Great Warriors of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Chapter 1393 Colonial Stronghold
The upper reaches of this river is Bolu, which is between Kunlun Mountain and Daxue Mountain. Bolu Kingdom was originally a vassal state of the Great Qin Dynasty. Later, due to civil strife, when the emperor went on a tour, he simply sent troops to pacify it and changed it to the official county of the imperial court. up.

To the east of the Xindu River is the highland of Persia, and to the west is the southern highland of Tianzhu, separated by deserts on both sides.

Of course, there is a mountain pass in the middle and upper reaches of the Xindu River, which can lead to the Daxia Road of the imperial court.

Li Shimin held his chin and stared at the big river.

"If he can find a way to seize one or two islands at the estuary of the Xindu River as his base camp, and then go north along the river to conquer the local Tubang vassal states, and if it goes well, he can open up the passage to Daxia. In this way, he is no longer far away from the country, but can be connected with the Daxia, Hezhong, and Anxi roads of the imperial court.

If something happens, it is definitely better to ask for help from there than to come from the South China Sea tens of thousands of miles away.

Not to mention, the Xindu River Basin, this is a good place, especially its unique terrain, which is separated from the surrounding major forces, which makes it much less difficult for him to seize this place.

Now the upper reaches of the Xindu River are in the hands of the imperial court, and the mountain pass leading to Daxia in the east is also in the hands of the imperial court. There are several small countries such as Xindu and Kudhara in the middle and lower reaches, and their strengths are not strong.

shook his head.

Li Shimin felt that he was thinking too far. If he wanted to destroy several countries tens of thousands of miles away with only his 2000 people, it would be impossible.

However, it is not impossible to seize a few islands near the mouth of the Xindu River, or occupy a small piece of land in the mouth of the river to establish a stronghold or something.

If he establishes a good relationship with the Tubang of Xindu first, and then clears the route to Daxia Road, then he will go to the Red Sea, and there will be a way out.

The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more it seemed feasible.

Anyway, small countries like Xindu and Gandhara are much weaker than Persia, Rome, paganism and other forces on the peninsula.

His 2000 people were not prepared for the slightest retreat, so they ran directly to some Mecca. Maybe they would be shut down and beat dogs when they were besieged by those pagans. They had nowhere to run, so they could only be trapped there In the desert.

The ocean-going fleet may not be saved either.

"captain!"

Li Shimin shouted.

A captain with a black soft-footed headband came in.

"Jing slightly called me?"

"Captain, your Kunlun is the flagship of the Kunlun Fleet, one of the four major fleets of the ocean-going fleet. Let me ask you, do you often travel to Taixi?"

"Yes, every year."

"Then let me ask you again, you are near the mouth of the Xindu River in the Persian Sea, have you ever been there?"

"Xindu River? Have you ever been there? Our Kunlun fleet trades with the state-owned Xindu, and there are a lot of goods traded every year. Our Kunlun fleet is now the largest spice merchant in the East and the West." The captain said proudly. In the past, Kunlun sea spices Most of the spices on the archipelago are in the hands of merchants from Tianzhu and the Lion Kingdom, who make a lot of money by selling spices to the east and west.

But now Daqin's sea fleet is powerful, and it has stronger control over the spice-producing islands and spice routes in the Kunlun Sea. It has gradually mastered most of the spice trade, and the Kunlun fleet is mainly responsible for this.

The trade between the Xindu Kingdom and the Kunlun Fleet is mainly to buy spices from the fleet, and then traffic them to the northern Jieri Kingdom, Kudhara and other countries as second-hand traffickers.

"I want to get a place at the mouth of the Xindu River and build a stronghold there, is that possible?"

"Isn't Jinglue going to the Red Sea?"

"You just said it's okay?"

"Of course it can be done. Our Kunlun Fleet has a close trade relationship with the Xindu Kingdom, and the relationship is very good. In fact, our fleet has several trading posts and shops at the mouth of the Xindu River. If you choose which one you like, you can just use it. trouble."

"Does the trading post have a port? Is it near the Sindhu River?"

"Yes, it's on the Persian Sea, close to the Xindu River, and it's a deep-water pier, a good shelter from the wind." The captain said.

Li Shimin was a little speechless. He calculated for a long time, but he didn't expect that the Kunlun Fleet had already obtained several strongholds.

"Okay, show me the location map of the fleet's trading post."

"Yes, besides our Kunlun Fleet, the other three squadrons of the Ocean Fleet also have trading posts at the mouth of the Xindu River. If necessary, I can also mark theirs. Write to them and ask for it. It's nothing more than a trading post."

Li Shimin almost wanted to scold his mother, but he didn't expect that the ocean-going fleet would be so wild, and they could build so many trade points in the Xindu country.

"I don't know about the economy, but the Xindu Kingdom has a good cooperation with our ocean-going fleet, especially the noble officials in their coastal areas. We have been familiar with it for a long time. If you want to build a trading post with one or two fishing village ports or something , How could they not want to."

"Even they are vying to pull us to their site to build a trading post. Once this trading post is built, a steady stream of merchant ships will come over, bringing countless goods, and countless merchants will come to trade. They sit on the ground and collect taxes. , and you can also buy the cheapest good things, this is a good thing, no one will grab it."

Li Shimin thought about it, it seemed that this was really the case.

According to the captain, the four major ocean-going fleets actually have their own priorities. For example, the Kunlun Fleet is mainly engaged in the spice trade, and the ships mainly sell spices.

But no matter what the goods are, Xindu Country welcomes them very much.

They are in the lower reaches of the Xindu River and along the coast, and they occupy a favorable position in trade. As long as the Qin ships ship goods here, they can resell them to inland areas after eating them, and they can make a lot of money.

The mouth of the Xindu River is a fertile alluvial plain, and there are also countless small islands and ports. The Qin people wanted a few pieces of wasteland and ports to build trading posts, and of course they did their best to satisfy them.

"Is Xindu country strong?"

"It depends on who you compare it with. If you compare it with our Great Qin, it is not worth mentioning. But if you compare it with the surrounding Tianzhu Kingdom, it is still relatively rich. Of course, the Xindu Kingdom is not that big. There are not too many soldiers, and in their country, the king actually has a general control over the Xindu country, because they are enfeoffed, and the princes and lords below have a high degree of autonomy, and the king can only be said to be the master of the princes."

"You mean similar to Zhou Tianzi?"

"It's about the same. It's better than that. After all, King Xindu is actually stronger than the princes in terms of strength. He has his own guard army, and the king's direct territory is also the largest."

"Nowadays, the north of today's Zhu is a powerful country. Although Jieri has annexed many countries one after another, in fact they are also in this mode. There are many princes under them, and they are all very strong." The captain introduced.

"Help me choose a place that is close to the mouth of the river and has a good harbor with deep water. It's better to be a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack." Li Shimin said.

The captain thought for a while and said, "Karachi in the northwest of the estuary was originally a small fishing village. Later, local officials in Sindh took us to build a trading post here. We built a wharf and business hall there. A small castle for a hundred people."

According to the captain, the place is along the river and the sea, with convenient transportation, a good deep-water port, and mountains.

When Li Shimin heard it, it was in line with his own wishes.

"That's it, I want it."

As a veteran who had been a pirate for several years, and later visited Linyi for six years, Li Shimin knew that this place was the ideal base he wanted.

(End of this chapter)