Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

When crossing the Yellow River from Suizhou, Tam subconsciously looked at the endless hills behind him.

This is Suizhou, and the first official appointment Xude Shoihan received was to serve as the governor of Suizhou.

According to the local people, it used to be very poor.

The Dangxiang barbarians and the Tang people also got along very unpleasantly, competing for water, land, and pastures, and various conflicts.

On the whole, it is a bit similar to the situation on Tocharustan.

What really changed here was Shoi Khan.

On the one hand, he greatly improved the local living environment, built more reservoirs, ditches, and irrigated farmland, alleviating conflicts.On the other hand, he took advantage of the chaotic situation to fight outwards, and put the local population who could not survive into the battlefield-this is a business that can never lose money.

Tam thought again that this might also be the overall national strategy of the Xia Kingdom...

"Since ancient times, traveling is really the best way to understand foreigners." While waiting for the boat at the ferry, Tam looked at the business travelers gathered nearby and said, "Look, even though there is a war, there are still Persian merchants who come to Xiaguo .Ha, he's a little scared to see us."

Elbrus saw it too, but made no comment.But he attaches great importance to the grassland shepherds who are trying to cross the river to the west and participate in training.

After fighting for several years, if we say who the Persians hate the most, then it must be those poor Uyghurs, Turks, Ge Luolu, and Zangmo people.The poorer you are, the more vicious you are, the more unreserved you are when you rob, and the greater the damage you cause.

Because of Daweiqi's insistence, the main force of Persia was mostly used to deal with the regular army of Xia, which gave the grassland shepherds a lot of room to play.Moreover, quite a few of them dared to fight and fight hard. They went deep south, and small groups of troops couldn't deal with it at all, so that places such as Shashi suffered huge damage, and cities such as Talas were almost in ruins. They are discussing whether to give up the land they seized from the Uyghurs more than 20 years ago.

"I hope these horse bandits from the prairie go to hell." Elbrus muttered.

Tam agreed with him.

In fact, he once described the strict discipline of the army under the leadership of Shoi Khan in "Hu Dazhi Whip": they even robbed so strictly——

"...He is like a noble lion, who will crush the stubborn enemy into powder, and magnanimously pardon the enemies who prostrate under his feet...He is an absolute autocratic monarch, he is very active, after every victory, Won't pause to catch his breath. He secured his empire, and took proper measures against newly conquered areas... We have no reason to blame such a foreign king, idolater, who is interested in profit as well as honor."

"I vaguely heard..." The ferry came. Elbrus boarded the boat first under the urging of the guards. The grassland is an enemy of the Xia Kingdom, is there any chance here?"

As one of the few scholars in Persia who studied Xia, Tam thought for a while and asked a question: "Our place is already very close to the grassland, and you have also seen a large number of grassland soldiers coming for training. Who do you think they obeyed more, between Shoi Khan and Ambakian?"

"Who insists on whom?"

"It's not just these." Tam said: "I contacted a few people. According to them, I concluded that Shoi Khan has the qualities of prudence, kindness, and justice. He not only won military victories , His political victory made all grassland careerists ashamed. Wherever he went, there was a sea of ​​welcome.”

Elbrus gave Tam a suspicious look.

Tam simply shut up.

The boat quickly reached the other side.Everyone rested for a while, waited for other people and supplies to cross the river, and then moved on.

******
In mid-October, they arrived in Luzhou, a city that has experienced decades of devastation and has only recovered a little.

Next to the post house, there is a Huangzhuang belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Tam walked up and down the outside, even looking over his head, because he saw a lot of children being sent in.

"They are all unwanted children by the family." The boy guarding the gate swung the horizontal knife at his waist, telling Tam to stay away.

Tam nodded, then pulled the interpreter and continued to ask—he has been learning Chinese for the past two years, but the progress is not satisfactory, and he still has to rely on the interpreter when encountering complex communications.

"The emperor often takes in orphans, raises them, teaches them knowledge and martial arts. These people are very reliable and can do anything. They can farm, trade, or fight wars. They are also willing to go to places where the environment is very harsh." The translator whispered conveyed.

"How did the orphans get here?" Tam asked.

The translator asked for a while, and said: "In the past, most of them were war orphans, but now there are many abandoned babies. Huangzhuang, which takes abandoned babies, will specially hire wet nurses to take care of them. His Majesty the Emperor believes that a healthy child who grows up normally has The value created in his life will be far greater than the expenditure of Huangzhuang. Therefore, he is willing to take in the children and give them proper education."

"How many children are there now?"

"It could be thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands."

Tam shook his head helplessly.He knew that these people were too low level to get accurate figures from them.

He tentatively thinks that there are 1 people, which is also a terrible number.

Yes, that is "scary".Because the Creator Temple also adopts some orphans, the jihad troops formed by them are more powerful than ordinary troops, and their characteristics are loyalty, bravery, and fanaticism.

These grown-up kids could do dangerous work, Tam was sure.

Fortunately, Shoi Khan did not use them on the battlefield, but sent them to do business, farm, and sail. This is good news.

"Are there any foreigners among these children?" Tam couldn't help asking again.

The gatekeeper boy was already impatient, and after a few hasty answers, he waved them away.

Tam left reluctantly, looking back as he left.

"There are foreigners, but the number is very small, mainly from the grassland." The translator said: "A blizzard in winter may make life difficult for the grassland shepherds. In order to reduce expenses, they will choose to sell or abandon their younger children , only keep older children who can help them with work or even rob. Another source is that foreign businessmen suffer from illness - which is a very common thing - and die, and the children are left unattended and are adopted."

"Is there no objection to that?" Tamm asked.

"His Majesty the Emperor does not use the money from the treasury." The translator said, "See the fields and orchards over there? In fact, most of the children born in Huangzhuang end up living in the local area, and only a few can be sent out. They Farming and herding sheep, you may also weave, brew wine, weave bamboo baskets and even smelt iron, you may have underestimated Huangzhuang. Theoretically, a child who grows up in Huangzhuang can stay with him until he dies."

"I saw you talking with that boy for a long time just now, what else did you say?" Tam finally asked.

"That young man is actually a Khitan." The interpreter's expression was a bit incredulous, and he said, "Guess what he said about An Bajian?"

"How do you say it?" Tamm became interested and asked.

"He said that Anbajian became jealous of Shoi Khan's great prestige on the grassland, and tried to overthrow Shoi Khan's rule through unjust means." The translator said: "He repeatedly emphasized that Ambakian is a shameless barbarian. He ruled a tribe with no written history. He dared not attack cities guarded by mighty warriors, but only plundered civilians who had no military experience. He was treacherous, savage and cowardly, and only bullied the weak."

Tam's expression froze.

Every time he came, his understanding of this country deepened, and it became harder for him to summon up the courage to resist.

He saw Elbrus standing at the gate of the posthouse, he should have the same idea, right?What's more, Grand Vizier Jayhani defied all opinions and sent them out twice in a row, with the same idea in his heart?
******
From Luzhou to the south, after passing Zezhou, it soon entered the endless plain.

The Great Xia warriors who guarded them all the way were elated, chatting and laughing happily.

Yes, Shule has been in possession for more than four years, and during the four years, it has been changing every month.But compared to Zhongyuan, Shule can still be labeled as "remote", "poor", and "backward".

Heyang is different.

As Tokyo Kinki, it has developed rapidly for more than 20 years and is now very prosperous.

Some people even mentioned that too many Kansai people might have migrated to Heyang back then, so that there were too many people here.

But having a large number of people is also beneficial. The products are rich, the business is prosperous, and the rows of wine shops, tea shops, restaurants and even brothels make them dazzled.

After two years of expedition, I can finally go home!

Li Congke was a little worried.

The foster father Li Siyuan made meritorious service on the battlefield, and secretly granted a son, but in the end it was given to Li Congrong, but not to him.

When his father mentioned this, he was a little ashamed, and Li Congke felt uncomfortable.

Over the years, every time they charge into battle, isn't it the father and son who fight together?How many times has Li Congrong played?Just because he is his own son?

But it doesn't matter.

With such a little family business, he still doesn't like it.On the battlefield, there are plenty of opportunities for crimes.As long as he is still at war with Persia, he has a chance to make meritorious service.In the future, he can even ask the sage to allow him to restore his original surname king, establish his own family, and honor his ancestors.

It's just—what if there is a peace with Persia?Where is he going to make meritorious deeds?

Warriors are born to trade their heads for wealth.What's the use of us warriors if we don't fight?

In the peaceful world, literati can be promoted and rewarded for their political achievements, but what about warriors?

The "achievement" of a warrior is the head, property, women and land of the enemy.Once the war is over, where will we go to make "political achievements"?
Thinking of this, he glanced at those members of the Persian Mission, wishing he could kill them all one by one.

Of course, it's just a thought.

I didn't kill them when I crossed the desert, and now I can't kill them.What's more, he didn't dare.

Today, it's not that he is good at the hands of women in deep palaces, on the contrary, he is a ruthless person who got out of the dead.

He can drink sheep's blood without changing his expression - legend has it that there is also human blood.

He can hold the head in his hand and admire it carefully - legend has it that he also speaks to the head.

He can lock the wives and daughters of his enemies in the room to play day and night - it is said that the more these women cry, the harder he is.

Facing such a person, Li Congke was still a little afraid even if he entered and exited seven times on the battlefield—it's not shameful, I'm afraid there will be too many people for this "old thief".

He only hoped that this time, he would not talk about anything famous, so that the war could continue in a justifiable way, and give him a chance to make great achievements.

However, blind people can also see that the Persians are here to seek peace this time, at least the weight of the sum is relatively large.

The Samani who planned the mutiny in Kalasha was already dead in Li Congke's eyes.

I don't know what the Prime Minister of Persia thinks.By doing so, he is also damaging his own prestige, right?Now he covers the sky with one hand, and has power over the world. When he loses power in the future, all these will be rewarded to him, right?Even if it is not him, it will be applied to his descendants—are you a fool?In order to negotiate a peace, I don't even want to face, so what kind of prime minister?
Concealed all the way like this, the group of people hurried and hurried, finally arrived at the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, and entered the city through the east gate.

It was already mid-November, and heavy snow covered this splendid city.

Tam looked up.

Yao recalled that it was snowing in Kalasha when we set off, and it was still snowing heavily when we arrived in Luoyang. The years went by so fast.