Chapter 3 three

Seven days later, Kublai Khan led his staff back to Hara and Lin.This afternoon, the sky was clear and the Wan'an Palace was bathed in golden sunlight, shining brightly. Kublai Khan knelt on the navy blue carpet, took off his hat, put his belt on his shoulders, and bowed nine times to Mengge Khan. "Are you back?" Meng Ge's eyes were full of sadness, and he looked very depressed. "The mother's body was originally weak, and she occasionally caught a cold. The disease became more and more serious, and eventually passed away suddenly. Xu Guozhen said that the mother became ill from overwork and died of heart failure."

"I hope brother Khan will tell you when my mother will go to the funeral." Kublai Khan still couldn't afford to kneel down, one is to meet brother Khan, and the other is to express his grief for his mother. "Get up!" Mengge Khan pointed to an armchair beside him, "You have been tired all the way, and sit down and talk." Kublai Khan refused to get up: "Brother Khan, I want to visit Eji first." Mengge Khan nodded: "Forget it, you go. The most important thing these days is to arrange the funeral for our Erji, and we will discuss other things later."

Kublai Khan watched him silently, speechless. Numerous butter lamps were lit in Mrs. Su Ru's tent. The lights in the big tent were brightly lit, cigarettes were lingering, and the curling thin smoke slowly rose one by one and diffused to the surroundings, as if the noble soul of the hostess followed the ethereal The smog gradually dissipated between the sky. A fragrant tree that was hugged by two people was divided into two by craftsmen, and the heart of the tree was hollowed out.Mrs. Su Ru lay peacefully in it, she was dressed in plain silk, a few elegant gold and jade jewelry, her skin was creamy, her lips were red, she really seemed to be sleeping peacefully, just as warm, calm and calm as she was in life.

"The queen mother, Madam Su Ru, has passed away and returned to the west, let's drive away!" The deacon announced loudly, with a little heaviness in his voice: "Building the coffin——" Nine steeds from the Western Regions carried the fragrant wooden coffin with three golden hoops slowly towards the cemetery, followed by the crowd of mourners, stretching end to end for more than ten miles. At the foot of Mount Kent, in a clearing with dense forests, a huge pit was dug deep.Inside the pit, a white tent door opened.Mrs. Su Ru's coffin was placed in the center of the tent. In front of the coffin was a long table filled with various offerings such as beef, horse meat, mutton, horse milk (kumiss), and horse milk.In addition, Mrs. Su Ru was buried with nine mares and their foals, as well as nine white horses with complete saddles.The gold and silver utensils and jewelry used by Mrs. Su Ru, the Queen Mother, were also buried in the tomb with her.

After the burial was completed, the tomb was immediately filled up, trampled nine times by ten thousand horses, and then the turf that had been lifted up from the roots was covered again, and the landform returned to its original appearance, as if nothing had happened. Next to the two blazing bonfires stood a spear, and a finger-thick ox hair rope was tied to the spear tip.The ropes were covered with strips of various kinds of burlap, and the long funeral procession and horses passed silently through the ropes and the two piles of bonfires, and returned along the way they came.Two shamans sprinkle water and recite spells on both sides of the fire.

This is a Mongolian shamanic form of purification that prays for the dead as well as the living. Soon, Kublai Khan led the funeral procession back to Khala Helin, and he still had some matters to discuss with his brother.After that, he will return to Liupan Mountain with his staff, and make a decision of war or peace depending on the situation of surrender to Dali's various ministries. However, he knew very well that Mongolia would not be able to completely pacify Dali without a war. In Wan'an Palace, Mengge Khan waited silently for Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan met Mengge Khan with salutes, and briefly reported to his elder brother the incident of the military dispatch to Mount Liupan, especially mentioning that he sent an envoy to invite the new leader of Sakya, Bhasba, to hold the consecration ceremony for the Saban Stupa.

It turned out that after Kublai Khan was ordered to lead the military and political affairs of Monan, the young Basiba became the new leader of the Sakya sect.In order to strengthen the control over the Tubo area, Kublai Khan asked Basiba to go to Jinlianchuan for a while.In Jinlianchuan, Kublai Khan and Phagsiba hit it off.Kublai Khan was overjoyed, and gave Basiba a hundred Mongolian horse troops, and became a benefactor and a blessing field with him. However, as the only successor of the Sakya sect, Bhaspa must return to the Sichuan-Tibet area as soon as possible to accept the monk's ordination, because only in this way can he be recognized by many Buddhists in the Tubo area.

Before Kublai Khan returned to Hara and Lin, Ba Siba sent a letter to Mengge Khan.In the letter, he thanked Mengge Khan for recognizing the status of the Sakya Sect as the suzerain in Tubo, and was willing to actively follow Mengge's order to fully assist Mongolia in Kuohu (population census) in Tubo and appease the hearts of the people in Tibetan areas. "So, Basiba has left Liangzhou? As far as I know, the Kuohu work in the Tubo area is getting better. To be honest, we have to thank this little Buddha." Mengge Khan said. "Indeed. These are the two letters he sent when he left Liangzhou." Kublai Khan presented Basiba's letter.

Meng Ge Khan opened the letter and read it, and after reading it, a somewhat delighted smile appeared on his face.He put one of the lines, "The current emperor lives in Guangzhou, still remembers the current things in his heart, and issued an edict to exempt all monks, alchemists and other god-worshiping people from military missions, so that they can live and work in peace, and ordered the Sakya sect to manage all deacons and monks. The emperor's kindness, Buddhas should keep it in their hearts..." After reading it twice, I unconsciously said softly: "Those who know me, Basiba also."

For Mengge Khan, the surrender of Tubo really made him let go of his long-awaited thoughts. After Mengge Khan came to the throne, in order to consolidate his rule, he began to conduct a large-scale census, and expanded the scope of the feudal enfeoffment system. , Wokuotai Khanate and Chagatai Khanate also started this work one after another.In Mengge Khan's policy program, Tubo has always been one of the key areas he pays attention to.According to the actual situation of Tubo, on the one hand, he sent generals to conquer the unsurrendered parts of Tubo by force; within. In Kuohu in Tubo, Mengge Khan authorized Basiba to do it.Ba Siba didn't dare to slack off after taking the decree. He understood that although the Sakya faction maintained a normal master-subordinate relationship with Mengge Khan at the moment, if they were a little careless, their previous achievements might be wasted.Because the Sakya sect is not the only sect that maintains close relations with Mongolia, Mengge Khan also maintains close contact with religious leaders such as the Kadam sect and the Kagyu sect.Therefore, he spared no effort in this fight, and he knew that Mengge Khan was watching what he did all the time.

Mengge Khan put the letter on the case: "Kublai Khan, how much do you think Basiba can do in Tibet? How much influence can a seventeen-year-old youth have?" Kublai Khan got up and replied: "It is immeasurable! We must not underestimate his talent because he is young. Considering the current situation, he must be the one to realize the unity of politics and religion in the Tubo area." Kublai Khan said carefully Express your own evaluation of Ba Siba. Meng Ge Khan pondered for a moment, and said: "It's rare that Basiba has worked so hard! Kublai Khan, your choice is right. This young man is loyal and will definitely become a useful talent for the empire in the future." As far as the form of census household registration is concerned, Mengge Khan's management of Tubo has its own unique features.Instead of Sakya sending an agent to report the household registration list, he directly sent government officials to Tibet to check the household registration and divide the land boundaries.As for the appointment of representatives of the Sakya Sect to go there together, it is only for the convenience of familiarizing themselves with the local conditions as soon as possible, so as to better carry out the work, and at the same time formally recognize the suzerainty of the Sakya Sect, so as to reduce unnecessary panic and confusion in Tibetan areas.It is precisely because he has a large amount of first-hand information about various sects and local forces in Tubo that he has laid the foundation for his all-round management of Tubo. "Integration of politics and religion, education governing government, government nurturing education, the integration of politics and religion is a national policy, what does Brother Khan think?" Kublai Khan broke the momentary silence in the palace, and expressed his thoughts that he had been thinking for a long time. "Very good. Regarding this issue, I have quite similar thoughts to yours. This time I took the opportunity of offering sacrifices to my mother to call you back. There is a countermeasure that needs to be consulted." Mengge Khan looked at the situation in front of him. Map of Tubo, while pondering, said: "I think that enfeoffment of the kings should take into account the Mongolian enfeoffment system and the reality of various religious sects in Tibetan areas, so that the enfeoffment kings can form a relationship of benefactors and blessings with various religious sects in the Tibetan area. " "Yes." Kublai nodded in agreement. Mengge Khan stood up and paced back and forth in the tent hall: "Kublai Khan, I have another plan for this matter, you can see if it is worth discussing. You, Hulagu, Brother Alibu, Brother Mo, and others Brothers form donors and blessing fields with other sects in Tubo respectively, while I maintain regular contact with each sect and listen to your reports every six months. This will probably be more conducive to our control of Tubo and ensure that all sects dare not take it easy A different heart is born. What do you think?" "That's very good. The kings appoint town guards to manage government affairs and taxation in their fiefdoms. This is not only conducive to the unification of Tubo, but also promotes the complete unification of Tubo's religious orders, military orders, and government orders into the Mongolian Khanate. Since the situation in Tubo is basically Stable, the next priority is to conquer Dali. I want to return to Liupan Mountain tomorrow, and then pass through the Sichuan-Tibet area to send troops to Dali." "You have worked hard all the way, you might as well rest for a few more days." "At the time of triumphant return, I will have a heart-to-heart talk with Brother Khan again." Kublai Khan focused on the great cause of conquest, so he bid farewell to Mengge Khan and returned to Liupan Mountain the next day.The vast grassland has returned to its former tranquility.Larks and chickadees sing; flocks of sea hollies soar in the sky with their mighty wings, and sometimes, with the whistle of the falconer, land on the saddles of the horses...