After Shang Bo handed over Gaochang City to the working group headed by Cui Tao, he immediately took the envoy and continued northward.
This time Shang Bo found a Manichaean monk in Gaochang City who often went to the Uighurs to preach as a guide. The mission went much faster and finally crossed the Tianshan Mountains and entered the Mongolian Plateau.
After entering the Mongolian Plateau, you enter the vast grassland.
Fang Guoshou sighed: "In our time, the Mongolian Plateau had been severely desertified. As expected, the Mongolian Plateau is now very suitable for the survival of nomadic people."
The former guide of the mission and now the scout Timur said: "Professor Fang is right. If there were not some mines in modern Mongolia, it would really be impossible to survive at all. There are fewer and fewer pastures suitable for grazing, and desertification can
It’s serious.”
Fang Guoshou said: "Now is the famous warm climate period in history. Tubo and the Mongolian Plateau are very suitable for the growth of animals and plants, so Tubo can compete with the Tang Dynasty for hegemony."
"Turks and Uighurs changed one after another. Although the Tang Dynasty repeatedly defeated the nomads in the north, new nomads would still rise, also because of the livable climate of the Mongolian Plateau."
Wang Shixiong asked curiously: "Professor Fang, what are the Uighurs like this time?"
Fang Guoshou said with a smile: "The Uighurs should be the ancestors of the current Uighurs. They were originally a Turkic tribe. During the Li Longji era, the Turks disintegrated, and the Uighurs took the opportunity to occupy the grasslands."
"Just like the system of the Han Dynasty was copied from the Qin Dynasty, the system of the Tang Dynasty was basically copied from the Sui Dynasty, and the system of the Uighurs was also copied from the Turks."
Shang Bo pricked up his ears and listened carefully to Fang Guoshou's words: "The Uighur tooth tent was built where the Turkic tooth tent used to be. The tooth tent is close to the Wenkun River south of Lake Baikal in the north. This area is the best grassland for the Uighurs.
The Uighur headquarters’ pasture is near Yazhang.”
"Surrounding the Uighur tooth tent are three forests of steles. This is the court of the Uighurs and the place where Uighur scholars live. The three forest of steles closely surround the tooth tent. Each forest of steles is guarded by a permanent forest of steles army. This is the only forest of steles.
An elite unit second only to the Yazhang Guards."
"In addition, there is a city of Ketun to the west of the Uighur tooth tent."
"Kedun means the official wife of the Uighur Khan, which means the queen."
Shang Bo asked doubtfully: "Are the Uighur Khans and Ketun still separated?"
Fang Guoshou said with a smile: "That's not the case. The Uighur Ketun naturally lives with the Khan. The city of Ketun is for the wives of Ketun."
"Keduns in the Uighurs are very powerful and are usually selected from the most powerful tribes in the Uighur territory. Once a woman in the family becomes a kedun, the family can obtain the pasture near the city of kedun."
"This is somewhat similar to the relative system of the Eastern Han Dynasty. After the queen is canonized, the queen's father or brother can become a general and rule."
Shang Bo nodded and asked: "Is this the same as He Jin in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? He Jin was originally a butcher, but after his sister became the queen, he became a general?"
Fang Guoshou nodded and said, "That's it. The Ketun family also has a great influence on Uighur politics."
Shang Bo quickly asked: "Then who is the current Ke Dun?"
Fang Guoshou shook his head regretfully and said: "There is no record in history who is the current Ketun of Gel Khan. There is too little information about the Uighurs, and the research in the historical field is too shallow."
Shang Bo could only sigh with regret. It seemed that we would have to wait until we got to the Uighur tent to inquire about this.
As the group continued to go north, horses, cattle and sheep could be seen everywhere, and from time to time they could see herdsmen carrying bows and arrows, watching the envoys warily.
At this time, Shang Bo will raise his festival banner high, and the herdsmen will ride away on horseback.
It seems that we have entered the core area of Uighur rule.
The Uyghurs are also a big country. If I and my group enter their core area in a big way, they should be "welcome" by the Uyghurs soon.
Counting the days, it has been a few days since the victory at Baowen Mountain. My group of people traveled day and night and almost exhausted the Manichaean monk to death. The news that the Stele Forest Army under Anashi's command was completely wiped out has probably not spread yet.
Return to the Uighur Tooth Tent.
What Shang Bo needed was this time difference. Sure enough, before sunset, a group of well-equipped Uighur knights rode their horses to block Shang Bo.
"Han people, stop, this is the pasture of the great Khan!" the leading general said to Shang Bo.
Shang Bo raised his banner high and shouted: "I am the envoy of King Jianning, the chief administrator of Longyou Road in the Tang Dynasty. I want to see the great Gel Khan!"
Seeing the banner held high by Shang Bo, the Uighur general discussed with his deputy for a while and then said: "I will escort the envoy to the Khan's tent."
Immediately afterwards, this group of knights surrounded the envoy and "escorted" them towards the Uighur Tooth Tent.
Fang Guoshou stroked his beard and said: "The Uighurs are still quite backward. The grassland dynasties of later generations will never let us go so far alone."
Shang Bo also nodded and said: "It shows that the rule of the Uighurs is still very loose, and they do not have in-depth control over various tribes like the Liao and Jin Dynasties."
Fang Guoshou nodded and said: "Actually, the Uighurs are similar to the hegemony system of the Spring and Autumn Period. The Uighur Royal Court is the overlord. It is the leader of the Uighurs in name, but it is only the leader of the Grassland Alliance."
"So the Tang Dynasty had a completely different attitude towards the Tibetan Uighurs. Tubo had a top-down system. The whole of Tubo was the same empire as the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty had always been very wary of Tibet and had a tougher attitude."
"As for the Uighurs, we just want to prevent them from going south to plunder. Our policies are mainly tolerant and our methods are relatively flexible."
Shang Bo nodded, Datang's foreign policy was relatively flexible and pragmatic, and he also understood the surrounding forces relatively well.
Of course, all of this was based on the strong national power of the Tang Dynasty. Requests for reciprocal cooperation could only be made under the premise of being deterred by force.
By the time of the Song Dynasty, the only foreign policy options were the annual currency and the cession of territory.
There were more cattle, sheep, and herdsmen. Under the protection of the Uighur cavalry, the envoys moved much faster, and soon they arrived at the Uighur tooth tent where the Uighur Khan lived.
A city surrounded by stones appeared in front of everyone. There were many stone buildings in the style of the Western Regions in the city. This was the Uighur Tooth Tent.
The former Turkic Empire was a huge empire that spanned Central and North Asia. The Turks once controlled the entire Western Region. This city was once the tent of the Turks. These buildings and walls were built by craftsmen from the Turks who plundered the countries in the Western Region.
of.
That's why these buildings have a strong Western style, but now they all belong to the Uighurs.
Looking at the Uighur tooth tent, Shang Bo spurred his horse on to speed up, and it was finally time for him to perform!