Chapter 395: The Setting Sun Is Infinitely Beautiful

"Move! Behave yourself!"

Outside the city of Mulu, a Tang soldier kicked an old man who was reluctant to leave, sending him sprawling to the ground. The old man had broken away from the column and stood rooted like a statue, gazing back at the vast city of Mulu, unable to tear himself away.

The local people of Mulu all around, however, completely ignored him. Like walking corpses, they trudged toward the sand dunes to the east under the "protection" of the Anxi Expeditionary Army soldiers.

They appeared silent and numb.

"You lot go on ahead. Don't hold up the main business."

Fang Chongyong stepped forward and waved dismissively at the Tang soldiers before him. He helped the old man to his feet, but the other seemed far from grateful—once up, he spat right onto Fang Chongyong!

This enraged Fang Chongyong's personal guards. They instantly rushed forward and hacked the old man—whose ethnicity was unknown and who clearly had a death wish—to death with a flurry of blades.

Blood even splattered onto Fang Chongyong's uniform.

"Bury him."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said nothing more, nor did he reproach his guards.

If curses could kill, Fang Chongyong believed he would have died countless times already. He was quite magnanimous when it came to offenses from the dead.

Fang Chongyong knew full well that this kind of hatred could not be resolved in the short term.

Whether it was the Tang army or the locals of Mulu, each side clung to its own reasoning. The so-called "my hero is your enemy"—when contradictions cannot be reconciled, only the blade can speak.

After all, martial virtue is also a form of virtue.

If one day the Western Regions fell to the Tibetans, then the Tibetans would only do worse.

Ever since the remnants of the Arab army from West Asia departed Mulu, the city's residents had ceased making trouble. They seemed to understand what fate awaited them next. Fang Chongyong employed every trick in the book—in short, he intended to wipe Mulu off the map.

The locals departed in batches. Some of them would ultimately be taken by the Tang army to Suiye Town for resettlement. The rest would be resettled in various small states west of the Congling Range.

Of course, formal household registration was out of the question; most people's status would be reduced to slavery.

Policies akin to "mixing in sand" would continue even after Fang Chongyong led the Anxi Expeditionary Army away from the Western Regions. These policies of intermingling different ethnic groups would keep the political forces in these regions perpetually fragmented, never able to form a united front.

The "refugees" of the Mulu region, former Turkic nobles, chieftains of the Turgish tribes, the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, Tang border residents, and so on—west of the Congling Range, various forces were deeply entangled. They could never unite and could only huddle together in their own separate groups for warmth.

Then they would vie for the Great Tang's favor in hopes of faring better locally. The newly established River Central Protectorate existed precisely for this purpose. It looked similar to the Anxi Protectorate, but in reality its costs were far lower, and it ensured no problems would arise in the short term.

This move would greatly reduce the Great Tang's cost of governance here. After all, the Tang's core territories were simply too far from west of the Congling Range!

As for anything more, Fang Chongyong had no good solution either. After all, he was not Brother Ji.

Father dead, mother remarried—everyone looks out for themselves!

"Jiedushi, the people have mostly been evacuated. Should we set fire to Mulu now? It's just a fortress left anyway."

Che Guangqian came over, clasped his fists in salute, and asked.

"Burn it. Otherwise, the whereabouts of all that wealth in Mulu will be hard to account for."

Fang Chongyong laughed in spite of himself and shook his head.

The Anxi Expeditionary Army had given free rein to looting this time, and they didn't even have to hand anything over to the national treasury. No matter what, they had to put on a show here at Mulu.

Killing and burning—if you only kill, that won't do; burning is also a necessary procedure. The so-called destroying corpses and erasing evidence, leaving no witnesses—years later it could all be whitewashed into a benevolent army.

Seeing that he seemed somewhat melancholy, Che Guangqian softly consoled him: "Jiedushi, Mulu is indeed fine, but it was the Arabs' tool to use against us. Such a fine thing, if you cannot have it, you must destroy it..."

He thought Fang Chongyong was lamenting that this magnificent city of Mulu was now reduced to ruins.

"The setting sun is infinitely beautiful, only it is near dusk. This Jiedushi is not worrying about Mulu."

Fang Chongyong shook his head and looked at the sunset hanging above the city wall, silently reflecting in his heart:

This was probably the farthest place the Tang army would ever set foot, and probably the last time they would come here.

Che Guangqian did not understand that this departure from west of the Congling Range should be a final farewell.

Not a temporary separation.

"Jiedushi, no matter who the new Son of Heaven is, he will need a sharp blade in hand to subdue the four quarters.

The Jiedushi need not worry about court politics.

No matter who the new Son of Heaven is, without the Jiedushi, no one can hold down these Western Regions."

Che Guangqian said without batting an eye.

His judgment was not poor; he simply lacked the skill of "foresight." Moreover, as a military man, he lacked keen perception of social change.

Any nation or force, once it begins to rot, will find that the military rots last.

If even the military has begun to rot, it means the end of the road has been reached. The Great Tang's army had not yet rotted, but the foundations of society had already rotted. It was only a matter of time before this spread to the military.

"Then you'd better ask a few people from Hebei. The views of Hebei people might be completely different from yours.

Never mind, go and arrange the burning of the city. This Jiedushi is ready to withdraw as well."

Fang Chongyong gave a long sigh and did not explain further.

Che Guangqian had no choice but to take his men and burn the city.

He was a true-born Guanzhong man, generally more concerned with the Western Regions, which was also the core interest of Guanzhong people.

That Che Guangqian did not know the situation in Hebei, did not know how Hebei people thought, was perfectly normal.

Much of the rations needed by the Anxi Expeditionary Army had been diverted from Liangzhou. And the diverted stockpiles had to be replenished. Where to replenish them from? The answer was Hebei. Hebei had abundant grain and low transport costs—cheaper than canal shipping from the Two Huai regions.

Fang Chongyong and his men's management of the Western Regions, the benefits to the Great Tang's border security—Hebei people could not feel any of that. Whether it was the Tibetans or the Arabs, no matter how fiercely they fought, they could never reach Hebei.

But the Tang court levied heavy taxes on Hebei, and every Hebei person felt it deeply. There was no question of who was right or wrong here; it was simply a matter of balancing interests.

Feudal rulers, too, needed their idealized "peace and tranquility."

"Peace" meant hoping the exploited and oppressed would not make trouble; "tranquility" meant hoping all the benefits would go to them.

Fang Chongyong took another look at Mulu under the sunset. The central fortress had already begun to burn, while the houses of the outer city had long since been torn down by the locals themselves when they were driven out.

By now it was already a wasteland—not a hair left.

"Eh? Isn't this the later capital of the Seljuk dynasty!"

Fang Chongyong slapped his forehead and finally recalled why this prime piece of land called Mulu felt so familiar.

In Central Asia, finding a location with natural geographic conditions as fine as Mulu's was not so easy. So any place with even some farming potential would become a renowned presence in later ages.

For example, the Stone Kingdom's Zhezhi City in history was later Tashkent, the Huoxun Kingdom was later Khwarezm, and the Kang Kingdom's capital Samojian was later Samarkand.

Mulu City was naturally no nobody either; it was the capital of the later illustrious Seljuk dynasty.

Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong felt even more certain that he had not demolished the wrong city. Great Tang was merely a passerby here; one day, a regional hegemony centered on Mulu City would inevitably rise again.

Whether or not Mulu City was demolished now would not affect this ultimate outcome.

"Having dealt with matters out here, Great Tang must also begin dealing with its own affairs.

But have those certain people who live in a drunken stupor realized that problems need to be dealt with?"

Fang Chongyong asked rhetorically, as if talking to himself, yet still had not taken a step to leave the outer city gate of Mulu City.

He recalled the various kinds of hypocritical prosperity within the wards and markets of Chang'an, and did not think those people believed Great Tang would face any trouble.

Just then, He Changqi came over leading a squad of personal guards from the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army. Seeing that Fang Chongyong had not yet departed, he stepped forward, saluted, and asked, "Jiedushi, why haven't you set off yet? This subordinate just led men on a round of inspections through the city, and Mulu City is already empty inside. The fortresses have all been set ablaze."

In his view, Fang Chongyong should have left together with the others long ago. And he, leading the personal guards of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, was the one left behind to do the "dirty work."

"Just having a casual look."

Fang Chongyong brushed him off with a casual remark.

"Jiedushi, no need to worry.

Your share has all been sorted out for you by the brothers.

Don't you have an imperial-granted estate outside Chang'an? We'll move the wealth there and hide it."

He Changqi leaned in and said in a low voice.

At this moment, Fang Chongyong was already walking with them toward the camp where the camels were stationed not far away. The Tang troops who had come to Mulu this time had mostly departed one after another.

"No need. Send my share to Huaqing Palace for His Majesty to inspect.

If you don't send it to Huaqing Palace, none of you will have it easy. What you've already swallowed, you'll spit back out.

Our Sage's temper isn't very good. Don't even think about playing tricks in front of him."

Fang Chongyong gave a scoff and waved his hand, signaling He Changqi that there was no need to curry favor.

If you want money, you cannot want power; if you want power, you cannot want money. To covet both is the path to disaster.

Fang Chongyong felt that he was young yet held high position and great power. If he further disregarded his dignity to amass wealth, it would inevitably give people ideas.

According to Brother Ji's way of thinking, money was something where what I give you, you cannot refuse, and what I don't give you, you cannot reach your claws for.

It wasn't about living in poverty; rather, whether you had money or not had to be decided by Brother Ji.

It was very easy for Fang Chongyong to get money; he just needed to return to Chang'an and cry poor in front of Brother Ji. There was no need to take from these spoils that were not counted toward military merit.

"Jiedushi, the portion for His Majesty has already been arranged. No need to worry.

This time at Mulu City, we're scooping from the sea, and it's all thanks to the Jiedushi's merit. Moreover, after returning to Zhezhi City, we'll use military scrip freely. In short, we must recoup our costs in one go, then bring these treasures back to Chang'an.

How could we shortchange the Jiedushi's share!"

He Changqi said, taking everything upon himself. In his view, Fang Chongyong's courage was "too small."

The two had now mounted their camels and were chatting as they rode.

"After returning to Chang'an, remember to report me for being insatiably greedy in the Western Regions and plundering the localities. I will guarantee your promotion to Military Commissioner of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army."

Fang Chongyong said suddenly with a calm expression.

"Jiedushi! That won't do! If this subordinate takes that position, how could I command the respect of the men?"

Had he not been riding a camel, He Changqi would have nearly dropped to his knees for Fang Chongyong!

This was not a question of whether he wanted it or not, but rather that the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, from top to bottom, had all received tangible benefits from Fang Chongyong. If He Changqi reported him, not only would he be selling out his master for personal gain, but it would also be a despicable act of betraying trust!

In the army, whoever earned such a reputation truly could not survive anywhere.

Wasn't the reason Fang Chongyong now commanded his troops like his own limbs precisely because he led with honor and always thought of his subordinates when it came to benefits?

Where people's loyalties lay was plain for all to see.

"I will find trouble with you in public and confiscate your share of the wealth.

After you nurse a grudge and report me, you will certainly no longer be able to stay in the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army. I will then use the opportunity to arrange for you to go to Hedong as Military Commissioner of the Datong Army.

Do a good job over there. My father-in-law has connections there, and someone will look after you."

Fang Chongyong looked into He Changqi's eyes, commanding authority without anger, making it impossible to refuse this request.

"Is the Jiedushi saying... there will be changes in Chang'an?"

He Changqi's face showed a look of alarm, but after thinking it over, he felt it was quite normal.

That sixty-something undying old dog of an emperor still wouldn't step down from his throne! Which prince didn't wish for him to die early?

With this kind of background, how could Chang'an not be in turmoil? It was only a matter of time.

"Now that's a long story. One day, I might even have to count on you to save my life!

When this fierce tiger that is the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army arrives in Chang'an, its claws and fangs will all be bound and unable to move. It truly won't be as comfortable as you imagine.

If I could, I actually wouldn't want to be the Military Commissioner of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army either. But the Sage cannot possibly let me go. Do you understand this reasoning?"

This time, He Changqi had truly understood.

"Jiedushi, why not find a prince as our backer and directly drag that old emperor down from his throne? The hell with him!"

Taking advantage of the absence of anyone around, He Changqi lowered his voice and said.

In fact, it wasn't just him; many generals in the Tang army had the same thought.

Brother Ji was already old and could not give them the future they wanted. Finding a prince as a backer was the proper thing to do.

This was very realistic, and also human nature.

"Saying such things to me is one thing; I'll just treat it as you running your mouth. But if you say it recklessly elsewhere, you'll lose your head."

Fang Chongyong could not help but scold him.

"Hehe, this subordinate just speaks without thinking, but I still know when I can open my mouth and when I cannot.

I'm not stupid!"

He Changqi rubbed his own big round head.

He had done so many taboo things before; what's one more rebellion?

Anyway, we're all going to die; more debts don't burden the body.

「Jiedushi, after we return to Chang'an, we'll be fine; anyway, it was like that before.

But will you really have your military authority taken away?

The Yinqiang Xiaojie Army itself has fewer than three thousand troops; with no other posts, you're essentially just a military commissioner.

「No matter what the court says, they'll also have to make you a king, right? 」

He Changqi muttered resentfully.

This expedition to the Western Regions can be said to have accomplished everything in one battle; not mentioning rewards, they even took away his military authority—truly treating everyone under heaven as fools!

「Come on, come on, bestowing a kingship on someone of a different surname doesn't end well; you don't need to curse me. 」

Fang Chongyong quickly waved his hands, "A tall tree attracts the wind; a gun that sticks out gets shot." Don't look at the many "different-surname kings" in the Tang; those were all strategies the court adopted during times of extreme political instability.

For example, Ji Ge's earlier Prince of Hanyang Zhang Jianzhi during Emperor Zhongzong's reign, and the series of different-surname kings after the An-Shi Rebellion, were all such strategies.

As for the late Tang, different-surname kings were just Ji Cao; Zhu Wen even got himself made Prince of Liang—no need to mention it.

「I think it's better to send you to Hedong early; with your big mouth, staying in Chang'an will sooner or later get you into trouble. 」

Fang Chongyong couldn't help retorting at He Changqi, then rode his camel forward, accelerating.

(End of chapter)