Time flies, time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has been three years since Tianshou.
In the season of warm spring and flowers blooming, the grassland is sunny and sunny.
Zhang Changan opened the curtain and walked out of the tent, looking left and right. In addition to the endless white felt tents, there are only officers and soldiers of the Tang Army who are responsible for guarding and patrolling. There are very few herdsmen in the tribe, and most of them are obviously out to graze.
This is of course Gesang's tribe. Now the tribe has 5,000 herdsmen, which can be called a large tribe on the grassland today. Different from other tribes, because of the support of Datang, the Gesang tribe not only has Tang troops stationed, but also a regional management center established by Datang, with Datang officials.
The grassland war has ended for three years, and Datang has made initial progress in the management of the grassland.
Tribes with 100 people set up villages, tribes with 500 people set up townships, tribes with 2,000 people set up counties, and tribes with 10,000 people set up prefectures, with corresponding civil and military officials, and stationed troops in prefectures and counties. After the construction of the structure is completed, an effective management system for the grassland has been formed.
The Gesang tribe has 5,000 herdsmen with a population of more than 20,000. The establishment is naturally a state-level military and government office. Zhang Chang'an is now the state capital, and his status is only below that of the governor.
Zhang Changan led his subordinates around the tribe, occasionally chatting with the elderly shepherds, teasing the children, laughing and laughing constantly. Now his daily communication with the shepherds is no problem at all, and he has a good reputation in the tribe and is deeply loved by the herdsmen.
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The tribe with more than 5,000 tents and more than 20,000 people is nothing compared to the state capital in the Central Plains, but it is already a very large settlement on the grassland. Such a large crowd will not appear in a place where aquatic plants are not particularly abundant.
Of course, the tribe is also very prosperous, and there is also a tent area dedicated to merchants, with a wide variety of goods in it. Most of the goods in Zhongyuanzhou City are available here. There are not only Central Plains merchants, but also many people from the grasslands.
At certain seasons, merchants will rush to buy the cattle and sheep here, and after preliminary processing, they will be sold to the Great Wall. As long as the herders work hard to graze, they can live comfortably. When the times are good, they can still have a lot of money and food reserves. When the times are bad, they can't starve to death.
As for strategic materials such as cowhide and tendon and horses, the bulk of the acquisitions are of course the army, which are used to make armor, bow strings, and trained into war horses. The army picks the rest, and the merchants are eligible to buy.
During the New Year's Eve when disasters are particularly severe, the imperial court will also provide disaster relief, just like when the Central Plains suffers from drought and floods, prefectures and counties will open warehouses to release grain. Nowadays, there are potatoes and corn in the Tang Dynasty. It is relatively difficult to starve to death when the officials are clear and bright.
In addition to merchant tents, the most distinctive ones are of course the Quanzhen Temple, Taoist temples and temples with no empty Shimen.
Li Ye had a strict order that Taoist temples and temples should not consume the wealth of grassland herdsmen, so Taoist temples and temples also adapted to local conditions when they came here. No civil buildings were built, and they were all tents. The Taoists and monks inside have a must-know skill, which is to see a doctor, so the Taoist temple is also a medical center.
Apart from these, the yurts in the tribe are residential houses, government offices, and garrison camps.
There are also prairie people in government offices and military camps, but the number is not large now, because government offices and military camps require Chinese to be spoken. But this is not a problem, there is a difference in the direction of struggle.
Now, grassland prefectures and counties are urgently training outstanding shepherds to learn Chinese, because the selection is all young people, and the initial results are not bad, otherwise there will be no grassland people in the government offices and military camps. In addition, schools have been set up in prefectures and counties, and children on the grasslands have also begun to learn Chinese in a unified way. The future is promising.
This is another strict order from Li Ye to vigorously popularize Confucianism. If grassland people want to be officials of the Tang Dynasty, or join the Tang army, they must learn to speak Chinese. And ten years later, there will be no soldiers on the grassland who cannot speak Chinese, and the original tribal army Meng'anmouke system will be completely replaced.
In short, with Li Ye's careful arrangements, the grassland is now striding forward in the direction of harmonious development. Naturally, there was a lot of investment in the early stage, and the pressure on the imperial court was not small. Fortunately, there is no shortage of food in Datang now.
Moreover, the talented monks on the grassland have either become Taoists, monks, soldiers, or officials, or they have been sent to Chang'an to be raised as pigs. Ordinary shepherds have no power to make waves.
The wheels of the times are rolling forward, and there will always be people who are eliminated, struggling for a lifetime, and dying in poverty; there are also people who keep up with the footsteps of the carriage, thus changing their destiny, becoming prominent and rich.
And the one driving this era carriage now is Li Ye, Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
At the end of today's inspection, Zhang Changan was about to go back when he saw a group of Taoists leading their horses. After a quick glance, he found that the leader was Wuchen, so he went to greet him with a smile, "Why is the Taoist priest free today?" Come to me?"
In the past two years after the war, Buchen's status has soared all the way, and now he is the leader of countless Taoists on the Mobei grassland. On weekdays, he was very busy preaching and evangelizing everywhere, and his reputation became more and more famous. Zhang Changan hadn't seen him for more than half a year.
"Pindao came here today to see an old friend." Buchen smiled back.
After a while, the two sat opposite each other in the felt tent. Zhang Changan greeted Buchen and drank a bowl of buttered tea, and joked with a smile: "Within a thousand miles around, the Taoist priest is a famous celestial master with countless disciples. Rong Chang'an is incomparable. It is difficult to see you in normal times, and the time to sit and drink tea together is getting less and less."
They used to share life and death, and fought side by side. Although the two are different in age, they are inseparable from each other, and they talk very casually. Zhang Chang'an was not like Chu Zheng, he had a very lively temperament, and he always spoke in this way when talking to Buchen.
Buchen didn't make jokes with Zhang Changan as usual. If it was a normal day, Buchen's speech would be more open than Zhang Chang'an's. In his own words, it would be very tiring to pretend to be a god in front of his disciples all day long, but when he met Zhang Chang'an, he would be able to relax.
"I'm actually saying goodbye to you when I come back. The imperial court has ordered Pindao to bring his outstanding disciples to Chang'an to report on his duties today. There will be new arrangements later, and it may be difficult to return to the grassland." Buchen put down his tea bowl and sighed road.
Zhang Changan's eyes brightened, "Could it be that they want to send you to the Western Regions? I heard that in the first year of Tianshou, the Quanzhen Temple and the Wukong Shimen went west to Yangguan, and rushed to the Western Regions and even Dashi. That is a huge force! "
"What a fart!" Buchen swears, and squints at Zhang Chang'an contemptuously, "Although there are many disciples from the west out of Yangguan, their whereabouts are very hidden, most of them follow the caravan, passing by one after another Yes. Do you think it is a large army fighting?"
After receiving Buchen's blank stare, Zhang Chang'an was rather annoyed, "Then you are talking about it, since there was such a big move in the first year of Tianshou, why should you be recruited now?"
Buchen's eyes were gloomy: "What else could be the reason, the people who passed before did not act smoothly.
"Nowadays, the Black Khanate and the Great Food Kingdom are all dominated by the New Moon Sect. They are different from us. They pursue a policy of unification of politics and religion. They never allow a second voice to appear in the country. They have always had only one way to deal with heretics. One way is to kill!"
Hearing this, Zhang Changan was shocked.
The reason why Quanzhen Temple and Wukong Shimen entered the Khitan Kingdom back then was able to become popular, on the one hand, because the grassland people themselves did not have much faith, and it was easier to write on white paper, and on the other hand, Yelu Abaoji did not suppress such activities. They, on the contrary, thought it was part of Han and Tang culture.
When Quanzhen Taoism and Wukong Shimen did not affect the war, Khitan has always adopted an accepting attitude towards Taoism and Shimen.
But in the Western Regions, the situation is obviously different.
"Doesn't that mean that all the people who passed before you have died? No wonder you are recruiting believers from the grassland now!" Zhang Changan's expression changed.
Buchen gave him a blank look, and said in a bad mood: "Do you think we are all pigs? When someone wants to kill us, we stretch our necks and wait for someone to kill us? We have countermeasures! And before we set off, His Majesty said , The New Moon Sect is not gentle, everyone is mentally prepared."
Zhang Changan stared at Buchen with a dark face, "Can you finish the sentence at once?"
Seeing Zhang Changan deflated, Buchen was quite happy, and said with a chuckle: "Most of the people who went there before are now lurking. They rarely preach and preach, and mostly cooperate with the Tsingyi Yamen to do meticulous work. After all, they are all monks. , we have the strength, and it is more convenient to do things. Now the imperial court ordered us to summon us, but we are actually going to translate the scriptures."
"Translation?"
"Know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles. The sword of the army can only kill people from the front and destroy the enemy's body; and our task is to find flaws in the enemy's scriptures, refute their theories, and destroy their spirit and belief. Only in this way can we be more powerful. It is good to cooperate with the frontal battle."
Zhang Changan suddenly realized: "So it is, this is a contest of knowledge!"
He then clasped his fists in the direction of Chang'an, "Your Majesty is truly talented!"
Buchen also cupped his fists to show respect, and then said: "We have collected a lot of information now, knowing that the number of monks in the Black Khanate and the Great Food Kingdom is extremely large, far exceeding previous expectations, and the court feels the pressure. So we This time in the past, when it really comes to the beginning of the war, they will also go to the battlefield."
Zhang Changan looked at Buchen worriedly, "You will be in danger in this way."
Buchen smiled casually, "No matter how dangerous it is, will it be more dangerous than when you were in the Huairong Khitan barracks?"
Zhang Changan gave a thumbs up.
At the end, he shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, I can't accompany you this time."
Buchen waved his hand: "Now that the prosperous age is coming, there is more than one battlefield for the dynasty. The grassland is also very important here. The horse, leather armor and bowstring are the key to the strength of the army. Your burden is no lighter than mine."
Zhang Changan nodded.
Buchen was entrusted with the emperor's mandate, so he didn't dare to delay, so he only stayed in the tribe for two hours, and then bid farewell to Zhang Chang'an. He really made a special detour to bid farewell to Zhang Changan, this time parting, the two of them don't know if they will have a chance to meet again.
Sending Buchen away, Zhang Changan was silent for a long time as he watched the other party go away at the gate of the camp. Seeing the opponent's figure disappear into the wilderness, Zhang Changan was about to turn back to his tent when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a Tang army elite cavalry appearing on the horizon, rushing towards this side rapidly.
Looking at the number of opponents, there are no less than three thousand riders.
Such a large-scale mobilization of cavalry troops appeared in his own jurisdiction, Zhang Chang'an had naturally received the news beforehand. With a happy expression on his face, he turned around and gave some instructions, and waited in front of the gate.
The cavalry quickly approached, and their speed gradually slowed down. The leading general, in black robe and black armor, was very heroic. After reining in his horse and stopping his horse, he jumped off his horse and landed in front of Zhang Chang'an.
When they met each other without saying a word, this man punched Zhang Changan directly in the chest, Zhang Changan did not evade, and also punched the opponent's breastplate with his fist. Bang bang sounded at the same time, and a wave of spiritual energy swayed away. The two of them did not move, but their faces turned red. Obviously, no one took advantage of it.
"That's right, boy, I thought you'd spent the past two years enjoying the blessings in the grassland, lying on the knees of beauties every day, and you'd bring down your cultivation!" Chu Zheng looked Zhang Chang'an up and down, and smiled maliciously.
Zhang Changan rolled his eyes, "I haven't married yet, but I heard that you married a beautiful concubine, so you should be the one who can't make it?"
The two reunited after a long absence, teased each other a few times, laughed three times, and then entered the barracks together shoulder to shoulder.
"Is everything I want ready?" Chu Zheng asked winkingly as he walked.
"Thirty thousand high-quality war horses and the same number of high-quality leather armor are all prepared in the camp... I'm curious, why did you say in the document that you don't want me to equip the horses with saddles and bridles? And the leather armor is probably not suitable for fine cavalry, right?" Zhang Changan asked strangely.
"You don't know that, do you? Now that things have happened, I'm not afraid to tell you. Let me tell you, my brother, I have been ordered by the officials and generals to train fine cavalry in the grassland all these years. That's quite a skill!"
Chu Zheng looked proud and arrogant, and seeing Zhang Changan's doubtful expression, he said solemnly: "You think brother, I trained ordinary cavalry? If you think so, you are very wrong! The cavalry under brother's command, But it never happened!"
Zhang Changan couldn't help frowning slightly, something that could make Chu Zheng, who has always been calm, so excited must not be an ordinary existence.
After arriving in the military tent, Chu Zheng drank butter tea to moisten his throat, and then told Zhang Chang'an the whole story.
It turns out that in the past few years, those great craftsmen and geniuses of the craftsmen have not only developed many magic weapons of mass destruction to update the Tang army's military equipment, but also opened a special branch called Xianyaofang. It specializes in how to improve the physique of war horses through various elixirs, and turn ordinary war horses into beast-like existences.
Nowadays, the number of monks in the army is increasing day by day, and all kinds of magical weapons are popular. In the past, the rune armor and rune soldiers that only generals would be equipped with are now rotten on the street. Under such circumstances, the physique of the war horse was too weak to meet the needs of the army, which greatly limited the combat power of the Tang army.
After in-depth discussions with the monster clan, especially after communicating with the white wolf, Li Ye felt that the method used by the immortals to turn ordinary ferocious beasts into fierce beasts in the monster clan's territory was very suitable for use on war horses.
Although it is said that the immortals cultivate ferocious beasts in the monster clan's territory, it takes thousands of years as the time unit, but Li Ye does not intend to let the horses have the strength of the real world and the fairy world, as long as they can meet the needs of the monk army.
Ever since, Jiang Zuojian has the existence of Xianyaofang.
Today, the Immortal Medicine Workshop has achieved results, and the refined medicine has passed the preliminary test stage, and now it will be used in the army on a large scale.
Right now, the prairie that is Datang's backyard is the largest horse ranch in Datang, and many cavalry training is carried out on the prairie. The first batch of elixir to improve the physique of war horses was naturally distributed to Shangguan Qingcheng, and Shangguan Qingcheng asked Chu Zheng to carry out this matter, conduct large-scale on-site inspections, and judge the effect.