Chapter 469 Recovering the Western Regions, the Black Khan Kingdom

The war went away as quickly as it came.

The Song army's attack on the Uighurs was like a group of well-equipped heavy armored cavalry going to fight a group of primitive tribesmen whose weapons were made of bronze.

There is no comparison between the two sides at all, just like no matter how thick the leather armor is, it cannot stop bullets.

As the sun sets, the earth turns orange, but now it turns into bright red, a color truly like blood, filling Illinois with blood.

Di Qing personally led the remaining 2,000 people and raided the rear of the Uighur army, disrupting the already chaotic Uighur army's command system.

Among the rebels, the Uighur King Akifuluo was surrounded by guards and wanted to escape. As a result, he happened to encounter the 500 Song troops led by Zeng Yong who were outflanking him.

Tens of thousands of Uyghur cavalry were panicking, and most of them fled to the west almost instinctively. That direction was the direction of Gaochang, the Uyghur royal court, and there were places to supply supplies along the way.

For example, Bifengyi, Baozhuang (Shanshan County), Qiketamu Town, Liuchong Town, etc., and most of them are the habitats of these soldier tribes.

Di Qing naturally would not miss this opportunity for the autumn wind to sweep away the fallen leaves. With an order, the Song army pursued them all the way. In addition to the 20,000 soldiers, even the civilians and Xiang troops in the rear joined in this gluttonous feast.

The Song Dynasty stipulates that not only soldiers, but also participants on the battlefield, even auxiliary soldiers or civilians, as long as they have merit in battle, whether it is killing, capturing, seizing, or obtaining important information, there will be rewards.

With such a reward mechanism and a favorable battle, the Song Dynasty army fell into a crazy pursuit. Only a few thousand people were arranged to stay in Yizhou and occupy the local city.

The next day, the Song army, which had been chasing for a whole night, arrived in Nazhi County.

This place is located about 65 kilometers west of Yizhou, probably in Sibao Village, Wubao Township, Hami City, Xinjiang. It is the site of the ancient city of Lafquke. It was established by the Tang Dynasty and is currently occupied by the Uighurs.

Di Qing reorganized his team here, leaving behind some logisticians and auxiliary soldiers along the way, and then led the main force toward Gaochang in the west.

A few days later, they defeated Zetian and Baozhuang, and finally arrived at Xizhou during the Tang Dynasty, Gaochang at this time, and Turpan in later generations.

Gaochang has a favorable geographical environment and has been an important connection hub of the ancient Silk Road since ancient times. Not only merchants from the Western Regions, but also Central Asian and Han merchants gathered here, bringing prosperity to the place.

But now I heard that the Song army was coming, and the Uighurs, who were the main ethnic group, ran away. There was chaos everywhere, and the city suddenly became depressed. Only some traders and residents of other ethnic groups remained in the city.

Outside the east gate of the city, a large number of Uighurs gathered, but they were not meeting the enemy, but seemed to be waiting in the aisle to welcome them.

Di Qing was riding on horseback. The winding road behind him was filled with densely packed human heads. Some Uighurs who were watching in the distance were surprised. They never expected that the Song army did not wear armor or weapons, so they just sent their troops Defeated?

Not long after, the army slowly arrived in front of the city, and several middle-aged and elderly men came forward to salute Di Qing.

"Ms. sir."

"General Di!"

Except for the three envoys of the Song Dynasty who were released, the others were all dignitaries of Gaochang Kingdom.

The leader was Si Jie, one of the ministers of the Gaochang Kingdom. He said to Di Qing: "Your Majesty was bewitched by the enchantress and arrogantly raised weapons against the great country. Now that we have captured the enchantress, it all depends on the general's decision."

He said and waved his hands.

Several stout maids at the back pushed out the tied-up Princess Jingyang.

Logically speaking, although Akifuluo was defeated, Princess Jingyang was the princess of the Liao Kingdom after all, and she had a Liao army guard. Even if she faced difficulties and wanted to get rid of them, it would still be okay to escape back to the Liao Kingdom under the protection of the soldiers. question.

However, Princess Jingyang looked ashen at this moment, because after the Liao army guards heard that the main force of the Song army was coming, they wanted to enter the palace and kill her - which made her realize that she was just a pawn of the Liao Kingdom.

The Liao Kingdom needed the Song Dynasty to focus its attention elsewhere, so naturally it needed someone to stir up trouble in the Western Regions and attract the Song army. Obviously she and Aqifuluo were just scapegoats.

If Princess Jingyang fled back to the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty would have an excuse to attack the Liao Kingdom, which would be a bad thing.

Therefore, the best result is to kill her without any evidence.

Fortunately, just when the Liao soldiers who were executing the order deceived Princess Jingyang out of the palace and were about to take action, they happened to encounter a Uighur palace coup.

It was Huduoge, Turuhe, Sijie and other ministers who gathered some troops to rush into the palace and deposed the queen and Aqifuluo's son.

As a result, when Princess Jingyang was about to die, the two sides met near the gate of Gaochang Palace and had a bloody battle.

Since the Liao people were not fighting at home, they were forced to retreat in defeat and failed to kill. As the queen, Princess Jingyang was captured by Hu Duuge and others, and now she was dedicated to the Song Dynasty.

Di Qing had actually known all this for a long time. Si Jie and others had already written to him to explain in detail. The previous letters between the two parties were just a ritual now.

He waved his hand and said: "Send it to Bianliang!"

If the Liao Kingdom is powerful, Princess Jingyang will be a hot potato, and the best way is to execute her secretly.

But now that the offense and defense have changed, and the Song Dynasty is strong, Princess Jingyang will become an excuse for the Song Dynasty to attack the Liao Kingdom. As for when this excuse will be used, that will happen in the future.

"General Di, please come into the city. We have prepared wine and food."

After resolving the issue of Princess Jingyang, Si Jie hurriedly invited Di Qing. Now that the situation has been settled, it is time to talk about post-war matters.

Di Qing nodded and said, "Jia Kui."

"In."

Jia Kui stood up.

"Lead people to take over the city defense, and the rest of the people will camp outside the city."

"Yes!"

"Let's go!"

After Di Qing arranged the task, he went into the city.

At this moment, the streets in the city were empty, and every household in the city closed their doors.

Unlike the county town of the Song Dynasty, which was all wooden houses, the houses in the Western Regions were all rammed earth structures due to the lack of trees and severe shortage of wood boards.

Their houses were quite low, and the overall architectural style was completely different from that of the Central Plains, full of exotic customs.

Occasionally, there were pedestrians inside. When they saw the Song army, they stood in the corner of the wall in an orderly manner and dared not look up. Their appearance was also very different from that of the people in the Central Plains. They had high noses, deep eye sockets, and different hair colors.

Di Qing was not too surprised. Bianliang was an international metropolis today, with many foreigners. He had seen all kinds of people, so he was used to it.

Soon, under the leadership of many Uighur dignitaries, he came to the Uighur Palace. The Song army had already taken over here, and the whole city was quickly controlled.

"General, please!"

Si Jie and others took Di Qing to the main hall of the palace. It was a brick and stone structure with a dome on top and blue bricks on the bottom. The doors and windows were exquisitely carved. Although the palace was not large, it was already a rare exquisite building in Gaochang.

At this moment, there were tables and chairs in the hall. Chairs were originally invented by the Hu people. Before that, the Han people sat on the ground with a mat on the ground, legs crossed, and a small table in front.

Later, the Hu bed was introduced to China. It gradually became popular during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was already popular in the Song Dynasty. Every household had tables and chairs. Therefore, from the source, the earliest users of tables and chairs were actually the Hu people in the Western Regions and grasslands.

In addition to Di Qing and his guards, three envoys from the Song Dynasty, Sun Youtong, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, Li Tao, a doctor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Liu Bingyan, a deputy director from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also followed.

Di Qing and others sat on chairs, not in the main seats, but on the right side of the long table. Hu Duoge, Turuhe, Sijie and others sat opposite them, representing the interests of the Song Dynasty and the Uighurs.

"Everyone, we have already discussed the specific matters in the letter before. Aqi Fuluo was ignorant of the destiny and arrogant. Now he has died in the chaos. From now on, the Uighur Khanate will perish. Do you have any objections?"

After sitting down, Di Qing looked at everyone with a fierce look.

He was not here to help a certain dignitary here to build a kingdom, nor did he mean to support anyone. Annan was a special case, and the Western Regions were just a little far away.

Therefore, according to the imperial court's order, this time the Western Regions will be taken back. Even if Akifolo and Suleiman, the Khan of the Eastern Black Khanate, obey, they will have to station troops there to control the Silk Road.

This situation is the best now. Akifolo is courting death, so it is only natural for the Song Dynasty to take back the Western Regions.

"I will obey the imperial court of the Song Dynasty."

Several people looked at each other. The situation was stronger than people, so they could only agree.

Di Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry. The Western Regions are too far away from the Central Plains. The imperial court will not send officials directly. You need to help manage it. When the time comes, I will ask the imperial court for your merits. You just wait for the imperial court's order."

"Thank you, general, thank you, general."

Everyone smiled. Isn't it for this moment that they surrendered first?

They were powerful people before, and they are still powerful people now.

It's just a change of master.

And this master is still far away from them. Maybe their life will be better than under Akifolo.

"Well, let's talk business."

Di Qing looked at the table full of dishes but actually had no appetite. The main reason was that although it was almost September, the Western Regions were still very hot. He had been traveling for a day and had eaten some dry biscuits on the road, which he had not digested yet.

But if he didn't move his chopsticks, the people opposite him would not dare to move either, and the roasted lamb legs and roasted beef on the table would be wasted. So he forced himself to pick up the knife and cut a piece of meat and said, "Eat, eat, eat."

"Come on, come on, eat."

The atmosphere became relaxed and lively, and Hu Duge, Tu Ruhe, Si Jie and others also started to cut meat with a smile.

I heard Di Qing say while eating: "How much do you know about the Black Khanate?"

Hu Duge said with a serious face: "They are vicious pagans."

"Don't you have any intersection with them?"

Di Qing asked again.

"There may be exchanges among the people, but we have no intersection with them."

Tu Ruhe replied.

"Is that so?"

Di Qing couldn't understand it.

Aren't they all in the Western Regions, very close?

Why are there no exchanges between the two sides?

Then Si Jie said, "General, although we are neighbors with the Black Khanate, we are actually very far away from them. It takes more than 3,000 miles to go there once."

"So far?"

Di Qing was very surprised.

Sun Youtong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, had done his homework before coming and said, "What you don't know, sir, is that the Western Uighur Khanate believes in Buddhism, and the Black Khanate Kingdom believes in the Arab religion. Therefore, the two countries are incompatible and call each other pagans. There is no exchange between the two countries. In addition, although they are neighbors, they are separated by the Tianshan Mountains in the west and the vast sea in the south. Therefore, even if the two countries are separated, there is no intersection."

Historical records show that the Uighurs were part of the Tiele tribe, a nomadic tribe south of Lake Baikal. The Tiele tribes were oppressed by the Turks for many years, so they united to resist the Turks.

After the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, the Uighurs rose and quickly unified the grasslands, replacing the Turks in the desert grasslands.

But less than a hundred years later, due to the long-term unjust rule of Yu and internal unrest, the Uighurs declined day by day and were eventually conquered by the Kyrgyz. After the country was destroyed, the Uighur tribes moved out one after another.

Some fled to the Western Regions and became the Ganzhou Uighurs, Shazhou Uighurs, Hexi Uighurs, Gaochang Uighurs, Qiuci Uighurs, etc. In the end, in the long river of history, affected by foreign enemies and internal annexation, the Gaochang Uighurs gained the upper hand, unified the tribes, and established the Western Uighur Royal Court.

The other part fled to Central Asia, which is almost Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other places on the border of Xinjiang in my country in later generations, and established the Karakhanid Kingdom with the Karluks.

Although the main ethnic groups of Gaochang Uighurs and Karakhanid Kingdom are both Uighurs, due to long-term separation and changes in the beliefs of both sides, Gaochang Uighurs believe in Buddhism and Karakhanid Kingdom believes in Islam. Since then, the two countries have completely cut off contact.

If it were not for the Tianshan Mountains and the Tarim Basin, perhaps the two countries would have gone to war long ago, because the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan was destroyed by the Karakhanid Kingdom forty years ago.

According to the history of the Song Dynasty, the Karakhanid Kingdom spread Islam to the Kingdom of Khotan, but the Kingdom of Khotan was determined not to do so, accusing each other of being pagans, and decades of war broke out. Although the Kingdom of Khotan resisted tenaciously, it eventually perished in 1004 AD.

Therefore, the Kara Khanate at that time was a huge empire extending from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Tianshan Mountains in Ili, my country in the east, Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan in the north, and the Hotan region in my country in the south.

Basically, the Xinjiang region controlled by the Kara Khanate was actually Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu, Ili and other places on the border of my country, while the Gaochang Uighurs controlled the core area of ​​the Western Regions. The Song Dynasty destroyed the Gaochang Uighurs, which was almost like recovering half of the Western Regions.

However, the Kara Khanate was only strong for a while. In 1041 AD, the Kara Khanate split into the Eastern Kara Khanate and the Western Kara Khanate.

The Western Kara Khanate was roughly in the area from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan, while the Eastern Kara Khanate was centered on Lake Issyk-Kul. Its sphere of influence included part of Uzbekistan, part of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the Ili and Hotan regions of my country.

It can be said that the Kara Khanate was still very far away from the Gaochang Uighurs, even to the Hotan region, it was more than a thousand kilometers away. If the Song Dynasty wanted to attack the Kingdom of the Black Khan, their royal court was not far from Talas, which showed how difficult it was.

"Yes."

After listening to everyone's words, Di Qing realized that the Kingdom of the Black Khan was not just a few thousand miles away from the Song Dynasty, but tens of thousands of miles away.

Just remembering what the prefect said before he left, he said in a deep voice: "No matter how far the Black Khan is from us, the court's will is the court's will. All countries in the Western Regions should submit to the Song Dynasty and send envoys to the Black Khan! If they don't submit, destroy them!"

"Yes!"

Everyone was very excited. Since the Tang Dynasty, the power of the Han people has finally descended on the Western Regions during the Song Dynasty.