The territory of the Sui Dynasty spans thousands of miles from south to north and from east to west. The entire territory of the Sui Dynasty looked like an inverted pear, with the north side being larger and the south side being smaller. The length from north to south is much greater than from east to west. Even from the narrowest east-west direction of the empire's territory, Yong County in the west to Jiangdu County in the east, it is more than ten thousand miles, which shows the vastness of the Sui Dynasty's territory.
Yongzhou County was snatched away by the Sui Dynasty when they destroyed the Shang Kingdom fifteen years ago, accounting for two-thirds of the size of the Shang Kingdom. Yongjun was also the largest county in the Sui Dynasty, and Yongzhou City was the capital of the Shang Kingdom. After the fall of the Shang Kingdom, the escaped prince Murong Shao established the Nanyan Kingdom in Dali City, paid tribute to the Sui Dynasty, and called himself the son emperor. Perhaps it was because the land of Nanyan was too exhausted and too small to attract the attention of the Sui Emperor. His Majesty's desire to eat is why Nan Yan can survive.
The Sui Dynasty relied on military force to establish the country. In order to show that they had not abandoned the martial arts and fighting spirit of their ancestors, emperors of all dynasties would launch at least one external offensive. It is precisely because of this that military personnel still occupy a very important position in the court after more than a hundred years since the Sui Dynasty was founded. status. Many countries advocated martial arts when they were founded. But after a few years, more than ten years, or decades, the power of generals will gradually be weakened, and civil service will be emphasized over military force. But the Great Sui Dynasty was different. From the time when Emperor Taizu of the Great Sui Dynasty raised his troops to conquer the Central Plains, each of the emperors of the Great Sui Dynasty took it as their own duty to open up new territories. If someone fails to conquer a territory, even he himself will look down on himself.
It is precisely because of this that some countries around the Sui Dynasty were miserable. Liang, Zhou, Wei, Zhao, Southern Qi, Northern Qi, and Eastern Wei, these countries have successively become the capital of the Sui emperors to boast about. The territories of these countries also became certain counties in the Sui Dynasty.
When it came to the last emperor, because there was really no way to fight, he had to use force against the Shang State, which had always maintained a good relationship with the Sui Dynasty. It¡¯s not that the last Sui emperor was too cruel, it¡¯s the previous emperor¡¯s fault that he reduced Dong Chu, the last one in the Central Plains who dared to challenge the Sui Dynasty, to only one-fifth of its size. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the last land of Dong Chu was a peninsula, and If Dong Chu's navy was far stronger than its army, that peninsula would have been captured by the Sui Dynasty.
So when the emperor Yang Yi of the Sui Dynasty came, he was also very distressed. For the eleven years since he ascended the throne, he would look at the huge map in the luxurious and spacious Imperial Study Room every day, trying to find an opponent who dared to dissent from the Sui Dynasty. For eleven years, he really could not find anywhere else except the Mongolian and Yuan Empire on the prairie.
"The use of force against the Mongolian and Yuan Empire requires more than just courage. The emperors of the Sui Dynasty all lacked courage, but all emperors chose to live in peace with the Mongolian and Yuan Empire.
It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to fight, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t dare to fight, it¡¯s that I can¡¯t fight.
The prairie stretches for tens of thousands of miles, which is much larger than the territory of the Great Sui Dynasty. Even if the Sui Dynasty was rich and powerful, and even if the Sui Dynasty had the confidence to defeat the Mongolian and Yuan Empire's cavalry with infantry, it would never be able to support such a huge war. Just the consumption of the army out of the fortress is enough to drag the empire to death.
Without an army of more than 500,000 people, there is no need to consider launching troops against the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. Half a million men and horses, marching for tens of thousands of miles, how much is consumed?
This is not a question of whether you dare or not, but it is simply impossible to defeat.
Unless the Sui Dynasty had enough cavalry to compete with the Meng Yuan.
And the cavalry will always be a pain in the heart of the Sui Emperor.
But in the spring of the eleventh year of Tianyou's reign in the Sui Dynasty, it seemed that the pain in the Emperor's heart was cured. At the end of March, a group of troops sent from the Youxiao Guard garrison in the northwest frontier arrived at Chang'an, the imperial capital. There were only a few dozen people. Traveling lightly and with two riders each, it took two months to reach Chang'an.
More than twenty cavalrymen from You Xiaowei escorted three Northern Liao people into the imperial capital.
These three Northern Liao people were the people who sold war horses and were detained by Li Xiaozong in Fangu. The leader among them is a young, sturdy man with physical features unique to the cold regions of Northern Liao. They are tall and strong, and both men and women have fair skin. This is somewhat contrary to common sense. The northern Liao land is extremely cold and Shiwandashan is even more impoverished. It stands to reason that the skin of the people living here should be red from the cold, or at least look rough.
But in fact, the people of Beiliao have very good skin.
Especially the women from Northern Liao, who are as white as crystal clear snowmen.
The leader was a man from Bei Liao called Wan Yan Li Yao. He looked to be in his twenties. His hair was a hairstyle unique to Bei Liao people. His forehead was shaved, but he had a big black braid on the back of his head. . The clothes he wears are also very different from those of the Central Plains people, including a mandarin jacket, a waistcoat, and a mink velvet robe.
This was Wanyan Liyao¡¯s first time entering the Central Plains. On the way, he had imagined countless times what Chang¡¯an City, the imperial capital of the Sui Dynasty, looked like. He tried his best to imagine Chang'an City as big as possible, but when he saw Chang'an City from a distance, he still couldn't help butHis mouth opened wide in surprise.
?Majestic and magnificent!
It¡¯s like an endless chain of hundreds of thousands of mountains.
When Chang'an City appeared in sight, Wanyan Liyao did not see the end of Chang'an City. It is as if this majestic city was formed naturally, standing majestically between heaven and earth. When he rode his horse near Chang'an City, his mouth was already so open that it hurt.
Looking up, the city wall is as high as a sword thrust into the clouds. Looking to the left and right, the city wall is endless.
The right cavalry led him through Dingqian Gate, one of the thirteen gates in the west city of Chang'an. It is also the most inconspicuous of the thirteen city gates, but even so, the huge city gate can still allow eight carriages to pass by easily. The copper nails on the huge vermilion city gate look bigger than a human head.
Wanyan Liyao's Adam's apple twitched, and he swallowed hard: "I can't believe I really can't believe that I have tried my best to imagine the majesty of Chang'an City, but I still only imagined one percent of the city. This is not a city, it is clearly a mountain! "
You Xiaowei's team members curled their lips in disdain, went through the formalities with the soldiers guarding the city gate, and then entered the city gate directly.
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Originally, a few barbarians from Bei Liao, the poorest and coldest place in the world, would not receive any high-level courtesy. Even if it was the special envoy sent by Wanyan Yong, the Khan of Northern Liao, the person responsible for receiving him was just a sixth-rank Yuanwailang from the Rites Department of the Great Sui Dynasty.
But this time there was obviously something different. When Wanyan Liyao was shocked to the point of numbness by the scenes he saw one after another, the officers and soldiers leading the way said it was time to arrive, and he came back to his senses slightly.
The post station was originally supposed to be built outside Chang'an City. But it is precisely because the Sui Dynasty was too big and the city of Chang'an was so big that if the envoys from various countries and the frontier officials who returned to Beijing to report on their duties lived outside the city, it would take too much time for the emperor to summon them back and forth. Therefore, the inn was built on Dongping Fourth Street, which was only about ten miles away from Taiji Palace.
When Wanyan Liyao arrived at the door of the inn, he was still sighing that an inn was more majestic than the palace of the Khan of Northern Liao. His eyes were completely out of use. He looked here and there, and it was as novel as a baby opening his eyes to see the world for the first time.
"Are you Wanyan Liyao?"
Just when he was filled with emotion, a cold voice with a touch of disdain sounded from behind him. Wanyan Liyao turned around quickly and saw a man wearing a green crown robe. This green crown robe, according to the official etiquette of the Sui Dynasty, can be identified at a glance as a minor official below the seventh rank.
In Chang'an, the third-rank officials are not considered big shots. Such a small official would not be taken seriously by the people of Chang'an City. But Wanyan Liyao had to take this person seriously, because he came with a huge mission this time. He was familiar with all the books about the Sui Dynasty, so he could see that this person was just a low-ranking person. But he still showed enough humility and showed the most sincere smile.
"The grass-roots people are the fathers of all the people in Shiwandashan in Northern Liao. The great and kind Wude Khan sent to see Tian Khan, and Wanyan Liyao, the envoy of His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Who is this sir?"
¡° Only people from the Northern Liao Dynasty can say such long-winded words.
The man said a little impatiently: "I am the recording counselor of the Ministry of Rites of the Great Sui Dynasty, and I have been ordered to wait here. Don't go into the inn yet. Our Lord, the Minister of Rites, is waiting for you. Come with me."
"Sir, the Minister of Rites, wants to see me in person?"
Wanyan Liyao obviously didn¡¯t believe his ears.
The recording counselor was too lazy to say anything else, so he turned around and got into a carriage. Wanyan Liyao didn't dare to delay and climbed up as well.
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Huai Qiugong, the Minister of Rites of the Sui Dynasty, was a veteran of the Three Dynasties and was already seventy-two years old. In fact, since Emperor Tianyou Yang Yi ascended the throne, he has rarely interfered with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. Pei Tao, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, usually presides over affairs in the Ministry of Rites, but this respected old man came to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites early this morning. Except for Pei Tao, who had received the news in advance, no one in the Ministry of Rites did not find it novel. You must know that this old man who dared to point at His Majesty the Emperor and say that he did not understand etiquette has not been to the Rites Yamen for four months and twenty-nine days.
Because the Great Sui Dynasty was so big, it was still windy and snowy in the northwest border in March, and the wicker branches on the streets in the imperial capital were already sprouting new green. But perhaps because they were worried that the Minister of Rites was too old, the stove was still lit in the wing.
Pei Tao, the minister of etiquette, sat respectfully with his hands hanging down, talking to the old man.
"Ming Li, you manage this yamen in an orderly manner, not bad I will make another mistake tomorrow and withdraw, which can be regarded as the end of the world."Everything is truly in your hands. "
"The lower officials are frightened"
Pei Tao said quickly: "My boss is still so strong and your Majesty is so generous. How can you withdraw from the court so easily? The Ministry of Rites cannot do without you."
"This flattery doesn't sound good at all."
Huai Qiugong smiled and said: "I have already added the word "ÀÏ" in front of you, and you still say that I am not old? I have served three generations of emperors, but in fact I should have retired a long time ago. It's just that the older people get, the more greedy they are for power. , I feel ashamed when I think about it. As for you saying that the Ministry of Etiquette cannot do without me, that is a lieI haven¡¯t been here for two months, right? I don¡¯t even know how many new people have been added.¡±
Pei Tao smiled coquettishly: "You haven't been here for nearly five months."
"ah?"
Huai Qiugong was stunned for a moment, then chuckled: "Walking dogs, fighting birds, feeding fish, planting grass, flowers and trees, the days passed so fast By the way, I was only talking about gossip, but I was doing the business that Your Majesty told me. forget."
The old man stroked his snow-white beard and said, "You will go meet those people from Northern Liao in a while, and you will receive them according tothe standards of envoys from a great country."
"This wasn't it just arranged to be received by a foreign minister before? What's different this time?"
"Of course it's different."
Huai Qiugong smiled, and the wrinkles on his face squeezed into a flower: "The northwest is not peaceful At this time, the people from Bei Liao came to the door. Doesn't that suit His Majesty's idea? Haha I want the wind. It makes me happy when I think about it.¡±
Pei Tao opened his mouth in surprise and asked in disbelief: "Your Majesty wants to launch troops against Meng Yuan?"
"Who else will you attack? Your Majesty only wants to compete with Emperor Taizu."
The old man smiled like an old fox, with a sense of pride and a bit of rare cuteness: "But I only told you this, what are the rumors in the court You know old man, I am greedy for power and afraid of trouble, I am sure betray you."