Chapter 142: Satuq's Scheme

In the city of Lower Artush, the Bogra Khagan Satuq was staring fixedly at the map before him, long silent.

This great khan of the Karakhanid state was short and stocky, wore a pointed petal crown and a brown brocade robe patterned with medallions, and had an air of extreme coldness; in every gesture and glance, as the Chinese would say, he had the look of a hawk watching and a wolf turning its head.

But unlike what Zhang Zhao imagined — that he should have the same sort of barbarian features as the later famous UP host An Lujie — he did not.

If Satuq were to appear before Zhang Zhao, Zhang Zhao would certainly take him for a descendant of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, because he had a face almost indistinguishable from that of a Han Chinese of the Central Plains.

This was inevitable. The Uyghurs in fact include both yellow and white racial types. Back when the Great Tang flourished, the Tang was the number-one Celestial Empire under heaven, and of course the aesthetic standards of all surrounding states and peoples inclined toward the Great Tang.

So among the Uyghurs, people of Central Plains appearance were especially favored; they had advantages in offering tribute, requesting marriage, and even serving in the Great Tang army.

After more than a hundred years of this influence, by the middle and later periods, the upper ranks of the Uyghur Khaganate — the khagans, the yabghus, and the rest — were almost all of Central Plains appearance.

"Go bring Adumu here. I have questions for him!"

Satuq clutched the letter in his hand, his brows knitted into a deep frown. The letter had been sent to him by the Governor of Shule, Ihtihad.

In the letter, Ihtihad had confidently declared that he could hold out until the seventh month, and told Satuq to wait until the horses were fat and the grain sufficient, the troops elite and the weapons sharp, before marching south. Yet on the very day the letter was sent, Shule was breached by the Khotanese.

Satuq knew Ihtihad's abilities well. Field battles and stratagems were not his strong suit, but in defending a city, he was absolutely the best in the Karakhanid state.

Then what exactly was the reason that, just when Ihtihad was brimming with confidence, Shule had suddenly fallen? Satuq simply could not understand it!

"Great Khan!" A piercing wail roused Satuq from his brooding. General Adumu, dressed in prison garb, crawled forward on his knees to Satuq.

"Great Khan! Your loyal Adumu's death would be no pity, but you must believe Adumu's words. The Khotanese truly did call down heavenly thunder to destroy the western wall of Shule. Otherwise, even if they fought for three more months, they could never have broken in!"

Satuq rubbed his forehead with some pain. This Adumu had been thrown into the death cell for over ten days and had never once changed his story, swearing with absolute conviction that everything he said was true.

This had confused Satuq as well, because Adumu did not look like he was lying.

Yet he found it desperately hard to believe that the Khotanese could call down heavenly thunder. This... this was simply too difficult to accept!

Although Satuq believed that a true god certainly existed in this world, when such a thing actually descended beside him, he felt only a sense of absurdity.

As for the words of Askar and the holy warriors who had fled in defeat from Shule, those were even more bewildering.

These fellows all said with one voice that the true god of the infidels had descended in person and destroyed the western wall of Shule.

The implication was: if the infidels' true god had personally intervened, then where was ours? Never mind the true god — surely the Prophet Mahmud should at least make an appearance?

This was simply wrecking army morale. In a fury, Satuq had them all locked up in Arhu City, north of Lower Artush. If he let them keep babbling, they would end up affecting his entire army.

"Great Khan, what I say is all true, truly. That night I was sleeping soundly, because His Excellency Governor Ihtihad had already arranged the night watch, and in thirteen days of fighting we had repeatedly defeated the army of the Khotanese Golden Kingdom. Their siege engines had been completely destroyed, and everyone knew they could not possibly take Shule.

But when dawn was near, suddenly an earth-shaking roar came. I looked out the window toward the west of the city, and golden flames lit the western side as bright as day. I had just taken my scimitar in hand when the sound of the wall collapsing came from the west.

By the time we followed His Excellency the Governor to the west of the city, the army of the Khotanese Golden Kingdom had already entered.

They wore three layers of heavy armor and carried a kind of crossbow that fired extremely fast. We fought them bitterly for three double-hours. The infidels inside the city also rose in rebellion. In the end we truly could not hold and fled in defeat. Great Khan, you must believe me!"

Satuq closed his eyes and recalled. This was already the third time he had heard Adumu say these words, with about five days between each telling.

But each time, the account was basically the same. This indicated that what Adumu said was very likely true. Could it be that true gods and immortals really did meddle in the affairs of mortals?

"Great Khan! The Khotanese army has reached Lower Artush! The vanguard, several thousand strong, is breaking camp and advancing fifteen li outside the city, pressing straight toward the walls!"

The arrival of a ghulam guard interrupted Satuq's thoughts and brought news of the Khotanese army.

"Ignore them. Hold the Maydan Pass. If they come to attack the city, we will yield Lower Artush and withdraw to Arhu City!"

Satuq, still deep in thought, waved a hand to signal the guard to take Adumu away, then issued his orders.

Satuq had not occupied Lower Artush in order to fight the Khotanese here, because although he had successfully led his army back from Balasagun, the journey had not been easy.

Fortunately, he had made preparations when setting out on campaign: from the Naryn River to the Arhu area, he had set up supply points for grain and snow-sleds along the way in advance. Only thus had his army of over twenty thousand been able to withdraw. But their morale and energy had been utterly shattered, and they needed a period of quiet recovery before their fighting strength could be restored.

So Satuq had no intention at all of fighting a major battle with the Khotanese army at Lower Artush. His strategy was to draw the Khotanese army to Lower Artush.

Because the land here was barren, and drinking water and supplies were both extremely difficult to obtain, which could greatly drain the Khotanese army's provisions.

North of Lower Artush was the Maydan Pass, and beyond the pass to the north lay the comparatively prosperous Arhu City region. Satuq could perfectly well wear down the Khotanese army for a round at Lower Artush, then feign defeat and withdraw to the Arhu region.

If the Khotanese army dared to follow, he could rely on the natural stronghold of the Maydan Pass and the relatively abundant resources of the Arhu region to hold firm, and once the Khotanese army could neither advance nor retreat, strike with cavalry raids.

If the Khotanese army did not attack the Maydan Pass, that was also easy to handle: he could keep sending out roving cavalry to harass them. Since the Khotanese army had few cavalry, he could also bottle them up inside Lower Artush, and when they could no longer hold out and retreated, one easy pursuit battle would settle the matter.

Therefore, Satuq had not the slightest thought of fighting the Khotanese army beneath the walls of Lower Artush. The false impression he had created — that he was about to hurry south to retake Shule — was entirely to draw the Khotanese army northward.

He had even deliberately spread word to the Khotanese army's scouts that he himself was at Lower Artush and that his army was utterly exhausted, precisely to lure the Khotanese north.

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