Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 471 You Can't Afford This Fishpond
Luoyang.

Jinyong City.

After the Hephthalite envoy left, Hou Jing entered.

Li Shuang was holding a beautiful sapphire, a gift from Heda, and was playing with it.

"Your Majesty, I've seen that 'Pearl' (referring to a beautiful woman), and I heard she's a princess. She's so beautiful!"

Li Shuang shifted her gaze from the exquisitely cut sapphire in her hand to Hou Jing and asked:

"The Hephthalite land is 20,000 miles away from here. Even traveling day and night, it would probably take more than 200 days. What princess would travel such a long distance to send to Luoyang?"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing became wary and asked:
"If that's the case, what are the Hephthalites up to?"

"Anagui occupied the Wusun Mountains and was at the height of his power. The Hephthalites were retreating towards the Yibo Sea. The Hephthalites understood that if they abandoned the old Wusun territory, Anagui would next control Gaochang, Yiwu, and even annex Yanqi, Kucha, and Gumo as vassal states. At that time, the Hephthalites would lose control of the trade routes."

After listening, Hou Jing said with concern:

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, our army's Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and even Wuwei will also be invaded, and Liangzhou will likely never have a peaceful day."

Li Shuang nodded and said:

"Therefore, the Hephthalites sought an alliance with us in an attempt to contain the Rouran."

"But the troops from Longyou are currently watching Tuyuhun. It would be unwise to transfer them to the Western Regions. Besides, what will happen to the provisions for these elite troops from Longyou on their expedition to the Western Regions?"

Liangzhou's importance lies not only in its strategic location in the Hexi Corridor, but also in the fact that it possesses vital strategic resources, such as warhorses.

The Damaying Grassland in Zhangye is home to 30,000 warhorses and hundreds of thousands of livestock, making it extremely important to Longyou and even Guanzhong.

If the resources here are seized by the Rouran or Tuyuhun, the entire Guanzhong region will be greatly affected.

“The states of Gaochang, Yanqi, and Kucha have not yet sided with the Rouran. If our army marches out of Yumen Pass, we can still get supplies.”

"Does Your Majesty intend to send troops?"

"Neither go out nor go out."

Hou Jing was taken aback, looked at Li Shuang, and asked:

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

"Let them fight their battles, we'll fight ours."

Li Shuang placed the gemstone on the ground, unfolded a map from the side, and pointed to Juyanze, north of Zhangye.

"The main force of the Hephthalites is still intact and has not been wiped out by Anagui. However, the Hephthalites have spread their territory too far and attracted too many people, resulting in their military forces being scattered in various places and unable to be concentrated. We should take this opportunity to send troops north to devour Anagui's remaining forces in Juyanze, and then build a city to defend it. In this way, Zhangye and Jiuquan can be safe."

"Even so, it still couldn't stop Anagui from swallowing up the old lands of Wusun. At that time, our garrison troops in Dunhuang will still be harassed by the Rouran troops."

Li Shuang nodded and said:

"Therefore, the alliance between Tuyuhun and Xirouran must be broken so that the Hephthalites have enough troops to contain Anagui in the former territory of Wusun."

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Li Shuang smiled and said:
“Send that bearded Hephthalite envoy, along with that ‘pearl,’ to Fusi City and hand him over to Khalil.”

……

Fushi City!
Kualu sat on his throne, watching the Hephthalite envoy from Luoyang recount his story, a hint of worry and confusion on his face.

After the Hephthalite envoy finished speaking, Khalil nodded and said:

"I am already aware of the envoy's intentions. May we discuss this further later?"

The Hephthalite envoy bowed and left. Khalil then looked at Yaren of Tuyuhun beside him and asked:

"What does the Heavenly Khan mean by this?"

Li Shuang's attack on Jiankang with 5,000 cavalry, and his subsequent relocation of Emperor Liang and over 300,000 Jiankang residents to Luoyang, had a tremendous impact not only on the internal affairs of both the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but also on the surrounding countries, and perhaps even more profoundly on them.

"The Khan certainly doesn't want us to continue our alliance with the Western Rouran to deal with the Hephthalites!" Ya Ren said bluntly, because there was no need to hide it.

"What do you think?"

Kualü questioned the princes and nobles under his command, but none dared to speak. Only the elderly Prince Yong'an, leaning on his cane, stepped forward and said:

"Khan, I think it is feasible."

"Why?"

"Our army has already occupied the southern route of the trade route and subjugated the countries along the southern route. Our forces will soon reach the Pamir Mountains. If we advance any further, we will inevitably be countered by the Hephthalite garrison. They will not stand by and watch us cut off the northern route. In this way, we can make peace with the Hephthalites, the trade route can continue to be open, and our country will also benefit greatly."

"The Rouran are powerful, and I am worried that Anagui will blame me."

Prince Yong'an shook his head and said:
"The Rouran and the Hephthalites will have a great battle to determine the hegemon of the Western Regions. Whoever wins will not continue to sit idly by and watch our country control the Southern Route."

The meaning of the Prince of Yong'an was very clear: take advantage of the chaos in the Western Regions and make as much money as possible.

The longer the Rouran and the Hephthalites fought, the longer the Tuyuhun could gain control.

"Khan, our nation's foundation lies in the Western Sea. Whoever is the overlord of the Western Regions is irrelevant, as their military might cannot reach the snowy lands."

"I understand. Therefore, I will send an envoy to establish an alliance with the Hephthalites."

After the discussion was completed, everyone left, but Kua Lü kept Ya Ren behind.

"Don't you think that in the Tuyuhun region these days, as long as something is related to that Khan, no one dares to say a word?"

Seeing the displeasure on Kua Lu's face, Ya Ren simply said softly:

"The rulers of the Western Regions are none of our concern, but the wrath of the Heavenly Khan is something we cannot bear."

Ya Ren said what the Prince of Yong'an hadn't said earlier, and Kua Lu's face turned somewhat pale.

"Yes!"

Kualu stood up from the throne, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"The Heavenly Khan has established several prefectures ceded by my Tuyuhun as tributary prefectures, and still allows the kings and marquises of my Tuyuhun to serve as governors of these tributary prefectures. Sometimes I really don't know whether the kings and marquises in Fusi City are my subjects or the Heavenly Khan's subjects."

Ya Ren knew that Kualü was very dissatisfied with the current situation within Tuyuhun, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Within the Tuyuhun, the tribal leaders were not fully integrated. These individuals possessed their own territories and herdsmen; they could be kings and marquises of Kualü, and naturally, they could also be governors under Li Shuang.

"Khan!"

Kua Lu waved his hand, and in an instant, the resentment on his face completely disappeared. He said:
"Yaren, write a letter for Ben Khan."

"promise!"

Ya Ren had prepared his brush and ink and was about to put pen to paper when Kua Lü slowly spoke:

"I am deeply grateful for the grace of the Heavenly Khan. Tuyuhun is a small and weak kingdom located in the western sea. We should also serve as the Heavenly Khan's wings to stabilize the western border. Whatever the Heavenly Khan commands, our tribe will strive to be the first to fulfill our duty as his subjects! I humbly beg for your permission!"

Seeing Khalil's demeanor, Yaren knew that Khalil was about to completely change his previous diplomatic approach. However, wasn't this change in attitude too sudden?

"In addition, select twenty beauties from the Western Regions and send them to Chang'an along with the tribute."

Yaren left, and in the empty hall, Khalil uttered a soft murmur.

"Release him to the Western Sea, so that he may be left to my descendants!"

Kua Lü sneered, his voice filled with resentment and anger, and said:

"Ohno Sou, you wait and see, this fish will one day transform into a dragon."

……

(End of this chapter)