History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1018: Shaking People 2
"Secret War in the Western Regions" - Gaochang Kingdom
In the spring of the sixth year of Taipingxingguo (981), an envoy named Maisouwen came to Bianzhou to pay tribute. He said that he came from a small country with picturesque scenery and four seasons of summer. He came to pay tribute to the great country of the Celestial Empire on the orders of its king, Asilan Khan, the Lion King of Xizhou.

The people of the Song Dynasty were not unfamiliar with the place he mentioned, because since the time of Emperor Taizu of Song, the country had paid tribute many times and the two sides maintained friendly diplomatic relations, but at that time they were still called - Uighurs.

I believe that anyone who has a little knowledge of Chinese history will not be unfamiliar with the Uighurs, and will probably exclaim, "Oh - it's him!" But the feeling of familiarity is always fleeting, and few people can systematically sort out the ins and outs of the Uighurs.

I guess Song Taizong’s first feeling at that time was the same as you and me now: Why did the Uighurs change their name?
It’s complicated to explain, so I will only briefly talk about the parts that lay the foundation for the following story.

In fact, this place has been Chinese territory since ancient times. It was incorporated into the Han Dynasty. There is a city built on a high, flat and spacious land, and the people live a prosperous life, so it is named "Gaochang". After the Central Plains experienced the turmoil of the late Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was out of reach of this place. The local tyrants and barbarians proclaimed themselves kings. Until the Sui Dynasty, they paid tribute to the Central Plains as "Kings of Gaochang".

In the early Tang Dynasty, Hou Junji destroyed the country and renamed it "Xizhou", which was re-incorporated into China. After the "Anshi Rebellion", this place once again broke away from the control of the court and declared its restoration. It is said that this time it was renamed "Gaochang Kingdom", and some erroneously called it "Gaochang". There were many Uighurs in its jurisdiction, so the people in the Central Plains also habitually distinguished them according to their ethnic composition and generally called them "Uighurs".

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song, Gaochang Kingdom paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, and the people of Song still habitually recorded their leader as "Xizhou Uighur Khan."

Then, as mentioned above, in early 981, the King of Gaochang, who called himself "Lion King", paid tribute to the Song Dynasty. This year has been mentioned many times. Zhao Guangyi was busy mobilizing people to form a group to fight against the Liao Kingdom. Didn't this lion from the Western Regions come to the door on his own?

Although Gaochang was not invited to join the group, more friends are always better than more enemies, and Zhao Guangyi's ambition went far beyond the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, or to restore the territory to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. His grand ambition was far ahead of his strength.

Zhao Guangyi sent diplomat (envoy) Wang Yande to lead a team to return the visit to Gaochang. This was not a simple and perfunctory courtesy visit. Judging from the subsequent plot development, Comrade Wang Yande should have accepted some kind of mission to open a road to the West for the Song Dynasty and conduct preliminary research for future grand plans.

Wang Yande left Beijing in May 981, arrived in Gaochang in April 5, and left for home with more than 982 envoys from Gaochang in early 4, returning to Bianzhou in April 983. It took nearly three years, and he brought back his travel notes.

This travelogue records many anecdotes along the way, which greatly broadened the horizons of the people of the Song Dynasty. Wang Yande could have become famous overnight with the column "Feng Yan Feng Yu", wearing Hanfu, waving a folding fan, promoting Western universal values ​​with ulterior motives, and advocating the Western world like the Peach Blossom Spring. He could also put on a condescending public intellectual face, criticizing and educating the ignorant and backward people...

For now, we will only select some content related to the main task:
According to Wang Yande's records, in terms of geography, "Gaochang is Xizhou" was originally Chinese territory. To the south was Khotan (now Hotan County, Xinjiang), and to the southwest was Dashi and Persia.
In terms of climate, there is very little precipitation (no rain or snow and extremely hot). In summer, people live in caves underground. How hot can it be here? For example, birds dare not fly because if they fly, their wings will be burned by the sun and they will fall.
In terms of folk customs, the rich eat horses, and the poor eat sheep and ducks and geese; women wear oil hats, also called "Sumuzha"; there are activities similar to the "Water Splashing Festival"; people are good at singing and dancing, and when traveling, pipa or konghou is one of the must-have items; there are Buddhist temples here, which contain a large number of scriptures, all of which were given during the Tang Dynasty. The Buddhist temples are surrounded by the most prosperous and lively business district in the area; there is an Imperial Book Tower, which contains imperial edicts given to them by Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. They are regarded as national treasures and are heavily guarded; there is also a Manichaeism Temple with Persian and other believers; there are many ethnic groups, such as Southern Turks, Northern Turks, Yangmo, Gelu, Kyrgyzstan, etc.; the people are wealthy, and if someone has difficulties in life, everyone will take the initiative to help him. The average life expectancy is very long, centenarians are common, and there are almost no premature deaths (there are no poor people in the country, and those who go on hunger strike are given relief. Most people live long lives, most of them are over a hundred years old, and few die young).

The description of the last two sentences is indeed unexpected, it belongs to the Western Paradise.

At that time, the Lion King was staying in Beiting for the summer vacation, and his uncle Aduo Yuyue was the regent. Aduo sent someone to greet him and said, "I am the king's uncle, will you bow to me?" Wang Yande replied that he came on behalf of the Song Dynasty and could not bow according to the etiquette. "Then will you bow to our king?" Wang Yande said sorry, but according to the rules, he could not bow.

The minister of the superior country becomes the ruler of the current state.

Aduo was very angry, so he deliberately delayed the formal meeting with Wang Yande and his party for several days. After calming down for a few days, Aduo finally came to his senses. After the meeting, Aduo's attitude was still very respectful (although his etiquette was quite respectful). In response to the warm invitation of the Lion King, Wang Yande and others went to Beiting to meet the Lion King.

Starting from Gaochang City, it took half a month to reach Jinling. "It rains and snows a lot after crossing the mountain." There is a stone tablet on the mountain, engraved with "Little Snow Mountain". There is snow on the mountain, and people wear fur coats. After crossing this snow mountain, it took another day to reach Beiting. The Lion King sent an envoy to ask the envoy to take it easy and receive them in a few days. I hope you will understand. Then, after another seven days, the Lion King finally received Wang Yande with his family.

Why did the Lion King wait a few days to receive him? Not long after, Wang Yande found out the truth. It turned out that the Liao Kingdom had also sent an envoy, who said to the Lion King: "Gaochang has been a Chinese territory since ancient times and was the Western Province of the Han Dynasty. Now the Central Plains has sent an envoy to spy on you and then send troops to recapture it. You can do whatever you want."

When Wang Yande first arrived in Beiting, the Lion King was probably entertaining envoys from the Liao Kingdom, so it was not convenient to meet him.

After learning about this, Wang Yande said to the Shi Zi Wang: "The Khitans have always been against the Central Plains. This time they came here just to sow discord. Please wait a moment, I will go and kill them all!"

Shi Zi Wang was shocked and hurriedly persuaded Wang Yande to stop the diplomatic incident. Wang Yande almost paid tribute to Ban Chao's "You can't get the tiger cub without entering the tiger's den".

In this travelogue, Wang Yande also mentioned a magical place. According to his records, alum is produced in the mountains north of Beiting, but smoke often suddenly rises from the mountains. If it is at night, you can see flames, and miners must wear wooden clogs, otherwise they will burn their feet... Yes, the legendary Flaming Mountain.

In Wang Yande's description, the Western Regions are beautiful and rich, and admire the culture of the Central Plains. However, at the same time, the Western Regions are also very far away. A single trip takes a year, and there are only deserts and snow-capped mountains along the way. How bad is the environment along the way? For example, there is a desert called "Liukesha", "the sand is three feet deep and horses can't walk", and the edge of the desert "does not breed grains", and the locals can only eat a kind of grass that grows in the sand; near Yumen Pass, "the land has no water or grass, and grain is carried on the road"; there is also Guigukou, where strong winds never stop...

On his way to the west, Wang Yande presented the imperial edicts granted by the Song Dynasty court and a large number of gifts to the chieftains of each tribe, and the chieftains of each tribe sent envoys to express their gratitude. Wang Yande's trip appeased the tribes in the Western Regions, intimidated the various tribes, spread the seeds of kingship, and accumulated intangible political and diplomatic assets for the Song Dynasty. His contribution is invaluable.

After the above analysis, it is not difficult to see that the iron must be strong in order to forge iron. Zhao Guangyi's "Yongxi Northern Expedition" can only rely on the Song Dynasty itself.

(End of this chapter)