Chapter 614: Loyalty, the Khagan, and the New Eight Tribes of the Khitan

A fine book...

The Military Governor of the Henghai Army in Cangzhou should originally have been Ma Quanjie.

He was a fierce general. At the Battle of Yangcheng, he and Li Shouzhen had charged headlong into the Khitan army against the wind at Baituanwei Village.

After the battle, Ma Quanjie was appointed Defender of Yedu, the intent being to provide logistical support for the main army. But Du Chongwei immediately surrendered at the Hutuo River, and the Khitans were soon at the walls of Yedu.

Ma Quanjie was unwilling to serve Yelu Deguang, so he resigned his post and returned home.

But Yelu Deguang did not mind. Feigning magnanimity, he appointed Ma Quanjie Military Governor of the Henghai Army in Cangzhou and ordered him to come to the Eastern Capital for an audience.

Ma Quanjie had no choice but to comply. Before he set out for the Eastern Capital, someone mocked him, saying that Quanjie could not keep his integrity intact. Ma Quanjie, shamed and furious, fell ill and died on the road.

Historically, Ma Quanjie's death had a rather fantastical cast to it. It was said that years earlier, when he took office as Military Governor of the Zhaoyi Army in Luzhou, he had taken a singing girl as a concubine and kept her in a separate residence.

Later, someone falsely accused Ma Quanjie, claiming that this concubine had cuckolded him. Ma Quanjie was furious and, without investigating, sent men to kill the singing girl. Only afterward did he learn that she had never committed adultery at all.

On this very journey, as Ma Quanjie traveled to take up his new post by imperial order, he suddenly saw the singing girl, dressed in splendid attire, approaching him with deep affection. "I have obtained permission, and I invite you, my lord, to come with me."

Only then did Ma Quanjie suddenly realize that the singing girl had been dead for more than two years — killed by the men he had ordered.

After waking with a start, Ma Quanjie knew his life was near its end. Calmly he told his family: "My time is short. Prepare the coffin and make ready for my funeral."

And sure enough, within a few days, he truly passed away.

The reason Zhang Zhao was familiar with this story was not that he had heard it in later ages, but that he had learned of it only after arriving in this era.

Because before setting out, He Ning had specifically introduced Ma Quanjie to Zhang Zhao.

For in the Hebei of this time, there should not be three great military houses, but four.

And Ma Quanjie's reputation was better than those of Fu Yanqing, Gao Xingzhou, and Huangfu Yu.

Of these four, Fu Yanqing came from a distinguished family. His father had been one of Li Keyong's Thirteen Grand Protectors, and Fu Yanqing had been raised in the palace by Li Keyong from childhood — in effect, a close imperial kinsman of the Wang Zhongsi sort.

Add to that Fu Yanqing's gregarious nature, and he got along everywhere; many people spoke well of him.

But compared with Fu Yanqing's martial skill and loyalty, his slickness and wide circle of acquaintances were even more outstanding. He loved falcons and hounds. When his subordinates or clerks committed crimes, great or small, as long as they presented a fine hawk or a famous hound, Fu Yanqing would surely pardon them.

This is not to say Fu Yanqing was particularly wicked. Rather, Fu Yanqing came from a distinguished family and had lived in luxury from childhood, so he could feel no empathy whatsoever for the hardships of the common people or for the lives they led.

Thus at court everyone praised him, but among the common people few had a good word for Fu Yanqing.

Gao Xingzhou likewise came from a distinguished family. He was a typical Five Dynasties military man — not especially cruel, but not especially close to the people either. And being somewhat simple and honest by nature, his reputation was also merely average.

As for Huangfu Yu, loyal he truly was, but as a person he was probably much like the sort around Zhang Zhao — Zhang Zhaozhong (the Savage Bear) and Wang Tongxin. Kept close at hand, they were peerless commanders; sent out to govern a military province, they became a scourge.

During his tenures in Luzhou, Heyang, and other garrisons, he governed harshly and enforced the law brutally, running the administration entirely by military law. The people suffered greatly. Historically, had he not died a loyal martyr for the state, his reputation would not necessarily have been good.

But Ma Quanjie alone was a rare flower of this age. "Rare flower" here is not the later pejorative sense of the word, but its original meaning: Ma Quanjie was a peculiar and outstanding commander of the Five Dynasties.

This man was born into the military-democracy environment of the Weibo yabing guards, yet he always understood loyalty and righteousness. Unlike the other Weibo yabing guards who habitually coerced their superiors, Ma Quanjie always kept to his proper place and served his mother with utmost filial piety.

At the same time, Ma Quanjie greatly valued the role of literati. He did not despise scholars merely because he came from Weibo. On the contrary, in Ma Quanjie's command setup, the staff of civil officials and strategists headed by the Secretary was always held in high regard.

This allowed Ma Quanjie, the child of a low-ranking officer who had died young, to rise from a perilous place like Weibo all the way to the highest levels of the state, never once faltering at a critical moment.

Most important of all, Ma Quanjie had risen from the bottom and could deeply empathize with the common people. In every military province where he served, when he left office, the people wept and cried out, unwilling to let him go.

Historically, after Shi Jingtang defeated An Zhongrong, he ordered Du Chongwei to garrison Zhenzhou and Ma Quanjie to garrison Dingzhou.

Du Chongwei was Ma Quanjie's old superior. When Zhenzhou was struck by the great disasters of flood, drought, and locusts, Du Chongwei took the lead in hoarding goods and even plundering the people's wealth. The other garrisons followed suit. Only Ma Quanjie did not join them.

A yabing officer of the Yiwu Army in Dingzhou came to Ma Quanjie's office to offer advice, urging Ma Quanjie to imitate Du Chongwei in harming the people to enrich himself, and even threatening that if he did not comply, the soldiers below would surely be dissatisfied.

Ma Quanjie, while placating the soldiers and sternly suppressing those yabing guards and yabing officers with ill intentions, spoke with deep feeling to the entire Yiwu Army, high and low.

"The border people have met with locusts and drought, and their households are in dire straits. If the officials harass them further, they will not be able to endure their lot. I am here as an inspector; how could I bear to imitate such wrongdoing?"

Ma Quanjie swiftly punished the incipient signs of harm to the people, and then moved the remaining officers and men with both emotion and reason. This two-pronged approach worked to excellent effect.

At that time, the people everywhere in Hebei were suffering bitterly. Only in the prefectures he guarded, such as Dingzhou and Yizhou, were there no acts of harm against the people. His reputation for benevolence and righteousness spread through all the prefectures and counties.

It can be said that among the four great generals of Hebei, Ma Quanjie, in pure martial prowess, was certainly the weakest. But in overall quality, Ma Quanjie left the other three so far behind it was not even comparable.

When Zhang Zhao heard of Ma Quanjie's deeds, he thought it a tremendous pity. The man was only fifty-four when he died. Had he been as long-lived as An Shenqi or Gao Xingzhou, he would have been the ideal man to hold Hebei!

And thanks to Ma Quanjie's good reputation, the local magnates of Hebei — especially those of Cangzhou, Yingzhou, Mozhou, and Yizhou — trusted Ma Quanjie deeply.

Moreover, Ma Quanjie had served three years as Military Governor of the Henghai Army in Cangzhou a decade earlier, and after the Khitans entered the Central Plains, he had again been appointed Military Governor of the Henghai Army in Cangzhou. Although he himself never took up the post, his eldest son, second son, and trusted clansmen had all gone ahead.

When the army set out, He Ning had specifically advised Zhang Zhao: if, after the army reached Cangzhou, Ma Quanjie's eldest son Ma Sizhong and second son Ma Siyi did not come in person to join him, then he must be on his guard.

Because if those two brothers had gone over to the Khitans, then Gao Xingzhou would not necessarily be able to control the local situation, and the intelligence the army received in Cangzhou might well be diluted with falsehoods, or even entirely fabricated.

So after Zhang Zhao led the main central army to the area between Dongguang's Bai Bridge and Nanpi in Cangzhou,

even though, according to intelligence, the main Khitan army had already begun moving south rapidly, and the two sides' forward scouts were about to make contact at any critical moment, Zhang Zhao still ordered the army to halt and rest for a day.

Therefore Zhang Zhao's surprise attack was kept secret from the Khitans, but it was not particularly secret from the high-level local magnates of Cangzhou, Yingzhou, and Mozhou.

Men like Ma Quanjie's sons, the brothers Ma Sizhong and Ma Siyi, would certainly know the army's position.

Zhang Zhao risked stopping here for a day. If Ma Sizhong and Ma Siyi still did not come to pay their respects, then they had surely gone over to the Khitans.

In that case, Zhang Zhao would have to wait for Murong Xinzhang to cast his net and hunt for the Khitan main army's trail. Or he would simply turn back — a good horse that prefers to eat the grass behind it — and strike Liu Zhiyuan first.

Murong Xinzhang of course understood the importance of this matter. But compared with Zhang Zhao, who as Emperor had to be cautious, Murong Xinzhang was bolder and more confident.

Because from a purely military standpoint, the Cangzhou local magnates were not that important. Otherwise, how would the Khitans have dared to set out from Youzhou and march south through Cangzhou?

The Khitans' arrangement could only mean that the local magnates of Cangzhou had some strength, but not enough to stand against the army of a great power.

So Murong Xinzhang's plan was simple: he personally led the main force to continue searching for the Khitan army's trail according to the intelligence Gao Xingzhou had obtained.

At the same time, he ordered Zhang Xibao and Gao Xingzhou's son Gao Huaide to go directly and "persuade" the Ma Sizhong brothers.

This method proved effective. Zhang Xibao and Gao Huaide had barely appeared near Cangzhou city when the Ma Sizhong brothers, bringing dozens of Cangzhou local magnates with them, appeared before Zhang Zhao.

Of course, they had not been dragged over by Zhang Xibao and Gao Huaide. They had first sent word to announce themselves, then come on their own.

Ma Sizhong was in his thirties, square-faced and wide-mouthed, the sort of thoroughly upright appearance.

His younger brother Ma Siyi was twenty-three or twenty-four, long in the upper body and short in the lower — very much in line with the aesthetic standards of the time.

For the ancient Chinese did not much care for long legs; a long torso and short legs was generally regarded as the physiognomy of a nobleman.

Ma Siyi not only had a long torso, but even longer arms — the standard build of a master crossbowman.

The moment Ma Sizhong saw Zhang Zhao, he threw himself down into the dust, sobbing as he spoke.

"The people of Cangzhou have long suffered under the northern barbarians' oppression. Since the Shi clan sold away the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, our misery has only deepened. Today, at last, the clouds have parted and we see the sun — we have waited for Your Majesty to come and save us."

Zhang Zhao's expression turned solemn, showing a trace of pained sympathy. As he strode quickly over, he let out a long sigh, as though he deeply felt the suffering of Cangzhou's people as his own. He helped Ma Sizhong to his feet.

"When the family is poor, one longs for a virtuous wife; when the state is in peril, one longs for a good general. The suffering of Cangzhou's people comes precisely from having no virtuous wife in the home and no good general in the state.

I have brought a great army here to deliver the people. But to slaughter the northern barbarians, avenge the souls of our countless dead, and retake the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun that the Shi clan sold away, all under heaven must pull together in one boat.

It is a pity that Grand Preceptor Ma has already passed from illness. Otherwise, he would have been a fine general for Hebei."

Acting, was it? As if he couldn't do that. Zhang Zhao's words made it perfectly clear: as long as the Ma brothers and the Cangzhou gentry were willing to submit sincerely, Zhang Zhao would absolutely put them to important use — perhaps even entrust them with part of the Yan-Yun reconquest.

Ma Sizhong raised his head in delight — not because of the promises in Zhang Zhao's words, but because Zhang Zhao had displayed the caliber of a truly great emperor.

Acting had always been one of an emperor's essential tools. A ruler who could not even convincingly perform "bearing the realm in his heart" and "lord and minister in perfect accord" could hardly make anyone believe he was a heroic sovereign.

So Ma Sizhong prostrated himself once more, because he had seen the level Zhang Zhao played at — it was very high. Now they could proceed to the next stage of the back-and-forth.

Prostrate on the ground, Ma Sizhong wailed aloud, "Your Majesty... my father did not die of illness! All his life, my father held loyalty, righteousness, integrity, and filial piety dearer than life itself, and he constantly taught us brothers by those four words.

At the time, the Khitan ruler used our family as hostages to force my father to go to the Eastern Capital and pay homage. My father said to me: above, he could not protect home and country, so the capital fell and the Son of Heaven was humiliated. Below, he could not shield his native land, so the northern barbarians plundered everywhere.

Now that loyalty and righteousness were gone, how could he still bend the knee and bow to a barbarian lord? Therefore he refused food and drink, would not touch medicine, and gave his life for the nation!

Grand Preceptor Huangfu's martyrdom is known throughout the realm. The Son of Heaven posthumously enfeoffed him as Prince of Changshan Commandery, with the posthumous name Zhongmin. But my father died in a country post station, unknown to anyone. I beg the Sage to give justice for my father."

Zhang Zhao stared sharply at the weeping Ma Sizhong on the ground and immediately realized that this Ma Sizhong before him was absolutely a master player.

No wonder He Ning had specifically reminded him: the Ma brothers both had talent, and he must make certain whether they were truly coming to surrender.

Ma Quanjie's death — how to put it — could be true or false.

What was true was that a man like Ma Quanjie would certainly have been unwilling to go pay homage to Yelu Deguang, and with the Khitan holding his family hostage, it was entirely possible that he fell ill and died in grief and indignation.

But whether he was truly so fiercely principled as to refuse food and drink, refuse medicine, and starve himself to death for the nation — that was certainly worth questioning.

Yet by saying this to Zhang Zhao's face, Ma Sizhong meant to settle the matter definitively, and win for his father Ma Quanjie the reputation of a great loyal minister.

And "loyalty" was the very word Zhang Zhao esteemed above all.

Had he not seen it? Huangfu Yu's nephew Huangfu Chong was only a cavalry officer in ability, yet now he served as a Captain in the personal army, and had been imperially assigned to Zhaozhou as Troop Supervisor.

Huangfu Yu's son Huangfu Jie was still a child in tufted hair, yet he had already been enfeoffed as Count of Changshan, and was being raised in the palace by Zhang Zhao alongside the princes and princesses. At minimum, a future marriage to a princess was guaranteed.

Even Huangfu Yu's personal attendant Du Zhimin — a mere soldier who understood nothing — had entered the personal army's rotating palace guard purely on the halo of being a loyal minister and righteous man.

In the present realm of Zhang Zhou, no signboard worked better than that of the loyal minister and filial son.

As long as their father Ma Quanjie became a great loyal minister, would the Ma family lack for high office, rich emoluments, and imperial favor? Whether they were given offices now or not hardly mattered — in time, they would surely achieve great wealth and rank.

So the moment Zhang Zhao heard Ma Sizhong's words, he understood: either Ma Sizhong was a great talent himself, or there was a great talent behind him advising him.

At the very worst, if this was Ma Sizhong's genuine sentiment, and he had stumbled into good fortune by accident, then at least Zhang Zhao would gain a loyal minister and filial son who cared nothing for office, only for vindicating his father's name.

And he, Zhang Zhao, could use the occasion to promote loyalty, righteousness, integrity, and filial piety once more. He could not lose either way.

At this thought, this Sage Zhang tilted his head back to forty-five degrees, sighed deeply, his eyes seeming to glisten with moisture. Behind him, Yang Jiye, who had been glancing about restlessly, instantly straightened with solemn respect.

Because the old lord, who was constantly at Zhang Zhao's side, knew: his imperial foster father was about to unleash something big.

Sure enough, when Zhang Zhao lowered his head again, tears had already streamed down his cheeks. He raised Ma Sizhong up and said, choking with emotion:

"I never imagined the Grand Preceptor could be so fiercely principled. How many loyal ministers and righteous men there are in Hebei! It is a pity the Shi father and son could not see it.

Had they put the righteous men of Hebei to important use, how could the state have been broken and the family destroyed, how could my people have suffered such calamity, how could loyal ministers and righteous men have shed their blood in vain? Today, if I employ them, I will make the Khitan dare not look south."

Hmm, that was a bit of a crib from Emperor Wu of Wei, but no matter — because if one looked closely, the blood of Chancellor Cao truly did flow in the veins of Zhang Zhao's children.

"Where is the Court Diarist?" Zhang Zhao called out loudly the moment he had pulled Ma Sizhong to his feet.

"Your servant is here!" The Court Diarist attached to the Secretariat immediately came before him.

Zhang Zhao had appointed three Court Diarists in total to keep the Records of the Emperor's Daily Activities, and he himself strictly observed the diarist's code, absolutely never asking to see the contents of the records.

Restoring the backbone of the civil officials had to begin with the dignity of the historians and Court Diarists.

"The matter of Grand Preceptor Ma's loyal martyrdom — record it at once!"

"Yes! Your servant shall faithfully record the words of the Ma brothers." The Court Diarist assented immediately, and Zhang Zhao nodded with satisfaction.

The Court Diarist had said "faithfully record," but he had not said he would record the matter exactly as Ma Sizhong had told it. That already showed a hint of backbone.

Of course, Ma Sizhong did not understand the subtleties here. He and his younger brother Ma Siyi, upon hearing this, prostrated themselves a third time.

"We brothers kowtow in thanks to Your Majesty for vindicating our father's name."

"Posthumously promote Ma Quanjie to Grand Commandant, Grand General of the Right Feathered Forest Guard, and Prince of Yangping Commandery. The posthumous name will be selected upon return to the capital.

Posthumously honor Ma's mother as Grand Lady of Wei, enfeoff Ma's wife, Lady Zhou, as Lady of Wei, appoint the eldest son Ma Sizhong as Troop Supervisor of Cangzhou and Troop Commander of the Henghai Army, and the second son Ma Siyi as Commandant of the Right Thousand-Bull Guard."

Ma Quanjie was a native of Yuancheng in Weizhou. However, given the historical reputation of the Weibo yabing guards, the Weibo military province had been abolished from the Later Tang onward. Li Cunxu founded his state at Weizhou, so Weizhou was renamed Xingtang Prefecture, and the Later Jin changed it to Guangjin Prefecture.

Under Zhang Zhao, Guangjin Prefecture would certainly be abolished, so he simply used the historical name Yangping Commandery, once used by Weizhou, for Ma Quanjie's posthumous enfeoffment — and along with it, Ma Quanjie's mother and wife also received titles.

The Ma brothers had gotten what they wanted most, and immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" The Cangzhou gentry and the former yabing officers of the Henghai Army behind them also shouted and performed the prostration dance.

With the Ma brothers won over, the situation in Cangzhou, Yingzhou, Mozhou, and the other prefectures became clear at once.

According to Ma Sizhong's report, the Khitan army had split into two columns — one advancing south from Yingzhou, the other south from Cangzhou.

The two columns had joined up at the prefectural seat of Cangzhou. The main force had camped at the prefectural seat last night, and today was marching out of Cangzhou city, moving south along the Yongji Canal.

Zhang Zhao looked at Ma Sizhong in surprise, because his report matched Zhang Zhao's current intelligence exactly. That meant the reports he had received earlier were all true.

Ma Sizhong knew what Zhang Zhao was surprised about, and said quietly, "If I cannot win Your Majesty's favor, I should return home and care for my aged mother. How could I let private interest make me forget the public good, and lead the court's great army into danger?"

Zhang Zhao was deeply moved. He said nothing, only patted Ma Sizhong on the shoulder.

But those who knew him understood: this was the mark of being held in the emperor's heart. The emperor was only this familiar with people he thought highly of.

Now that the Khitan army's position was clear, all that remained was to go give them a good pounding!

Zhang Zhao looked at the Khitan army's tracks, and the more he looked, the angrier he became.

Because all forty thousand Khitan troops were cavalry. He, Zhang Zhao, had already marched from Xiangzhou to the vicinity of Nanpi in Cangzhou, and the Khitan had only just reached Cangzhou.

One had to understand: from Xiangzhou to Cangzhou was a full seven hundred fifty li, while from Youzhou to Cangzhou was only four hundred li.

The Khitan were moving so slowly that, aside from their organization being no match for Zhang Zhao's, it was highly likely they were still up to their old trick — setting out without provisions and relying entirely on plundering grain and fodder along the way.

There was no need to say it: north of Cangzhou, the old and weak would all be slaughtered, able-bodied men and sturdy women carried off, grain, fodder, and livestock all gone, and every thatched hut and cottage burned to the ground.

"These beasts! Pass the order down — we must annihilate the northern caitiffs to the last man!"

Zhang Zhao had originally planned to leave Yelu Ruan, Yelu Wuzhi, and the others to deal with western Liao, but now it was clear there was no need for that at all.

Ma Sizhong stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, "Sage, after the Khitan leave Cangzhou they will certainly go to Lutai to plunder the salt bricks. There is no way they can carry it all away in a single day, so they will likely have to stop at Lutai for a night. If our divine troops descend from the heavens while they are resting, one battle will take them!"

The prefectural seat of Cangzhou at this time was not in the same place as in later ages; it stood at what later became Changlu County.

And the name Changlu was more famous than Cangzhou in the Republic era, because the Changlu Salt Field, one of the largest salt fields in our country, lies nearby.

In this era, in the third year of Tongguang of the Later Tang (925), the Later Tang court established a salt field at Lutai, east of the Cangzhou prefectural seat, specifically to produce salt bricks — this was the origin of the Changlu Salt Field.

There is no need to explain what position salt held in this age. The salt bricks of Lutai were not only produced in great quantity, but were mostly refined salt.

From the Later Tang down to the Qing dynasty, it served as the standard tribute salt for many dynasties. So the Khitan would, no matter what, leave the city and head east to plunder the Lutai Salt Field.

Zhang Zhao immediately ordered relay riders to find Murong Xinzhang, with orders to reach the vicinity of Lutai at once, search for the Khitan main force, and compress their range of movement.

The central army would strike out immediately and race to Lutai — to deliver a surprise!

Murong Xinzhang had in fact already probed to within less than thirty li of the Cangzhou prefectural seat, because after searching and weighing all the evidence, Murong Xinzhang, Gao Xingzhou, and the others had unanimously concluded that the intelligence was correct: the Khitan were indeed maneuvering around Cangzhou.

And near the Cangzhou prefectural seat, the constant encounters with small bands of Khitan roving cavalry confirmed that judgment.

When Zhang Zhao's order arrived, Gao Huaide had just smashed a small Khitan detachment, killing more than ten of them.

Murong Xinzhang made an immediate decision: he sent Feng Jiye in person to report the situation to the central army, while he himself led the main force across the Yongji Canal, detoured north of the Cangzhou prefectural seat, and blocked the Khitan's route of retreat northward.

He also sent Zhang Xibao with two hundred riders, disguised as Khitan, to pinpoint the Khitan's movements.

Zhang Xibao had dark skin, and his face bore the fine scars left by years of wind and sand. Although he had followed Zhang Zhao into wealth and rank for seven or eight years now, he still kept many nomadic habits — his dislike of bathing was almost Zhang Xibao's most conspicuous trait.

But precisely because of that, Zhang Xibao had kept a rich reek of mutton about him. Wrapped in a leather coat, he looked almost exactly as he had when herding sheep in Shanzhou years ago. Anyone who saw him would take him for a genuine steppe herdsman.

And his two hundred men were, every one of them, of herdsman stock.

Do not forget: Sage Zhang also held the title of Nizhuo Yili Khagan. In the Central Plains, hardly anyone mentioned that title anymore, but west of Liangzhou it was mighty and renowned.

All the steppe tribes of the Yin Mountains, the Altun Mountains, and the Tianshan west of the great desert acknowledged the honored title of Yili Khagan.

Only submissive tribes gained the right to trade with Anxi, Beiting, and Guasha, exchanging for grain, tea bricks, cloth, sugar, and small amounts of iron. The ox sinew, oxhide, ox horn, and all manner of furs and leather from their tribes could also find buyers.

With the added blessing of Hexi Buddhism, by custom, every year large numbers of steppe tribal princes traveled a thousand li to the Eastern Capital to become hostages beside the Great Khan.

Together with the Basmyl, the various Uyghur tribes, and the Oghuz, who had long since submitted, Zhang Zhao had close to two thousand elite steppe cavalry around him — and even more in Anxi, Beiting, and Hexi.

Among the two hundred men Zhang Xibao led, there were no fewer than thirty or forty princes and petty chieftains of various tribes, great and small. The rest were the warriors those tribal princes had brought from their clans — pure gold, every one of them.

Far higher in quality than the poverty-stricken herdsmen Yelu Ruan had been coaxing at Yuanyang Lake, men so poor the rats wept.

Aluozhe was among them. He was the young Naiman chieftain who had refused to submit to Yelu Ruan at Yuanyang Lake, had been imprisoned, and had been beaten until his whole body was covered in wounds.

Aluozhe — one could tell at once it was a name with Buddhist overtones. A simple translation would render it directly as "King."

This was clearly not Aluozhe's real name. It was the name Zhang Zhao had bestowed on him after he traveled thousands of li to the Eastern Capital, as a reward for his unwavering loyalty.

This was the very period when the Naiman tribe was taking shape. They had broken away from the traditional Kyrgyz sphere and were steadily moving south from the Altai Mountains, grazing as far as Beiting and even the Ili River valley. Upon contact with Hexi Buddhism, they were swiftly won over.

That was why Aluozhe resented the actions of certain Kyrgyz who had betrayed the Great Khan to take favors from Yelu Ruan.

In Aluozhe's eyes, Zhang Zhao was not merely the Nizhuo Yili Khagan — he was the sole true deity left in the world after the Buddha entered seclusion, the Supreme Dharma King of Heaven.

To betray the Supreme Heaven was to fall into the eighteen levels of hell after death and be reborn into the animal realm.

Beside the Yongji Canal, Murong Xinzhang led the main force northward, while Zhang Xibao, Aluozhe, and a crowd of tribal princes and warriors knelt on the ground, devoutly chanting the Scripture of the Supreme Dharma Heaven for Deliverance from Calamity.

When the chanting ended, Yelu Sizhong stood up and spoke to Zhang Xibao and Aluozhe.

"If we meet Khitan, we will say we come from Yu'er Lake on the Upper Capital Circuit. That is my homeland, so there will be no problem.

If we meet Kyrgyz, Oghuz, or the like, Aluozhe will step forward. They will not see through it."

Yelu Sizhong was, of course, a Khitan — but he had not originally borne the surname Yelu. He had been one of the Khitan attendants who escorted Yelu Abuli to Liangzhou.

Zhang Zhao had played a particularly ruthless trick: he granted the surname Yelu to every Khitan who had traveled west with Yelu Abuli, and then bestowed names on each of them one by one.

And he told them plainly: once the Khitan were conquered, the vast Khitan lands would be enfeoffed to them.

At that time, the Eight Yelu Tribes would be established, with the eight characters zhong, xiao, ren, yi, li, zhi, xin, ti — loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trust, and fraternal duty — as their tribal designations, ruling all the territory from Bo'ali (Boli) to the Yalu River.

All the Khitan and Balhae people would then become their slaves, and in the future the Eight Tribes would take the son of Zhang Zhao and Yelu Abuli as their Great King.

Of course, this was really just a painted pie — the northeast would never become a fief.

But using the Eight Tribes to control the fishing and hunting peoples there, while using his own son to lead Han settlers to garrison the key regions — that was feasible.

Perhaps a hundred years hence, the Eight Khitan Tribes would be thoroughly sinicized, and then there would be no need to distinguish one from the other anymore.

So Yelu Abuli and the more than one thousand Khitan still in the Central Plains were working themselves into a frenzy in Zhang Zhao's service.

Under Yelu Abuli's influence, they had all converted to Hexi Buddhism and become Zhang Zhao's secret weapon for toppling the Liao state.

Zhang Xibao grinned. "How to get in? That's not my concern.

But you'd better remember clearly what that old bastard Yelu Ruan looks like. This is a great deed that will make your sons and grandsons still speak of your kindness hundreds of years from now."

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