After Tuyuhun got rid of Tubo slavery with the help of the Tang army, he also began to recuperate.
Murong Daoming, the great chief of Tuyuhun, met with the Emperor of Tang Dynasty last spring and was named King of Tuyuhun.
But Murong Daoming knew very well that his real suzerain was King Li Ye of Qi, not the emperor of Tang Dynasty. Currently, his youngest son was also arranged to study at Chang'an Imperial College, and his eldest son Murong Xian served as Cang Cao in the Longyou Dudu Mansion to participate in the military.
The capital of Tuyuhun was called Fuqi City, but Tuyuhun as a kingdom has been destroyed. Now it is just an alliance of dozens of tribes, with Murong Daoming as the chief chief.
There is also a Presbyterian Council, which was established at the request of Li Ye. There are nine tribes with more than 10,000 people. Each tribe sends a respected old noble to form the Presbyterian Council.
Many major decisions can be proposed by the warchief, but they must be implemented with the approval of the elders.
This is actually a check and balance of power to prevent the emergence of an ambitious chief and make Tuyuhun lose control.
After inspecting the Tang Army's camp, Li Ye continued westward and arrived at Fuqi City on the west bank of the West Sea a few days later.
Murong Daoming came with several wives and nine elders to welcome the arrival of His Royal Highness King Qi and his second concubine.
A brief welcome ceremony was held, and Li Ye led Yang Yuhuan into Fuqi City under the escort of three thousand cavalry.
The area of Fuqi City is about the same as that of a medium-sized county in the Central Plains. The houses in the county are composed of stone houses and mud houses with flat roofs and square roofs, and are clearly separated. To the east are stone houses, which are neat and grand. They are the residence of Xianbei nobles, and to the west are
The mud houses are stacked one on top of another and are very dense. This is the residential area of the Qiang people, that is, the civilian area. There are also a large number of Qiang herdsmen outside the city.
This is the characteristic of the Tuyuhun people. The Xianbei people are nobles and the Qiang people are civilians. In the army, only Xianbei people can serve as generals, and all soldiers are Qiang people.
Even if Tubo controlled Tuyuhun, it did not break this distinctive dualistic structure.
The east-west residential area is divided into two parts by the central axis street. At the end of the central axis street is the royal palace. The kingdom disappeared and the former palace was renamed Xianbei Palace of Discussion.
Murong Daoming held a grand banquet in the meeting palace. The arrival of King Qi and his second concubine, and dozens of children of chiefs of various tribes, attended the welcome banquet.
Although the banquet was held in the hall, it was still a nomadic way of the grassland. Everyone gathered in a circle, and the table in front of them was filled with mountains of meat, wine, and various fruits. All the food was placed on gold plates and silver bowls.
, even the wine flask is made of gold.
In the middle, a group of Tuyuhun girls were dancing. This was also the first time Yang Yuhuan made an official appearance. She was not wearing a veil, and she was sitting next to her husband with a bright smile. Her maturity and beauty shocked the people around her.
But when they thought that this was King Qi's concubine, everyone suddenly realized that King Qi's concubine was of course the most beautiful woman.
"Why did Your Highness think of taking the South Xihai Road?" Murong Daoming asked curiously.
Li Ye picked up the wine glass and smiled lightly: "I always thought that the hinterland of the plateau was a cold and barren land with no birds. Later, I heard that the Sogdians had traveled along the South Western Sea Road for a long time. I was confused. Since it is thousands of miles away,
It was unreasonable how the Sogdian merchants could supply the barren land. Later, the Sogdian merchants told me that the South West China Sea Road was not what I thought, so I wanted to see it with my own eyes."
Murong Daoming laughed, "It seems that His Highness has indeed misunderstood. After Tuyuhun surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty established Xihai County. Not only did it send officials, but it also sent troops to station at various nodes in Xihai County. On the South Road of Xihai
There are two garrison cities. Thousands of soldiers were once stationed in these two military cities. They are surrounded by Tuyuhun herdsmen and caravans are constantly coming and going. How can this be a barren land!"
Li Ye nodded, "The chief's words made me want to see it with my own eyes even more."
Two days later, the Tang army resupplied and embarked on their journey westward again.
Li Ye was originally going to inspect the salt field, but the salt field was on the north line of the West China Sea. In order to take the south line of the West China Sea, Li Ye changed his plan and no longer went to the salt field, but headed southwest into the Qaidam Basin.
Although the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is now full of deserts and uninhabited areas, the climate is cold, there are no trees, and the thick frozen soil remains for many years.
But this was not the case in the Tang Dynasty. Historically, there was a climate change every three hundred years or so. Before 600 AD, it was a cooling period, probably from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the late Northern and Southern Dynasties.
The global climate became colder, grain production in the Central Plains decreased, the population dropped sharply, the grasslands became colder, and survival became difficult. A large number of nomadic tribes migrated south. The Central Plains dynasties entered the chaotic Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties era, and the Han people were almost on the verge of being exterminated.
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But after 600 AD, the global climate re-entered a warming period. Temperatures began to warm up, rainfall increased, cultivated land increased significantly, food production increased, and the population grew. Agricultural civilization began to regain the upper hand, and the powerful Sui and Tang Dynasties came.
At this time, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau also began to become warm and humid, with pastures and lakes everywhere, and farmland began to appear in large quantities. The Tubo Dynasty became stronger and competed with the Tang Dynasty in Longyou, Hexi, Anxi and Jiannan. By the end of the Tang Dynasty,
The powerful Tubo was always the biggest nightmare of the Tang Dynasty.
Around 900 AD, the earth gradually entered a cooling period. The climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau changed and became cold and dry. The Tubo Dynasty also disappeared. The climate of the Arabian Peninsula in the west began to become dry. The black-clothed tyrants who emerged with the Tang Dynasty
Food also began to decline.
During the great cooling period, nomadic peoples began to gain the upper hand again, and the Shatuo people, Khitan people, Jurchens, and Mongols stepped onto the stage of history one after another.
The cooling period that began in the late Tang Dynasty has continued until now. Although there have been several small warmings, the climate has not returned to the level of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
However, in the past few years, there have been continuous heavy rains in southern Xinjiang, and abundant rainfall in the north. It is said that the Arctic Ocean is melting, and the Russian permafrost has also begun to melt. It is unknown whether the earth is entering a period of warming again.
Therefore, Li Ye has always viewed the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the perspective of future generations, so that he could not figure out many things, such as how the Tibetan army could continuously pass through the Qiangtang no-man's land and the Hoh Xil no-man's land, which span thousands of miles, and arrive at Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
In the end, he even went to Tochara.
Another example is that he went from Dunhuang to Qiemo before, and it was still winter. Although there was wind and sand blowing along the way, it was not difficult to walk. He could find water sources along the way and hay for camels. That was unavailable in the Altun Mountains now.
Human area.
Another example is that he is taking this road now, passing through the Qaidam Basin. There are grasslands and lakes along the way, and they are freshwater lakes. The grass is rich, the air is warm and humid, and from time to time he can see the tents of Tuguhun shepherds.
It turned out that this land was occupied by Tubo and was full of Tubo herdsmen. Now that the Tibetans have retreated to the plateau, this land has become a paradise for the Tuyuhun people.
Only now did Li Ye understand why the Tang Dynasty was able to restore the Anxi Protectorate. Because of the warm and humid climate, large areas of farmland appeared in Anxi and Beiting, and the Han people could survive by farming in Anxi.
The imperial court encouraged immigration, and a large number of Han people moved to Anxi and Beiting to live.
Only now did Li Ye understand why the Tang Dynasty was able to completely defeat the Turks, just like the Han Dynasty defeated the Huns. It was because the warm climate allowed farmland to be cultivated north of the Great Wall, and the Han cavalry had important logistical ground and was able to penetrate deep into the grasslands to attack the Turks.