Chapter 26: The Border Tribes (I)

In early May, although Guanzhong was already in late spring, strong winds blew west of Qinghai. The cold wind swept across their cheeks, causing sharp pain as if cut by a dull knife. Outside Fusi City, a key town on the west bank of Qinghai (Note 1), a group of about fifty cavalry rushed past the dense forests at high speed. These riders were clearly Tang army sentries, belonging to the Tongwu Camp of the Helong Army. This unit set out from Shanzhou, passed through the Heyuan Army and Xuanwei Army, and arrived at the gates of the Anren Army city. After crossing the Aiyi Chiling Mountains, they silently circled behind the Tibetans to gather military intelligence and map the terrain.

The leading officer was roughly sixteen or seventeen years old, with a heroic appearance. He held a silver lance and carried a black-horned recurve bow. He was Xianyu Yucheng, a brave general under Li Kuo, the commander of the Tongwu Camp. Even before the Zhuque Camp was reorganized, he had served as the leader of the sentry team and was highly skilled in deploying scouts. He knew exactly when to hide and when to conduct reconnaissance, ensuring that the Tibetans could not easily detect their movements.

Their main focus of this reconnaissance was Fusi City, a fortified stronghold that served as a key supply center for the Tibetans. Continuous supplies of grain, cattle, and sheep were transported via slaves and family members through the Dafei River to Moliyi Post, thereby supplying the Tibetan troops in the Chiling area. If this supply chain consisted of Fusi City, the Dafei River, Moliyi Post, and the Chiling Mountains, then Fusi City was the starting point. Removing this hub would instantly disrupt the Tibetans’ supply system.

Xianyu Yucheng clenched his fists, staring coldly into the distance. But how could they remove this hub? After several days of reconnaissance, he found that although Fusi City was a small military fortress, it was garrisoned by about 1,500 troops. Most of these were Tu Yugun people with weaker combat skills, while Lieutenant Li only had slightly over 600 men. How could they capture such a strong fortress?

Suddenly, Xianyu Yucheng spotted a stone fortress not far west of Fusi City, and a glint appeared in his eyes. The Tibetans had stationed heavy troops in the Datong Valley and set up dozens of fortresses along the roads leading to Fusi City as surveillance posts. These fortresses usually had only two or three hundred troops each. The closest one to Fusi City was this stone fortress before him. If they could capture it and raise an alarm signal, would the Tibetans send troops to reinforce it?

With this thought, Xianyu Yucheng eagerly spurred his horse and rushed toward the Tongwu Camp’s base on the west bank of Qinghai.

Beside a dense forest on the west side of Qinghai, Li Kuo, the commander of Tongwu Camp, held in his hands a topographic map brought back by Xian Yu Cheng. It was a map of the Fusi City area, and it had taken his men a whole week to complete the detailed depiction of the surrounding terrain. From large fortresses to small checkpoints, Xian Yu Cheng had ordered them to be marked with charcoal pencils. Most notably, he had drawn a thick circle around Qingshi Fort, which made Li Kuo’s heart stir.

“Yu Cheng, you’ve worked hard this time,” Li Kuo said with a smile, patting Xian Yu Cheng’s arm gently.

Xian Yu Cheng, however, did not dare take credit for himself and quickly replied, “It’s my duty. I did all this for the Tang Dynasty.”

Li Kuo waved his hand and said, “I see you marked Qingshi Fort with charcoal. Do you plan to capture this fort first?”

Xian Yu Cheng clasped his fists and said, “I was ordered to investigate military situations. I found that Qingshi Fort strategically blocks the path between Datong Valley and Fusi City. If we can seize this stronghold and lure the Tibetans out of the city to come to its aid, Fusi City will fall into our hands.”

Li Kuo shook his head and said with a wry smile, “That’s obvious. But even if we capture Qingshi Fort and light the beacon fires, won’t the defenders of Fusi City come to help? Won’t the troops in Datong Valley also send reinforcements?”

Xian Yu Cheng’s face turned red with shame as he lowered his head. “I didn’t consider that. I…”

Li Kuo patted his shoulder and said, “You’ve done very well already. We can think of other ways.”

At that moment, Li Sheng, the fire commander who had just joined Li Kuo’s forces, stepped forward and said, “Commander, I have a plan that can cleverly lure the defenders out of Fusi City without alerting the troops in Datong Valley!”

Although Li Sheng had only joined Tongwu Camp recently, he had won the admiration of all the soldiers for his excellent archery skills and clever tactics. Hearing that he had a clever plan, Li Kuo was overjoyed and quickly waved his hand, saying, “Brother Li, if you have any strategies, please share them.”

Li Sheng pointed toward the northwest and said, “Although the troops in Datong Valley number thirty thousand, they are a hundred li away from Fusi City. Even if they see the beacon fires and send cavalry to help, it will be more than half a day before they arrive. So, if I were the commander of Datong Valley’s troops, I wouldn’t rashly send troops as long as I didn’t see beacon fires lit in Fusi City.”

Dou Qing raised his eyebrows disdainfully and said, “We already know all that. But even if we manage to capture Fusi City, who can guarantee that the troops in Datong Valley won’t get the news? With just six hundred of us, can we really hold it off once their army arrives?”

Li Sheng ignored Dou Qing’s provocation, took a charcoal stick, and circled an area on the west side of Fusi City. He said to Li Kuo, “Fusi City isn’t as sturdy or large as the cities in the Central Plains. Even if we capture it, it will be hard to hold without enough troops. But we don’t necessarily have to hold it.”

Seeing the black circle on the west side of Fusi City, Li Kuo’s eyes lit up with excitement. He said, “Brother Li, are you saying that if we just enter the city and set fire to its granaries, we’ll have achieved a great feat?”

Li Sheng nodded slightly. “Exactly. All the food supplies for the Tubo troops in the Chiling area are transported from Fusi City. If we burn those granaries, the Tubo people will have to bring in supplies from the Jiuqu area, leaving the troops in Chiling short of food!”

Li Kuo was pleased inwardly. Everyone had been trapped in the misconception of how to defend the city once captured. But for a stronghold like this, burning its granaries would undoubtedly be the greatest help to the Tang troops in Longyou.

But how could they capture Qingshi Fort? If too few people went, it would be hard to take the outpost quickly; if too many went, it would surely draw the attention of the defenders in Fusi City. After thinking for a moment, Li Kuo suddenly came up with a bold idea.

“I remember capturing a Tubo commander when guarding the Great Wall Fort. What if we use the excuse of a troop rotation to trick our way into the city gates?”

During his time guarding the Great Wall Fort, Li Kuo had captured a Tubo officer. Thinking he might be useful, he hadn’t rushed to execute him. Now, on this mission to explore the Tubo territory, he brought him along as a guide—only for him to prove extremely useful now!

“Do you mean we should pretend to be the troops from Fusi City and go there for a troop rotation?” Dou Qing exclaimed happily, slapping his head.

“But how can we get the right clothes?” Li Sheng asked, worried.

“I know there’s a tribe grazing nearby Fusi City. I believe we can get what we need from them!” Xianyu Yucheng said excitedly, having had an idea.

“In that case, the Tubo people will be devastated!” Everyone burst into laughter.

On a grassland twenty li west of Fusi City, the grass, after enduring a harsh winter, finally sprouted through the soil.

A small Tubo tribe roamed here; they were herders from the Wuhai area who, by the orders of His Majesty the Zanpu, had migrated here. A total of fifty tents were set up on the grassland. According to Tubo customs, each tent housed about five people, meaning the tribe numbered around 250 people. Most of them were women and children; the men and slaves had been sent to build cities in the Dafei River basin. Apart from a few elderly people and remaining Tuyuhun soldiers, there were no men left in the tribe.

Dusk gradually fell, and the sunset dyed the sky red.

A Tuyuhun supervisor swung his whip and struck a Han female slave harshly. In an instant, her clothes were torn apart, revealing a bright red wound on her back.

“Ah!”

The slave let out desperate screams before collapsing to the ground.

“If you dare to slack off again, I’ll kill you and throw you into Datong Valley to feed the wolves. Go and cut the grass quickly and take it to the sheep pen!”

The Tuyuhun supervisor whipped the slave again and spat out a mouthful of phlegm. In his eyes, these Tang slaves were the lowest of people, not even worthy of being called slaves. Although the Tuyuhun had lost their kingdom, they were still considered second-class in Tubo, on par with the Qiang people. The third class consisted of slaves who had violated military laws and regulations. Though they were slaves, they had a chance to rise to the second class by achieving merits, while these Tang slaves could only endure suffering forever. (Note 1) The slave’s face turned pale, and sweatdrops the size of beans slid down her cheeks. She couldn’t fall—falling meant death. She struggled to get up and hesitantly headed toward the sheep pen.

The slave’s name was Cuihua. Like many of her compatriots, she had originally been a farmer in the Linzhao area, living a peaceful life. But when the Tubo barbarians invaded, they killed her husband and children and burned down her home. Those beasts captured her, abused her in every possible way, and reduced her to the lowest status as a slave, assigning her to this tribe. Here, she endured whips from her mistress during the day and the endless lust of her master at night—her life was worse than death.

But she couldn’t die! Her heart was filled with hatred; she wanted revenge. Even if it meant dying, she would drag a Tubo person down with her!

“Rumble, rumble rumble.”

The ground beneath her feet suddenly began to shake. Cuihua was shocked—had she become so weak that she was hallucinating?

She struggled to straighten her back and looked east. Under the blood-red sunset, she saw a large blue flag with two dazzling characters printed on it—Great Tang! ……

Note 1: Fusi City: A key Tubo stronghold by Qinghai Lake, formerly the capital of the Tuyuhun.

Note 2: The Tibetans divided people into four classes. Tibetans were in the first class, Tuyuhun and Qiang were in the second class; those who violated military regulations or laws were reduced to slavery and belonged to the third class, while captured Tang people were in the fourth class.