A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1191: Tears of Sorrow Wet the Horse's Hair

The wind and sand hit my face, and after the long journey, my face was roughened by the wind and sand.

Lu Chengqing, Duke of Fanyang and Vice Minister of War, looked at Yiwulu City and could not help but sigh at the difficulty of the journey to the west. He set out for the Western Regions in February on the orders of the emperor, galloping his horse, traveling four post stations a day, a distance of 120 miles, and it took him more than a month to reach Yiwulu.

He couldn't help but sigh at the shock he felt when Wu Huaiyu rushed 7,000 miles to attack the Turkic Beiting in Yili Mountain, but appeared in front of Yu Gushe with more than 10,000 cavalry in less than a month.

That was a cavalry of 16,000 men, on a long march of 7,000 miles.

This time he had a team of only a dozen people, and there were post stations along the way for supplies. They only walked 120 miles a day, and they felt very tired and difficult. In the past, he sat in the Ministry of War in the imperial city of Chang'an, with ice in the summer and charcoal in the winter, reading the generals' reports and sketching with a pen, which was very relaxing.

The blood, sweat and achievements of the soldiers on the front line seem less thrilling on paper, and even the march of thousands of miles does not seem so shocking.

"How far is it to Suiye?"

One of the officials couldn't help but sigh, "From Chang'an to Yiwu, there is a post every thirty miles. Excluding the two hundred miles of sand dunes after Yumen Pass, there are a total of one hundred and forty post stations. In total, we have traveled more than four thousand four hundred miles and we have only just arrived in Yizhou."

"Yes, I have just stepped into the gate of the Western Region."

Lu Chengqing could not help but recite a frontier poem written by his brother-in-law Wu Huaiyu: "At the mouth of Yinshan Qi, the wind is like an arrow, and at the west of Tiemen Pass, the moon is like a silver thread. Both of us have tears of sorrow and stain the horse's hair, and the rustling Hu sand splashes on people's faces.

We haven't even reached Yinshanqi and Tiemenguan yet.
There are two roads from Yiwu to Suiye. One is the Northern Silk Road, also known as the Suiye Road. We go from Yiwu to Tingzhou, then to Gongyue Town, then to Yili, and then cross Jieshan to arrive at Suiye. This road is easier to travel, mostly grassland and river valley areas, with flat terrain.

If we take this road, it's still more than 5,000 miles from Yiwu to Suiye."

"There is also a southern route, which is closer, but has some dangerous sections. From Yiwu, go through Gaochang to Yanqi, then to Qiuci. From Bohuan City, go north over Lingshan Mountain and reach Rehe. Go west along the southern coast of Rehe for more than 500 miles and you will reach Suiye City.
The southern route is a thousand miles shorter than the northern route, but the mountains are difficult to cross, especially for a long time of the year when it is impassable.

They took a rare day off in Yiwu City.
I strolled around the market in Yiwulu and felt the bustle of the Silk Road where Han and Hu people lived together.

In the end, Lu Chengqing and his team decided to take the southern route, directly through Yanqi and Qiuci, over Lingshan, and through Rehe Road to Suiye.

They had been walking for more than a month and were only halfway there. They were carrying out an imperial decree and could not delay for too long.

"Don't complain, everyone. You know, those demoted officials have to travel ten post stations a day, which is 300 miles a day. We only travel four post stations a day, so it's already quite easy along the way."

The mission is urgent, so there is no time to waste.

The next day they continued their journey, taking with them a Sogdian guide provided by the governor of Yizhou.

Yiwu is 1,200 miles away from Gaochang in the north. It took them ten days to walk, still stopping at four post stations a day. The journey was relatively smooth. There was a post station every thirty miles along the way, with postmen, as well as carriages and horses. With their status, they could get supplies and rest along the way.

Yiwu and Gaochang, the two former Western Region states, are now two prefectures of the Tang Dynasty. There are prefectures and counties set up by the imperial court, officials transferred from the Central Plains, the stationed Anxi Army, the newly established Zhechoufu, and immigrants who have moved here.

There were even prisoners exiled from the mainland.

Looking at those familiar Han faces always makes them feel very close. Here, Chinese and non-Chinese dialects are mixed together, and Lu Chengqing can even hear the accent of his hometown in Fanyang, Hebei.

From Gaochang to Yanqi, it is nine hundred miles.

We have to cross the Silver Mountain and pass through the Silver Mountain Moraine.

And there will no longer be a post house every thirty miles.

The Kingdom of Yanqi is still affiliated with the Southern Court of the Western Turks, and Yanqi also wants to get rid of the Western Turks.

Standing at the mouth of Yinshan Qi, feeling the wind and sand blowing through the sky,
An official in the entourage said, "It won't be long before Yanqi will become part of the Tang Dynasty."

Lu Chengqing said, "It depends on Mr. Wu."

"Lord Lu, we have to hurry up, otherwise by the time we reach Suiye, Prime Minister Wu may have already wiped out the Three Kingdoms. Or, why don't we just not go to Suiye and go directly to Shule?
I think Prime Minister Wu may have already led his troops to attack the Shule capital, and may have even reached the Congling Kingdom."

Another official also said, "Why don't we just go slower and wait for Prime Minister Wu to destroy the three kingdoms of Shule and receive the victory news, then we can go there."

Silver Mountain Qikou,

Lu Chengqing's team sat next to the camels and ate dry food.

They have a lot of tasks on this trip.
The first thing was to comfort and reward the Anxi Army soldiers. Wu Huaiyu led the Anxi Army in a series of battles last year and made numerous military achievements. From the commander-in-chief Wu Huaiyu to the Anxi soldiers, everyone was rewarded.

Then Lu Chengqing was to summon the leaders and kings of the various Turkic tribes in the Western Regions on behalf of the emperor, set up governorships and prefectures, grant the leaders, big and small, official titles such as protector generals, governors, and generals, and grant them official seals and certificates.
Then they would bring back beautiful girls from the Turkic tribes and countries in the Western Regions to Chang'an, as well as a group of sons of leaders from various foreign countries.

There are also secret missions.

If Wu Huaiyu's encirclement and suppression of Asijie is successful, then Wu Huaiyu will be allowed to destroy the two Asijie tribes. If the attack is not successful, then Lu Chengqing will represent the court and come forward to pacify the Asijie tribe.

The same is true for the three kingdoms of Shule south of the Tianshan Mountains.
If the attack is successful, the Anxi Army will destroy the Three Kingdoms. Just like setting up Xizhou after destroying Gaochang, prefectures and counties will be established, and the Anxi Protectorate will be directly under its jurisdiction. If the attack is not successful, then the policy of appeasement will be adopted.

If the Anxi Army's attack on the two tribes of Asijie and the three kingdoms of Shannan Shule was not successful, Lu Chengqing would pacify them on behalf of the court and then discuss another matter with Nanting Khan Bobu. The Western Turks had been asking for marriage with the Tang Dynasty, but the marriage had not been completed.

Today, the imperial court selects concubines from various foreign countries in the Western Regions, which is actually also a form of marriage alliance, except that the leaders of various foreign countries send their daughters to Chang'an to enter the palace of the emperor or the crown prince, or have them married to royal family members, noble relatives and ministers.

Now Lu Chengqing came to discuss marriage with Nanting Khan Bobu. If he agreed to Bobu's proposal, he would marry a princess to him.
But the Southern Court had to cede five kingdoms as a gift.
Which five countries?
Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, Zhujubo, Kepantu,

This was actually the condition that the imperial court had put forward when the Western Turks proposed marriage to the imperial court, but it did not come to fruition.

Now, the emperor plans to prepare for both situations.

It would be best if Wu Huaiyu could destroy the three kingdoms of Shule by force. If the offensive was not going well, he would no longer attack, but instead try to appease the people, and make peace with the Khan of Nanting, and cede the five kingdoms to the Tang Dynasty, thus taking ownership of the five kingdoms in another way.

If Wu Huaiyu could destroy the two tribes of Asiqie, Lu Chengqing would also propose to Nanting Bobu Khan that the nine Zhaowu Sogdian states in the Central Asian region and the Tokharistan region would no longer be under the control of Nanting Khan, but would be under the control of the Anxi Protectorate.

Tocharia would set up a Tocharian Protectorate, which would be headed by the Tocharian Yehu.

The nine states of Zhaowu Sogdia in Hezhong will also set up a Zhaowu Protectorate, which will be headed by the newly appointed King of Shi State, Shi Shouxin.

As for the five countries south of the Tianshan Mountains, each of them had a military governor's office, which was directly commanded by the Anxi Grand Military Governor's Office.

It can be said that the emperor's plan is in perfect harmony with what Wu Huaiyu is doing in the Western Regions now, as both are aimed at swallowing up the Western Regions.

First, split the Turks into two courts, the southern and northern courts, and then continue to weaken them. For example, take the opportunity to eliminate the two strongest tribes of Asiqie among the five Nushibi tribes of the Southern Court, and then cut off the Qiuci and Shule countries in the south of the Tianshan Mountains, the nine countries of Zhaowu and Sogdia in Hezhong, and even the Tocharian countries under their control from the Southern Court.

The two courts of Western Turkic Khaganate, north and south, were confined to the northern part of Tianshan Mountains, like a prison, to keep them trapped.

The Anxi Army even established two protectorates in their two courts, and set up military towns, guard posts, and garrisons among their tribes to separate them.

This is treating the entire Western Region as a chess game, and playing a very big game.

Wu Huaiyu is the trader.

The emperor and Wu Huaiyu were in perfect sync with each other.

Why did many officials wonder why the emperor rewarded Wu Huaiyu instead of punishing him when he acted out of line? The reason was very simple.
Wu Huaiyu was the person who could best understand the emperor's strategic intentions in the Western Regions, and was also the person who could best help the emperor realize these strategic intentions.

And he was extremely efficient.

The emperor would not replace such a general just because of some suspicion.

The emperor wants the entire Western Regions, and only Wu Huaiyu can give it to him.

Lu Chengqing was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and also the in-law of Wu Huaiyu's children. His sister also married Wu Huaiyu as a concubine. The two families had a very good relationship and were of course allies politically.

He believed that the emperor's decision to send him on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions was also related to this.

He is a little confused now.

He hoped that Wu Huaiyu could be as fierce as ever, quickly destroy the two tribes of Asikāya, and then cross the Tianshan Mountains to completely destroy Shule, Zhujubo, and Kepantuo.
In this way, he would not have to go to the trouble of trying to appease other countries.

But he was also worried that Wu Huaiyu would fail in the Western Regions. After all, the Asiji and the other tribes had more than 100,000 troops. Last year, Wu Huaiyu only managed to capture the two Jijins by surprise in a sudden attack on Suiye in the snow.
The two main forces are still there. If the situation cannot be controlled, the Anxi Army in the Suiye River area may not be able to destroy them, and the situation may deteriorate.
If we can't deal with the Asiqie tribe, we won't have the energy to attack the Shule states south of the Tianshan Mountains.
In other words, although the three states of Shule were small, their geographical position was dangerous and difficult to attack. If they could not win the battle quickly, the Anxi army could not afford to delay.

It may even cause unrest in the Western Regions again.

If Wu Huaiyu cannot win, he may be attacked and impeached again in the court, and it is hard to say whether the emperor will recall him to the court at that time.

As Wu Huaiyu's relative and political ally, Lu Chengqing does not want Wu Huaiyu to lose.

But it is hard to say that Wu Huaiyu was able to uproot the Asiqie tribes, which had more than 100,000 troops, in just one winter and one spring.
Lu Chengqing thought this was too exaggerated.

The entire Anxi army had only about 30,000 to 40,000 people, and the Suiye River occupied by Asijie alone was more than a thousand miles long.

Let alone hundreds of thousands of nomadic tribes, even hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep would be difficult to capture in just one winter and spring.

"I think we should walk slowly. I think we will see the Anxi army when we reach Qiuci." One of the followers was absolutely confident in Wu Huaiyu.

The other officials also nodded. "Yes, if Wu Xiang takes action, is there any battle that he cannot win? Wu Xiang is an undefeated general. He has never been defeated."

"Yes, since Wu Xiang entered the Western Regions, in less than a year, he has defeated so many Khans, Yehus, Jijins, and Dachus.

Whether it is the two tribes of Asiqie or the three kingdoms of Shule, they are just trying to stop a chariot with their arms and overestimating their own capabilities. "

(End of this chapter)