Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The painters who copied in various Buddhist caves were all recalled to Shazhou City.

The government also dispatched people to help them sort out the Dunhuang manuscripts. They spent a whole winter to do preliminary sorting, and then packed them into boxes, sealed them and waited for transportation.

Among these documents, there are data with clear dates, and the latest is marked as the fifth year of Xianping, which is during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty.

That year, Bao Zheng was only three years old.

It was also in that year that the Guiyi Army and the Ganzhou Uighurs went to war. There was a mutiny within the Guiyi Army, and Cao Zongshou forced Cao Yanlu, Cao Yanrui and others to death, and while relying on the Northern Song Dynasty, he also made friends with the Liao Kingdom.

If that was the case, it would not explain why books were hidden in the Buddhist caves.

Based on the fact that more than 90% of the Dunhuang manuscripts are Buddhist scriptures, it is very likely that this behavior is related to religion.

Four years after the civil strife of the Guiyi Army, the Karakhanid Khanate destroyed Khotan!

If you want to analyze more information, the timeline must be pushed back a few decades.

At that time, the Karakhanid Khanate, which originally advocated freedom of religious belief and was mainly popular with Buddhism and Manichaeism, took the initiative to convert to desert religion in order to survive and expand in Central Asia. Believers of various religions fled eastward and brought terrifying information about desert religion.

Therefore, the three major forces of Guiyi Army, Khotan, and Gaochang Uighur formed an alliance to jointly resist the eastward expansion of the Karakhanid Khanate and desert religion.

The coalition forces of Khotan and Gaochang Uighur even took the initiative to attack and capture Kashgar, and then fought back and forth in the Kashgar area for decades.

Later, Khotan made a national expedition to the west, and Gaochang Uighur also mobilized cavalry from all over the country, and even borrowed troops from Guiyi Army and Ganzhou Uighur. The four major Buddhist forces in the Western Regions joined forces to form a "Buddhist Holy War Coalition".

The king of the Karakhanid Khanate died in battle, and its eastern front troops assembled in Kashgar were also annihilated by the Buddhist coalition.

Its western front troops were fighting in Central Asia (Bukhara) at the time, and the general in charge of the army happened to annihilate the army of the old enemy Samanid Dynasty. This front-line commander of the Karakhanid Khanate took advantage of the situation and became the new king, and returned with the victorious Karakhanid army and the vassal armies of many Central Asian countries to counterattack.

The King of Khotan was shocked and hurriedly sent envoys to shake people around.

The allies did not give up and watch the show. Not only did the Gaochang Uighurs send troops, but the Guiyi Army also sent infantry, the Ganzhou Uighurs sent cavalry, and even the various Tibetan tribes sent troops to support.

From the Hehuang Valley to the Hexi Corridor, and then to Hami, Hotan, and Turpan, the major forces quickly united together and fought a decisive battle with the army of the Desert Religion in Kashgar.

The equipment of the Buddhist coalition was poor, especially the Tibetan army, even the armor was scarce.

The armor and weapons of the Desert Religion Army came from workshops in Talas, Samarkand, Isfahan, Braha, Ghazni, Herat and other places. Moreover, their war horses were extremely majestic, which completely crushed the Buddhist coalition army.

The cavalry units of Gaochang Uighur and Ganzhou Uighur, suffering heavy losses, were the first to abandon their allies and withdraw from the battlefield.

The Tibetan cavalry also fled.

The infantry of Khotan and Guiyi Army were quickly surrounded by the Desert Religion Army after losing the cooperation of cavalry.

The Khotan Kingdom was destroyed a few years later.

Gaochang Uighur barely protected itself.

The Guiyi Army suffered heavy casualties, which led to an imbalance of internal factions, and then a mutiny and fratricide. Ganzhou Uighur took advantage of the internal strife of the Guiyi Army to expand its territory, and soon fought with the Guiyi Army.

At the same time, many persecuted monks of various religions in Khotan fled to Shazhou and told everyone about the cruelty of the Desert Religion.

Not only Buddhists, but also other religions in Shazhou seemed to feel that the end of the world was coming. They didn't know whether Gaochang Uighurs could stop the expansion of the Desert Religion, nor did they know when the Guiyi Army and Ganzhou Uighurs would fight.

In this case, it is understandable to hide Buddhist scriptures in the cave chamber.

That Western Region War was a waste of money for Xixia. Both the Guiyi Army and Ganzhou Uighurs were unable to recover, which made it very easy for Xixia to seize the Hexi Corridor.

…

In the spring, the snow melted and the painters returned to Luoyang.

The Dunhuang manuscripts and their copied paintings filled more than 20 cars, and the army escorted them along the way.

"What are those?"

Zhou Cong lifted the curtain and pointed to the grass squares in the distance.

The officer in charge of the escort said: "The straw grid is also called the emperor's grid. At first, the emperor sent agricultural officials to make grids with straw on the edge of the desert around Yinchuan Prefecture, saying that it could prevent the advancement of sand dunes."

"Is it effective?" Liu Cunzhong asked.

The officer smiled and said: "Straw can be used to feed livestock. At first, farmers and herdsmen were unwilling and did not believe it. The government promoted it for three years, and farmers and herdsmen near the desert found that it was really useful, so they took the initiative to make grids in their spare time. It's not just straw grids. In places where there is no straw, there are also shrub branches. It started to be promoted in the Hexi Corridor last year, and it is estimated that it will be spread to Shazhou this year."

Zhou Cong has been copying murals in Shazhou for several years, so he naturally knows the pros and cons. He exclaimed: "If it can really prevent sand dunes from eroding farmland and pastures, the emperor's method will be famous for thousands of years!"

The straw grid promoted by the Ming Dynasty did not force trees to be planted in the grid.

It is just a grid. If weeds or shrub seeds are blown into the grid by wind or carried by animals, they will grow naturally if the conditions are suitable.

Only in the desert edge where water is relatively convenient will the government arrange soldiers and civilians to plant trees.

Herders and farmers are also willing to plant trees because the government has made a promise: as long as the trunks are not cut down, the people can cut branches for firewood when the trees grow up.

Firewood is an important living material in these places!

The convoy stopped outside Ganzhou City. Since there was an army escort, they directly supplied military rations nearby.

There is a horse market in the north of the city.

Herdsmen of various ethnic groups nearby would drive horses, sheep and other livestock for trade in the autumn when they are fat and strong.

It's spring now, and there are very few people selling livestock. They mainly sell dairy products, felts, and the furs of livestock that froze to death in the winter. By the way, I bought some salt and seeds. Not to mention the herdsmen here know how to farm. Even the herdsmen in Mobei will grow a small amount of food to reduce the risk of famine caused by the extreme climate.

Seeing the army escorting a convoy to a stop, herdsmen of all ethnic groups were not afraid and came over with dairy products and furs to sell.

The government did not force them to change their hairstyles, but only stipulated that men's clothes must be on the right side and women on the left side, and the reverse must be reversed when a relative dies in mourning.

In the first few years, the management was very strict, but in the past two years, the government has been too lazy to control it.

Because even foreigners don’t all wear left-fold clothes. In the Han Dynasty, people also wore the left and right gussets backwards, and it has long been common for everyone.

As the Ming Dynasty became more powerful, officials and scholars paid less attention to how foreigners dressed.

The officer ordered his soldiers to stop the herdsmen, but did not disperse them directly.

The painters were about to rest outside the city. At this time, they all got off the carriage and went to see what the herdsmen were selling.

"What kind of skin is this?" Zhou Cong stopped in front of a herdsman.

The herdsman is from the Dangxiang tribe, but he can also speak Chinese: "The skin of a grass leopard (snow leopard). Last year when it snowed, a grass leopard got into the sheepfold and killed two of my sheep."

Zhou Cong asked: "How much?"

Dangxiang herdsman's eyes flashed, and he decided to extort money severely: "Three pieces of money!"

Afraid of frightening Zhou Cong, he quickly added: "Don't be too expensive for this husband. Look, the skin is not damaged. My two sons and I beat it to death with wooden sticks."

Zhou Cong was shocked by such a cheap price. He immediately checked the fur and paid for it: "There is indeed no damage. It is barely worth three ounces of money."

Paying the money with one hand and delivering the goods with the other, both parties feel that they have taken advantage.

Zhou Cong happily put away the snow leopard skin and asked casually: "Which tribe are you from?"

The herdsman from Dangxiang said with a smile: "Why are we divided into tribes? Our place is called Yuhe Township. The herdsmen are organized into Baojia according to the number of households. When paying taxes to the government, the Baojia chief collects them. The big herdsmen were all killed by the officers and soldiers, and the pastures left behind My family got a share. I received two sheep first, and then two more. There were still more than twenty sheep and a horse, which were loaned to me by the government and were repaid last year. "

"That's almost thirty sheep. Can we survive?" Zhou Cong asked.

A herdsman from Dangxiang said: "Those who are about to give birth, including the lambs, my family has more than 40 sheep. The first three years are tax-free, and the government also provides food relief when there is a white disaster. After the first few years, it is a good life."

The pastures allocated by the government to the herdsmen were obtained from the big herdsmen.

The livestock that the government distributed and loaned to herdsmen were seized from the Xixia army.

The Ming court paid for and allocated few supplies, but the herdsmen were very grateful. Because apart from allocating pastures and giving livestock, today's government taxes are not heavy. Unlike Xixia, which drove the herdsmen to death, and even forced the big herdsmen to rebel!

There are various phenomena of exploiting the people in Han Dynasty. Are all honest officials here in Ningxia? Of course it's impossible, the officials here also exploit the people.

But no matter how exploitative they are, compared to Xixia, they are considered clean and honest.

With Xixia's brutal expropriation as a reference, herdsmen of all ethnic groups were extremely satisfied with the Ming court. They even think that officials should exploit the people, and those who can avoid squeezing the herdsmen to death are good officials.

Today, there are no large herdsmen in the entire Ningxia region, only many small and medium-sized herdsmen remain.

If the lower-level herdsmen have difficulty in living, they can also graze for the middle-level herdsmen. It is equivalent to self-cultivating farmers cultivating their own land and simultaneously cultivating land under the names of medium-sized landlords.

In the blink of an eye, the Dangxiang herdsman sold another piece of leather, and said happily to Zhou Cong: "I was afraid of war before, and the government punished me severely. If someone from any family was selected as a regular soldier, he had to lead the army's horses home to raise them. If you die, you will lose everything. Now you are looking forward to fighting."

Zhou Cong was greatly surprised: "What are you looking forward to fighting for?"

Dangxiang herdsman said: "A few years ago, the imperial court went on an expedition to the Western Regions, and two of my sons were selected. One son worked as a farmer to help transport grain from Ganzhou to Shazhou, and he could earn wages. The other son served as an assistant. The soldier went to the Western Regions and stayed in the north of the Tianshan Mountains to serve as a cavalry and was given a pasture. The government gave him a wife and sent him back two ounces of money last year. "

"That's really a good deal." Zhou Cong nodded.

The herdsman from Dangxiang said with a smile: "My eldest grandson is strong and can ride a horse at the age of six. When he grows up, he will be sent to be a cavalry. Our Ming cavalry has a high salary, and can also fight and serve as an official. In the past, in Not so in the Xia Kingdom. If you want to be an officer, you must at least be a small herdsman. We herdsmen are struggling on the battlefield and have no success."

Zhou Cong listened to the other party speaking Chinese and wearing right-hand clothes. He felt that the Dangxiang herdsmen here would be completely Chineseized in two or three generations.

Of course, this is because they are close to Ganzhou City, and it is definitely not that easy for herders in more remote areas to become Chinese.