Han Shizu

Chapter 2144: Sejong 19: The Hero's Old Age
In the eleventh month of the winter of the first year of Jianlong, Hotan.

In the coldest days of winter, the vast northwest has become a world of ice and snow, and the sky and the earth are shrouded in a solemn atmosphere. The towering and long Kunlun Mountains and the Black Kunlun (Karakoram Mountains) are already covered in snow, and the Baiyu and Wuyu rivers originating from the two mountains have frozen over, covering hundreds of miles.

Due to its geographical location and climate, the vast and boundless land of Hotan appears somewhat lonely and desolate. However, it is foreseeable that when spring returns next year, the glaciers melt, the two rivers flow again, and hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land along the rivers are planted with crops, this historic region will regain its vitality.

Why did King Kang Liu Ye always covet Khotan and even resort to war to break through the constraints of the imperial vassal system and destroy it? In addition to the consideration of the safety of the royal city of Shule, the large tracts of glacial river alluvial plains owned by Khotan were a very important reason. The good water and soil conditions made it have the potential to support hundreds of thousands of people.

On the other hand, it was for the population of Khotan. For a long time, the vassal states at home and abroad of the empire have attached great importance to population, of course, here refers to the Han population (it can also be appropriately relaxed to the Han population), in order to enrich and expand the ruling foundation and enhance national strength.

As for the three Anxi kingdoms, due to the long-term and frequent wars with the YSL world, their population was greatly depleted and they were even more hungry for it. They also used all kinds of means and offered various conditions to recruit population and talents from their motherland.

As for Kangju, it had a condition that the other two countries did not have, that is, it bordered Khotan. Khotan had a population of nearly 300,000, a good foundation for sinicization, close cultural customs, and was not difficult to transform.

In Liu Ye's eyes, these are its most valuable aspects. You know, it took the Three Kingdoms of Anxi almost thirty years from the time of establishing the state to snatch a total of one million people from the Han Dynasty. It is conceivable how precious the hundreds of thousands of people of the Kingdom of Khotan are, and how they are regarded as "fat meat" by their neighbors.

Apart from anything else, after annexing Khotan, Kangju would only need to absorb its wealth, population and land, and its strength would quickly approach that of Anxi, and it would be able to catch up in terms of core ruling power.

Of course, it will take some time to complete these plans, and more importantly, it is necessary to withstand the questioning and even sanctions from the Central Empire. King Kang Liu Ye is actually very clear about this. He is often domineering and self-centered, but that doesn't mean he is stupid.

Liu Ye did not spend too much effort to destroy Khotan, thanks to several factors. Strength is the most fundamental. Compared with 20 years ago, Kangju has made great progress in strength (after all, it can be improved in all aspects through exchanges with the empire), and has maintained an elite division through wars with Islamic forces in Central and West Asia. At the same time, the situation of Khotan is getting worse and worse. The existence of Kangju and its strong aggressiveness have already compressed their living space.

Facing the invasion of Kangju, its predecessor, Yuchi Baoxiang, was still able to maintain the country. After all, he was a military general and had a strong character. At the same time, due to his diplomatic ties to the capital, he always paid attention to maintaining relations with the court.

Once Yuchi Baoxiang died, the decline of Khotan became unstoppable. His grandson Yuchi Jue succeeded him, but he had neither his grandfather's power and prestige nor his excellent balancing ability. In the end, he could only watch Kang's army approaching the city and had to flee and "defend his rights" in a panic.

The Kang army destroyed Khotan without heavy casualties. They fought two battles in total. They first besieged Yaerkan City (after the destruction of the kingdom, Liu Ye changed its name to Shache) and conquered it for three days. Then they rushed to Khotan and defeated the Khotanese army in the small town of Zawa on the west bank of the Wuyu River. Then they entered the city with a group of Khotan nobles and the people carrying food and drink. Before this, most of the upper class nobles of Khotan had connections with Kangju, either bribed or intimidated by its strength. When things were impossible, it was natural for them to change sides.

After taking all of Khotan, Liu Ye established Hezhou on its basis, changed Khotan City to Hetian, and made it the capital of the state, basically maintaining the original Khotan State's organizational structure. Of course, Khotan's territory was not small, so a certain division was necessary.

Liu Ye placed Shache County and its surrounding areas with a population of tens of thousands under the direct jurisdiction of the royal city of Shule. He also renamed the city of Keriya in the east of Yutian to Yutian, established a county, and appointed a Yutian military envoy to carry out military and political management.

By the winter of the first year of Jianlong, it had been almost a year and a half since the fall of Khotan. Thanks to Liu Ye's various means of political enticement, economic bribery, military deterrence and so on, the former Khotan region had basically stabilized.

This was also the easiest battle and conquest for Liu Ye in the past 30 years in terms of expansion. Compared with those MSLs from the Arab region who were brainwashed by Islam, the nobles and civilians of the Kingdom of Khotan were so "cute".

It was also for this reason that Liu Ye showed the utmost tolerance towards the Buddhism they believed in. Apart from making certain reforms in accordance with the Han Dynasty's religious management regulations and confiscating some temple properties and temple servants, he did not inflict any greater blow, at least there was no destruction of temples or extermination of religions.

In this process, the interests of Khotanese Buddhism inevitably suffered losses, but there were not many conflicts. Firstly, they had heard about the "de-islating" carried out by the three Anxi kingdoms in their territories, which had caused a sensation in the entire Central and West Asia region.

As the biggest rival and the most dangerous enemy, the Khotan Buddhist sect knew how powerful it was. But even such a powerful sect was beaten badly by the Liu family, and they were so weak that they could not withstand it.

On the other hand, it was also related to the fact that Liu Ye's approach was not thorough. At the same time, even in the Central Empire, the "destruction of Buddhism" happened almost seventy years ago. Although the interference of secular power in religious power still exists, the imperial Buddhism has in fact prospered and developed again. The Khotan Buddhism, which has had many exchanges with the imperial Buddhism, naturally benefited a lot from it.

Nothing is uncompromising. It was through the various compromises between Kangju and Khotan and the various factions that the situation in Khotan or Kangju Kingdom and Hezhou stabilized, and Hezhou began to merge into Kangju Kingdom.

At the end of the first year of Jianlong, in the ice and snow, a mighty cavalry, guarding a chariot-like vehicle, drove on the hard frozen soil towards Hotan City.

The fluttering "Kang" and "Liu" flags, as well as the specifications and decorations of the carriages, all reveal the identity of the owners. The fierce winter wind brought a biting cold, but fortunately all the knights had silk and cotton clothes lined under their armor and sheepskin hats on their heads. Although the weather was cold, they looked warm.

In Kangju, the only troops that could enjoy such treatment were the royal guards and the elite private soldiers of the nobles. It was difficult to ensure that every officer and soldier in an ordinary camp had a set of these, after all, it was a luxury.

This was the third time that King Kang Liu Ye had visited Hezhou in the south within a year, which was enough to show how much he valued the Hezhou area. He planned to run Hezhou like the royal capital (Shule) area.

The current Kangju Kingdom is not a small country. In addition to the royal capital of Shule and Hezhou, it covers almost all of southwestern Kyrgyzstan, the entire Tajikistan, and parts of northern Afghanistan. Liu Ye has always regarded Shule and Feizhou (Fergana Valley) as the fundamental areas for his management. Now, Hezhou is also included.

Hotan is located on the delta plain before the confluence of the Wuyu River and the Baiyu River. It is built between the two rivers and has a very advantageous geographical location. Of course, in addition to the beautiful jade, the most obvious feature of this city is the numerous Buddhist temples.

In Hotan City, in the lobby of the Pacification Office, Prince Kang Liu Ye, with a thin but dignified face, sat in the main seat and accepted the worship of the Pacification Envoy Liu Wenqian and a group of Hezhou military and political officials.

Time is unforgiving. Liu Ye is now fifty-five years old, no longer young, and his aging is visible to the naked eye. But the heroic aura in his body is still strong, and no one dares to look at him with a glance.

In court, Liu Wenqian, on behalf of the Hezhou officials, presented Liu Ye with a brocade box engraved with the word "夀" and lined with red silk. Inside were two jade disks of fine quality, one blue and one white. In another month, it would be the 55th birthday of King Kang Liu Ye.

The two precious jades were naturally produced in the upper reaches of the Wuyu and Baiyu rivers outside the city. They were obtained by jade hunters who ventured into the dangerous glacier valley upstream. The state government obtained them and invited famous craftsmen to carve them carefully.

Liu Ye was never interested in rare treasures, gemstones, and jade, but this time, he made an exception. He took the two jade discs and played with them gently, observing the luster and patterns on the jade, especially the clean and moist white jade.

After a while, he put down the jade disk, pondered for a while, then looked up at Liu Wenqian who was in a respectful attitude, and said: "Jade is a national treasure, you should take good care of it!"

Facing the king's instructions, the civil and military officials who understood the meaning of it all looked solemn, and subconsciously cast their eyes on Liu Wenqian. Liu Wenqian, who was standing respectfully in the hall, could not help but feel a ripple in his heart, and bowed solemnly: "Yes!"

Liu Wenqian, the second son of King Kang Liu Ye, was born in the third year of Yongxi, when he was 24 years old. In the third year of Duangong, after Liu Ye conquered Khotan, he was appointed as the governor of Hezhou, responsible for suppressing and pacifying the officials and people of Hezhou, and also responsible for immigration. Liu Ye wanted to move "Khotan officials and people" to Feizhou and Longzhou (newly established by Liu Ye, probably located in the western part of Tajikistan) to enrich the local rule.

Being entrusted with such an important task at such a young age clearly showed that King Kang had special expectations for Liu Wenqian. The post of Hezhou was also a test for the young Liu Wenqian, but judging from Liu Ye's attitude, he was quite satisfied.

King Kang, Liu Ye, was fond of military strategy and chivalrous since childhood. He started his military career when he was less than 20 years old. It can be said that he was accompanied by wars all his life, either suppressing rebellions or expanding territory. He did this for thirty-six or seven years, and can be called a hero of his time.

However, even though he refused to admit that he was old, his aging was irreversible. The deterioration of his body functions and the chronic diseases all over his body reminded Liu Ye that he was old. He was no longer as strong and energetic as before, nor was he as vigorous and energetic as before.
Therefore, Liu Ye had to consider the issue of succession. This issue had been put on Liu Ye's agenda as early as the sixth year of Pingkang (1012). However, Liu Ye did not have many choices. After all, he had only two sons who grew up (the rest all died young), the eldest son Liu Wentao and the second son Liu Wenqian.

There was no need to consider the difference between legitimate and illegitimate sons, because both sons were illegitimate. Liu Ye also initially regarded the eldest son Liu Wentao as the heir according to common practice. After all, he was older and could bring more peace of mind to people.

But after a period of training and observation, Liu Ye had to give up his eldest son, because this eldest son was too weak and delicate, and could not fight or kill people. When facing those rebellious barbarians, he was soft-hearted and hesitant. He controlled his subordinates with leniency and asked him to appease the Buddhist sect. He did not understand the truth of "controlling them with Buddhism". However, Liu Wentao really believed in Buddha, studied Buddhist teachings attentively, and talked about Zen with those eminent monks.

In short, apart from being filial, there was nothing Liu Wentao did that could satisfy Liu Ye. If he was in the Central Empire, it would be fine. Being weak was not a big problem, and he could still be a peaceful ruler.

But what is Kangju, and what is Central Asia? It is surrounded by wolves and filled with strong men inside and outside. A weak sheep cannot lead a pack of wolves. Liu Wentao does not possess any of the qualities that a King of Kangju should have.

On the other hand, Kangju is also at a critical stage of development. Its current achievements and stability are inseparable from the support of the Han Empire and Liu Ye's powerful conquest and suppression. Whether this achievement can be truly consolidated depends on the management of the next one or two generations. Among them, the existence and performance of the second generation of King Kang will be particularly important.

These factors also made Liu Wentao's exit inevitable. As for the system of primogeniture, it also depends on time and region. At least in the Western Regions and Central Asia, there is not much market for it, and there are not so many people who completely believe in it.

You know, in the upper class of the Three Anxi Kingdoms, illegitimate children accounted for the vast majority of the imperial noble families. To a certain extent, everyone could be regarded as "victims" of the system of primogeniture. Even though many of them, after becoming successful, became the people they once hated, and began to choose their heirs according to the rule of primogeniture, they were not rigid in this regard.

Of course, this is related to the national geography, political and military environment in which the Three Kingdoms of Anxi are located. What is needed here is a strong man, a leader.

After Liu Wentao was eliminated, Liu Ye had to turn his attention to his second son, Liu Wenqian, who was not yet 20 years old at the time. This son, at least, did not do what Liu Ye understood as "deviant" behavior.

Over the years, Liu Ye placed Liu Wenquan in various important government offices in Kangju for training. His performance was not so outstanding, but at least not bad, and he never made any major mistakes. Words such as decisive and capable can also be used to describe him. Even so, Liu Ye was still worried.

Therefore, after conquering Khotan, he was assigned to the newly established Hezhou as a pacification envoy. This was a comprehensive assessment and the most important test. Judging from the current results, Liu Wenqian has basically passed the test.

Sure enough, that very night, Liu Ye summoned Liu Wenqian to his residence again, and the father and son had a long talk by candlelight. In addition to listening to Liu Wenqian's report on some details of the state's military and political affairs that could not be disclosed to outsiders, Liu Ye also clearly told him for the first time that he had decided to make Liu Wenqian the crown prince.

He had already discussed this matter with the dignitaries and military leaders in the upper echelons of Kangju, and had drawn up a written document. He also planned to submit it to the court when he went to Beijing in order to legitimize his title.

That's right, Liu Ye had already received the summons from Luoyang, and had decided to go to the capital in person. Liu Wenji wanted his thirteenth uncle to give an explanation, so he went there openly and gave him an explanation.

In fact, the upper echelons of Kangju State had many objections to this matter, and many people dissuaded him. The main reason was that they were worried about Liu Ye's safety. Even if his personal safety should not be a problem, what if the court detained him? The overall situation of Kangju State could not be separated from the presidency of the king.

Unexpectedly, it was Liu Ye who saw the matter most clearly. He stated one thing: the annexation of Khotan was a foregone conclusion, but if it was to be made a reality, the hurdle of the imperial court had to be overcome.

Otherwise, even if Kangju could live behind closed doors, the country's development and improvement process would be interrupted. If so, what was the point of annexing Khotan? Compared with the friendly exchanges with the empire, what was the benefit of Khotan?
Liu Ye admitted that there was an element of gambling in his annexation of Khotan, but he still had a clear idea of ​​what was more important.

Liu Wenqian also showed due concern and worry about Liu Ye's decision to go to Luoyang in person. After careful consideration, Liu Ye decided to bring Liu Wenqian back to Shule to take charge. At the same time, he also gave him the command arrow and seal that could mobilize the royal city guards, just in case.

This was a measure to thoroughly establish his status as the crown prince, and there was no need to worry about any backlash from the loss of military power. As the founding ruler of Kangju, Liu Ye himself was more authoritative than any command arrows, seals, or identity verifications. In the Kangju army, there were very few officers who did not know Liu Ye.

This is also the power and magnanimity that only the founding father of a country can possess.

On this cold night in late winter, Liu Ye and Liu Wenqian talked for a long time and said a lot. In addition to reviewing and reminiscing about the turbulent experiences of the past few decades, they also talked about some ideas about the future of Kangju Kingdom and the handling of relations with Anxi, Beiting and the imperial court.

Maybe Liu Ye didn't mean that, but this was almost like an act of making arrangements for his final resting place...

(End of this chapter)