The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 517 Dayuan
Liu Rengui built the Western Regions into a strictly orderly city. No matter who the merchants were, whether they were Tibetans, Turks, or people from the Western Regions, they all conducted business in an orderly manner.

After listening to Li Fengjie's evaluation of Liu Rengui, Lou Shide said, "I will report the truth to the court."

As an imperial censor, he was also required to record various matters in Xizhou. Lou Shide simply recorded a few things about Xizhou City and then went to drink with Li Fengjie.

The windy season in the western region has not yet passed and will take at least another half month. It can only be said that it came at an unfortunate time.

Lou Shide took a sip of wine and asked, "How is the population of Jiaohe City?"

Li Fengjie said: "The Jiaohe City of that time actually no longer exists. It was rebuilt when Pei Xingjian was the Protector General of Anxi. The population was not that large, just over 20,000."

Lou Shide is still recording.

Li Fengjie was always careful when speaking, because he was also a descendant of a noble family, and his father was Li Daliang, the General of the Right Guard.

Although he was in the Western Regions, Li Fengjie still had connections with the sons of nobles in Chang'an City. There were two types of people in the court that should not be provoked the most. One was the people from Jingzhao Prefecture, and the other was the Censor.

Every time the censor went out, thousands of people would be escorted to the Western Regions to plant trees. They have been planting trees for twenty years and are still doing so.

We cannot offend Jingzhao Prefecture. If we offend Jingzhao Prefecture, we will probably not have peace in the future.

Of course, if it were really just this, then...it would probably be no different from before.

Nowadays, there is a group of people who should not be provoked, and that is farmers. If farmers go to Chang'an City to file a complaint, if someone really treats farmers badly, or if someone goes out to play and tramples on crops, the court will regard agriculture as the foundation of the country.

The three provinces and six ministries, both high and low, have not torn you to pieces. The fact that you are still alive is a sign of the mercy of the current emperor.

Li Fengjie also knew that things might not be as exaggerated as they seemed, but it was also a fact that farmers in Guanzhong were becoming more and more fierce.

Lou Shide stayed in Xizhou City for half a month. This year's wind season seemed to be over, so in late April he prepared to leave Xizhou City with an army.

Another person who left Xizhou with him was Liu Rengui. This time, Liu Rengui was also going to Suiye City to visit someone, Zhang Da'an, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture who was sent to Suiye City a year ago.

Li Fengjie bowed and said, "Yushi Lou, it would be better to wait another half month before setting off."

Lou Shide said: "I am carrying out the order of His Majesty and dare not delay for too long."

Liu Rengui said in a deep voice: "Let's go."

"Both of you return safely." Li Fengjie, who was standing at the foot of Xizhou City, bowed again and said, "When Xizhou is free, I will come to Congling to help."

Lou Shide led his troops and set off first.

Liu Rengui looked at the tall Xizhou city and turned the camels around and headed towards Tianshan Mountain.

Li Fengjie watched the team go, and as far as he could see, their figures could no longer be seen after they passed a high slope.

After standing in front of the city for a long time, Li Fengjie whispered, "I also want to fight."

"When does Li Duhu plan to go to Congling?"

Hearing the words behind him, Li Fengjie turned around and saw a young man about fifteen years old. He asked, "Who are you?"

"Student Yang Jiong has come to Anduhufu to teach."

The boy saluted respectfully. Li Fengjie asked, "Your behavior is very similar to that of a person back then."

Yang Jiong asked curiously: "Who is it?"

Li Fengjie thought for a moment and said, "I forgot."

Yang Jiong followed suit and asked, "Who should the students teach?"

When Li Fengjie walked, there was a friction sound from his armor. He said with some annoyance: "Go ask Chongwenguan, why ask me?"

The voices became farther and farther away. Li Fengjie and Yang Jiong walked into Xizhou City, and their voices were drowned out by the noise in the city.

Heading west from Xizhou, you can see the Tianshan Mountains. After crossing the Ili River, you will be greeted by gusts of cool breeze.

Lou Shide and Liu Rengui came all the way from Xizhou, and they also saw the statues of Tian Khan and Guo Luotuo.

Liu Rengui pointed at the statue and said, "Ever since Guo Luotuo came to the Western Regions and opened up the Karez, the people of the Western Regions have always remembered him."

Lou Shide asked, "I heard that when Guo Luotuo was digging karez in the Western Regions, tens of thousands of people died from exhaustion?"

Liu Rengui said: "They were all prisoners of war. Liu Rengui dug the karez when he was conquering Yugushe. At that time, he conquered Qiuci and Yanqi, and all the prisoners of war he captured were used to dig the karez. The nearly ten thousand mu of karez was a great feat in the world. Tens of thousands of people died when digging the wells, but the karez would nurture generations of people in the Western Regions."

Lou Shide felt that there was a certain cruelty in Liu Rengui's words, but Liu Rengui was a cruel person.

Liu Rengui looked at the Tianshan Mountains in the distance. On the endless grassland, he could see some low pine trees. On the vast grassland, he could see flocks of sheep gathered together to graze, and some shepherds were shouting loudly.

After resting for half a day, everyone headed towards Suiye City again.

Lou Shide said, "It will take three days from here to Issyk-Kul Lake. We will rest for a day at the camp at Issyk-Kul Lake, and then we will reach Suiye City in another five days. This road is much easier to travel. There are water sources along the way and we can hunt. At least we won't be thirsty or hungry."

Liu Rengui said loudly: "I must appreciate the scenery outside the Great Wall when I go to Suiye City."

According to the Book of Han, Dayuan was bordered by Kangju to the north, and by Dayuezhi and Wusun. Located on the plateau northwest of the Tianshan Mountains, Dayuan had always been a powerful country.

The lifestyle of the people in Dayuan is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. They have a strong resistance to disasters, and the area is rich in rice, wheat and grapes. More importantly, there are the bloody Tianshan horses here.

At that time, Emperor Wu of Han used a horse made of gold to exchange for a Ferghana horse from Dayuan but failed to get it. Then Emperor Wu of Han sent troops to attack Dayuan, and from then on Dayuan submitted to the Han Dynasty.

However, after the Eastern Han Dynasty and during the Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains' control over the Western Regions had become so weak that it was almost non-existent.

After that, the connection between the Central Plains and Dayuan was almost cut off. Now that the Tang Dynasty has recovered the Ili River and built the city of Suiye, Dayuan and the Tang Dynasty are still distant from each other, and the Dayuan people even got close to the Arabs at one point.

In today's Pamir Mountains, there are more and more black-clad Arabs appearing here.

The black-clad Arabs and the white-clad Hu merchants had increasingly close contacts, and even the Sai people began to divide themselves into two groups, with the city of Talas as the dividing line, with some joining the Tang people and some joining the Arabs.

A chilly wind blew through the lush forest, and a bright moon hung in the night sky. Under the cold moonlight, the royal city of Dayuan was very busy.

Among the white-clad Hu merchants, the renowned young Sogdian An Yanyan entered the royal palace of Dayuan.

An Yanyan is a very wise businessman. He came to meet the King of Dayuan today.

The King of Dayuan had white hair and beard. He sat on the throne and looked a little tired. A Hu girl was wiping the floor beside him. He said, "You said that the founding of the Dashi Kingdom was only fifteen years later than that of the Tang Dynasty?" An Yanyan bowed and said, "Yes, I heard that Dayuan was plagued by thieves recently, so I came to take a look."

The King of Dayuan had no interest in this Sogdian, because this Sogdian had escaped from the city of Talas and was now looking for someone to join him. Such a person would sooner or later join the Arabs.

The Arabs extended olive branches to Dayuan several times, but the king of Dayuan rejected them all because the Arabs were so arrogant and unreasonable.

In other words, everyone knows that the major overlords of Pamirs will reshuffle and wait to see who can offer the higher price.

Others couldn't understand it, including the King of Dayuan, but An Yanyan knew in his heart that in front of the powerful Tang and Arab countries, all the small countries in the Pamirs had no right to negotiate prices.

The King of Dayuan said solemnly: "They are just a few thieves. They will be found sooner or later."

An Yanyan saluted again and said, "The Tang army is coming."

"Tang troops?" The somewhat obese King of Dayuan suddenly sat up straight and asked, "Aren't Tang troops still in Suiye City?"

An Yanyan said again: "Let me tell the king a story."

The King of Dayuan sat down again, looking lazy.

An Yanyan, a young and thin man, was wearing a white robe unique to the Sogdians. He stood in this luxurious palace and began to narrate what happened in Xizhou that year.

This story happened more than 20 years ago, when An Yanyan was not yet born. He also heard the story from the elders of his clan, and his grandfather An Yuanshou also died in Xizhou.

Of course, how An Yanyan’s grandfather died has nothing to do with the death of King Gaochang.

After the death of King Gaochang, Prince Gaochang disappeared.

The failure of King Gaochang became a story circulated among the Sogdians, and the Sogdians, who were always quite wise, would tell this story to their children.

The Sogdians valued wisdom. Most of them had no place to settle down and often moved between the countries in the Pamir Mountains, where they had more or less family businesses.

Therefore, the white-clad Hu merchants became famous in the Pamir Mountains, and the Sogdians even had their own army and one or two cities during their heyday.

But now a very powerful businessman appeared, who once threatened the status of the white-clothed Hu merchants. This man was Murong Shun. Murong Shun was very loyal to the Tang army. All his achievements were related to the Tang army. He could even trade directly with the Tang army, which made the white-clothed Hu merchants very wary.

The story of the palace was still being told, and it came to the point where the Tang army general Hou Junji was approaching the city of Gaochang, and the expression of the King of Dayuan became a little nervous.

At this moment in the Dayuan Royal City, a figure was running in the streets, and the shouts of the Hu people could be heard behind him.

The figure ran to a mud house and stopped to rest. He took off his mask and revealed the face of a Tang man, none other than Di Renjie.

Di Renjie calculated the time ahead, took off his cloak and threw it to a man sitting in the corner.

When a group of Hu people chased after him, they found the thief wearing a turban and cloak. However, when they approached and pinned the man to the ground, they interrogated him and realized that they had caught the wrong person.

Inside the palace, just as An Yanyan finished telling the story to the King of Dayuan, a white-robed guard holding a scimitar walked in. He saluted and said, "King, we didn't find the thief."

The King of Dayuan said in a deep voice: "Then go look for it again."

"He may have fled the city."

"My gold!" The King of Dayuan threw the jade wine cup in his hand in anger and shouted, "Then send people out of the city to look for it."

An Yanyan listened to the king's roar and looked up at the starry sky.

The King of Dayuan said again: "I want to buy news!"

An Yanyan asked, "What news does the king want to buy?"

"Where did the thieves who stole my gold come from? If the Tang army is coming, where will they attack first?"

An Yanyan smiled and did not speak.

The King of Dayuan was annoyed and threw a piece of gold. The gold fell to the ground and made a sound that echoed in the palace.

An Yanyan then said: "The Tang army will attack Shiguo first because Shiguo is very rich."

"A thief who stole my gold?"

"The king will know tomorrow morning."

In the darkness of night, a team of guards happened to pass by the palace. There were a total of twelve guards in white, and they passed by in a hurry. Another Hu guard in white reported something to the King of Dayuan: several guards had just died, and clothes that the bandits had changed into were found.

An Yanyan finally understood where the uneasy feeling in his heart came from. The thief had not escaped at all, but had been in the city the whole time. He even killed several guards in just the past half minute.

Not only did the thief not escape, he also killed several guards. The King of Dayuan stroked his forehead and gritted his teeth and said, "Catch him! Find him!"

There is chaos in the Dayuan King's City tonight, and occasionally there are groups of Hu people running in the city.

An Yanyan stood on a high place in the royal city of Dayuan. In front of him was a basket of gold. It was the gold paid by the King of Dayuan in order to find the thief.

Several Sogdians walked to the wall in front of the palace. An Yanyan listened to their reports and drank milk tea calmly, saying, "It seems that there is more than one thief? They killed people and took gold? Why don't you run away?"

For many years, An Yanyan had not seen such courageous thieves, and there were not just one, but several of them. These thieves were not only good at stealing gold, but also agile, able to fight several people alone, and even know how to disguise themselves.

They had all the skills that a thief should have, but what puzzled An Yanyan was that these thieves seemed to be playing with the King of Dayuan.

An Yanyan sent someone to order the guards of the King of Dayuan to surround the palace. As long as the palace was not in chaos and martial law was imposed at dawn, it would not be difficult to catch the thief.

The night wind made Di Renjie's outer robes rustle. Finally, they came to a place where two Hu guards had just fallen down.

The two looked at each other and walked into the palace.

In the cover of night, teams of Hu guards began to guard the palace. Their response was quick and swift.

It was not difficult for An Yanyan to catch a thief, but another piece of news made him uneasy. Two bodies were found in the palace, which meant that the thief had entered the palace.

At this moment, An Yanyan became more and more worried. Where did this thief come from? He did not run away during the search, but instead entered the palace. He was very brave and cunning.

An Yanyan remained calm and ordered, "Send people to protect the king. They are just a few thieves. It will only kill a few more of the king's guards. As long as the king is alive, that's enough."

(End of this chapter)