Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1380: Common Leader of All States
A war that lasted for several months finally ended with the surrender of Western Turkic Khan Shidyammi. The various forces in the Western Regions who had been watching along the way were naturally very excited, while both sides of the war secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After the battle, they each had a deeper understanding of each other and realized that they had underestimated their opponent's strength before.

As for the Tang army, Li Tai did not have a deep understanding of the geographical environment of Tianshan when planning this battle, so the army was trapped in the Yiwu area and failed to achieve any effective cooperation with the divisions and brigades in the Jinshan direction. At the same time, the army sent west did not send back any information for a long time, so that in the second half of the war, it was completely struggling. Even if the passage in and out of Tianshan was mastered, it was no longer in a good time to besiege Futu City.

As for the Western Turks, as the defeated party, there is no doubt that the mistakes made by Shidiemi Khan were bigger and more fatal. The newly born Tang Empire was far stronger than any opponent he had faced before, and the Tang emperor, ministers and soldiers who fought against them this time had just completed the unification of the country and were the most motivated and powerful army.

In particular, the Western Division led by Shi Jing traveled more than 3,000 miles in the bitterly cold winter, passing through desolate deserts and glacier mountains, and successively conquered Yanqi, Qiuci and other Western Regions countries. It took more than two months and finally successfully arrived at Yingsuochuan where the Western Turkic Khanate was located, and destroyed the Turkic Khanate in one fell swoop!

Shidianmi Khan's defeat was certainly due to his underestimation of the enemy, but facing the Tang soldiers who were able to complete such an arduous march, even if there was another similar battle, he would probably suffer the same fate.

It was not until after Shidianmi Khan surrendered that Li Tai learned about the news of the western division. When he learned that Shi Jing and other soldiers had fulfilled their mission and accomplished this great feat, he was so excited that tears filled his eyes.

This battle can be regarded as the first battle in which the Tang Dynasty showed its power in the Western Regions. It can also be regarded as the first time since the Wei and Jin Dynasties that the Han regime set foot in the Western Regions as a strong force. The battle in which Shi Jing and others rushed thousands of miles to attack the Western Turkic Khanate was the most eye-catching battle in this battle, and the one that best demonstrated the tenacious fighting spirit and strong combat effectiveness of the Tang army!
Although the Western Turks were forced to surrender in this battle, they still had strength, and there were still hundreds of thousands of Western Turkic soldiers gathered inside and outside Khanfutu City. If the war continued, the Tang army could certainly defeat these Western Turkic troops, but if these Western Turkic troops really rebelled, the situation would be difficult to control for a while, and the Tang army no longer had sufficient conditions to stay here for a long time to continue fighting and quelling the rebellion.

Therefore, the next step is to solve the problem mainly through consultation and negotiation. As the victorious party, the Tang Dynasty mainly put forward three conditions.

First, the Western Turks must give up their independence, recognize the title and status of the Turkic Great Khan Shetu, and accept the rule of the Great Khan. Secondly, the tribes that were previously illegally annexed by Shidianmi and belonged to the Turks must all give up their control and let them return to the command of the Great Khan. The third point is that in the Western Regions, the Western Turkic forces must withdraw to the west of Luntai and are not allowed to enter the south of the Tianshan Mountains at will. The Western Regions states that were previously controlled and enslaved by them must all restore their freedom.

Any of these three conditions would be a huge blow to the Western Turks. Shidianmi Khan had previously publicly announced in the Jinshan Khanate that he would no longer accept the rule of the Great Khan. If he bowed his head again at this time, it would undoubtedly be an admission of his identity as a traitor to the Turks. Although he had called himself a rebellious old Hu when he surrendered, that was to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, not to Shetu.

Therefore, Shidianmi showed great resistance to the first condition, and even said that he would rather be executed than accept Shetu's rule.

After learning that Shidianmi had surrendered, Shetu, who had rushed to Yiwulu from the western foot of Jinshan Mountain, was filled with shame and indignation after learning of Shidianmi's reply. He said bluntly that this bandit was so vicious and stubborn that he should be executed, and that he could take charge of the Western Turks on his behalf.

Li Tai certainly would not listen to Shetu's words. He came here mainly to establish the majesty of the Tang Dynasty, not to really help the Turks restore unity. He hoped that the struggle between the Eastern and Western Turks would continue. The reason he put forward this condition was just to make it seem legitimate. Since Shi Dianmi was so resistant to this, he would naturally make concessions in other aspects, otherwise he would really be courting death.

The final result of the negotiation between the two sides on this issue was that the Tiele tribes that Shi Dianmi had taken away from the Jinshan Khanate during his western expedition, including the tribes that had previously come from the east of Jinshan to the west to rely on the Western Turks, must be released. If these people were willing to return to the rule of the Turks, they would return to the east of Jinshan. If they were unwilling to return, the Tang Dynasty would temporarily control them and choose a place to settle them west of Jinshan.

In later generations, the Western Turks were divided into ten tribes. The tribes that Li Tai requested now were roughly equivalent to the five Dulu among the ten tribes in later generations.

At present, the ten clans of Western Turks have not yet been formed. Shidianmi Khan now controls a vast area of ​​the Western Regions, mainly relying on these old troops brought from Jinshan. Now that he is forced by the Tang Dynasty to hand over most of them, he is naturally not very happy. But no matter how unwilling he is, he has to nod and agree because he is currently weaker than others.

In addition, although the Western Turkic Khan no longer obeyed the Great Khan, he had to accept the order of the Tang Emperor and lead his troops to Chang'an for a month every two years, or send his direct descendants to go there to fulfill his loyalty. As for the withdrawal of the Western Turkic forces from the south of the Tianshan Mountains, this was also a condition that was not considered a condition. Now that the Tang Dynasty had made it clear that it wanted to intervene in the affairs of the Western Regions, and it was natural for it to defeat the original overlord of the Western Turkic in one battle and take over the various interests of the Western Turkic in the Western Regions. Even if Shidianmi Khan did not agree, he had no power to compete with the Tang Dynasty.

But now that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has personally proposed this condition, it has given great comfort and encouragement to the Western Regions. In the struggle between the two great powers, these states can only stand aside, and they have no choice at all about who will govern them in the future. In contrast, they are undoubtedly more willing to accept the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. After all, the Tang Dynasty is more civilized, and the exposition held in Dunhuang before also allowed them to see the abundance of Tang Dynasty's products, which naturally has infinite appeal to the Western Regions.

Li Tai did not attempt to crush the Western Turks just because he won a war. The conditions he proposed were basically what the Tang Dynasty needed at the moment and what it could take and digest with its strength. He did not make more demands for the north of the Tianshan Mountains. Even the occupied Western Turkic Khanate Yingsuochuan and the nearby Ili River Valley were still controlled by the Western Turks for the time being.

It is not a good idea to be too aggressive in the management of the Western Regions, as this will cause management costs to increase sharply, and even shake the situation before a solid framework is established. The forces in the Western Regions are complex, and the Tang Dynasty is not ready for national intervention.

Under the witness of various states in the Western Regions, Shidianmi Khan officially handed over the jurisdiction of the Western Regions south of the Tianshan Mountains to the Tang Dynasty in the Tang Emperor's tent. The token representing this jurisdiction was a golden scepter presented to Shidianmi by the states in the Western Regions.

After receiving the scepter, Li Tai ordered it to be melted down into goldfish symbols, which were then returned to the rulers of various states. He also announced that all taxes levied by the Western Turks would be exempted, and only a certain amount of commercial taxes would be retained to maintain the expenses of the Tang Dynasty's garrison in the Western Regions to maintain stability.

Next, Li Tai announced the establishment of Longxing Protectorate to manage military and political affairs in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain. Longxing was the reign title of the Later Western Liang established by his ancestor Li Bao in Yiwu. The territory was not large but the tone was small. Now Li Tai used it to realize the real Longxing.

The Longxing Grand Protectorate was under the jurisdiction of four towns, including Yiwu, Yanqi, Qiuci, and Shanshan. His third brother, Prince of Lu Li Ao, who accompanied him on the western tour, served as the first Longxing Grand Protectorate and was stationed in Yiwu. Shi Jing, who had just led his army to defeat the Western Turkic Khanate and shocked the Western Regions, was appointed as the Deputy Protector of Longxing and was stationed in Qiuci. Tang Yong, the governor of Dunhuang, was appointed as the chief of the Protectorate. The Protectorate temporarily retained 20,000 garrisons, and at the same time, the states in the Western Regions gathered 10,000 city-side armed forces to garrison in spring and autumn to maintain the security of the Protectorate, protect the operation of the trade route, and coordinate conflicts among various parties.

After making these arrangements, Li Tai's western tour came to a temporary end. The troops returned to the court one after another. At the same time, the leaders of the various states in the Western Regions, including the Western Turkic Khan Shidianmi, all followed the emperor back to their country and went to the court in Chang'an to admire the scenery of the Celestial Empire.

The army was naturally cheered and applauded along the way back, and the enthusiasm of the people was even greater than last year. When the emperor arrived at Yumen Pass, in addition to a group of Longyou officials who came to greet him, there was also the Tuyuhun Khan Kualu, who had hurried back to his country after paying homage in Wuwei.

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After meeting again after several months, Kwalu's face was full of flattery after seeing the Supreme, without the reluctant perfunctory attitude as before. Behind him followed his adopted son who was previously returned by the Supreme. It was said that he was now granted the title of King of Henan in his country by the Supreme, commanding all the troops of Heyuan tribes.

"Your Majesty is not only the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the ruler of all the Chinese people, but also the benevolent father of all the Hu people on the border! Even the Hu people have made their own names to intimidate others and respect themselves, so how can the benevolent father not offer his own title to intimidate the world?"

Unlike before when he was still a bit stubborn, now Khalul was as docile as if he had no bones, crawling in front of the Supreme's carriage, his face full of excitement and trembling voice, "I dare to offer you the title of 'Heavenly Khan'! Only with this title can you control all the states. We, the ugly men, all obey your grace and dare not disobey!"

"Tian Khan! Tian Khan!"

When the leaders of the various states who had accompanied the emperor here heard Kwalu's words, their eyes lit up for a moment, and they all bowed and shouted, then danced around the holy chariot to congratulate him.