Chapter Eleven: The North Wind (I)

In early April, Gao Xianzhi, the military governor of the Four Towns of Anxi, requested to resign from the emperor and rushed back to Kucha with over five hundred of his most trusted men. It was not that Gao Xianzhi was unwilling to sacrifice military forces, but rather because a major upheaval had occurred in Hexi. The Arabs, who had previously withdrawn from Hexi, made a comeback and swiftly captured the region that the Tang forces in Anxi had just regained, intending to attack and seize control of the Four Towns of Anxi.

Alarmed, Gao Xianzhi rushed back to Anxi without delay to take charge of the situation and counter the Arabs’ surprise attack. After learning more about what had happened, he suddenly understood: a rebellion had broken out within the Arab realm. To save their dynasty, the caliph urgently summoned troops from various regions to fight back, and the jihadists in Hexi were no exception. However, Kufa was too far from Hexi, and by the time the jihadists arrived, Kufa had already fallen to the rebels. The White Arabs, who had previously been in opposition to the Tang Dynasty, were replaced by the Black Arabs, and the former Arab royal family was completely wiped out.

Yet this was merely a power struggle within the Arab nation and did not affect their overall strength. After a brief rest, the Black Arabs sent over two hundred thousand troops to invade eastward. Now that all the barbarian states in the former Hexi region had turned against them, if no action was taken promptly, the Four Towns of Anxi would also be in grave danger.

What worried Gao Xianzhi even more was that the commander of the Arabs this time was Abu Muslim, a former governor of Khorasan with great military talent. Most importantly, he could leverage his influence in the Khorasan region to win over all the vassal states to his side.

There was even worse news: almost all the barbarian states in Hexi, except for the ruler of Bakhtria, Ashilanda, had turned to the Arabs. Their reason was even more unacceptable to Gao Xianzhi—they claimed that the military governor of Anxi had been killing innocents and acting brutally!

After consulting with his generals, Gao Xianzhi agreed that they could not sit idly by. They should launch a surprise attack on Hexi and defeat the combined forces of the Arabs and the barbarians in one fell swoop.

In the end, Gao Xianzhi decided to appoint Li Siyeh as his deputy commander and Duan Xiushi as another commander. He gathered twenty thousand elite Han troops from the Anxi Protectorate and, along with ten thousand troops from Bakhtria and the Göktürks, crossed the Pamir Mountains and advanced over seven hundred li into barbarian territory to engage the Arabs in a decisive battle. …

Of course, the Four Towns of Anxi still needed to be defended. Gao Xianzhi left ten thousand weak and old soldiers to guard the towns, while the rest of his troops were handed over to Li Kuo, the military commander of Shule, to join the Tianwei elite troops heading to Anxi to suppress the rebellion in the Suyab River region.

“Late is the season in mid-summer; in the barbarian lands, grass and trees thrive. Horses race faster than flying crows; beyond the horizon lies the setting sun. The military commander has just sent troops out—armies are mustered in May. Two million soldiers, their armor gleaming like gold. Flags wave above Kunlun; drums resound in Puchang. The celestial general leads the troops; imperial might descends upon the vast wilderness.”

Cen Shen looked into the distance and, seeing dark clouds gathering over the city, was moved to compose a five-character regulated poem.

“Secretary Cen truly has great talent. In all of our Tang Dynasty, only Uncle Gao could compose such poems,” Li Kuo said, pointing into the distance with his whip and expressing his admiration sincerely.

“General Li, you’re joking. With war approaching, how could I possibly have any good mood?” Cen Shen replied with a wry smile, shaking his head before urging his horse forward with a whip. “By now, Commander Gao must have crossed the Pamir Mountains. I wonder how the battle there is going—have they encountered resistance from the Arabs?”

Cen Shen’s words were true. He had left Chang’an in April with the Tianwei soldiers to head to Anxi. Upon arriving in Kucha, he immediately participated in a secret meeting organized by Gao Xianzhi. Concerned that the Turgesh people still harbored malicious intentions, Gao decided to send Li Kuo with ten thousand Tianwei soldiers to suppress them, preventing them from allying with the Arabs and putting the Anxi army in a difficult position.

As expected, less than three days after the army set out, the Turgesh people in Suiye City rebelled again, making Li Kuo’s mission there all the more urgent.

“Our Anxi Tang army is very strong, but this time, as we venture deep into barbarian territory, our supplies likely fall short compared to those of the Arabs!” Li Kuo shook his head, analyzing carefully. “If we can resolve this quickly, that would be ideal. But the Arabs are advancing fiercely, and I’m afraid Commander Gao won’t be able to gain an advantage right away. If it drags on…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Cen Shen already understood what he meant. In fact, the supply situation of the Anxi army was his greatest concern. He had inquired with the military officer in charge—there was enough food and supplies only for the thirty thousand soldiers to last a month. What would happen after that? What would the thirty thousand soldiers eat?

Theoretically, they could send people to Hezhong at any time to bring in more supplies, but the Arabs could easily lay an ambush at the Pamir Mountains—five thousand soldiers would be sufficient to completely cut off the Tang army’s supply lines.

With that strike, the Anxi army would be deprived of supplies, while the Arabs would fight almost at their doorstep. If they couldn’t win in one battle, the consequences would be disastrous.

Although Cen Shen could use poetry to boost his morale, he was well aware that the Arabs were no easy opponent. Fortunately, General Gao had already made arrangements for them to go to the Suiye River region to suppress the rebellious Turks. This way, even if the Anxi army was defeated and trapped at the Geluo Pass, they could still withdraw from the Suiye River area. In this sense, their mission was even more arduous than that of the main Tang forces advancing head-on. Whether they could maintain control over the Suiye region was crucial to the safety of the Anxi Tang army!

“Huh!”
Cen Shen let out a sigh and asked, “In General Li’s opinion, what’s the likelihood of the allied foreign forces rebelling?”

Apart from supply issues, what worried Cen Shen the most was the loyalty of these foreign tribes. Though their combat strength might be limited, they were still fresh troops. But if they turned against them at the critical moment…

Li Kuo pondered for a moment before saying, “It’s hard to say. The barbarians are always cunning. If our Anxi army keeps winning, they’ll surely bow down in submission. But if our Tang army falls, they’ll likely be the first to turn against us.”

“You’re right. The barbarians always worship the strong and care nothing for righteousness or morality. So we must not take them lightly!”

Cen Shen was quite satisfied with Li Kuo’s analysis, thinking that this young man indeed had talent, worthy of the heavy responsibilities entrusted to him by General Gao.

Ah, he only hoped he was overthinking things and that General Gao and his men would return victorious after defeating the Arabs.

“General Li, let’s speed up a bit more. This way, we can reach Suiye before the middle of the month!”

Cen Shen bowed slightly to Li Kuo as a gesture of respect.

“Mm!”
Li Kuo nodded and gave a few orders to the messenger beside him. The messenger then took the order flag and rushed along the path reserved for him in the middle of the army to deliver the orders.

“The general orders that the entire army accelerate its pace. Change horses every fifty miles. Leave tired horses by the side of the road for the logistics team to collect.”

“The general orders that the entire army accelerate its pace. Spare no effort in using the horses. We must reach Shenhaizi by tonight!”