Han Hai Tang Ergui

Chapter 205 The Seeds of Suspicion

Although it is mid-winter, the Fergana Basin in November is not too cold.

The climate in the basin is like this, it may be quite hot, but not too cold, because the surrounding mountains block most of the cold air.

But this war with its own ghosts is still on. Zhang Zhao has already pulled out all the fortresses around Kesai City, turning the former capital of the Khan country into an isolated city, but that's all.

Because the defenders of Kesai City are also more than 20,000 people, the military strength of the two sides is not much different. Zhang Zhao was able to surround Kesai City with his highly mobile cavalry. It seems that it is not too realistic to attack the city. .

Because even if his soldiers are far stronger than the defenders of Kesai City who have suffered a major cleansing, the opponent's solid city defense can completely wipe out these advantages.

Therefore, if Zhang Zhaozhen wants to take Kesai City, there are only two ways. One is to use the various ministries of Beishan who have taken refuge as cannon fodder, and attack regardless of casualties, and the other is to use gunpowder to explode.

"Your Majesty, it is not very difficult to blow up the city wall. Kesai City is located near the Yaosha Water, and the basin is rainy and foggy all the year round. The foundation should not be very strong. At least it is much easier than blowing up Shule City."

Cao Yanming said softly, and then glanced at Shi Chongmin, the general who divided the gold capital beside him.

Shi Chongmin coughed lightly, "But in this environment, it is difficult to dig a tunnel. The soil is soft, so a lot of top wood and roof boards must be used, and groundwater must be prevented from being dug.

If one wanted to dig such a tunnel without attracting the attention of the city, it would take at least three months. "

Three months, Zhang Zhao estimated in his heart, three months is probably Shi Chongmin's best guess.

And even if the digging is completed in three months, if the Persians still stand still, he will not dare to attack the city on a large scale.

A distance of one hundred miles, as long as there are enough horses, they can be covered within three days, and it will be a troublesome thing to pinch him from inside and outside.

"Let's dig first, and you can relax a bit in terms of progress! Fourteenth, you are also ready to put gunpowder, and pay special attention to moisture protection."

However, Zhang Zhao was still preparing to dig a tunnel. Although it might not be useful, he was still idle anyway. Let the people from Jindu practice how to dig in the soft soil.

. . . . .

"It really is Ju'er Khan of Broken Leaf! It really is! He is also the one who defeated Bugla Khan Saktu of the Kara Khanate! He is also the royal family of Khotan Jin Kingdom! Father, this person is not easy to mess with!"

Sparse snowflakes fell from the camp of the Saman Persian army. Adulal's son Arpte opened the curtain of the tent and rushed in. His hands were red from the cold and he yelled loudly.

"Among the few captives, most of them were members of Baximi's tribe. They said that the commander of the Khotan army on the other side is Ju'er Khan from Suiye!"

In fact, for people who are very passive in accepting information in this era, Zhang Zhao's identity is far more frightening than what he sees.

Even if it was the Jingqi of the Basimi tribe that Zhang Zhao took over, he only knew that King Zhang was from the royal family of Khotan, and that he was the Juer Khan of the Suiye people. Graham Saktu.

Such a person, such a big event, no matter how you look at it, can only be matched by a famous Khan of the Grassland!

They couldn't imagine that the real family property of King Ju'erhan Zhang actually consisted of two or three thousand soldiers and more than ten thousand tribesmen.

"Are these words believable?" Adulal's expression became solemn immediately, he didn't expect the worst outcome to be guessed in advance, and this king of Khotan is really Ju'er Khan of Suiye.

"It's believable. I personally interrogated 11 people and got similar information. They also said that the queen and children of Bugla Khan Saktu have all become the spoils of that Ju'er Khan." Arpte Said for sure.

It is said that the queen of Buglahan Saktu was originally the royal family of Dongcao. When the Kara Khanate attacked Rahana five years ago, she used her status as queen twice to recruit the Sogdians who were all in battle.

At that time, Adulal was serving as an officer in Sudaoshana City, where Tosoh was located, so the two father and son knew about this.

Adulal pondered for a moment, "This news must be reported to His Royal Highness Prince Hamid as soon as possible.

The old man suspects that the tens of thousands of Khotanese troops here are just forwards, and the large force will definitely wait until next year's sowing is completed. This is not a powerful enemy that our Juzhanti province can deal with alone, and reinforcements must be dispatched from Bukhara. "

Zhang Zhao never imagined that the fact that Cao Yanmian, my charming queen of Karakhan, was taken into the harem by him would be over-interpreted in other people's minds.

He originally just wanted to lure out the defenders of Samanbos in Juzhanti, so that he would have to go to Juzhanti after he finished fighting Kesai City.

As a result, he came and went again and again, and he was so frightened that Ti Hakem was going to Bukhara to rescue soldiers.

He didn't even think about it. Before Zhang Zhao pierced the waist twice in a row, the Kara Khanate was a great khanate with six people and 700,000 people.

The one who can beat such a profuse sweat so hard that he can't keep his wife and children must be at least a profuse khan who controls tens of thousands of strings, right?

In the boring winter, people who cannot go out to produce and operate at any time always need to find something to do in the boring life.

Sometimes it's a village-level gossip from the east and west, and sometimes it's a big city-level aristocratic secret from places like Samarkand and Bukhara.

Of course, the most widely spread is the news that Emir Nasr II converted to the Shiite sect, which made almost everyone immersed in a betrayal of anger.

Persians and Arabs, this is a pair of entangled enemies. Although many times, people think that they should be similar, but in fact, these two races are very different.

Persians are an Aryan people belonging to the Indo-European language family.

Arabs, Europas, Mediterraneans and mixed races of North Africans.

In history, the Persians established many powerful empires, and also ruled the Arabs for a long time.

Because in the eyes of many Persians, the Arabs are a relatively stronger younger brother in their cognitive world, which is very similar to ancient Chinese people looking at ancient Japan.

Therefore, although the Arabs accumulated a lot of wealth as second-hand traffickers on the Silk Road, and after Mahmoud tinkered with Tianfangjiao and conquered them in turn, the Persians were not really convinced.

Even today, after most people have converted from Zoroastrianism to Tianfangism, the Persians still maintain their pride deep in their hearts.

That's why the Shi'ites grew stronger in Persia, and the Samanid dynasty replaced the Abbasid Caliphate to rule Persia, because the Samanid royal family originated from Sasanian Persia, and for the Persians, they are their own people.

This is actually due to the national pride of the Persians. They want to show their differences from the Arabs.

But King Nasr II didn't see through this point, or rather, he saw it, but he was already paralyzed by the compliments around him, thinking that even if he changed his religion, it didn't matter, and no one dared to come out to resist.

But is this really the case?Fifteen days after announcing his conversion, King Nasr II felt something unusual.

His second son, Crown Prince Hamid, who has never expressed his opinion on whether to convert to the Shiite sect, is suddenly full of people.

In Bukhara, in the forbidden city of Arka, the palace of the Samanid dynasty, Nasr Er was wearing a warm woolen blanket and his eyes were cloudy.

He is 63 years old this year, but apart from being a bit fat, there is nothing wrong with his body.

"His Royal Highness, this is the birthday gift account book sent by the governors of various provinces and districts and Hakem. Prince Sadid specially sent the ancient southern scriptures he hand-copied from Herat, using the most precious peach blossom stones. Wait for the paper, the white one is like the best jade."

In a few days it will be the 64th birthday of King Nasr II. According to the usual practice, all the dignitaries of Bukhara, the governors and Hakem of various places need to pay tribute to Nasr II on his birthday.

Ahmad, who was in charge of handling the matter, carefully handed over the congratulatory book and the Konan to King Nasr II.

Nasr II took over the account book and simply flipped through it a few times, but Ahmad bowed his head a little guilty.

The first name Nasr II turned to was the name of his second son, Prince Salal Hamid.

King Nasr II nodded in satisfaction. Hamid's congratulatory gift has increased a lot compared to last year, at least [-]% or more.

The second name is Prince Sadid, the sixth son. King Nasr II was even more satisfied, an increase of [-]% compared to last year, and he also thoughtfully copied a copy of the ancient south.

Although he always somewhat disapproved of Sadid's coveting of the crown prince's status, Nasr II felt very comfortable seeing his son being so filial.

However, as we continued to read, King Nasr II's face became more and more ugly, because except for a few sons and Grand Wazir Baal Ami, the congratulatory gifts of the rest were reduced compared to last year.

It's not that Nasr II doesn't allow the reduction, because the height is getting higher every year, and the people below will always be unable to hold on.

But what do you mean by reducing by [-] to [-]%?Want to save all this money?

"His Royal Highness Emir, this year's weather is colder, and the wheat harvests in various places are poor, and the people below are not having a good life."

Ahmad replied cautiously, seeming to be explaining, but in fact he was bragging.

Because Prince Hamid had just celebrated his 41st birthday a few months ago. At that time, nobles and local officials also received congratulatory gifts, not only did not decrease, but generally increased a lot.

A burst of anger rushed from Nasr II's heart to the top of his head, what do you mean?You think Ben Amir is getting old, and he is in a hurry to please the crown prince, right?

However, despite being furious, King Nasr II calmed down quickly, and then found a few names he was familiar with. These people were the allies and confidantes of the court chief Ahmad.

A full reduction of more than [-]% has been reduced. All of these names have reduced congratulatory gifts, but the ones that have been reduced the most.

Nasr II took a deep breath. It seems that Ahmad did not deliberately use this to attack his political opponents. He also believed that Ahmad did not have the guts to tamper with the gifts he gave him. .

"Huh? Juzhan Ti Hakem Adulal only paid [-] sheep and one camel as a tribute?"

King Nasr II suddenly found the most conspicuous name, and couldn't help but pronounce it aloud.

Because this is not a reduction of [-]% or [-]%, this is a reduction of [-]%, not even [-]% of the gift given to Prince Hamid.

"Returning to His Highness the Emir, it is indeed the case. I also asked the envoy of Adulal Hakeem. He said that there has been a drastic change in the country of Bahan, and [-] troops from the east are attacking Yusupu in Kesai City. , Most of the supplies in the city have been dispatched to prepare for the rescue!" Ahmad quickly explained.

"Rebellious! Rebellious villain!" Nasr II stood up angrily, because he had secretly received the envoy from Kesai City the day before yesterday.

The governor of the former Kara Khanate, Bahana, sent his younger brother to complain, and the city was extremely urgent, but Juzhan Tihakem was afraid and refused to go to the rescue.

"Let Bale Ami send Diwan to Juzhanti to see what happened?"

Nasr II suddenly became soft-spoken, as if the exposure just now had never happened, but the court chief knew that this was a sign of the emir's extreme anger.

"Don't disturb the place, go in secret, don't let the Gulam guards guard it, and choose directly from the imperial city's forbidden army!"

(End of this chapter)