People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 465: I have an excuse
From a realistic point of view, now is not the best time to take back the Western Regions.

This has nothing to do with other conditions. It simply means that the later you get it back, the less it will cost and national strength will be, and the more you will gain.

After all, even if it was not taken back, after the destruction of Western Xia, without Western Xia intercepting Western Region merchants, the Silk Road trade between the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions was still very smooth.

Taking it back early will not only require higher military costs, but also more expensive governance costs, which is really not worth the cost.

The correct approach should be to destroy Liao.

Even if there were grenades and artillery in the early days, there was no need to rush to destroy the Liao Dynasty. It would be most appropriate to drag down the Liao Dynasty's national strength through an arms race and then easily destroy it.

The same is true now.

The problem with the Western Regions is that they are too far away. Gaochang is 3,000 kilometers away from Bianliang and more than 2,000 kilometers away from Chang'an. Even after the destruction of Western Xia, the two northwestern states of Sha and Gua controlled by the Song Dynasty are still nearly 1,000 kilometers away.

The cost of the expedition, logistical support, and local governance can be said to be a very large sum, and the benefits gained are far less than the cost.

The Tang Dynasty destroyed Gaochang because Gaochang was colluding with the Turks. In order to prevent the Turks from escaping westward and joining forces with Gaochang, the Tang Dynasty sent a large army to destroy Gaochang.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty eliminated Gaochang Kingdom and controlled the Western Regions for military strategic purposes.

The Song Dynasty was different.

The Liao Kingdom was like a grasshopper in autumn and could not jump for long. Even if it allied with the Uighurs in Western Region, it would be a dead end. There was basically no possibility of allying with the Uighurs to attack the Song Dynasty.

If we send troops to attack the Western Region Uighurs, transporting food from Bianliang and marching over 3,000 kilometers by land would cost an astronomical figure along the way.

Not to mention that even if they conquered it, it would be difficult to govern due to the long distance, and they could only adopt strategies such as tributary rule or protectorate. It was basically impossible to achieve actual control like in the inland areas.

Therefore, if the Song Dynasty wanted to send troops purely for the purpose of occupying and actually controlling the Western Regions, it could have waited another ten years or so until the inland railway system was complete before making plans.

By that time, when the railway is built to Yumen Pass, the logistical pressure and food loss will be greatly reduced, and there will be no need to waste so much national strength.

At the same time, it can also be physically controlled, instead of only being able to control it remotely like it is now.

But Zhao Jun had other plans.

In his view, recovering the Western Regions was not about restoring the territory of the Tang Dynasty or making the Song Dynasty appear to have as much land as the Han and Tang dynasties.

Instead, we should use such a large piece of land to create actual value and use.

The most intuitive one is the cotton economy.

The essence of later Western powers’ colonial activities was to plunder natural resources.

So besides minerals such as gold, silver, and copper, what else is there?

Of course, sugar, cotton, wood, fruit, etc.

The colonists often operated in the form of companies or estates and used force to force slave labor in the local area.

The most famous ones include the southern plantation owners during the American Civil War, the East India Company, the United Fruit Company, and the London Company.

Cotton is one of the most important commodities in trade.

The plantation crop of southern slave owners was cotton. Throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the United States was the world's largest cotton producer and exporter.

It was not until the second half of the 20th century that it was gradually surpassed by China and India, and fell from the largest to the third largest.

It can be said that in the 21st century, the world looks to China for cotton, and China looks to Xinjiang for cotton. In order to suppress our cotton industry, the New Era Moldy Emperor deliberately fabricated all kinds of false news, causing an uproar around the world. This is enough to show that Xinjiang's cotton production has a pivotal position in the world.

At present, the Song Dynasty has actually collected the best cotton varieties in the world. After ten years of promotion and planting, they have taken root in Guangnan East Road and spread throughout Guangdong.

However, growing cotton in Guangdong is just for fun.

If we really want to develop industry, Xinjiang is the place to go.

The climate and light conditions there are extremely suitable for cotton cultivation, much more suitable than Guangdong.

Currently, the cotton industry is basically only being piloted in the entire Guangnan East Road in Guangdong.

A large number of Ministry of Agriculture personnel are participating in experiments there, focusing on breeding higher-quality cotton seeds, rather than relying on Guangdong's small output to supply cotton to the whole country.

If we rely on Guangdong's production to provide people across the country with cotton-padded clothes and quilts in winter, it would be better to hope that the Song Dynasty could import more animal furs from the north and make some down jackets, wool sweaters and the like.

Therefore, if we really want to achieve freedom of cotton clothing and let all the people of the Song Dynasty have cotton clothes to wear and cover themselves with, then the Western Regions must be taken back, industrial layout must be carried out as soon as possible, and in-depth cultivation must be completed.

The next day, on March 10, the Song Dynasty court officially sent a letter to the Western Region Uighurs, demanding that they sever ties with the Liao Kingdom and submit to the Song Dynasty, otherwise they would be in trouble.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is naturally an excuse.

However, among the Western Region Uighurs, only the Kucha Uighurs paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, and it is an indisputable fact that the Gaochang Uighurs have always despised the Song Dynasty and only regarded the Liao Kingdom as their suzerain state.

Now that the Song Dynasty has returned to the top of the East, it naturally needs to take back what it lost in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.

It's not just about territory.

It also had the status of a suzerain state to all the surrounding countries and the reputation of having all nations come to pay tribute to the east of the Wei River!
However, the Gaochang Uighurs obviously did not learn the lesson of the Gaochang King in the early Tang Dynasty.

Or.

The countries in the Western Regions lack historical records of their own, and many things are passed down by word of mouth. In contrast, the Central Plains dynasties have many records of them and know more history than they do.

Two months later, in May of the eleventh year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, Gaochang Kingdom, more than 3,000 kilometers away from Bianliang, was the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang in later generations.

It was summer in May, and the vast Gobi Desert was covered with green grass.

There were herds of cattle and sheep on both sides of the Baishui River, which was later known as the Baiyang River in Turpan. The Tianshan Mountains in the distance were covered by white clouds, stretching out like a long winding dragon.

On the bank of the Baishui River, there stands a huge city. It is built of rammed earth, nearly four meters high, with flags flying on it.

There are many streets and markets in the city, and people in various costumes are walking around.

Among them were Uighurs, Karakhanids, Arabs, Tibetans, Seljuks, Shahis, Cini, Ghis, Oghuz Turks, Khwarezmians, and so on.

If we add the Han, Dangxiang, Khitan, Mongols and other ethnic groups, it would probably be no problem to have a hundred or so ethnic groups.

As an important hub on the Silk Road, Gaochang's business was extremely prosperous, with a population of more than 30,000 in the early Tang Dynasty. Later, it was not affected by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and its population developed, with a permanent population of more than 100,000.

In the center of the city is the Gaochang Palace. The current Gaochang Uighur King Aqifuluo sits on the throne, looking up and down at the messenger in front of him.

There were three envoys, two of whom were Langzhong and Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were formed by merging the previous diplomatic departments of the Song Dynasty, including the Honglu Temple, Guoxin Office, Duting West Posthouse, Protocol Court, Huaiyuan Posthouse, and Tongwenguan.

The other one was a doctor from the Ministry of Rites.

This time, the envoy was also sent to invite the King of Gaochang to the Song Dynasty to watch the ceremony, so naturally officials from the Ministry of Rites were needed.

"If Your Majesty does not want to travel thousands of miles to Bianliang, you can also send an envoy." Sun Youtong, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, said to Aqi Fuluo in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Our Great Song Dynasty is willing to make friends with all the countries in the world and gather together to contribute to the great cause of the Tang Dynasty!"

Aqifuluo did not speak, but just looked him up and down, then sneered: "Watching the ceremony? How ridiculous, you want to imprison me, right?"

He spoke Uighur. In fact, the Han people had a great influence in the Western Regions. After all, they had been managing the Western Regions since the Han Dynasty. Places like Dunhuang, Yizhou, Gaochang and other places had been inhabited by Han people for a long time, and many ethnic minorities could speak Chinese.

Among them, the nobles of the ethnic minorities were even proud of learning Chinese. The most obvious example was that although Li Yuanhao and Yelu Zongzhen used to look down on the Song Dynasty, they actually knew Chinese and were also devout believers in Buddhism.

Therefore, Aqifuluo did not answer in Chinese, but in Uighur, which naturally revealed his negative emotions towards the Song Dynasty.

The Song envoy didn't understand why he said that. After hearing what Aqi Fuluo said, Li Tao, a doctor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, glared at him and said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. How could the Song Dynasty, a great nation, do such a thing? You must not insult the dignity of the Song Dynasty!"

"Ok?"

Aqi Fuluo said unhappily, "Are you teaching me how to do things? You are showing off your power in my Western Province. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

"Then wait for the disaster of national destruction!"

Li Tao said without fear: "Nanyue killed the Han envoy and massacred nine counties; the King of Wan killed the Han envoy and hung his head on the northern gate; Joseon killed the Han envoy and was immediately executed. Now that Xixia has been destroyed and Liao has been defeated, will the disaster of Gaochang begin today?"

"Forehead"

Seeing his tough words, Aqifuluo was choked up and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Because the current situation is like this. The Song Dynasty has become strong and has destroyed the Western Xia in the west and defeated the Liao Dynasty in the north.

Although Aqifuluo did not feel this intuitively, he could perceive that Xizhou was indeed much more stable now. After all, Li Yuanhao often invaded the border in the past.

"Then, I will consider it."

After hesitating for a while, Aqifuluo waved his hand and replied in Chinese: "Take the envoys down to rest first. I will give you a reply tomorrow after the king has considered it carefully."

Sun Youtong looked at him and said, "Then please make a decision as soon as possible. We, the Song Dynasty, sincerely hope that you can stand with the Song Dynasty instead of being an enemy of the Song Dynasty. On this point, please don't make a mistake."

The envoy from the Song Dynasty was somewhat aggressive, which made Aqifuluo very uncomfortable, but he was afraid, so he just nodded and said nothing.

Soon the messenger was taken away.

Only Aqifuluo and a few ministers were left in the room.

Compared to Aqifuluo, several ministers were relatively rational. They wanted to say something but looked at the back room with fear.

At this moment, a woman came out from the back room and said with an unhappy face: "My king, the Song people are riding on our heads, why don't you kill them?"

When Aqifuluo saw her, he quickly stood up and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. He could only smile and say, "Don't be angry, Queen. I am helpless. The Song Dynasty is strong now and we cannot provoke them at will."

The woman was from Liao, Princess Jingyang of the Liao Kingdom.

The situation of the Western Region Uighurs was actually not very good in their early years. They were weak and vulnerable to bullying by the Song Dynasty, and were often invaded by Li Yuanhao on the border.

They themselves were often harassed by Li Yuanhao's troops, and many tribes were abducted by Li Yuanhao.

Including the Cao family, which was previously located in Gua and Sha states, they were originally allies of the Western State Uighurs to fight against Li Yuanhao, but were ultimately defeated by Li Yuanhao.

For this reason, the Gaochang Uighurs paid tribute to the Liao Kingdom for many years and became its vassal, hoping to gain its protection.

Originally, the Liao Kingdom didn't want to bother with it, but with the rise of the Song Dynasty a few years ago, the Liao Kingdom wanted to resolve the hatred between the Western Region Uighurs and the Western Xia, and let them unite to attack the Song Dynasty.

So he agreed to the Gaochang Uighurs' request and sent a royal family woman, named a princess, to marry the King of Gaochang.

Princess Jingyang was very beautiful and was deeply loved by Aqifuluo. In addition, the Liao Kingdom also sent a team of 5,000 people as a dowry, which gave Princess Jingyang a support. Naturally, the Gaochang Uighurs became closer to the Liao Kingdom.

However, many times plans cannot keep up with changes. No one expected that a few years ago, the Song Dynasty would send troops to defeat the Liao Kingdom in one fell swoop, and even Nanjing was recovered. For a time, the situation in the Liao Kingdom took a sharp turn for the worse.

In addition, Xixia was soon destroyed by the Song Dynasty, which made Gaochang Uighurs very embarrassed. They wanted to be close to Liao, but Liao was not strong enough. They wanted to be close to Song, but Liao had troops stationed there.

The situation is a bit like the relationship between Gaochang Kingdom and the Turks during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Emperor Taizong of Tang went north and defeated the Turks. At that time, Gaochang Kingdom was also in an alliance with the Turks. Since the Turks had troops stationed in Gaochang, Gaochang King Qu Wentai was forced to choose the Turks, and then was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.

The same is true now.

In addition to the fact that the Liao Kingdom had troops stationed in Gaochang, the most important thing was that Aqifuluo really doted on Princess Jingyang.

Princess Jingyang put her hands on her hips and said, "Your Majesty, Song is more than 10,000 miles away from us. It's a long journey and a long expedition. Even a woman like me knows how difficult it is. Why should you be afraid of them?"

Aqi Fuluo frowned and said, "But the Tang Dynasty army also went on an expedition to the Western Regions."

Although he did not know what kind of person Qu Wentai was, the reputation of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions and the deeds of the Tang army in conquering the Western Regions had been passed down from mouth to mouth.

Princess Jingyang said: "The Tang army can dominate the Western Regions because there is no army in the Western Regions that can resist them. If Your Majesty unites with the Black Khanate and the Liao Kingdom, and takes advantage of their long expedition and insufficient supplies to launch a surprise attack, you will surely defeat the Song Dynasty. By then, Your Majesty's reputation will surely resound throughout the Western Regions, and perhaps even the territory of Western Xia can be occupied by Your Majesty. By then, Your Majesty can establish yourself as an emperor, so why would you care about the Song Kingdom?"

"This"

Aqifuluo's breathing became rapid.

My wife is right.

If he could unite with the Kara Khanate and the Liao Kingdom and wait for the Song army to arrive after a long journey, they would cut off the Song army's food supply and then hold on to Gaochang. When the Song army ran out of food, they would surely be able to defeat the Song army.

By then, it might be possible to annex the former territory of Western Xia and establish a vast empire spanning the Western Regions to the east and Guanzhong to the northwest.

Even if we cannot annex Western Xia, we can still establish our own regime.

It's much better than being a vassal of the Song Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Aqifuluo nodded slightly and said, "The queen is still wise. Come here!"

The guard comes in.

"Imprison the envoy of Song State and send someone to inform Song State. This is the price for humiliating me!"

"Yes!"

The guard leaves.

Only a few ministers in the hall looked pale.

They knew it was over.

This will become an excuse for Gaochang's destruction!

(End of this chapter)