People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 475 Try and die
Before the split of the Kara-Khanid Khanate into the Eastern and Western Kara-Khanid Khanates, the Kara-Khanid Khanate adopted a dual khan system.

Among them, the Great Khan was Arsalan Khan, who ruled Balshagun; the Deputy Khan was Bogra Khan, who initially ruled Talas and later moved to Kashgar in Xinjiang.

This laid the seeds for the subsequent split between the Eastern and Western Karakoram Khanates.

Suleiman's great-grandfather, Satuk Bughra Khan, was the third Khan of the Kara Khanate.

His son Ali Musa succeeded as Great Khan, and another son Hassan Boghra Khan succeeded as Deputy Khan.

Therefore, the lineage of the Great Khan was called the Ali lineage, and the lineage of the Deputy Khan was called the Hassan lineage.

Hassan Boghra Khan was Suleiman's grandfather, and his son, Yusuf Qadir Khan, Suleiman's father, was a powerful ruler.

After inheriting the position of deputy Khan, Qadir Khan conquered the east and the west, expanded the territory, and destroyed the Kingdom of Khotan.

It was during the reign of Yusuf Qadeer Khan that, after political struggles, Qadeer Khan finally expelled the Ali clan and ascended the throne of the Great Khan of the Karakhanid Khanate.

It was basically like the vice emperor seized power and usurped the throne to become the emperor.

However, after the death of Yusuf Qadir Khan, the Ali clan was unwilling to see the position of Great Khan taken away by the Hassan clan, so Ibrahim Ali, the grandson of Ali Musa and the son of the sixth Great Khan Mansur Ali, rose up in rebellion.

He led the Ali tribesmen westward and seized large tracts of land including Bukhara and Samakan, which was equivalent to the area from Tajikistan to Turkmenistan in later generations, and proclaimed himself Khan.

Since then, the Eastern and Western Black Khanates have split.

Although it was Suleiman's father who usurped the throne first, as descendants of Satuk Bughra Khan, and with the glory created by Yusuf Qadir Khan, most people in the Black Khanate followed Suleiman.

Therefore, the overall strength of Suleiman's Eastern Karakhanid Khanate was stronger than that of the Western Karakhanid Khanate. Naturally, he was unwilling to see his country divided, and had been planning to conquer Ibrahim.

It was just that before, because the Western Karakhanid Kingdom, like them, paid tribute to the Liao Dynasty, and under the intervention of the Liao Dynasty, they had to maintain peace, which forced Suleiman to endure and delay launching an attack.

Unexpectedly, the powerful Liao Kingdom was defeated by the Song Dynasty overnight.

So Suleiman believed that the time had come, and the Liao Kingdom should not be able to deal with the Song Dynasty, or its main focus should be on dealing with the Song Dynasty, rather than focusing on the distant West.

Therefore, Suleiman actively prepared for military affairs in the past two years, ready to march westward to eliminate the Western Karakhanid Khanate and complete the reunification of the Karakhanid Khanate.

But at this moment, the envoy from the Song Dynasty arrived.

Facing the envoys from the Song Dynasty, Suleiman had three concerns.

First, the Liao Kingdom was close while the Song Kingdom was far away. Although the Liao Kingdom was defeated by the Song Dynasty, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

If we pay tribute to the Song Dynasty and thus anger the Liao Kingdom, what should we do if they question us?
Second, during the Tang Dynasty, this was the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is now prosperous and has destroyed the Gaochang Kingdom. What if they want to annex them?

The third is also the most important point.

When Suleiman was about to attack Ibrahim, envoys from the Song Dynasty arrived and asked them to become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty and go to Bianliang to pay homage to the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

You must know that in a vassal relationship, if a vassal state is attacked, it can ask for help from the suzerain state.

For example, during the Tang Dynasty, there was civil unrest among the three countries on the Korean Peninsula. Silla was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and was bullied by Baekje and Goguryeo, so it asked the Tang Dynasty for help.

The Tang Dynasty sent troops to first destroy Goguryeo, then Baekje, and also defeated Japan which came to support Baekje, helping Silla to unify the Korean Peninsula and become the Silla Kingdom.

If the Western Karakhanid Kingdom became a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, if they attacked, it would inevitably attract the Song army, which would backfire and the gain would outweigh the loss.

Just as they and the Western Black Khanate were both vassal states of the Liao Kingdom and their desire for unification had always been interfered with by the Liao Kingdom, there was also a great possibility that the Song Kingdom would interfere with them.

So Suleiman is very embarrassed now.

Either they choose to ignore the Song Dynasty and continue to attack the Western Black Khan. Or they surrender to the Song Dynasty and accept the Western Black Khan.

The key is that the Western Black Khanate is still in the west, hindering the expansion of the Eastern Black Khanate and controlling the trade route in the middle section of the Silk Road. In the long run, the Eastern Black Khanate will slowly decline and the Western Black Khanate will gradually become stronger.

This is a place that cannot be tolerated.

As a result, the hall fell into silence at this moment. Faced with the threat from the Song Dynasty, they didn't know whether to surrender or face it.

After a long while, Minister Kaf said to Suleiman: "Khan, the Song Dynasty is too powerful now. I think we can't confront them head-on. Maybe we can agree to it."

"promise?"

Suleiman was angry and said, "Those rebels have occupied the most fertile river and caused me to lose a large area of ​​land. Am I just going to watch?"

Kaf said, "There is another way. The Song people value legitimacy and justice the most. We can explain to the Song envoys that Ibrahim in the west is a traitor who betrayed his country and we are going to attack him. As long as we prevent them from going to the west and make Ibrahim unable to become a vassal of the Song Dynasty, then the Song Dynasty will have no reason to send troops. In terms of legitimacy, we are in the right and may even be able to ask the Song army to help us attack them."

"Oh?"

Suleiman rolled his eyes and said, "That's a good idea."

"Great Khan, no."

The old minister Badiya quickly said: "Although it sounds good, has the Khan ever thought about the first Khan?"

"This"

Suleiman then remembered.

According to the ancestral teachings of the Black Khans, their Hassan clan was only the deputy khan, and the Ali clan was the rightful khan.

His father had robbed someone else of his inheritance rights. Now the news that the Song Dynasty envoy had come to Heihan had already spread. If Ibrahim had taken the initiative to contact the Song envoy to explain the situation.

Since the Song Dynasty attached great importance to justice and fairness, they might be regarded as rebels. The Song army joined forces with the Western Black Khan to destroy the Eastern Black Khan.

So doing so is very risky.

"Why don't we find a way to delay it, for example, we need to think about it for a year or two, and then we can send troops to eliminate Ibrahim and unify the Black Khan, and maybe we won't have to worry about this anymore."

Another minister said.

Badia glared at him and said, "The Song Dynasty envoys will not give us time, and the Song army will not give us time either. Now they have come to us and want us to give an immediate reply. If we drag our feet, it will only make the Song Dynasty suspicious. When the Song army comes, what will you use to resist?"

"This won't work, and that won't work either. So what can you do?"

The minister said, "Are we going to submit to the Song Kingdom like this? And let Ibrahim split us from now on? Doesn't the Khan want to complete the unification of the previous Khan? If we want to become stronger in the future, we will be blocked by the west. Are we going to attack the Liao Kingdom in the north?"

Everyone fell silent again.

In fact, they were not opposed to becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, but were opposed to both the Eastern Black Khanate and the Western Black Khanate becoming vassal states of the Song Dynasty.

Now is the time to conquer the Western Black Khanate. If the Western Black Khanate also becomes a vassal of the Song Dynasty, then according to the system of vassalage, internal strife is not allowed among the vassal states, otherwise the suzerain state will intervene.

So they hoped that it would not be too late to make a decision after they defeated Ibrahim, eliminated the Western Karakhanid Khanate, and completed the reunification of the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates.

If the Liao Dynasty still weakened and the Song Dynasty was still strong by then, they would not be a match for the Song Dynasty even if they were unified. Then, surrendering would not be a big deal. It would be nothing more than paying tribute to the Song Dynasty every year and sending their sons to Bianliang as hostages.

But just when they were preparing to attack the Western Black Khanate and complete the unification, envoys from the Song Dynasty came and asked them to become vassal states of the Song Dynasty together. This naturally seriously violated the interests of the Eastern Black Khanate.

Therefore, Suleiman's situation was extremely embarrassing, just like the division of Korea into North and South, both sides wanted to unify but could not do it because there was a suzerain country behind both sides.

The key point is that if both countries have a suzerain state, there may be a possibility of unification, but it happens that the two divided countries both have a suzerain state.

So for the suzerain state, the best way to maximize its interests is to maintain the status quo and keep the two sides in a hostile relationship, so that they will not become unified and powerful and challenge the status of the suzerain state.

After a while, Kraft said, "There is one last solution."

"What method?" Suleiman asked hurriedly.

"There is a saying in the Song Dynasty that goes, 'The rice is cooked before it is cooked.' There is also a saying that goes, 'It is better to strike first than to be strong!'"

Kaf said: "While we have not yet become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, we should immediately send troops to attack Ibrahim. As long as we can eliminate them as soon as possible, we can complete the unification of the Khanate."

"What about Envoy Song?"

"We can tell them that a tribe in our territory is in rebellion and we need to send troops to suppress it immediately, and ask them to stay in Balasagun."

"I heard that the Han people are very stubborn. If they insist on going west,

Suleiman hesitated.

"Then it's not our fault."

Kaf's eyes flashed with a cold light and he said, "We have already reminded them that if the Song envoy encounters a rebellious tribe on the road."

"But will this give Song an excuse to attack us?"

One of the ministers said, "If we kill them all, they will say it was us who did it. What will we do if the army attacks us?"

Kaf hesitated for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be that fast. The Song army only has troops in Gaochang. Even if they want to continue to fight westward, they have to ask the Song court for permission. Besides, do they have so much food? It will probably take a year to go back and forth."

"But no matter what, the Song Dynasty is undoubtedly powerful. They are definitely capable of sending a large army to attack us like the Tang Dynasty. Even if it is a year later, we will not be able to resist."

The minister raised questions about the risks.

Kaf thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps we can do better. Send a small group of troops to pretend to be Ibrahim's men and let a few escape when we kill them. This way, we will have witnesses and the Song Dynasty will only vent its anger on Ibrahim."

"This"

Suleiman looked at Badiya.

Badia hesitated for a long time before sighing, "This is indeed a dangerous method, but compared to unification, this is the best method."

"Then give it a try, for the Khanate!"

Seeing Badiya agreed, Suleiman gritted his teeth and said, "We will send troops to attack Ibrahim tomorrow!"

"it is good!"

Everyone responded.

Suleiman immediately sent his ministers to summon the nomadic soldiers.

Nomadic people live wherever there is grass. Although the Central Asian region has abundant grass and water, it is winter after all, and the weather is cold. There are few fertile grass and water areas, and they are scattered outside.

The royal court had less than a thousand soldiers to guard it, and when going to war, messengers had to be sent out to summon the army in order to gather it.

The next day.

Just when Li Tao and other envoys were confused, the people of the Black Khanate suddenly told them that the enemies who had rebelled before were coming and they had to send troops. The matter of tribute would be discussed after they finished the war.

Although the incident seemed sudden, it seemed that no one would start a war just to avoid paying tribute to the suzerain country. This seemed to be a loss, so it could only be regarded as an accident.

Suleiman left Balasagun early in the morning, and without even having time to meet the Song envoy, he led his guards to the army's gathering point, ready to go out for the attack.

Everyone had no choice but to wait patiently for Suleiman to return from the battle.

This situation continued until late December. The Song envoys received no news of Suleiman's return, nor did they receive any battle reports from either side.

After staying in the Karakhanid Khanate for more than twenty days, and while they were still waiting for the New Year which was approaching, the three envoys finally could not sit still any longer and decided to leave Eastern Karakhanid Khanate and go on a mission to Western Karakhanid Khanate first.

Anyway, they have to return by then, so it won't be too late to discuss with Suleiman on the way back after their mission to the Western Black Khanate.

So they asked for their resignation from the Black Khan Prince Muhammad who was in charge of the reception.

Although Muhammad tried his best to keep them, he was still unable to stop them. So one day in late December, the Song Dynasty envoys set out again and headed southwest to the Fergana Basin - the direction of the Western Karakhanid Khanate.

At the same time, Di Qing, who was stationed in Gaochang, was still waiting for news from Sun Youtong, Li Tao, Liu Bingyan and others. He knew that the road was long and it was winter, so it was normal for the trip to be slow.

So Di Qing was not impatient.

In fact, the purpose of this diplomatic mission was not to immediately invite the surrounding countries in the Western Regions to go to Bianliang to attend this year's court meeting.

It’s too late in terms of time.

It’s for next year.

The 93th year of the Qingli period was the rd anniversary of the founding of the Song Dynasty.

From Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu Zhao Guangyi, to Song Zhenzong Zhao Huan, and then to the current Emperor Zhao Zhen, it is already the fourth generation.

It was under Zhao Zhen's rule that the Song Dynasty reversed its previous decline, swept away surrounding powerful enemies, and established a powerful empire.

For this reason, Zhao Zhen planned to take this opportunity to communicate with the Western Regions, complete the Han and Tang dynasties' heroic achievements in the Western Regions, and then hold a grand celebration in the 12th year of the Qingli period.

He wants to invite four countries.

On the one hand, it demonstrated the power of the Song Dynasty, and on the other hand, it announced to the world that Chinese civilization would stand at the top of the world for the third time after the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Including the Liao Dynasty in the north, and the Bohai Kingdom and the Jurchen Kingdom that split from the Liao Dynasty, Goryeo on the Korean Peninsula, Japan in the east, Dali and Yue Dynasty in the south, and some small Tibetan states on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west.

There are also many small countries in the Arab Empire that are pro-Song in the Western Regions, Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, etc. The list of invited countries will reach more than sixty or seventy countries, and its momentum will be close to that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and then surpass it.

Therefore, as long as all the envoys of the Song Dynasty are notified of the news before the second half of next year, it will be fine.

As for whether you will come next year, you should consider the consequences.

Soon it was the beginning of the twelfth year of the Qingli period. In mid-January, when the Song army stationed in Qiuci was cruising along the border, they discovered more than a dozen disheveled, skinny people.

They quickly approached and realized that these people were actually envoys from the Black Khan.

Of the more than one hundred people on the diplomatic mission, only Sun Youtong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, Liu Bingyan, a deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and more than a dozen followers returned. The remaining one hundred people, including Li Tao, a doctor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all died in the West.

The diplomatic envoys were not completely without any force. They brought swords and guns. However, due to the long journey, they needed to carry more baggage, so they only had more than 20 guns and not many bullets.

Upon inquiry, they learned that they were attacked by the army of Ibrahim, the King of Western Hexagon, on the way, but fortunately they had guns to fight back.

Not only did they successfully repel the enemy's first wave of attack, but they also obtained a key piece of information from the prisoners - they were not Ibrahim's soldiers, but people from the Eastern Black Khan Suman!
And they also knew why the Karakhanid Khan Suleiman did this, which was to prevent the Western Karakhanid Kingdom from becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, receiving the protection of the Song Dynasty, and preventing the Song Dynasty from hindering their great cause of unification!
But it was precisely because of the miscalculation of the envoys' fighting power that Suleiman learned that the envoys were not only unharmed, but also had a clear idea of ​​their thoughts.

So Suleiman had no choice but to choose the worst strategy, and sent people to attack frantically in an attempt to kill and silence them.

Under the fierce attack, the envoys soon ran out of bullets and had to flee in separate directions, heading south into the Pamir Mountains. In the end, Li Tao led his men to cover their retreat, and only a dozen or so of them managed to escape back!

"boom!"

A few days later, in Gaochang.

Di Qing slammed the table and said angrily: "If we don't avenge this, how can our Song Dynasty dominate the world? Send an order to march west to Barsi Khan and destroy the Black Khanate!"

The Song army assembled quickly, and two months later, the Song army conquered Balasagun, and the Kara Khanate was destroyed!

(End of this chapter)