Chapter 11 Boyan Khan’s final campaign against Southeastern Europe

Chapter 1 Devouring Allies’ Territory

The east wind blows the guests' clothes, and the fallen catkins fly in the wind. There is no cold snow chestnut, and there is nothing to satisfy the hunger. The empty basket gnaws at the hungry rats, and the gluttonous lice worms crawl around the edges and tears the trousers. Isn't life like a dog and a chicken, just guarding the door all the year round. You can lobby thousands of people.

It's not too early to take advantage of the hardship, and the Qin Dynasty is almost a thief. The seals of the six countries, the golden chariot, the eyes full of glory are reflected in the mirror.

The Byzantines suffered consecutive defeats. Emperor Justin could not accept this reality. For the sake of his own face, he decided to completely retire from public life. His queen actually rubbed salt on his wounds and sent her lover, who had been defeated repeatedly by the Abars, to

He was given the crown prince's throne. In order to reduce losses, the Abar people built two long bridges, and then sent a large amount of food to the residents in the city to comfort them. The soldiers and civilians in the city who were already so hungry that their eyes were filled with stars opened their bellies to eat

, and all of them died that night due to indigestion.

The news of Alberin's murder reached Constantinople. Justin thought that there was hope that Italy could be pacified. He felt that there was support from the Turks behind him, so he immediately stopped attacking Persia. Because of this, another outbreak of war was triggered.

The long war in West Asia. At that time, the Persian Empire had occupied the Arabian Peninsula, and then went on an expedition to Ethiopia to control the southern Maritime Silk Road. At this time, the Persian Empire ushered in the most powerful period in its history, and at the same time, there were also

There was jealousy from neighboring countries. The Persian tsar Cusa was already over 80 years old, but after hearing the news that the Byzantines had adopted a hostile policy, he still personally led his army to the front line of the Euphrates River at lightning speed. As a result, the two countries fought against each other.

Under the leadership of an elderly monarch, a long-term war was fought. Just as the Persians were marching unstoppably westward, the great Turkic Khan Shi Dianmi passed away. After hearing the news, Justin's condition deteriorated sharply, and he had to withdraw from the military and political affairs.

Major matters were entrusted to ministers. Tiberius served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and took advantage of his position to send generous gifts to the Persians. He hoped to concentrate on conquering the Avars first, and then use the Avars' powerful cavalry to retaliate against the Persians. As a result, in 574

, he took a reckless action and personally led the army to attack the Avar Khan Court. Boyan Khan adopted the tactic of luring the enemy deep into the flanks and outflanking them, and defeated the Byzantine army and fled. Most of the soldiers who were originally brought with him were

They were new recruits who lacked training. When they saw the Avar cavalry coming over the mountains and plains, they immediately ran away with no resistance. Boyan Khan wrote a letter to mock Tiberius. The Byzantines suffered continuous defeats on the battlefields in all directions, and now they have

She had to lower her profile. Justin could not bear the responsibility of the country's imminent collapse, so she chose to retire and suddenly retained the title of emperor in name only. His queen Sophia did not care about her husband's misdeeds in the war he had just defeated, and personally killed her lover.

He was given the throne of the crown prince and was known as Tiberius II in history. The first major event of the new emperor just after he ascended the throne was to sign a friendship treaty with the visiting our delegation. He gave the Abar people 8

Wan Suoli received gold coins in exchange for peace with the Avar State. The Abar State established its dominant position in Eastern and Central Europe and was officially recognized by Western countries.

Tiberius once suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Boyan Khan, so he hated the Avar regime very much after he came to power. However, he was still very submissive at the beginning. For example, he once heard that the baby was trying to unite in the half

She was robbed by bandits on the road and lost many dance moves. She quickly took charge of investigating the matter personally to show her sincerity to the covenant between the two parties. Boyan Khan was a person who especially loved money and was good at enjoying life but was not willing to spend money.

He especially loved all kinds of food. Even when the two armies were at war, he never forgot to discuss cooking techniques with the chef. And Boyan Khan, like most monarchs, had a lustful character. He had many wives and concubines, and his children were

Not to mention. Since he is good at enjoying life, he naturally cannot do without the company of music. Boyan Khan spent a lot of money to hire artists and turned his palace into an out-and-out vocal music venue. Later, he was not satisfied with his assistant, and

He found Byzantine architects and built him a magnificent palace and luxurious baths, which eventually developed into a splendid imperial city. The newly built imperial city was circular, probably imitating the former capital of Rouran.

Mumo City. The construction of this palace marks that the Avars have given up their traditional nomadic life and begun to transform into a settled life. As their lives have become richer, the Chinese people have begun to enjoy life and give up their original pursuit of force.

Combat effectiveness began to decline.

In fact, this is the situation that the Byzantines most wanted to see. They did not hesitate to waste so much money on providing it to the Avars, just to use money to corrupt them and ultimately achieve the effect of defeating the enemy without fighting. But the Byzantines spent a lot of money

Although financial and material resources improved the relationship with the Avars, they also offended his allies, the Turks. At the funeral of the Western Turk Khan's room, the Byzantine envoy actually proposed a joint attack on Persia.

It was really unwise to make such a request on such a solemn occasion as a funeral, and was immediately scolded loudly by Shi Dianmi's second son. He said that everything you Romans tell is lies, and you have deceived us all with lies.

nation. They want to push us hastily into the danger of war so that you can enjoy the gains. After the war is over, you will turn your back on us. Don’t think that we don’t know. While you maintain friendly relations with us, you will also

The traitors formed an alliance with the enemies of the Avars. You have been deceiving our envoys for so long. You have been asking our envoys to climb the difficult-to-climb Caucasus Mountains and then reach your country. In fact, there are many shortcuts.

Go, you deliberately concealed it and wanted to use these places as your natural barriers. But you are wrong. If we Turks really want to conquer you by force, any barrier will be useless. We have conquered the whole world by force.

The best fighting nation, the whole world is our property.

This speech can be said to be very arrogant. This man also forced the Byzantine envoy to meet the Western Turkic Khan to have his head. In order to express his respect, the Byzantine envoy was forced to scratch his cheek with a dagger and use blood to express his secret.

However, they still failed to win the trust of the Turks. Soon the Western Turks army appeared in Europe. The chief Wu Tiwuer who was originally affiliated with the Avars rebelled against Boyan and defected to the Turks.

people. And led the Turkic army to attack the Byzantine territories on the Crimean Peninsula, posing a very serious threat to the Avars. The common enemy actually caused the two former enemies Boyan Khan and Tibilue to fight.

Cooperating together, the two sides formed a coalition and originally planned to go to the Volga River Basin to fight against the Turks. However, due to the invasion of Asia Minor by the Persians, the Byzantine Empire faced a more urgent danger. They had to march to the southeast first and started a war with the Persians. Already

The 83-year-old Cusa and personally commanded on the battlefield. Due to their numerical superiority, the Persian cavalry quickly surrounded the Byzantine army. At this critical moment, the Byzantines finally waited for the Avars cavalry, which came from the right wing.

He launched an attack and opened a hole in the Persian circle. He also broke into the Persian tsar's camp and urinated on the sacred fire. This humiliation was unbearable for Cusa and the Persian army finally withdrew its troops and returned to the camp. The war resumed.

After a few days, the outcome was still indecisive. The Persian tsar lost patience and finally ordered the army to retreat. The Byzantine and Avar coalition forces were unwilling to give up the pursuit. They pursued them all the way to the west bank of the Caspian Sea. The next year, they destroyed the aging Persian army on both sides of the Tigris River.

The king died in anger.

The Avars and the Byzantine Empire temporarily reconciled and joined forces to defeat the Persians. At this time, the Turks lost their troops in Crimea, and they had to withdraw to Asia. The rule of Boyan Khan was unprecedentedly consolidated, and the Avar Empire

The territory under its rule is already very vast, with many ethnic groups under it, most of which still retain more or less autonomy. Although this is a multi-ethnic country, through later research, it is clear that the ruling class of the Avars is Mongolian

Race. The Avar dead are buried without exception. When men die, weapons are usually buried with them. Most of them are imitation ritual weapons, not genuine high-quality weapons. Nobles also bury horses, and women are buried with precious metal ornaments.

Including all the previous barbarian histories, as a country becomes stronger, it will inevitably strengthen the improvement and construction of various systems. The same is true for the Avars. They have established a relatively complete bureaucratic system. The highest authority of the Avars

The ruler is the Khan, who the Arabs call "Ferran Tsar" (nShah) or "Lord of the Throne" because they believe that the Avar royal family has Sasanian Persian royal blood." Within the Avar Khanate, the Khan is

The personified symbol of the entire nation and society, he has the absolute highest power. Even if all the noble officials unite, it will be difficult to compete with him. The Avar Khans of all generations have personally led the troops in battle, and rarely leave the army to the command of others. Avar Khan

The country's political system was relatively mature from the beginning. It was different from the Huns who entered Europe before. The latter were originally a group of tribes that did not belong to each other and often implemented strategies to undermine each other. It was not until the Attila period that they unwisely unified.

But just after Attila died, he was soon trapped in the Neijiang River. The reason for this was that Attila's family status was originally relatively low and had nothing to do with the Li Ti family of the Huns royal family in the Han Dynasty, so it was difficult to convince the public: while Boyan

She is a member of the Yujiujian family of the Rouran royal family, and her traditional authoritative status makes her more respected." Avar Khan's first wife is called "a", which is "Kehejiao" in Rouran language or "Kehejiao" in Turkic language.

Dun". The highest official in Avar, second only to the Khan and equivalent to the Prime Minister of Rouran, is called "Jugurus", which is also the Turkic "Yehu". This name may be traced back to the late Western Han Dynasty. At that time, the Huns changed their name to "Zuo"

"Wise King" is "Hu Yu". When Boyan was in power, this official position was unknown and did not seem to have much real power. But later Ye Hu took over the Khan and monopolized military and political power. He was even called "Deputy Khan" by Europeans.

It is said that "politics are governed by Yehu, and sacrifices are made by Khan", which is very similar to the later Mongolian Taishi or the Japanese shogun. Under Yehu, there is "", which is equivalent to the Turkic "Qapqaghan" (silent slurping can

Khan), may be "Maodun" in Hunnic language, tentatively translated as "Maodun Khan". Under Maodun Khan, is "Tar", which is undoubtedly "Tahan" in Rouran language (reigned from 504 to 508)

The Rouran Khan Futu is known as "Tarkhan Khan") or "Tarkhan" (this is the name of Rouran Khan Anacan's sixth brother), which is also the Turkic official name "Dagan", which means

It is filial piety. Under his Khan, there is "Zhupan", which is the official name of the Western Turks "Chu Ban Chu" (cor), which can be translated as "Chu Pan". Under Chu Ban, it is "Zotan" or "", which is the most

The common Rouran official name "Tudorden" is the Turkic "Tutun" or the Manchu "Duduo". The popular Eastern European surname "Tudor" may also come from this. The above is

The main official titles of the Avar Khanate are known. They are very similar to the Turkic officials. They are all inherited from the official system of the original Rouran Khanate, and there are no new ideas.

In that era when the international situation was changing rapidly, if all aspects failed to keep pace with the times, they would soon fall behind. In 578 AD, Emperor Justin of Byzantium passed away. At this time, 104,000 Cravens suddenly crossed over.

The Danube River, like the Byzantine Empire, launched an attack. Originally, the 4 Cravens relied on the protection of the crisscrossing water network of the Danube Delta to avoid the rule of the Abars. But around 575, after Boyan Khan defeated the Franks and Gepids

, he wrote a letter to King Sklaven, asking them to surrender to him like other Germanic and Slavic countries. But he did not expect that this small country would reject him, and even openly executed the Avar envoy.

Yan Khan could just use this excuse to declare war on the Sklavians. But the Avars had no ships and could not cross the river, just like his ally Byzantine Empire borrowing ships. In order to retaliate against Byzantium and avoid the attack of the Avars, the Sklavians

Like the Byzantine attack, which caused great damage to the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine army could not defeat the Skravians who were going south, so Tiberius had to ask for help from the Avars. Boyan Khan led 60,000 cavalry and spent the previous

The Danube River, which had always been impassable, quickly defeated the Skravians. There were 15,000 prisoners of war who were taken by Avarma as slaves to Byzantium. There is an old Chinese saying that it is easy to invite the gods but difficult to send them away. Tiberius only now

Knowing that this was to lure the tiger away and drive the wolf away. The Avars had been on the land of the Byzantine Empire for more than a year and still had no intention of retreating. He also used the excuse to hunt down the remaining enemies and plundered all over the Balkan Peninsula. The Avars were taking advantage of the Byzantine Empire step by step.

The ground is approaching quietly, and they have long coveted the city of Simion.

In 579, just after receiving the annual coins from the Byzantine Empire, Boyan Khan pulled his army to the south bank of the Sava River. He planned to cut off the connection between the two cities of Simion and Xingi Shenong, and then defeat them one by one.

Boyan Khan forced the Byzantine residents in the upper reaches of the Danube to build boats for them to transport the 60,000 cavalry across the river. Because the Xinjishe farmers were condescending, they discovered the Avars' evil intentions, and then asked the bishop to see them.

Boyan asked him about the purpose of doing this. Boyan Khan was very sincere in the face of the other party's questioning. He swore to heaven in the name of the God of War that he had absolutely no intention of building a bridge on the Sava River. The wood was used to

Prisoners of war built a house. He also swore a lot of poisonous oaths, which the bishop seemed to believe. Boyan Khan seized the opportunity and took the initiative to ask the bishop. In Christianity, which oath is most likely to attract dangerous retribution? The bishop asked

After the Bible came out, Boyan Khan knelt down and solemnly vowed that he would never betray his friends. The bishop was very satisfied with his pious attitude. After returning, the residents of the city relaxed their vigilance against the Avars.

As soon as the bishop left, Boyan Khan asked the craftsmen to build the bridge overnight. After all, these engineers were Byzantines. They wanted to refuse this request in the name of insufficient wood. Boyan Khan pulled out the sword in his hand and forced these

Craftsmen. An engineer stood up and said bravely, even if we repair the bridge, our country and compatriots will die under your sword. We might as well not build the bridge for you, and forget about being killed by you for being patriotic. But

His colleagues didn't think so. They all made suggestions for the Avars. With their efforts, two bridges were built in one night. The next morning, the soldiers and civilians of Xingi Shenong saw a night on the Sava River.

A bridge spanning the north and south appeared between them, and everyone was surprised. The bishop came to Boyan again to negotiate with him. Boyan Khan replied that he had not converted to Christianity, so it was not a violation of his oath. The bishop was very

Angry, he said that God will definitely bring disaster to you. After the bridge was built, both sides of Xinji Shenji and farmers were surrounded by Abar people. At that time, many people in the city were harvesting wheat outside the city. They saw

The Avars rushed over and threw down their farm tools and ran towards the city. Boyan Khan told them to let them continue harvesting wheat to ensure that their lives could continue as before, and even the tax rate would be preferential in the future. After hearing this, the people

There was a cheer, so the farmers of Xinji surrendered without a fight. Then the Avars built another wooden bridge to the west of the city of Simion. The city of Simion was surrounded from all sides, and the reinforcements and food sent by Byzantium were all

It could not be sent in. Boyan Khan wrote to Tiberius, asking him to abandon the city of Simion as soon as possible, so as to reduce the casualties of his people and the loss of materials.

Byzantium believed that the city of Simion was the key to the Balkan Peninsula. If this city was handed over to the Avars, it would be fatal damage to Byzantium's European territory. However, the main forces of Byzantium are currently in West Asia to resist the Persians.

Unable to mobilize a large number of troops in a short time, Tiberius had no choice but to send envoys to negotiate with Boyan. Boyan was fully armed during the negotiation process and did not make any concessions to his position. The Byzantine envoys all returned without success.

Some of them drowned in the river on the way back. Tiberius had no choice but to send envoys to Italy to try to persuade the Lombard princes to break with the Avars, but to no avail. Faced with this situation, Tiberius also

There was no alternative. Fortunately, Boyan's marriage was in trouble at this time. Although both Buddhism and Christianity had taken root in the Avars, traditional shamanism still had a great influence on the Avars, and the status of shamans was also very high.

While the Avars were besieging Simion, a great shaman whom Boyan trusted very much eloped with one of his concubines and fled to Constantinople. This shaman was originally a Turk, and he planned to

He returned to Central Asia through the Black Sea. However, because the relationship between Byzantium and the Turks was also very tense at this time, he could only stay in Constantinople with the concubine of Boyan Khan.

Boyan Khan, as a hero of the generation, was actually cuckolded. He was naturally very angry and sent people to Constantinople to investigate the matter. But if the huge Constantinople wanted to find these two people,

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. For this reason, he negotiated with the Byzantines many times, but to no avail. The shaman often gave advice to the Byzantines and encouraged them to fight against the Avars. In this way, Boyan Khan would not know how to do it.

Let the city of Simion go. Although the city of Simion is surrounded by the Avars, it is very difficult to attack. Boyan cherishes the lives of his soldiers and does not want to use them as cannon fodder, so he wants to use the method of siege.

Forcing the soldiers and civilians in the city to surrender, the city was besieged for three years. In the end, a serious plague broke out in the city, but it still held on. One day in 582 AD, Boyan Khan suddenly announced that he would withdraw from the siege and return the siege to the city.

The residents sent a lot of delicious food, which was eaten by the hungry soldiers and civilians. Many people died of indigestion that night. The next day, the Anwar people entered the city of Amion that they had dreamed of without bloodshed.
To be continued...