Chapter 79: Ten Thousand Miles (7)

From childhood onward, the young man had always held infinitely beautiful memories of the Tang Dynasty’s army. Whenever his elders spoke of it, they would praise it with pride and admiration. Influenced by this, he naturally believed that the Tang Dynasty was the most powerful nation in the world, and its army was unmatched anywhere in the world. Yet now, such an invincible and mighty army had been defeated—completely and miserably! At this moment, his heart felt as if it were being gnawed by ants, causing unbearable pain.

Nevertheless, he had to maintain complete composure to soothe the morale of these defeated soldiers. Enduring such agony was far beyond what ordinary people could bear. But Li Kuo had no choice—having taken on this responsibility, he couldn’t give up just because of the pain.

“It’s okay. It’s all over. It’s good that you’re back. It’s really good that you’re back.”

Li Kuo waved his hand generously, trying to appear relaxed. “Where are General Gao and the others? Didn’t a big fire break out in the central army after the Göktürks rebelled? How did General Gao and his men fail to break through?”

The fire commander clearly didn’t know these details. He scratched his head and said, “I’m not aware of that. But given General Gao’s temperament, even if defeated, he would still strive to outdo the Arabs. He would never allow the reputation of the Anxi Army to be tarnished by his own failure!”

Perhaps fearing Li Kuo might misunderstand that Gao Xianzhi had fled in fear, the fire commander quickly added, “Besides, General Gao is accompanied by General Li Siyeh. He’s renowned as a warrior who can defeat anyone who stands in his way—whether it’s a man or a Buddha! With him protecting General Gao, ordinary Arab cavalry wouldn’t even be able to get close to him.”

These soldiers were mostly loyal followers trained by Gao Xianzhi and had received his favor to some extent. Even after the disastrous defeat at Talas, their trust in him remained unshaken. In their eyes, Gao Xianzhi was still the great general who had conquered thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions, subdued the Turks, and challenged the Tibetans—someone on par with Li Yaoshi.

Realizing he couldn’t get any more useful information from them, Li Kuo ordered his subordinates, “Take these men back to Julan City and let them stay in our barracks for now.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Take good care of them. Don’t neglect them.”

“Understood!”

The trusted generals of the Copper Military Camp gathered those scattered soldiers and led them along the path toward Julan City. Throughout the journey, these soldiers had to hide by day and act at night, enduring great humiliation; how could they not be happy to receive such careful care from their comrades now? Some of the younger soldiers even shed tears as they followed along.

“Brother Kuo, do we really have to wait here?”

Zhang Yanji tilted his head slightly and asked in a low voice, “These soldiers are scattered, and there’s no certainty about when they’ll arrive. Just sitting here doing nothing isn’t a solution.”

Li Kuo sighed deeply. “You’re right. I’m not entirely at ease leaving my comrades in the city either. How about this? You and Wuji stay here, while I go back to Julan City.”

“Hmm, that’s good. Then be careful, Brother Kuo!”

Zhang Yanji nodded and watched as Li Kuo mounted his horse and rode off into the distance. …

As soon as Li Kuo returned to the city, he received a message from Wang Xiaochun, urging him to go to the palace immediately.

Thinking that King Li Huaizhong of Julan needed to see him, the young man didn’t hesitate and took only a hundred trusted men with him to the palace. Since Li Huaizhong had given him permission in advance, Li Kuo could enter the palace unimpeded. In no time, he entered through a side door and rushed to the main hall where the banquet had taken place the previous night. After some announcements, Li Kuo entered the hall along with Dou Qing, Wang Xiaochun, Pu Dachui, and other trusted allies.

With the doors and windows tightly closed, the hall was very dim despite being daytime. Li Kuo was puzzled and grew suspicious. He placed his right hand firmly on his sword hilt, ready to deal with any sudden changes. Although Li Huaizhong had appeared extremely respectful in front of others, he was still the ruler of a country—uncertain of his true intentions. The young man would never take chances and entrust his fate to someone else.

After walking tens of steps in tense silence, red candles suddenly lit up the hall, filling it with bright light.

“Snap! Snap! Snap!”

After three sharp sounds, a group of people emerged from the back door of the hall. Leading them was King Li Huaizhong of Julan, followed by a group of civil and military officials. Li Kuo wanted to step forward to figure out what trick this man was playing, but he suddenly froze in shock and cried out.

“General Gao! General Gao!”

The young man rushed forward and tightly hugged Gao Xianzhi’s arms. “Is it really you, General? We were gathering scattered soldiers outside the city. I didn’t expect you to have entered the city first!”

Perhaps too excited, Li Kuo held Gao Xianzhi so tightly that he made him wince in pain.

Only then did the young man realize his mistake. He quickly released his grip and said, “General, look at me. I was too excited. I…”

“Oh, you? Who else would know your temper better than I do? No need to explain. I don’t blame you.”

Gao Xianzhi shook his head and said, “Actually, I didn’t know whether you were heading toward Julan City or not, so I kept stopping along the way, which delayed our journey.” At this point, Gao Xianzhi cast a mysterious glance at Li Huaizhong before smiling and saying, “But now that you’re in this city, I no longer need to be so cautious.” In that brief moment, the young man had gone through many emotional ups and downs, and it was only now that he could let go. It must have been Li Huaizhong’s idea, to take this opportunity to ingratiate himself with General Gao! “General Gao, how many soldiers did you bring back this time? If there are too many, the barracks in the city might not be enough. If you need it, I’ll immediately ask my men to clear some space.” Li Kuo was so excited that he started dancing around, completely unaware of the frown on Gao Xianzhi’s face. “Ahem, ahem!” Gao Xianzhi coughed a few times, covering his mouth. “That’s not a problem. I think Julan City is quite large—ten thousand soldiers should fit in easily. Besides, I’ve already asked Siye to station most of the soldiers outside the city.” He emphasized the word “ten thousand” deliberately, fearing the young man might not hear it clearly and keep pressing further. Only then did Li Kuo understand what General Gao meant. It turned out he hadn’t brought back many soldiers after all. No wonder he had been so cautious along the way, stopping frequently behind him! General Gao hadn’t revealed the actual number because he didn’t want Li Huaizhong to suspect anything, and his own earlier remarks had almost exposed him! Li Kuo didn’t know what to say, and the atmosphere became awkward. Li Huaizhong stepped in at just the right time and said, “Great General Gao, Governor Li, it’s a tremendous joy for our army to return victorious. We can’t just stand here chatting—we need to celebrate properly. I already hosted Governor Li last night, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to hold another banquet in the palace. How about this—tonight, I’ll host a gathering at Mingyue Pavilion in the city for General Gao and Governor Li. What do you think?” In the past, such tone from Li Huaizhong would have made Gao Xianzhi furious. But times had changed—his army numbered less than two thousand, and he was on someone else’s territory. What right did he have to disregard Li Huaizhong’s feelings? Besides, he was exhausted from the battle and could use this opportunity to relax. After thinking it over, Gao Xianzhi stroked his short beard and said, “In that case, I’ll thank King Li here.” When had Li Huaizhong ever received such courtesy from Gao Xianzhi? He was overjoyed and repeated, “I shouldn’t be praised. I’m just, um, fulfilling my duty as host.”

Li Huaizhong rolled his eyes a few times, thought of a phrase from Tang poetry, and quickly brought it up.
“Whether you’re a landlord or not, I’m definitely eating at this banquet. Don’t come crying to me later saying I’ve ruined your Kulan Country!”
Gao Xianzhi tapped Li Huaizhong lightly and laughed out loud.
“You won’t be ruined! It’s my fortune to have you, Commander Gao, lead the troops into Kulan City.”
Li Huaizhong was already overjoyed, with crescent-shaped smiling eyes, and kept flattery after flattery.