On the tenth day of the seventh month in the first year of Tongguang, the Holy Emperor arrived at Lisuo Dunhuang County in Shazhou. Officials came out to welcome him, and then he reported on government affairs. He worked hard for three days before it came to an end.
On July 14, Shao Shude received a group of special envoys in Shazhou.
The leader's name was Dui'erji. He said he was from Huluqi and was the leader of all the tribes west of Shazhou. He came to pay a visit to the emperor of the great country.
Shao Shude knew the bonus was coming as soon as he heard it.
Huluqi is located to the west of Shazhou and northeast of Ruoqiang. I have long heard that some tribes live there and form alliances with each other. They call themselves "Zhongyun", "Chongyun", "Zhongyun" and other titles, just like a small town in troubled times.
Just as transparent.
I had been too lazy to pay attention to them before, but this time I actually came to see them and brought gifts, which explained a lot.
"Could the envoy be attached to Tubo before?" Shao Shude asked directly in Tubo.
Dui'erji was shocked when he heard this, and replied in Tubo: "That's right, I am the governor of Tubo. It is said that the emperor of the great country is the co-lord of all the Tubo tribes. I didn't believe it at first, but I didn't expect it to be true."
Shao Shude laughed.
His title of Tubo Zanpu was only recommended by all the Qing and Tang tribes, and strictly speaking it was not qualified.
During this expedition to Gaochang, we found the descendants of Tubo Zampu, six men and women in total. They were not living a very good life. They could only be said to be from a wealthy family, and they had some tokens of Tibetan Bodhidharma Zampu.
Shao Shude hasn't figured out how to use this Zanpu descendant yet.
The obvious fact at present is that Tubo attaches great importance to bloodline, even more than the grassland herdsmen. In history, Zong Ge brought back Zanpu descendants from Gaochang, and he incorporated many Tubo tribes at once, ruling the roost for a while.
"The envoy can write your name in Tubo language." Shao Shude waved his hand, and someone from the palace brought pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
Dui'erji picked up the pen and wrote his name on the white paper.
Shao Shude took a look and asked: "Messenger Turkye? Shatuoye?"
Its name obviously does not conform to the pronunciation habits of Tubo. If the pronunciation is Uighur or Turkic, and the "D" pronunciation is changed to "T", it would be "Turgis".
The root word "Tur" in Turkic and Uighur languages contains the meanings of "noble", "brave", "precipitous", "created", etc. Looking at the appearance of the envoy, although he is not a pure white man, the corresponding characteristics are very obvious
, at least he is a mixed race.
Considering his status (the governor of Tubo), most of his ancestors were married to Tubo nobles.
Based on this reasoning, this Zhongyun tribal alliance or Zhongyun country is probably a different species of Turks. Their ancestors were conquered by Tubo, and later moved to the desert and became vassals of Tubo.
A look of admiration appeared on Dui'erji's face again, and he replied: "Everyone in the world calls me a descendant of the Xiaoyue clan, but in fact they are only half right. Our ancestors were Chuyue, another tribe of Turks. When Tubo retreated from the Western Regions, they moved to
There are many tribes that are dependent on them, and our tribe is one of them."
"The other part is Shatuo, right?" Shao Shude asked.
Shatuo can be said to be part of Chuyue, but Chuyue is not equal to Shatuo. The two are subsets and a collection.
After the Tubo people lost Beiting, some Turks who fought on behalf of the Tubo people went too far because they wanted to make progress. They were afraid of being liquidated, so they withdrew with them.
It was against this background that the Shatuo people immigrated to the west of Hexi. Later, they could not bear the enslavement of the Tibetans and moved to the east of the Tang Dynasty.
Zhongyun people should be like this too.
And it just so happens that they say they are Chuyue people. The Turkic word for Chuyue is "ul", and Zhongyun's Uighur word is "cumuda". Because the d and l in Uighur language are often replaced, this is probably the same thing.
, just like "Tie Le" and "Ding Ling" in Chinese, due to the difference in accent between the north and the south, they were eventually translated into two names.
"Your Majesty is so knowledgeable and knowledgeable, I admire him." Dui'erji praised: "I heard that Shatuo became extremely wealthy after joining the Tang Dynasty."
"My sworn brother Li Keyong is from Shatuo. His son Luoluo is now the prince of Daxia." Shao Shude said.
The chicken was stunned.
Seeing his stupid look, Shao Shude laughed loudly and said: "The envoy is coming this time, but he wants to submit to Daxia?"
Hearing this, Dui'erji knelt down on the ground and said loudly: "Zhongyun's nine tribes are willing to submit to the great country and become vassals forever."
"Is Tubo out of control?" Shao Shude asked without answering.
Dui'erji's face did not change after hearing this, and he only said: "My people have long been willing to join Shatuo and join the great country. However, Tubo has repeatedly obstructed us, so we can't make the trip. Today I heard that the emperor is marching to the west, and we are here to run at starry night."
"It says on the form that you are the king of the country?"
"Exactly."
"What is the system of Zhongyun State?"
"Our country has a large city, nine prime ministers, and an official system just like that of the Uighurs."
"How many household registrations?"
"Same as Khotan, no less than two hundred thousand." Dui'erji hesitated for a moment and replied.
"to be honest!"
"Ten...hundreds of thousands of people."
"How many people are there?" Shao Shude became impatient.
"There are...more than 30,000 people."
Shao Shude didn't ask.
It is just a city-state in a desert oasis, occupying Ruoqiang, and the Qiemo area, like the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, has 30,000 people who can hold up the sky - this may not even be true.
"What reward do you want from me?" Shao Shude asked.
"I would like to be the king of the great country and be my vassal forever." Dui'erji replied.
"There are not many people, but the appetite is quite big." Shao Shude said with a smile.
The chicken touched its head to the ground and said nothing.
"That's all, I won't tease you anymore." Shao Shude said: "I have accepted the gift. Now I canonize you as King Zhongyun of Great Fortune. You will guard the desert for me and don't let Tubo cause trouble."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Dui Erji was overjoyed and his head touched the ground, very respectful.
"Your name is too unpleasant." Shao Shude said again: "I give you the name 'Shao Xianzhong'."
"My Majesty gave me my name, and I will be lucky all my life." Dui'erji raised his head in surprise and said.
After saying that, he touched his head to the ground again, making a loud sound.
"Get up." Shao Shude said: "Go to Guanyi to stay for two days, then follow me back to Luoyang, and you will receive various rewards."
"I obey the decree." Shao Xianzhong responded.
****
On July 16, Shao Shude left Dunhuang and headed eastward.
On the post road, there are westbound traffic and people everywhere.
The draft animals often have wounds on their bodies, and their bodies are much thinner than normal.
The people were unkempt and their shoes were worn out.
There are more than 7 million people in more than ten prefectures in Helong, and even in the northern and inner parts of Guan, directly or indirectly providing resources for this Western Expedition.
On July 26, the Holy Emperor arrived at Yumen Pass and rested for a day.
Shao Shude met here a group of people traveling to the west, mostly members of the Li family, Yin family, Suo family, Cao family, Kang family, He family and other large families scattered in Gua and Sha prefectures.
Obviously, they were invited by King Shao Siwu of Zhao and sent branch members of the family westward to settle in the Yinli Valley.
The opportunities for these people in Guazhou and Shazhou are not very good, and most of them will never be able to become officials in their lives. If they are not motivated, they will just eat and wait to die. As long as they have some ideas, they will go west and try their luck.
Thinking of the fact that more than 10,000 members of the Tuyuhun Murong clan in Shazhou went west to join Dalang, Shao Shude felt a little comforted: You have been sitting in Dunhuang for so many years, and your wife is from a wealthy family in Shazhou. If you are not able to win over a group of confidants, then
Go home as soon as possible to hold the child, don't be embarrassed by staying in Yinli, even though the Tibetan people there are also noobs.
"After three years of fighting, how are the people in Hexi? Can they still survive?" Shao Shude asked.
"Your Majesty has made a great contribution to the restoration of Helong. Who would not praise him from the people?"
"In the past thirty years, my family has saved a lot of money. The pain of losing money in a few years can still be tolerated."
"Some families fled, but not many."
"Starting from Huangchao, Henan has been fighting for twenty years. Starting from Li Keyong, Hebei has also been fighting for twenty years. Everyone can bear it, and the people of Hexi can naturally bear it."
…
Everyone was talking, but Shao Shude smiled and said nothing.
They are a wealthy family, and their butts are not on the same side as ordinary people. The sufferings suffered by the people do not fall on them. They only have to pay some money and food, so it is difficult to feel the pain.
It is a fact that Henan has been fighting for twenty years, but since Huang Xia defeated Zhu Quanzhong, Zhu Jin, Zhu Qiong, Wang Shifan and others more than ten years ago, when peace finally prevailed, millions of civilians north of the Huaihe River and south of the Yellow River
Surname, how many are left?
Compared with the tens of millions when Tianbao was at its peak, it was only half.
The people of Henan were not born to be so resistant to war, and the Cai thieves were not born to eat human flesh. Only those who have experienced it know how much blood and tears they experienced, but they were just ordinary people, and their feelings are destined not to be recorded in the history books.
The lives of the people in Helong are definitely not as easy as they say.
Of course, Shao Shude also has eyes, and he will not follow the rules on the road, and suddenly gallop into the countryside to take a look.
Life is indeed harder than before, and some people are indeed fleeing, but we can still get by.
After three years of intense transportation, we need to slow down a bit next year.
After two years, lower it some more.
And this process is also closely related to the number of troops stationed in the Western Regions - in fact, the strength of the two major camps in Beiting and Shule has been reduced compared to last year.
After the town troops are gradually in place, most of the Imperial Guards and various miscellaneous troops can be withdrawn, leaving at most about 20,000 people for rotation.
After the town soldiers are familiar with the environment, each other, and their combat effectiveness has increased, the Forbidden Army can basically all evacuate. At most, there will be a few horse-mounted commanders there to feel the battlefield environment, so as not to deteriorate too quickly.
"You all have great talents. After going west, your first priority is to improve the system, educate the people, and encourage farming and animal husbandry." Shao Shude said: "Yin Li's situation is special. It is difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. Be extremely careful and remember this."
"As ordered." Everyone responded one after another.
Shao Shude looked into the distance, seeing crowds of people and darkness.
The movement of big families is really big.
Not only did the master go on the road, he also brought with him slaves, craftsmen, and musicians - it was a bit like the wars of modern European countries. Napoleon's aristocratic generals even brought a troupe with them when they went to war...
There are more than a dozen companies, with a total of more than a thousand people, more than one-third of whom have knowledge, professional skills, and management experience, which is enough for the boss in the initial stage.
On the 28th, Shengjia left Yumen Pass and arrived at Lisuo Jiuquan County, Suzhou on August 11th.
On August 25, he arrived in Ganzhou. Shao Shude planned to stay here for two days and summon officials from Xiedan Ranch and Sinong Temple to explain important matters.
From now on, he doesn't really plan to go to Liangzhou. Instead, he will go through Dadou Bagou, go straight to Shanzhou, go to Qingtang, and bring him back to Beijing along the river Weiyi.
He hadn't been here for many years and he wanted to take a look.