Chapter 35: The Tubo Princess

In the palace of Little Bule, the city of Nieduo, the air was filled with the strong scent of sandalwood. Drums beat rhythmically, and melodies from string and wind instruments echoed softly. Dozens of Tubo musicians sat on both sides, playing their instruments with great concentration. With their skills, they brought to life the magic and grandeur of the snow-capped plateau through instruments such as pipas, flutes, biwang, zanain, large drums, and damaru drums of various sizes.

At the center of the palace, fifteen young and beautiful Tubo girls wore flowing dresses like those of fairies, adorned with ribbons and jewelry. Their graceful dances were enchanting, as if they were goddesses descending from heaven, dancing to the music. Sometimes they waved their long ribbons, sometimes moved slowly, each step creating the illusion of lotus blossoms emerging.

At the top of the palace, on an ivory couch covered in gold and silver inlay, lay a middle-aged man—King Sushili of Little Bule. He clearly showed no interest in the graceful Tubo girls; it seemed he was waiting for something.

Suddenly, the drums stopped, and the flute sounds rose high, like a cool breeze blowing from the snow-capped mountains. The fifteen dancers divided into three groups, lying close together as if feeling the breeze on their faces in their dreams. Sushili sat up abruptly, his eyes fixed excitedly on the palace entrance.

A Tubo fairy wearing a white ribbon appeared. She was extremely beautiful, with charming eyes, as if she were a goddess from the snow mountains arriving on the wind. In the palace, she waved her ribbon and gently opened her lips, and her heavenly singing filled the hall.

“He Xibenwo has gone, He Xibenwo has gone. If the door to songs is opened, the princess of the gods invites five, the princess of strength invites five, the princess of Lu invites five—five in total, plus He Xibenwo, making sixteen.”

Sushili was so captivated by her singing that he unconsciously stood up and began dancing along with his princess, Galan.

…

“My king, why are you sad? Has my father, the Zanpu, not ensured that your people have enough food?”

After the dance, Princess Galan and her husband Sushili walked side by side in the garden behind the palace.

“No! It’s because some nobles oppose my desire to ally with Tubo. He wants porcelain and silk from the Tang Dynasty, not Tubo’s furs.”

“Then why doesn’t the king skin these opponents and use their skins to make instruments for me?”

Princess Galan smiled sweetly. Her plump, rosy lips seemed suited only for talking about music and dance, yet her words could easily wake one in the night.

“And I’m tired of seeing the skin of your queen. My king, could you give me her daughter? I prefer her fresh, tender skin.”

“No! She’s only thirteen, and she’s engaged to the prince of Greater Bulei. I can’t be disloyal.”
“Hmph!” Princess Galan let out a soft snort; her delicate smile vanished. She suddenly quickened her pace toward the palace. “Guards, pack up my things. I’m returning to Luoshe City.”
“No! My princess, you can’t leave.”
Su Shili hurried after her, faintly hearing his pleading voice, “Princess, please don’t go. I promise you anything.”
……
“The vast desert is covered in ice hundreds of feet thick; gloomy clouds stretch for miles.”
To travel from Lianyun Fort to Lesser Bulei, one must cross the Hindu Kush Mountains. With their towering peaks and thin air, endless glaciers stretch as far as the eye can see. Tanju Ridge is a shortcut to Lesser Bulei—a treacherous mountain pass filled with cliffs and precipices. It’s forty li long, and at its end lies Anuyue City.
After capturing Lianyun Fort, Gao Xianzhi reorganized his troops, leaving two thousand sick and injured soldiers under the care of the ill Bian Lingcheng and a group of civil officials. He then led eight thousand elite soldiers toward Lesser Bulei. Three days later, the army began crossing Tanju Ridge.
Here, the mountains rose thousands of feet high, with undulating ice mounds, towering ice spires, and ice cliffs like walls, along with cracks like a web. One had to walk closely along the cliffs. The bitter cold made it hard to stand steadily, and a slight carelessness could lead to a fall into the abyssal ice crevices.
Suddenly, a series of desperate screams erupted. A warhorse slipped and tumbled into the ice crevice, pulling more than a dozen Tang soldiers down with it into the depths.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment. The cold wind whirled around the snow-covered cliffs as the Tang soldiers silently stared at the bottomless abyss below.
After a long while, the Tang soldiers continued onward as if nothing had happened. The long column marched along the snow-covered path, resembling an endless swarm of black ants.
As dusk fell, the army crossed the perilous cliff paths and arrived on a relatively flat snowfield. Gao Xianzhi surveyed the surroundings and ordered, “The army shall camp here. Officers above the rank of captain are to gather in the main tent for a meeting.”
With the order given, the soldiers got to work, setting up camp. Since cooking was impossible on the snow-covered mountains, they ate their dry rations with snow. Most of them lay down, wrapped in blankets, and fell into deep sleep. Sleeping on the ice field was extremely dangerous—slight lack of warmth could lead to death in one’s sleep. Yet, exhausted as they were, the soldiers huddled together and drifted off into slumber.
Inside Gao Xianzhi’s main tent, the light was dim. Dozens of officers stood solemnly, waiting for their commander’s orders. Gao Xianzhi paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. After a while, he said slowly, “We should descend the mountain tomorrow. But what worries me most is that the soldiers may be too afraid to go down.”

“General, orders are orders; there’s no reason not to descend the mountain,” Li Siyeh interjected.
Gao Xianzhi shook his head and said with a wry smile, “I used to think the same way, but Jia Chongguan’s troops failed to join us precisely because they dared not descend the mountain. With that as a precedent, how can I ignore this risk?”
No one spoke anymore. Gao Xianzhi was indeed right—the path up the mountain was straight and steep, with thick ice and slippery surfaces, and the same would likely apply going down. The thought of potentially falling at any moment was chilling. It was unclear how the general would resolve this crisis.
Gao Xianzhi took a few steps before suddenly smiling. He said to everyone, “This matter must not be disclosed to the soldiers. Also, when we set off, follow my instructions. Everyone, go down first!”
Seeing that the general seemed confident, they all left. But then Gao Xianzhi gave Li Qing’an a signal to stay behind.
“Please give your orders, General!” Needless to say, Li Qing’an understood that Gao Xianzhi had a task to assign to the scout camp.
Gao Xianzhi pondered for a moment before saying, “Below the mountain is Anuyue City. I think if some locals from Anuyue come up the mountain to greet the Tang army, their fear will be dispelled, making it much easier to descend.”
He glanced at Li Qing’an and asked, “Do you understand what I mean?”
Li Qing’an smiled. “General, are you trying to imitate Cao Cao’s trick of quenching thirst by imagining plums?”
“That’s exactly it!”
Gao Xianzhi nodded with a smile and added, “I’ll assign this task to you. Whether you send people to disguise themselves or actually capture locals from Anuyue, in any case, those locals must come up the mountain to greet the Tang army by noon tomorrow.”
……