the ground.If a bird comes to eat, drive it away on the spot, as if seeing an enemy.

The scene struck Tam as counterintuitive: They seemed to be protecting their own property, not the slave owners.

"Did you see anything?" Elbrus suddenly walked up to him while he was thinking about it, and asked in a low voice.

No need to whisper, because there are officials and soldiers from Xia who accompanied and protected them.

"Their logistics are slowly improving, and it may have lasted for more than a year." Tam pointed to those fields, and said: "These fields obviously cannot be reclaimed in one year, at least two years, even Three years."

"You mean it's getting easier for the Xia people to raise food? Can they start wars more frequently?" Elbrus asked.

"I think—" Tam thought for a while, and said: "The grain production of the Xia Kingdom in the border areas must have increased significantly. But most of these increased grains, as well as the cattle, sheep, and food they plundered across the border, were added The population has been consumed. The newly added soldiers, craftsmen, scholars, serfs, etc., have you seen them on the road?"

Elbrus was silent for a moment.

Indeed, when they went north from Karasa, they did encounter a considerable number of immigrant teams.I heard that most of them are the families of the soldiers of the Xia State Frontier Corps, as well as the craftsmen who came from the east. These people must consume food.

"So, do you think Xia Guo might want to stop their aggression?"

"On the contrary." Tam said: "The temporary retreat is to advance better. I think that if the Xia people in Karasa and other places stabilize their rule and accumulate sufficient logistics materials, they will launch far more The consequences of a large-scale military operation that you and I imagine could be overwhelming."

"Are you suggesting that I change my negotiating tactics?" Elbrus asked.

"Dear Dihkan, you are the biggest, you have the final say." Tam didn't answer directly.

Elbrus turned around angrily, still muttering words, as if cursing.

******
The little episode passed quickly.

The people who rested for a while continued on the road, and moved very quickly, and arrived in Gaochang on June [-].

As one of the two highest families in Gaochang, the Lian family is holding a grand feast for officials, generals, relatives and friends from all walks of life.

As the Persian mission, they were honored by Li Congke, the general who escorted them, and they were also given seats, where they could eat and drink.

The table was arranged under a grape arbor.

In Gaochang in late June, the sun was scorching hot, so the banquet was only held in the evening, and there was a cool breeze on the grape trellises, so I didn't feel too uncomfortable.

Tam took a Sogdian translator, wandered around, and came back soon.

"I heard that a man named Lian Tongxian from the Lian family was admitted to Jinshi and was awarded an official position. The Lian family was very happy and decided to take out bread (naan), fine wine (wine), meat (mutton), fruits (nai, plum, apricot) to entertain guests,” Tam said.

Elbrus thought about it carefully before he understood the meaning of the word "Jinshi".

Based on the limited information he received, this seems to be an official selection method that existed during the Tang Empire.Through examinations, officials such as administration, finance, justice, and history are recruited, but this should only be one of the channels for recruiting officials, because their nobles can also be officials.

"Doesn't that sound like good news?" he asked.

"Very bad news." Tam nodded solemnly: "This means that Aslan Khan's old ministry recognized the rule of the conqueror. They will no longer resist and instead integrate into this empire. And as a member of them, contribute to this huge empire. In short, the Xia people no longer need to deal with endless rebellions. They can free up more energy, and even get assistance from local forces such as the Lian family. Do more of what they want to do."

"Why did Lian Tongxian pass the Jinshi exam?" Elbrus asked, "They must not be very good at this. Just like I can't understand many things in Baghdad, Gaochang people can understand the culture of Luoyang and Chang'an very well ?"

"Because the Emperor Xia gave the newly conquered region a Jinshi quota." Tam said helplessly: "Generally speaking, this quota will only be competed between the two most famous local families, and this time the Lian family won. Their family got a valuable official seat, so the whole family rejoiced."

Elbrus fell silent.

Cheerful music sounded not far away, and the beautiful girl also danced. Everyone kept to the beat and cheered loudly.

Elbrus and Tam looked at each other.

"Now you suggest that I change my negotiating tactics?" asked Elbrus.

"If you can..." Tamm said with difficulty, "I suggest lowering the tone."

As two people who grew up in the aristocratic political environment, they are very aware of the energy of the local aristocracy.

It is no exaggeration to say that they are the cornerstone of stabilizing the situation on the ground.Because their network of relationships is too complex and vast, their families often have private armed forces, and their reserves of food, equipment, and military personnel cannot be underestimated, and they can even incite local ignorant serfs to charge for them.

Now that the nobles of Gaochang have accepted the Xia Empire's way of doing things, it means that they no longer intend to continue to resist.This is not good news for Persia. The enemy's rear is more stable, so stable that it makes people feel hopeless.

"How to deal with Samani?" Elbrus asked again.

"You are the plenipotentiary envoy, this is your domain." Tamm said respectfully.

Elbrus was a little angry again.

However, his attention was quickly diverted, because Muja Mizhida of the Manichaeism appeared in the field, chatting and laughing with the officials of Xizhou.

But this is not the most important thing. The important thing is that there seem to be two guests behind him: the Nestorian priest.

Elbrus' eyelids twitched.

Since last year, there have been a lot of "malicious" news in places such as Samarkand, Shashi, and Talas: a large number of Turkic people who believe in Nestorianism threatened to restore the Nestorian cathedral in Talas—this The church is currently converted into the Temple of the Creator.

Nestorianism, Buddhism, and Manichaeism all seem to have had close ties with Xia officials.

The local nobles in Gaochang also flattered them very much.

This is only five short years!
Only five years after the fall of Gaochang, the situation has been completely stabilized. What else can he say?
******
From Gaochang to the east, the road is not easy to walk.

Heat and drought bother every pedestrian.

I can't drink enough water, the sun makes me drowsy, and a gust of sand blows from time to time, almost filling my mouth and nose.

At the end of June, they arrived in Illinois.

Here, Tam keenly found many more dwellings, and immediately reported to Elbrus.

In fact he didn't need to report because the houses were so new.The open fields and newly dug wells and ditches next to the houses are also full of brand new traces.Obviously, this is a newly established settlement, a new area of ​​agricultural reclamation, and the Xia people have been working hard to improve the supply capacity of their communication lines.

Many temporary camps have been set up outside the city of Yizhou, and they are full of men, women and children at the moment.

Their faces were covered with dust, their clothes were dirty and worn out.

The woman is crying, the man is lamenting, only the child is the happiest, playing happily in the sand, by the woods, and by the grass.

This time without Tam's reminder, Elbrus could see it: women and children appeared, so there must be a large number of complete families here. They took their only belongings and headed west all the way. What are they doing? ,it goes without saying.

There were also many men who seemed to be craftsmen. Several of them shared a camel and tied tools and luggage to the back of the camel.

"In the past year, I heard that many Tucharistan merchants went to Karasa to buy goods and shipped them back to various tribes for sale." Tam suddenly said: "The governor and generals of the South Amu Darya Province complained again and again, because those stupid The Tocharians no longer trade silver with them."

"You mean, the Xia people want to use this method to win over the Tocharians and make them betray Bukhara?" Elbrus asked.

"The possibility is not small." Tam said: "Karasha's handicraft industry should not be particularly developed. But the Xia people have a whole set of plans, the purpose is very clear, and many difficulties have been eliminated, and their plans are firmly implemented. .Let’s not say that they can succeed, just this kind of executive ability makes people feel a little creepy. Xud Shaihan’s will has been well implemented, he is really a great king, the Lord of the Lucky Meeting of the Stars... ..."

"Only the Creator is omnipotent." Elbrus said solemnly.

"You're right," Tam agreed.

"How many craftsmen did you see along the way?"

"There's always a few hundred."

"How capable are they?"

"Judging from the captured armor and weapons of the Xia Kingdom, they are no worse than Persia."

"Do you have any suggestion now?" asked Elbrus.

Tam finally stopped evading. He looked around and said in a low voice, "It's time to end the war."

"I don't have this right." Elbrus shook his head and said, "Only the grand vizier can make this decision."

"Your mission itself represents the attitude of the Grand Vizier," Tam said.

"The grand vizier is also very difficult. Not only does he have to deal with external enemies..."

"Be optimistic about Samani first, don't let him find an opportunity to slip away." Tam said vaguely: "You are the special envoy, you know much more than me, and you make the decision."

Elbrus laughed suddenly and said, "You are smarter than I thought."

Tam sighed, his mind is no longer on negotiations, he wants to understand and observe this country more deeply.

On June 29, the mission left Illinois and traveled eastward.

They speeded up, and it took only one month to cross Shazhou and Suzhou and arrive in Ganzhou.

In mid-August, I passed Liangzhou.

At the beginning of September, they entered the core area of ​​Xia Kingdom: Lingzhou.

In the wilderness after the autumn harvest, thousands of horses are galloping, and battle flags are like clouds.

In the wide and winding river, the sails are dotted, and the flow is endless.

Even in the mountains in the distance, there are countless mountain people, carrying bows and knives, going down the mountain to practice.

It is really a bandit country with a strong military tradition.

Elbrus, Tam and others didn't stay here for long, they crossed the entire Hetao Grassland and headed towards Suizhou.

(End of this chapter)