Starting from late June, the Turks left Shule one after another and returned to their hometowns. By mid-to-late July, except for some camel teams, most of them had returned.
The Atami is nearby, full of joy and joy.
"Duulu, fighting for the male camel king is a big gain, right?" Near Helie City, Basseqian carefully admired a piece of brocade and marveled at it. When he saw Duulu coming over, a sarcastic smile appeared on his face and he asked
road.
Duolu is in his thirties this year. He is the leader of several clan alliances in the southeast of Rehai. He has a reputation for bravery, but his brain is not very good. He used to fight with the Gaochang Uighurs, and now he fights with the Male Camel King, but he can't see him.
What can you say about the majestic body of the Supreme Khan?
"The harvest is not bad..." Duo Lu had just finished speaking when his eyes fell into the brocade and he couldn't pull it out.
"How's it going? It's very good, isn't it? It was a gift from the Supreme Khan and is used by the Luoyang Palace." Basseqian smiled reservedly and turned to order the servant to prepare tea.
The servant responded and quickly started boiling tea in the tent, during which time he opened a box of tea leaves. Du Lu had a keen eye and knew it was a good product at a glance.
It is different from what most people imagine. Tea has been popular since the Tang Dynasty, and it has formed a large-scale industry by the late Tang Dynasty. Because of the huge influence of the Tang Dynasty in foreign areas, the lifestyle of the Tang people was imitated by many people, and tea
It's one of them.
In the Tang Dynasty, an envoy went to Tibet and cooked tea in the tent. After Tubo Zanpu met, he showed his collection: Shouzhou tea, Shuzhou tea...
In fact, at that time, tea was only popular among the upper class of the Tang Dynasty, unlike in the late Tang Dynasty when even the lower classes began to drink tea. However, the upper class of Tubo followed quickly, which shows that they have been closely observing the lifestyle of the Tang people and are willing to imitate it.
irresolute.
Uighurs and Turks also have the habit of drinking tea, but only among the upper class. Dulu bought tea from the Central Plains from Sogdian and Uighur merchants, mainly produced in Sichuan and Eyue, so he knew its quality.
At this time, Duo Lu looked at the string of tea balls that the servant took out, and then looked at the exquisitely crafted box. He knew that the tea was worth a lot of money. In the Tang Dynasty, the tea enjoyed by the emperor and even the public officials usually came in jade boxes.
The sealing is the so-called "storing Yuan Yu and adding half a cake", and the second most important thing is "white silk obliquely sealing with three seals".
These tea balls are packed in an exquisite box: wooden frame, bamboo strips woven outline, covered with brocade. If nothing else, the brocade wrapping the wooden box seems to be some kind of precious Shu brocade...
Duo Lu sat in front of Baseqian and asked, "Where did it come from?"
Baseqian glanced at the servant and said indifferently: "The Supreme Khan rewarded me. Not only this, but also a lot. I carried it back on five camels."
"Why...why reward?" Duo Lu asked.
"Are you a fool?" Bassekan glanced at Duo Lu funnyly and said, "We have shed blood for the Great Khan and killed so many people. What's wrong with getting some reward? Isn't it right?"
Having said this, Ba Saigan's intention to show off was lost.
This time, he and Sunong united several tribes and dispatched a total of more than 15,000 cavalry. In the end, only 12,000 were returned.
The biggest loss was the three-day battle with Yingmoren, the casualties were so heavy that it made people bleed, even more than Yingmoren.
Then they pursued Sartuk and Samani, but were attacked by Persian Jihad and retreated in embarrassment.
When Gulam rushed him, the losses were not light.
In short, they really shed blood, so the Supreme Khan rewarded them with many slaves, most of them from Karasha.
Of course, there are a lot of goods, and there are even a large number of items commonly used in Luoyang Palace. They are exquisitely crafted and of extremely high quality, which are very rare in the Western Regions. If they are sold to Sogdian and Uighur merchants, they can get a lot of good things in exchange.
With these rewards, sending troops this time will not be considered a loss, and only in this way can the leaders of each clan be satisfied and the prestige of Basseigan be maintained.
"Are you going to move out again?" Duo Lu asked.
"The dog's nose is quite sharp." Bassakgan sneered and said, "Come on. The male camel king has gone to Karasha. As soon as he comes back, all the ministries will be dispatched."
There is a saying in the Central Plains to prevent autumn. The reason is that after a whole summer of fattening, the horses are fat and strong, and they can work hard. In addition, the pasture is drying up, and there is not much work to do, so they are free.
At this time, the Great Khan would gather young and strong men, armed with bows, arrows, swords, guns, and horses, to go south to plunder. The old and weak women and children would stay behind to cut grass, cut grass, and prepare winter food for livestock.
The production cycles of the Central Plains and grasslands are basically synchronized, so they often compete in autumn and winter.
The cycle of the grasslands in the Western Regions is roughly the same. Perhaps due to the climate, the grazing time is longer than that in the cold northern grasslands, but there is essentially no difference - in the eastern Tianshan area, the pastures will turn yellow at the end of July, while in this series of oases in the west of Southern Xinjiang,
The pasture in the Gobi Desert will not turn yellow until mid-August, while in the western half of Beiting and the grasslands west of Tianshan and Congling, the pasture will turn dry even later, almost at the end of August or early September.
Overall, in the entire Anxi hometown, the coldest areas are the central Tianshan Mountains, the eastern part, and southern Xinjiang are much warmer. As for Yinzhou and Gaochang, due to their unique basin climate, they are the hottest in Anxi. During the Lantern Festival,
There are still heavy snowfalls in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and spring plowing can begin in Gaochang - this is the largest province in China in later generations, accounting for fully one-sixth. There are only 17 countries in the world with an area larger than Anxi, so the terrain of different regions,
Altitude and climate vary greatly and cannot be generalized.
"Follow the male camel king?" Duo Lu was a little surprised and worried.
"What? Isn't it a great harvest from the capture of Bahna this time?" Baseqian asked.
"The harvest is quite a lot, but it is less than I imagined, much less." Duo Lu shook his head and said: "It was not bad at the beginning. The Persians did not react. We robbed and robbed, and the harvest was great. Good times.
Not long after, Ismail mobilized 5,000 cavalry, and defeated the troops of Mochu Teqin in a battle. The Geluolu people were also entangled by a wave of jihad, and the Sogdian and Turkic cavalry rushed forward and could not withstand the huge casualties.
, ran away directly.”
Bassakian was a little surprised and asked: "Didn't King Gongtuo say that he ordered the retreat after hearing that Karasha was captured by Khotan soldiers?"
"He just said it nicely." Duo Lu sneered and said, "With his virtue, how many tribes can he command? If the losses were not heavy, would the tribes that were in the upper hand leave so quickly?"
"Yes." Bassekan nodded and said: "But don't worry. This time, it is nominally under the command of the Gongtuo King, but there are also envoys of the Supreme Khan, generals and even troops involved. We can just follow these people to fight.
Okay. Just listen to the male camel king’s orders, and execute them if they work. If they don’t work, treat them as farts.”
Duo Lu smiled. Then he frowned and asked, "When a pack of wolves hunts on the grassland, you have to listen to the leader of the wolf. If you fight on your own, you may not end well."
Ba Saigan also frowned.
As the Supreme Khan conquered Karasha, the Rehai Turks became more and more inclined to join him.
Grassland people are very realistic and will listen to whoever is strong. The male camel king is in full decline, and naturally there will be fewer people following him.
The Supreme Khan's fame was endless, and more and more people gathered under his tent.
In fact, after returning to Rehai, the master of Bassaigan faintly discovered this sign. Before Dulu, several clan leaders and tribal leaders (multiple clans united to form a tribe) came to inquire about the news.
This was unimaginable before.
Bassegan estimated that they could dispatch thirty to forty thousand cavalry this time, and even with some effort, fifty thousand cavalry was not impossible.
How many people can the male camel king pull out?
The Uighur headquarters has a maximum of 20,000 riders, plus the three surnamed Geluolu, scattered Turks, a small number of Oghuz and small tribes such as Yangmo, Shatuo, Sogdiana, etc. He can send out 50,000 riders and it will be a big deal - there is a high probability of it.
There are not so many people, because his appeal is decreasing every year, and fewer and fewer people are willing to follow him.
"What you said makes sense." Bassegan stood up, stroking his hands constantly, thinking silently.
After a moment, he turned to look at Duo Lu and asked, "If the Supreme Khan were asked to send a prince to lead the army, would you be willing to obey the order?"
"This prince - can he do it?" Du Lu asked.
"We attacked Geluolu before and pursued them to the Yinli Valley. Your in-laws were grazing there, what do you think?" Basseqian asked.
"It turns out it's him!" Duo Lu suddenly remembered and said: "The Supreme Khan swept across the Central Plains and grasslands, and also settled in Gaochang and Karasha. His bloodline is the most noble bloodline in the world. The little prince should be extraordinary.
Let me listen to him for a moment."
The Yinli River was called Yinli River in later generations. It has rich water and grass and is suitable for grazing and farming. Turks and Geluolu are scattered in that area, mainly for grazing.
Duo Lu's in-laws were the leaders of a small local tribe. After hearing that the Xia army was pursuing them, they ran away with them overnight.
Duo Lu had heard about this incident, and he only knew that the general of the Xia army who led the team was called "Little Prince". At that time, he did not think carefully about which noble family he belonged to, but when he heard from Basse Gan, it turned out that he was the son of the Supreme Khan.
, no wonder it’s so powerful.
After saying that, Duo Lu thought for a while and asked: "If we all listen to the little prince, will the male camel king be dissatisfied?"
"How many times have you collected money from Ogurchak? Are you thinking about him like this?" Bosaigan glanced at him dissatisfied and said: "After this battle, will Ogurchak be able to keep the Khan?"
It’s not necessarily true, don’t think too much about it.”
"You mean - the new male camel king..." Duo Lu was a little envious.
A few decades ago, the man who occupied Balasagun was named "Aslan Karakhan" (The Lion King).
The one who owns Talas is named "Bugra Karahan" (the male camel king).
Twenty-five years ago, the Gaochang Uighurs defeated the Great Uighur Kingdom, captured Yanqi, Qiuci, and Beiting, and made the Rehai Turks surrender. They were so majestic that the Great Khan of the Gaochang Uighurs also began to call himself the "Lion King."
Twenty-two years ago, Persia conquered Talas and defeated Basil of Balasagun. His younger brother Ogurchak married his brother-in-law and made Karasha the main capital and Balasagun the companion capital.
"The Male Camel King".
If the little prince of the supreme khan orders all the tribes to submit, will he proclaim himself khan in Balasagun?
The grassland has the political ethics of the grassland. Once this thing comes true and goes through a process of joint election by the nobles similar to the National People’s Congress, the Great Khan will be real. Others want to rebel, but they always lack a little bit of status, no matter
He will definitely be supported by the majority of people - after Pang Teqin moved westward, he only called himself "Ye Hu" at first. He did not dare to call himself Khan until he was sure that the last Uighur Khan was dead.
"Why do you care so much?" Bassakian said dissatisfied: "It is more likely that it was the way before the death of Vijaque Kadir Khan (Pang Teqin), who divided his two sons into Khans. Don't say this.
Yes, let’s formulate a plan on how to catch the Persians by surprise. We have 70,000 to 80,000 cavalry along the way, hehe, we can surprise the Persians.”
"That's fine." The servant made the tea and brought it to him. Duo Lu took the tea bowl, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Fighting for the Supreme Khan has a lot of benefits."
"That's right." Basse nodded with a dry smile.
His feelings were somewhat different from Duo Lu's.
What the Supreme Khan brought to the Rehai Turks was not wealth, but "courage." Without anyone's support, how many leopards would he eat and dare to provoke the Persians? Aren't you afraid of death?
There are many people in the same situation as them.
Just ask the Oghuz people on the Aral Sea.
Just ask the Khazars further north.
You can even ask the Sogdians who were enslaved by Persia…
Without the support of a strong external force, they would only dare to be angry and dare not speak out in front of the Persians. No matter how much Persia squeezed them, they would at most run away and not dare to fight with each other.
But it's different now.
What the Supreme Khan did can be said to be a call to action or a connection. It doesn’t matter how you call it. But the fact is that many grassland tribes who fear Persia are really likely to be linked together by a grassland khan with strong appeal.
Flooded into Persia like a tide, plundering all the wealth they had accumulated over the years.
Who doesn't like grabbing things? You don't even need to encourage them too much.
After hearing the news, will the Oghuz people take advantage of the situation and rob it?
There are still many Turkic tribes in Persia. Will their attitudes change?
Damn! It’s so exciting to work with the Supreme Khan!
Basseqian didn't even want him to return to Luoyang. Just to the west, all our tribes worked together to build a palace for the Khan, fill it with Persian beauties, and let the Khan stay here forever.
Of course, he also knew that this was a delusion. It was impossible for the Supreme Khan to give up the wealthy Central Plains country and go to the west to become a lion king or a male camel king.
Let’s rob the Persians first! What a big scene, I’m so excited. I wish I could take my scimitar and rush to Bukhara right now.
This time, he had a vague hunch that the harvest might be huge.
The herdsmen with a few thousand or ten thousand or twenty thousand horsemen are nothing to worry about for Persia and can be easily defeated.
If this number rises to 50,000, it will be a bit difficult for Persia to deal with it, but it can still win.
What if there are 100,000 riders, 200,000 riders or even more? Can you still cope with it?
Ba Saiqian didn't know the saying "quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes", but he still understood the truth.
When Pang Teqin proclaimed his sweat, there were 200,000 people. What were the Persians doing at that time? After his death, the family property was divided into two, and he was severely beaten by Gaochang Uighurs, causing heavy losses. Only then did they take advantage of the situation and capture Talas.
, and then slowly encroached on Bahanna, until today.
There were probably more than 200,000 people this time, and Bassakian wanted to see how the Persians would respond.