Chapter 27: Gains and Losses (III)

Hearing these words, Tuhufun’s face turned deathly pale instantly.
Although he didn’t fully understand the specific purpose behind the Tang Emperor’s decree to distribute fiefs, in his understanding, if such a decree were truly implemented, the powerful Turkic Khaganate would disintegrate into dozens of weak, insignificant tribes within twenty or thirty years.
In this lawless region of the Western Regions, strength was the only factor that mattered. The more territory and pasture one had, the more cattle, sheep, and slaves one could possess, the more warriors one could train, and the greater one’s dominance over the region would be!
But what if those warriors and lands were divided into dozens or even hundreds of pieces?
Tuhufun felt a chill sweep over him. Instinctively, he tightened his Tang-style robe and forced a smile. “The Heavenly Khan is truly as generous as a mountain toward my Turkic people. Yet I, Tuhufun, have yet to achieve anything significant—such kindness is truly unworthy of me!”
It was said that the Tang were skilled in strategy. At first, he hadn’t believed it, but now it seemed that killing didn’t even require a knife.
“Oh? What do you mean, Tuhufun Tak? Could it be that you refuse such a great favor bestowed by His Majesty, the Tang Emperor?”
Li Kuo’s gaze sharpened as he stared intently at Tuhufun, who panicked and began waving his hands to explain.
“My lord, please don’t misunderstand!”
After finally calming Li Kuo, who was about to stand up, Tuhufun sighed and said, “My lord, you don’t realize it, but this region of the Western Regions is not like the Central Plains. If we divide it up piece by piece, it might foster the ambitions of villains, which would be detrimental to my Turkic people serving as guardians for the Tang Emperor.”
He spoke in utmost humility, but Li Kuo refused to accept it.
The young man merely sneered, “Tuhufun Tak needn’t worry about that. If there really are troublemakers, the Tang army in Anxi will certainly not stand idly by. All Tuhufun Tak needs to do is accept the decree willingly, and he can become the khan of all the Turkic people, enjoying the worship of thousands. Why wouldn’t he do that?”
“This…”
Li Kuo’s words made perfect sense, and Tuhufun couldn’t find any reason to argue. He had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Seeing that matters were nearly settled, Li Kuo bowed to Tuhufun and said, “Our Anxi army may need to stay in Suiye City for a few more days. If we cause any inconvenience, I hope Tuhufun Tak will forgive us!”
After a brief pause, Li Kuo added, “I still have matters to attend to in the army, so I won’t disturb Tuhufun Tak’s rest any longer!”
With that, he stood up and headed toward the inner palace of the Turkic kingdom. Tuhufun, the Turkic Tak, stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

This is the palace of the Turkic people—will this deputy military governor have to live here forever?
Once things have taken this turn, it seems even those of the noble Tak tribe are powerless to change anything…
Inside the Turkic palace, the lights were bright.
“Brothers, have you all maintained military discipline since entering the city?”
Li Kuo leaned back in the leopard-skin armchair reserved for Moqi Zhi, discussing with his trusted aides the matters that needed to be addressed after the battle of Suoye City.
Unlike previous campaigns of capturing cities, after this battle, the Tianwei Army would have to stay in Suoye City until the main forces led by Gao Xianzhi returned, regardless of victory or defeat!
If they won, they could welcome them out of the city with festivities. If they lost, the narrow paths in the Suoye River region would become their only lifeline!
Therefore, Li Kuo needed to maintain stability in the city as much as possible, creating a relatively relaxed atmosphere despite being at war.
However, he wasn’t good at governing civilians—after all, there were many differences in behavior and temperament between ordinary people and soldiers. What worked for soldiers often drew attention when applied to civilians.
“Brothers have followed your orders, refraining from harming the common people at all!”
Li Sheng respectfully saluted the young man and reported everything he knew to Li Kuo: “As per your orders, the Tianwei Army is divided into four battalions, stationed around the northern palace to protect it. Meanwhile, the soldiers of our Tongwu Battalion are stationed inside the palace to ensure your safety.”
Li Kuo nodded slightly. He had entrusted this task to Li Sheng precisely because of his composure. Though young, Li Sheng possessed a maturity beyond his years, a quality highly valued by the young man.
To be honest, he wasn’t entirely confident in Tufuhan Tak. It wasn’t that he thought Tufuhan would immediately rebel. Given the current situation, this Turkic ruler was extremely cunning; even if he harbored resentment, he wouldn’t show it, and he likely wouldn’t attempt to seize Suoye City in the short term.
Besides, he still needed to rely on the prestige of the Tang Dynasty to establish his absolute rule. At least at this critical moment, he wouldn’t betray himself. Yet Li Kuo still had to be cautious—granting fiefs was a subtle way to undermine someone. Any ruler with some ambition wouldn’t want their kingdom divided into weak, fragmented city-states.
Tufuhan might use this to incite the people and exert hidden pressure on him. He might also secretly ally with other ethnic groups to create trouble. (Note 1) But he wouldn’t do these things himself; instead, he would maintain a superficial harmony with Li Kuo.

“Were the wounded soldiers given timely medical treatment?”
Li Kuo let out a long sigh and finally changed the subject. In a major battle, the number of wounded often exceeded that of those who died in combat. Many of these wounded died in agony due to a lack of prompt and effective care. Of course, Li Kuo did not want his comrades who fought alongside him to die needlessly, so since the city fell, he ordered all the physicians in Suiye City and the army’s medical officers to provide centralized treatment for the wounded soldiers.
“About two hundred comrades were too seriously injured and couldn’t survive.”
Li Sheng swallowed hard and said, “The remaining more than two thousand soldiers managed to survive. I believe they will recover after some time of rest.”
“They are the pride of the Tang Dynasty, the pride of our Anxi Army!”
Li Kuo clenched his fist and ordered, “For each deceased soldier, distribute twenty taels of money according to the imperial compensation regulations. Additionally, allocate ten taels from the Anxi Army and ten taels from my Shule Army. Make sure someone personally delivers this money to their wives and children. They served our Tang Dynasty loyally; we must not let their families suffer cold and hunger for the rest of their lives!”
After a brief pause, Li Kuo continued, “As for the wounded, follow the imperial regulations. Right now, our Tang Dynasty is engaged in a decisive battle against the Arabs, and military expenses are huge. We can only compensate them later.”
“I shall obey your orders. It’s truly fortunate for the comrades to have a commander like you!”
Li Sheng bowed to Li Kuo in admiration.
It wasn’t that he was trying to flatter Li Kuo. Throughout the Tang Army, only Li Kuo could spare a large sum of money from his own forces beyond what the imperial regulations provided for the fallen soldiers.
Moreover, this army wasn’t even under his direct command—it wasn’t even part of the Anxi Army!
You see, armies like the Shule Army, though nominally still subjects of the Tang Emperor, were essentially disconnected from the central government. To put it bluntly, if both the emperor and General Li issued orders at the same time, far more people would follow General Li.
In other words, such an army was practically Li Kuo’s private army. Both the imperial court and the border generals were aware of this, but no one dared to expose it to maintain surface order.
To allocate military funds from one’s own private army to compensate soldiers from another army unrelated to one’s own forces required a truly remarkable generosity.
“General Gao has sent a report—the main force of the Anxi Army has arrived at Talas City.”
With his hands behind his back, Li Kuo gazed westward and let out a deep sigh.

The moon shines bright in the silence; how many soldiers outside Taraz at this very moment must be longing for their homeland in Guanlong?…
Note 1: According to historical records, the Suiye River “extends westward to the Shi Kingdom, spanning over a thousand li. There are various tribes along the river, including non-Turkic tribes, each with tens of thousands of soldiers. Fortresses are scattered throughout, and constant warfare occurs. All farmers are forced to don armor and engage in plundering, becoming slaves.”
Thus, for Tufuhan to create trouble for the Tang army, it needn’t even lift a finger itself.