Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1374: Difficult to Fight
During the Yongjia period of the Western Jin Dynasty, Murong Tuyuhun, who was born in the Murong clan of Liaodong, led his tribe to migrate westward, crossing the southern desert, passing through the Yin Mountains and west to the shores of Qinghai Lake. This marked the beginning of the history of the Tuyuhun clan settling in Qinghai and even dominating the Hehuang area.

During the period of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms, Tuyuhun's presence was not very strong. Because it had not yet established a firm foothold, it could only survive in the cracks and repeatedly became a vassal of various parties. For example, the Nanliang and Western Qin regimes, which once ruled Longyou, once forced Tuyuhun to submit to them.

Tuyuhun really grew and became stronger during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, especially during the Guanlong Rebellion in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The regimes that originally controlled Longyou had been eliminated by the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the newly emerging rebellion made it impossible for the Northern Wei Dynasty to effectively control Longyou. Tuyuhun took advantage of the situation and its power developed rapidly between Hehuang and even occupied part of Longyou at one point. In addition, with the support of the Qinghai Road trade route, Tuyuhun became the overlord of Qinghai.

Murong Kulu, the leader of this generation of Tuyuhun, was lucky enough to catch up with this window of opportunity for Tuyuhun, and Tuyuhun reached its peak under his leadership. It was after Kulu took the throne that he officially proclaimed himself Khan and moved the capital from the original Tuyuhun City to Shudun City and Fuqi City, which were closer to Qinghai, to strengthen the control over the Qinghai trade route.

However, the good times did not last long. As the rebellions in Guanzhong were gradually put down, although the Northern Wei Dynasty was divided into the Eastern and Western Wei, the Western Wei regime based in Guanzhong also began to strengthen its operations in Longyou and Hexi, weakening the power of Tuyuhun. The smooth flow of the Longyou trade route also led to a sharp reduction in the profits that Tuyuhun could obtain from trade.

In order to reverse the situation, Tuyuhun Khan Kualu chose to frequently invade Longyou, hoping to regain regional hegemony and control over Shanglu trade through looting, but this resulted in a fierce retaliatory attack from the Western Wei Dynasty, and even the capital Fuxi City was once captured by the Western Wei army.

From then on, Tuyuhun's momentum became increasingly weak, and its previous activity and strength no longer existed.

Because Tuyuhun occupied the upper reaches of the Hehuang River, it enjoyed abundant water and grass. The tribesmen both farmed and grazed, but still maintained a nomadic habit. Although many large cities were built, most of the people still lived in felt tents outside the city. The city was merely used as a place for commercial transactions and for famous kings and chiefs to live and enjoy.

The old capital Fushi City was attacked by the Western Wei army. After the Wei army withdrew, Tuyuhun Khan Kua Lu led his troops back here. After that, the Western Wei was busy with internal unification wars, and the Tang Dynasty replaced the Wei Dynasty. The control over this area was also relaxed, which gave Tuyuhun a chance to breathe and gradually recover a certain vitality. Fushi City, the capital, also eliminated the traces of past war damage.

"The Emperor of Tang is really going too far! Since the last disaster, I have always been very respectful to him. Every year, I have sent envoys to his capital to offer gifts, and several times I have congratulated him on his great achievements. I have never been disrespectful. Now that he has entered the border, I have kept my distance. Why do you want to send envoys to force me to meet him?"

In the Khan's court in Fushi City, Kualu, who looked exhausted, shouted in anger after listening to the Tang Emperor's orders conveyed by the Tang envoys from his tribesmen.

He had also heard about the Tang Emperor's western tour. Fearing that he would be targeted again, Kualu left Fushi City early and went hunting in Fuluochuan, where the old capital of Tuyuhun was located. However, he did not expect that he would still not be able to escape. The news of the Tang envoy's entry was reported by the people who stayed in Fushi City. He did not dare to neglect it and could only return to Fushi City day and night to discuss countermeasures with his subordinates and kings.

"I am also the ruler of a country, the Khan of Haixi. Although I am weaker than the Tang Emperor, I am definitely not a lowly person who bows down and obeys orders. If the Tang Emperor had summoned me with courtesy, I might have been willing to meet him. But now you are making such threatening remarks. Do you really think there is no one in our country?"

Kua Lu was in his early forties, in the prime of his life, and the Tuyuhun power was at its peak under his control, so he was naturally a bit arrogant. Although he had suffered a lot of setbacks before, he did not lose heart and was afraid of the enemy. When he was treated so rudely by the Emperor of Tang, he was very angry and refused to submit.

"Khan, please calm down for now. The Tang Emperor's summons may not be out of ill intention. I heard that the Tang Emperor summoned the chieftains of the various tribes in Hehuang at Taoshui a few days ago, and all those who were willing to meet him received generous rewards. Now that he has personally summoned the Khan, I think it may be to repair the border..."

Seeing how angry and irritable he was, a son of Kualu who stayed behind in Fushi City stood up and spoke.

However, before the man could finish his words, Kualu slammed the table and angrily shouted, "Shut up, you rebellious son! If I go now, my life or death will be in the hands of others. How can I allow you, an ignorant boy, to rashly guess and decide my life or death? What kind of heart do you have to persuade me to go to see the Emperor of Tang so urgently?"

The prince's face suddenly changed when he heard this. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Khan, please calm down, Khan... How dare I have evil intentions? I just don't want to see my country make enemies with powerful enemies again..."

Kualu had always been harsh and strict in treating his son, often punishing him or even killing him. At this moment, he was worried because the Emperor of Tang summoned him. He was even more furious when he heard his son's answer: "Back then, I dominated Haixi. I didn't know who the Tang Kingdom was. What was strong? If you had fought bravely and fearlessly in front of the enemy, how could you have suffered such a great shame in the disaster? Now you don't think about how to strengthen yourself, but just keep asking your king and father to beg for mercy. With such an intention, how dare a rebellious son say that he has no evil intentions? It is unbearable to be a traitor in the family. This slave must be beaten and killed!"

As he spoke, he stood up from the table and pretended to chop the boy to death. Upon seeing this, the ministers nearby kowtowed and begged for mercy. Kualu then returned to the table angrily and ordered the son who had offended him to be expelled from the tent.

After further discussion, because of the previous experience, no one dared to directly persuade the Khan to obey the threat of the Tang Emperor. But now the Tang envoy was still waiting in the city, and they had to give him a reply as soon as possible to prevent the Tang army from really approaching the city and repeating the tragic situation of the fall of the royal city last time.

"The Emperor of Tang summoned me, just to show off his might and intimidate me. If I go, I will not be able to control myself, so I will first present a lot of local products to show my humility. If he bullies me again and again and refuses to be tolerant, I will lead the people to resist him, so that there will be no peace in Haixi! Can the Emperor of Tang still lead the army to Longyou for a long time? When he returns, I will definitely raid Longyou in revenge!" Although Kualu's tone was fierce, he really didn't want to go to pay homage to the Emperor of Tang. So after pondering for a while, he said, "Let's tell this to the Tang envoy and let him go back to report to his master. If the Emperor of Tang agrees, the wealth will be sent to him. If not, we will only fight!"

However, when the Tuyuhun officials were ordered to go to the embassy to inform the Tang envoy of the Khan's decision, the Tang envoy shook his head and said, "I came here only to announce my master's order and bring the Khan to Wuwei for an audience, not to run back and forth on behalf of the Khan."

"The envoys came here to make peace between the two countries. Now that our country is inconvenienced, the envoys should also ask China to mediate and explain. But now they are so stubborn. Could it be that this trip is not for the purpose of making peace, but for the purpose of making enemies?"

When the Tuyuhun officials saw that the Tang envoy was so stubborn, they glared at him and shouted angrily.

The Tang envoy was named Wang Qing, and he was already quite old. When he heard the Tuyuhun official's question, Wang Qing immediately sneered, "Do you think our country is reluctant to use force? If you want to make enemies, you don't have to send me here. Our army will be here soon! Now that my lord is willing to send an envoy to urge us instead of using force, you should consider yourself lucky. If you still intend to neglect it, disaster will come!"

"The envoy is so arrogant, isn't he afraid of death?"

After hearing this, the Tuyuhun official drew his sword and shouted.

Wang Qing was not surprised by this, but laughed loudly: "I am not a good person in the country, and I have been mediocre for half my life. I have nothing to boast about. But now I am sent here as an envoy. If I can help my master to regain the land of the West Sea by sacrificing my life, I will be honored! Don't be so cowardly, come at me quickly!"

There was no fear on his face. Instead, he stretched out his head and pointed his fingers at his neck, as if he didn't care about life or death.

Seeing that the Tang envoy was not afraid of death at all, but was eager to try, wanting to use his death to buy a legitimate excuse for the Tang Dynasty to send troops, the Tuyuhun officials felt helpless for a moment, and hurriedly sheathed their swords and hurriedly left the embassy and returned to the Khan's court.

After listening to the minister's report, Kualu frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "If we really go to war with the Tang Kingdom today, how many soldiers can we gather at the fastest speed?"

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After hearing this, the officials all looked embarrassed. One of them said, "We were defeated in the previous battle with the enemy. Many of our people were killed and many cities were looted. We have not recovered yet. Recently, many of the famous kings of the Bailang and Dangxiang Qiang went to Hezhou to greet the Tang Emperor. If the two sides fight, the Qiang may not obey my orders."

"In the past, the Tang army would still retreat when they invaded the country, which was why they could not station troops in Haixi. But now the Tang Kingdom is more powerful, and the Qiang people obey its orders. If they invade Haixi again, I'm afraid they will not retreat as easily as last time..."

Someone else spoke up, saying that it would be a bad idea to start a war with the Tang army rashly. Now the Tang not only controls Longyou, but also many of the Qiang people in Haidong east of Chiling are attached to it. These Qiang Hu people directly compete with Tuyuhun in terms of territory, and they also covet the upper valley of Hehuang River. Once they follow the Tang army into the heart of Tuyuhun, they will probably be even more stubborn and difficult to deal with than the Tang army.

When Kwalu heard the ministers' complaints, his expression became gloomy and he was filled with sorrow.

He was a great leader who would not be easily threatened, but the problem was that the Emperor's threats were not just threats, but he had the power to do it. Moreover, the last time the invaders were only from Liangzhou, but this time the Emperor led a large army to Longyou. If the two sides really went to war, Tuyuhun's chances of winning would be even slimmer.

If it was simply because they were weaker than the enemy, it would not be a big deal. Kua Lu could avoid fighting and lead his troops to Fuluochuan or other areas in the west to hide. It would be difficult for the Tang army to attack deeply. When his army withdrew, Kua Lu could return to his old residence. But now that the Qiang people in Haidong have been mixed up with the Tang Dynasty, he is worried that it is easy to leave but difficult to return.

"Prepare a batch of gifts, slaves and good horses, and accompany me to Wuwei to greet the Emperor of Tang."

After a long silence, Kua Lucai spoke in a deep voice again. He had no choice but to decide to take a gamble that the Tang emperor would not break his promise and kill people. If he obeyed the order and went to see him respectfully, he would still be punished and killed. Then the Tang Dynasty would have power but no credibility in Longyou and Hexi, and many Hu tribes would no longer be obedient and dependent. This would undoubtedly do more harm than good.

However, there are always unexpected things. After thinking about it, Kualu said in a hoarse voice: "If I don't come back, you will obey my son, Shifu, and avoid the disaster in the Red Sea first. After that, you must invade Longyou and avenge me!"

(End of this chapter)