Chapter 430: Occupy Altumu Town

"Your Majesty, Prince Agush is here." A guard officer reported to Rashid carefully.

"Oh! Let him come in." Rashid immediately put down his thoughts and turned back to his seat.

After a moment, Agush was attracted to the palace. Agush was the prince captured by the Tang army in the Battle of Shule. After spending nearly two years of imprisonment in Shule, he was redeemed by the cannibals for 200,000 gold coins. He and Rashid were cousins, and they had a very good personal relationship. After returning to Baghdad, he locked himself at home all day long. On the one hand, he wrote his or her experiences on the East, and on the other hand, the shame of being captured by the Tang Dynasty made it difficult for him to see. It was not until July last year that he was invited by the "Smart Museum" of the highest academic institution in Black-clothed Food and Food to serve as deputy director.

From beginning to end, Rashid did not ask about his affairs. He thought he would go on peacefully like this, but he did not expect that half a month ago, Rashid suddenly summoned him and wanted to appoint him as the governor of Samarkand to fully take charge of all military and political affairs east of the Amu River. This made it difficult for Agush to decide for a while, and today is the deadline for his reply.

Agush walked into the palace nervously, and saw Rashid looking at him with a smile. He immediately stepped forward and knelt down and said in a deep voice: "Brother Agush greets His Majesty the Caliph!"

"I have been waiting for your news these days, but I didn't expect you to come on the last day, which shows your hesitation." Rashid sighed slightly, "Are you really unwilling to do things for me again?"

"My brother has figured it out and is willing to serve as the governor of Samarkand." Agush finally agreed to Rashid's request, but it can be seen that he agreed very reluctantly.

At this time, Agush was no longer the governor of Jerusalem who was full of romanticism, paranoid and naive thinking about problems. His two-year prisoner of war and subsequent self-enclosure made him mature. He knew that the Caliph appointed him to be responsible for affairs east of the Amu River. This was not to use him seriously, nor was it because he knew a little about the Tang army. The real reason was that he was captured by the Tang army and failed at the hands of the Tang army, so he asked him to be the primacy of the temptation and accumulate experience in fighting against the Tang people. Once he was slightly invented by the Tang army, Rashid could also explain to the people that this was not the lack of strength of the Dashi, but it was entirely his personal responsibility of Agush.

He knew Rashid's power-making methods very well. Although he saw through him, Agush also had a strong desire to re-prove himself. He longed to fight against the Tang Dynasty again. He had longed for this day for a long time. In fact, when Rashid proposed to appoint him as the governor of Samarkand, he agreed without hesitation. The so-called hesitation and forced expression were just a gesture of his pursuit of greater benefits.

"Your Majesty the Caliph, I have witnessed the strength of the Tang Dynasty soldiers with my own eyes. Their good fighting and courage are not under our guards. I am going to Samarkand here, just ask Your Majesty the Caliph to give me enough strength."

"Okay! There's no problem with that." Rashid stood up excitedly, and waved, "Come with me!"

The two of them quickly walked to a side hall next to the palace. The guards were tightly guarded and no one was allowed to enter at will. It was the decision-making room where Rashid deployed various battles.

The side hall was brightly lit and the surrounding walls were full of maps. Rashid walked to the front wall and tapped the wall gently. Then a huge wooden map slowly fell down, occupying a whole wall. This is a map east of the Amu River to the Shule of the Tang Dynasty, including the east of the Khorasan, the Amu River, the Yaosha River, the Xindu River (i.e. the Indus River) basin, the Tochar region, as well as the Uighurs and Gelulu, the cities, rivers, and mountains and rivers, all carved in detail.

"How is it?" Rashid smiled proudly and said, "This agarwood map took three years to make. More than 2,000 people participated. It is the most expensive, largest and most practical of all my maps. It can be called a national treasure. With it, I have occupied at least 60% of the war with the Tang Dynasty."

"I heard for a long time that His Majesty the Caliph is well-known. When I see him today, it is indeed worthy of his reputation." Agush gave him a high hat lightly. He had seen a map of the Tang people, which was made of mud, sand, stone and water. Mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. Although they are not carved with precious agarwood like Rashid, they are better than the map in front of them in practicality.

At this moment, Agush captured a trace of pride in Rashid's tone. The Caliph seemed a little too arrogant when it came to war with the Tang Dynasty in the future.

But he didn't say much, but looked at the map silently. What he was concerned about was how much army and money Rashid could give him.

Rashid seemed to understand his thoughts, so he smiled slightly, picked up a wooden pole and pointed at Samarkand, "Samarkand has a slave army of 50,000 people. I will complete this army to you. In addition, I have ordered the Second and Fourth Corps of Khorasan, a total of 40,000 people to enter Bukhara. In an emergency, you can call this army, and there are 40,000 troops in Tocharia, you can also call this army. In addition, you are the Governor of Samarkand as a prince, and you are the senior governor. The Governor of the Sakura, the Governor of Dayuan, the Governor of Bakhanna and the Governor of Tocharia will be controlled by you. You can mobilize local money, food and slaves at will. In the same situation of emergency, you can directly remove them without passing me."

Speaking of this, Rashid suddenly fell into deep thought, and he realized that he had overlooked an extremely important thing, that is, the Saman family with great strength east of the Amui River. The Black-clothed Abbasid Dynasty was established on the basis of the Wumaiye Dynasty. It also inherited many systems of the Wumaiye Dynasty. Among them, the Iqta feudal system is the most important link. "Iqta" means feudalism in Arabic. It actually means the land system of the great cannibalism, which enfeoffed a large amount of land to nobles, heroes, and military generals, and gradually formed one family after another.

Abbas himself was born in the Hashem family of Khorasan. In the process of conquering Egypt and the East, Abbas also enfeoffed countless generals and heroes, making them emerging families. At present, nearly a hundred families of all sizes exist in large and small lands, including the Hashem family of Khorasan, the Balmak family of Syria, the Tulun family of Egypt, and the Saman family east of the Amu River, etc. These families control a large amount of land and slaves. They pay taxes to the Caliph every year, and enjoy absolute power of life and death in their own territory. Some lords are also local governors, such as the governor of Dayuan, the leader of the Saman family, Samman.

Taville.

The Saman family not only had huge wealth and land, but also had a slave army of 20,000 people. Of course, Rashid could not tolerate the existence of his army, so the private army of these families was not called the army, but the ranch guards. Although the names were different, the essence was the same.

The reason why Rashid ascended the throne of the Caliph was closely related to the support of these big families. Therefore, at the beginning of his rule, he had a tolerant attitude towards these families. As the throne gradually settled down, he began to be increasingly unable to tolerate the existence of these families. He had realized that these families would sooner or later threaten the survival of the Abbasid Caliph Empire.

After pondering for a long time, Rashid said slowly: "Many people have complained to me about the domineeringness of the Saman family and charged heavy taxes several times that of the empire in the Zhenzhu River Basin. I hope that after you go to the East, you must restrain the Saman family well and not let our Abbasid Dynasty be destroyed in the hands of these borers."

Agush bowed deeply, "Please rest assured by His Majesty the Caliph, I will faithfully carry out every order of yours."

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It is already May, and the weather is slowly getting warmer. This is also the golden moment on the grassland. The lambs have been born and are growing rapidly. There are also groups of foals around the herd of horses. The grassland has abundant grass and abundant water. There is a vibrant scene on the grassland.

Early this morning, a cavalry team of five thousand people suddenly came to the town of Atumu, northeast of Saiye. They came so suddenly and silently entered the town. At first, the people in the town did not take their arrival seriously. For decades, the Uighur army, the Gelu army, and even the Dashi army had already become accustomed to the passage of the border. This was the actual control land of Sogdian merchants and Tuqi Shiren. No one had ever thought of occupying this place, but soon the Sogdian merchants in the town began to feel uneasy. This was actually a Tang army with only three thousand people. If they went to attack the Gelulu people, there seemed to be a little less, but if they were scouts to investigate the intelligence, there were too many. The shrewd Sogdian merchants began to smell a breath of danger.

Sure enough, the Tang army soon began to camp in a clearing area near Yaolong Lake next to Atumu Town. Even at noon, Tang army patrol soldiers appeared on the streets of Atumu Town. They actually maintained order on the streets. It was obvious that the Tang army occupied Atumu Town.

At this moment, thousands of Sogdian merchants in the town seemed to have exploded. The heavyweights of them gathered together and discussed countermeasures in horror. In the face of their own interests, the Sogdian merchants united in other places. Sogdian merchants soon reached an agreement. On the one hand, they urgently asked for help from the Uighurs and the Geluo people, and on the other hand, they sent representatives to negotiate with the Tang army, demanding that they immediately withdraw from the town of Atumu.

Just after noon, hundreds of Sogdian merchants in robes appeared on the street. They were excited and shouted slogans, and strode towards the Tang army's garrison. However, when they were hundreds of steps away from the Tang army camp, a 300-man Tang cavalry team blocked their way and pointed them coldly at them with steel crossbows. The young general led by them shouted sternly in an inexperienced Turkic language: "There is a military forbidden area ahead, and those who enter the army die!"

This young general was Shi Yang. He had been a scout for nearly half a year. He not only knew the situation in the Qingchi River Basin, but also learned Turkic language. Although he was not very skilled, he could barely communicate.

The Tang army's entry into Atumu Town was based on his discovery. Three months ago, when he intercepted the great cannibals to transport weapons to Gelulu, he accidentally discovered that there was a river in the north of Yaolong Lake next to Atumu Town that led to the Yili River, and finally merged into the Yibo Sea. The river water was very deep, enough to sail a large ship of thousands of stones. His discovery was reported layer by layer, and finally alarmed Wang Siyu, the great protector of the Western Regions. After sending people to conduct several field investigations, Wang Siyu resolutely made a decision to build a dock and build a ship on Yaolong Lake, which became the main transportation route for the Shattered Ye Tang Army to the Yibo Sea. After occupying Atumu Town, it will also become a bridgehead for attacking the Gelulu people.

The murderous aura of the Tang army gradually calmed down the Sogdian merchants. An older man stepped forward to salute and said in skillful Chinese: "We have no other meaning to ask for your general."

"You must not act rashly. I will ask General Li if he wants to see you." Shi Yang waved his hand, and a cavalry scout rushed to the camp quickly. The Tang army was still holding a steel crossbow and did not relax their warning to them at all.

After a moment, the scout cavalry rushed back, "Captain, General Li agreed to receive him, but only three people were allowed to enter."

Shi Yang nodded and said to the old man again: "You heard it too, you can only enter three people, you can decide for yourself!"

The Sogdian merchant discussed for a while and soon elected three representatives. The old man pointed at the person himself and the other two and said, "The three of us will go to see your general."

"You follow me!" Shi Yang instructed the deputy lieutenant a few words, and personally took three Sogdian merchant representatives to the camp.

At present, the Tang Dynasty has established a total of seven governors' offices in Anxi and Beiting areas. Each governor's office has about 10,000 to 20,000 permanent troops, distributed among more than 300 guards and castles in the Western Regions. These governors' office troops obey the imperial court's dispatch in peacetime, and after receiving the imperial orders in war, they will be controlled by the Western Regions Protectors after receiving the imperial orders in war. In addition, when a war breaks out, the court will add troops from the mainland, each of which is led by a general, and obeys the command of the Western Regions Protectors in war. In addition, there are Hu soldiers from various countries in the Western Regions who are obliged to accept the recruitment of the Tang Dynasty court in war.

Among the seven governor's offices, the Shuye governor's office has the largest number of troops, with a total of 60,000 people, and concentrated the elite troops of the entire Anxi Army. They were directly commanded by the Western Regions Protector Wang Siyu. The 60,000 people were divided into 30 battalions of the six armies, with about 2,000 people per battalion. The 5,000 Tang troops stationed in Atumu Town are led by the Third Army General Li Tianchen. They are just the vanguard. If they have firmly established their feet, the other 5,000 people from the Third Army will follow.

Li Tianchen is from Fengxiang and is only twenty-eight years old this year, but he is already a veteran of many battles. He was also a sergeant of the Tianqi Camp back then. He came to Wuwei with Zhang Huan to establish his career, participated in nearly a hundred battles of all sizes, and became a general of the Lang. However, he did not know Shi Yang's true identity, but only knew that he was a sergeant transferred from the Chang'an Tianqi Camp and made extraordinary achievements in the battle to defend Xuanwu City. It was precisely because he and Shi Yang had a common starting point and paid some attention to him.

"Report to General Li, the Sogdian merchant brought it!" Shi Yang's report came from outside the tent.

"Bring them in!" Li Tianchen put down his pen and stared at the three Sogdian business representatives who walked into the tent with serious eyes. He asked slowly: "Who are you who are the heads, can you speak Chinese?"

"I am the head, we all speak Chinese." The old man bowed respectfully and introduced himself: "My surname is Kang, and I am the deacon of the Sogdian Chamber of Commerce here, and the owner of the Demon Dragon Inn."

There is no official government in the town of Atumu. The Sogdian Chamber of Commerce is the highest autonomous institution here. It is composed of the Sogdians elected ten deacons and changed every two years. Three of them are permanent deacons. This old man named Kang is one of them.

"Is there anything you have to do with me?" Li Tianchen saw that the other person was humble, and his tone slowed down a little.

The three Sogdians looked at each other, and the other party actually asked them what was wrong. It was really incredible. Do they take it for granted to occupy the town of Atumu?

After hesitating for a moment, the old man surnamed Kang gritted his teeth and said, "Of course we welcome the general to inspect Atumu Town, but we want to ask, when will the general be leaving?"

"Since you welcome, we will naturally be stationed for a long time." Li Tianchen laughed and waved his hand and said, "But don't worry, the Tang army's military discipline is strict and will definitely not bully you. If anyone dares to violate the military discipline, you can tell me at any time that I will punish you severely. Moreover, the Tang army stationed will make your business more prosperous. Everyone is happy. Isn't that great?"

"But this is the territory of our Sogdians. How can you break in at will? And you have to stay for a long time. How can this be done!" The old man surnamed Kang was a little anxious.

‘The territory of the Sogdians.’ Li Tianchen’s face darkened and he said coldly: “I have never heard of such a saying. Let me ask you, does this Atumu Town belong to the Uighurs or the Geluo people?”

"None of them belongs, this is the land of our Sogdians' autonomy."

Li Tianchen suddenly sneered, "Since this place does not belong to the Uighurs and Gelu people, it is a land without a border. What's the point of taking it from our Tang army? Let me tell you the truth, starting today, this place will be officially renamed Yaolong City and one of the affiliated cities of Sailye. If you are unwilling to be subjects of the Tang Dynasty, you can leave and we will never stop it!"

"You!" A Sogdian man was so angry that he trembled all over. "It's outrageous. We Sogdians have worked hard here for thirty years. You can come when you say that, aren't you afraid that the Sogdians will be enemies of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Bastard, what are you? You dare to threaten me!" Li Tianchen was furious. He set the table and shouted: "Come on! Drive them out for me. Anyone who dares to make trouble again will be executed!"

The old man surnamed Kang was so scared that he bowed quickly, "God of anger, general, calm of anger, we have no intention of threatening, just want to know how the Tang army will treat us?"

The old man surnamed Kang was sophisticated. The fact that he entered the Tang army to occupy the town of Atumu is irreversible. Then he could no longer act voluntarily. The most urgent task was to protect the property and personal safety of the Sogdians first, and then make long-term plans. He apologized repeatedly, which finally calmed Li Tianchen's anger.

"I have said just now, and I repeat it again. If you are willing to be the people of the Tang Dynasty, you can continue to do business here. Pay taxes according to the Tang Dynasty's commercial tax and 20 taxes. The Tang army will protect your personal safety and property integrity, and register your household registration from tomorrow.

If you don’t want to be a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, you will not be embarrassed by moving me out of here within three days, but if you are unwilling to leave and secretly collude with the enemy.

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Chapter completed!