Chapter 185

In the royal palace of Shule, Li Shengtian had just finished dealing with a great pile of memorials and felt somewhat dizzy and bleary-eyed.

This monarch, who was ordinarily not very diligent, had over the past three or four months become quite devoted to affairs of state.

Every day he began handling government business before the sun rose, and except for a short rest at noon, he basically did not return to the rear palace to rest until the sun had set.

For one thing, Shule was newly settled, so there was indeed a great deal to do: pacifying the surrounding tribes, dealing with the Gaochang Uyghurs who wanted a share of the spoils, and the report that Saktu had fled to the Karluk tribe in the Land of Seven Rivers and was gradually gaining a foothold there — all of it left him no time to rest.

And for another, he had been spurred on by Zhang Zhao. This nephew of his was invincible in war, and although he, the uncle, could not compare with Zhang Zhao in military matters, how could he allow himself to be outdone in domestic governance?

Cao Yuanxin lovingly took a bowl of stewed chicken soup and brought it over to Li Shengtian, and even began kneading his shoulders.

But before Li Shengtian had a chance to take a single sip, the chief palace eunuch walked in carrying an express dispatch affixed with bright pheasant feathers.

"Son of Heaven, an eight-hundred-li express dispatch from Balasagun!"

Li Shengtian sprang to his feet with a whoosh. Without waiting for his personal attendant to bring the letter over, he went and took it himself. Only after a long while did he let out a deep breath.

"Erlang has done splendidly! First he lured the enemy deep, then personally led elite troops into the mountain forests to cut their supply lines.

Then he ordered Ruotai and Bai Congxin to lead picked cavalry in a surprise raid to burn their granaries, while Ma Jirong led the troops in holding Balasagun.

After forcing the Persians into a position where they had no choice but to retreat, he then sent the main army in pursuit to slaughter them! Here, Liuniang, take a look too!"

Li Shengtian read the several hundred characters through twice with great delight before handing it to Cao Yuanxin.

In truth, after Zhang Zhao had left, Li Shengtian had felt some regret and worry. Shule and Balasagun were separated by several thousand li, and in fact even if Balasagun had not held, the Persians would not have chosen to continue on and attack Shule.

The reason Li Shengtian had sent Zhang Zhao was partly that he was somewhat intoxicated with his position as protector of Buddhism, and partly out of a faint wariness of Zhang Zhao.

But not long after Zhang Zhao left, Li Shengtian regretted it. Zhang Zhao had insisted on taking only two thousand men, saying that troops were valued for quality, not quantity.

Yet the Persian Samanid state was also a great power of Transoxiana, and mobilizing tens of thousands of men was no great matter for them. If anything were to happen to Zhang Zhao, how would he face his elder sister, and all that Zhang Zhao had contributed to the Khotan Golden Kingdom?

But all was well now. Zhang Zhao had won yet another great victory. Not only was he himself unharmed, he had once again greatly enhanced the prestige of the Khotan Golden Kingdom.

"It seems Erlang truly is a born divine general! In his letter he also says that the army led by Ali Dulaft, governor of Tashkent of the Persian Samanid state, is far inferior to Saktu's Ghulam guards.

Their arms and armor are not fine, their warhorses are raised without proper method, their generals are arrogant and their soldiers indolent. Judging from this, the Persian Samanid state is already in decline.

As long as we make ready to send troops against the Ferghana kingdom, we will surely take it in a single campaign and establish the ten-thousand-year foundation of the great Khotan Golden Kingdom."

Cao Yuanxin was likewise overjoyed. The more territory Zhang Zhao conquered, the more it was all conquered for her son Li Congde.

It seemed her decision had been the right one. When the time came, Congde'er would hold Khotan, such a flourishing state of Anxi, while Zhang Erlang would open up Ganzhou and Liangzhou and rebuild the Guiyi Army. The two states would share the profits of the Silk Road, and the Cao and Zhang families would together enjoy everlasting dominion.

"Indeed! At Polu Prefecture he fought twenty thousand with two thousand, and this time at Balasagun he defeated thirty thousand with just over two thousand. Every time he fights ten to one. Even the famous generals of our dynasty are no more than this!"

Li Shengtian expressed complete agreement. Back when Zhang Zhao had grabbed him by the sleeve and shouted, "Leave no worries to your descendants!", Li Shengtian had never imagined that victory would come so quickly and so easily.

The thirty thousand troops he had levied had not played much of a role; Zhang Zhao had crushed the enemy all by himself.

Of the vision the two of them had once shared for the future of the Khotan kingdom, only the conquest of the Ferghana region now remained, and that did not even look difficult.

"Has there been any recent reply from Yusup Beg of Andukan?" Thinking of this, Li Shengtian asked the chief palace eunuch who had brought the express dispatch.

Andukan was what later ages called Andijan in the Fergana Basin. This city was the gateway from Shule into the Fergana Basin. Although the city was not large, it was easy to defend and hard to attack.

Yusup Beg was a great general under Saktu. After the Karakhanid state conquered more than half of the Fergana Basin, Yusup had been appointed by Saktu as governor of Andukan, stationed in the former Ferghana capital of Kasan.

Over the past few months, Li Shengtian had been hoping to win Yusup over, but the man's attitude had always been very ambiguous. Because of religion, there was a possibility he would lean toward the Persian Samanid state.

The chief palace eunuch shook his head. "In reply to the Son of Heaven, your servant has been watching closely the whole time, but no messenger from Andukan has ever come!"

"Ungrateful wretch!" Li Shengtian's face darkened. "This Yusup truly doesn't know what's good for him. Does he really think I dare not send a great army to punish him?

Copy Duke Zhang's express dispatch word for word and send a copy to Yusup. Tell him I will wait for him at most two more months. If by then he still dares to waver and hedge between two sides, I will personally lead a hundred thousand mighty warriors of the great Golden Kingdom and reduce him to ashes!"

After the chief palace eunuch had gone out, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of Cao Yuanxin's mouth — not over the matter of Andukan, but over Zhang Zhao.

"Son of Heaven, Zhang Erlang has now rendered such great service again. How is he to be rewarded? At a mere twenty years old, he is already Prefect of Polu Prefecture and holds Polu Prefecture itself. Surely we cannot grant him another piece of land?"

Li Shengtian froze for a moment. This truly was not his uncle the Son of Heaven being wary; there was genuinely no reward left to give.

For Zhang Zhao at twenty years old to hold a whole prefecture and tens of thousands of subjects was already absurd enough. The Khotan Golden Kingdom was only so large; any further reward would be carving out a state.

"Son of Heaven, Balasagun is far away beyond high mountains. Perhaps..."

Before Cao Yuanxin could finish, the chief palace eunuch came running in again with a thudding tread.

"Reporting to the Son of Heaven, another eight-hundred-li express dispatch has arrived from Balasagun, of the utmost urgency. By the time the messenger arrived, three horses had been ridden to death."

Hearing the chief palace eunuch say this, Li Shengtian and Cao Yuanxin, husband and wife, hurried over together to receive it. Then the expressions on both their faces turned strange and helpless.

Because this eight-hundred-li express dispatch that Zhang Zhao had sent overnight, riding several horses to death, had been sent right after he destroyed the Pugu Naluo family. It was not long, but every item of news in it made one's scalp tingle.

"The assembled Yabghus of Balasagun and the leaders of the Buddhist, Nestorian, and Manichaean faiths have petitioned Duke Zhang to become the Gur Khan, to hold Balasagun in perpetuity.

He has also dispatched five thousand troops to recover the cities east of Talas. The Yabghu Pugu family within the city gathered a mob in rebellion and has been exterminated.

Master Titigu, abbot of the great Balasagun Buddhist temple, has invited him to come to Shule to preside over the rebuilding of the Great Cloud Temple, and has petitioned for Guo Xuanqing to be made Acting Military Governor of Balasagun."

Cao Yuanxin read the contents aloud word by word, and a few glistening beads of sweat could not help but seep out on her forehead.

None of these matters was a small one — especially the matter of the Yabghus of Balasagun and the leaders of the three faiths jointly acclaiming Zhang Zhao as Gur Khan. What was he trying to do?

"Just now, Liuniang, were you about to say that perhaps we should find a piece of land in Balasagun to grant to Zhang Erlang?" Li Shengtian asked Cao Yuanxin with a bitter smile.

Cao Yuanxin also nodded with a bitter smile. "I was going to say that. But you see, what this nephew of ours wants is not a piece of land — he wants the whole of Balasagun. Isn't he always crying out that he wants to return east? What is he trying to do?"

Li Shengtian slowly sat back down in his chair and took a light sip of the now somewhat cold chicken soup.

"Let us wait. I expect the third messenger will arrive very soon — perhaps tomorrow morning.

If Zhang Erlang truly intended to set himself up as Gur Khan of Balasagun, he would never state it so plainly to you and me. I suspect the next letter will explain all of this!"

Zhang Zhao had indeed sent a third eight-hundred-li express dispatch, and it was indeed to explain things clearly to Li Shengtian.

But before the explanation, after three refusals and three yieldings, once Yan Jin had returned to Balasagun with three thousand troops, Zhang Zhao prepared to formally accept the title of Gur Khan that the assembled Yabghus of Balasagun had offered him.

Although for Zhang Zhao, who was about to return east, such a title was of little use, in the long run it would prove very useful indeed.

Because once he entered the Central Plains, this khanate, this title, would become the basis for his strong claim over the Karakhanid nomads of the Balasagun region.

Amid a roar like mountains and seas, Zhang Zhao led his people to the banks of the Chu River and held a grand ceremony of sacrifice to Heaven.

On the steppe, a Khagan's title generally came from one of two sources: one was bloodline, and the other was winning it through strength and being acclaimed.

Zhang Zhao fought ten men at once and overthrew Ali Dula, the Samanid governor of Tashkent, then exterminated Pugu Naluo's entire family — that is the proof of his strength.

So the reason he received this nomination today is that he is able to 'protect' the people of Balasagun.

And once the heaven-worshipping ceremony was complete, Zhang Zhao swiftly began arranging his own staff to remain behind and govern.

Guo Xuanqing, the Prestige and Virtue Grand Master who had pledged himself to Zhang Zhao, unsurprisingly received the post of Acting Military Governor of Balasagun. After Zhang Zhao returned east, all affairs of Balasagun were to be decided chiefly by Guo Xuanqing.

Below the Acting Military Governor was a council of elders. The elder seats were allotted according to the size of each tribe, and a total of fifty-five elder seats were prepared.

Do not think that a council is some very advanced thing, something that sounds modern at first hearing. In fact, this model has long existed.

Among the Samanid Persians, they too have a state council called the Diwan, and the Turks and Uyghurs have long had a mode in which the various kings and nobles deliberate together. So this council of elders was very easily accepted by everyone.

Besides the Acting Military Governor, who oversaw everything like a usurper, and the council of elders, Balasagun also established ministers overseeing military affairs, taxation, and household registration.

On the local level, seven Governor-General offices were set up: Talas, White Water Hu City, Julan City, Ashbulai City, Frozen City, Helie City, and Yezhi City.

Among them, Talas City was made the seat of the Western Grand Governor-General Office, governing White Water Hu City and Julan City. Li Guoshou, the father-in-law of Ayiguli and fifth-generation descendant of Li Sizhong, Prince of Huaining Commandery of the Great Tang, was appointed Western Grand Governor-General.

With this, the political framework of Balasagun could be considered set up.

In addition, Zhang Zhao also obtained sixty thousand mu of fine farmland on both banks of the Chu River, formerly part of the Great Tang's Suyab military colonies, as well as large tracts of pastureland.

He planned to divide out ten thousand mu of fine farmland and five tracts of pastureland for Li Shengtian, and at the same time prepared to bring Balasagun into Khotan's sphere of influence.

In this way, his title of Juer Khan would be only a literal honorific — a glorious Khagan — and not the kind of Khagan of Khagans who brooks no rival.

Placing the Juer Khan beneath the Son of Heaven of the Golden Kingdom, and dividing out fine farmland and pastureland as well — this could be considered giving Li Shengtian full face.

This was also advantageous to Zhang Zhao, because he wanted to move the three thousand tents and twenty thousand people of Ashina Chuo of the Basmyl tribe to Balasagun, to serve as his directly subordinate tribe.

These were the followers he had painstakingly recruited himself, and he had promised to give them a place to settle. Now, at last, he had not broken his word.

Only after settling Ashina Chuo could Zhang Zhao feel at ease about keeping his son Ashina Sili's three hundred light cavalry close at hand for his own use.

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