People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 474: Diplomatic Mission to the Kingdom of the Black Khan
In December of the eleventh year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, after more than two months of long journey, the delegation sent by the Song Dynasty from Gaochang finally arrived at Balasagun of the Eastern Black Khanate.

The reason why it took more than 1500 days to travel the 60-kilometer journey was because they suddenly encountered a snowstorm when they passed Bars Khan.

For this reason, the delegation had to stay in the local area for almost a month and only set off after the snow stopped.

In the Western Regions, where it can snow even in June and July, and the long journey makes it common to not be able to set out for a year or two.

Fortunately, after many hardships, they finally arrived at their destination.

The location here was called Tokmak in later generations. It is a city in the northern part of Chuy Province, Kyrgyzstan. In the Tang Dynasty, it had another name - Suiye City!

Although it was winter, the Chu River Valley where Balisagun lived was as warm as spring. The land was fertile, the products were abundant, and the climate was pleasant. Therefore, it became not only the capital of the Kara Khanate, but also the capital of the Western Liao Dynasty.

There is an endless plain in the river valley. Bashishagun still uses the city of Suiye. The city is not big and is also made of rammed earth. The overall area is about the same as a county town in the Song Dynasty.

According to Xuanzang's records, the city of Suiye was built in imitation of Chang'an, but the circumference of the city was only six or seven miles.

This means that the length and width are about 2-3 miles, and the area is about 2 square kilometers, which is very different from the area of ​​nearly 90 square kilometers of the Tang Chang'an City.

However, the architectural style inside still retains some Tang Dynasty style. The newly built buildings are in Central Asian style, with dome houses, loess brick walls on the outside, arched bricks and stones on the upper floors, and pointed lattice windows, which is a bit of exotic art that combines Chinese and Western styles.

The Song Dynasty delegation also included Sun Youtong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, Li Tao, a doctor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Liu Bingyan, a deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although the mission was to visit three countries, since the three countries were in the same direction, sending three diplomatic missions would be a serious waste of finances, so the entire mission was taken care of by them.

In Qiuci, they recruited guides from the Black Khanate, and when they entered the territory of the Black Khanate from Wochi County and arrived at Barskhan, a county on the border of the Black Khanate, they contacted the officials of the local Black Khanate Kingdom and informed the King of the Black Khanate of the news of the delegation.

At this moment, outside the city of Balisagun, Suleiman, the Khan of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, personally came out of the city to greet them, showing extremely warm treatment to the Song Dynasty delegation.

Suleiman was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a thick beard and a shaved chin. His head was wrapped in white cloth and he wore a black robe. He had a very strong figure.

When he saw the diplomatic envoys, he first stepped forward to greet them enthusiastically, then put his right hand on his chest, spoke in the local language, and bowed slightly, as if to express his respect for the Song Dynasty.

The guide who also served as a translator was a black Khan merchant. He explained to everyone, "His Majesty the Khan welcomes everyone who has come from afar. May the Prophet bless you all!"

"The Khan is polite!"

Sun Youtong, Li Tao and Liu Bingyan hurriedly performed the Song Dynasty's bowing salute to Suleiman.

Suleiman stretched out his hand toward the city behind him and said something else.

The translator said, "Your Majesty invites everyone to enter the kingdom. A banquet has been prepared for everyone in the palace."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

No one called him Your Majesty.

Because in the Song Dynasty, "Your Majesty" was a title exclusive to the emperor.

The countries that paid tribute to the central dynasty were called vassal states, which were at the same level as the princely states, and they were to be addressed as His Majesty the King.

Therefore, in the early Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo was one of the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, and its king Gao Jianwu was called this by the envoys sent by the Tang Dynasty, which made Gao Jianwu very happy.

Basically, there were only three countries in Asia that committed fraud at that time.

Two of them, the Yue Dynasty and the Goryeo Dynasty, called themselves kings to their suzerain states, and called themselves the Emperor internally.

The other is Japan, which did not recognize the vassal relationship at all, but came to the Tang Dynasty to steal cultural knowledge, relying on language barriers and writing barriers to deceive the Tang emperor.

The rest of the countries still abide by this agreement.

After all, strictly speaking, the three countries that committed fraud were agricultural civilizations that were more heavily influenced by Chinese culture. They were well versed in Confucian culture and knew the relationship between them, so they tried to cover up their crimes.

The countries in the Western Regions, the northern grasslands and the Northeast were not seriously sinicized. They were still fishing, hunting and nomadic peoples and did not have a deep understanding of Confucian culture, so they basically did not care about the differences here.

Led by Suleiman, his entourage and many ministers, the delegation entered the city in a mighty procession.

Li Tao looked around.

The geographical location of Suiye City is really beautiful. In the dead of winter in December, the snow-capped mountains in the distance are covered with snow, and there are white-headed peaks everywhere, but the valley is warm like spring and not particularly cold.

He couldn't help but praise: "This is really a good place. Even in December, when there is a cold wind blowing in the valley, there is still green grass. It is really fertile soil."

The translator told Suleiman this, and Suleiman's face changed slightly. Then he quickly replied: "How can a remote place compare to the prosperity of the Song Dynasty? The envoy has come from afar and must have worked hard. Come with me and rest."

Everyone felt strange.

He said this as if he was urging everyone to go in, as if there were assassins lying in ambush between the tables, ready to take their lives at any time.

But then I thought, if I really wanted to take their lives, why would I wait until the dinner table?

They didn't bring a large army, but they had more than a hundred followers, so it was easy for the Black Khanate to kill them.

So I put this doubt aside and entered the city.

Compared with Gaochang, Balshagun was much less prosperous. As a nomadic people, the herdsmen of the Kara Khanate all lived in the pastures outside the city.

There are not many people in the city, only some caravans and local vendors live in the city.

Moreover, since the nomadic people's main commodities are livestock, furs, medicinal herbs and the like, the city is filled with a strange mixture of stench and fragrance, and livestock excrement can occasionally be seen. The environment is very ordinary.

This is because although Balasagun is on the Silk Road, it is a relatively remote northern route. From here, it goes north to Almaty, then bypasses the Aral Sea and reaches the Caspian Sea at its farthest.

The truly prosperous section is the middle section, which connects the Eurasian continent. The farthest point is Constantinople and Cairo, Egypt. It goes east through Baghdad and Tehran, then crosses the Pamir Mountains from the Dayuan Kingdom in the Fergana Basin to the Kashgar area in the Western Regions.

After that, you can go north from Kashgar to Aksu, enter Gaochang, and then enter Gansu from Yumen Pass. Or you can go south to Hotan, pass Jingjue, Qiemo, Ruoqiang, Loulan and other countries, and enter the Hexi Corridor in Dunhuang.

Therefore, the middle section is shorter and passes through important urban areas in West Asia and Central Asia, resulting in the North Road being less populated and not as prosperous as the Middle Road.

Soon everyone entered the Black Khan's Palace. It was called a palace, but in fact it was the governor's mansion left behind by the former Tiaozhi governor in Suiye City. It has now changed a lot and is no longer as magnificent as it was in the Tang Dynasty.

Led by Great Khan Suleiman, everyone entered the hall. Suleiman sat in the main seat, surrounded by small tables, and accompanied by several Black Khan ministers.

Everyone sat on the floor, and a large amount of roasted beef and mutton and drinks were placed on the table, and the aroma quickly filled the air. Then a woman wearing Uighur ethnic costumes entered the house and started dancing.

Amid the singing and dancing, Suleiman immediately urged everyone to drink, was enthusiastic and bold, and even asked his slaves to help them cut the meat. It can be said that he was very attentive.

Seeing the enthusiasm of the Black Khan, several envoys from the Song Dynasty put down their guard and threw themselves into the banquet. For a time, both the host and the guests were having a great time and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

After more than half an hour, the banquet finally ended, but Li Tao did not forget his mission.

After the banquet was over and only the Dark Khan Suleiman, a few ministers, and some guards were left in the room, he stood up and said, "Your Highness the Khan!"

Suleiman asked, "What do you want, messenger?"

"Today, our Great Song Dynasty is powerful and has defeated the Liao Kingdom in the north and the Western Xia in the west. It is time to reconnect with the Western Regions. Your Highness has sent envoys to the Great Song Dynasty many times. Our Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty deeply appreciates the Khan's heart from afar, so he sincerely invites the Khan to visit Bianliang."

Li Tao was afraid that Suleiman might have concerns, so he continued, "Please rest assured, Khan. Although the journey is tiring, the court has made arrangements so that you will not find the journey difficult. You can also come to the Song Dynasty to experience our customs and people."

"Forehead"

After Suleiman heard the translator's words, his face froze slightly, then he laughed dryly twice and did not answer immediately.

His response made Li Tao and others even more puzzled.

Because in the view of Li Tao and others, compared with Gaochang Kingdom, the Kara-Khanid Kingdom was indeed more pro-Song.

According to the "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Khotan", starting from the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu, which was 1009 AD, the Kara-Khanid Kingdom continued to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, and did so very frequently.

Sometimes it happened once or even twice a year, and sometimes it happened once every two years. For more than 70 years until the fourth year of Yuanfeng, envoys from the Kara Khanate came almost every year to offer tribute, for a total of more than 50 times. This shows that the Kara Khanate had close exchanges with the Song Dynasty.

In fact, including the previous years when the Song Dynasty defeated the Western Xia and the Liao Kingdom, and then defeated the Liao Kingdom again and destroyed the Western Xia, envoys from the Kara Khanate came to congratulate, and they were never absent from the annual New Year's greetings.

Therefore, when Li Tao and his party came this time and saw the very enthusiastic Khan, although they were a little surprised, they also felt it was reasonable.

Only the Great Khan of the Black Khan Suleiman looked around and said, "Of course it is so. By the way, after the Song envoy arrived at our Black Khanate and received our reply, did he return immediately?"

Li Tao replied: "We should continue to move westward and announce the majesty of the Song Dynasty to other countries."

"I see."

"Did His Highness the Khan agree?"

"This is a big deal, so of course we need to discuss it carefully. But it's getting late today, and the envoy is tired from the journey. How about we rest for a night and make plans tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's okay too."

When the translator told the Song envoys what had happened, the three looked at each other, felt that there was no problem, and nodded in agreement.

Suleiman visibly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come on, please ask the distinguished guest to go to the pavilion and rest."

"please!"

Immediately, a minister stepped forward and led everyone away.

After everyone left, Suleiman, who had been smiling, suddenly changed his expression and looked very ugly.

People thought that the Kara Khanate had paid tribute to the Song Dynasty many times, so it must have a good relationship with the Song Dynasty.

But in fact, according to the "Song Hui Yao" records of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Song people finally discovered that the Black Khan envoys who paid tribute to the Song Dynasty during the Northern Song Dynasty were not real envoys at all, but imposters of the Black Khan merchant group.

They disguised themselves as envoys and came to pay tribute in order to defraud rewards, and they also engaged in transportation trade, transporting large quantities of frankincense from West Asia, and then transporting silk fabrics, clothes, gold and silver utensils, and tea back to West Asia, Central Asia and other regions in order to make huge profits.

Therefore, there was no official connection between the Kara Khanate and the Song Dynasty.

On the contrary, the diplomatic relations with the Liao Kingdom were very good. According to the "History of Liao", the Kara-Khanid Khanate sent envoys to the Liao Dynasty 16 times. They were real ministers of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, not impostors by merchants.

This is actually understandable.

After all, the Kara-Khanid Khanate did not border the Song Dynasty, and they did send an envoy once in the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu. However, the Song Dynasty was very cold towards the Kara-Khanid Khanate and only sent back an imperial edict, so naturally they did not need to care about the Song Dynasty's attitude.

They had a territorial border with the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Kingdom's Shangjing Road was adjacent to the northeastern region of their territory. If they did not maintain good relations with the Liao Kingdom, the Black Khanate might be destroyed by the powerful Liao people.

So this is understandable.

However, no one expected that the once powerful Liao Kingdom would be defeated by the Song Dynasty overnight. The Song Dynasty had become increasingly famous over the years, and its prestige had spread far and wide, and its reputation had also spread to the western border along with the caravans.

Suleiman was certainly not a fool like Aqifuluo who was deceived by a woman. Since he knew that the Liao Dynasty was in decline, he could naturally find someone else to rely on.

But the problem is.
"Khan, my worries have finally come true."

The old minister Badia said: "The Song people are looking to the west. We must make a choice between Liao and Song."

"And today, the Song envoy looked at our land greedily. During the Tang Dynasty, this place was occupied by the Tang Dynasty. They also named our capital Suiye City. I am afraid that their ambitions do not stop there."

"Yes, the Song people now may be more powerful than the Tang Dynasty in the past. They destroyed Gaochang Kingdom and defeated tens of thousands of Gaochang cavalry with just one attack. It was terrible."

"Even if we surrender to them, what about the shameless traitor Ibrahim? You have heard that the envoys of Song will continue to go west. If Ibrahim surrenders to Song, once we go to war with them, Song may send troops."

"But if we choose not to submit to them, Gaochang will end up like this. I heard that the Song people have stationed troops in Qiuci."

"This is how to do ah."

Several ministers looked embarrassed. The current situation made them feel that they were in a difficult situation.

Because at this time, they were planning something big.

Attack the Western Karakhanid Kingdom.

Unify the Black Khan!

If the Song envoys went west to the Western Black Khanate, it would be very difficult for the Eastern Black Khanate.

(End of this chapter)