Du Zhongxiao stood in front of the window and looked at the mountains outside. The top of the mountain was white, and I don’t know how much snow it was there. Shule didn’t snow. It was windy every day and often covered with sand and dust, which made people feel uncomfortable.

The envoys of the two Khans had been sent away, and their attitude made Du Zhongxiao interested. Aslan Khan meant that the Song army occupied his land and asked the Song army to return Ilik and return the captured soldiers at the same time. This matter would not be investigated. Shule was the capital of Hei Khan and had an important position. He allowed the Song army to withdraw and return to the Moman army to maintain the situation with Gaochang when he first destroyed Yutan. Bogra Khan was just the opposite, so that the Song army would detain Ilik and not let the prisoners be released. At the cost, after Bogra Khan took office, he could pay tribute and surrender and become a vassal state of Song.

Du Zhongxiao did not reply to Aslan Khan. Since he was unwilling to talk, he would simply stop talking. Bogra Khan's request happened to match what Du Zhongxiao thought, so he had a good hospitality and sent it back politely. Whether he could be the King of Khan depends on his own ability.

After sending off the Black Khan envoy, Du Zhongxiao suddenly felt bored. It has been November since the dispatch of troops in the Western Regions between May and June. After half a year, it has been. After the Battle of Budor, he destroyed the main force of the Black Khan, and there was no war here. No matter how fierce Aslan Khan said, he could not collect troops now and could not cause threats. He could ignore him. The Western Regions are suddenly extremely quiet.

After standing for a while, Du Zhongxiao put on his public uniform and arrived at the front office. Fu Bi, Zhang Sheng, Zhang Ke and others were all there. When he saw Du Zhongxiao coming in, he hurriedly got up and saluted. After the ceremony, he sat down.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Hei Han's envoy has left, and everyone knows his attitude. We have first come to Shule and are not familiar with many things. Don't worry too much about Hei Han's affairs. You can arrange people and inquire about Hei Han's news. But I made it clear that I just inquire about the news and should not interfere with Hei Han's affairs."

Everyone bowed and said yes.

Zhang Sheng said: "Jingsai, although Hei Khan is big, he is divided into several Khan kings and is not subordinate to each other. Now King Aslan has lost to Buqiu for a while, and is afraid that he can no longer control domestic affairs. I heard that Bogra Khan wanted to fight with him several times, but he is afraid that he will really fight this time."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Don't look at what others are doing, but we can do it. The army has about 30,000 people now, which is our limit. With such strength, do what is within our own strength. Hei Khan will not care about anything happening. Since Aslan Khan refused to surrender, Ilik was going to take him back to the court. Tens of thousands of prisoners of war in Yizhou went to the underside of the road repair box to make his living efforts. Originally, the railways in the Western Regions should be built from Yizhou to Gaochang, and then from Gaochang to Shule. Since there are so many more people, we will start construction from north to south. After the construction of Gaochang, in addition to the road to Shule, we will also cross Baishui City and build all the way to Yangji Bali. The place north of the Tianshan Mountains is vast, but because it was not a commercial road before the Tang Dynasty and the population was sparse. After the railway was opened, we can focus on immigrating there."

Several people said it together. Fu Bi said, "Jingshou means that after occupying Shule, they will protect the country and the people, and will ignore foreign affairs for the time being?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, this place is too far. Originally, occupying Hequ Road was an open space, and the construction of a land was necessary to immigrate to the land. There were not many people there, so they had to occupy the Western Regions and have more open spaces. Now there are three things. The first thing is to operate the place and build the railway. As long as the transportation is convenient, Han people will naturally come to reclaim the land. The second thing is to open a commercial road. When the railway is repaired, the most important thing is to use the railway to do business. Only when there is business can the court receive taxes.

To the west, there are continuous mountains, and there are trade routes in the mountains since ancient times. Find some merchants as soon as possible and reopen these trade routes. The two Khans of Hei Khan's attitude is very clear. Aslan Khan cannot trust, and Bogra Khan can cooperate at least now. However, the border with Shule is the land of Aslan Khan, and the trade routes are not easy to open. In addition to Aslan Khan, go southwest, it is the peach blossom stone khan of Xihei Khan. You can send someone to him first to see how he is at his attitude. There is another third thing, the Kingdom of Khotan."

Zhang Ji said: "Since he arrived in Shule, Jishou did not allow his subordinates to send troops to Yutian, so he has always restrained his subordinates. Now that the Black Khan envoy has come, Jishou means to march into Yutian?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, the melons are ripe. It's time to pick them. In the past, you were not allowed to enter Khotan because there was no road to Hei Khan. We occupied Shule, and actually sealed the place. It was not easy to march through a thousand miles and add supplies. Now we have talked with Hei Khan clearly, so there is no need to stay with Khotan there. You can send three thousand soldiers and horses to see the crows first, and travel southeast all the way to get the Kingdom of Khotan."

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao frowned: "Fa'er's name looks so difficult to say. I remember correctly. Should it be the Kingdom of Shache in the Han Dynasty, or should it be changed back to Shache. This kind of castle is constantly coming to the castle, and you can order the army to bring some silver and buy supplies on the way."

Zhang Ke crossed his hands and praised him.

Du Zhongxiao said: "I will say it again. Do not disturb the people on the military road, nor do you force the people's materials to be taken, otherwise you will be treated by military law. If you encounter a time when materials are to be retracted, you must borrow them, and write the IOU clearly and repay them by the court in the future. Now, the court has sufficient materials, and there is no need to recruit people. After all, if the court wants to truly occupy the Western Regions, the most important thing is the people's hearts. To win the people's hearts, the future governance will be long-term. Now the most important thing is in the eyes of the indigenous people of the Western Regions, how is your army like?"

Zhang Ji said: "Don't worry, the general will strictly control the brigades of the Ministry and will not disturb the people!"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "According to reliable information, there are less than a thousand people in the black khan Istan. The terrain there is closed, and there is no need to arrange many people around it. Three thousand people should be enough to capture Khotan. However, if you reach Qiemo on the way, it will be almost two thousand miles, which is too far. You can lead troops to occupy Khotan first, and the city behind Qiemo will be left for the future. I will write to the court, can you send Yuchi Sanlang here to rebuild the Khotan Kingdom? If the railway is built in Shule, Khotan has no way out, and after the construction of the Khotan Kingdom, there is no need to send a large number of people."

Fu Bi said: "Jingshuai, now the territory of Khotan is also sparsely populated. What should the Han people go to reclaim land after the establishment of the Kingdom of Khotan?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "For the time being, when the Han people go there to reclaim land, they will all use land to build land and not to privately cultivate them. Even if the Kingdom of Khotan is built, it is also a place under the rule of the court, and it cannot be considered a foreign country. The land to build the Kingdom of Khotan is managed by officials. After all, building the Kingdom of Khotan is not to let the indigenous people become a factor affecting the rule of the court. Due to the management of the Kingdom of Khotan, all the indigenous people are under the rule of the court."

Everyone understood the meaning of Du Zhongxiao. The Kingdom of Khotan, like the Han and Tang Dynasties, was a country ruled by the court. It belonged to the same place as the throne, not a completely independent country. The reason for this was that it was too empty and all the officials were sent by the court, and the court could not do it. In particular, Du Zhongxiao insisted on separating military and political affairs and required the use of civil officials to govern the local area. How could there be so many officials in the court?

Of course, there is another factor in Du Zhongxiao's construction of the Kingdom of Khotan, which is to rebuild the Buddha's kingdom in the Western Regions. Over the Kunlun Mountains, Khotan is the origin of Buddhism, and its Buddhism has its own characteristics. For fifty or sixty years, many indigenous people believed in Buddhism and could develop again.
Chapter completed!