When crossing the Yellow River from Suizhou, Tam subconsciously looked at the endless hills behind him.
This is Suizhou, and the first official appointment Xude Shoihan received was to serve as the governor of Suizhou.
I heard from the local people that this place used to be very poor.
The Dangxiang barbarians and the Tang people also got along very unhappily, fighting for water, land, and pasture, and all kinds of conflicts.
Overall, it is somewhat similar to the situation in Tocharostan.
It was Shaoyhan who really changed this place.
On the one hand, he greatly improved the local living environment, built more reservoirs, ditches, irrigated farmland, and alleviated conflicts. On the other hand, he took advantage of the chaotic situation to fight outwards, investing the local population who could not survive in the
On the battlefield - this is a business where you can't lose money no matter what.
Tam thought again that this might also be Xia's overall national strategy...
"Since ancient times, traveling is really the best way to understand foreigners." While waiting for the ferry, Tam looked at the business travelers gathered nearby and said: "Look, even if there is a war, there are still Persian businessmen coming to Xia Kingdom.
.Ha, he is a little afraid to see us."
Elbrus also saw it, but did not comment. However, he paid great attention to the prairie herders who were trying to cross the river westward to participate in training.
After fighting for several years, if we say who the Persians hate the most, then it must be those extremely poor Uighurs, Turks, and Geluolu who are so annoying. The poorer they are, the more ferocious they are, and the more unreserved they are when robbing.
, the greater the damage caused.
Because of the insistence of the Grand Vizier, the main Persian forces were mostly used to deal with the Xia regular army, which gave the grassland herdsmen a lot of room to play. Moreover, there were quite a few people who dared to fight among them. They went deep south, and small groups of troops could not deal with them at all.
No, so much so that Shashi and other places suffered huge damage, and Talas and other cities were almost in ruins. People were discussing whether to give up the lands they had seized from the Uighurs more than 20 years ago.
"I hope these horse bandits from the steppes will go to hell." Elbrus muttered.
Tam agreed with him.
In fact, he once described the strict discipline of the army under Shoihan's command in "The Whip of Hu Da": They even robbed with such strict military discipline——
"... He is like a noble lion, who will crush the stubborn enemy into powder, and magnanimously forgive the enemy who crawls under his feet... He is an absolute autocratic monarch, he is very proactive, and after every victory, he will
Will not stop to take a breath. He ensured the security of his empire and took appropriate measures for the newly conquered areas... We have no reason to blame too much such a foreign king and idolater. He focused on interests as well as on
honor."
"I vaguely heard..." The ferry came over. Under the urging of the guards, Elbrus got on the boat first. After Tam also came on, he whispered in Persian: "Khitan Khan Ambajan is still in the north.
The grassland is an enemy of the Xia Kingdom, is there any chance here?"
As one of the few scholars in Persia who studied the Xia Kingdom, Tam thought for a while and asked a question: "Our place is very close to the grassland, and you have also seen a large number of grassland soldiers coming for training.
Between Shoihan and Anbajan, whose orders do you think they obey more?"
"Who is forcing anyone to listen?"
"It's not just these." Tam said: "I contacted several people, and based on what they said, I concluded that Shoihan has the qualities of prudence, kindness, and justice. He not only achieved military victory
, his political victory made all grassland careerists ashamed. Wherever he went, he was welcomed by the ocean."
Elbrus glanced at Tam suspiciously.
Tam simply shut up and said nothing.
The boat quickly arrived at the other side. Everyone took a rest and waited for everyone else and supplies to cross the river before continuing on.
****
In mid-October, they arrived in Luzhou, a city that had experienced decades of devastation and had only now regained some of its vitality.
Next to Guanyi, there is an imperial palace belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Tam walked around outside, even raising his head to look around, because he saw many children being sent in.
"They are all children whose families don't want them." The young man guarding the door waved the sword on his waist and told Tam to stay away.
Tam nodded, then called the interpreter and continued to ask - he had been learning Chinese for the past two years, but the progress was not satisfactory. When encountering complex communications, he still had to rely on an interpreter.
"The emperor often took in orphans, raised them, and taught them knowledge and martial arts. These people are very reliable and can do anything. They can farm, do business, and fight. They are also willing to go to places with very harsh environments." The translator whispered.
Conveyed.
"Where did the orphans come from?" Tam asked.
The translator inquired for a while and then said: "In the past, there were mostly war orphans, but now there are many abandoned babies. The imperial village that takes in abandoned babies will hire wet nurses to take care of them. His Majesty the Emperor believes that a healthy child who grows up normally will
The value created in a lifetime will be far greater than the expenses of Huangzhuang. Therefore, he is happy to take in the children and give them a proper education."
"How many children are there now?"
"Maybe thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands."
Tam shook his head helplessly. He knew that the level of these people was too low and it was difficult to get accurate figures from them.
He tentatively thought that 10,000 people was also a terrible number.
Yes, it is "terrible". Because the Temple of the Creator will also adopt some orphans, the Jihad troops composed of them have stronger combat effectiveness than the general army. Loyalty, bravery, and fanaticism are their characteristics.
These grown-up children can do dangerous jobs, Tam is sure of it.
Fortunately, Shoihan did not use them on the battlefield, but sent them to do business, farm, and sail. This is good news.
"Are there any foreigners among these children?" Tam couldn't help but ask.
The young man guarding the gate was already impatient. After a few hasty answers, he waved them away.
Tam reluctantly left, still looking back as he left.
"There are foreigners, but the number is very small, mainly from the grasslands." The translator said: "A heavy snowfall in winter may make the life of grassland herders difficult. In order to reduce expenses, they will choose to sell or abandon smaller children.
, only keeping older children who can help them with work or even robbery. Another reason is that when foreign businessmen encounter illness-this is a very common thing-after death, the children will be adopted if there is no one to take care of them."
"No one raised any objections to this?" Tam asked.
"His Majesty the Emperor does not use money from the treasury." The translator said: "Did you see the fields and orchards over there? In fact, most of the children from Huangzhuang ended up living locally, and only a few could be sent out. They
Farming and herding sheep, you may also spin, make wine, weave bamboo baskets, or even smelt iron. You may have underestimated Huangzhuang. Theoretically, a child who grew up in Huangzhuang can never leave Huangzhuang until he dies."
"I just saw you chatting with that boy for a long time. What else did you say?" Tam finally asked.
"That young man is actually a Khitan." The expression on the translator's face was a bit incredible, and he said, "What do you think he said about Anba Jian?"
"What did you say?" Tam became interested and asked.
"He said that Anbajian became jealous of Shaoyhan's great reputation on the grasslands and attempted to overthrow Shaoyhan's rule through unjust means." The translator said: "He repeatedly emphasized that Anbajian was a shameless barbarian.
The tribe he ruled had no written history. He did not dare to attack cities guarded by powerful warriors, but only dared to rob civilians with no military experience. He was cunning, barbaric and cowardly, and only bullied the weak."
Tam's expression froze.
With each visit, his understanding of the country deepened, and it became harder for him to muster the courage to resist.
He saw Elbrus standing at the entrance of the pavilion. He should have the same idea, right? In fact, Grand Vizier Jaihanni defied all opinions and sent them out twice in a row. He had the same thought in his heart.
idea?
****
Heading south from Luzhou, after passing Zezhou, you soon entered the endless plains.
The Daxia warriors who protected them all the way were in high spirits, chatting and laughing.
Yes, Shule has been acquired for more than four years, and it has been changing every month during these four years. But compared to the Central Plains, Shule can still be labeled as "remote", "poor", "
"Backward" and other labels.
Heyang is different.
As Tokyo Kinki, it has developed rapidly for more than 20 years and is now very prosperous.
Some people even mentioned that too many people from Guanxi may have migrated to Heyang back then, so that there were too many people here.
But there are advantages to having more people. Rich products, prosperous commerce, row upon row of wine shops, tea shops, restaurants and even brothels dazzled them.
After two years on the road, I can finally go home!
Li Congke was a little sad.
The adoptive father Li Siyuan performed meritorious service on the battlefield and secretly granted a son to him. However, he gave it to Li Congrong instead of him.
His father felt a little ashamed when he mentioned this, and Li Congke felt uncomfortable.
Over the years, every time they charge into battle, aren't they the father and son fighting together? Li Congrong has only been in battle a few times? Is it because he is his biological son?
But it doesn't matter anymore.
He still looks down upon such a small family fortune. On the battlefield, there are plenty of opportunities to make meritorious deeds. As long as he is still fighting with Persia, he will have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. In the future, he can even ask the saint to allow him to restore his surname as king and establish his own family.
, Guangzong Yaozu.
But - what if peace is negotiated with Persia? Where will he perform his meritorious service?
Warriors are born to exchange their heads for wealth. If we don't fight, what use are we warriors?
In times of peace, literati could be promoted and rewarded based on their political achievements, but what about warriors?
The "political achievements" of a warrior are the enemy's heads, property, women and land. Once there is no war, where can we get "political achievements"?
Thinking of this, he glanced at the people in the Persian mission, wishing he could kill them all one by one.
Of course, I'm just thinking about it.
He didn't kill him when he crossed the desert, but now he couldn't kill him. What's more, he didn't dare to.
This person is not better than a woman in the deep palace, on the contrary, he is a ruthless person who rolled out of the dead.
He could drink sheep's blood - and legend has it, human blood - without changing his expression.
He could hold heads in his hands and admire them carefully - and legend has it that he even spoke to them.
He could lock his enemies' wives and daughters in his room and play with them day and night - legend has it that the harder these women cried, the harder he became as iron.
Facing such a person, Li Congke was still a little afraid even though he was entering and exiting the battlefield seven times - it was not shameful, because he was afraid that there were too many "old thieves".
He only hoped that this time there would be no tricks, so that the war could continue legitimately, and give him the opportunity to make great achievements.
However, the blind man could also see that the Persians came to seek peace this time, at least the sum was of greater importance.
The Samani who had planned the mutiny in Karasha was already dead in Li Congke's eyes.
I don’t know what the powerful prime minister in Persia thinks. By doing this, he is also damaging his own prestige, right? Now he has the power to control the sky with one hand, and he has all the power in the world. When he loses power in the future, will all these things be repaid to him? Even if it is not
He will also owe it to his descendants - are you a fool? Why should you be a prime minister if you have no shame in order to negotiate peace?
In this way, the group of people hurriedly and slowly arrived, muttering all the way, and finally arrived at the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, and entered the city through the east gate.
It was already mid-November, and heavy snow covered this glorious city.
Tam looked up.
I recall that it was snowing in Karasha when we set out, and it was still snowing heavily when we arrived in Luoyang. This year passes so fast.