Chapter 229: Internal Strife Among the Turkic Tribes

The thousand-mile-long Ferghana Valley was blocked by the vast Outer Ailai Mountains, forming a long natural barrier. Yet, millions of years of geological changes had created numerous passes, among which the most famous was the Almady Pass. This pass was wide and flat, spanning over ten miles, making it the best route for large groups to enter the Ferghana Valley.

At present, the main forces of the Tang army and the Turkic tribes were locked in a stalemate near the pass, but to the south of the Outer Ailai Mountains, there were countless unexplored valleys leading to the Ferghana Valley.

That evening, two Tang scouts entered the Ferghana Valley through a narrow mountain path. The terrain here was quite complex, with several wide gullies making the road ahead extremely difficult. These gullies were each about ten miles wide, and beyond them lay an endless forest. At the other end of the forest was the small town of General Pei Luo in Ferghana, with the vast, blue-hot Sea of Heat to the south.

These two Tang scouts were Qin Haiyang and Feng Silang. They had been sent by Li Qingan to deliver a military order to Li Fei Yuanli south of Ferghana.

Since the Sea of Heat blocked the southern route, there were only two paths left for them to reach the Anxi army: one was to go around the Sea of Heat, but that would take hundreds of miles and delay them from seizing the opportunity. Thus, they had to take the other dangerous route—entering the Ferghana Valley and passing through the territory inhabited by the Turkic tribes between Yezi City and General Pei Luo’s city.

This route was extremely dangerous; any carelessness could lead to being discovered by the Turkic tribes. Therefore, Qin Haiyang and Feng Silang tried to travel at night.

After crossing the gullies, darkness fell. A half-moon shone through thin clouds, casting intermittent light in the night. Ahead lay a vast, dark forest, pitch black and hiding various unknown dangers. Especially at night, many nocturnal creatures posed a deadly threat to humans.

“Brother Qin, do we really have to enter the forest?” Feng Silang felt a chill run down his spine. He seemed to see several bright eyes lurking at the edge of the forest.

Qin Haiyang was also uneasy. He knew the area around Ferghana well. The unique geothermal heat of the Sea of Heat made the nearby forests somewhat different. It was said that an unknown amphibious beast roamed in the forest—a terrifying animal as large as an elephant, with a long, thick neck and a gaping maw capable of swallowing a person whole. Some people had even seen it drag a leopard into the sea from the forest.

He thought for a moment and then said, “The roads in the forest are complex. We might not be able to get out by dawn. It’s better if we find some Turgesh people living alone, get some clothes from them, disguise ourselves as Turgesh, and walk right through. By the way, can you speak Turkic?”
Feng Silang shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Damn it! If you can’t speak Turkic, what are you doing as a scout? From now on, act like a mute. I’ll handle everything. Learn from this.”
The two of them determined their direction, mounted their horses, and left the forest, heading swiftly southeast. After about five li, several lights appeared on the distant grassland—those were the Turgesh people’s tents. They had finally found them.
Qin Haiyang was extremely excited. The tents were far apart, and an opportunity arose. He immediately drew his bow, coated the arrowhead with highly poisonous venom, and said, “Wait here!”
He slowly climbed up. Feng Silang was stunned. Before he could react, Qin Haiyang knelt down and shot an arrow. There was a faint whimper, and twenty steps away, a dark figure fell to the ground—it was a hunting dog.
Qin Haiyang drew his dagger and rushed into the tent like the wind. Inside, the light flickered, and it seemed someone was shouting softly, their voice very old, along with the cries of children, but everything soon returned to calm.
Qin Haiyang quickly ran out of the tent, holding several sets of clothes, and also removed the arrow from the dog’s body.
“Hurry up and change!”
Qin Haiyang threw a set of clothes at Feng Silang. As Feng Silang changed, he couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Qin, who are those people in the tent?”
“Don’t ask!” Qin Haiyang said with a gloomy expression.
They changed their clothes, darkened their faces, mounted their horses, and headed south. Along the way, Qin Haiyang didn’t say a word, looking deeply preoccupied. As dawn approached, they had already bypassed He Lie City. A faint glow appeared on the eastern horizon. From here onward, there would be no enemy forces. They had thought it would be extremely dangerous, but everything went smoothly. They didn’t see any Turgesh troops at all. The heartland of the Moji people was so deserted. Qin Haiyang looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. “I’ve committed a sin!”

The six thousand troops from Bahuan City camped on the grassland about twenty li away from Helie City. Their task was to support Li Qing’an’s main forces in the north by putting pressure on the Turkic cavalry and dispersing their forces. They were not allowed to take action without an attack order. This might have been a minor mistake made by Li Qing’an in his hasty deployment—he failed to establish an effective communication channel with the Anxi troops. Although he had planned to set up a homing pigeon route between Fengming City and Lingshan Mountain, he hadn’t had time to implement it yet.

Yet it was this small mistake that put the Anxi troops in the south at a disadvantage. Helie City only had five thousand old and weak soldiers—should they fight or not?

The commander of this Anxi army was Li Fei Yuanli. Bahuan City was his stronghold, and many of his troops were his old subordinates or colleagues. He was very familiar with every aspect of the area. Li Qing’an divided the main force of the Anxi army into three groups: ten thousand troops in Shule were led by Li Fei Shouyu, while the six thousand troops in Bahuan City were under Li Fei Yuanli’s command. The two brothers thus controlled the elite of the Anxi army, which was also a way for Li Qing’an to maintain control over them.

Apart from Li Fei Yuanli as the main commander, the deputy commander was Cui Qianyou. It was his first time participating in a battle. While serving as a military officer in Henan, he had trained troops and studied military books at night, but this was his first real combat experience.

At dawn, Cui Qianyou went to find Li Fei Yuanli and said anxiously, “General Li Fei, waiting like this isn’t a solution. It’s been ten days already. The soldiers have nothing to do, and their morale is plummeting. We must find a way to lure the enemy out.”

Li Fei Yuanli lay on a soft couch, casually chewing on a plate of fried soybeans, tossing them high into the air before catching them accurately in his mouth.

“Old Cui, I’m not criticizing you, but do you think I don’t want to fight? With those five thousand old and weak enemies, I can wipe them out in one battle. There’s no need to lure them out of the city. Those weak defenses can’t stop our Tang army. But you don’t understand my brother Li. He may seem cheerful and friendly, able to be brothers with anyone, but if you dare disobey his orders, he’ll kill you as easily as slaughtering a chicken. Who knows him better than I do? Just be patient! You’ll still get your share of the military merits.”

After saying that, Li Fei Yuanli continued chewing his soybeans without even lifting his eyelids. Cui Qianyou had no choice but to sigh and prepare to leave. Just then, a soldier reported at the door, “Report! The general has sent someone with military orders.”

Li Fei Yuanli sat up abruptly, stuffed soybeans into his mouth, and mumbled, “Hurry! Come in quickly—I’m suffocating here!”
A moment later, the soldiers brought in Qin Haiyang and Feng Silang. The two knelt on one knee and saluted. Qin Haiyang said, “Qin Haiyang of the scout team, reporting to General Li Fei!”
“Stop talking nonsense. Hand over the military order right away.”
Qin Haiyang pulled a military order out from under his shoe and handed it to Li Fei Yuanli with some embarrassment. Taking it, Li Fei Yuanli pinched his nose and cursed, “You bastard! How did you hide the order there?”
“Reporting to General Li Fei, my toes are very dexterous. If captured, I can immediately destroy the order.”
With no choice, Li Fei Yuanli unrolled the order. It stated simply that the Anxi army would be divided into two: Li Fei Yuanli would lead 3,000 troops to the Kingdom of Ningyuan, while Cui Qianyou would stay behind with the remaining troops, both to act as circumstances permitted.
After reading the order, the two exchanged glances, joy evident in their eyes. Li Qingan untied them, and for Li Fei Yuanli, he even gave him orders to launch a campaign against Ningyuan. This indicated that the Tang army was confident in winning the battles in the north, and Li Qingan’s sights were already set on the next target: Ningyuan.
“Old Cui, I’m leaving now. I leave this place to you.”
Li Fei Yuanli was growing impatient. It was said there were many beautiful women in Ningyuan, and he had no interest in the weak and old soldiers in He Lie City. After discussing the details, that afternoon, Li Fei Yuanli led 3,000 men westward, leaving the battlefield south of Suiye to Cui Qianyou.
After Li Fei Yuanli left, Cui Qianyou shut himself in his tent, deep in thought. Although Li Qingan’s order didn’t state it explicitly, Cui Qianyou could sense Li Qingan’s true intention—using Li Fei Yuanli as a distraction so that he could take charge alone and act as needed. It was actually an order meant for him, giving him free rein. Cui Qianyou’s heart pounded fiercely. He felt that Li Qingan was giving him a chance to prove himself, a chance he had never had before, as Li Qingan had entrusted him with such an important task. Cui Qianyou felt moved, as if a true comrade had given his life for him.

He slowly walked over to the map and studied He Lie City and the surrounding terrain carefully. The 5,000 troops of the Turkic Khaganate were stationed in He Lie City and Dong City, acting as a strategic support for each other. Most of these troops were based in He Lie City, which was the stronghold of the Dumoji tribe. Originally a small city, it had been continuously expanded over the decades and had now become the second-largest city after Suiye City. The situation was not as simple as Li Fei Yuanli had described. If the Tang army launched a forced attack on He Lie City, it would suffer heavy losses. Cui Qianyou was well aware of this. He had a bold idea and went to see Li Fei Yuanli, but Li Fei didn’t give him a chance to speak. Now that Li Qing’an had freed him, his desire for this idea grew even stronger.

……

Qin Haiyang also didn’t understand why he had been so lucky lately. He had been a common soldier for ten years, and the highest-ranking officer he had ever seen before was just a colonel. Yet in just this one month, because he accidentally discovered the Turkic Khaganate’s troop movements, good fortune kept coming his way. He was sent by Nan Jiyun to deliver messages to the military governor-general, was then chosen by the governor-general to go south to convey orders to the Anxi army, and now Cui Qianyou wanted to talk to him in detail. Could it be that his luck had turned? Qin Haiyang felt as if he were dreaming. But anyway, he had been promoted two ranks in a row, rising from a common soldier to a platoon leader, bypassing several intermediate positions. Perhaps after the battle at Suiye, he would be promoted to brigade commander or colonel, and become known as General Qin.

With such dreams, Qin Haiyang entered Cui Qianyou’s tent. The tent was quiet, with only Cui Qianyou present, deeply focused on the map. Instead of kneeling in a military salute, Qin Haiyang bowed to Cui Qianyou like a subordinate officer and said, “Reporting to General Cui!”

Cui Qianyou didn’t notice the change in his etiquette. Smiling, he waved his hand and said, “Come here. I have something to ask you.”

“Please go ahead, General!” Qin Haiyang stepped forward, slightly flattered.

“I want to ask you, on your way south to deliver the message, were there any Turkic Khaganate soldiers checking you? Or in other words, was their defense tight?”

“Reporting to the general, along the way, we found the interior of Suiye to be unusually empty. Even in the most traditional and densely populated areas of the Turkic Khaganate, we only saw four tents. Not a single Turkic Khaganate soldier was in sight, as if they had suddenly disappeared.”

“As I expected!” Cui Qianyou said to himself, with his hands behind his back.

Staring at the map for a while, he suddenly turned to Qin Haiyang and said, “I want you to go to Suiye again.”

At Almady Pass, the main force of the Tang army still hadn’t engaged the Turkic Khaganate forces. Li Qing’an, who was eager to deploy his troops and seize Suiye during the chaos within the Abbasid Empire, slowed down the pace of the attack. He had received fresh news that the rebellion in the Transoxiana region was intensifying. Persian Zoroastrian envoys had arrived there, urging their followers to join the campaign to drive out the Abbasid forces. The Abbasid army, like a fire that is suppressed in one place only to flare up elsewhere, was unable to focus on Suiye for the time being. This gave Li Qing’an a new idea: why not use the recovery of Suiye as an excellent training ground to test the abilities of his generals?

The first person he thought of was Cui Qianyou, one of An Lushan’s favorite generals in history, a brilliant commander who captured Tongguan and turned the tide of battle. Although much of his success was due to Li Longji’s foolishness, it was undeniable that he had managed to make Geshu Han’s hundreds of thousands of troops too afraid to fight. So, how much did this Cui Qianyou he had now differ from the historical one? Or was he just someone with the same name? There was only one way to find out—through actual combat. He wanted to give Cui Qianyou a chance to showcase his talents.

It was already dark. Li Qing’an stood in front of his tent, waiting silently for news from his scouts. He had sent over a dozen groups of scouts to investigate the whereabouts of the Turkic Khaganate’s main force. There couldn’t be just six thousand of them. He knew Dhumuzi well—that cunning man would never send his troops to certain death for nothing. They must also be waiting, probably for the arrival of a large reinforcement force, which was the news Li Qing’an was awaiting as well.

At that moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves could be heard in the darkness. Someone dismounted at the entrance of the camp. Li Qing’an turned and went back into his tent. Moments later, someone reported at the entrance, “General, latest news from the scouts.”

“Come in!”

A scout rushed in quickly, knelt down in a military salute, and said, “General, we have confirmed that the main force of the Turkic Khaganate is heading toward the pass. They are less than thirty li away from their camp.”

“Good! Fetch Li Guangbi here at once.”

……

Dhumuzi practically rushed into Saad’s tent, roaring in fury. That damned Abbasid officer had gone back on his word, moving all his troops, leaving his forces in Suiye defenseless. Their original plan had been to send 15,000 troops north for reinforcement, but now all 20,000 had been dispatched.

“You’ve moved all your troops! What about my Suiye?” Dhumuzi roared loudly, his eyes blazing with anger.

Inside the tent, a naked young woman was sitting coquettishly in Saud’s arms, carefully trimming his thick beard with a delicate pair of scissors. A sudden roar from Dumoji made the woman’s hand tremble, and the tip of the scissors pierced Saud’s cheek, leaving blood on his chin. Annoyed, Saud pushed the woman away and slammed the scissors on the table. “Do you think your soldiers are something special? A bunch of ragtag fools—can they even defeat the Tang army? Dream on!”
“I understand!”
Dumoji glared fiercely at Saud and said slowly, word by word, “You want to use my men to test the strength of the Tang army, to find out if Kucha still exists and whether my men are alive or dead. You don’t care at all.”
“It seems you’re not as stupid as I thought!”
Saud’s narrowed eyes flashed with mocking sneer. “Do you think you can still bargain? Even if what you say is true—that I’m using your Turkic horsemen—so what? It’s the decision of the Muslim governor. You’re just a dog. If you don’t obey, that’s the end of you!”
Dumoji’s thin chest heaved violently. An unprecedented sense of humiliation nearly burst his heart. In his youth, he had followed Sultan Sulu in battles across the land, defeating the Persian commander Qubad utterly. Yet now, he was being humiliated by a low-ranking Persian officer. Many Persian officers had been placed in his army, no longer obeying him. Suddenly, Dumoji felt desperate, as if he had lost everything—his land, his dreams, even the woman he loved, the one who lay naked in Saud’s arms, being toyed with at will. This despair seized his heart, causing his reason to fade away under Saud’s mockery.
He suddenly turned his head, glaring viciously at the naked woman. She had no sense of shame at all; her bare body seemed to mock him. Images of her moaning and cooing beneath him flashed through his mind. Blood rushed to his forehead as he roared, “Witch! Die!”
He drew his sword and swung it at Saud, but it froze mid-air as a sharp spear pierced his thin chest first.
“Clang!” The sword fell to the ground. Dumoji looked in disbelief at the blood gushing from his chest, then at Saud, before slowly collapsing to the ground. Saud smiled coldly. “Do you really think I can’t see through your little tricks?”

“Ah!” The woman screamed in terror. Her hysterical cries drew three of Saud’s confidants inside. “General, what’s happened?”
“You’ve come at just the right time!”
Saud pointed at Dhumuzi’s body and ordered, “Dig a pit and bury him right here.”
After a pause, he added, “Go tell all the Turkic horsemen that Dhumuzi has gone to Khorasan for reinforcements. From now on, I will command the army.”
He looked up toward the dark northern sky, his eyes filled with anticipation.