The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 685: The Legacy of Dashilinya

Green grass, gurgling water, when Li Xingtai and others saw this scene again, many of them burst into tears.

The journey, originally estimated to take eight days, took nine and a half days. They were so desperate along the way that some of the imperial guards wanted to kill all the guides because they believed that the guides had deliberately led them to a dead end.

In the end, Li Xingtai remained calm, supported the guide in carefully identifying the direction, and finally walked out of this rugged and cold mountain area.

"General, there's a large tribe down the river. If we kill all their cattle and sheep, the army won't have a full meal, but we'll at least have enough to eat."

The guide pointed to the distance weakly and said that the journey that was like hell for everyone was finally over.

Prince Alim held up a wine glass and offered wine to the Kharti people who had gathered from all directions. For a member of the Kokand royal family, this was a serious violation of religious rules.

Because the Sufi mystical sect that controls Kokand is as conservative and extreme as the Wahhabis of the Caliphate, alcohol, singing and dancing are strictly prohibited.

But for these Kalti Jinbrut people, the greatest joy in life is big pieces of meat and big bowls of wine.

Moreover, they have always valued nomadism over farming, and their nomadic lifestyle and hardship have resulted in not having enough imams to strictly restrain them with religious doctrines. If you ask them not to drink, they will definitely cause trouble.

In fact, this is also the norm in the Central Asian region. They are not all fanatical believers of Islam as later generations thought, and the Western Regions did not become completely green after the Li family of Khotan was conquered.

The greening of the Western Regions was actually a very long and repetitive process, which lasted until the Qing Dynasty massacred all the Junggar people, and was finally established.

Even after it is confirmed, there is not much faith. True faith comes after three things happen.

The first was the decline of the Qing Dynasty, which led to the traditional Central Plains dynasty being unable to suppress local separatist tendencies, and the carrier of this separatist tendency was Islam.

The second reason was the relentless pressure from Tsarist Russia. The Russians were very cruel to their own people, not to mention other ethnic groups. When they entered the river, they killed almost 40% of the local people.

This terrifying high pressure of death forced the tribes in the river to start to unite, and the only group they could unite with was the Muslim sect.

Finally, nationalism emerged. Since the French Revolution, this trend has also spread to the people of Transoxiana, so they immediately found a common ancestor for themselves - the Turks.

Moreover, they consider themselves to be a Turkic nation, which is more justified than the Ottomans. All ethnic groups in the Central Asia can be more or less related to the Turks.

Since the cultural customs of the various ethnic groups in Central Asia have changed greatly over thousands of years, the identification with the Pan-Turkic nation can only be found in Islam.

The foundation of ethnic identities such as Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Uighur, and Kazakh were all formed during this era, and even the collective names for ethnic groups only came into being at this time.

Of course, in the 1792th year of Guangzhong (), all this had not yet begun, and the three conditions for achievement were still in their infancy.

Therefore, at this time, the truly devout believers were the Bujibeks, while the rest of the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc. were only superficial believers.

Prince Alim was already feeling a little tipsy after drinking with more than twenty leaders. He could only drink secretly on weekdays, so naturally he couldn't drink much.

However, Prince Alim was very satisfied because all the leaders, big and small, who came here agreed to his conscription request. As long as they could be hired at normal wages, these people could immediately gather two thousand people.

Kokand is difficult!

The failure of the war with the Khanate of Khiva eight years ago almost destroyed the core military force.

The generation that grew up after the war was no more than twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and the youngest was only in their teens. It was enough for them to fight against the Khanate of Khiva and the Khanate of Bukhara and keep Kokand, but it was not enough to deal with the Central Plains dynasty in the east.

By the way, his younger brother Muhammad Omar was defeated and killed in the Hui army last year, resulting in the loss of lives of more than 6,000 Kokand warriors.

This made the already poor Kokand even worse off. Otherwise, he would not have traveled so far as the crown prince to meet these barbarians from the Kharti Jin tribe.

"The Khan and I are both vassals of the Qing Dynasty, and have received the grace of the Qing Dynasty for generations. Now the Han barbarians have destroyed the Qing Dynasty and want to destroy us. The Chongbagashi tribe will never agree to this.

After we return, we will gather the warriors of our tribe and go to Andijan to serve the Khan."

Chongbagash is a branch of the Kalti Jinbrut. In addition to them, there are two other tribes present today, Qibchak and Qita.

After hearing what the leader of Chongbagash said, the other two "Bi" nodded, indicating that they were willing to help the Khanate of Kokand because they were both vassals of the Qing Dynasty.

Prince Alim's face was full of joy, but he felt disgusted in his heart.

These annoying guys say they believe in Allah, but they always mistake Allah for Kut and call Imam Bakshi. They are simply heretics. If they are not needed, they must be killed.

At this time, the Kyrgyz tribes still retained a large number of shamanistic customs. Kut was a sacred object they worshipped, which was a bit like a carrier of hope left behind by the gods.

Bakshi is a shaman who can control everything, call the wind and rain, and pray for blessings and ward off disasters.

Moreover, these Kharti people got drunk and forgot, or perhaps they were deliberately demonstrating, so their Bakshis appeared again, singing and dancing at the banquet, praying for the blessings of the gods for the Kharti people.

This is not just superficial faith, this is just saying that they believe in God, but in fact it is still shamanism.

Prince Alim's face turned pale, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Upon seeing this scene, the three leaders of Kalti Jinbrut, Chongbagash, Qibchak and Qita, looked at each other and became more certain that the Kokand people had encountered a big problem, otherwise they would not have been able to endure such a scene.

Kyrgyz is a very broad concept. The Qing Dynasty called these tribes west and north of Shule (Kashgar) the Thirty Sons of Kharti Jinbrut.

Although they were not marked as part of the Qing territory on the territorial maps of all dynasties, they were indeed managed by the Qing Dynasty's Kashgar Counselor Minister and were granted official positions. They had to go to Kashgar in batches every year to report on their work and pay tribute.

"I wonder how the Great Yu compares to the Great Qing. If they are half as powerful as the Great Qing, we'd better be careful and not let the Great Emperor mistake us for the Kokand rebels."

The leader of the Qita tribe, Juerhan Albi, said in a low voice, his eyes full of worry. Although he was envious of the conditions offered by the Kokand people, he was more afraid of encountering a real dragon.

"You, Albi, are a third-rank official and a Chinese. If you don't know whether the Great Yu Kingdom is a real dragon, how can we know? If it is a real dragon, why didn't you send troops over for so many years and have been delaying it until now?"

Juerhan Albi rolled his eyes, but he still enjoyed it when others called them Chinese, because they were indeed Chinese.

Because the Qing Dynasty deliberately translated the Qita tribe into this way. In fact, this is not the Qita tribe, but the Khitan tribe. Albi's surname is not Jurhan, but should be Jurhan.

These people are the descendants of the famous Western Liao people and the descendants of Dashilinya. The Juerhan family, a royal family of the Qita tribe, changed their Chinese surname to Ju during the Republic period.

Even the Qibchak tribe next to the Qita tribe is an old acquaintance. It would be more appropriate to transliterate them as Qipchaq.

Juerhan Albi smiled complacently and said with great yearning, "If the Great Emperor of the Central Plains would allow me to be a Han Chinese, I would immediately pick up my sword and chop Alim to death. It's a pity that they didn't come."

When the Qita tribe surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, they certainly would not mention this identity, because the Qing Dynasty claimed to be the Jin people, and at that time, the Han people were second-class Han, and there was not much benefit or glory in becoming one.

Now, of course, it was different. It was midday, and the weather was warmer, making it suitable for a meeting. Otherwise, gathering in the morning and evening on such a high mountain would freeze people to death.

The camp was set up by the river so that they could leave after the meeting.

It was quite convenient. The banquet had not been going on for long. Just when the three leaders saw that Prince Alim was about to lose his patience and were about to let Bakshi leave and stop the stimulation, bursts of exclamations came from outside the camp.

A dozen or so Qita people who were on guard upstream ran down the river, tumbling and crawling, as if they were being chased by a devil.

Feeling somewhat ashamed, the leader of the Qita tribe, Juerhan Albi, was about to reprimand with a stern face when he heard even more orderly footsteps.

Afterwards, a team swooped down the river like a mountain torrent. They wore large fur coats and carried flags. Within ten minutes, they rushed to the alliance camp.

"Flying Tiger Flag, Flying Tiger Flag, it's the Qing Dynasty, oh no, it's the Heavenly Soldiers of Dayu who have arrived!" Juerhan Albi, who had been a vassal of the Qing Dynasty for decades and still considered himself a Chinese, suddenly shouted.

The Flying Tiger Flag has been used in the military since ancient times, and the Qing Dynasty also used it a lot, but the Sun and Moon Flag was used more frequently in Dayu.

But Li Xingtai insisted on carrying the Flying Tiger Flag at this time, in fact, he wanted to borrow the former glory of the Qing Dynasty.

After all, it is still possible for someone who was able to destroy the Dzungar Khanate to intimidate these tribes in the Western Regions.

"Don't do anything, let's move aside!" shouted Juerhan Albi.

"Bring out the Flying Tiger Flag, the Flying Tiger Flag bestowed upon us by the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty!" The leaders of the Qibchak tribe were very smart. They were also qualified as a vassal army of the Qing Dynasty in those days, so they still had the Flying Tiger Flag.

So, Li Xingtai's subordinates who swooped down from the mountain along the river immediately saw the Flying Tiger Flag. They didn't think much about it and thought it was a tribe that had arranged an encirclement.

Li Xingtai also saw it clearly, and was not sure whether someone was outflanking them, but he could not let any accidents happen, so he roared, drew out his long sword, and led more than a hundred people to rush towards the guys with the Flying Tiger flag.

As long as we find out that they are not our own people, we will kill them all.

The sound of gunfire rang out densely, and the Kokand people who did not have the Flying Tiger flag immediately suffered a fatal blow.

The attacking soldiers were extremely frustrated, and they knew that they only had the strength for this one battle. If they failed to defeat the enemy, they would not have the energy to fight a second time after being hungry for more than a day.

Therefore, they fought extremely bravely, almost without regard for their lives.

The more than 400 Kokand guards fired only one round of musketry and immediately had no chance to fire again, because the Dayu soldiers ignored the casualties and rushed to them without any hesitation.

What followed was a brutal killing. Not to mention that their number was five times that of the Kokand people, even if the Kokand people were five times that of these soldiers, they would still be slaughtered.

The three Kaltijin tribes watched all this in horror, watching the Kokand Guards musketeers, who they thought were very powerful, being chopped down quickly by the Dayu soldiers like chopping branches.

"Which general is here? We are one of our own people!"

Damn, so brutal, he didn't even fire his gun, but just stabbed the person who was firing a gun with his bayonet.

The three leaders immediately made the judgment that they were no match for their opponent.

Among them, the Qita tribe slid down the fastest because they were actually a little bit looking forward to it.

Li Xingtai was also a little confused. What was going on?
He looked at the Flying Tiger Flag, then at the three leaders kneeling on the ground, and at the three warriors who were also throwing their swords on the ground in the distance, and he was completely puzzled.

"General, we are Khitans and vassals of the Great Dynasty!" Juerhan Albi shouted in Mongolian with a western Mo accent.

Naturally, there are many people on Li Xingtai's side who understand Mongolian, and even many who can understand Huihua.

"Khitans?" Li Xingtai was puzzled. At this time, why was there still a term called Khitans?

"Yes, Khitans, we are the descendants of Jurghan Yelu Dashi. We are from China and are Chinese!"

"We Chinese are eagerly awaiting the Chinese army!"

Seeing that Li Xingtai really fell for it, the leaders of the Chongbagash and Qibchak tribes became even more enthusiastic than the Qita tribe, and in an instant, both of them became Khitans.

Li Xingtai's mind moved. If he could subdue tens of thousands of local people here, then it would not be as simple as inserting a nail in Kokand to open up the situation for the army.

He had a bold idea, which was to rush directly to Kokand City, capture the Khan of Kokand, and basically paralyze the Kokand Empire.

"Let Baoning come over!"

Li Xingtai shouted, and General Baoning, who was charging into battle, hurried over. The professionals knew who these people were at a glance.

"This Flying Tiger Flag..." He carefully examined the Manchu and Mongolian characters on the lower left corner of the flag, a smile spreading across his face. "You, the Thirty Sons of Brute, do you still remember the imperial court?"

"Remember, remember, sir, we are Chinese too!" Juerhan Albi answered loudly.

This made Baoning stunned for a moment, then he suddenly realized and said to Li Xingtai:
"General, they are indeed Chinese. These people are indeed the descendants of Yelu Dashi, the remnants of the Western Liao Dynasty."

This is easy. Li Xingtai shouted, "Since you are a descendant of the Yelu family and not a Kokand bandit, do you dare to prove it by submitting a letter of surrender?"

"We dare, of course we dare." The leaders of the three tribes agreed immediately. They also knew what Li Xingtai wanted them to do, and they did not object.

Because these Khalti Jinbuluts have actually never been liked by the Kokand people. It’s just that they are few in number, and after losing the support of the Qing Dynasty, they have to pretend to be friendly with Kokand.

Historically, they had used the power of Sharo to fight against Kokand, but Sharo was more ruthless, so they gave up the land of Fergana and most of them moved to southern Xinjiang.

As he was speaking, hundreds of Kokand guards had just been knocked down. Prince Alim of Kokand, who wanted to hide but was unfamiliar with the place and had nowhere to run, was dragged here like a dead dog.

Looking at the prince who was just in the alliance meeting, the three leaders did not hesitate at all. At Li Xingtai's signal, each of them stabbed Prince Alim with a knife, causing him to scream in pain and die on the spot soon after.

Li Xingtai was very satisfied. "Since you still remember your identities, I will give you a chance. Go and recruit warriors now. I want 2,000 men. You take me with you and go directly to attack Kokand City.

After we take it, I'll take 70% and the remaining 30% will be yours.

Gold, silver, treasures, women's brocade, all will be divided among you. In the future, when the great emperor rewards you for your merits, he will let you come down from the mountains and rule over these lowly Kokand people together with the Han people!"

"Long live the emperor!" The three groups of people had wanted to do this for a long time, but they just never had the chance, so they immediately cheered.

(End of this chapter)