Chapter Twelve: The North Wind (II)

After resting at Shenhaizi for one night, the Tianwei Army set out early in the morning, heading toward Suire City.
Li Kuo ordered a rapid march, requiring the soldiers to change horses every fifty li, pushing their horses to the limit. They had to suppress the rebellion in Suire before June to ensure the safe return of the army.
During his previous mission to Hexiang, Li Kuo had already visited Suire City once and gained considerable experience along the way. Thus, this time the army’s journey was very fast, with no need to stop and send scouts to explore the paths ahead.
Nevertheless, necessary reconnaissance was essential. A few elite scouts brought by Li Kuo from the Tongwu Camp discovered over a dozen Turkic cavalrymen not far from Shenhaizi the previous night. The well-trained Tongwu soldiers immediately drew their bows and arrows, killing several of the cavalrymen at first sight. The remaining cavalrymen, terrified, fled without looking back. Not wanting further complications, the Tongwu scouts beheaded the enemy soldiers and returned to the camp to report the situation to their general.
Upon hearing this news, Li Kuo ordered the entire army to be on high alert, sending a squad of scouts every fifty li to investigate the valleys ahead. After about ten hours of marching, the Tianwei Tang Army finally arrived at Helie City, not far from Suire Town.
“General, Helie City is right ahead. Should we go inside and rest?”
Pu Dachui wiped the sweat from his forehead and called out excitedly. Since leaving Shule City, they had marched hundreds of li in a row. Now that they finally encountered a city, surely they could go inside and warm up a bit?
“Shut up! Do you think Helie City is like Suire City or Shule City? It’s nothing more than an earthen wall about twenty feet high.”
Li Kuo retorted jokingly, waving his right hand toward the nearby earthen wall.

Li Kuo was right. The rise of He Lie City can be traced back to the reign of Emperor Gaozong. At that time, the Hei Tou Wu Hu were driven by the Western Turks to the area around Da Qing Chi. Unable to graze anymore, they lost their means of livelihood. Seeing tens of thousands of their people on the verge of starving to death, the chieftain of the Hei Tou Wu Hu was extremely anxious. For three consecutive days, he couldn’t think of any solution, so in desperation, he threw a stone into Da Qing Chi. To his surprise, the stone triggered several phosphorescent fish to emerge from the water. Inspired as if by a deity, the chieftain knelt down in reverence and offered sacrifices to the Eternal Heaven. From then on, the people of the Hei Tou Wu Hu made a living by fishing. As they caught more fish, they took them to the grass market to sell. The Turgesh, Khotanese, and Turks in Suiye City flocked to the grass market to buy fish, and over time, this market gave rise to He Lie City.

“Could it be… could it be that He Lie City can’t even accommodate ten thousand people?”

Pu Da Chui’s eyes widened, his mouth opening as big as an egg. He simply couldn’t believe that a city couldn’t hold even ten thousand people—how could the ordinary people live there then?

“Not to mention ten thousand, it probably can’t even hold five thousand!”

Li Kuo found it amusing. After accompanying Pu Da Chui to Chang’an City, he guessed that other cities along the River would seem like small settlements in comparison.

“Well, then…”

Pu Da Chui’s hope of taking a hot bath was dashed, leaving him speechless with frustration.

“Stop complaining. Hurry up and go outside He Lie City to get some fresh water!”

Li Kuo shook his head and gave the order. He had never fought against the Turgesh, so he wasn’t very familiar with their combat strength. However, he had seen with his own eyes the defenses of Suiye City. Regardless of how strong its defenses were, if the Turgesh fought desperately to hold out, it might take ten days or even half a month before he could capture Suiye.

That’s why he thought of going to the nearby He Lie City to obtain enough water supplies. The Tianwei Army had ample dry rations, but the only thing lacking was fresh water. With enough fresh water, Li Kuo wouldn’t have to worry about a protracted war against the Turgesh.

“Hey, hey!”

Pu Da Chui responded repeatedly, “General, rest assured! With me here, I’ll make sure the soldiers don’t go without a single bag of clean water!” After saying that, he shouted at one of his guards, “What are you staring at? I’m talking to you! Don’t you have ears? What did the commander say just now? Hurry up and send the soldiers to He Lie City to fetch water!”

The guard, unfairly blamed, rode off with a gloomy face to deliver the order. …

Today, He Lie City remains under the actual control of the Hei Tou Wu Hu. The current chief of the Hei Tou Wu Hu, and also the ruler of He Lie City, is named Wuganer. Upon learning that the Tang army from Anxi had arrived near Da Qing Chi, the old chief led his people out of the city to greet them, trembling with fear.

Having lived there for over a hundred years, the people of the Hei Tou Wu Hu knew best how to survive. They could not afford to provoke the mighty Tang Dynasty, nor could they afford to confront the fierce and brutal Turkic tribes. They submitted to the Tang Dynasty and paid tribute to the Turkic tribes—all in order to survive and preserve their lineage.

To survive—such an ordinary goal—required the people of the Hei Tou Wu Hu to pay such a high price.

“Respected general of the Tang Dynasty, I, Wuganer, chief of the Hei Tou Wu Hu, on behalf of my people, extend to you our sincerest greetings. May the Eternal Heaven bless the noble people of the Tang Dynasty, and may good fortune be with you!”

Wuganer placed one hand on his shoulder, performing the most standard greeting among the nomads. Although the Hei Tou Wu Hu had shifted from nomadic life to fishing and hunting, they had not forgotten their ancestral roots and always remembered that they were nomads.

“May the Eternal Heaven bless you and your people!”

Li Kuo also placed one arm on his shoulder as a gesture of respect in return. “I and my army have come to the shores of Da Qing Chi, hoping to ask his friends for a bowl of water to drink!”

When Li Kuo had gone to Tubo earlier, he had learned much about the customs of nomadic tribes from the White Wolf tribe. Since the people of the Hei Tou Wu Hu still considered themselves nomads, it was only right for him to treat them according to nomadic customs.

“Oh, honored guests from the Tang Dynasty blessed by the Eternal Heaven! We are willing to nourish you with the waters of Da Qing Chi, like milk from a mother!”

Seeing how much Li Kuo valued the traditions of the Hei Tou Wu Hu, Wuganer was deeply moved. He firmly grasped Li Kuo’s hands and promised, “The children of the Eternal Heaven are willing to share their joy with his friends!”

Li Kuo smiled slightly and nodded in greeting to Wuganer.

In fact, even if Wuganer had disagreed to the Tang army’s request for water, he would not have been able to stop them. Against ten thousand elite Tang cavalry, the three thousand weak and old cavalry the Hei Tou Wu Hu could muster were utterly insignificant. Wuganer was not old enough to fail to recognize the situation and would not risk the extinction of his tribe by confronting the Tang cavalry. Of course, this was the extent of their assistance to the Tang army. At present, it was the Turkic tribes who controlled the area around Suiye River. Although the Tang army was powerful, it was still hundreds of miles away. If they offended the Turkic tribes because of this, the Hei Tou Wu Hu might lose their only stronghold as well.

Fortunately, this Tang general knew exactly how far to go, asking only that troops be sent to Daqingchi to fetch water. This way, even if the Turkic tribes came later to demand an explanation, they could claim it was the Tang army acting on its own. This young man possessed profound wisdom and mature political experience far beyond his years; if properly nurtured, he would surely become a great figure!

After calming his thoughts, Wuganer felt greatly relieved. As for who would ultimately rule Suiye, he didn’t care at all. Whoever ruled Suiye would still have to pay taxes to the Heitou Wuhu tribe. As long as the taxes weren’t so high that the Heitou Wuhu people couldn’t bear them, they would continue to endure, just as they had done for a hundred years with the Turks and Turkic tribes.

In fact, Li Kuo also had no intention of staying in Helie City for too long. With a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, he dared not waste any more time there. Once the army finished fetching water, the young man ordered them to set off.

At first, there were some unpleasant incidents within the army, nearly leading to a mutiny.

The general of the Tianwei Army this time was named Wu Fuhui, belonging to the Longyou military faction. He was already very dissatisfied to be assigned to Anxi and “humble himself” to work with the young man. The rapid march along the way had led to many complaints among the troops. Finally, when they reached Helie City to rest, that immature brat ordered them to set off again! Had he ever led troops before? He knew nothing! If he pushed his soldiers too far, not to mention fighting, it would be lucky if they didn’t turn against him.

At his instigation, some experienced soldiers in the army created disputes on purpose, arguing with Li Kuo’s loyal troops. Since Gao Xianzhi had withdrawn most of the Shule Army troops during his western campaign, Li Kuo only had his own loyal units—Tongwu, Zhenwu, and Kuowu regiments—totaling just over a thousand men. Despite being at a clear numerical disadvantage, Li Kuo showed no sign of fear. He had long seen that Wu Fuhui was no easy opponent and had been tolerating him for the sake of the greater good. But as the saying goes, kindness invites abuse, and good nature invites exploitation—Wu Fuhui had become overconfident and tried to challenge his authority.

A single army cannot have two commanders. If he failed to bring this unruly Tianwei Army general under control this time, the army might mutiny sooner or later.

After careful consideration, Li Kuo decided to take this opportunity to enforce military discipline. He ordered Pu Dachui, Dou Qing, Xianyu Yucheng, Wang Xiaochun, and others to arrest the soldiers of the Tianwei Army in the marketplace, while sending his trusted troops to block all exits. In no time, Wu Fuhui was “imprisoned” in the center of the army by Li Kuo’s loyalists. Although the Tianwei Army had ten times as many soldiers, Wu Fuhui had no advantage in any particular area.
“Kneel! Damn you, you wretched traitor! If I don’t crush your balls today, you’re not even worth calling Pu!”
Pu Dachui kicked one of the Tianwei Army officers in the marketplace with such force that the officer cried out in pain and fell to his knees.
“Kneel!”
“Kneel!”
Dozens of the troublemakers who were captured knelt down in front of the Black Head and Black Guard tribe members, completely losing their earlier defiance.
“It seems I need to have a serious talk with you all today!”
Li Kuo’s gaze turned icy as his right hand reached for the black scabbard hanging at his waist.
Note 1: Daqingchi: refers to Lake Issyk-Kul today.