Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 367 Ambition Anxi
"Sorry..."

As the horses galloped, it was already November of the sixth year of Xiantong.

In the heavy snow, the sky and the earth became hazy, as if covered by a layer of gauze.

Even so, the endless mountain range in the distance still appears and disappears, and the snow on the mountain is revealed from time to time as the sky changes.

The rammed earth city located at the foot of the western foot of the mountain range is particularly eye-catching, but what is more eye-catching than the city are the countless Three-Star flags fluttering on the top of the city.

In front of the tower, a banner with the words "Tingzhou" flutters in the wind, telling the world its origin through two simple words...

Tingzhou City is located on the vast plain at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. The city walls built with rammed earth are tall and thick, and they still stand tall despite the wind and rain.

The marks of swords and knives on the city wall tell of its past experiences. With a circumference of more than two miles, it is inevitable that it collapsed in several places. Fortunately, the soldiers defending the city temporarily repaired them with wooden fences, which looked simple but practical.

On the horse path, countless soldiers wearing Hexi armor stood firm despite the ravages of wind and snow, guarding this hard-won city like an iron tower.

The layout of the city was chaotic, the streets were winding, and the rammed earth road surface was deeply rutted by carriages and horses.

The walls on both sides of the street have been knocked down, revealing many low and dilapidated houses.

These houses were built with earthen bricks, the cracks in the walls were barely filled with straw and mud, and the roofs were covered with thick thatch, some of which had been blown to pieces by the wind.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of several houses, adding a touch of vitality to this deserted city.

There were few pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, a few people wrapped in thick leather coats hurried by, and their leather boots made dull sounds on the rammed earth ground.

Women with high noses and deep eyes were sitting around the fire in front of the house, busy weaving woolen blankets.

Their faces were red from the cold wind and their fingers were frozen stiff, but they still worked attentively.

Next to the fire, a few children were playing and fighting, and their laughter sounded particularly crisp in the deserted street.

In the center of Tingzhou City, a simple and majestic yamen stands tall. The architectural style of the yamen forms a sharp contrast with the dilapidated houses around it. The tall gatehouse is made of blue bricks. The stone lions in front of the gate are mottled but still majestic.

The roof of the yamen is covered with green tiles, and the eaves are carved with simple patterns, making it look solemn and majestic.

In the main hall, all items related to Uighur culture were discarded and replaced by calligraphy and landscape paintings.

A dozen officials were handling government affairs. Although their clothes were not gorgeous, they were neat and decent.

A huge map was hung on the wall, marking the mountains, rivers, cities and strongholds of Tingzhou and the entire Western Regions.

In front of the map, two figures were pointing and talking at the map, until an official from a distance came over with a document, and the two ended their conversation.

"General Jie, this is the new map of Tingzhou, please take a look..."

The official's voice sounded, and Zhang Huaishen turned to look at him, raised his hand to pick up the document and read it.

Two months ago, he joined forces with the Kyrgyz and launched an attack on the Uighurs who occupied Tingzhou.

The Khitans led 5,000 armored cavalry and 20,000 herdsmen and came here as nomads.

Correspondingly, Zhang Huaishen mobilized 7,000 Guiyi troops, nearly 10,000 civilians and horse-drawn carriages to march north. In mid-September, the two sides defeated the remnants of the Uighurs in Tingzhou.

After the three parties fought for ten days, Pang Teqin decisively abandoned Tingzhou in the face of a series of unfavorable battles and led his people to flee to Huangcaopo, nearly a thousand miles away. The coalition forces composed of Hexi and Kyrgyz harvested more than 200,000 cattle and sheep.

Zhang Huaishen kept all the cattle and oxen and only took 30% of the sheep, and the remaining 70% was handed over to the Khitan army.

After obtaining the spoils, the Khitan army quickly agreed with Zhang Huaishen on the time of the next expedition, and then drove the herds towards the northern desert to graze.

As agreed before the war, the population of Tingzhou and the city of Tingzhou were all handed over to the Hexi Guiyi Army.

Now, two months have passed, and the land survey and household registration of Tingzhou have finally been completed. All the information has been presented to Zhang Huaishen in written form.

In Tingzhou City, people from Sogdian, Uighur, Turkic, Gaochang, Karluk and other ethnic groups lived together, each maintaining their own unique living habits. The only ethnic group that could be called the majority was the Uighurs who were defeated by the Hexi Guiyi Army and fled westward.

"There are more than 14,000 people, 5,000 of them are Uighurs, and the remaining 9,000 belong to different ethnic groups. It seems that it is not easy to govern this place..."

After scanning the page recording the population, Zhang Huaishen frowned slightly, and the official also said:
"During the Beiting period and when the Uighurs occupied this place, a lot of arable land was reclaimed, but it was all rough cultivation, with an area of no more than 5,000 mu, and the grain produced was at most 3,000 dan..."

The yield of roughly cultivated land was not high. Although there was no shortage of water in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains at that time, the population in the Western Regions after the Tubo rule period dropped much lower than that during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years.

"Tingzhou is particularly important. I plan to set up the Beiting Protectorate here, appoint you, Huairong, as the protector, and leave 3,000 soldiers here."

Zhang Huaishen looked at the person next to him, and that person was Zhang Huairong.

Faced with the sudden heavy responsibility, Zhang Huairong did not show any fear. After all, he was over 30 years old and was no longer the naive little captain of the past.

"I will obey your orders!" Zhang Huairong bowed and continued:

"Although I am confident that I can defend Tingzhou, there are more Hu people than Han people in Tingzhou. If a few thousand Han people can settle down here, I think it will be easier to stabilize the place."

The population issue continued to be placed before Zhang Huaishen. If there were no population restrictions, he would not have recovered Tingzhou until now.

In fact, the recovery of Tingzhou had already exhausted the two years of accumulation of the Hexi Guiyi Army, and there were still Suiye Town, Qiuci Town, Yanqi Town in the west and Yutian Town in the southwest waiting for them to recover.

With the current output of money and grain, even if the Hexi Guiyi Army could rely on the Silk Road to earn a profit of more than 100,000 or 200,000 strings of cash each year, it would still take more than a decade to accumulate enough money to recover Anxi and Beiting.

The reason why so much is needed is mainly because the population is too small and the pressure on military supplies is too great.

If there were more people, the situation in the Western Region would not be so difficult.

"We openly agreed to the court to cut off ties with Longyou, and the court also allowed us to purchase horses from Guannei Road."

"But judging from the situation over the past year, the efficiency of this horse-importing trade is still too low..."

Zhang Huaishen frowned and recounted the difficulties they encountered, and said:

"I wrote a letter to Liu Muzhi two months ago, but I don't know if he would be willing to help after reading it."

Exchanging horses, oxen, saltpeter and spices for population has been a trade relationship between Hexi and Longyou for many years.

There are millions of herds in Hexi, but the human population is less than 300,000.

This was the result of Zhang Huaishen migrating tens of thousands of Han men from Liu Jilian and abducting tens of thousands of Uighur women.

Even so, among the population of 300,000, the Han people barely maintain a proportion of 50%.

If they wanted to recapture the two towns of Qiuci and Yanqi, they had to gain a large population and build cities westward from Xizhou until there was no shortage of food along the way. Only then would it be possible to recapture the two towns of Yanqi and Qiuci.

"I'm afraid Liu Muzhi is also in trouble."

Zhang Huairong was not optimistic that Liu Jilian would migrate population to them. After all, judging from the attitude of the court, it seemed that the court could no longer tolerate Liu Jilian's disorderly expansion.

"Brother, if the imperial court mobilizes troops against Liu Muzhi, then we..."

Zhang Huairong asked tentatively, and Zhang Huaishen frowned slightly: "Hexi and Longyou each have their own masters, but after all, they are all Guiyi Army."

His attitude was expressed in one sentence. Zhang Huairong nodded and said, "I hope Liu Muzhi can spare some refugees for us..."

While the two brothers were communicating, Liu Jilong, who had received Zhang Huaishen's handwritten letter, also carefully read the contents.

"The situation in the Western Region is slightly better than I thought."

In the Shiquan County Government Office in Maozhou, Liu Jilong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after reading Zhang Huaishen's handwriting.

For the Han and Tang dynasties, the climate and population environment in the Western Regions might have been very bad. But for Liu Jilian, who was well prepared and had been to Xinjiang in later generations, the Western Regions described by Zhang Huaishen were much better than the situation in Xinjiang in later generations.

After all, the Tang Dynasty was in the Medieval Warm Period, so the climate was warmer and more humid than it is today. In particular, the oases north and south of the Tianshan Mountains were very vast, various rivers had abundant water, and the oasis cities were prosperous.

As long as the land is cultivated well, planting crops such as wheat, barley, and grapes is not a problem, and the vast oasis also provides enough space for the development of animal husbandry. Between cities, there are either small lakes or rivers and streams, and the roads are smooth and there is no need to worry about water sources.

The warm climate provided favorable conditions for the prosperity of the Silk Road, allowing caravans to cross deserts and mountains more smoothly.

Not only that, even the sandstorms that occurred during the Spring and Autumn Period in later generations were rare in this era. After all, the oases around the city often spread for dozens or hundreds of miles, and there were enough trees to block the sand and dust. The environment was not as bad as imagined.

For this reason, since the opening of the Silk Road in the Western Han Dynasty, many Han people in the northwest have consciously developed towards the Western Regions.

The Sui and Tang dynasties also relied on tens of thousands of wild Han people in the north and south of the Eastern Tianshan Mountains to set up the three states of Tingzhou, Xizhou and Yizhou.

It can be said that before Tubo occupied the Western Regions, the areas north and south of the Eastern Tianshan Mountains had already become the base of the Han people.

It’s a pity that after Tubo conquered the Western Regions, it launched various attacks on the Han people spiritually, culturally, and physically.

Tens of thousands of Han people in Tingzhou and Xizhou have disappeared from this land. In Yizhou, there were more Uighurs than Han people.

Zhang Huaishen worked hard to govern for more than ten years, and Liu Jilian moved many people to the Western Regions, which made Xizhou and Yizhou become the base of the Han people again.

The problem facing Zhang Huaishen now is still the old issue of the Han population.

According to what Zhang Huaishen wrote in the letter, he estimated that at least 10,000 Han men were needed to stabilize Tingzhou, and at least 20,000 Han men were needed to build ten cities along the 500-mile journey from Xizhou to Yanqi to ensure that the army could recapture the two towns of Yanqi and Qiuci.

Migrating the Han people is the most economical and most efficient way of migration.

After all, the war in the Western Regions continued, and most men died in the war. Although women were also humiliated, most of them survived.

More importantly, if a woman depends on a man, she will naturally move closer to the man, and the children they give birth to will be no different from Han people under the influence of the environment.

It was for this reason that Zhang Huaishen wrote to Liu Jilian, hoping to exchange Hexi's oxen, military horses, and draft horses for enough Han men.

Liu Jilong had no reason to refuse this, after all, he did have a group of people who needed to be dealt with.

More importantly, Zhang Huaishen has no ambition to dominate. What he is doing now is equivalent to helping himself recover the Western Regions and restore order in the Western Regions.

It has to be said that now is indeed a window of opportunity to take over the Western Regions.

In the Western Regions today, excluding the Guiyi Army, there are generally seven major forces, and more than ten forces when broken down, and their populations have been weakened because of the Tibetan governance and the war against Tibetans.

With the help of the warm climate, the Silk Road is still gaining momentum, and taking over the Western Regions can also increase sufficient money and food.

If we wait a hundred years later, with the end of the "warm period", we will usher in a period of falling temperature lasting more than three hundred years.

Except for a rebound of several decades in the early Ming Dynasty, the economy continued to decline. The only way to recover the Western Regions was to wait until the industrial age.

It was during this hundred years that the Uighurs gained a firm foothold in the Western Regions, which led to the emergence of a large number of ethnic groups of Uighur descent in the Western Regions in later generations.

If the Han people could seize this window of opportunity, there would be no chance for the Uighurs.

At least from the current situation, with Zhang Huaishen driving the remnants of the Uighurs from Tingzhou to Huangcaopo, the Uighurs no longer have a place to stand in the eastern Tianshan Mountains.

If Zhang Huaishen could still deal with the Uighur forces in the two towns of Qiuci and Yanqi, the two forces of Khotan and Zhongyun entrenched in the western and southern parts of southern Xinjiang would have no choice but to submit like they did in the early Tang Dynasty.

As long as another 200,000 or 300,000 people were relocated to Hankou, they would be able to take control of southern Xinjiang before the decline of the Silk Road and the end of the warm period.

Even after the warm period ended, the Han people would be able to firmly occupy the major oasis cities and important roads.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong asked Gao Jinda who was sitting next to him: "In the past year of rectifying the military and political affairs, how many corrupt officials have been involved in corruption and abuse of power?"

"Besides, among the people Shang Moyan and his men captured, how many of them were once powerful families?"

"Besides that, how many government troops surrendered to the Dokang Tubo? How many people could be implicated?"

Gao Jinda watched Liu Jilong flipping through the letter in silence for a while. He thought he was thinking about something, but he didn't expect him to raise this question at the end.

Seeing this, Gao Jinda stood up and found a few books. He then flipped through them and handed them to Liu Jilong, saying:
"If you hadn't led your troops south to check the military reserves in various places in advance, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to find any clues about these people."

"There are 247 corrupt military officers and officials in total, implicating no less than 2,000 people."

"In addition, the powerful people in various states and counties were also reported and detained in Wenchuan. There are more than 3,700 people within the fifth degree of mourning."

"There are more than 4,200 officers and soldiers who surrendered to Tubo, which involves at least 20,000 people..."

Nearly 26,000 people needed to be dealt with by Liu Jilong, and those who embezzled military reserves deserved to be killed, but Liu Jilong did not like killing and preferred to make the best use of every person.

Even if a criminal is guilty of heinous crimes, sending him to the Western Regions can help increase the population of the Han Dynasty.

If they refuse to change their ways, there will be the vanguard camp waiting for them. It is much more beautiful to die on the charge than on the guillotine.

"The crackdown by the Metropolitan Censorate should not stop. After the spring begins, send the officials who have been cracked down, their families, and the sons of powerful people within the five ancestral garments to Xizhou."

"As for the surrendered soldiers and their families, carefully select the honest ones and relocate them to Die, Shan, and Yizhou, and send the rest to the Western Regions."

"According to what we agreed upon, replace them all with military horses. Our army is in urgent need of them."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda bowed in response, and Hu Siguang, who came to deliver the letter, brightened up when he heard the words.

"General, when will our army march south?"

Hu Siguang bowed and asked, Liu Jilong looked at him and shook his head, saying: "When we go south depends on when the court takes action."

"Before that, take good care of the cavalry and the military horses under the jurisdiction of the local herdsmen. Once the war begins, the consumption of horses will be great."

Military horses and riding horses were still too precious, and it was normal for hundreds or even thousands of casualties to occur after a battle.

If a large formation was deployed and the troops charged left and right, even a large horse breeder like Longyou would not be able to withstand such casualties.

Obtaining enough military horses from Hexi in advance was one of Liu Jilian's preparations for the upcoming war.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong stood up and said, "Huo Siguang, please walk with me."

"Yes!" Huke Siguang bowed in response, still like he did ten years ago, like a guard beside Liu Jilong, always alert.

The two walked out of the yamen and came to the streets of Shiquan County.

To be honest, I have been in the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Longyou for too long, and it is a bit difficult to get used to it when I suddenly come to visit these prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty.

There are twelve market towns in Shiquan County. Excluding the East and West Markets, the remaining ten markets are home to more than 5,000 people, and there is still a small amount of vacant land in the city that has not been used.

Although the walls of these blocks have been compacted, when you walk into the market, except for the two blocks near the county government office, the houses in the rest of the blocks are simply horrible.

The earthen wall that had been damaged and patched up countless times, and the thatched roof that had been repaired several times were placed before his eyes. Even Hu Siguang could not help but say:
"I was bored these days and asked many people in Shiquan County. I just found out that the court has so many taxes to collect. Isn't this pushing people into a dead end?"

He talked about what he had learned, and Liu Jilong glanced at the people in the neighborhood after listening.

Since the Protectorate had already begun to distribute land, all the adults were working outside, and the houses in the block were filled with children and the elderly and weak.

"The court levied one cent of tax, and the local government collected three cents. That's why the court thought it was profitable to levy taxes, while the local government took advantage of the situation and didn't regret it until they were forced out of the city and became bandits..."

Liu Jilong briefly explained the problem of the imperial court and local tax increases. After listening, Hu Siguang said, "It's a good thing that Shang Moyan killed these incompetent officials in the imperial court!"

Most of the officials and generals in the six states were killed by Shang Moyan, and this was also what Liu Jilong had arranged in advance.

It is for this reason that after he took over the six states, those powerful sons were leaderless and have not been able to choose anyone to negotiate with Liu Jilong until now.

But now it was useless for them to negotiate, Liu Jilong would not see them, and their only destination was Anxi...

(End of this chapter)