Chapter 1098: Seeking Aid

For Pule, the Uyghur envoy from the Western Regions, the eastward journey had been far too eventful, and the sights along the way had left him dazzled. From the envoys and merchants he had encountered before, he had heard no small amount about the power and prosperity of the Central Plains, but in the end, those words came from others.

Without witnessing it with his own eyes, one's imagination has its limits—no matter how extravagantly it was described, it was hard to feel a deeper impression. However, when he first came east and experienced it personally, Pule finally understood that the rumors had not deceived him; even the words he had originally thought exaggerated now seemed pale, unable to describe even a tenth of it.

Having truly witnessed the vastness of the Great Han's territory, the height and solidity of its cities, the abundance of its population, the richness of its products, the excellence of its armor and weapons, and the elegance of its robes and regalia, Pule sighed in admiration while his heart was filled with a deep sense of awe.

Everyone said the Central Plains had been plagued by constant warfare, with over a century of unrest, and even though it had been reunified, he had never imagined it had already recovered to such a degree. Qocho had stood tall in the Western Regions for nearly a century, a regional hegemon, and originally he had harbored no small amount of pride in his heart—but now he felt ashamed of his former ignorance. Of course, Pule's private thoughts were unknown to others.

At the same time, seeing the Great Han display such a powerful bearing, Pule could not help but harbor even greater expectations for his request that the Han army march west to provide aid.

After staying at the Protocol Hostel for two days, enjoying the highest treatment and best hospitality of his journey, the most exciting thing for Pule finally came—the supreme ruler of the Great Han, His Majesty the Emperor, had decided to receive him in person.

In truth, Pule's visit this time was a private affair, not fully formal—no envoy credentials, no state letter, and no tribute offerings. The fact that he still received a certain standard of courteous treatment was already somewhat unexpected, and it showed that the court was quite attentive to the situation in the Western Regions.

Officials at court often felt that the current Great Han palaces were old and worn, failing to project the majesty of the empire and the imperial house, and that they ought to tear down the old and build anew. But in Pule's eyes, they were already extremely imposing. Compared to them, the Qocho palace that the Uyghur Khagan took such pride in was like a rustic earthen house in the countryside—not only lacking in grandeur, but merely decorated with gold and jade, piled high with rare treasures, and utterly lacking the cultural and ritual depth and weight that the Central Plains' palaces possessed.

Emperor Liu received Pule in the Chongzheng Hall, specially having the Crown Prince, Minister of War Zhao Kuangyin, and Commissioner of Military Affairs Li Chuyun accompany him, though the atmosphere was naturally not as harmonious as when Cao Yuangong had been entertained.

Before foreign barbarians, Emperor Liu had always maintained an imposing and dignified bearing, keeping his majesty and dominating them from a lofty position. And facing this overbearing air, no one felt uncomfortable—after all, the Great Han was powerful enough.

After the great Han–Liao war back then, the Great Han's international standing had already been established.

Calling Zhao Kuangyin and Li Chuyun along was clearly more for military considerations. Emperor Liu directly consulted him on the affairs of the Western Regions. Pule dared not conceal anything, and recounted the war situation in the Western Regions exactly as he had told Guo Rong, paying even more attention to details, afraid of leaving anything out.

"So, you're saying that right now, the Western Uyghurs are holding fast in Kucha, awaiting reinforcements?" After hearing his account, Emperor Liu asked.

"Your Majesty speaks true! Exactly so!" After long training, Pule's Chinese had become quite good—though his accent remained heavy, he could at least communicate normally. It seemed the man had some talent for languages.

"The Uyghur Khagan has sent envoys in all directions seeking aid. Do you think there will be a response—that someone will be willing to come to the rescue?" Emperor Liu asked in this manner.

"This..." Pule was stunned by the question. Thinking of how his requests for aid had been repeatedly refused along the way, his spirits sank somewhat, but he quickly recovered and replied: "As for other powers, your servant cannot guarantee, but Khotan to the southwest will certainly send troops to help. The two states have long been on friendly terms, and this western campaign of the Khitan—burning, killing, looting, enslaving the peoples of all tribes—has aroused indignation throughout. Under such public wrath, no one is willing to sit idle and let themselves be slaughtered and humiliated.

Furthermore, if my Uyghur state is destroyed, the Khitan's next target will certainly be Khotan. The Han have a saying: when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold. Even for their own safety, Khotan will come to the rescue, stopping the Liao army east of Kucha—or at the very least, they will send troops to pin them down!"

Hearing Pule speak with such eloquence, Emperor Liu couldn't help but regard him with a bit more respect. After a moment's thought, he asked again: "And what about the Kara-Khanid Kingdom?"

Mentioning the neighbor to the west, a slight unnaturalness appeared on Pule's face—an expression of disgust. After thinking it over, Pule said: "Your servant cannot say for certain."

"Why?"

So Pule began to explain some of the situation of the Kara-Khanid dynasty. It was also a Turkicized multi-ethnic state, and by now it was already under its fifth monarch.

Through early expansion, it had seized half of the Western Regions, bordering the Western Uyghurs and Khotan along the Tianshan and Kunlun mountains, and had basically maintained peaceful coexistence, with no lack of civilian exchanges between them.

However, during the reign of its fourth monarch, Satuq Bughra Khan—who could be considered a capable ruler—he actively reformed internally, developing national strength, and pursued expansion externally, recapturing the important city of Taraz that had been occupied by the Samanid dynasty.

Most importantly, in the long confrontation with the Samanid dynasty, the Kara-Khanids were deeply influenced by Islam, and Satuq's seizure of power from his uncle had also relied on the support of holy warriors of Islam in Transoxiana. It was also from him onward that Islam developed rapidly within the Kara-Khanid state.

This trend naturally affected neighboring states—Khotan and the Western Uyghurs were both Buddhist. And in the thirteenth year of Qianyou, the current Kara-Khanid monarch, Baytash, formally declared Islam as the state religion, beginning comprehensive Islamization.

Matters concerning religious faith need not be discussed further...

And in this process, the Kara-Khanids had already revealed their ambitions toward the lands to the east, though their expansionist desires were temporarily restrained. The Samanid dynasty to the west was still fairly strong and not easy to deal with, while if they struck east, they would be opposing nearly the entire eastern world of the Western Regions.

However, the Kara-Khanids had one great advantage: they could invoke holy war to conscript holy warriors from Central Asia for an eastern campaign... With such a background, it was no wonder Pule showed that complex expression.

Hearing this, Emperor Liu was suddenly enlightened. He had always had only a partial understanding of affairs to the west, and from this account, the Islamization of the Western Regions and its gradual eastward expansion probably began with the Kara-Khanid dynasty.

He felt some emotion in his heart—he had never expected that the era he lived in was such a period. For Emperor Liu, this was something of a surprise.

At the same time, a feeling of disgust arose in his heart—not because he had any particular view on religion, just as when he had previously suppressed Buddhism, his considerations were purely of national interest. And as an emperor holding great power, Liu Chengyou reacted this way to any religion that interfered with secular authority or threatened imperial rule.

"You're afraid of inviting a wolf into the house?" Emperor Liu hit the nail on the head regarding Pule's thoughts.

Pule nodded and sighed: "But the only powerful neighbors nearby are the Kara-Khanids and Khotan. Before I traveled east, I advised the Khagan that unless absolutely necessary, he must never bring the Kara-Khanid army east!"

As he spoke, Pule prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Liu, pleading: "The Uyghurs have long maintained good relations with the Central Plains, and we admire the Great Han's strength and Your Majesty's majesty. I humbly beg Your Majesty to exercise great compassion and send troops west to save the people of the Western Regions. If this can be done, the Western Regions are willing to forever be a vassal of the Great Han, with unbroken exchanges and annual tribute without end!"

Hearing this request, Liu Chengyou's brows couldn't help but rise. He looked the man over, his expression seeming to say: with just these few dry words, you want me to send troops to the Western Regions to rescue the Uyghurs?

Not to mention the difficulty of the matter—after so long, whether the Western Uyghurs even still existed was an open question.

Perhaps sensing Emperor Liu's thoughts, Zhao Kuangyin spoke up, asking: "There is one thing I do not understand. I beg the envoy to enlighten me!"

Looking at Pule, Zhao Kuangyin said: "The Liao army marched west. You had more troops, you held strong cities, and you had the natural barrier of the Tianshan. Under such circumstances, in a mere seven months, the cavalry-based Liao army broke through your capital. The envoy has traveled far, and now another seven months have passed—how can you rely on a single city of Kucha to withstand the Liao army's advance?

Even if the Great Han sends troops, from three thousand li away, from preparation to departure would take one to two months, and by the time they arrive in the Western Regions, half a year would have passed. Can your state hold out that long?"