Chapter 1424 Taros Peace Treaty

June.

  Luoyang, Xuanzheng Palace.

  Behind the bead curtain on the hall, the Empress Dowager Qin was discussing matters with Zaizhi outside the curtain.

  Zhongtai Zuo Kuangzheng Pei Xingjian has just returned from the Western Regions and successfully completed the task of negotiating with the Dashihui League.

  He unfolded the memorial in his hand, "After arriving in the Western Regions, I made an alliance with the governor of Dashi Khorasan and the kings of Tocharo Yehu and Zhaowu in Talas. After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached."

   "Alliance truce, friendship restored, border drawn."

Pei Xingjian traveled thousands of miles and presided over the peace talks as a prime minister. The efficiency is still very high. With the backing of the 300,000 Western Expeditionary Army of the Tang Dynasty, coupled with the brilliant record of last year, the cannibals who are riding a tiger have a strong will to negotiate peace. People are not reconciled, but who cares about him.

   During the peace talks, the Sogdian countries, mainly Kang, came to join in the fun. The big cannibals were willing to pull them in, purely because they wanted to use them as bargaining chips in the peace talks and sell them at a high price.

However, Pei Xingjian is not easy to fool. His father Pei Renji was a general of the Sui Dynasty, and his elder brother Pei Xingyan was also the enemy of ten thousand people at the end of the Sui Dynasty. The older one, studying and practicing martial arts with Qin Lang, even though he is now a civil servant and prime minister, he can use a knife to slash people at any time.

  Governor of Dashi wanted to blackmail him. In a word, Pei Xingjian said, the weather is getting warmer, the snow mountains and glaciers have almost thawed, and the mountain passes can be passed again. How about we still have a decisive battle with real swords and guns, and each speaks according to his strength?

  Governor Dashi immediately became honest.

   At the negotiating table, Datang's soldiers are strong and horses are strong. Regardless of the weather, location, or military power, it is beneficial to Datang. This negotiating table is a continuation of the war.

   Only when you are strong can you speak loudly.

  The final result is that the Khazarians will attend the meeting as non-voting attendees, watching the whole process without getting involved. The Sogdians were sold, and Datang and Dashi demarcated the border. The west line was bounded by the Kopet Mountains, and the north was owned by Datang, and the south was owned by Dashi. Originally, Dashi wanted to draw the boundary to the Wuhu River, but Pei Xingjian said that it should be bounded by the Erbultu Mountains on the south bank of the Caspian Sea.

It is also said that the princes in the lowlands of the Caspian Sea have all surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. They were originally the courtiers of the Persian Sasanian Dynasty. Now they belong to the Tang Dynasty with the Persian emperor. Conquer and occupy the lowlands on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.

The big cannibal heard that this is not possible. Although the south bank of the Caspian Sea is very narrow, the problem is that there is only a mountain range along the south bank of the Caspian Sea. It cannot be allowed no matter what.

  Pei Xingjian has no intention of arguing about the ownership of the south bank of the Caspian Sea at this time, anyway, it is now the territory of a group of princes, and the Tang Dynasty is beyond its reach.

   Both parties backed down a step.

   Finally, the western line was determined to be bounded by the Kopet Mountains, reaching the east coast of the Caspian Sea in the west. This boundary line guaranteed the safety of Datang's Persian Mulujun Town, and the big cannibals withdrew through the mountains, but it also admitted that most of the Persian Khorasan area was given to Datang.

  The middle line, bounded by the Turkic Mountains, connects to Tanmi City (Merjezi) on the upper reaches of the Wuhu River in the east, starts from Hengmei City in the west in the east, and borders along the Wuhu River until the exit of Congling Wakhan Corridor in the east.

  The Kopet Mountains and the Turkic Mountains, together with the Penchi River in the upper reaches of the Wuhu River, became the new boundary between the Great Tang and the Great Food.

  The area in the middle of the river between Wuhu River and Yaoshashui, that is, the Sogdian countries, was sold by the big cannibal and assigned to the control of Datang.

  On the eastern front of the new border, there are several small states and prefectures on the north bank of the Wuhu River under Tucharoye Huguo, which are also under the actual control of Datang this time.

Such as Jiesu Kingdom in Tianma Dudufu, Tanmiguo in Gumo Prefecture, Hulun City in Luona Prefecture, Bushi City in Wangting Prefecture Dudufu, Guduo City in Gaofu Dudufu, and Jumi in Zhina Dudufu The city, together with Shinin, which had already been conquered and occupied by Qin Yu in the east, and Humiguo in the Governor's Mansion of Niaofei Prefecture, etc., are all in the north of the eastern section of the New Territories.

  They will still be under the control of Datang, and will still be the governor's prefecture of Jimi Prefecture of Datang.

  As for the other prefectures and prefectures of Tocharo in Wuhu Henan Province, they acquiesced in self-government from the control of Tang Dynasty.

  However, it was agreed that the troops of both Datang and Datang were not allowed to enter Tocharo, and it was designated as a military buffer zone for both sides.

  However, Ahu City, Yuezhi's governor's mansion where Tocharo Yehu is stationed, is less than 200 miles away from the border. If the states on the north bank of the river are lost, the situation in the future of Tocharo Yehu Kingdom will be a bit dangerous.

  Tocharuo Yehu is very dissatisfied with this demarcation method, but who cares about the things that Datang and Dashi both agree to.

  Acquiescence in Tocharo's separation from Datang autonomy this time is considered as not wanting to waste time on them, but it is impossible to change the matter of Wuhu River as the boundary.

  The mountains and rivers are the boundaries, and they are also dangerous obstacles, which are more in line with the interests of Datang.

Of course, in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible, Pei Xingjian finally gave up the Persian Jiling City, which is more than 2,000 miles away from Mulu. After all, this city is located in the Sistan Basin. It's not easy, it has already become an isolated city.

Giving up at this time is also helpless, but since Tochara has been released, and Dashi is also firmly controlling the front line of Khorasan, then this Jiling City is very tasteless. After all, Sistan and the Baloch Mountains further south The tribal chiefs would rather live their own tribal life in the mountains. They are satisfied with herding sheep and so on.

  However, after Datang abandoned Jiling City, Dashi and Tocharo also agreed that the Tang army and the attached Persians in Jiling City would retreat safely to Mulu Town.

Pei Xingjian also talked about an exchange condition. The lowlands and highlands on the south coast of the Caspian Sea will temporarily serve as a buffer zone. Datang agrees with Dashi to designate this area as their sphere of influence, but just like Tocharian, both Datang and Dashi, No troops are allowed to enter.

  As for the Sogdians in the Hezhong area to the north of the newly demarcated line, they still belong to the Tang Dynasty’s Jimi Dudufu. How to deal with them is a family matter of the Tang Dynasty, and Dashi must not interfere.

  The representatives of Tocharian and Khazar also agreed not to interfere with the affairs of the Sogdians in the river, in exchange for Datang not to intervene in the affairs of Tocharian and Khazar.

   It is still possible to sign this agreement.

At least Datang regained the Hezhong area without fighting, and pushed the actual control line to the south by 2,000 miles. As for the Tocharo area, the Khorasan area of ​​Persia, and the Sistan area, there was no actual control before anyway, so It's nothing.

  The current border is quite beneficial to Datang. For example, the iron gate between the two mountain ranges in the east and west is very dangerous and controlled by Tang.

   Many small Tocharian countries in the upper reaches of the Wuhu River have also been drawn to Tang Kong's side.

  Half of Tochara is gone.

  This is also an important reason why Pei Xingjian finally agreed not to interfere with Tocharo. Anyway, he cut off a large piece of Tocharo Ye Huguo with one knife, at least it would be considered a severed arm.

  Wait until the Tang Dynasty completely wiped out the Western Turkic tribes in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and then freed up its hands to clean up the Sogdians in the river.

When the time comes to clean up, the big cannibals have no reason to interfere, not even the Tochara Yehu, otherwise they will tear up the covenant agreement first, and then Datang will naturally be able to justify destroying the Tocharia in the south. It even sent troops to Khorasan again, and even occupied the lowlands on the south coast of the Caspian Sea all at once.

  If they sit back and watch Datang clean up North Tocharo, it will be nothing more than Datang voluntarily tearing up the agreement and destroying South Tocharo.

  Qin Lang said something very well, the agreement was signed to be torn up.

  Pei Xingjian regards these words as the truth. A covenant agreement should be signed when it is needed, and it should be torn up when it is not needed. The most important thing is to look at strength.

  If you have the strength, you tear it up. If you don’t have the strength, others will tear it up.

  The agreement has been initialed by Pei Xingjian, and the governor of Dashi Khorasan has also signed it. Now it is waiting for the emperors of both sides to officially sign it.

   "The people in Jiling City have already withdrawn to Mulu Town, and Shushuai Qin of Dawan Army Town has also sent troops to Tiemen Pass."

   "Governor Dashi and Tocharo Yehu both withdrew their troops past the iron gate and retreated to the south of the New Territories."

"Su Shuai sent troops to Talas City. King Shi, Kang and other Zhaowu kings all sent princes to Luoyang to plead guilty, and sent cattle, horses, camels and food to the Tang army... ·”

   "The 300,000 Western Expeditionary Army, part of which is being withdrawn in batches to Guanlong Shuofang and other places, and the other part is being transferred to the Tianshan Jinshan to conquer and suppress the Western Turkic rebels..."

Sitting behind the curtain, the Empress Dowager Qin was very unfamiliar with the Western Regions thousands of miles away. Although as the daughter of Qin Lang and Taiping, the education she received when she was young was somewhat different from that of ordinary noble daughters. She also learned horseback riding and archery since she was a child. She can also read and write, and even lived in Chang'an, Luoyang, and Luzon. She is far more knowledgeable than many women of her age, but in the final analysis, she is still a young woman.

   She is relatively unfamiliar with wars and state-to-state negotiations, but she can also tell that the result of Pei Xingjian's mission to negotiate peace should be good, as can be seen from the reactions of the chief executives outside.

  Empress Dowager Qin felt relieved.

  With 300,000 troops stationed in the Western Regions, fighting thousands of miles away, she always felt nervous, afraid of any accidents, and now that the troops have finally ceased to stop fighting, she feels relieved.

   "Mr. Pei has worked hard."

  The Empress Dowager Qin said clearly behind the curtain.

  The important events of the country, such as sacrifices and soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of troops gathered outside, the Queen Mother is always uneasy. Next, the prime ministers talked about the follow-up arrangements of the Western Regions outside, nothing more than taking advantage of the situation to completely wipe out the Western Turkic tribes and not giving them a chance to repeat.

  There are several voices regarding the resettlement of the tribes of the Western Turks. Some think that the Eastern Turks should be dealt with according to the old practices, and some think that they should be dealt with according to the law of the Goguryeo people in Liaodong, etc., but no matter which one, they will not be polite.

  This involves another problem. This may make the Western Turks resist more violently. The encirclement and suppression war in the Western Regions may last for several years, or even ten years. It will be a large financial expenditure.

Another one, if the Western Turks are successfully wiped out, or even all of them are moved inland, or most of them are directly sold as slaves, and the rest are scattered and resettled in the south, then the Western Regions, especially the land north of the Tianshan Mountains , it can't just be empty like this.

Datang is now only stationing soldiers and immigrants in Suiye and Yili River Valley, and the number is not large, and many other places are not suitable for farming, only suitable for grazing. If Datang cannot quickly fill these open spaces, sooner or later other nomads will If the tribe is occupied, it will be troublesome again.

   But for immigrants, firstly, there are not many people in the Central Plains to move to, and secondly, most areas north of the Tianshan Mountains are not suitable for farming but only for grazing. This is a big problem.

"I suggest that it is better to take Kunlun Congling and the Hezhong area as fiefdoms, award them to border guards, and reward meritorious ministers, so that they can guard and manage them for generations. It can save a lot of immigration expenses and reduce garrison military expenses.”

   The person who spoke was Pei Xingjian who had just returned from the Western Regions. This time he visited many places in the Western Regions. It is true that the land is sparsely populated, and the conditions in many places are very poor.

The Yili River Valley, the Suiye River Valley, and the Dawan Basin, where the conditions are good, can be self-sufficient and even form large towns if they are directly guarded by the Tang Dynasty. However, the conditions in many other vast areas are much worse. .

  Especially in the areas of Congling and Kunlun, which are bitterly cold and remote, but they are also very important militarily, but if troops are stationed there, it will probably be a huge hole for swallowing gold, and a lot of money has to be thrown into it every year, and it will never be filled.

   Even relying on garrisons alone cannot solve the problem of control for a long time.

   There must be someone, and it must be a Han person.

  But under that kind of conditions, who is willing to immigrate?

  Pei Xingjian felt that at this time, the imperial court might as well introduce the method of enfeoffment, and divide most of the thousands of miles of land in the Western Regions into fiefdoms, so as to attract Han people to emigrate.

   At the same time, it was also awarded to the heroes and soldiers, so that they could also recruit their own people to buy slaves, etc. to develop and operate in the past, and guard the frontier for the court.

Since the enfeoffment law was launched in the year of Zhenguan, it has played a very positive role in the expansion and defense of the imperial court for decades, especially in lands such as Liaodong and North Korea. where there is a shortage of immigrants.

The imperial court has been engaged in it for more than 20 years, recruiting immigrants there every year, and enfeoffing fiefs there every year. Up to now, some of the new generation born there have already grown up. It is really important for the stabilization of Liaodong Korea. to very good effect.

  The same enfeoffment also appeared in the southwestern Yi land. For places such as Tonghai, Erhai, Yinsheng, Yongchang, Xichang, etc., enfeoffment and immigration were adopted, which also played a good role.

  The Empress Dowager Qin is no stranger to the enfeoffment system. After all, the Qin family was the first to obtain the enfeoffment, and it is also the best in managing the enfeoffment.

  However, the conditions in those places in the Western Regions are so harsh, far better than Liaodong, North Korea, Bohai Sea, and much worse than Tonghai, Yongchang, Xichang and other places. Is anyone really willing to go?

  The queen mother asked if she didn't understand.

   "After returning to heaven, I thought that although the conditions in the Western Regions were harsh, more fiefdoms could be granted to increase the benefits."

  As long as the direction is right, the rest is just a matter of time, and sooner or later you will see results.

  (end of this chapter)