Chapter 294: Borrowing Troops from the Rouran
The third day of the sixth month in the first year of Xiaochang.
Grassland, the Rouran royal court.
Princess Shouyang held her son and looked at Gao Hui, the envoy from her homeland.
"Your Highness, I, Gao Hui, pay my respects to you."
Princess Shouyang was naturally in a good mood when she met the envoy from her native country, and she asked Gao Hui many questions about Liangzhou.
"Envoy Gao met General Su in Liangzhou?"
Gao Hui bowed and said:
"I had some contacts with General Su in Liang Province, and it was he who supported me in my mission to the grasslands."
Gao Hui talked about some details of his relationship with Su Ze, and Princess Shouyang listened carefully while holding her son.
Gao Hui found it a little strange. He thought of some rumors that Princess Shouyang's son was not the posthumous son of the previous Khan at all, but might be the son of Su Ze, who escorted Princess Shouyang to the grassland.
When I thought about Su Ze's unremitting efforts to help the Rouran royal court, and saw Princess Shouyang's appearance, it seemed that this was really possible.
When Su Ze pacified Dunhuang, Gao Hui, the fake General Pingxi and Imperial Attendant of the Wei Dynasty, had just returned from a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions.
Then Gao Hui, along with his deputy envoy Su Jie (the "envoy seeking death"), set out from Dunhuang and headed for the grassland.
Princess Shouyang naturally had to thank Gao Hui. If he had not promoted the system of grassland congresses among the various tribes on the grassland, she would not have been able to support her young son as the Khan of Rouran.
Every time Gao Hui passed through a tribe and promoted the power of the Wei Kingdom, a merchant group would enter the tribe and establish a trade group network within the tribe.
Thanks to Gao Hui's efforts, all the tribes on the grassland have now accepted the grassland conference mechanism proposed by Su Ze.
For small and medium-sized tribes, the grassland conference at least provides a consultation mechanism.
Because of the system of voting in the conference according to tribe, small and medium-sized tribes also have a say, and the large tribes will also win over these small tribes.
The large tribes also achieved a relatively stable situation.
During this white disaster in the north, Princess Shouyang sent someone to contact Gao Hui and asked him to coordinate and help the affected tribes on the grassland.
After receiving the order, Gao Hui took Su Jie across the snow and coordinated the rescue of several tribes, which made him more prestigious on the grassland.
So when Gao Hui arrived at the Rouran royal court, Princess Hedun Shouyang personally welcomed the Wei envoy and gave him the highest courtesy.
Gao Hui was also secretly observing this Rouran Kehadun, the former princess of the Wei Dynasty.
After giving birth, Princess Shouyang became a little plump. She dressed like a grassland woman, but she had fair skin, delicate face, and her every move was full of charm.
However, the nobles of the Rouran royal court around her did not dare to look at her, which showed that this Kehadun also had a very high reputation in the royal court.
All this surprised Gao Hui a little. He originally thought that Princess Shouyang, the Kehadun, was just a puppet pushed up by the Rouran nobles.
Come to think of it, a disrespected princess from the Wei royal family, who was a distant relative of the Wei clan, and who only had the title of a Wei princess and who had the son of a former Khan whose identity was questionable, could control the unruly grassland people?
Gao Hui brought Su Jie with him and saw many soldiers dressed in Northern Wei costumes in the royal court. After Su Jie went out to inquire, he learned that these were refugees from the Six Garrisons who had fled from the White Disaster to the Six Garrisons Rebellion and that Princess Shouyang had taken in refugees from the Six Garrisons.
Princess Shouyang provided land and food to settle these refugees, and organized them into an army to protect the safety of the royal court.
Gao Hui suddenly realized that Princess Shouyang really had very clever ideas!
The people from the six towns who were gathered were refugees who had fled to the grassland.
They had no tribe, no land, and relied entirely on Princess Shouyang to survive.
They are Princess Shouyang's most loyal supporters.
After Princess Shouyang finished asking about Su Ze, she said:
"Your Excellency, you have had a long journey. You should stay at the guesthouse first. I will summon you tomorrow."
Then Gao Hui and his companions were accommodated in the Guest House.
The Rouran royal court originally had no city walls. It was actually a fertile pasture. The Rouran royal family became wealthy after migrating here.
Because the tent where the Rouran Khan lived was golden, this place is also called the Golden Horde.
Even the Golden Horde’s royal court was not fixed. A whole area could be used as the royal court, and the Rouran royal family also had to chase water and grass for grazing.
However, after Princess Shouyang took power, she decided to fix the position of the royal court.
She recruited craftsmen from the grassland to build cities and erect fixed houses. Most importantly, she relied on her status as a princess of the Northern Wei Dynasty to establish a market in the royal court.
This market is the largest market in the entire grassland and is also the gathering point for all merchants traveling to and from the grassland.
In the beginning, there were merchants coming from the Six Towns, but now the merchants traveling to the grassland are basically caravans heading north from the Liangzhou and Hezhou areas controlled by Su Ze.
This huge market is also the key to Princess Shouyang's control of the grassland.
Gao Hui saw a large number of goods made in Liangzhou in the guesthouse.
In addition to jewelry, jade, porcelain and silk, which are precious items also loved by the princes and nobles of the grassland, the white cotton that Su Ze promoted in Liangzhou is also surprisingly popular on the grassland.
In ancient times, clothing was the most important thing for food, shelter and transportation, especially cold-proof and warm clothing, which was a necessity on the grassland. People on the grassland usually used fur to keep warm.
However, fur products are not comfortable to wear, which is why the princes of the grasslands like Han silk so much.
Cotton cloth made of white cotton is not as skin-friendly and comfortable as silk, but it is much more comfortable than linen.
Moreover, cotton is warmer than linen and silk, and it is more suitable to wear it next to the skin to keep out the cold.
Gao Hui and Su Jie saw cotton cloth along the way, and sometimes it was even more popular than silk.
Relying on the legitimacy of the young Khan, Princess Shouyang won over the lower-level tribes of the royal court and the refugees from the Six Garrisons on the one hand, and relied on the trading power of the Northern Wei princess on the other hand, and thus secured the position of Kehadun.
However, to say that Princess Shouyang can be the leader of the grassland is to overestimate her abilities.
Sure enough, the next day Princess Shouyang summoned Gao Hui and talked about Su Ze's letter, asking the Rouran to help the Northern Wei Dynasty quell the rebellion of the Six Garrisons. She said:
"If you want the Rouran tribes to send out troops, it will not be enough to rely on me alone."
Princess Shouyang was able to gain recognition from various tribes on the grassland precisely because she was weaker than other people as the Khan of Rouran.
The big tribes on the grassland were the ones who were most unwilling to see a strong Khan emerge from the Rouran royal court.
Gao Hui also nodded and said:
"But sending troops will be beneficial to Your Highness."
"In order to get the Rouran to send out troops, the court will certainly promise a lot of benefits. As long as Your Highness can grasp these, you can better control the tribes on the grassland."
Princess Shouyang sighed and said:
"The envoy of King Guangyang is about to arrive at the royal court, but I have already asked Madam Feng (a female official with an open mind) to make indirect inquiries. The princes, including the Brahmin Yujiulu, are hesitant about sending troops."
Gao Hui said:
"In the past, when there was a turmoil in the Six Garrisons, the Rouran would move south. But now that the Six Garrisons are in chaos, the Rouran princes dare not move south. It's still because of the power that General Su had when he dominated the grasslands."
Princess Shouyang also nodded. Su Ze had gone out of the border to pursue the Rouran princes and frightened them.
Gao Hui said:
"If you want them to send troops, you still have to lure them with benefits. When the envoys of King Guangyang arrive, Your Highness should reject them first."
Princess Shouyang asked doubtfully:
"Why?"
"First, let the envoy of King Guangyang promise great benefits, and then the princes of the royal court will be willing to send troops. Only when the royal court sends troops can the entire Rouran send troops."
Princess Shouyang agreed with Gao Hui's suggestion and decided to do as he said.
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The next day, the envoy sent by Yuan Shen to the Rouran royal court also arrived.
Princess Shouyang happened to summon the Rouran princes in the royal court to discuss sending troops to help quell the rebellion.
The envoys Yuan Shen sent to the grassland were General Pei Yan, who was brought from the court by Yuan Shen, and the deputy envoy was Heba Yun, the eldest son of Heba Duba.
Pei Yan's ancestral home was the Wenxi Pei family, but his family had moved south long ago. He once served in the Southern Qi Dynasty. After Xiao Yan raised an army to replace Qi, he surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The reason for his surrender to the Northern Wei was also very abstract, because there was a word "Yan" in his name. After the Southern Liang replaced the Qi Dynasty, the new emperor was named Xiao Yan, and scholars were required to change their names to avoid taboos.
Pei Yan was a filial son and did not want to change his name, so he fled to the Northern Wei with his entire family.
Because of this incident, Pei Yan's deeds were praised by people. Of course, the more important reason was that he was a descendant of the Wenxi Pei family and was recommended as a filial and honest official to the Northern Wei emperor many times.
Pei Yan was recommended to be an official in the late period of Emperor Xuanwu's reign, and his career flourished as soon as he took office.
Pei Yan was also capable of both civil and military affairs. Yuan Shen knew that he was a talent, so he requested the court to appoint Pei Yan as a special general to accompany him on the expedition.
The mission of asking for help was the key to whether the rebellion of the Six Garrisons could be quelled, so Yuan Shen entrusted Pei Yan with the mission and sent Heba Yun to escort him.
After Heba Yun presented Wei Kegu's head to Yuan Shen, Yuan Shen was overjoyed.
Yuan Shen certainly knew the importance of morale, and he immediately publicized the incident of Heba Duba's attack and killing of Wei Kegu to boost the morale of the Pingcheng army.
Then Yuan Shen asked for merit for Heba Duba and wrote a letter to the court requesting that he be posthumously awarded the title of General Anyuan and the Marquis of Longcheng County.
After this operation, the Heba brothers were naturally grateful, and Yuan Shen immediately asked Heba Yun to lead troops to escort Pei Yan.
Pei Yan was able to reach the Rouran royal court thanks to the sworn protection of Heba Yun and his generals. Seeing the chaos in the Six Garrisons, Pei Yan was determined to have the Rouran send troops to help quell the rebellion.
However, what Pei Yan did not expect was that Princess Shouyang only met Pei Yan for the sake of courtesy, but had no interest in sending troops south.
This made Pei Yan very anxious. When he heard that Gao Hui was also in the royal court, he hurriedly took Heba Yun to meet Gao Hui.
After the greetings, Pei Yan sighed and said:
"But He Dun did not care about the friendship of his motherland and refused to send troops to help the Yuan general to suppress the rebellion. Pei was unable to fulfill the general's trust and had no face to return to Pingcheng."
Gao Hui had actually discussed the issue of sending troops with Princess Shouyang a long time ago, and it was also Gao Hui's idea to openly reject Pei Yan.
But seeing Pei Yan like this, Gao Hui also felt uncomfortable. When did the Wei Dynasty need to borrow troops from the Rouran to quell the rebellion?
During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, the Northern Wei went beyond the border to pursue the Rouran, and each time they seized countless cattle and sheep. During the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, the Rouran were frightened and dared not go south to graze their horses. But how come during the current reign, first the Rouran invaded the Six Garrisons, and now we have to borrow Rouran’s troops to quell the rebellion?
How did this world become like this?
One million words now. . .
(End of this chapter)