Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1536 Route: Go straight to the North Court!
The banks of the Kunkun River became huge construction sites.

The original craftsmen used local materials, and with the assistance of slaves of various ethnic groups, rammed earth to build the city wall.

The location of the new city is on the east side of the old city, adjacent to each other.

Due to the limitations of objective conditions, the scale of this new grassland city named "Supreme Khan" City will not be too large. The city is only about seven or eight miles around, which is equivalent to the size of a county in Henan.

But on the grassland, this is still a very high-standard male city.

At the foot of Wudeyan Mountain, the stele was buried.

To be precise, this should be a stone pillar, because there are inscriptions on all four sides: Chinese, Uyghur, and Turkic, indicating the indisputable rule of the Supreme Khan over this land.

"Bei Ya and Li Fan Yuan systems need to be restructured, and the existing system is no longer able to effectively rule such a large territory." In the old city of Heichengzi, Shao Shude called Yang Jue, the head of the Li Fan Yuan Yuan, and two privy secretaries of the Bei Ya Privy Council. Deputy envoys Zhao Kuangning and Xu Hao discussed matters.

Yang Jue was the third chief official of the Lifan Academy after Yeli Jingchen and Li Yanling. He was transferred from the position of Privy Envoy of Beiya for more than a year.

"How does Your Majesty want to change?" Yang Jue asked.

"The local and central systems must be changed." Shao Shude said: "The Lifanyuan is the central, the existing structure is too rough, too few officials, at least a system should be imitated by the Six Departments of Zhongshu, tax collection, disaster relief, punishment, etc., because It is a de facto enfeoffment system, so it does not need to be as detailed as Zhongshu, but the basic structure must be there."

"The name of the official position can be combined with Han and grassland to make it easier for them to understand. There are seven prime ministers in the Zhengshitang, and a few more chief officials in the Lifanyuan. It doesn't matter whether it is Shangshu or Yuyue. Among the leaders of the grassland tribes Those with prestige and ability can be transferred to Lifan Yuan, Beiya Privy Council as Yuyue, Shangshu, and Privy Envoy, do not discriminate against them, and integrate them into the system as much as possible.”

"As for the locality, I granted a lot of Yi Li Jin (the official position of the tribe chief in the Turkic and Uyghur era) yesterday. Think about it again, do you need to set up a general manager?"

On the one hand, Shao Shude carefully recalled the system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in later generations, and also reflected on the actual situation now, thinking about how to localize it.After all, the situation is different. The alliance flag system in the Qing Dynasty cannot be copied, and it still has to be modified.

In Mobei during the Qing Dynasty, after the Duolunnuoer League, the Qing court appointed Tuxietu Khan, Chechen Khan, and Zasak Khan to lead the various ministries.

This is practical, because the grassland is vast and in a state of enfeoffment and autonomy. If the division is too small, without a leader, it is easy to be swept away by foreign enemies and annexed in one fell swoop.

In the post-Turkic era, the land was far inferior to the previous generation, and it was divided into left and right sides.

In the Uighur era, Ye Hu (equivalent to the governor) was set up to manage various places.

In the Mongolian era, there were similar official positions.

The positions of senior officials in this area had to be set up, but they had to be set up very carefully, because Shao Shude's rule over the grassland was still very fragile.But then again, the rule of the grassland by the Huns, Turks, and Uyghurs is not very good. This place is naturally easy to split. Don’t think too much about what the authentic grassland Khan failed to do.

It's better to care about the demands of the ministries and let them abide by political ethics - something like political ethics is invisible, but it is real. For example, the monarch protects the vassals, and the vassals are loyal to the monarch. This is a kind of politics. ethics.

As long as human beings have a certain degree of civilization and laws, there will be such things as political ethics.

The Central Plains once advocated that a man with a strong army and a strong horse is the emperor, which is the lack of political ethics.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the aristocratic family and the monarch ruled the world together, which was actually a kind of political ethics.

Confucianism that has run through most of history, a considerable part of it also talks about political ethics.

The grasslands have the political ethics of the grasslands, the southern barbarians have the political ethics of the southern barbarians, and the Central Plains have the political ethics of the Central Plains. They are all rooted in their culture and traditions. To understand them in depth, we cannot generalize them.

"The minister will discuss this matter with his colleagues." Yang Jue replied.

"Don't worry." Shao Shude said: "The system can never be perfected overnight. What's more, it's the first time we have ruled the grassland so deeply. Everything has to be explored. Take your time, there are problems with the system, and it will be fine in the future." Change. With me here, I can still hold back.”

"Your Majesty is truly bound by the world." Yang Jue sighed.

"There is no need to say more about this. No matter how much the world is tied to, it is useless for you to hide in the palace." Shao Shude waved his hand and said: "Just like these prairie heroes, if I don't come here in person, I will It is impossible to really rule them. If you are exhausted, you can only rule like the former Tang Dynasty."

But the rule of Jimi is actually divided into three, six, and nine classes.If you want to control deeply, don't try to be lazy.

Li Shimin was in Chang'an, and was honored as "Tian Khan" by various ministries. He had never been to the grasslands, and relied on military deterrence.For the various ministries of the grassland, that is, to appoint an official, but the control is stronger than other dynasties, and soldiers can be recruited to fight.

But Shao Shude's ambition was even bigger. He wanted to establish a system on the grassland, treat it as his own territory, and further deepen his control at the level of the former Tang Dynasty.

To put it more vividly, he conferred a bunch of barbarians yesterday, which is equivalent to a feudal town.

The relationship between the imperial court and the feudal towns is no stranger to Daxia officials, and it can even be said to be too familiar. This is the "experience" that many officials of the unified dynasty lack.

There are a lot of experience and methods in this, which can be pondered and used again.

For example, during Tang Xianzong's period, all the vassals and towns in the world were honest for a time, and the so-called "Yuanhe Zhongxing" was achieved.

What is the mark of honesty?
[-]. Two taxes and three points, and part of the taxes of the feudal towns should be released to the central government.In view of the poverty of the grasslands, how much tax to pay can be discussed, but it must be paid. This is a matter of principle.

Second, we must send troops to help the court fight.For example, national foreign military operations such as preventing autumn and winter, suppressing rebels, etc., Tang Ting will give material rewards to the feudal towns that actively send troops.

Third, the official positions within the feudal town, the imperial court sometimes has appointments and dismissals, and they must be executed.

Fourth, the officials of the feudal town have done a good job, and they can enter the court as officials and maintain the flow from top to bottom.

Fifth, the imperial court sometimes splits up the feudal towns, for example, Ziqing Town was divided into three.

Sixth, there are other things such as imperial examinations and prisons, which are trivial matters and not as important as the previous ones.

If the relationship between the Great Xia court and the tribes of the grassland can reach the level between the Tang court and the feudal towns during the Yuanhe period, it will be the first time in history and a historic breakthrough.

The relationship between the Qing Dynasty and the grasslands in later generations is actually similar to the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the feudal towns, except that they were in the Su Dynasty and had stronger control.

"Your Majesty's Western Expedition this time, is he taking the northern route? The southern route?" Yang Jue asked.

Shao Shude hesitated for a moment and told the truth: "At first, I wanted to take the southern route and visit the states in Hexi. But after meeting the alliance, I thought about it and felt that the power cannot be delegated to others. I still have to lead the tribes to strengthen it." Prestige. How does Yang Qing feel?"

"Your Majesty's honorable title is Khan, and you really shouldn't give up the power to others." Yang Jue said: "Hexi Zhuzhou, it's okay to pass by and have a look when you are in class."

"Good!" Shao Shude said happily, "Then it's settled."

******
On May 14th of the [-]th year of Jianji, after the alliance was over, Yi Lijin of the various ministries who took office as new officials hurriedly left Heichengzi and returned to their respective homes with brand new canonized edicts, official confessions, flag seals and various rewards.

The Western Expedition does not require all the tribes to send troops. The main force is the imperial cavalry and the various tribes in the Yinshan, Hexi, and Qibei areas. It does not need many people. A few hundred elites from each tribe are enough.

The 4 surnames of Tatar, the [-] tribes of Hexi, the tribes of Yinshan, Daibei, and Hetao, and the children of the Jurchen tribes who insisted on staying, sent a total of [-] troops.

In addition, 2000 Liaodong Daofu soldiers who had arrived in Lingzhou rushed northward to join 2000 soldiers from Feng and Shengfu.

The two towns of Yinshan selected [-] soldiers and horses to accompany them.

The state soldiers of Guanbei Province also selected 2000 people to accompany them.

It's not that they are short of 8000 people. The main reason is that the army will not fight for a long time. It is not a good thing. The western expedition can give them training, and when they come back, they will mobilize others, so that the army will not degenerate so quickly.

In the end, there were more than [-] auxiliary soldiers accompanying the army, mainly guards and pro-army.This is prepared for the military cavalry and silver saddles. They have no auxiliary soldiers and need someone to provide logistics services.

In this way, the number of troops on the North Route will reach [-].

It is not a large army on the grassland. After all, Abao dispatched "30" and "40" troops to march west, but if you consider the quality of the soldiers, it is very impressive.

On May [-]th, Shao Shude was still waiting for the ministries to send cattle, sheep, horses and camels.

It is naturally impossible to transship food over long distances in the western expedition on the northern line of the prairie, and can only use the pure prairie way, marching while grazing.

For the cattle and sheep sent by the various ministries, the imperial court will replenish them with grain conversion.In fact, it’s a bit of a disadvantage, because livestock are means of production, not food, so some extra cloth will be given as a reward—it’s all like this, if you still feel that you’re at a disadvantage, then it’s unreasonable.

While waiting, he summoned the generals to study the marching route.

"What I mean is to go straight to Beiting." Shao Shude drew a large circle on the map, and said: "In the territory of Gaochang Uighurs, the rule of Beiting is not particularly stable, and sometimes it even changes hands. Onion The Western Uyghurs, Gaochang Uyghurs, Geluolu people, etc. are fighting endlessly here, and the savings of the people are greatly consumed, and the people probably don't look good towards them. If Wang Shi appears there, it is not too difficult to attack, it is relatively easy Get it, get your first foothold."

This route sounds sad.

After the Anshi Rebellion, Hexi fell to the Tibetans, and Anxi and Beiting were cut off. Local officials could only communicate with Chang'an through the grasslands controlled by the Uighurs. This is the route they took.

The merchants of the Silk Road also took this route.

Earlier, monks such as Gonajudo and Baoxian came to the Central Plains via the Turkic grasslands, and they still took this route.

The whole journey is about three thousand miles.One or two thousand miles ahead is the boundless prairie. There are hardly any landmarks such as cities and fortresses. The monotony is hopelessly monotonous.

Only when you leave the western boundary of the original Uyghur Khanate and enter the western boundary of Tang'an, you will see the obvious buildings of human civilization.

"Your Majesty, let's go like this. The last general is willing to be the vanguard." Zhu Jin, the commander of Feng Guojun, jumped out and said.

grass!Yang Liang, the envoy of the Flying Dragon Army, cursed secretly, stood up immediately, and said, "Your Majesty, since the Uyghurs were defeated last year and fled back, they have given up their minds and stopped looking eastward. Now the alliance has ended for a few days. , if we go west as soon as possible, the thieves will definitely be unprepared and take advantage of me."

What Yang Liang meant was actually to dispatch troops as soon as possible, before the Uighurs could react, and hurry on their way first. By the time they received the news and mobilized their troops, most of the North Army had already approached their border.

"My minister seconded the proposal." Zhe Siyu, the envoy of the cavalry army, said, "But we must contact the army on the southern front. Although the Khotan side has already negotiated, if they move slowly, they will not be able to attract the attention of the thieves."

"It doesn't matter if Khotan comes or not." Flying Bear Army envoy Wang Chonghao said dryly, "Even without Zang Dubao's army on the southern front, our journey alone is enough to wipe out the Uighurs."

"Ba Ye Gu, why don't you speak?" Shao Shude looked at Yi Li Jin of the Ba Ye Gu Clan, one of the [-] Tatar surnames, and asked.

"Great Khan, I agree with you all. It doesn't matter if the army of more than [-] troops directly enters Bo Beiting or attacks Yizhou first."

"Where's your opinion, Ye Li Da Chong?" Shao Shude asked again.

"Big Khan, minister... Your minister seconded the proposal." Ye Li Da Chong had no opinion and responded directly.

"Then it's settled!" Shao Shude slapped the table, and said: "A big march, go straight to Beiting! All the minions are away from Jin, go back immediately to gather troops and horses, and keep up with my army."

"Obey!" Everyone responded with a loud bang, and their emotions became enthusiastic all of a sudden.

(End of this chapter)