The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 802 The Demise of the Turks
The two bridges spanning the Suoling River and the Egen River were burned down by the Sui army. The defeated Turkic soldiers had nowhere to escape and were attacked from both sides by the two Sui armies. The Turkic army suffered a great defeat and retreated dozens of miles.

Li Jing ordered Chuluo Khan to surrender, but Chuluo Khan refused and led tens of thousands of defeated soldiers in a desperate counterattack. However, it was too late to turn the tide, and the Sui army was completely wiped out. Of the 140,000 troops, only a few thousand survived, and the rest were killed. Chuluo Khan also died in the chaos of battle, and his blood stained the Suoling River and the Egen River. In the final battle, the Sui army also lost more than 6,000 men.

It was this brutal and merciless war that deeply shocked the various Tiele tribes on the grasslands. The nomadic peoples began to fear the Han people from the bottom of their hearts, and no longer regarded the Han people as cattle and sheep. They all submitted to the Sui Dynasty and returned the Han slaves they had previously captured to the Sui Dynasty.

Two days later, 200,000 Sui troops crossed the Suoling River, occupied Qatun City, and captured more than 100,000 Turkic elderly, weak, women and children, including Princess Yicheng.

Inside the main tent, Princess Yicheng, her face contorted with rage, questioned Li Jing: "The Sui Dynasty has always prioritized benevolence and righteousness, and has never been so brutal as it is today, slaughtering all the young and strong Turks. How can you face the spirit of the late Emperor in heaven?"

Li Jing coldly replied, "When I went to war, the Emperor made it clear that the Turks would be spared if they surrendered, but if they resisted, they would be exterminated. I had already given Chuluo Khan the opportunity to surrender, but he refused and preferred to die in battle. Does the princess still want to blame me?"

"But what about those soldiers? They were killed even when they knelt down to surrender. Do you know that their wives and children are waiting desperately for them to come home!"

"enough!"

Li Jing angrily interrupted Princess Yicheng, "When these Turkic soldiers invaded the Sui Dynasty and wantonly looted and killed Han people, why didn't you pity the women and children who were violated and killed? Why didn't you pity the wives and children of the Han people? You are unworthy to be a princess of the Sui Dynasty, yet you speak from the perspective of the enemy. It is despicable!"

"You are the ones who invaded the grasslands, who is the enemy?" Princess Yicheng shouted angrily.

"A 140,000-strong Turkic army gathered together—were they celebrating a festival?"

Li Jing's last words left Princess Yicheng speechless.

Li Jing gave her a deep look and said, "When the emperor ascended the throne, you didn't send anyone to congratulate him. When the Turkic army invaded the south, you didn't stop them. When the Turks changed their Khan, you didn't inform the Sui Dynasty. The emperor has already issued an edict to strip you of your princess title. You'd better take care of yourself!"

With a wave of his hand, Li Jing ordered the soldiers to take Princess Yicheng away.

Li Jing then ordered the execution of all 1,400 members of the Ashina royal family and hardline anti-Sui nobles. The remaining 180,000 Turkic women and children, 30 million cattle and sheep, 5 million sheepskins, tents, medicines, gold ingots, and other supplies were all sent back to the Sui Dynasty.

At the same time, 20,000 Han slaves were rescued and sent back to the Sui Dynasty.

The Turkic Khaganate split during the Kaihuang era. The Turkic dynasty that remained on the northern steppe was rebuilt by Qimin Khan. The total population of the various Turkic tribes was only about 200,000, and the number of able-bodied Turkic men was at most 70,000 to 80,000.

Therefore, the 400,000-strong army that Shibi Khan claimed to have was actually mostly composed of various Tiele tribes, including the Uyghurs, Tongluo, Xueyantuo, and Pugu.

Another group of Turks fled west of the Alps and lived in places like the Sea of ​​Ibo, the Ili River Valley, and the Suyab River Valley. This was the Western Turks, and the Turks who historically had a profound influence on Central Asia and the Middle East refer to the Western Turks.

Su Dingfang led an army of 50,000 to garrison the city of Qatun, which was also an order from Emperor Xiao Xia. The army did not withdraw but continued to occupy the most fertile Turkic city on the grassland.

The confluence of the Suoling River and the Egen River forms a vast triangular terrain, covering an area of ​​more than 50,000 square kilometers. This is also the most fertile land in the northern grasslands. Throughout history, the grassland dynasties have established their capitals here. The two great rivers have become its natural barrier. If the bridges over the rivers were burned down, even if nomadic cavalry crossed the rivers by raft, their warhorses would not be able to get across.

There are two earthen cities here, one called Fugui City and the other called Khatun City. They are not large in area and the city walls are low, serving only to prevent warhorses from crossing and to protect against wolves.

Before his departure, Li Jing inspected this fertile land. The emperor mentioned this land and planned to designate it as part of the Sui Dynasty's territory, build a large city to garrison troops and settle immigrants, and make it the military center for the Sui Dynasty to control the northern grasslands.

Li Jing pointed to Khatun City and said to Su Dingfang, "You can temporarily station yourselves here, and then use local materials to make bricks and build the city. The city can be built slowly, but it must be large, with a circumference of about thirty li. After I inform the Emperor, craftsmen will come." "Your subordinate obeys!"

Li Jing left behind a large amount of supplies, and the next morning, an army of 150,000 men escorted the Turkic prisoners and spoils of war southward in a grand procession.

Princess Yicheng took one last look at the land where she had lived for more than twenty years, and followed the army south with endless sorrow.

When news of the northern expeditionary army's victories reached Luoyang, it was already early summer.

But the news of the Turkic Khaganate's demise still caused a stir in Luoyang, with soldiers and civilians throughout the city celebrating the victory with gongs and drums.

Emperor Xiao Xia issued an edict granting a three-day holiday, and the people of the land celebrated their victory.

When the news spread, the whole country was in an uproar, and counties spontaneously organized parades to celebrate the great victory of the Sui army.

The Sui Dynasty emerged from the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, and still retained many unforgettable painful memories. The profound disasters caused by nomadic peoples to the north were not far off.

Many people still harbored fear and hatred towards the Hu people, especially the powerful Turks, whom they feared to the core.

That's why the news of the Sui army's annihilation of the Turks caused such a strong reaction.

Xiao Xia issued a special decree, bestowing upon Li Jing the title of Duke of Wei, the title of Minister of War, and the title of Zhongshu Menxia Xing. Both of Li Jing's sons were granted the title of Viscount.

At the same time, all the generals who participated in the battle were promoted one rank, and all the soldiers were rewarded with one million strings of cash and two million bolts of silk.

But another problem arose: how to deal with the more than 200,000 Turkic prisoners of war, especially since the vast majority of them were elderly, weak, women and children.

In the Hall of State Affairs, Pei Wen'an proposed to settle the more than 200,000 Turkic prisoners of war in the Hetao region, but this was met with strong opposition from Wei Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Wei Zheng believed that this would repeat the mistakes of the Five Barbarian Invasions, which was caused by settling the Southern Xiongnu in Guannei Road, leading to the Yongjia Rebellion and setting the stage for the Five Barbarian Invasions.

Zhang Yunqiu also believed that the two were different in nature. These more than 200,000 Turkic prisoners of war were all ordinary people, while the nobles had been eliminated and could no longer cause any trouble.

Liu Wenjing disagreed, believing that all major problems originate from seemingly insignificant matters, and that initial neglect can eventually lead to disaster.

"How can we be sure they won't have a leader in thirty years?"

In the end, Xiao Xia made the final decision: "The Turks have lived together for a hundred years and they are still Turks, but if we integrate them into the lives of the Han people, they will disappear in ten years at most."

At the suggestion of the people, the Council of State made a resolution to use the sixteen northern prefectures as resettlement areas, dispersing them to more than three hundred counties. Within a twenty-mile radius, no Turkic household could have neighbors. Furthermore, their citizenship was changed to Han Chinese, and they were required to live according to Han Chinese customs.

Before ten years had passed, just a few years later, as a large number of elderly Turks died one after another, this group of Turks completely assimilated into the northern part of the Sui Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)