Song Gexing

Chapter 257 Good news from the two major ethnic groups

Zhao Fang followed Han Qi's suggestion because he understood that nomadic peoples like the Grass-head Tatars have very strong personalities due to their harsh environment.

If this kind of people are not properly guided, as the surrounding areas become more stable, they will see that everyone around them has a good life, but they are still very poor, and the only thing they can do is to rob.

This kind of thing has nothing to do with the good and evil of human nature, but is forced by survival. It is not a concern about scarcity but about inequality. This is a concern that everyone has.

If everyone in the world were poor, no one would be jealous of others. Instead, they would lend a helping hand to those who are about to starve to death, because everyone has sympathy, except for animals.

But the inequality between the rich and the poor will cause people to be dissatisfied. It’s okay if they can survive. After all, no one wants to cause trouble for his family if he has a family and a house, except for animals of course.

But once the gap is too big, the slightest spark will explode, because resentment is accumulating, and when it reaches a critical point, many people will ignore everything just to vent.

Of course it is impossible for Zhao Fang to balance a bowl of water. Not to mention that he can't do it, no one in the past 5000 years has been able to do it.

But he can give them a more prosperous lifestyle and at least ensure that they can have enough food and clothing. Of course, the price is to be good citizens.

Ethnic groups like the Grass-headed Tatars are actually easier to subdue, because they have no leader and no vested interests.

We are all herdsmen, no one is nobler than the other, as long as we follow the court and have food to eat.

On the contrary, those institutionalized tribes are difficult to subdue. In fact, the herdsmen at the bottom are willing to obey after knowing their future life prospects.

But the problem is that they are used to listening to the tribal leaders, and they are easily seduced by the unsatisfied leaders, thinking that the court has deceived them and rebelling.

Take the Tibetan forces in Qingtang who were fighting against the enemy for example. If they were dissatisfied, the Song Dynasty would not be able to get the Qingtang area so easily.

Even if he doesn't resist and acts obedient on the surface, as long as he confuses the people privately, Qingtang will be on fire everywhere.

This was the reason why Zhao Fang wanted to make him king. Although the Song Dynasty could completely destroy Tubo with its current power, destroying the country was one thing, and wanting to stabilize it was another.

Xixia was destroyed. If there were no party nobles willing to surrender, it would not be possible to settle down now. It would not be unusual to fight for ten years to quell the chaos.

It can only be said that Li Yuanhao and his son were too bastards. They killed so many party nobles that they chilled the hearts of those who originally followed him.

There is no Zang who is indispensable for this. It was he who cleared out a large number of party nobles and alienated the monarchs and ministers of Xixia. For this, we should also thank Wu Zang Heiyun.

Sometimes Zhao Fang thought, if this woman hadn't died, he would have wanted to thank her and give Da Song a great gift.

"The official winks at the minister, but what do you want to say?"

After the morning meeting, Han Qi followed Zhao Fang to the Chongzheng Hall. There was no one around now, so he asked quickly.

Zhao Fang's face was full of joy at the moment, and he walked to the sand table with figure-of-eight steps.

"Chief Assistant, please look! This is the area where the Nianba Ge tribe of the Liao Kingdom is located, and this is where the Jigasi is. If these two places are mixed with us, then what if the Liao Kingdom occupies the eastern part of the Black Khanate?"

Han Qi looked at the sand table and then at him suspiciously: "Does the official have a secret message from the two of them? But how is this possible? It is possible that Hagasi was originally driven there by the Liao Kingdom. The problem is that the Nianba Ge tribe has always followed the Liao Kingdom’s lead!”

The Hagas were the Kyrgyz people of later generations. At this time, they were located in the Yenisei River Basin. Before the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, they were very powerful.The unified Uighur Khanate was defeated by them and divided into large and small tribes. However, after the rise of Yelu Abaoji, it was beaten by the Liao Kingdom and withdrew from the Western Regions and the Mongolian grasslands.

The Khitan people called them Xigasi, and the Nianbage tribe later had a famous new name, that is, the Mongolian Naiman tribe.

Of course, the Naiman tribe are not Mongols. They are a branch of the Turks, or they and the Yorgas are two branches of the same ancestry.

In other words, they are the descendants of Jiankun, a nomadic people in the northwest during the Han Dynasty. Jiankun was annexed by the Xiongnu, and then merged with all ethnic groups in the grassland. By the Tang Dynasty, they were called Xigasi.

The area where the Naiman tribe is located was occupied by the Yygas after they invaded the Uighurs. Then the main body of the Yygas retreated to the upper reaches of the Yenisei River, and the people left here gradually formed a new race.

The reason why they are said to be a branch of the Turks is because they speak a Turkic language.

"The Imperial City Department contacted them last year. The news was passed through the caravan. They intend to get rid of the control of the Liao Kingdom. The condition is that the Song Dynasty will not send officials to them like the Liao Kingdom."

Zhao Fang finally revealed the secret, which greatly surprised Han Qi: "Have the officials agreed? You can agree to this!"

"Hey! Of course I agreed to them. Anyway, they are far away, and we don't plan to take those places now. Why don't we agree?"

Shameless Zhao Fang, what he said meant that if he agreed now, he might regret it later, it's just that it's too late now.

Han Qi frowned and said, "Do the officials have any ideas in the future? But what are we doing in those places? It's just a waste of money to manage them!"

Although the Xiongasi were bullied by the Liao Kingdom and rushed back to their hometown, they still had to submit to it. The Liao Kingdom did not include them in its territory, but they had to be canonized.

It was equivalent to a vassal state of the Liao Kingdom. It set up a palace in Xigasi and sent officials to inspect it at any time.

As for the Nianbage tribe, they were completely subordinates of the Liao Kingdom, not even Jisu, and they were exploited miserably.

It's just that they can't fight against the powerful Liao Kingdom, so they can only accept their fate. Before, they had to accept their fate when they saw no hope. Now that the Song Dynasty is powerful, they naturally have their thoughts.

The Liao Kingdom's conquest of the Black Khanate passed through the Nianbage tribe. If they rebelled, they would cut off the conquest army's retreat.

The reason why Zhao Fang ignored the Liao Kingdom and held the Gaochang Uighurs accountable was for this purpose, because the Nianbage tribe was located on the same border with the Gaochang Uighurs.

Once they were attacked by the Liao Kingdom and the Song Army wanted to reinforce them, the best route was to send troops from the Gaochang Uighurs. They could also send troops from the original Xixia territory, but the distance was too far.

As for Xiongasi, it is actually useless, but it can be used to contain the Liao Kingdom a little. Zhao Fang agreed to their request because of other reasons.

The first is that the Nianba Ge tribe needs a helper. Xiongasi is their nearest neighbor and they share the same culture and language.

The second is its role in the future. As a time traveler, Zhao Fang knew that it was actually very important. It was just that it was occupied by Tsarist Russia in later generations and could not be taken back.

The upper reaches of the Yenisei River are the birthplace of the nomadic peoples in northern China. Several ethnic groups came out of it, and it later became Russia's Novosibirsk.

Zhao Fang believes that it is useless at the moment, but it will be very useful in the future. As long as the Song Dynasty is strong enough, it is not impossible to enter Europe from there.

(End of this chapter)