Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 374 Journey to the West

In Yezhi City, the soldiers of the Anxi Expedition under Fang Zhongyong were looking for wood everywhere in the city, and then prepared to build a ferry and a granary on the westernmost lake shore of Atami. It is only two or three miles away from Yezhi City.

There are not many tall trees near Yezhi City, and in addition to the hope of re-militarizing the city, Fang Chongyong can only think of "shops" in Yezhi City.

There are many "conventional" stalls in the city, all fenced with wood. Tuqishi officials collect business taxes based on the size of the stalls, once a day, and whoever occupies the space gets the tax.

These timbers can be used to build ferries and granaries.

Anyway, they are all "ownerless things" and can be dismantled at any cost.

"My lord, this shop cannot be demolished!"

In front of a stall filled with melons and fruits in Yezhi City, a Sogdian Hu man shouted, blocking the soldiers of Silver Spear Xiaojie who came to demolish the stall.

In order to "occupy the stall", he paid a month's business tax in one go, and now no one is willing to refund the money to him!

"You didn't build this shop, so what are you barking at?"

Fang Jieshuai said that people who damage other people's property must be compensated, but he didn't say that those who obstruct official duties cannot be dealt with! Regarding the things in the coffin that are asking for money, these Qiuba people's principles of dealing with them are still very clear.

People of all kinds can still be seen coming in and out at the city gate, but the city walls are of different heights, and the female wall has long since disappeared, revealing irregular sections that have been eroded by wind and sand for a long time.

After two days of marching, they finally arrived at the legendary Broken Leaf City. Looking at the dilapidated city in front of him, Fang Zhongyong put his hands behind his back and couldn't help but sigh.

At the same time, it is also a place for leisure and fun for the Ashina people of Western Turks. Although the city is very small and not worth mentioning militarily, the local scenery is very beautiful.

During the Tang Dynasty's defeat of Sulu, because he did not stand on the wrong team, he was canonized by the Tang Dynasty after the war, and the Shi Kingdom was not damaged in that great turmoil.

At that time, Jinskia's father was also a tribal leader under Tuqi Shi Sulu, named Mohedu Tutun. At that time, he was occupying Talas, Zhezhi City and other places.

It is a large city with walls that are several miles long and several miles wide. Within a radius of a thousand miles, the scale is definitely not small, and can even be said to be second to none.

"Our commander-in-chief, Fang Jieshuai, said that the people's losses caused by the work must be compensated. This military coupon can be exchanged for silk in the Western Region. One hundred cash is exactly ten days of taxes."

There are no flags on the city tower, holes can be seen everywhere on the city wall, and there are no soldiers guarding it.

It's just that Ashbulai City is now the same as Suiye City, with only broken walls and ruins left.

Because of this, Datang's management of Suiye Town has always been extremely extensive, and it is even impossible to organize households to equalize the people. Even if I want to learn from the Central Plains region, I don’t know where to start.

Yezhi City will be completely under military control, the city will be rebuilt, and it will serve as the bridgehead of the Anxi Expeditionary Force!
And the final retreat in case of failure!
Thinking about defeat before victory, Fang Chongyong has considered the worst case scenario and optimized food routes and logistics supply routes.

At present, almost all the cities east of Talas, including Broken Leaf City, are in a strange state of being abandoned but active, a typical "city without defense";
Most of the cities west of Talos are still intact. There are soldiers and horses stationed in the city, and there are officials responsible for maintaining daily operations.

"Master Jun, I have paid the tax for a month, and there are still ten days left? There are so many goods, and you demolished the shop, and I have nowhere to go!"

Barren land, distinctive local products, and abnormally developed trade are their common characteristics.

Further west of Julan City is Talas City, which was captured by Gao Xianzhi's troops not long ago.

Going west out of the Ili River Valley, these little bits and pieces of power are very dispersed, and the land that can stably provide food and water sources in each place is very small. In addition to a few extremely limited local specialties, these oases lack almost everything else.

A Silver Spear Xiaojie sergeant put the hilt of his sword against Hu Shang's chin and asked in a bad tone.

At this moment, the main force of the Anxi Expeditionary Force has gone north to Suiye City. Wang Ruolan has occupied the dilapidated Suiye City without any blood and established a camp in the north of the city, at the foot of Jiedan Mountain on the north bank of Suiye.

Give both military tickets and fists.

This Sogdian barbarian seemed to be a bit stubborn and defended himself in jerky Chinese.

After Fang Chongyong learned that the progress ahead was going smoothly, he also took the main force of the Anxi Expeditionary Force to the Anxi Expeditionary Army camp north of Suiye City to meet up with Wang Nanlan.

When the Tang Dynasty attacked the Khan surnamed Hei, he sent troops to assist Gai Jiayun in breaking leaves and capturing the fire-spitting immortal. For his merits, he was named "King of Shunyi"; but later in the Tang Dynasty, when he saw the sudden knight surnamed Huang Shi sitting in power, he changed his mind. After supporting the black khan, Mohedu Tutun still failed to see the situation clearly.

Jiedan Mountain is the holy mountain of the Turks. If the new Tuqi Shi Shi Khan wants to take the throne, it is not enough to be canonized by the court. He must also lead his troops to the foot of Jiedan Mountain to worship heaven before he can order his subordinates. tribesmen.

Most local necessities need to be imported from outside.

"This is Broken Leaf City."

All of this tells people who don't know what's going on that this big city has been abandoned.

Why are the distribution of these cities so strange and distinct?
In fact, the key lies in the war in which the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Tuqi Shi Sulu. Almost all the cities east of Talos were destroyed in the war.

……

After saying that, these Qiuba did not hesitate and punched and kicked the Sogdian barbarians kneeling on the ground. Then they called on the people behind them to come over and remove the wood. As for the loss of one hundred coins, they will get it back from the Tuqishi guards in Yezhi City.

At the same time, he divided his troops and ordered He Changqi to take two thousand soldiers with silver spears and Xiaojie soldiers. They should not stop at Suiye City all the way to the west, but go forward to camp near the famous "Ashi Bu Lai City". Thinking of the army as an early warning.

Therefore, the current situation is that the two major forces, Black Clothes Dashi and Datang, are competing for control of the Hezhong area after the decline of the Western Turks. Essentially speaking, the top leaders of the small countries in the Western Regions west of Congling are basically inextricably linked to the Western Turkic nobles.

Ashbulai City was the royal city of the Western Turks and was famous for its proximity to the Ashbulai River. This place is rich in high-quality turquoise, which is constantly sold to Chang'an through merchants from the Western Regions.

This is a war only about interests and not about justice.

An important reason why Gao Xianzhi dared to attack Shi Guo now was that Mohe Du Tutun firmly sided with Huang Khan and Mohe Dagan.

The relationship here is really messy and it's hard to tell right from wrong. Only a simple and ignorant girl like Jinsi Kaiya would think that everything in the world is black or white, right or wrong.

About sixty or seventy miles west of Ashbulai City is the also abandoned Julan City;

He only lost ten days of tax money, but he looked almost like his dead mother. The Sogdian businessman knelt on the ground and begged. After a long time, the soldier of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army reluctantly took out a "military ticket" from his sleeve and handed it to him with a look of disgust on his face.

Otherwise, the name is not justified.

Today, there are only a thousand Tang troops left in Yezhi City. They are only building the Yezhi Ferry to transport grain shipped from Atami. The reconstruction of Yezhi City has also been put on the agenda. In the future, these Western Region Hu merchants will not be allowed to set up stalls in the city, but will only be allowed to set up stalls in the newly established market near the ferry.

The surrounding area is full of merchants and their entourages from various countries in the Western Regions who are both merchants and thieves. They have gradually gathered in the water supply area to form a market town. Even the basic protection is lacking. On weekdays, Tuqishi only collects business taxes casually. , does not participate in the daily management of the market town.

Suiye City is built on the hills on the south bank of Suiye River. The mountain on the other side of Suiye River is Mount Jedan, the holy mountain of Turks. People in Suiye City can see the snow-capped mountaintops all year round.

"In order to show the power of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong deliberately scaled down the construction of Suiye City in accordance with the regulations of Chang'an. This allowed people from the Western Regions thousands of miles away to feel the power and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

What a shame. "

Next to Fang Chongyong, Feng Changqing, a military officer who recorded military orders with him, said with regret.

“At that time, the Tang Dynasty believed that the iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty had no boundaries and that wherever they went, they were the king’s territory.

Today's Tang Dynasty just realizes that it cannot control many places at all, and it is better to leave them to the local tribes to control them. "

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, not wanting to discuss this topic any further. Yes, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, looking at the map, the territory was indeed very vast. But in fact, Datang's control over the Western Regions at that time was very weak. The so-called "large territory" only exists on paper.

It was not until the Kaiyuan period that the Tang Dynasty actually controlled many oases within the "Arm-Arm Area", which was the Xinjiang of Fang Chongyong's previous life. Places further away, such as Broken Leaf City, cannot be controlled at all.

There is no other reason. It’s not that we can’t win the war, but that we transport food and troops thousands of miles. We really can’t afford to be hurt!
The output is less than one-tenth of the input!

Could it be that the Tang Dynasty really had no way to control Suiye City? In fact, as long as you are willing to spend a lot of money, it is not difficult.

In other words, lack of money itself is the biggest difficulty.

The dilapidated Suiye City in front of us seems to be silently telling the story of those turbulent years.

It's like a young man who thinks he is invincible with his fists and can pierce even the sky!
This is the place where he fought passionately!

"Let's go into the city and have a look."

Fang Chongyong greeted Feng Changqing and dozens of soldiers of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army beside him.

When everyone entered Suiye City, they found that although the outside was very dilapidated, there was something special inside. Many people actually settled here.

There are well-organized courtyards in the big city, and the larger ones even have arrow towers to guard the surroundings.

Merchants setting up stalls can be seen everywhere on the roadside, wearing different colors and races. But most of them are dressed as barbarians from the Western Regions, wearing white robes and turbans covering their faces.

Almost everyone here, regardless of gender or age, carries a knife.

“When whales fall, all things live, the officials leave, but the merchants with a keen sense of smell do not leave, and the people who come to seek a living are reluctant to leave.

Look at these people, even if they see through our identity, they will do whatever they have to do as if nothing has happened.

In their view, as long as we don't target them, it doesn't matter to them whether Datang is in charge here or Tuqishi is in charge. "

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but complain to Feng Changqing.

At this time, Suiye City can be described as "governing by doing nothing", which is probably very appropriate. The only difference is that the natural environment here is better than that of Yezhi City, and it is close to the Turkic Holy Mountain. Therefore, even if the city is dilapidated and unguarded, there are still people in the city with deep ditches and walls, and the ground is a mansion.

They regularly pay business taxes to the people of Tuqishi, and Tuqishi implements a "free-range" policy for them and does not interfere with these people on weekdays.

Before entering the city, Fang Chongyong saw a large Buddhist temple next to Suiye City called Dayun Temple.

This is a landmark building built by the Tang army here, and it also symbolizes the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

However, after entering the city, Fang Chongyong discovered that the temples in Suiye City were simply a mass of demons, including Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, and Islam. There were also some weird-looking temples, many of which were dressed in weird clothes. believers preaching in front of the courtyard gate.

These people do their own thing and do not interfere with the water in the well.

A man who looked like a monk walked up to Fang Chongyong and babbled at him. As a result, Ambassador Fang couldn't understand a word he said.

Fang Chongyong looked at the complicated and lively scene in front of him and really didn't know what to say. He had just defeated Tu Qishi and pulled down all the ten Khans. As a result, these people in Suiye City acted as if nothing happened!
"Although the flowers may not be good flowers, they are indeed in full bloom."

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing somewhat helplessly.

"Commander Jie, Suiye City cannot be defended, and rebuilding it will waste people and money, and is a useless effort.

It's better to let it use its residual heat like this.

Since it is an important stronghold on the trade route and we are unable to control it tightly, let’s just let it go. "

Feng Changqing persuaded calmly.

He knew that Fang Chongyong took time out of his busy schedule to come to Suiye City today just to inspect whether it was necessary to rebuild the city and whether it was necessary for the Tang Army to take actual control.

Because the location of Broken Leaf City is indeed very important, and it can achieve the strategic effect of "controlling the surface with points".

However, judging from the inspection situation, Feng Changqing felt that Fang Chongyong should have given up the idea of ​​rebuilding Suiye Town.

It’s not that I don’t want to, but it costs too much and is difficult to maintain. It is better to invest limited resources where they are needed more.

At this moment, a man's hoarse voice came from not far away: "Young lady from the Kingdom of Stone, beautiful and young, playing with a piece of silk for half an hour! Today, don't wait when it's too late! It doesn't matter if you don't have silk, a piece of silk is worth the price Gold, silver and copper coins are also available!”

After speaking, the man shouted twice more in Dashi language and Turkic language.

"From the Stone Kingdom?"

Fang Chongyong was slightly stunned. The word "Shi Guo" is very sensitive nowadays. Where did the noble girl from the Stone Kingdom come from, and she became a prostitute and was put in Suiye City to receive customers in public?

Fang Chongyong led a group of soldiers to the place where the shouting was, and saw that the shouting people should be a group of slave traders, with people of various nationalities and various costumes. They surrounded one "private room" after another with linen cloth.

The young beauties wearing luxurious silks looked like animals, their wrists tied with ropes, and they stood in a row with heavy makeup.

It seems that whoever pays can choose one to go in and have a shot, just like putting the goods on the counter in a shopping mall, and then customers watch and choose.

But obviously, if this price were offered in Chang'an, the business of these women would be so good that they would not be able to accept all the customers, and they would not even have time to drink water.

But here in Suiye City, a piece of silk is expensive, more than ten times more expensive than in Chang'an.

Whether it's worth it or not is a matter of debate.

Those who can afford it cannot lack women around them, and naturally they cannot be too interested.

In Wuwei City, Liangzhou, a Western Orchid, who is more than ten years old, only has twenty pieces of silk. That was still in Hexi, and there were only a lot more orchids here. What kind of beautiful orchids can’t rich people buy?

And those who can’t afford it can’t afford it either.

Most of these people are merchant guards and attendants. Spending a piece of silk to "be chic" for half an hour is really too extravagant. In the Western Regions, silk was hard currency, and people wanted it everywhere.

Because of this, no matter how lively these traffickers are, most of the onlookers are just watching the excitement, and almost no one is willing to spend this wasted money.

"Send a few soldiers to control this group of people, and then bring them to the camp. The ambassador will ask them personally."

Fang Chongyong explained to Feng Changqing and headed directly towards the north gate of Suiye City.

The Tang Army's camp is on the north bank of Suiye River. It was obvious that he didn't have the slightest fondness for slave traders and didn't bother to deal with them at all.

"If you have the order, I will do it now."

Feng Changqing crossed his hands and saluted.

(End of this chapter)