Chapter 500: The Battle of the River

Bukhara in the river, this is Li Qing'an's third time coming to this city. The last time he came was because of the confrontation between Zoroastrians and Muslims. The hatred left the city almost on the verge of destruction. After more than a year, when he set foot on this historical city again, the changes in the current situation surprised him a little.

He remembered very clearly that the two sects had bloody conflicts over the foundation of a temple. At that time, he dug the land into an isolated island and demolished the temple, planted trees on the original site, so that both sides had sustenance for the Holy Spirit.

Today, the river has been hewn, and the Bukhara River is divided into two from here, surrounding the island. Although it is still winter in January, the river is frozen and the trees on the island are desolate, you can imagine the lush scenery in spring, and there is no bridge leading to the island. It becomes an isolated island. When the day of sacrifice comes, the believers of the two factions will scatter flowers into the river.

Gradually, time solidified the rules, and time diluted hatred. What connected the two sects was not only a few bridges on the Bukhara River, but also the merchants of Bukhara. They also had the God of Light or Allah in their hearts, but the real god in their hearts was the God of Kong Fang. It was the active activities of these merchants that gradually restored this once-dead city to life.

The gold and silver utensils and gems and jewelry produced in Bukhara have always been the high-profit goods pursued by merchants, and now there is another kind of Bukhara paper. This paper is a kind of industry that has been formed by Li Qing'an's special approval. Dozens of craftsmen in Bukhara went to learn how to make paper by cutting leaves, and it has gradually formed.

Now, there are Bukhara paper produced by nearly a hundred workshops of all sizes in the city. Because of its smooth and delicate paper surface, it is highly favored by the cannibals and Romans compared with Chang'an paper of the Tang Dynasty. It is also because of its short trafficking journey, which reduces the cost by half. The price is obviously advantageous than Tang paper. Gradually, Bukhara paper occupied the entire Western market, and even the official documents of Shuye also used this paper.

Accompanied by Bukhara Chief Shi Qu Ning, Li Qing'an inspected the city that once fled to the city. Bukhara Chief Shi, this was a major measure implemented by Anxi Government Affairs Hall in June this year under the instructions of Li Qing'an. It established the Chief Shi of the Government Affairs Department in Hezhong to be in charge of the government affairs of various countries in Hezhong. The joint meeting system implemented after taking over Hezhong is now in name only. The power of the kings of various countries has been emptied. They are just symbols of the kings. Their original slightest public security power has also been transferred to the Chief Shi. It can be said that this is the most important step in the transformation of prefectures and counties in Hezhong.

Among the chief historians of various countries in the river, the chief historian of Samarkand and the chief historian of Bukhara are the most important. The chief historian of Samarkand was Luo Qiming, and he has always been in charge of government affairs in Hezhong. The chief historian of Bukhara Qu Ning is a middle-aged man in his forties. He was originally the magistrate of Nanyang County, Dengzhou. At the request of Li Qing'an, Li Longji transferred hundreds of officials from the mainland to Anxi to serve. Later, nearly half of the officials went back one after another, but there were officials who were unwilling to go back. Qu Ning was one of them. He simply sold the land in his hometown and moved his wife, children and parents to Saiye, preparing to settle in Anxi forever.

He was responsible for 5,000 Hanmin migrants to Shiguo. He led 5,000 immigrants to work hard and established Baishui County and Xinwan County north of Tuozhi City. His political achievements were recognized by Li Qing'an. This time, he established the Chief Secretary of the Government in Hezhong, and Qu Ning was transferred to be the Chief Secretary of the Bukhara.

This was another new challenge for him, but in just a few months, Qu Ning was able to communicate with the locals.

As for Qu Ning's political achievements, Li Qing'an saw it very clearly that the traumatized old tree in Bukhara began to sprout new buds.

"What's the relationship between Zoroastrians and Muslims now? Do they have any contact?" Li Qingan asked with a smile.

"Report to the general, we strongly support the moderates of both sides, so that they each formed a group of elders, held regular meetings and consultations, and discussed any issues, so that many signs can be prevented in advance. For example, last month, a Muslim boy eloped with a Zoroastrian girl. This incident triggered mutual accusations between the two big families, and almost turned into a bloody incident. Fortunately, the timely communication between the elders of the two factions calmed down the incident."

Li Qingan asked with great interest: "Then where did this young man and woman go? Is there any news?"

"I heard that I ran to Chang'an. They were all Sogdians in Chang'an. There was no religious difference and no one would care about them. This is not possible in the river. If the two want to get married, they must give up their beliefs, and the family is not allowed."

Speaking of this, Qu Ning sighed: "It's a headache for religion!"

Li Qingan smiled and said, "Changshi Qu, don't underestimate this religious contradiction. This is the key to whether our Tang Dynasty can rule the river for a long time. You must remember my words. As long as their religious contradictions exist one day, they will have no national consciousness for a day. I might as well reveal some news to you. Anxi Political Affairs Hall has formulated a clear plan. In another five years, 300,000 Han residents will be moved in the Hezhong area to encourage intermarriage between Han and Hu and promote Han culture. In another ten years, Hezhong can be renamed Hezhong Road, with nine prefectures, thirty-two counties, and a Grand Governor's Office. At that time, Tang straight road starting from Chang'an will reach the banks of the Amu River."

Qu Ning was also excited by Li Qing'an's long-term plan. He was about to speak when a personal soldier outside the carriage reported: "General, General Li Siye has arrived."

Li Qing'an smiled at Qu Ning and said, "I'm going to see Li Siye. I'll have a good talk with you about government affairs in the Hezhong area in the evening, and Luo Qiming. The day after tomorrow I'll hold a meeting with you government officials."

"Okay, I'll disturb the general."

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Li Siye came from Nasebo City and occupied Tochari by the Tubo army, which also aggravated the uneasiness in the Hezhong area. However, due to the obstruction of the mountains, it was not easy to march from Tochari into the Hezhong. Tiemen Pass was the only way for Tochari to go to the Hezhong. The Tang army stationed 10,000 elite troops on this dangerous pass to prevent Tubo from invading the Hezhong.

In addition to Tiemen Pass, the Hezhong Army also stationed 20,000 troops in the territory of Shiguo and Xiaoshiguo. Currently, most of the 40,000 Tang troops in the Hezhong are stationed in these two places.

Li Siye's governor's office also moved to Nasebo. He heard that Li Qing'an arrived in the river and rushed from Nasebo.

Li Qing'an arrived at the military yamen. Li Siye had been waiting for a long time. He hurriedly came out and half-kneeled to salute and said, "I am not good at Li Siye, see His Highness, King Zhao!"

There is an unwritten rule in Anxi, which is to call Li Qing'an. Generally, Han people call Li Qing'an the general, while Hu people call Li Qing'an the King of Zhao, but it is a bit different when it comes to Li Siye. Li Siye also calls Li Qing'an the King of Zhao. From this title, we can see some of Li Siye's thoughts. He firmly supports Li Qing'an to assassinate the throne. In this way, as the second person in Anxi, he can successfully take over Li Qing'an's position, but no one knows what Li Qing'an thinks.

I need to say a little more here. The Tang army in Anxi is divided into two systems: Ya army and garrison. The Ya army is divided into six levels: army, guard, battalion, brigade, team, fire, etc., while the garrison is divided into three levels: guard, town, and garrison. The garrison and the garrison are regular troops in Anxi, controlled by the military, and also train troops, that is, militia, which belongs to the reserve service and is controlled by the political affairs hall.

On the surface, it seems that civil and military divisions are divided, but civil and military divisions of the Tang Dynasty are not separated, and civil officials can also control the regular army, that is, the military supervision system, which is the basic system of the Tang Dynasty. Li Qing'an was once supervised by Bian Lingcheng, but Li Qing'an restored Li Longji's previous censorship system, and the Anxi Supervision Office sent an inspector to station the army, not only supervising military discipline, but also monitoring these generals who controlled military power.

Since Li Qing'an is a general, his highest military post is only the general. Currently, there are seven generals, Li Siye, Feng Changqing, Duan Xiushi, Li Guangbi, Li Feishouyu, Cui Qianyou and Li Fei Yuanli. Among these seven generals, ordinary people are ranked according to the gold medal number given to them by Li Qing'an, but the military is actually divided into three levels, Li Siye, Feng Changqing and Duan Xiushi are the first level; Li Guangbi and Li Feishouyu are the second level, and Cui Qianyou and Li Fei Yuanli are the third level.

The Anxi Army has a very strict hierarchy, so if Li Qing'an succeeds in the future, the new Anxi Jiedushi will be selected among Li Siye, Feng Changqing and Duan Xiushi. These three people are actually in a state of competition.

But now there is another saying, saying that in the future, Anxi may be divided into four, Beiting Jiedu, Anxi Jiedu, Lingxi Jiedu and Hezhong Jiedu, plus the Governor of Tochar and Governor of Xinde, they should be the six princes in the future.

But no matter which plan it is, Li Siye will be valued. Li Qingan also attaches great importance to this veteran Anxi general and handed over the important task of fighting the big food.

Li Qingan quickly helped him up and smiled, "Siye doesn't have to perform such a polite manner. We are old comrades-in-arms. It's better to be more at will, or call me a general. I don't like you calling me Your Highness, King Zhao."

Li Siye scratched his head with some embarrassment and smiled: "There is a difference between the top and the bottom, how can I be at will? OK! I will call him General."

"That's right!"

Li Qingan smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go into the house and talk."

The two walked into the house, where there was an Anxi sand table. This was the treasure that Li Qing'an would carry wherever he went, and coming to Hezhong was no exception.

The two sat down first, and Li Qing'an ordered people to serve tea. Then he asked, "Let me talk about the situation of the Tubo people first, can the Tubo people invade Tiemenguan?"

Li Siye shook his head and said, "Not yet, but we have discovered Tubo sentries several times. They crossed the Amu River and inspected near Tiemen Pass. I guess the Tubo people will invade the river at the turn of summer and autumn this year."

"Is that true? Why is it the turn of spring and summer, why is it in the river rather than faith? I am very interested. Let me tell you what you want."

"This... I thought the Tubo people actually regarded Xinde as their belongings. Their real enemy was the Tang army, especially the Tang army of Shattered Ye. So before the troops sent Xinde, they had to solve their worries. It would be very difficult to directly break the leaves. I inferred that they first attacked the river, and then led part of the Tang army of Shattered Ye to the river, and then attacked the Shattered Ye with all their strength. As for the turn of summer and autumn, on the one hand, they needed time to stabilize the Tochar and act before collecting the grain. On the other hand, the weather in Xinde was hot at the turn of summer and autumn. They were all plateau soldiers and would not be able to adapt, so I inferred that they should take action against the river in July and August."

"Not bad! Not bad!"

Li Qingan smiled and applauded softly, "Siye is becoming more and more sensible, but I still want to ask you, are you considering the great cannibalism?"

Speaking of the Great Cannibal, Li Siye's face became solemn. He quickly walked to the sand table, picked up the wooden pole and pointed at the west bank of the Amu River in Xiaoshiguo and said, "This is here. I just got the information the day before yesterday. The 30,000 troops of the Great Food Army have already arrived here. This is also the thing I worry about the most. The Great Food Army is going to intervene."

"Then do you think the great cannibals want to deal with the Tubo people or against us?" Li Qingan asked with a smile.

"I think the cannibals wanted to deal with the Tubo people. If we seize Tochar from the Tubo people, we have nothing to say."

"Wouldn't Dashi be afraid that we will cut off their retreat?"

"This..." Li Siye was stunned. He smiled bitterly, "General, I'm a little confused. I still can't grasp the overall situation."

"Let me tell you!"

Li Qingan took the wooden pole from him and pointed at Huluoshan and smiled: "I originally wanted to invite the big cannibals in the Tocharismatic Feast, but I didn't expect that Tubo was an uninvited guest. Mansour should have seen it too. And I sent an envoy to warn him not to act rashly. Of course, Mansour would not be threatened by me. He was waiting for the most favorable opportunity. This time is that the Tang army and the Tubo army both suffered losses. He may attack Hezhong or attack Tucharis, which will depend on the situation. Therefore, your Hezhong army must remain unmoved and cannot let the Hezhong be empty. As for Tocharis."

Li Qingan sneered and said, "Actually, I don't take the Tubo people to heart. We have thunder and thunder. Can the Tubo army resist it? The reason why I have been reluctant to send troops to Tocharo is to wait for the Tubo people to increase their troops. It is best to increase the troops to 200,000. Fighting on the plateau is not good for us, but fighting in Tocharo is exactly what I want. I want to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to wipe out the Tubo people in Tocharo, completely destroy Tubo, and make it difficult for Tubo to turn over within a hundred years."

Speaking of this, Li Qing'an pointed with a wooden pole and said, "Before I came to Hezhong, I just got the news that our team of scouts went deep into Tochar. They found an extremely important information. Tubo Zamp will come to Tochar in February to inspect so that we can lock them in Tochar and beat them up."

Only then did Li Siye understand Li Qing'an's overall arrangement. It turned out that Tocharo was just a bait. No wonder Li Qing'an refused to attack Tocharo for a long time. So that's the case. He felt ashamed of himself. He could plan a game and fight, but he couldn't do it at all. At this time, he hurriedly asked: "What should we do if Dashi? They have a 70,000 army in Khorasan. What should we do if they take advantage of the situation to rob Tucharo?"

Li Qing'an smiled and pointed the wooden pole at the north side of Byzantium and said, "I have reached an agreement with Byzantium. In a few days, Byzantium will increase its troops to the border of the Great Food and put pressure on the Great Food. If the Great Food really dares to launch troops against Tochar, then Byzantium will send troops to Armenia."

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Chapter completed!