A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1194 Five Khans
The Khazar Yehudah was a separate tribe led by Ashina Shi of the Western Turkic Khaganate.

Except for Yehu and some upper nobles who were Turks, the main people of the Khazars were Uighurs, White Huns, Rourans, and even some Slavs.

The present-day Khazar Yapuru, Ashina Moheduo, is a very peculiar character.

His father was once the Khazar Yehu, and later the Moheduo Little Khan. He later poisoned the Tongyehu and proclaimed himself the Moheduo Hou Qulisibi Khan. His mother was a Han woman from Gaochang.

It has been more than ten years since his father was defeated and killed, and the Khan of Western Turkestan has changed several times, but he can still hold the position of Khazar Yaphu. In addition to the fact that his father had an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, he must be very capable as well.

"I heard that Emperor Heraclius of Fulin offered to marry the princess to Moheduo Khan, but when Moheduo returned to the Western Regions to fight for the Khanship, he did not send anyone back to Constantinople to welcome the princess. Instead, he sent an envoy with gold, precious hairpins and good horses to Chang'an to ask for the princess' hand in marriage from the Tang Dynasty."

Moheduo Khan's original wife was a Han woman from Gaochang. Later, the Byzantine emperor wanted to marry the princess to him, but he looked down on her. So he usurped the throne and became the Khan. He wanted to marry a Tang princess, but Li Tang looked down on him as a usurper.

"But I heard that Heraclius has always been very good to Moheduo and his son, and promised a princess to Khazar Yehu."

Wu Huaiyu listened to the gossip told by Jiang Xingben and thought that Heraclius was not interested in Moheduo and his son, but in the power of the Khazar Khanate.

You should know that Emperor Heraclius was also the founding emperor. He was the son of a provincial governor. Centurion Casfor rebelled, captured the capital, and pushed Emperor Maurice and his children to the guillotine, usurping the throne and proclaiming himself emperor, which triggered an eight-year bloody civil war in Byzantium.

Heraclius, the son of the provincial governor, stepped forward at the right time and led an army to attack Phocas. In just three years, he invaded Constantinople, captured and executed Phocas, and established the Heraclius dynasty.

That year was the sixth year of Daye, seven years earlier than Li Yuan started his rebellion in Taiyuan.

However, the situation for Heraclius when he first ascended the throne was not good, not much better than when Li Shimin first became emperor. The Persian Sassanid Empire invaded on a large scale, seized large tracts of land including Syria, and even invaded the heartland of Byzantium.

It was in this situation that Heraclius sent his confidants to contact the Western Turks through the Khazars in the east.

After years of war, the real turning point finally came with the assistance of Western Turkic Khan Tongyegu and Khazar Yegu, who saved the day and switched from defense to offense, invading Persia from the Caucasus direction.

Later, with the support of the Western Turkic Tocharian and Khazar armies, Heraclius even attacked the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, which eventually triggered civil strife in the Persian Sassanid Empire. Kavadh II, born to Emperor Khosrow II and a Byzantine princess, launched a palace coup and imprisoned his father. Kavadh proclaimed himself king and signed a peace treaty with Byzantium, ending the war.

Although the war had come to an end, the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Sassanid Empire had been fighting for a hundred years, so Heraclius did not dare to take it lightly, especially in the northwest. Persia had already allied with the Alvars and Slavs to support them in their constant harassment of the Byzantine Empire.
At the same time, they tried to blockade and monopolize the Silk Road trade and weaken the Byzantine economy.

Heraclius needed the Western Turks, an important ally who had helped him defeat the Persian Sassanids.

Although the Khazars were only a branch of the Western Turks, under the leadership of Moheduo and his son, they had become relatively independent and had closer ties with the Byzantine Empire.
Not only militarily, but also by helping the Byzantines to fight against the Slavs, Alvars, and Bulgars, and by helping them threaten Persia from the Caucasus.
In terms of economy, with the Khazars protecting the country, the Silk Road also had a grassland branch that could go directly to Byzantine Constantinople via the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea.
Although the Khazar Protectorate was only an important trade transit station on the Silk Road, its existence guaranteed the safety of the Silk Road and ensured that it would not be destroyed or intercepted by the Persians. The benefits it brought to Byzantium in terms of trade, taxation, etc. were extremely high.

It extends eastward from Constantinople, along the northern shore of the Black Sea, then eastward along the Caucasus Mountains, across the Caspian Sea, through the vast grasslands in northern Central Asia, and into the towering Mongolian Plateau and the Central Plains of China.

This Black Sea trade route through the Eurasian steppe was extremely important to Byzantium. It was this Silk Road that broke the monopoly blockade of the Southern Silk Road in the direction of Syria controlled by Persia.

The fact that the Khazars have been able to live in peace in a corner of the country over the years is also related to this.
They were closely allied with Byzantium and ignored the Western Turkic Khanate in the Western Regions. They made a fortune by relying on the grassland Silk Road. From time to time, they would lead troops to help Byzantium fight against the barbarians or Persia and collect some kickbacks.

The life was quite moist.

However, Wu Huaiyu was very confident in this Khazar Yehu Ashina Moheduo.
This is also the reason why Khazar Yehu Mohedu returned to the Western Regions after his father died in Jinshan.

"The Khazars have been living a relatively comfortable life these years, relying on the grassland Silk Road trade transit. They have monopolized the northern trade, and their alliance with Byzantium has allowed them to ignore even the Western Turkic Khanate in recent years."

Wu Huaiyu and Jiang Xingben sat around the pot, sipping milk tea and eating fried rice while talking about business.

The milk tea is fragrant, and with some milk tofu, it is really comfortable.

This kind of milk tofu is a common food for herdsmen, but it is also the marching rations for tribal warriors. After the prepared milk tofu is dried, it can be stored for up to a year.

The milk tofu has a translucent color and a bite of it is full of milky fragrance.

"Now our Anxi Army controls the Western Regions. From Jinshan to the Seven Rivers, and then to the Two Rivers, the grassland Silk Road leading to Khazars cannot bypass our Anxi Army.

"As long as we say one word, the grassland silk road will be cut off. Do you think Kesa Yehu will be panicked or anxious? He is the biggest supporter, but now he has to rely on me. Do you think he will not obey?"

Gaochang, Qiuci, Shule, Shiguo and other countries all lived a prosperous life by relying on the Silk Road.
Not to mention the former Western Turkic Khanate, which controlled the entire Western Regions. Whether it was the Black Sea Steppe Silk Road leading to Byzantium or the Southern Silk Road leading to Syria, as well as the Sogdian Hu merchants, they all had to deal with the Western Turks.
You even have to pay them a lot of taxes.

But now, the Tang Dynasty has conquered the Western Turks.
The Tang Dynasty became the ruler of the Western Regions.

The Anxi Army is the most powerful force in the Western Regions.

Tocharian Ye Hude hurried over to kneel and kiss Wu Huaiyu's boots.

He, Kesa Yehu, also had to come and pay a visit to Wu Huaiyu. If he didn't come to pay a visit to the dock, Wu Huaiyu could cut off his business routes.

"Minister Wu's prediction is really accurate. I met Ashina Moheduo yesterday. He was quite nice and respectful to our Tang Dynasty."

"Since this is also a sensible person, let him come to see me."

"What does Wu Xiang plan to do with him?"

"It's simple. Just do it the same as Tokharistan. Recommend Ashina Moheduo as the Khan of Khazar and set up the Khazar Protectorate in Khazar territory. Moheduo will also serve as the Protector General of Khazar. Like Nanbeiting and Tokharistan, he will be directly under the control of the Anxi Protectorate."

In this way, the Khazar Kingdom could be called the Khazar Khanate in the future, and they would truly break away from the Western Turkic Khanate.

Cooperation is beneficial to both sides.

Although a falling out would not necessarily mean a loss for both sides, Wu Huaiyu still believed that Khazar Yehu was a smart man.

The Khazars, like Tocharia, were very far from Suiye.

Tocharia borders Persia, and Khazar not only borders Byzantium to the west, but is also separated from Persia by only the Caucasus.

It would be very beneficial to bring these two places under the control of the Tang Dynasty as a buffer zone between them and the other two empires.

Furthermore, if these two guard posts were connected to the Tang Dynasty system, the subsequent Silk Road trade of the Tang Dynasty would be smoother and safer. In business, harmony brings wealth. If there were wars every day and robberies at every turn, the Silk Road would be blocked and everyone would suffer.

The Anxi Protectorate wanted to develop in the future, but it still hoped that the commercial goods on several routes of the Silk Road would bring enough profits from industrial and commercial trade and taxes to support its rapid development.

Tocharia and Khazars were upgraded to khanates and each had its own protectorate, but in essence they were just remote control vassal states and buffer zones.

Now the Tang Dynasty and they recognize each other and enjoy mutual benefits.

Ashina Wushibo and Ashina Moheduo wanted independence more. Breaking away from the Khanate and submitting to the Tang Dynasty was a good choice for them. After all, the Tang Dynasty named them Khans so that they no longer had to obey the orders of the Western Turkic Khanate, and it could also provide better protection and convenience in the Silk Road trade.

For the Tang Dynasty, the so-called conferring of the title of Khan was nothing more than an imperial edict, which could make the Western Turks more divided, which was certainly a favorable choice for the Tang Dynasty.

Jiang Xingben sighed, "I never thought that the descendants of Datou and Awa from the Western Turkic region would end up in such a situation, a mess. They are such unfilial descendants who only know how to fight among themselves."

"Hahaha, does Lord Jiang still hope that they will unite to fight against the Tang Dynasty? In fact, it's not that they don't want to unite, but since Tumen Khan established the Turkic Khanate, the system of the nomadic Khanate he chose has doomed them to be unstable. The more time goes by, the more internal strife they will have."

The nomadic tribes on the grasslands were nomadic, not settled, so the system they followed was the feudal system, which was passed down from generation to generation.

The Great Khan appointed his sons as small khans and sets, all of whom were in charge of military forces in separate units. To put it bluntly, they were vassal states with particularly great power.

After several generations,

Although the Great Khan and the Lesser Khan, She, Yehu, Chuo, Shijin, etc., were still members of the Ashina family, their relationship was not that close after several generations and it was impossible for them to be as close as father and son.

Even after Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty enfeoffed the descendants of the Liu family as princes and kings, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms broke out soon after. When the Western Jin Dynasty enfeoffed people, there was also the Rebellion of the Eight Kings.

Looking at the history of the Turks, each generation is worse than the previous one, and more chaotic than the previous one.

What is the coexistence of five Khans, what is the division of power?
Anyway, it's just constant division.

Just like the Western Turks,
It has always been an alliance between the Datou and Awa factions, and has never been truly integrated.

At that time, Tumen Khan sent his younger brother Shidianmi to the west, and later he became the Western Khan. His son Datou later fled to the northern desert to compete for the position of Khan.
However, Datou, Apo, and Siyehu Khan all failed in their expeditions to the northern desert.

Shekui Khan and Tongyehu Khan were devoted to managing the Western Regions.
Then, Tongyehu's son Tadushe established the Tokharistan Yehu Kingdom in Tokharistan. After only two generations, it also began to break away from the Western Turkic Khanate and become autonomous.

The Khazar Yehu Moheduo appointed by Tong Yehu later even poisoned him and usurped the throne and proclaimed himself Khan. After his defeat and death, his son succeeded him as Khazar Yehu and basically ignored the Khan's court.

The history of the Turks is one of constant internal strife and division.

This is the inevitable result of their system and it is not something that a certain khan can change. Datou Khan, Apo Khan, Nijuechuluo Khan, Shekui Khan, Tongyehu Khan, and even Moheduo Khan, these khans are actually very capable, but they cannot change this fundamental situation.

They don't have a real center.

When the Great Khan lacked prestige or suffered a great defeat, the lesser khans, Yehu, Jiqin and other feudal lords did not defend the king but instead rushed to attack the Khan and try to replace him.

"The Eastern Turkic Khan Li Simo, the Western Turkic Khan Ashina Mishe of the Northern Ting Xingxi Wang, and the Southern Ting Jiwang Jue Khan Ashina Bobu,

In addition to the current Tocharian Khan Ashina Ushibo and the Khazar Khan Ashina Mohe,

Now the Turks have five khans in office again." Jiang Xingben laughed a few times, "Five khans in office, regardless of size, no one is subordinate to the other, Wu Xiang's chess move is really brilliant."

"Well, let's ask our Khazar Yehu to come and talk. Maybe he is not willing to be the Khazar Khan."

"Impossible. I gave him a hint yesterday, and that guy promised to give me 1,000 taels of gold." Jiang Xingben wanted to make a bet with Wu Huaiyu.

Of course Wu Huaiyu wouldn't gamble with him.

Ashina Mohedu was invited.
Although he did not kneel down and kiss the boots right after he came in, he still bowed solemnly and presented a gift list with a carefully prepared gift on it.

Such as Byzantine gold coins, Persian Sassanid silver coins, Persian and Roman beauties, Slavic, Bulgar, Alvar and other slaves, and Khazar horses.

A very sincere gift.
However, Wu Huaiyu still followed the old rules. He did not accept such a generous gift, but suggested that the Khazar Yaphu could pay tribute to the emperor or donate some to the Anxi Army.

After the small talk, we got down to business.

Wu Huaiyu also came straight to the point and laid his cards on the table. With such a smart person, it is better to be more direct.

The Khazar Khan, the Khazar Protector General, the Grand General, the Duke of a County, and possibly even a Tang princess...

All these made Mo Heduo's breathing quicken, and he could hardly suppress his excitement.

Wu Huaiyu also has a package of cooperation plans, mainly to comprehensively strengthen trade cooperation along the Grassland Silk Road.

"Military Prime Minister,
I really don’t know how to refuse this kindness. I can only say that I am deeply grateful and will never forget it.”

He who knows the current situation is a hero.

Ashina Moheduo was a man of great talent who was very aware of the current affairs.

The two reached an agreement immediately.

"I will immediately recommend you to the sage in Chang'an as the Khan of the Khazar Khanate, and ask the Khan to personally submit a letter to the emperor."

The sound of Khazar Khan made Moheduo feel happy and ecstatic.

(End of this chapter)