Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

On the vast grassland, the thirty-four tribes of Tang Dynasty were scattered and scattered.

The ethnic composition of the ancient tribes in the Tang Dynasty was extremely complex, including: Han, Xi, Bohai, Shiwei, Zubu, Koryo, Dangxiang, Uighur, Jurchen...

They are all prisoners of war captured by the Liao Kingdom, as well as people of all ethnic groups plundered by the Liao Kingdom!

After a series of rule, they were gradually relocated to the grasslands south of Yinshan Mountain and north of Shanxi. The main purpose was for the Liao Kingdom to defend against Xixia. (The ancient Tang tribe also existed in the grasslands north of Jilin and Liaoning, and was regarded as a Jurchen tribe by the Jin Kingdom and absorbed.)

For more than a hundred years, the captives of various ethnic groups gradually merged and were collectively known as the ancient tribes of the Tang Dynasty.

In the territory of the ancient tribes of the Tang Dynasty, there were also some Khitan tribes scattered here and there.

At the beginning, the Khitan tribe monitored and ruled the Tang tribes, and gradually intermarriage among common people became frequent. Until the decline of the Liao Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom occupied this place, and through chaotic and alternating migrations, even the leaders of the grassland tribes could not figure out the situation.

Now, they are called "Tanggu/Khitan tribes".

A piece of loose sand with extremely weak strength. On the surface, it surrenders to the Kingdom of Jin, but secretly preserves its strength.

The snow on the grassland has not yet melted, and a horse team set off from Mobei. They passed through the territory of the Zubu tribe and soon entered the grasslands of the Tanggu tribes.

These Tanggu tribes who submitted to the Jin Kingdom actually warmly received the people from Mobei and reminded them how to avoid the pastures actually controlled by the Jin people.

When passing by the Meigu Xi tribe (one of the thirty-four tribes of the Tang Dynasty), Ma Kuo was drinking goat's milk to satisfy his hunger. Suddenly a young man came running up on horseback and asked in Chinese with a very strange accent: "Are you Han Chinese?"

Ma Kuo was very surprised and asked: "Are you also a Han?"

The young man replied: "My father told me that my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather was a Han Chinese living in the Tang Dynasty. More than a hundred years ago, my ancestors were captured on the grassland and migrated several times before arriving here."

Yu Yunwen was also surprised and asked, "What's your name?"

The young man replied: "The Khitan's name is Hu Dugu, and the Han's name is Cui Fangshu."

Ma Kuo didn't have any special reaction to this, but Yu Yunwen said: "Uncle Xianyun, conquered the wild beasts, and the barbarians came to dominate. Did your fathers read the Book of Songs?"

The young man named Cui Fangshu quickly said a long list of contents, and the Chinese was mixed with Khitan dialect: "Father said, my ancestor is the Qinghe Cui family. Several generations of ancestors have taught their descendants to read, but they suffer from the lack of books." "The Book of Songs" was stolen by my great-grandfather when he joined the army in the Western Xia war. I only have this book in my family now, and both my grandfather and father used the "Book of Songs" to give their Chinese names."

Yu Yunwen was greatly shocked: "For more than a hundred years, the descendants of the Han family have not been forgotten. They are truly pure, filial, loyal and righteous people!"

Ma Kuo asked, "Is your father the leader of this place?"

Cui Fangshu said: "For several generations, my ancestors were recruiting officials in the southwest of the Liao Kingdom. Now I have no official positions, but I still have a pasture and manage hundreds of herdsmen. My mother's clan is also from the Meiguxi tribe. There are also hundreds of people in the subordinate tribes.”

"Can you take us to see your father?" Ma Kuo asked.

Uncle Cui Fang said happily: "I know that your father is an honorific, and finally someone talks to me like this. I am sent by my father to invite you to come and be a guest."

Ma Kuo immediately nodded to Yu Yunwen and Zhu Xiaozhong.

Zhu Xiaozhong put down the food and stood up, holding the weapon to lead the war horse.

Ju Ming's chief adopted son is now stronger and has fought two battles with Yelu Dashi before.

The Ming Dynasty envoy returned south this time, and also brought the envoy from Yelu Dashi.

They went to Uncle Cui Fang's tribe together and didn't arrive until the afternoon of the next day.

"This is my father Cui Youzhi!" Cui Fangshu introduced enthusiastically.

He didn't know what it meant to avoid tabooing one's father's name, and he spoke fluent Chinese.

This middle-aged man named Cui Youzhi also speaks Chinese mixed with plain Chinese, and Khitan dialect from time to time.

It is estimated that in one or two generations, they will completely forget Chinese.

The two sides exchanged greetings, and Ma Kuo asked about the situation here. Cui Youzhi said with a serious expression: "After the fall of the Liao Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom dispersed the tribes here and relocated them. There was no official government at the beginning. The tribes attacked and annexed each other, and now Megu Xi The tribe is the strongest, Jie's tribe is second, Nie's tribe is third, and Hela tribe is fourth. My small tribe is also forced to submit to Mei Guxi tribe."

"How is the Jin people's control now?" Ma Kuo asked.

Cui Youzhi said: "The Jin people restored the Southwest Recruitment Division the year before last and stationed troops. Last year, all the ministries were ordered to go south with the army. To be honest, I went too. I took a dozen tribal warriors with me and followed Megu. The leader of the Xi tribe went out to fight and fell under the command of Wanyan Loushi."

"You have arrived in Han Dynasty?" Zhu Xiaozhong asked in surprise.

Cui Youzhi said: "I attacked Taiyuan first, but I couldn't defeat it. The more than ten warriors I brought were organized into other groups of light cavalry to explore the valley in the southeast of Yu County, and then they were lucky enough to escape back to the grassland. Mei Guxi The son of the leader of the tribe, I heard that he died in battle with his warriors (actually he surrendered).”

Ma Kuo finally understood that the man named Cui was afraid of being beaten, and that the grassland was in disorder, so he wanted to hug the Ming court.

Cui Youzhi took the initiative to provide information and said: "The tribes of the ancient Tang Dynasty heard that the Jin Kingdom suffered a great defeat, and now they are even more dissatisfied with the rule of the Jin Kingdom. The Jin people asked for more horses as tribute than the Liao Kingdom before. If this continues, the ancient Tang tribes will How can I bear it?"

Ma Kuo pointed to the herdsmen in the distance and asked, "How many Han descendants are there in your tribe?"

Cui Youzhi replied: "I don't understand. More than a dozen ethnic groups have been intermarried for more than a hundred years. How can you tell whether they are Han or not?"

These tribes, which were formed by captives from various ethnic groups, were even classified as Semu people in the Yuan Dynasty.

The next day, Cui Youzhi took Ma Kuo and others to visit the leader of Meguxi tribe.

The other party inquired about his son's whereabouts as soon as they met. He didn't know that his son was thrown away by Wanyan Lou's room, so he decisively led his troops to surrender and surrendered to Chen Ziyi, who was closely pursuing him.

When Mei Guxi surrendered, there were only about a hundred men, and the main body of the surrender was the Khitan cavalry further east.

Ma Kuo wandered around the grasslands of various tribes in Tang Dynasty for more than ten days and met with the leaders of several tribes.

Suddenly someone came to report that the Jin people had learned of their existence and were sending troops to block the way forward.

Ma Kuo, Yu Yunwen, and Zhu Xiaozhong, with their cavalry and the Western Liao envoys, quickly set off and headed further west.

They entered the Xixia territory without any danger, went to the Xixia capital to visit Li Qianshun, and then rode back to Kaifeng at full speed.

When everyone returned to Beijing, it was already the fourth day of awarding meritorious officials.

"Are you a descendant of the Cui family in Qinghe?" Zhu Ming looked at the boy in front of him curiously.

Uncle Cui Fang also came, and he also wanted to recognize his ancestor and return to the clan.

In this young man's body, there is not only the heritage of the Han people, but also the blood of seven or eight ethnic groups, including Xi people, Uighurs, and Dangxiang.

Cui Fangshu Ma Liu knelt down and said: "Kowtow to His Highness the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty!"

After a few words of encouragement, Ju Ming sent the young man away and said to Ma Kuo, "Tell me in detail."

Ma Kuo said happily: "Since the defeat of the Jin Kingdom last year, the Tanggu and Khitan tribes have rebelled. They originally hated the Jin Kingdom for demanding excessive tribute, but they were just afraid that the Jin soldiers would be forced to surrender. Once the king's army breaks through Yunzhong (Datong) ) to go north, the tribes in Monan will definitely unite and respond. If the Jin Kingdom dares to force the tribes to fight south, they will defect before the battle as long as their defeat is revealed!"

"Are you sure?" Zhu Ming asked.

Ma Kuo said: "I visited the leaders of two large tribes and seven small tribes, and they all revealed their dissatisfaction with the Kingdom of Jin. Originally, I wanted to connect more tribes, but unfortunately the Jin soldiers heard the news and came to kill them. Fortunately, there were Only by reporting to the various tribes could we escape.”

Ju Ming asked again: "Does Yelu Dashi know that the Jin soldiers were defeated last year?"

Ma Kuo replied: "It was just after receiving the news that I sent the envoys and ministers back. Yelu Dashi said that in the next one or two years, he would lead his troops to attack Linhuang Mansion and regain the hometown of Shangjing (Bahrain Left Banner) of the Liao Kingdom. He I hope that His Highness the Prince will launch an expedition to the north as soon as possible and attack the Jin people from both the north and the south. After the destruction of the Jin Kingdom, the sixteen states of Youyun will belong to the Ming Dynasty, and the Monan and Mobei grasslands will belong to the Liao Kingdom. From then on, the two countries will always be brothers."

"He is thinking of good things." Zhu Ming smiled.

Ma Kuo said: "Yelu Dashi's words should be sincere. He heard that the Jin soldiers were defeated, and he already guessed that the king's army was brave and brave, and he did not dare to think about taking back Youyun."

Ju Ming asked: "What is his prestige in Mobei?"

Ma Kuo said: "There is still not enough prestige for the moment. Some powerful large tribes only obey them on the surface. However, in the past two or three years, we have fought several games. Yelu Dashi has always won, and his prestige is continuing to increase. Once he regains it, Linhuang Mansion of the Liao Kingdom may really become the co-owner of the grassland."

"It's also a serious problem." Zhu Ming couldn't help but sigh.

Ma Kuo reminded: "The ancestors of the tribes in the ancient Tang Dynasty were captives of various ethnic groups brought from the Liao Kingdom. They worked as slaves for a long time before they were settled in the northeast of Xixia during the reign of the Liao Shengzong. They also followed the nearby Khitan The tribes are merging, and now it’s hard to tell which tribe they belong to. As long as they canonize and win over the leaders of the four major tribes of the Tang Dynasty, they can be driven to fight for the Ming Dynasty. These people don’t care about the Yelu Dashi!"

Ju Ming said: "Zhang Guangdao fought with the Jin people last year, and many of the prairie cavalry who were left behind by Wanyan Lou's room laid down their weapons and surrendered. You go to Shanxi to have a look, have more contact with those prisoners, and then take advantage of Xixia to release them all. Return. Just say that after I destroyed the Jin Kingdom, I, the Ming Dynasty, will definitely treat all the people on the grassland well, and those who help me destroy the Jin Kingdom will be heavily rewarded!"

"Yes!" Ma Kuo promised.

Ju Ming smiled and said, "You have worked hard on your mission. Come home and spend a few more days with your wife and children. There is no need to rush to Shanxi."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness." Ma Kuo was inexplicably moved.

Ju Ming said: "A few days ago, the vassal state sent many tributes. You go and choose a few to give to your wives and concubines. As for those who accompany you on your mission, I will also ask the Ministry of Rites to reward them."

Ma Kuo followed the eunuch to the warehouse, picked out a few gadgets, and went home happily.

Zhu Ming also met with Yu Yunwen and Zhu Xiaozhong to test whether they had made any progress.

It was not until evening that Zhu Ming strolled back to the East Palace. Today, Princess Li Qinglu of Yinchuan of Western Xia officially entered the palace.

It's really a bad taste, and Dean Zhu despises it.