Chapter 161: True and False Guiyi Armies

A sharp eagle's cry rang out above Zhang Zhao's head, and the great hunting eagle began to circle and dive toward him.

Pei Shengyuan, wearing an iron arm guard, stretched out his arm, and the eagle landed precisely on it.

A large strip of fresh mutton was offered up, and the eagle, satisfied, opened its beak and gave a low cry before tearing into the meat with relish.

"Lord of the Commandery, this is my clansman Pei Tongyuan's hunting falcon. They must have come from Balasagun!" Pei Shengyuan walked over and said in a low voice.

Zhang Zhao nodded. He had finally finished this ancient Tang-monk road, all two thousand five hundred li of it.

Pei Shengyuan's clansman Pei Tongyuan was one of the men who had gone ahead to Balasagun with Yin Yaozi to prepare the ground.

For Zhang Zhao, everything about Balasagun was unknown. Although they had sent men to declare submission, who knew whether there was treachery behind it? A little caution was never wrong.

This transmigrator Zhang was still very attached to his life. However much he looked like an invincible hero on the battlefield, in reality he was extremely careful and prudent.

For history showed that many heroes and ambitious men had not died amid hardship and suffering, but had instead capsized in a ditch through carelessness of one kind or another — enough to serve as a warning to a later man like himself.

Several warhorses came galloping from the distance. It was Pei Tongyuan and Fan Shun, the men who had gone to Balasagun with Yin Yaozi, returning. But when Fan Shun was still forty paces from Zhang Zhao, he hurriedly dismounted and walked over.

For although he had notified the Basmyl scouts on watch in advance, and Pei Tongyuan had released the hunting eagle, the armored soldiers of the Hanshan Du in front of Zhang Zhao still stood ready in defense, their divine-arm crossbows already strung.

"Young lord, the Yabghus of the Yaglakar, Bogu, and Huwosu tribes of Balasagun, along with the Buddhist master Titishgu and the Nestorian Christian dignitary of the Luminous Religion, the Great Virtue Xuanqing, are waiting ten li outside the city to welcome your arrival."

"Yaglakar? Bogu?" Zhang Zhao asked in puzzlement. It was no surprise for a scrap-tribe like the Huwosu to appear in Balasagun, but the Yaglakar and the Bogu were the legitimate royal clans of the Uyghurs!

Of these two clans, the Bogu family was the royal clan of the Gaochang Uyghur Khaganate.

The Yaglakar family was the royal clan of the Ganzhou Uyghurs.

What were they doing in Balasagun? Saktu's grandfather Pang Tegin was not of either clan.

"Young lord, besides these two Uyghur royal clans, I also saw the fanged banner and leopard-tail of a Guiyi Army commissioner!" Fan Shun's expression had turned very strange, the look of a man deeply shaken.

Uh! Never mind him — Zhang Zhao himself was stunned. How could the fanged banner and leopard-tail of the Guiyi Army appear here? Those two things could only be bestowed by the Emperor. Could it be that his own ancestors had left a branch of the family in this distant land beyond the river?

Balasagun and Suyab — many people in later times could not figure out the relationship between these two cities. Some thought they were the same place, some thought they were two cities. In fact, they were probably the relationship of a new city and an old city.

After Suyab was destroyed in the flames of war, Balasagun rose in response. The two cities were no more than five kilometers apart.

Zhang Zhao carefully studied this fairly imposing city of Balasagun. It was built with dressed stone for its foundations and rammed earth for its walls.

No wonder Saktu had led an army of thirty thousand and a great host of holy warriors against it for four months and still failed to take it.

Apart from the Karakhanids' poor ability at storming fortifications, the strong walls of Balasagun had also played a great part.

"Is the one who comes His Excellency Zhang Zhao, Prefect of Polu Prefecture of the Great Jin Kingdom and Duke of Fengtian Commandery? This poor monk Titishgu has long awaited the Duke."

The name Titishgu might make one think he was a Scythian or a white man of some East Iranian people, but in fact, apart from a broad, flat face, this Master Titishgu's skin color and hair color were much the same as Zhang Zhao's — a typical man of the Mobei steppe.

Zhang Zhao quickly dismounted and pressed his palms together before this Buddhist leader of Balasagun. Had it been the Uyghur Yabghus of Balasagun who came out to greet him, he might have put on airs, but that would not do before a man of religion.

Behind Titishgu stood a Nestorian monk in a crimson robe. He glanced at Zhang Zhao and at the armored soldiers of the Hanshan Du behind him, then quickly averted his gaze.

"This poor monk is Xuanqing, Great Virtue of Dignity of the Luminous Religion of Daqin. I greet the Duke of Zhang."

"Great Virtue" was a religious office in Nestorian Christianity, roughly equivalent to an eminent monk or dharma master in Buddhism. In fact, Buddhism also had the expression "great virtue and eminent monk."

A Great Virtue of Dignity was an extremely important religious leader in Nestorian Christianity, and among the Nestorians of Balasagun, he was their head.

But... when Zhang Zhao exchanged greetings with him, he could not help finding it strange. It was one thing for the Buddhist leader to look Han, but how was it that the Nestorian Great Virtue of Dignity, so far away beyond the river, also looked Han?

But very soon he went numb. Sure enough, among that group of Uyghur Yabghus, a fanged banner of a Guiyi Army commissioner made his head spin. Could there really be someone of the Zhang family of Shazhou here?

Setting aside all other empty courtesies, Zhang Zhao, accompanied by the two religious men, walked straight to the foot of the fanged banner.

But Zhang Zhao was quickly disappointed, and even more puzzled, for beneath this fanged banner of a Guiyi Army commissioner stood a group of people of clearly mixed Uyghur yellow-white features. Their leader had curly hair, a small nose, and green eyes — one could barely make out any Han appearance at all.

Zhang Zhao rubbed his chin and, taking advantage of the moment when the other party came up to pay respects, asked directly.

"May I ask which tribe you come from? Who were your ancestors? And why do you have this fanged banner of a Guiyi Army commissioner?"

The curly-haired Uyghur hurried forward to answer. Their family was only a minor house in Balasagun, dependent on the Yaglakar clan. Today they had raised this great banner merely to display their ancestors' glory, never expecting it to draw the attention of the special envoy of the Great Sage Son of Heaven of the Jin Kingdom.

"In reply to the Duke, this great banner was bestowed upon my ancestor by the Emperor of the Great Tang!"

Hearing this, the great Duke Zhang was so angry his nose nearly twisted. Looking at you, you don't exactly look like a Zhang, do you?

Besides, the Guiyi Army was not some extraordinary signboard — was there any need to bring it all the way to Balasagun to swindle and deceive?

He was just about to summon his armored soldiers to seize this "chicken" opposite him — neither too big nor too small, just right for killing a chicken to warn the monkeys and overawe the surrounding Yabghus and religious men — when the curly-haired Uyghur spoke again, this time switching to Chinese.

"My ancestor was the Great General of the Left Jinwu Guard of the Great Tang, the Prince of Huaining Commandery, Lord Li, taboo name Sizhong. My grandfather followed Qadir Khan (Pang Tegin) west and settled here.

In a way, we have some connection with you, Duke. Khotan's Jin Kingdom is quite rich in Tang ways, and we, the Li family of the Guiyi Army commissioner, are also sons of Tang."

"Pfft!" Zhang Zhao nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. He had never expected to meet Uyghur Guiyi Army commissioners here — descendants of the Prince of Huaining Commandery, Li Sizhong. These people were also genuine Guiyi Army, and their title was even older than the Zhang family's Guiyi Army.

Li Sizhong's original name was Wumosi. He was a noble of the Uyghur Khaganate. After the Uyghur Khaganate collapsed, he submitted to the Great Tang near the Tiande Army and once followed the Military Governor of Hedong, Liu Mian, in smashing the remnants of the Uyghur Khaganate.

Later, because frontier generals grew suspicious of him, he chose, in the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, to take several thousand Uyghur nobles to settle in Chang'an. Wuzong enfeoffed him as Prince of Huaining Commandery, bestowed upon him the imperial surname, and named him Sizhong.

"So you are descendants of the Prince of Huaining Commandery. But as far as I know, did not all the Prince's descendants follow him to settle in Chang'an?" Zhang Zhao said politely, cupping his hands.

Li Sizhong was a decent man, someone one could get along with. After submitting, he truly regarded himself as a son of Tang, and when fighting his fellow Uyghurs he was fiercer than genuine Tang troops. Later, when frontier generals suspected him, he simply disbanded his army and went to Chang'an to live out his old age. He could be counted a meritorious subject.

The curly-haired Uyghur's face showed a slightly embarrassed expression. "My grandfather was the Prince's eldest son by a concubine. That year the journey to the capital was made in haste, and my grandfather was far away on campaign beyond the frontier and did not return. In the end he did not go to Chang'an, but followed Qadir Khan to the land beyond the river."

Understood. What "on campaign beyond the frontier and did not return" — most likely Li Sizhong feared that if he went to Chang'an and the Emperor really did listen to slander and had him executed, then at least by letting his eldest son migrate west with Pang Tegin he would leave a bloodline behind, lest the whole family be wiped out.

A hard-to-describe expression appeared on Zhang Zhao's face. This curly-haired fellow clearly wanted to latch onto him, for he surely knew that Li Shengtian of Khotan treated Tang people well — only, separated by several thousand li, he did not know Zhang Zhao's origins.

"Then let this young lord of the Li family know: I am Zhang Erlang, of the Zhang clan of Nanyang. My sixth-generation ancestor was the Duke of Nanyang Commandery and Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, Lord Zhang, taboo name Yichao!"

"Ah! This...!" The curly-haired Uyghur froze. He looked up at the fanged banner of the Guiyi Army commissioner above his own head, and a scorching sensation made his back grow faintly hot.

At the same time, a burning gaze shot toward Zhang Zhao from the side. The Nestorian Great Virtue of Dignity Xuanqing's Adam's apple bobbed once, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he held it back.

All chapters have been cached for you. Download the APP to view them.