Overlord!

Chapter 357: Powerful in the Western Regions

The Song Army marched for more than a year and two months, starting from Chang'an, stretching westward, passing through Liangzhou, Hanyang, Longxi, Jincheng, Huangzhong, and the West Sea, and ending in the desert and Huangsha. The rebel forces in Guanzhong and Liangzhou for nearly thirty years.

Finally, in this territory that had been spread by Hu Feng for decades, the grand scene of "the mountains and rivers were about to reach the land of China, and the sun and the moon reopened the Great Song Dynasty" appeared.

In Liangzhou, the rebellion of Han heroes colluding with the Qiang and Hu was severely defeated by the Song army. In order to stabilize this territory, the Song army deliberately retained Xu Huang as the governor of the Longxi Dudufu.

The governor of Longxi can probably be regarded as a newly created official position in the Song Dynasty.

The reason why it is said to be approximate is that it has already taken a prototype today, which is equivalent to the military censorship of the Han Dynasty. Cao Wei created each governor on this basis.

The Song Dynasty also asked Xu Huang to supervise the military in Longxi due to the Han system. He was not the same as the Jiedushi. There is no administrative power in the region, and it is impossible to manage the military and the people.

The Song Dynasty governed the thirteen states of Han Dynasty with state pastoral care and had administrative power.

The position of state pastor is undoubtedly very prominent.

"Song Guanyi" deliberately elevated the status of the state pastor in exchange for the power in the hands of the state pastor.

Sun Ce gave these state pastors great reputations and prominent positions in exchange for their support for the imperial court to take away the military power in their hands.

Previously in the Han Dynasty, the Protectorate of the Western Regions was just an organization under the Dunhuang Prefect of the Han Dynasty. The chief officer of the Protectorate of the Western Regions is as talented as a thousand stones.

He personally led his troops out of Yumen Pass, marched for more than two thousand miles in the yellow sand of the desert, and appeared in Jiaohe City, the capital of Che Division, like a divine soldier descending from the sky!

Guo Huai, the pioneer of the Song Army, led 700 cavalry to arrive first, fought fiercely with the national army of Che Division, defeated the enemy in one fell swoop, and captured the king of Che Division and went down to the city.

The Han family's prefecture could not mobilize 3,000 county soldiers from six counties, but the governor of the Western Regions Protectorate could really mobilize 3,000 elite Wuwei troops, as well as all the Hu soldiers from the Jisu Kingdom within the territory.

The position of Yitong Zhoumu is slightly lower than that of Zhoumu, but he has military power.

The local people even deliberately made things difficult for the Central Plains envoys and caravans: "You can't eat without giving money and silk, and you can't ride without selling livestock." Several countries located on the main transportation routes even plundered the Han envoys who were escorted by Dunhuang soldiers, and often attacked them. They robbed the Han envoys, plundered the caravans, and blocked the road with troops.

It's just that his military power is relatively small, only the military power of three thousand Wuwei Zuojun.

There is only one place that is slightly special, and that is Lu Xun, the Protector of the Western Region Protectorate.

So Song Ting reopened the Protectorate of the Western Regions, but Sun Ce specifically raised the rank of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, making it the same as the governor of the state.

The Western Region Protectorate has such a huge territory, and their chief officials are still under the jurisdiction and governor of Dunhuang Prefect, which shows how contemptuous the imperial court is towards this place.

Because due to more than thirty years of war in the Central Plains, the Western Regions have not heard the orders of the Emperor of the Central Plains for a long time.

He not only has financial power, but also military power.

Under this situation, in the sixth year of Kaiyuan, Lu Xun, the Protector of the Western Regions Protectorate, formally presented to the court, sent troops to attack Che Division, and descended to Qiuci from the west.

This is also because the place he controls has such a low status in the political map of the Central Plains.

The Song army was extremely powerful. As the Protector of the Western Regions, Lu Xun had the talent to serve as a general and become a prime minister. He was one of the most outstanding military generals in the Central Plains.

The prestige of the Han family was wiped out in the Western Regions, and the Han family's caravans were made difficult in every possible way, and even maliciously robbed and killed.

When the country is weak, Han people who travel abroad are made things difficult and bullied, and wealth becomes the meat that wolves covet.

The Song army recaptured Liangzhou in one fell swoop, and Dunhuang County naturally surrendered to the imperial court.

Of course, this would require Lu Xun to explore the Western Regions himself and conquer the local area.

From then on, they were the chief envoys of the imperial court and could never get involved in any military power.

Likewise, military generals do not have any financial power.

These state herdsmen could not even mobilize the 500 county soldiers within their territory.

This result completely confirmed the Song Army's previous view of the Western Regions as "weak and easy to attack".

Before the war began, there were still doubts within the Song Army that the Western Region Protectorate had only 3,000 troops, and could they defeat the enemy in one battle.

The envoy kept running around and said many times during the banquet that the countries in the Western Regions had many cities and their troops were weak and easy to attack, so they could take them.

Lu Xun just firmed up his attitude and sent troops to attack the chariot division.

But he didn't expect that the Cheshi Kingdom's army was so weak. The five thousand Jiaohe City defenders were actually defeated by seven hundred Song Army cavalry in a single battle.

In fact, this is normal. The Wuwei Army is an elite soldier who climbed out of the hell of mountains of corpses and seas of blood during the war in the Central Plains. They can march continuously for a year, crossing the yellow sand desert, crossing the snow-capped mountains and plateaus, and defeating powerful enemies across nearly ten thousand miles. military.

In particular, the cavalry of the Wuwei Army are the elites who have worn golden armor in hundreds of battles on the battlefields of the Central Plains. They have excellent armor, heavy armor, and stirrups and saddles.

Seven hundred mysterious armored cavalry charge, not to mention the Hu soldiers from the Western Regions, even the thousands of infantry from the Central Plains princes may not be able to stop them.

With such powerful weapons and war experience that foreigners could not imagine, they had experienced the absolutely terrifying battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Looking at the Hu troops, of course they feel weak.

In fact, Guo Huai felt that winning was very easy. The chariot divisions did not have many heavy armors. The thousands of Hu soldiers were weak and poorly trained. They had never seen the terrifying scene of seven hundred mysterious armored cavalry charging.

When the Xuanjia cavalry charged in an earth-shattering manner, many Hu soldiers fled directly at the sight of the wind.

That's why Guo Huai was able to capture King Cha Shi in one battle.

Jiaohe City connects Gaochang to the southeast, Shanshan to the south, Yanqi to the west, and Wusun to the north. It controls the throat of the Silk Road and is an important route in the Western Region.

After conquering this place, how could Lu Xun not go further?

So he decisively commanded his troops to continue marching westward and surrendered to Kucha in one fell swoop.

As a result, the Western Region was frightened, and all countries sent envoys to pay tribute.

There are twenty-two officials in charge of the governor of the Western Regions.

These small countries in the Western Regions are also wary and dedicated to worship, for fear of making Song Ting unhappy.

Because the Song Ting would really depose the country and remove them from the throne, at least within one year of the sixth year of Kaiyuan, the Song Ting would depose the country for more than 2,000 miles, and set up Yiwu County in the northeastern part of the Western Region, under the jurisdiction of the Liangzhou Governor's Department.

The newly established Yiwu County abolished the countries including Pulu, Cheshi, Dongqiemi, Xiqiemi, Yanqi, as well as more than 2,000 miles of territory including Gaochang City, and nearly ten countries.

All the territory from the east of Wusun, including later Urumqi, to Liangzhou was classified as the territory of Yiwu County.

It can be said that the Song army opened up territory this time and established prefectures and counties, ending with Yiwu in the west and Juyan in the east. They acquired more than 4,000 miles of land, with hundreds of thousands of households registered, and several counties, mountains and rivers were all part of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, this did not leave any room for discussion by the small countries. The imperial court established counties and counties only because of the will and majesty of the imperial court and had nothing to do with the resistance and ideas of the small countries.

Song Ting's will came over, and so many small countries that had been inherited in the Western Region for many years and had hundreds of years of throne history were instantly reduced to the dust of history.

Under this wave of majesty, other small countries are kneeling down as fast as they can.

After all, the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions could not withstand the Song Dynasty's several administrative divisions.

If Song Ting comes to open counties two more times, the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions will be completely destroyed!

In order to show their surrender, each country not only sent envoys to pay tribute, but also invited Han envoys to teach and spread the king's culture in the country.

What they said in more official terms was actually letting Song Ting guide their government affairs and culture.

Their systems are all under the guidance of Honglu Temple Minister, imitating the Central Plains system, and also set up a political hall and a system of three departments, five departments and nine ministers.

At the same time, all the princes who were to succeed were sent to Jiankang to serve as hostages and study classics and history in Jiankang Academy.

This ensured that the kings who would succeed to the throne in the Western Regions would all speak Chinese and regard themselves as Han ministers.

Of course, when they returned to the country to take the throne, they also brought the edict approved by Song Ting.

This can also ensure that after they return to the country, they can directly control the court situation and eliminate all powerful officials.

Because as long as the Central Plains court prospers, the succession and inheritance of all surrounding forces must be recognized by the Central Plains court, and they must be given succession edicts and seals.

If a vassal king succeeds to the throne but is not recognized by the Central Plains Edict, his position will be in danger. At least it could be overthrown by domestic opposition factions, or at worst it could lead to an encirclement and suppression by tens of thousands of troops from the Central Plains.

In addition to the hostage of the upper-level countries, the lower-level national governance of the Western Regions countries was also restricted by the Song court. Countries were strictly prohibited from attacking each other, and even more prohibited from plundering each other. It was necessary to ensure trade in the Western Regions and maintain the stability of the Silk Road.

However, the Western Region was so vast that even the Song Dynasty could not conquer it all at once.

After the resettlement of the Western Region Protectorate, in addition to bringing huge economic benefits, it also brought heavy political baggage.

In particular, it has been more than thirty years since the chaos in the late Han Dynasty. The world lost its common master, and the Western Regions also began to be in chaos, with many years of expansion and conquest.

In the third year of Jianning in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 170), Fufeng Mengtuo (Mengda's father), the governor of Liangzhou, sent soldiers to Dunhuang, who were generals appointed as She, together with Cao Kuan, the Sima of Wuji, and Zhang Yan, generals of the Western Regions, Yanqi and Qiuci. , the front of the chariot division, and the rear of the chariot division, together with more than people, attacked Shule. They were unable to siege the city for more than forty days, so they retreated.

This was the last recorded deployment of troops by the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. More than thirty years have passed from the third year of Jianning to the current Kaiyuan year.

As a small overlord in the Western Regions, Kang Ju was accustomed to expanding his territory and intimidating his neighboring countries.

Although they had sent envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, they did not have much respect for the Protectorate of the Western Regions stationed in Qiancheng, and they did not obey the orders of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

He still attacked small countries such as Yarkand, Khotan, and Shanshan that were friendly and surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and forced them to donate their property.

The parties were at war for several years, and the kings of Khotan, Shanshan and other countries sent envoys many times to ask Lu Xun, the governor of the Western Regions, to uphold justice and restrain Kang Ju.

Yarkand State suffered the most because it was closer to Kangju, and the people in the country were bullied.

So after three consecutive years of complaining to no avail, the King of Yarkand died of illness out of sorrow and anger.

His prince knelt directly in front of the North Tower in Jiankang and made a royal request to the emperor. Even if the imperial army dragged him away and asked him to return to his homeland and ascend the throne, he would not leave.

Either the imperial court sent troops to deal with Kangju, or he would live in Jiankang forever and live in the prosperous place of Jiankang forever.

Seeing Prince Shache's behavior, envoys and princes from other small countries in the Western Regions went to Honglu Temple to complain and make noise, asking Honglu Temple to intervene in Kang Ju's matter.

The quarrel continued for another two years. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, a piece of news finally came back to Jiankang from the Western Regions.

After three or four years of operation, Lu Xun, the Protector of the Western Regions Protectorate, finally completed military preparations and raised sufficient food and grass.

With the Wuwei Army of 3,000 and the Yumenguan garrison of 2,000 drawn by the imperial court as the main force, and a total of more than 30,000 servants from the six countries in the Western Regions including Khotan, Yarkand, and Shanshan, they attacked Beitian City (today's Samarkand), the capital of the Kangju State, in one fell swoop. ), cut off the king's head, pass it on to the capital, and hang his head on the North Tower!

Song Ting's 30,000-strong army destroyed the entire Kangju area in one fell swoop. The army marched to the Congling line, shocking the entire Western Region.

The Kushan Empire was also frightened by this, and quickly sent envoys to pay tribute to the Central Plains. They paid tribute to tens of thousands of kilograms of gold, three lions, two peacocks, thousands of famous knives, tinder cloth, and precious carpets.

The envoys' tribute convoys numbered in the hundreds and stretched for several miles, but no one in the Western Regions dared to rob them.

It is true that this wave of Song Army's offensive was too fierce.

Kang Ju was a hegemon in the Western Regions. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, he had 80,000 or 90,000 string masters, and the royal city was 8,250 miles from Yangguan.

After so many years of expansion, the population may be close to 200,000 households.

That's why we were able to take advantage of the decline of the Kushan Empire and the chaos in the Central Plains at the end of the Han Dynasty to break away from the two empires in one fell swoop.

Even if the new king of the Kushan Empire ascended the throne, took back the vassal state that had escaped rule with Kang Ju, and regained control of Khwarezm, he was still helpless against Kang Ju. The two sides fought and even the Kushan Empire did not gain much advantage.

But I never thought that the Song Army's Western Region Protectorate actually defeated Kang Ju's army in one fell swoop, beheaded his king, and sent him to Kyoto.

Guishang thought that he definitely did not have this fighting power. Moreover, they had never fought against the Han Dynasty in history. At that time, they sent an army of 70,000 to attack Ban Chao. However, Ban Chao used the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the country, and was defeated and returned. Contribution.

Lu Xun destroyed Kangju and shocked the Western Regions. His troops reached the border of Guishang. The King of Guishang was afraid that the Song army would continue to attack Guishang, so he quickly sent envoys to pay tribute.

It was undoubtedly wise for him to send envoys to pay tribute in time.

Kang Ju's so-called control of tens of thousands of strings was completely worthless to Song Jun.

Their tens of thousands of troops, placed in the Central Plains, might not be able to defeat the Xiongnu Chanyu, but in the troubled times of the late Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu Chanyu was a role that the princes of all parties could manipulate at will.

The Song army crushed all the troubled princes. The elite Song army cooperated with 30,000 servants to defeat the tens of thousands of Kangju's troops. As long as there was no problem with food and grass, Lu Xun's talent would definitely defeat them and win the battle.

If he wanted to defeat the Kushans, there would be no military challenge at all. After all, the Kushans occupied a large territory in South Asia, and the military ethics here were really stretched a bit. When they came into contact with the elite soldiers of the Central Plains Dynasty, they would often collapse at the first touch.

Perhaps the only thing that was more difficult for Lu Xun was marching and supplies.

However, if the powerful army of the Central Plains persists, under the command of Gao Xianzhi, they can march thousands of miles on the plateau and then break through the enemy's capital.

It would not be too difficult for Lu Xun. If he attacked Guishang at any cost, Guishang would definitely be defeated tragically, with the city broken and people killed.

The Kushan rulers only hoped to continue to maintain their rule, but did not have the will and determination to fight to the end for the sake of fame. Therefore, the kings and nobles of the country soon compromised and decided to pay tribute.

(End of this chapter)