Chapter 401: Is This a Case of Jiang Gan Stealing the Letter?

The night was deep, but the Khitan banquet for the Guiyi Army envoys had only just ended.

Wu Da'er had a beauty in each arm, two spirited Khitan beauties wrapped around him, and he could not have been happier.

Not only he, but every man of any standing in the Guiyi Army envoy party had beauties to attend him, and even the lowliest porters had all the wine and meat they could want.

They had besieged the city below Xiazhou for nearly six months and had long since had their fill of hardship, so once Wu Da'er stopped restraining them,

the men of the envoy party opened their mouths wide to gorge on meat and raised great bowls of wine, and it would be hard to say how delighted they were.

As for the monk Hui Xing, Yang He, and several monks from Dayun Temple, Yelu Deguang had invited them over to expound the sutras for a crowd of Khitan nobles.

Sweet tea brewed from fine Hexi tea bricks and fine white sugar, fine sandalwood from Youzhou — Yelu Deguang himself was also quite well versed in the Dharma.

Yang He and the monks, and the crowd of Khitan nobles, likewise talked together with great pleasure.

Passing by Cao Yanjing's tent, Wu Da'er deliberately kneaded the two Khitan beauties at his sides, drawing coquettish giggles from the two bold Khitan "mares."

Wu Da'er of course knew what the Khitans were up to, and with the "skill" of the two beauties beside him, he probably would not be able to get out of bed by tomorrow morning, and certainly would not be getting up at night either.

"Would you be the Guiyi Army Deputy Envoy Cao? Please, sit down quickly."

In a tent furnished in a very Han style, Cao Yanjing met a scholar dressed in a blue round-collared robe.

"Indeed. I am Cao Yanjing, unworthily serving as Deputy Envoy of the Guiyi Army. May I ask which official of the superior state you are, sir?" Cao Yanjing appeared somewhat cautious.

"Ah! I do not deserve to be called an official by Deputy Envoy Cao. I am Han Kuangye, Minister of Education of the Great Khitan State and Military Governor of the Tiancheng Army."

For all his show of modesty, Han Kuangye was not modest in the least.

"A man of the wilds pays his respects to the Minister of Education of the superior state!"

The moment Cao Yanjing heard that the other man, though dressed as a Han, bore the surname Han and held the empty title of Minister of Education with actual command of a military province, he knew a big fish had come, and he hurried to prostrate himself.

"No need for such ceremony, no need for such ceremony!" Han Kuangye hastened to help Cao Yanjing up. Since he meant to extract information from the man, he naturally had to put on a courteous manner.

"Your Excellency is a Han of Hexi, and I am a Han of the grasslands. We are both men with homes we cannot return to, so we ought to be a little closer."

Hearing Han Kuangye use the identity of a Han likewise under foreign control to draw near, Cao Yanjing gave a long sigh, raised his head slightly, and gazed sidelong at the top of the tent.

In his heart he began to recall how his grandfather Cao Yijin had often shown his cherishing of his Han identity and his longing for his homeland, and he slowly began to build up his emotions.

Sure enough, after a few breaths, a little moisture gathered in Cao Yanjing's eyes, the rims reddened slightly, and his expression showed a touch of emotion mixed with words left unsaid, rendering that sense of grievance he could not voice with vivid skill.

"Minister Han, though born among the Khitan, belongs to a Khitan state that has long admired the culture of the Central Plains, so it may well be counted a state of refined culture.

And now that it has gained the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun and other Han lands, it is like the Xianbei Northern Dynasties of old — how could that be called having a home one cannot return to?

My Guiyi Army is ringed about by barbarians, holding only the two prefectures of Sha and Su — that is what truly deserves to be called having a home one cannot return to."

This speech set Han Kuangye's heart blooming with delight. In truth, he felt a certain inferiority about his family's being among the Khitan, for after all the Khitans shaved their heads and wore the left lapel, and could hardly be called a people of much refinement.

Now that Cao Yanjing compared the Khitan to the Xianbei Northern Dynasties, it struck exactly what Han Kuangye had in his heart, and how could it not set his heart blooming? At once he thought a little more highly of Cao Yanjing.

And he also caught the meaning hidden beneath Cao Yanjing's words.

This King of Han, Zhang, held all of Hexi and Longyou, yet this man spoke only of the two prefectures of Sha and Su.

This King of Han, Zhang, had returned to the Han with eighteen prefectures, yet this man still spoke of being ringed about by barbarians — there must be more to the story.

At that thought, Han Kuangye slowed his speech and began steering the conversation toward what he had planned, for he first wanted to confirm Cao Yanjing's identity.

"The Deputy Envoy is surnamed Cao? May I ask how you are related to Lord Cao Yijin, Duke of Qiao Commandery?"

Cao Yijin had held the Guiyi Army for over ten years, so if one deliberately sought out information, it could still be found.

Cao Yanjing at once clasped his hands in flattered gratitude. "The Minister knows of the Guiyi Army's Lord Cao? He is precisely my grandfather!"

Done! Han Kuangye grew even more excited, and he deliberately put on a strange expression.

"Lord Cao in former years sent envoys to our Great Khitan State to offer congratulations on the long life of the Empress Dowager Yingtian, so of course I know of him.

There is only one matter I do not understand: your lord, the King of Han of Hexi — is he also the Military Governor of the Guiyi Army?"

On Cao Yanjing's face appeared a look of inner conflict and violent struggle. His lips parted slightly, his hands clenched into fists, his fingertips whitening from the force, and his chest heaved violently.

Han Kuangye was overjoyed — there was indeed more to the story. He stepped closer to Cao Yanjing and looked him straight in the eye.

"Though the Deputy Envoy and I are meeting for the first time, it feels as if we had known each other for many years.

Enough! Enough! I shall speak plainly. The reason I invited the Deputy Envoy here today is the will of His Majesty of our Great Khitan State.

Whatever grievance the Deputy Envoy bears, he may speak it all. If there is any injustice, His Majesty is generous, benevolent, and forgiving, with a heart that cares for all the people under heaven, and he will surely help the Deputy Envoy obtain redress!"

Cao Yanjing felt the moment had come. With a wail he burst into tears, seized Han Kuangye's sleeve, and dropped to his knees with a thud, then raised his head and wept until tears and snot ran down together.

It could not have been more pitiful, could not have been more aggrieved.

"That Zhang Zhao, relying on the support of his maternal uncle, the Great King of the Khotan golden kingdom, forcibly seized the foundation of my Cao family! Our Guiyi Army was founded for the sake of returning to the Han, but that Zhang Zhao gathers the barbarians of Hexi and Longyou to his own use. He calls it returning to the Han, but in truth it is destroying the Han!

Now Hexi is entirely the barbarians' world. We of the Cao family have grievances with no place to air them. My father died of illness fifteen days ago, and that Zhang Zhao would not even petition the court for a posthumous title, so my father was buried as a commoner. I, Cao, am unfilial!"

Had Zhang Zhao been present, he would have known that among the old men of Dunhuang, a batch would have to be executed, exiled, or placed under house arrest.

For the first half of Cao Yanjing's tearful complaint was exactly what Cao Yuanshen said every day.

Han Kuangye was beside himself with excitement, feeling that he was about to see through the true state of Hexi and gain a member of the Cao family into the bargain — what a great merit that would be!

He pulled Cao Yanjing to his feet in one motion, his mouth full of assurances.

"Deputy Envoy, please tell the matter of that Zhang Zhao piece by piece, all of it. Rest assured, with His Majesty of the Great Khitan State to uphold you, any grievance can be redressed!"

Cao Yanjing was so moved he tried to kneel and kowtow again. Han Kuangye once more persuaded him to rise, and then Cao Yanjing told the whole matter in full detail.

The two talked for a full hour. After seeing Cao Yanjing off, Han Kuangye began writing a memorandum to Yelu Deguang, for he had at last gotten to the bottom of everything about that Zhang Zhao of Hexi.

It turned out this man was the great-grandson of Zhang Yichao, the former Military Governor of the Guiyi Army, and he now held all of Hexi and Longyou, and had also taken the Dingnan Army.

Under his command were a hundred battle-tested generals, more than ten thousand armored cavalry and armored soldiers, over twenty thousand elite palace guards, and more than fifty thousand light cavalry from the various tribes — he had already become a power in his own right, no longer the lord of some small state to be toyed with at will.

In Hexi and Longyou, he claimed to be returning to the Han, but in truth he relied on the support of the Wenmo, Tangut, and Uyghur peoples.

The Battle of the Hun River a few months ago was actually because they had been deceived by the Zhe family of Fuzhou into thinking the Great Khitan was going to interfere with their seizure of Xiazhou.

Zhang Zhao's original intent had been to intimidate, but his subordinate officers, for the sake of battle merit, blew the matter up on their own.

Han Kuangye believed this account, because it was not only the Hexi officers who did such things — the yabing guards of the Central Plains and the tribal army chieftains of the Khitan also liked to do the same.

Yet this Han King of Hexi, though his strength was not to be underestimated, had no shortage of internal conflicts.

The Han people of Hexi, mainly in Shazhou and Suzhou, were quite resentful, and the southern prefectures of Qinzhou and Weizhou were also dissatisfied with Zhang Zhao's policy of favoring the Wenmo and Tangut peoples, their hearts drifting away from him.

In the end, Han Kuangye reached his conclusion: Zhang Zhao had a certain amount of strength, but his internal problems were not small, and for the time being it would be difficult for him to contend with the Great Khitan.

If one could stir up internal strife, he would not be hard to deal with, but it was not appropriate to make an enemy of him right now, when the contradictions had not yet fully intensified.

The very day after Han Kuangye's secret talk with Cao Yanjing, Wu Da'er and the other two envoys of the Guiyi Army — one chief and two deputies — received a formal audience.

During those few days, Wu Da'er called on Khitan nobles everywhere, handing out tea bricks, rock sugar, white sugar, fine Khotan jade, and fine Hexi horses as if they cost nothing.

Even Yelu Deguang's uncle Yelu Anduan received a sturdy, vigorous fold-eared horse, and his impression of Wu Da'er and his party improved greatly.

Wu Da'er made his obeisance below, while Yelu Deguang sat above, thinking.

From the intelligence Han Kuangye had gathered, Yelu Deguang had formed a detailed understanding of Zhang Zhao — though this "detail," of course, was only what he himself believed it to be.

In Yelu Deguang's eyes, Zhang Zhao was a ruler of considerable cunning and commanding ability.

He belonged to that typical sort of lord of a small state or tribe who had a band of formidable fighters under him, but was a complete mess in every other respect.

Yelu Deguang had seen plenty of such men in the grasslands and the mountain forests of Liaodong — the Jurchen people deep in the forest sea, for instance.

But the vast majority of them had ended up either as claws and fangs of the Yelu clan, or wiped out by the Yelu clan.

The only difference between Zhang Zhao and them was that he occupied the land of Hexi, which, compared to the great mountains of the grasslands and Liaodong, could still be counted as prosperous.

He came from a Han family of hereditary officials, knew some letters, and had a somewhat broader vision and more capable methods.

He could be counted a hero of his age, but compared to a sage and divinely martial sovereign like himself, he fell far short.

"The Great Jin Kingdom's Grand Envoy of the Hexi and Longyou Military Governorship, Commissioner of the Guiyi Army, Han King Zhang Zhao, has specially dispatched us as envoys to pay respects to the Son of Heaven of the superior kingdom.

We specially present one copy of the Mahavairocana Sutra, hand-copied by King Prasenajit of Nalanda Monastery in India.

One beauty each from the royal house of Samanid Persia and the royal house of Shashi in India.

One sweat-blood heavenly horse.

One hundred bolts of Khotan colored silk, one hundred jin of rock sugar, two hundred jin of white sugar, three hundred jin of top-grade tea bricks, with respectful wishes for the Son of Heaven of the superior kingdom's long life and sacred well-being."

Whoa! The moment this gift list was read out, all the Khitan nobles and high Han officials in the imperial tent were stirred to excitement.

Setting aside the value of the list, the names alone were enough to overawe anyone.

The white sugar, rock sugar, and tea bricks of Hexi were the highest-grade luxuries in the Khitan state, beyond the means of ordinary officials and petty tribal chieftains.

To say nothing of the sweat-blood heavenly horse and the sutra hand-copied by King Prasenajit, the close friend of Shakyamuni Buddha — these were priceless treasures!

Even the beauties of noble birth were all but ignored by the crowd.

As the list was being proclaimed, the eminent monk Yang He, of the Huixing order, presented the sutra with both hands, borne on seven-colored silk and in a treasure chest.

Throughout the great tent, all the Khitan nobles at once began chanting the Buddha's name — even Yelu Deguang was no exception — so that it seemed as if a grand Buddhist liberation rite were being held.

"Arrange fast horses, detach one hundred of the Pishi Guard to escort it, and deliver the sutra to the Empress Dowager at once, praying that it may preserve the Empress Dowager's long life!"

It had to be said, Yelu Deguang's treatment of his mother Shulu Ping was beyond reproach. He merely glanced at the sutra, lightly touched it, and then had men hurry it off to his mother.

Next to enter was the sweat-blood heavenly horse sent by Zhang Zhao.

Including mixed-blood second and third generations, Zhang Zhao had found only a little over four hundred such horses in all of Ningyuan, the Fergana Basin.

He had kept three hundred, and a hundred had returned east; under careful tending, there were now fewer than five hundred — absolutely and exceptionally precious.

The one Zhang Zhao had sent was a gelded stallion, standing over five chi at the shoulder, roughly one meter sixty-seven or so.

That was a terrifying height. One must understand that an ordinary warhorse of the present day stood only about four chi four or five cun at the shoulder — about one meter forty.

This five-chi sweat-blood horse, standing in the tent, stood taller at the shoulder than many soldiers and officers; counting its proudly raised great head, it was like a giant creature.

Yelu Deguang was stunned. He had seen such horses before, but they were generally wild stallion kings of the open range.

They were not easy to catch, and even when caught, extremely hard to tame — and none had this all-over crimson coat, a color that looked noble at a glance.

The Khitan Emperor, after a moment's pause, rose from his seat and walked down in person.

He lifted his head, pushed aside the guards blocking his way, and gently stroked the horse's head.

The horse gave a docile snort, stretched out its neck, and licked the hem of Yelu Deguang's robe.

"This is a heavenly horse!" Yelu Deguang exclaimed.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty on obtaining this heavenly horse!" After he had finished exclaiming, a crowd of Khitan and Han ministers heaped on the flattery.

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