Chapter 31: Dawn (II)

“You… you’re going on a mission to the Western Regions?”
Zhang Yanji could hardly believe his ears. They had just arrived in Shule City not long ago, already suffering from back pain, with their legs still exhausted—yet they were to set off again?
Kuo’er Ge should think of himself as well as his brothers. Sending them on a mission to the Western Regions now would be asking for everyone’s deaths!
Li Kuo sighed and said, “In recent years, the Tang Dynasty has been at war with foreign tribes repeatedly, leaving it severely depleted. It urgently needs time to rest and rebuild its military strength. The Emperor has no desire to start more conflicts and thus hopes to win over these vassal states through conciliatory measures.”
“Then… what about the imperial edict? The documents from the Ministry of War? There must be some approval from the Secretariat, right? Why don’t I see any envoys from the court in Shule City? Hmm… could those who left just now be from Chang’an?”
Zhang Yanji kept asking questions. Logically, since these eunuchs had come all the way from Chang’an, they should have extorted a hefty sum from Kuo’er Ge—so why wasn’t there any trace of them? Eunuchs, lacking a complete body, focused all their energy on making money. Faced with such a tedious and unprofitable task, they would surely demand something from the regional generals to soothe their fragile hearts. Even if one disdained their behavior, ordinary regional generals would still prepare a generous sum of money to keep them from spilling rumors in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor, sitting in his palace, naturally had no idea about the outside world. Thus, these eunuchs became his means of obtaining information, and he trusted them greatly.
As the saying goes, it’s better to betray a real villain than to punish a hypocrite. These eunuchs acted one way in public and another in private—most disgusting. How many loyal officials and capable generals had lost their positions and been unjustly imprisoned because they failed to curry favor with them?
“It’s an imperial edict. Brother Guan is leading a trade mission to the Western Regions, and his main purpose is to deliver a message to me!”
Li Kuo helplessly waved his hand and revealed the truth. In his opinion, since the Emperor had already sent the message, he had no reason to refuse. Although this edict held no real authority, if he pretended not to hear it, he would surely lose the Emperor’s trust in the future. Besides, he himself wanted to visit Hexiang. As the governor of Shule, it was his responsibility to understand the situation of the surrounding vassal states.
“What? You say this is just an edict written by the Emperor? Without even any approval?”

Zhang Yanji could no longer suppress his astonishment and exclaimed out loud. How could this be possible! Kuo’er Ge had just arrived in Shule, unfamiliar with the place, yet the Emperor sent him on a mission to the Western Regions. Even if sending him on a mission was acceptable, an official imperial edict should have been drafted by the Secretariat and sent urgently over 500 miles. So why was it Guan Yuyuan who brought it instead?
What kind of situation was this? Gao Xianzhi was the Grand Protector of Anxi. Without an official document from the court, how could Kuo’er Ge act beyond his authority and “unilaterally” go on a mission to the Western Regions? Moreover, even assuming he had Gao Xianzhi’s approval, how many people should he take? Which countries should he start and end at? How could he avoid the attention of the Arabs along the way? What topics should be discussed in the negotiations, and what promises should be made?
Had the Emperor not considered all these issues before issuing such an edict, expecting Kuo’er Ge to solve everything?
“That’s not the key issue. We can first send a letter to General Gao; I’m sure he’ll approve.”
Li Kuo paused for a moment before saying, “I’m just wondering how many people we should take on this mission. After all, most of the barbarian states in the Western Regions are now under Arab control. Taking too few people would be unsafe, while taking too many would draw too much attention. Defense in the Shule area is crucial, so we need to find a proper balance…”
“Sigh, I thought I could rest for a few days, but as soon as I arrived, I had to go to Khwarezm to suffer! I really have a hard life!”
Seeing that Li Kuo had made up his mind, Zhang Yanji knew it was pointless to argue further and began to complain.
“Going to Khwarezm isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Haven’t you been complaining about wanting to see Persian beauties? Hehe, now you might get your chance!”
Pu Dachui, on the other hand, was very excited. Back in Chang’an, he had heard the Persian women in the taverns say they were gorgeous and charming. How could a man as tall and handsome as him, Pu Dachui, not go to Persia?
“Shut up! We’re not going to Persia this time!”
Li Kuo retorted with a laugh before saying seriously, “The Emperor’s edict clearly states that the main destinations of this mission are Xiuxun Prefecture and the Kangju Governorate. At most, we won’t go beyond Anxi Prefecture. How could we possibly go to Persia?”
“That’s so boring. I heard that Persian women have stunning figures. It would be a shame if I, Pu Dachui, didn’t get to experience them.”
Pu Dachui clicked his lips, swallowed his saliva, and sighed.
“We’re here on a serious mission. Stop thinking only about seducing women!”

Dou Qing couldn’t believe that Pu Dachui still hadn’t overcome this habit even after arriving in Shule, so he hurriedly gave him some advice. This area was now under the actual control of the Arabs, and their mission certainly couldn’t use the banner of the Tang Dynasty. If everyone were as troublemaking as Pu Dachui, wouldn’t they end up harming everyone else?

“Brother Dou is right. We’re here to do important work this time. Whether we can regain the old lands in Hexi and expand our Tang borders further west depends on us!”

Li Sheng nodded and analyzed, “In my opinion, we can disguise ourselves as a merchant caravan. The region around Hexi is a mix of Hu and Han people, with prosperous trade. As long as we keep a low profile, no one will notice us.”

Li Kuo pondered for a moment and said, “That method might work, but how many people should be in the caravan? And what should we sell?”

“General… I…”

Only then did Li remember that Erwa had been traveling with the Jiyuan merchant caravan all the way and must be well-versed in market conditions. He waved at him and smiled, “If you have any ideas, feel free to speak up.”

Erwa timidly poked his head over and said in a low voice, “Perhaps we can vary the goods we sell, mainly silk and tea. Brother Guan said these are in high demand in Hexi. As for the number of people, it’s best not to exceed a thousand, but not too few either—no less than five hundred. Most caravans going to Hexi are there to do big business, so too few people might arouse suspicion.”

“Hmm, I think that works. This way, we can bring along the elite troops from the Copper Military Camp. They’re brothers we’ve fought alongside all the way; they’re the most trustworthy. Even if something goes wrong on the journey, we can adjust quickly.”

Li Sheng nodded, agreeing quite strongly with Erwa’s suggestion.

“However, we’ll need to replace the horses with the dwarf breeds from the Western Regions. Although these horses are small, they can carry heavy loads. Since we’re pretending to be a merchant caravan, we need to look legitimate and not give anyone any clues!”

Li Sheng was very meticulous. Although he had only been in Shule for a few days, he had already noticed that the horse breeds here were very different from those used by the military in Guanlong. If they used those military horses to go to Hexi, wouldn’t the Arab scouts spot the discrepancy?

“That’s not difficult. As the governor of Shule, Qilang can easily get some Khotan horses from the merchant caravans. We just need to pay them double the price. After all, these merchants will still be dealing in Anxi in the future, so they’ll surely be willing to please Qilang.”

Zhou Wucui tore off a piece of baked naan, put it in his mouth, and chewed while analyzing, “The biggest problem is that we need to find a local guide. At least one who can speak Arabic and Turkic!”

What he said was indeed true. The people of this generation were first influenced by the Western Turks and then by the cultural invasion of the Arabs. Now, Turkic and Arabic have become the common languages, so it’s normal not to speak the local dialects.

“Leave this task to me!”

That Turgesh general suddenly stepped forward and took charge, saying, “I’m very familiar with the herders and merchants of this generation. It’s no problem to find one or two guides. As long as the commander trusts me, let me handle this task, Du Moye!”

At these words, everyone’s gaze turned toward him. Before this internal meeting, everyone had opposed Du Moye’s participation. The reason was simple: as a trusted subordinate of the former defender of Shule, he was likely a spy planted by Gao Xianzhi to monitor Li Kuo. Moreover, he was a Turgesh man. Who didn’t know that it was precisely because of the treachery of the Turgesh that the Tang Dynasty lost actual control over the Suiye River region?

But Li Kuo insisted on having Du Moye attend the meeting. In his view, only by having open discussions with him could he truly integrate into the Shule army. Otherwise, he would likely remain on the fringes of the army and never become one of their trusted members.

As for his sensitive background, Li Kuo chose to ignore it. Gao Xianzhi was from Goguryeo, yet he still became the governor of Anxi. As long as one was loyal to the Tang Dynasty, these issues didn’t matter.

Although Du Moye participated in the meeting, he remained silent. His sudden proposal surprised everyone.

Li Kuo nodded with a smile and said, “Then I’ll leave this to Deputy General Du. But since this matter is of great importance, we still need to bring that man to the commander’s office. There are some things I need to explain to him in person.”

“I’ll obey orders!” Du Moye was overjoyed that Li Kuo agreed so readily and quickly bowed to accept the task.

“I’ll go handle it right away!”

After saying that, Du Moye nodded at Li Kuo and bowed before leaving.

“Brother Kuo, are you really going to leave this task to him? It’s so important. What if he leaks information? It’s terrifying…”

Zhang Yanji began to persuade Li Kuo once Du Moye left the room.

Those who aren’t of our clan surely have different motives. Especially a Turgesh man we’ve never dealt with before! How can Brother Kuo trust him?

“Loyalty isn’t proven by words but by actions. If I don’t give him this chance, I’ll never know whether his heart truly lies with our Tang Dynasty!” Li Kuo shook his head and smiled, speaking softly.