Chapter 2165: Shizong Chronicles 33: The

In the eighth month of autumn in the sixth year of Jianlong, almost as if by prior agreement, King Liu Wengong of Beiting and King Liu Wenqian of Kangju personally led envoy missions, bearing heavy gifts, westward to the city of Hezhong, with three purposes in mind.

First, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival—it had been countless years since the royal houses of the three Central Asian kingdoms had gathered together in joyful reunion;

Second, naturally, to offer congratulations in person for Anxi's unprecedented great victory over the YSL army, and to thank Anxi for the efforts and sacrifices made for the safety, dignity, and glory of the Han;

Third, and in truth the most important, to bring with them a measure of appeasement and even an attitude of seeking forgiveness.

As for the "Six Great Battles," in reality both Kangju and Beiting had paid extremely close attention, and both nations had carried out sufficient war mobilization and preparation—otherwise how could Kang have seized that territory in northeastern Ghaznavid territory with the speed of thunder? Even in the later stages of the war, Kang had already taken the initiative to join the battlefield, launching attacks against the Ghaznavid state.

As for the state of Beiting, it had quietly organized thirty thousand infantry and cavalry—though not large in number compared to the Gaozhou battlefield, they were the nation's most elite troops, commanded by none other than Beiting's most capable general, the wise Marquis Liu Jikun.

For the two nations, sitting on the sidelines and watching did indeed exist. From the perspective of practical interests, if they were again asked to shed blood and sacrifice for Anxi's security and national interests, that would be asking too much. "For the Han," "for civilization"—these were all too hollow and broad. As time passed and the various states grew apart, nothing was more real than power and interests.

From the perspective of the two nations, Anxi had best be able to rely on its own strength to withstand the YSL counterattack—this was also its obligation and responsibility. After all, who else had the largest population, the strongest power, occupied the most fertile lands and rivers, and stood on the front line?

A dark-hearted schemer like Zhang Han, on the other hand, hoped for Anxi and Ghaznavid to mutually destroy each other, which would give Beiting the opportunity to catch up later, or even replace it.

Of course, Anxi's hard power was plain to see—it was not so fragile as to be easily broken by the YSL coalition forces. Even if problems arose and it suffered defeat, there was still a vast hinterland east of Hezhong City, more than enough for the armies of Beiting and Kangju to enter and rescue the situation......

Only, under those circumstances, Anxi would have to pay some more "expensive" price. Even the Central Empire no longer provided free aid—could one still expect intimate relations between vassal states?

The one thing no one could have anticipated was that Anxi, from beginning to end, never sent envoys to the two nations to speak a single soft word of seeking aid—it simply handled the matter alone. That was an army of several hundred thousand YSL troops, commanded by Mahmud, a monarch renowned for decades, yet he was utterly routed by Liu Wenze, this "young upstart," and cast into the abyss......

No matter how many things were beyond imagination, once affairs had become reality, one could not but consider how to settle the matter. Both cultural and blood factors caused Beiting and Kangju, when facing Anxi, to feel a trace of awkwardness.

Hezhong City before the Mid-Autumn Festival was in a state of prosperity like a dynasty at its rising sun, full of vitality. The splendor of its capital surpassed all of Central Asia, like a brilliant pearl hatched from Han civilization, dazzling and radiant—a majestic city embodying the culmination of Han civilization.

Before Kings Liu Wengong and Liu Wenqian arrived, Hezhong City had already gathered representatives from all sides and envoys from various states. Especially the noble representatives from Ziyar, northeastern Persia, and the Balkh region—newly conquered by Anxi—who came with great diligence to offer congratulations to the King of Anxi.

Over the past several decades, in the vast Central and Western Asian regions, the Han people had multiplied and taken root. Aside from the protracted wars with YSL civilization, the dominant aspect of Han civilization had gradually exerted an assimilating effect. For the states and tribes of this region, since they could not oppose or resist, they had no choice but to accept and be naturalized.

Even in those front-line areas of perennial struggle and fierce combat, including some Arabs, people had in fact grown accustomed to the presence of the Han and the spread of Han civilization. Habit is a terrifying thing to contemplate—exploiters grow accustomed to plundering, the enslaved grow accustomed to numbness, and even war, slaughter, and death become a kind of habit.

Some characteristic customs of Han civilization had in fact spread throughout Central and Western Asia—such as language, writing, etiquette, clothing, the calendar, institutions, and the five major festivals......

Beyond the governed territories, there were also some unexpected envoys. For instance, the Buyid Dynasty, which held the Caliph of Baghdad in check, sent its Emir's envoy east to Hezhong to express congratulations to Anxi, while also conveying intentions of ceasing hostilities, mutual non-aggression, and friendly intercourse.

The former overlord of the Two Rivers region was long past its prime, its reputation no longer matching reality, internally fragmented, its very rule precarious. After Mahmud's defeat, it dared even less to look eastward. Especially after Guo Ju led troops to destroy the Ziyar state on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, the two sides came into actual territorial contact.

With the Han's formidable military strength, once Anxi launched another western expedition, the scattered political state of the Two Rivers region would be utterly unable to resist. Thus, the Buyid Dynasty became the first state in the YSL world to sue for peace with a Han dynasty.

Moved by their sincerity, Liu Wenze also "graciously and generously" agreed to their request—though the fundamental reason was that after the great war, Anxi lacked the strength for further expansion and needed to recuperate, stabilize the nation, and devote energy to establishing assimilative rule over newly conquered lands and populations.

The Central Asian Han state, guided by the spirit of Han civilization, was in essence fond of farming and development, and had long passed the stage of sustaining war through war. From the middle and late period of Liu Min's rule, it had already entered the proper track of diligently cultivating internal strength, rather than pursuing endless war and expansion. The severe losses of the two great wars had also cooled down those fanatical expansionists within the nation.

The envoy did not fail his mission—he successfully brought back "peace" and "friendship" from Hezhong, even establishing trade relations, and upon returning to Baghdad received generous rewards from the dynasty's Emir.

However, this submission greatly intensified internal contradictions, especially provoking those religious fanatics, and in fact accelerated the disintegration and demise of the Buyid Dynasty.

Equally surprising were the envoys from distant Kievan Rus—a party that traveled several thousand li, crossing mountains and grasslands, passing through the territory of the Oghuz Yabgu state.

It was Grand Prince Yaroslav of Kievan Rus who, upon hearing of the Han civilization state rising in Central Asia, developed a strong interest and specially dispatched envoys to establish contact. After enduring great hardship, they finally arrived in Anxi, coinciding with the great Han-YSL war and witnessing Anxi's glorious victory.

In this era, on the fringes of the Eurasian continent, the Rus civilization formed by Viking descendants combined with Eastern Slavs was in a prosperous phase. Liu Wenze's interest in this barbarian state thousands of li away was not very strong. However, since friends came from afar and there were no ritual conflicts between the two sides, he still received the envoys with proper diplomatic courtesy, allowing them to experience the unique charm of Han cultural etiquette.

The envoys, after personally witnessing and experiencing Anxi's civilization, strength, and prosperity, were greatly astonished. Upon returning home, they gave Grand Prince Yaroslav a detailed report of all they had seen and heard, prompting the Grand Prince to conceive the idea of establishing trade with Anxi.

From the sixth year of Jianlong onward, formal and official exchanges and communications began between Han civilization and Rus civilization. Broadening the perspective, a Silk Road stretching from Kiev in the west to Gaochang in the east was established through the interactions between Kievan Rus and the Central Asian Han state.

Of course, the route was long and distant. Due to the harassment and obstruction of the nomadic peoples lying in between, this trade route was not stable—indeed, it seemed fragile—but it was the closest route of transportation and exchange between Eurasian civilizations in this period.

Apart from the Buyid Dynasty and Kievan Rus, what surprised Liu Wenze most was the envoy from the Seljuk tribe. The Seljuk's coming was itself thought-provoking. After all, during the great Han-YSL war, they had attacked the most fertile lower delta region of the Jihun River basin, slaughtering and plundering without number.

This time, their envoy again carried heavy gifts southward, which naturally aroused Liu Wenze's curiosity—the kind tinged with anger and killing intent. Having just achieved a great victory over the YSL coalition, he could not yet attend to these unsubmissive northern nomadic tribes, but Liu Wenze was already planning to send troops north to clean them out, to ensure the security of the northern border. The Seljuk people, who had just stroked the tiger's whiskers, were the first target—their envoy's arrival was rather timely.

The envoy came on the orders of the Seljuk tribe's Bey, with two main purposes. First, to submit to Anxi and beg forgiveness—the results of the Six Great Battles had not only shaken the YSL core world of the Two Rivers region, but had also greatly intimidated the nomadic tribes around Anxi, especially the Seljuk people.

Second, to express the Seljuk tribe's willingness to become loyal servants of Liu Wenze, King of Anxi. They were willing to garrison Anxi's borders to prevent incursions from northern nomadic tribes. Of course, this came with conditions—the Seljuk tribe hoped Anxi would enfeoff them the lands and pastures of the northeastern Aral Sea and the middle and lower Syr Darya for their nomadic survival. At the same time, they expressed willingness to follow Anxi in campaigning against the unsubmissive Oghuz Yabgu state......

The Seljuk's proposal was not entirely fanciful, for there was precedent. About half a century earlier, the Seljuk tribe, one of the four great tribes of the Oghuz Yabgu state, had broken with the Yabgu over land disputes and been forced to migrate east to the middle and lower Syr Darya region, serving as mercenaries for the Samanid Dynasty to guard the north.

In the two or three decades before Anxi and the other two states destroyed the Samanid Dynasty, the Seljuk people, besides leading the locally Islamized tribes as Sunni Muslim leaders to campaign against other infidels, had competed with the Oghuz Yabgu state while closely watching the situation in the Hezhong region.

As believers, from the bottom of their hearts, the Seljuk people harbored extreme disgust toward the foreign Han of the three Anxi states. But compelled by their power, they had not dared to act too boldly in the past, only quietly multiplying and developing in the Syr Darya basin, rarely even raiding southward.

This time—because the coalition's momentum was loud enough, its commander was Mahmud, the famed backbone of the YSL, and the three Anxi states had a new king—the Seljuk tribe finally attempted a strike. Of course, the fundamental reason was that after half a century of development, the Seljuk people's strength had grown. Then news of Mahmud's disastrous defeat spread north, and the Seljuk people immediately found themselves in an awkward position......

The Seljuk people believed their sincerity was sufficient and wanted to continue their low-key development. However, Anxi, this Han dynasty, was not the Samanid Dynasty of old. Toward these northern nomadic peoples, Liu Wenze felt instinctive rejection and wariness—and since they were also believers, they were fundamental enemies.

As for their request, it even made Liu Wenze think they had lost their minds. The late king Liu Min had been busy stabilizing the nation and had not had time to attend to the north, but Liu Wenze had every intention of pushing northward.

After all, whether the Oghuz Yabgu state, the Seljuk, or other northern tribes, they were all too close to the Hezhong region. How could one tolerate another snoring beside one's own bed? Moreover, wherever rivers reached were places where Han civilization could take root and sprout.

Of course, Liu Wenze's self-restraint was quite good. Even with contempt in his heart, his face still wore the tolerance of a conqueror and victor, and in a calm tone he put forward two demands to the Seljuk people.

First, the Seljuk people were to destroy their faith and abolish their religion—to de-Islamize. Second, the Seljuk tribe was to accept Sinicization, implement the camp system among their subordinates, and accept the stationing of Anxi pacification commissioners, censors, and tax officials for oversight.

These two conditions both struck at the Seljuk people's vital points. The former concerned the matter of faith—this was also the fundamental conflict between Han civilization and YSL. For the Seljuk tribe, they had been Islamized for a long time, and it was also the main reason they had grown and developed into leaders of the northern Islamized tribes. Abandoning their religion and changing faith touched upon fundamental issues.

As for the latter, it concerned the question of autonomy. Why had the Seljuk tribe originally clashed with the Yabgu, and later participated in the "tax resistance" struggle against the Yabgu state? If they could accept such conditions from Anxi today, they would never have fled the Yabgu in the first place.

It goes without saying how ugly the Seljuk envoy's expression was when Liu Wenze proposed these two conditions—how awkward, even carrying a sense of daring to be angry but not daring to speak. With the King of Anxi's attitude thus, this "show of goodwill" by the Seljuk people was doomed to failure. At the subsequent Mid-Autumn ceremony, the Seljuk envoy remained silent throughout, and even when someone poured wine over his head, he did not flare up......

This unsuccessful diplomatic activity also lifted the curtain on the Seljuk people's resistance against Anxi. After the envoy reported Liu Wenze's reply in full, the Seljuk tribe's Bey flew into a rage, believing this was Anxi's contempt for and trampling upon their sincerity. He decisively "turned against the Han," and soon raised troops to raid southward, harassing the towns of Anxi's northern regions.

Of course, at this time the Seljuk people, though possessing some strength and prestige, could not even cope with the declining Oghuz Yabgu—how could they be a match for the Anxi army? Faith and willpower could add to combat effectiveness, but in most cases, an absolute disparity in strength could not be simply erased.

Facing the Seljuk incursions, Liu Wenze flew into a rage and immediately appointed Guo Ju as Grand General of the Northern Expedition, leading forty thousand cavalry north to strike the Seljuk people. Guo Ju was indeed a capable fighter, and the Anxi army was entirely cavalry, so the effectiveness of the Seljuk's favored guerrilla tactics was greatly reduced. As for equipment, training, and command, they were not even on the same level.

Thus, in the winter of the sixth year of Jianlong, the Seljuk people, having suffered heavy losses and being unable to withstand the enemy, were forced to leave the Syr Darya basin where they had survived for over half a century and migrate northward. Anxi, seizing the opportunity, expanded its actual controlled territory by several hundred li, incorporating the Syr Darya basin and the Aral Sea under its rule.

This further intensified the contradictions between Anxi and the Oghuz Yabgu state, as their shared border greatly increased. At that time, the Oghuz Yabgu state's main area of activity was on the grasslands north of the Aral Sea and northeast of the Caspian Sea.

The Seljuk people's northward departure was not the end of their feud with Anxi—on the contrary, it was a beginning. The Seljuk people migrated north continuously, only stopping when they reached the Caucasus region, where they recuperated and developed in the Volga River basin.

A tribe in its upward development always possesses strong will and ample resilience—the Seljuk people proved this. After spending several years in the unfamiliar and complex Caucasus region, and absorbing a portion of the remaining Khazar people and Eastern Slavs, they once again embarked on a southward migration, plunging headlong back into the great battlefield of Central and Western Asian civilization, bringing endless trouble to the Anxi dynasty......

Setting aside later matters, the Mid-Autumn grand ceremony at the Great Achievement Hall in Hezhong City in the sixth year of Jianlong was the most glorious moment for Liu Wenze, King of Anxi. In Central Asia, he enjoyed a spectacle of "all nations coming to pay homage."

Some Persian nobles from Khorasan suggested to Liu Wenze that he should follow local tradition and be crowned with the title of "King of Kings." This proposal received support from many, especially the local nobles, who from the bottom of their hearts hoped that through this method they could gradually "convert" Liu Wenze.

However, Liu Wenze displayed great contempt for the so-called "King of Kings" title. Nevertheless, from this Mid-Autumn celebration onward, the title "Heavenly King" formally began to circulate within the Anxi system and spread far and wide to the east and west of the world.

In the eyes of King Liu Wengong of Beiting, this Mid-Autumn celebration was in truth Liu Wenze's "coronation ceremony." He saw the submission of the various Central Asian peoples, saw Anxi's strength and prosperity, saw Liu Wenze's complacency and pride—and all of this left him with mixed feelings.

Among the Liu royal houses of the three Central Asian kingdoms, Liu Wengong was the eldest, with the best birth and the deepest seniority. Yet the state he ruled, Beiting, had become the tail-ender due to inherent conditions. This disparity between reality and expectation wounded him deeply, especially when facing the current King of Anxi, Liu Wenze.

As the eldest son of Zhao King Liu Fang, as one of the founding kings of Beiting who had campaigned across Central and Western Asia alongside his two imperial uncles Liu Min and Liu Ye—how could Liu Wengong not harbor pride in his heart?

Therefore, even though Liu Wengong accepted Liu Wengong's apology and gift, Liu Wengong's mood could not lighten in the slightest.

On the way back to the Northern Court, passing through the cities and lands of the Seven Rivers region under Anxi's rule, the usually bold and unrestrained Liu Wengong rarely showed his feelings on his face—his heart was almost roaring: Shizu is unjust!

Seeing Liu Wengong's gloomy mood, Zhang Han, who got along with him like fish in water, took the initiative to console him. Zhang Han believed that Anxi had already reached its peak; if Liu Wengong could remain clear-headed, carefully guard his foundation, and eliminate internal contradictions and accumulated ills, then it could continue to endure. Otherwise, decline after the peak would be inevitable. The hope of the Northern Court lay in the future.

To this, Liu Wengong for the first time let out a sigh of "even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice"!

Compared to the heavy-hearted Liu Wengong, Prince Kang Liu Wenqian was far more relaxed. After all, he had already gained the benefits—what did losing a bit of face matter? With the compensation of Hezhou, he had been in a state of half-takeoff all these years.

However, after returning to the Northern Court, Liu Wengong pulled himself together and continued his great endeavor of "laying the foundation." Besides maintaining his usual close ties with the Great Han and his population policies, he also resolved to continue expanding northward.

The land was secondary; the main purpose was to penetrate deep into the northern frontier, conquer those nomadic tribes, and obtain their population and livestock. Previously, Liu Wengong had still wanted to preserve a trace of Han "purity," but this ideal had to be set aside under the practical demands of national growth and development.

Liu Wengong assembled all the cavalry forces in the country and placed them under the command of Marquis Rui Liu Jikun, who led the northern expedition. Starting from the sixth year of Jianlong, Liu Wengong spent six years expanding the territory by two thousand li, conquering numerous nomadic tribes in the north and bringing them under the rule of the Northern Court, greatly enriching its national strength. The Northern Court's outposts also extended along the Ob River and the Irtysh River basins...

Three years later, Liu Wengong, the founding sovereign of the Northern Court, passed away at the age of sixty. He was the founder of the Northern Court, and over more than thirty years, he carved out a solid foundation for his descendants in a desolate and remote land.

Even at the time of Liu Wengong's death, the Northern Court's national strength still lagged far behind that of Anxi, but his half-lifetime of effort was precisely the foundation upon which the Northern Court would later rise completely...