Yifang County could be considered a county in the northern part of Lan Province, while Yun Province was to the north of Lan Province. Further north of Yun Province was the Great Steppe, where lived a group of valiant nomads, the Great Tang's mortal enemy: the Eastern Turks!
After leaving Yifang County, the father-in-law and son-in-law rushed for an hour and arrived at the boundary of Yunzhou!
Cloud Province was one of the sixteen provinces of Yanyun between the Great Tang and the Turks. Since ancient times, it had been an important military base on the northern border, a barrier between the Great Tang and the Turks.
There were not many people here, but many soldiers were garrisoned here. According to Han Lizheng, Yunzhong County had forty to fifty thousand soldiers. Cloud Province only had one county under its jurisdiction, Yunzhong County. After reaching Yunzhou, Han Lizheng had no intention of stopping. Instead, he continued to gallop northward. Li Zexuan wondered, could it be that my father-in-law wants to bring me to the 'border' of the Great Tang?
After galloping for another half an hour, Han Lizheng finally stopped at the base of a mountain.
"Little Xuan, this is Mount White!"
Han Lizheng jumped down from his horse and pointed at the mountain range as he said to Li Zexuan, "In the sixth year of Han Gaozu's reign, Han Xin rebelled in the Datong region and colluded with the Xiongnu to attack Taiyuan. Liu Bang personally led an army of three hundred and twenty thousand soldiers to meet the Xiongnu. First, they won at the copper rollers, and then they pursued until they reached Loufan. It was winter, and snow was falling, making the weather extremely cold. Although the Han army was' twelve or thirteen ', when they saw that the Xiongnu only had old and weak soldiers, they were even more eager to win. Ignoring the advice of the scouts, Liu Bang led the vanguard in pursuit of Mount White, but in the end, they fell for the Xiongnu's trap.
Maudun Chanyu led his four hundred thousand cavalry to surround the Han army. The Xiongnu besieged Mount White for seven days and seven nights, leaving the Han army without food or water. The strategist Chen Ping advised Liu Bang to have Maudun Chanyu withdraw his army through marriage. Liu Bang agreed and sent someone to the Turkic camp to relay Liu Bang's proposal. At that time, the three hundred and twenty thousand soldiers that Liu Bang had brought were about to arrive at White Mountain. If Maodun Chanyu had not agreed, he would have been attacked from both sides!
In the end, the Xiongnu retreated and Liu Bang left thousands of corpses on White Mountain. However, the Great Han Dynasty also started a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu. Only during the Hanwu Dynasty did Wei Qing and Huo Qubing attack the Xiongnu in the north to wash away the humiliation! "
Han Tianhu was originally from the Han Family of the previous dynasty. His grandfather, Han Qinhu, was a pillar of the country and held a prominent position. Although Han Tianhu was only the son of Han Shie's concubine and was not favored in the family, he was much more knowledgeable than ordinary people. Therefore, he could easily recall these historical events.
When Li Zexuan heard this, he could not help but fall silent.
He did not know much about the Battle of Mount Baishan of the Western Han Dynasty. After all, he was not a history major in his previous life. However, he knew about the marriage between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu. Didn't Zhaojun leave the fortress at that time?
"When Liu Bang first established the country, the national strength was not strong. It was indeed difficult for him to resist the Xiongnu. But to use women in exchange for peace is truly despicable!"
After a moment of silence, Li Zexuan opened his mouth to speak.
Han Tianhu nodded his head vigorously and said emotionally, "Little Xuan, you are right. This old man thinks the same way! Why should the good women of the Central Plains be sent to the Turks to be abused by those barbarians? Back then, when we followed the Qin King to the border, wasn't it so that the common people could live a peaceful life? Wasn't it so that our Great Tang would not have to use women in exchange for peace with the Turks? Good men of the Great Tang should die standing, not kneel and beg for the general interest, dragging out an ignoble existence! Therefore, thousands of good men of Great Tang were buried at the foot of Mount Baishan! "
At this moment, the two of them led their horses around a bend and followed the direction that Han Lizheng was pointing at. When Li Zexuan took a closer look, he was stunned!
Thousands of mounds of different sizes were neatly arranged at the foot of the mountain. In front of each mound was a small wooden plaque that was about a foot long. He could vaguely make out the words carved on the wooden plaque. Clearly, this was a graveyard, a graveyard for thousands of people!
In front of the thousands of mounds was a huge mound. It was so huge that even twenty people holding hands would not be able to encircle it. In front of the mound was a tombstone that was about one zhang tall. On it were the words' Heroes of Great Tang '.
Inexplicably, Li Zexuan felt like crying.
"The tomb at the front is full of soldiers whose bodies were incomplete and whose identities could not be identified. Back then, we didn't know their names, so we could only bury them here!"
Looking at the huge tomb in front of him, Han Lizheng said faintly.
When Han Tianhu was young, he was looked down upon by the Han Family's matriarch and was forced to wander the jianghu. He did not have much affection for the Sui Dynasty. Later, Li Yuan raised his army from Taiyuan and broke through Chang 'an with the momentum of wind and thunder, establishing the Great Tang Empire. In the following war, he was unstoppable and showed signs of pacifying the entire country. Suddenly, the Turks invaded the borders. It was also at that time that Han Tianhu officially joined the army and slowly became Qin Qiong's personal guard!
In the war between Great Tang and the Turks, Han Lizheng had experienced life and death. His feelings for his comrades and for his country had deepened! It was because of this that he volunteered to come to Lan Province to guard the tombs of these heroes!
Influenced by Han Tianhu, Li Zexuan also felt a little sad, especially when he thought of the people buried under this huge tomb. They had risked their lives for this country, but in the end, their corpses were not even pieced together. They did not even have a tomb of their own. Li Zexuan did not feel good about it.
What he didn't know was that this was already considered good. In many dynasties, soldiers would bury their fallen soldiers in a mass grave after the battle. Like this, every soldier had a grave and a tombstone. This was already very 'humane'. As for those incomplete corpses being buried in a mass grave, there was nothing that could be done about it!
Li Zexuan walked up to the massive tomb and took a deep breath. Then, he respectfully bowed to the tombstone. You can go in peace. I will protect this Great Tang for you!
"Little Xuan, come with me!"
At this moment, Han Lizheng sighed and walked up the mountain. He said to Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan did not know what was going on, but he could only follow.
Mount White was a mountain range that included many peaks. The peaks here were not steep, and the two could easily reach the top with their horses.
"Little Xuan, look over there!"
When they reached the top of the mountain, Han Lizheng pointed to the north and said to Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan looked in the direction of Han Lizheng's finger and saw flocks of sheep on the grassland to the north of the mountain range. Near each flock of sheep, there were two people following them. They must be the shepherds who looked after the flock.
"The Turks are actually herding sheep here? Aren't they afraid that the imperial court's soldiers will rob their sheep? "
Li Zexuan frowned.
These flocks of sheep were not far from the border between Great Tang and the Turks. In Li Zexuan's view, these people dared to herding sheep here.
Han Lizheng shook his head and said, "No! They are not Turks, they are Han! "
"Han?"
Li Zexuan could not help but ask in surprise, "Since they are Han, why would they be herding sheep on the grassland? Aren't they afraid of being robbed by the Turks? "
Han Lizheng closed his eyes in pain and sighed. He replied, "To be precise, they are Han who were enslaved by the Turks! They are all shackled on their feet and tied with ropes around their necks. The Turks raised them like livestock and forced them to work for them! After so many years, they can't escape, nor do they want to escape. If we send soldiers to rescue them, the Turks behind them will immediately shoot them down and then escape! "
Li Zexuan widened his eyes in shock. Hearing Han Lizheng's words, he could not help but grit his teeth and clench his fists. He could not help but emit a thick killing intent. Li Zexuan took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart. He then asked,
"Father-in-law, why would the Han work for the Turks on the grassland? Were they captured by the Turks? "
Han Lizheng shook his head and said, "Some of them were captured by the Turks from the border counties. Most of them were captured by the Turks during the end of the Sui Dynasty when the people of the Central Plains escaped from the chaos of war! These people, no one knows how many there are in total. It could be hundreds of thousands, or it could be a million! But no matter what, most of the Han people on the grassland were controlled by the Turks. They either became slaves, worked like cattle or horses, or were sent to the Turks' army. When there was a war, they were usually arranged to be at the front as human shields! "
Li Zexuan was shocked, "A million …? There are really so many Han people who fled to the Turks? "
Han Tianhu nodded and said, "Of course! Now Xieli Khan claims to have a million control bowstring warriors. So many people, where do you think they came from? "
Li Zexuan was speechless. He did not expect that among the million control bowstring warriors of the Turks, there were actually many Han people. Xieli was really vicious to use Han people to attack Han people!
In truth, Han Tianhu wasn't exaggerating at all. The Great Tang had just been founded, and its national strength was weak, but it had encountered the Eastern Turks, whose national strength was at the peak. This was a peak that had never been seen in the history of the Turks.
In the 'Book of Sui, Biography of the Turks', it was written, "At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there were many people returning to China. Then the Turks became strong and prosperous, and their power surpassed the Middle Xia."
Their power surpassed the Middle Xia!
These four words vividly demonstrated the strength of the Eastern Turks at that time!
The 'Book of Old Tang, Biography of the Turks' also wrote, "Shibi Khan is an auspicious person, the son of the Khan who enlightens the people. When Sui Daye succeeded the throne, the world was in chaos, and the people of China were running for it. His tribe was strong and prosperous, from Khitan and Shiwei in the east, to Tuyuhun and Gaochang in the west, they were all subordinates. More than a million control bowstring warriors, the prosperity of North Di was unprecedented. They looked down on Yin Mountain and had the ambition to belittle the Middle Xia. "
These were all descriptions of the strength of the Turks when Shibi Khan was at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. In stark contrast, the 'strength' of the Turks during Ishbarlue Khagan's reign was a completely different picture.
In the 'Book of Sui, Biography of the Turks', it was written, "Ishbarlue Khagan's bravery won the hearts of the people, and the Northern Barbarians all submitted to him … all of them became bandits, and he had four hundred thousand control bowstring warriors."
From four hundred thousand control bowstring warriors to one million control bowstring warriors, how long had it taken? Thirty years, yes, only thirty years!
In thirty years, the Eastern Turks could mobilize an army from four hundred thousand to one million! This meant that the number of people needed to mobilize an army had increased by one and a half times!
But the harsh environment of the steppe made it impossible to rely on natural population growth. Moreover, the 'four hundred thousand control bowstring warriors' of Ishbarlue Khagan's reign was a 'grand occasion' before the Turks were divided into the Eastern and Western Tribes. If one were to take into account the loss of population and army caused by the civil war of the Turks, as well as the sudden decrease in population and army caused by the division of the Turks into the east and west, as well as the loss of population and army caused by the several fierce attacks of the Sui Dynasty against the Turks, then before the civil war of the Central Plains, when Shibi Khagan had just become the Khagan of the Turks, the number of soldiers in his army could not have exceeded two hundred thousand!
But after the internal strife of the Central Plains, countless Han sought refuge in Turkic lands, and the Eastern Turks rapidly expanded their army from two hundred thousand to one million. This meant that at least eight hundred thousand Han elites of the Central Plains had joined the Eastern Turkic army. This sort of expansion speed could only be described as' frenzied '.
Of course, not all Han were sent into the army, as the logistical support of one million control bowstring warriors was an astronomical number. The Turks alone would not have been able to support such a large army. Thus, even more Han were enslaved by the Turks!
This was the result of countless Han of the Central Plains entering the Great Wall during the chaos of the Sui Dynasty! As a result, the national strength of the Eastern Turks became unprecedentedly strong!
"Father-in-law, since there are so many Han in the Turks' territory, can you think of a way to have them work together to resist Xieli? When the time comes, the Great Tang can take advantage of the situation to send out troops, coordinating from the inside and outside. Even if the Turks have one million control bowstring warriors, what can they do?"
After a long silence, Li Zexuan suddenly asked.
"Little Xuan, the human heart is a complicated thing. It's definitely not as simple as you think!"
Han Lizheng shook his head and earnestly said, "Those Great Tang civilians who were captured by the Turks, perhaps many of them still want to return to the Great Tang, but those Han who took the initiative to join the steppe might not necessarily have their hearts on the Great Tang's side! In the million-strong army of the Turks, there are at most two to three hundred thousand Turks, but how can two to three hundred thousand Turks control seven to eight hundred thousand Han? Have you ever thought about this question? "
Li Zexuan frowned, his face turning unsightly.
Without waiting for his reply, Han Lizheng expressionlessly said, "Although the Turks' control over the Han is very strict, if they want to rely on this to control seven to eight hundred thousand Han, it's no different from wishful thinking! For so many years, the reason why the Han of the steppe did not cause any trouble is because some of them do not want to return to the Great Tang. They are willing to serve the Turks, and in their bones, they have already forgotten that they are Han!! "
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