Chapter 684: Does Every Tom, Dick, and Harry Think He Can Be Yelu Dashi?

For Zhang Zhao, the best way to deal with a difficult problem was to find a harbor that could soothe his mood, and do something he loved.

The only awkward thing at the moment was that I, Sage Zhang, had suddenly discovered there was no one around me.

On this trip he had brought only three people with him: Lady Cao Sanniang, Guo Wan'er, and Xiao Sagezhi. Adding Han Rongniang, whom he had just taken in, that made four.

Of these, Lady Cao Sanniang had been sent back to the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, by Zhang Zhao to attend Zhang Xichong's funeral on his behalf.

Zhang Zhao truly had no time, and under normal circumstances it would not be proper for him, an Emperor, to go himself, so he had the lady go in person, taking Zhang Xianjing with her.

Guo Wan'er had gone ahead to Liangzhou to prepare the ground for Zhang Zhao's return there, and at the same time she also had to go to Dunhuang to attend Cao Yuanshen's funeral.

That Zhao Rongniang, whom he had just taken in, turned out to have a pregnancy-prone constitution just like his little aunt — they had barely even touched a few times, and she had already gotten pregnant.

"Doctor Zhao" was overjoyed, and it was fortunate that she was a doctor and could detect it at the very first moment; after that she would rather use her mouth than let Zhang Zhao touch her, which left me, Sage Zhang, unable to fully enjoy myself every time.

As for Xiao Sagezhi, that girl had long since gotten pregnant and was now five or six months along.

Although she could still serve him, for the kind of venting with fury that Zhang Zhao wanted today, Xiao Sagezhi was certainly not the right choice.

But as the worm in Sage Zhang's belly, Director Dong of the Palace Domestic Service needed no instructions from Zhang Zhao at all; from the Emperor's expression and tone alone he could tell that the time had come to send Lady Fei into the palace.

And so, just as Zhang Zhao was about to force himself to calm down and think of a solution, a woman in a pale purple high-waisted ruqun, lightly made up, appeared before his eyes.

It was not that Zhang Zhao's eyes were always fixed on women, but that this woman truly was as striking as a bright moon, as if she could glow.

Zhang Zhao had barely raised his head, just given a rough glance, and he suddenly felt as if something had flashed across his eyes.

Then he looked closely, and in an instant the battle-hardened Zhang Zhao was stunned for a few seconds.

Pale purple clothing is very hard for most people to pull off, because ordinarily it not only fails to enhance one's appearance, but instead makes a person look like a pickled vegetable lump.

But Lady Fei could wear it with the perfect harmony of a bright moon wrapped in colored silk.

The somewhat fearful and evasive look in her eyes added even more of the air of a slender willow swaying in a gentle breeze.

As for her figure, there was no need to say more: the purple high-waisted ruqun looked as though it would not fall even without the thin cord used to cinch it, and with Lady Fei's slight trembling, it was as if a little rabbit were hidden inside the skirt, quivering and bouncing all over.

"I just wonder how her waist and hips are?" Zhang Zhao suddenly voiced this remark, uncertain whether it was admiration or a question.

Only, if this were still the later age, he could only say such a thing to a phone screen; here, of course, he could inspect in person.

As he spoke, Zhang Zhao suddenly and slowly crouched down and placed his hand on the beauty's ankle.

The white socks on her feet were very short, rising only a little above the ankle; called socks, they were really more like little pouches, tied around the ankle with thin white cord.

With the beauty's startled cry, Zhang Zhao gently untied the white cord, and a pair of snow-white jade feet fell into Zhang Zhao's hands.

Sage Zhang had never seen such white little feet; they were like those of a newborn infant, with not the slightest unpleasant odor, but rather a faint, elusive fragrance.

Director Dong was so delighted that his eyes narrowed to slits; for these palace attendants, nothing was more important than pleasing the Emperor.

And he had taken a great risk: if the beauty he presented did not suit the Emperor's taste, the Emperor would not do much, but the Empress would certainly hold it against him.

Only if the beauty offered was very much to the Emperor's taste could it shield him from the Empress's displeasure — which showed just how highly Director Dong rated Lady Fei's beauty.

Just as the Emperor grasped Lady Fei's jade feet, Director Dong seized the moment to interject, "This is Lady Fei, consort of the Lord of Shu."

Oh! So she was the Lady of the Flower Stamen, famed in later ages!

Zhang Zhao's interest instantly soared. He had originally thought that perhaps Meng Chang would know how to read the situation, but now it seemed that even if Meng Chang did not, there would certainly be someone around him who did.

Hearing Director Dong reveal her identity, Lady Fei was both ashamed and angry, but Zhang Zhao's hand followed her ankle all the way upward.

Smooth and glossy as mutton-fat white jade, cool as snow encountered in midsummer, softer by three parts than freshly steamed buns — from this simple touch alone, he knew she was certainly top-grade.

Director Dong tactfully directed the palace maids and attendants to withdraw.

Lady Fei could bear it no longer; with a startled cry she fled like a frightened fawn.

"Ha ha ha!" I, Sage Zhang, laughed three times and began to undo my own lan robe.

Though there was no bed in this room, there was a large writing desk, which could be considered a different kind of charm!

Sure enough, after enjoying such a great treasure as Lady Fei, Zhang Zhao's mood quickly settled.

The two had moved to a small bed; Lady Fei, wrapped in a close-fitting garment like a nightgown, though still somewhat afraid, was gently pounding Zhang Zhao's back.

Perhaps for Lady Fei, the fact that Zhang Zhao did not look like some primeval beast, and had no special perversions to torment her half to death, already exceeded her expectations.

Of course, Zhang Zhao did not have the notion of a young boy who still insists on love; his requirements for women now were very simple — purely the pursuit of physical pleasure.

On the spiritual level, for the time being only a few people such as Lady Cao Sanniang, Empress Shijiu Niang, and his little aunt could enjoy spiritual resonance with me, Sage Zhang.

Now that his mood had settled, Zhang Zhao began to consider the implications of the unrest in the Guo family of Suyab.

Before returning east, Zhang Zhao had carved out four and a half spheres of influence for Li Shengtian in Anxi, Transoxiana, and India.

The Guo family of Suyab and Li Guoshou of Talas counted as one.

Ningyuan (the Fergana Valley) counted as one.

The State of Anyuan (eastern Khorasan plus western Afghanistan), under Sadid, counted as one.

The State of Zhenyuan (northern Pakistan) counted as one.

The lord of Huwen City (Kunduz and other places east of Kabul), Rashid Salman, counted as half.

And after he returned east, aside from the lord of Huwen City, Rashid Salman, who was weak and extremely dependent on the lesser Silk Road, still remaining reasonably deferential,

Sadid of Anyuan and Zhang Bingzhong of Zhenyuan had both directly broken away from his control.

The Guo family of Suyab and Li Guoshou of Talas were in a state of semi-secession.

On the whole, of the four and a half territories he had conquered, the only one he could truly hold in the end was the Ningyuan basin, controlled by a large number of settlers.

And among these territories, the Guo family of Suyab was the most important of all.

Geographically, Suyab sat high in the mountains, easy to defend and hard to attack.

Going straight west, one could reach the Western Sea (the Aral Sea), the geographical limit of the Central Plains' influence at this time.

Turning north from Talas, west of Suyab, was Yibohai (Lake Balkhash), the most important great lake in all of Transoxiana.

At this time many of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia grazed around Lake Balkhash, so as long as Talas was in hand, stationing a force of two thousand armored elite cavalry there would be enough to make all the peoples north of Central Asia submit obediently.

And from Talas further south, all of Transoxiana, including the city of Shiguo (Tashkent), the city of Kangguo (Samarkand), the city of Anguo (Bukhara), and other places, lay within the reach of Talas's military might — a superb position for controlling the Nine Zhaowu Clans.

In former years Gao Xianzhi had wanted to control Talas precisely so that the Talas-to-Suyab line could become a logistics base for the Tang army, allowing it to strike south against the Nine Zhaowu Clans at any time, and to move north to recruit the nomads around Lake Balkhash as auxiliary forces for the Tang.

Why did he march a thousand li deep into their territory and, instead of conciliating them, slaughter the people of Shi on a massive scale? Precisely to clear the land for Great Tang settlers and tribes loyal to the Great Tang, turning this place directly into Tang soil.

Gao Xianzhi was a famous general of his generation. In command ability alone, he was above Zhang Zhao; he simply could not gather men and use them as well as Zhang Zhao could.

Moreover, he had long served in Anxi and knew its true conditions, and in this he was no worse than Zhang Zhao either.

Therefore, if Zhang Zhao still wanted to operate in Transoxiana, following the path Gao Xianzhi had taken was the most feasible course.

Zhang Zhao had in fact long since realized this, which was why he had raised Guo Xuanqing to power and, over all objections, enfeoffed Li Guoshou at Talas.

What a pity! No matter how perfect the arrangement, it cannot withstand time and the human heart.

From another angle, emotionally and culturally, the Guo family of Suyab were Han people with a family genealogy, and direct descendants of the great hero Guo Xin, Prince of Wuwei Commandery. Among the Han and non-Han of Anxi and Transoxiana, they stood like a banner and a benchmark.

Zhang Zhao rose from Anxi, and he wished to rule the non-Han people of Transoxiana as a Xia sovereign. But if even the descendants of Lord Guo Xin, who had held Anxi alone, did not support Zhang Zhao, would that not be the greatest of jokes?

So fight he must!

Then who could be sent now on the western campaign against Suyab?

Zhang Zhao thought it over carefully. There were not many candidates; the most suitable was of course Bai Congxin.

This man was one of Zhang Zhao's one hundred and eight original followers. Before entering the Central Plains, Bai Congxin had been the second-ranking general under Yan Jin.

But after entering the Central Plains, or rather after the capture of Dingnan Army and before entering the Central Plains, Bai Congxin's position had become somewhat awkward.

First, Zhang Zhao often commanded the troops in person, and Bai Congxin was frequently kept at his side as a deputy, with few chances to command independently.

Second, after Zhang Zhao's small group had grown strong, there appeared such cavalry experts as Murong Xinzhang, Li Cunhui, Hu Guang, Gao Huaide, and Zhao Kuangyin, which greatly diminished Bai Congxin's role.

Of course, this was not to say Bai Congxin lacked ability; he was still one of Zhang Zhao's few great generals. It was just that those men ahead of him were simply too ferocious.

Add to that the fact that Ma Zhaoyuan and Zhang Zhaojun (Ma Shacai) grew even faster than Bai Congxin, and Bai Congxin was at once pushed down.

At present, Bai Congxin and Huang Yingda were leading three thousand cavalry in the region of the Gold Mountains (the Altai Mountains), working hard for Zhang Zhao's plan of twelve thousand households on the steppe.

It was said that through their "persuasion," several dozen tribes, including the Kyrgyz and the Zubu, numbering over two hundred thousand people, had converted to the Six Dharma Sect, and the numbers were still steadily growing.

Perhaps he could make Bai Congxin the commander, and simply have him lead the steppe light cavalry, coordinating with the infantry of Anxi and Beiting, to campaign against Suyab.

However, Zhang Zhao quickly rejected this idea. He had sent Bai Congxin and Huang Yingda to the steppe with the Six Dharma Sect's monastic delegation in order to prepare for the great dharma assembly soon to be held at Chengde Prefecture.

Without his, Sage Zhang's, personal intervention as a living immortal and great Buddha to win them over, the faith of the great and small chieftains on the steppe was still not firm enough; they could not be released so early.

So Zhang Zhao thought it over carefully: making Bai Congxin the commander was acceptable.

First, Bai Congxin had the talent of a commander; second, he was originally a man of ancient Kucha, familiar with the customs and conditions of Anxi and Transoxiana.

Finally, compared with Murong Xinzhang and the others, Bai Congxin was more skilled at commanding steppe light cavalry; his "specialty" exactly matched the task.

But Bai Congxin could not set out until he finished the steppe affairs. For now, someone was needed to go to Anxi and make a show of it, demonstrating that the Central Plains court would absolutely not tolerate the rebellion of Guo Guangyi and Li Guoshou.

"Order Li Fang, Vice Director of the Luan Terrace, to draft an edict summoning Hu Guang, General of the Right Jinwu Guard and Count of Yangcheng, to come at once!" Zhang Zhao commanded loudly to the attendant before him.

Bai Congxin could not move yet, so among those who knew Anxi and Suyab well and whom Zhang Zhao could trust, Hu Guang was the only suitable choice.

This lad was an Anxi native, born and raised in Khotan, and skilled at commanding cavalry in battle.

The attendant received the order and left. The small fists massaging Zhang Zhao's shoulders from behind suddenly paused, and a soft, sweet voice sounded behind him.

"May I ask the Sage, is this man the loyal and righteous Hu Guang, Third Son Hu, who fought the Khitan in bloody battle at Yangcheng, who did not covet wealth, rank, or beautiful women, but traveled a thousand li back west, and whom people call the Guan Yunchang of Hexi?"

Although Hu Guang was young, only twenty-six, and not counted among the very top famous generals of the Zhang Zhou court, his reputation within this great tide of loyalty and righteousness stirred up by Zhang Zhao was extremely good.

First, he had the great righteousness of two bloody battles against the Khitan at Qicheng and at Baituanwei Village in Yangcheng. Second, his father Hu Cile had first accepted high office from Shi Jingtang, then gone over to the Southern Tang, and had gained great advantage both times.

If Hu Guang had been willing to follow Hu Cile, then with his abilities, high office and rich rewards would have been a matter of a single word.

Moreover, his elder brother Hu Wei, with that level of ability, had been able to marry Li Jing's niece. Had Hu Guang gone, he surely could have married Li Jing's daughter directly.

But Hu Guang did not covet these high offices, rich rewards, or the beauty of a state's princess. Instead, unwavering in his loyalty to Zhang Zhao, after rescuing his father Hu Cile by the banks of the Hutuo River, he immediately trekked two thousand li west to seek Zhang Zhao. One could call him both loyal and filial, righteous, brave, and valiant.

This was absolutely a model loyal minister worthy of the history paintings. And after the Romance of the Three Kingdoms "compiled" by Zhang Zhao became all the rage, Hu Guang was compared by people of the time to Guan Yunchang.

Zhang Zhao turned his head in surprise. The one who had spoken was none other than Lady Fei, who only when she truly could not suppress it would bite her lip with her shell-like teeth and let out a soft moan. This was the first time Zhang Zhao had heard her speak.

"Even in Shu, you have heard of Hu Sanlang's reputation?"

Lady Fei looked at Zhang Zhao, her expression very complicated, but she still obediently nodded.

"The loyal and righteous name of Hu Sanlang is known even to three-year-old children in Shu. The Sage Lord of Shu has many times lamented why he has no such loyal minister under his command."

Uh! Only then did Zhang Zhao remember—damn it, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms he had produced was mainly about promoting the Shu Han.

As a regime likewise based in Shu, the state of Meng Shu would certainly be where the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was most popular, and it would certainly also lionize Hu Guang, who had performed a heroic feat like Guan Yunchang's thousand-li solitary ride.

If he had known, he should have had Hu Guang replace Gao Huaide in this campaign against Shu; perhaps it would have fallen long ago.

But Zhang Zhao thought very little of Meng Chang, and with a slight trace of jealousy, he snorted coldly and said:

"How can Shu have no loyal ministers? Was Gao Yanchou not a loyal minister? He even refused Our summons.

Yet although Meng Chang used him, did he not still send a military overseer? Without that overseer Wu Shouqian's blind meddling, how could Kuizhou have fallen so quickly?

Hmph! He speaks of wanting loyal ministers, but when he has one, he will not even grant him the standing of a watchdog. In Our view, that brat Meng Chang does not even deserve loyal ministers."

Hearing Zhang Zhao's jealous words, Lady Fei suddenly felt an inexplicable secret delight in her heart, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously revealed a trace of a smile. Then, as if feeling it was not quite proper, she immediately hid it away.

"Damn it! Every cat and dog wants to be Yelu Dashi—a senior khan and a deputy khan, is it? Don't you look at your own dog faces—are you even qualified?"

Zhang Zhao's anger had been stirred. The thought that Li Guoshou, that lapdog before him, had so utterly disregarded him made him curse aloud again.

"Select red-plumed express riders to go to the Eastern Capital. Have Commissioner of Military Affairs Guo Tiance issue the order, directing Defense Commissioner Yao Yuanfu of Shuofang Province to draw two thousand cavalry, both Han and non-Han, from Shuofang and bring them to Liangzhou Prefecture at Chengtian.

Tell Yao Yuanfu he must select battle-hardened elite troops. If this battle is fought well, We will reward him with a marquisate.

Also transfer Chen Tingxiao, Chief Commander of the Left Qianniu Guard. His Chen family is in Gaochang Prefecture and knows the customs of Anxi well. Order him to return to Gaochang at once and draw six hundred elite ironclad infantry from Beiting Province."

Zhang Zhao began issuing orders one by one. This time Hu Guang would be the vanguard commander. First draw three thousand iron cavalry, then prepare six hundred heavy-armored infantry in Beiting.

In addition, levy from the kingdom of Khotan two thousand light cavalry, plus five hundred each of heavy-armored elite cavalry and heavy-armored infantry.

With these six thousand one hundred elite troops, plus ten or twenty thousand support troops and laborers, let Hu Guang go first and test the waters.

Once the basic situation was clear, then send Bai Congxin with twenty thousand steppe light cavalry. It was time to make those reckless fellows recall the mighty name of Sage Zhang.

(End of Chapter)

Related