Chapter 130 Murong Family
The Helong envoy had two deputy envoys.

Although he was only a deputy envoy, he still had great power.

When the troops are temporarily coordinated, the deputy envoy of Helong can take charge of and dispatch the troops on behalf of the ambassador.

After Li Xuan officially became the Jiedushi, Longyou had to appoint another Jiedushi deputy ambassador, who would usually also serve as the deputy ambassador of Yingtian.

These can all be recommended by Li Xuan.

With these high positions, the generals under his command will surely strive bravely for merit.

"When our army was fighting the bandits, we were fortunate to receive the full support of the Hexi army. Although they did not participate in the battle, they frightened the enemy and showed their friendship. I promised to send 3,000 Hexi horses and 500 yaks. They are now ready and will be sent to the military camp tomorrow."

Li Xuan summoned Li Zhushi, the deputy envoy of the Chishui Army.

This time, the support was led by Li Zhushi.

The largest army was Chishui, which covered an area of ​​5,180 li, facing Tubo in the front and Turks in the north.

This sentence is the Tang Dynasty's evaluation of the Chishui Army over the years.

As the strongest independent army in the Tang Dynasty, the Chishui Army had a very special status. Basically, the Jiedushi himself served as the military commander, such as Wang Jun and Wang Ju in the past, and now Fu Menglingcha also served as the military commander of Chishui.

Prime Minister Niu Xianke started his career by controlling the Chishui Army.

There were even chief prime ministers who remotely led the Chishui Army, such as the Minister of the Central Secretariat Xiao Song, and Li Linfu also commanded the Chishui military.

"General Li, you are too polite. This is the duty of our army. Since ancient times, Helong has been one. Now that the Turks, Turgesh, and Basmil have been annihilated, and the Uighurs and Karluks have surrendered, Tubo has become the common enemy of our two armies."

Master Li Zhu was extremely respectful to Li Xuan.

He knew that Li Xuan was appointed as the ambassador of the Helong Campaign and was granted the title of nobility.

What does this position mean? Li Zhushi, who works in Hexi, naturally understands it.

"Yes, Helong is one. We should work together. I am willing to work with General Fumeng to serve the saint and pacify the border threat of Tubo."

Li Xuan spoke to Master Li Zhu in a righteous manner.

When he takes control of the Hexi Army in the future, Li Zhushi will be his subordinate.

Fu Menglingcha was a famous general, and Li Xuan also knew that he would be transferred to the Western Regions in the future to help Gao Xianzhi succeed.

"I am a close friend of the Jishi Army Envoy. We live and die together. I have long admired the reputation of Marshal Li. If Marshal Li has any instructions in the future, I will do my best to obey them."

Master Li Zhu also took this opportunity to express his feelings to Li Xuan.

In the first year of Tianbao, he defeated Tubo in the Battle of Yuhai and was promoted to deputy envoy of the Chishui Army.

At that time, Li Guangchen also participated in the Battle of Yuhai. Li Guangchen had a reputation as a top martial arts scholar and was later recommended to Longyou.

"General Li, you are too kind. I have something I want to ask you for advice!"

Li Xuan smiled. He might be in charge of the Hexi Army, so it was normal for Master Li and Master Zhu to be like this.

"Please speak, Marshal Li. I will tell you everything I know."

Master Li Zhu sat up straight.

"It is said that there are descendants of the Tuyuhun royal family in the Hexi Army."

Li Xuan formally inquired about the purpose of summoning Master Li Zhu.

"Yes, there is. He is Murong Xihao, the son of Murong Xuanchao, the Prince of Qinghai. He is currently the deputy envoy of the Jiankang Army in Hexi. Because of his father's influence, he is promoted to the rank of Qianniu Guard Langjiang."

Master Li Zhu thought about it and replied to Li Xuan.

"I would like to apply to transfer Murong Xihao to Longyou to be my yamen guard. I hope General Li will tell General Fu Meng about this."

Li Xuan said to Master Li Zhu.

"I believe Marshal Meng will not refuse such a small matter!" Master Li Zhu replied to Li Xuan.

"When General Li returns to Wuwei, please give my regards to General Fu Meng."

After chatting for a while, Master Li Zhu said goodbye and prepared to return to Wuwei in Hexi to report.

Li Xuan began to plan for the future.

Since being conquered by the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun has actually always been friendly with the Tang Dynasty.

Especially after Li Shimin's cousin Princess Honghua married Tuyuhun King Murong Nuohebo.

Decades ago, when Li Zhi was busy conquering Goguryeo, Tubo took the opportunity to invade Tuyuhun. The Tang army was too busy to react, and it was too late.

At that time, the Tuyuhun king Murong Nuohebo had no choice but to leave his homeland and move to Liangzhou with Princess Honghua and thousands of Tuyuhun people.

Li Zhi was very angry about Tubo's behavior. At that time, Tubo's Lu Dongzan came to the Tang Dynasty in person and asked for a marriage alliance as a gesture of peace.

But Li Zhi refused and quietly annexed Tuyuhun. How could he just let it go?

Li Zhi immediately appointed Murong Nuohebo as the Prince of Qinghai. At that time, Qinghai had already been occupied by Tubo, which showed his determination to restore Tuyuhun.

Then, Xue Rengui was defeated by Lu Dongzan's son Lun Qinling at Dafeichuan, leaving Tuyuhun with no hope of regaining its country.

Some Tuyuhun people who defected to the Tang Dynasty first lived in Xiping County, but were constantly attacked by Tubo.

Li Zhi felt sorry for Murong Nuohebo and moved him to Lingwu, and established Anlezhou, a vassal state similar to Rugao and Lanzhou, for the Tuyuhun people to live. Murong Nuohebo was appointed as the governor of Anlezhou, and the governor position was inherited by generations.

After the death of the newly appointed Prince of Qinghai, Murong Xuanchao, his eldest son Murong Xiguang served as the deputy envoy of Shuofang Jiedushi.

And his legitimate son Murong Xilun is now the governor of Anle Prefecture and the general of the Left Guard.

Murong Xihao could not inherit the position left by his father and had to join the army.

Li Xuan had just defeated the coalition forces of Tubo and Tuyuhun. He hoped to take advantage of the conflict between Tubo and Tuyuhun to push out the true royal descendants of Tuyuhun.

When Murong Nuohebo fled from Tuyuhun, he could only take tens of thousands of people with him, and the rest were conquered by Tubo.

Later, Lun Qinling's son Lun Gongren defected to the Tang Dynasty and made 7,000 Tuyuhun tents defect to the Tang Dynasty. Not long after, Lun Gongren surrendered another 1,400 Tuyuhun tents, and after that, more Tuyuhun people defected to the Tang Dynasty one after another.

However, there are still a large number of Tuyuhun people in Tubo territory, controlled by the Tuyuhun kings appointed by Tubo.

Tuyuhun did not share the same hatred with Tubo. In the late Kaiyuan period, Tuyuhun rebelled, which was personally suppressed by the great minister Moluqiongsang Woermang.

This time Tuyuhun suffered heavy losses. Li Xuan also had captured Tuyuhun prisoners, and he thought he could use them to separate the Tuyuhun tribe from Tubo.

From the surnames of the Tuyuhun royal family, we can tell that they are Xianbei people. Today's Xianbei people are basically sinicized. For example, people with Hu surnames such as Dugu, Helan, Murong, Tuoba, Yuchi, and Changsun were still Xianbei people in the early Tang Dynasty, but now most of them regard themselves as Han people.

Murong Xihao, his grandfather married a member of the royal family Li, his mother was the Princess of Guzang, also a member of the royal family, and his elder brother married the grandniece of Wu Zetian.

Therefore, it is impossible for Li Xuan to restore Tuyuhun. If the Murong family can help him separate Tuyuhun, it will be a great achievement and they will definitely be promoted.

Afterwards, Li Xuan summoned his subordinates to discuss the matter of Tuyuhun.

"Li Shuai, since the time of Songtsen Gampo, Tubo has encouraged marriage with Tuyuhun nobles. In order to control Tuyuhun, they implemented dual management. In addition to the Tuyuhun king, they also stationed small tributes among the tribes. Because the Tuyuhun people defected to the Tang Dynasty many times, Tubo divided the Tuyuhun people into batches and stationed them in Qinghai, Jiuqu, Dafeichuan, Xiqingshan and other places, and strictly guarded them. Since the death of Tuyuhun king Ben Dayan Zansong, who served as Tubo Dalun, the new Tuyuhun king's orders to his people are not as good as those of the small tributes in the border areas."

Liu Dan told Li Xuan that the current Tuyuhun was no longer the same as it was decades ago, and it would be difficult to surrender with the help of the Murong royal family.

Perhaps the Tuyuhun people have already forgotten the Murong royal family.

"These can only prove that the Tuyuhun people succumbed to the oppression of the Tibetans. When attacking on the battlefield, the Tuyuhun people were the first to charge and became the dead soldiers. The food grown by the Tuyuhun people and the livestock raised were mostly taken away by the Tibetans. This time, more than 20,000 Tuyuhun people were killed or injured, and their people must have complaints. After taking Jiuqu, I will use the Murong royal family as an order to summon the Tuyuhun people to Jiuqu, and at the same time instigate the Tuyuhun herdsmen in the Qinghai area to rebel. Without Tuyuhun, Tubo's population and livestock will be exposed to our sight."

Li Xuan did not agree with Liu Dan's words.

He felt that Tuyuhun was suffering from exploitation and would inevitably rebel against Tubo if given the opportunity. The rebellion a few years ago was an example.

Their royal family and nobles are now connected with Tubo, but ordinary people are just afraid of Tubo.

It has only been more than fifty years since the Murong royal family left Tuyuhun.

There are still more than 300,000 Tuyuhun people in the former Tuyuhun territory.

These were like slaves in the eyes of Tubo. Without them, it would be difficult for Tubo to develop in the Qinghai Lake and Jiuqu areas.

"General Li is right. During the Kaiyuan period, the Tuyuhun people fled to Hexi and Longyou one after another. The situation was not stopped until the Tubo used torture and severe laws. This time the Tuyuhun people suffered heavy losses in our Tang Dynasty, and it was all caused by Tubo. We let the Murong royal family appease those Tuyuhun people and resettle them like the Tuyuhun people in Anle Prefecture. They will surely submit to the Tang Dynasty again." Liu Yan agreed with Li Xuan's approach.

"Let the Murong royal family make a call. It will not cause any loss to us."

Gao Shi, Cen Shen and others also said so.

"It is almost impossible for the Tuyuhun people to rebel against Tubo. So we have to find an opportunity to enter Jiuqu. As long as the Tuyuhun people in the Jiuqu area do not resist us, it will be much easier for us to retake Jiuqu."

Li Xuan nodded and said to the assistants, "This time we captured the most Tuyuhun people, more than 7,000 in total. When General Murong arrives, I will have him persuade these Tuyuhun people, explain the benefits of surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, and then release them back to their tribe."

"General Li, in this case, we need to treat the Tuyuhun captives differently from the Tubo captives. At least we should feed and clothe them warmly so that they can be grateful to the Tang Dynasty." Cen Shen reminded Li Xuan, "You still need to report to the Saint the reason for releasing the Tuyuhun captives and get his approval to avoid giving people a reason to criticize you." "I will report to the Saint immediately and let these 7,000 Tuyuhun captives go in the early spring of next year."

Li Xuan nodded and instructed Liu Shan: "Change the Tuyuhun captives to two meals a day, with adequate food and clothing. Build a large camp for them outside Huangshui City and allow them to move around in the camp."

"As ordered!"

Liu Dan accepted the order.

In Li Xuan's opinion, when these Tuyuhun captives returned, they would be suspected, abused, and killed by the Tibetans, which would more easily arouse the indignation of the Tuyuhun people.

When you come to the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it is a grace to surrender and not be killed.

If the Tang Dynasty released the Tuyuhun captives, Tubo would kill them out of suspicion, and Tuyuhun might rebel again.

The Murong royal family surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and served as Tang generals for generations, which would be a great inspiration to the Tuyuhun people.

Afterwards, Li Xuan discussed with his assistants the issue of rewards for military merits.

Li Xuan would take a batch of silk money from the treasury to reward the soldiers who had made outstanding contributions in the battle.

The most important thing was to clarify the compensation for soldiers who died in battle and those who were injured and disabled. Li Xuan asked Liu Yan to implement it.

The rewards from the court are on the way to Huangshui and will take some time.

There is also the promotion of generals in the army.

Li Xuan recommended Gao Xiuyan as the commander-in-chief of the army, and Xin Yunjing and Nan Jiyun as deputy commanders of the Lintao Army.

Li Xuan recommended Xin Silian, the former deputy envoy, as the Ningsai military envoy and concurrently the prefect of Ningsai County.

The governor of Ningsai County was transferred because his term of office had expired.

It was reported that An Sishun was appointed concurrently as the prefect of Anxiang Army, and Qian'er Dafu was promoted to the Lieutenant General of the Left Wuwei Guard.

Che Shensai was promoted to General of the Left Dragon Guard. Li Xuan thought he was quite suitable to lead the heavy cavalry, so he let him lead the heavy cavalry temporarily.

The position of Longyou Duyuhou will be taken up by someone else.

In addition, Li Xuan recommended the promotion of dozens of military officials.

As for the deputy ambassador of Shuofang Jiedushi and the deputy envoy of Longyou Taoji, Li Xuan has not yet been appointed.

Wait a while and see.

The soldiers were all very happy to be promoted and made rich. Li Xuan's rewards and punishments were clear and announced to the troops, which made them convinced.

The soldiers who did not make great contributions were very regretful. They hoped that the next battle would occur at their defense line, or that General Li could mobilize their army to fight.

After the Longyou troops suffered losses in the great war, Li Xuan immediately ordered his assistants to prepare for recruiting soldiers, replenishing the army, and reorganizing and training them.

In this Battle of Lishui, two thousand war horses were lost on the battlefield.

But 15,000 intact war horses were seized, and after distributing 3,000 to Hexi, there were still 12,000 horses left.

According to Li Xuan's plan, the Lintao army will have 40,000 war horses.

After these war horses were added to the Lintao army, there were still a thousand more.

Li Xuan distributed these 1,000 horses to the Zhenxi Army, which had made great contributions in this battle, in order to increase the mobility of the Zhenxi Army.

The Lintao Army is now divided into 16 camps around Huangshui City and can train freely.

Li Xuan required that all soldiers must have superb riding skills by at least next autumn.

……

In early December, it started snowing heavily again and the weather became even colder.

The soldiers had to stop training, and at this time the most important thing was to take good care of the horses.

According to scouts, even Qinghai Lake was frozen.

When Li Xuan was waiting for the reward from the court, his personal guards reported to him that some people from Kangguo in the Western Regions came to ask to see him, saying that they came to thank General Li.

Li Xuan immediately understood the origins of these Hu people.

"Kang Jiahong greets the Marshal, thank you for helping us get the horses back."

A white man with a high nose and deep eyes entered the hall and bowed to Li Xuan in the manner of the Han Chinese. He could speak fluent Chinese.

Kang Jiahong was surprised at Li Xuan's youth and bravery.

It seems that this young boy who doesn't even have a beard is the marshal who commands Longyou.

Li Xuan's fame for capturing the Turkic Khan had spread to the Hexi Corridor.

After defeating Tubo not long ago, his reputation became even more famous.

Although the Li Te caravan had lookouts and guards, these were completely useless once they entered Tang territory and faced the powerful people who colluded with officials and businessmen.

Gold, jewels, and horses were taken away, and there was no way to report to the authorities. Sometimes, you are lucky to be alive.

After receiving a tip from Zhang Wenyan, Kang Jiahong returned to Wuwei again. He respectfully returned the horse to the local tyrant who had robbed him, and also compensated him with some gold, hoping that the local tyrant would not pursue the matter.

From this we can see that Li Xuan could influence the Hexi Corridor while he was in Longyou.

"It's just a trivial matter, why do you care?"

Li Xuan waved his hand.

He has always been curious about the business-minded Solitaries.

The Sogdians established many oasis city-states but never a unified country, and were therefore long controlled by powerful foreign forces in the surrounding areas.

Throughout the Silk Road, villages built by the Kushan people can be seen everywhere. There are Kushan people who have settled in Hexi, Longyou, Guanzhong, and even in Heluo and Huainan for generations.

They are also the earliest white race living in the East!

There is no doubt that they made a lot of wealth on the Silk Road connecting the East and the West, but they often could not keep their wealth.

They work hard all their lives, they are profit-driven and sometimes take risks, but end up with nothing.

"I have heard of the Marshal's reputation. I have nothing to repay you. I will give you my best horse. I hope you will be satisfied!"

Kang Jiahong invited Li Xuan to come out and see the BMW. He thanked Li Xuan, but of course he didn't leave empty-handed.

In addition to his gratitude, he also hoped to obtain the protection of Longyou Marshal Li Xuan, so that he would not be afraid of extortion and bullying by those powerful people in the future.

"Businessmen are established on trust. I am in charge of the Great Tang Horse Bureau, so I naturally hope that those who cooperate with the Bureau will be treated fairly. Our Great Tang is a country that embraces all rivers and seas. As long as foreigners come to do business and do not violate the laws of the Great Tang, we will welcome them with open arms. If they are treated unfairly, I will uphold justice. As for the horses, I will not accept them."

Li Xuan wanted to establish good relations with the Kuts for future plans.

Merchants were looked down upon in the Tang Dynasty. As the commander-in-chief, Li Xuan could not possibly go into business, otherwise he would be accused of treason by his political enemies.

And once the money earned from business is discovered, there is no chance to explain.

"Marshal, you are a man of high character, and I admire you very much. I will sell all the more than 50 fine horses from the Western Regions that I brought with me to the Tang Dynasty's animal husbandry supervisor. I hope you can breed a horse that is better than Qinghai Cong."

Kang Jiahong did not force it anymore. In his heart, Li Xuan's position was not as important as a good horse.

The Qinghai Cong was bred by the Tuyuhun people using Qinghai horses and Western Regions horses.

But good horses that can be called Qinghaicong are very rare.

"When you go to Anxiang County, the Tang Dynasty will buy the fine horses you bring with you at a high price. If you foreign merchants are robbed or blackmailed on the Silk Road in the future, you can come to me and I will do my best to handle it for you."

After pondering for a moment, Li Xuan said to Kang Jiahong.

He wanted to sow the seeds of cause and effect in advance and establish prestige among the Kut people.

In many of his future plans, he had to use the Kuts, including entering the Western Regions, expelling the Arabs, and conquering the former territories of the Nine Zhaowu Clans, which was also the Kuts' hometown.

"Marshal, is this true? As far as I know, there are many unfair things happening to merchants in the Tang Dynasty?" Kang Jiahong said in disbelief.

In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty Marshal, their being bullied should be just a trivial matter, so how could he easily promise to help them.

"I am doing this for the Tang Dynasty. If I can guarantee the interests of you Hu merchants, more Hu merchants will come to the Tang Dynasty and make the Tang Dynasty more prosperous."

Li Xuan spoke to Kang Jiahong seriously.

He would say the same thing when facing Li Longji in the future.

(End of this chapter)