Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5171 Autonomy Plan
Inside the city of Aludi, there were fireworks and wails everywhere. The unrestrained Arab army burned, killed, looted, raped and robbed. They killed anyone they saw and burned any house they saw. Blood flowed in the streets. All the people of Kangguo were slaughtered like animals without restraint. The city had already become a living hell.

Auf had no intention of caring about it, nor could he do anything about it. He just ordered his troops to guard the city walls and the four gates and arrange defenses.

As for the lives of the people in the city, he didn't care at all. Whether Tong'e and his son betrayed him was not the root cause of this tragedy. In any case, the current situation would be like this when the Arab army withdrew.

The Arab army was seriously short of food and fodder, and had to resort to such means to plunder Kang State from top to bottom in order to supply its military needs.

Even in the original plan, when the Tang army was blocked to the north of the Sabao River and the Arab army was safely evacuated, the states of the Nine Zhaowu Surnames, such as He, Cao, Dong'an, and An, downstream of the Sabao River would be plundered to make up for some of the losses in this battle...

The scouts on the city wall observed through lookout that the Tang army had split up, and the main force continued to pursue Yazid westward, leaving only three or four thousand Tang troops trapped in Aludyi City. It was obviously impossible for these troops to completely trap Aludyi City.

Auf breathed a sigh of relief.

The situation turned out to be exactly as he had expected. The strategic goal of the Tang Dynasty was not to capture cities and seize territories, but to completely annihilate the Arab army that had invaded the Western Regions. The primary target was the Caliph's successor, Yazid. As long as they were separated from Yazid, the Tang army would be able to distinguish the priorities and make choices.

In the evening, a soldier came to report that they had captured the King of Kang, Tong'e, in a temple in the city...

Auf didn't care. He waved his hand and ordered him to be hanged in the square in front of the palace.

There is a price to pay for betraying the Arabs.

Then he issued an order to hand over all the looted property, food, fodder, treasures, etc. from the city...

The Arab soldiers were heartbroken and wailing, but they dared not disobey orders.

Aof stayed in the city nervously for two days, until the main force of the Tang army chasing Yezid was completely gone. Then in the early morning of the third day, he quietly opened the south gate and rushed out of the city. As expected, the Tang army's defense was loose due to insufficient numbers. Aof took the lead and led his troops to break through the Tang army's defense line and fled all the way south.

Wang Xiaojie obeyed the military order and only symbolically blocked the Arab army that suddenly broke out of the city. Seeing that they were numerous and powerful, he left a gap and let them break through.

Fu Human was puzzled: "Although the enemy army is large in number, your army is better equipped and more powerful. If you try your best to stop them, even if the enemy still breaks out in the end, you can kill most of them. How can you let them break out so easily?"

Wang Xiaojie explained: "When people know they are going to die, they will burst out with great potential. As the saying goes, 'a trapped beast will still fight'. It is extremely unwise to block their retreat at this time and force them to fight to the death. The art of war says 'surround three sides and miss one', which means to give the enemy who is trapped in a desperate situation a chance to escape. In this way, the enemy will only think about escaping, and the morale of the army will collapse and they will not want to fight to the death. Then it will be much easier to chase the enemy from behind and attack. Of course, if the troops are sufficient, an ambush can be set up in advance on their retreat route, and then attack them from both sides, achieving twice the result with half the effort."

"The Han people's military tactics are quite powerful!"

Fu Human praised sincerely, then looked at the open city gate and asked, "Should we enter the city now?"

Wang Xiaojie said, "You go into the city to clean up the mess, and I will lead the army to pursue the enemy and make them restless and exhausted. As for the damage to the city, you can contact the officials of the Anxi Protectorate who will arrive later to discuss reconstruction."

Although he had not entered the city, he had learned about the tragic situation in the city from the defeated soldiers. The Arabs committed heinous crimes in the city. Only one in ten Kangguo people survived. The houses were severely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

Fuhuman was worried about his father's safety. He watched Wang Xiaojie lead the Tang army in an orderly and unhurried manner to pursue the enemy southward, and then hurried into the city.

As soon as I entered the city, I learned that my father had been hanged in the square in front of the palace...

Seeing the tragic situation in the city again, Fu Human gnashed his teeth and was filled with hatred.

After crying bitterly in front of his father's body, he stopped his grief and led the remaining people and soldiers of Kangguo to take the body out of the city and bury it in a pit. Otherwise, the temperature in summer would be too high, and if a plague broke out, everything would be over.

Three days later, the Anxi Army's support troops arrived at Aludi City, accompanied by officials from the Anxi Protectorate.

The officials agreed to Fuhuman's request and immediately surveyed, investigated and recorded the city of Aludi, then formulated a series of city reconstruction plans. After obtaining Fuhuman's consent, they reported to the Anxi Protectorate and requested the allocation of materials and craftsmen to help Kangguo rebuild the city of Aludi.

At the same time, detailed battle reports were also delivered to Suiye City.

*****
At this time, the Seven Rivers Basin was densely covered with rivers, the water in Suiye was surging, the climate was hot, the vegetation was lush, and with the Silk Road passing through it, the prosperity of Suiye Town was second to none in the entire Western Regions.

In the government office in the city, war reports were delivered one after another. Fang Jun, Pei Xingjian and other officials of the Anxi Protectorate were busy. Lu Dongzan was very bored, so he would come here from time to time to sit, drink tea and listen to the latest news from all sides.

The Tang officials seemed to have regarded him as "one of their own", and all kinds of war reports were never concealed from him, allowing him to hear and read them.

But precisely because of this, Lu Dongzan, while being shocked by the successive victories at the front, was also deeply impressed by the extremely high efficiency of the Tang officials.

On this day, news came that the prince of Kang State had built a floating bridge at night to help the Tang army cross the Sabao River and capture the city of Aludi. The officials in the government office were busy, while Fang Jun and Lu Dongzan sat at the coffee table by the window drinking tea. From time to time, officials came to ask for instructions, and Fang Jun made the final decision...

Lu Dongzan looked at the numerous yet orderly officials in the hall and couldn't help but admire them, "I once disagreed with your evaluation of Tubo, but now I have to admit that it is indeed true."

The so-called "comments" he mentioned were, of course, what Fang Jun said when he talked about Tubo: "Even if Tubo was powerful for a time and humiliated the Tang Dynasty, it was ultimately just a powerful force in a corner"...

Fang Jun was reading a war report, which was written by Fuhuman, the prince of Kang State, requesting Tang's assistance in rebuilding Aludi City. He read it from beginning to end and returned it to the official: "This is a government matter, and Pei Duhu can make the decision. There is no need to ask me for instructions."

The official took the document, bowed and left.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and then smiled and said, "For thousands of years, China has experienced dynasties changing, ups and downs. Sometimes the country was strong and powerful, and sometimes there were internal disputes and people were living in poverty. However, from the beginning to the end, it has never stopped its political evolution. To be honest, when it comes to political systems and national structures, China is proud of the world. Whether it is Tubo or Daqin, they are just leftovers of China."

After a pause, he added: "...No foreign tribe knows how to govern a country better than the Chinese."

Throughout the dynasties, China's political system has been adapted to local conditions and in line with the times, which can be called the "optimal solution". At a glance, it seems that as long as there is an emperor, it is a "feudal dynasty", but in fact it is quite different inside. More systems and laws are changing according to time and place, and are more in line with the situation at the time.

Of course, knowing how to govern a country is one thing, and being willing to govern it well is another.

People's selfish desires are endless and insatiable. Many times, some people put their own interests above the country, the nation, and the people, which eventually led to the downfall of the dynasty and the people's misery. How hateful...

Lu Dongzan nodded. He was knowledgeable. In terms of the system alone, the current "tribal alliance" situation of Tubo would have to be traced back to the ancient legendary period of "Emperors Yan and Huang" in China. It was not backward at all...

He was very interested, and it seemed that every time he chatted with Fang Jun, he could recognize something that seemed to exist reasonably but was often overlooked in the past.

"Now the Tang army is chasing the enemy northwards and is invincible. The front has swept across the Seven Rivers Basin and the Transoxiana region, but I wonder how the Tang Dynasty will manage these cities captured from the Arabs?"

The country's greed for land is endless. More land can grow more food and feed more people, and more people can generate more taxes and labor service, making the country stronger...

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and threw a memorial in front of Lu Dongzan: "This is the memorial I will send to your majesty in Chang'an. You may want to take a look at it."

Lu Dongzan put down his teacup, picked up the memorial, and read it carefully.

After a while, he looked up in astonishment: "Autonomous region?"

Then he lowered his head again and read the memorial from beginning to end.

From the Western Regions to the remote frontiers, all "border garrisons and border areas" were set up with military governors' offices, all under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate. "Autonomous regions" were also set up in the areas where various tribes lived, and their leaders served as "military governors", which could be inherited.

The central government will not collect tribute from these "autonomous regions", and their internal affairs will be managed by themselves, but they must accept the leadership of the Governor's Office and the Grand Protectorate, and must respond to and obey national orders...

Lu Dongzan was puzzled: "Not paying taxes, not collecting corvée labor, not sending officials... This is just nominal submission to the Tang Dynasty, but in reality the Tang Dynasty has no control over them. They can submit today and rebel tomorrow. What's the point?"

Fang Jun asked in return: "In such a barbarian land, how much money can we collect even if we collect taxes? Even if we send officials, won't they rebel again when a strong enemy attacks? They are only nominally submitting to us, so why should we make the heavens angry and the people disunited? The Tang Dynasty is the Celestial Empire and a country of etiquette. As long as the foreign tribes are willing to submit to the leadership of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will embrace all rivers and make no distinction between self and others. If they do not accept the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty one day, they can retreat calmly and everyone will part ways in peace."

Lu Dongzan frowned and stared at Fang Jun, feeling that things were definitely not that simple.

The Han people are not only good at plotting, but also good at overt plotting...