Chapter 359: Record of the Westward Journey

Inside Ye Zhi City, soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army under Fang Chongyong were searching the city for timber, then preparing to build a ferry crossing and granary on the lake shore at the westernmost part of Hot Sea. It was only two or three li from Ye Zhi City.

There were not many tall trees near Ye Zhi City, and since he wanted to remilitarize the city, Fang Chongyong could only target the "shops" inside Ye Zhi City.

Inside the city there were many customary stalls, all enclosed with timber. Tujishi officials levied a market tax based on stall size, collecting once daily and charging whoever occupied the spot.

That timber could be used to build the ferry crossing and granary.

Since they were "ownerless goods," they could be torn down without objection.

"Sir, this shop can't be torn down!"

In front of a stall piled with fruits in Ye Zhi City, a Sogdian Turk shouted, blocking the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldiers who came to forcefully dismantle it.

He had paid a month's worth of market tax in one go to "occupy the stall," and now no one would return the money to him!

"This shop wasn't built by you, why are you barking like a dog?"

A Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldier pressed the hilt of his sword to the Turk merchant's chin and demanded, his tone unfriendly.

"Sir, I've paid the tax, a month's worth, with ten days left. With so much goods, if you tear down the shop, I'll have nowhere to go!"

The Sogdian Turk seemed a little single‑minded, defending himself in awkward Chinese.

He had only lost ten days of tax, yet he looked as if his mother had died. The Turk merchant knelt and pleaded bitterly; after a long while, the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldier reluctantly produced a "military voucher" from his sleeve and handed it over, with a disdainful expression.

"Our Fang Jiedushi said that any civilian loss caused by official business must be compensated. This military voucher can be exchanged for silk in the Western Regions, worth one hundred wen, exactly the tax for ten days."

After speaking, the few men—called Qiu Ba—didn't hesitate to beat the kneeling Turk with fists and kicks, then summoned the Tujishi people behind them to come and dismantle the timber. As for the one‑hundred‑wen loss, they would demand it back from the Tujishi guards of Ye Zhi City.

Fang Jiedushi said that damaging others' property required compensation, but he didn't say that those who obstruct official business couldn't be dealt with! When it comes to dead‑handed money‑hungry corpses, the Qiu Ba's principles are still clear.

Both a voucher and a fist.

Now only a thousand Tang troops remain in Ye Zhi City, solely to establish the Ye Zhi ferry and transfer the grain coming from Hot Sea. The city's reconstruction has also been scheduled, and in the future these Western Regions Turk merchants will no longer be allowed to set up stalls inside the city, only at the new market near the ferry.

Ye Zhi City will be placed under full military administration, its walls rebuilt, serving as the bridgehead of the Western Expeditionary Army!

And as a final retreat route in case of defeat!

Before victory he already considered defeat; Fang Chongyong had anticipated the worst case and optimized the food routes and logistical supply lines.

At this moment, the main force of the Western Expeditionary Army had marched north to Suiye City, and Wang Nande had already occupied the ruined Suiye City without bloodshed, stationing troops at the foot of Jiedan Mountain on the north bank of Suiye.

Jiedan Mountain is the sacred mountain of the Tujishi; for a new Tujishi Ten‑Clan Khagan to ascend with legitimacy, imperial appointment alone is insufficient—he must also lead his troops to the foot of Jiedan Mountain to perform a sky‑worship ceremony before he can command his followers.

Otherwise his name would be illegitimate and his words unsound.

After learning that the front was progressing smoothly, Fang Chongyong also led the main force of the Western Expeditionary Army north of Suiye City to the army camp there to rendezvous with Wang Nande.

At the same time, he split off a detachment, ordering He Changqi to lead two thousand Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldiers westward, not stopping at Suiye City but marching to the vicinity of the famed 'Ashibulaicheng' to set up a warning outpost for the main army.

Ashibulaicheng was once the royal city of Western Tujue, famed for its proximity to the Ashibulaicheng River. The area is rich in high‑quality turquoise, which is continuously sold by Western Regions merchants to Chang'an.

It also served as a leisure spot for the Western Tujue Ashina clan; although the city was tiny and militarily insignificant, the scenery there was exceptionally beautiful.

However, Ashibulaicheng today, like Suiye City, is reduced to broken walls and ruins.

The surrounding area is filled with merchants and thieves from various Western Regions nations and their retainers, slowly gathering at the water‑supply point to form a settlement that lacks even basic defenses; normally the Tujishi merely collect market tax there and do not manage the settlement's daily affairs.

West of the Ili River Valley, these scattered pockets of power are extremely dispersed; every tract of land that can reliably supply food and water is very small. These oases, aside from a few locally limited specialties, lack almost everything else.

Most essential local goods must be imported from outside.

Barren land, distinctive local products, and a disproportionately developed trade are their common traits.

Because of this, Great Tang's administration of Suiye Town has always been unusually lax; household registration and population accounting are beyond discussion. Even if they wanted to emulate the Central Plains, they wouldn't know where to start.

About sixty to seventy li west of Ashibulaicheng lies the long‑abandoned Julan City;

Further west of Julan City is Daluosi City, which was only recently captured by forces dispatched by Gao Xianzhi.

Currently, the cities east of Daluosi—including Suiye City—are almost all in a bizarre state of abandonment yet activity, a typical 'city without defenses' situation;

Cities west of Daluosi, however, largely remain intact, with troops stationed inside and officials maintaining daily operations.

Why are these cities distributed so peculiarly, so starkly divided?

The key lies in the war when Great Tang annihilated the Tujishi Suluk; almost all cities east of Daluosi were destroyed in that conflict.

Back then, Thus Character: Thus Character: Thus Character: Thus Character: Jinsikaiya's father, also a tribal chief under the Tujishi Suluk, was named Mohe Duotun, who then occupied Daluosi, Zhezhi City and other locations.

During Great Tang's campaign against Suluk, because he was on the right side, he received imperial bestowal after the war, and Shi State suffered no damage in that upheaval.

The reason Gao Xianzhi now dares to act against Shi State is that Mohe Duotun firmly sided with the Khagan of the Huang clan and Mohe Dagang.

When Great Tang first struck the Khagan of the Hei clan, he sent troops to assist Gai Jiayun in breaking Suiye and capturing the Fire Immortal, earning the title 'Prince of Shunyi'; but later, after Great Tang saw the Huang‑clan Tujishi rise, it switched support to the Hei Khagan, yet Mohe Duotun still failed to see the shift.

The relationships here are truly tangled and contradictory; right and wrong are hard to judge. Only a naïve girl like Thus Character: Thus Character: Thus Character: Thus Character: Jinsikaiya would think everything in the world is simply black or white, right or wrong.

Thus the current situation is that the Black‑clad Great Dashi and Great Tang, the two great powers, are fighting for control of the central river region after Western Tujue's decline. Essentially, the elites of the Western Regions states west of Congling are all closely linked to Western Tujue aristocracy.

It is a war of profit alone, unrelated to justice.

……

"This is Suiye City."

After two days of marching, they finally reached the legendary Suiye City. Seeing the ruined walls before him, Fang Chongyong placed his hands behind his back and let out a long sigh.

At the city gate one could still see people of all sorts coming and going, but the walls varied in height, the women's wall having long vanished, exposing irregular surfaces eroded by wind and sand.

The towers bore no flags, the walls were riddled with holes, and there were no soldiers guarding them.

All of this tells anyone inside that the great city has been abandoned.

The city walls span several li in length and width; within a radius of a thousand li, its scale is certainly not small, even arguably unrivaled.

Suiye City is built on a hill on the south bank of the Suiye River; opposite the river rises the great mountain, the sacred Tujue mountain Jiedan Mountain. Residents of Suiye City can see its snow‑capped peak year round.

"Back then Emperor Gaozong of Great Tang, to showcase the empire's might, deliberately rebuilt Suiye City on a reduced scale according to Chang'an's standards, so that people in the Western Regions thousands of miles away could feel Great Tang's strength and prosperity.

What a pity."

Beside Fang Chongyong, the recording officer Feng Changqing, who kept track of orders, said with regret.

"In those days Great Tang believed its iron cavalry had no borders; wherever it went, the land became its kingdom.

Now Great Tang only realizes that many places cannot be truly controlled, and are better left to local tribal administration.

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, not wanting to continue discussing this topic.

Indeed, during Emperor Gaozong's reign, the map shows a vast territory. But in reality, the Tang's control over the Western Regions was weak. The so‑called "large territory" existed only on paper.

It wasn't until the Kaiyuan era that the Tang actually controlled many oases within the "Hugged‑Arm Region," which corresponds to Fang Chongyong's former Xinjiang. More distant places, such as Broken Leaf City, were never truly under control.

The reason is simple: not that they couldn't win wars, but that transporting grain and troops across thousands of miles was truly unbearable!

Output was less than one‑tenth of the input!

Could the Tang really not truly control Broken Leaf City? In fact, if they were willing to spend money, it wouldn't be difficult at all.

Or rather, the lack of funds is the biggest obstacle.

The ruined Broken Leaf City before us seems to silently recount those glorious years.

Like a young man who believes his fists are invincible, capable of piercing the heavens!

This is the place where he once fought with fiery passion!

"Let's go in and take a look."

Fang Chongyong called out to Feng Changqing beside him and the dozens of personal guards from the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army.

The group entered Broken Leaf City and found that, although the exterior was dilapidated, the interior was a different world, with many people settled there.

The larger sections of the city featured orderly courtyards; the bigger ones even had arrow towers guarding all directions.

Stalls lined the roads, with merchants of varied attire and ethnicity. Most, however, were dressed in Western Region barbarian style: white robes and face‑covering headscarves.

Here, regardless of age or gender, almost everyone carried a blade.

"When the whale falls, all things are born; the officials have left, yet the keen‑scented merchants stay, and those who come to earn a living are reluctant to depart.

Look at these people; even if they see through our identities, they act as if nothing's amiss, doing whatever they please.

From their perspective, as long as we don't target them, it makes no difference whether Tang or Tujishi governs here.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but make a snide remark to Feng Changqing.

At this moment, Broken Leaf City could aptly be described with the four characters "governing by non‑action." The only difference is that its natural environment surpasses that of Yezhi City and it lies near the Turk Sacred Mountain, so even though the walls are ruinous and unmanned, there are still deep trenches and fortifications marking territories within.

They regularly paid trade taxes to the people of Tujishi, and Tujishi practiced a "free‑range" policy, rarely interfering with them.

Before entering the city, Fang Chongyong saw a massive Buddhist temple beside Broken Leaf City, called Great Cloud Temple.

It was a landmark erected by the Tang army, symbolizing Tang rule.

Yet once inside, Fang Chongyong discovered that the temples in Broken Leaf City were a chaotic melee: Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, Islam, and even some bizarre shrines, with many oddly dressed believers chanting scriptures at the courtyard gates.

They each kept to their own ways, like well water not disturbing river water.

A monk‑like figure approached Fang Chongyong and babbled incoherently; the envoy understood none of it.

Fang Chongyong stared at the bustling, tangled scene and truly didn't know what to say. He had only just crushed Tujishi, unseating the ten‑surname khans. Yet the people of Broken Leaf City acted as if nothing had happened!

"The flowers may not all be fine, but they are indeed blooming in profusion."

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing with a hint of helplessness.

"Jiedushi, Broken Leaf City cannot be defended; rebuilding would only tax the people and waste resources.

Better to let it simply burn out here.

Since it is an important stronghold on the trade route, and we cannot tightly control it, let it be.

Feng Changqing calmly persuaded him.

He knew that Fang Chongyong had taken time out of his busy schedule to come to Broken Leaf City to assess whether reconstruction was needed and whether the Tang army should truly control it.

Because Broken Leaf City's location is indeed crucial, allowing a "point‑to‑control‑the‑area" strategic effect.

However, from the inspection, Feng Changqing felt that Fang Chongyong had already extinguished the idea of rebuilding Broken Leaf Town.

It's not that he doesn't want to, but the cost is too great and unsustainable. Better to allocate limited resources to places in greater need.

At that moment, a man's hoarse shout came from not far away: "Noble lady of the Stone Country, young and beautiful—one bolt of silk for half an hour! Today only, no waiting! No silk? No problem, a bolt of silk's worth in gold, silver or copper coins will do!"

After speaking, the man shouted the same twice more in Great Food language and Tujishi language.

"Of the Stone Country?"

Fang Chongyong was momentarily stunned; the words "Stone Country" had become a sensitive topic. Where did this noble lady of Stone Country come from, now turned into a prostitute being displayed in Broken Leaf City for clients?

Fang Chongyong led his personal guards to the source of the shout and saw that the callers were a group of slave traders, dressed in various ethnic garb. They had enclosed a series of "private rooms" with hemp cloth.

The young beauties clad in luxurious silk were bound by rope at the wrists like livestock, heavily made‑up and lined up.

It seemed that whoever paid could pick one to enter for a session, much like goods displayed on a counter for customers to browse and choose.

However, it is obvious that if this price were set in Chang'an, the women's business would be so booming that they couldn't keep up with clients, fearing they wouldn't even have time to drink water.

But here in Broken Leaf City, a bolt of silk is exorbitant, more than ten times the Chang'an price.

Whether it's worth a session requires deliberation.

Those who can afford it likely have plenty of women already, so their enthusiasm can't be too high.

In Wuwei, Liangzhou, a Western‑region courtesan in her teens costs about twenty bolts of silk. That was in Hexi; here the courtesans are far more plentiful—any rich man can find a beautiful one he desires.

Those who can't afford it also can't meet the price.

Most of these are merchants' guards or attendants. Spending a bolt of silk to "enjoy" for half an hour is extravagantly wasteful. In the Western Regions, silk is hard currency; everyone wants it.

Precisely because of that, even though the slave traders shout loudly, the onlookers mostly just watch the spectacle, and almost no one is willing to spend that wasted money.

"Send a few personal guards to subdue that crowd, then later bring them to the main camp; I, the envoy, will question them personally."

Fang Chongyong gave Feng Changqing the orders and headed straight for the north gate of Broken Leaf City.

The Tang army's main camp was on the north bank of Broken Leaf's river. Clearly, he had no goodwill toward the slave traders and was too lazy to deal with them.

"Understood, I will attend to it at once."

Feng Changqing crossed his arms and saluted.

(End of chapter)