Chapter 382: Expedition to Trust (Part 1)

Jiantulu is also one of the Tochar states, but unlike the Yuezhi countries, it was not conquered by the great cannibals. The towering Hindu Kush Mountains blocked the iron hoofs of the Arabs' eastward expansion. Jiantulu is a traditional agricultural country. In the huge valleys, fertile land and abundant water sources make Jiantulu rich in grain and fruit, and also feeds the numerous populations here.

Jiantulu belongs to the pro-Tang sect. Over the decades, King Jiantulu sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to see each other several times, and was granted the title of the Tang Dynasty court. It was named Tocharya Leaf Guard. This place is also a Buddhist holy land. There can be seen tall Bodhi trees as tall as a crown and magnificent Buddhist temples, monks, farmers, and merchants everywhere, making this place a rich and peaceful country.

In late August, Li Qing'an led 18,000 Tang Dynasty expeditionary troops and more than 2,000 troops from the Secret Protection Kingdom to Sabulu, the king of Jiantulu, and the king of Jiantulu, led the queen and dozens of officials out of the city to greet him for ten miles.

The Tang army brigade slowly stopped moving forward. Bai Jia took a few quick steps and led a large group of people to kneel down in front of Li Qing's horse. He was nervous and said, "Welcome the general to visit my country. I am willing to provide all conveniences for the Tang army."

From here to go south, you can enter Xinde, which is the destination of this southern expedition of the Tang army. Jiantuo will become the base for the Tang army to go south, especially the abundant food here, which can provide the Tang army with necessary rations. Jiantuo is very important for Li Qing'an's southern expedition. The attitude of the Jiantuoluo was quite submissive, and he also expressed that they were willing to help the Tang army with all their might. This made Li Qing'an very satisfied. He jumped off his horse, stepped forward to help Bai Jia, and smiled and said, "Thank you for your support to the Tang army. The Tang army's southern expedition was to drive the great food forces out of Xinde and Punjab. This was also to prevent Jiantuo from being influenced by the great food. So I hope this southern expedition can also become a state affairs of Jiantuoluo. I hope you can do your part."

Prince Humi translated Li Qing'an's meaning to Sirigala. He translated it well, so that Sirigala understood what Li Qing'an's words meant, which was to let Jiantuo send troops to assist the Tang army in attacking Xinde. However, Jiantuo was not the Humi Kingdom. The Humi Kingdom was located in the mountains, and sending troops was just a favor. Once Jiantuo assisted the Tang army, it meant that they openly confronted the Arabs. If the Tang army withdraws in the future and the cannibals return to Xinde, Jiantuo would be in danger. Sirigala felt very embarrassed and was unwilling to send troops to assist. He would rather pay money and feed and do everything in the country. However, he could not explain this first. If it was too clear, it would make the Tang army suspicious.

"General, food, livestock and horses, Jiantuo will do all his support to the Tang army."

Although Sirigala's tone was respectful, his ruthless attitude made Li Qingan very unhappy. Li Qingan did not say it out loud, and said lightly: "Let's talk about this!"

He ignored Sirigala and turned around and ordered: "The army is stationed on the spot and rest for two days."

The Tang cavalry dismounted and unloaded all kinds of supplies. A tent soon appeared in the wilderness on the banks of the Xindu River. Sirigala was uneasy. Li Qingan no longer paid attention to him. He was not going back to the city, nor was he stayed there. More importantly, they had prepared a camping place for the Tang army, but the Tang army ignored him at all, but decided to camp on their own. Their camp just cut off the road to Jiantuo to Kabul, leaving pedestrians with no way to go. Sirigala was anxious and regretful. He didn't know how he should explain to Li Qingan.

Sirigala's wife and daughter and subordinates all returned to the city. Sirigala was like a homeless man, swaying back and forth in the Tang army camp. He wanted to talk to Li Qing'an again. He couldn't blame him. The Tocharians were like this. In today's terms, they were typical pragmatists and opportunists. Whoever was stronger and they were with whom. The Tang Dynasty also wanted to get involved in Tochar. The final victory and defeat had not yet come to an end. How could you let him support the Tang Dynasty with all his strength? What if the big food wins?

At this time, a Tang army soldier came out of the camp and stepped forward and bowed and said, "Your Highness, my general invites you in."

Sirigala was overjoyed, and Li Qingan finally gave him another chance. He hurriedly followed the soldiers into the camp.

In the camp, a scout who had just returned from Xinde brought back news about He Yansi. He Yansi had found the largest granary group in Xinde, where there were four million stones of grain and twenty million dirhal silver coins collected by the Great Cannibals from Xinde and Punjab. They are now under the supervision of 30,000 local troops in Sindh. In addition, there are two thousand Great Food Army. The Governor Ben Ibrahim of Sindh is leading the main force of the Great Food Army to suppress the Rajiput rebellion in Punjab.

What interested Li Qing'an was that He Yansi had now become the chief manager of one of the granaries and served as the captain of the Xinde Army, with a thousand people under his command because he successfully won the trust of a Xinde officer, and the uncle of this officer was a senior general in the Xinde Army.

"General, He Yan Lushou was very worried that the riots in Xinde would cause food to be lost. He said that the soldiers were unreliable. If there was a turmoil, they would take the lead in robbing money and food. He begged the general to send Sindhi as soon as possible."

Li Qingan closed He Yansi's report and said with a smile: "General He Yan is very lucky! He is just a small brigade coach here. In Xinde, he got to the position of captain in just a few days. This is equivalent to my general of the Tang Dynasty. It seems that I have buried talents."

Li Qing'an's jokes made the soldiers sweat from the head of the news. He quickly explained to He Yansi: "The Xinde Army is nothing but a mess, there is no rules or military system. Everything depends on bloodline and relationship. As long as they are Rajiput people, even if they are young soldiers who have just joined the army, they can command the low-class veterans who have experienced many battles. General He Yan is not good at speaking with them! He will have to be promoted."

Li Qingan understood what he meant. He was talking about the caste system of India. Li Qingan smiled and asked, "Are you saying that you belong to the best people?"

"Yes! They all think that we are Kushan people and belong to Kshatriya, so their general generously gave General He Yan the position of captain."

Li Qing'an nodded, "I understand. You can go and rest for the time being. I need you to lead the way. After two more days of rest, the army will go south to Xinde."

The informant soldiers saluted and went down. At this time, the personal soldiers led the King of Jiantuo, Sirigala, and kowtowed to Li Qing'an and apologized: "I deserve to die if I disobey the general's order, I will come and take the crime!"

The translator on the side whispered, and Li Qing'an's expression became serious, "Do you know you are guilty?"

"I know! So I come to apologize."

Li Qingan looked at him for a while before slowly saying: "I am the lord of Anxi and I have no choice but to work hard to lead the king's army to the south to relieve you of being enslaved by the great cannibals. Maybe you think Jiantulu was not occupied by the great cannibals, so it doesn't matter, but if the Tang army had not restrained the great cannibals in the river, would you think you would still be the King of Jiantulu now?"

"I know that if the king's army had not stopped the great cannibals from expanding eastwardly, Jiantuo has now been incorporated into Xinde."

"You know, but you cherish your life and refuse to send troops to assist the King's Army. Even a small country like Gumi is not as good as a small country. Your Highness, you disappoint me! If I hadn't thought of giving you another chance, the king of Jiantuo would not be you."

Li Qing'an's naked threat made Sirigala sweat. He kowtowed repeatedly, and did not dare to say a word. Anxi's rule was to rather be disrespectful to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty than offend the Anxi Jiedushi. The Anxi Jiedushi killed them and these kings like killing a chicken.

"Okay! For the sake of your mistake, I'll spare you once."

Li Qing'an's face calmed down slightly, and he ordered: "This time I attack Xinde, I want Jiantuo to devote all the strength of the whole country, including money, grain and army. Do you think you are going to pay?"

This time, Sirigala dared not hide at all. He thought about it and said, "There is still one million stones of food in our treasury, which can be given to the Tang army and 6,000 kilograms of gold. I am willing to contribute it as military pay. As for the army, Jiantuo can produce 5,000 elephant troops and 20,000 infantry to follow the Tang army."

Speaking of the elephant army, he reminded Li Qing'an at once, and he immediately asked: "How many artificially fed elephants are there in Xinde and Punjab?"

"It's estimated that there are tens of thousands of heads! Almost every family in many villages along the Xindu River raises elephants."

Sirigala was heartbroken when he thought of his losses. He was also heartbroken when he answered Li Qing'an's words. Li Qing'an understood his thoughts and smiled at him, "His Royal Highness is willing to help the king's army. This shows that he is loyal to the Tang Dynasty. I will not treat you badly. I will conquer Xinde and Punjab. I will merge them into Jiantuo and establish the Xindu Kingdom with a territory of thousands of miles. You are the first king."

Sirigala's eyes suddenly widened. He never dreamed that his Jiantuo could actually annex Xinde and Punjab, but now he really heard it. Li Qing'an wanted to give Xinde and Punjab to him. He patted his forehead and asked in a low voice: "The General hasn't lied to me, right?"

After hearing the translator's words, Li Qing'an's face darkened and said a little displeased: "I am the King of Zhao of the Tang Dynasty, the Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Bureau, and the dignified Anxi Jiedushi. Will I still lie to you?"

Sirigala really believed it now, and he kowtowed with excitement: "I am willing to serve the general."

"Of course, in order to prevent the great cannibals from making a comeback, the Tang army will station troops in Xinde to help you train your army and resist the invasion of the great cannibals. I will tell you this first."

Sirigalo slightly recovered a little bit of reason. He understood what Li Qing'an meant. Sirigalo actually belonged to the Tang Dynasty, but he put it in his hands for Li Qing'an. Despite this, Sirigalo was still very happy. As long as the Tang Dynasty wanted, what they didn't want was still their own.

"General, I'll go back and order troops now!"

"Go! The day after tomorrow, the army set out on time."

The Xindu River, which is today's Indu River, flows through the entire territory of Pakistan today. The Xindu River basin, 1,300 years ago, was a world-famous granary. The land here is fertile, with sufficient light and water sources. In addition, the large population makes it an important food base for the great cannibals. Before the great cannibals expanded eastward, the entire northern Indian region was ruled by the Rajiput people. The Rajiput people were a new race formed by the integration of foreign ethnic groups in the Tochar area such as the Kushan, the Huns, the Gugara, and the local natives. It occupies a dominant position in the Northern Indian, belonging to the Kshatriya class, and ruled tens of millions of local natives.

The Rajiputs were not a unified kingdom, but were divided into thirty-six small countries and fought each other.

After the Great Cannibals expanded eastward, the first ones were conquered were Sindhi and Punjab. Some of the Rajiputs were forced to convert to Islam. The Great Cannibals promised them that as long as they converted to Islam, they would enjoy the annuity given by the empire like the Islams in Damascus and no longer have to pay taxes. However, because the Great Cannibals repeatedly failed in the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty began to trade directly with Byzantium, the commercial tax of the Great Cannibals sharply reduced, forcing the Great Cannibals to cancel their original promises. The Muslims in the faith still had to pay taxes, while other people had to pay double the taxes to make up for the financial losses of the Great Cannibals.

The heavy tax strategy of the Great Food brought serious impact on their rule in Sindhi and Punjab. The Rajiputs were extremely dissatisfied. Under the intentional instigation of some nobles and landlords, uprisings broke out in many areas. Among them, the uprising in Adipochira City in Punjab was the most intense. The original king was re-clustered and ascended the throne and openly fought against the Great Cannibal.

Governor Ibrahim of Sindh was extremely angry and personally led 8,000 Great Food Army and 50,000 Sindh Servant Army to Adenpochira City to suppress the uprising. In order to ensure that the large grain warehouse of Sindh was not lost, Ibrahim mobilized 30,000 Sindh Servant Army from various places to protect the safety of the grain warehouse, and the deputy governor was born.

Lead by Rajd.

These 30,000 troops came from all over the country and formed factions, among which 10,000 troops from Amitiro City in the north of Sindh were responsible for guarding the food and grass in the east. He Yansi served as the captain of the army.

The captain was a military system of great cannibalism. It was modified by the last caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty, Melwang II, and the Roman military system was imitated by the Arabic name Kurdus. A legion consisted of ten brigades, with squadrons and squads below. He Yansi served as the captain of one of the brigades, in charge of one thousand soldiers.

It is also incredible to say that He Yansi formed a close friendship with a piece of silk and a porcelain cup. Sumaro actually had an uncle named Adudro who was the commander of the legion. Because one of the captains suffered severe dysentery, he died halfway through the journey. Adudro let his nephew Sumaro serve as the captain of the captain who died of diarrhea. Sumaro recommended He Yansi as his deputy. In the bloodline identification, the knowledgeable Adudro concluded that He Yansi belonged to Macedonians and had some kind of kinship with his ancestors. Because of this inexplicable relative relationship, Adudro abolished his nephew's part-time job and instead appointed He Yansi as the captain.

As for language improperness, it is not important to prevent soldiers from stealing food without authorization.

He Yansi was an extremely smart young man. Within half a month of spending with Sumaluo, he learned a little bit of Siddish and could have simple conversations.

Early that morning, He Yansi was notified to rush to the corps commander's tent for a meeting. It was already early September, and the weather in Kexinde was still extremely hot. More than a dozen generals gathered together, and the tent was filled with a sour and smelly air. He Yansi was already used to it. He walked to Sumaluo and sat down, asking with a smile: "What happened?"

Sumaluo is a man with no ambition. He didn't care that He Yansi had taken his part-time job. He said with a serious expression: "The news came from the north that the Jiantuo people actually dared to invade Shinde on a large scale, so the commander of the Legion was anxious for everyone to discuss countermeasures."

He Yansi thought about it and immediately understood that there was no such thing as Jiantuoluo invasion. It was clearly the Tang army that came. He was secretly excited, but he did not show any expression. He glanced around and said, "Where is the commander of the army? Why don't you see others?"

"The Legion Commander also went to the meeting, let's wait here."

One of the biggest headaches for He Yansi was that Xinde was extremely procrastinated in his work. It was a very simple thing that they needed to solve for a long time. The meeting was particularly long and most of the time was spent waiting. He had to wait for at least half a day.

He Yansi still miscalculated. He waited from morning to night. He ate two meals in the tent, slept with another sleep, and was pushed to death in a daze. The commander of the Legion came back from a meeting.

Adudro's family controlled the city of Amitiro in the north for generations. He himself was an old military gangster in his fifties. He was definitely indispensable for his benefits. He was in trouble and could never see his shadow. He had a big beard and a pair of shrewd little eyes, so that his eyes were often covered by the big beard, giving people an incomprehensible feeling.

"I was a little together today. The main reason is that everyone is unwilling to give in to each other. Everyone is willing to stay and guard the warehouse, but not willing to go to fight against the lowly Jiantulu people. That would be a shame for our superiors."

In fact, the Jiantulu people were also Rajiput people. In terms of bloodline, they were more pure than them, but they were just making excuses that they were unwilling to work hard.

"What's the result?" Su Maluo asked loudly. He was about to marry another wife, but he didn't have time to go to war.

"As a result, no one refused to go, and the Arabs got angry and asked everyone to draw lots."

"Then what did you draw?" Everyone sat upright, caring about the luck of their legion commander.

Adudro smiled proudly, "Do you think I will win? Let's stay here and let others go to war."

The big tent suddenly cheered, and everyone else left, which meant that the food and money in the grain warehouse belonged to them.

He Yansi secretly complained, when they fought with the Tang army, they could take the opportunity to return to the team. This was a problem. At this time, everyone went back to sleep, but Adudro stopped him, "Sumaro, Yansi, you two stay, I have something to tell you."

After everyone left, Adudro whispered to the two of them: "The news I arrived is probably not that simple. Maybe it was not the Jiantuluo people who called him, but the Tang Dynasty's army."

"Tang Dynasty people!"

Sumaluo's eyes widened and said anxiously: "Will they bring a lot of silk and porcelain? Wouldn't that be worthless?"

He was worried that the piece of silk and porcelain in his hand would lose its price. Adudro glared at him fiercely and cursed: "Idiot! The Tang Dynasty army would not bring any silk and porcelain, they would only kill us all."

"What should the commander of the Legion thinks we should do?" He Yansi asked.
Chapter completed!