Chapter 701: The Movements of the Hu Ma Tribes

From the Great Wall at the northernmost end of the Hedong Route all the way to the Yin Mountains, the area was under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty’s Chanyu Protectorate. At the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court built three surrender cities south of the Yin Mountains and stationed troops there to combat the Turks. However, with the downfall of the Eastern Turks, more and more Turks submitted to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang court then made a significant decision to settle these submitted Turks on the vast grasslands north of the Great Wall and south of the Yin Mountains.

After the mid-Tang period, as the military recruitment system declined and the court struggled to afford massive military expenses, the actual control area of the Tang army gradually shifted southward. The Chanyu Protectorate became a nominal area under Tang control, and the three surrender cities were no longer garrisoned. The Tang army’s defenses retreated to the Yellow River and the Great Wall.

The Turks who submitted to the Tang Dynasty nominally recognized the Tang emperor as the Heavenly Khan, but in reality, they governed themselves independently without Tang control. On the contrary, they revered An Lushan and Shi Siming as gods, which later led to them becoming the main force in the An-Lushan Rebellion.

However, Shi Siming’s premature split from An Lushan resulted in clear divisions among the supporters of these two warlords in Hebei. An Lushan received support from the Khitans, while Shi Siming’s supporters were mainly the submitted Turks, who called him “the Second Sage” and provided food and troops to support his rule in Hebei.

But there is no such thing as a free lunch. The Turks supporting Shi Siming did so to seize the wealth and population of Hebei. When the Tang Dynasty was strong, they pretended to be docile sheep under a sheepskin disguise, but when the Tang Dynasty weakened, they revealed their ferocious wolfish nature…

In early April, Li Qing’an personally led 150,000 Tang cavalry troops to the vast grasslands. Having experienced numerous battles and fought against the Uyghurs on many occasions, Li Qing’an knew that if the goal was merely to strike at the Uyghurs, it would be simple—send a elite cavalry unit deep into the grasslands, and they would surely achieve something. But to completely destroy the Uyghurs, a positional battle strategy was required, with troops advancing step by step.

However, this would make the Tang army’s supply lines too long, making them vulnerable to attacks by Uyghur cavalry. Therefore, Li Qing’an decided to adopt the Tibetans’ method of establishing supply points wherever the army went.

The first supply point Li Qing’an chose was called Heicheng, located south of Qingshan, which is today’s Hohhot. It was originally a small grassland town that served as a supply station and outpost for Tang troops patrolling the Yin Mountains region. But with the influx of submitted Turks, this town lost its military function and became a gathering place for merchants.

A large amount of goods from the Tang Dynasty, such as tea, salt, pig iron, silk, cloth, and grain, were distributed here. Although the Tang Dynasty had imposed strict trade embargoes on the Uyghurs a few years earlier, smuggling in Hebei remained rampant. The imperial bans did not extend to Hebei. Aside from strategic materials like pig iron and grain, which were in short supply there, daily necessities such as tea, salt, silk, and cloth still flowed into the grasslands through smuggling or trade.

Heicheng remained a bustling commercial center. It was not large, with city walls only three li in circumference and about ten feet high. Cities in the grasslands were mainly built to protect against wolves, so their walls were generally not very high. The city had over 300 households, including about 40 to 50 permanent shops. It could be considered a commercial hub in the grasslands, with inns, taverns, gambling houses, and brothels available. Every day, it was filled with herders from various parts of the grasslands who came to sell sheep skins and medicinal herbs and buy back necessities like tea and salt. With extra money, they would also visit taverns and brothels. The large number of customers kept the shops thriving.

But early that morning, fear enveloped the entire Heicheng. Most shops remained closed, and everyone lived in anxiety. Some herders had already brought news of the Tang army advancing northward; by last evening, the main force of the Tang army was already 50 li away.

In the middle of Heicheng’s main street, there was a tavern called Yanranju, the largest of the five taverns in the city. It was run by a Han Chinese man, with over a dozen employees from Shuozhou. The man’s surname was Tao; he was from Hedong Shuozhou. He had lived in Heicheng for 30 years. Kind-hearted and often helping the poor, he also had some knowledge of medicine and was willing to assist herders with their illnesses. Over the decades, herders within hundreds of miles knew and respected him, calling him “Old Tao.” His tavern was the busiest, always filled with herders from various places, even some from thousands of miles away.

Early in the morning, Yanranju was already packed with hundreds of customers, so full that even around a four-person table, there were over a dozen people of all ages. These were local merchants and residents who had come not to drink but to seek refuge. It was an instinctive reaction—since the Tang army was approaching, only places inhabited by Han Chinese seemed safe.

Not only Yanranju but also another inn run by a Han Chinese and several Han-owned shops were filled with Turkic people seeking refuge.

The entire small town was very quiet, except for the tavern where there was a slight bustle filled with whispers. Suddenly, loud hoofbeats came from the streets outside, as if from hundreds of horses. Instantly, silence fell over the inn. Women hugged their children tightly, and fear appeared on everyone’s face—the Tang army had entered the town.

The innkeeper, Old Tao, looked troubled and preoccupied. He hurried to the door and peeked outside. At once, he saw a group of dozens of Tang soldiers approaching his inn. Frightened, he stepped back two steps.

Knocking sounds rang out, followed by shouts from outside: “Open the door!”

Everyone was terrified. Old Tao stepped forward and unlocked the door, which was then pushed open with a bang. Dozens of Tang soldiers strode into the tavern.

“So they all hid here!”

The leader was a Tang army officer. He scanned the people in the room and said coldly, “What are you afraid of? Afraid the Tang army will eat you? Hmph! A few hundred of you aren’t even enough to fill the gaps in their ranks.”

He suddenly raised his voice and declared, “By order of the general, Hei City has been requisitioned by the Tang army. Everyone must move outside the city and stay there temporarily!”

After issuing the order and seeing no reaction, he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you understand me?”

Old Tao quickly stepped forward and bowed. “Sir, they are Turks and don’t understand Chinese.”

Only then did the officer understand. He said to Old Tao, “Then tell them!”

Old Tao carefully confirmed, “Do you mean we shouldn’t kill them and just make them move away?”

“That’s right! The general doesn’t want to kill them, but we need Hei City. They must move outside immediately. They can take their belongings, but they must finish moving within half an hour. Starting now, those who exceed the time limit will be treated as spies!”

Old Tao hurriedly explained the officer’s orders to everyone in Turkic. Chaos ensued in the tavern as everyone rushed out to get to their shops and homes. With only half an hour, everyone wanted to take as many things as possible.

The dozens of Tang soldiers stepped aside to let them go. In just a moment, the hundreds of people in the tavern were gone, not a single one left.

Then, the officer turned to Old Tao and asked, “Are you Tao Yi?”

Old Tao nodded. He hadn’t used the name Tao Yi in nearly thirty years. He took out a copper plaque from his pocket and handed it to the officer. After examining it carefully, the officer said, “Come with me!”

The two left the tavern, mounted their horses, and headed outside the city.
…
On the grasslands outside Hei City, 150,000 Tang soldiers were setting up camp. It was a camp stretching for ten miles. Due to the difficulties of the northern campaign, the Tang soldiers did not bring some less essential supplies, such as siege weapons and camp fences. Instead, they built over twenty watchtowers along the edges of the camp.
The main camp was bustling with activity—soldiers were setting up tents, feeding horses, and preparing meals. The noise was intense, and the scene was extremely lively. Old Tao had dismounted and was following the officer toward the central command tent.
Old Tao’s official hometown was Shuozhou in Hedong, but in reality, he was a Suiye Han. At the age of three, his father was dispatched by the Han-Tang Association, and the whole family moved to Taiyuan in Hedong, becoming members of the Han-Tang Association there. As border trade flourished, his father was sent to Shuozhou to open a trading firm, and the family later registered their residence there.
At the age of 20, he changed his name and came to Hei City, where he married, had children, and settled down. Thirty years passed in the blink of an eye. Although he was now far from the Tang Dynasty, he remained a member of the Han-Tang Association. He reported regularly to the Taiyuan branch and had to hand over 70% of his profits to them.
A few years ago, the Han-Tang Association in Hedong was reorganized into the Hedong Intelligence Bureau, and he changed his identity as well, receiving a new ID card and becoming one of the members of the Tang Dynasty Intelligence Bureau, responsible for gathering intelligence on the Turks in the Yinshan region.
As the two approached Li Qing’an’s central command tent, they were stopped by the bodyguards. The officer stepped forward and said, “These are members of the Hei City Intelligence Bureau. The commander wants to see them.”
A few guards stepped forward and thoroughly searched Tao Yi from head to toe before allowing him in.
Inside the central command tent, Li Qing’an was discussing military strategies with his deputy general Li Sheng, as well as generals Lei Wanchun, Helou Yurun, Ma Lin, and the military advisor Xin Yunjing, along with over a dozen other key officers, around a sand table.
After leaving the Great Wall, they had marched hundreds of miles across the grasslands without encountering any Turkic tribes or remnants of Shi Siming’s army. It seemed as though they had disappeared without a trace.
It wasn’t until yesterday that their sentries captured dozens of Turkic herders who had come to Hei City to sell goods. From them, they learned that their tribe had fled north to the Yinshan region, but they were just a small tribe with no Shi Siming’s army following them. They didn’t know where Shi Siming’s army had gone.

Li Qing’an picked up the wooden pole and pointed at the Yinshan Mountains, saying, “There are three possibilities now. One is that Shi Siming has already crossed the Yinshan Mountains and fled into the northern desert to join the Uyghur forces. Another possibility is that they are hiding somewhere in the Yinshan Mountains, watching us fight against the Uyghurs. The third possibility is that they have fled east or west, or even circled around to our rear, waiting for an opportunity to attack back into Hebei.”

At this point, Li Qing’an glanced at the expressions of the people around him. Seeing their serious faces, he understood what they were most worried about. He then smiled and said, “Among these possibilities, I’m most concerned about whether Shi Siming will flee to Beiting. This is actually what worries me the most.”

Li Qing’an turned his gaze to Lei Wanchun and asked, “General Lei, you once rushed from Beiting to Juyan Lake and then from Juyan Lake to Shuozhou. Let me ask you—how much time does it take for such a journey?”

Lei Wanchun stood up and replied, “Reporting to the general, the distance from here to Beiting is tens of thousands of miles. Even if riding nonstop, it would take a month. The entire route is covered by vast grasslands, and the season is favorable. Considering the distance and climate, it’s not entirely impossible. But Shi Siming’s biggest problem is food supplies. With over a hundred thousand troops, it’s almost impossible for him to lead them all the way to Beiting. Moreover, those hundred thousand Turkic soldiers bring their families with them. Unless he can persuade all the Turkic tribes to follow him westward, I believe the possibility of him fleeing to Beiting is low.”

Li Qing’an waved his hand, telling him to sit down. Then he said to the others, “Although the possibility is low, it still exists. That’s why I’ve ordered Duan Xiushi to send five thousand cavalry to patrol and intercept on the western grasslands. Once anything is detected, they must report to me immediately. Please rest assured on this point. Personally, I think the possibility of them attacking back into Hebei is also low, for the same reason—food shortages. Attacking back would be suicide for them. So there are only two possibilities: crossing the Yinshan Mountains to join the Uyghurs, or hiding somewhere in the Yinshan Mountains. There’s also another important clue everyone shouldn’t forget—Shi Siming’s army of over a hundred thousand consists of people from sixteen Turkic tribes. It’s not up to Shi Siming alone to make decisions; he needs the consent of the leaders of those sixteen tribes.”

Li Sheng beside him laughed and said, “So what the general means is that the possibility of Shi Siming’s army crossing the Yinshan Mountains to join the Uyghurs is also low, right?”

Li Qing’an nodded with a smile. “Exactly. Perhaps Shi Siming wants to do it, but the Turkic soldiers in his army may not.”

At that moment, a report came from outside the tent, “General, Tao Yi from Heicheng has arrived!”

“Let him in!”

Li Qing’an smiled at everyone and said, “No matter how we guess, we’re amateurs. Let’s hear what the Intelligence Hall has to say!”
A moment later, the curtain was lifted, and several bodyguards led Tao Yi in. Although Tao Yi was a member of the Intelligence Hall, he had lived in the grasslands for thirty years and was no different from ordinary commoners. He stepped forward, knelt down, and kowtowed to Li Qing’an, saying, “Tao Yi pays his respects to His Highness, the King of Zhao!”
Seeing that his hair and beard were white and he was over sixty years old, Li Qing’an quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying, “There’s no need for such formalities. Please stand up!”
After helping him up, Li Qing’an introduced him to everyone with a smile, saying, “This Mr. Tao is also from Suiye. He has lived in Hei City for thirty years and was once a member of the Han-Tang Association.”
The Han-Tang Association was no longer a secret among the Anxi troops. Hearing that he was from Suiye, everyone felt a sense of closeness and greeted him with smiles. Tao Yi appeared nervous and awkward in the tent filled with generals, so Li Qing’an didn’t press him further and said with a smile, “We’re discussing the whereabouts of Shi Siming’s army. Could Mr. Tao provide us with some clues?”
After saying that, he handed the wooden rod to Tao Yi. Tao Yi walked up to the sand table. It was the first time he had seen such a living map, and he was stunned for a while before slowly realizing it. “Ah! So this is the Yin Mountains. Oh! That’s Qing Mountain. Then this must be Hei City.”
He found a model of Hei City made of wood and observed the surroundings carefully. Li Qing’an didn’t rush him, knowing it took time to get used to such a sand table. But since Tao Yi hadn’t denied it outright, it meant he had some clues, and Li Qing’an felt a glimmer of hope.
Tao Yi gradually became familiar with the sand table and calmed down. He then said to everyone, “I have many Turks from the surrounding areas in my tavern. About three days ago, a group of Turks who came to Hei City to buy tea and salt came to my shop to drink. I overheard them complaining that the army was consuming too many resources and that their lambs had been stolen by the army. I asked them which army it was, and they said it came from the south—probably Shi Siming’s army.”
Tao Yi’s clues delighted the officers in the tent. Li Sheng quickly asked him, “Where did those Turks come from?”

Tao Yi smiled and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen these people too. I talked with them for a while. They are Turks from the Tongluo tribe. After the Tongluo and Abus tribes merged, most of them were taken west by Abus, but a small group remained north of Youzhou. They said many tribes fled east together, numbering hundreds of thousands—including the Pugu, Tongluo, and Sijie tribes. But near Jiujiu Quan, conflicts arose among them. Neither the Tongluo nor the Sijie wanted to go north, so in the end, the army and the Pugu tribe headed toward the Yinshan Mountains.”

Li Qing’an and Li Sheng exchanged a glance. Tao Yi’s words contained at least two pieces of information: one was that Shi Siming’s Turkic army had split, and the other was that it hadn’t been long since this happened—perhaps because it took too much time for the Turks to gather.

Li Qing’an examined the sand table carefully again. Tao Yi pointed to a green area in the east with a wooden stick and said, “This is Jiujiu Quan. It’s actually made up of many small lakes, only 200 li away from here.”

Li Qing’an nodded. The Tongluo and Sijie tribes could be left to Li Guangbi’s army, as their goal was to catch up with Shi Siming’s forces.

At that moment, Tao Yi suddenly remembered something and said urgently, “There’s another clue that might be useful.”

Li Qing’an quickly asked, “Go on!”

“It was the day before yesterday. I heard from a shop owner that someone was buying large quantities of tea and salt, buying up all their stock. It seems many shops experienced the same thing…”

“Where are they now?”

Before he could finish, Li Qing’an interrupted him. He was almost certain these must be people sent by Shi Siming—only an army could consume such large amounts.

“They’ve all moved out of the city, probably near the south gate.”

“Take me there!”

…

A short while later, Li Qing’an and Li Sheng arrived outside the southern city with hundreds of cavalry. This was the temporary settlement designated by the Tang army. By now, the deadline had passed, and hundreds of families had left the city. Each family had its own tent, and they had brought along their valuables and livestock. Everyone was busy setting up tents and packing up their belongings. Not far away, a group of cavalry was watching over them.

Tao Yi went into the tents and soon brought back three or four merchants. His bodyguards led them before Li Qing’an. By then, they already knew what would be asked of them.

Tao Yi first said to Li Qing’an, “These three are the three largest businesses in the city dealing in salt and tea. Their stock was completely bought out.”

The three merchants were all Turks. They knelt down and kowtowed, “Your Majesty, we humble subjects pay our respects!”

Li Qing’an smiled and said to them in Turkic, “The Tang army never harms civilians nor loots merchants. Rest assured. I want to ask you—who bought up all your goods? Where did they go? When did this happen?”
The three Turks were greatly surprised to hear that Li Qing’an could speak fluent Turkic. One of the older merchants replied, “Your Highness, it happened the night before last. There were over twenty strong men, very shrewd and capable. We discussed it later—they bought ten thousand loads of tea and over a thousand dan of salt. When we delivered the goods outside the city, we found they actually numbered in the hundreds, with more than two hundred carts.”
With more than two hundred carts, they couldn’t have traveled very fast; it should still be possible to catch up. Li Qing’an asked further, “Did they say where they were going?”
“They refused to say. But one of my companions overheard one of them complain that Nuozhen Shui City was so far away—it was impossible to reach there in three days.”
Nuozhen Shui City was located at the northern foot of the Yin Mountains—this was the crucial clue. Li Qing’an immediately turned to Li Sheng and said, “The caravan carrying tea and salt went to Nuozhen Shui City. That must be where Shi Siming’s army is gathered. Time is of the essence—we must set out right away!”
An hour later, Li Qing’an and Li Sheng led 100,000 cavalrymen northward, while the military officer Xin Yunjing stayed behind in Hei City with 50,000 troops.
…
Lei Wanchun led 3,000 cavalrymen as the vanguard, each equipped with two horses. Li Qing’an ordered them to catch up with the caravan carrying salt and tea within a day and night. The 3,000 cavalrymen raced across the vast grasslands at lightning speed, but the grasslands were so enormous that it wasn’t easy to locate the caravan. Lei Wanchun then sent ten scouting teams to search separately.
The next morning, one of the teams finally found traces of the caravan. Lei Wanchun immediately led his troops there. By a small river, they saw clear wheel tracks. Judging from the tracks, the caravan must have been carrying heavy loads in large quantities, along with plenty of horse manure.
A scout reported, “General, the horse manure is very fresh—no more than an hour old.”
An hour old meant the caravan was only fifty li ahead. Lei Wanchun immediately ordered, “Set off! Catch up with the caravan within an hour.”
The 3,000 cavalrymen spurred their horses and chased after them. At noon, a scout reported seeing a row of small black dots about twenty li in the distance.
Lei Wanchun waved his hand to stop the army. He said to a general beside him, “You lead a thousand men to circle around ahead and block them off—no one is allowed to escape!”

General Lang gave the order to lead a thousand cavalrymen northwest. Lei Wanchun was not in a hurry. After about another half hour, estimating that the army had already circled around, he ordered, “The entire army must pursue! No one is allowed to escape!”
The remaining two thousand cavalrymen were like a whirlwind sweeping across the plain, each striving to be the first as they chased northward. Half an hour later, they finally caught up with the caravan carrying salt and tea.