Chapter 80: Where Did the Seed of Khotan Come From

Taihua Palace — that was the name of the inner palace of Li Shengtian's royal palace. Zhang Zhao had been waiting outside the palace gate for half a day already. Since that audience in the Golden Register Hall, three days had passed, and Li Shengtian had not summoned Zhang Zhao again.

Perhaps Li Shengtian felt that at their last meeting he had failed to properly project the majesty of a sovereign, and so now he wanted to leave this nephew of his out in the cold for a while, lest he be looked down upon?

That was a problem, so Zhang Zhao had come on his own to request an audience. He could not allow his standing with Li Shengtian to cool; he absolutely had to cling to this uncle's thigh and not let go.

Looking at the guards beside him, who were plainly of two different races, Zhang Zhao recalled some material he had read before his transmigration. About the founding of Khotan, there was actually a very interesting legend.

Legend had it that the founder of the kingdom of Khotan was a prince abandoned by King Ashoka. He was taken as an adopted son by the Han King Bodhisattva, and when he grew up he journeyed west and founded the kingdom of Khotan.

And when he founded the kingdom of Khotan, the Indian minister Yasas was likewise exiled. One day the two met, and as they were about to go to war over territory, Vaishravana and the Auspicious Heavenly Maiden came to resolve their conflict.

Afterwards, Yasas and the Han King's adopted son lived respectively on the upper and lower reaches of the White Jade River, while the middle reaches were inhabited jointly by the people of India and the Han people.

The story seems somewhat absurd, but if one looks at the timeline of Khotan's founding, one will discover that from this absurd tale we can discern some things closer to the truth.

When the Yuchi family founded Khotan, it was the height of the Western Han. The Central Plains dynasties had already defeated the Xiongnu repeatedly and were preparing to enter the Western Regions.

This so-called prince abandoned by King Ashoka of India was very likely a Scythian prince from the steppes of Central Asia.

As for why he was called a prince abandoned by King Ashoka, it was most likely a later attempt by the Khotanese themselves to gild their own origins.

After all, this place was Buddhist, and Ashoka was a famous emperor of India. Claiming descent from Ashoka's prince gave face and also reinforced the religious sanctity of coming from the Buddha's homeland.

And being adopted by the Han King Bodhisattva is even easier to understand. At that time, the Han armies should already have reached Jiuquan, or even the Yumen Pass and the Gaochang region.

At such a time, a barbarian prince from the west submitting voluntarily or under duress was hardly uncommon.

As for granting this prince an office, or even making him kneel and call them father, that too was hardly uncommon.

In the end, the prince who called them father very likely gained the support of the Han army, and thus secured his footing in Khotan.

As for the later territorial dispute with some Indian minister, it was very likely that another group of Scythians had migrated there, and the two sides came into conflict, finally reconciling under the mediation of Vaishravana and the Auspicious Heavenly Maiden, who came from the east.

And how did the previously mentioned Han King Bodhisattva turn into Vaishravana and the Auspicious Heavenly Maiden?

Zhang Zhao guessed that these were very likely sent by the Han dynasty, but how could there be a heavenly maiden? Then the greatest likelihood was that this Vaishravana and Auspicious Heavenly Maiden were ancient Qiang tribes that the Han had subdued in Hexi and on the Qilian Mountains.

At that time, the Hexi Corridor had just become Han territory, and there could not have been that many Han people to go support Khotan. So relocating the conquered ancient Qiang tribes from the Hexi Corridor and the Qilian Mountains was still a possibility.

For one thing, it emptied out the Hexi Corridor; for another, it could serve as a hand extended into the Western Regions.

One must know that these ancient Qiang tribes were of the same origin as the Han people, similar in appearance, and extremely easy to assimilate.

The Scythians who came from the west could not tell the difference either. They only knew that these "Han people" had somewhat lower status, so in the legend, the ancient Qiang people, who still retained matriarchal clan chieftains, became Vaishravana and the Auspicious Heavenly Maiden — just a little lower than the Han King Bodhisattva.

Moreover, later DNA testing proved this point as well: Khotan was a people with a slight Scythian majority, supplemented by ancient Qiang or Han people.

Then the source of Li Shengtian's and his ancestors' and descendants' admiration for the Han and veneration of the Tang becomes clear. This kingdom had a Han share in it from the start, and the Yuchi family, over a thousand years, had long since mixed in no small amount of Han blood.

As for after the Five Barbarians ravaged China, the Great Han, Wei, and Jin garrison-farm soldiers in the Western Regions probably also merged in large numbers into Khotan, which already had a certain Han population, did they not?

And at that time, the Uyghurs had not even been born yet. So who were the true natives north and south of the Tianshan? Whose ancestral homeland were the Western Regions? It goes without saying.

Just as he was lost in thought, several attendants dressed in Khotanese style — uh! Zhang Zhao felt it looked more like Indian style — walked over. From a distance, the head attendant bowed to Zhang Zhao.

"Prince of Jinshan, the Son of Heaven summons you to the Tonghe Hall. Please follow this servant!"

Zhang Zhao could not help twitching his mouth. This Li Shengtian was also a troublemaker. Prince of Jinshan — prince of the King of Jinshan. Was this some kind of perverse joke?

"This palace official, these two young ladies — I must ask the official to take them in and have them washed and dressed properly. These are gifts I offer to my uncle, the Son of Heaven!"

"Are these the daughters of the Zhongyun King Sanpoba?" The palace official seemed to know everything, and a look of "I expected this all along" appeared on his face.

"Exactly. The men under my command are all rough fellows, incapable of handling such womanly tasks, so I must trouble the official to take extra care!"

Sending out the two daughters of the Zhongyun King Sanpoba was something Zhang Zhao had only decided after arriving at the city of Khotan.

Since Li Shengtian already knew that he had killed Sanpoba, he had to offer this uncle, the Son of Heaven, a share of the spoils no matter what.

And even if Li Shengtian was the ruler of a great kingdom, he probably had never experienced the thrill of raising the princesses of another kingdom himself, had he?

In his heart he was also somewhat relieved — relieved that he had already distributed Sanpoba's wives and concubines. If he had not, judging by the look of things, Li Shengtian probably could have set aside his dignity and come asking for them.

With the beauty of Sanpoba's Right Queen, if she had won Li Shengtian's favor before he, Zhang Zhao, had secured his footing in Khotan, that would have been bad.

Now it was fine. Sending Sanpoba's two daughters to Li Shengtian removed that worry.

Two little girls of ten or so — even if they won favor, it would be a matter of several years later. And in a few years, either he would have returned to Shazhou, or Li Shengtian would already be unable to do without him.

The so-called Tonghe Hall was in reality just a somewhat larger room.

After all, although Khotan at this time was later called the peak of the oasis city-states, its total population was only around seven hundred thousand.

A king of seven hundred thousand subjects, still practicing true feudalism — how wealthy could he possibly be?

Were it not for occupying the vital route of the Silk Road, plus the famous Hetian jade that could be dug from the Yulong River and other rivers, this wealth very likely could not even have been maintained.

"What's this? You won't even kneel when you see your uncle?" The moment Zhang Zhao entered, Li Shengtian gave him a show of force.

At this time in Khotan, or indeed in the customs of the entire Great Tang, kneeling on both knees was actually not very common.

Do not be fooled by those queue dramas. That degree of kneeling was only done on very solemn occasions or when demanded by direct elders.

So Zhang Zhao had wanted to get by with just a bow, but Li Shengtian deliberately chose to make things difficult for him on this point. This King of Khotan wore a thoroughly displeased expression.

"You look just like your father, the White-Clad Son of Heaven. Back then, with exactly that 'I'm very impressive' expression, he married away my elder sister!"

The resentment ran deep! Zhang Zhao suddenly thought of a possibility — could that Revenue Clerk Tian have not been relaying a message for Li Ruoyu at all, but rather acting on Li Shengtian's instructions?

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