Chapter 313: Intercepting Chang'an's Money, Li Siye

"That's right! Since the Arabs have already marched to Talas, they can step into the territory of our Tang Dynasty in one step. This means that they have the heart to covet the Tang Dynasty. Showing weakness to the enemy is also the military strategy of our Central Plains."

"I know that the commander of the Arabs is the Governor of Khorasan. This man is similar to the founding general of our Han Dynasty and has a certain arrogance."

"People are never satisfied. After they have obtained Long, they will always want more. I believe that after the governor of Khorasan easily obtained Transoxiana, his ambition will be aroused and he will aim at the Anxi Protectorate."

Li Xuan said to Feng Changqing.

(ps: In the future, we will not mention the name of the Governor of Khorasan. We will just call him the Governor of Khorasan, Abu MSL. The sensitive word MSL will be detected and deleted by AI once it appears multiple times)

Later historical records of West Asia exaggerated everything about the Arab Empire.

Li Xuan did not believe the historical records of the Battle of Talas, in which the Arabs captured 70,000 Tang soldiers.

I don't believe that the Arabs can recruit 500,000 soldiers in the Khorasan region.

In the historical Battle of Talas, there is no doubt that the Tang Dynasty was defeated.

After all, the army was complacent and had been on a long expedition, so the men and horses were exhausted, which was a big taboo in military strategy.

The Tang Dynasty suffered a strategic defeat and lost Central Asia.

As a result of the war, the Arabs suffered heavy losses.

The black-robed Arabs saw the fighting power of the Tang Dynasty's elite troops and temporarily dared not look east again.

Instead, they sent envoys to Chang'an every year to perform diplomatic etiquette with the Tang Dynasty and exchange treasures.

Not long after, the founding caliph of the Black Caliphate died.

Because of their traditional vision, the Arabs' main strategy was still in the Mediterranean region.

Because the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire were not natural enemies.

The Byzantine Empire on the Mediterranean coast was the arch-enemy of the Arabs.

Their relationship was even more complicated than the previous battle between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

"Bakhchisar, located west of the Pamir Mountains, is the most loyal vassal of the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty marches west, it will surely send troops to follow. Are we going to give up even it?"

Feng Changqing asked Li Xuan.

Although the Tang Dynasty had lost its reputation in Hezhong and Zhaowu west of the Pamir Mountains, there were still several loyal small countries that admired the Tang Dynasty.

Among the countries west of the Pamir Mountains, Bukhara was known as the most cautious in serving the Tang Dynasty. When the Tang Dynasty went to war, it was the first to send troops to respond.

Bakhchisar is the country closest to the Seven Rivers Region and closest to the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty could exert its influence there.

"I will send a letter to the King of Bactria, asking him to pay tribute to the Arabs in the future. Give first and take later. It won't be long before the whole area from the Pamir Mountains to the Leizhu Sea will truly submit."

Li Xuan said to Feng Changqing solemnly.

He believed that when the Tang Dynasty defeated the Caliphate, small countries such as Bukhara, Cao State, and Kang State would be the first to return to the Tang Dynasty.

This year, the Arabs used a large army to suppress the Sogdian rebellion.

This shows that the Sogdians were also very hostile to the Arabs.

Li Xuan knew that the main force of the Arabs had gathered in the Khorasan region.

The Talas River line was only a part of the troops under the command of the Governor of Khorasan.

When necessary, the Arabs could mobilize more troops.

"The court has given Li the elite Helong cavalry. If Li keeps his troops inactive, he needs to be on guard against villains."

Feng Changqing reminded Li Xuan.

He no longer said that Li Xuan gave up the area west of the Pamir Mountains. What he saw was Li Xuan's decisiveness.

The Pamir Mountains and Leishan Mountain in the north of the Pamir Mountains have thousands of ravines and gullies, narrow passages and steep cliffs, requiring constant detours.

In the most dangerous places, one could only march less than ten miles a day.

As long as the garrisons of both sides are well monitored to avoid surprise attacks, whoever crosses the mountains and rivers will be the weaker party.

Feng Changqing's words hinted to Li Xuan to be careful of Bian Lingcheng.

Everyone was unhappy at the banquet yesterday, and Bian Lingcheng might report this to the emperor secretly.

Bian Lingcheng is a person who can never be fed.

Gao Xianzhi would offer gold, silver and other valuables to Bian Lingcheng three times a year.

If he made a mistake even once, Bian Lingcheng would get angry with Gao Xianzhi.

After being castrated, Bian Lingcheng grew up with Li Longji and was Li Longji's "self-proclaimed" confidant.

Gao Xianzhi himself is greedy for money, so how could he dare to sue Bian Lingcheng!

Even if he was a noble man and reported to Bian Lingcheng, Li Longji would probably believe Bian Lingcheng more!
"No problem! I also held my troops in the battle of Dafeichuan and won a complete victory over Tubo. I will explain the key points of military strategy to the saint. In ancient times, generals worked hard for ten years and won a battle in one battle. This was normal. I am not afraid of slander from villains."

Li Xuan said with a smile.

He had Yang Guifei and Gao Lishi among his confidants, as well as ministers from his own party.

He was knowledgeable about military affairs, so as long as Gao Lishi and Yang Guifei gave him a casual reminder, Li Longji would not be suspicious.

"It would be best to conceal General Li's transfer of troops from Helong to the Western Regions. Do not let the Arabs know about the strength of our Anxi Protectorate."

Feng Changqing proposed to Li Xuan.

"There is a possibility of hiding troops, but it is not very high. Along the way, many Sogdian merchants knew that a large number of Tang troops were entering Anxi. These merchants went to various towns, and it was difficult for us to stop them."

Li Xuan shook his head.

He planned to deploy the Anxi Jinglüe Army in the Yili River Basin (now the Ili River), where there was abundant water and grass. It was once the grazing ground of the Ten Khans, the Turgesh and the Turks, and was very suitable for establishing winter and summer pastures.

The Anxi Jinglüe Army has 50,000 war horses, so they must have good pastures to fatten the horses.

Li Xuan of the Great Wall Army planned to station outside the city of Qiuci, where there was also good grazing land.

The Seven Rivers area, the Five Rivers Basin, the Fergana Basin and other areas in the Western Regions are all good grazing lands and have been occupied by the Xiongnu and Turks since ancient times. However, when the war horses from Hexi and Longyou arrived in the Western Regions, they would certainly suffer losses due to acclimatization.

"Will the Arabs hesitate because of this?"

Feng Changqing asked Li Xuan.

"Maybe, maybe not. To ensure everything goes well, I have another plan to lure the Arabs."

Li Xuan replied to Feng Changqing.

Newly founded regimes are often unruly. It is rare for a rising empire to be willing to be a tortoise, and at most it will just endure humiliation.

The Arabs often sent envoys to Chang'an. They should have known that the core of the Tang Dynasty was the Central Plains, thousands of miles away from the Western Regions, making it difficult to lead troops.

If you don't dare to challenge the Caliphate when it is at its most powerful, then you might as well be a coward.

What's more, this era is different from history.

Li Xuan manipulated Li Longji to send an edict to Abu Abbas, the Caliph of the Arabs, asking him to withdraw from Central Asia and submit to the emperor.

Abu Abbas, known as the Butcher, vowed to rule the empire with iron and blood, and he would definitely set his sights on Anxi.

"Li Shuai's plan will definitely work."

Feng Changqing did not ask for details.

"We will draft a document in the next few days and send it to the countries west of the Pamir Mountains in the name of the Anxi Protectorate, saying that the Tang Dynasty will no longer protect them and let them find their own way out."

Li Xuan instructed Feng Changqing.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty gave up its influence west of the Pamir Mountains, forcing the countries west of the Pamir Mountains to turn to the Arabs.

Because a large number of troops from the Arab world had already entered Central Asia.

"As ordered!"

Feng Changqing accepted the order.

"Judge Feng, please tell me the current financial situation of Anxi. Can it afford to support 50,000 soldiers and more than 80,000 war horses?"

Li Xuan began to learn about Anxi's finances from Feng Changqing.

"Reporting to General Li, Anxi's finances are divided into..."

Feng Changqing carefully explained to Li Xuan the finances and military supplies of the Anxi Protectorate.

The first source of financial and military supplies for the Anxi Army was military farming.

There were twenty military settlements in Qiuci, seven in Shule, seven in Yanqi, five in Khotan, and ten in Suiye. As long as the Tang Dynasty stationed troops, there were more or less some military settlements.

Each settlement was as large as 50 hectares and as small as 20 hectares, with a total area of ​​no less than hundreds of thousands of acres. This was a major source of food and pay for the Tang army.

Depending on the harvest, the military farms provided 50% to 70% of the Anxi Army’s food needs.

If there was a shortage of other things, the grain would be purchased from other sources to make up for the military needs.

The so-called "Helian" means using silk and money to exchange for food from neighboring countries.

The Tang Dynasty would only transport some money and silk from Chang'an and Luoyang as military pay for the Anxi Army, and could not transport food from thousands of miles away. After all, Chang'an's own food still had to be transported from Luoyang.

Otherwise, there would not have been the frequent "moving of the capital to seek food" during the Kaiyuan period.

The second source of financial resources for the Anxi Protectorate was taxes from the vassal states.

Each state was a country, just like the Kingdom of Kucha belonged to the Kucha Governor's Office, and the governor was concurrently the King of Kucha.

These vassal states were required to pay taxes to the Tang Dynasty and obey the Tang Dynasty's call to send troops.

Since the country also had its own military and political system, the taxes imposed on them by the Tang Dynasty were relatively low and were levied according to their output.

But one thing is that if the Jimizhou troops followed the Tang Dynasty into battle, the Anxi Protectorate would exempt them from taxes and they would even receive rewards from the imperial court.

However, the Anxi Army was often arrogant and unwilling to bring troops from major Western Region countries such as Kucha and Khotan.

The third source was taxes collected from the Han Chinese settlements in Anxi, but these taxes were too small to support the well-equipped Anxi Army.

The fourth source is commercial taxes. The places where the Anxi Army was stationed were all important passages of the Silk Road, with frequent merchants traveling back and forth and developed commerce. The imperial court would allow the garrison to collect commercial taxes to make up for the shortfall in military spending.

These commercial taxes are relatively light. If they are too heavy, it will lead to the phenomenon of exhausting the resources, which will not be worth the loss.

The fifth source is clothing grants and military pay from the court. The specific amount needs to be applied to the court.

At the same time, it also depends on the court's transportation capabilities.

Historical records say that during the Tianbao period, Anxi only needed millions of pieces of silk every year.

This is definitely a misrecord.

In Chang'an, one piece of silk could be exchanged for fifty liters of rice.

What's more, the price of silk in the Western Regions is different from that in Chang'an.

It takes two skilled weavers five days to produce one roll of silk.

It takes two people several months to produce one piece of the finest Shu brocade.

If each soldier consumed an average of 100 pieces of silk per year, Li Longji would have destroyed the Anxi Army long ago.

Moreover, the transportation capacity required for millions of pieces of silk is unimaginable.

"Judge Feng, do you think Anxi can supply food to the army after the Jinglüe Army and the Great Wall Army arrive?"

Li Xuan asked Feng Changqing.

He promised Li Longji that he would be self-sufficient in food.

The rest of the military pay and rewards were paid by the court, and Li Xuan would rather refuse them than accept them.

"As long as there is money and grain, the military settlements can be expanded and supported. Only General Li can apply to the court for more military funds."

Feng Changqing replied to Li Xuan.

"What is the budget of Anxi Protectorate like?"

Li Xuan only asked about Anxi.

The Beiting Army was supported by the Beiting Protectorate.

"If it only depends on taxation, it will be fine when there is no war. But once a war breaks out, military funds will increase several times." Feng Changqing replied to Li Xuan.

"I understand."

Li Xuan nodded.

What he needs is not only the military supplies currently consumed, but also a large amount of wealth.

You need a certain source of money.

He also asked Feng Changqing about the distribution of some mines, farmlands and pastures.

Since the Han Dynasty, there have been rich iron and copper mines near Qiuci, which can even meet the needs of the entire Anxi.

Han craftsmen and blacksmiths entered Qiuci and brought advanced smelting technology.

The Western Regions were able to manufacture the Mo Dao and the Ming Guang Armor of the Tang Dynasty, which shows that Qiuci had extremely skilled craftsmen.

"I plan to build a silk, tea, and porcelain market outside the city of Qiuci. This will allow some Sogdians to obtain silk and tea without having to go to Chang'an, and sell them to Daqin and Fulin. Please choose a flat place with convenient transportation."

Li Xuan instructed Feng Changqing.

"Li Shuai, this may not necessarily result in more tax revenue!"

Feng Changqing didn't understand what Li Xuan meant and raised an objection.

"What I mean is that we can mainly use the Anxi Protectorate to purchase silk, colored satin, tea, and porcelain from Liangzhou City, and then use the government's transportation capacity to transfer them to Qiuci. We can sell them to merchants going to Daqin and Fulin at a slightly lower price. Hu merchants do not need to go to Chang'an to buy the best silk and tea, and they will definitely gather in the Qiuci market."

Li Xuan told Feng Changqing his thoughts.

He came to Anxi, fighting was just one of the reasons.

The most important thing is to train the soldiers and win their hearts.

In addition, we must find ways to store grain.

It was impossible for him to make unlimited demands on the court, so he had to find a way to establish his own channel for wealth.

Even An Lushan was trying to use Sogdian merchants to obtain gold, silver and jewelry.

Moreover, there were also some aspects of An Lushan that Li Xuan imitated.

An Lushan was a Sogdian, and he had the trait of being good at trade in his genes. He did business secretly, used trade to raise huge military funds, build weapons and armor, and mass-produce seals and tokens for fake officials.

At the same time, he also took advantage of trade opportunities to collect intelligence from various places.

In terms of intelligence, Li Xuan has new recruits in Changping, and as soon as there is news in Chang'an, Liao Zhengrong will send rangers to pass it on to him.

But when it comes to trade, as a time traveler, although he only knows the basics, his advanced ideas should allow him to make more money than An Lushan.

In later generations, many people thought that the people of Hebei supported An Lushan, and that An Lushan's money and grain came from the support of Hebei gentry and people, so he always received money and grain.

In fact, the people of Hebei are also victims of oppression.

It wasn't just Hebei, everywhere in the Tang Dynasty was very bad, and land annexation was a suffering for the people.

The people of Hebei suffered even more because An Lushan tried to please Li Longji without restraint, constantly mobilizing the people to transport the finest stones, trees, and jade to Chang'an, which became the majestic Huaqing Palace.

Therefore, Hebei was also very fierce in the resistance. Righteous men like Yan Gaoqing and Zhang Xing were ready to die and led the local militia in continuous resistance.

When An Lushan's rebel army marched south, some Hebei scholars and civilians died for their loyalty, some fled, and some were forced to join in. However, there were very few voluntary participants.

The so-called Hebei support for An Lushan is a conspiracy theory of later generations.

If the gentry joined the rebellion, there would be generals in An Lushan's army who would be descendants of the gentry.

However, there was no such phenomenon in An Lushan's army. Instead, it was filled with frustrated and down-and-out Han people.

More often than not, after An Lushan's great victory at Tongguan, captured Han generals and Han generals guarding local areas came to surrender.

If the rebels in this era did not seek to be granted titles or generals, did the nobles still want to control things from behind the scenes like the capitalists of later generations?

As for why the An Lushan rebels did not surrender, one reason was that most of their troops were Hu people.

The second is that Li Heng’s harsh punishment of rebels in the early days not only executed the rebels, but also made their families enslaved.

This made the coerced Han soldiers afraid to surrender.

After the two capitals were recovered, even Wang Wei, a literary leader who was forcibly appointed as a fake official, was almost killed, let alone other rebels.

Ministers such as Chen Xilie and Da Xixun were judged by the Three Courts and were directly executed for the slightest flaw.

At that time, Li Heng was too arrogant and thought that regaining the empire was just around the corner.

Later, Li Xian repeatedly persuaded Li Heng to forgive the coercers, and since rebellion was a difficult task, the punishment for the rebels was abolished and they were pardoned.

Therefore, An Lushan's financial management ability is very worthy of Li Xuan's reference.

Li Xuan was sure that An Lushan's military supervisor must have been bribed by him, or had completely surrendered to An Lushan.

Therefore, if Li Xuan wanted to achieve great things in Anxi, he had to control Bian Lingcheng and the young eunuchs and Yulin Lang around Bian Lingcheng.

Keep all information channels in your own hands.

Since the Western Regions are farther away than Fan Yang, it is more suitable for Li Xuan to stir up trouble.

"General Li, you will be criticized for doing this. And if you kidnap a large number of merchants, the number of merchants going to Chang'an, Luoyang, and Yangzhou will decrease, which will affect the tax revenue of the court. It will be discovered sooner or later."

Feng Changqing was a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty. He believed that Li Xuan was trying to steal business from Chang'an.

The profits must have been considerable, but the imperial court repeatedly ordered that officials should not compete with businessmen for profits.

"The saint appointed me as the Anxi Jinglüe Ambassador and Beiting Jinglüe Ambassador. This is to allow me to manage the Western Regions as much as possible and reduce my dependence on the court. Judge Feng, please don't worry too much. There is nothing wrong with what I did. Otherwise, if we encounter a war, we will not be able to reward the army and will delay military pay, which will affect morale."

Li Xuan said to Feng Changqing seriously.

He held the position of Hexi Changxing Transport Commissioner.

Li Xiyan, a former subordinate of Li Xuan, the current Deputy Minister of Transport.

The starting point of the Hexi Changxing transportation was Xizhou in the Western Regions.

Let Li Xiyan help transport the porcelain, tea and silk from Liangzhou City, and then Li Xuan will send people to Xizhou to transport them back to Qiuci.

A large trade distribution center was formed in Qiuci.

The price is a bit higher than Liangzhou City, but definitely cheaper than other merchants.

After obtaining gold, silver and jewelry, Li Xuan went to Liangzhou City to exchange them for silk and tea, and his money continued to flow in.

Two or three years later, Chang'an discovered that something was wrong with the tax collection, but when it wanted to investigate westward, it was too late.

At the same time, Li Xuan would use his privileges to allow Zhang Wenyan and Liu Ji to transport more horses to the Western Regions.

Li Xuan would use the loss of horses as an excuse to continue to expand the Western Region cavalry.

He wanted to build large horse farms and pastures in the Qihe River, Yili River Valley, Five Rivers Basin, east of the Tianshan Mountains, and in the Qiuci area.

Establish horse officials and pastoral officials under the Anxi Protectorate.

Make the pastoral area more perfect.

At the same time, Li Xuan wanted to hire people from various countries in the Western Regions and increase the intensity of military farming.

Purchase surplus grain from the countries in the Western Regions.

In addition to military settlements, civilian settlements must also be implemented.

On the other hand, Li Xuan wanted to use the money from trade to build various workshops.

Papermaking, printing, iron smelting, lacquerware, textiles, porcelain, wine, etc.

He can also produce distilled liquor, glass, and soap, which are all basic knowledge in middle school.

The high-end Li Xuan wouldn’t do that, but this kind of Li Xuan can still understand it.

At that time, not only can we earn money from the Arabs and Fulin, but we can also sell it to Chang'an.

Once the workshop is established, production costs will be reduced.

The Tang Dynasty also had colored glaze similar to glass, but its cost-effectiveness was not as good as Li Xuan’s glass.

Li Xuan had already prepared the mineral materials for making these, and when the time came, he asked people to inquire in the Western Regions.

"I was overthinking it."

After listening to Li Xuan's explanation, Feng Changqing felt relieved.

Apart from this, there seems to be no other way.

There are many Hu people in the Anxi army, and financial incentives are very important for an army.

Li Xuan and Feng Changqing talked until noon, ranging from military affairs to finance, and then to local customs and folkways.

Li Xuan was very satisfied.

In the afternoon, Li Xuan summoned Liu Tiao, Dugu Jun and other subordinates.

Because he was not familiar with them, Li Xuan did not discuss military and political affairs with them. Apart from comforting them, he asked about their style of doing things.

The next day, Li Xuan went to the palace of the King of Kucha to ask for etiquette, and Bai Tiehe hosted a banquet for Li Xuan.

Li Xuan discussed some matters concerning civilian settlements with Bai Tiehe, hoping that Bai Tiehe could encourage the people of Qiuci to reclaim wasteland and give them rewards.

When the Anxi Jinglüe Army arrives, they will bring some cotton seeds. Li Xuan wants Kucha to take the lead and let the cotton bloom in Kucha first.

In the afternoon, Li Xuan left the Kucha Palace accompanied by Bai Tiehe. Accompanied by Wang Zhengjian and Feng Changqing, he arrived at the military camp outside the city and inspected the Kucha military camp.

"Meeting General Li!"

Cheng Qianli, the governor of Qiuci, was a veteran general. He left the military camp to pay a visit to Li Xuan.

Cheng Qianli's real name is Cheng Ang, and Qianli is his courtesy name.

He was tall and strong, and had made many military achievements.

If Feng Changqing had not been there, Cheng Qianli would most likely have been the future Jiedushi of Anxi.

Even so, in history, Cheng Qianli should have been the Jiedushi of Beiting.

What he didn't know was that Li Xuan had robbed him of his luck.

It was already very difficult to be promoted to the Jiedushi of Beiting.

"No gift!"

Li Xuan signaled Cheng Qianli, who was taller than him, to stand up.

"The Kucha army is the most elite army of Anxi. With the two Modao teams from Anxi, they will have a greater responsibility in future battles. How many battalions does Kucha have now?"

After Li Xuan followed Cheng Qianli into the military camp, he saw the neatly-organized Kucha army on the military training ground and asked Cheng Qianli again.

"Reporting to General Li, the Qiuci army has a total of 5,000 soldiers, including the Modao Battalion, a total of eight battalions. Four of them are cavalry battalions and one is a heavy infantry battalion."

Cheng Qianli replied to Li Xuan.

"In the army, there are training sessions and exercises every few days."

Li Xuan asked Cheng Qianli.

"Due to the need for military settlement, we cannot train during the busy farming season. Normally, we train every other day and drill every ten days."

Cheng Qianli replied.

Same as Li Xuan’s Helong Army.

The army trains every other day to relieve fatigue while always being in a state of readiness for war.

"Starting tomorrow, each drill will consist of 50 people in a team, with cavalry, infantry, and Mo Dao troops separated! The top three teams will be rewarded with a meal of mutton."

Li Xuan rewarded the Anxi Army according to Helong's rewards, which not only motivated the soldiers but also increased his own prestige in the army.

The Tang Dynasty also had official ranches in Qiuci, with many horses, cattle and sheep, which were usually used to reward the troops before going on an expedition.

Li Xuan was sure that he would get more livestock in the future, and every ten days, the number of sheep given as a reward would not be many.

"As ordered!"

Cheng Qianli took the order. He knew that this was Li Xuan's way of winning people's hearts, just like Gao Xianzhi's previous way of rewarding soldiers who had made meritorious services.

"General Cheng, what powerful generals are there in the Kucha army?"

The Kucha army was well-disciplined and the soldiers looked impressive.

Li Xuan also saw the cold and sharp Modao formation, with a total of 1,500 people.

They probably didn't wear inner armor or face protection.

Moreover, the Modao Army of Anxi was not only equipped with Modao, there were about seven or eight hundred Modao, and the rest were long axes and clubs.

The Anxi Mo Dao has its own tactics. When encountering enemy soldiers, long axes and big sticks are used together to attack their armor, which is more effective than the Geng Mo Dao.

At the front of the Modao Army was a strong man.

The sturdy man has a sturdy build, thick beard, square face, and a determined and bright gaze.

He was the tallest person Li Xuan had ever seen in this world. According to later generations, he was about two meters tall.

It is wearing iron armor and looks like a small iron tower.

His name was about to emerge in Li Xuan's mind: the powerful general, Li Siye.

(End of this chapter)