Chapter 452: Next Time, the God of War Must Return!

In the eighth year of Tianfu of the Later Jin, the first month of 943 CE, just as the Liao and Jin armies faced off at Qicheng, Zhang Zhao's expedition against the Gaochang Uyghurs came to an end with surprising ease.

Defeating the Karluks and then the Gaochang Uyghurs had, in fact, been less difficult than leading his army across the Moheyan Desert and the the the Shatuo Desert.

The battle at Zetian Temple was especially telling: Zhang Zhao's twenty thousand-plus cavalry struck by surprise, and in a single engagement lasting no more than two double-hours, routed twenty thousand Uyghur cavalry.

At a cost of only a few dozen dead and a few hundred wounded, the Liang army killed over two thousand in the field alone.

The greatest reason for such a lopsided casualty ratio was that Zhang Zhao had used Saktu as cover to deceive Il Bilga.

When the great battle at Zetian Temple began, the Gaochang Uyghurs' left and right Divine Martial Armies had not even had time to don their armor before the enemy was upon them.

Forced to fight with only bows and sabers against the Liang army's cloth-faced iron armor and cavalry lances, they were bound to suffer such a crushing defeat.

Of course, this also left Zhang Zhao with a hidden problem: a surprise attack like this made it hard to win genuine submission, and others would say he had won by underhanded means.

Faced with more than ten thousand Gaochang Uyghur prisoners, Zhang Zhao had no good options.

He certainly could not release them only to fight them again, nor could he win them over with a "seven captures of Meng Huo" approach, so the only way was to follow steppe custom.

Zhang Zhao suddenly understood why, through the ages, victors on the steppe killed all the defeated side's males taller than a cart wheel.

First, to free up living space for their own tribe, and second, for the sake of safety.

As in the present case: these ten thousand-odd prisoners, all skilled with bow and horse, were truly, extremely dangerous.

If not handled properly, once his main army left, they would surely rise in revolt again.

Nor did Zhang Zhao have any interest, as the Tibetans did, in relocating them to the Qingtang Plateau.

On the fifteenth of the first month, Zhang Zhao arrived beneath the walls of Gaochang with thirty thousand infantry and cavalry. By then, only one or two thousand troops remained to defend the city.

Zhang Zhao ordered Lu Sanlang to bind Il Bilga's hands and parade him around outside Gaochang. The Uyghur queen and the Right Minister left in the city promptly opened the gates and surrendered.

Gaochang now held some seventy thousand commoners. With the winter trade routes nearly at a standstill and few traveling merchants about, the population was down by ten thousand or so from normal.

Outside Gaochang's east gate, a great crowd of Uyghur nobles knelt prostrate on both sides of the road, shivering violently in the cold wind.

Zhang Zhao leaned down from his horse and lifted the Uyghur queen's chin with his riding crop.

But he was sorely disappointed. Though the Uyghur queen looked fairly young, her looks could only be called passable.

Before he transmigrated, she would have been more than good enough for Zhang Zhao, but now, with his tastes long since spoiled, he had little interest.

Still, when he looked toward the back of the crowd, there were a few rather attractive ones, apparently Il Bilga's consorts.

Zhang Zhao spurred his horse forward a few paces into the group of women. He drew his right leg from the stirrup and raised it slightly.

"I now need someone to attend me. Whoever is first to come forward and embrace my leg shall preserve her family's wealth and rank!"

The six or seven women who looked to be Il Bilga's consorts froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into motion.

The women shrieked and squealed as they ran toward Zhang Zhao. In the end, a woman in a blue padded jacket and skirt was the first to seize hold of Zhang Zhao's thigh.

And at the sight of these women scrambling so desperately, the Liang army's ten thousand soldiers and officers burst into gleeful laughter. This was the treatment due a conqueror.

Il Bilga, held by Lu Sanlang, glared with eyes fit to split. He howled madly a few times and tried to charge at Zhang Zhao.

But the soldiers holding him would not indulge him. Two armored men stepped up and gave him a beating of fists and kicks, then scooped up great handfuls of white snow and forced them into Il Bilga's mouth until it was stuffed completely full.

"Where are your father and brothers?" Zhang Zhao reached out with his long arms and swept this consort of Il Bilga up onto his horse.

She was very young, sixteen or seventeen at most. Though her lips were tinged purple from the cold and she trembled ceaselessly with fear,

she had eyes like autumn water, skin as fair and fine as milk, and a delicate little nose and mouth. She was quite beautiful.

And though she looked slender, she was plump to the touch, with a very pleasing feel.

Just as Zhang Zhao lifted the woman onto his horse, three Gaochang Uyghur men shuffled forward on their knees to the front of his horse.

Without even glancing at them, Zhang Zhao said quietly, "You three: from this moment, follow Academician Guo's arrangements, and your wealth and rank are assured."

The three were overjoyed and kowtowed like pestles pounding garlic. Guo Tiance also spurred his horse forward, preparing to take the three men away. He knew what Zhang Zhao intended.

The Liang army, which had risen from the Guiyi Army, basically did not plunder. But that did not mean they had no need of the city's wealth and women; they simply did not care to obtain them by the method of "three days with sheathed blades."

Moreover, Gaochang was a crucial node on the northern Silk Road. Having finally achieved the present situation, they could not afford to kill too savagely. This was a hen that laid golden eggs.

So they needed both to seize enough wealth to reward the army and to avoid harming Gaochang's vitality. That was a very delicate matter, requiring the willing cooperation of several local nobles.

But just as Guo Tiance was about to leave, Zhang Zhao called him back and pointed a finger toward the cluster of Il Bilga's consorts.

"Pick one. Rest assured, it is my gift, so Siniang won't dare say anything."

Guo Tiance's face twisted into a mix of laughter and tears. His wife was Zhang Zhao's niece and rather formidable by nature. He had raised the matter of taking a concubine several times, and Zhang Siniang had refused every time. He had not expected it to reach Zhang Zhao's ears.

Guo Tiance could not help looking ahead. They were all beauties! And those beauties were craning their necks toward him, their eyes full of longing.

But at the thought of the tigress waiting at home, Guo Tiance could not help shaking his head. He hemmed and hawed.

"These are consorts of a king. They are not for a subject like me to enjoy."

"Bullshit 'consorts of a king'!" Zhang Zhao cursed, utterly unconcerned.

"I've unified thirty prefectures across Hexi, Longyou, Shuofang, and Beiting, and the women I've taken aren't even qualified to be called consorts. What kind of 'consorts' are these? It's not as if I'm telling you to pick Pugu Cunde's queen."

Zhang Zhao did not care much about such things. Still, Il Bilga's queen could not be given away casually. After all, she was the consort of a ruler.

Even if he had no interest in her, he could only stash her away in the rear palace in cold storage, or kill her with a single stroke. He absolutely could not bestow her upon a subordinate.

But these so-called consorts, who at best ranked as mere ladies, were of no consequence.

Hearing Zhang Zhao say this, Guo Tiance cheerfully stepped forward, choosing left and right until his eyes were dazzled. Every one seemed as beautiful as a celestial maiden, and he could not decide whom to pick.

"You useless thing!" Zhang Zhao felt Guo Tiance was about to embarrass him to death.

"Hurry up and choose. Oh, and remember to pick one for Pei Yuan."

Pei Yuan had one wife and one concubine, but his concubine, whether from excessive fright during the evacuation from the Eastern Capital or from being unaccustomed to the climate after arriving in Liangzhou, had quickly fallen ill and died.

Pei Yuan's principal wife was also in poor health, and after bearing one daughter, she dared not become pregnant again.

Continuing the family line was a serious matter, so Zhang Zhao decided to have Guo Tiance pick one for him to take back. Pei Yuan's reaction was secondary; the main thing was to show that he, Heavenly King Zhang, cared for his meritorious officials.

After this division, four remained. Zhang Zhao did not intend to distribute them further, but would keep them for later rewards by merit. Then he swept his hand grandly.

"Enter the city!"

The three armies answered with a thunderous roar, and laughter rang out across the four fields.

The palace of the Gaochang Uyghurs was far inferior to the Yongxun Palace and Yongshou Palace in Liangzhou, built entirely in the style of a tented court, but it was still far better than the wind and rough lodgings Zhang Zhao had endured on the road here.

All the palace attendants and maidservants were placed under detention. This was Zhang Zhao's rule: he would rather use his own guards than employ people who had deeply received Jieli Pijia's favors.

Yet although he had entered the palace and gained a beauty, Zhang Zhao did not immediately begin to enjoy himself.

Besides arranging the defense of Gaochang city and making sure the soldiers had a bountiful Lantern Festival, he still had to deal with the more than ten thousand captured Gaochang Uyghur troops outside the city.

Diluo Dagan Pugu Chengbi had aged greatly over the years. Although they had fought once back at the ancient city of Loulan, Zhang Zhao had no intention of pursuing the matter. Instead, he summoned both Pugu Cheng and the father of Yuniang.

Yuniang was the Jieli Pijia consort who had been the first to clutch his leg. Her family were descendants of the khagans of the former Uyghur Khaganate.

Moreover, it was said they were also descendants of the grandson of Pugu Huai'en's eldest daughter, the Guangqin Kedun.

At this thought, Zhang Zhao let out a long sigh. That the Tang court of old could drive to rebellion even a man like Pugu Huai'en — who had married his two daughters far away, made alliance with the state for the sake of peace, and destroyed the enemy through combined strategy — one had to admit that took a certain kind of skill.

"My original intent was not to kill many. But in former years Pugu Jun was far too vicious. The descendants of the Four Garrisons of Anxi served the state loyally, guarding the frontier for decades, and he lured them out and slaughtered them. That was an ancestor bringing calamity upon his descendants.

Elder De, assist Academician Guo well. Every family that took part in the Xizhou ambush in former years must be completely purged. The men shall be beheaded, the women enslaved, and their silks, wealth, and goods used to reward the army."

Yuniang's father, Elder De, hastily accepted the order. Such things were commonplace among the steppe peoples; not massacring the city was already a great mercy.

"Dagan, go to the military camp and select three thousand brave men. As for the rest, I can see they have no intention of submitting willingly. It would not be surprising if they plotted rebellion or something of the sort."

Zhang Zhao's words seemed somewhat disjointed, but Pugu Cheng understood almost instantly, and he too hastily kowtowed, accepted the order, and withdrew.

Only then did Zhang Zhao set his mind at ease and return to the inner palace to enjoy its soft comforts.

Sure enough, the next day near noon, Lu Sanlang came with Pugu Cheng to report.

The surrendered troops outside the city had rioted the previous night. Lu Sanlang had been ordered to suppress them. The surrendered troops had turned on one another, and a great fire had broken out in the camp. Apart from a little over two thousand men, all had perished in the flames.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, the Lantern Festival, just as Zhang Zhao was enjoying the tenderness of Jieli Pijia's consort in Gaochang, Shi Chonggui led thirty thousand imperial guards back to the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture.

In the two great battles outside Qi City, although the Khitans had fled under cover of night, they had thrown away their armor and abandoned all their baggage and supplies. Therefore, in Shi Chonggui's mind, he had won this battle.

So he moved troops and dispatched generals to recover lost territory, appointing Gao Xingzhou as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front at Chanzhou, stationed at Chanzhou.

Fu Yanqing, Hu Cile, Huangfu Yu, and others led troops north, recovering Weizhou, Beizhou, Bozhou, Zhaozhou, and other places along the way.

He also ordered Li Shouzhen to assemble twenty thousand troops from the Tianping Army of Yunzhou, the Taining Army of Yanzhou, and elsewhere, and cross to Qizhou to campaign against Yang Guangyuan, who had shrunk back to Qingzhou to await his death.

At the same time, Jing Yanguang, who had returned to the Eastern Capital Kaifeng Prefecture, had recovered his wits, and he still had no intention of relinquishing the power in his hands.

So he framed the court official Wang Xu, with whom he had an old grudge, and even subjected him to cruel torture, killing him once a confession had been extracted.

Jing Yanguang had originally intended to use such ruthlessness to intimidate those who attacked him and wanted him removed from office. Instead, it made everyone fearful and at the same time filled with resentment.

The matter eventually reached Shi Chonggui. Faced with the surging tide of public opinion, Shi Chonggui could only dismiss Jing Yanguang and send him to the Western Capital to serve as its Defender.

From then on, Sang Weihan rose to power once more and became the formal Chief Minister of the Later Jin court, while Shi Chonggui returned joyfully to the rear palace to amuse himself with Lady Feng and the others.

But Yelu Deguang would not let the matter rest. After licking his wounds, next time, I, the Taizong of the Great Liao, shall return like a war god!

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