I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 383 Xiao Tabuyan's Little Darling
...

"Your Majesty, I have another great fortune to offer."

Upon hearing Xiao Tabuyan's words, Zhang Chun immediately realized that she had a backup plan.

Zhang Chun smiled slightly, 'This little girl is quite cunning.'

Zhang Chun didn't take this to heart at all.

Zhang Chun knew all too well how treacherous the imperial harem was. Since entering the palace, she had witnessed far too many silent wars. How many of those seemingly gentle and demure concubines weren't harboring ulterior motives? What means wouldn't they use to vie for the emperor's favor?
There was no way around it; the emperor was the only man in the harem of three thousand beauties. Zhao Yu's harem was even more extreme, with over ten thousand beauties but only Zhao Yu as the sole man.

The intrigue and power struggles within the imperial harem were never the result of individual women's malice, but rather an inevitable product of the "ten thousand women serving one husband" system. The emperor was the sole center of power; his attention was not only for emotional support but also for the allocation of resources for survival. This exclusivity destined the women of the harem to engage in fierce competition.

Those of lower rank were vying for a foothold. Their allowances, the attitudes of the palace servants, and their living conditions all depended on the emperor's attention. If they were not seen for a long time, not only would their monthly allowance be meager, but even the palace maids who cleaned the palace would be neglected. In winter, the charcoal would be shortchanged, and in summer, the ice would be delayed. They might even become victims of those of higher rank who were establishing their authority and vying for favor, arbitrarily accused of "disrespect" or "impropriety," and end up being exiled to the cold palace.

Those in the middle ranks contend for a stable position. Although they wield some influence, they constantly face competition from newcomers. The emperor's interest in novelty is limited; once a younger, more charming woman appears, past favor can quickly vanish. To maintain their positions, they must closely monitor the emperor's movements, decipher his preferences, or plant spies in the imperial kitchen and laundry department to keep track of their rivals' actions, using methods such as "intercepting rewards" and "passing on misinformation" to prevent others from approaching the emperor.

Even those of high rank were not immune to strife. Even those who had gained the emperor's trust still had to guard against the risk of being "replaced." Other concubines would join forces against them, spreading rumors of their "jealousy" and "interference in court affairs," or finding fault with their palace duties to weaken their power. They had to remain constantly vigilant, maintaining a perfect image in the emperor's eyes while suppressing potential threats to preserve their existing prestige.

Ultimately, the power struggles within the imperial harem are a survival game under extreme resource imbalance. When the fates of over ten thousand women are tied to the whims of a single man, intrigue and backstabbing become the unspoken rules of survival, and few can truly remain uninvolved.

Of course, Zhang Chun is definitely an exception.

Now she holds a stable position as a Noble Consort. The key point is that since she entered the palace nearly twenty years ago, she has always enjoyed the emperor's favor and is definitely Zhao Yu's most favored concubine.

Therefore, the tea on her table was always at a comfortable temperature, and the palace servants in the hall even breathed very softly.

There's really no need for Zhang Chun to bother with Xiao Tabuyan, especially since Zhang Chun intends to bring Xiao Tabuyan under his command.

However, Zhang Chun was also curious about what Xiao Tabuyan meant by "great wealth and honor." Was it rare treasures or some kind of priceless delicacy? Or was she trying to use this opportunity to gain favor with the emperor once again?

Thinking of this, Zhang Chun couldn't help but shake her head slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips. She wanted to see what tricks Xiao Tabuyan could pull.

Zhao Yu was clearly intrigued by Xiao Tabuyan's words. His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he asked, "Oh? What is this great wealth?"

Xiao Tabu Yan no longer concealed his intentions and said directly, "I wonder if Your Majesty has heard of Khatun City? There are at least two hundred thousand fine horses in this city at present..."

Khatun City was the seat of the Northwest Route Pacification Commission of the Liao Dynasty. It faced the nomadic tribes such as the Zubu, Wugu, and Dilie in the northern desert. Relying on the cavalry forces of the city and the surrounding pastures, it built the first line of defense in the north of the Liao Dynasty, effectively curbing tribal rebellions. The Liao court had repeatedly used the troops stationed in Khatun City to quell uprisings by the Zubu tribe, preventing the turmoil in the northern desert from affecting the core ruling area.

Located in the heart of the Mongolian Plateau, bordering Siberia to the north and Central Asia to the west, it served as a strategic frontier for the Khitan to resist the Karakhanid Dynasty and emerging forces on the Mongolian Plateau. With its standing cavalry of "one soldier and many horses" (20,000 cavalrymen and their warhorses), it formed a deterrent force and ensured the stability of the western and northern borders of the Liao Empire.

Khedun City is located in the upper reaches of the Tula River grassland zone, which has a temperate grassland climate with abundant summer rainfall. The pasture grass can reach heights of over one meter and is rich in protein and minerals. According to the "Khitan Folk Songs," the area boasts "ten thousand miles of green grass in spring," sufficient to meet the grazing needs of large herds. Winters also bring stable snow cover without burying the pasture (what the Khitans call a "year of abundant harvest for cattle and horses"), avoiding both "black disasters" (snowlessness leading to grass death) and "white disasters" (heavy snow covering the pastures). Horses have a much higher winter survival rate than in other grassland areas. Furthermore, the Tula River and its tributaries form a dense network of waterways, providing ample water for the horses and nourishing the riverside marshes and wetlands, creating a natural buffer zone for grazing and reducing the risk of disease transmission.

In addition, the Khitans regarded horses as the foundation of their state and established a strict system for managing horse herding. Qadun City was the core node of this system in the northwest.

—The Liao Dynasty established the "General Administration of Pastures" and the "Administrative Pastures of Various Routes," and Khatun City was even equipped with dedicated horse-breeding officials responsible for the breeding, training, and inventory of horses. According to the "History of Liao: Annals of Emperor Daozong," during the reign of Emperor Daozong of Liao, the number of government-run horses nationwide reached one million, and Khatun City, as a strategic pasture, accounted for more than one-fifth of them.

Furthermore, the Liao court positioned Qatun City as the "empire's last strategic reserve," and enforced a system to guarantee the stock of warhorses. During the reign of Emperor Shengzong of Liao, it was stipulated that "no matter what state the country is in, the 20,000 cavalrymen of Qatun City are not allowed to go south." The warhorses of this standing army were always kept at full strength, and a "one soldier, multiple horses" system was implemented (cavalrymen were usually equipped with two to three warhorses for rotation), with the number of warhorses belonging to the army alone reaching 40,000 to 60,000.

The war between the Jin and Liao dynasties at the end of the Liao dynasty mainly took place in the east and south. Because Qadun City was located in the northern desert, far from the main battlefield, and had the desert barrier to block the Jin army, its government-run pastures were not destroyed by the war.

Furthermore, nomadic peoples "customarily ride horses, and their sons carry hoes." Both men and women are skilled in riding and archery, and even the empresses and concubines "are adept at archery and horsemanship, and never fail to accompany them on military campaigns and hunting expeditions."

In this social atmosphere, the tribes around Qatun City not only raised horses for the government, but also paid tribute to the Liao court with horses, forming a complementary relationship between the government and private horse-breeding.

Khatun City was also the central hub for the Liao Dynasty's rule over northern Mongolia, controlling several tribes such as the Zubu and Wugu.

These tribes lived a nomadic life, and horses were their core wealth. The Liao court incorporated the tribes' horses into its strategic reserves through methods such as "tribute" and "trade," further expanding the scale of warhorses in Qatun City.

Therefore, thanks to its natural pastures and state-run horse breeding system, Khatun City had a long-term reserve of hundreds of thousands of warhorses. These warhorses were not only the lifeline of the Northwest garrison, but also a reserve resource for the Khitan cavalry, making them a lifeline in times of war.

Besides warhorses, the grasslands surrounding Qadun City were rich in cattle and sheep, providing ample meat, furs and other supplies for the garrison and the rule of the northern desert. At the same time, through tribal tributes and trade, various nomadic economic products gathered, making it the distribution center of Khitan's resources in the northern desert, supporting the costs of long-term garrisoning and rule.

Although the Song Dynasty has now begun its industrial revolution, it is undeniable that trains and cars at this stage are far from being able to conquer the vast world, or even cross the vast grasslands. Warhorses remain the irreplaceable lifeline for mobility in this era.

The railway tracks of the Song Dynasty were still being laid. From the water towns of Jiangnan to the northwestern frontier, within a territory of thousands of kilometers, there were less than three thousand miles of railways capable of carrying trains. The vast majority of prefectures and counties still relied on ancient post roads for connection, and warhorses were the most reliable power source on these post roads.

The post station couriers continued to ride fast horses, delivering imperial edicts, local reports, and merchant news at an urgent speed of eight hundred li.

Even cotton cloth produced by textile factories in Jiangnan, to be transported to military towns on the northwestern border for trade in the Western Regions, first had to reach Chang'an via the Grand Canal, and then be transferred by mule and horse caravans. The guide horses leading the caravans and the packhorses carrying the goods remained crucial to the transportation chain. Furthermore, while steamships could navigate major rivers, they could not penetrate deep into the inland grasslands and mountains. In those areas not yet reached by rail, the speed and endurance of warhorses remained the core standard for measuring transportation efficiency.

For the Song Dynasty army, the strategic value of warhorses was something that industrial machines could not replace in the short term.

Although the newly formed artillery units were equipped with steam-powered artillery tractors, the tractors often got stuck in the rugged mountains and muddy wastelands, and in the end, they still had to rely on warhorses to pull the artillery forward.

Cavalry units remained the main force for battlefield mobility. Even though the soldiers were equipped with relatively advanced firearms, they still needed warhorses to quickly deploy them to the flanks of the battlefield to achieve flanking maneuvers.

To put it simply, in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, although the Song Dynasty had already ignited the spark of technology, it still needed to rely on warhorses to build a transportation and military network that connected its territory and ensured national defense.

Last year, a torrential rain paralyzed the railway from Yundi to Yandi. Three hundred trains carrying coal from Yundi to Bianjing, which were originally planned to be transported by steam railcars, were stranded at Juyongguan Pass due to the collapse of the roadbed after the tracks were soaked by rainwater.

The Transport Commissioner, Lü Yihao, decisively activated the backup plan—he requisitioned tens of thousands of horse-drawn carriages from Yan and Yun regions and recruited a large number of laborers to repackage the coal from the carriages. Experienced horsemen then pulled the carriages along the muddy paths beside the post road. These warhorses, with their hooves wrapped in anti-slip hemp, steadily climbed the slippery slopes, and even when encountering landslide-prone sections, they could find a way around them by following the mountain trails.

Three days later, while the railway tracks were still awaiting repair, the coal wagons had already finished loading and transported the three hundred trainloads of coal onto trains dispatched by the imperial court, bound for Tokyo and Jiangnan, just in time to address the heating needs of Tokyo Bianliang and the Central Plains region.

The traffic crisis triggered by this rainstorm made the Song Dynasty realize more clearly that although steam-powered vehicles in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution demonstrated great carrying capacity on plains and rivers, warhorses remained an irreplaceable emergency hub in the face of complex terrain and unexpected situations.

In short, although the Song Dynasty had already begun its industrial revolution, and even had trains and rudimentary cars and tractors, warhorses were still a valuable asset that the Song Dynasty needed in the short term.

Most importantly, historically, it was the 200,000 warhorses from Qatun City that gave Yelü Dashi the "confidence" to launch his westward expedition, enabling him to establish the Western Liao Empire in Central Asia and continue the flame of Khitan civilization.

With these 200,000 warhorses, the Song Dynasty would be greatly empowered to conquer the grasslands.

It could even be said that with these 200,000 warhorses, the Song Dynasty could have recovered the Western Regions, conquered Central Asia, and even reached Europe.

Looking at it this way, Xiao Tabuyan really did offer Zhao Yu a great fortune.

When Xiao Tabuyan mentioned the 200,000 warhorses of Khatun City, both Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun acknowledged the great wealth Xiao Tabuyan spoke of.

Zhao Yu was also someone who favored those who served him.

Seeing that Xiao Ta was useless, Zhao Yu said to her, "Come sit here."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tabuyan obediently came to Zhao Yu's side.

Zhao Yu pulled Xiao Tabuyan into his lap.

At this point, Zhao Yu said, "The 200,000 warhorses of Khatun City are indeed excellent, but it is thousands of miles away from our Great Song Dynasty, and there are grasslands and deserts in between, making it very difficult to reach. My beloved consort, do you have any way to help me?"

This is also the main reason why hundreds of thousands of Liao warhorses were still preserved in Qatun City even after the Liao Dynasty was destroyed. Otherwise, such a large amount of wealth would have attracted a lot of attention and competition.

Xiao Tabuyan wanted Zhao Yu to say those words, so she readily agreed, saying, "My family has been patrolling the grasslands for the Liao Dynasty for generations. Many members of my family often go to Khatun City and can act as guides. If Your Majesty sends another large army to go north together, we will surely be able to capture Khatun City and bring back all the warhorses, cattle, and sheep."

When Xiao Tabuyan said that, how could Zhao Yu not know that she was pleading for her family?

That very night, Zhao Yu had Xiao Tabuyan serve him in bed, and he only chose her and Zhang Chun's names, without a third person, truly treating her well.

The following day, Zhao Yu promoted Xiao Tabuyan to the rank of Jieyu and granted a special pardon to Xiao Tabuyan's family. He also returned some of the women from Xiao Tabuyan's family to their original family.

Furthermore, Zhao Yu also met with Xiao Tabuyan's patriarch, Xiao Li, who was Xiao Tabuyan's father, and talked to him about the affairs of Khatun City.

Perhaps seeing Zhao Yu's goodwill, or perhaps accepting the reality of the Liao Dynasty's demise and the Song Dynasty's rise to power over the Central Plains and grasslands, or perhaps not wanting his family to perish and wanting to restore their glory, Xiao Li answered Zhao Yu's questions without reservation. He even took the initiative to tell Zhao Yu many things that Zhao Yu was not very familiar with, demonstrating his and his family's willingness to serve the Song Dynasty.

After this meeting, Zhao Yu appointed Xiao Li as a defense commissioner for his merit in making Xiao Tabuyan pregnant with the emperor's child, and also appointed Xiao Tabuyan's two older brothers as gatekeepers.

Zhao Yu also bestowed upon Xiao Tabuyan's family a piece of land, as well as 10,000 strings of cash, 100 bolts of cloth, and 100 cattle, horses, and sheep each, to enable the family to establish themselves in the Song Dynasty.

Xiao Li was very sensible and took the initiative to submit a memorial, offering his family the opportunity to send someone as a guide to lead the Song army to Khatun City and take the 200,000 warhorses.

That leaves only one question: who should be sent to handle this matter...?

……

(End of this chapter)