Chapter 338 Two-pronged approach (Part 1)

The assassination in the Zhengshi Hall finally made Li Qingan make his final decision. He realized that the contradictions in the river gradually became a deadlock. Although he did not want to use force to resolve the riots of Shiite Muslims, it was difficult for him to find a quick way to calm the turmoil in the river. If the turmoil in the river is not calmed down, once the Shiites are organized and a large-scale uprising breaks out, the river will change hands between Tang and Dashi.

In order to avoid using force to the greatest extent, Li Qing'an decided to go to Hezhong to solve the crisis in the Hezhong area. On the second day of the assassination, he rushed to Hezhong. A thousand cavalry rushed between the vast plains and mountains. This was a high-speed march. Each cavalry was equipped with three excellent Dayuan war horses and galloped west day and night. Four days later, the cavalry team arrived at the capital of Ningyuan Kingdom, and changed their war horses there to continue driving. Eight days later, the cavalry team arrived at Ju Zhanti, crossing the Zhenzhu River there. Finally, at noon on the eleventh day, a thousand cavalry guarded Li Qing'an to Samarkand. This march was a test of physical strength and will. One thousand cavalry changed 10,000 war horses along the way, and only slept in Ju Zhanti for a full night. It took eleven days to run the journey that took twenty days to complete.

The cavalry were exhausted. When they arrived at the camp outside Samarkand, they fell to the ground and slept soundly. Li Qingan was also exhausted, but the severe situation in the river made it difficult for him to fall asleep. Not only did the martial law in Samarkand, but the other major cities in other countries showed signs of Shi'a Muslims gatherings, and the Tang army had to implement comprehensive martial law.

Especially in Samarkand, the long-term martial law brought serious living difficulties to the residents in the city. Prices soared, and many families were cut off from food and were penniless. In order to have food, many people were even arrested on purpose and deliberately violated the ban. The food crisis also made the Zoroastrians dissatisfied. In order to ease the crisis, Bai Xiaode had to relax martial law, and from one hour of freedom to two hours. That's how the food in the city still caused constant riots. The Tang army had to provide relief on the streets. Li Qing'an rushed to Samarkand under such a situation.

Without time to rest, Li Qing'an immediately summoned Bai Xiaode and Luo Qiming and asked about the situation in the city. Bai Xiaode was already a little worried. Li Qing'an's arrival made him breathe a sigh of relief, which means that the situation in the river will turn around. Many major decisions are not something that Bai Xiaode can make the decision, but Li Qing'an must make it.

"Report to the General, the martial law in Samarkand can no longer continue. The price of food has increased ten times compared to before the martial law. The wealthy families may be able to barely support it, but ordinary civilians have become extremely poor due to the price of food. There are more than 5,000 prisoners temporarily detained. The residents of Samarkand are increasingly dissatisfied with the Tang army. Yesterday afternoon, more than 100 Zoroastrians attacked the government office, and Luo Jun was also injured."

Li Qingan turned around and looked at Luo Qiming. When he saw Luo Qiming wearing a hat when he came in, he felt a little strange. Now he probably guessed the reason.

"Eunuch Luo, how are your injuries?"

Luo Qiming also rushed back to Samarkand three days ago. Yesterday afternoon, a conflict broke out in the porridge shed at the front of the government office, which unfortunately caused him to suffer minor injuries. He took off his hat and a scar appeared on his forehead. He smiled bitterly: "A stone hit the forehead, and some blood was shed, and his injuries were not very serious."

Li Qing'an nodded and said to Bai Xiaode: "I have ordered the transportation of 200,000 stones of grain from the Jia Zhan to the river. It is estimated that it will be shipped one after another in a few days. You will now complete the inventory and distribute the grain. In addition, change the martial law in Samarkand to a curfew, allowing residents to live normally during the day. It is strictly forbidden to go out after dark. Other cities are still martial law and cannot relax. Go and implement it immediately."

"yes!"

Bai Xiaode agreed and turned around. Then Li Qingan asked Luo Qiming: "How is the situation of the joint meeting?"

Luo Qiming shook his head and said, "The joint meeting is now useless. Every time the meeting is held, there will be fierce quarrels. They are obviously divided into two factions, Kang, An and Shi, the three major countries are one faction, and Shi and other small countries are another faction. They are dissatisfied with each other, making it difficult for any discussion to make a decision. I have sent someone to notify all the kings the day before yesterday to ask for a meeting to resolve the current situation. In addition, I have one more thing to report."

"you say!"

Luo Qiming whispered: "The guards in the palace of King Kang secretly reported to me that King Kang Shaofen and Dashi had colluded with Dashi. The envoy of Dashi had arrived three times. In addition, King Anguozheng and King Shiguozheng are both in Samarkand at present. I suspect they are plotting against rebellion."

The kings and Dashi colluded with the Hezhong area, which was expected by Li Qingan. It was strange that Dashi was indifferent to the chaos in the river. They would definitely seize this opportunity to expand the chaos. It is certain that the chaos in the river is closely related to Dashi.

Li Qingan also knew that it was inevitable that the Great Food would send troops to the river. The key was the opportunity for them to send troops. Although Bukhara is in chaos now, the turmoil has not yet erupted across the river. They were temporarily forcibly suppressed by the martial law of the Tang army. Once any situation occurs, such as the food crisis in Samarkand, it will immediately become the fuse for large-scale unrest. In this sense, it is completely correct to arrive at the river in time.

"General, should we control them immediately? I mean the King of the Three Kingdoms."

Li Qingan shook his head, "Don't worry, since we already know that they have some intentions, we are not afraid that they will turn to heaven and send more people to monitor them. In addition, we can use a lot of money to buy the people around them, always grasp their movements, especially to find out their accomplices, and you can catch them all in one place when the time is right."

"I understand, I will make arrangements for you now."

"Wait a moment!"

Li Qing'an called him, took out a thick booklet and smiled and said, "This is a ten thousand words written to me by Cui Qianyou. Regarding the solution to the solution to the river, his long-term suggestions are to be divided into two countries according to different beliefs. I don't really agree with this, but I agree with his short-term plan."

"What the General is talking about living separately according to residents?" Luo Qiming remembered that Cui Qianyou once proposed this plan in the parliament.

"No! That plan has been rejected by me, and he has changed to a new plan."

Li Qing'an said: "He suggested that it would be divided. There will always be a hardliner and a moderate in the Shiites. As long as the leaders of these two factions are found, we will severely crack down on the hardliners and vigorously support the moderates. As long as we reach a consensus with the moderates and restrain the extreme behavior of the Zoroastrians, I think the contradiction should be eased and the situation will gradually subside. This is a very good suggestion. And if I am not wrong, Dashi and the King of Kang will definitely be fighting for the leaders of the hardliners among the Muslims. So your task is to find the leaders of the moderates as soon as possible, and I want to interview them in person."

As the Tang army officially lifted the martial law, the originally deserted streets of Samarkand immediately became lively. Men rushed out of their homes and ran towards the cake shops and grain shops as fast as possible. There were long queues in front of more than a dozen porridge sheds in the city. Women and children held pots and bottles and extended their necks to visit them anxiously. By the Mishui River, there were even more crowds of men and women coming to collect water. The crowds of people were crowded with Zoroastrians and Islamists huddled together, rushing to fetch water in the river. Many children jumped into the river, laughing carefreely, enjoying the sunshine and freedom. At this moment, the dispute over faith was no longer important, and survival was the top priority.

People came and went on the streets, and businessmen led camels appeared. Teams of soldiers patrolled the streets to maintain order. They no longer interfered in the behavior of the people at will. Gatherings of more than twenty people were everywhere, which meant the formal cancellation of martial law.

Li Qing'an sat in a carriage and looked at the scene on the street. Rows of white flat-topped houses spread out in the city layer by layer. Anxious shouts could be heard everywhere. From time to time, a group of young people could be seen chasing each other, fighting for the dry cakes hidden in their arms. This city tortured by anxiety, hunger and religious conflicts made Li Qing'an feel heavy. Samarkand is the largest city in the river area. It is still so chaotic. It is conceivable how anxious other cities should be.

Li Qing'an began to realize that his initial compromise was a mistake. It was precisely in order to stabilize the initial situation that he retained all the forces, including the kings of various countries in Hezhong. However, it was these kings with ulterior motives that caused the joint meeting to be useless. In the end, an anarchic power gap appeared in the Hezhong area, allowing the leaders of various sects to quickly fill this power gap. It should be said that this is an important reason for the dispute. To change this situation, a new power structure must be built to allow secular governments to gain dominance.

Li Qing'an thought about various possible plans, canceled the joint meeting, restored the autonomy of various countries, and established a pro-Tang government. The Tang Dynasty only controlled the army. After the Tang Dynasty completely controlled the Hezhong, it would slowly implement various reforms. It was not too rush. Li Qing'an gradually found a long-term solution to the Hezhong crisis. With short-term means, the situation should be stable.

At this time, the carriage passed by King Kang's Palace. Li Qing'an looked at the huge palace and couldn't help but snorted coldly. Sooner or later, he would deal with these kings with ulterior motives.

At the same time as Li Qing'an passed by the Kang King's Palace, in the secret room of the palace, King Kang's King Shaofen, King An Guozheng Yejie, King Shi Guozheng Naquru, and Abu who arrived yesterday.

The Muslim Special Envoy Saif, four of them are holding an emergency meeting to discuss the next action plan.

"Everyone, I want to tell you a heart-warming news first. The Abu Muslim Governor has assembled 40,000 troops on the west bank of the Amu River and can cross the Amu River to attack the river at any time. The time for you to serve the Abu Muslim Governor has arrived."

Saif was a tall and thin man in his forties. He was once a tax officer in Bukhara. He knew very well about the situation in the Hezhong area, so he was abu.

The Muslim was selected and became the liaison officer of the Hezhong region. Seeing that all the three kings were silent, he sneered at Shaofen: "His Royal Highness, aren't you excited about this news?"

Xiaofen sighed secretly, what can he do if he drives away the Tang army? The great cannibals will rule the river. The Sogdian countries are just dough from their two empires. They will knead them, and when they leave, they will get the tiger and the wolf. There is no difference. The kings are all puppets.

He did not dare to show his emotions, so he forced himself to smile and said, "Why am I not happy? The arrival of the Great Food Army means that we will turn over for the day, and I will definitely support it."

"What about you two?" Saifu's eyes turned to Anguo and Shi Guozheng King. Shi Guozheng King Naquru immediately expressed his support. Although he did not like cannibalism, it was better than being completely undermined by the Tang army. Anguo Zheng Yejie was frowning. He escaped from the city when a serious riot occurred in Bukhara and came to Kangguo for refuge. He received news yesterday that his palace had been burned, and the property and all kinds of valuable things in the warehouse were stolen. Except for the original wife and son who escaped from him, the other wives were missing. Now he had nothing, and Yejie felt extremely regretful. It can be said that the Shiite riot in Bukhara was related to his support and instigation to a certain extent, but the result was beyond his expectations. After the situation was out of control, he became the biggest victim.

Now Saif wants him to express his opinion again. He shook his head and sighed: "I have nothing now. What's the point of my opinion?"

"You can't say that."

Saif smiled and comforted him, "After all, you are the king of Anguo. Although your property is gone, your prestige is still there. As long as you call on the people of Anguo to support the Great Food and call on them to revolt and drive away the Tang army, you will make the first contribution. At that time, the Governor will definitely re-establish you as the king and give you the benefits you deserve."

Saif was very smart. If the Dashi Army attacked the river, the first stop was Anguo, and Anguo still had 30,000 Tang troops stationed, directly threatening the Dashi Army to cross the Amu River. If the Anguo people could resist the Tang army in groups, they would consume part of the Tang army's strength for the Dashi Army and become a powerful guarantee for the Dashi Army to cross the river. From this perspective, the Anguo King is still very useful.

Ye Jie had no choice but to express his opinion: "Okay! I support Governor Khorasan's decision."

Seeing that everyone expressed their opinions, Saif said happily: "Okay, that's the decision. I just got the news that the Tang army has lifted the martial law. From now on, you will contact the leaders of the Shiites separately and organize them. Ten days later, a large-scale uprising will be launched. In any case, we must succeed this time and reward us on the merits."

In the afternoon, news came that the first batch of ships carrying 50,000 stones of grain from the Jun Zhan had entered the territory of Kangguo. In the latest three days, the grain ships would arrive in Samarkand. After obtaining this exact news, the Tang army immediately placed 30,000 stones of military rations in the Samarkand market to calm the price of grain. The significant increase in grain in the market and the positive news came, causing the high grain prices in Samarkand to plummet. Joy replaced anxiety quickly spread throughout the city, and people's dissatisfaction began to ease.
Chapter completed!