Chapter 6: The Sun Gem

An hour later, the clerk rushed back to the shop and found Su Ning, saying, “Master, I’ve found out something about this man.”
Su Ning perked up and asked eagerly, “Hurry and tell me—where is he serving in the army?”
“I heard from Master Yang of the tavern that he’s part of the border troops at Sulou Fengshu Fort and has already returned.”
“He’s already back?”
Su Ning frowned and paced back and forth in the room. What should he do now?
The clerk suggested softly, “Maybe we should go to Sulou Fengshu Fort again and talk to him properly, trying to persuade him to sell it to us.”
Su Ning sighed and shook his head. “I can tell he won’t sell this gem. It’s my fault—I shouldn’t have agreed to pay ten thousand guan in a fit of impulse. By letting him know how precious the gem is, I’ve trapped myself!”
“What should we do now?”
Su Ning looked up at the sun, which resembled a flame, and knelt down, praying toward it: “Oh, Ahura Mazda, the supreme god! Today I finally saw your incarnation. Please tell me what I should do now.”
After praying for a while, he suddenly stood up and said, “I need to return to Shi Country. You take good care of the shop.”
……
Shi Country was the Fergana Valley in present-day Uzbekistan. It had always been a battleground between Eastern and Western forces and a crossroads of cultures. During the Tang Dynasty, it was home to the Nine Clans of the Zhao Wu region, comprising nine different states, with Kang Country (later Samarkand) being the largest, followed by Shi Country. Before Islamic forces invaded, the local peoples mainly practiced Zoroastrianism, worshipping the god of light, Ahura Mazda, with fire as their national totem.
There were two routes from Bahuan City to Shi Country. One went over the Buda Range to Suiye first, then westward for over seven hundred li to reach Shi Country. The other went through Shule, crossed the Congling Range, and followed the Pearl River westward to reach Tuozhi City, the capital of Shi Country.
Su Ning chose to go over the Buda Range to Suiye not because it was closer, but because he was a merchant who always sought to maximize profits—going to Suiye first and then to Tuozhi City.
Half a month later, Su Ning arrived at the important city of Suiye. Once the westernmost city under Tang rule, it stretched over sixty li in length. The Anxi Army rebuilt it following the layout of Chang’an. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era, the ten-khan confederation of the Western Turks requested to settle in the Suiye River basin. To support the Western Turks in resisting the expansion of the Arabs, the Tang Dynasty abandoned Suiye. During the Kaiyuan era, as a branch of the Western Turks, the Turkic people gradually grew stronger, and Suiye became their stronghold.

But the treachery of the Turkic Khitans eventually led to their abandonment by the Tang Dynasty. After several attacks by the Tang and the Arabs, the Turkic Khitans declined significantly. Especially in the 18th year of the Kaiyuan era, the Tang army launched a major offensive against them; Khan Sulugu was defeated, and later he was also beaten by the Arabs in the Battle of Zhulzhan. Khan Sulugu was killed by his generals Mohe Guogan and Dumoji. The Turkic Khitans eventually split into two clans, the Yellow and Black clans, and were plagued by internal strife for over a decade.

Na Suning did not go to Suoye City but instead arrived at Helie City south of the Hotan Sea, the stronghold of the Yellow clan of the Turkic Khitans. There he met Dumoji, the chief who actually controlled the Yellow clan.

Dumoji was about fifty years old, tall in stature, and extremely ugly in appearance. Upon hearing that the chief administrator of the Stone Kingdom had arrived, he quickly ordered him to come into his tent.

“Na Suning, what brings you to see me? Did your king send you?”

Na Suning bowed deeply and said, “Respected chief, I am no longer the chief administrator of the palace. I was driven out two years ago and ended up in Bahuan City as a merchant.”

“Is it because of the theft of the ‘Eye of Light’ from your king’s scepter?”

“Yes! I remember you were also very interested in that gem. If I tell you where it is, what reward can you offer me?”

Dumoji narrowed his eyes and smiled. “I became interested because I heard your king lost two sons and his queen over that gem. But first, you must tell me why it’s so important so that I can decide whether to buy your information.”

Na Suning sighed and slowly explained the origin of the gem to Dumoji.

“That gem was brought to the Kingdom of Kang four hundred years ago by the Zoroastrian priest of Persia. Legend has it that it is one of the three incarnations of the god of light, Ahura Mazda. His eye can be seen within the gem, which is why it’s called the ‘Eye of Light.’ It was always kept in the fire temple of Samarkand in the Kingdom of Kang. Forty-two years ago, the Arab general Qubad conquered Samarkand and destroyed the fire temple. The ‘Eye of Light’ went through many hands before eventually ending up in the hands of the former king of the Stone Kingdom, where it was embedded in his scepter as a symbol of his royal power. Among the king’s many descendants, whoever obtained the ‘Eye of Light’ could inherit the throne. But two years ago, when the king fell seriously ill, the gem disappeared mysteriously, along with the third prince, Kampo, whose whereabouts remain unknown. I was also driven out of the palace because of this.”

Dumoji walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked curiously, “So you’re saying that whoever gets the ‘Eye of Light’ can inherit the throne of the Stone Kingdom, is that right?”

“That’s true. It was a rule set by the former kings, but only for princes of the Stone Country.”
“I know that!”
Du Moji waved his hand and said, “Alright! I’ll buy your information. What’s your price?”
“I don’t want money. All I ask is that the chief allow me to mine the Dundo Silver Mine for five years and prevent his people from harassing it. After five years, I’ll return the mine to the chief.”
“You’re quite shrewd. Very well! Let’s make a deal. Where is that ‘Eye of Light’ now?”
“It’s in the hands of a Tang army soldier surnamed Li at the Sulou Beacon Fort at Ling Mountain Pass.”
……
After Su Ning left, Du Moji’s son, Du Luoxian, said with a smile, “This Sogdian isn’t greedy after all. I thought he wanted to monopolize the Dundo Silver Mine!”
Du Moji smiled and said, “That’s his cleverness. He knows I won’t really give him the Dundo Silver Mine, so he only asked for five years to mine it. Good. Let him organize people to mine it first. In a few years, once he’s established it, we can take over the mine. What do we have to worry about then?”
“But what use is that gemstone to Father?” Du Luoxian asked, frowning.
Du Moji smiled schemingly. “That’s something you don’t understand. Hasn’t the Stone Country always wanted to seize Suiye River? They want to form an alliance with us. Once we have that gemstone, I’ll support the second prince, Yuanen, to ascend the throne. By then, it won’t be the Stone Country that conquers Suiye River, but me, Du Moji, who will conquer them.”
At this point, Du Moji patted his son’s shoulder. “I know you’ve always wanted to marry Princess Julan of the Stone Country. Once we get that gemstone, I’ll use it as a dowry to formally propose to her for you.”
Hope appeared in Du Luoxian’s eyes. He said excitedly, “Father, let me go and retrieve that gemstone.”
A sinister look flashed in Du Moji’s eyes. “That’s exactly what I think. I’ve long wanted to destroy the Sulou Beacon Fort.”
……
Note: The Stone Country indeed has a unique gemstone in the world. After the Battle of Talas, the commander Qiyad intended to find this gemstone to present it to Caliph Abbas.