Chapter 403: Meeting at Shahukou

By the Chile River, beneath the Yin Mountains.

The sky is like a dome of felt, covering the wilds on every side.

The sky is vast, the fields boundless; when the wind blows and the grass bends low, the cattle and sheep appear.

This Northern Dynasties folk song describes the beautiful scenery along the Hun River.

Unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties centuries later, and even the early Republic, when the ecology here was destroyed and yellow sand came rolling across the land.

At this time, the banks of the Hun River could truly live up to the beauty of "wind blows, grass bends low, and the cattle and sheep appear."

Even the Hun River, which in later ages would have a broad, shallow channel and water thick with silt, was at this time relatively clear, with a fairly ample flow.

After Zhang Zhao received the Khitan envoy who had returned with Wu Da'er, he summoned his generals and they deliberated for half a day.

The conclusion they reached in the end was that this meeting must not be missed.

First, it would allow them to ease relations with the Khitan and buy time to digest the four prefectures of the Dingnan Army and the three prefectures of the Lingwu Army, as well as to continue developing the territory of Hexi and Longyou.

Second, they could use this window to take down the Gaochang Uyghurs and eliminate the greatest threat behind them.

As long as the Gaochang Uyghurs were gone, there would be no worry of being attacked from both east and west by the Khitan.

Moreover, the Khagan of the Pugu clan of the Gaochang Uyghurs was the last Uyghur Khagan in all of Anxi and Beiting.

If Zhang Zhao defeated the Gaochang Uyghurs, he could force the Uyghurs to acknowledge his title of Ju'er Khan, becoming the common Khagan of the Uyghurs and Basmyls of Anxi, Beiting, and Hexi.

More importantly, north of the Uyghurs there still existed the two hundred thousand people of the Kyrgyz tribes.

In the second year of Changxing, that is, nine years earlier in 931 CE, the Kyrgyz had suffered a severe dzud and were threatened by the Khitan, so they submitted to the Khitan, who established the Kyrgyz Great King's Office to rule them under loose control.

Later generations all regarded the Kyrgyz, as well as the tribes of the Altai Mountains south of the Kyrgyz, as being within the Khitan's sphere of rule, but in fact this is inaccurate.

These tribes were only nominally subject to the Khitan.

The Khitan, for their part, merely practiced a crude form of rule in which they collected a few cattle and sheep hides and then refrained from plundering them.

To put it plainly, this was nothing more than these tribes paying protection money to the Khitan to avoid being robbed by them.

Historically, after more than a hundred years of Khitan rule, they gradually became Khitanized.

Some tribal leaders even intermarried with the Khitan, and in the end they became the foundation that allowed Yelu Dashi to establish himself in Transoxiana.

But for the Khitan at present, these tribes were not important.

Zhang Zhao, however, still had his eye on them. At the very least, their cowhide, sinew, and horn could be used to make armor and bows — strategic supplies that Zhang Zhao very much needed.

So Zhang Zhao planned, after dealing with the Gaochang Uyghurs and making the Uyghurs honor him as Ju'er Khan, to threaten, win over, and gradually bring these tribes under his control.

And he also had one advantage that Yelu Deguang did not possess: Zhang Zhao's status as the Wheel-Turning Sage King.

The Kyrgyz's faith was roughly the same as that of the Gaochang Uyghurs — Zoroastrianism mixed with Manichaeism — and converting these two religions to Buddhism was very easy.

In the Central Plains, Zhang Zhao could not spread his titles of Wheel-Turning Sage King and Dharma King Bodhisattva, because in the Central Plains he needed, to a certain extent, to strike at the local tyrants of Buddhist temples in order to obtain the means of production and promote productivity.

Moreover, the culture of the Han people in the Central Plains fundamentally had no soil in which theocratic power could grow. Doing this in the Central Plains would bring more loss than gain.

But on the Qingtang Plateau and in the Outer Tianshan, the Tannu Uriankhai, and the North Sea (Lake Baikal) where the Kyrgyz lived, this approach was very well received.

Threaten with military force, entice with the three great weapons of salt, sugar, and tea, and control minds with a reformed Buddhism — the picture was beautiful just to imagine.

Of course, the biggest reason for all this was something Zhang Zhao and his officers never said aloud, but everyone knew.

That was that since Zhang Zhao had led the army out on campaign at the end of the seventh month last year, the great army had been away from Liangzhou for more than eight months.

Over these eight-plus months, at its peak and counting civilian laborers, the forces employed had approached seventy thousand.

For the newborn Hexi regime, the expenditure of money and grain had pressed close to the limit, and the grain and fodder stockpiled over the past year and more had basically been used up.

At the same time, last year's autumn harvest and this year's spring planting had both been delayed and reduced because so many able-bodied men had been conscripted.

As for army morale, after six months of the siege of Xiazhou, everyone from top to bottom was utterly exhausted and hoping to return quickly to Hexi to rest and refit.

At the same time, the twenty thousand cavalry of the various Tangut and Qiang tribes had only just been subdued, and their combat effectiveness was still in a rather Schrodinger state — they could not be relied upon as a dependable force.

So although Zhang Zhao appeared to be leading an army of tens of thousands, in reality the whole army, from top to bottom, had no desire to keep fighting — at least not against an enemy like the Khitan, who looked quite formidable.

The reason they were now marching boldly and spiritedly with Zhang Zhao toward the Hun River was entirely Zhang Zhao's own prestige, which kept the soldiers' morale relatively high.

But prestige is not something to be used too often, nor too hard. It is painfully difficult to accumulate, yet all too easy to lose.

Even setting all else aside, even if the whole army had been willing to test itself against the Khitan, Zhang Zhao would not have chosen this moment.

Because the Hexi Army's secret weapon — the thing that allowed twenty or thirty thousand men to strike out in all directions while maintaining formidable combat power — was something very special.

For example, in the period of our Great Song, a regular armored soldier required an auxiliary soldier to help him put on his armor, to feed him and give him water during the intervals of repeated charges on the battlefield, and even to serve as a massage technician.

A porter to carry his armor when draft animals were scarce.

A quasi-craftsman to look after and repair his armor and carry his grain.

Every huo — that is, every ten armored soldiers — also required two civilian laborers to tend the draft animals.

In other words, behind every armored soldier there were at least three men to serve him, sometimes four, in order to ensure that the armored soldier had ample physical strength and could concentrate on fighting.

This was also the biggest reason why Song armies were often raised in the hundreds of thousands, yet the men actually doing the fighting numbered only thirty or forty thousand, fifty thousand at most.

And in the Guiyi Army, how many auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers did the armored soldiers have?

Roughly one for every three or four men, and these auxiliaries mostly doubled as militia archers and were not constantly at the armored soldiers' sides.

Part of the reason was that the Guiyi Army had a great deal of cloth-faced iron armor and mail, which was convenient to wear and light in weight, and that it had far more draft animals than ordinary armies.

There was also the factor that the Guiyi Army's armored soldiers could endure hard fighting and hardship.

"Since ancient times the soldiers of Qin have endured hard fighting" — that is no empty saying, and Hexi and Longyou were also a major source of Qin soldiers.

But no matter how one put it, although this saved the Guiyi Army enormous costs when fielding large armies and increased its marching speed,

and made it less likely to collapse on the battlefield — after all, with more armored soldiers and elites and fewer auxiliaries and laborers, an army was naturally harder to break —

yet after prolonged campaigning, this advantage would gradually be offset.

Physical and psychological exhaustion came on somewhat faster than in ordinary armies.

Therefore, at this moment, the Guiyi Army's combat strength and will were not at their best.

Facing an enemy like the Khitan, Zhang Zhao would not choose to start a fight with them at this moment. Meeting with Yelu Deguang was the best opportunity to avoid war breaking out now.

The meeting place for both sides was set at a small beacon-fort beside the Hun River.

This beacon-fort had originally been part of the Great Wall. The Tang dynasty simply did not build the Great Wall, but that did not mean there was no Great Wall. On the contrary, for certain functionally sound sections of the Han and Northern Dynasties walls, maintenance was still taken quite seriously.

This nameless beacon-fort was one of them. Four hundred years later, it would acquire a resounding name: Shahukou, the Killing-Hu Pass.

Of course, at present it was nowhere near becoming the major gateway for exiting the frontier that it would be in history. It was just a small earthen-walled beacon-fort.

For Zhang Zhao and Yelu Deguang, a meeting between figures of their level was something that tested each side's caliber to an extreme degree.

After the location and date were fixed, the vanguard forces of both sides began moving in and occupying the area.

Zhang Zhao selected Bai Congxin's three hundred light-armored elite cavalry and the three hundred finest cavalrymen of Li Cunhui's command.

As for Murong Xinzhang, he took control of the army for Zhang Zhao at a spot about five li away.

Yan Jin, Fan Quan, Yin Yaozi, Ma Yaozi, and Ma Shacai were all absent. Only with Murong Xinzhang controlling the army was Zhang Zhao most at ease.

Likewise, Yelu Deguang picked three hundred cavalry from each of the left and right Pishi Guards, and very considerately brought along his imperial uncle Yelu Anduan and his younger brother Yelu Lihu. He had to do this, or he would not be free of worry about someone causing trouble.

Before the two sides met, each dispatched several dozen military observers to the other side.

On the surface, they were there to admire the other side's military bearing; in reality, they were there to confirm that the other side had kept to the agreement.

Because according to the agreement, apart from these six hundred cavalry on each side, both armies had to withdraw to five li away.

Zhang Zhao sent Shen Nianban, Zhebu Jiashi, and Huang Yingda as the three military observers, leading over a hundred elite riders to patrol and basically confirm that the Khitan troops had all kept to the agreement.

Yelu Deguang sent Yelu Wuzhi, Han Kuangsi, and others as military observers. Besides confirming that the Hexi troops were all in their designated positions, they also reported back to Yelu Deguang their impressions of the Guiyi Army.

Banners waved, warhorses stood strong and vigorous, several thousand iron-clad soldiers held strong bows and hard crossbows, standing in formation for a full hour without moving a fraction. Heavy and light armored cavalry were fierce beyond compare, and the skirmish riders of each unit blotted out the sky.

In Zhang Zhao's and Murong Xinzhang's view, of their thirty-five thousand troops, at most five thousand could reach the level of the Khitan Pishi Guards.

But in Yelu Wuzhi's and Han Kuangsi's view, among the Hexi Guiyi Army, those who could compare with the Pishi Guards numbered at least ten thousand.

In particular, the most elite thousand-plus men wielding modao glaive glaive glaives, equipped with cloth-faced iron armor and strong bows and hard crossbows, had combat strength far above ordinary Pishi Guards. They were a truly terrifying elite force.

Upon receiving this report, Yelu Deguang immediately understood that the Guiyi Army could not be defeated by casually mustering thirty or fifty thousand men, and so he abandoned any thought of a surprise attack on Zhang Zhao.

Moreover, regarding the meeting itself, Zhang Zhao had left the Khitan no loophole to exploit, and so the meeting between the two sides proceeded as agreed.

Shahukou was located in a valley through which the Hun River flowed. High mountains faced each other on both sides, with the river valley in between. It had always been an important passage between Shuozhou and Yunzhou and the grasslands.

Neither side had garrisoned troops at the pass. The meeting place was on the sandy shore beside the river in the valley.

A high platform for the meeting had been erected here. Zhang Zhao and Yelu Deguang each brought thirty guards; the rest of the cavalry waited several hundred meters below the platform.

Yelu Deguang wore a purple robe, dressed very much in Han style, with his hair in the customary topknot and netted cap.

However, this purple robe was quite loose and baggy, and beneath it something seemed faintly hidden.

Zhang Zhao's attire was actually much the same as Yelu Deguang's — likewise a purple round-collared robe, only it also seemed a bit too large, and on his head he wore a wrapped gauze cap.

The biggest difference was simply that Zhang Zhao was still young and exercised regularly, so his figure was tall and graceful as jade, his waist and back straight, giving him a vigorous, masculine beauty.

Yelu Deguang was already thirty-eight years old. After becoming ruler of the Khitan, he had inevitably begun to put on weight.

Wearing this loose purple robe made him look even more bloated, and his appearance fell far short of Zhang Zhao's.

Yet the moment the two met, a feeling of mutual respect and recognition arose between them.

For no other reason than this: although each had brought thirty guards, only two guards could approach the meeting platform.

Without prior agreement, Zhang Zhao had brought Man Xiong and Dunzhu. Besides these two being unmatched in close combat, there was another advantage — their physiques were extremely imposing. If anything went wrong, the two of them could block the doorway and completely shield Zhang Zhao.

Yelu Deguang was the same. The two guards he chose had physiques that could rival Man Xiong and Dunzhu.

Zhang Zhao estimated that if he lunged over now, those two brawny warriors opposite would step in front of Yelu Deguang, and he most likely would not be able to break through.

Even if Man Xiong, Dunzhu, and he all attacked together, Yelu Deguang could still calmly leap down from the platform. Then things would get troublesome — the two sides would truly begin a fight to the death with no end.

Moreover, beneath their loose robes, both men had surely, without prior agreement, donned interlinked-ring armor. Even setting aside the fact that they had no weapons, even with weapons, this was not something a few slashes could settle.

Considering all this, Zhang Zhao also abandoned the thought of killing Yelu Deguang and throwing the Khitan into internal chaos.

Both men had made the most rigorous possible arrangements for their own safety.

"The Lord of Hexi offers wine to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Khitan!"

After the two were seated, each had bear-and-tiger generals standing guard to the left and right, and each side's attendants came forward, laying out melons, fruits, vegetables, and fine wine.

These words were not spoken by Zhang Zhao, but by his Basmyl attendant.

After the attendant finished speaking, he gave a respectful bow with clasped hands and moved to pour wine for Yelu Deguang.

But Yelu Deguang's attendant remained standing nearby and did not leave, preventing Zhang Zhao's Basmyl attendant from approaching.

"Is the land of Hexi a subject of the Jin state?" Yelu Deguang looked at Zhang Zhao and spoke personally.

"The land of Hexi is territory of the Central Plains. It is not a subject — it is a hand and foot, an ear and eye."

Zhang Zhao of course understood Yelu Deguang's meaning. If he admitted that Hexi was a subject of the Later Jin,

then since Yelu Deguang was Shi Jingtang's father, and Zhang Zhao was merely the subject of his adopted son, what ritual should he use toward Yelu Deguang?

"The King of Han styles himself a loyal minister and righteous man, yet now he refuses to state plainly whether he is a subject of the Jin ruler. The eighteen prefectures returning to the nation — could it be a pretense?"

"The land of Yan-Yun is also Chinese territory. Your Majesty occupies Yan-Yun — do you intend, after the examples of the Xiongnu, the Turks, and the the the Shatuo, to become a subject of the Central Plains?"

Yelu Deguang flew into a rage. "I am the father of the Jin ruler! The land of Yan-Yun was not demanded by me — it was willingly ceded by the Jin ruler!"

Zhang Zhao retorted sharply, "I have only heard of fathers leaving inheritance to their sons, never of sons giving ancestral property back to their fathers. Could Your Majesty be a stepfather who married into the household?"

The so-called stepfather who married into the household refers to the kind of young, strong husband taken in by a wealthy woman after her husband dies.

Though called a husband, it is in fact much like a live-in son-in-law. The children do not take his surname, and he still lives in the woman's home, with very low status.

And indeed, with that comparison, it really was damn near spot-on!

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