Chapter 516: Coercion Through Power

Although Li Qing’an used a stratagem to send Zharik pretending to be a Persian envoy to Tubo, it was true that the Persian army intended to take advantage of the conflict between the two sides. At that time, Mansur was located on the banks of the Murgab River, about four hundred li away from the Tang army, with his 70,000-strong Khurasan army stationed there.

Mansur had been in Khurasan for nearly half a month. The fierce battles between the Tang and Tubo armies in Transoxiana filled him with anticipation—he hoped both sides would be weakened, allowing him to seize back all the lands taken by the Tang army.

Reclaiming Transoxiana, Khwarezm, Sindh, and Punjab had always been Mansur’s dream. To fulfill this dream, he fought repeatedly against the Tang army but suffered defeat after defeat. Over time, his courage waned, and he no longer dared to hope to reclaim Transoxiana; he was content if only Khwarezm could return to Arab control.

Indeed, as Li Qing’an understood him, he did not dare to launch a full-scale attack on the Tang army. With 100,000 Byzantine troops ready at the border, if the Arab army attacked the Tang, those Byzantine forces would invade Armenia. Additionally, there were tens of thousands of Tang troops in Khwarezm, who might also launch a surprise attack on the weakened Khurasan forces. With so many concerns, Mansur hesitated to take action.

His original plan was to lure the Tubo army to attack the Tang forces in a joint assault, causing both sides to suffer losses while he reaped the benefits. Perhaps the Tang and Tubo armies would withdraw from Transoxiana, allowing his Arab forces to easily occupy it.

As Mansur indulged in these dreams in his tent, a soldier came to report, “Your Majesty, Li Qing’an’s envoy has arrived and requests an audience with you.”

Mansur was startled, then a bitter smile appeared on his lips. It turned out Li Qing’an knew he was here. “Bring him in!”

A moment later, a civilian officer was brought in. He stepped forward, bowed, and said in fluent Arabic, “Wei Jin, advisor to the Anxi army, pays his respects to the great Caliph.”

Mansur was impressed by his fluent Arabic. A few years ago, there had only been one civil official in the Anxi Tang army who could speak Arabic; now, such a young officer could speak it fluently, showing the progress of the Anxi army.

Mansur nodded and said, “Please, don’t be formal. Sit down!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Envoy Tang sat down below Mansur. At that moment, Mansur suddenly found him somewhat familiar and asked curiously, “Esteemed envoy, have I met you before?”
Wei Jin smiled and said, “The year before last, when my general signed the peace treaty with Your Majesty, I was there as his translator.”
“Oh! No wonder I felt familiar.”
Mansur blushed slightly when the peace treaty from the year before last came up. The treaty clearly stated that the border between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire in Turkestan would be the Mugab River. Yet now, the Arab army had crossed the Mugab River by ten miles.
Mansur chuckled dryly and changed the subject, “I wonder what matter your general has sent you here to discuss with me?”
“My general has a personal letter to deliver to Your Majesty!”
Wei Jin took out a letter and handed it to Mansur. Mansur opened it; it was written in Turkic and was a personal letter from Li Qing’an. The letter did not mention his deployment of a large army along the Mugab River, nor did it mention any battle between the Tang army and the Arab forces. Instead, it stated that Anxi intended to fully restore trade between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs, reduce taxes to the normal rate of 20%, and allow Arab merchants to trade in the interior of the Tang Dynasty.
Since the Battle of Talas, Anxi had closed off the Silk Road for Arab merchants traveling to the Tang Dynasty. Soon after, Anxi established trade relations with Byzantium, further encroaching on Arab trade shares. Previously, Tang goods were transported to Byzantium and the West via the Arabs, but now it was reversed—Tang goods were sent from Byzantium to Damascus.
Although Anxi later lifted the restrictions and allowed Arab merchants to trade there, the conditions were harsh. First, there were quantity limits: a caravan could not have more than 300 camels, and no more than three caravans could enter per day. Second, the taxes were high—Anxi imposed a tax rate of 20%, but Arab merchants were taxed at 10%. This was clearly discriminatory taxation, intended as punishment for the Arabs’ repeated military actions against Anxi.
This time, however, Li Qing’an actually agreed to fully restore normal trade with the Arabs. Mansur knew this was not an attempt to please him. Given Li Qing’an’s firmness, there was no need to curry favor with him. This was actually a strategy of winning over hearts, rather than relying solely on force, as in the past.
This made Mansur sigh inwardly. Li Qing’an’s tactics were becoming increasingly sophisticated, blending warfare, diplomacy, trade, and more. Mansur realized he no longer had the courage to fight against the Tang army, so he used this strategy of winning over hearts to gradually soften his stance.

“Does the General have anything else to say?”
“Yes!”
Wei Jin spoke with humility yet dignity, saying, “The General asks me to convey to Your Majesty that he does not wish for further war with the Arabs. But if the Arabs insist on starting a war, then this time the Tang army will not stop at the Amu Darya River. The General says he will personally go to the Baghdad palace to drink tea with the Byzantine emperor.”
Li Qing’an’s firmness, though not written down, sent chills down Mansur’s spine. This was the first time the Tang army had proposed not to use the Amu Darya as a boundary. He believed Li Qing’an was not bluffing—he would do what he said. After pondering for a while, Mansur slowly said, “Please convey to the General that the Abbasid Empire has no intention of being at war with the Tang Empire. We have stationed our troops by the Murghab River to reclaim Transoxiana from the Tibetans. If the Tang army tries to take Transoxiana, we will not intervene. But if the Tang army fails and withdraws from Transoxiana, my troops will continue to fight against the Tibetan forces until Transoxiana is reclaimed from them. In this regard, we have not violated any treaty. I hope your General can understand this.”
Wei Jin stood up and bowed deeply, saying, “My General also agrees with Your Majesty’s view. If the Tang army fails and is forced to withdraw from Transoxiana, the Arabs may send troops there. However, as long as the Tang army remains in Transoxiana, the Arabs must not cross the Murghab River. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty’s army to retreat west of the Murghab River to prevent the Tang army from misjudging the situation.”
……
After Wei Jin left, Mansur fell into deep thought. After what seemed like a long time, he tapped his forehead lightly and ordered his subordinates, “Pass my order: the army must retreat immediately to the west of the Murghab River.”
……
The distance between A Huan City and Lan City was a hundred li, and the terrain in between was not flat but consisted of rolling hills. If riding fast on horseback, it could be covered in half a day. But if using camels to transport supplies, it would take at least two days.
On the third day after Shangxi Dongzan and Shangjia Suda reached an agreement, a convoy consisting of thousands of camels and hundreds of carts set out from A Huan City, carrying 50,000 dan of grain to Lan City. Each camel could carry about four dan of grain, making progress slow. To prevent local attacks on the grain convoy, Shangxi Dongzan specially dispatched 3,000 cavalry to protect it.
The convoy traveled all day. At dusk, a sandstorm suddenly arose near A Huan City. This was a common natural disaster in Transoxiana during spring. The sandstorm covered the sky and turned daylight into darkness; nothing could be seen more than a dozen steps away.

Not only could they not open their eyes or breathe through their noses, but large grains of sand also struck them painfully all over their bodies. If hit in a vital area by an even larger stone, it could even be fatal. The camels lay down immediately, heads buried and eyes tightly closed. The camel drivers and soldiers also huddled around the camels to escape this unbearable sandstorm. As night fell, the sandstorm subsided, but the air was filled with dust—fine sand blown in from the northern deserts. Apart from causing slight discomfort in the nose, it had no other effects. The sky was yellowish, and visibility was less than fifty steps. Seeing that the weather was unfavorable, the Tibetan commander in charge of transporting the grain ordered an overnight camp. Though called a camp, it was actually just sleeping outdoors; the shadows of tents could not even be seen. Everyone had to rest against the camels. The Tibetan soldiers bit into some dried meat and drank some wine, while the camel drivers could only swallow saliva, eat a piece of dry bread, drink some water, and also give some to the camels. As midnight approached, most people fell into deep sleep. Dozens of patrol soldiers patrolled uselessly around, with the sky still yellow and opaque, making it impossible to see anything in the distance. At that moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, and gradually the shaking became more intense. The sentries were puzzled—this was not the dull sound of horse hooves on the ground, but the vibration felt very much like a large group of horses galloping. “Should we report to the general?” one sentinel asked anxiously. “Go report!” Two sentries turned and rushed toward where the commander was resting. Just then, large dark shapes suddenly appeared in the yellow dust, rushing toward them. A few sentries screamed, “It’s cavalry!” Terrified, they turned and fled. It was ten thousand Tang cavalry troops led by General Tian Qianzhen. This was a last-minute attack. Shangxi Dongzan, overly excited, revealed his agreement with Shang Jiasu to Zhalik, who immediately sent this information to Li Qing’an. Li Qing’an decided to intercept this supply convoy and sent General Tian Qianzhen to carry out the mission. The ten thousand Tang cavalry also encountered a sandstorm, but they did not stop and continued moving through it. Soon they spotted the convoy. Tian Qianzhen ordered that the horse hooves be covered with cotton cloth to muffle their sound. Taking advantage of the dusty darkness, they suddenly attacked the convoy.

Thousands of camels were startled and stood up to flee. The soldiers and camel drivers were awakened, utterly confused. At that moment, 10,000 Tang cavalry charged in like a sandstorm, rushing into the enemy ranks. Their fierce horse hooves and sharp swords torn the enemies to pieces. The Tibetan soldiers scattered in panic, but they couldn’t outrun the Tang cavalry’s horses and were soon chased down and killed. The drivers were terrified and knelt down, begging for mercy. The Tang army’s goal was not to kill the enemies but to seize food. If it couldn’t be carried away, it was burned on the spot. The camels also had to be taken away; if the Tibetan army ran out of food, the camels would be slaughtered to serve as military rations. It was only 30 li away from Ahuan City, so they had to withdraw quickly. The Tang army soon gave up chasing the Tibetan fugitives and instead gathered the camels to lead them away. Some drivers who managed to escape also followed the Tang army with their carts. Over 100 carts were damaged, and the thousands of bags of food on them were taken by each Tang cavalryman. In less than half an hour, the Tang cavalry successfully launched a surprise attack and plundered 50,000 dan of the Tibetan army’s food supplies. The entire force quickly disappeared into the yellowish darkness of the night.