Chapter 316

On the fifteenth day of the fourth month, Zhang Zhao personally led two thousand elite troops from the Hanhai Garrison of the Guiyi Army, nine hundred heavy infantry from the Yucheng Garrison, and eleven hundred warriors of the Hanshan Capital who had absorbed the elite cavalry of six tribes — four thousand horse and foot soldiers in all.

Added to these were more than two thousand light cavalry who had come of their own accord, bringing their own dry rations and horses, hoping to follow Lord Zhang and win merit and reward — over six thousand men in total, proclaiming themselves an army of twenty thousand, setting out from Liangzhou and surging eastward in grand array.

At first Zhang Zhao did not take it very seriously; he had planned first to subdue the various tribes of Lanzhou, and only then go to Weizhou to put down the rebellion.

But now, he was advancing east with an extremely complicated state of mind — he was even wondering whether he should not bring Murong Xinzhang or Zhang Lie along.

What kind of Western Liang Military Governor, summoned by imperial decree into Guanzhong, brings along several of his own brave and battle-hungry fine sons from the start?

Most inauspicious! When the time came and he shouted, "Where is my son Xinzhang?" — that would truly be a joke from hell.

The reason for this gap between his earlier and later understanding was that the Weizhou of the Tang dynasty and the Weizhou of the Five Dynasties were simply not the same place.

The Tang-dynasty Weizhou was the later Longxi in Gansu, while the Five Dynasties Weizhou lay in the area of later Pingliang in Gansu.

Although these two places did border each other, their political influence and strategic importance were utterly incomparable.

Tang-dynasty Weizhou lay directly southeast of Lanzhou, just past Didao, and it was not territory controlled by the Central Plains court either. The people occupying it were much the same mix as in Lanzhou — a small number of Han descendants plus some Tangut, Uyghur, and Tibetan remnants.

But the Five Dynasties Weizhou was situated at the far more critical Pingliang, a place controlled by the Central Plains court, under the jurisdiction of the Military Governor of Jingyuan of the Zhangyi Army.

Beyond it lay the territory of the Military Governor of Binning of the Jingnan Army; to the left of the Binning Military Governor was the territory of the Fengxiang Military Governor; and further on was the Jingzhao Prefecture of the Jinchang Military Governor — which was none other than Chang'an, the capital of the Great Tang.

You can see it now, can't you? Whether the Jingyuan Military Governor or the Binning Military Governor — to say nothing of Fengxiang and Chang'an — these were all names of thunderous renown!

These places could also be said to be Guanzhong.

At this thought, Zhang Zhao, riding his warhorse against the cold wind, could not help but give a slight shiver. Chang'an! So Pei Yuanzhen had truly won him an excellent opportunity.

Not to go take a Weizhou (Longxi) already placed at his lips, but to go to a Weizhou (Pingliang) he had never imagined — and perhaps even to go to Chang'an.

So once Zhang Zhao had figured out where Weizhou was, he could not help but sigh: the Ganzhou Uyghurs truly had good fortune.

Originally he had planned, at spring planting time, to raise two thousand men to harass the Ganzhou Uyghurs, make their spring planting difficult, and then destroy them at the autumn harvest. Now that such a fine opportunity had come, the campaign against the Ganzhou Uyghurs was naturally postponed once again.

Six thousand-odd men, with fully twenty-two thousand-odd mules, horses, and livestock — close to a configuration of four horses per man, which could be called lavish.

Even though Liangzhou had produced horses since ancient times, and Zhang Zhao had brought several thousand folded-ear horses with him, this was still an extremely grand display.

From the distance came wailing and shrieks of agony. From where Zhang Zhao stood, before him lay a broad valley.

In the valley, a great river flowed from west to east. Along both banks lay an extremely rich river-valley region, with vast stretches of fine farmland, and on the hills on either side, flocks of sheep dotted the landscape like cotton.

"My lord! Your subordinate has broken a village of the Tangut slaves! They dared to harbor the the Shatuo rebels from Lanzhou — an unforgivable crime!"

The one who could now so smoothly keep the words "my lord" on his lips was, of course, Lord Zhang's fine son, Murong Xinzhang.

At this moment, the fine son sat astride a powerful folded-ear horse; though his body was stained with flecks of blood, his bearing was radiant as he glanced about.

Before him, a woman in colorful clothing lay draped across the horse's back. She neither wept nor struggled, but hung her head downward with an air of resignation.

Judging from the slender white neck exposed at her collar and the high, pert curve of her rear, she was likely a beauty.

"This is the youngest daughter of a local chieftain. I seized her and offer her to my lord to warm his bed tonight!"

As Murong Xinzhang spoke, he pulled up the woman's hair, and a small, fine-boned face flushed with a few traces of red appeared in Zhang Zhao's sight — large eyes and moist pink lips; she was indeed beautiful.

"This is your spoil of war. What kind of beauty has your father not enjoyed, that he would fancy such a wildflower? The Kang girl is with child, and you have no one to attend you — keep her for yourself!"

Zhang Zhao quietly swallowed, and then... refused. Although such things were common in this age, Zhang Zhao still found this method somewhat hard to accept — and all the more so because it was Murong Xinzhang making the offering; he felt a touch more awkward about it.

Murong Xinzhang had also intended to decline out of courtesy, but after a look at the woman's waist, hips, and face, he was very much moved.

A young man who has tasted the flavor knows its sweetness. The daughter of Kang Jinshan whom Zhang Zhao had given him in marriage was already five months pregnant, and Murong Xinzhang had lately been left idle.

"Go on, go on! Put this woman to the rear. Pass on my order: let no one connected with the the the Shatuo rebels of Lanzhou escape. Warn all officers to remember military discipline!" Zhang Zhao waved his hand and sent Murong Xinzhang away.

His — Lord Zhang's — military order was that all spoils of war must be turned in, and then distributed as rewards according to merit.

In this kind of wide-ranging plunder, killing was permitted, looting was permitted, but arson was generally forbidden, and unauthorized rape was strictly prohibited. Military judges had already been assigned down to every company, and enforcement was very strict.

Zhang Zhao was setting a rule for everyone: those who kept the rules would have everything they needed; those who did not would lose their heads.

It must be said that this transmigrator Zhang understood well the character of the warriors of this age, and feared even more that his own soldiers would imitate their counterparts in the Central Plains. Therefore he grasped military law and rules with a very strict hand.

But that was as far as it went. An army of might and virtue, a civilized army — such a thing would not appear in this age.

To guarantee seventy or eighty percent obedience and eighty or ninety percent loyalty toward Zhang Zhao himself was already quite good.

Killing and plundering are things carved into the very genes of a feudal army, that violent institution. Not everyone has the ability, in a feudal age, to train a Yue Family Army that would starve to death rather than plunder and freeze to death rather than tear down houses.

That is why Grandfather Yue is a hero for the ages. For this transmigrator Zhang to even catch a glimpse of his back would already be extraordinary.

This was also why Zhang Zhao did not choose the route from Lanzhou through Didao into Weizhou (Longxi) and Qinzhou (Tianshui), and then on to inner Weizhou (Pingliang).

Instead he chose to follow the Yellow River straight down, through Huizhou (Jingyuan in Gansu) and Yuanzhou (Guyuan), to inner Weizhou.

Because Weizhou and Qinzhou, which was controlled by the Central Plains court, lay within the sphere of influence of the Wenmo-ized tribes, and there were also some Wenmo-ized Han people there. This area had originally been under the jurisdiction of the Longyou Military Governor, and was territory Zhang Zhao had internally designated as his own.

But in Huizhou and Yuanzhou, this region was the dwelling place of various Tangut clans and other small tribes, whose customs and blood ties were closer to the Eastern Mountain Tangut of the Qingzhou area.

Given Zhang Zhao's current strength and plans, it would be very difficult for him to contend against the Central Plains court. The only formidable rival he could set his sights on was the various Tangut tribes — especially the Pingxia tribe and the Dingnan Army of Xiazhou.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity of marching troops to Weizhou, to first strike fear into the Tangut of Huizhou and Yuanzhou was simply a matter of doing it along the way.

Moreover, this time he had drawn out close to seven thousand troops and more than twenty thousand mules and horses. He could not very well pay for it all himself, could he? Even if it meant a loss, it could not be a great, terrible loss. A small loss Zhang Zhao could still accept.

The place to make up for it absolutely could not be on the territory of the Jingyuan Military Governor of the Zhangyi Army in inner Weizhou, nor on the Qinzhou territory of the Xiongwu Military Governor — and he was also unwilling to plunder Weizhou, which had the Wenmo tribe.

Then there was no choice but to let the Tangut common folk suffer a little!

From Huizhou to Yuanzhou was a journey of over three hundred li. Zhang Zhao did not enter the city of Huizhou, but headed straight for Yuanzhou.

The Tangut tribes along this stretch of road suffered a great calamity. More than thirty large and small tribes were broken; exactly how many people were killed, Zhang Zhao did not bother to count.

In any case, when he set out he had brought only five thousand shi of grain. By the time he reached the walls of Yuanzhou, no one had calculated how much grain remained, but behind him followed six thousand sheep, four hundred head of cattle, and more than two hundred mules and horses.

The grain and fodder was more than sixty carts greater than at departure; the able-bodied laborers taken numbered more than fifteen or sixteen hundred, and the women more than three thousand.

The Tangut tribe of Yuanzhou city had of course learned from the nearby tribes that a military force had come from Liangzhou.

However, the report the headman here received was that the Liangzhou Tibetans were plundering on a massive scale, so he had gathered more than six thousand men and also sought aid from the Eastern Mountain Tangut of Qingzhou. The Eastern Mountain tribe had already dispatched four thousand riders, who were hurrying over.

But as soon as Zhang Zhao's two thousand vanguard troops reached the walls of Yuanzhou, the Tangut tribe inside the city was dumbfounded. Where were the promised Liangzhou Tibetans?

Your mother!

Li Zhongchao raised his hand and slapped the young tribal chief beside him. Two thousand troops below the walls, all of them on tall, fine horses and armored head to toe — what Tibetan force could have equipment like that? What, has Songtsen Gampo come back to life?

Clatter-clatter! Clatter-clatter! The rapid beat of hoofbeats came near. By the banners, it was Zhang Zhao's own scouts returning.

"Report! I beg to inform the Excellency: fifteen days ago the mutinous troops of Weizhou stormed Yizhou. An Shuqian, Military Governor of Binning under the Jingnan Army, led four thousand men to suppress the rebellion, but the Jingnan Army itself broke out in mutiny. The two rebel forces have joined together, taken An Shuqian hostage, and are claiming thirty thousand men. They are marching on Fengxiang Prefecture."

Holy shit! That's no small affair! The yabing guards of two Military Governors have both revolted — are they going to attack Chang'an?

"Great joy! Great joy!" No sooner had the scout finished than Li Cunhui came galloping back in person. He had ridden out five days ahead of Zhang Zhao's main army, going specifically to the Weizhou area where the mutiny had broken out to gather intelligence.

"The court's express courier has already reached Qinzhou. The court appoints the Excellency as Military Governor of Hexi, concurrently Observation, Disposition, Farming, Revenue, and Tribal Affairs Commissioner over the four prefectures of Shan, Lan, He, and Kuo, and orders you to advance east with all speed to suppress the rebellion."

Hiss! Zhang Zhao drew a sharp breath. No wonder Li Cunhui had come back in person, wild with joy. It was not merely that the Hexi Military Governorship had been granted — the four prefectures of Shan, Lan, He, and Kuo had all been handed over as well. This was one step short of slapping the Longyou Military Governorship onto his head.

That bastard Pei Yuan — how much of the realm did he sell to Shi Jingtang? Enough to make Shi Jingtang throw away even his last shred of dignity?

—————— Author's note ——————

I genuinely have no backlog; this chapter was written on the spot. Today I'm traveling back again — six hours on a bus — and I don't know if I'll have time tonight. From a miserable writer who knows the plot only two hours before the readers do, weeping.

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