The Great Han Dynasty: From Crown Prince Li to Emperor of All Ages!

"What do you think the Han should do to deal with the Qiang people?"

Liu Ju raised a question that none of the court officials had ever considered.

"I?"

Zhao Chongguo pointed to himself, somewhat incredulous; he was just a lowly knight.

"Yes, it's you."

Liu Ju nodded slightly, his eyes very serious.

"promise."

Zhao Chongguo's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said, word by word, "Your Highness."

"This humble general believes that the Western Qiang are not the Xiongnu, and they should not be dealt with in the same way."

"The Qiang tribes are numerous, and their attacks and plundering among themselves are countless."

"Many Qiang people yearn for our Han Dynasty, and these are factors that can be utilized."

"To govern the Qiang, one must employ the Qiang; using barbarians to control barbarians is an effective method for the Northwest."

"Use barbarians to control barbarians!"

These four characters have permeated thousands of years of Chinese history, and successive dynasties have used them as the core to govern border troubles.

In fact, the Han Dynasty had been doing this since the reign of Emperor Wu of Han: establishing five Xiongnu vassal states in the Yin Mountains and relocating the Wuhuan people to the north of Yan.

"Explain in detail how to use the Qiang people to govern the Qiang people?"

With a flicker in his eyes, Liu Ju was clearly intrigued.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chongguo dared not conceal anything and boldly asked, "Does Your Highness know of the Lesser Yuezhi?"

"Know."

Liu Ju thought for a moment and then said, "At the end of the Former Qin Dynasty, the Xiongnu attacked and destroyed the Yuezhi people who were entrenched in the Hexi Corridor. Some of the Yuezhi people migrated westward, while others remained in the Qilian Mountains. The Yuezhi people who migrated westward once moved to the Ili River Basin, where they recuperated and lived, and were called the Greater Yuezhi."

"During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Wusun leader Liejiaomi led his tribe to defeat the Yuezhi, forcing them to continue migrating westward to the Bactrian region (the upper reaches of the Amu Darya River). The Wusun tribe established the Wusun Kingdom in the Ili River basin, with its capital at Chigu City (the eastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul)."

"The Yuezhi people who remained in the Qilian Mountains were afraid of being attacked by the Xiongnu, so they had to migrate south to the Nanshan Mountains (now Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province), where they lived among the Qiang people and were called the Lesser Yuezhi."

"Your Highness is learned and knowledgeable; I admire you greatly."

Zhao Chongguo inadvertently flattered Liu Ju and continued, "The Lesser Yuezhi were originally divided into seven tribes with more than 9,000 soldiers. After the champion, Marquis Jingheng, pacified the Hexi Corridor, they left from the South Mountain and settled in Huangzhong, Lingju and Zhangye."

"These three groups are now known among the Han people in Hexi as the Huangzhong Yuezhi Hu, the Zhangye Yicong Hu, and the Lushui Hu."

It's them.

Upon hearing the names of the three parts, memories immediately surfaced in Liu Ju's mind.

The Huangzhong Righteous Army, a foreign army directly under the Protector of the Qiang, existed almost throughout the entire Eastern Han Dynasty.

Zhangye Yi took the integration of Hu and other ethnic groups to the extreme, using Yuezhi copper smelting technology to make agricultural tools, domesticating yak according to Qiang methods, and learning to cultivate sesame from the Han people. They gradually disappeared into history and became part of the Han people in Hexi.

The Lushui Hu were active from the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, absorbing and integrating elements from various ethnic groups such as the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, Jie, Di and Qiang. In 397 AD, Juqu Mengxun, a Lushui Hu from Linsong, established the Northern Liang. At its peak, it controlled the area from Hexi to Gaochang. In 439 AD, the Northern Liang was destroyed by the Northern Wei, and the remaining forces migrated west to Gaochang, where they ruled until 460 AD.

"Your Highness."

"Among the various Qiang tribes in the west, the Xianling Qiang were the most powerful."

"Forty to fifty thousand archers led their troops to surrender to our great Han."

"His Majesty is benevolent and has enfeoffed the leader of the Xianling Qiang as the Marquis of Guiyi, also known as the Marquis of Guiyi Qiang, and ordered him to reside in the Huangshui River basin and not to cross the Yellow River to the south."

"A Protectorate of the Qiang was also established at Lingju Pass to govern the various Qiang tribes."

"However, as the various tribes of the Western Qiang fought each other, they were no longer able to covet the territory of the Han Dynasty, so the court no longer appointed Protector of the Qiang."

"If the Protector of the Qiang were to recruit young men from the Yuezhi Hu of Huangzhong, the Yicong Hu of Zhangye, and the Hu of Lushui as soldiers, grant them Han citizenship, and treat them with equal rewards and punishments, the three tribes would surely be convinced of their loyalty to the Han Dynasty and regard themselves as part of the empire."

"The Protector of the Qiang only needs to inform the various tribes of the Western Qiang that those who submit to the Han Dynasty will be protected by the empire, and the weaker Qiang tribes will surely flock to join them."

"We will send Yi Cong Hu to quell the rebellion. Yi Cong Hu and the other tribes of the Western Qiang share similar customs, so they will surely be victorious in our campaigns."

"If this continues, the various tribes of the Western Qiang will become weaker and weaker, while the empire's strength in the northwest will gradually increase."

Zhao Chongguo spilled out all his plans at once.

"Let me think about it."

Liu Ju raised his right hand and paced back and forth.

The Western Qiang controlled the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau today is not as harsh as it was in later times. Although it is not as warm as it was during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it is not far off. Many places can be cultivated into farmland and planted with food crops.

Among them, the Hehuang Valley, the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley (Southern Tibet Valley), the Lhasa River Valley, and the Songpan Plateau are the most prominent.

Even in the arid Qaidam Basin, the Qaidam River has carved out more than a dozen valleys, providing over 100,000 hectares of arable wasteland.

Moreover, most areas are suitable for grazing cattle and sheep. For example, the Songpan Plateau covers an area of ​​53,000 square kilometers, but less than 5,000 square kilometers are arable land, while wetlands and grasslands cover no less than 20,000 square kilometers, making it an excellent pastoral area.

The men of the Han people are better at reclaiming wasteland and farming, while the Qiang people are better at herding cattle and sheep. It is not impossible for the two to be combined.

The main factor limiting cooperation between the two sides was the lack of a unified administrative mechanism. The Qiang people believed that the Han people had encroached on their land, and the Han people needed to build cities to live in in order to prevent the Qiang people from raiding them. As a result, the conflict between the two sides increased and could not be eased.

If a clear administrative unit could spread its reputation throughout the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and all the Qiang tribes in the west would submit, then large-scale migration of Han people into arable areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau would be possible, further expanding the living space of the Han people.

Moreover, as their rule deepened, the Western Qiang people's Sinicization would continue to increase until they became inseparable from the Han people.

This ruling mechanism can be reused repeatedly, for example, to govern the southwestern barbarians in the southwest, the Xiongnu in the northern desert, and the Wuhuan and Xianbei in the northeast.

Zhao Chongguo stood upright to the side, not daring to breathe. The highest official he had ever met in his life was a county magistrate. This was the first time he had faced the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the empire. Who wouldn't be nervous?

"Zhao Chongguo".

"Your Highness."

Zhao Chongguo replied mechanically.

"Has your family all moved to Chang'an?"

"Yes."

Zhao Chongguo nodded.

"Living in Chang'an is not easy."

"I've found a three-courtyard house on Zhangtai Street; you can settle in there."

"From this day forward, you will be a servant in the Crown Prince's palace, attending to me at my side, with a salary of 600 shi (a unit of grain).

Liu Ju waved his hand and gave instructions.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chongguo became extremely excited.

A salary of 600 shi (a unit of grain) is equivalent to that of an eighth-rank official, on par with a local county magistrate or a military commander.

Moreover, the three-courtyard house can accommodate at least dozens of people, making this a truly generous gift.

"Attendant Zhao."

The eunuchs serving inside the palace quickly led Zhao Chongguo away.

PS: The three-courtyard siheyuan covers an area of ​​1200 square meters, which is equivalent to 1.8 acres.