In the 17th year of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, on the banks of the Ili River.
More than a dozen fast horses galloped across the grassland, with a young man and woman riding at the front.
The young man riding the horse was tall, dressed in the attire of a Mongolian noble, with a handsome face and a high nose, but he still had the appearance of a Han man.
He loosened the reins with both hands, raised his bow while riding the horse, and hit the fleeing prey in the distance with an arrow.
But the Mongolian girl had already galloped past him, shouting: "I want to hunt a bigger prey."
"Namur." Li Changsui called her quickly and said, "It's too far already, go back."
"No reply." Namur turned around, smiled and waved to him, the silver bell on her wrist swaying, "Catch up with me if you have the ability."
Li Changsui was aroused and eager to win, so he rode up.
Both of them had good horses under their crotches, running faster and faster, gradually throwing away the attendants behind them.
"Your Highness!"
A knight tried hard to drive his horse, but he could only watch as the young man and woman in front of him disappeared. After driving for a while, they completely lost sight of them.
The upper reaches of the Akyazi River is a valley.
The sky is blue, the grass is green, and the valley is quiet.
"Uu."
Li Changsui finally took hold of the reins of Namur's horse and said, "We can't run anymore."
"Oh well."
Namur braced herself on the saddle and jumped off the horse dexterously. She smoothed her hair and said with a smile: "I want my horse to rest. Come down and we'll drink the horses over there."
Li Changsui had no choice but to sigh, lead the horse and follow her, saying: "If I follow you and make nonsense, I will be taught a lesson by my husband again when I go back."
"You will be the Khan of the grassland, why should you be afraid of him?"
"Because he is my husband."
"But they have so many rules. It's great to be free like us."
"Sir said, freedom without restraint is not true freedom."
"Sir again."
Namur laughed again, as if she was laughing at Li Changsui, and reached out to pinch his face.
"Don't touch me." Li Changsui didn't like her move, so he broke away from her hand and said, "I'm not a child anymore."
Namur hummed, sat down by the river, and waved to him.
"Sit down for a while. Don't you still have to do your homework when you go back?"
Li Changsui couldn't help but let out a long breath, sat down on the grassland, and stretched out. He really didn't want to do his homework.
The wind blows very comfortably, carrying the fragrance of green grass, unlike the constant smell of horse manure in the camp.
He sat for a while, lay down on his back, looked at the blue sky, and murmured: "I can't remember what Chang'an is like."
"Don't you like it here?" Namur lay down next to him and looked sideways at his face.
"I don't know." Li Changsui puffed up his cheeks and asked, "Don't you want to hunt? Go quickly, I'll wait for you to bring back the prey."
"Eh."
"Um?"
Li Changsui turned his head and felt soft lips touching his mouth.
After a while, he finally regained his breath and murmured: "You are my cousin...and we are still young."
"Don't listen to them." Namur hugged his neck, leaned very close, and whispered: "We are husband and wife."
She is different from other Mongolian women in that she has a delicate fragrance.
There is a vague aroma of rouge.
Li Changsui felt uneasy, but he did feel very...feeling good.
The two of them were both fourteen years old and had never experienced anything, yet they vaguely understood everything. Once they got entangled, it was like getting an electric shock.
It was just a kiss that lasted a long time.
This was a new feeling that Li Changsui had never experienced before. He was so immersed in it that he forgot many things.
"..."
The river flowed quietly, from dawn to dusk, and then to night. After a long time, the young man and woman clinging to each other were finally willing to put on their clothes and leave. Leave this river valley.
~~
The eighteenth year of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Due to the advancement of the war with the Golden Horde and the urging of the Tang court, the Khanate of the Chagatai Khanate moved westward to the bank of Zhaisang Lake.
Lake Zhaisan is located in the depression between the Altai Mountains and the Talbachatay Mountains.
Meltwater from the glaciers on the Altay Mountains merges into the Irtysh River, which flows through here and forms a huge turquoise lake in the canyon. There are forests, meadows, and flowers.
In October, Lian Xixian's troops passed by, and Wu Ze entertained him with wine. During the dinner, he sighed deeply.
"After eight years in the grassland, His Highness has still turned into a beggar. Fortunately, he listens to Mr. Lian the most. I ask Mr. Lian to persuade him."
Lian Xixian shook his head and said, "What is Hu Hua?"
Wu Ze didn't know where to start, so he said: "Now His Highness and his cousin are deeply in love, and their words and deeds are becoming more and more like a deceiver."
Lian Xixian said with a smile: "The young couple has a deep love for each other, and it was evident at the banquet. But a deep love for each other is not nonsense. There are many loving couples in the Central Plains."
"Lian Gong clearly knows what the students are talking about."
Lian Xixian tightened his thick cotton coat and said, "It's freezing cold in the north of Saibei. Your Highness is wearing a fox fur coat today, right?"
"yes."
"Nowadays, cotton cultivation in the Western Regions has gradually become more effective. Many Mongolians and Uighurs wear cotton clothes, but have they become Chinese?"
"nature."
"But cotton is not originally a product of Zhongzhou? Before the previous dynasty, we only had the word 'mian', but not the word 'cotton' next to the word 'wood'." Lian Xixian said: "It's just something to wear when it's cold, you can
If you want to see it, say it's Chinese, and if you don't want to see it, say it's Huhua, which is not advisable."
Wu Ze's expression became serious and he asked: "Why do Mr. Lian bother to joke with the students? I am talking about His Highness's words and deeds."
"Isn't it normal for young people to be difficult to control at this age?" Lian Xixian said: "His Royal Highness went to the Western Regions when he was seven years old, and spent eight years among the Mongols. How can it be surprising that his words and deeds are like them? On the contrary, what I saw today is if
It's a strange thing for His Highness to wear a round-collared robe and say, 'That's what I mean'."
"Isn't Mr. Lian worried?"
"I advise you not to put too much pressure on yourself, and don't put too much pressure on His Highness."
"How can we not worry?" Wu Zedao said: "Wulu Hu deliberately wanted to turn His Highness into a Mongolian..."
Lian Xixian said: "You only saw the changes in His Highness, but you didn't see the changes in the entire Western Region Khanate."
Wu Ze was stunned.
Lian Xixian raised his hand and pointed, "Let's see, what did you and I eat today?"
"Big... big chicken."
"Chicken, potatoes, peppers." Lian Xixian raised the chopsticks in his hand and said, "There are also noodles from Sichuan and Sichuan, and noodles from Guanzhong."
Wu Ze laughed dumbly and said, "Mr. Lian is so good at comforting people."
"You only focus on His Highness, so you think he is Huhua for marrying his cousin early, wearing Mongolian clothes, and speaking Mongolian. But remember, changing a person's behavior is very fast. What is difficult is to change and educate people all over the world.
Wanmin is a step-by-step process, not that fast. Now we grow potatoes in the Western Regions, and they grow corn in northern Liaoning. How many seeds can be sown a year? But since the seeds are planted, sooner or later they will sprout."
Wu Ze was thoughtful.
Lian Xixian patted his shoulder and finally said: "Integration is mutual, and the customs of all ethnic groups have their good and bad. The most important thing is to teach His Highness the benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trustworthiness. You cannot expect to just teach the Western Regions."
A highness is enough. In a word, if you have enough food and clothing, you will know the etiquette. If you have enough food and clothing, you will know the honor and disgrace."
"Thank you, Mr. Lian, for your enlightenment. The students understand."
After a long conversation, Wu Ze really knew what he should do.
As the future Prime Minister of the Anxi Palace, he began to focus more on governance, teaching herdsmen to cultivate the land, and preparing to build a city at Zhaisang Lake...
~~
Spring passed and autumn came, and in a blink of an eye it was the twenty-sixth year of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
A city has been built on the bank of Zhaisang Lake.
Not only the business travelers, but also the Han people living here, as well as more and more herdsmen and nobles from the Khanate moved into the city.
Only Ketun Ulughnai of the Chagatai Khanate still liked to live in a tent by the lake.
But on the fifth day of May this year, even she was on her deathbed...
Many people had knelt down outside the big tent.
In the tent, Uluru was explaining the funeral arrangements.
"Remember, the Silk Road is the cornerstone of the Khanate. Without oases and trade, the Khanate will cease to exist. Only by defeating the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate can we prosper..."
"My grandson will definitely cut off his bald head and attach Gudie'er's head to open up business channels."
Li Changsui responded in his fluent Mongolian.
"I know that you will change this Khanate after my death. I can't do anything about it. There is only one thing you must promise me... you must pass the throne to your and Atana Muir's child."
Having said this, Uluru Hunai's eyes became darker and darker, and he murmured: "Everything I have done in my life is for this position."
"The grandson promised his grandmother."
"Remember... you can get the fief earlier than all your half-brothers. It was not given to you by Li Xia, but left to you by me..."
"Grandma, don't worry, your grandson will keep it in mind."
Li Changsui waited for a long time and didn't hear Wu Luhu Nai speak again. When he looked up, he saw that she had lost her breath.
He had been raised by Uluru Kunai himself since he was a child. At this time, he couldn't help but feel extremely sad and burst into tears.
Only Namur in the big tent could comfort him, hugging him tightly and saying: "Grandma was taken away by Changshengtian..."
No matter what, when Li Changsui walked out of the tent wearing a white robe, he was already the new khan of the Chagatai Khanate.
He will bear countless people.
…
May 13th, Zhaisang City, Royal Palace.
"I have gone to Chang'an to ask Your Majesty to crown me King of Anxi."
Li Changsui sat on the throne and spoke slowly, with a calm tone.
After hearing this, Namur was stunned for a moment and asked: "What do you mean?"
"The Chagatai Khanate will no longer exist, and from now on there will only be the Western Region vassal kings of the Tang Dynasty..."
"No, grandma has only been away for seven days, how could you do this?"
"This is not what I meant, but what my grandmother promised my father." Li Changsui said: "This was the condition she brought me in sixteen years ago. Now it's just time to fulfill her promise."
Namur shook his head, stepped forward and hugged Li Changsui, saying: "But you don't want to, right? You don't want to be a vassal king, you want to be a great Khan, a unique Khan."
"Namur, this has nothing to do with whether I think about it or not." Li Changsui said: "It has never been important what I think. Everything has been doomed a long time ago."
"No……"
"I only sat on the throne for seven days, and it was during these seven days that I realized how powerful my father was. Once we lose the support of the Tang army, the iron hooves of the Golden Horde will be able to break through our royal city in less than two years.
Not to mention the consequences of betraying the Tang Dynasty."
When Li Changsui said this, he smiled bitterly and murmured in a low voice: "That's why he threw me here and never cared about me. Because he only needs my blood to make the Chagatai Khanate a stable place."
Just get off it."
"Have you planned it a long time ago?" Namur cried and asked: "You have been lying to me and my grandmother. You betrayed the Chagatai Khanate as soon as you ascended the throne. Sixteen years of
Isn’t love worth the word filial piety?”
"What can't be compared to the strength of a great country with tens of millions of people, what can't be compared to thousands of years of inheritance of etiquette, understand? Now that I am in this position, what else can I do? Start a war with the Tang Dynasty?"
Namur burst into tears.
But no matter what, she could not change the demise of the Chagatai Khanate...
Half a year later, the edict from the Emperor of Tang Dynasty arrived to confer the title of King of Anxi, and along with it came generous rewards.
Wu Ze, who became the Prime Minister of Anxi, informed the royal city that water conservancy projects would be built on the Irtysh River, and the whole city cheered.
There are people who miss the Khanate, but they are very few.
It was night, Li Changsui stroked Namur's face and said: "Namur, I hope that no herdsmen will starve to death or freeze to death in and around Zhaisang City this winter. We have more food and food from overseas.
The transported charcoal can be sent to Zhaisang City along the Hexi Corridor, and the content of newspapers published in the Western Regions is only half a month later than that of Lanzhou... This is the general trend, and you and I can't stop it. You and I are just mayflies in the world.
.”
"Your Majesty." Namur was a little uneasy, hugged Li Changsui's waist, and said: "At least promise me that our child will become the heir, as you promised my grandmother..."
~~
Thirty-six years after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Yao Sui arrived in Zhaisang City as the Chief Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Prime Minister of Agriculture, Hanlin Bachelor, and concurrently serving as the Anxi Propaganda and Comfort Envoy.
One month after taking office, Yao Sui had a heart-to-heart talk with Wu Ze.
"Your Majesty asked me to ask Mr. Wu, what if he intends to divide Gaochang, Hami and other places into prefectures and counties?"
Wu Ze was silent for a long time, then sighed and asked: "Why is it so urgent?"
"Your Majesty does not want the vassal kings in the Western Regions to become too powerful." Yao Sui said: "You also know that your Majesty is considering the stability of future generations, not the affection between father and son."
Wu Ze nodded and said: "There are too many things to weigh in this matter. I will seal the deal after I consider it all."
"There is one more thing." Yao Sui said: "The King of Anxi requested that the eldest son of the king be canonized as the crown prince, but there were some voices in the court."
"What?"
"I heard that the three concubines of King Anxi were all Han women, and they all gave birth to princes. Does the king think there is a suitable candidate for the heir apparent?"
Wu Ze hesitated for a long time and asked: "Brother Duanfu has not met the eldest son of the king this time, right?"
"It's true that I haven't paid a visit yet." Yao Sui said, "I heard that the queen has many complaints against the court."
Wu Ze thought for a while and asked, "Brother Duanfu, would you like to go to the mansion with me to study?"
"Oh? There is also a government school in Zhaisang City."
"In the early years, when Duke Lian first took office in Chang'an, the first thing he did was to ask the great scholar Xu Lu Zhai to promote Jingzhaofu School, so Duke Lian was able to gain your majesty's trust. Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow this example and build Zhaisang City.
The first thing built after that was a school.”
Yao Sui was Xu Heng's disciple. After hearing this, of course he nodded repeatedly and said: "The merits of this act by Prime Minister Wu will be passed down to future generations."
After that, he sighed and said: "In the past twenty years, even the imperial court has spent a lot of effort to promote culture and education in the north. It first moved the capital and allocated one-tenth of the tax from the national treasury to culture and education every year.
.”
"Yes, it takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. Culture and education are especially difficult."
As the two walked, they talked, and Yao Sui said: "The Mongolians conquered all the countries with force, but they fell apart within a few decades. It can be seen that the only way to conquer the barbarians with culture and education is the long-term way. However, it is easy to conquer by force, but it is difficult to conquer with culture and education.
"
"Step by step." Wu Ze looked at the sky in the distance, thinking about his more than 20 years of experience in the Western Frontier, and murmured: "If you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know etiquette..."
The Fuxue was built in the north of the city. It is not entirely in Chinese architectural style, but incorporates some local styles.
There are colorful paintings on the screen wall, many flower patterns on the top, and grapevines growing on both sides of the front yard.
The sound of reading came from far away.
"In ancient times, if you want to bring enlightened virtue to the world, you must first govern your country; if you want to govern your country, you must first regulate your family; if you want to regulate your family, you must first cultivate your body..."
Wu Ze raised his hand and asked Yao Sui to go to the school. The two of them stood outside the window and watched the students studying.
There were more than seventy young men in the hall, all dressed in different clothes and from all ethnic groups.
Wu Ze took two steps back and whispered: "Although the number of people is small, it is not easy to build this mansion school, especially it is difficult to find teachers. King Anxi asked the teachers of the princes to come to the mansion to study and help the industry."
"Teacher of the princes?"
"In other words, if the children in the city are interested in studying, they can study with the prince after applying."
Yao Sui didn't expect it.
Wu Ze asked again: "Can you identify who is the eldest son of the king?"
"But that young man in brocade in the front row? He looks more like a Mongolian."
"The one in row three wearing a t-shirt."
Yao Sui's eyes narrowed, slightly surprised.
Wu Zedao: "Although the eldest son of the king is of Mongolian blood, he has read the books of sages since he was a child. He is polite and speaks elegantly, which is even better than when King Anxi was young."
"I never thought..."
"It can be seen that Datang has indeed become rich and powerful in these years."
Wu Ze raised his hand in greeting and walked away from Yao Sui so as not to disturb the students in class.
"I have been able to feel this change even more in the Western Regions in the past few years. It is not only the vigorous development of agriculture and trade, so that the people have food and clothing, and the national treasury is enriched, which is rich, but also the northern barbarians, the annexation of Goryeo, the destruction of Japan, and the war on the western frontier.
His martial arts shocked the four nations, he was powerful. Therefore, the queen’s attitude had to slowly change.”
He lowered his voice and said, "Because the queen knows very well that if she doesn't change, then she will change."
Yao Sui smiled.
Wu Ze also laughed at himself and said: "It's funny. When I first came here, I was really worried. But gradually, I began to understand the feeling of all the nations coming to visit the country after the country became rich and powerful. It was really... very good.
.”
"It has only been thirty years since the founding of the country." Yao Sui said: "This is only the first taste of wealth and power."
While talking, the two of them climbed onto the high platform of the mansion school.
Looking at it, the surface of Zhaisang Lake is verdant, more translucent than turquoise, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Seeing the beautiful scenery, Wu Ze couldn't help but think that as long as this lake could be kept as the territory of the Tang Dynasty forever, he would have no regrets about spending his whole life and future generations in the Western Region...
Added an update for the leader "Lazarus", thanks to the leader for the reward~~ In addition, there are probably not many extras that can be written, so let me give you a preview~~ If there are other leaders who have not been updated in the future, I will thank you separately~~