A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1215: Governing the Eleven Towns in the Western Regions

An Lushan defeated Qiuci, and Yuwen Chengdu pacified Yanqi.

Wu Huaiyu's two adopted sons each led troops to pacify a country. Although Qiuci and Yanqi struggled desperately, it was useless. Their resistance was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot under the offensive of Anxi's elite troops.

In the autumn of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan,

Four towns in the south of Tian were established one after another, namely Shule Town, Qiuci Town, Yanqi Town and Yutian Town, with 5,000 infantry and cavalry of the Anxi Army stationed in each of the four towns.

Khotan was the last town to be established, but due to the situation, the King of Khotan voluntarily resigned from the post of governor and invited the Anxi Army to move in, while also demanding the withdrawal of the Turkic Tutun and their troops.

Wu Huaiyu naturally accepted it with a smile. After seeing the fate of the Tutun of Kucha and Yanqi, the Tutun of Khotan also honestly handed over the guardianship of Khotan.

For a time,

The city-states in southern China came to submit one after another, and the kings vied with each other to send cattle and sheep, and drove camels to transport grain to reward the Anxi army.

Even the Turks in Zhaowu Sogdiana and Tocharian, as well as the Yeda princes, vied with each other to reward the Tang army.

In fact, it is a disguised form of tribute and protection fee.

Wu Huaiyu sent troops to Tiannan in early summer. Everyone expected that the three kingdoms of Shule could not stop the coalition forces formed by the Tang Dynasty, but no one expected this result.

Shule surrendered, Kepanduo and Zhugupo were destroyed, then Qulichu rebelled, then Qiuci and Yanqi were destroyed, and Khotan surrendered again.

It's amazing.

Wu Huaiyu is very busy this autumn.
He knew in his heart that he would receive an imperial edict to return to the court by the end of the year at the latest. He was also busy making preparations for the handover. Some people and things still needed to be arranged.

Today, the situation in the entire Western Region has stabilized, and the new pattern of the Western Region dominated by the Tang Dynasty has also been completed.

The three states directly under the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions were Yizhou, Tingzhou and Xizhou in the east of Tianshan Mountain.
To the south of the Tianshan Mountains are the Four Towns of Southern Tian, ​​namely Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule and Khotan. These four towns temporarily retained their kings, but the four governors and four garrisons were all officials and generals of the Tang Dynasty, and the garrisoned troops were all Anxi soldiers.

The military, finance, taxation and civil affairs were all taken over by the Tang Dynasty. These four kings were only kings in name only, a symbol and a pure decoration.

To the north of the Tianshan Mountains are the Beiting and Nanting of the Western Turkic Khanate, which were divided into the left and right wings. The two Khans also served as the protector generals of Mengchi and Kunling.

After Lu Chengqing returned to the court,

The court also formally agreed to Wu Huaiyu's previous request and appointed the son-in-law Duwei She'er as the Khan of Nanting Jiwangjue, the Protector General of Mengchi, and the General of the Cavalry.

Beiting was still Mishe as Xingxiwang Khan, Protector of Kunling, and General of the Cavalry.

A new protectorate was established in Tokharistan, Transoxiana and Khazar respectively, and the Tokharistan Yaphu and the Khazar Yaphu were both appointed as Khan and protectorate generals, with the title of General of the Cavalry.

Shi Shouxin, the king of the Shi Kingdom, also served as the Protector General of Hezhong, and was given the title of General of Cavalry and granted marriage to a county princess.

The overall structure of the Western Regions was that the Tang Dynasty used the eastern and southern parts of the Tianshan Mountains as its base camps and did not allow the Turks to interfere, thus completely controlling them.

To the north of the Tianshan Mountains, the Tang Dynasty also established two major military towns, Yili and Suiye. If Tingzhou is included, there are also the towns of Hanhai and Luntai.

The area north of the Tianshan Mountains was shared by the Tang Dynasty and the Western Turkic tribes.

As for Transoxiana, Tokharistan and Khazars, they are completely outer buffer zones, basically remote vassal prefectures and states where no troops are directly stationed, and cannot be considered real territories.

Now the pattern has been opened up and order has been restored.

What the Tang Dynasty needed was to deploy its troops and then continue to migrate to the Western Regions.

Wu Huaiyu was sitting in the public housing, taking a break from his busy schedule to continue writing his Journey to the West. When he heard footsteps outside, he immediately recognized that it was Yuwen Chengdu.

"Enter,"

"Aye." The tall and handsome Yuwen Chengdu came in and saluted respectfully.

"sit."

Wu Huaiyu handed him a certificate of appointment. "It was just delivered by the post station. The court has recorded your meritorious service and specially appointed you as the honorary official of Shangzhuguo, the military official of Jinyunhui Jiangjun, and also granted you the title of the founding duke of Dunhuang County."

"And I pay my respects to you, the Guardian of Irri."

Yuwen Chengdu looked at the letter of appointment in front of him, a little dazed.

"Here, this is what you have earned from serving in the army for more than a decade and fighting dozens of battles."

Yuwen Chengdu took it and saw the bright red seal of the Ministry of Personnel on his body.

"As for your official seal and official robe, Huaiyi prepared them for you in Chang'an and sent them here as well."

General Yunhui, this is the Wusan level from the third rank.

From then on, he officially entered the ranks of the golden and purple nobles and became a high-ranking official.

He was given the title of Pillar of the State and the dukedom of founding the country.

Yuwen Chengdu was so excited that he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"You paid with your life for this, you deserve it. You should thank the saint for his gift and be loyal to His Majesty and the Tang Dynasty." Wu Huaiyu said.

After a while, Yuwen Chengdu finally calmed down.

"You didn't get a real seal this time, but keep working hard. You're still young. If you make meritorious contributions in the future, you'll have a chance to get a real seal."

"I am already very satisfied. I used to be just a shepherd boy. All that I have now is thanks to my adoptive father. I will never forget your kindness." Yuwen Chengdu knelt down and kowtowed to Wu Huaiyu to express his gratitude.

"You are being too polite,"

The Yili Garrison Commander, whose full name should be the Yili Garrison Army Garrison Commander.

The situation in the Western Regions is rather special. It is too far away from the Central Plains, so the previous garrison system is not applicable here.

The original garrisons of the imperial court were different from the current military garrisons in the Western Regions. The previous garrisons were mainly an early warning system. A garrison with 500 people was called an upper garrison, a garrison with 300 people was called a middle garrison, and those with less than that were called lower garrisons. There were only 30 to 50 people in the garrison.

These garrisons were mainly set up at some passes and forts on the border. As far as war was concerned, this small number of garrison troops would not play much of a role, and they were equivalent to larger beacon tower guards.

The Western Regions are so vast that it is impossible to rely on the traditional garrison of 300 to 500 people. Under Wu Huaiyu's suggestion and the court's repeated consideration,
The Western Regions have changed from a wartime camp system to a garrison system.
After adjustment,

Today, the Western Regions have formed a new and unique garrison system. Under the Anxi Protectorate, in addition to the Anxi Ya Army, there are now the Yiwu Army, the Tianshan Army, the Hanhai Army, as well as the Yili, Suiye, Dayuan, Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, and Yutian military garrisons.

There are ten military towns in total, plus one Yajun.

Each unit had 5,000 infantry and cavalry, totaling an astonishing 55,000 men and horses.

These 55,000 troops were stationed in the Western Regions. They were basically drawn from the inland areas. However, unlike ordinary border troops, the imperial court transferred these soldiers to the Western Regions to move their families as well, and from then on they became standing troops.

They were given land and fields in the Western Regions, and later they settled down in the Western Regions.

They even became soldiers who received food and wages like the imperial guards.

As an elite Anxi border army capable of guarding the vast Western Regions, they must be able to intimidate the Hu people in the Western Regions, be able to come when called, fight when they come, and win when they fight.

Four parts for farming and grazing, and six parts for defense and warfare.

The organization of each military garrison was also different from that of the mainland. The official name of each military garrison was the garrison garrison, and each garrison garrison had a garrison commander and a deputy commander. There was also a Sima, a Cangcao, and a Bingcao assistant military officer.

There is one escort officer for every 500 people, and one sub-general manager for every 1,000 people. In all the armies and garrisons, the envoys and deputy envoys and above are replaced every four years, and the general managers and above are replaced every six years. The escort officers are replaced along with the soldiers.

The Western Regions were so vast that 55,000 Han soldiers were relatively few, especially when they were stationed in various places. A military town had a total of 5,000 soldiers, but they had to guard various cities and forts, watch beacons, patrol, and cultivate land.

Therefore, the military garrisons in Anxi also had some sons of the city-dwelling tribes who had surrendered to the inland areas. These were equivalent to the militiamen in the interior, and could be temporarily recruited to assist in times of war.

In addition to these city dwellers, when necessary, they can also directly recruit from the tribes. After all, those tribes are autonomous and have their own armed forces.

At this stage, and even for a long time in the future, the biggest potential opponent of the Anxi Army is actually the Turkic tribe.

The 55,000 Anxi Army garrison troops stationed in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains also greatly changed the military structure of the Western Regions.

Wu Huaiyu has always believed that truth is only within the range of cannons and dignity is only on the edge of swords.

Many people in the court opposed Wu Huaiyu's military garrison plan. Some believed that the military expenditure of stationing 55,000 soldiers in the Western Regions would be too high and the court would not be able to afford it in the long run.

Some people also believe that there are too many troops in the eleven military garrisons in the Western Regions, all led by the Grand Protector of Anxi. Over time, accidents are bound to happen. The exterior is heavy and the interior is light, which does not conform to the principle of strong trunk and weak branches. It would be very dangerous if it got out of control.

In short, there are many objections.

But the emperor also considered the issue in the long term. The Western Regions had been conquered, but it was easy to conquer but difficult to defend. It would not work without a permanent army, and the traditional rotation of soldiers was not suitable. The method proposed by Wu Huaiyu was more in line with the actual situation.

By moving the inland troops to the Western Regions and stationing them there permanently, and even moving their families and friends there, the frontier could be strengthened and the pain of rotating guards could be avoided.

As for whether local warlords would become too powerful to be controlled or even become out of control and secede, the emperor was not so worried. He could adjust policies in the future and slowly solve these problems.

For example, the Anxi Protectorate could be split into two Protectorates, or the Governorate and the garrison could supervise and balance each other.

We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater, but must proceed from reality. We have finally conquered the Western Regions, so we must hold on to them and guard them well.

The military garrison strategy provided by Wu Huaiyu is the most practical one, and the emperor certainly supports it. As for its drawbacks, they can be improved later.

Of course, after this strategy was approved by the emperor, it meant that the countdown to the splitting of the Anxi Protectorate began, and Wu Huaiyu was about to return to the court.

Wu Huaiyu is also very clear about this.

The Luntai Military Town and the Hanhai Army were merged into one. Wu Huaiyu recommended Yuwen Chengdu to go to Yili Town because he was impressed by his ability and Yili Town had a better future prospect.

To the north of the Tianshan Mountains, the two military towns of Yili and Suiye will surely be the focus of development among the military towns in the Western Regions in the future. To the south of the Tianshan Mountains, the three towns of Qiuci, Khotan and Shule will surely be the focus. In Hezhong, the stability of the Dayuan military town must also be ensured.

On the contrary, the three armies of Yiwulu, Tianshan and Hanhai in the three states of Tianshan, Dongyi, Xiting will be weakened in the future because of their lower importance.

Yili, Suiye, Dayuan, Qiuci, Shule and Yutian, these six towns are the core of the future.

"Can't An Zhuer resume his post as the governor of Yili?"

Yuwen Chengdu asked.

"What do you care about that bastard? He is responsible for his own mistakes. The fact that his head is still on his shoulders is a blessing from the saints."

Wu Huaiyu cursed twice.
"Foster father, An Zhu'er only made a mistake for a moment. He was also angry that the people of Kucha rebelled and attacked Aye, so he used too much military force against Kucha. As for his affair with the queen of Kucha, it was also a moment of confusion, but they took the initiative to throw themselves into his arms..."

"You don't have to say nice things to that bastard. He can't be the governor of Yili anymore. I know you brothers have a good relationship. Don't worry, I have other plans. I won't let him lead my horse all the time."

"Don't worry about him. Just guard the Yili military town for me. You have to train the 5,000 infantry and cavalry well. You will guard the Tuqishi and Shesheti. The Yili Valley is very fertile. The 3,000-mile Yili River is your defense area. Not only must you train the soldiers well, but you must also be responsible for farming and grazing in the military settlements. You must be as self-sufficient as possible, and you must also maintain the safety of the Silk Road."

Yuwen Chengdu patted his chest and said that he would never let Wu Huaiyu down.

(End of this chapter)