The administrative system of the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom basically inherited the Xizhou system of the Tang Dynasty - the seat of Xizhou in the Tang Dynasty was in Gaochang City.
It has two systems.
One system consists of prefectures, counties, townships, and li systems, with officials appointed by the imperial court to govern them.
One is the Jisi system, which is the Jisi rule over nomadic tribes.
With the development of agriculture, there are fewer and fewer nomadic tribes in the area south of the Tianshan Mountains, and more and more states and counties have been established.
How are state and county officials selected?
Imperial examination!
This may seem counter-intuitive, but it's true.
Xixia, which was more heavily Sinicized, did not start the imperial examination system until the early Southern Song Dynasty. However, the Gaochang Uighurs in Xinjiang had always adopted the imperial examination system from the beginning of their founding.
However, with the intensification of land annexation, the imperial examination system here has become more and more formal. In addition, the tradition of recommendation and meritorious service inherited from the Tang Dynasty, coupled with land annexation, has led to hereditary nobles and military nobles stealing local power.
As for Manichaeism, which was separated from the masses, it even became Confucianized very early on.
In order to strengthen the centralized rule of King Gaochang, Manichaeism, as the state religion, actively absorbed a large amount of Confucianism and advocated social order and ethical principles.
Manichaeism was abandoned by the rulers, and Buddhism came to dominate Gaochang. The whole process was accompanied by the intensification of local autonomy.
During the rule of the Gaochang Uighurs and the Western Liao Dynasty, power was still centralized in name, and officials were selected through imperial examinations. But in fact, different oasis areas were hereditary ruled by nobles, large and small.
Because the nobles were detained by Li Yanxian, and through military threats, they ordered their families to move to Ningxia and Liaoxi.
The remaining small nobles were no longer a concern. The Ming Dynasty directly selected civil and military officials to fill the political niche of the large nobles. Then, through the imperial examination and the small nobles, they assisted Han officials in ruling states and counties.
There are only two places that are more difficult to deal with.
One is to the north of the Tianshan Mountains, which is mainly ruled by Jisu.
Today, the Ming Dynasty only garrisoned and immigrated troops in Zhangbali (Urumqi), and did not have substantial control over Beiting for the time being. The tribal cavalry in Beiting fled quickly without surrendering after the Naiman tribe withdrew.
The second is Kashgar and Qiuci. Several battles still need to be fought.
The capital of the Eastern Kara Khanate is Kashgar, and it rules the area around Hotan.
For more than a hundred years, they have repeatedly launched jihads against the Kucha Uighurs in the Aksu region. They killed a large number of Buddhists, burned temples and Buddhist scriptures, and finally forced the Kucha Uighurs to become independent from the Gaochang Uighurs, and the Kucha Uighurs also became the Eastern Kara Khanate.
of vassalage.
By the way, the Gaochang Uighurs originally belonged to the dual-king system.
One is the Uighur King of Gaochang and the other is the Uighur King of Kucha. They nominally rule the country together.
After the rise of Yelu Dashi, he demoted the Great Khan of the Eastern Kara Khanate to the king of Kashgar. Therefore, the Eastern Kara Khanate became the Eastern Kara Kingdom and became a vassal state of the Western Liao Dynasty.
The Kucha Uighur Kingdom also became independent and directly subordinate to Xiliao.
These two kingdoms, one is in Kashgar and the other is in Kuqa. In the previous war, only symbolic troops were sent to participate, and no losses were suffered, and the real nobles did not come.
In the next few years, in addition to consolidating its rule, the Anxi Protectorate of the Ming Dynasty also used troops to attack the following places -
First, Beiting. Completely conquer the grasslands north of Tianshan Mountain!
Second, Yili. That is now the territory of Xiliao.
Third, Aksu, Kashgar, and Hotan are two large kingdoms that do not accept the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and the main religion has become desert religion.
Wu Juyuan rushed all the way to Yanqi and found tens of thousands of people gathered here.
The 10,000 Han people who immigrated to Yanqi have begun to divide their fields under the arrangements of officials.
It mainly distributes the relocated land of the big nobles, but also involves some small nobles and civilians. The Anxi Protectorate has made a promise that those who are willing to sell their land will be redeemed by the government, and those who are unwilling to sell their land will follow the Ming army to rob it - give
They grabbed more land in Kashgar and Qiuci to replace it!
Small and medium-sized nobles in other places can also follow suit to grab land.
The 6,000 garrison at Kucha, the 3,000 garrison at Yanqi, and the 1,000 garrison at Hotan are all currently assembled at Yanqi.
There are also many small and medium-sized noble armed forces in Yanqi who are also gathering.
There's going to be a war soon!
The immigrants who went to Kucha and Hotan also needed to participate in the war, including Wu Juyuan who had just arrived.
Wu Juyuan and his group of immigrants arrived late and did not even have time for militia training, so they could only serve as temporary logistics and transportation personnel.
At the end of the spring sowing in the Yanqi area, the troops officially marched towards Qiuci: 10,000 regular Ming troops, 11,000 armed Han immigrants, 3,000 armed nobles from Gaochang, and hundreds of Yanqi civilians waiting to compensate for their land.
The 10,000 Han immigrants who immigrated to Yanqi also had to help them transport grain and grass after the spring sowing.
…
The Uyghur King of Qiuci was named Kumayu. In another time and space, he also sent envoys to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Jin.
This time and space is naturally a tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
But after the rise of Xiliao, Kuma Yu broke off all contacts with the Ming Dynasty and became a vassal state of Xiliao.
"Last year, Daliao sent troops to rescue Gaochang. We also sent a thousand soldiers, two thousand civilians and a lot of food and grass to join Daliao's reinforcements and march eastward."
"None of those soldiers or civilians came back. I heard that all the survivors were trapped and killed."
"Now that the Ming Dynasty's army is coming, do you have any suggestions?"
Kuma Yu is already over fifty years old and has gained some weight.
His ancestors encountered holy wars many times, and numerous temples, monks and believers of various religions were killed. Starting from his grandfather's generation, he was forced to convert to desert religion.
He was still very loyal to Xiliao. After all, it was Yelu Dashi who helped him break away from the Eastern Kara Khanate and become independent.
Prime Minister Bayi Buhua said: "Your Majesty should quickly summon the army and send envoys to contact the Ming army to see what they want."
Another prime minister Turmidis said: "Isn't it clear what they want? All the great nobles in Yanqi were moved to Han with their families, and the Han immigrants took away the land of the great nobles. Although the Gaochang Uighur King was in Hu
Si Han Er, but I heard that the Gaochang royal family all went to Luoyang. We people, either the royal family or the great nobles, will lose our land and be far away from home even if we surrender."
"The Liao Dynasty was defeated, do you want to fight the Ming army?" You Sumut, the prime minister in charge of military affairs, asked.
Turmidis said: "You can seek help from the King of Kashgar (King of East Kara)."
Yousumut sneered: "He is a subjugated monarch who can't even defeat the rebels. How can he help us fight against the Ming army?"
When the nine prime ministers were almost quarreling, King Kuma of Kucha said: "Let's send an envoy first. Is there anyone willing to be an envoy?"
Military Prime Minister Yousumut said: "I am willing to be an envoy."
Ahmed, the religious prime minister, immediately objected: "Your Majesty, he was frightened by last year's war. If you send him as an envoy, he will only know how to surrender and betray the country!"
Kuma Yu said: "Bayi Buhua, you can go."
Bayi Buhua took a few followers and headed east quickly, and met the Ming army halfway.
The leader of the Ming army on this route was called Huang Zuo, who was originally a subordinate of Prime Minister Zhong. He was Wang Zuo in "The Complete Biography of Yue Shuo".
Many of Prime Minister Zhong's generals defected to the Ming Dynasty and were dispersed and organized into various armies.
Huang Zuo was transferred to Shandong, where he followed Guan Sheng and Han Shizhong and fought against the Jin Dynasty. Later, he was incorporated into the Sichuan Field Army and was promoted by fighting against the barbarians. Then he was transferred to Shanxi as the commander of the field army. His direct boss was Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Liu
Qi.
"King Qiuci wants to surrender?" Huang Zuo asked.
Bayi Buhua said: "Qiuci is willing to be a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and he will be loyal from then on. My king has long sent envoys to Kaifeng to pay tribute, and was canonized as the king of Qiuci by the Ming Emperor. Only because the Liao army was too fierce, we
I was forced to cut off contact with the Ming Dynasty, and now I plan to return to the embrace of my mother country."
Huang Zuo said: "It is okay to surrender. The royal family and nobles will all move to Han Dynasty and free up the land in Qiuci for Han people to cultivate."
Of course Bayi Buhua was unwilling: "Can we each take a step back?"
"Don't retreat even half a step." Huang Zuo sneered, he still wanted to gain military exploits.
Bayi Buhua almost begged to continue the negotiation, but Huang Zuo refused to let go. He could only go back to resume his life with worries.
At the same time, King Kucha also sent an envoy to contact King Dongkara.
King Ibrahim was unable to suppress the rebels, so he invited Yelu Dashi to help. In the end, Yelu Dashi annexed the territory and established Xiliao.
He is only about thirty years old and a fool!
Facing the Kucha envoy, Ibrahim said in fear: "Last year, I sent many troops and civilians to join Daliao's reinforcements to rescue Gaochang, but none of those soldiers or civilians came back. Even Daliao could not defeat Ming Dynasty.
Army, what chance do our two countries’ coalition have of winning?”
The Kucha envoy could only promote the policies of the Ming Dynasty, move away nobles, immigrate Han people, invade and occupy land, etc.
When these things were revealed, the ministers in Dongkara immediately became upset.
Prime Minister Abdullah said: "Great Khan, we can launch a holy war and let all men join the army, and we will definitely defeat those infidels!"
Ibrahimchi asked: "What should I do if I lose?"
"If we lose, we will flee to Husihan'er (the capital of Western Liao)," Abdullah said. "Even if we surrender, we will be moved to Han. In this case, it is better to fight. After defeat, flee to
Hu Sihan'er can still get preferential treatment and become a noble. Isn't it better than being moved to the Han Dynasty?"
Ibrahim nodded and said: "This is the truth, then launch a jihad against the Ming Dynasty!"
Although the Kucha Uighur Kingdom is independent, its domestic clergy have long been controlled by the Eastern Kara Kingdom.
Dongkara launched a jihad, and Kucha also quickly started a riot. The eminent monks encouraged them to send troops. If they didn't agree, they would probably rebel directly.
May.
The Ming army conquered a series of territories in the eastern part of Kucha and was approaching the royal city of Kucha.
The Kucha army was retreating steadily. Under the organization of the clergy and nobles, they formed a jihadist army and tried to defend the royal city.
At the same time, the jihadi army from East Kara also came to the rescue.
The total number of holy soldiers from the two countries totaled 50,000 to 60,000, but most of the soldiers did not even have decent weapons.