Li Xia had some knowledge of Mongolia's fiefdoms and knew that the Western Regions belonged to the Chagatai Khanate.
After passing Dunhuang and Yumen Pass, the next important town on the Silk Road is Gaochang City. Gaochang is the territory of the Chagatai Khanate, and its eastern boundary is probably near the Tianshan Mountains.
Of course, the Wokuotai line also had several fiefdoms intertwined with it.
If Alibaba's sphere of influence can extend to the Western Regions, it means that he has successfully united the Chagatai and Ogodei families to jointly oppose Kublai Khan.
It can be seen that Alibaba was not as good as Kublai Khan in fighting, but he had a huge advantage in terms of connections.
What Yelu Xiliang said was exactly what Li Xia wanted to understand in detail.
…
"It's not that Brother Alibaba's sphere of influence is in the Western Regions, but that the kings of the Western Regions are now uniting against our Majesty. Ye Mili is the Uluse of Haidu."
When Yelu Xiliang said this, his expression suddenly became excited, and he said: "By the way, I heard in Ye Mili that His Majesty has proclaimed himself emperor, is he proclaimed emperor?"
This was a strange thing to say, but Li Xia understood what he meant and said: "Yes, he is the emperor."
"Great!" Yelvxi said brightly: "My father often said that you can conquer the world on a horse, but you cannot rule the world on a horse. Now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, the country finally has rules for governing the country..."
"Yes, after more than fifty years since the founding of the country, I finally know how to govern the country." Li Xia responded casually, his tone indifferent and sarcastic.
Yelu Xiliang failed to hear it and continued to lament this hard-won achievement.
"Brother Li, do you know? My own grandfather, the Yelv family, was the Fubi Genghis Khan. After three generations, he finally restored civil rule."
He was young, so he didn't cry over this, but was excited, looking like he was going to return to Xanadu to show off his talents.
Li Xia listened casually for a while, then brought the topic back to the Western Regions and asked, "How did you get to Ye Mili?"
When asked about this experience, Yelu Xiliang didn't know where to start for a while and asked: "In the eighth year of Mengge Khan...does it have an era name now?"
"Three years of unification of China are about to pass."
"It's been almost four years."
Yelu Xiliang wiped his eyes and said: "Back then, when the Great Khan died, my father resolutely defected to His Majesty. My mother, my two younger brothers, and I were captured by Hunduhai. After that, Hunduhai sent a hundred people to escort us to Kazakhstan.
La Helin. When I arrived in Ganzhou, I heard that Hunduhai was defeated?"
"Yes, we were defeated by Wang Liangchen."
After Li Xia finished speaking, he remembered that he was pretending to be a Mongolian prince, and there was a flaw here.
It’s been a long time since I’ve acted, so I’ve regressed a bit.
Of course, today's situation is different from before. Today's casual dressing up is just to make it easier to gather information. Otherwise, torture would take a lot of time and might not be able to get a comprehensive picture.
Yelu Xiliang didn't realize what was wrong with Li Xia calling Wang Liangchen by his first name, and kept talking to himself.
"When the news came that the rebels were defeated, I took the opportunity to escape with my mother and brothers and hid in Shatuozi before Heihe..."
Li Xia looked at Yelu Xiliang with admiration.
Counting the time, it was the second year after Meng Ge died. Yelv Xiliang was only thirteen years old, but he was able to escape under the supervision of more than a hundred troops. He was really capable at such a young age.
"Later, there were rebels looking for the horses. The old maid leaked the news and exposed our whereabouts. We were captured by the rebels and sent to Suzhou." Yelu Xiliang added, "At that time, the Hexi rebels had elected Hara
"Buhua' is the marshal of the capital. Hala Buhua has an old relationship with my father and did not kill me."
This is getting further and further west.
The names of counties established in the Han Dynasty are different from the names of states today. Ganzhou is probably Zhangye County, Suzhou is probably Saquan County, and further west there is Shazhou, which is probably Dunhuang County.
Sure enough, Yelu Xiliang said again: "Afterwards, the Kuoduan disciples chose to support Your Majesty, and Halabuhua withdrew westward. When we arrived in Shazhou, we took the opportunity to escape from the rebels. In order to avoid the pursuers, we crossed the Tianshan Mountains through snow and arrived in the north.
Ting Duhu Mansion..."
Yelu Xiliang talked for a long time.
He had really rich experience. He fled westward in three years and met many Mongolian kings in the Western Regions.
Some of these Mongolian kings supported Ali Buge and sent people to hunt him down; some supported Kublai Khan and sent people to escort him; some raised their flags and let him pass silently.
After hearing this, Li Xia combined with the intelligence obtained from the previous trip north to clarify a lot about the chaotic relationship between the kings of the Western Mongolian Region.
…
To put it simply, there are four old factions in Mongolia, namely the four sons of Genghis Khan’s eldest wife, Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedai and Tolei.
There is a tradition in Mongolia that the eldest son is sent out to expand the territory, while the younger son stays at home to guard the stove.
Genghis Khan may have had a similar idea when dealing with his funeral affairs. He gave large tracts of territory to Jochi and Chagatai, passed the throne to his third son Ogedai, and left the army to Tolei.
In Jochi's lineage, Jochi had a famous son, Batu. Batu went on a westward expedition, conquered a large area of territory, and established the Golden Horde. It was basically an independent khanate. Today, the throne is held by Batu's younger brother.
Brother Bie'er took over, and Brother Bie'er now supports Brother Ali. In short, the eldest son's family has gone out independently, but he can still dictate the affairs of the family;
As for the Chagatai family, as the brother of the Great Khan, Chagatai was indeed very powerful when he was alive. But after his death, the huge fiefdom was targeted, and everyone wanted to take a bite. Now the successor is Chagatai.
Hetai's grandson Aruhu is a puppet of Brother Alibaba. In short, although the second son's family fortune is large, it is in chaos and needs the help of the family to arrange it. At the same time, the family is also coveting the second son's family property;
Wo Kuotai's lineage. Wo Kuotai became very popular after he became the Great Khan. After killing Tuo Lei, he wanted Tuo Lei's widow to marry his eldest son Guiyou and divided up Tuo Lei's line. As a result, he drank wine himself.
He died suddenly, and several legitimate sons also died early. His wife and daughter-in-law controlled the political affairs for several years, and his throne was also lost. Now the most successful among the descendants is his grandson Haidu, and the two bastards are Hedan and Mieli. In short,
The third son's family fought hard with the fourth son's family and lost their position in the family. Some descendants wanted to take back the business, while others wanted to be honest and obedient and earn a living.
Tuo Lei is a lineage. Although Tuo Lei is dead, his head wife Solu Heteni is very powerful. Of the four sons born to Solu Heteni, Meng Ge won the throne, Kublai Khan ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.
Liewu's western expedition has conquered a large area of territory, and Ali Buge has also proclaimed himself Khan and won the support of the kings. In short, the descendants of the fourth son's family are fighting for their own power. Xu Liewu has his own family business, and only looks at Kublai Khan and Ali.
Who else can win over this family?
In Li Xia's eyes, the disputes in the Great Mongolia were just such a bloody family fight...
There are really many descendants, and these are probably the most outstanding ones.
Let’s look at the territory again.
Li Xia could not connect the various strange place names with the geography he knew.
While listening to Yelu Xiliang's stories about the Western Regions, he drew on paper and could only draw an inaccurate range.
He divided the territory of Mongolia into two parts, the eastern part is regarded as the main clan, and the western part is regarded as the branch.
The large territory in the east, including Hara and Forest, and the Central Plains, was what Kublai Khan and Alibaba were fighting over, and it belonged to the Tuo Lei system.
The west can be divided into four small parts. Li Xia drew the character "田".
On the upper left, Jochi's lineage, Bielge's territory, probably extends from western Russia to eastern Europe;
On the lower left, the Tolei series, Hulagu's territory, probably covers Western Asia;
On the upper right, the Wokuotai line, the territory left by the descendants of Haidu and Wokuotai, is very small, probably near Kazakhstan;
On the lower right, Chagatai and Aruhu's territory is located, and its scope is probably part of the Western Region and Central Asia.
…
Looking at it this way, Li Xia saw a general outline of the Mongolian faction.
After clarifying the context, my eyes returned to the Western Regions.
This is the place where the power of the two families, Ogedai and Chagatai, intersects.
Yelu Xiliang had just returned from the Western Regions and was very aware of these situations...
"Haidu and Aruhu both seem to support Brother Ali, but they have different ideas."
"How different?"
"Aluhu is just a puppet sent by Brother Alibu. He is the son of Badali, the sixth son of Chagatai. He has been following Brother Alibu and is considered a confidant. He is collecting money and food for Brother Alibu."
"Counterattack Harahorin?"
"Yes." Yeluxi said brightly: "The Chagatai Khanate has farming land and can provide a large amount of supplies. Aruhu has summoned 150,000 cavalry north of the Amu River and in the Turkic lands, recruiting livestock, horses and
arms"
"One hundred and fifty thousand cavalry? To help Brother Ali?"
"Yes, what I saw in the Western Regions was that Aruhu used the decree of 'Alibuge Khan' to conquer the herdsmen."
Li Xia fell into deep thought again, then lightly scratched the paper to cross out a certain line of words he had written before, and whispered to himself.
"Puppet? Henchman?"
"Aruhu is a puppet, but Haidu is an ambitious man." Yelvxi said brightly.
He is not unintelligent, but after all, he is young and his thoughts are still simple. He added: "Haidu is the grandson of Ogedai Khan. In the name of supporting Brother Ali, he is actually expanding his territory. He has already occupied Ye
Mili City. That’s why I escaped from Yemili City..."
"Who helped you return eastward?"
"The son of King Hedan. The news that King Hedan supported His Majesty spread back to Beslopali. His son Didier wanted to contact his father, so he helped me escape."
"..."
From noon to evening, and then into the night, some soldiers brought candles and dishes, and Li Xia kept listening to Yelu Xiliang's narration.
For more than three years, a child traveled a long distance with his mother and younger brother, which was not without hardships.
Yelu Xiliang originally wanted to hold back, but in the end he cried.
He was originally a son of a famous family, but at the age of sixteen he was already full of troubles.
Although Li Xia is patient, what he cares more about is simply finding out the situation in the Western Regions in this journey to the west.
Until late at night, after Yelu Xiliang finished talking about his experiences along the way, he wiped his eyes and said, "Brother Li laughed. I thought... I would never come back."
"No, Zhang Qian once traveled to the Western Regions. It's rare for you to have such an experience at such a young age."
Li Xia spoke out of emotion.
He had recently captured Hexi, and in his spare time, he often watched Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fight back against the Xiongnu. Today, he finally understood how Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had been talking to Zhang Qian for days after he returned from the Western Regions.
Yelu Xiliang said quickly: "I can't compare. I don't dare to compare with Bowang Hou."
Li Xia thought the same thing. Zhang Qian went on a mission to the Western Regions and was trapped in the country for thirteen years. He upheld the integrity of the Han Dynasty, ate and slept in the open air, and endured many hardships. He left a lasting legacy for the Han Dynasty, which is truly incomparable to future generations.
But no matter what, when the Mongolian army invaded, although this conversation with Yelu Xiliang could not change any situation, it gave Li Xia a new understanding of the situation of Kublai Khan, his enemy.
…
After talking about the affairs in the Western Regions, Yelu Xiliang was also very curious about the affairs in the Central Plains, and said: "I have been living in the Western Regions for many years, but I don't know what has changed in the Central Plains. I sincerely ask Brother Li for advice."
"That's fine."
"Thank you."
"If we talk about the changes in the Central Plains, let's talk about Li Xia of Guanlong first..."
"Li Xia? Who is that?"
"Haven't you heard of it?"
"I have never heard of such a person." Yelu Xiliang shook his head immediately.
When he was kidnapped by Hunduhai, the news of Meng Ge Khan's death had just reached Liupan Mountain. The Mongolian people did not admit that Meng Ge had died in battle, so naturally they had never heard of Li Xia's name at that time.
By the time Yelu Xiliang comes back, things will have changed forever...