Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1375: The Gift of Tuhun
Guzang City in Wuwei, Liangzhou, was an important town in Longyou as early as the Former Liang Dynasty. Now it is the seat of the Liangzhou General Administration Office and the military and political center of Longyou, so the welcoming ceremony prepared here is particularly grand. In addition to Han Guo, the Liangzhou General Administration, and his subordinates, there are also tens of thousands of Han and Hu armed forces that have been assembled in recent days, with clear formations and flags outside Guzang City.

In this grand welcoming team, there was a middle-aged man in plain clothes and short brown robes who was very eye-catching. The others around him were either wearing military uniforms or gorgeous fur coats and brocade robes, but this man was the most plainly dressed, but he stood at the front of the welcoming team, almost on par with Han Guo, the governor of Liangzhou, which showed that he was of high status, and thus attracted more and more curious attention from others.

The middle-aged man was none other than the Tuyuhun Khan Kua Lu who had just arrived in Wuwei not long ago. Under the gazes and whispers of the crowd, Kua Lu was naturally very uncomfortable, but he had no intention of paying attention to these things at the moment. He just kept standing on tiptoe and looking east. At the same time, he approached Han Guo several times and whispered, "Excuse me, Envoy Han, when will the emperor arrive?"

Because a large army was gathered in Guzang, Han Guo stayed here to wait for the emperor to arrive, and did not lead his people to the state border to welcome him. When he heard Kualu's question, he said in a deep voice: "The emperor will come at a certain time, Khan, just wait for him. If you feel the autumn wind is cold, you can sit and lie down in the back tent for a while."

"No need, no need! Everyone has been standing here waiting for a long time, how can I be rude!"

After hearing this, Kwalu shook his head and waved his hands. He dressed like this to show his obedience. If he waited in the tent because of the cold, it would be counterproductive. Although the weather was really cold, he still gritted his teeth and insisted on standing there.

Finally, after nearly an hour in the afternoon, a horse galloped towards them from the east, informing everyone that the emperor was about to arrive. After hearing this, everyone perked up and tried to show a better appearance.

Soon, the front troops of the royal army arrived outside Guzang City, and under the guidance of the soldiers, they settled in the already built camp to rest. As the front troops arrived one after another, the royal carriage finally drove slowly towards here amid the expectation of everyone.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you and welcome you to the state on your western tour!"

Led by Han Guo, the governor of Liangzhou, the people who had been waiting for a long time bowed down and worshipped, shouting the eulogies agreed upon in advance.

As for Tuyuhun Khan Khalü and some other Tang kings, since they were not subjects of the Tang Dynasty, they did not need to pay homage with great ceremony and had their own set of etiquette for returning to the country.

But when other leaders also bowed down with great respect, Kwalu, who was still about to bow deeply, was immediately highlighted.

The Murong clan of Liaodong was originally a model of the Donghu who admired Han culture. After the Tuyuhun moved west, they had to frequently communicate with the outside world because of their business, so they were highly sinicized. Kualu frequently sent envoys to communicate with the Southern Liang and Northern Wei, which was one of the reasons why the Tuyuhun was able to suppress the Diqiang and other Hu tribes and expand the Hehuang area.

Kualu knew that his attire was just an expression of his attitude, but if he kowtowed like this, it would be difficult for him to rule the Haidong tribes in the name of Tuyuhun Khan in the future. In the eyes of these Hu people, he would be reduced to the same status as them, just a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, and there would be no distinction between them.

Even though he was currently under the strong intimidation of the Tang Dynasty, in his heart he was still unwilling to submit to the Tang Dynasty in public and consider himself a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. So even though he was stood out in the crowd, he still resisted the pressure and did not bow down. Instead, he bowed even deeper, so that the messy hair on his forehead touched the dust, and his posture looked very awkward.

As early as when they were on the journey, the officials of Liangzhou had reported in detail the people and situations there. In addition, due to Kua Lu's outstanding dress and posture, Li Tai naturally saw him at a glance.

He first motioned to everyone to skip the formalities, and then exchanged a few pleasantries with Han Guo and other Liangzhou officials. When the rulers and chiefs of various states came forward to meet them, Li Tai's gaze turned to Kua Lu who was standing in the front.

When Kualu came forward to express his welcome, Li Tai reached out and grasped his wrist, pulled him to him and said with a smile: "It is God's will to reward the good and punish the evil. I am very pleased to see that the Khan is very respectful, which is different from previous years. Although the use of force by the two countries has greatly damaged diplomatic relations, it is not entirely a bad thing. If it can make people warn themselves, smile and forget past grievances and restore friendship between the two countries, it is also a great good! The Khan has come to greet me today, and I think he should know this truth. I also can't bear to leave you exposed in the cold wilderness without any care."

As he spoke, he waved his hand to the back, signaling the envoy to present a brocade robe, and asked Kwalu to stand in front of him and put on the robe. This act of caring undoubtedly made Kwalu feel even more ashamed, and he felt that he was being played around by the Emperor of Tang, but he did not dare to refuse this kindness in public, and after putting on the brocade robe, he danced to express his gratitude.

There was a reason why Kualu was so servile. When he rushed to Liangzhou day and night, he found that the Liangzhou division had already arrived at the Qilian Mountain Pass, and some of the famous kings of the Haidong Qiang and Hu who had accepted his title in Fuqi City were actively guiding the Tang army, each of them occupying a strategic position in the Qilian Mountains, and seemed to welcome the Tang army into the country.

In other words, if he was really stubborn and refused to come, a beating would seem inevitable. Even if the Tang army could not occupy Haixi for a long time, with the cooperation of these Qiang and Hu tribes, it would not be difficult to occupy Haidong.

Haidong is the essence of Tuyuhun. The upper reaches of the Hehuang River flow through it. It is also the most important farming and grazing area in Tuyuhun. Once it is occupied, Tuyuhun will be left with only half of its life, and the hard-earned achievements of generations of low-key development will be lost in one day. More importantly, if the natural barrier of the Chiling line of the Qilian Mountains is lost, it will have to survive under the sword and iron hoof of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Tai was quite satisfied with Kualu's attitude. Although he still had a clear desire to maintain his independence, he did not expect to completely subjugate Tuyuhun immediately. Although he had plans to use troops during this western tour, his main target was not Tuyuhun, but the Western Turks further west. Therefore, this time, the main method against Tuyuhun was to use persuasion, supplemented by other means to strengthen interaction and influence.

As a series of activities such as military lectures and hunting would be held in Liangzhou soon, Li Tai did not enter the city. Instead, he stayed in the military camp outside the city and hosted a banquet for Kua Lu and other Hu Bang leaders in the big tent.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to control Longyou and Hexi for a long time, or even use it as a springboard to attack the Western Regions, it was not realistic to just send a large army to station there. Not to mention in the Middle Ages, even in the later times with advanced technology and convenient transportation, the cost of stationing troops far away from the homeland was extremely high, so it was necessary to cleverly use local forces.

An important task of Li Tai's western tour this time was to establish a set of control order in Longyou, Hexi and the Western Regions. As an important town in Longyou, Guzang in Liangzhou would also be the place to manage and implement this control order in the future. The various Hu chieftains who had come from Qinzhou, Hezhou and other places to welcome the emperor also followed here. Together with those gathered in Liangzhou, there were hundreds of Hu chieftains and leaders of various states alone.

Some of these Hu chieftains had been enfeoffed by the Northern Wei, Western Wei, and Southern Liang, and this vassal relationship was naturally inherited by the Tang Dynasty. Of course, there were also those who refused to enter the court and lost contact. Some of them had their own tribal forces annexed and eliminated, and some were unwilling to accept the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. In short, if these forces missed the opportunity to join the Tang Dynasty's vassal system, it would definitely not be a loss for the Tang Dynasty.

Li Tai came to Liangzhou to personally confer various titles on the leaders of these states and tribes. Unlike the founding titles granted to the Tang Dynasty's civil and military meritorious officials, these Hu chieftains were all granted the title of Guiyi.

According to the size of their power, the location of their tribes, and whether they obeyed the orders of the Tang Dynasty, the highest title of Guiyi was King, followed by Duke, and then Marquis. The official positions were basically the establishment of tributary prefectures and counties in their respective territories, with the largest being the Governor and the smallest being the County Magistrate. At the same time, a Governor's Office was established in each area, and the most powerful person in the area or the one who could win the support of the people served as the Governor.

In addition to governing their own territories and people, these Hu officials also had to bear some instructions and obligations from the Tang Dynasty, including but not limited to offering tributes, obeying orders, and paying tribute and worshipping.

Correspondingly, the Tang Dynasty needed to provide them with a certain degree of protection, be responsible for mediating and arbitrating when disputes and conflicts arose among them, directly send troops to help them fight and defend when they suffered external attacks, and also engage in mutual trade with them.

The series of rights and obligations involved were difficult for the Hu chieftains to digest at once. But that was okay, as the subsequent implementation of relevant regulations formed a new order, these people would always have the opportunity to experience it for themselves.

For the Hu chieftains, the biggest gain was the official titles and titles granted by the Tang court. For some Hu chieftains, especially those whose prestige and power were not strong, striving to obtain titles from powerful countries was an important way for them to establish their authority internally. For example, Tuyuhun had successively accepted titles from various regimes. As an outsider, he gradually established a foothold in Qinghai with titles granted by various parties, until his leader Kua Lu officially proclaimed himself Khan.

However, it is precisely because of this that the Tuyuhun today is not a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, nor has it been canonized by the Tang Dynasty. This is of course what Kwalu insisted on, but when he saw that other chieftains happily accepted the Tang Dynasty's canonization, Kwalu gradually became anxious.

In any case, being excluded from the majority and becoming an outlier is undoubtedly very dangerous, and requires greater energy and cost to be vigilant and protect oneself.

Originally, Tuyuhun was the overlord between Hehuang and Tang, but as the Tang Dynasty completed its unification and rose strongly, Tuyuhun's vassals defected one after another, and they rushed to join the Tang Dynasty without any hesitation in front of Kualu, the original overlord, making Tuyuhun an excluded outlier.

When Kualu heard the Tang Emperor personally promise that as long as they accepted the Tang Dynasty's official titles and titles, they would be protected by the Tang Dynasty in the future, he was already on pins and needles. And when he heard that in the future the Tang Dynasty's trade would only be open to these vassal states, Kualu became even more restless.

He had been sitting at the table with a bit of reserve, listening to the Emperor's speech to the Hu chieftains. But now he couldn't hold back. When the Emperor finished his speech, he stood up and said, "Although I am a Hu from Xihe, I have always admired the greatness of China, so I came here as soon as I was summoned by the Heavenly Army. My subordinates were poor in livelihood before, and because of the atrocities committed in Longyou, I regretted it after being punished by the Heavenly Army. This time I came to meet His Majesty the Emperor to apologize. I also ask His Majesty the Emperor to have mercy on the difficulty of my subordinates in making a living and be magnanimous and tolerant."

Given the current size of Tuyuhun, the Tang Dynasty's system of control certainly cannot exclude it, otherwise the effectiveness of this system will be greatly reduced. Moreover, the game between countries has never been just a hot war. Sometimes the effect of underhanded tactics is no worse than direct attack.

When he heard that Kua Lu had expressed his wish to join, Li Tai said, "God has a benevolent nature. No matter if it is the people of our country or the tribes on the border, as long as they can abide by their moral duties, who would bear to kill them with weapons? The difference between humans and animals is that animals only know how to fight and kill for food, and only kill to enrich themselves, while humans are good at managing and nourishing themselves, and can produce enough without killing people.

"The Khan did not educate the people well in the past, which led to the people's evil hearts and hatred. I summoned you here to teach you the art of governance, so that you can govern with skill and the people will always be well-fed, without having to seek personal gain at the expense of others."

As he spoke, he had a long list presented to him and then handed it to Quaru.

Kua Lu also knew Chinese characters. He was originally indignant at the Tang Emperor's ridicule and humiliation of him, but when his eyes fell on the list handed over by the envoy, he was immediately attracted by the words on it and could not take his eyes away.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

This is a purchase order, which lists in detail the types and quantities of goods to be purchased, as well as the prices of various goods. The value of the goods involved in this order alone reached the trade volume of Fuqi City, the capital of Tuyuhun, in the past six months. The goods on it are all Tuyuhun's products, and the prices are relatively fair.

After browsing the list, Kualu felt his heart beating wildly. He suppressed his excitement and held the list in his hands, pretending to be puzzled and asked the Emperor, "You are stupid, but may I ask what the Emperor's intention is in showing me this letter?"

"This is the art of governing people and affairs. All the things here are what our country needs and what your country is rich in. Khan, if you can command your subjects to collect all the things and send them to our country, the country will be self-sufficient and the people will also be well-off. You don't have to do the bad things of the past, and the public and private needs will naturally be abundant."

Li Tai looked at Kualu and said with a smile, he knew how tempting such a high-priced purchase order was for Tuyuhun, whose trade was declining. Although Kualu did not worship the Tang Dynasty like other chieftains, Li Tai still generously gave it to him. If Tuyuhun could really complete this order, the harvest would certainly be very rich.

However, Li Tai certainly did not simply try to win over Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun was certainly not the Tang Dynasty's primary opponent at the moment, but whether it was to ensure the border security of Longyou, to strengthen the influence and control over the Qinghai region, or even to fight against the Tubo that was about to rise on the plateau in the future, Tuyuhun was an object that needed to be resolved.

At the moment when Tuyuhun was rising strongly in the Tang Dynasty, it was obvious that it was somewhat unsure of its position. Such an order would not only allow it to adjust its position in the new order of Longyou, but also drive Tuyuhun to actively make adjustments internally. Defeating opponents through trade has never been the patent of later generations. As early as the Warring States Period, Guan Zhong had already done it very well.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has completed internal unification and all industries have been revived, the market is huge and the demand is strong, and it can absorb a large amount of supplies from the surrounding areas. Once Tuyuhun accepts this position as a supplier, the Tang Dynasty can influence the direction of its manpower investment by adjusting the order, and can also change Tuyuhun's influence in the region by adjusting the supply volume.

If it were another Hu tribe regime or power, trade would not necessarily have such a strong influence. However, Tuyuhun itself was deeply involved in trade, and trade was one of the foundations of its establishment. As the main tribe of its country, Tuyuhun itself did not have an absolutely strong position, and there were also many other tribes in the country, such as Diqiang.

Therefore, influencing and controlling Tuyuhun through trade is actually more effective than pure military action. In history, Emperor Yang of Sui once conquered Tuyuhun and established prefectures and counties within its territory, but the scope and time of actual control were very short.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo successively attacked Tuyuhun. Although the Tang Dynasty achieved greater military results, Tubo eventually took over the remaining population of Tuyuhun, especially occupied Tuyuhun's territory, and later used it as a springboard to invade Longyou and Hexi in one fell swoop.

The Tang Dynasty at this moment did not yet possess the power and conditions to completely occupy Qinghai and operate it for a long time, but it could not slow down its exploration and advancement in the Western Regions because of this. Therefore, it sought to strengthen its influence over Tuyuhun through this more operational method.

"Your Majesty, no, Your Majesty is so magnanimous and compassionate, and has given our people a prosperous life. I am truly grateful!"

Kua Lu originally thought that he would inevitably suffer a lot of difficulties on this trip, but he did not expect that the Tang Dynasty would prepare such generous gifts for him. Kua Lu did not care to be reserved anymore and bowed directly in the tent.

Seeing Khalü like this, Li Tai also laughed, but he did not intend to let this guy stay happy forever, and then he said: "Khan, if you can keep this respectful and docile, there will be no more wars and disasters, and you will receive more favors."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and beckoned downwards. Soon, an eunuch led a child into the tent. Then, Li Tai pointed at the child and said to Kualu with a smile, "Before the two countries were at odds, the royal army entered Fushi City. Although they did not meet the Khan, they captured the Khan's wife and children. This child is the Khan's bloodline. He was in swaddling clothes before, but now he has grown up. He has always been separated from his loved ones and has never seen his king and father. Now he has returned so that you and your son can be reunited!"

Upon hearing this, Kualu's smile froze on his face, and his cheeks turned red and white. Not only was it because the Tang Emperor mentioned the ugly incident of his royal city being breached in the past, but also because he was not even sure whether this completely unfamiliar boy in front of him was his son. So he froze in place for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Li Tai ignored Kualu's embarrassment. If he wanted to make the money, he had to sacrifice his face. He pointed at the child and said, "In the past, our two countries were at odds with each other. This child was innocent, but he turned a disaster into a blessing. He returned to our country before his father. Now that I have a good conversation with the Khan, I will grant him the title of Duke Jiaohe. This child is blessed. The Khan should not be estranged and despised just because he has returned after a long absence!"

When Kualu heard this, his face changed again. If the Emperor of Tang just wanted to humiliate him again, he could just endure it and abandon the boy later. But now he was directly granted a title, which was of great significance.

He really couldn't imagine that the Emperor of Tang would do such a thing. He pondered for several times but had no clue. However, when his eyes fell on the tempting order, he couldn't help but be greedy. In the end, he made up his mind to recognize this cheap son: "This child has been so favored by the Supreme. It is really a blessing for my family. I am honored by the Supreme's gift. I will definitely treat this child well and live up to the Holy Spirit!"

(End of this chapter)