Chengde Mansion, Yulin Garden, this place was called Mulan Paddock in later generations. It was a place where the Manchu emperor and a group of Mongolian princes gathered for hunting.
And in this era, it naturally became the place where I, the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhang Shengren, and the leaders of the tribes in Moxi, Monan, Mobei and Songmo held local shooting ceremonies and hunts.
But today, there will definitely be no hunting, because the ancients were very particular about hunting seasons.
April is a good time for animals to gain weight. Due to the winter, most animals were very thin and had very little meat on their bodies.
More importantly, most of the animals at this time had dead babies in their bellies. Hunting pregnant animals was considered by the ancients to be very against the laws of nature. Even in later generations, few people would do such a thing.
However, although hunting has been cancelled, it is more traditional in Han Dynasty. It is also a local shooting gift that Zhang Yan really wants to spread to the grassland. It can be a perfect substitute for hunting.
Guiyi Bobian, also known as General Paozi of Mulan Paddock in later generations, has silver white, ocher yellow and red tents, with a huge silver palace tent as the core, extending in all directions.
In the middle of the silver-white emperor's tent, in addition to the silver-white gold sun and moon flags symbolizing the emperor and the silver-white border Sanchen flags symbolizing the Great Zhou Dynasty, there is also a six-legged clan flag with gold swastikas on a silver-white background.
Riluge was riding on a tall horse that obviously had the blood of Hexi Longma, and was wearing a robe made of Khotan fine silk cloth that he had never thought of before.
He also deliberately lowered the collar of his robe so that others could see the chainmail he was wearing under his robe.
The Yefu tribe has become quite prosperous in the past few months because they were the first tribe to be received by the Supreme Heaven.
After the Beizhu Bu people and the Eight Tribes of Enemy Lie were severely attacked, the Supreme Heaven naturally wanted to promote a group of confidants.
So when they saw the banner of the Liufa Sect, the Yefu tribe took the initiative to join them, and the Xizubu people who were put to sleep by Lu Sanlang and Lu Zhen immediately climbed to the top of the Yanran Mountain tribes.
Loud laughter came from behind, and Riruge looked back to see the young men from Yefu's tribe riding dragon horses, chasing a team of Merle beggars who passed by them, running around.
Of course, the dried mutton and pancakes left behind by the beggars became the trophies of the young men.
This is the pure law of the grassland. Although everyone now believes in the Supreme God and will elect the Supreme God to become the Khan of Heaven, this does not prevent the strong from bullying the weak.
Everyone thinks this is normal. When did a weak yellow sheep dare to pass by a pack of wolves?
There were only dozens of Miler beggars who were driven out and robbed. Not only were they small in number, but each one of them looked like they had not eaten for many days.
This place is at least two days away from Chengde Mansion, and it is doubtful whether they can persist until then.
Tuoheida gripped the reins so tightly with his right hand that his fingers turned white. He glanced at the angry and angry tribesmen around him and said in a deep voice.
"Everyone, please be careful. Let's avoid a few people. This is the disaster brought about by this fool, Hulu Balshu.
If we can’t get to Chengde this time to worship the Supreme God, our tribesmen on the Beihai coast will have no chance of survival.”
Tuoheida is the new chief of Merqi. This powerful ethnic group, which was originally quite powerful and made the Zudivians somewhat wary, has suffered extremely painful blows in the past few months.
The powerful Central Plains cavalry, led by the Menggu and Tuzala people, launched three large-scale raids on the Merqi people.
At least thousands of Merqi soldiers were killed in these raids, and countless cattle, sheep, horses, and women were kidnapped.
This heavy loss forced the Meer beggars to abandon their original rich pastures on both sides of the Serenge River (Selenge River) and flee to the even more bitter and cold North Sea.
Tuoheida is a very knowledgeable person, because not only has he been to the territory of the Menggu people, the Zulu people, and the Dilie people, but he has also communicated with traders from various tribes. He even mingled with the Dilie people and went to Khitan
People go to Beijing to Linhuang Mansion.
So he clearly knew how powerful the Khitans were.
Correspondingly, the people of the Central Plains who were able to wipe out the Khitans, the legendary Emperor Zhongtian Khan, must be so powerful, let alone that.
So before the tribe even retreated to the "safe house" by the North Sea, Tuoheida launched a mutiny.
He led the angry Merqi warriors to kill his uncle, the chief Hulu Balshu, and then selected a hundred warriors who were the strongest to go south with the heads of Hulu Balshu to plead guilty to the Supreme Heaven.
.
However, this journey was far more difficult than Tuoheida imagined. It took them a month and a half to walk more than a hundred miles away from Chengde Mansion. Only a few horses were dead and only a hundred warriors were left.
More than forty people.
Just when a group of Mier beggars were about to continue on their way, the thundering sound of horse hooves sounded. Tuoheida screamed and led the remaining dozens of warriors to abandon their horses and hid in the mountains in the distance.
Their horses were already extremely thin, and the sound of the horses' hooves indicated that there were at least several hundred elite riders. It was impossible for them to escape with the help of their horse power, so they had to run up the mountain.
Tuohei hoped that if the other party took their skinny horse, they would let them go and not search the mountain. As for how to get to Chengde Mansion without the horse and the little food left, it was no longer a matter of consideration now.
But contrary to expectations, the horses that came this time were Hexi Pegasus horses that were even better than the Yehufu tribe that had just chased them. Before Tuoheida and others could escape to the foot of the mountain, they were surrounded by more than a hundred horses.
A very strong man, wearing a silver-white armor that he had never seen before, easily knocked them over and formed a defensive formation.
The thick riding crop in the strong man's hand was swung mercilessly, like beating a disobedient animal, beating Tuoheida and the Miliqi warriors around him. Everyone was desperate and humiliated, but there was nothing they could do.
"Hahaha, my son is indeed brave. When I see the saint this time, I will help you get a real bloody horse. By then, you can become the strongest warrior in the world like the King of Liaoyang!
"
Lu Sanlang laughed loudly and said that he only felt that he was very appetizing about the rough and heroic behavior of the heir who was originally named Bactu and was now renamed Luktu.
If it was hard work for Zhe De to stay on the grassland and guard it, Lu Sanlang would enjoy it.
He even suspected that he might have been a grassland man, because everything here, whether it was ethics or survival laws, was so in line with Lu Sanlang's soul.
As the first grassland tribe to take refuge, the Xizubu people also served as key guides for several times when Zhang and Zhou's army went out of the fortress. Of course, it was also because Lu Sanlang became the leader of the Xizubu people.
This large tribe, which originally belonged to the Zubu people, rose rapidly in status after the Grassland War.
The population has increased from more than 4,000 to 6,000. Not to mention, they also have an army of elite cavalry wearing iron armor, wielding hard bows, and riding Hexi horses, numbering as many as 600.
Lu Sanlang looked at Tuhei Da, who was like a bereaved dog. He pointed his hand in high spirits, ready to let Lu Ketu deal with this man who seemed to be the leader, and then merge the remaining warriors into his own team.
After all, he was trained by Gulam. His combat ability is hard to say, but his ability to judge people is very accurate.
Although these people in front of me are thin, their bones are very well-proportioned. Regardless of whether they are tall or short, as long as they grow more flesh, they will be good warriors.
However, to Lu Sanlang's surprise, after these people saw the killing intent in Lu Sanlang's eyes, not only did they not disperse, but they gathered around Tuoheida and covered Tuoheida with their bodies. Although there was fear in their eyes
, but more of a determination.
Lu Sanlang immediately made a stop gesture. On the grassland, there are not no loyal ministers and righteous men, but very, very few.
In the harsh natural environment of the grassland, people's choices are more similar to those of wild beasts, and the living space for loyal ministers and righteous men is not large at all.
"Which tribe are you from? There are only a few dozen people who want to pay homage to Tian Khan?" Lu Sanlang rode forward and asked in Turkic dialect.
Tuoheida pushed aside the people in front of him and came out bravely to answer: "We are beggars. We want to go to Chengde Mansion to seek forgiveness from the Supreme Bodhisattva."
"It turns out they are beggars from Miler, yeah, let'er kill them all!" Luktu shouted loudly.
"Yes! Ye Hu, kill these beggars, they are enemies of Buddha!" The surrounding Xizubu warriors also roared angrily.
Tuoheida suddenly lifted the wooden box containing Huluba's missing head high in his hand.
"The enemy of the Buddha is not Mierqiren, but Hulupashu. It is he who has deceived us so that we cannot become believers in the Supreme Heaven. Mierqiren has killed Hulupashu, and we are not the enemies of the Buddha!"
Lu Sanlang waved his hand, and the roaring stopped. The people of Xizubu, including Yulizi and Luktu's mother and son, are now very respectful of Lu Sanlang.
Comes with considerable benefits.
Several Western divination people who had seen Hu Lu Badu rode forward on their horses, opened the box, and after examining the long-dried head for a long time, they nodded at Lu Sanlang.
The head in the box is indeed that of the former chief of Merqi, Hulu Balshu.
After receiving the confirmation, the expression on Lu Sanlang's face suddenly softened. He smiled and nodded, "You are a wolf who knows what is good and what is good. I hope you can be forgiven by the Supreme God."
As he spoke, Lu Sanlang waved his hand to Lu Ketu and said, "Give them fifty horses and leave two days' worth of food."
Tuoheida had already made preparations to be killed, but he was stunned when he heard this. After a while, he thanked Lu Sanlang profusely.
"This Ye Hu, today's generous gift and Mi Erqi's Tuoheida will always be remembered in my heart, and I will definitely repay you tenfold in the future."
Lu Sanlang waved his hand, clamped the horse's belly, and led his tribe southward, his voice drifting from afar.
"If you can be forgiven by the Supreme God, then we will all be brothers from now on. These fifty horses are the meeting gift given by the Xizubu people to the brother tribes."
Tuoheida was so moved that he almost burst into tears. For the first time, he felt the benefits of being a believer in the Supreme God, and he vowed in his heart that he would be forgiven by the Supreme God.
Luktu approached Lu Sanlang with some annoyance, "Yeah, why would you give up your precious war horses and food to some wild dogs?"
Lu Sanlang laughed and said, "My son, you have to understand one thing. Everything on this grassland is a gift from the Supreme God.
Even if he is just a wild dog, as long as the Supreme God is willing to accept him, he can become the noblest wolf king.
On the contrary, if the noblest wolf king disobeys the Supreme Heaven, then he will immediately become the meanest wild dog that everyone calls for beating.
Among the 120,000 households in the Supreme Heaven, there are ten thousand households of Merqi, so no matter how the Merqi people are attacked, they can still become one of the powerful tribes on the grassland. We are just following the will of the Supreme Heaven."
.....
Fengen Pavilion is located in the northwest of Chengde Prefecture, at the foot of Modouling and beside the Luan River.
Most of the leaders of various tribes who came from the grassland entered Chengde Mansion from here.
Because in the vast grassland, the Luanhe River is the most obvious guide. As long as you follow the river, you will definitely reach Chengde Mansion.
The Feng'en Hall was built to welcome these tribal leaders who came from the grasslands. After they arrived here, they not only had to bathe and purify themselves under the arrangements of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, but also learned various court etiquette.
Zhang Hao deliberately made the etiquette a bit cumbersome, repeatedly testing the patience of these vulgar prairie nobles.
If anyone can't stand such cumbersome etiquette and runs away, then his tribe can be handed over to others.
....
In the fourth year of Shaoming Dynasty, on April 18th, at an auspicious time, as the first ray of sunshine in the morning appeared in the distant horizon, a captain in brocade clothes wearing a silver-white flying fish suit climbed up to the high watchtower.
He held a silver-white flag in his hand. When he waved the flag left and right on the watchtower, the three trumpeters on the watchtower blew the horns in their hands.
One, two, three, nearby watchtowers blew their horns one after another, and then the military drums also began to beat.
Amidst the sound of drums, the drummers affiliated with Taichang Temple played "Music of the Holy God and the Son of Heaven toward the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses" in every corner of the camp.
This is the most flattering drum music created by Zhang Yan after he lost Taichang Temple and the tradition of elegant music in the mid-Tang Dynasty. Taichang Temple recruited musicians from all over the world.
The leaders of various tribes from the grassland lived in twelve-color tents, corresponding to Zhang Zhang's 120,000 grassland households.
They had already grown their ears from listening to this kind of drum music in Fengyun Pavilion, and of course they knew what they should do when this kind of music played.
Immediately, these leaders of various ministries hurriedly put on the robes given to them by the emperor, and under the corresponding flags, led their guards out of the camp area and galloped to the shooting ground beside Guiyi Bo.
Zhang Gaoduan was sitting on his Emperor's Sixth Chariot. In front of the chariot, thirty eminent monks of the Sixth Dharma Sect and above were holding magical instruments and chanting sutras and guidance.
The car drove slowly past the leaders of the grassland and Songmo tribes. They all chanted the Buddha's name and prostrated themselves on the ground.
Behind Zhang Yan's chariot was the Zuoyu Linwei Fenghuo Cavalry Battalion led by Qu Qilang and Qu Yanqing himself as escort.
Under the mighty banner of Zuoyu Linwei, three hundred cavalrymen wearing cloth-covered iron armor, but their horses were not armored, solemnly accompanied them with their horses held horizontally.
The horse swords in their hands are almost all high-quality products passed down from their ancestors. They are more than ten feet long, can be stabbed and hammered, and are strong and full of toughness. They are far beyond the ordinary sabers and inferior spears and hammers held by the cavalry on the grassland.
They are also top-notch Hexi Pegasus, with a shoulder height of more than five feet three inches. Compared with them, the horses on the grassland are almost as short as donkeys.
In addition to these three hundred valiant cavalry, there are also two hundred hussars from the Wind and Fire Assault Cavalry Battalion who are wearing chain mail without armour, wearing double iron armor, holding hard bows, and sabers hung on the sides of their horses.
Their chainmails were covered with a blouse made of brocade, which looked rich and strong. The knights were in high spirits and looked down upon the world.
Behind them were three hundred armored cavalrymen from Hanshandu led by Li Zhaoyuan. Li Zhaoyuan was the nephew of his aunt Li Ruoliu, and his father was Li Ruotai, Zhang Zhou's first generation armored cavalry general.
These three hundred armored knights and horses were all covered in thick armor. Only a pair of eyes were exposed. Not only were the horses under their crotches more than five feet tall at the shoulders, their legs were even taller than the mouth of a bowl.
Thick and very slender.
There are many people on the grassland who know how to read horses. They can tell at a glance that such a war horse is not only very powerful in carrying weight, but its sprinting speed, no, it should be said to be an instantaneous burst of speed, must also be terrifyingly fast.
As soon as these eight hundred horses came out, the leaders of the grassland tribes who had been buzzing just now fell silent as if they had been drugged to silence them.
When the three hundred knights came out, the leaders of the tribes in Yanran Mountain and Langjuxu Mountain in Mobei shut their mouths, because such knights wearing armor and horses without armor were naturally their nemesis.
Because these tribes were slightly closer to the Han Dynasty, they could still have a small number of warriors, but they were completely incomparable to the heroic cavalry of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In particular, these valiant cavalry also possess powerful war horses and excellent horses. Once faced with each other, if ten prairie warriors can defeat one valiant cavalry, they are considered to have good combat effectiveness.
And when two hundred hussars wearing chain mail or chain mail came out, the tribal leaders from the north of Langjuxu Mountain to Beihai and Yuerhai all lowered their heads in fear.
They are not afraid of the armored cavalry, because it is difficult for such armored cavalry to reach the bitter cold land north of Langjuxu Mountain.
Even if they barely arrive, they can retreat calmly and wear out these armored cavalry just by dodging.
But these hussars are different. Their armor only weighs more than ten kilograms, which puts less burden on their horses. Moreover, they are better at fighting with bows, arrows and sabers.
Therefore, we can use grassland combat methods to deal with the grassland cavalry in Mobei. This was extremely confirmed two months ago.
Tuohei looked at the hussars and recalled the horrific scenes in his mind.
It is these cavalry who, under the guidance of the Menggu or Tuzala people, often appear elusively around the tribe.
Then, and then there was no more, their horses were faster, so they could easily catch up with the warriors of the tribe and hack them to death one by one.
Their bows are better and can often cause large-scale destruction at longer distances.
No matter how good their armor is, even if the heavy arrows shot by Mierqiren with a big bow, it is difficult for these knights to lose their combat effectiveness.
Compared with them, the horses of Merbegren, which are more tolerant of bitter cold and have better endurance, are as short as donkeys or even wild dogs.
Even the arrowheads grinded out of the hardest bones by the Mier beggars were unable to penetrate the iron armor of the Zhou people.
And their iron arrows can kill a warrior wearing cowhide armor with just one arrow.
These devilish cavalry of the Zhou Kingdom are simply not something that Mier Qiren can fight against.
The main targets of the armored cavalry commanded by Li Zhaoyuan were the Khitan, Shiwei, Dadan and other tribes in Dading Prefecture and Linhuang Prefecture north of Chengde.
These tribes are close to the Han Dynasty, and even armored cavalry can arrive quickly. Although it is easier for them to obtain iron armor and weapons than tribes in Mobei and Moxi, they cannot face armored cavalry at all.
No ability to fight back.
"The sage has issued an edict, and the four guardians of the Moxi tribe have come forward to see you!"
After Zhang Gao got out of the car, the servants nearby began to sing loudly, and the voices were passed down one by one. Finally, when they reached the hundreds of soldiers who were guarding him, they turned into thunderous roars.
Among the ten thousand households in the four tribes of Moxi, Li Guizhong was protected by the governor of Xijiasi, Gu Fengde was guarded by the governor of Yili, A Luocha was guarded by the Naiman governor, and Ashina Chu was guarded by the chief guard of all households in Basimi.
four people.
Leading the brave young men and beautiful beauties from ten thousand households, holding white oxtails and other tributes, they came to Zhang Zhang timidly, knelt down, and said, "Forty thousand households in the west of the desert are here to meet you."
Zhang Yan accepted their tributes one by one with a smile. These young men were all the sons or grandsons of the chiefs of 40,000 households. They came to serve as hostages according to the customs of the grassland.
Those beauties will also serve as maids in the palace. After serving for five years, most of them will be released back to their original tribes.
And after they return, as palace maids who have served the Supreme Heaven, their social status will naturally double, and they will basically marry the leaders of hundreds and thousands of families in various tribes.
Then ten or twenty years later, their sons will come back to Zhang Zhou's court as hostages and become the emperor's bodyguards, and their daughters will continue to come to the court as maids just like them.
This was passed down from generation to generation until all the prominent figures on the grassland were inextricably linked to the court of the Han Dynasty.
When it comes to promoting ethnic integration and tightly binding all ethnic groups together, I, Zhang Wushangtian, have to find a way.
Even Li Erfeng is not as skilled as Zhang Erfeng, because this is a method that has been summarized over thousands of years.
Zhang Gao accepted their tribute and gave back a large amount of brocade, cloth, refined sugar, high-quality tea bricks, etc.
The more of these luxuries, the better. Once they get used to it, they will never be able to live without it again.
Of course, the most important thing is that Zhang Gao began to assign the great virtues of the Six Dharma Sects who had just been guiding him in front of his car to various departments, and gave them Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures.
Temples can only be built in places where the great virtues assigned by Zhang Zhi and the statues of Buddha are given to them.
Only people from these tribes can serve as monks and officials under the great virtue, such as the chief monk, the chief monk, and the monk minister.
After the four tribes of Moxi, there are the (western) Zubu and Yechu of Monan, and the three tribes of enemy lie and ten thousand households come to see them.
After that, there were Menggu, Tuzala, Mierqi and Olang in Mobei, who had 10,000 households in the three tribes of Wei, and 20,000 households in the eight tribes of Upper and Lower Khitan.
The chiefs of the 120,000 households met one by one, but Zhang Gao only conferred the title of Lu Sanlang as the Protector of Ten Thousand Households in Zhebu, and Yelu Sizhong as the Protector of Ten Thousand Households of the Eight Khitan Tribes. The other tribes only gave one vote of one thousand.
household.
The meaning is obvious. Before they prove their absolute loyalty, these positions of great guardians of ten thousand households will still be vacant. During this period of vacancies, the affairs will naturally be coordinated by eminent monks who go to various ministries.
Later, Zhang Yan held the most grand local shooting ceremony and large-scale banquet at Guiyi Bo.
Leaders from various grassland tribes also jointly elected Zhang Yan as the Great Khan of the people of Moxi, Monan, Mobei, and Songmo at this conference!
When the mud-studded Ili Khan scroll that symbolized the Moxi grassland slowly fell, and the completely Han-style silver-white border with gold fringes, gold sun and moon and swastikas rose, Zhang Yan finally completed the most critical task.
step.
For the first time, he brought all the grassland tribes almost completely under the control of the central court.
Although this was still a dualistic empire between the Han and the grasslands, compared to the brutal killings of the Han Dynasty and the pseudo-dualistic empire of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Zhou undoubtedly took a big step forward.