Chapter 475: Meeting between the two emperors

At the end of August of the eighth year of Dazhi, after more than two months of long journey, Zhang Huan and his party finally arrived at the Yibohai under the governor's office of the Saiye. At this moment, the Yibohai Sea was full of autumn, with golden yellow and red dotted on both sides of the lake, and the forests were dyed. Zhang Huan stood at the head of the city of Dahu City and looked into the distance. The waves of the lake were vast. You could occasionally see several ships sailing from the other side of Yibocheng by the west wind. After nearly two years of erosion and development, the Yibohai basin was completely occupied by the Tang army. The territory occupied by the Uighurs on the east bank of the Yibohai was also forced to give up due to the serious crisis in the Uighurs. Now the Uighurs have completely retreated, and there are no more Uighurs west of Jinshan. The people accompanying Zhang Huan to inspect the Western Regions, the governor of the Saiye Wang Siyu, the commander of the Dahu City, Shi Yang, and many senior generals of Saiye.

"You have done a good job in intercepting the Sogdian caravan in the past two years." Zhang Huan looked at his adopted son Shi Yang and smiled. It has been four years since Shi Yang left Chang'an in the fourth year of Dazhi. Although he is only eighteen years old, he has experienced many battles. Under the baptism of blood and fire, he is completely inferior to his eighteen-year-old peers. He is already a general who can stand alone. In fact, this is the case. He is currently the supreme commander of more than 10,000 Tang troops stationed in the Yibohai Basin, and is responsible for defending the Uighurs' advance westward and intercepting the Uighurs' westward objects.

The dual responsibilities of Zi are. Although the emperor in front of him is Shi Yang's adoptive father, Shi Yang did not want others to know the truth. He immediately bowed and replied: "Report to Your Majesty, I have gained a lot at the beginning of the blockade and solved major cases one after another. However, in the past year, due to the strict ban on the transportation of materials from the east, there have been fewer major cases. Most of the arrests were small merchants who took risks for a little profit, and there were fewer and fewer. From last month to now, I have not found a case of smuggling goods. Not only that, a large number of Uighurs fled."

Speaking of this, Shi Yang glanced at Wang Siyu, not knowing whether he should tell him about this. Wang Siyu smiled and said, "In front of His Majesty, General Shi should be speaking freely, even if he said that."

"Yes!" Shi Yang responded and said to Zhang Huan: "Since last spring, Huihe herders have fled to Yibohai and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Especially today in spring, the people of the Khikas have washed Han's ears for eight miles and swept across the northern part of the desert. More than 100,000 Huihe herders fled to us to request return to the Tang Dynasty. Some of the surviving Geluo people also fled back to the Yili River Basin. Your Majesty, I think the Uighurs are not far from the day of their destruction."

Zhang Huan was actually very clear about this matter. The people of the Kiagas sent troops as his order. However, the Kiagas seized this opportunity and took advantage of the opportunity of Jiegangas personally leading a 50,000 army to march eastward to capture Han'er Duobali in one fell swoop. The young and old in the city were almost slaughtered by him. All the young and old men and women were captured back to the north as slaves. Han'er Duobali was also looted by him and set fire to the fire. However, the Kiagas did not stop. Seeing that Jiegangas could not return, they massacred and looted the grasslands in the desert. The entire grassland was boiling, and the herdsmen fled in scattered. Not only Shuye, Beiting, Shuofang and other places, there were also a large number of Uighur herders coming to surrender. Perhaps as Shi Yang said, the Uighurs were not far from the day of destruction.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huan smiled faintly and said to Shi Yang: "You have done a good job. It is precisely because of your effective interception of the Uighur West Road in Yibohai that my strategic plan has been realized. I want to praise you, General Shi Yang will obey the order."

Shi Yang immediately knelt down on one knee and replied loudly: "I am here!"

Zhang Huan glanced at Wang Siyu, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face, "I have appointed you as General Yiwei and the vanguard of the Left Army of the North."

Wang Siyu and Shi Yang were stunned. They reacted at the same time and couldn't help but feel happy. The emperor was about to formally conquer the Uighurs. Zhang Huan smiled indifferently and no longer explained. He looked northeast with his hands behind his back. It had been two years since the Uighurs were in trouble with internal and external affairs, and they were extremely weak. The time to take action was ripe.

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After leaving Dahu City, Zhang Huan went south to inspect Saiye. At Saiye, he worshiped the Saiye Martyrs Temple. Here, the spiritual cards of Guan Ying and others who recovered Saiye, as well as the officers and soldiers who died in the Saiye Battle the year before. After staying in Saiye for three days, Zhang Huan set off again and headed towards the Dayuan Governor's Office thousands of miles away.

Dayuan is the location of the Shi Kingdom of Zhaowu. Han general Li Guangli once expeditioned here and defeated Dayuan and shocked the Western Regions. In the early Tang Dynasty, the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu depended on the Tang Dynasty as their vassal state, expanding the territory of the Tang Dynasty westward to Xianyang. However, this territory was only a nominal ownership. The nine kingdoms of Zhaowu were actually completely independent. The Tang Dynasty had neither garrison nor officials nor taxes in its country. In fact, while they surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, they also surrendered to the white-clothed food. However, after the Battle of Talas, the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu were occupied by the black-clothed food, and the Tang Dynasty even lost its nominal status as a vassal state.

Dashi also attached great importance to control over Shi Kingdom. This is the main production area of ​​Dashi's silver mine. However, after winning the Battle of Shuye that broke out the previous year, the Tang army advanced westward and advanced along the Yaosha River. It occupied the Dashi silver mine, and took all the thousands of miles of Bahanna and Shi Kingdom. It broke the previous practice of just being fame but not only not profitable. It established the Dayuan Governor's Office in Shi Kingdom and Bahanna, and it under its jurisdiction. Not only did it garrison troops, but also sent civil servants to be in charge of government affairs. The first chief of the Dayuan Governor's Office was Wu Yuanheng.

At the end of September, Zhang Huan finally arrived at the Dayuan Governor's Office, which is the capital of Shiguo. The veteran general of Dayuan Governor Ma Lin and the chief Wu Yuanheng personally went a hundred miles away to welcome the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor.

The eight thousand cavalrymen were neatly arranged in three rows on the grassland beside the official road, with flags waving and armor lit up. Ma Lin and Wu Yuanheng looked into the distance and patiently waited for His Majesty's arrival.

"Elder General, here we come!" Wu Yuanheng's eyes were sharp. He saw a large group of people from afar. He pointed his hand and screamed in excitement.

Ma Lin is about seventy years old and has a family of children and grandchildren. He should have been at home for retirement, but he is still young and takes the initiative to ask to go to the Western Regions to participate in the war. However, it is slightly different from Wu Yuanheng's excitement and tension. He seems a little worried. Half a month ago, he received a letter from Chang'an and knew that an unsuccessful coup occurred in Chang'an, which triggered a stir in the officialdom. The cause was the real-name land system. Ma Lin was also a little worried about this. He also owned more than 3,000 hectares of land in Longxi County, mostly rewarded by Emperor Suzong. But if he followed the official standards of his and his sons, he could only keep 300 hectares of land at most, and the rest would be taken back. For this reason, he wrote a letter home to ask him for advice. The reply he received was that the government had not cleaned up his head yet. This time, he took advantage of the emperor's journey to the west. Can he ask him to have a look?

In the distance, the emperor's 20,000 Yulin troops drove towards this side. The flags were overwhelming, and the war horses formed endless dark clouds. The large group of people approached and slowly stopped. In the center of the flag, Emperor Zhang Huan of the Tang Dynasty rode on a Gao Jun war horse. He waved to the team that greeted him from afar.

"Long live His Majesty Emperor! Long live!" The cheers of the soldiers resounded throughout the grassland.

Amid the cheers, Ma Lin turned over and dismounted. He quickly stepped forward and knelt down on one knee and saluted, "My Message Ma Lin, please see Your Majesty!"

"Elder General, please get up quickly." Zhang Huan looked him up and down, and smiled slightly, "It turns out that I am stronger and stronger, and I am worthy of being my first general."

"I dare not take it. It has always been my wish to guard the borders of my Tang Dynasty. If Your Majesty allows me, I am willing to work for another three years."

Zhang Huan nodded. At this time, Wu Yuanheng also walked up quickly and gave a deep salute, "Since Wu Yuanheng meets His Majesty the Emperor."

"Wu Changshi has been together for many years and seems to be more and more capable." Zhang Huan smiled in praise, and then asked him again: "Have the Dashi Caliph has arrived?"

"Report to Your Majesty, the Dashi Caliph arrived ten days ago. His camp was stationed on the other side of Yaoshoushui. Yesterday, someone was sent to inquire about Your Majesty's news."

"Okay! I'm a little tired, so I'll go back to the city to rest for a few days before discussing the meeting."

Ma Lin immediately shouted loudly, "Welcome Your Majesty to the city!"

The long horn sounded across the grassland, and five thousand cavalry formed two teams, guiding the large group of horses towards Tuozhecheng in front.

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"Your Majesty, can you say something?" Ma Lin finally found an opportunity and said carefully in front of Zhang Huan.

"If the old general has something to say, please tell me." Zhang Huan was in a good mood. It was his first time to come to Shiguo. This place was more fertile than the land in Bahanna, and the grassland was wider. He seemed very excited under the blue sky.

"That's right, I ask for a love for Guo Ai, begging His Majesty whether he can spare him this time because of the fact that Grand Marshal Guo quells the Anshi Rebellion."

Zhang Huan suddenly glanced at him sensitively. He understood what Ma Lin was hiding behind him. He was not begging for the Guo Ziyi family, he was looking for a way out for himself.

"I have spared Guo Yan, General Ma no longer has to worry about this matter." Zhang Huan comforted Ma Lin softly and said: "In fact, my population in the Tang Dynasty is only half of the Tianbao period, and the land annexation problem is not that serious. Therefore, I have set a three-year deadline to gradually solve the land problem. From next year, the court will introduce a series of compromise methods, such as slightly relaxing the range of Yongyetian for officials above the fourth rank, and allowing part of the land granted by the late emperor to be retained, and directly exempting small and medium-sized landlords who slightly exceed the standard are exempted from investigation. In addition, the replacement method for some legally acquired land, and compensation for the same area of ​​land west of the Pamir Mountains, etc. In short, my real-name land system will become gentle and more reasonable, and will not be as aggressive as this year. General Ma doesn't have to worry about it."

Ma Lin was overjoyed. In this way, he would not lose any loss. At that time, he would just give the land compensated by the Western Regions to the second son who served in the Anxi Army. He immediately bowed and bowed to him, "I thank you for your kindness."

"General Ma will never treat you badly." Zhang Huan smiled and waved his hand, not saying anything more. He looked at the endless fertile land under the blue sky, and couldn't help but feel deeply moved. This is his land reserve, the most precious wealth he left for his descendants, perhaps Tochar, or perhaps the more southern Tianzhu.

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Three days later, hundreds of huge tents stood on the banks of the Yaoshui River fifty miles west of Tuozhe City. This will be the place for the official meeting between His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and His Majesty the Dashi Caliph. For this meeting, the two sides prepared for a year and a half. Dashi sent envoys to Chang'an three times to negotiate the peace treaty that the two sides would sign, finalize the border division of the two sides, and explore various measures for the two countries to further expand trade. Not only these major issues, but also the location and specifications of the meeting between the two sides, the escort forces dispatched by the two sides, the distribution of the troops, and so on, etc., were also negotiated one by one. After a year and a half, an epoch-making meeting between the emperors of the two countries was finally ushered in.

The prime minister who accompanied Zhang Huan this time was Yang Yan, the Minister of Rites, and the person who accompanied Rashid was Mohammed, the tax director of the Abbasid Empire.

Mirandra, at the right time in the morning, as the bells on the Yaoshui Bridge rang, the servants of the two countries who had been waiting for miles to enter the field one after another. First, the preparatory officials of both sides entered the field to determine whether various arrangements were in line with the consensus reached by both sides. They must determine the number of troops and the distance between the two sides. When everything was correct, the emperors of the two countries entered the field under the protection of their respective 300 guards. The translator of the Tang Dynasty who was living in Baghdad today was Cui Yao, an envoy of the Tang Dynasty who was living in Baghdad. He is no longer just an official of the Tang Dynasty, but he was also appointed by Rashid as the deputy director of the Baghdad Library.

Cui Yao walked into the venue with Rashid. Before the time for the formal meeting had arrived, the heads of state of the two countries rested in their respective tents. Cui Yao took this opportunity to come to Zhang Huan's tent.

"Please inform Your Majesty, and I am Cui Yao asking for your meeting."

The attendant went into the tent to report, and then came out after a moment, saying, "Your Majesty ordered you to come in and see him."

Cui Yao lifted the curtain and walked into the big tent. There were music in the big tent. Dozens of young girls from Baghdad were singing and dancing, performing ethnic dances in a very Islamic style to the monarchs of the East. They had slender waists and white arms, and they were pedaling with rhythmic dance steps. Their passionate eyes were flowing.

Zhang Huan was lying on the soft mattress, watching the dancing postures of the big food girls with great interest. Cui Yao quickly stepped forward and knelt down on his knees and said, "I am Cui Yao, please see His Majesty the Emperor."

Zhang Huan waved his hand immediately, and the music stopped abruptly. The musician and the girls quickly retreated. Zhang Huan glanced at Cui Yao. Seeing that his appearance was not much different from before, but he was wearing a black robe that was big cannibalism. Zhang Huan smiled unhappily and said, "I am really confused by whether you are a Tang Dynasty or a big cannibalism now."

Cui Yao was startled and immediately replied tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I have not converted to Islam, but am still a citizen of the Tang Dynasty. In Baghdad, I faithfully carried out Your Majesty's will to spread the history and culture of the Central Plains to the West."

Zhang Huan nodded slightly and said to him earnestly: "It is a good thing not to forget one's original meaning, but I hope you can completely integrate into the Great Food culture. I do not object to your belief in their religion. I only hope that when you return to Chang'an in many years, you can pass on the essence of Great Food culture into the Tang Dynasty. I hope you can become a bridge connecting Eastern and Western civilizations. Do you understand what I mean?"

Cui Yao certainly understood what the emperor meant. He was extremely excited at this moment and said solemnly: "I will keep your Majesty's instructions in mind and will not let down Your Majesty's ardent hope for me."

"How is Ye Haya's situation?" Zhang Huan asked again. At the request of Dashi at the beginning of this year, the Tang Dynasty finally returned Ye Haya, who had been detained for nearly a year, to the Great Cannibal. Zhang Huan was quite interested in his ending.

"He is dead." Cui Yao sighed and said, "Rashid built a castle in Mulu with salt blocks, and imprisoned Yehaya and his eldest son Fadler in the castle. One night in May, Rashid ordered people to release water to flood the corner of the castle. As a result, the castle collapsed and killed them, father and son in the castle. Abasai and her children were also sentenced to death together."

Zhang Huan was speechless, and compared with Rashid's decisiveness and ruthlessness, did his methods seem a bit too kind? Zhang Huan smiled bitterly. Who can see the right and wrong here in less than a hundred years?

At this time, a melodious bell came from the main venue. The time for the formal meeting was up. Zhang Huan stood up, and several servants quickly sorted out their clothes for him, and then surrounded him and headed towards the main venue.

The main venue was a huge white round tent with no account door. The tent was divided into two parts, and a large table was placed in the middle. In the middle, a vase was placed in the middle, and flowers were blooming in the bottle. At this moment, some of the attendants, the ministers and the host officials on both sides had already entered the tent to stand, waiting for the arrival of the monarchs of the two countries. The tent was filled with a breathless atmosphere of depression and tension.

Zhang Huan quickly walked to the tent, and Rashid also came from the opposite side. The two met unexpectedly in front of the tent. At the same time, they stopped and looked up and down. They were the same age, but in comparison, Zhang Huan's skin was dark and looked a little older, which was related to his long-term battles. Rashid's skin was white and slim, with a unique temperament of aristocratic, but one thing they were the same, that is, they exuded the aura of kingship in their bones, which was a kind of majesty that ruled the world and a domineering spirit of control over thousands of miles of land.

Cui Yao, who was walking behind Zhang Huan, quickly introduced to Rashid: "Your Majesty the Caliph, this is our Emperor of Tang."

Rashid looked at Zhang Huan deeply, and a charming smile appeared on his face. He pressed his hand on his chest and bowed to Zhang Huan, but said in broken Chinese: "I am the Dashi Caliph Rashid. I am very happy to see you, the respected Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

Zhang Huan also bowed and smiled, "I am also very happy to see you. From the Battle of Thunder Leaf, I know that you are a respectable opponent, and now you and I will become sincere friends."

The two of them laughed loudly when they touched their eyes. They patted each other's backs and walked into the big tent side by side. The laughter of the monarchs of the two countries immediately eased the tension in the big tent, and everyone had a smile on their faces. At this time, Yang Yan, the Minister of Rites who was in charge of negotiating with the big food, walked up and bowed, "Your Majesty, everything is ready."

Zhang Huan and Rashid looked at each other and smiled, each came to the arranged seats and sat down. Cui Yao sat aside. As the monarch of the host country, Zhang Huan said first: "Our two countries are close neighbors, but they are far apart. It took you and a half years to prepare for this gathering. I hope that we can cherish this opportunity and use the greatest sincerity to effectively resolve the existing conflicts between the two countries. I hope that the Tang Dynasty and the Dashi can live in peace and mutual benefit, forget the past dissatisfaction, and focus on the future."

Cui Yao quickly translated Zhang Huan's words into Arabic. Rashid listened to every word Zhang Huan said with all his attention. It should be said that in a year and a half, the two sides had negotiated several times, and the remaining contradictions had basically been resolved. Peace and mutual benefit were the main tone of this meeting. In fact, the meeting between the two monarchs was actually to formally sign various documents that had reached an agreement in advance, including a comprehensive armistice between the two countries for 30 years, recognizing the actual control of both sides, expanding trade and cultural exchanges, exchanging prisoners of war, establishing military mutual trust, implementing religious tolerance, and hostile countries that do not support each other, etc., more than 20 formal documents were to be signed. The two sides will also establish a cooperative office in Samarkand to be fully responsible for the implementation of various measures between the two countries.

It should be said that the signing of these agreements is beneficial to both countries and is very pragmatic. After the Battle of Suoye, the national strength of both countries suffered serious losses, especially the defeated country. His military strength was greatly lost and it took at least ten years to recover. In the case of insufficient troops, it needed to concentrate its forces against its old enemy Byzantium. For the Tang Dynasty, the importance of thirty years of peace is even more self-evident. It is not only the danger of destroying the Uighurs, but also the heavy damage to the Tang Dynasty by the Anshi Rebellion. The Central Plains experienced the looting of warlords. The Tang Dynasty was actually extremely weak. Without two generations of time, the population and national strength could not be restored to the prosperous period of Kaiyuan. Now there is a monarch who works hard to govern. The rest is time to slowly adjust and develop.

However, the two sides did not reach a consensus, mainly the demarcation of borders, especially the control of the Tochar region, and the two countries had differences. After several rounds of consultations, the two countries changed their wording and changed the original "confirm border" to "recognizing each other's actual control." However, this will lay hidden dangers for the future relationship between the two countries. Zhang Huan and Rashid also knew each other well, but this is the basic principle of relationship between countries. There is no eternal friendship, no eternal enemies, but only each other's interests.

Rashid pondered for a moment and said frankly: "I admit that there are still huge differences between our two countries, but this does not affect the signing of documents between our two countries. Dashi attaches great importance to them. I, Harlan Rashid, hereby solemnly promised that Dashi will strictly follow the agreement reached between the two countries. As for the differences between the two countries, they can be left to our descendants to resolve them slowly."

After listening to Cui Yao's translation, Zhang Huan nodded and said, "Okay, let's start!"
Chapter completed!