Qiuci was the Anxi Protectorate during the Tang Dynasty, and it was the largest city in the area, with a huge city. With the chaos of the five dynasties of the late Tang Dynasty, and the defeat of Gaochang by Black Khan here a year ago, the population is now pitifully small.

Du Zhongxiao rode on the horse, looking at the deserted street, a little embarrassed. It should be a place full of flowers, but now it's so deserted.

After entering the city lord's mansion, Du Zhongxiao cleaned up a little and arrived at the official hall. Fu Bi was already waiting here, each saluting.

After using tea, Du Zhongxiao said: "Here in the Western Regions, there are only two places suitable for people to live, one is at the foot of a mountain like Qiuzi, and the other is a place where a big river flows. From there to the south, hundreds of miles away, there is the Tarim River, which has always been abundant and inhabited. However, the great rivers are impermanent and often overflowing, and they cannot form cities, only a few fishing and hunter families. Now more than 2,000 people have entered the Tianshan Mountain, and I heard that they are going to cross the mountain and go back to Heihan. Zhang Qi sent people to follow, as long as they didn't go anywhere else, they didn't care about them. The other is the Tarim River basin in the south. I want to send one or two thousand men along the river to the west to make peace with us at Shule, what does the deputy think? ”

Fu Bi said: "Naturally, it should be like this. I heard that after the war of the five dynasties, many families fled to the banks of the river in the south, and the soldiers passed over, and maybe they would return to the city. Along the way, we have all seen that every city seems deserted. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, there are not many households in the Western Regions, and after the war, how many people can be left?" The most populous area in this area is around Gaochang, and there are few households in other cities. To tell the truth, after occupying this place, the imperial court does not know how much money to invest in. ”

Fu Bi sighed, shook his head, and didn't say anything.

From the beginning of entering Yizhou, all the way down, the situation I saw was difficult to say optimistic. Due to the severance of trade routes, the prosperous metropolis of the Tang Dynasty had long been dilapidated and sparsely populated. Especially when the Tibetans came in, there was a large number of migrants, and they did not recover for one or two hundred years.

There is no need to think about the direct migration of the population here, the Song Dynasty was not the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the only way to immigrate was in the form of a box army. Now that the army is undergoing large-scale training, where are there so many van troops? Recruiting people directly, the imperial court's finances can't support it.

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao said: "In fact, the most fundamental way is to build roads. The imperial court has built a new road-building army, but not many will be assigned to the Western Regions. The Black Khan prisoners captured a few days ago don't know if they can be used to build roads like the party prisoners of war in front of them. ”

Fu Bi shook his head: "It's not easy to use." Black Khan is not a party member, these people have different customs, language barriers, and religious habits, and when they are in China, life is not particularly difficult. I want to be like the party people, let them eat well, but I am afraid that they will not be satisfied. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded silently. What Fu Bi said was the truth, Hei Khan had his own religion, originally had both agriculture and animal husbandry, good geographical conditions, and at the intersection of east-west transportation, his life was much better than that of the party. By letting them have enough to eat, they will work hard, but I am afraid that it will not work.

After thinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao suddenly realized that there were too many tens of thousands of black sweat prisoners of war captured, and he didn't know how to deal with them for a while. Let them work as laborers in the Western Regions, it is difficult to manage, and it will cause trouble. It's a pity to put it back directly, but it always has to be paid by black sweat.

Fu Bi said: "Let's lock people up in Gaochang and Yizhou first, and then talk to King Black Khan when we get to Shule." If they give enough benefits, they can also put it back. For Black Khan, tens of thousands of people are not a small number, and they should be willing to redeem them. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "That's it." But before putting them back, let them build the road. From Yizhou to here, one or two thousand miles away, it is too far away. Without railways, the cities on this line could only garrison troops, and there was no control outside the city. ”

Starting from Qiuzi, there was a problem, and that was the direction of the railway. If Shannan takes Khotan as its destination, you can follow the tributaries of the Tarim River all the way south to Khotan. If you are going to Shule, you should go west. But this is all after Du Zhongxiao left, he just thought about it, and he wouldn't deliberately lay it out. I don't know what year or month it took to build the railway from Yizhou to Qiuzi, and where it was managed for so long.

The army rested at Qiuzi for two days and then marched westward. The cavalry led by Zhang Qi in front was unimpeded, and the Black Khan did not have the strength to send a large army again, and there was indeed no garrison in the city after that.

By the end of October, Du Zhongxiao's army had finally arrived at Shule, a rich land surrounded by mountains on three sides. This is the capital of the Eastern Black Khan, second only to the capital Balasagon in status, and there are nearly 10,000 households under his rule. Iric had a good relationship with his brother and was always here.

Shule is relatively southern, and the climate is much warmer than Yizhou and Gaochang, although it has entered winter, it is not particularly cold.

Entering the city and looking at the bustling streets, Du Zhongxiao said to Fu Bi: "We have walked thousands of miles in the Western Regions, and the most prosperous place is this Shule City. Come to think of it, after the decline of the middle Tang Dynasty, this place was not occupied by Tibet, and the population did not migrate to other places. ”

Fu Bi nodded: "At that time, Khotan was still strong, and it fought with the Black Khan for nearly a hundred years, and was finally destroyed by the Black Khan. This place is one of the most important places in Black Khan, and there are many royal families around, which should not be underestimated. After the defeat of the front, I heard that the princes and nobles had fled, but the market was not damaged. ”

Zhang Qi on the side said: "The prince of the Black Khan fled and took many treasures with him. After I led the army into the city, I sealed off their places and went inside to check that there were no more treasures, which is a pity. It's still where Erik is stationed, but when we came, his family had fled. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "If Black Khan doesn't pay tribute, when he goes back, he will take Ilik back to the capital." For us, this person is of little use, but to Black Khan, it is indispensable. I have heard that the brothers of the Black Khan Khan are not on good terms, and that Irik is friendly with the eldest brother, but the second brother does not associate with them. Without the help of this younger brother and the loss of a large number of troops, how could the internal affairs be stable? ”

Zhang Qi nodded again and again: "What the festival marshal said is right, after I came here, I summoned the local squires to speak, and they said the same." The Black Khan King and his second brother Bogra Khan have been at odds for a long time, and the two sides have long been out of contact, and if the news of this defeat comes back, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no fighting. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said to Fu Bi: "In this way, it is really not necessary for the Black Khan King to agree, and his younger brother seems to be okay." ”

Fu Bi said: "That's true. Without the help of his younger brother, he lost seventy or eighty thousand people, and if there was infighting in the black sweat, I was afraid that it would be unpredictable. ”

A few people chatted, and after a while, they arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.

Zhang Qi said: "This is the city lord's mansion in Shule, and it is also the palace of Ilik, and he is handling the nearby affairs." I heard that this is the original Shule Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty, and later changed the owner repeatedly, and finally fell into the hands of the Black Khan King. ”

Du Zhongxiao looked at the tall and gorgeous City Lord's Mansion and said, "This place is even better than the royal court of Gaochang, and it is indeed one of the few places in the Western Regions. ”

After entering the city lord's mansion, Du Zhongxiao and Fu Bi each went back to their residence to rest, changed into civilian clothes, and returned to the official hall. Zhang Qi and Sheng were already waiting here, and they each sat down, and Zhang Sheng said: "Jie Shuai, this army has come all the way to the west, except for a battle in Balchuk, the rest of the cities are all open and surrendered. I heard from the people on the road that the defeat of the army of the Black Khan at Buchaul had terrified the people of these cities. The Black Khan army passed through these cities, its lineup was strict and orderly, and the momentum was all seen with his own eyes, but in front of the imperial army, it was vulnerable, which one dared to stop it? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In that battle, I didn't expect that there would be this effect." By the way, how about Khotan in the south? Is there still a Black Khan? ”

Zhang Sheng said: "Only Ya'erkan, Khotan, and Keriya have armies, and I heard that there are only more than 1,000 people in total. Occupy Shule, which is in the palm of our hand, and we have not yet sent our troops there. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Don't worry, we have finished negotiating with Hei Khan, and it is not too late to deal with it there." The occupation of Shule cut off the Black Khanate's grip on intervening in the Western Regions, and Khotan was just a convenient thing. When the railway is repaired here in the future, the black sweat is not to worry. ”

On one side of Khotan is the Black Khan, and on the other side is the Tibetans. At this time, Tibet was divided and there was no strong force, so there was no need to worry. As long as Shule is firmly occupied, Black Khan will be squeezed out of the Western Regions.

From the railway to Yizhou, the war in the Western Regions was far smoother than Du Zhongxiao expected. Originally, I thought that after the whole training, the combat effectiveness of my subordinate army might not be as good as before, and the Western Regions was divided into two major forces, and there would be several major battles. Unexpectedly, the power of firearms far exceeded expectations.