Chapter 475 Try and You Will Die

Before the division of the East and West Black Khans, the Black Khan Kingdom adopted a dual khan system.

Among them, the Great Khan was Arslan Khan, who governed Bashishagon; the Deputy Khan was Bogra Khan, who first governed Talas and later moved to Kashgar, Xinjiang.

This laid the foundation for the subsequent division of the East-West Black Khan.

Suleiman's great-grandfather, Satuk Bugla Khan, was the third Great Khan of the Black Khan Kingdom.

His son Ali Musa succeeded as Great Khan, and his other son Hassan Bogra Khan succeeded as Deputy Khan.

So the lineage of the Great Khan was called the Ali lineage, and the lineage of the deputy Khan was called the Hassan lineage.

Hassan Bograhan is Suleiman's grandfather, and his son, Suleiman's father Yusuf Qadir Khan, is a powerful ruler.

After inheriting the position of deputy khan, Kadir Khan conquered the east and west, expanded his territory, and even wiped out the Khotan Kingdom.

That is to say, during the period of Yusuf Kadir Khan, after political struggle, Kadir Khan finally expelled the Ali clan and took the position of Great Khan of the Black Khan Kingdom.

It was almost like the deputy emperor usurped power and became the emperor.

However, after the death of Yusuf Qadir Khan, the Ali clan was unwilling to lose the position of Great Khan to the Hassan clan, so Ibra, the grandson of Ali Musa and the son of the sixth Khan Mansur Ali, Xin Ali rebelled.

He led the tribesmen of the Ali tribe to the west and seized large areas such as Bakhna and Samadha, which was equivalent to the area from Tajikistan to Turkmenistan in later generations, and established himself as Khan.

Since then, the East and West Black Khans have split.

Although it was Suleiman's father who usurped the throne first, as a descendant of Satuk Bugla Khan, coupled with the brilliance created by Yusuf Kadir Khan, most people in the Black Khan Kingdom followed Suleiman. Lyman.

Therefore, the overall strength of Suleiman's Eastern Black Khan Kingdom was stronger than that of the Western Black Khan Kingdom. Naturally, he was not willing to divide the country and had been planning to conquer Ibrahim.

It was just that because the Kingdom of the Western Black Khan paid tribute to the Liao Dynasty like them, they had to maintain peace under the intervention of the Liao Dynasty. As a result, Suleiman had to endure and did not launch an attack.

Unexpectedly, the powerful Liao Kingdom was defeated by the Song Dynasty overnight.

So Suleiman believed that the time had come, and the Liao Kingdom should be incapable, or its main energy should be to deal with the Song Dynasty, instead of focusing on the distant west.

Therefore, Suleiman actively prepared military affairs in the past two years, preparing to march westward to eliminate the Western Black Khan and complete the reunification of the Black Khan Kingdom.

But at this moment, the envoy from the Song Dynasty came.

Facing the envoys of the Song Dynasty, Suleiman had three concerns.

First, the Liao Kingdom was close and the Song Kingdom was far away. Although the Liao Kingdom was defeated by the Song Dynasty, the lean camel was bigger than the horse.

If you pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, if you anger the Liao State, what should you do if the Liao State accuses you?

Second, during the Tang Dynasty, this was the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was now prosperous and had destroyed the Gaochang Kingdom. What if they wanted to annex them?

Three is also the most important point.

When Suleiman was about to attack Ibrahim, envoys from the Song Dynasty came and asked them to become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty and go to Bianliang to meet the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

You must know that in the suzerain-vassal relationship, if the vassal state is attacked, it can seek help from the suzerain state.

For example, during the Tang Dynasty, the Korean Peninsula was in civil strife. Silla was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and was bullied by Baekje and Goguryeo, so it asked for help from the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty sent troops to first destroy Goguryeo and then Baekje. They also defeated Japan, which came to support Baekje, and helped Silla unify the Korean Peninsula and become the Silla Kingdom.

If the Kingdom of Xihei Khan becomes a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, if they attack here, they will inevitably attract the Song army, which will be self-defeating and the gain will not be worth the loss.

Just as they and Xihei Khan were both vassal states of the Liao State before, and their demands for unification have always been interfered by the Liao State, the Song State is also very likely to interfere with them.

So Suleiman is very embarrassed now.

Or choose to ignore the Song Dynasty and continue to attack Xihei Khan. Either surrender to the Song Dynasty and recognize Xihei Khan by pinching his nose.

The key is that the Western Black Khan is still in the west, blocking the expansion of the Eastern Black Khan, and also controlling the trade routes in the middle of the Silk Road. If things go on like this, the Eastern Black Khan will slowly decline, and the Western Black Khan will gradually become stronger.

This cannot be tolerated.

Therefore, the hall fell into silence at this moment. Facing the threat of the Song Dynasty, they did not know whether to surrender or face it.

After a while, Minister Kafu said to Suleiman: "Great Khan, the Song Dynasty is too powerful now. I don't think we can fight head-on. Maybe we can agree."

"promise?"

Suleiman said angrily: "Those rebels have occupied the most fertile river and caused me to lose a large area of ​​land. Am I just going to watch helplessly like this?"

Kafu said: "There is another way. The people of Song Dynasty pay most attention to justice and justice. We can explain to the Song envoy that Ibrahim in the west is a traitor to the country. We are about to attack. As long as we prevent them from sending envoys to the west, let Yi Brahim cannot become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, so the Song Dynasty has no reason to send troops. Even in terms of honor and justice, we have a right, and maybe we can ask the Song army to help us attack them. "

"oh?"

Suleiman rolled his eyes and said, "This is a good idea."

"Khan, no."

The old minister Badia quickly said: "Although it sounds wonderful, has the Great Khan ever thought about sweating first?"

"this"

Only then did Suleiman remember.

According to the ancestral teachings of the Black Khans, the Hassan family is only the deputy khan, and the Ali family is the legitimate great khan.

His father had snatched his family's inheritance rights, and now the news that the Song Dynasty envoy came to Heihan had already spread out. If Ibrahim took the initiative to contact the Song Dynasty envoy to explain the situation.

With the Song Dynasty's emphasis on justice and honor, it is difficult to regard them as rebels. The Song army united with the Western Black Khan to destroy the Eastern Black Khan.

So the risk is very high.

"Why don't we find a way to delay it, for example, we need to consider it, delay it for a year and a half, and wait until we send out troops to eliminate Ibrahim and unify the Black Khan. Maybe we won't have to worry about it anymore."

Another minister said.

Badia glared at the other party: "The envoys of the Song Dynasty will not give us time, and the Song army will not give us time. Now that they are here, they want us to give an answer immediately. If we delay, we will only let the Song Dynasty I doubt it. When the Song army comes, what will you do to resist?"

"This won't work, that won't work either, so tell me what to do?"

The minister said: "Are we going to surrender to the Song Dynasty just like this? Let Ibrahim divide us from now on? Doesn't the Great Khan not want to complete the unification of the previous Khan? If we want to be strong in the future, we will be blocked by the west. Should we go north to attack the Liao Kingdom? ?”

Everyone fell silent again.

In fact, they were not opposed to becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, but they were opposed to both the Eastern Black Khan and the Western Black Khan becoming vassal states of the Song Dynasty.

Now is the time to conquer Xihei Khan. If Xihei Khan also becomes the successor of the Song Dynasty, then according to the vassal system, internal fighting between vassal states is not allowed, otherwise the suzerain will interfere.

So what they hope is that after they defeat Ibrahim, eliminate the Western Black Khan, and complete the reunification of the Eastern and Western Black Khans, it will not be too late to take a look at the situation and make a decision.

If the Liao Kingdom is still defeated and the Song Dynasty is still strong, even if they are unified, they will not be the opponent of the Song Dynasty. Then surrender will be nothing. It will be nothing more than paying tribute to the Song Dynasty every year and sending his son to Bianliang as a hostage.

But just when they were preparing to attack the Western Black Khan and complete the reunification, the envoys of the Song Dynasty came over and asked them to become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. This naturally seriously violated the interests of the Eastern Black Khan Kingdom.

Therefore, Suleiman's situation is extremely embarrassing, just like North Korea is divided into north and south. Both sides want to unify, but cannot do so because there is a suzerain state behind them.

The key is that if there is a suzerain state, there is no possibility of unification, but the two divided countries are both under one suzerain state.

So for the suzerain country, in order to maximize the interests, it is naturally best to maintain the status quo and maintain the hostile relationship between the two sides, lest they become unified and become stronger and challenge the status of the suzerain country.

After a while, Kraft said: "There is one last way."

"any solution?"

Suleiman said hurriedly.

"There is a saying in the Song Dynasty that raw rice is cooked into cooked rice, and there is also a saying that the first strike is the strongest!"

Kafu said: "While we have not yet become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, we will immediately send troops to attack Ibrahim. As long as we can eliminate them as soon as possible, we can complete the unification of the Khanate."

"What about Ambassador Song?"

"We can tell them that there is a rebellion within the territory of a tribe and we need to send troops immediately to quell the rebellion and let them stay in Basishagon."

"I heard that the Han people are very stubborn if they insist on going west."

Suleiman hesitated.

"Then you can't blame us."

A cold light flashed in Kafu's eyes and he said: "We have already reminded them that if the Song envoy encounters a rebellious tribe on the road."

"But will this give Song an excuse to attack us?"

A minister said: "If we kill them all, they will say it was us. What will happen when the army comes to attack?"

Kafu hesitated for a moment and said: "It shouldn't be that fast. The Song Dynasty only has its army in Gaochang. Even if they want to continue to fight west, they have to ask the Song Dynasty court for instructions. Besides, do they have so much food? This is one thing. I’m afraid it will only take a year.”

"But no matter what, there is no doubt about the power of the Song Dynasty. They are absolutely capable of sending a large army to attack us like the Tang Dynasty. Even if it is a year later, we will not be able to resist it."

The minister questioned the risk.

Kafu thought for a moment and then said: "Maybe we can do a better job, send a small group of troops to pretend to be Ibrahim's people, and let a few of them escape when killing them. In this way, with witnesses, the Song Dynasty will only Turn your anger on Ibrahim."

"this"

Suleiman looked at Badiya.

Badia hesitated for a long time before sighing: "This is indeed a dangerous method, but compared with unification, this is the best method."

"Then give it a try, for the sake of the Khanate!"

Seeing that Badiya agreed, Suleiman gritted his teeth and said, "We will send troops to attack Ibrahim tomorrow!"

"good!"

Everyone responded.

Then Suleiman sent his ministers and immediately summoned the nomadic soldiers.

Nomads live with grass. Although there are abundant aquatic plants in the river area, it is winter after all and the weather is cold. There are very few fertile aquatic plants and they are all scattered outside.

There are only less than a thousand soldiers guarding the royal court. When fighting, messengers must be sent to summon the army in order to gather it.

The next day.

Just when Li Tao and other envoys were confused, people from the Black Khan Kingdom suddenly told them that the enemies who had rebelled before were coming, and they had to send troops and pay tribute until they finished the battle.

Although it seemed that the incident happened suddenly, it seemed that no one would start a war just to avoid paying tribute to the overlord country. This seemed to be a bit outweighing the gains and losses, so it could only be regarded as an accident.

Suleiman left Balasagun early in the morning, and even before he had time to meet with the Song envoy, he led his guards to the gathering point of the army, ready to go out to attack.

Everyone had to wait patiently for Suleiman to return from the battle.

This situation lasted until late December, and the Song envoys did not receive the news of Suleiman's return, nor did they get the battle reports from both sides.

After staying in the Kingdom of Karakhan for more than 20 days, the three envoys finally couldn't sit still and decided to leave the Eastern Karakhan and go to the Western Karakhan first.

Anyway, they would have to return by then, and it would not be too late to discuss with Suleiman on the way back after the mission to the Western Karakhan.

So they resigned from the Karakhan prince Muhammad who was in charge of the reception.

Although Muhammad tried his best to keep them, he still couldn't stop them. On a day in late December, the Song envoys set off again and headed for the Fergana Basin in the southwest - that was the direction of the Western Karakhan Kingdom.

At the same time, Di Qing, who was stationed in Gaochang, was still waiting for news from Sun Youtong, Li Tao, and Liu Bingyan. He knew that the road was long and it was winter, so it was normal to travel slowly back and forth.

So Di Qing was not impatient.

In fact, this mission was not to immediately get the surrounding countries in the Western Regions to go to Bianliang to attend this year's court meeting this year.

It was too late in time.

It was for next year.

In the 13th year of the Qingli period, it was the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Song Dynasty.

From Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu Zhao Guangyi, to Song Zhenzong Zhao Huan, and now to the hands of Emperor Zhao Zhen, it is already the fourth generation.

That is, in Zhao Zhen's hands, the Song Dynasty changed its previous decline, swept the surrounding powerful enemies, and established a tyrannical empire.

For this reason, Zhao Zhen planned to take this opportunity to communicate with the Western Regions, complete the Han and Tang Dynasties' achievements in the Western Regions, and then hold a grand celebration in the 12th year of the Qingli period.

He wanted to invite countries from all directions.

First, it demonstrates the power of the Song Dynasty, and second, it also announces to the world that Chinese civilization will stand at the top of the world for the third time after the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Including the Liao Kingdom in the north, and the Bohai Kingdom and the Jurchen Kingdom that split from the Liao Kingdom, Goryeo on the Korean Peninsula, Japan in the east, Dali and Yue Dynasty in the south, and some small Tibetan countries in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west.

There are also many small countries of the Arab Empire that are pro-Song in the Western Regions, Central Asia, West Asia, and the Middle East. The list of invited countries will reach more than 60 or 70 countries, and the momentum will be close to the Han and Tang Dynasties, and then surpass the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Therefore, as long as all the envoys of the Song Dynasty notify the news before the second half of next year, it will be fine.

As for whether you will come next year, you will weigh the consequences.

Soon, the time came to the beginning of the twelfth year of the Qingli period. In mid-January, when the Song army stationed in Qiuci was cruising on the border, they found more than a dozen dishevelled and skinny people.

They quickly approached and realized that these people were actually envoys to the Black Khan.

Of the more than 100 people on the mission, only Sun Youtong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, Liu Bingyan, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and more than a dozen followers returned. The remaining 100 people, including Li Tao, a doctor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, died in the West.

The envoys were not without force. They brought swords and guns, but because of the long journey, they needed to carry more baggage, so they only had more than 20 guns and not many bullets.

After asking, they learned that they were attacked by the army of Ibrahim, the Western Black Khan, halfway. Fortunately, they had guns to fight back.

Not only did they successfully repel the enemy's first wave of attacks, but they also got a key piece of information from the captives-they were not Ibrahim's soldiers, but people from Suman, the Eastern Black Khan!

And they also knew why Suleiman, the Black Khan, did this, which was to prevent the Western Black Khanate from becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, to get the protection of the Song Dynasty, and to prevent the Song Dynasty from hindering them from completing the great cause of unification!

But because of the miscalculation of the envoys' combat effectiveness, Suleiman knew that the envoys were not only unscathed, but also clearly knew their thoughts.

So Suleiman had to choose the worst strategy and sent people to attack frantically, trying to kill people.

Under the fierce attack, the envoys quickly ran out of bullets and had to flee in a scattered manner, fleeing south to the Pamir Mountains. In the end, Li Tao led people to cover their retreat, and only more than ten of them escaped back!

"Bang!"

A few days later, in Gaochang.

Di Qing slammed the table and said angrily: "If we don't avenge this, how can our Song Dynasty be so powerful? Send an order to march west to Bars Khan and destroy the Black Khanate!"

The Song army quickly assembled, and two months later, the Song army conquered Balshagun, and the Black Khanate was destroyed!