The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 824 Dilemmas
Xiao Xia then said to Pei Ju, "I will carefully consider the matter of Gaochang. Also, how is the reform of the Tiele system that I previously proposed progressing?"

Speaking of the institutional reforms of the Tiele tribes, Pei Ju truly admired the emperor's foresight. The emperor introduced three institutional reforms. The first was to establish a council of elders in each tribe and implement a system of joint deliberation by elders, with no fewer than seven members. This meant that a portion of the power of the chief chiefs of each tribe was transferred to the tribal elders. For example, major decisions such as launching wars would no longer be decided by the chief chief alone, but must be decided by the council of elders.

The second system was the chieftain hierarchy, which could be divided into up to five levels. All chieftains, regardless of rank, were appointed by the imperial court to confirm their legitimacy, and all of their descendants had the right to inherit the land.

The third system was the establishment of the Tiele Parliament in Anbei City of the Sui Dynasty, where the eldest sons of each Tiele tribe would serve as representatives to jointly discuss the major plans for the grasslands.

This is a complex system with many interconnected parts. The second system is the most ruthless, which is the enfeoffment system of the grasslands. In essence, it is a way to weaken the power of the tribes. Tribes are further divided into smaller tribes, and smaller chiefs are further divided into smaller chiefs. The imperial court recognizes all of them. In this way, if a chief of a tribe wants to go to war, he used to only need to gather a dozen or so tribes. Now he has to gather hundreds of tribes. Each tribe has its own interests, and the distribution of benefits alone can cause disputes for years.

The third system is a guarantee of the first two systems. For example, when an ambitious and powerful ruler emerged in the Pugu tribe, he felt that the Senate was seriously hindering his ambitions, so he abolished the Senate.

The Tiele Council would immediately accuse the Pugu Khan of violating the law, and everyone would send troops to attack the Pugu tribe under the leadership of the Sui army. They could also legally plunder the Pugu tribe's property, re-establish the Pugu Elders' Council, and elect a new Khan. The ambitious Khan would only have one way out: death.

Pei Ju bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is being implemented smoothly. Although the Khans of the various tribes are somewhat resistant to the Council of Elders, the elders of the various tribes are actively supporting it. There is fierce internal competition, and we are putting pressure on them from the outside. We should be able to succeed."

"What about the other two systems?" Xiao Xia asked again.

"Your Majesty, the other two systems have been implemented very smoothly and have been warmly welcomed by the various tribes of the grasslands. They do not understand the history of the Western Han Dynasty's reduction of the power of the vassal states, and only think about ensuring the interests of their descendants."

Xiao Xia nodded, "Then have the Court of Colonial Affairs inform all the tribes on the grasslands that the court is preparing to attack Xueyantuo and Karluk. All participants will receive a share of the spoils, but the decision must be made by the Council of Elders. If the Council of Elders is not established, then they will not be qualified to follow the Sui army on the expedition."

"Your Majesty is wise! Your humble servant will go and inform them immediately!"

Like the Privy Council and the Censorate, the Court of Colonial Affairs was an independent court institution separate from the Six Ministries, responsible for managing the various vassal states of the Sui Dynasty, including the Western Regions, the Mongolian Plateau, and Annam.

The greatest advantage of having the Court of Colonial Affairs was that the imperial court could accurately grasp the movements of each vassal state and take timely measures to prevent any one state from becoming too powerful and to prevent the emergence of a strong external enemy.

For example, there were six Zhao tribes in the Erhai region of Yunnan. With the Lifan Yuan (Court of Colonial Affairs), the court could keep track of the movements of the various ethnic groups in the Erhai region. The six Zhao tribes had to live in harmony. Mengshe Zhao could not annex the other five Zhao tribes, otherwise the court would unite with the other five Zhao tribes to weaken it. In this way, the Nanzhao Kingdom would not have had the opportunity to form.

Pei Ju took his leave, and Xiao Xia paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Pei Ju suggested using the Western Turks to destroy Gaochang, which was unethical, but he had hit the nail on the head.

Beiting is different from Anxi. Anxi has a harsh natural environment and scarce resources. Its strategic significance to the Sui Dynasty was to maintain the Silk Road. Therefore, the strategy adopted by the Central Plains dynasties was to station troops and establish a vassal state system, which has been the case since the Han Dynasty. The establishment of Shanshan Prefecture was also due to the seizure of this land from Tuyuhun. The Sui Dynasty would naturally not give up this opportunity.

But Beiting was different. Beiting had vast grasslands and extremely rich natural resources. A large number of Han people lived in Gaochang and Yiwu. Therefore, the rulers of the Sui and Tang dynasties directly established prefectures and counties in Beiting, including Yizhou, Xizhou and Tingzhou, and brought Beiting under their control. The Tang dynasty even directly destroyed the Gaochang Kingdom.

Xiao Xia not only wanted to establish prefectures and counties in Beiting, but also wanted to bring the entire Yili River Valley and Jinshan South Road under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court. This was Xiao Xia's strategic plan, and it also gained the support of the imperial court.

However, the biggest obstacle to this plan was not the Western Turks, but the kingdoms of Gaochang and Yiwu. After all, they had sent troops to help the court recover the Hexi Corridor, and there was a favor involved. But if he had to consider this favor, his strategic plan would be impossible to implement. However, using Pei Ju's strategy and letting the Western Turks destroy Gaochang and Yiwu was also not advisable, as it would cause hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese from Gaochang to flee back to the Central Plains, which was exactly what Xiao Xia wanted to avoid.

Therefore, Xiao Xia had to come up with a foolproof plan. He thought of the story of "releasing military power over a cup of wine". He would bring the army to the city gates and force Gaochang to disband its army, symbolically retain the royal family, and even allow the Gaochang king to live in Luoyang for generations.

Ultimately, benevolence and righteousness had to give way to the dynasty's strategy.

Having thought this through, Xiao Xia finally made up his mind and immediately ordered, "Summon Li Jing to see me immediately!"

Before long, Li Jing rushed over, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and asked, "What are your thoughts, Minister Li, on the constant provocations by the Xueyantuo and the Geluolu?"

"Your Majesty, the Xueyantuo and Karluk are backed by the Western Turks. They have been suppressed by the Northern Turks, so they have been relatively obedient and dare not have any improper thoughts. Now that the Northern Turks have been destroyed and the Western Turks have begun to expand eastward, the Xueyantuo and Karluk, as loyal subordinates of the Western Turks, will definitely be restless. However, Your Majesty need not worry. With General Su's 30,000 troops and the assistance of the various Tiele tribes on the grasslands, we will be able to destroy the Xueyantuo and Karluk."

Xiao Xia nodded. "What I am most worried about now is the Western Turks. The Western Turks have begun to expand eastward, which has seriously threatened the implementation of my Western Regions strategy. We must destroy the Western Turks. I intend to entrust this arduous task to you."

Li Jing replied without hesitation, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burdens!"

Xiao Xia nodded in satisfaction. "This time, you will be commanding the great battle as the Minister of War, so you will not only be doing the work of a military general, but there are also several important things for you to do. First, establish Yiwu Prefecture, Gaochang Prefecture, and Hanhai Prefecture. The kingdoms of Yiwu and Gaochang can continue to exist, but their royal families can only live in Chang'an or Luoyang. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Your Majesty understands; it exists in name only, but has essentially disappeared."

"Exactly!"

Xiao Xia nodded approvingly, then sighed, "In fact, Gaochang and Yiwu have done nothing wrong, and have even been kind to us. But for the sake of the Sui Dynasty's long-term plan, we have to set aside this kindness and righteousness. So we try to treat them well and escort them all the way to Chang'an or Luoyang."

"Your humble servant obeys!"

Li Jing thought for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty, I have another plan. Could we use a land exchange? For example, we could exchange Ruoqiang County for Gaochang City, ask the King of Gaochang to move to Ruoqiang to become king, and move the King of Yiwu to Qiemo County. In this way, we would not have any moral burden!"

Li Jing's idea was good, and Xiao Xia readily agreed, "This plan can be implemented. Let them choose for themselves. If they want to live in Luoyang, we welcome them; if they want to go to Ruoqiang to restore their kingdom, we can help them. In short, the choice is in their hands!"

(End of this chapter)