Shule City, Khotan Kingdom, has gradually become the capital of Khotan Kingdom since Zhang Zhao captured Shule.
After all, compared to Yutian City, which is located in the southwest, Shule is connected to all directions, especially close to Ningyuan, so it is more suitable to be the capital of a country.
Li Shengtian stood solemnly on the wall of Shule Shengde Palace with his hands behind his back.
Today's Khotan Jin Kingdom can be said to be the largest country in the Western Regions.
After getting the Dazhongyun, Qiuci Uighurs and Suzhou Longjia who moved back from Zhang Zhao, the Khotan Jin Kingdom had a population of more than five million, and its land area was far larger than before.
The entire southern Anshan territory, Suiye, Ningyuan (Fergana Basin), Anyuan (eastern Afghanistan), and Zhenyuan (northern Pakistan) are the territory of the Great Jin Kingdom.
Not to mention economically, Khotan is a transit station from Tianzhu to Hexi.
Especially after the strategy of teaching Tianzhu and Tubo people to drink tea has been a great success in recent years.
Milk tea prepared with cheese, sugar, raisins, and various dried fruits has become popular throughout Tianzhu and Persia. It is said that it has become popular even in Dashi and Qin to the west of Persia.
As a Khotan Jinguo who could produce a little tea and knew how to process tea bricks, Li Shengtian often felt a little scared at the speed of making money.
However, Li Shengtian was not without worries. First of all, among the six governor-general districts of the Kingdom of Khotan, only three and a half could really be controlled by Li Shengtian.
In other words, only the three territories of Yutian, Shule and Ningyuan are in Li Shengtian's hands.
Although there are still more than a thousand Khotan warriors stationed in Suiye, due to the long distance, they cannot convey news to Shule in a timely manner. The officials stationed there are often easily bribed or held hostage by the Guo family of Suiye.
In recent years, the intervals between people sent by the Guo family to Shule to worship have become longer and longer, which is evidence of this.
Unless Li Shengtian sends an army or blocks the trade route to Suiye, it may only be after using these two big moves that Suiye's Guo family will bow down because they can't bear it, so it can only be counted as half.
The rest of Zhenyuan and Anyuan have actually become very independent vassal states. If it were not for the connection of trade routes, they would probably be out of control.
Among a population of five million, Li Shengtian can directly control only more than one million.
After all, the most precious treasure that Zhang Zhao left to Li Shengtian was this trade road that had been revitalized and was about 30 to 40% as busy as it had been in the past, and the Ningyuan Governor-General's District.
The former provided the Khotan Jin Kingdom with sufficient economic vitality and weapons that influenced all directions, while the latter was the de facto granary of Ningyuan.
In recent years, Khotan and Shule have suffered from snow disasters and droughts twice, and both relied on food from Ningyuan to survive.
"Sir, Hamid of Saman Persia refused our request to buy Shiguo City. It's time to teach these Persians a lesson!"
Li Shengtian had long heard the footsteps behind him, but he never looked back. He turned his back to Li Congde and sighed.
"In the past, it was not our father and son who broke Bukhara, kidnapped dozens of Samanid queens and princesses, and raised Hamid to the position of emir. So, although Hamid was already so distressed, he still could not Willing to surrender.”
Li Shengtian said calmly, as a somewhat ambitious king, Li Shengtian still wanted to continue to achieve something after Zhang Zhao left.
But except for the severe beating of Saktu once, the rest of the military operations against Persia did not go so smoothly.
Recently, Li Guoshou on the Talos side has been intensifying his attacks on Saman Persia.
In two years, they besieged Shiguo City three times, which was the original location of the Dawan Governor's Palace of the Tang Dynasty and was later called Tashkent.
Li Shengtian thought that since Hamid was in such a difficult situation, he might as well sell Shiguo City to him, so as to avoid being attacked by the Talos every two days.
Unexpectedly, Hamid thought about it for a long time and finally refused.
“If Hamid is allowed to reject us and not punish us, who will take us, the Golden Kingdom, seriously in the future?
Sir, we must send out a large army this time to capture Kangju (Samarkand) in Saman Persia and show them how powerful we are. "
Li Congde was still talking angrily, looking much angrier than Li Shengtian, but Li Shengtian shook his head.
"Let the Persians go in advance. The envoy from Liang has arrived in Yutian and is expected to arrive in Shule soon.
We should first deal with the Gaochang Uighur Pugu family and capture the scourge of Saktu, and then consider other things. "
Li Congde's eyes lit up, "Did my cousin send someone here? That's great. The Gaochang Uighurs occupy Qiuci and have always been a thorn in our backs. We should really deal with them."
Li Shengtian waved his hand, motioning for Li Congde to sit down with him, and then looked at Li Congde very seriously.
"Five years ago, you could call Zhang Erlang cousin, but today, you should call him the Great Liang Heavenly King or Heavenly King."
Li Congde seemed a little embarrassed. At this time, Cao Yuanxiang and the maids came over carrying cakes, fruits and wine.
She personally pinched a piece of hibiscus cake and handed it to Li Congde, "Let's try the cake made by my mother."
After Li Congde took the hibiscus cake, Cao Yuanxang glanced at Li Congde angrily again.
"You! I don't know where this temper comes from. It's not like me at all. On the contrary, it's somewhat similar to you.
Although Zhang Erlang is your cousin, he currently has 50,000 cavalry and sits on the three regions of Hexi, Longyou and Shuofang. He is heading east to compete for the world. He is a person who may become the emperor of the Central Plains. Let you call him the king. Still wronged you? "
After speaking, Cao Yuanxing poured another large glass of wine for Li Shengtian.
"Congde has always been reliable in doing things. He has his own sense of proportion. What does it matter if he calls him cousin in private?
Even if Zhang Erlang really became the emperor of the Central Plains, that slave would also be his concubine! "
Li Congde was still a little uncomfortable at first, but after Cao Yuanxuan said this, he felt much better.
He put down the hibiscus cake he had taken a bite and said softly: "My mother is right in teaching me. This child really deserves to be called the King of Heaven."
Li Shengtian sighed softly, and said slowly: "Actually, it doesn't matter what you call me in private, I am afraid that Congde will not be able to position himself correctly!
Some people in the royal family have always believed that Zhang Erlang's current achievements are the result of the strong support of my Li family.
But they don’t know that Li Erlang and Zhang Erlang actually achieve mutual success.
Without Zhang Erlang, we might still be confronting Saktu. How could we have such a vast territory? How could such a luxurious Shengdeokgong Palace be built?
From Germany, you must remember that Zhang Erlang helped us conquer this big Khotan Kingdom.
He also opened up trade routes, and he could get three hundred thousand guan of silver every year just from the holy treasury.
Zhang Erlang doesn't owe you or me anything, on the contrary, we owe him. "
Speaking of this, Cao Yuanlan seemed to have remembered something, her eyes suddenly became sharp, and she stared at Li Congde fiercely.
"Did you listen to what Li Jifu and those people said?"
Just as Li Congde was about to answer, Cao Yuan stood up suddenly and ordered the surrounding officials: "Send the prince to wash his horse and enter the palace quickly!"
Not long after, Prince Xima, who had been outside the palace, was called in. Cao Yuanxing looked at the Prince Xima, who was from a distant branch of the Li family, and asked.
"The prince has been in contact with Li Jifu, the Marquis of Bianzhou, and others recently. Why don't you report it to the emperor?"
"I am a minister of the prince, not a minister of the inner court!" Unexpectedly, the prince was quite dignified when washing horses.
However, he is pushing Li Congde over the cliff!
How can the king of any country bear this?
Even Cao Yuanxiang, who had a sneer on his face, was a little stunned.
"You bastards! It turns out you are the one trying to bewitch the prince."
Sure enough, when he heard this, Li Shengtian was furious. He grabbed a plate of pastries and smashed it into the face, causing the horse's head to bleed.
"Send General Huangmen to come!"
Li Shengtian seemed to be preparing to ask General Huangmen, who was in charge of the palace guards, to lead troops to arrest people.
However, Cao Yuanxing stopped Li Shengtian, because it was not easy to go to war over such a thing, especially when he had to join forces with the Liang Kingdom to eliminate the Gaochang Uighurs.
"Erlang, calm down. Li Jifu and other demons are trying to confuse the public. It won't happen for a day or two. Don't worry now."
As she said that, Cao Yuanxiang felt that iron could not become steel, she looked at Li Congde and yelled angrily.
"Do you think Li Jifu and the others are fighting injustice for you and the Kingdom of Jin?
madness! They just wanted to swallow up Zhang Erlang's hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land in Ningyuan. They were even more greedy for the benefits of the trade route and wanted to increase taxes on the merchants in Hexi. "
Li Congde was a little confused. He still didn't understand why his parents were so angry?
Although Li Congde is a few months older than Zhang Zhao, his qualifications are pretty good.
However, because he studied Buddhism in Dunhuang for a long time, Li Shengtian only focused on his own enjoyment after returning, thinking that his son was getting older, so he neglected to discipline him.
Therefore, Li Congde still couldn't understand the complicated inside story.
Just when Cao Yuan orang scolded Li Congde, Li Shengtian had calmed down a bit.
He also felt that he was indeed a little too indulgent towards some people in the Khotan royal family.
"Liu Niang, I am going to issue an order to deprive Li Jifu and others of their surnames and imprison them in Yuechang City."
Cao Yuanxing knew why Li Shengtian said this to her, because originally Li Shengtian wanted to deal with Li Jifu and others, but was persuaded by Cao Yuanxing, but looking at it now, he really couldn't stay.
Yuechang City is located near Qiemo, surrounded by the vast sea desert, and has inconvenient transportation with the outside world.
Moreover, the Jin Kingdom in Khotan enclosed Yuechang City, not in Yuechang City, but in a small oasis more than thirty miles northwest of Yuechang City.
It was a small oasis with an area of only 40 to 50 acres, surrounded by long stretches of yellow sand. Except for the city of Yuechang, the nearest oasis was hundreds of miles away.
It is simply a natural cage, and the conditions are difficult. Being imprisoned here is similar to how I was sent to Salmon Island in the Song Dynasty.
And depriving them of their surname was the heaviest punishment imposed on the royal family by the Kingdom of Khotan.
Because their original surname was Yuchi, and Li was a surname given by the Tang Dynasty. For hundreds of years, it has become a tradition for the royal family to have the surname Li.
If the royal family is deprived of the surname Li and can only have the surname Yuchi, it is equivalent to canceling the royal status and being expelled from the family.
At this time, the Xima from the distant royal family realized that something was wrong, and began to kowtow and beg loudly for mercy.
But it was too late. When the couple Li Shengtian and Cao Yuanxiang had to deal with someone, their hearts were also very hard.
"Call Ma Rong, the servant of Huangmen, to come over and ask him to take my nephew as an envoy to Liang Kingdom! We will set off early tomorrow morning. We will lock him up today and no one will be allowed to see him."
hehe! If this Xima arrives in Liang Kingdom, I'm afraid he will have no choice but to go to King Zhang Tian's Jingtieshan Mine.
"The prince will be banned from the Shengde Palace immediately to reflect on his own mistakes. As a king, how can he be deceived by the people below? Go and reflect on it!"
Li Shengtian, still angry, also grounded Li Congde.
After finishing this, the two men sat down and smiled bitterly at each other. Cao Yuanzhang shook his head.
"Brother De is still a little immature. This is my mother's fault. He should not have been allowed to go to Dunhuang to study Buddhism. He should have stayed with Erlang."
Li Shengtian shook his head, "It's someone's problem, he neglected to discipline him!
Zhang Erlang is a talented man and he still remembers the kindness between the two of us, but what about the future?
If Congde is still unclear, big problems will arise. "
Cao Yuanlang nodded, "The Nu family has been talking to Cong De these days. This kid's qualifications are not bad, and he still admires Zhang Erlang deep down.
However, because Zhang Erlang succeeded so quickly and brilliantly, everything seemed so easy, which gave Congde the idea that if Zhang Erlang can do it, I can do it too. "
With that said, Cao Yuanxuan said with some bitterness: "How about... Erlang, please take Cong Yu with you recently, and you can teach him in your free time."
Li Shengtian looked at Cao Yuanxing in surprise. Li Congyu was his and Cao Yuanxing's second son. He was fifteen years old this year.
Cao Yuanxing suggested that Li Shengtian take Li Congyu with him, which was actually asking Li Congyu to be a 'substitute'.
"Don't be in a hurry. Taking Cong Yu with you rashly is too much punishment for Cong De. He doesn't have much fault.
And as long as someone is there for one day, the Kingdom of Khotan will be stable for one day.
Taking a step back, if Zhang Erlang really enters the Central Plains, and everyone is unbearable, when he is old, he will give up his household registration atlas, and go to Chang'an to do a free and easy calculation like the prince of Wudu County. . "
Hearing this, a hint of bitterness appeared in the corner of Cao Yuan's mouth. No one was willing to give up such a foundation, but the Khotan Jin Kingdom, her and Li Shengtian were too deeply involved with Zhang Zhao.
Moreover, whenever a great dynasty in the Central Plains prospered, it would inevitably regain control of the Western Regions. What's more, Zhang Zhao also had a weak claim to be the deputy king of Khotan and married Li Ruoliu, a descendant of Yuchi Sheng's branch.
If a conflict really breaks out, it is something that neither Li Shengtian nor Cao Yuanxuan can accept. It is no different from watching their children kill each other.
"This great country, if it really comes to that point, Zhang Erlang can't just give it to a county king. At least he has to give it to a one-word king and two county kings."
Well, Cao Yuanxing gave birth to a total of four sons for Li Shengtian, the youngest of whom was just adopted to the biological son of Li Shengtian's sister, Queen Mother Fengtian of Liang Kingdom, who died young, and Zhang Zhao's brother Zhang Xuan.
This child's future is bound to be limitless, because he is Li Shengtian's heir, and in terms of etiquette, he is a direct descendant of the Shazhou Longtou Zhang family and Zhang Zhao's nephew.
Cao Yuanxing suddenly thought that this child might become Zhang Zhao's candidate to stay and guard the Western Region after the Li family moved inland.
Then the remaining three children, one prince and two county princes, are just divided.
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In the seventh year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty, in August 942 AD, the autumn harvest in Liangzhou was basically completed, and the war horses were fat and strong.
The battle to destroy the Gaochang Uighurs, which has been prepared for almost a year, is finally on the agenda.
Zhang Zhao's constant worry that no one could be Bai Congxin's deputy general came to an end.
Murong Nobunaga did not contact the Tuyuhun White Chengfu Department in Daibei, but returned to Liangzhou from Tokyo.
They also brought Zhao Kuangyin, Murong Yanzhao, and Wang Shenqi.
These three are all celebrities! Needless to say, Zhao Kuangyin, Wang Shenqi was also a general in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and Murong Yanzhao was a rare famous general in the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Moreover, Wang Shenqi and Murong Yanzhao seem to be two of the ten brothers in the charity society.
Zhang Zhao looked at Zhao Kuangyin carefully and had to say that I, Song Taizu, was no ordinary person at first glance.
Although he is only fifteen years old, he is tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a round waist. At first glance, he looks like a warrior who has been working hard since childhood.
His face is even more striking, with sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and big ears. This kind of face makes him look mature when he is young, and he looks majestic and dignified in middle age, which is what later generations would call an official look.
Wang Shenqi is two years older than Zhao Kuangyi. He is seventeen years old this year. His ancestral home is in western Liaoning. He has long hands and legs. At first glance, he is a capable general who is good at riding and shooting.
Murong Yanzhao was much older than both of them. He was born in the third year of Qianhua in Houliang, that is, 913, and was only one year younger than Zhang Zhao.
He came from a famous family, his father was Murong Zhang, the governor of Kaizhou, and he was famous for his bravery and ability in his youth.
However, his career as an official was not good. Historically, he only started to prosper after joining Guo Wei, who started much later than him.
But now with Murong Nobunaga's recommendation, Murong Yanzhao came to Hexi a few years in advance. It seemed that his life was about to change greatly.
Even if civil servants like Fan Zhi and Liu Na came to Hexi, Zhang Zhao would reward them three times a day.
When powerful men like Zhao Kuangyin, Wang Shenqi, and Murong Yanzhao come in this era, Zhang Zhao will certainly not be stingy with money.
He met the three people directly in Yongxun Palace. Murong Yanzhao had just gotten married at this time and brought his newlywed wife with him.
Zhang Zhao immediately worshiped Murong Yanzhao as the commander of the Zuo Yulin Guard Camp, and selected 800 brave knights from the Yi Cong knights who had made contributions in the last battle of Baiyanchi, and gave them to Murong Yanzhao to command.
He also gave him a large house not far from Yongxun Palace and gave him five hundred coins.
As for Zhao Kuangyin and Wang Shenqi, they were both still young and were taken directly by Zhang Zhao.
Especially Zhao Da, I, Zhang Tianwang, am ready to observe carefully.
Being an emperor is no joke.
Just when Zhang Zhao was dispatching troops and generals, according to the agreement, Li Shengtian first mobilized 30,000 infantry and cavalry from the Khotan Jin Kingdom and began to besiege Kucha.
When Gaochang Uighur commander Jieli Bijia learned about it, he asked the Kucha garrison to hold tight while he mobilized 10,000 cavalry to march near Luntai City to confront the Khotan army.
As the best person who could win the throne from the four sons of Wumu Khan, Jialipika was not a bad candidate.
He felt keenly that Yutian's attack on Qiuci this time was probably not done alone, but in consultation with Liang Guo.
So he only sent 10,000 cavalry to Kucha, with the purpose of preventing the Kucha defenders from surrendering easily rather than relieving the siege.
The elites in Gaochang are still preparing for a surprise attack by the Liang army.
At the same time, Saktu, who received the urgent letter from the Gaochang Uighurs, also began to summon the various Geluolu tribes on the bank of Sailimu Lake, the land of seven rivers, to prepare to send troops to support the Gaochang Uighurs.
At the end of August, Cao Sanniang, who frightened Zhang Zhao, finally gave birth without any accident.
Murong Nobunaga was holding this sister who was twenty-three years younger than him. He was so excited and at a loss what to do. The birth of his own son Hutou made him feel complicated.
From this moment on, with this sister, Murong Nobunaga became Zhang Zhao's family in a real sense. He and Zhang Zhao finally had a blood connection.
And long before Cao Sanniang gave birth, Cao Jiuniang, who was pregnant for the second time, gave birth to Zhang Zhao's third son, who was also the eldest son.
The huge Liang Kingdom finally had a true heir. Zhang Zhao's mother, the Song family, named him Yu Ge'er.
In early September, Zhang Zhao, who was finally relieved, swore an oath to fight in Dunhuang. The army was divided into two groups: north and south.
The Northern Route Army was the main force, with a total of 25,000 cavalry.
The Northern Route Army had Bai Congxin as the vanguard and Murong Nobunaga as the deputy general. The two commanded four thousand elite cavalry and recruited dozens of Hexi businessmen as guides to clear the way for the army.
The remaining 21,000 people passed through Pulei Lake in three batches. Qiongre Duojin and Huang Yingda led the first batch of 5,000 people to pass through. Zhang Zhao personally led the main force of 9,000 people to pass through the second batch. Ma Shacai led 7,000 people to the rear.
The Southern Route Army was dominated by mounted infantry, led by Feng Hui, with Wu Yuan'er as the marching commander, totaling 4,500 people.
They would enter Yinzhou after Chen Tingxiao forced his father Chen Huiyao to rebel against the Gaochang Uighurs.
Then, with hundreds of soldiers from the Chen family and more than a thousand clan soldiers as guides, they left Yinzhou and approached Gaochang City, disrupting Jieli Bijia's sight.
The Northern Route Army will gather in Xianquan Town and wait for the South Route Army to attract the main force of the Gaochang Uighurs before suddenly dispatching to capture Futu City.
Then they detoured to the southeast and fought towards Gaochang from Baishuijian Road, which was later the Dabancheng District east of Urumqi.
Strive to annihilate the main force of Gaochang Uighurs and those outside Gaochang City, and prevent them from running deep into the desert.
This plan sounds very smooth, just a simple north-south pincer attack.
But in this era, there was no radio communication equipment, and once the North and South armies separated, they would lose contact.
Both parties can only do the agreed things according to the agreed time and reach the agreed position. Once one party misses the deadline, great changes will occur.
Therefore, Zhang Zhao was actually prepared for the South Route Army's failure to successfully attract the main force of the Gaochang Uighurs.
Therefore, the cavalry mobilized are all the most elite in the Liang Kingdom, except for Yan Jin's troops.
The war is about to break out!
