Chapter 213: Great King Zhang Instantly Becomes Yelu Deguang

In fact, earlier than Yan Jin and the others had estimated, the Bukhara side learned the exact news twenty days after the defeat at Three Waters Bay.

At that time, Pei Shengyuan and the others had only just received word and had not yet gathered men to seal off Khujand, and Zhang Zhao had not yet ordered Yan Jin to hurry south to make preliminary preparations for attacking Khujand.

But after Bukhara received the news, they did not immediately take action, because they were terrified.

An army of thirty thousand had been almost completely annihilated. One had to know that five years earlier, when the Karakhanids invaded, Samanid Persia had relied on these very thirty thousand men to finally repel Satuq and hold Khujand.

In other words, during the Karakhanid invasion five years earlier, although Samanid Persia had been defeated at Kasan, its main force had not suffered a devastating blow. Yet this time, it had actually been wiped out to the last man.

This great battle at Three Waters Bay served as the best possible promotion for the terrifying reputation of the Juer Khan.

Previously, the rumor circulating within Samanid Persia that the Juer Khan ate people had actually been a political struggle.

It had been deliberately exaggerated and spread by the Grand Vizier Balami and others in order to force Prince Hamid to lead his army out of Bukhara.

But this time, everyone was frightened. It turned out this Juer Khan business was not false at all, but absolutely real.

In their panic, under the orders of Emir Nasr II, the Bukhara court sealed off the news of the Khujand Hakim's defeat, and instead boasted that they had once again successfully defended Khujand.

Of course, boasting solved nothing. In the end, someone still had to go to Khujand to organize the defense.

If they waited until next spring, when the Juer Khan's great army broke through Khujand, then all of Samanid Persia would be in danger.

Because with the Fergana Valley as a natural fortress, the Juer Khan could harass the richest core regions of Samanid Persia at any time. That would be unthinkable!

But who should be sent?

This was originally a very simple question. Obviously, whoever had the ability to turn the tide should go. But in Samanid Persia, that was not how it worked.

The faction of the Grand Vizier Balami hoped to send Hussein, the trusted right-hand general whom Prince Hamid relied on most.

Prince Hamid, for his part, hoped to send the only subordinate of Balami's with any military talent to Khujand to await death.

The two sides quarreled for over a month, each trying to avoid jumping into this pit of fire themselves.

In the end, after Prince Hamid truly could not withstand the pressure from the Emir and the Grand Vizier, he had no choice but to shoulder this responsibility, which very likely would bring disaster upon himself.

But he also played a trick. He did not send his most militarily talented brother-in-law Hussein, but instead sent his sister's husband, Salah, to Khujand.

Yet Salah simply did not have the ability to command on his own. Although he had some reputation in Bukhara, that was only among a pack of useless nobles, where he appeared to possess a bit of armchair-strategist talent.

If one made a hard comparison, Salah could not even match one-tenth of Adural, who had died in battle at Three Waters Bay. How would he dare go to Khujand to throw his life away?

Weeping and dawdling for another half month, he called in every connection he had and even brought out his mother-in-law to plead for him, but in the end he still could not escape the fate of going to Khujand.

Hmm! Actually, one could also say he never went to Khujand, because before he even arrived, Xue Shouli personally led men to seize him and sent him to Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao stared in astonishment, mouth agape, at the handsome, bearded man before him, trembling all over with fright, and for a long time could not utter a word.

What kind of vermin must they be, to still be playing political struggles at a time like this?

Khujand is such a critical place. I, Great King Zhang, as the victorious side, was thinking even on New Year's Eve about how to seize Khujand as quickly as possible.

Yet those Samanid Persian nobles in Bukhara, knowing full well that losing Khujand would mean big trouble, actually dared to delay for a full two months before sending anyone.

And what's more, if they weren't going to send a tiger to hold the place, they should at least have sent a watchdog! Instead, they sent a pig!

A pig's tactics... uh! (⊙o⊙)... Sorry, wrong show!

Great Khagan Zhang immediately flew into a rage. Wearing a fur coat and fur hat, horsewhip in hand, his face took on a cold, cruel expression, perfectly embodying the image of a savage Turkic khagan that Salah had in his mind.

"What audacity! This is an insult from Samanid Persia, from Nasr II, to me — to a khagan favored by the Golden Wolf King! I will first have you torn apart by five horses, then I will slaughter my way into Bukhara and leave neither chicken nor dog alive!"

Amid the furious roar in the Turkic tongue, Zhang Zhao lashed the whip hard onto Salah's body.

The pitiful fellow stiffened and shuddered, then let out a low moan, desperately suppressing his voice. He was afraid of angering Zhang Zhao and did not even dare to cry out loudly.

But Zhang Zhao, now in the swing of it, raised the whip high and paused in the air for a moment, savoring the despair and terror in this Persian's eyes, then lashed down hard again.

"Aiya! Aiya!" Wails of agony rang out. Salah could no longer bear the searing pain. Screaming, he collapsed to the ground, snot and tears streaming down his face.

The whip in Zhang Zhao's hand was made of the finest cowhide, and also contained some slender iron strips.

The cowhide's excellent elasticity ensured that when it struck, it would stretch fully across a person's body and quickly tear the skin open, while the slender iron strips guaranteed that the raw pain was intense enough.

Even a thick-skinned brute like Man Xiong would howl if struck once by this whip, let alone Salah, a third-generation noble of Bukhara.

Crack! Another lash! And one had to admit, this feeling was truly satisfying — even a little addictive.

"Stop! Khagan, Your Majesty, I beg you, stop!"

Salah wept. He could even feel his skin rapidly swelling and reddening where the whip had struck.

The burning, piercing pain where he had been lashed nearly made his sphincter lose control, and his bladder ached terribly. One more lash, and he would surely lose control of both bowels and bladder.

Fortunately, his pleading had an effect, and Zhang Zhao stopped the whipping.

Tears had long blurred Salah's vision. As he looked up hazily, the Juer Khan holding the whip seemed like a giant towering over him, and the overwhelming pressure made even his breathing grow labored.

"A cowardly, rat-like dog slave like you — what right do you have to beg this khagan to stop? Killing you would be like slaughtering a pig or a dog.

But rest assured, I will not whip you to death, because I said I would have you torn apart by five horses.

You are very fortunate, do you know that? This khagan has specially arranged five of the most worthless horses for you.

When the time comes, ropes will be tied around your head, your hands, and your legs, and the horses will be made to pull in five different directions."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhao made a pulling gesture and let out a few sinister, cold laughs.

"But they are the most worthless horses, lacking in strength, so they cannot succeed in one go. They will have to pull for quite a while before they can tear you into five pieces.

Before that happens, your body will be stretched to twice its original length. Even your skin will be stretched until it splits open, and your bones will be pulled apart.

I guarantee that before you die, not a single bone in your body will remain intact. This — this is what happens when you anger this khagan!"

As Zhang Zhao spoke, he began to feel around Salah's body, frightening this Persian, who had never endured any cruel torture, into shrieking loudly.

As he wailed, snot and tears gushed from his face together, as if he had just walked off an execution ground.

"Take him away! Lock him in the prison. Five days from now, this khagan will personally watch the five-horse dismemberment!"

With that, Zhang Zhao waved a hand, and had the wailing Persian dragged away.

The terrified Salah did not beg for mercy now, and did not even move. Limp, he was dragged out, a long trail of liquid dripping from his crotch and smearing all over the floor.

Zhang Zhao beckoned to Guo Tiance. "Go and watch him personally. Do not let him have contact with anyone. These next few days, torment him in every way you can think of."

But remember, don't leave him with any permanent physical disability — the pain, however, must be doubled, the kind that reaches deep into the marrow!"

Guo Tiance nodded. "The Great King means to have him call open the gates of Juzhanti?"

In Guo Tiance's view, the greatest use of this Salah was precisely to use his identity to call open the gates of Juzhanti.

But surely there was no need to go to such trouble? For a man like this, wouldn't a round of threats and promises suffice? Why should the Great King personally take a whip to him, and even lock him up for days to break his will?

Zhang Zhao smiled faintly and waved a hand. "Bukhara's relief army won't arrive until next year. Juzhanti is in a panic, and sooner or later it will fall into our hands. What need is there for such tricks?

Have you forgotten? Rashid Saleman has already identified him — this man is the full brother-in-law of Prince Hamid, the Samanid crown prince.

And Prince Hamid's position is tottering right now. Grand Vizier Balami is bent on bringing him down, and his father, Emir Nasr II, has also grown wary of him."

Guo Tiance was stunned. He frowned and thought for a long while, then suddenly his eyes lit up with excitement.

"The Great King means that we should use this Salah to establish a line to Prince Hamid, the crown prince of Samanid Persia?"

"More than just establishing a line. This Prince Hamid's position is tottering right now — enemies without, his father's suspicion within. A crown prince in such a position generally cannot sit securely on his throne.

Without outside help, if he barely manages to hold on for a few more years, the whole family dying off is the most likely outcome.

And he is already past forty, while his father is in good health and can probably live another twenty or thirty years. Has there ever been, under heaven, a crown prince of fifty years?

How badly do you suppose he longs to succeed his father as Emir?"

Zhang Zhao corrected Guo Tiance's words. This was the brilliant plan he had devised after synthesizing information from all sides.

Since Samanid Persia was so politically corrupt, why should he fight bloody, head-on battles? Why not make use of Prince Hamid?

If Yelu Deguang could become the imperial father of Shi Jingtang, a man more than ten years his senior, then could Zhang Zhao not become the father-khan of Prince Hamid, the crown prince of Samanid Persia, a man more than ten years his senior?

Heh! Zhang Zhao could even forgo being father-khan — he only needed to empty out the treasuries of Samanid Persia.

With two or three million strings of cash in wealth, the Great Khagan Zhang would not mind making a trip to Bukhara to help a dreamer realize his dream.

"The Great King devises strategy from within the command tent, his vision far-reaching. Your servant can never match him!" Guo Tiance said with heartfelt admiration.

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