Li Jue's first job was to collect taxes from Yanqi and Kucha for Yipi Shekui.
Relatively speaking, Yanqi was easier to deal with, since it was too far from the Tang Dynasty and was right next to the winter capital of the Western Turks. As long as troops were sent to scare them, they would obediently pay money to buy peace.
But for the traitor Kucha, things are a bit more complicated.
Although Yipi Shekui's title of Khan was conferred by Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, the Kucha people were known for their short-sightedness and showed no respect for the new Khan, Yipi Shekui. Not only did they refuse to pay taxes, they also beat up the envoys who came to collect them.
However, Yipi Shekui had only recently ascended the throne, and the people's hearts were unsettled. He was unable to send a large army to attack Kucha and could only swallow his anger.
In fact, according to Yipi Shekui's opinion, if Kucha didn't give it, so be it; there would be plenty of time to deal with them later. However, Wunu Shibi believed that Li Jue was new to the area and would find it difficult to gain the support of the Western Turks if he didn't make contributions to them, so he entrusted this task to him.
Upon hearing this mission, Li Jue knew what Wu Nu Shi Bi meant; it was nothing more than asking him to pledge his loyalty.
Since he wasn't using the Tang people as a pledge of allegiance, he didn't feel any psychological burden.
Therefore, he obtained a thousand men from Yipi Shekui and led them directly to Kucha, where they captured three small towns on the border of Kucha in just three days.
However, this time he only attacked the city and did not intend to expand the victory, nor did he order his soldiers to massacre and plunder the city according to the tradition of the Western Regions. Instead, he sent envoys again to make the King of Kucha fulfill his obligation to pay taxes.
When King Helibushibi of Kucha saw how brave Li Jue was, managing to capture three of his cities with only a thousand men, he was so frightened that he summoned his prime minister Nali to discuss countermeasures.
Nali had already heard about this matter, and upon meeting the King of Kucha, he immediately offered his advice.
"Your Majesty, although the Turks have been plagued by internal strife, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. Our little Kucha cannot afford to provoke them."
"In my humble opinion, we might as well just pay the taxes; after all, it's not much money..."
"You paid?"
In fact, King Helibusi of Kucha didn't care about the money. He had just been frustrated all his life. He finally managed to survive the Turkic civil war and thought he could finally stand up for himself, but in the end, he still had to be subservient to others.
"well!"
"Since the Prime Minister says so, then I'll pay to buy peace!"
Upon hearing this, Nali bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Actually, this amount of money is nothing to our Kucha. Your Majesty should be more concerned about the growing power of the Turks than about this small tax!"
"As far as I know, the Turks are not good at attacking cities, yet they have captured three cities with only a thousand soldiers..."
"Such achievements would make him a famous general, not only in the Western Regions, but even in the Tang Dynasty!"
"Your Majesty would be best to send someone to inquire about the Turkic general in charge of this attack on us. This man is our greatest threat!"
"Oh, right, right, I also heard from the people at the front that the Turks have actually learned how to make siege ladders!"
"They were caught off guard; the Turks climbed the city walls under cover of darkness, and that's how they were breached..."
One hundred li west of Kucha lies the Turkic camp.
Inside the camp of Wunushibi, several Turkic leaders were gathered around a fire, drinking mare's milk and chatting.
"Elder Wu Nu Shi Bi, that Shi Dakai from the Tang Dynasty has been gone for ten days, hasn't he?"
"Do you think he can receive taxes from Kucha?"
Wu Nu Shi Bi smiled almost imperceptibly upon hearing this.
"Whether we receive it or not is not important; what matters is whether he is of one mind with us Turks!"
"If it weren't for the Khan's consideration for our past relationship and his insistence on inviting him to serve as an official in the Turkic Khaganate, I would never have tolerated a Tang person living in the Turkic tent!"
"We grassland people should be herding sheep and horses. Once we get mixed up with the Han people, nothing good will come of it!"
"Yes, yes, Elder Wunushibi is absolutely right!"
"Zhonghang Yue of the Han Dynasty and Zhao Deyan during the reign of Jieli Khan really screwed over us steppe people!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Nushibi immediately raised his cup and looked at Wulichuo.
"Well said!"
"I'd like to offer you a toast!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Lichuo quickly raised his glass as well.
"Your subordinate thanks Elder!"
After drinking the five-chopstick cup in one gulp, he put down the cup and said...
“Wuli Chuo is absolutely right!”
"The reason why we grassland people are divided and kill each other is because when Khagan Jieli began to give important positions to Han people!"
"It's not that the Han people are bad, it's just that their methods of governing the country are not suitable for our grasslands!"
"Although our grasslands don't have a culture as splendid as the Han people's, we have our own traditions. The traditions that have been established on the grasslands for hundreds or thousands of years are the foundation of our existence!"
"If we use the Han Chinese methods, we'll immediately get diarrhea like a horse that's just had some dew on it, hahaha!"
As soon as Wu Nu said this, everyone burst into laughter. But after the laughter subsided, they asked the same question again.
"Elder, do you think this Tang man can collect taxes from Kucha?"
Wu Nushibi shook his head upon hearing this.
"Disaster!"
"If he had brought 50,000 men this time, there might have been some hope. But he only brought 1,000 men, so frankly, it's impossible!"
"Although Kucha is a small country and has always been a vassal of our Turks, it can still muster an army of 50,000."
"That kid Shi Dakai only took a thousand men to collect taxes; it would be a miracle if he even got them back!"
The others nodded in agreement, also feeling that Shi Dakai had brought too few people.
However, even if he wanted to bring more, he couldn't. Their Khan only brought three thousand men with him this time, and being able to give him a thousand men was already a great honor.
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