Bringing the Railway to Daming

After discussing it for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Kuan to play the third video.

Soon, the third video was brought up. Before it even started, the title appeared on the screen, but the content surprised Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and the others.

"[The Greatest Regret of the Tang Dynasty] Where is the Anxi Army? Yes!"

Then a simple five-character poem appeared.

"The city is full of white-haired people, yet they will never abandon their swords even in death. They have fought alone for forty years, how could they forget the Tang Dynasty?"

Those concubines and princesses who didn't read history didn't even know which army the Anxi Army specifically referred to; they only knew that the Ming Dynasty now had the Anxi Province.

Some princes and grandsons who studied history knew that the Anxi Army referred to the Tang army of the four garrisons under the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty. However, they did not understand the origin of the following short poem.

Before the video started, Zhu Biao, who was well-versed in history, asked, "Brother-in-law, is this video about the Tang army's entrapment in the Western Regions after the An Lushan Rebellion?"

Liu Kuan nodded, "Not bad."

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment and said, "I remember there is a few words about this matter in the Zizhi Tongjian. It says that in the sixth year of the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Daizong of Tang, the Uyghurs were at a disadvantage in the war with the Tubo. Later, the Tubo launched a fierce attack on Beiting. The Tang army in Beiting was suffering from the demands of the Uyghurs, so they surrendered to the Tubo along with the Uyghur chieftain Zhu Xiejinzhong."

"At that time, the Beiting Protectorate was located north of the Anxi Protectorate, and they relied on each other. After Hexi was occupied by the Tubo, if the Anxi Protectorate wanted to contact the Tang court, it had to detour through Beiting."

"Therefore, after Beiting surrendered to Tubo, the Anxi Protectorate completely lost contact with the Tang court. The Zizhi Tongjian only says that 'no one knew whether it was alive or dead, but Xizhou was still defended by the Tang,' but it did not say how long it was defended."

"How is the phrase 'resisting alone for forty years' in this short poem calculated?"

Liu Kuan sighed and said, "Your Highness will understand after watching this video."

Zhu Biao didn't press further, but nodded: "Okay, brother-in-law, play it."

Liu Kuan touched the screen, and the video started playing.

The video begins with scenes of Tang Dynasty cavalry traversing the grasslands and deserts, slaughtering enemies.

At the same time, a solemn male voice began to explain.

"For two thousand years, the name 'Anxi' has been the pride of countless Chinese people. It represents Fu Jiezi's killing of the king and destruction of the country, Ban Dingyuan's abandonment of his pen for the sword and his conquest of the Western Regions, and Gao Xianzhi's thousand-mile raid on Greater and Lesser Bolu..."

"The Anxi Protectorate originated in the mighty Han Dynasty and flourished in the great Tang Dynasty. Since the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate in the tenth year of the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of Tang, countless brave soldiers of the Tang Dynasty have shed their blood on this land, one after another, dying without hesitation."

"The valiant efforts of countless Tang soldiers made the Tang banner resound throughout the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, inspiring awe and submission from many tribes, and the fame of the Heavenly Khan spread far and wide across the grasslands and deserts!"

At its peak, the Anxi Protectorate governed most of present-day Xinjiang, eastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and more.

The video uses clips and footage of the Tang army from various films and television shows, along with a map, to introduce the origins of the Anxi Protectorate during the Han Dynasty, making it clear to the Zhu family that the Western Regions belonged to China more than a thousand years ago.

During the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty commanded all tribes to obey its orders and follow the banner of the Great Tang to conquer those who resisted it. For a century, it was virtually invincible.

Things only changed when the An Lushan Rebellion broke out.

"The drums of war from Yuyang shook the earth, shattering the 'Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Robe' dance. Smoke and dust rose from the nine-layered palace, as thousands of chariots and tens of thousands of riders headed southwest."

"In 755 AD, An Lushan rebelled, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty was suddenly engulfed in flames. At that time, Gao Xianzhi, who was guarding the Western Regions, was preparing to go and cause trouble for the Arab Empire and wipe away the shame of Talas. However, the order from Chang'an forced him to lead the elite Anxi army back to the Central Plains."

"After the elite troops in Anxi, Beiting, Hexi and other places were all drawn away, the Tibetans took advantage of the situation and invaded." "Initially, the Tang troops left behind in Anxi, Hexi and other towns were able to fight back and forth with the Tibetans, but as the An Lushan Rebellion could not be quelled for a long time, the Tang court was unable to provide any assistance to the Western Regions, resulting in the lack of troops and supplies to the Hexi and Anxi towns, and their strength continued to decline."

In 760 AD, many military towns in Hexi were captured by the Tubo. Upon hearing the news, the imperial court urgently dispatched Guo Xin to inspect Hexi, Anxi and other places to resist the Tubo attack. However, not long after Guo Xin went to the Western Regions, the entire Hexi town was captured by the Tubo.

"Guo Xin was gone for more than 20 years. Seeing that the court had not sent anyone to relieve him for many years, Guo Xin sent someone to detour through Beiting and the Uyghurs to report the situation in Anxi in the second year of Jianzhong of Emperor Dezong (781).

"At this time, the Tang court learned that Anxi had not yet fallen. The Tang emperor then bestowed upon Guo Xin the titles of Imperial Censor, Grand Protector of Anxi, Military Governor of the Four Garrisons, and Prince of Wuwei. He also promoted all the Tang soldiers who remained in Anxi by seven ranks."

"However, because Hexi was occupied by the Tibetans and the Tang court was plagued by internal strife and financial difficulties, it was unable to provide any substantial assistance to the Anxi army."

"At this time, the soldiers who were first stationed in Anxi had been guarding the Western Regions for more than thirty years..."

In the footage representing the Anxi Army, many of the Tang soldiers with gray hair have appeared, a sight that evokes a sense of melancholy.

The audience, including concubines and princesses, all of whom were sensible, became extremely solemn, with some even having slightly reddened eyes.

"Just a few years after the Anxi army contacted the imperial court this time, the situation in the Western Regions underwent a dramatic change."

"In the sixth year of the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong (790), the Tubo Kingdom captured Beiting, leaving the Anxi Protectorate isolated and helpless. Most frighteningly, the Anxi Protectorate completely severed its ties with the imperial court."

"As for what happened to the Anxi Protectorate afterwards, the Zizhi Tongjian records it as follows..."

Next, a passage from the original text of "Zizhi Tongjian" appeared in the video, and its meaning was almost identical to what Zhu Biao had said earlier.

The last sentence is particularly memorable: Anxi was thus destroyed, and its fate was unknown, but Xizhou was still defended by the Tang Dynasty.

Those who have read a lot of history, such as Zhu Biao, Zhu Su, Zhu Chun, and Zhu Xiong Ying, can deduce from a single sentence that the author of the Zizhi Tongjian believed that three of the four towns in Anxi mostly fell shortly after the Beiting Protectorate was captured by the Tubo.

Even if Xizhou (Kucha, the seat of the Anxi Protectorate) did not fall immediately, how long could it hold out when it was surrounded by enemies and isolated without any reinforcements?

Therefore, even though the video is halfway through, Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiong Ying, and others still find it difficult to understand why the short poem mentioned "resisting alone for forty years".

If we start counting from Guo Xin's inspection of the Western Regions in 760, it was only thirty years until the fall of Beiting in 790. Could it be that after the fall of Beiting, Anxi held out for another ten years with only Xizhou?
Just as Zhu Biao was pondering this possibility, the video suddenly switched to show some shots and scenes with a modern background.

Modern archaeological teams have ventured into the Western Regions, discovering numerous beacon towers, military fortresses, as well as the remains and artifacts of soldiers buried by yellow sand and snow in the Gobi Desert and glacial crevasses.

The scene then shifts to the museum.

The video then zoomed in on the artifacts, accompanied by textual explanations, and Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao, and the others finally understood what these artifacts were.

The scene begins with a gilded bronze fish-shaped tally, signifying the soldier's identity, inscribed with "Fourth Beacon Tower of Zuoshule Town." Undoubtedly, the unseen side must bear the soldier's rank and name.

Beside it was a fragment of a family letter (wooden tablet), the handwriting on it was messy and seemed to be trembling, decayed to the point of being illegible.

The text deciphered by later archaeologists is displayed beside it: "He served ten years guarding the Pamir Mountains, his beard turned completely white!"

Below is a horizontal line of smaller text explaining that the fish tally and fragments of family letters and wooden tablets were discovered in the rammed earth layer of the Tashkurgan River Valley in the Pamir Plateau, and were identified as originating from the ninth year of the Zhenyuan era (793 AD).

Upon seeing this, those who were more astute, such as Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying, had already realized something—if the fish tally and the wooden tablet containing the family letter dated back to 793, then the time when this Tang Dynasty soldier wrote the family letter must have been even later.

In other words, after the fall of the Beiting Protectorate, the Shule Town of the Anxi Protectorate held out for at least three more years! (End of Chapter)