To the west of the vast Turpan Han Hai Desert is a small city named Liu City, and to the north of Liu City is the famous Flame Mountain.
The young Prince Abudullahaha reined in his horse in the vast Han Hai Desert, gazing into the distance with deep eyes and raised sword-like eyebrows, lost in thought.
"Go! Go! Go! Whoa!"
Several riders galloped up, led by a general with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and a fierce appearance, who was his confidant, General Mansuer Boke, the commander of hozhou.
Yarkand is a country established by the Uyghur people; in this country's official system, officials are collectively called "Bek", and there are more than thirty types of Beks, large and small.
The highest is the governor of a province, called aqim Bek; those who assist him are called ishaqa Bek or ishhan Bek; those who manage land and grain taxes are called ghaznaqi Bek; those who manage craftsmen and construction are called naqib Bek; those who manage water conservancy are called mirab Bek; those who manage market trade are called bazar Bek; those who handle all criminal cases and lawsuits are called qazi Bek, and so on.
Upon seeing Prince Abudullahaha, General Mansuer Boke hurriedly dismounted and saluted, saying, "great Khan, we just received news that the subordinates of the third prince, fourth prince, and little prince have started fighting in Turpan city."
"Just as expected, it seems the time for me to return to Turpan is ripe!" Prince Abudullahaha sighed deeply.
He was the eldest son of Prince Abudureyimu, and the most valiant prince of Turpan.
Originally, he was appointed aqim Bek (governor) of Chalish by his father's order, guarding the western frontier of Turpan.
Later, King Muhammati Xia of Hami to the east became restless, so his father sent him to move his garrison to Liu City to deter hami.
After arriving at Liu City, he prepared to make a big move, stockpiling supplies in the oasis of bicun and chiting within the Han Hai Desert, and accumulating grain and stationing troops in heifengchuan, vowing to conquer hami.
Unexpectedly, before the army moved, his old father passed away due to illness.
Supported by his subordinates, he announced his succession in Liu City.
As his father's death was too sudden, the third prince Ibrahim, fourth prince Babai, and little prince Ismail, who remained in Turpan city, each had their own followers and contended for the throne.
His subordinates advised Prince Abudullahaha to return to Turpan city as soon as possible, but the wise prince felt that returning too early would only plunge him into a chaotic war with his brothers; it would be better to stay put and wait until his brothers could no longer control the situation, and then return to take charge.
Indeed, the third brother, fourth brother, and little brother respectively occupied the east city, north city, and west city of Turpan.
No one was willing to submit to the other, and they started fighting fiercely.
"great Khan, shall we return to Turpan city now?" General Mansuer Boke asked respectfully.
"No, Mansur, wait a little longer, wait until the ministers ask me to return," Prince Abudullahaha said with a smile.
His judgment was correct; after another month, the three princes were fighting each other within the city, but none could eliminate the other.
The once prosperous and wealthy Turpan city became ravaged and scarred.
The old ministers from the era of Prince Abudureyimu could no longer sit still; they urgently hoped for a strong and capable person to step forward and take charge of the overall situation, ending this chaotic state.
The old ministers thought of the Old Khan's eldest son, Prince Abudullahaha, and one after another wrote to him, requesting him to return to Turpan city and preside over state affairs.
Upon receiving the letters from these old ministers, Prince Abudullahaha chuckled and personally led five thousand soldiers back to Turpan city.
Before leaving, he summoned his brother Sultan Sulitang, his full brother and most trusted sibling, saying, "brother, i am returning to take charge of the overall situation, and the defense of the Liu City area will be entrusted to you.
I will give you three thousand soldiers; you must defend Liu City and prevent King Muhammati Xia of Hami from raising an army to attack."
"brother, rest assured, as long as your little brother is here, Liu City will remain," Sultan Sulitang guaranteed, patting his chest.
"Mmm," Prince Abudullahaha nodded, said no more, and led his army swiftly westward.
The beautiful hami city is famous for its "qionglong" melons and beautiful girls.
This place was originally the Hami Garrison of great ming, located at the hub of the ancient silk road, a geographically extremely important location.
The silk road was a trade route for political, economic, and cultural exchange between china and the western regions, also known as the "golden road".
ming dynasty people believed, "only what are now called hami, qiqin, Mongol, handong, anding gate, and eduanchaxun were all borders of china in previous dynasties, the former lands of dunhuang, jiuquan, and yiwu; during the hongwu and Yongle periods, due to the submission of their local chieftains, garrisons were established; these lands are situated near our border, close to the north, and cannot be generally regarded as foreign countries."
The ambitious and strategic hongwu emperor of great ming forced the surrender of the Mongol Yuan imperial clan member king wuna shili of hami and others, establishing anding gate and handong garrisons to suppress the hami region, "taizu pacified the Uyghur lands, established anding gate and other garrisons, gradually pressing towards hami."
taizu's efforts bore fruit during the chengzu period; the Yongle emperor established the Hami Garrison, "making it the throat of the western regions; all foreign envoys entering to pay tribute were ordered to have hami translate their message and report it."
History records, "ascended the altar and beheaded loulan, sent a proclamation to reclaim hami.
Success achieved, inscribed on the celestial mountain, post stations established along passes and rivers."
However, great ming's jurisdiction over hami was mainly of a loose control nature; the real power in hami was held by the local chieftains, big and small.
By the fourth year of longqing, the Khan of Yarkand conquered the seven chieftains of hami, and hami thus became a dependency of Yarkand; the Hami Garrison of great ming became a historical term.
Eyebrows like crescent moons, eyes large and round, dancing like swaying willows, Uyghur girls are truly beautiful!
Coupled with sweet raisins and "qionglong" melons, King Muhammati Xia of Hami's heart was intoxicated.
He was a wise man with noble blood, a seventh-generation descendant of Genghis Khan, and a descendant of the chagatai Khan tughlugh Timur.
In 1605, he led over a thousand soldiers into hami; to gain the support of the local Uyghur people, he claimed to be a descendant of the prophet from arabia.
This was actually a lie fabricated to strengthen his prestige, just as han people often fabricated auspicious signs at their birth after becoming emperor to prove they were mandated by heaven; it achieved good results, and with the support of the local Uyghur people, he established a theocratic regime.
Mu Hanmaitixia was a ruthless man; after becoming king of hami, he didn't even acknowledge his ancestor Genghis Khan, ordering a stone tablet to be engraved in the royal palace with the seven large characters "descendant of muhammad", and also claiming his family was "white bones" with noble blood, while non-royals were "black bones".
To maintain the sacred and inviolable bloodline, it was stipulated that the royal family could not intermarry with "black bones".
It truly echoed the saying: if the heart is not ruthless, the dominion is unstable.
The king of hami was eating melon and enjoying song and dance when his in-law, Khoja Yusufu of the White Mountain Sect, entered the main hall.
hami and Kashgar believed in the White Mountain Sect, which was incompatible with Yarkand, Turpan, and other places that believed in the Black Mountain Sect.
In fact, both the Black Mountain Sect and the White Mountain Sect belonged to the Naqshbandi branch of Sufism; their scriptures were largely similar, the only difference being that those who supported the Black Mountain Sect were mostly Kyrgyz, wearing black clothes and black hats, while those who supported the White Mountain Sect were mostly Kazakh, wearing white clothes and white hats.
Mu Hanmaitixia and Yusufu were not only political allies but also in-laws.
Mu Hanmaitixia's daughter and Yusufu's son Idayatule (apak Khoja in later generations) were betrothed in a child marriage.
"your highness, we just received news that Prince Abudullahaha has led his army back to Turpan city.
Now that Prince Abudureyimu is dead, his sons are contending for the throne and internal strife has erupted; why don't you lead your army to capture Turpan and liberate this beautiful and fertile land from the hands of the Black Mountain Sect?" Yusufu's voice was sonorous and powerful, full of temptation.
Whether it was a holy war or not didn't matter; the key was the four words "beautiful and fertile" that moved Mu Hanmaitixia.
He led ten thousand hami soldiers and marched aggressively towards Turpan.
The sweet melons of hami, the grapes of Turpan, the great king of hami wanted them all!
