Chapter 421: The Roaring Lingzhou

Setting out westward from Chang'an toward Hexi required taking the Longguan Road, a route opened during the Spring and Autumn period with a long and ancient history. When the people of Qin advanced from the "Western Frontier" into Guanzhong, it was this very road they took.

Setting out northward from Chang'an toward Lingzhou, however, required taking the Xiaoguan Road, a major thoroughfare opened no later than the Spring and Autumn period, one that had an enormous impact on Guanzhong.

This road headed straight north from Chang'an, passing through Xiaoguan and arriving at Yuanzhou (Guyuan City).

Only then was the first leg completed, still within the bounds of Guanzhong.

The second leg ran from Yuanzhou to the Yellow River, a long, narrow belt of canyon oases with a harsh climate.

This area already had a desert climate and could be considered the northeastern extension of the Hexi Corridor.

After reaching the Yellow River, the third leg began, following the Yellow River all the way to Lingzhou.

By this point, the grasslands had been reached.

The three legs combined formed the famous "Lingzhou Road." After the Tibetans took control of the Hexi Corridor, the Lingzhou Road became the sole route of the Silk Road after its rerouting!

The entire journey was twelve hundred and fifty li, precisely calculated by the Tang official administration. Along the Lingzhou Road, relay stations and folk inns appeared without interruption, with heavy traffic of people coming and going. This was also a major trade route. Specialty goods from the grasslands, particularly cattle and sheep, flowed continuously into Guanzhong through this road.

After three days of forced march, Fang Chongyong led the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army to Yuanzhou City and encamped there to rest and regroup.

Between here and Lingzhou, there was no longer any city capable of providing large-scale resupply, so it was essential to prepare everything needed for the road. Not only did supplies need replenishing, but the soldiers also needed rest, to ensure that the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army could mount their horses and fight the moment they arrived at Lingzhou.

Just after nightfall, the officers of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, who had long been holding back a bellyful of questions, came in unison to the command tent to press Fang Chongyong for answers.

"Jiedushi, weren't we supposed to go to Yangzhou? How come we haven't even left Guanzhong and we've turned around to head north to Lingzhou? This is a bit strange!"

He Changqi rubbed his round head and asked.

According to plan, after this trip to Huainan, he would "report" Fang Chongyong for embezzling goods in the wealthy Yangzhou, and afterward he himself would be transferred away from the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army.

But now the itinerary had changed, and the original plan could no longer be carried out.

"Jiedushi, this move is indeed rather unusual. If it was a feint, then the act was carried too far."

Che Guangqian also chimed in. He shared the same thought as He Changqi—the earlier military deployment to Huainan on official business did not seem fake. The logistical preparations were all very solid. Yan Zhenqing's several hundred attendants made it clear that a bureau coordinating military and civil administration was to be established there.

If it was an act, there was no need to take it that far.

"The Shuofang Army played a very big game this time, so big that they couldn't bring it to a close."

Fang Chongyong sighed softly. He seemed to have no recollection of this matter; it probably wasn't in the history books. But he did have an impression of the Uighurs' arrogance and overbearing behavior in reality.

One could only call it an accident within the inevitable.

"Some days ago, the Shuofang Army went to the Uighurs to buy ten thousand horses. The deposit was paid, but the Uighurs delivered ten thousand inferior horses."

Fang Chongyong said unhurriedly.

"Jiedushi, the Uighurs are probing to test our strength."

Feng Changqing, standing to one side, added.

"Who's to say otherwise? You and I can both see it, and I believe the people of the Shuofang Army can see it too. How could they swallow this?"

"So the Shuofang Army detained those ten thousand inferior horses and waited for the Uighurs to send someone over to negotiate."

"What they didn't expect was that within a few days, the Uighurs arrived at the city walls with tens of thousands of cavalry, swaggering and blustering on the opposite bank of the Yellow River from Lingzhou City, demanding that the Shuofang Army give an explanation."

"Either pay the balance or return the horses. There was no intention to negotiate whatsoever."

"And so, Li Guozhen, right in front of the Uighurs, gave Pugu Huai'en, the man responsible for buying the horses, ten military lashes, and returned those ten thousand horses to the Uighurs."

"Nor did he mention the matter of the deposit."

With a calm face, Fang Chongyong recounted what had happened so far.

He Changqi and the others were dumbfounded. The subsequent development of this incident was not what they had imagined.

If they were the ones handling this matter, either they would have backed down from the start and let it go, handled it low-key, and figured out a way to settle the score later.

But since the Uighurs' horses had already been detained, the matter couldn't end well without bloodshed.

Were the top brass of the Shuofang Army all kicked in the head by a donkey?

"Jiedushi, is that the end of it?"

Che Guangqian asked in disbelief. He couldn't help feeling that there was something strange about this affair.

"Don't you find it odd, why did the Shuofang Army go to the Uighurs to buy horses in the first place?"

"Who were they buying these horses to deal with?"

"I reckon it was precisely to deal with the Uighurs, so of course this matter isn't over yet."

Fang Chongyong gave a cold chuckle and asked in return.

No one spoke. They all waited for Fang Chongyong to continue.

Sure enough, Fang Chongyong went on:

"Afterward, Li Guozhen invited the Uighur Yabgu Guli Peiluo, along with a host of Uighur tribal chieftains, to come to Lingzhou City to discuss the horse-purchasing matter, saying the price could be renegotiated. This was tantamount to backing down."

"But the Uighur Yabgu was unwilling to come to Lingzhou in person. He dispatched his chancellor Dunying He, leading several dozen Uighur tribal chieftains, to come negotiate the horse trade, with their guards totaling over a thousand people."

"Li Guozhen and the others then planned to massacre all of them, and afterward announce to the outside world that certain Uighur retainers had attacked Lingzhou City, demanding that the Uighur Yabgu give an explanation."

Why did the direction of this story feel so familiar?

The officers looked at one another, all feeling as though they had heard a similar plot somewhere before. Only the word "Uighur" would need to be changed to "Khitan," and "Shuofang Army" to "Youzhou Army" or the like.

"Back then, the Pinglu Jiedushi An Lushan seemed to have done something similar."

Che Guangqian stated the answer directly.

Everyone in the command tent suddenly understood. No wonder it was so familiar—someone had already played this trick before!

"That's not all."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand and continued: "What I just said was 'planned,' meaning this hasn't happened yet. Pugu Huai'en secretly wrote a sealed letter and delivered it into the Sage's hands, detailing Li Guozhen and the others' plan. We are going to Lingzhou this time to clean up the aftermath."

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly. Brother Ji knew that he, as the former "Grand Envoy for Western Regions Affairs," was adept at handling problems with political means and could also lead troops in battle, so he had him reroute to Lingzhou at the last minute.

Otherwise, dispatching troops from the Hexi side would have been somewhat closer and more convenient.

It was just that Li Guangbi clearly did not possess Fang Chongyong's political finesse.

The current situation, because of the time gap created by those twelve hundred and fifty li of distance, had become murky and bewildering.

Did Li Guozhen and the others succeed, fail, or simply lose their nerve at the last moment and never act at all?

Brother Ji did not know, and Fang Chongyong knew even less. But clearly, by having the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army accompany them, Brother Ji had prepared for the worst.

These words directly silenced He Changqi, Che Guangqian, Feng Changqing, and the rest!

In truth, whether the Shuofang Army had dealt with the Uighurs successfully or botched it, it made no difference to the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army. They were going to clean up the situation; whether that situation was good or bad had nothing to do with them.

After all, they were not the ones who had caused it.

But now that this matter was merely Pugu Huaien "informing," things became rather more difficult to handle.

The mysterious and unknown is the greatest danger in the world.

Next is knowing but having no control.

No control means unknown risk.

What should be done?

"If the matter has not yet happened, then the court could establish a Shuofang Pacification Commissioner, modeled on the Western Regions Pacification Commissioner, to prevent the crisis from erupting.

Of course, this still would not solve the problem of the Uighurs growing increasingly powerful.

If Li Guozhen and the others have already succeeded, then the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army must cooperate with, or even take charge of, the Shuofang Army's defense, and would have no choice but to strike hard at the Uighurs!

At that point, who is right and who is wrong, and the cause of the incident would no longer matter—everything would be discussed only after the Uighurs were beaten down.

Jiedushi, is this what you mean?"

Che Guangqian asked in puzzlement.

"That is indeed what I mean, only the matter is not as simple as you think.

It is simple enough for the court to appoint me as Shuofang Jiedushi—a single edict would do. But for me to seize military authority from Li Guozhen and the others—how could that be easy!

The Sage may consider them guilty, but the officers and men of the Shuofang Army certainly do not consider them guilty!

If the court changes commanders at a time like this, what if the Shuofang Army mutinies?"

Fang Chongyong looked around at everyone and asked.

This was a massive pit that Brother Ji had dug. If Brother Ji had any conscience, any sense of responsibility, he should have first sent someone to the Shuofang Army to deliver the edict. Then once Fang Chongyong arrived, he could directly take over military authority.

But this Emperor did no such thing. Instead, he handed both the delivery of the edict and the takeover of military authority entirely to Fang Chongyong!

This already made it plain that he did not trust the Shuofang Army's military and administrative system to function normally.

Of course, Brother Ji's action was not without reason.

What Li Guozhen had done amounted to destroying, in terms of reputation, the "Alliance Oath Stele" that Brother Ji had erected back then, ruining his prestige and standing among the Nine Surnames of Tiele. Although in this incident the Uighurs were clearly in the wrong first, Brother Ji would not see it that way.

If you hadn't tried to buy horses, wouldn't there have been no problem?

This was probably the true thought in Brother Ji's heart that he could not voice.

Having the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army take over directly was also because Brother Ji felt the Shuofang Army was somewhat disobedient and feared they might run amok.

"Jiedushi, this assignment is truly…"

He Changqi was momentarily speechless, unable to find words to describe his feelings about this trip to Lingzhou. Including Fang Chongyong, everyone present was actually quite at a loss for words.

"Jiedushi, I believe that Pugu Huaien's action may not have been his own private doing; it was very likely that Li Guozhen and the others asked him to do it.

The Shuofang Army, top to bottom, all know about it too.

This matter, I fear, has already been accomplished.

Perhaps at this very moment, the slaughter is underway.

All the news so far has been for damage control, not early warning.

Therefore, I believe taking over the Shuofang Army will not be difficult. What will be difficult is how to deal with the Uighurs' retaliation."

Feng Changqing suddenly spoke up in a slow, unhurried manner.

"No wonder I kept feeling something was off about this matter. Now that you say it, I understand."

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly. He had to admit, Feng Changqing was quite insightful.

Feng Changqing's words dispelled the last doubt in his mind.

Acting as an informant carried enormous risk; secrecy had to be so thorough that even one's own family did not know—only then was it safe.

But the secret letter sent to the court had essentially no secrecy to speak of. Gao Lishi could let the secret slip with a casual remark, and the news would eventually make its way back to the Shuofang Army.

When that time came, how would the Shuofang Army, top to bottom, view him—a man of Hu descent from the Nine Surnames of Tiele?

How could Pugu Huaien end well by doing such a thing?

But if Li Guozhen and Zhang Qiqiu had set this up, and afterward took the blame, shouldering the responsibility—

Then Pugu Huaien, playing the "good guy" as the informant, would be conveniently positioned to liaise with the Uighurs afterward.

The Tang and the Uighurs had not yet reached the point where their conflicts had escalated to the point of destroying each other.

After dealing a harsh blow to the Uighurs, all the blame would fall on Li Guozhen and Zhang Qiqiu alone—not the Sage's fault, not the court's fault, and not a case of Pugu Huaien betraying the Nine Surnames of Tiele.

That made sense.

Because by this logic, the tragedy of slaughtering the Uighur leadership still came down to having "arrived too late."

It was merely the idea of a small faction of Shuofang Army higher-ups, and did not represent the Tang Emperor's thinking.

"The Shuofang Army's methods were wrong, but their thinking was not.

However, having suffered such a great loss, a major battle with the Uighurs is now unavoidable.

The Shuofang Army is somewhat overconfident. With a vengeful army certain to prevail, in a head-on fight, they may not be able to defeat the Uighurs."

Fang Chongyong sighed endlessly, then issued an order: "Pass on my military command: march immediately and head for Lingzhou. Anyone who slackens will be dealt with by military law!"

"Orders received!"

The generals acknowledged the command in unison, none of them uttering a single complaint.

Because they knew that things were truly dire! Even if the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army could fight five men each, they still numbered only three thousand.

Once the Uighurs fully mobilized, they would have no fewer than two hundred thousand mounted archers.

Who dares to rely on the great?

……

Outside Spirit Prefecture, on the grass field near the Oath Stele, military tents stood in rows, and bonfires covered the ground.

Shaofang Army Jiedushi Li Guozhen, for the Huihe tribal chiefs and their guards who had already arrived, numbering over a thousand, prepared a grand banquet.

Following the steppe custom, the earth served as table and the sky as canopy. Everyone sat on the ground, lighting bonfires. Those hearty and delicious dishes were roasted and eaten fresh.

The Huihe people had previously clashed with the Shaofang Army, but now, with the Shaofang Army backing down, the matter was settled.

The Huihe people never imagined they would truly turn against the Great Tang; upon receiving Li Guozhen's invitation, they readily sent envoys to Spirit Prefecture.

After all, in terms of military strength, the Huihe people are far stronger than the Shaofang Army, but if you also count the Great Tang's Hexi Border Army, it's hard to say. Moreover, the Great Tang has many other armies—how could the Huihe possibly match them?

The Great Tang could mobilize the whole nation to attack the Huihe, but the Huihe are not the Tubo; they have no highland stronghold to retreat to and recover. If defeated, they could only flee westward across the steppes.

So this time the Huihe also decided to call it a day; Li Guozhen was willing to back down and invited them over to discuss horse prices. These Huihe leaders were happy to give him face, settling the matter completely.

Of course, Shizi opened his mouth wide, driving up horse prices and ruthlessly gouging the Shaofang Army—this was inevitable.

This wasn't them gouging prices out of nowhere; they had previously sold too cheaply, and now they were merely letting prices return to normal.

When it comes to business, even brothers settle accounts clearly!

"Li Jiedushi, we've almost finished this drink; shouldn't we talk about the price of good horses now?"

The drunk Dun Yinghe, squinting his eyes, asked the composed Li Guozhen before him. He was well known among the Huihe as an "anti-Tang faction," and the Huihe Ye Hu, fearing collusion with the Great Tang, deliberately sent an official who was hard to get along with from that side to negotiate the horse trade.

"The price, of course we need to discuss it. However, this Jiedushi is feeling a bit indisposed; I'll go relieve myself first and come back."

Li Guozhen waved his hand, obviously making an excuse to slip away.

Dun Yinghe didn't mind, for he knew the matter wasn't decided by Li Guozhen alone; the other side making an excuse and consulting with his subordinates to reach a decision was also to be expected.

Anyway, just wait.

By the Oath Stele, could the Tang Army possibly turn hostile on the spot?

Not far from the gate of the Shaofang Army's main camp, Zhang Qiqiu had already been waiting, growing impatient.

Fortunately, Li Guozhen had arrived riding his horse Ma Benshi, and upon reaching him, he said to Zhang Qiqiu, "The Huihe have all gotten drunk; it's time to act. Send the signal."

"Well, once the bow is drawn there's no turning back—everything for the Great Tang!"

Zhang Qiqiu spoke, clenching his fists tightly.

"Everything for the Great Tang!"

Li Guozhen nodded.

The matter has come to this point; there's no room for the slightest retreat!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Near the Oath Stele where the Huihe camp was located, three fireworks burst like meteors, blazing across the sky!

Clueless Huihe, some continued drinking and eating meat, completely unaware of what had happened; others saw the fireworks and pointed at them, thinking the Shaofang Army had specially set them off for entertainment.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Sword-and-shield infantry in front, Miao Dao infantry behind, a Tang army force of no less than ten thousand formed a dense infantry formation, closing in from all directions on the Huihe camp.

Around them, thousands of cavalry stood ready, prepared to swoop down on any stragglers.

(End of chapter)