Chapter 307: Yelu Abuli

Yelu Abuli, her small face pale, lifted the carriage's cloth curtain and curiously studied the Liangzhou warriors around the carriage and the three warrior monks from the Great Cloud Temple.

The road from Luoyang to Lanzhou was not an easy one, and it had exhausted the little girl badly; the jolting along the way had made her vomit and suffer diarrhea, and only recently had she grown somewhat accustomed to it.

"Brother, why do those bhikshu monks look so fierce? Their Buddhist chants are very strange — are they begging for the protection of that Wheel-Turning Sage King in Hexi?"

The "brother" Yelu Abuli spoke of was a tall, long-limbed, burly man with a hawk nose.

The burly man turned back and gave Yelu Abuli a doting smile. "Young sister, those bhikshu monks are no ordinary monks. They are warrior monks of the Great Cloud Temple in Hexi, and they obey the Wheel-Turning Sage King. They have trained in spear and staff, and their leader looks to be a man of great strength, so of course they seem somewhat fierce.

I have just heard that all the warrior monks of Hexi revere the Wheel-Turning Sage King's decrees and chant 'Namo Wheel-Turning Sage King Bodhisattva.' It seems Master Longbian was not boasting — there truly is a Dharma King in Liangzhou, in Hexi!"

This hawk-nosed burly man whom Yelu Abuli could call "brother" was also of the Liao royal clan; his father was Yelu Yaliguo, the fourth son of Liao Taizu, Yelu Abaoji.

Yelu Yaliguo was even more unfortunate than his eldest brother Yelu Bei. In 921, Yelu Abaoji led a great army to besiege Dingzhou. When the Later Tang's Zhuangzong, Li Cunxu, heard of it, he personally led a great army north to relieve the siege, and the two sides fought a great battle at Wangdu in Dingzhou.

At the time, heavy snow fell from the sky, which was unfavorable for the Khitan cavalry's movements, and so Yelu Abaoji suffered a great defeat, escaping with only a little over a thousand cavalrymen.

In that battle, Yelu Yaliguo, who had accompanied his father on campaign, did not manage to flee and was captured by the Later Tang.

Tang Zhuangzong did not kill him, but instead bestowed on him the name Di Huaihui and assigned him to guard the palace gates at Jinyang. After Tang Mingzong Li Siyuan ascended the throne, he was transferred to Luoyang to continue guarding the palace gates.

Tang Mingzong and Zhuangzong also sent gifts to Yelu Abaoji year after year in Yelu Yaliguo's name.

This was not killing the man, but stabbing at his heart!

From then on, the Khitan did not dare look south for several years — or rather, they were too ashamed to march south.

Moreover, this battle was regarded by Yelu Abaoji as the greatest shame of his life, and within a few years he went to meet the Buddha.

Yelu Yaliguo, who guarded the gates, waited until Yelu Bei came across the sea from Dandong and was given the name Li Zanhua; only then did Tang Mingzong release him from gate duty.

After that, Yelu Yaliguo was able to rely on his eldest brother and live some peaceful days. This time, when Yelu Bei's youngest daughter Yelu Abuli traveled west, Yelu Yaliguo also sent his second son, Yelu He, to escort her.

Hearing her brother speak this way, a few traces of color flushed across Yelu Abuli's pale little face, and her spirits actually improved considerably.

Although the little girl was only nine years old, it was clear that she already somewhat understood what this westward journey was for.

Before her departure, her father Yelu Bei had told her that the Khitan people mostly believed in the Buddha, and if there truly was a Dharma King in Hexi, she should serve him with all her heart, so that his renown might spread to the north and south of the great desert and to the shores of the eastern sea.

"You are the Jade Maiden Treasure chosen by the Dharma King. With such a Buddhist affinity, you will surely be a powerful support for our family in days to come."

Yelu Bei, of course, did not know that he would soon be killed by the Last Emperor Li Congke; in his heart he was still thinking of using his daughter's status as a Buddhist Jade Maiden Treasure to increase his influence among the Khitan.

Yelu Abuli also understood her father's meaning and his wishes. Although her father had been forced to cross the sea to the Central Plains, he had never forgotten that he was a Khitan and the eldest son of Liao Taizu, and there was not a moment when he did not hope to return to the Khitan and seize back the throne.

If that were so, then among the Khitan, who universally revered Buddhism, a Dharma King of towering prestige would certainly be able to greatly strengthen Yelu Bei's influence. Compared with that, what was there to begrudge about one daughter?

"August Maiden, Yilijin, Master Longbian and the leader of those Liangzhou warriors have come to inform us that the Zhang Dharma King of Liangzhou is about to attack the city of Lanzhou. They want us to wait here, and enter the city only after Lanzhou is taken!"

Yelu Abuli and her brother had exchanged only a few words when the guard captain Mu Shunyi came hurrying over.

"August Maiden" is a Khitan word meaning "divine woman." At this time, in the Liao state, certain princesses favored by the Emperor would be affectionately called "August Maiden" by others.

"Yilijin" was a Khitan official title inherited from the Turkic language, referring to a tribal military chief.

Yelu He's father, Yelu Yaliguo, was the fourth son of Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji, and according to Khitan custom he had his own tribe, so both Yelu Yaliguo and his son Yelu He were called "Yilijin" by the Khitan warriors in the Central Plains.

"Hmph!" The more hot-tempered Yelu He, hearing Mu Shunyi say this, immediately scowled and let out an angry snort.

"These Liangzhou people look down on us far too much. Are we Khitan warriors men who cling to life and fear death?"

Mu Shunyi frowned slightly. He was not as impulsive as Yelu He. These fifty men were all the armed force protecting Yelu Abuli; how could they be casually thrown into a fight between the Liangzhou men and the Lanzhou men?

He looked toward Yelu Abuli. They were the guard unit protecting Yelu Abuli, so of course they listened only to her.

The nine-year-old girl thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Mu Sheli, do you think those Liangzhou men will succeed? If we sit on the sidelines and watch, will the Liangzhou men come to despise our Khitan warriors?"

"Sheli" is also a Khitan word, similar to "young lord," and is a respectful form of address for a man.

Hearing Yelu Abuli speak this way, a trace of surprise appeared on Mu Shunyi's face, and then, with his right hand over his chest, he replied.

"In answer to the August Maiden: in the Eastern Capital I saw quite a few Lanzhou men. They do not answer to one another, and the court has also cut off their supply of iron weapons, so they are not very strong.

As for the soldiers of Liangzhou, if Master Longbian has not spoken falsely, they should be very brave and skilled in battle."

"So that means the Liangzhou men are very likely to succeed, is that right?" Yelu Abuli asked, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Very likely!" Mu Shunyi nodded hesitantly. "But there is also a chance they may fail!"

"Then we Khitan warriors should fight together with the Liangzhou warriors. If victory were certain, how would our importance be shown?

Do not worry about me. I will go with Master Longbian to the Weiyan Temple. Even if they fail, they surely would not dare rush into a Buddhist temple and offend the Buddha."

Lanzhou City, the former Lanzhou Prefect's office. This was one of the better-maintained groups of buildings in all of Lanzhou City.

The Wang clan tribe that occupied Lanzhou, being a tribal confederation, naturally could not do without a place to discuss matters, and the most suitable place was certainly the Lanzhou Prefect's office.

The leading figure of the Wang clan tribe was the chieftain of the the the Shatuo Li clan — though calling them the the the Shatuo Li clan was not entirely accurate either.

For they did indeed have some kinship with the the the Shatuo Zhuye tribe, though it was only distant kinship.

So back when Li Keyong's great-grandfather, Zhuye Chixin of the the the Shatuo Zhuye tribe, broke away from the Tibetans and went over to the Great Tang, they had not followed along.

Sitting opposite the Li clan chieftain, forming a clear-cut, evenly matched standoff, was an old man wearing a leather robe.

Although the old man wore a leather robe, he had tied a mismatched futou headwrap on his head, as if proclaiming his identity as a Tang man.

This man was the leader of the Wang clan of Jincheng, the Later Tang court's Grand Master of the Palace with Silver Seal and Blue Ribbon, and concurrently Prefect of Lanzhou, Wang Zongheng.

Behind Wang Zongheng stood a burly man with large, rough hands and feet, a long hengdao saber at his waist, and wearing interlocked-ring armor. He was Wang Zongheng's second son, Wang Tinghan.

His name sounded quite refined, but in fact he was one of the few brave warriors in the Wang clan, and in history he had been enfeoffed by the Later Zhou court as General-in-Chief of Shunyi and Assistant Magistrate of Lanzhou.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Lanzhou Prefect's office was already extremely tense. The Li clan chieftain glanced several times at Wang Tinghan behind Wang Zongheng, his meaning clear, but in the end, mindful of something, he did not speak.

Wang Tinghan also eyed the Li clan chieftain sidelong, his hand already thrust into the lower hem of his robe, tightly gripping the hilt of his hengdao saber, ready to draw at any moment.

"Five days ago, the headman of the Lesser Liang tribe came to report that north of Jincheng County, there seemed to be a large body of troops passing through.

Yesterday, Huama'er, headman of the Greater Liang tribe at Jincheng Pass, also sent word that a group of his tribesmen went out three days ago to gather firewood and have not returned to this day.

Your Wang, Ma, and other families have long dwelt in the north; you must tell us whether there are troops from somewhere that have trespassed on our borders."

Jincheng Pass lay north of Lanzhou City, and was the only official road by which one could enter Lanzhou City from the north.

If someone came to Lanzhou from the north without passing through Jincheng Pass, the only other way was a small path further to the northeast, but that route passed through the treacherous Wild Horse Gully and was not easy to travel.

The matter was somewhat suspicious. The Li clan head felt something was off. Originally he had intended to summon everyone today to discuss matters, but the moment they met, a few words from both sides turned into a quarrel.

Without realizing it, the Li clan head fell into his old habit of shifting the blame onto the Wang clan of Jincheng and the other families descended from the sons of Tang.

"Who's to say it wasn't those plowmen who stirred up the Liangzhou troops? They want to keep all this good farmland for themselves!"

"Yesterday I saw someone from the Sulun family go to the Wang house. Who knows if they're in league with each other!"

The moment the Li clan head spoke, people began steering the matter toward collusion with the Liangzhou men.

"You rotten Qiang, if you have proof, bring it out. If you have no proof, then go find some! Slandering people will land you in the Tongue-Ripping Hell."

"A joke! The snow on Hongchi Ridge is knee-deep. Could Liangzhou troops fly here? If you want to frame someone, at least make it sound plausible. Do you dogs need your old man to teach you how?"

Faced with the accusations, the sons of Tang led by the Wang clan of Jincheng showed no weakness either, and all began cursing loudly.

In fact, the situation in Lanzhou was somewhat similar to that of Liangzhou.

The disputes between the the the Shatuo and the Han within the Wang clan also stemmed from land.

Decades ago, the Wang clan of Jincheng had dominated alone, holding vast tracts of prime farmland inside and outside Lanzhou, near the Zhuanglang River and the Yellow River.

In those days, to strengthen their power and increase their population, the Han descendants led by the Wang clan of Jincheng had recruited the the the Shatuo tribes and other Qiang tribes down from the mountains.

At first the two sides got along peacefully. After all, Lanzhou was large enough that supporting tens of thousands of people posed no great problem.

But later, the mountains grew colder and colder, and more and more tribes came down.

And after both the Great Tang and the Tibetans had collapsed, the two great powers that had fought back and forth over Lanzhou were gone, and Lanzhou entered a considerably long period of peace.

During this time, the population grew rapidly, nearly doubling to as many as 130,000 or 140,000. From Jincheng County to the city of Lanzhou alone, there were 60,000 or 70,000 people.

One must understand that when the Great Tang controlled Lanzhou, there had been only tens of thousands of people here. Now that it had suddenly grown to over a hundred thousand, it was pressing right up against the land's carrying capacity, and the conflict between people and land grew ever sharper.

The Han families such as the Wang clan of Jincheng felt that all the land in Lanzhou belonged to them, and that these the the Shatuo and Qiang had come down from the mountains to be their tenant farmers. Now they actually wanted to seize their land and recklessly open up wasteland everywhere — it was utterly unforgivable.

The the the Shatuo and the Qiang, for their part, believed that the Tang people had taken the good farmland and still forbade them from opening wasteland — that this was meant to drive them back into the mountains to die. Thus the conflict between the two sides escalated rapidly within just a few years.

The quarrel naturally produced no result. Originally the Li clan head had wanted everyone to discuss how to deal with the threat of Zhang Zhao of Liangzhou. In the end, they nearly came to blows right inside the Lanzhou Prefect's office.

Returning home, Wang Tinghan let out a long sigh. He did not even take off his interlocked armor before going to find his father, Wang Zongheng.

"Father, you must make a decision. Today I saw that all the barbarians had the intent to draw their blades. Had they not been wary of the dozen or so of us — my fourth brother and I and the rest — all armored and armed, I fear they would have attacked and killed us."

"I have heard that Zhang, Minister of Works of Liangzhou, has several thousand armored soldiers and is the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva Dharma King. We are all sons of Tang — why not go over to him?"

Wang Zongheng sat down heavily on the folding bed, his throat wheezing as he drew several sharp breaths, and then his body slowly slumped.

"What my son says — how could I not know it? But it is precisely because Minister Zhang has several thousand armored soldiers that I dare not go over to him."

"If his military strength were not so formidable, there would still be a place for us. But now that he has several thousand armored soldiers, what he lacks is not brave warriors, but the wealth and goods to feed those soldiers."

"Apart from wealth and goods, what does our Wang family have that could catch Minister Zhang's eye?"

"If we do not submit, we merely give up some wealth and goods to those the the Shatuo barbarians. But if we do submit, how could we hold on to the Wang family's hundred thousand-plus mu of farmland?"

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