A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1169 Are You Scared?

Retracing the Western Expedition, this time the march was smoother than the last time.

Not only did he not have to worry about attacks from the Turkic tribes, but he was also warmly received by the tribes along the way. Wu Huaiyu only symbolically accepted a sheep each time. He would buy some cattle, sheep or dairy products from the herdsmen, and use the newly minted Jili silver coins from Gaochang, Xizhou, or Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins.

It can also be exchanged for salt or tea according to the needs of the herdsmen.

The march was like a tour to appease the tribes and do some business with them. Because of the strict military discipline and even giving them some profit during the trade, the herdsmen felt that the army of the Heavenly Khan was particularly good.

When the army left, they were reluctant to leave, with a sense of closeness between the army and the people. Even many young herdsmen from the tribes asked to join the army, which was hard to refuse.

So in the end, each tribe had to select some young and strong men who were good at riding and shooting to join.

Starting from Gaochang City in Xizhou, passing Tianshan City and Jiaohe City, and then passing Baiyang Pass, we arrived at Luntai Town, the gateway to Tingzhou, and continued westward to Zhangbao Shouzhuo, Wuzai Shouzhuo, Qinghai Town,

Going further west, they left the border of Tingzhou and entered the border of Yanbo Military Governor's Office. The Anxi Army established Yehe Shouzhuo, Heishui Shouzhuo, Donglin Shouzhuo, and Xilin Shouzhuo at several river crossings.
These four garrisons each had a garrison of 1,000 troops and were commanded by Tingzhou's Luntai Zhensai Army.

When Wu Huaiyu's army passed through the Western Expedition, these four castles had already been built with the efforts of the garrison and the local Hu people.
The castles are not big, but they are strong enough to garrison a thousand soldiers, which is enough to defend an area.

In this early winter, the stationed guards are still busy reclaiming wasteland and repairing canals.

When Wu Huaiyu led his army past, the guards and officers all requested to go with him, but Wu Huaiyu refused, saying that so many soldiers would not be needed to fight Buzhen.

The various forts have not been completed yet and need to be built further. In addition, the beacon tower system needs to be built and improved. There is one beacon tower every few dozen miles and they need to be built as soon as possible. After they are completed, local people and foreign tribes will be recruited to take turns to man the beacon towers.
After this beacon system was completed, it was very helpful for the Anxi Army to guard this vast area of ​​thousands of miles.

The four Tang army garrisons in Yanbo Prefecture were all filled with herdsmen from the Huluwu tribe. The Chumukun tribe, under the leadership of Luchu, had gone too far down the wrong path.

Not only did they fail to keep this piece of land in the end, but many of them were captured and killed by the Tang army in Futu City, and Wu Huaiyi led his troops to sweep the tribal home here. It can be said that they lost more than they gained, and suffered heavy losses.

At least a thousand people died, and nearly ten thousand were captured by the Tang army. Now those people were sentenced to one year of hard labor by Wu Huaiyu, and they also had to build cities, beacon towers, post stations, open up wasteland, and build canals in various places.
Chumukun was severely wounded by this blow. In the end, Wu Huaiyu did not investigate Luchu's crimes further, but just asked them to move to their former home in the northern desert state.

Luchuo did not dare to make any more comments and ordered the tribes to move north.
They had no choice but to move. Not to mention that they could not defeat the Tang people, they didn't even need the Tang people to take action. As long as Wu Huaiyu allowed Hu Luwu's troops to attack, Chu Mukun would definitely not be able to defeat Hu Luwu at this time. Even if he could defeat Hu Luwu, both would suffer losses. What would they do if the Tang army attacked again?
Lu Chu's hair turned completely white overnight. He could only look up to the sky and cry, while silently migrating with his tribe.

When he left,
The Hu Luwu tribe over there had already impatiently moved south and were waiting for them to make room.

At this time, Wu Huaiyu passed through Yanbozhou again.
The Huluwu people have completed their migration. The tribes have divided up the pastures and are happily grazing their livestock on this fertile land. They have also begun cutting grass in preparation for the winter.

The Tang army passed by,

Hu Luwu's Quechu came in person. They helped the Tang army clear the marching road in advance, built bridges across rivers, and cleared roads across mountains. In some places with long grass, they even took the lead in cutting the grass to open a road.

A lot of cow and sheep cheeses were prepared.
Quechu and the Huluwu tribe were very grateful to the Tang Dynasty, especially to Prime Minister Wu. In particular, Quechu was confused for a moment and was led by his relative Helu to form an alliance of eight tribes to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, but was defeated in one blow. However, Prime Minister Wu did not investigate it too deeply and even gave Chumukun's territory to them.

"We, Huluwu, have always remembered the great kindness of Tian Khan and Wu Pingzhang. During this period, we have selected strong men from each tribe to help build four castles in Yehe, Heishui, Donglin and Xilin. We have also built a beacon tower every thirty miles and a post station every sixty miles.
Shuang prepared water buckets, water bags, wolf dung, cow and sheep dung and other supplies, and also arranged for the men of the tribe to take turns to guard the beacon tower..."

Wu Huaiyu also noticed the performance of Hu Luwu's troops during this period.

To the Tang Dynasty, Hu Luwu's previous betrayal was a crime, but Wu Huaiyu treated Chu Mukun harshly, but gave Hu Luwu a break. It was not out of personal preference, but just a strategy.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has just established itself in the Western Regions, it cannot make enemies on all sides and start an all-out war. It can only fight and pull back at the same time.

“Although you were temporarily deceived by Helu and the others, it is still remarkable that you woke up in time. The past is the past, and we should look to the future.

Now that I have returned to Huluwu, are you satisfied with it?"

Quechu said yes repeatedly.

"What do you think about Bu Zhen's attack on Beiting?" Wu Huaiyu asked again, holding the milk tea.

Quechu's hair has turned a lot whiter recently. Ever since Khan's defeat at Futu City, he has been feeling uneasy and treading on thin ice.

"Bu Zhen and Mixe are both fifth-generation descendants of Midianshi. They are brothers from the same clan, but they had a fight in their early years. Bu Zhen is narrow-minded, vindictive, and ambitious. To be honest with Prime Minister Wu, when Helu was plotting a rebellion, he tried to win over Bu Zhen. Bu Zhen was in Gaochang City at the time and couldn't leave, but he also secretly corresponded with Helu, and he was more or less involved in it."

"Bu Zhen said that Mishe was plotting a rebellion. What do you think?" Wu Huaiyu asked again.

Quechu did not hesitate and stood up and said bluntly, "Ashina Buzhen is a despicable and sinister villain, a traitor and a traitor. He has evil ambitions and wants to usurp the throne of the Northern Xingxiwang Khan.
This kind of person can never be trusted.

As one of the Ten Arrow Tribes of the Western Turkic Khaganate and one of the Five Dulu Tribes of the Eastern Wing, we, the Huluwu Tribe, firmly oppose Bu Zhen's actions. He has betrayed the oath that Wu Xiang and everyone else made when they formed an alliance in Gaochang City.

Such people must be resolutely attacked. Although my Hu Luwu tribe is not strong, I am willing to recruit all the men in the tribe to serve as the vanguard of the military minister. Although I am old, I am willing to take the lead and personally capture Bu Zhen for the military minister.
It is also to atone for the mistakes I made previously!"

Hu Luwu Quechu's statement made Wu Huaiyu nod frequently and was very satisfied.

"With a man like Quechu who knows right from wrong and is loyal, why should we worry about peace in the Western Regions? This time, I personally led the troops to Beiting to uphold justice. Bu Zhen's behavior has betrayed his oath and violated the laws of the Tang Dynasty. The court and I will never condone it."

Although Quechu knew that Wu Huaiyu was not the kind of person who was easy to talk to, and that he was most likely going to attack Bu Zhen when he led his troops there, he was still shocked when he heard his decision.

Ashina Buzhen was one of the four great Yehu of the East Wing, and now he is a small Khan.
He led his troops to attack Khan Mishe. If this had happened in the past, it would have been an internal tribal matter and the imperial court would at most send people to mediate but would not really get involved, let alone send troops directly.

But now it is obviously different, which also reveals that Wu Huaiyu will supervise the Protectorate of Western Turkestan more strictly and will take more charge of the affairs of Western Turkestan.

He did not try to smooth things over and sent troops directly, which further proved that he did not take Bu Zhen seriously.

The Tang Dynasty has this strength.

"Please let me take the lead!" Quechu asked for battle again.

Wu Huaiyu smiled and told Quechu to bring some of his sons and daughters to watch the battle. There was no need for Hu Lu's troops to send out troops, and they were not needed to be the vanguard.

At that time, Ili Khan Tumen led the main force to the east to conquer Rouran, while his brother Shidianshi stayed behind to live a nomadic life in the Jinshan area and surrendered to Gaochang in the south.

Later, Tumen destroyed the Rouran and dominated the south and north of the desert. Moheduo Yehu Midianshi led ten leaders and an army of 100,000 to pacify the various Hu countries in the Western Regions. He called himself Khan and the Ten Surnames Tribe, and ruled their people for generations.

It has actually only been eighty-five years since the Secret Point Chamber led the ten tribes on the Western Expedition.

As one of the ten major tribes that followed the Midianshi in the westward expedition, the Huluwu tribe has been passed down and its status has not changed much.

As the main Turkic tribe, Quechu was also a member of the Ashina family. Quechu was just his title. Quechu was the head of a tribe. The leader of the Five Nushibi tribes in the west wing was called Sijin, and the leader of the Five Dulu tribes in the east wing was called Quechu.

The Chuo and Shiqin of the ten tribes were similar to those of the Eastern Turks, that is, they were the military commanders of other tribes.

Compared with the Central Plains dynasty, this system is equivalent to the royal family, vassal kings and princes, and even has greater power.

Quechu was also highly respected in the past, so he was honored as the great and glorious leader. His real name was Ashina Liga.

However, in Western Turkic, although he was also a member of the Ashina royal family, the descendants of the ten chiefs could not be compared with the descendants of the Midianshi.

Therefore, the throne of the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates was fought over and over, and those who were truly qualified to compete were the descendants of Tumen Khan and Mitsumishik Khan.

Quechu never thought of competing for the throne of Khan, and it would be difficult for him to convince the people even if he did. This is why Ashina She'er and Yugushe, the Eastern Turks, fled to the Western Regions after their defeat, but were able to proclaim themselves Khans one after another, and even gained the support of most of the Western Turkic tribes. They were direct descendants of Tumen Khan, She'er was the son of Choro Khan, and Yugushe was the son of Jie Li Khan, the sons of the Great Khan, so their status was naturally noble.

The reason why Buzhen and Mishe were able to become the Great Khan and the Small Khan was because they were the fifth-generation descendants of Midianshi.

"How well do you know Nishushijin and Queshijin of the Asijie tribe in the West Chamber?" Wu Huaiyu asked casually.

Quechu thought for a moment, "The Asiji tribe is the strongest tribe among the Five Crossbill tribes in the West Wing. It is divided into two tribes, led by Nishushijin and Queshijin. The two tribes together can gather more than 100,000 soldiers.
The Asiqie tribe is strong, and the two Jijins are also ambitious..." Quechu briefly described the situation of the Asiqie tribe, including how they rebelled against Dilishi Khan and how they supported the outsider Yugushe.

In short, the Asiqie tribe was too powerful and its leader was very ambitious, so they controlled the Southern Court. The current Jiwangjue Khan Bobu could not command them at all.

"I heard that this time when Bu Zhen raided Beiting, the Asijie tribe sent troops to support him?" Quechu asked.

Wu Huaiyu nodded, "Yes, that's true."

"So how does Prime Minister Wu plan to deal with the Asijie tribe?" Quechu reminded Wu Huaiyu, "They are very powerful. The two tribes combined can gather hundreds of thousands of cavalry."

"Hahaha," Wu Huaiyu laughed, "Hundreds of thousands of cavalry? They are just hundreds of thousands of herdsmen.

Quechu was greatly shocked. He thought that Wu Huaiyu sent troops to deal with Bu Zhen, but he didn't expect that they were going to target the Asijie tribe.

If a fight really breaks out, it will be a disaster.

If Asiji was really defeated by Wu Huaiyu, then wouldn't it be impossible for anyone in Western Turkic to resist the Tang Dynasty in the future?
Chilled and terrified.

"Why, are you scared?"

"I still say the same thing. Hu Luwu will always be loyal to the Tang Dynasty. We will fight wherever the imperial court attacks. If Prime Minister Wu wants to conquer Asijie, I, Hu Luwu, am still willing to lead the charge!"

"Hahaha, I'm glad you have this intention. However, I don't even take the Asijie tribe seriously. There's no need to mobilize so many troops. The people I bring are enough."

Quechu knew how many people Wu Huaiyu brought with him: three thousand Anxi infantry, two thousand cavalry, and three thousand young men from the tribes near the city. There were also some young men from tribes along the way who volunteered to join the expedition. All in all, there were less than ten thousand people.

The Asikya tribe had more than 100,000 tents and could muster more than 100,000 cavalry.

(End of this chapter)