Daqin: Zulong's Traveling Frog

Chapter 320 The Powerful Kingdom of Khotan [tian]
The Kingdom of Khotan is an ancient Buddhist kingdom in the Western Regions. It is located on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, connected to Qiemo and Shanshan in the east, connected to Shache and Shule in the west, and the capital Xicheng.

As an important small country in the Western Regions on the Silk Road, Khotan has its special mystery. From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it has always been a powerful country in the South Western Regions.

The climate here is mild and the land is fertile. The Yulong Kashgar River and Karakash River originating from the Kunlun Mountains both pass through Khotan, and the world-famous Hetian jade is produced in the river.

The Khotan Kingdom, with agriculture and animal husbandry as the main body, was the first country in the Western Regions to acquire the silkworm breeding technology of the Central Plains, and its textiles were later sold overseas.This Buddhist kingdom established by the Yuchi family went through the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, and it still had a strong radiating power in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Its dynasty has lasted for 13 centuries and is the longest-lived subsidiary regime in Chinese history. The length and vitality of the country are extremely rare in the history of the world.

Mount Kumar was the Niujiao Mountain of Foshan in Khotan at that time. Because the two peaks on the mountain are like two symmetrical horns on the head of a bull, it was once called Qushilingjia Mountain in history.

At the beginning of the war, Khotan had an advantage. After repelling the attack of the Karahan Dynasty, they marched westward and captured Kashgar for a time.

Although the Karahan Dynasty regained Kashgar with the support of Japanese reinforcements, it did not turn the tide of battle. Ali Khan himself died in the war with Khotan.

Khotan's financial, material, and manpower are inferior to the Karahan Dynasty, and the protracted war has greatly damaged its strength and gradually put it at a disadvantage.

Silk has long been the most precious commodity in the east-west trade, and it is also the country's top commercial secret.

In order to keep the secrets, the "Daqin" emperor ordered the border gates to be strictly guarded and the silkworm seeds were not allowed to flow out of the country.

The King of Khotan came up with a plan and sent an envoy to "Da Qin" to propose marriage and conveyed to the princess of "Da Qin" that there was no "silk, cotton and silkworm seeds" in Khotan, and he hoped that she could bring some so that the servants could make beautiful clothes for her. .

After the princess of "Da Qin" begged for silkworm seeds, she secretly hid them in a hat and brought them to Khotan.To commemorate this event, the Kingdom of Khotan built a "Mashe" temple in the place where silkworm seeds were first tested. At the same time, it stipulated that silkworms should be protected and "killing" was forbidden. It takes silkworm cocoons.

"Historical Records of Dawan Biography" records: "[Dawan] Northeast is Wusun, east is Tengku, Yutian [Yutan]".

Khotan is located on the southern edge of Tarim, connected to Qiemo and Shanshan in the east, and Shache and Shule in the west. It is located at the strategic point of the Silk Road and is famous for its rich jade production.

In fact, the people of Khotan are a tribe of the Scythians. After being exiled to the southern border, the tribe leader whose surname is "Vika".The Kingdom of Khotan was established.

When Zhang Qian traveled to the Western Regions, there were less than 2 people in Khotan.However, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Kingdom of Khotan annexed the surrounding cities of Pishan, Qule, Ronglu, and Tanmi, and became a powerful country with "32000 households, a population of 83000, and more than 30000 victorious soldiers".

It can be seen how powerful the Khotan Kingdom was at that time.

In contrast, in the Qin Dynasty, the Moshan Kingdom was also qualified to watch the war with the Khotan Kingdom.

The article "Mountain Kingdom" in "Book of Han·Biography of the Western Regions": Mountain Kingdom, Jimo Mountain Kingdom, the king went to Chang'an for 170 miles, with 450 households, 240 mouths, and 260 soldiers.There is one auxiliary prince, left and right generals, left and right captains, and translator.It extends [-] miles to Yuli in the west, [-] miles to Yanqi in the northwest, [-] miles to Weixu in the west, and connects to Shanshan and Qiemo in the southeast.The mountains produce iron, and the people live in the mountains, sending fields and grains to Yan Qi and Wei Xu.

Shanguo, also called Moshanguo, was founded in the Han Dynasty. It was a small nomadic country among many countries in the Western Han Dynasty. Its main economic form was hunting and herding. There are 450 households with a population of 5000, and the number of home guards can reach up to [-] people.

Animal husbandry and iron smelting are important industries, relying on their own industrial resources to exchange materials with neighboring countries.The government of the Han Dynasty regarded the "Moshan Country Road" leading to the basin via the main oasis of the Moshan Country as a strategic communication line. The local people acted as guides for the Han Dynasty envoys passing through this place, and sometimes sent troops to assist in combat.

Today's geographical location is in the west of Kuruktag, Kurutagwei means "dry mountain", lack of human habitation, drought in four seasons, full of walls, desert, its belly is the birth of China's first atomic bomb test site, and the east is gone The ancient country of Loulan and the ancient Silk Road.

The geographical features of the west are quite special. Unlike the surrounding air, which is humid, it is warm in deep winter, and there are clouds and fog in the driest season.

This can also be regarded as the center of the Moshan Kingdom. The oases and pastures in the mountains are suitable for grazing and hunting in all seasons. It is also one of the main breeding areas for wild camels.

The Kongque River in the south passes through Korla in southern Xinjiang and flows eastward all the way.

Xiao Yang carefully observed the terrain of Yecheng and Jiaohe, and then went down the mountain to enter the city.

Entering from the south gate, I met a girl from the Western Regions, riding a big brown-red horse, holding the rein in one hand and a long rope in the other.There were two men tied to the rope, both dressed as people from the Central Plains.

Xiao Yang glanced casually and was immediately stunned. He actually recognized the two men who were led behind the horse by the girl in red like dogs. One was a Taoist priest named Xiaoxiaosheng, and the other was Loulan guide A Fei.

Both of their clothes were torn and their feet were shabby, showing that they had suffered a lot of torture.

Xiao Yang hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Why did the girl tie up these two people?"

The girl in red said, "This is my new slave, what's the matter?"

Xiao Yang said: "I see. How much did the girl spend?"

As he spoke, he took money out of his pocket.

He knew that the money on his body was far from enough, but he couldn't just watch Xiao Xiaosheng and A Fei become slaves just like that.

The girl in red suddenly showed a look of surprise, and shouted: "Hey, you... aren't you that... that Youlong in the desert?"

Xiao Yang was stunned, but before he could answer, A Fei, who was in a daze, suddenly opened his eyes wide, chased a few steps, and shouted: "Ah, your horse... your sword... you are really a wandering dragon, you are really a wandering dragon." It's Youlong."

Only then did Xiao Yang realize that he was dressed in yellow, wearing a soft leather mask, with a jade knife at his waist, and riding a yellow sweat-blooded horse. He was already a wandering dragon. He hurriedly lowered his voice and said: "Keep your voice down."

Ah Fei replied: "Yes."

Immediately, he stood aside honestly, but he couldn't help being excited, staring at Xiao Yang, as if he was afraid that he would disappear in the blink of an eye.

The red-clothed girl jumped off the horse and laughed happily: "It's really you, Brother You Long. Don't you recognize me? I'm Gu Li. A few years ago, my father's caravan encountered horse thieves in the desert. You saved me, I haven't had time to thank you yet."

Xiao Yang still had difficulty adapting to the role of You Long. He didn't know how to deal with it, so he could only point at Xiao Xiaosheng and A Fei and said: "Can you please let these two people go first?"

(End of this chapter)